Chapter 240.1: Even If My Life Is Filled With Tears (1)
Swiiish! Swiish!
The air mercilessly blew against Kang Chan’s fur-brimmed hat, but he just kept glaring at Kang Chul-Gyu, never budging an inch.
What’s wrong with you? Why are you suddenly acting so obedient?
At that moment, Kim Tae-Jin and the agents rushed up the metal stairs, leaving Kang Chan no choice but to look away.
“I need someone to man the Mistral!” Kim Tae-Jin shouted.
“Understood, sir,” an agent said as he retrieved the laser guidance device and got into position.
Kang Chan looked around their surroundings.
The base they were in was right smack in the middle of an empty field, and to make things worse, they only had a mere total of ten agents.
“We won’t have any way out if we get surrounded here. Have Oh Gwang-Taek and his subordinates stand by in the dining hall,” Kang Chan ordered the agents.
“You expect us to be surrounded?” Kim Tae-Jin asked with sharp, glinting eyes.
“Considering the number of incoming cars, it is definitely a possibility. We’re the only base here, and there has to be a reason the border patrol took our Mobile Base Station,” Kang Chan quickly replied, then looked at the agents. “According to our intel, there are former Spetsnaz members among that group. Go up in pairs to the top of each barracks, but keep your heads down. In the worst-case scenario, don’t ever dare come down from the barracks without my command even if we engage in hand-to-hand combat. Go!”
Kang Chan pointed his men to four different locations on top of the barracks, assigning them to their positions. The cloud of dust had gotten closer, now only two kilometers away.
“Old man! Can I trust you with Director Kim?” Kang Chan asked.
“Of course,” Kang Chul-Gyu replied.
“Then I need you and the Director to take charge of the barracks that we’re in.”
Kang Chul-Gyu nodded without hesitation.
“Director, if we lose control of this base, we’re definitely all going to die,” Kang Chan grimly said.
“Got it,” Kim Tae-Jin solemnly replied.
Kang Chan turned his gaze to the center of the base. On the small empty field in the middle of all the barracks, two agents were trying to have Oh Gwang-Taek retreat to safety, but he kept refusing to head inside the mess hall.
Kang Chan quickly climbed down the barracks. He then firmly ordered, “Oh Gwang-Taek! Wait at the mess hall with your subordinates!”
Oh Gwang-Taek gave Kang Chan a defiant gaze, still refusing to leave.
Swiish! Whoosh! Swish!
“Our enemies right now are the Russian Spetsnaz, one of the top special forces teams in the entire fucking world. They’re almost here, so I need you to hold back your temper for now, all right? If you let your pride get the best of you, your men are going to get shot through the head before you can even get the chance to pull the trigger,” Kang Chan warned.
Oh Gwang-Taek gritted his teeth so hard that Kang Chan thought they would crack. He knew that Oh Gwang-Taek fully understood his orders but was having a hard time accepting them.
“Oh Gwang-Taek! We don’t have time for this!”
“Argh!” Oh Gwang-Taek bellowed in frustration. His eyes dropped to the ground as he shook his head. He then looked back up at Kang Chan with red, bloodshot eyes. “Hurry up and teach me already! I don’t care if I die, but at the very least, give me the skills I need to fight back against those bastards!”
“I will, but you have to survive first,” Kang Chan assured him.
Oh Gwang-Taek nodded and turned toward the mess hall.
Two of the agents assigned to the barracks climbed to the top. After ensuring that his orders were properly followed, Kang Chan began striding toward the barracks that Kim Tae-Jin was standing in front of.
Clink!
He then swung his rifle around his right shoulder. The enemies were already less than a kilometer away from their base.
Swiiish! Swiiiish!
Kim Tae-Jin, who was watching Kang Chan from the top of the building, turned around and met Kang Chul-Gyu’s gaze.
‘Are you all right, Sunbae-nim?’
He couldn’t help but be concerned about Kang Chul-Gyu’s health and the fact that Kang Chul-Gyu was speaking formally to Kang Chan. Much to his surprise, however, Kang Chul-Gyu had a bitter smile on his face. It was as if he was remembering something.
“The commander is truly impressive,” Kang Chul-Gyu praised.
“Pardon?” Kim Tae-Jin questioned.
With his rifle still slung around his arm, Kang Chul-Gyu looked around him. “He’s all alone down there. He’s sure that we’re going to be engaging in hand-to-hand combat, which means that he’s essentially going to try to fight all the enemies by himself while we cover him from above.”
Is Kang Chan really thinking of doing something so unbelievable? Wait, did Kang Chul-Gyu just catch on to Kang Chan’s plans?
As Kim Tae-Jin began to look down in shock, Kang Chul-Gyu continued, “They don’t have any heavy weapons on the approaching vehicles. That means they already know everything about us, including our numbers and what we’re capable of. That also means they intend to be brutal with their retaliation for yesterday’s incident.”
Kim Tae-Jin had also inferred that this was what their enemies’ lack of heavy weapons had meant.
“We seem to have about five minutes left. Would you watch over here for a moment?” Kang Chul-Gyu asked.
“Yes, sir,” Kim Tae-Jin replied with glinting eyes, feeling as if the clock had turned back by thirty years.
The DMZ King was back.
Kang Chul-Gyu’s violently sharp eyes, tone, attitude, facial expression, and the arrogant way he looked around him were now no different from the past. When he casually gave Kim Tae-Jin the order to stand guard as if it was nothing, the baby chick, Kim Tae-Jin, became certain that the DMZ King had finally woken back up.
Kang Chul-Gyu descended the metal stairs with heavy steps. Kang Chan could clearly hear the loud noise.
Now that the enemies were only a kilometer away, they had slowed down their advance to almost walking speed.
They had three trucks, three jeeps, and two sedans.
Enemies making their advances in this way emphasized the overwhelming advantage they had in terms of manpower. Hence, it would’ve been understandable for fear to steadily creep into their targets’ minds.
Pft. That technique only works against ordinary soldiers.
Feeling someone behind him, Kang Chan turned around. Kang Chul-Gyu was approaching him with his rifle slung across his right shoulder, his arm pressing against its handguard.
Kang Chan and Kang Chul-Gyu’s gazes met once more.
“I have a favor to ask,” Kang Chul-Gyu began.
Instead of answering, Kang Chan simply waited in silence.
The man had changed. This wasn’t the Kang Chul-Gyu whom Kang Chan knew in the past. His eyes had changed just as much, now exuding a powerful charisma.
So this was the man they called the DMZ King?
“If you’re staying down here to intercept any hand-to-hand battles alone, allow me to stay here as well. An agent is with Kim Tae-Jin at the top of the building anyway. They should be enough to cover that position,” Kang Chul-Gyu said, bending over to pull up the bottoms of his thick winter pants.
Shing.
He then unsheathed a bayonet and held it out to Kang Chan by the blade.
“I sharpened it,” Kang Chul-Gyu informed him.
Why? Why would this man do that? Why would a soldier with such an impressive gaze do that?
Kang Chul-Gyu lifted his gaze over Kang Chan’s shoulders, then held out the bayonet in his hand again. He seemed adamant about making Kang Chan take it.
“I sharpened two bayonets, so you can take this one,” Kang Chul-Gyu insisted.
The enemies were almost upon them.
Kang Chan was worried about the dullness of his blade anyway, so he accepted the bayonet without hesitation. He took it by the handle and hung it backward around his left sleeve.
Taking his silence as permission, Kang Chul-Gyu stood next to Kang Chan. He tilted his head as he looked at their incoming opponents.
They were only about nine hundred meters away from the base now.
Swiiiish! Swish! Swiish!
It was awfully awkward. Maybe that was why the wind occasionally rushed past them. It was as if it was clicking its tongue at them in annoyance.
How would Kang Chan have treated this old man if he wasn’t his father?
Kang Chan peeked over at him. Just then, Kang Chul-Gyu, who was scowling and had his teeth clenched together, slightly lifted the corner of his mouth into a faint smile. He then glanced over at Kang Chan, causing them to make eye contact again.
“There’s some shrapnel stuck in the back of my head, so I feel random bursts of pain every now and then,” Kang Chul-Gyu opened out of nowhere.
Did anyone ask?
Kang Chan thought that the old man was getting terribly chatty now that he was given the opportunity.
Pft.
Kang Chul-Gyu smirked as if he read Kang Chan’s mind. They certainly had different facial features, but the way Kang Chul-Gyu smiled was so similar to Kang Chan that he felt as if he was looking in the mirror.
The distance between them and their opponents was now down to eight hundred meters. Kang Chan planned to open fire as soon as they were within five hundred meters of them, which meant they still had about three hundred meters of leeway.
“Is there anything you want to say to your son?” Kang Chan asked out of the blue.
Why did I ask something so stupid?
Kang Chan couldn’t help but smirk as well.
Since he was wearing a mask, Kang Chul-Gyu could probably only see his eyes, but that was enough for what he meant to be properly conveyed.
“I wouldn’t be so shameless that I would try to tell him anything. Still...” Kang Chul-Gyu trailed off, glancing at the enemies and then back at Kang Chan again. “If I could say just one thing...”
Why’s he dragging this out for so long?
Kang Chan felt irritation rush up inside of him.
“If you’ve got nothing to say, don’t try to come up with something just so you would,” he said with annoyance.
Kang Chul-Gyu nodded and shut his mouth.
Godammit! You’re actually going to stop talking because I told you to?
Kang Chan reigned in his exasperation and turned back to the enemies.
“I’ve always wanted to tell him that I’m sorry, that I’m truly sorry,” Kang Chul-Gyu finally answered.
Swiiish! Swiish!
The weird answer to Kang Chan’s random question only made the awkwardness between them worse.
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