Screech!

The SUV raced toward the hospital entrance so fast that it looked as though it would crash.

Like a madman, Seok Kang-Ho jumped out of the SUV and shouted, “Move!”

Thud!

Armed agents in suits swiftly surrounded the area.

Clatter!

By the time the medical staff rushed over with a wheeled stretcher, Seok Kang-Ho was already running toward the entrance, carrying Kang Chan on his back.

“Open the door!”

Kang Chan’s upper body was completely soaked in blood.

Due to how severe Kang Chan’s condition was, Seok Kang-Ho was leaving a trail of blood drops on his path.

“Director!”

“This way!”

Yoo Hun-Woo ran with Seok Kang-Ho into the emergency room.

“Lay him down here!”

Thud!

As soon as Seok Kang-Ho placed Kang Chan on the bed, Kang Chan grabbed Seok Kang-Ho’s shirt with terrifying strength.

“Captain!”

“Leave... leave Gérard alone!”

“That motherfucker betrayed us! He shot you in the chest!”

“It doesn’t fucking matter! Leave him be!”

“Captain!”

Seok Kang-Ho grabbed Kang Chan’s wrist and tried to pry his hand away.

“Mr. Kang Chan! Let’s get you treated first!” Yoo Hun-Woo pleaded, but Kang Chan wouldn’t release his grip on Seok Kang-Ho’s shirt.

Why does he want to protect Gérard so much...? He’s a traitor!

However, Seok Kang-Ho couldn’t break Kang Chan’s will. He couldn’t even loosen Kang Chan’s grip, so how could he go against the fierce determination in his eyes?

“Alright, alright! Let go of me so we can start treatment already!”

“Promise me!”

“Yeah, I promise! We’ll leave that bastard alone, so please let us treat you already!”

Thunk!

Finally, Kang Chan let go of the shirt and collapsed onto the bed.

Swish!

The medical staff drew the curtain as one of them cut off Kang Chan’s shirt with scissors.

“Please step outside!” the medical staff ordered.

“I’m staying right fucking here!”

Despite their objections, however, Seok Kang-Ho stayed by Kang Chan’s side, glaring fiercely.

“Gérard! That bastard!”

Seok Kang-Ho gritted his teeth. He was second to none in this field. Seeing the wound on Kang Chan’s chest, he was certain that Gérard had aimed for his heart. Had Kang Chan not twisted away at the last moment, the shot would have been fatal.

"Mr. Kang Chan! Mr. Kang Chan!" Yoo Hun-Woo called out urgently.

"Get more blood!"

His unusually loud voice and the frantic instructions he gave for various injections underscored the severity of Kang Chan's condition.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Medical staff hurriedly brought in machines that looked foreign even to them and placed them around Kang Chan's bed. They quickly hooked Kang Chan up to IVs and blood transfusions, desperately injecting fluids into the lines.

Outside the curtain, armed agents completely surrounded the emergency room and the nearby areas.

Beep—

An ominous machine sound echoed.

"CPR! Everyone, out! Get out now!"

Kang Chan’s head lolled away from Seok Kang-Ho. He was covered in so much blood that it seemed to have been poured over him. The moment his face turned pale, Seok Kang-Ho felt as if he were falling off a cliff.

"Clear!"

Bang! Jolt! Thud!

Kang Chan’s body arched high off the bed before falling back down. Everything felt distant and surreal, the sounds around him dull and muted.

"Clear!"

Bang! Jolt! Thud!

Seok Kang-Ho watched Kang Chan’s head droop limply again.

"Please! Kang Chan!"

Yoo Hun-Woo’s gown, pants, and hands were drenched in Kang Chan’s blood. He climbed onto Kang Chan’s abdomen, frantically compressing his chest.

"Kang Chan! You’re a strong man! Please! Mr. Kang Chan!" Yoo Hun-Woo yelled repeatedly as if he were crying. Time seemed to blur.

One minute? Two? Maybe three?

Yoo Hun-Woo stopped and looked at Seok Kang-Ho with a vacant expression.

What’s he saying? He’s not going to tell me the captain is dead, is he?

Seok Kang-Ho struggled to hold on to his slipping consciousness.

"Keep trying! You know the captain won’t die to something like this!" he shouted.

Choi Jong-Il and Woo Hee-Seung burst through the curtain and rushed to Seok Kang-Ho.

"Captain! Get up! We need to go take out Gérard and that yellow-eyed bastard!"

They grabbed Seok Kang-Ho by the shoulders and tried to drag him away.

"Let go! Let me go!"

Lee Doo-Hee and three other agents had to join the two before they finally managed to pull Seok Kang-Ho out of the emergency room.

"No! Get your fucking hands off me! Don’t you know him? Didn’t you hear him cursing at me in Libya? Do you really think he’ll die like this? Let go! Let me go!"

The agents around the bed looked equally distraught. The shooting had taken place during dinner. Consequently, the news following the incident was entirely focused on the event, which had transpired at a restaurant in Gangnam.

[Reporter Lee Deuk-Soo has obtained CCTV footage of the incident. Let’s take a look at the video.]

The TV screen showed Gérard suddenly shooting Kang Chan, who was lighting a cigarette. The black-and-white footage captured the muzzle flash three times and Kang Chan collapsing, his chest turning dark.

[The victim, identified as the head of the National Intelligence Service's counter-terrorism team who rescued our citizens in Afghanistan and stopped the terrorist attack on the International Building, is reportedly in critical condition.]

As the journalist finished speaking, Kang Chan emerging from the International Building filled the screen ominously. Although his face was concealed with a helmet and a hood, everyone could tell that it was him.

[For security reasons, we cannot reveal the counter-terrorism team leader's identity. We hope for their swift recovery and thank them for dedicating everything to the safety of South Korea and its people. Reporter Yoo Ji-Eun will summarize his achievements.]

The footage shifted. Scenes of Kang Chan limping and running in Afghanistan, firing while injured, holding out alone in a ruined building, and leading the International Building operation played on the screen. As the female reporter detailed Kang Chan's accomplishments in a clear voice, the screen showed the Taegeukgi patch on Kang Chan’s arm.

At that moment, the ancho abruptly appeared on the screen.

[Breaking News. We have just received word that the head of the National Intelligence Service's counter-terrorism team has tragically passed away at the Bangji Hospital.]

The anchor took a deep breath and glanced at the script before looking back at the camera.

[Once again, the head of the National Intelligence Service's counter-terrorism team has died during an emergency treatment at the Bangji Hospital.]

The screen then showed the Bangji Hospital surrounded by reporters and news crews.

***

Park Chul-Su, Cha Dong-Gyun, and Kwak Cheol-Ho listened to the anchor in stunned silence.

"I'll call Director Jeon or Manager Kim Hyung-Jung. You guys head over there," Park Chul-Su said.

"Yes, sir."

Even after answering, Cha Dong-Gyun couldn't get up from his seat. It was as if the shock had drained the strength from his legs.

"Hey! Cha Dong-Gyun!"

Cha Dong-Gyun looked at Park Chul-Su with vacant eyes.

Is this really happening?

It felt like watching Park Chul-Su drift away in a river, his face growing distant.

Smack!

Park Chul-Su grimaced in pain as he slapped Cha Dong-Gyun hard enough to make his chest wound throb.

"Snap out of it! Have you forgotten what he taught us in Africa? If the French really killed him, then we'll avenge him. For now, focus on leading the team with determination!"

The fire in Cha Dong-Gyun's eyes gradually returned.

"You can't drive in this state,” Park Chul-Su said. He then turned to his aide. “Drive them! Use my car!”

"Yes, sir!"

The aide rushed out.

"Cha Dong-Gyun, go see Seok Kang-Ho or Choi Jong-Il. If the French really did this, we'd go to Seoul in civilian clothes and handle it ourselves. I'll cover for you, so find out exactly what happened."

"Yes, sir."

Cha Dong-Gyun finally stood up.

"I'm going."

His eyes now gleamed with determination. As he walked to the door, he hesitated and then turned back.

"No need for a salute, you idiot! Just go!" shouted Park Chul-Su.

Cha Dong-Gyun saluted quickly and hurried out.

***

The Blue House and the National Intelligence Service were engulfed in tense silence. To get a clear picture of the situation, secretaries and security personnel were dispatched to the Bangji Hospital to confirm Kang Chan's death.

President Moon Jae-Hyun canceled all his appointments and met with Go Gun-Woo and Kim Hyung-Jung in the underground situation room.

"Manager Kim, do you have a cigarette?"

"Yes, sir."

Perhaps trying to calm himself, President Moon Jae-Hyun reached for the cigarette even though he had quit smoking. He then lit it and took a deep drag.

"

Hooo…

"

Amid the silence, the smoke drifted toward the vents.

"If I were lacking, they should have taken me instead..."

Mumbling words that seemed directed at no one in particular, President Moon Jae-Hyun shook his head and put his hands on the table. As the president, he was not supposed to show weakness in front of others. Nevertheless, as if he had committed a grave sin, he couldn’t even raise his head.

The cigarette between his fingers burned like incense.

"If they gave us such a talent and knew how hard we tried to protect him, they should have taken me instead."

Despite Moon Jae-Hyun's deep sigh, Go Gun-Woo remained silent, sensing that the president needed a moment until the cigarette burned out. After a while, Moon Jae-Hyun finally raised his head and stubbed out the barely smoked cigarette in the ashtray.

He then turned to Go Gun-Woo, revealing his bloodshot eyes. "What’s our next course of action?”

"We have to make sure that the intelligence operations that the assistant director was in charge of keep functioning,” Go Gun-Woo replied wearily. “We'll use his office and contact the relevant intelligence bureaus through our agents.”

***

News of Kang Chan’s death reached Kang Chul-Gyu as well. Fortunately, the detention center was lenient enough to allow the detainees to watch the news.

Gritting his teeth, Kang Chul-Gyu glared at the TV as if he could destroy it with his stare. It seemed like this was what he had meant. Still, the fact that it was on TV raised a chilling suspicion that maybe the plan had gone wrong and Kang Chan had truly died.

“I stopped by because I was worried that you’d stupidly skip meals. You get what I'm saying, right?” Kang Chan had said back then. “There are more victories out there for you to claim, DMZ King.”

Remembering his words quite clearly, Kang Chul-Gyu exhaled softly and looked out the small window. The sky looked especially small that night.

He wanted to get out. He didn’t know what he would do, but he wanted to be beside Kang Chan, taking on the most dangerous tasks rather than being stuck in here.

“Old man, stop trying to set the mood and sit down.”

Oh Gwang-Taek had told the detainees to treat him well, but it seemed that the guy running the place was annoyed by Kang Chul-Gyu’s behavior. Maybe it was because Kang Chul-Gyu wasn’t his sunbae from his days in the army.

Normally, Kang Chul-Gyu would have just sat down quietly instead of arguing. However, that day, he instead slowly turned his head toward the large man.

“I told you to sit down.”

The figure had a large head, a thick neck, and quite slanted eyes.

But to Kang Chul-Gyu, he was just a lump of meat.

What use was it to deal with someone like that?

As Kang Chul-Gyu turned his gaze back to the window, the big guy hastily removed his socks to avoid slipping on the wooden floor during the fight.

Thud!

The big guy charged.

Crash.

Not a single person saw how or where that big guy was hit. To onlookers, it might have looked like he just tripped and fell while running.

Thud!

In the blink of an eye, Kang Chul-Gyu kicked the downed man onto his back and pressed his foot firmly on the man’s throat.

Crack.

“

Gah

!

Guh

.”

Others tried to intervene, but upon seeing the fierce gleam in Kang Chul-Gyu’s eyes, they dared not move. All they could do now was swallow dryly and watch him warily.

“My son told me to wait...”

Kang Chul-Gyu took a deep breath and raised his foot.

With his air passage unblocked again, the big guy coughed. “

Guh

!

Guh

!”

Meanwhile, Kang Chul-Gyu struggled to calm the murderous intent within him.

***

Life could sometimes be brutally harsh. Seok Kang-Ho’s phone, lying beside him on the marble steps in front of the hospital, painted a picture of that cruelty. It rang incessantly.

People must have been frantic, wanting to confirm the news they had heard. However, anyone who understood the relationship between Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho would have known that he wasn’t in any condition to answer calls. Hence, in his stead, Choi Jong-Il constantly picked up calls and repeated the same brutal answer.

"It’s true."

Meanwhile, Seok Kang-Ho only had one thought in his mind.

That bastard…

They had established a hideout in Bangbae-dong. A car, suitable clothes, a wig, and money had even been prepared. If Kang Chan hadn’t held him back, he would have probably rushed over to that place already.

Are they trying to deceive me as well?

Seok Kang-Ho smirked. This had to be what it felt like to go mad.

“

Hehehehe

.”

After being reincarnated, aside from a few trips to Gapyeong, Kang Chan fought tirelessly for others’ sake. Now, he had been killed by someone he held close to his heart.

To think that during the Battle of Mangala, Kang Chan was the only one who noticed the brief moment when Gérard got sick of the blood.

"Send that bastard to another platoon."

"Why? He’s just starting to be useful."

Sharlan had been planning a new operation centered around Kang Chan’s platoon at the time. That was the same operation that had killed Kang Chan and Daye.

"Something doesn’t feel right."

"If you send him away, how do you plan to live while constantly worrying about him? Just keep him close. Are the other platoons really any safer?"

"In two days, three platoons are moving toward Congo. It’s better to send him with them."

In the end, Kang Chan still transferred Gérard to another platoon.

He took care of him so well…

Seok Kang-Ho remembered all of it—their conversation about meeting again, the moment they returned from Mongolia and parted at the Osan Air Base, even the look in Kang Chan’s eyes at the time.

That bastard cannot be left alone.

Seok Kang-Ho gritted his teeth and stood up.

"Choi Jong-Il."

Choi Jong-Il quickly ended his call and rapidly approached Seok Kang-Ho.

"Tell Doo-Hee to get the car ready. You, Hee-Seung, and I will be heading out. Pack plenty of rifles, pistols, and ammo."

Choi Jong-Il hesitated to respond.

"What is it"

"The director and Manager Kim are on their way, sir. Cha Dong-Gyun and Kwak Cheol-Ho have also left Jeungpyeong."

"We know the rendezvous point, so it won’t take us long to catch him. That man killed the captain. How could I live with myself if we let him go after everything the captain did for us?"

Choi Jong-Il met Seok Kang-Ho’s eyes and firmly nodded.

"Understood. Since there are other agents around, I’ll need about five minutes to prepare. I’ll have the car ready outside the hospital."

Moved by Seok Kang-Ho’s determination, Choi Jong-Il walked into the building. Meanwhile, Seok Kang-Ho took a deep breath.

I’ll break that bastard’s neck!

Seok Kang-Ho pulled a cigarette from his pocket. Just as he was about to light it, Choi Jong-Il hurried back.

"Please come inside, sir,” he whispered, making it look like he was asking for a cigarette to the other agents.

Seok Kang-Ho couldn’t seem to read what Choi Jong-Il was thinking.