Chapter 236.1: Says Who? (1)
It took them a little less than four hours to reach Ulaanbaatar. Since Kang Chan and Kim Tae-Jin had first-class seats, they were the first to disembark.
“Will you wait here for a moment?” Kim Tae-Jin asked.
“Sure,” Kang Chan responded. He felt bad for Oh Gwang-Taek and the rest of the agents.
Kang Chan obediently sat down in the lounge of the arrivals area. A moment later, Oh Gwang-Taek and Joo Chul-Bum walked over to him.
“Hey!” Oh Gwang-Taek grumbled as he sat down next to Kang Chan. “Why did you act like that? You weren’t yourself.”
“Sorry about earlier,” Kang Chan apologized.
“All good. I wasn’t exactly in the right either, and it’s only natural for real men to get angry when someone gets on their nerves. Why did you suddenly throw a hissy fit, though?” Oh Gwang-Taek asked out of curiosity.
“Let’s just let this one go,” Kang Chan replied, beating around the bush.
“All right.” Oh Gwang-Taek slapped Kang Chan on the back before drinking from the water bottle that he was holding. Even though they were in the arrivals terminal, they were still quite cold.
Not too long after, an agent approached and informed them that the helicopter they were going to take was already waiting for them.
“Please follow me,” the agent said. “This way.”
Kang Chan, Oh Gwang-Taek, and Joo Chul-Bum did as instructed. They were given entry stamps in a small corridor before walking out to where the runway was.
“Fuck! My nose is going to freeze off!” Oh Gwang-Taek gruffly cursed. Although it was the middle of the day, the weather in Mongolia was still extremely harsh.
They hurried onto a civilian transport helicopter. It seemed Kim Tae-Jin and Kang Chul-Gyu were going to take a different helicopter since the one they were in had two agents and two of Oh Gwang-Taek’s subordinates.
Their entire group occupied a total of six helicopters, two of which had large nets filled with cargo dangling underneath them.
Du du du du du du.
The helicopter wasted no time leaving the airport. It would take them approximately three more hours to reach Chuluunkhoroot District, their destination.
Everyone fell silent as they changed into the thicker clothes and insulated boots in their bags. Wearing warmer outfits made them feel a lot better.
- Kang Chan.
Oh Gwang-Taek was speaking into the microphone attached to their headsets.
- I don’t know what’s happening between you two, but go easy on the old man, will you?
Oh Gwang-Taek’s words displeased Kang Chan, but he just scowled instead of saying anything. He had already treated him rudely enough earlier.
- I know someone like you wouldn’t react the way you did a while back for no reason, but still.
“Oh Gwang-Taek,” Kang Chan began.
- What?
Oh Gwang-Taek seemed glad that Kang Chan actually spoke up.
“I’ll only be here for a few days before having to leave for Africa, so it doesn’t really matter. You’re the top brass of this place. You get to decide who to use and who not to use, not me, so feel free to do what you want. Whatever the case, I’m sorry about today,” Kang Chan said.
- Hmph! You motherfucker! You’re finally starting to act more like yourself.
When Kang Chan smirked, Oh Gwang-Taek patted him on the back again.
Yeah. At most, I’ll only be here for a week.
Until then, Kang Chan could just pretend as if that man didn’t exist. Once he left for Africa, it was highly unlikely that their paths would cross again. He couldn’t care less whether or not that guy enjoyed his life, ate good food, slept well, or got married to a Mongolian woman. All that mattered was that he would never have to see him again.
Kang Chan let out a low sigh as he made a promise to himself.
Let’s not act immature.
That man didn’t know that his son was right by his side.
Kang Chan’s horribly pitiful mother had already lived the end of her poor life, and this man would be seeking a new life here.
That’s it. It’s over.
Kang Chan would simply think of the father he had in his old life dead. With his ex-father already in the afterlife, he should have nothing to be mad or resentful about anymore. Letting his anger for the deceased linger was pointless.
Kang Chan planned on calling Vasili the moment they landed at their destination. If he wanted to wrap up his business here as fast as he could and head to Africa as soon as possible, he would have to come up with a solution with Vasili. Kang Chan felt more at ease now that he had come to a decision.
Not being able to drink coffee or smoke in commercial planes or civilian helicopters fucking sucks.
He pulled out another piece of thick clothing from his bag, spread it across the ground, and leaned against his bag. Oh Gwang-Taek and Joo Chul-Bum looked at him with respect, which was nothing new to Kang Chan. He fell asleep not too long after.
Du du du du du du.
Kang Chan woke up to the feeling of someone shaking him. By the time he opened his eyes, the helicopter was already descending to the ground.
- We’re now preparing for landing.
One of the agents spoke into the headset, updating him about the situation.
Getting some shuteye made Kang Chan feel a little better. On the ground below them, he could see container-shaped barracks covered in insulation and a long line of solar panels. There were also soldiers wearing Chinese military uniforms gathered on one side of the exterior fence.
“Apparently, that is the Mongolian border patrol, sir,” the agent said.
Kang Chan nodded in response. Aside from a few valleys that varied in size, he didn’t see anything surrounding the barracks.
Du du du du du du du.
The helicopter soon landed on the ground.
As people stepped off the aircrafts, the border patrol approached them and unloaded the cargo that was attached to the helicopters. An agent strode and spoke to the border patrol soldiers, then returned to Kang Chan, who guessed that the agent’s specialty was speaking Mongolian.
“The leader of the border patrol defense troops wishes to speak with you,” the agent informed him.
“Then it would be better to introduce him to Director Kim Tae-Jin or President Oh Gwang-Taek,” Kang Chan replied.
“Understood, sir,” the agent replied.
In agreement with what Kang Chan said, Kim Tae-Jin, Oh Gwang-Taek, and Joo Chul-Bum left to greet the leader of the border patrol troops.
“What’s the status of the weapons?” Kang Chan asked, approaching a nearby agent.
“We have M16 rifles, ammo, and bayonets among the cargo that we loaded onto the helicopters,” the agent replied.
Kang Chan nodded. He wanted to wrap everything he had to do outside as soon as possible so he could finally get warmed up. The cold weather here was no joke.
After a quick introduction, the border patrol troops helped the South Koreans move their cargo. Meanwhile, Kim Tae-Jin walked over to Kang Chan.
Swish!
A strong gust of wind flew by and slapped Kang Chan and Kim Tae-Jin’s faces. Kang Chan felt as if his nose and mouth were going to be sliced off.
“The border patrol will be accompanying us until tomorrow. How should we assign the rooms in the barracks?” Kim Tae-Jin asked.
“We agreed that you would take care of things like this, remember? Go do whatever you see fit,” Kang Chan answered in a friendly manner.
Whooosh! Whoooosh!
The wind blowing here was like a mad banshee. Its sound and direction were impossible to predict.
“All right! Let’s divide the rooms based on the groups assigned to each helicopter, then. You and President Oh can use Building A, which is the one over there. I’ll handle assigning everyone else their rooms,” Kim Tae-jin stated.
“Got it.”
Swiiiish! Whoooosh! Whooosh!
“So this is what below thirty degrees feels like! Get some rest for about an hour! I’ll head over around that time.”
“Got it,” Kang Chan responded.
There were about ten barracks. As instructed, he went to the barracks of Block A.
Click!
“Whew! Finally, some warmth,” Oh Gwang-Taek exclaimed as he tossed himself on the sofa.
The barracks were made of six twenty-foot containers combined together, making its interior far more spacious compared to how it appeared from the outside. It had a kitchen attached to the living room, a bathroom, and three rooms with two beds each.
The winds hitting the containers sounded faint, almost as if it was coming from far away.
“Hey! Make some coffee,” Oh Gwang-Taek ordered.
“Yes, Hyung-nim.”
One of Oh Gwang-Taek’s subordinates quickly dug through the bags and took some bottled water into the kitchen. Meanwhile, an agent carried Kang Chan’s luggage inside a room, and Joo Chul-Bum took Oh Gwang-Taek’s to a different one.
Most of those who came with them had also been assigned to their own rooms as well. Kang Chan didn’t even have to do anything.
When Kang Chan sat down on the sofa, Oh Gwang-Taek offered him a cigarette.
“Do you think we’ll have enough beds?” Oh Gwang-Taek asked.
“From what I’ve seen, we have about ten barracks available. If any of our men don’t have beds, we can probably just send them over to other barracks. If that’s not an option, then they can just sleep on the sofa here. I’m sure we’ll find a way to accommodate them later if it comes to it,” Kang Chan replied.
Click.
“Hoo, I suppose you’re right.”
As they were smoking, they were served coffee in paper cups.
“Shit! The second act of Oh Gwang-Taek’s life begins in the fucking cold!” Oh Gwang-Taek shouted. When Kang Chan smirked, he did as well.
They didn’t have to tidy anything up right now, so they all just poured some coffee into paper cups and smoked.
Fuck!
With the windows bolted shut, they had no choice but to leave the door open so the smoke wouldn’t be stuck in the room.
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