Chapter 74.1: Are you Confident? (2)

Kang Chan went into the house and found his parents in the living room.

“How are you?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked Kang Chan.

Kang Dae-Kyung winked from behind Yoo Hye-Sook.

“I feel a lot better after I took the medicine. I’ll head inside my room for now and sleep.”

“You overworked yourself too much, which is why you’re not feeling well.”

“I guess I really did.”

Kang Chan went into his room and lay in bed. He didn’t have a cold, but it was true that he had overworked himself. He heard people say this and that about the opposition party, something about the position of the Director of the National Intelligence Service, and even about impeaching the President. It felt like he had butted into a mud-slinging, which was worse than people pouncing at him with a filet knife.

“I should sleep. It’s not like things are going to change even if I worry about it,” Kang Chan told himself.

He soon fell asleep, then woke up early in the morning.

Kang Chan remembered Yoo Hun-Woo’s plea to not do immoderate workouts yet, so he skipped working out in the morning. Instead, he adequately washed up and had breakfast. As he was getting ready to go to school, Lanok unexpectedly called him.

“Mr. Ambassador.”

- Mr. Kang Chan, how’s your condition?

“I’ve recovered enough to be able to work out starting next week.”

- I’m glad to hear that.

He could feel that Lanok was relieved.

“When would be a good time to have dinner next week?”

- Mr. Kang Chan.

“Yes, Mr. Ambassador.”

Kang Chan thought that Anne had urged Lanok to quickly set up the dinner appointment, but it seemed like Lanok called him for another reason.

- Can you spare me some of your time for a few days, starting today?

“Pardon?”

Lanok’s sudden request confused Kang Chan.

- There’s somewhere that I want to go with you.

“Understood. Where should I go?”

- I’ll see you at the Namsan Hotel. I’d like to see you at 9:30 am.

“Alright. I'll be there.”

Kang Chan was curious why Lanok wanted to see him after he hung up the phone, but he’d find out in an hour anyway.

‘What should I tell my parents?’

Things got messed up. He used the excuse that he had a cold and whatnot, but he suddenly wasn’t going to be able to come home for a few days again.

Kang Chan wore a shirt and a suit, then went out to the living room.

“Channy! Are you going to the broadcasting station today as well?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked.

“The Ambassador said that he wants to see me and go to the countryside together.”

“You can’t. What do you think you’re doing? You’re sick!”

“I feel fine right now. I find it fun to meet new people while I go out to places with others, too.”

If it was possible, he wanted to alleviate her worries.

“I’ll be back,” Kang Chan continued.

“Alright. He’s going with the Ambassador of France, not just anyone. All of your friends would be jealous if they knew about this,” Kang Dae-Kyung told Yoo Hye-Sook.

“Still.”

“Please don’t worry, mom.”

Kang Chan hugged Yoo Hye-Sook and went out of the apartment with Kang Dae-Kyung.

“What’s going on?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked Kang Chan.

“The French Ambassador really called and asked me to clear out my schedule, and said that he wants to meet at the Namsan Hotel.”

“Should I give you a ride?”

“Won’t you be late?”

“I won’t be.” Kang Dae-Kyung willingly offered to give Kang Chan a ride.

After they drove out of the basement parking lot…

“Going to the hotel like this reminded me of the time when we completed a contract together,” Kang Dae-Kyung seemed to be reminiscing. “Start using the bag I usually take on business trips next time. Take some underwear, socks, and clothes to change into.”

“I’ll do that,” Kang Chan answered.

“Jeez,” Kang Dae-Kyung expressed his feeling bad for Kang Chan like a joke.

“Will you be home by the weekend?” asked Kang Dae-Kyung.

“I should be since I was told that it’ll only take a few days starting today.”

“Make sure to call me if you won’t be able to come, and call your mom from time to time. I often feel bad for her when I see her quickly pacing around with her phone. She acts like that because she’s worried that you could find yourself in a predicament in front of other people.”

“But she can just call me to see how I’m doing.”

“She’s worried that people would look down on you because you’re still a student but you’ll be out working and mingling with your co-workers.”

There wasn’t that much traffic on the way to the hotel, even though it was rush hour.

“I won't forget. I’ll call both of you,” said Kang Chan.

“Alright.”

After Kang Dae-Kyung dropped Kang Chan off at the hotel, he immediately headed to the company.

Kang Chan went to the lobby and ordered tea, then called Seok Kang-Ho and Kim Hyung-Jung in order and explained the situation. Since he could call them anyway on the plane, he decided to contact them right away if there were any changes.

At around 9:20 am, Kang Chan received a call from Lanok.

- Can you come out to the entrance?

“I’ll be right there. I’m at the lobby.”

Kang Chan paid for the tea and stood at the entrance of the hotel. Soon, a black car and a van came toward the hotel at the same time. The car’s backseat window opened, revealing about half of Lanok’s face. Kang Chan immediately got in the back seat.

“I’m sorry for already making you busy so early in the morning. A schedule was created in a rush, so I was also in a very awkward position,” said Lanok.

It seemed like Lanok was having a hard time since his dignity as an Ambassador was being tangled up with the familiarity he felt toward Kang Chan.

“Would Anne be okay?”

“Thanks to you, we got to talk about a lot of things for the first time in a long while. Of course, half of our conversation was about you.”

The car went through the Olympic Expressway, which was used for people to get to work, then went out to the outskirts. The car then immediately went onto the highway.

“Are we going somewhere far?” Kang Chan asked.

“We’re first going to a place called Osan. I’ll explain the specifics when we get there,” Lanok answered while glancing at the two employees that were sitting in the front seats of the car. Kang Chan just accepted his answer.

“I looked into the admission requirements for entering South Korea’s universities. When the second term starts, the national university in France will send the acceptance letter to your school and the Ministry of Education.”

“But the semester hasn’t ended yet?” Kang Chan asked.

“I’m planning on sending an official document in the Ambassador’s name that asks your school to be considerate of you so that you can receive the basic education in France’s cultural center as a full scholarship student. If that happens, then you won’t need to insist on going to school.”

It felt like Kang Chan had received a proper present that was as meaningful as the ‘Unicorn’ project. Lanok playfully glanced toward Kang Chan, then frowned.

“South Korea’s political situation will change rapidly by today or tomorrow,” Lanok continued.

Kang Chan just listened to what he was saying.

The car was going through the highway at a furious pace.

“The biggest reason why I was appointed to South Korea was to secure minimum safety until the next regime comes into power since there was no risk of being shot at or assassinated because firearms were regulated and public security was in place.”

“Will this matter be a problem?” Kang Chan asked.

“My country has contacted me and asked what I thought about returning.”

“I should cling onto you so that you won’t leave.”

“I told them that there were major reasons to fight against China and Russia.”

The car passed through Osan’s toll gate.

“I’m desperate for a cup of tea and a cigar,” Lanok commented.

Kang Chan felt the same way.

After they passed through the toll gate and drove for about fifteen more minutes, they arrived at the airfield in Osan, much to his surprise. The car passed through the checkpoint and stopped in front of the plane parked at the end of the runway.

‘What’s going on?’

Kang Chan turned his gaze toward Lanok. People that were clearly a part of a foreign legion were surrounding the plane.

Ignoring Kang Chan’s gaze, Lanok got out of the car.

The people wore a green beret with the left side slanted downward, military uniform, and boots. They also had a rifle pointed to the ground, its string draped diagonally over their shoulder. Kang Chan got out of the car and looked at them, the feeling of happiness at seeing them, the faint perfume, and the awful memories swiftly resurfaced and struck Kang Chan.

“Let’s board the plane, shall we?” Lanok asked.

Kang Chan didn’t expect he’d be boarding a plane at an airfield he didn’t even know about in Osan. The plane was painted like a military aircraft, but it was clearly a Boeing 737 . Kang Chan was about to go up the ramp, but he hesitated upon looking at the man that stood right at the very front of the plane.

Gérard Gee. The new recruit that had playfully followed Kang Chan around was standing with a look in his eyes that showed he had gone through all sorts of difficulties.

The scar from a knife that cut across his cheek from the corner of his left eye was extremely eye-catching.

You fucking child. Your shoulder is going to break.

As Gérard was looking at him with suspicion, Lanok looked down at Kang Chan from the top of the ramp.

Let’s get on the plane for now.

Kang Chan went up the ramp, and six agents and about ten or so Foreign Legion members went up the plane after him.

Compared to the plane’s dull exterior, its interior was tidy.

Lanok led Kang Chan further into the plane where a large sofa was.

It felt like Kang Chan was being consecutively slapped.

When Kang Chan went inside, Lanok closed the midway door. Rather than being inside a plane, it felt like they were in a suite room in the Namsan Hotel.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

The warning sound went off four times, and the plane immediately began to move. Lanok probably wasn’t saying that they should go to Jeju-do because he was thankful that Kang Chan saved him at the golf club.

“We’ll be able to enjoy tea and cigars after the plane takes off,” Lanok told Kang Chan.

1. The Olympic Expressway or daero is an eight-lane highway located in Seoul, South Korea. The Expressway was created in preparation for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Its purpose was to provide an easier way for foreigners to get to the stadiums. Currently, it’s used frequently as a main route of Seoul.

2. Osan is a city in South Korea

3. A Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing, an aircraft industry company. It was developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, and it’s the most-sold jet airliner in the world. As of November 2022, more than eleven thousand planes have been built

4. Jeju-do is a province of South Korea that’s located on the island of Jeju at the Korea strait. It’s popular as a vacation destination