Chapter 161.1: You Dare Try to Avoid It? (2)

Kang Chan called Lanok as soon as he got out of the Samseong-Dong office.

-Mr. Kang Chan.

Lanok’s voice sounded heavy and solemn.

“Mr. Ambassador, do you have time to meet today?” Kang Chan asked.

-Unfortunately, today is a bit difficult for me. I am not in the office, and I do not know when I’ll be done with my schedule. If you’re in a hurry, we can speak over the phone right now.

“It’s not that urgent. If you have time tomorrow, then please call me,” Kang Chan requested.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

-I will.

Everyone around him was so busy.

“Are you meeting the ambassador now, then?” Seok Kang-Ho asked as he looked at the traffic signal ahead, not knowing what Kang Chan just said over the phone since he was speaking in French. He looked as if he was getting ready to whip the car around the instant Kang Chan said yes.

“He said he would call me again tomorrow. He seemed too busy to meet with me at the moment,” Kang Chan replied.

“What are you going to do about dinner?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.

“Let’s head home early today,” Kang Chan suggested.

He didn’t want to eat barbecue again, and he was getting a bit tired of eating out. Kang Chan wanted to head straight home.

“Seems like I’ll be having a barbeque party with my wife for the first time in a long while,” Seok Kang-Ho mused in excitement.

Kang Chan chuckled disbelievingly at the statement. But since meat didn’t make one sick or gave them unhealthy weight gain, he didn’t make any comment about it.

They arrived at the apartment complex at around five in the afternoon. Kang Chan leisurely walked inside his home and changed into something more comfortable.

The past week passed by in a frenzy. He led an operation in France, rescued Lanok from Chinese captivity, and now joined the ongoing task of bringing Huh Ha-Soo to his downfall.

Buzz.?

Kang Chan glanced at his phone screen when it vibrated.

[Thanks for helping us out with the school festival.]

It was a text message from Kim Mi-Young. A smile unknowingly stretched on Kang Chan’s lips.

Should I give her a call right now?

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.?

However, his phone began to go off again immediately after. Thinking it was Kim Mi-Young, Kang Chan picked it up and pressed the call button with a confused tilt of his head.

“Hello?” Kang Chan answered.

-Mr. Kang Chan, are you available to speak over the phone now?

“Yes, sure. What is it?” Kang Chan responded.

What business could Yoo Hun-Woo have that made him call Kang Chan first? Surely it wasn’t to ask Kang Chan for more of his blood, right?

-I just got the results of your test. It showed that there are no abnormalities with you.

“Really? That’s weird,” Kang Chan remarked.

It was really strange. This matter was so peculiar that even Lanok had asked if Kang Chan had requested a biopsy. How could there be nothing out of the ordinary with him?

-Anyway, I called because I thought you might be worried. You should stop by when you get the chance, Mr. Kang Chan. I suppose it’s a good thing that you’re not getting hurt, but I’m sad that our hospital’s profits have fallen so dramatically in your absence.

Damn, this man was also a snake who couldn’t be beaten with words.

After hanging up, Kang Chan thought that the United States’ intelligence agency had probably meddled with his biopsy results somehow. The world was a scary place where every country had certain people that could change biopsy results and even death records if they made up their minds to.

Either way, the moment all the issues related to Huh Ha-Soo were solved, Kang Chan’s immediate problems would go away. Huh Ha-Soo was the Chairperson of the National Assembly, so Kang Chan needed proof that the bastard had worked with China to steal South Korean military secrets. The job didn’t seem too daunting, though, since he had Yang Bum and Xavier on his side too.

‘Son of a bitch. I bet he’s living the life right now, unaware of everything that’s actually going on.’

Kang Chan leaned back in his seat.

***

In a safe house in Hannam-Dong, Hwang Ki-Hyun sat down across from Huh Ha-Soo.

“Please switch out the prime minister tomorrow,” Huh Ha-Soo briskly requested.

“I will make sure to inform the president,” Hwang Ki-Hyun replied.

“If Prime Minister Go Gun-Woo is still in office and hasn’t resigned by tomorrow, let me make it clear right now that China will certainly take action,” Huh Ha-Soo added.

“I understand.”

Huh Ha-Soo scrunched his lips together, showing Hwang Ki-Hyun a displeased frown.

“I heard he never did apologize. There’s really nothing to be gained from that aside from buying some time. The prime minister will be switched out regardless, after all. It would be in your best interest to bring that student to the Chinese embassy and make him sincerely apologize.”

“I will make sure to discuss it with him,” Hwang Ki-Hyun responded.

“Good to hear. Now then, I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll have to take my leave first,” Huh Ha-Soo said coldly.

“I’ll leave with you.”

Huh Ha-Soo stood first, but he didn’t extend a hand toward Hwang Ki-Hyun even as they parted ways.

***

It had been a while since Kang Chan had dinner at home. Knowing Kang Chan would be joining them today, Yoo Hye-Sook bought some pork belly on the way home and had a feast of meat for dinner.

“Make sure you eat a lot, Channy. I haven’t been able to feed you meat these days,” Yoo Hye-Sook said with concern.

“Don’t worry, I make sure to eat properly outside,” Kang Chan replied reassuringly.

“Are you sure? Your face has become so gaunt, honey,” Yoo Hye-Sook chided.

“Listen to your mom, kiddo. Don’t just eat kimbap and other simple foods when you’re outside. Have meat every other day when you can,” Kang Dae-Kyung urged him.

“Got it. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Kang Chan replied.

It didn’t seem like the right occasion to tell them that thanks to Seok Kang-Ho, he was having meat every day and was starting to get sick of it. The table was filled with pork belly straight off the grill, lettuce, perilla leaves, kimchi, and seasoned bean sprouts that Yoo Hye-Sook frequently served as a side dish. This kind of homemade food was unquestionably superior to eating out.

After everyone had their fill, Kang Chan prepared some tea while Yoo Hye-Sook washed the dishes.

“Channy, guess what? I don’t have to go to the office anymore starting next week,” Yoo Hye-Sook said with a pleased expression as she walked out of the kitchen while drying her hands.

“How come?” Kang Chan asked curiously.

“The revenue and expenses are now even, so I only have to go to the office and run things once or twice a month,” Yoo Hye-Sook replied happily.

“Won’t you be bored if you just stay at home?”

“No, not at all,” Yoo Hye-Sook responded lightly with a smile as she glanced around the living room. “I haven’t been as attentive to cleaning or laundry recently as much as I’d like to be. And there’s no need for me to go all the way to the office when I don’t have anything to do anyway. The other employees will take care of things just fine by themselves.”

Yoo Hye-Sook was the boss of her foundation anyway, so if that was what she decided, then there was nothing wrong with it. Kang Chan just nodded supportively.

“How are things going with school, Channy?” Yoo Hye-Sook suddenly asked.

“School?” Kang Chan repeated.

Yoo Hye-Sook looked at Kang Chan with expectant eyes.

“I was just curious about how the special admission process is going. I’m worried that maybe there was a deadline for your application that you might have missed,” Yoo Hye-Sook said contemplatively.

“Oh, that didn’t occur to me. I’ll look into it tomorrow,” Kang Chan replied. To be honest, his education hadn’t crossed his mind one bit. Kang Chan decided to spare some time for it.

After chatting with his parents about random topics for a while, Kang Chan headed to his room. For the first time in so long, he sat down at his desk and turned his computer on. He wanted to see how the reviews of the drama were.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.?

Before his home screen even loaded, his phone began to ring.

‘Who could it be?’

It was a number he didn’t recognize.

“Hello?” Kang Chan answered.

-Mr. Kang Chan. This is Yang Bum.

Yang Bum had urgency in his tone.

“Yes, hello. Is there something you want to talk about?” Kang Chan asked.

-The situation has been completely overturned in my country, and Huh Ha-Soo is likely aware of what’s happening now as well. I have to get to safety for now. I’m calling you because I couldn’t get in touch with Ambassador Lanok.

What in the world was Yang Bum talking about?

-The North Korean special forces team could invade us at any moment, Mr. Kang Chan. I will contact you again later.

The call abruptly ended.

The monitor of his screen was now displaying the wallpaper, waiting for Kang Chan, who was now frozen with his hand on the mouse.

Kang Chan hadn’t gotten any bad feelings while he had been eating a tasty meal of pork belly and worrying about going to college.

Yet for some reason, the North Korean special forces were now about to launch an attack? The hell?

The clock at the corner of his screen showed that it was already twenty-six minutes past nine.

***

Huh Ha-Soo sat across from Huh Sang-Soo and Heo Chang-Seon in the living room of his house in Samcheong-Dong.

“Measures will be taken right away tomorrow if the prime minister hasn’t been replaced. Based on the way they were treating me, it seemed they were not aware of the changes that are taking place in China,” Huh Ha-Soo mused.

“We’ve been concealing the information to the best of our ability,” Heo Chang-Seon replied smartly.

“If we can replace the head of the National Intelligence Service as well, this battle will be a victory for us. What about our guests? When will they arrive?” Huh Ha-Soo asked.

“Their estimated time of arrival is tomorrow morning, sir,” Heo Chang-Seon replied.

“We’ll already be halfway to success even if we can only take the prime minister seat. Leave the country tomorrow and make sure they’re well aware of where we stand,” Huh Ha-Soo commanded his brother.

“Understood,” Huh Sang-Soo replied with a bow as if he was speaking to a superior and not his own family.

“We aren’t acting out of personal greed. This is for the country. The United States is too far, so it’s time for us to turn to China,” Huh Ha-Soo declared.

“I will keep that in mind, sir,” Huh Sang-Soo responded.

“But that doesn’t mean you should pay less attention to them and ruffle their feathers. Always be careful,” Huh Ha-Soo added.