Chapter44，Part1: What the Heart Wants (1)

Kang Chan forcefully sent Kim Tae-Jin away, who insisted to stay by his side. Soon after, his phone rang.

It was Michelle.

- I’ve decided to take your offer. Let’s acquire the company. When should we do it?

“Do it at your earliest convenience. I’ll just send you the money.”

- No, it would be better if you come and check it out as well.

“Do I really need to do that?”

- Fine. I’ll just delay this for the next opportunity. You should at least greet the employees after the takeover is complete, though.

“Okay. Then make an appointment with everyone next week.”

Kang Chan sighed when he ended the call.

He understood why Michelle was worried. She had to quit her job for this, after all, and quite a large amount of money would be going into this endeavor.

‘I’m hungry.’

Acquiring a company was one thing. Hunger was another.

He could understand why Seok Kang-Ho kept forcing down kimbap when he had the neck brace.

Kang Chan had just tilted his body to go to the bathroom.

Slide.

The door opened, and Seok Kang-Ho came inside.

“What? Didn’t you say that you were going home first?” Kang Chan asked.

“I came here from my house.”

When Kang Chan looked at the clock, it was almost 11am.

“What’s that?” His gaze fell on the plastic bag Seok Kang-Ho was carrying.

“Phuhu. It’s Bossam. This was what I wanted to eat the most when I was last hospitalized.”

“Good job!”

Seok Kang-Ho promptly supported Kang Chan after lifting the plastic bag and showing it to him.

“Your injury was gruesome. Is it okay for you to move?” He asked.

“My physical constitution is special, so yes.”

Kang Chan could use the bathroom with ease since Seok Kang-Ho had moved the IV pack for him.

They moved a table into the room and ate nearly all the Bossam together, which made Kang Chan feel much better.

“Right! What did you tell your family?” Kang Chan asked.

“I actually didn’t have anything to say.”

After he placed the food waste in the plastic bag, Seok Kang-Ho made coffee.

“So I sold out Oh Gwang-Taek. I lied and told them I received settlement money after getting into a car accident, but it seemed the Chinese thought we received drugs instead. I then told her something along the lines of receiving another settlement money under unbelievable conditions. However, if the outside world were to know about the kidnapping or whatever, I could really get killed.”

“Did they believe you?”

“When I first gave her five hundred million won to buy a house and told her that I was going to receive another five hundred million won the next day, she just nodded. She probably thought there was no way a teacher could get that much money any other way.”

Seok Kang-Ho handed him a cup of coffee.

“Did you make eye contact with my daughter?”

What’s he saying?

“She said you looked straight into her eyes and told her not to worry. I saw hearts in her eyes. She’s still in middle school,” Seok Kang-Ho replied.

“Hey! Jeez, hahaha.”

Dumbfounded, Kang Chan laughed but soon held onto his side with a frown.

“She totally thinks that you’re a knight in shining armor. She told me that you looked back in a very cool way and said ‘I came because Mr. Seok Kang-Ho sent me!’ My wife asked what happened and said that she needed to visit you in the hospital, but I convinced her to just express her thanks over a meal later instead. Do what you want.”

“I feel frustrated.”

“It wouldn’t be bad for you to meet them, you know.”.

“That’s true.” Kang Chan agreed. He then told Seok Kang-Ho about the phone call with Sharlan and the Neck Ghost, which he heard from Kim Tae-Jin.

“Hmm.”

Seok Kang-Ho smiled, his eyes burning.

“You should also work out during the break. And you should join Kim Tae-Jin’s company as an instructor if need be,” Kang Chan suggested.

“I already told you a teacher can’t have two jobs.”

“That’s bullshit. Instead of being a teacher, working both as a combat instructor and a Gong Te automobile executive would match your aptitude more. And it’ll be better since you can use your time in peace.”

“But there’s no break.”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

Kang Chan didn’t know any other jobs that gave summer and winter breaks.

“Since that fucker Sharlan claimed he’s going to call in four days, doesn’t that mean he has some tricks up his sleeve?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.

“I’ve actually been thinking about that as well. The people backing him up are scary, so he probably had made a plan. Still, part of me feels like he just warned us as a prank, not to show he’s determined to succeed no matter what this time.”

“Have a fast recovery so we can exercise together.”

Seok Kang-Ho kept gritting his teeth, his expression showing he was still angry.

“I’ve also quit smoking. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be gritting my teeth and working out,” Seok Kang-Ho continued.

That was a personal choice, so it wasn’t something he could comment on.

It seemed like Seok Kang-Ho still hadn’t recovered from the fatigue caused by staying up all night at the hospital yesterday, going to Jiri Mountain, and going back down to the city, considering he laid down on the bed opposite Kang Chan.

A moment later…

Kang Chan shook his head.

It was hard to put up with Seok Kang-Ho’s loud snoring.

***

The next morning, Kim Tae-Jin visited him but had no special news.

After having lunch, Seok Kang-Ho left to go to school and check if the eleventh-graders had come back safely.

Buzz—

He checked his phone when it vibrated, finding a text with a lot of zeros after the words, [Philip Jung. Deposit]His phone rang immediately afterward.

- Monsieur Kang. It’s Lanok.

“Mr. Ambassador. I was actually just about to call you.”

- I see. Let me go tell you why I called first. Gong Te automobile stocks have been deposited into your stock account. Please think of it as a token of appreciation for protecting Gong Te automobile’s honor.

“I noticed there’s also been a deposit made into my bank account.”

- It’s your company acquisition fund. We deposited a billion won, but we can provide additional support up to a certain limit if more is needed.

“That’s actually what I wanted to tell you about. I’m going to buy a drama production and management company for five hundred million won. I’ll return the money since I can afford that much myself.”

- That’s an excellent decision, but please use the money as acquisition funds and for operational costs. We should meet up once you’ve acquired the company.

“Mr. Ambassador.”

Kang Chan decided to tell him the details about the issue with Sharlan.

“Something happened between Sharlan and me, and I also received a call from him yesterday. He said that he’ll call me again in four days, so I’ll probably receive a call two days from now.”

There was a moment of silence.

- I’ll adjust my schedule so we can meet up as soon as possible.

Kang Chan felt like he had checked one task off of his list when he ended the call.

It was hard to keep everything under control now that things had gotten out of hand. On the other hand, catching Sharlan would solve all their problems.

All that was left was for Kang Chan to plan for the possibility of Sharlan’s backer being in France, give the company he’d be acquiring to Michelle, and lead a normal life with Seok Kang-Ho.

Isn't that so simple?

However, the unnecessary stocks and money that kept coming in made him feel more uncomfortable.

Slide.

As Kang Chan placed the phone down, Suh Sang-Hyun entered the room in a wheelchair. He seemed like he was feeling awkward, but he didn’t appear to be dispirited or anything.

“Are you okay?” Suh Sang-Hyun smiled awkwardly. “I came by because Tae-Jin hyung-nim said you two have finished talking. I find it amazing how that gentleman said he’s going to drop the honorifics and talk casually with you even though he’s not the type to normally do that.”

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

As he rolled the wheelchair forward, the IV pack attached to it swayed back and forth. Suh Sang-Hyun stopped in front of Kang Chan’s bed.

“His inability to yield to others once he’s started considering someone his person is a habit he formed while he was still in the military. That’s why he normally can’t speak informally to new employees since that incident. He probably won’t be able to do that until he’s avenged his dead crew members,” Suh Sang-Hyun continued. His angled chin and slitted eyes looked strong, but he didn’t appear to have been born with a natural talent, considering Suh Sang-Hyung’s capabilities, which Kang Chan had seen during the fight.

“Phew—I find it hard to accept that you’re actually older than me, but I also can’t just disregard you since you’re friends with Gwang-Taek hyung-nim. I’ll keep treating you this way, but feel free to treat me however you want.”

Suh Sang-Hyun licked his lips after glancing at Kang Chan.

“I’m going to call you hyung after we spend some time together. Is that okay?”

“Do as you wish,” Kang Chan answered.

“Phew! I would’ve at least argued if I didn’t witness your skills, but what a surprise! You’re just like Tae-Jin hyung’s younger self.”

He vividly showed how much he liked Kim Tae-Jin through his expression and the way he spoke.

“Please help us catch the Neck Ghost,” Suh Sang-Hyun said.

“We’ve already finished talking about that. You don’t have to personally ask me for it.”

Suh Sang-Hyun nodded.

“Then I’ll be going. That’s all I wanted to say.”

Suh Sang-Hyun turned the wheelchair around and left.

Kang Chan tilted his head because Sang-Hyun was uselessly decisive, but he didn’t have any reasons to think otherwise.

***

The weekend passed by in the most boring way.

Kang Chan got a call from Cecile about the stock deposit, and he had a conversation that wasn’t anything special about his first meeting with all of the company’s executives and staff members, which would be held after he had signed the company acquisition contract. One could say it was special in its own right, though.

Even though he had told Michelle to take care of everything herself, she still appointed a lawyer and insisted that Kang Chan needed to be there no matter what. Since she was the type to draw clear boundaries when it came to her work, he couldn’t do anything about it.

Something changed in his everyday life, though. He had been receiving calls once a day from Yoo Hye-Sook and Kim Mi-Young, and Cha So-Yeon also called to let him know she had returned safely from the retreat.

1. Bosssam is a Korean pork dish