Chapter 65.1: I’m being sincere (1)
“Is that really true? Did Lanok really say he’s going to connect the rail to South Korea?” Go Gun-Woo asked Kang Chan.
“He did. He also said he’ll tell me how this would turn out within a few days. It hasn’t been finalized yet, though, and he's still thinking of how to push through with this, so he told me to take it with a grain of salt."
“Woah!” Go Gun-Woo’s exclamation was full of false hope.
What's he doing?
Kang Chan discreetly looked around him, finding not only the secretary but even Kim Hyung-Jung unable to control their facial expressions.
“Mr. Kang Chan!” Go Gun-Woo looked absolutely excited.
“Thank you! I feel like I’ve now done my duty to the country as a Prime Minister. If this succeeds, then our future generations will prosper for a long time. Thank you so much, Mr. Kang Chan!”
“Lanok said nothing’s been finalized yet, though,” Kang Chan said.
“That’s not true!” Go Gun-Woo shook his head. “Once Lanok says he’ll push through with it, then you can already consider it done. He has more than enough power to accomplish it.”
That man is that powerful, huh?
Kang Chan just sat there calmly, which caused Gun-Woo to laugh out loud. His expression seemed to say, ‘you really have no idea.’
“Manager Kim, I heard Mr. Kang Chan here had a problem today and even had to go to the police station?” asked Go Gun-Woo.
“Alion is undergoing a tax investigation. The company’s also being investigated for other reasons, including forced sex entertainment. Moreover, the police have started to round up the Wook Ak-San gang. Based on the current plan, there’s should be a prosecution announcement within two days.”
Go Gun-Woo nodded. He was clearly boasting about it. Kang Chan almost smirked, but he forced himself to resist the urge to smile.
“Your father is the president of Kang Yoo Motors, right?” asked Go Gun-Woo.
“That’s correct, Mr. Prime Minister.”
“What about your mother?”
“She’s preparing to create a Foundation to support orphanages.”
Go Gun-Woo looked at the secretary, then looked downward.
Should I have just said that she’s a housewife?
“I’m afraid I have to go now, but let’s have lunch together next week. Please feel free to tell us if you need anything,” Go Gun-Woo continued.
“Mr. Prime Minister.”
Go Gun-Woo leaned his head forward a bit and waited for Kang Chan to continue.
“I heard that Lanok’s favorite hobby is golf. Unfortunately, he had given up on playing it in France since it caused a lot of difficulties in guarding him. Could you consider making preparations so he could enjoy golf, even if it's just for a day?”
“Do you play golf, Mr. Kang Chan?” asked Go Gun-Woo.
“I have done it poorly a few times.”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“I’ll contact you as soon as possible.”
Following Go Gun-Woo’s actions, Kang Chan also got up from his seat. He then politely shook hands with him.
“I’ll lead the way, Mr. Kang Chan.”
Kang Chan followed Kim Hyung-Jung out of the room first and headed to the parking lot opposite where they came in.
As soon as they got in the backseat and closed the door, the car immediately left.
Kim Hyung-Jung tightly clenched both of his fists. Trembling, his facial expression hardened. Soon, he breathed in deeply.
“I’ve forgotten about my personal aspirations for my career. I’m just happy this massive project has moved a step forward, and that South Korea now has a foundation for further growth.”
“What about the promotion?” asked Kang Chan.
Kim Hyung-Jung smirked. This man had this type of charm.
Kang Chan took out his phone and contacted Kim Tae-Jin.
- How did it go?
“I think your friend just got a promotion.”
- What does that mean?
“Lanok said he’s going to carry forward with the plan to connect the rail to South Korea.”
- Wow!
Kang Chan quickly distanced the phone from his ear.
- You’re not lying, are you? Where are you? We need to meet up! We need to have a drink on days like this! I’m paying!
Kim Tae-Jin was so loud Kim Hyung-Jung could hear everything.
“I’m with manager Kim right now.”
Beside Kang Chan, Kim Hyung-Jung said, “Please tell him to come to Yeoksam-dong.”
“He says you should come to Yeoksam-dong.”
- Alright. I'm on my way.
“Mr. President!”
Kang Chan quickly called Kim Tae-Jin before he could drop the call.
“Lanok said he wants us to be in charge of his security while he’s here in South Korea. He’s going to put me as the client or something, and he asked that I contact the French Embassy through Yoo Bi-Corp.”
- Huhuhu, I’m going to go crazy.
Since when did he laugh like that?
- You should’ve contacted me when you left. Ah! If it’s okay, then tell Mr. Seok Kang-Ho to join us as well.
“Alright.”
After Kang Chan hung up, he called Seok Kang-Ho and handed the phone to Kim Hyung-Jung instead of giving him a long explanation.. Kim Hyung-Jung then gave Seok Kang-Ho directions.
Unexpectedly, Kim Hyung-Jung chose a hostess bar called the ‘Bali’ as their meetup point.
“I go there a lot. It's got a great atmosphere and it’s easy for us to talk to each other there," Kim Hyung-Jung explained.
When they went inside the bar, a nice-looking woman greeted them and led them to a wide room.
Kang Chan was reminded of the time he beat up the parking lot gang’s Park Ki-Bum sometime ago so he didn’t feel great, but there was no need to express that.
Kim Hyung-Jung and Kang Chan sat down, leaving the head of the table empty, and were drinking a bottle of water when Kim Tae-Jin and Seok Kang-Ho entered together.
Upon seeing Kang Chan’s swollen eyes, their excitement swiftly left their faces.
“Huh? What happened to your eye?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
“I got hit.”
“Did someone hit you while you were sleeping?”
“Sit down, then we’ll talk,” said Kang Chan.
Kang Chan and Kim Tae-Jin sat beside each other, and Seok Kang-Ho and Kim Hyung-Jung greeted each other and sat on the opposite side.
Kang Chan first told them about what happened at the hotel earlier in the day, then about how he met Go Gun-Woo. Kim Hyung-Jung also added that there were no traces of the men Kang Chan fought entering the country at all.
“I should work out even harder starting tomorrow,” Seok Kang-Ho commented.
As Kang Chan smirked, the lady earlier came into the room. No matter how he looked at her, she still looked so elegant that she should be doing embroidery, not working in a bar.
“I’m Hong Jin-Ah. I look forward to serving all of you.”
Hong Jin-Ah greeted Seok Kang-Ho and Kang Chan, then left the room after saying that she was going to order alcohol and side dishes.
The social hierarchy got messed up.
Kim Tae-Jin and Kang Chan, Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho, Kim Tae-Jin and Kim Hyung-Jung… Organizing how they should address and speak to each other was difficult. Kang Chan was technically younger than them, but his skills, titles, and achievements complicated things.
“We should organize it by age,” Kang Chan said.
“That makes me uncomfortable, Mr. Kang Chan.” Kim Hyung-Jung was so against it he even shook his head.
“How about we treat each other in the way we usually do for now? Even though you’re my friend, I think it’s wrong for a person executing their duty to speak rashly and informally.”
They went along with Kim Tae-Jin’s suggestion for now.
A moment later, western liquor, beer, fruits, and fried Namix were served.
Kim Hyung-Jung volunteered to make bomb shots, then handed them to everyone.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“Now! To the development of South Korea!” Kim Hyung-Jung exclaimed.
He looked somewhat cool since he put conviction in such a cliche statement. The four of them downed their alcohol in one go.
“Whoo!”
Kang Chan finally drank alcohol, which he hadn't done in a while. He felt very relieved.
For the second round of drinks, Kim Tae-Jin promptly made bomb shots again and handed them to everyone.
“People that are destined to meet will meet someday. Let’s have a drink to Kang Chan, who connected us,” Kim Tae-Jin told everyone.
This also seemed okay.
Starting with Kang Chan, they again down their drinks in one go.
Seok Kang-Ho quickly grabbed all of the cups, then made bomb shots again, this time with a lot of western liquor. He then gave them to everyone.
“I’m going to pay for the drinks tonight,” Seok Kang-Ho told everyone.
I knew that fucker was going to do that.
“I’ll enjoy the drinks, Mr. Seok Kang-Ho.”
Kim Tae-Jin and Kim Hyung-Jung drank while roaring with laughter.
Kang Chan then adequately mixed the drinks and gave everyone bomb shots.
Fortunately, there were only four of them. If there were about ten of them, their gathering would’ve ended after everyone had their turn making bomb shots.
The three people that received drinks stared at Kang Chan.
“For the day we link up with Unicorn!” yelled Kang Chan.
The four of them emptied their cups with kindred smiles. Afterward, they started pouring drinks for themselves.
“I’ll immediately assign the five employees you’re training to Lanok after they’re done with their training,” Kim Tae-Jin told Kang Chan.
“Please proceed as you see fit.”
They roughly finished the conversation about work.
In the middle of their gathering, Kang Chan texted Kang Dae-Kyung and said that he was going to stay with Seok Kang-Ho today. Kang Dae-Kyung responded by telling him to stay safe.
They talked about when Seok Kang-Ho and his family were abducted, how Seok Kang-Ho felt when he was releasing the wire from Kang Chan’s hand, how Kim Tae-Jin ran out of breath when he ran while carrying a stretcher, and about what happened today.
The result of the investigation around Alion and the Woo Ak-San gang being announced soon was also a popular subject.
All of them drank until the very end of their gathering. What Kang Chan liked the most was that they could drink in comfort and without worrying about their surroundings.
Everyone went home after drinking to their heart’s content. Kang Chan stayed at the Namsan Hotel.
1. Yeoksam-dong is a ward of Gangnam-gu
2. This refers to red catfish that has been dried and fried. It is a popular side dish to alcohol.