Chapter 205.1: Do You Really Think He Would Just Sit Still? (2)

“Mr. Kang Chan!” Kim Hyung-Jung exclaimed.

Kang Chan nodded at him and then glanced back at Lee Seung-Ryul.

“This will all be over if I go, won’t it?” Kang Chan asked.

Lee Seung-Ryul was momentarily speechless, unable to imagine in his wildest dreams that Kang Chan would be so confident. Kang Chan’s gaze and attitude were such a force to be reckoned with that he regretted looking down on him for being a high school student.

“Leave us for now. I’ll contact and meet with you in the evening,” Kang Chan ordered.

“You have to go with us now, sir,” Lee Seung-Ryul replied.

‘Damn it, damn it, damn it! I can’t believe that I, the assistant prosecutor-general, spoke formally to a little high school student in front of all the investigators! And to think I did that when he was talking to me using informal speech!’

Kang Chan was turning to Kim Hyung-Jung when he paused and slowly spun back to Lee Seung-Ryul.

“Go while I’m still being nice. I don’t want Manager Kim or the others here to get hurt in the crossfire. Would you rather we take things further?” he threatened.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The faces of the five men standing around Lee Seung-Ryul changed in an instant. They were already prepared to attack him just a moment ago, but Kang Chan’s presence and words seemed to have made them completely forget the concept of surrendering.

Kang Chan looked around and grinned when he saw a familiar face. The pale-faced Choi Jong-Il bowed to him in greeting.

“Are you really coming to the prosecutor’s office?” Lee Seung-Ryul asked.

Kang Chan just gave him another sharp glare instead of replying, preventing him from insisting any further.

“Fine. I’ll believe you for now. Come to the 506th criminal division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office. I’ll be waiting for you there,” Lee Seung-Ryul said.

“All right,” Kang Chan responded.

Lee Seung-Ryul nervously gulped as he returned to his van like a solicitor chased away for trespassing. The operation seemed somewhat doable without Kang Chan around, but the moment he met him, he had no doubt in his mind that he shouldn’t mess with him… at least not at that moment.

After some time, the three vans finally left the area.

Kang Chan and Kim Hyung-Jung walked over to Choi Jong-Il.

“What are you doing here?” Kang Chan asked.

“I flew over from China when I heard the news. First Lieutenant Cha Dong-Gyun is also nearby,” Choi Jong-Il replied.

Kang Chan let out a low sigh.

In all honesty, he was starting to become a little sick of working for South Korea, but seeing Kim Hyung-Jung protecting Kang Dae-Kyung and Choi Jong-Il rushing over from China in a nervous sweat softened his heart again.

Maybe he would feel less wrong about all this if the ones who changed his mind were pretty women. What was so great about tall men with chiseled chins and bullet wounds on their chests and stomachs?

“Let’s get out of here for now,” Kim Hyung-Jung said, his gaze directed at Kang Yoo Motors.

Kang Chan agreed with a silent nod. He wanted to see them. He wanted to see Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook’s smile, but he had to take care of this whole mess with the prosecution first.

“You better go straight to the hospital. I’ll stop by when I find the time,” Kang Chan instructed Choi Jong-Il.

“You don’t have to do that, sir,” Choi Jong-Il insisted.

Kang Chan got in the car that Kim Hyung-Jung pointed to. On the way to Samseong-Dong, he made a phone call. By the time he reached the fifth floor of the building from the underground parking lot, Seok Kang-Ho was already waiting for him. Kang Chan couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.

“Welcome back. How are you feeling?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.

“See for yourself,” Kang Chan jokingly replied when Kim Hyung-Jung came back with cups of coffee in hand.

“Have you had breakfast yet?” Kim Hyung-Jung asked.

“I ate on the plane,” Kang Chan replied.

The three drank a bit of their coffee.

“It’s as you saw, Mr. Kang Chan. If they were to execute the warrant, we were planning to immediately arrest Prosecutor-General Kim Seong-woong and everyone he sent to the site,” Kim Hyung-Jung explained.

“But those people are innocent, aren’t they?” Kang Chan asked.

“They are well aware that your father is innocent as well. This is a planned investigation aimed at saving Chairperson Huh Ha-Soo, not a legitimate one,” Kim Hyung-Jung replied.

Kang Chan took another sip of his coffee, feeling a bit of momentary relief. Getting to prevent Kang Dae-Kyung from being arrested lifted some weight off his shoulders.

“I’ll go to the prosecutor’s office this afternoon,” Kang Chan said.

“Pardon?” Kim Hyung-Jung asked in surprise.

“If I’m guilty, I should face the consequences. There are only two things I think I can be implicated with: Park Ki-Bum from the parking lot gang and Sharlan. Is there anything else I should be worried about?”

“Kim Seon-Il is claiming that he was robbed of the company during the DI takeover process. You are also being accused of threatening Sharlan to take the Gong Te automobile sales rights contract, which should have allegedly gone to Suh Jeong Motors,”

“But Sharlan’s alive, isn’t he?” Seok Kang-Ho asked, confusion evident in his voice.

Kang Chan nodded in response.

“They can’t charge you for killing Sharlan if we bring that bastard with us. I’ll meet with the parking lot gang’s Park Ki-Bum or something to take care of that as well,” Seok Kang-Ho suggested.

“Now that Mr. Kang Chan has returned, we can handle that matter ourselves. Most of these cases can be ruled as self-defense anyway, so we probably won’t have any problems with the others,” Kim Hyung-Jung said with confidence.

“Can I meet with Oh Gwang-Taek?” Kang Chan asked.

Kim Hyung-Jung made a thoughtful, concerned expression for a moment before finally agreeing to it.

“I’ll look into it. The prosecution seems to have given up on linking everyone together as members of a single criminal organization, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to meet him now,” he replied. He then ran his finger down the list of phone numbers attached to his desk.

***

Unlike often seen in movies or dramas, the desk in the glass booth, which would be used for Kang Chan and Oh Gwang-Taek’s meeting, was normally used for lawyer consultations, so there was no glass separating the two sides.

Click.

The door opened, and Oh Gwang-Taek stepped in, followed by two prison guards.

A wry laugh escaped Kang Chan.

Oh Gwang-Taek entered the booth and sat across from Kang Chan. The prison guards sat down next to him, ready to take visitation notes.

Oh Gwang-Taek awkwardly smiled at Kang Chan.

“These guys are already accusing us of being in the same gang. Why did you bother coming? Go and study, kiddo,” Oh Gwang-Taek said. He behaved as if he wanted the records to show that they didn’t know each other.

“Enough with the nonsense. What happened?” Kang Chan asked.

Oh Gwang-Taek glanced at the prison guard. It was written in his visitation notes that he just asked Kang Chan how he was doing and if he had eaten lunch. The rest of the record was just small talk.

“We made some arrangements, so don’t have to worry about what you say,” Kang Chan explained. Only then did Oh Gwang-Taek look relieved.

“I think I was set up. I knew something was off from the beginning. Have you ever seen normal civilians carrying weapons around? The prosecution said the weapons were already at the restaurant, but do you think it makes sense that that tiny restaurant had five sashimi knives laying around?”

Kang Chan just listened silently.

“I’m fine, but Do-Seok isn’t doing too well. It’s fine if you can’t help me, but at least have his trial held in the hospital,” Oh Gwang-Taek requested.

“What about you? Is there anything you need?”

“Other than women and fine delicacies, I can have anything I want in here, so don’t worry about me and just focus on yourself. Be careful, alright? Considering you can visit me freely, I bet you’re doing fine, at least.”

“I’ve told them that I would go to the prosecutor’s office tonight.”

“What? You idiot! Why would you say that? You should at least wait until my sentence is confirmed before getting yourself locked up!” Oh Gwang-Taek exclaimed.

“I’ll take care of it,” Kang Chan reassured him.

“Are you really going to be alright?” Oh Gwang-Taek asked, concern written all over his face.

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it,” Kang Chan affirmed.

Oh Gwang-Taek nodded.

“I realized a lot of things with this incident. No matter how gentlemanly and serious you act, they will always think of gangsters as gangsters. The government will always have a reason to put us behind bars. Can’t blame them, though, since that’s how I’ve lived until now. Whew! After this is over, let’s just pretend like we don’t know each other,”

Seeing Kang Chan grin, Oh Gwang-Taek frowned. “I’m being serious, and you’re just smiling like a fucking jerk?”

“When you get out this time, prepare to mend your ways and live a better life.”

“Why? Did you get a casino license or something?” Oh Gwang-Taek joked.

“You idiot.” Kang Chan shook his head.

The two shared a laugh.

“I’m fine. I don’t care what happens to me. Just take care of Do-Seok and Chul-Bum,” Oh Gwang-Taek requested, his tone becoming serious again.

“That’s new. A gangster pretending to act honorable?” Kang Chan joked this time.

As the two chuckled, the prison guard stood up and informed them their time was up. His notes were filled with a bunch more small talk.

“You sure you don’t need anything?” Kang Chan asked one last time.

“Just go! If you want, you can come by my room and take some smoked chicken,” Oh Gwang-Taek offered.

“You have chicken?” Kang Chan asked in disbelief.

“I have fried sausages, peanuts, bread, chips—everything. So don’t worry about me and take care of the men.”

They spoke to each other across the table while standing up. The prison guard didn’t rush them.

“Oh Gwang-Taek.”

“What?” Oh Gwang-Taek tilted his head when he saw Kang Chan’s serious expression. It had only been a couple of months at most since they last met, but Kang Chan already seemed like an entirely different person.

“Give it some thought while you’re in there. If you really want to stop being a gangster, I’ll find an opportunity for you.”

“Are you being serious?” Oh Gwang-Taek asked.

Kang Chan just nodded, but for Oh Gwang-Taek, that was more believable than a verbal agreement.