Chapter 178.1: No different from back then (1)

“This is pretty much no different from back in Africa,” Seok Kang-Ho murmured under his breath as he drove with one hand on the wheel. Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho were currently on their way back to Seoul.

“The men looked like they softened up a bit after seeing you earlier, Cap. I feel sorry for them, but I can’t help but feel proud of them at the same time,” Seok Kang-Ho added.

“Why would you be proud of them?” Kang Chan asked, unable to understand what Seok Kang-Ho meant.

“Well, why else would they be out training for mountain warfare? They were doing what they thought would help them avenge General Choi, weren’t they?“ Seok Kang-Ho reasoned.

That’s a good point. It does make sense.?

Kang Chan put his cigarette in his mouth.

“There’s a resting area for drivers coming just up ahead. Let’s stop over and get some coffee,” Seok Kang-Ho suggested.

“I don’t see why not.”

At the very least, it would mean that he wouldn’t have to smoke a cigarette inside the car. Just like Seok Kang-Ho said, they soon reached the resting area. Seok Kang-Ho parked the car in the parking lot.

“Do you want anything else besides coffee?” Seok Kang-Ho confirmed.

Kang Chan shook his head in response. He then headed toward a bench that was in a secluded area.

The season was transitioning to a new one, so it was already starting to feel cold in the evenings.

Seok Kang-Ho came walking over a while later. He took longer than Kang Chan expected.

“I brought some hodu-gwaja too. Here’s the coffee,” Seok Kang-Ho said as if to explain why he took so long.

“You went to the bathroom, didn’t you?” Kang Chan asked out of suspicion.

“Why do you think so, Cap?” Seok Kang-Ho sounded a little hesitant.

“Did you even wash your hands?”

“

Tsk, tsk

! How can you say that when you used to live in Africa?” Seok Kang-Ho replied defensively.

Ugh! This disgusting bastard!

Although he had some complaints, Kang Chan still took a piece of the hodu-gwaja from inside the paper bag that Seok Kang-Ho ripped open wide. It was already dark outside. Insects could be seen occasionally flying under the lights illuminating the resting area.

After eating some hodu-gwaja and drinking coffee, Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho began smoking.

“Damn, I’ve experienced so many events that keep me on my toes in this lifetime!” Seok Kang-Ho grumbled as he put his cigarette in his mouth. Despite what he said, though, he didn’t seem to hate the life he had right now.

From the seats next to them, people chattered about how South Korea should never forgive China for what it did. They probably heard the news about China’s decision to proceed with Huh Sang-Soo’s execution.

Unaffected, Kang Chan flicked the ash from his cigarette and put it next to a large ashtray. “Let’s go.”

“Whatever you say, Cap,” Seok Kang-Ho agreed.

Could one of Wui Min-Gook’s men be following me??

Kang Chan subtly scanned his surroundings on the way back to the car.

“What’s wrong? Is there something here?” Seok Kang-Ho asked out of curiosity as he adjusted his seatbelt in the driver’s seat. He glanced outside the window.

“I was just checking to see if anyone’s tailing us,” Kang Chan replied.

“Who? Wui Min-Gook? There’s no way we would get that lucky,” Seok Kang-Ho responded with a grin.

“Why would we be getting lucky if someone’s following us?”

“If we can catch them, then we’ll get the opportunity to capture everyone else!” Seok Kang-Ho mused.

Seok Kang-Ho peered around their surroundings again as they hit the road.

“Hey! Just focus on the road ahead!” Kang Chan exclaimed in disbelief.

“I know there’s no need to feel this way, but this seems like a wasted opportunity,” Seok Kang-Ho remarked disgruntledly.

They didn’t run into any issues even as they exited the highway and reached the hotel. They arrived at around ten in the evening.

Kang Chan greeted Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook for a little while before returning to the room that Seok Kang-Ho was in. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.

***

Wednesday morning.

Kang Chan ate breakfast with Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook and spent some time with them for a while.

“Are you heading to the fitness center now?” Kang Chan asked the two.

“Yup. Want to come with us?” Kang Dae-Kyung responded.

Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook seemed to have somewhat gotten used to the hotel life by now.

“Actually, starting today, I’ll probably be staying in Jeungpyeong for a few days,” Kang Chan said.

“In Jeungpyeong?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked, feeling quite surprised.

“Yes. There’s something that I want to confirm first before we can return home.”

Kang Dae-Kyung seemed to think that Kang Chan wasn’t giving them the whole truth.

“Are you okay? Is something going on?”

“Of course not. Everything is fine,” Kang Chan replied, reassuring them.

Just like that, in the span of a few seconds, assassinating North Korea’s defense minister was reduced to an unimportant feat. Still, as Kang Chan replied to Kang Dae-Kyung’s question, he couldn’t help but think that what he was about to do was nothing short of pure madness.

“Will you be leaving soon?”

“Not really. I’ll probably stay for a little while before I leave, so you don’t have to wait up for me. Go ahead and work out, Father. That would help me leave with a lighter heart as well,” Kang Chan reassured him again.

As he always did in these situations, Kang Dae-Kyung looked like he was struggling to come to terms with what his son did.

“Be careful with whatever you’ll be up to,” Kang Dae-Kyung said worriedly.

“Channy, we can take our time going back home, so don’t overdo it, okay?” Yoo Hye-Sook urged.

“I won’t, Mother,” Kang Chan replied.

As Kang Chan’s parents stepped out into the hallway, where the agents were standing, Yoo Hye-Sook kept looking back at her son.

Kang Chan wished they could stop going on operations. In France too, he felt sick of having to constantly leave on missions. Unfortunately, he ended up having to go on another one anyway.

These kinds of things would repeat endlessly if one never stood their ground against the bastards who punched them. Moreover, if it kept happening long enough, even if one did try to rebel, the bastards would just think it was abnormal for them to fight back.

I’ll put an end to all of this now.

Through this opportunity, Kang Chan would brutally and surely show his enemies what would happen if anybody dared touch his people.

When the doors of the elevator that Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook were in finally closed, Kang Chan headed into the room where Seok Kang-Ho was.

Click.?

“Come on in, Cap,” Seok Kang-Ho greeted.

As soon as Kang Chan stepped inside, he found Kim Hyung-Jung standing up to greet him.

“Hi. When did you arrive, Manager Kim?” Kang Chan addressed with a friendly tone.

“About an hour ago,” Kim Hyung-Jung responded.

“You should’ve called when you got here. I would have come sooner,” Kang Chan said as he sat down on a chair near the sofa.

“Well, I was planning on waiting until it was time for lunch, at least.”

A wide map had been spread out on the table in front of the sofa.

“Here. Have some coffee,” Seok Kang-Ho offered.

Kang Chan took a sip from the cup that Seok Kang-Ho gave him. The trio also leisurely enjoyed some cigarettes. Kang Chan felt as if he could relax a little since Jeon Dae-Geuk and Hwang Ki-Hyun weren’t with them.

“Take a look at this,” Kim Hyung-Jung said, broaching the subject. He pointed at a location that was on the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula. “There are a total of three routes that we can take to infiltrate into enemy territory. To start with, there’s this route through the ocean. It goes through Goseong in Gangwon Province and leads to Tongchon County. Next is a route that starts directly from here in Gyodong, the west coast, straight to Nampo. Lastly, we have a route through China. It crosses the Yalu River and enters Chosan County through here.”

He moved his finger on the map accordingly as he elaborated on each route.

“The most viable plan is this route that leads to Tongchon County over the sea from Goseong. Jang Gwang-Taek is known to stay mainly in Sinpyeong County, and Tongchon County is just a hundred kilometers in a straight line from Sinpyeong,” Kim Hyung-Jung added as he drew a long line.

“These are all mountainous regions, aren’t they?” Kang Chan questioned.

“Well, in reality, you’ll be going around when you’re traveling there, so it’ll be more like a hundred sixty to a hundred seventy kilometers. You won’t be able to walk along the road anyway, so the hundred kilometer doesn’t matter,” Kim Hyung-Jung mused.

One hundred kilometers was typically about a day’s walk for an adult—but that didn’t take sleep, meals, or rest into calculation. One could cover approximately a hundred km in twenty-four hours if they walked at a consistent pace. However, the mountainous area that was shown on the map would take even the best-trained soldiers at least two days to traverse.

“As we planned yesterday, we intend to infiltrate tonight at high tide. If the operation fails, we will regroup in Yangsan within two weeks. Those who manage to survive until then will decide whether the soldiers who failed to regroup with them are alive or dead based on their individual abilities,” Kim Hyung-Jung added.

Kang Chan kept scanning the map even after Kim Hyung-Jung was done with his explanation.

“You will be provided with radios. We will make broadcasts twice a day, specifically at eight twenty-seven in the morning and evening. The codes will be translated and relayed to you by our agents,” Kim Hyung-Jung continued.

“What time do we leave?” Kang Chan asked.

“You’re scheduled to depart from Goseong at twenty-three hundred thirty hours,” Kim Hyung-Jung replied.

“What time should we leave Seoul, then?” Kang Chan asked this time.

“You should arrive on time if you depart from the hotel at three in the afternoon and join the agents in Chuncheon,” Kim Hyung-Jung answered.

Seok Kang-Ho nodded in response.