Chapter 4

0004 / 0419 ———————————————-

1-2. School Zone.

Three people stood in front of Kang Chan, alternating their gaze between the children and Kang Chan.

“What’s that?”

“This, the kids brought it.”

“Who?”

Kang Chan chuckled. Is it that important?

“Answer. Who had it?”

Kang Chan turned his head to look at the child whose back was covered in blood.

“If it’s him, it’s no surprise. You should have known better. At this point, it’s hard for us to cover it up.”

What are you talking about?

“Bullies have been tormenting kids, and now you’re in trouble. Six of them attacked you, and they had weapons. When the school violence committee meets, we’ll handle it, but give me that knife and go home first.”

The teacher, who looked good with his square jaw, extended his thick hand.

Kang Chan silently handed over the knife.

“Why didn’t you correct your behavior from the start?”

The teacher consoled Kang Chan as if he had a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Go home and explain yourself, and come to school from tomorrow. And you said you had evidence? Why is it gone? Mr. Seo said that, right?”

Kang Chan finally understood what he meant.

“Bring it to the school violence committee tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

The teacher kept looking at Kang Chan.

His posture and gaze, which exuded a familiar smell, seemed to hold the teacher’s attention.

The other two teachers were calling the students and helping the fallen children.

“Where did you learn that?”

Kang Chan chuckled and looked at the teacher.

“Such toughness comes from repeated training.”

“Doesn’t it just come naturally?”

“Let’s talk later.”

The teacher turned his body, perhaps thinking Kang Chan wouldn’t talk easily.

He wanted to smoke.

However, even if he rushed, he couldn’t smoke on the school playground, so Kang Chan slowly walked.

The children, like a pack of dogs, watched as if they were seeing him off.

Kang Chan entered a row of snack shops by the school gate.

“Welcome.”

A greeting devoid of emotion, like a machine, welcomed Kang Chan.

“Give me a pork cutlet.”

“Sure.”

Kang Chan, who sat down, focused on the TV.

At about ten tables, two men were sitting across from each other, and a neatly dressed woman, who looked like an office worker, was eating tteokbokki and gimbap.

“Here you go.”

An aunt with an apron with the shop name on it placed the pork cutlet in front of Kang Chan.

Thin meat, cheap sauce, and the smell of old oil.

Kang Chan silently looked at the pork cutlet.

It was the last food he ate before leaving Seoul.

He wanted to eat it desperately, but he had nothing and his pride wouldn’t allow it.

Even while eating steak countless times, he always thought of it.

Kang Chan cut the pork cutlet into long strips with a fork and knife, then cut it into squares. This is how it tastes best when eaten with chopsticks.

It wasn’t that tasty.

Still, he ate it.

When Kang Chan finished the pork cutlet, the phone rang.

“Hello?”

Yoo Hye-suk asked questions in a hurried voice.

“I’m eating a pork cutlet in front of the school.”

“I’ll go and tell them.”

“You said you would go and tell them?”

Kang Chan’s voice was low, and a moment of silence followed.

Kang Chan ended the call.

Feeling annoyed that the fuss contributed to the child’s weakness, he thought.

“At least it’s better than killing someone or committing suicide.”

Kang Chan, making excuses to himself, finished eating even the finely chopped cabbage and stood up.

After paying, Kang Chan walked a bit more and sat on a chair in front of a convenience store, lighting a cigarette.

“Phew.”

This is the taste.

A world without flying dust and bullets, a world of colorful clothes, short skirts, and slender bodies, a world full of luxury cars. Kang Chan exhaled a long puff of cigarette smoke.

‘I got what I wanted.’

Before, he thought that if he was in a world where he didn’t have to worry about food and could just study, he would do well.

‘If I graduate or get fired, should I just go to France?’

There’s a time for studying, but what can you do when you suddenly become a senior in high school? His studies were already poor.

***

Kang Chan leisurely returned to the apartment by taxi.

‘Password?’

It’s a number keypad. Since he had just been discharged from the hospital, he couldn’t remember, so he pressed the doorbell.

Hearing hurried footsteps from inside, Yoo Hye-suk opened the door, and Kang Daekyung, with a flustered face, was behind her.

Kang Chan confidently walked in.

“Sit down. I have something to show you.”

Despite being a man, Kang Daekyung’s cheeks twitched, and he moved to the kitchen table.

Kang Chan intended to resolve the grievances and frustrations of the body’s owner. He took out the math problem book where the child had poured out his heart and moved to the table.

“Please read this once.”

Kang Chan gave the math problem book to Yoo Hye-suk and the phone message to Kang Daekyung.

The two, holding the math problem book and smartphone as if to say, “Say whatever you want,” occasionally looked up at Kang Chan, and their faces gradually hardened as time passed.

When Kang Daekyung put down his smartphone, Yoo Hye-suk hadn’t even read half of it. Still, she was sobbing, her mouth clamped shut.

After a while.

“Look at it from a different perspective.”

“Enough.”

“Look.”

Kang Daekyung’s cheeks twitched again, but he opened the math problem book Yoo Hye-suk handed him.

After staring at the last page for a while, he looked up.

“I went to school. They demanded I pay the overdue cigarette and bread money.”

“Phew.”

“I went there with a plan. Six of them came at me, and they had box cutters...”

“Oh my...!”

“There was no choice. I handed the knife to the teacher, and the school violence committee will be held.”

“Why didn’t you ever say anything before?”

“I don’t know. I just thought this was better than what was written there—suicide or killing other kids.”

Kang Chan’s calm and business-like tone seemed to have calmed the two down.

“They said it would be hard to attend school with so many students watching. What do you think, Father?”

Father?

Kang Chan looked at Kang Daekyung anew.

Has anyone ever stood up for me like this when I did something wrong? Not hitting me when I was drunk, but helping me clean up the mess I caused?

“I’m sorry for the injured kids, but I’m glad you’re safe. I don’t want you to die, and I’m relieved you didn’t kill anyone.”

Kang Daekyung, with a determined look, ignored Yoo Hye-suk’s surprised gaze.

“I thought the same when you were in the hospital. I just wanted you to survive.”

“Honey?”

Kang Daekyung gave Yoo Hye-suk a short, stern look.

“But promise me one thing.”

What is this feeling? The sincerity coming from Kang Daekyung was making Kang Chan’s heart warm.

“Promise me that if something like this happens again, you’ll tell your father first. I’ll be satisfied with that.”

“There might be more fights.”

“You won’t kill or be killed, right?”

“I promise.”

“Then it’s settled.”

Kang Daekyung’s gratitude for Kang Chan’s survival filled Kang Chan’s heart. It was a feeling he had never experienced, even after meeting platoon or company commanders after a fierce battle.

“I told you to come to school from tomorrow.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

Kang Chan’s grin made Kang Daekyung look bewildered, and Yoo Hye-suk looked horrified.

“Hmm. You decide that for yourself.”

“What?”

“Stop. Can’t you understand your son’s feelings after reading the diary? Boys really want to die when they’re pushed to the limit. Do you want your son to die? Or do you want him to go to prison for murder? Don’t compare Chan with your friends’ kids. Our son is just different.”

“But what did I say? He still has to go to high school!”

In front of Kang Chan, Yoo Hye-suk was trying to hold on to the last thread.

An awkward silence fell.

– Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep. –

Kang Daekyung’s phone bravely announced its mission.

“Hello?”

Kang Daekyung looked very flustered after answering the call.

When Yoo Hye-suk looked scared, he shook his head to tell her not to worry.

An urgent voice poured out from the other end, but Kang Daekyung could only stammer.

Kang Chan’s ears perked up.

It was Arabic, a soft-toned Arabic used by those who speak French. Most likely, it was an Algerian living in France.

“Can I take the call?”

“Huh?”

Kang Chan pulled the flustered Kang Daekyung’s phone.

“Hello. Mr. Kang Daekyung is busy, so I’m taking the call. Please speak slowly again.”

Fluent French?

Kang Daekyung and Yoo Hye-suk looked at each other with wide eyes. They had sent him to an expensive English academy, but he was speaking fluent French.

The other party was clearly ignoring him.

“Please wait a moment.”

Since he gets excited easily and tends to spill everything when angry, it’s better to be firm in such situations.

“Hey, don’t just spout off. I told you to wait.”

With his fluent pronunciation and strong tone, the other party seemed to flinch, and only breathing could be heard.

“The car you sent doesn’t match the quantity and price, so it can’t be cleared through customs. What’s going on? How should I respond?”

“What?”

“It’s urgent.”

After Kang Daekyung rolled his eyes a few times.

“There are 50 cars arriving today. It seems the documents and items sent from our side don’t match. Please check immediately and inform the customs office and our office.”

Kang Chan relayed what he heard into the phone.

“Wait a moment.”

Even with the blunt tone, the other party didn’t react.

Kang Daekyung, hearing Kang Chan’s words, said that if the documents are wrong and there’s a loss, they would cover it.

“I’ll cover it. So check the loss. If necessary, I’ll call the customs office directly, so give me the contact person and phone number.”

“Give me the contact person and phone number.”

Kang Chan suddenly felt suspicious.

It’s a gut feeling.

In such situations, you shouldn’t waste time.

“Otherwise, I’ll send my friend, who works as a mercenary, to your place first to resolve it.”

Are they trying to play a trick?

“I’ll blow up the customs office if necessary, so tell me exactly what the problem is. Where are you? Give me the location. I’ll send three Algerians.”

Kang Chan chuckled loudly enough for the other party to hear.

“Hey, make sure to check the documents properly next time.