Chapter 255: Surdkad (2)
Intense heat gradually rose up from the ground.
Click, click.
With every step, the sounds of their guns, the magazines in their vests, and the pistols in their holsters announced their presence.
Kang Chan took off his helmet and hung it on his left shoulder. He then pulled out his bandana, wrapping it around his forehead before tying it back. The others, including Seok Kang-Ho and Gerard, followed suit. Gerard and a few other French soldiers also put on sunglasses. However, it was not to look coo;. White people simply tended to struggle against the rays of the sun.
They had walked for about an hour. The Somali were still singing their songs, not looking particularly tired. The soldiers were also doing well, which was to be expected. If walking this much was enough to tire them out, Kang Chan would have questioned whether or not they were qualified to be in the special forces.
He probably should check if anyone was hurt, though.
Should we take a short break?
Kang Chan looked at their surroundings. He had intentionally chosen a route that was a good distance away from the mountain. This way, if someone was lying in ambush for them, they at least wouldn’t be gunned down in one fell swoop. It would also give them some more time to dodge if an RPG was fired at them.
He still felt a bit uneasy, but his heart wasn’t racing to warn him.
They marched on for about ten more minutes. When Kang Chan heard a slight change in the enthusiasm of the Somali songs, he raised his hand, signaling the procession to stop.
“Give the Somalis some water! We’ll be taking five!” Kang Chan commanded.
The army interpreter quickly relayed Kang Chan’s orders to the Korean soldiers. At the same time, the vehicles ahead of them came to an immediate halt.
Kang Chan considered giving the people in the vehicles some water but decided against it. He knew they would come ask for some themselves if they were really thirsty.
The soldiers carried the water over from the vehicles and poured it for the Somalis.
Glug.
The women cupped the water in their dusty palms and drank a few sips before stepping back to make way for others. Over the course of three meal distributions from the soldiers, they had learned that there was no need to be greedy.
“Madad!”
In their mother tongue, the women who drank water collectively expressed their gratitude toward Kang Chan and the soldiers.
The smell of fishy odors, acrid smells, and spoiled food wafted over from the Somalis. A few of them probably had rationed food hidden somewhere in their garments.
Kang Chan didn’t want to take it away or criticize them for it, however. He knew it wasn’t their fault that they were forced to live so desperate for even just a morsel of food.
If he fed them a bit more, taught them a bit more, and protected them a bit more, perhaps one of these people with those pure, innocent eyes would manage to fulfill their dreams and build up this country.
However, such a feat would be difficult to accomplish for as long as all the bastards who stole their food, supplies, and dreams were still alive.
“Here you go,” Seok Kang-Ho said, holding out a pouch of water to Kang Chan.
Kang Chan popped open the cap and took a small sip with his mouth away from the cap. He then waited for a few moments as the Somali people all quenched their thirst.
“Let’s get going,” Kang Chan declared afterward.
“Got it, Cap,” Seok Kang-Ho replied, taking the water pouch back before returning to his original position.
“Let’s go!”
Under Kang Chan’s command, they slowly began to make progress again.
“Uiwa-ya!”
“Uiwai-ya!”
Don’t their throats hurt?
Despite Kang Chan’s concerns, the Somalis continued to sing loudly and shrilly at the top of their lungs.
In about twenty minutes, Kang Chan would have to hand the hostages over. If another emergency situation required him to come running again, the majority of them would probably be dead by the time he reached them, but that was life in Africa. There was nothing he could do about it.
After approximately fifteen more minutes of marching, the vehicle at the front began the ascent toward the mountain. When they were about a hundred meters away, Kang Chan raised his hand and made everyone stop.
“Gerard!”
“Oui!” Gerard replied, swiftly approaching Kang Chan.
“Order the people who can walk to get out of the vehicles. Position the heavy weapons inside the vehicles on the truck and assign ten people to man them. We’ll be securing our position at the front of the mountain!” Kang Chan ordered.
“Oui!”
Gerard quickly headed to the rear.
“Seok Kang-Ho, I want a Humvee stationed here! Order someone to bring the other one to the front!”
“Got it, Cap!” Seok Kang-Ho responded, turning to move.
Kang Chan wore the helmet that he had hung on his shoulder again.
He didn’t have a bad feeling in his gut yet. However, despite the risks it posed, they always had to secure a position whenever they entered new terrain.
Vrooom!
One of the Humvees blocked off the front of their formation, serving as protection and cover.
Click, click!
As the soldiers propped up their guns from behind the vehicle, Gerard and ten others approached Kang Chan.
Kang Chan looked at the back of the truck, finding a heavy machine gun sitting on top of its cab and a soldier aiming an Igla toward the mountain.
“Let’s go!” Kang Chan shouted.
Vroom!
The Humvee that Lee Doo-Hee was driving drove up ahead. Kang Chan, Gerard, and the rest of the soldiers spread out as they followed.
Seemingly displeased, the Somali government officials and the Red Cross vehicles in front of them sped up to get to the front of the mountain. It didn’t matter, though. There was no guarantee that these bastards weren’t in cahoots with the rebel forces.
Vroom. Clack, clack.
They covered about fifty more meters.
“You two! Secure that position!” Kang Chan ordered, pointing at the closest boulder to the group.
Whoosh!
As the two dashed forward, the rest of the soldiers walked with their rifles at the ready so they could shoot at any time.
One of the two hid behind the boulder and raised and spun his index finger in a circle. He then pointed at the top of the mountain.
Kang Chan could finally have some peace of mind.
They were only thirty meters away from the mountain now. The government officials and the Red Cross workers looked on with exhausted expressions. Kang Chan sent two more soldiers to secure the middle of the mountain.
They had ten meters left to go.
Kang Chan nodded at Gerard. He then started to head up the mountain.
Rustle! Swish!
The dirt crumbled beneath him, preventing him from getting a stable footing. Fortunately, the terrain wasn’t as delicate as soft sand.
Gerard deliberately walked about three or four paces diagonally behind Kang Chan.
Ten minutes later, they reached a spot that gave them a clear view of their surroundings. Kang Chan climbed up higher and surveyed the horizon. Except for the mountain behind them, all he could see was thin, withered vegetation. They wouldn’t have anywhere to hide.
Chk.
“Seok Kang-Ho, get going,” Kang Chan ordered.
Chk.
“Copy,” Seok Kang-Ho replied.
The vehicles roared onward. They only had to travel a hundred meters more before they had to climb up the mountain and pass through the path under Kang Chan.
“Whew!” Gerard exclaimed, hanging his index finger on the trigger of his rifle as he stood next to Kang Chan. “Captain, how about I order our men take off their uniforms and leave the military so we can come here and make our own country?”
Kang Chan smirked but kept his eyes on the clearing up ahead.
“If you say you’re down for it, I’m sure a bunch of soldiers will retire from the South Korean team as well. You’re pretty popular with the Somalis too, so why don’t you give it some thought?” Gerard joked.
“Do you want to go against a multinational force?” Kang Chan scolded.
“Hmph! They’re the kind to charge right in but run away as soon as they realize they won’t gain anything. If we stand united, they’ll probably lurked around and try to play nice with you.”
By the time Gerard was done, the Somalis had started climbing up the mountain. They looked quite hot because they were wearing the blankets distributed to them yesterday on their heads.
Leading them were the government officials and Red Cross workers, and all around them were soldiers keeping them in a protective encirclement.
“Let’s go,” Kang Chan directed.
“Got it,” Gerard answered.
The two began to climb up a path that was already on the mountain.
Ten of the vanguard accompanying them took turns guarding the position that Kang Chan and Gerard had secured earlier. The procession was so smooth that Kang Chan felt stupid for being so nervous.
After climbing the mountain and walking for another thirty minutes, they found themselves on a flat area with houses made of mud. This was likely what people pictured whenever they thought of Africa.
The villagers came out, having noticed a group of people approaching their home. At the same time, the Somalis under the special forces’ care ran over to them.
It was quite clamorous.
“Are you satisfied now?” Mike, the Red Cross Worker, asked with a bit of spite.
Kang Chan just grinned back at him.
“Let’s head back down,” he told Seok Kang-Ho.
“Yup.”
As Kang Chan turned the way they came, he heard one of the Somali women shouting at the top of her lungs.
“Surdkad!”
What’s going on?
Kang Chan turned back around.
“Surdkad! Mungala Iniba! Iniba!”
The woman was most definitely shouting at Kang Chan.
Where is that punk when you need him?
Before Kang Chan could even turn his head to search for him, Roberre quickly came over.
“She is saying you are the Surdkad. She wants you to come inside the village,” Roberre explained.
The code name “God of Blackfield” was already good enough for Kang Chan.
Gerard and Seok Kang-Ho watched Kang Chan, who seemed to be in disbelief, with amused expressions. The woman said unintelligible words in quick successions.
“She says you have to see the shaman before you leave,” Roberre interpreted.
Kang Chan sighed in exasperation. “Haah!”
The government officials and the Red Cross workers were standing off to the side, looking as if they hoped Kang Chan would return soon. Was he expected to go visit the shaman in this atmosphere? He had already gone against the UN’s instructions just to get to this point.
“Come up with a nice excuse to say no,” Kang Chan ordered.
While Roberre responded to the woman, Kang Chan turned toward the path they had come from. He heard the noisy sound of horses neighing from behind and the woman repeatedly calling him the “Surdkad,” but he genuinely did not want to meet the shaman.
The trip down the mountain was definitely faster than going up. When they got out of it and reached a place with a clear view of their surroundings in no time, he decided to have his men take a short break.
Thud!
Aside from the six soldiers standing guard, everyone else sank to the ground.
“Is it okay if we smoke?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“Give me one too,” Gerard insisted.
Seok Kang-Ho handed him a cigarette. Gerard then lit it up with a lighter.
Click. Swish!
“Hoo!” Kang Chan exhaled.
“This is a bit strange,” Seok Kang-Ho commented.
“I think so too,” Kang Chan replied.
After exhaling a puff of smoke, Seok Kang-Ho glanced suspiciously back and forth between the Somalis and the government officials.
Receiving a look from Gerard, the army interpreter came over and translated their discussion from Korean to French.
Kang Chan bet this soldier would never join a deployment ever again.
“Don’t you find what the UN is doing strange? They ordered us to ignore the hostages that we saved and sent government officials and Red Cross workers only after you stepped up to rescue them?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“Yeah, definitely, but let’s head back and shower first before thinking about this,” Kang Chan responded.
Gerard nodded in agreement after the army interpreter told him what was being discussed.
“Look at those punks,” Seok Kang-Ho said as he nodded upward toward the government officials and Red Cross workers, who were lingering near the vehicles. “It looks like they’re trying to make sure that we’re going back. It’s not like we’re going to steal anything from this place or something...”
Noticing Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho’s gazes, one of the government officials quickly turned away and spoke to a Red Cross worker. It looked more like he was trying to avoid eye contact than actually having something to say.
“Let’s just head down for now,” Kang Chan said.
“All right,” Seok Kang-Ho replied.
After a few more cigarettes and taking care of their business, they all stood up and started to descend the mountain.
“Mike! We’re going to head back,” Kang Chan informed him.
“I see! You did great!”
Little fucker, putting on a strong facade now that we’re done!
Kang Chan stepped into a Humvee with Park Chul-Su and Seok Kang-Ho. The French team filled one Humvee, and the rest climbed onto the trucks.
Vrooom!
The engines of their vehicles roared as they began to make their way back to base. After about forty minutes on the road, the base finally came into view. The men radioed their arrival before going in.
Creak.
Rambunctious applause greeted them as they stepped out of the vehicles.
Clap, clap, clap, clap! Fheew!
“Good job!”
The Green Berets standing at the entrance even whistled as they welcomed Kang Chan and the others back. The Spetsnaz and the SNS, who were sitting on the bench, looked a bit awkward, but they didn’t show any hostility toward them.
“Gerard, report our return,” Kang Chan ordered.
“Got it.”’
The two teams split up and went back to their respective barracks. The French special forces and the South Korean soldiers cast wistful glances at each other, already missing each other. They had gotten quite close during the single day they had been together.
Ha!
Kang Chan took a shower as soon as he got back.
Swoosh!
When the water washed over him, He finally felt as if he could breathe again.
However, this was Africa. He couldn’t use as much water as he wanted, and he felt bad about taking one of the only two shower stalls that were available to them. Hence, he quickly finished up and got out of. However, the soldiers, who should have been desperately waiting for their turn, were distracted by something else.
“What’s that?” Kang Chan asked curiously.
“They told us there was a shipment from Korea. I went over and got them while you were in the shower,” Seok Kang-Ho answered.
There were two boxes about the size of a desk and ten boxes the size of apple cartons.
“What’s in them?”
“Can I open them?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“Why are you asking me that? Hurry up already.”
The soldiers all rushed forward and opened the packages.
“Huh?” exclaimed one of the soldiers opening a large box. There was another aluminum box inside. When he opened it, he found another styrofoam box.
“Are we just going to get smaller boxes as we open them?” Seok Kang-Ho grumbled.
When the soldier opened the styrofoam box, he finally cheered.
“It’s kimchi!”
“What?”
Seok Kang-Ho was about to peer inside when the soldier raised a pack of kimchi with his two hands to show him.
It was quite the sight to behold.
Like children, the soldiers grew excited every time they opened a box. There were cup noodles, chocolate sweets, instant rice, instant bibimbap, instant black bean noodles, and even the ramyeon that Seok Kang-Ho had been craving so much.
They felt as if they were in a school field trip. One box was completely filled to the brim with nothing but instant coffee.
A soldier opened the box in the middle. He then pulled out a bunch of letters from inside it.
We’re already getting letters? We haven’t even been here that long.
The boxes kept revealing things that Kang Chan couldn’t even imagine they would get.
Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho didn’t have anyone to send them letters anyway, so they started to leave.
“You’re not washing up?” Kang Chan asked.
“I am. Let’s have some kimchi and hot ramyeon once I’m done.”
As Seok Kang-Ho and Park Chul-Su headed inside the bathrooms with towels in hand, Kang Chan pulled out a clean pair of army pants and put them on.
Not long after, one of his men handed him three letters. “They’re letters for you.”
No one knows I’m here, though.
Kang Chan was dumbfounded. In a daze, he took the letters and looked at the envelopes.
The first one was quite colorful. It had “Lee Yoo-Seul” written on it with pencil.
Kang Chan couldn’t help but smile.
Even in his previous life, he had never received a personalized letter like this. He could imagine getting a written death threat but never this kind of letter.
Kang Chan walked out of the barracks with the letters in his hand. He wanted to read them in private.
As he headed over to a bench, he looked at the yellow envelope of the second letter.
‘To my dear son.’
It was from Yoo Hye-Sook.
How was that possible? Not even Yoo Hye-Sook suddenly appearing right in front of him would surprise him as much as this letter did.
There was still one letter left. He moved the second letter to the back to reveal a pink one. The name written on it made him freeze up.
‘Kim Mi-Young.’
It was written in a pretty, girly handwriting.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l