Chapter 324: Do You Think I'll Lose? (1)

Moon Jae-Hyun looked haggard.

“At the very least, we need to protect the National Intelligence Service. If we can’t control the news reports right now, then everything will go down the drain,” Moon Jae-Hyun said.

Go Gun-Woo, who was sitting across from Moon Jae-Hyun, looked grim.

Go Gun-Woo was currently filling the seat of the Director of the National Intelligence Service. However, the position was too much for him to take on since he didn’t have expertise in the military and Intelligence fields.

Moon Jae-Hyun continued, “We need someone who can protect the Samseong-dong branch and Assistant Director Kang Chan. Take charge of the National Intelligence Service until the factory in Mongolia is built and the construction of the energy facility starts in Goseong.”

Go Gun-Woo couldn’t think of anyone to recommend for the role either.

If people found out that they had sent their troops overseas—no, if they were to learn that special forces soldiers had been sent to Mongolia on vacation leave, the political situation would become difficult to handle.

People were going to find out about it someday, but they couldn’t afford to let that happen now.

“Yes, sir,” Go Gun-Woo said with difficulty. He looked at Moon Jae-Hyun, who was smiling plaintively. “I shouldn’t have quit smoking.”

“We’re thinking of going with Manager Kim’s plan and bringing over the captives from Mongolia tomorrow. Let’s use this opportunity to make an official announcement as well. I don’t know about anything else, but please do your best to catch the culprit behind the recent terrorist attack.”

“I will,” Go Gun-Woo answered.

***

Thwup thwup thwup thwup thwup.

One after another, helicopters landed in front of the base. Four men then hopped off of one of them and walked over to Joo Chul-Bum and the DMZ team standing guard.

“We’re the Foreign Affairs division of the National Intelligence Service,” one of them greeted.

Kim Tae-Jin checked their ID, then nodded at Kang Chul-Gyu.

“Kang sunbae-nim,” the agent, who looked to be in his mid-forties, called as he took off his sunglasses.

Kang Chul-Gyu cocked his head. “Hwang Ha-Ryeong?”

“That’s right, sunbae-nim! I’m glad you remember me.”

Hwang Ha-Ryeong delightedly held out his hand, and Kang Chul-Gyu politely shook it.

“Ha-Ryeong, Kim Tae-Jin. Tae-Jin joined us right after you moved divisions,” Kang Chul-Gyu said.

The two greeted each other.

Kang Chul-Gyu then held up his hand and called Nam Il-Gyu and Yang Dong-Sik.

Clunk. Clunk.

The two hurriedly walked over to them. Upon seeing Hwang Ha-Ryeong, their eyes filled up with surprise.

“Hey! Are you...? Ha-Ryeong, is that you? Hwang Ha-Ryeong?” Yang Dong-Sik asked.

“Sunbae-nim! I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Hey, you fu—”

Examining Kang Chul-Gyu’s mood, Yang Dong-Sik cut himself off.

“What brings you here, though?” he asked instead.

“I was sent to pick up the captives. I’m with the NIS Foreign Affairs division.”

“

Woah

! Glad we’re all alive and well enough to meet again!”

“On my way here, I was told that you were the ones stationed in this base. Even though we’re part of the same company, we don’t really get told about who’s in which team of other divisions. The list of names for the person in charge and the administrator had a familiar name, so I started to wonder if it really was you guys—”

“Wait! Are you leaving immediately?” Yang Dong-Sik asked.

“Yes.”

It seemed difficult to drag out their meeting, considering the captives tied up in ropes and handcuffs were already being brought to the helicopters.

“Why not have coffee with us before you go, at least? I’ll bring you one. It won’t take long,” Yang Dong-Sik said, then ran toward the barrack without giving anyone time to stop him.

Hwang Ha-Ryeong smiled. “Yang sunbae hasn’t changed one bit.”

Watching Yang Dong-Sik run off, Nam Il-Gyu smiled.

“The equipment and the construction workers will arrive tomorrow. They’ll have Chinese and Mongolian technicians and probably foreign intelligence bureau agents among them. Anyway, things have taken an unusual turn. People are even saying that Japan is getting ready to change their stance even if it means their entire cabinet has to resign,” Hwang Ha-Ryeong said.

One after another, the captives got on the aircraft.

Kim Tae-Jin was the only person who fully understood why Japan would go so far just to change its stance. However, even Kang Chul-Gyu and Nam Il-Gyu could tell that trouble was brewing.

***

Kang Chan called over and had dinner with Seok Kang-Ho, Choi Jong-Il, Woo Hee-Seung, and Lee Doo-Bum.

Their dinner required a lot of patience because Gérard wanted to order their food by himself. He even asked Kang Chan to not step in.

Even Kang Chan couldn’t understand what he was saying in Korean, but at the very least, he tried his best.

Damn it. Even if we had to catch the pig ourselves, we could’ve still grilled the pork belly quicker than this.

Because Gérard had ordered food with difficulty, they needed to eat quickly.

Even if the others wanted to eat more, they likely would’ve just ignored their hunger so that Gérard wouldn’t have to keep ordering. It was quite frustrating for everyone to watch even the restaurant owner ask, “You don’t speak English?” several times.

Kang Chan felt frustrated and sorry for the ones with them since all they could really do was watch.

Afterward, Gérard suggested that they should go to a specialty coffee shop. However, Kang Chan rejected the idea with the excuse that they didn’t have instant coffee there.

Just imagining Gérard repeatedly saying, “You don’t have this here? What about this?” in awkward Korean made Kang Chan shudder.

Kang Chan, Seok Kang-Ho, and Choi Jong-Il realized once more how relaxing it was to be able to have a cup of coffee in the office. They were genuinely grateful.

The door to the office soon opened, and Kim Hyung-Jung entered.

“Have you had dinner?” Kang Chan asked.

“I had a simple meal.”

Kim Hyung-Jung looked so exhausted that people were beginning to wonder if they should just hit him on the back of his head to make him faint just so he’d be able to get some sleep.

“Did you order the 606’s Special Operations Unit to shoot someone to death?” Kim Hyung-Jung asked.

“Yes. I decided to detain Romain at the embassy for three days. I ordered them to shoot him on sight if he went outside.”

“Who’s Romain?”

“The DGSE Director-General.”

Kim Hyung-Jung looked so surprised that Kang Chan thought that if the news had been a little more shocking, Kim Hyung-Jung would’ve fainted.

Seok Kang-Ho, who was next to them, let out his signature laughter. Only then did Kim Hyung-Jung manage to pull himself together.

“Can you detain him? Are you sure this is alright?” Kim Hyung-Jung asked.

“It should be. I issued the order with the ambassador present. I also did it to confirm something.

Oh

, right! Have you found the organization or the commander behind the terrorist attack yet?”

“The NIS Foreign Affairs division is currently reinvestigating the list of people who entered South Korea. There are a hundred and ten thousand people. We believe that the terrorists used fake IDs, but we haven’t even found any evidence that would help further the investigation—not even passports, hotel check-ins, or credit cards,” Kim Hyung-Jung answered with an angry expression. “The entire National Intelligence Service is on this matter. Since we lost both Director Hwang Ki-Hyun and Director Song Chang-Wook, they’re working with the determination to catch the culprit and take revenge. That’s why I believe we’ll get results soon.”

Kim Hyung-Jung looked terrifying. It was as if the anger that he had been suppressing until now had finally exploded amid his report.

“Manager Kim, after meeting Abibu, I’m thinking of looking around China and Russia. If needed, I’ll do the same in Germany and the UK. There might be a way to find the culprit if I discuss it with the representatives of those countries’ intelligence bureaus,” Kang Chan said.

“Alright. Anything I can do to help?”

“Can you get me a flight to those countries?”

“We can borrow a private plane.”

Kang Chan nodded. “I’ll let you know when I’ll need the plane once I’ve planned out my schedule. You can stop people from wiretapping us on that plane, right?”

“Yes. You just have to bring the equipment that you’ve seen at the hotel.”

That should be enough.

After a brief silence, Kim Hyung-Jung said, “Mr. Kang Chan, Prime Minister Go Gun-Woo is filling in the role of the NIS Director. He’s wondering if you can go with him when he visits North Korea.”

“Why would he want that?”

“He believes you’ll be able to determine the exact situation if you go with him. We also can’t ignore the risk of war even though we can’t see it happening.”

Kang Chan thought of Go Gun-Woo for a moment. If Go Gun-Woo believed this to be a wise decision, then Kang Chan had to respect his wishes.

“I’ll plan my schedule accordingly. Have we decided on a date for our visit to North Korea?” he asked.

“It has been indefinitely postponed because of the recent terrorist attacks, so please feel free to choose a date that works for you.”

“Then I’d like to do it after I’ve gone to the countries I mentioned earlier. We should determine what exactly is going on with the other nations before we go to North Korea.”

“Understood.”

They were pressed for time.

They had to catch the culprit behind the terrorist attacks and eliminate the risk of war. To make matters worse, day after day, France mentioned Kang Chan by raising questions about Lanok’s past actions.

“When the captives from Mongolia arrive tomorrow, we plan to announce them as accomplices to the terrorists in South Korea. We’ll have a bit more leeway if we turn the media’s attention to that matter,” Kim Hyung-Jung said.

To Kang Chan, it only sounded as if Kim Hyung-Jung was saying that they would cover up the articles about Kang Chan using this matter.

Kim Hyung-Jung added, “Abibu could think of the announcement as a diplomatic discourtesy, but they won’t be able to blatantly protest about it since it’s going to be attributed to the terrorist attacks.”

A diplomatic discourtesy?

Kang Chan just remained quiet.

There was supposedly no connection between the terrorist attacks in South Korea and the captives coming in from Mongolia. However, based on what he had heard, Abibu clearly had a hand in both matters.

How can this be a diplomatic discourtesy to that son of a bitch!

After discussing a few more things with Kang Chan, Kim Hyung-Jung left the office. He didn’t even have the time to take a breather.

“Isn’t he working too hard? He’ll faint at this rate,” Seok Kang-Ho asked.

He worriedly looked at the entrance, then at the room inside the office.

“Anyway, what is that fucker even doing inside that room?” Grumbling, Seok Kang-Ho turned to Kang Chan again and took a sip of his coffee. “Well, having him deal with those guys is actually making things much more comfortable for us.”

Kang Chan just nodded in response.

The foreign intelligence bureau agents, who were all now working in the room further into the office, knew how to speak French. Hence, when Gérard joined them, he began acting like he was in his element.

Even Kang Chan found it fascinating.

I can’t believe they can look into an area they want to see in real-time without leaving their office tables!

Gérard examined the areas in Africa where the Foreign Legion was stationed. Afterward, he widened his scope and gathered information related to the terrorist attacks, making him look as if he had been working as an intelligence bureau agent for quite some time now.

For as long as he wasn’t practicing his Korean, he was quite a decent guy.

***

The president himself made the government’s first official announcement since the terrorist attacks.

Since all of the TV channels were broadcasting live at the site, filling it with reporters waiting for the announcement to begin, people couldn’t watch anything else.

[Today, the government will officially announce its position regarding the first terrorist attack in South Korea ever since the Gimpo International Airport Bombing incident in 1986

[1]

and the attack in the Presentation Hall during the presentation for the Eurasian Rail.] a reporter explained to their viewers while the screen was showing the presentation hall.

[The world’s most prominent press and news broadcasts have sent their reporters over to broadcast this event back to their respective countries. We expect today’s announcement to be a warning about the organization that led the terrorist attacks and a declaration of the government’s determination to take them down.

Ah

! President Moon Jae-Hyun is entering the hall right now.]

Camera flashes filled the room until Moon Jae-Hyun reached the podium and looked up.

He began, [To our honorable citizens of South Korea and the domestic and foreign journalists present today...]

Loud camera shutters continued.

The screens now showed a TV camera that had the logo of a foreign broadcasting company.

[It is to my greatest sorrow that I announce the tragedy that has befallen us. The Director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service and the Director of the Energy Resource Department[2] have unfortunately lost their lives to suicide bombings. Those two great men sacrificed themselves for our country. May they rest in peace along with the agents who died protecting them.]

The loud camera flashes momentarily stopped Moon Jae-Hyun.

[Moreover, at the same time as the terrorist attacks, our enemies also tried to raid our resource base in Mongolia, an act of aggression that could be seen as a declaration of war.]

The murmurs grew as loud as the camera flashes.

[They sent a total of three hundred one men to our base in Mongolia. Two hundred forty-nine were killed in combat, while six succumbed to their wounds while they were being transported to our nation. Finally, the remaining forty-six were taken in as captives. We moved them to South Korea in secret last night.]

Moon Jae-Hyun’s announcement was so shocking that even the number of camera flashes decreased. The people watching the announcement on TV looked at each other, wondering if what they had just heard was correct.

[President Oh Gwang-Taek, who commanded the base in Mongolia as its field manager, and three other wounded agents have been brought back to South Korea and are currently being treated in a hospital. On behalf of all of South Korea, I would like to express my endless gratitude toward him.]

Camera flashes brightened up the room again.

The masses didn’t expect that there would be so many surprising announcements.

[For invading our sovereignty and territory, the South Korean government considers the recent terrorist attacks in South Korea and Mongolia as an act of war.]

Even the viewers could feel the suffocating nervousness permeating the presentation hall now.

[From this day forth, South Korea considers the organization or country behind the terrorist attacks as an enemy. If they do not take actions that South Korea and our citizens can accept, we will retaliate against them ourselves,] Moon Jae-Hyun concluded while glaring straight at the camera.

Right after, the reporters held up their hands and requested permission to ask questions like crazy.

***

Although war hadn’t broken out yet, South Korea had already taken more than forty captives from the raid on South Korea’s base in Mongolia.

The newscasters looked as if they had lost their minds due to the president’s announcement.

As Kim Hyung-Jung had planned, the news brought everyone’s focus to Mongolia. However, as a result, people also ended up focusing on Oh Gwang-Taek, who used to be a gang leader but was now the hero who protected one of South Korea’s bases.

Anyone with their TVs on would see Oh Gwang-Taek’s face or hear his name at least once every ten minutes.

The photo that the National Intelligence Service had given the press played a part in drawing people’s attention. It showed him in a light gray military uniform and a Taegukgi on his left forearm. His rifle was pointed downward.

After talking to Ludwig on the phone, Kang Chan decided to meet Vasili and Yang Bum.

***

Due to the suicide bombing in Seoul and France’s reports about Lanok, Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook had been living as if they were locked up in their house. Even though the news hadn’t mentioned a name, suspicions that hinted toward Kang Chan’s involvement also kept being released.

Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook had handed over their company and foundation to other people and asked their employees to complete their remaining tasks. They had also turned their phones off.

- My goodness, Hye-Sook! This must be upsetting you. Is there anything we can do?

Some of the calls that they had received were from people who were genuinely worried about them. However, a lot were from people who only wanted to sneer at them. They said things like, “Serves you right for acting out so much! You did this to yourselves!”

Although they finally had some spare time for the first time in a while, they were afraid of turning on the TV.

The two couldn’t even bring themselves to search anything on the internet. If they had to contact someone urgently, they made Assistant Manager Kim and Cha Min-Jeong, who stayed a floor above and below them, do it for them.

Kang Chan hadn’t been able to come home for the past few days.

As usual, Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook had breakfast and headed to the circular table in their yard with their tea. Whenever they were bored, they’d often stare at the river until lunch. They also read books.

After lunch, Assistant Manager Kim and Cha Min-Jeong suggested playing badminton. Hence, the four played together. Honestly, having them around made the married couple’s daily lives much more fun.

In truth, the two wanted to go out to supermarkets, department stores, and cinemas. Every now and then, they’d also find themselves hoping they could walk out of their house and go to a small curry restaurant to have cheap food.

The agents weren’t going to stop them from doing all of that if they insisted on going.

However, considering South Korea had just suffered a terrorist attack not too long ago, they couldn’t just drag multiple agents out of the house with them to have jjajangmyeon or curry with rice.

“Should we go abroad?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked.

Yoo Hye-Sook blankly blinked. “Abroad?”

“Now that we’re not managing any companies, we’ve got a lot of spare time. You wanted to go on a trip to Europe anyway, didn’t you? Going abroad should make it much easier for the agents to do their jobs as well.”

Yoo Hye-Sook turned to the river. “I’m not sure about that.”

***

The large office seemed to be getting smaller and smaller.

As if it was a dorm, the foreign agents supporting South Korea had taken up three rooms. Choi Jong-Il, Woo Hee-Seung, and Lee Doo-Bum stayed in the office as well.

Moreover, temporary beds had also been set up for Kang Chan, Seok Kang-Ho, and Gérard. Even Kim Hyung-Jung slept on the sofa in the meeting room every now and then.

They had cereal and toast for breakfast.

Wearing comfortable clothing, Kang Chan sat down at the round table next to the window, which was where he always sat.

“Why don’t you go home?” Seok Kang-Ho asked as he put a mug of coffee in front of Kang Chan.

“I want to,” Kang Chan genuinely answered.

Although they were staying in an office, he had been living like a soldier in the field army. He even received a lot of phone calls every day.

“How do you feel?” Kang Chan asked.

“Like I’m at the Foreign Legion. We’ve got you, Gérard, and the eight guys from abroad in the adjacent rooms. Jong-Il’s subordinates are also here.”

Smirking, Kang Chan drank his coffee. He felt the same way as Seok Kang-Ho.

“You should get changed soon,” Seok Kang-Ho commented.

“Already?”

“Don’t you have to go to the Park Hotel in Samseong-dong at ten today?”

“Yes,” Kang Chan replied.

“It’s already nine.”

Kang Chan nodded.

“Stay here. I’ll bring your clothes out,” Seok Kang-Ho said.

As he went into a room, Gérard came out and walked over to Kang Chan. It was as if they were on shifts.

“Captain,” Gérard called Kang Chan in Korean.

“What?”

“Dou want to smoke a cigarette?”

Kang Chan didn’t know who was teaching Gérard Korean, but he was definitely going to die from lung disease before Gérard became fluent in it.

“Sit over here,” Kang Chan said.

“Alright.”

However, he was at least learning quite fast.

Perhaps it was because foreigners shamelessly continued to speak other languages even if they made a mistake, but they were quick to pick other languages up.

Chk chk.

The two smoked a cigarette each.

“Found anything? No, what are you even looking for?” Kang Chan asked.

“I’m looking into the materials we were given. I didn’t discover much since the materials are pretty limited, but I was hoping to discuss them with you later,” Gérard responded in French. “I feel like things are somehow related to each other. Sergey Gee stole the nuclear warhead from Russia, didn’t he?”

He moved the cigarette that was on the table to the middle as if it were the nuclear warhead.

“Russia had been watching this situation play out, but then...” Gérard trailed off. He put the lighter next to the cigarette. “Gabriel looked like me after the three of them died.”

Slide.

Gérard put the mug next to the cigarette.

“The problem is that the nuclear warhead could land in South Korea, which is already occupied with the risk of war breaking out in the Korean Peninsula.”

“So?”

Did Gérard figure something out? Is he finally getting something done?

“Won’t Gabriel and the Star of David be the bridge between everything?” Gérard asked.

“Everyone already knows that.”

“They do?”

Shaking his head, Kang Chan extinguished his cigarette. He knew better than to expect a lot from Gérard and Seok Kang-Ho, but they kept fooling him.

Just as Kang Chan finished his coffee, Kim Hyung-Jung entered the office. For the first time in so long, he looked tidy.

“Good morning. Want some tea?” Kang Chan asked.

“What time is it...?” Kim Hyung-Jung trailed off and checked his watch. He then sat down. “I should have time for a quick drink. I’ll have to leave right after, though.”

As Seok Kang-Ho walked out with Kang Chan’s clothes, Gérard headed to the data analysis room.

“Abibu had a breakfast meeting with the opposition party’s members who are part of the assembly. They’re having tea as we speak. Chairman Kim Kwan-Sik decided to join us at the hotel lobby,” Kim Hyung-Jung reported.

“How’s the hotel’s security?” Kang Chan inquired.

“Please rest easy. We even mobilized patrol cars for this.”

Choi Jong-Il filled a mug with tea and then gave it to Kim Hyung-Jung.

1.

This a real life incident ☜

2. Energy Resource Commission and Fuel Resource Office will now be unified as Energy Resource Department. Apologies for the confusion ☜