Novel Bin Chapter 303.2: With everyone
Chapter 303.2: With everyone
“Take the rest of the day off. I’ll come by tomorrow afternoon to discuss the upcoming schedule,” Kang Chan said.
“All right.”
Clothes definitely made the man.
Kang Chan wanted to drag him back out and do something about his unsophisticated haircut, but they had more days left together anyway.
“Go on up.”
Kang Chul-Gyu smiled awkwardly and headed up to his hotel room.
Afterward, a low sigh escaped Kang Chan. He turned around and saw agents standing in front of the car.
“I’m going to have some coffee in the lobby. Do you want a cup too?” Kang asked them.
“We’d feel more comfortable just waiting for you,” an agent replied with a grin. He then hopped back into the passenger’s seat.
There were only two hours left before midnight.
Craving for some hot, strong coffee, Kang Chan walked into the lobby.
Buzz, buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz, buzz.
Just then, his phone began to ring.
“Hello?”
- Channy, we’re done.
This was the first time he had ever heard Michelle sound so exhausted.
“Where are you?”
- Apgujeong-Dong. What about you?
“I just arrived at the hotel. Where do you want to have dinner?
- Let’s go somewhere we can smoke. What about that restaurant in Bangbae-Dong? The one visited last time?
“Sure. Don’t we have to make a reservation, though?”
- I’ll call them and let you know.
Kang Chan was about to ask her what happened but decided against it. They were going to meet soon anyway. He could just hear all about it then.
He didn’t have enough time to drink coffee, but it was awkward to just sit around and wait.
It was strange how people’s emotions worked.
Kang Chan didn’t expect that he would miss Joo Chul-Beom, who was in Mongolia. If he was here, Kang Chan could just sit around in the staff office and smoke a cigarette. However, he supposed no matter how much he missed him, he would still be annoyed at how the punk always greeted him with a ninety-degree bow.
Buzz, buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz, buzz.
With nothing to do, he just stood in the lobby until his phone rang again.
- Channy, I’ve made the reservation. Can you find your way here?
“Sorry, I forgot. Can you send me the address?”
- Sure. We’re on our way.
His phone vibrated soon after he hung up. When he went out of the entrance, the agent waiting for him immediately walked over.
The entrance of a lobby was usually bustling with people waiting for their cars.
At first glance, Kang Chan probably looked to be in his mid-twenties at most. Hence, his expensive luxury suit and shoes stood out even more than usual. To top it all off, a black sedan pulled up in front of him, and a muscular man opened its rear door for him.
He climbed into the car as the people around him quickly gazed at him. He then showed the agent in the driver’s seat Michelle’s text. “Can you drive me to this address?”
Not long after, they arrived at Bangbae-Dong.
“This might take a while. Why don’t you go inside and get some rest?” Kang Chan suggested.
“We have twenty agents stationed at this place,” the agent replied.
“What?”
“Your security clearance has been upgraded, so we’ve increased the number of guards around you. Starting tomorrow, you’ll also have a secondary line of security from Yoo Bi-Corp.”
Kang Chan felt as if he was being jolted out of a deep slumber.
“Who issued that order?” Kang Chan asked in surprise.
“The Director did. The National Intelligence Agency has taken over your security.”
Kang Chan sighed, thinking they had gone too far. He decided to discuss this with Kim Hyung-Jung tomorrow.
Nodding, he simply replied, “Got it.”
Just as he was about to enter the restaurant, Michelle’s car pulled in behind Kang Chan’s.
Gérard got out of the passenger’s seat with a dark scowl on his face, and Michelle stepped out of the driver’s seat looking like it had been days since she last had some sleep.
As the agent drove away, Gérard walked up to Kang Chan.
Gérard’s brown hair had been handsomely cut into what Kang Chan believed was called a semi-Mohican style. He was also wearing a neat suit, a dress shirt, a narrow tie, and maroon leather shoes.
“What happened?” Kang Chan asked.
He looked jaw-droppingly handsome, at least. All the women walking by turned to stare at him.
His thick eyebrows, long lashes, and eyes, which had a hint of green, made him look like a lonely, mysterious man. Even the scar on his cheek added to his charm now that he was dressed to the nines.
“What is wrong with that woman?” Gérard growled as he looked at Michelle, who was parking the car. To her credit, he looked more handsome than the famous soccer players of England.
“What’s wrong? You look nice,” Kang Chan responded.
“It took me twenty outfit changes just to find this one outfit,” Gérard snarled.
“Well, that’s—”
“It wasn’t just one store. We went to at least six different stores. First for the shirt, then the shoes!”
Gérard glared at Michelle again, seemingly having almost lost his temper in the middle of his complaint.
If he was telling the truth, that would mean they had gone off to eighteen different stores and changed suits, shirts, and shoes twenty times.
Whew!
Just the thought of it sent a shiver down Kang Chan’s spine. He thought it was a relief that Gérard didn’t have a gun on him.
Just then, Michelle came over and approached Kang Chan, completely ignoring Gérard.
“Channy,” she called.
“You’ve both had a long day. Let’s head inside and get something to eat,” Kang Chan said.
All the women and even the men passing by turned their heads to look at Gérard—although the men’s eyes swiftly turned toward Michelle next.
It was worth the effort. However, if Michelle asked the same thing to Kang Chan, he would definitely say no. They weren’t planning to be models or anything. What point was there in visiting six different stores and changing outfits twenty times?
As they walked into the restaurant, a waiter froze in his tracks upon seeing Gérard. All the customers inside also stared at their party. With Michelle standing alongside them as well, both the men and women had a reason to look at their group.
Michelle turned to Gérard with a gaze that seemed to ask, “You still don’t think I’m right?”
From what Kang Chan could tell, Gérard was desperately trying to contain his anger.
After Michelle gave the name their reservation was registered under, one of the employees led them to a small courtyard at the back of the restaurant.
The night air was still chilly. The employee lit up an umbrella-shaped gas heater and then took their order.
“Do you still serve food at this hour?” Kang Chan asked.
“We take orders until eleven, but you can stay until one.”
That was more than enough time.
Kang Chan had already eaten, and the two of them didn’t look like they had an appetite, so he just ordered a three-course French meal and some wine for the table.
Michelle pulled out a few cigarettes. They then all gladly lit them.
“Hoo.”
Exhaling the smoke, they felt as if the fatigue they had accumulated throughout the day was melting away.
Their server brought them a bottle of wine, biscuits, and cheese first.
Glug.
Kang Chan took the bottle and filled their glasses.
At the same time, Gérard glared at the tables inside through the glass. “Why do those annoying bastards keep stealing glances at us?”
“Do you have to say it like that?” Michelle snapped back.
Kang Chan had never seen her act this way.
Gérard turned to Michelle, irritation evident on his face.
Michelle continued, “Why do you keep talking like that? It’s a relief the department store employees couldn’t understand you. How would you feel if you were in their shoes and they talked the way you did?”
“What’s wrong with what I said?” Gérard questioned.
“You asked if we thought you were an idiot! How do you think that made me feel? What did the employees even do that was so wrong?”
“While we’re on the subject, let me just ask one thing. Why did you make me put on clothes that I wasn’t even going to buy?”
“You have to compare the clothes to know which ones to buy. Were you planning to just buy clothes you hadn’t even tried on? What if there were better clothes at other stores?”
“I ended up buying the first outfit I tried on!” Gérard exclaimed.
“Because after trying everything on, we realized it was what suited you best!” Michelle cried out.
It sounded like an argument between a frustrated man and a wrongly accused woman.
Clink, clink, clink.
Kang Chan lifted his spoon and tapped his wine glass with it.
“That’s enough.”
This wasn’t an issue of who was right or wrong. They simply belonged to different species. If Michelle were to go on an operation and make a mistake, the tables would have been turned.
“I asked her to do it. Let’s stop here,” Kang Chan told Gérard.
“Understood,” Gérard obediently replied.
Michelle glanced at Gérard.
“Thanks, Michelle,” Kang Chan said. “Gérard isn’t a model or an aspiring actor. He doesn’t know much about things like this. I hope you understand.”
“All right,” Michelle replied.
Gérard looked at her this time, the scar on his cheek twitching.
“This is a special meeting. I wanted two of my favorite people to be acquainted. Here, let’s forget what happened during shopping,” Kang Chan said, raising his glass.
Gérard and Michelle raised theirs as well.
Clink!
After touching glasses, they all took a sip before setting their drinks down.
“Cap, I bought two suits, plus other clothes, sneakers, and shoes. It cost quite a bit. I insisted on paying with my card, but...” Gérard began, putting another cigarette in his mouth.
“Channy, I paid for it with the rent we received recently. That reminds me, for God’s sake, please take care of your accounts,” Michelle pleaded.
“Why? Can’t I just leave them alone?” Kang Chan asked.
“I guess, but there’s quite a bit of money in there.”
“Just leave it. I can just use my card if I have to, and I’m good. Oh, right! I spent a lot of money today. I also got this suit and some other clothes,” Kang Chan loudly boasted.
“You spent a lot? How much?”
“I don’t know. I think I spent more than ten million won.”
Michelle narrowed her eyes at him.
“Did I spend too much?” Kang Chan worriedly asked. “I’ll have Cecile put some more money in the bank account.”
She took out another cigarette and lit it up.
“What are you talking about? You earned over seven hundred million just from the drama rights, then you have your monthly salary from DI and the building management company.”
“Does that mean I don’t have to put in more money?”
Michelle laughed in disbelief. Meanwhile, Gérard just stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray like he wasn’t interested at all.
Their food was soon served.
The three shared the meal over wine. Although they were already full, they at least sampled the food. Kang Chan spoke up often to control the pace of the conversation.
Michelle was wise. She didn\'t ask about Kang Chan and Gérard’s relationship. Instead, she naturally steered the conversation to the production of dramas.
Fortunately, Kang Chan didn’t have to interpret their French for anyone.
While they filled their stomachs and drank wine, their resentment from shopping melted away.
“When are you leaving the country?” Michelle asked Gérard.
“I have nineteen days of vacation left,” Gérard replied.
“Vacation?”
“Vacation from work. Why do you ask?”
“It would be nice if we could get together again with my friend Cecile.”
Gérard smiled in response, causing the scar on his cheek to twitch.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Michelle asked with a frown.
“I always smile like this. Do I also have to worry about what others think of it?”
Kang Chan just grinned as he watched them.
Michelle wouldn’t be able to understand that smile of his—which stemmed from the discomfort of being paired up with someone—even if he tried his best to explain.
Smiles like that could only be made by those who wanted to be an emotionless nobody during missions.
That was the same reason Kang Chan just stayed with Daye during vacations until they had to return to duty.
Michelle sighed quietly and looked away.
By the time they had finished two bottles of wine, it was already almost one in the morning.
The employee walked over to their table and informed them that they were going to close soon. Hence, Kang Chan immediately paid with his card.
“Channy, why don’t we go to a nearby gopchang restaurant and have some soju?” Michelle suggested.
More alcohol with these two?
Kang Chan glanced at Gérard.
“I’m not tired,” Gérard reassured him.
Kang Chan didn’t know if he and Gérard would ever get the chance to drink together like this again, so he just nodded and stood up.
Since the gopchang restaurant was just out front, they informed the restaurant they were currently in that Michelle would leave her car in the parking lot for a bit longer before walking over.
It was still cold at night, and even though it was past one in the morning, the streets of Bangbae-Dong were still busy. If only it weren’t for the French man and woman attracting everyone’s attention, Kang Chan would have walked more comfortably.
Stealthily glancing around, he occasionally saw the agents assigned to him. It would’ve been nice if he could invite them all over for gopchang and soju.
“Welcome—”
A woman who seemed to be an employee of the restaurant began to greet them but froze upon seeing Michelle and Gérard. Seeing Kang Chan seemed to have made her feel relieved.
“Hello ma’am, we’ll have a platter for three, a bottle of soju, and two beers,” Michelle ordered in fluent Korean.
Curious glances were thrown at them from the other tables in the half-full restaurant.
Hiss.
While the gopchang cooked, Michelle whipped up bomb shots made with beer and soju.
“Here we go! Cheers!”
Kang Chan didn’t know what it was for.
Gérard’s cheek twitched in amusement as he raised his glass.
Clink!
Unlike wines, this kind of alcohol was fun to down quickly.
Gérard drank half of his glass. After glancing at Kang Chan and Michelle, he then downed the rest of his cup. He covered his mouth with his fist from the carbonation, and this time, Michelle grinned like she was imitating Gérard from earlier.
“This is fun,” Gérard said, glancing outside.
This wasn’t the Africa he was familiar with, but it wasn’t France either. They were drinking alcohol together in South Korea, where Kang Chan lived.
Kang Chan could see the complex emotions in his eyes.
“If it’s so fun, why don’t we have another round of shots?” Michelle suggested.
“Sure.”
What the hell?
Kang Chan had no choice but to down another bomb shot.
When he set down his empty glass, the woman came back over.
“You can eat it now.”
She pushed the cooked gopchang to one side and turned to Gérard and Michelle with curious eyes.
“Try it,” Kang Chan told Gérard.
“Okay.”
Gérard awkwardly picked up the gopchang with his chopsticks.
“Should I ask for a fork?” Michelle asked him.
“I’m fine.”
Gérard held his chopsticks in a death grip and managed to get the food in his mouth, albeit barely.
“It’s not bad,” he said.
Kang Chan grinned. “Eat up.”
They got to eat good food and have fun drinking alcohol on this joyous occasion. However, Kang Chan couldn’t feel at ease knowing that, after his vacation, Gérard would have to fly back to the battlefields in Africa.
The reality of Africa kept nagging at the back of his mind. One could die at any time and anywhere on that continent, and no one would find it strange.
Noticing the look in Kang Chan’s eyes, Gérard held out the bomb shot that Michelle had made for him.
“Merci, Capitaine,” he said.
Gérard seemed to have read the emotions in Kang Chan’s gaze. He, too, had been keeping the recruit whom he had lost in Africa in the back of his heart.
Kang Chan wordlessly touched glasses with him.
Clink.
After downing their shots, Kang Chan raised another. “Merci, Gérard.”
He was grateful for everything—that Gérard made his and Daye’s lives in Africa meaningful, that he recognized him even though he looked different now, and for staying alive to this day.
Clink.
Gérard’s cheek twitched as they both took another shot.
Michelle ordered more beer and soju.
“South Korea is truly fun,” Gérard remarked.
“Drink up,” Kang Chan said, raising another glass with a smile. The three downed their drinks once more.
It was a pleasant and fun occasion.
“Is this the Korean food that you were talking about?” Gérard suddenly asked.
“No.”
“What were you talking about, then, Channy?” Michelle asked.
“I told him about the pork cutlets and bulgogi that they sell at local restaurants.”
The three chatted about light topics as they kept drinking the night away.
“If we have time, I’ll buy some bulgogi,” Michelle offered.
Gérard blinked, his eyes heavy with alcohol, as he complacently turned toward her.
“Sounds good.”
By around four in the morning, they had finished around eight beers and three bottles of soju. They were feeling pretty good.
Buzz, buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz, buzz.
Kang Chan quickly pulled out his phone. A call at this time of night was either really urgent or a misdial.
“Hello?”
- Hey! Kang Chan! Where are you?!
Oh Gwang-Taek sounded furious.
What the fuck is this asshole doing at this hour?
“What is it?” Kang Chan calmly asked.
- Hey! I’m watching the camera footage right now! It is him! I’m fucking sure of it! Where are you?!
Kang Chan reflexively looked at Gérard.
- Hey! I’m going to the hotel right now! I’ll be there in thirty minutes! That son of a bitch! I’m going to fucking murder him!
Oh Gwang-Taek enraged curses pierced his ears.