God of Blackfield

“How are you feeling today?” Kang Chan asked.

“Très bien[1].”

Contrary to what he had just said, Lanok sounded somewhat sad, but that was likely due to his weak voice and the nasal twang at the end of his sentence.

Kang Chan sat next to Lanok’s bed.

“I can’t stay long, Mr. Ambassador, and I probably won’t be able to see you for a while.”

Lanok gave Kang Chan a perplexed gaze. He looked like he wanted more information, but Kang Chan didn’t say anything else.

A brief moment of silence passed.

Once again, Lanok smiled at Kang Chan. They had no need for further words. Kang Chan looked back at Lanok for a few more seconds, then attempted to stand up. However, at that moment, Lanok reached out and held Kang Chan\'s hand with his left hand, which had an IV needle in it. Through his weak and bony hand, he conveyed his wishes and resolve to Kang Chan.

Kang Chan slowly looked up from Lanok’s hand to his blue eyes, pointy nose, sharp cheekbones, and thin lips.

The relationship they had in the beginning had long since evolved into one so full of trust that they could now understand each other without saying anything. If the ambassador hadn\'t been around for him or offered him help, Kang Chan wouldn\'t be who he was today.

Kang Chan held onto Lanok’s hand and smiled faintly.

Soon, Lanok nodded at Kang Chan, telling him both goodbye and good luck. In response, Kang Chan stood beside the bed and courteously bowed to say goodbye.

He then quickly straightened up and walked out of the room. Dragging out farewells for too long could make things depressing.

***

Visiting hours at the detention center ended at 5 pm.

Kang Chan arrived at the detention center with Seok Kang-Ho at around 4:20 pm.

They had heard that visitors could not meet with accomplices in groups. However, since they didn\'t have time, Kang Chan had no choice but to ask Kim Hyung-Jung for help.

Soon, it was decided that Kang Chan would see Kang Chul-Gyu, while Seok Kang-Ho would meet Oh Gwang-Taek at a different location.

While they were waiting, Kang Chan transferred money to the detention center for Kang Chul-Gyu, Nam Il-Gyu, Yang Dong-Sik, and Oh Gwang-Taek to use while locked up. He transferred such a large amount that the employee had to double-check it with him in surprise.

Screech! Screech!

Whoosh!

Before meeting Kang Chul-Gyu and Oh Gwang-Taek, Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho heard a car driving noisily outside. They then saw agents rushing into the visitors\' waiting room.

Although they were wearing sunglasses, why did they think eyewear was enough to hide their aura?

“We’ll be resuming our guard duty. How are you, sir?” one of them asked.

Choi Jong-Il and Woo Hee-Seung looked as if they had run over to save Kang Chan from danger.

Kang Chan felt bad. To think he made them worried just because he couldn’t control his emotions.

He didn’t intend for this to happen, but it would have been hard for him to show off the authority of the National Intelligence Service’s Assistant Director to this extent even if he had planned it.

“I’m the head of security.”

A detention officer guided Kang Chan to a special meeting room. Inside, he found Kang Chul-Gyu waiting for him.

Kang Chul-Gyu was wearing the red, clay-colored uniform for prisoners under trial. It also had his room and prisoner number.

Kang Chul-Gyu, South Korea’s old, gray-haired hero, greeted Kang Chan. He was hiding his emotions behind a smile and a determined expression.

“How are you?” Kang Chan asked.

“President Oh can exert his influence here,” Kang Chul-Gyu said and smiled unusually brightly, making the wrinkles at the edge of his eyes deepen. “You shouldn’t have come. I heard meeting with us can implicate you, so don\'t come back.”Kang Chan inhaled softly, forcibly stopping himself from saying, “Worry about yourself, old man!!”

He then turned from Kang Chul-Gyu to the employee assigned to observe them. Considering how quickly his pen moved across the paper, he seemed to be writing down greetings that they had never even said—it was like he was writing a novel.

“You’re going to hear the news that you heard from Africa again. Wait for me, alright? I’ll be back soon,” Kang Chan said.

Kang Chul-Gyu sharply looked at Kang Chan. He seemed confused—almost as if he was trying his best to understand what Kang Chan had just said.

“I stopped by because I was worried that you’d stupidly skip meals. You get what I\'m saying, right?” Kang Chan asked.

Over the table, Kang Chan saw Kang Chul-Gyu tightly clenching his fist.

Since silence took up most of the designated visiting hours, the employee checked his wristwatch.

“There are more victories out there for you to claim, DMZ King,” Kang Chan added.

Having filled out the log he used to "transcribe" the conversation happening between Kang Chan and Kang Chul-Gyu, the employee looked out the window. Because of that, he missed Kang Chul-Gyu\'s eyes suddenly widening and him becoming flustered.

Having said everything he had wanted to say and seen whom he had wanted to see, Kang Chan began to stand up.

“Assistant Director,” Kang Chul-Gyu called with difficulty. “I’ll be waiting.”

Kang Chan smirked in response. He then left the room.

By the time he had walked out the main gate of the prison and returned to the detention center, it was already almost five in the afternoon. There were no longer any civilians inside.

Seok Kang-Ho approached Kang Chan.

“Gwang-Taek told me to send you his regards and tell you that you shouldn’t worry. Anyway, I told Jong-Il to get the car ready. A different agent will drive and return the car that we used to get to this place.”

Kang Chan nodded.

When Choi Jong-Il gestured at the agents, Lee Doo-Hee brought over an SUV. Kang Chan, Gérard, Seok Kang-Ho, Choi Jong-Il, and Woo Hee-Seung got in.

The SUV soon drove off, looking like it was part of a procession.

Vroom.

On the road, Kang Chan, Gérard, and Seok Kang-Ho discussed their next course of action. Eventually, they decided to include Choi Jong-Il, Woo Hee-Seung, and Lee Doo-Hee in their plan.

The reason they chose those three wasn’t that they were suspicious of others. Rather, it was because if Gérard “killed” Kang Chan—be it in public or behind closed doors—there was no way Choi Jong-Il and Woo Hee-Seung would just sit back and watch.

They would likely jump in front of the bullet that was supposed to hit Kang Chan or shoot Gérard in response. Either way, their reaction would interfere with the plan, making things even more fucking complicated.

The situation was already hectic and difficult as it was, and the agents were already hard to deceive since they were so full of spite after losing Director Hwang and Director Song.

Hence, during the twenty-five-minute drive to the office, Kang Chan quietly explained their plan.

Choi Jong-Il looked at the dried-up blood on Gérard’s shirt, Kang Chan’s determined expression, and Seok Kang-Ho’s glinting eyes. Afterward, he nodded.

If Kang Chan was the main character, then Gérard was Supporting Character 1, and Seok Kang-Ho was Supporting Character 2. There were three other characters as well.

Upon reaching the entrance of the office, Seok Kang-Ho began talking about what they should have for dinner even though he had just eaten chicken, porridge, makgeolli, and muk[2].

Those foods were suitable for Kang Chan, who had to die soon.

***

“I was told that they arrived in the office a moment ago from a meeting with agent Kang Chul-Gyu and President Oh Gwang-Taek at the Seoul Detention Center.”

Sitting in a chair in front of the desk, Kim Hyung-Jung told Go Gun-Woo what was reported to him in the phone call.

“Is it safe to assume that the Assistant Director has calmed down after seeing him?” Go Gun-Woo asked.

“I’ll meet him tonight or tomorrow morning. I don’t think you need to worry too much.”

“I know you already have a lot on your plate, but please do whatever it takes to calm him down. The Assistant Director is amazing. Considering all the accomplishments he has achieved so far, you would expect him to request something unreasonable, but…”

Go Gun-Woo looked like he suddenly felt bad for some reason.

“When I look at the Assistant Director, I sometimes feel like I’m looking at a person who has gone through so much more than I have—a person who’s experienced everything in life.” Go Gun-Woo exhaled loudly, then said, “Anyway! What are the results of the investigation on Director Jeon Sang-Woo?”

Kim Hyung-Jung first handed Go Gun-Woo five pages of documents. “Please take a look at that file first. It contains the call history of Heo Chang-Seon, the person who used to be in charge of the airport’s Lost and Found Division. You just need to look at the highlighted part.”

“Is he still our employee?”

“We fired him under the suspicion of leaking information during the operation in China’s airport. He also made a personal phone call with one of our agents stationed in France using a number that’s under his sister-in-law’s name, not his.”

When Go Gun-Woo looked up at him, he continued, “The agent Heo Chang-Seon talked to in France was Jin Seung-Gyo, a veteran agent under our Foreign Affairs division. This year marks his tenth year working in France.”

“Couldn’t he have just personally talked to Jin Seung-Gyo because they befriended each other in the past or something?”

“That’s true,” Kim Hyung-Jung said, then took out another file and handed it to Go Gun-Woo. “I also would’ve thought that way if it wasn’t for this document.”

“What’s this?”

“A transaction record of the money that Yang Seok-Woo sent to Heo Chang-Seon. I’ve told you this before, but Director Jeon Sang-Woo is Yang Seok-Woo’s first son-in-law. Yang Seok-Woo can send living expenses or money to buy a house to his son-in-law, but there’s no reason for him to send Heo Chang-Seon money under his second daughter’s name dozens of times when he doesn’t even know him.”

When Go Gun-Woo cocked his head, Kim Hyung-Jung handed him yet another document. In response, Go Gun-Woo looked down and skimmed through the first page.

“That document shows the current status of Yang Seok-Woo’s company. On the second page is a list of the companies that he has closed down or liquidated.”

Rustle.

Kim Hyung-Jung added, “You’ll see Suh Jeong Motors among them.”

“The company closed down after Yang Seok-Woo lost the importing rights of Gong Te automobile to the assistant director’s father. At the time, the people who came to South Korea for the negotiation were Smithen and Sharlan, the man behind some of the recent terrorist attacks.”

“What on earth is this?” Go Gun-Woo asked himself.

He looked up in case Kim Hyung-Jung had another document to give him, but Kim Hyung-Jung was only looking at him with sharp eyes.

“There’s a strong possibility that Jin Seung-Gyo reported information about the assistant director through the NIS director’s hotline.”

“We only want to put an end to the matters involving Director Hwang, yet things are strangely getting out of hand,” Go Gun-Woo commented.

“We also believe that Jin Seung-Gyo tipped off the terrorist attack on the International Building.”

Go Gun-Woo cocked his head.

Why would Jin Seung-Gyo tell us that after they worked so hard to prepare the terrorist attack?

As if noticing Go Gun-Woo’s doubt, Kim Hyung-Jung said, “Director, I’d like to remind you that Abibu used the UIS to execute that terrorist attack.”

That’s right!

Go Gun-Woo returned to his senses.

“If so, why do you think Jin Seung-Gyo reported such important information through the NIS director’s hotline?” he asked.

“I haven’t been able to figure that out yet, but I’m gathering evidence for a few possible reasons.”

“Hmm.”

Go Gun-Woo sighed, indicating that he wanted to hear the possible reasons. Through the same sigh, however, he conveyed that Kim Hyung-Jung could keep the reasons to himself if he couldn’t reveal them right now.

When he looked at Kim Hyung-Jung, Kim Hyung-Jung elaborated, “The first possible reason is that Jin Seung-Gyo was giving information to Abibu. Since using the NIS director’s hotline would attract less suspicion, Jin Seung-Gyo used it to inform Abibu that Director Hwang had caught onto their plan and that he should stop the director himself. The proof of that is the mystery phone number that the late director had called just before he died.”

“So Jin Seung-Gyo killed the previous Director Hwang through Abibu, then infiltrated this room to get rid of the evidence?”

“That’s correct. The second possible reason is that they needed a diversion to make the terrorist attack on the International Building work. Back then, Director Jeon Sang-Woo insisted that the counter-terrorism team withdraw, play an inactive role, and execute a passive operation. He even pressured them to allow the employees back into the building.”

Go Gun-Woo listened attentively to Kim Hyung-Jung, seemingly engraving the explanation to his memory.

Kim Hyung-Jung continued, “The first explosion occurred on the 1st and 45th floors. If there had been any casualties—even among the employees of Kotra—the Suh Jeong Group would’ve benefited greatly.”

“How come?”

Kim Hyung-Jung took out the last document from the envelope that he had placed in front of him. He then handed it to Go Gun-Woo.

“Suh Jeong Constructions received an enormous amount of compensation from the government because of the attack on the International Hotel during the Eurasian Rail Conference. They also collected reparations from a special insurance plan for natural disasters or incidents equivalent to war,” Kim Hyung-Jung explained.

“Did they take out that insurance for the International Building as well?”

“Yes, sir. Please take a look at the last line under their terms and conditions—it explains that the contract is based on their previous experience with the International Hotel. Suh Jeong Constructions would have received an additional 2.5 billion won for each casualty.”

Go Gun-Woo looked like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Would a construction company that was a part of such a massive group really plan something like this just for insurance money?

“Yang Jin-Woo’s death put Suh Jeong Group in a bad financial situation. I’ll be focusing on those two reasons while I investigate this matter in more detail,” Kim Hyung-Jung concluded.

Go Gun-Woo thought about how hard it must have been for Kim Hyung-Jung to investigate all this by himself. Kim Hyung-Jung’s eyes were bloodshot and sunken, and his cheeks were hollow, making him look as if he was ten years older than he actually was.

With his history as a special forces soldier, Kim Hyung-Jung would have had an easier time forcing evidence out of people. Nevertheless, he chose to put in the effort to find the evidence properly.

Go Gun-Woo wanted to say something to him, but as the Director of the National Intelligence Service, he couldn’t easily show his emotions.

***

Kang Chan and his men went to the BBQ restaurant that they had dropped by last time. There were so many of them that they had almost taken all of the tables.

Except for the armed agents standing guard outside, about thirty agents sat at the tables that had been pushed together.

There was a pile of meat on each table, but nobody could eat comfortably.

The agents were obviously aware of what had happened to Kang Chul-Gyu. After all, they did drop by the detention center earlier and were forbidden from following Kang Chan all throughout the afternoon. That was probably also the reason why Kang Chan still didn’t look happy.

They could also guess why they gathered at this restaurant—even fools would’ve recognized that Kang Chan came here to cheer up the exhausted agents.

Although they could simply eat and chat, the atmosphere was solemn to a fault.

Four agents sat at each table, but only two of them ate at a time. Even though they hadn\'t been ordered to, the other pair stood guard and examined their surroundings. They didn’t even pick up their chopsticks.

They had lost Director Hwang and Director Song.

All of the agents inside the restaurant and all the armed agents standing by outside would still remember Kang Chan patting the SUVs in front of the hospital.

They had never had a superior who showed them that much affection and respect for their work.

Hence, now that they were guarding him again, they all oozed with the strong resolve to keep him as safe as possible. They would rather starve than let him down.

Meanwhile, Kang Chan was about to go crazy. He didn’t expect the agents to act like this.

The agents were taking their duty so seriously that they even received the food the restaurant employees served outside the private room that they had rented.

He felt guilty for having to lie and deceive them despite how much dedication they were showing him. Losing Director Hwang broke them so much that they decided to eat and sleep in the counter-terrorism team’s barracks instead of returning to their homes. Now, he had to fill them with despair and disappointment again.

Damn it!

You Star of David bastards better be prepared for the worst—no. You sons of bitches should lower your guard. I’ll make sure to slit your fucking throats wide fucking open for these men.

Kang Chan ate an adequate amount of food to not seem suspicious, then put down his chopsticks. Meanwhile, despite the situation, Seok Kang-Ho still managed to finish eating an entire bowl of rice.

“I’m heading out for a smoke,” Kang Chan said.

Ten or so agents immediately sprang up from their seats.

“Choi Jong-Il. Got any cigarettes?” Kang Chan asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“Come with me, then. Tell the agents to keep eating. We can just smoke next to the armed agents outside anyway, can’t we?”

“Just to be safe, I’ll have Hee-Seung and Doo-Hee go with us as well.”

“Alright.”

Seok Kang-Ho, Gérard, Choi Jong-Il, Woo Hee-Seung, and Lee Doo-Hee followed Kang Chan to the door of the restaurant.

“We’ll stay near the armed agents, so just keep eating. Don’t take too long, though,” Choi Jong-Il ordered the agents. “It’s been a long time since the assistant director treated us to a meal. It’d be disrespectful not to eat the food.”

Only then did the agents sit down again.

Huh, I didn\'t know Choi Jong-Il could act.

Choi Jong-Il spoke to them with so much determination in his eyes that he didn’t even look guilty for deceiving them.

Once he was done issuing orders, he and the others headed outside. They then leaned against the SUV that the armed agents were in.

They were near the entrance of the parking lot.

Chk chk.

After lighting up his cigarette, Kang Chan looked around his surroundings. It was dinner time, so the road and the restaurants around them were filled with people.

Kang Chan exhaled the cigarette smoke. “Hoo.”

Seok Kang-Ho glanced at the CCTV that was installed in the parking lot next to the restaurant.

At the same time, Kang Chan’s eyes met Gérard’s. He trusted the fucker. Together, they would destroy the Star of David and end this boring fight.

“That’s enough smoking. Let’s do this,” Kang Chan said.

Kang Chan exhaled another puff of smoke and then turned to Seok Kang-Ho.

“Lee Doo-Hee. Are you ready?” Kang Chan asked.

“Yes, sir.”

The two avoided looking at each other as they talked so nobody would find them suspicious.

Afterward, Kang Chan looked at Choi Jong-Il but spoke to Gérard.

“Gérard, you may begin,” Kang Chan said.

“Oui.”

There was a lot of tension between the six.

They were waiting for a moment when there would be a bit fewer people walking by to lessen the chances of anyone near them getting hurt. The timing had to be perfect so Gérard could run away.

Kang Chan purposely threw the cigarette that he had been smoking, then held out his hand to Choi Jong-Il.

Using his mouth to hold the cigarette he was smoking, Choi Jong-Il took out a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket.

Seok Kang-Ho also approached them and asked for one. He then lowered his head toward the lighter that Choi Jong-Il had lit.

Click!

At that moment, Gérard lowered his hand and pulled out the pistol strapped to his waist.

Swish!

In response, Seok Kang-Ho and Choi Jong-Il quickly turned around.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Before they could react, sparks flew from the muzzle of the pistol, and ear-piercing gunshots echoed.

Whoosh! Rattle!

Gérard then sprinted away from the area. At the same time, armed agents sprang out of the SUV, and agents in shirts ran barefoot out of the restaurant.

“Hold your fire! There are too many civilians around! Just follow him and bring the SUV over! Now!” Choi Jong-Il yelled.

People crowded around them. By the time Lee Doo-Hee had brought over the SUV, Kang Chan’s upper body was already covered in blood.

“Head straight to the Bang Ji Hospital!” Choi Jong-Il ordered. “Clear the road!”

As Choi Jong-Il and Woo Hee-Seung carried Kang Chan into the SUV, other cars cleared a path, their sirens blaring.

Vroom! Screech!

The SUV merged into the main road, causing Seok Kang-Ho and Choi Jong-Il to swerve roughly.

“Captain!” Seok Kang-Ho yelled.

Gritting his teeth, Kang Chan looked back at Seok Kang-Ho.

“This doesn’t look right! Did the bastard shoot you in the wrong place?!” Seok Kang-Ho asked. He then turned to Choi Jong-Il, surprise evident on his face.

Afterward, Seok Kang-Ho yelled, “Hey! Lee Doo-Hee! Drive faster! The captain is in danger!”

1. Very good in French ☜

2. The acorn jelly from the previous chapter is a type of muk, which is basically jelly that can be made grains, beans, or nut starch. ☜