Chapter 239.1: Yes, It’s My Decision (2)
Kang Chan’s shift for guard duty was from ten to eleven in the evening.
They initially planned to exclude Oh Gwang-Taek and his men from that task, but on Oh Gwang-Taek’s insistence to learn as much and as fast as he could, they integrated them into the rotation. Hence, the agents and Oh Gwang-Taek’s men now stood guard in teams of two.
Oh Gwang-Taek went outside with Kang Chan.
Swish!
Whenever the wind swept past them, they felt as if the skin around their eyes, which their masks didn’t cover, were being stabbed with a knife.
“Fuck!” Oh Gwang-Taek swore.
With the temperature close to -40°C, the wind almost seemed to be biting them.
Oh Gwang-Taek kept bouncing on his feet. He felt as if he would freeze up if he stopped moving.
“Do you regret coming here?” Kang Chan asked.
“I don't! Fucking bastard!”
The moisture from Oh Gwang-Taek’s breath rose, coating his eyebrows with frozen white droplets.
“Start by looking into the distance. No matter how dark it is, the horizon will always be visible. Slowly examine the area around it, then slowly shift your gaze to areas closer to you. While you’re examining your surroundings, look to the horizon again as you’re examining from left to right in a zigzag pattern,” Kang Chan said.
“Where did you learn this?” Oh Gwang-Taek asked.
“The internet.”
“You son of a bitch!”
Kang Chan couldn’t help but smirk despite being criticized.
Oh Gwang-Taek was furious and understandably so, considering this was his first time feeling his body freeze up on a cold day like this.
“Move and wiggle your muscles around slowly, one part at a time. We actually have it easy. On days like this, someone among the people waiting in the tank usually freeze to death,” Kang Chan continued.
“I doubt that... Do you really think someone could freeze to death just because they sat still?” Oh Gwang-Taek looked as if he couldn’t believe what Kang Chan said.
“You’ll feel too lazy to do anything once you start freezing up. This will lead to you stiffening up and your blood gradually freezing. If you don’t do something about it, this cold can kill you in an hour.”
Oh Gwang-Taek looked at Kang Chan with surprise in his eyes.
“Soldiers in tanks can die not just from the heat. Days as cold as this can freeze them to death as well. People might run away if they find themselves in places like this, but they won’t feel any pain as they slowly freeze up. If you start feeling sleepy while you're out here in the cold, then it could be a sign that your body is freezing up. If you ever find yourself in that situation, you better drop what you’re doing and head inside.”
“I would rather just fucking freeze to death! Why would I go inside? That’s fucking embarrassing!” Oh Gwang-Taek exclaimed.
Kang Chan, who was looking at the horizon, slowly drew his gaze closer to them.
“You probably don't believe me now, but in the next fifteen days, you’re going to see it happen so often that you’ll get used to it. That’s more than enough time for your men to freeze to death. You’re the eldest here, so you tell me. Are you more afraid of being embarrassed or of your people dying to the cold?” Kang Chan asked.
Unable to respond, Oh Gwang-Taek glared at Kang Chan from the side.
“We’re going to connect the Eurasian Rail. This place is where all of that starts. I wouldn’t have asked you to do this with me if this wasn’t important. I actually feel bad because of it, but you’re the only one I knew I could count on to handle this.”
“That’s right! You should entrust something like this to me, the great Oh Gwang-Taek!”
“Then for the next fifteen days, forget about being embarrassed while you’re still getting used to this. Let’s connect the Eurasian Rail to South Korea. After we get rid of the distractions from Russia, China, and Mongolia, we will become the heart of Asia,” Kang Chan added.
“Those sons of bitches! My blood is boiling.”
Kang Chan smirked at Oh Gwang-Taek. He then stared into the distance again.
Click!
Not long after, he put the stock of his rifle against his shoulder, then sharply aimed its barrel somewhere.
“What is it?” Oh Gwang-Taek asked.
Suffocating silence dawned upon them.
Clank.
Kang Chan lowered his rifle. “I think it’s a wolf—as far as I can tell, it’s dragging what remains of the body that it was eating just a moment ago.”
“Ugh!”
“Train yourself to see wolves first. As you slowly draw your gaze closer to you from the distance, you’ll start to notice and see the wolves faster. You won’t get a better chance to train than now,” Kang Chan continued.
“Where is it?”
Oh Gwang-Taek shifted his gaze according to Kang Chan’s instructions for about five minutes before finally exclaiming, “Hey! I see it!”
“Be quiet. If you talk this loudly at night, they’ll be able to hear you from more than a kilometer away.”
In response, Oh Gwang-Taek just stopped speaking and looked at the horizon again.
After an hour, which felt more like half a day, Joo Chul-Bum climbed up to the top of the barracks with an agent.
“Where are the night vision goggles?” Kang Chan asked the two.
“We brought them with us.”
“Good luck.”
“Thank you for your hard work,” the agent and Joo Chul-Bum said in unison.
Oh Gwang-Taek went down the narrow iron stairs with Kang Chan.
Leaning toward Kang Chan, Oh Gwang-Taek immediately asked, “Hey! We had night vision goggles all this time? Why didn’t we wear them?”
“If you’re going to be the leader of this place, then it’s only proper that you’re not wearing one. You should be able to examine your surroundings without something like that, shouldn’t you?”
Oh Gwang-Taek nodded. His eyes started glinting.
Clank.
Hot air rushed toward them as they entered the barracks.
“Phew! God damn it!” Oh Gwang-Taek sank down into the sofa.
“Oh Gwang-Taek, check the safety catch of your rifle first when you enter the barracks. If you put it up against a wall like that and it falls over, then it’s definitely going to go off,” Kang Chan said as he removed his mask and gave him a look.
Rather than grumbling or arguing against him, Oh Gwang-Taek slipped the safety catch on the M16 in place and propped it on one side. It seemed like Oh Gwang-Taek’s determination to take responsibility for his men was making him obediently accept Kang Chan’s orders.
“Fuck, I like that I feel like I’m getting a little closer to you,” Oh Gwang-Taek said.
“Oh shut up, you fucker. Let’s go have a smoke.”
“Give me a minute. I’ll make coffee.”
Kang Chan smirked as he took off the winter pants that he had layered on top of his regular pants. The mighty Oh Gwang-Taek was standing in the kitchen to make instant coffee while wearing clothes for North Korean soldiers.
It was during times like this that Kang Chan felt genuinely emotional for his men.
They had two cigarettes and two paper cups of coffee.
Kang Chan took out a lighter and lit up Oh Gwang-Taek’s cigarette.
Chk chk.
“Whoo!” Oh Gwang-Taek exhaled the cigarette smoke, then burst into laughter, perhaps finding the situation absurd.
“I don’t regret doing this, so don’t spout bullshit!” he grumbled as he glanced at Kang Chan.
Humans were difficult to predict. Who would’ve guessed that the gangster who dominated Gangam would be making coffee while wearing clothes for North Korean soldiers in the wilderness of Mongolia?
“I chose to do this, so I won’t ever regret it,” Oh Gwang-Taek repeated.
“I never said otherwise.”
The two joked around as they drank coffee and smoked. Afterward, they headed to bed.
They had to sleep and eat whenever they could.
They had to keep doing those two things no matter what—even if they were in combat or on operations. After all, if they wanted to survive, it would be best to keep doing what they had to do.
Kang Chan lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling.
Unlike when he was in Africa, he now missed people—Kang Dae-Kyung, Yoo Hye-Sook, Seok Kang-Ho, and Kim Mi-Young.
Good night, everyone.
Not long after, Kang Chan unknowingly fell asleep.
***
Vroom! Vroom! Whoosh!
Kang Chan jolted awake and immediately stood up from his bed.
Whoosh!
He then hurried out to the living room and picked up his rifle. As he did, he saw a radio on the table. During times like this, communication via the radio was the best.
Chk.
“Guards! What was that noise?” Kang Chan asked.
Chk.
“The Mongolian border patrol is returning to their military base,” someone responded.
Chk.
“What time is it right now?”
Chk.
“It’s four in the morning.”
Those fuckers are always so full of shit!
Chk.
“Is the car that we hijacked still there as we left it?” Kang Chan asked again.
Chk.
“President Kim Tae-Jin has the keys.”
Considering the situation, Kang Chan wasn’t too disappointed that they were leaving.
Kang Chan wondered if the Mongolian border patrol was plotting with the Russian mafia, but even if so, the agents guarding their base were from the special forces. Hence, he believed that they at least wouldn’t be caught flat-footed.
He put his rifle down and went back into his room.
Kang Chan felt slightly perturbed, but they had no right to stop the Mongolian border patrol from leaving, so he just went back to sleep.
***
Kang Chan got another hour of sleep. When he woke up, he lightly warmed up inside the barracks. Afterward, he picked up and took a sip from a 1.5-liter bottle of water, then went into the bathroom.
People adapted to the situation.
He wet and lathered his face and head just enough to slightly create bubbles. He then poured the remaining water straight down to the top of his head, cleaning himself using the soap and water that flowed down his body.
Although it seemed horrible, the difference between lightly washing up and skipping it entirely was like heaven and hell.
Kang Chan had gotten so used to showering with just one bottle of water that if he took a shower with two or three bottles, he would have water left over. It made him feel odd.
As he came out of the bathroom, Oh Gwang-Taek looked at him with respect.
“Come inside the bathroom,” Kang Chan said. Since Oh Gwang-Taek was going to be leading this place, it was best to show him how to shower here.
After Oh Gwang-Taek took off his clothes, Kang Chan made him crouch down and finish showering with only one bottle of water.
“Damn! This feels amazing,” Oh Gwang-Taek commented afterward, drying himself off with a towel, then came out of the bathroom with a completely different expression from when he entered. He looked as if he could feel the difference between showering like this and not showering at all.
“How much more do I have to learn?” Oh Gwang-Taek asked. He looked worried.
“You shouldn’t worry about that. Just do what you have to do with the mindset that you’ll adapt and get used to things. It’s still important for you to learn everything about weapons and combat, though.”
Oh Gwang-Taek nodded in response.
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