God of Blackfield

For three days straight, Kang Chan felt agitated.

His discomfort didn’t go away even as they examined the satellite images of Luxembourg and looked for Alman bin Jibril. It was similar to the feeling of being unable to change his clothes even though they reeked of cigarettes—uncomfortable.

Resting his right arm against the window, Kang Chan looked down at the cars filling the roads, the buildings next to the roads, and the sky that took up half the world.

Distressed, he found himself chuckling.

Kang Chul-Gyu's face now had more wrinkles than before. Traces of time were evident on his forehead, cheeks, the corners of his eyes, and his neck.

All those wrinkles tugged at Kang Chan's heart, especially now that he had been told that Kang Chul-Gyu had to go to a detention center.

Kang Chan knew that Kang Chul-Gyu had committed a crime. He killed a man far different from the enemies that they had faced off against—a man who had assaulted Yang So-Mi.

Suddenly, Kang Chan became disgusted with everything. He also felt very disappointed.

Was he being selfish?

If it was selfish to just want to take a day off after working nonstop, then he wouldn’t know what to say.

“Daye,” Kang Chan called, though his gaze remained on the scenery past the window.

"Sir," Seok Kang-Ho answered softly.

"Prepare a car—we’re leaving. Tell Gérard he’s coming with us," Kang Chan said.

"Alright."

Finally, Kang Chan turned to Kim Hyung-Jung. "The three of us will be taking the afternoon off, Manager Kim. Those two can protect me, so don't worry about the security. Please leave us alone even just for this afternoon."

Seok Kang-Ho had entered the room for the foreign agents. Now, he was heading to the office door with Gérard to leave.

"You should at least have some bodyguards," Kim Hyung-Jung said.

Kang Chan had to remember that they were innocent—that they didn't know the relationship between him and Kang Chul-Gyu. Even if he wanted to explode, he should know better than to take it out on them.

"Please turn a blind eye to this. I just want to take a break right now," Kang Chan said.

He then picked up a jacket from a hanger and walked out the door.

No one moved as he left the office. They were aware that even though he was holding in his emotions, he was about to explode.

Kang Chan got in the elevator and went down the building.

There were agents at the entrance to the basement parking lot as well.

"We’ll be taking a break, but we won’t be bringing any security with us. I already told Manager Kim about it," Kang Chan informed them. He then got into the backseat of the car that Seok Kang-Ho had driven over.

Click.

Gérard closed the car door for Kang Chan and then got in the passenger seat.

Vroom.

Seok Kang-Ho immediately left the basement parking lot even though Kang Chan hadn’t told him where to go.

Meanwhile, Kang Chan sighed, then looked outside the window.

Kang Chul-Gyu naturally had to be punished. He did commit a crime, after all—he killed someone protected by the law.

Kang Chan knew all that, yet for some reason, he still couldn’t help but be furious and find it difficult to accept the situation.

However, he was furious at himself the most. He wondered what he had been doing until now that he let something like this happen. That was the hardest thing for him to accept.

Kang Chan had heard about Yang Dong-Sik's daughter some time ago.

Whenever a Jeungpyeong special forces soldier or an NIS agent died, he would go around saying that they didn't deserve this, that they shouldn't be treated like this. However, in the end, he failed to take care of Yang Dong-Sik's daughter when she was dying from terminal stomach cancer. He couldn’t even protect her from being assaulted.

Damn it! If only I paid more attention to them, Yang So-Mi wouldn’t have died in vain, and Kang Chul-Gyu, Nam Il-Gyu, Yang Dong-Sik, and Oh Gwang-Taek wouldn’t have had to go to a detention center.

The scenery outside the window changed.

Seok Kang-Ho quickly drove out of the Olympic Expressway. He didn’t know much, but he at least knew why they suddenly had to leave. How uncomfortable would this situation be for Gérard, who was sitting in the passenger seat completely clueless?

Kang Chan explained Kang Chul-Gyu’s situation to Gérard.

In the meantime, Seok Kang-Ho got off the Olympic Expressway and crossed the Gangdong Bridge.

"Where are we going?" Kang Chan asked Seok Kang-Ho.

"Gapyeong. We’re going to have some boiled chicken. At times like this, it's best to just have a hearty meal, drink a bowl of makgeolli, then take a good nap."

Kang Chan didn’t have anywhere else to go, so he remained silent.

"The weather’s nice today! Look at that river."

Even if Seok Kang-Ho hadn’t said that, Kang Chan was already watching the river beyond the road.

After about forty more minutes on the road, Seok Kang-Ho parked the car at a chicken restaurant that Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho had visited before. It had a wooden table and a canopy tent next to the small, crystal-clear stream and offered boiled chicken.

They drank makgeolli with the acorn jelly[1] that was served first.

Seok Kang-Ho brought up stories of their time as mercenaries. They had talked about those days so many times that they should’ve been sick and tired of them already. On the contrary, however, they just kept reminiscing about them.

"Do you remember the other captains worrying a lot because the soldiers from the other units kept bullshitting that they wanted to move to our team after we returned from the operation in Congo? Our cap was so cool back then! Hahaha!"

Kang Chan relayed what Seok Kang-Ho was saying to Gérard in French.

Smiling, Gérard chimed in, "It was always hilarious to watch new recruits peeking at our unit to see the cap's face. One idiot even broke three fingers when he fell while trying to imitate the way our cap runs while reloading!"

Although they were just talking about things they had already talked about before, it reminded Kang Chan that he had survived that place and that the three of them were still together right now. Little by little, the thought energized him.

Soon, the chicken was served. There were three people but only two chicken legs.

“Let’s divide the meat evenly,” Seok Kang-Ho suggested.

He then removed all the meat from the bones with his hands so they wouldn’t have to choose between the good and bad meat.

After eating chicken, they had porridge.

Having his fill and talking to the two made Kang Chan feel a little better.

Soon, they ordered instant coffee. As their mugs were brought to their table, they each smoked a cigarette.

Noticing that Kang Chan had calmed down and no longer seemed about to explode, Seok Kang-Ho discretely asked, "What are you going to do now?"

You become a fucking wily fox at times like this.

"Twist the necks of Jibril and the guy who wrecked Gérard," Kang Chan said.

"Sounds good."

Kang Chan then relayed their conversation to Gérard.

"Daye, since you know Arabic, I want you to spearhead the operation against Jibril. Bring Jong-Il, Hee-Seung, and Doo-Hee with you,” Kang Chan said. He then revealed the rest of his plan.

"You remember what we talked about last time, right? Since Michelle produces dramas, Gérard suggested that we ask her to apply special makeup on us. I want you and the others to hunt down Jibril looking like Arabs. The National Intelligence Service can probably make you guys passports with your new faces.”

Seok Kang-Ho nodded.

Kang Chan continued, "In the meantime, I’m thinking of going to Luxembourg with Gérard."

"You want to attack them at the same time?"

Kang Chan nodded. "Luxembourg may not be their main headquarters. While you’re out chasing Jibril, Gérard and I will try to get as much information as possible in Luxembourg. We’ll join you as soon as we find intel about their headquarters. Let's put a proper end to this."

"About time we do that."

Afterward, Kang Chan told Gérard the plan. However, Gérard's response was slightly different from Seok Kang-Ho’s.

"I’m sure we’ll be fine going to Luxemburg since we’ll be going together, but is it really a smart idea to send that stupid bastard to an operation by himself?" he asked.

Kang Chan knew these two fuckers fighting again would exhaust the shit out of him.

"To me, you two aren’t that different” he quickly answered.

"What? No way. That's not true, Cap."

"What's not true?"

"I use my brain, don’t I?"

"You’re crazy."

The two snickered in front of Seok Kang-Ho, who was looking at them suspiciously.

"Are you going to get some sleep?" Seok Kang-Ho asked Kang Chan afterward.

"Nah, I'm good."

"Let's leave in a bit, then.”

"Sure."

It wasn’t almost three in the afternoon.

A cool breeze gently blew past them, accompanied by the sound of water rushing over rocks. The warm sunlight kept them from feeling too cold.

Stepping out of their harsh lives for a moment was all they needed to learn that the world was worth living. However, they knew they would eventually have to return to their brutal lives, where they didn’t even know who was going to die and when.

Still sitting at the wooden table, the three watched the river.

It would’ve been great if Kang Chan visited a place like this with Kang Chul-Gyu at least once. The weather was nice, the sunlight was warm, the sound of water was amazing, and the food was great.

Naturally, at times like this…

Kang Chan turned around and picked up a cigarette and a lighter.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

At the same time, Gérard’s phone rang from inside the jacket he had taken off.

Only a few people knew this fucker’s number—it had to either be the army interpreter or Michelle.

Gérard pulled out his phone and checked the caller ID. He cocked his head, but he still answered the call.

"Ello?"

- Beeep.

As Kang Chan cupped the flame coming from the lighter and lit his cigarette, Seok Kang-Ho sharply called him.

"Captain.”

He only ever used that tone when they were out on operations.

Kang Chan quickly looked up and then immediately followed Seok Kang-Ho’s gaze, which was on Gérard.

It was terrifying.

Gérard's eyes had completely rolled to the back of his head, making Kang Chan wonder if human eyes could even do that.

“Oui,” Gérard told whoever he was speaking to on the phone. He sounded like a completely different person. "As Xairo commands."

What’s he saying?

As Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho exchanged gazes, Gérard said something unexpected.

"I’m going to kill Kang Chan."

Seok Kang-Ho quickly crouched. With just a nod from Kang Chan, he would kill Gérard.

Gérard continued, "After completing his duty, Gabriel will ascend to the sky."

Blood dripped out of his nose and stained his white shirt.

The area around them had quieted down so much that all they could hear was the water babbling in the stream.

Eventually, Gérard’s eyes slowly returned to normal. At the same time, he spat out blood.

Seok Kang-Ho glared at Gérard with glinting eyes, still crouching.

“Captain, I remembered the name of the yellow-eyed bastard in Luxembourg. It’s Xairo. That son of a bitch is in charge of the organization that turned me into this,” Gérard said.

He then wiped the blood from his nose with the tissue paper on the table.

Chk chk.

In the meantime, Kang Chan lit up a cigarette and handed it to Gérard. Next, he lit up two more cigarettes and handed one of them to Seok Kang-Ho.

Even while taking the cigarette from Kang Chan, Seok Kang-Ho kept his eyes on Gérard. However, it wasn't because he was worried that Gérard would betray them. Rather, he was worried about what Gérard would do while hypnotized.

“Hoo.”

Although Gérard saw Seok Kang-Ho crouching and staring at him suspiciously, Gérard exhaled the cigarette smoke as if he wasn’t offended in the slightest.

“I was aware that you and Daye were in front of me. I also knew how I should act and answer in response to their orders. If I had lost my mind a little more, I would’ve gone somewhere else to answer the phone, and I might’ve tried to attack you.”

Wiping his nose with the back of his hand, he added. “Please tell Daye to kill me immediately if I do anything suspicious.”

“Crazy bastard.”

“What is that fucker saying?” Seok Kang-Ho asked Kang Chan.

“He wants me to tell you to kill him as soon as he does anything suspicious.”

“Motherfucking son of a bitch.”

They swore twice in their quick conversation. Gérard laughed weakly, and Seok Kang-Ho laughed with him, eyes glinting.

“Captain,” Gérard called.

Kang Chan just looked back at him.

“You should die.”

It was difficult to respond to things like this. If Gérard had said that in Korean instead of French, Seok Kang-Ho might’ve already attacked him.

Gérard continued, “When I remembered the name Xairo, I realized that even if we go to Garnich, it isn’t really a place we can enter. But if you die, then there’ll be a way for me to get in.”

“Is that what ‘Gabriel ascending to the sky’ means?”

Gérard nodded.

“It doesn’t mean that you’re going to commit suicide?” Kang Chan asked again.

“The sky is a jargon that refers to Garnich, Luxembourg. If I kill you and survive, I’ll be able to head to the base in Garnich. They will definitely come to pick me up then.”

“So you’re saying that we should target that moment?”

Gérard nodded. The scar on his cheek twitched.

“What’s he saying?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.

Kang Chan told him about Gérard’s suggestion.

Afterward, Seok Kang-Ho looked like he found Gérard’s suggestion suspicious.

“What if that fucker is planning to use that as an excuse to target you?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.

“Let’s hear him out first before we decide.”

Kang Chan looked back at Gérard. “How are you going to accomplish that?”

“That’s what we have to figure out. We need to give them a way to confirm the ‘kill’ while also keeping them from finding out about our plan.”

“This is going to be fun,” Kang Chan commented.

The three then began to brainstorm ways Kang Chan should die.

Maybe these fuckers have actually wanted to kill me before this?

Looking deep in thought, Kang Chan glared at Seok Kang-Ho and Gérard. The two enthusiastically suggested that he should be stabbed to death with a bayonet, shot to death with a pistol, or riddled with holes with a machine gun. They even suggested falling from the roof of a building… again.

It was dumbfounding, but Seok Kang-Ho—who had been suspicious of Gérard—was more actively thinking of ways to kill Kang Chan than Gérard.

Seok Kang-Ho and Gérard stopped talking when they finally noticed the look in Kang Chan’s eyes.

At that moment, Kang Chan asked one last question.

“Who should we tell our plan?”

***

A day in Jeungpyeong started with training and ended with training.

When Park Chul-Su returned and took over the administrative problems, Cha Dong-Gyun devoted himself to their training even more passionately than before.

Park Chul-Su sighed.

Even though his upper body hadn’t completely healed yet, he still sat up and looked at the pile of documents.

Rumors were quite scary.

Every day, they received requests for cooperation from foreign special forces because they wanted to train with the Jeungpyeong special forces team. Now, the Ministry of National Defense was subtly pressuring them to accept the requests from certain countries as well.

Park Chul-Su was glad that he had learned from Choi Seong-Geon himself.

He removed the requests for cooperation from the countries that the Ministry of National Defense had recommended they trained with. He then placed them at the bottom of the pile.

“Lead the military camp as you please. I'll take responsibility for whatever happens afterward,” he once told Cha Dong-Gyun.

Hence, when Park Chul-Su returned, Cha Dong-Gyun requested just one thing—he wanted to train. He wanted to train until he was satisfied.

Cha Dong-Gyun wished to create a special forces team whose members could return together from an operation—a world-famous special forces team that was second only to the DMZ team.

Du du du du! Du du du! Du du du du!

The gunshots from the AK-47s in the distance echoed into the barracks.

To that end, Park Chul-Su got ahold of everything that Cha Dong-Gyun had asked for, including AK-47s and RPGs. They also cut down the mountain next to the makeshift city and made it look like the terrains in Africa and Afghanistan.

Moreover, they found groundwater so they could make a temporary stream whenever they wanted. This allowed them to train for operations in the rain as well since they could spray the groundwater like a fountain.

Unfortunately, since the soldiers used so much live ammunition every day, Park Chul-Su had been called over by the higher-ups twice. They sarcastically told him that he was acting out too much because he believed in his connection with the President.

If Park Chul-Su hadn’t experienced the battle in Africa, he wouldn't have been able to do all of this for the soldiers.

If he hadn't seen how many soldiers a competent commander could save in a hellish battle and lead an otherwise impossible operation to success, he wouldn’t be the same person today.

Screech.

Park Chul-Su stood up from his seat. The adjutant quickly stood up as well.

He then limped out of the barracks and put a cigarette in between his lips. Right after, the adjutant quickly lit it for him.

Ratatatatat! Ratatatat! Ratatatatatat!

Once again, terrifying AK-47 gunshots quickly echoed toward them from a distance. Whenever he heard those noises, Park Chul-Su was reminded of Africa.

"Hooo."

The cigarette smoke he exhaled dispersed into the air as if it was afraid of the gunshots.

"This is our last training for today, right?" Park Chul-Su asked.

"Yes, sir. We don’t have night training scheduled today,” the adjutant answered quickly.

"Do you think they're crazy?"

"I’m not sure about that."

The adjutant tried his best to avoid the difficult question.

Park Chul-Su looked away from the adjutant. He then turned to where the makeshift city was located.

‘Get stronger.’

He thought of Cha Dong-Gyun, then of Kwak Cheol-Ho and Yoon Sang-Ki.

'The day you men become a commander like him, we’ll become the world's best special forces team in the world.'

Once again, Park Chul-Su strengthened his resolve to protect the men until they could achieve that goal.

Now, they had an abundance of experience—they had completed operations in Afghanistan, Africa, Libya, and even the counter-terrorism operation in the International Building.

However, they couldn’t do anything about the difference in their capabilities. After all, that depended on whether Kang Chan was present.

Park Chul-Su believed that the soldiers were going to become stronger, and he was going to do his best to support them.

They were going to become the special forces team that Choi Seong-Geon had wanted to create so badly.

After smoking, Park Chul-Su exhaled the cigarette smoke one more time as if he were sighing. He then threw the cigarette butt into the can in front of him.

The dreams and wishes of Choi Seong-Geon—a commander with unparalleled perseverance—continued with Park Chul-Su.

1. Acorn jelly ☜