Chapter45，Part2: What the Heart Wants (2)

“Did you call Lanok?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.

“I’m thinking of calling him a bit later. I’m planning on taking this opportunity to use him as bait.”

Seok Kang-Ho’s eyes sparkled.

“Someone's bound to act if Lanok and I conspire and reveal his location to Sharlan. Lanok will attack Sharlan’s backer, and we canjust focus on catching Sharlan,” Kang Chan said.

“But what if Lanok gets attacked when we do that?”

“That’s for France’s Intelligence Bureau to take care of by themselves. Sharlan wouldn’t be coming with a filet knife to kill Lanok, would he? He’s going to shoot Lanok or use a different method. We won’t even need to butt in.”

“That’s true,” Seok Kang-Ho answered.

When Seok Kang-Ho went into the athletics club room after roughly finishing their discussion regarding the issues they had to deal with, Kang Chan called Lanok.

- The Ambassador is in the middle of an interview right now, Monsieur Kang. But he’ll contact you later.

Kang Chan felt dispirited when someone unrelated to the matters at hand answered the call.

Well, it was lunch time anyway. He ordered a few dishes from a Chinese restaurant and ate with everyone.

Afterward, Kang Chan drank coffee and rested for a moment. When he got tired of watching the kids practice self-defense so horribly, Kang Chan decided to leave the athletics club room.

His phone rang as he did.

“Mr. Ambassador.”

- I’m sorry that I couldn’t personally answer your call, Monsieur Kang.

“It’s fine. You probably have a lot on your plates. I called you to discuss the call I received from Sharlan yesterday.

Kang Chan also told Lanok the details of the phone call.

- We need to change the bait.

Kang Chan smiled tiredly, but Lanok sounded serious.

- when he calls today, please tell him to give you about two days to think. I’ll make a reservation at a hotel for tomorrow evening. I’ll see you then if that’s okay with you.

“Understood, Mr. Ambassador.”

Kang Chan noticeably relaxed after he ended the call.

Kim Tae-Jin was going after Sharlan, so there was a chance they’d find him first. There was also the possibility of Lanok catching Sharlan’s backer.

Regardless of which side caught him, they definitely wouldn’t be half-assing their job since they both had their own motives.

Now that he was reminded of Kim Tae-Jin, Kang Chan thought about calling him but decided against it. Not only was it natural for those being followed, but he couldn’t even guess how on edge Kim Tae-Jin had to be while trailing after someone.

Kang Chan then went into the athletics club room, finding the kids repeating the basic stance with Seok Kang-Ho.

‘Phew.’

Their posture was dumbfounding. Because of their stance, they could be stabbed in the neck with just one hand movement if they stood face to face against an enemy.

Shaking his head, Kang Chan slowly warmed up.

“Can we use this move in a fight, Mr. Seok Kang-Ho?”

A lot of people seemed to support Cha So-Yeon’s question. It looked too sloppy, even for them.

“You’ll know once you see the demonstration later,” Kang Chan replied.

“Alright.”

Their answer didn’t contain faith.

Kang Chan thought he should leave them be, but Seok Kang-Ho’s gaze on Kang Chan was full of disappointment.

He was irritated, wishing he had someone to spar with.

Seok Kang-Ho persevered and followed through with his decision to quit smoking, but practicing against the empty air would’ve disheartened him.

Kang Chan stood right in front of Seok Kang-Ho while tilting his head from side to side.

Seok Kang-Ho’s eyes seemed to be asking,

‘What are you trying to do?’

“You should warm up a bit with me,” Kang Chan said.

Grin.

Satisfied, Seok Kang-Ho smiled, thinking he could be worried and happy at the same time.

The athletics club room instantly became quiet when Kang Chan stepped forward.

While both of them had their bodies slightly twisted, they aligned their hands with their necks like boxers.

So far, all they had been showing was what the kids were practicing.

Shick.?

Seok Kang-Ho flinched twice and immediately attacked with his thumb.

Tatata.

Kang Chan blocked his attack with his elbow, then aimed for Seok Kang-Ho’s jaw. Seok Kang-Ho shoved the elbow away and targeted Kang Chan’s side and neck in return.

Pak. Pak. Whoosh.

Their hands clashed against each other four to five times in an instant. Afterward, they stepped away from each other.

Even though they were excited, the kids couldn’t even yell not only because they had just realized how deadly the basic movements they were practicing could be,, but also because Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho’s fierce eyes overwhelmed them.

Whoosh. Pak. Pak. Bam!

The two continued their sparring match.

Kang Chan shoved away Seok Kang-Ho’s fist and elbow, then rammed the edge of his hand into Seok Kang-Ho’s side.

The kids’ faces immediately crumpled. It was as if they were the ones that got hit.

Seok Kang-Ho pounced on Kang Chan after twisting his body from side to side.

Pak. Whoosh. Pak-pak-pak. Whoosh.

Kang Chan swatted Seok Kang-Ho’s hand away, then struck his neck and side. If Kang Chan had a knife, Seok Kang-Ho would’ve already been sprawled out on the floor.

But that was where their bout ended. Kang Chan felt a surge of stiff pain in his side and back, where he had been stabbed with a knife.

When Kang Chan stepped back while frowning, Seok Kang-Ho also eased up his stance.

“Wow.”

The kids finally yelled their excitement out. A few of them even clapped.

Amid his attempt to soothe Seok Kang-Ho’s disappointment, Kang Chan managed to light a fire in the innocent kids’ hearts. As soon as he stepped out, they all stood up and started to practice the basics on their own.

Seok Kang-Ho followed Kang Chan outside.

“Are you okay?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.

“I just feel a bit cramped up, but it’s nothing to worry about. Anyway, what do you plan on doing with your body? It’s so stiff.”

“Tell me about it. I didn’t believe it at first since I had no idea this body was this slow. My arm and torso feel heavy. It’s like I have sand bags on them.”

“Let’s spar properly starting tomorrow. I’ll help you get back in shape.”

“Let’s do that after you fully recover. Honestly, I couldn’t give it my all because I was anxious.”

“Tsk.”

Kang Chan could see why Seok Kang-Ho would’ve felt that way, and he thought he should try and devise a way to somehow spar with him while he was recovering.

He rested for a moment, then headed home with Kim Mi-Young, who had come to the athletics club after finishing

hagwon

.

“Chan! Can we go out on Saturday?” Kim Mi-Young asked.

“Saturday?”

“Yeah. I’m going to Kang-chon on Friday but I got permission to hang out as much as I want on Saturday.”

“Is there anywhere you want to go?”

“I want to see the sea.”

“The sea?”

“Yeah. I want to eat raw fish, see the refreshing beach, and feel the sand under my feet.”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

“Huhuhu.”

Is she that happy about that?

After parting ways with Kim Mi-Young in front of the apartment and going inside his home, Kang Chan got a call from Michelle to confirm if he’d be at the hotel reservation at 11 am tomorrow morning to sign the D. I. acquisition contract.

Since Kang Dae-Kyung came home early, the three of them ate grilled pork belly for dinner together.

They discussed many things as they ate, such as the older ladies in the apartment that were jealous of Kang Chan, and that the ‘Chiffre’ was starting to gain popularity by word of mouth.

Their home was as filled with happiness as it was with the smell of meat.

After having dinner, then eating fruits together in the living room, Kang Chan went back to his room. As if it had been waiting for that exact moment, his phone vibrated.

Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—

[111-1111-1111]

It felt like the caller id on the phone was eating a part of his happiness.

On the other hand, Kang Chan thought that Sharlan’s life was also fucking pitiful. There was no way that poor fucker had felt the happiness of grilling and eating pork belly with family.

There wasn’t even grilled pork belly in France.

His phone ceaselessly vibrated, telling him to just pick up the call already.

“Hello?”

- Have you made up your mind?

“I need two more days to think about it.

- There isn’t much time left.

“Okay.”

- Then I’ll call back after two days.

“Sharlan.”

Kang Chan stopped Sharlan before he could end the call.

“Since you’re probably not going to send the two billion won first, how can you guarantee that money?”

Kang Chan had thought of this question in the afternoon. Since he was dealing with Sharlan, he needed to at least show this much caution.

- I’ll tell you how once I’ve made up my mind.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

“The method comes first, Sharlan. We’re not in a relationship where we can trust each other, are we?”

- I’m going to hand over the Swiss bank account.

“It’ll be over for me if you change the password before I can withdraw the money. I wouldn’t have any means to bring that much money over to Korea either. I need a better way.

A moment of silence passed.

- I don’t know what Lanok rambled to you, but something massive and unimaginable will happen if I catch him. It’ll change the dynamics of entire Europe, Kang Chan.

“That’s for the Europeans to worry about. What’s important for me is how I’m going to get the twenty billion won and the safety that I’ll be guaranteed with afterward. Even if I sell Lanok, both sides will be chasing after me without even getting paid if you guys fail to catch him. Don’t treat me as if I'm that naive, Sharlan.”

- Hmm. If you’re that serious about this, then I’ll find a more certain way.

“I want to hear about it when you call in two days.”

The call ended abruptly. That fucker needed to learn phone manners before anything else.

‘He’s got to be irritated.’

Kang Chan couldn’t resist grating on Sharlan’s nerves.

Sharlan was someone who needed to be in charge, so seeing Kang Chan take charge would probably annoy him.

How many pork cutlets can I buy with twenty billion won? Shit, I don’t even know how much money that is.

Kang Chan really didn’t want the money. He didn’t even need it right now.

Excluding the salary he earned as a mercenary, he didn’t really value the money that was in his bank account.

Around ten days.

It didn’t matter if Kang Chan used Lanok as bait or if Kim Tae-Jin caught Wui Min-Gook. He only needed to catch Sharlan.

It was a game of cat and mouse.

Kang Chan was looking to kill Sharlan, and Sharlan was looking to kill Lanok, but Lanok was using Kang Chan, creating a damned relationship. On top of that, Wui Min-Gook, the Neck Ghost, and Kim Tae-Jin had also become involved in this.

This wouldn’t be just another reckless fight. They were looking to kill each other.

‘Let’s end this quickly, Sharlan.’

Kang Chan didn’t want this to drag on.

1. Kang-chon is a village in South Korea