Episode 53. pangolin
[The night before, 23 bodies killed by gunshot wounds were found in an abandoned building in Yasan, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do…]
[Among the dead in Gyeonggi-do at night, there is the second son of R Construction, Na○○, and the police…]
.
.
[During the investigation of the murder of ○○ Na, the second son of R Construction, an anonymous tip was made to the prosecution… Evidence of the crime of ○○ Na was found, so the police confirmed the identity of the victims and made sure to deal with them… ·.]
The world became noisy overnight.
In the meantime, Kang-soo sat down on a chair at the kitchen table and called Harold.
Since it was early in the morning, it would have been late afternoon in America. Of course, I should have done it right after hearing Harold’s name from Teresa.
But the day before yesterday, I was so busy that I couldn’t sleep well all day yesterday.
After fighting Teresa against Cho Young-gil’s kidnapping, and dealing with Na Jun-ho, Gil Tae-yong, and 21 assassins…
[You called me now.]
Shortly thereafter, the phone was connected.
Harold said he had waited a long time.
“I have been busy ever since. What happened to that? Were you acquainted with Teresa?”
[I was also surprised to learn that you knew Teresa.]
“How do you know each other? First of all, I heard that my parents were killed by Savnak.”
At Kang-soo’s question, Harold thought about it for a while before answering.
[Hmm… I told you that, so that means it’s okay. The child lost his parents and was raised by mercenaries. I also learned combat skills there.]
“Was Theresa a Desert Falcon too?”
It was the name of the mercenary unit Harold belonged to. If the two of you knew that much, it was something to think about.
[No, Teresa was a mercenary unit called ‘Corsair’.]
“You mean advance?”
[That’s right, in a way, it doesn’t match Teresa very well. Anyway, I haven’t seen him since he left the mercenary world with his adoptive father. Then I was surprised to hear from him after a long time. I think I saw an article about the Congressman visiting Korea.]
You should have seen the appearance of Kangsu there. That must have been why he contacted Harold.
“Looks like you found me. Harold seems to have kept it a secret.”
[Honestly, you are the reason the child left the mercenary world. Because you destroyed Savnak in the name of Night River. The child had no reason to stay there. Then I know that he solved the legal problems in the United States and went to Italy with his adoptive father.]
When Kang-soo heard the story, he had a question.
“Can you tell me so much detail?”
[That child also digs up a lot about you, so it’s the same. Of course, I had to hide the fact that it was Night River because it was your dangerous secret.]
“Thank you.”
The name Night River is still a legend among those who have stayed long in the mercenary world.
As such, Kangsu has successfully performed many missions.
Of course, the number of enemies also increased.
Fortunately, in ‘Night Wing’, as ‘Night River’ became famous, it was difficult to take risks, so they made sure to go out without difficulty.
[How have you been? When I heard the news from Korea, it seemed like a mess. 23 people shot dead in the night. I thought it was American.]
It was such a big event that Harold seemed to have seen it too.
“Is there any information about Savnak yet?”
[I’m looking for it too, but it’s not easy. Are you in a hurry?]
“…No, a company called Infectus Investments has ties to Savnak. The incident that happened this time in Korea also happened because Savnak was trying to kill me.”
For a moment, Harold was speechless.
It was because I never dreamed that the big incident that I thought was just a mess was related to the river.
Of course, I was worried about whether Kangsu would explain it, but I trusted him and brought it out.
Besides, it was Harold who gave me the initial information about Jennifer Hahn.
[So does that mean that the woman named Jennifer Han was directly related to Savnak?]
“For now, yes. So, when she goes back to the US, can we check her entry records?”
It was because Gong Chi-young hacked the road CCTV and even confirmed that Jennifer Han’s car was going to the airport.
Of course, Kang-soo also went straight to the airport, but couldn’t find her.
However, it was too risky for Gong Chi-yeong to hack the airport, so he did not go any further.
First of all, the most likely country for Jennifer Han to go was the United States.
[Let’s check.]
“please.”
Kang-soo sighed and drank the water in front of him as the important request went smoothly.
Then Harold asked if he had any questions.
[Were you dating Teresa?]
“Poop— what does that mean?”
[No, I don’t think I’m asking about you because I’m just curious.]
“It’s just a colleague. Excuse me, I have to go to work.”
After the phone call, Kang-soo felt the back of his neck stiffen.
* * *
A few days later, Kang-soo and his father, Jin Soo-hyeok, visited a house in the mountains.
Of course, it wasn’t just the two of them. Cheol-ho Kim, head of Blue Guard, and Dong-won Jeong and Hyeon-seong Park, who had been hit by Kang-su, followed from the back in another vehicle.
“Jin Hye-ya…!”
Jin Soo-hyuk shed endless tears as he touched the floor where Han Jin-hye’s ashes were buried.
In the meantime, Kang-su left Jeong Dong-won and Park Hyeon-seong nearby and spread the distance with General Manager Kim Chul-ho.
It was because I had a story to tell.
“Teresa Lily. How did you get in?”
I had been thinking about asking over the phone before, but this opportunity came.
And Kim Cheol-ho tilted his head as if he was saying something.
“How? I came in after going through a formal test. Are there any problems?”
That would be a natural thing. Even when Kim Chul-ho was in the army, he never skipped over his duties or duties.
He also knew the river well.
“I mean, I’m asking how the new Teresa Lilly was assigned to be in charge of Yoo So-hyun.”
“I heard you are friends?”
“Are you just listening to that?”
“Do you think I am stupid? I had a recommendation from Teresa Lilly. Carlos Costa is the representative of a famous security firm that only deals with super VVIPs in Europe. He is also someone I respect.”
Kang also knew that name, of course.
However, since Ejisto operates with a dual identity, he cannot even give careers to those who have left the company. Instead, the risk allowance and annual salary were exorbitantly high in proportion to the difficulty and conditions of the mission.
“Are you sure someone named Carlos Costa came forward as a referral?”
“Right. I even called myself. Of course, I also saw the test. You two almost died.”
Kim Cheol-ho pointed to Jeong Dong-won and Park Hyeon-seong behind Jin Soo-hyeok.
Of course, it was impossible for the two of them to be able to defeat Teresa with their skills.
“I see.”
“You say you’re close, but haven’t you heard?”
“There was no bird to ask.”
“You mean by sticking together?”
I was too busy even though I was busy.
In addition, Yoo So-hyun and Kim Bo-ran were next to me, and it was strange to have a conversation in a different language so that they could not understand.
“Looking at Teresa Lilly’s career, I heard that she was previously the head of the security team at Chronostech. Besides, our annual salary would be tens of times less.”
“Does that career include working at Edgetoran…?”
This time, Cheol-ho Kim was confused.
“What did you mean earlier? Carlos Costa vouched for her identity as her adoptive father. How would you bring in a foreigner whose identity is not immediately clear?”
“…!”
Kang-soo was surprised.
I never thought in my wildest dreams that Carlos Costa, CEO of Egisto, would be Teresa Lilly’s adoptive father.
Even when I was in Ejisto, it didn’t show at all.
Rather, I rarely saw the two of them in the same place.
“okay.”
“You said you were close, didn’t you know that?”
“I didn’t know because I didn’t have a chance to see it.”
Kangsu felt that the back of his head was tingling.
In the meantime, Jin Soo-hyeok happened to have talked about everything in Han Jin-hye’s nest.
Soon after, he walked over to Kang-soo, who was standing on his knees.
“Have you lived in a place like this for two years? In a place with no electricity, running water, or heating?”
“It is a place where you can relax. It is a place I will return to later.”
“···I see.”
After the precipitation left, there were many places where the hands were not reachable for quite a while, so there was a lot of dust.
Jin Soo-hyeok was worried because he looked older than usual.
Kang-su and Jin Soo-hyeok went down the mountain again and tried to get into the car.
“I have a place I want to go to, so wouldn’t General Manager Kim drive me this time?”
Jeong Dong-won or Park Hyeon-seong were only brought in as assistants.
Besides, because of the father-son relationship between Jin Soo-hyeok and Kang-soo, there is talk going on and on, so he politely asked Kim Chul-ho.
“All right.”
“Then, why don’t you go to a cafe called Route Set in Mukho?”
With those words, Jin Soo-hyeok and Kang-soo rode together in the back seat.
After the car started, it headed towards the East Sea.
A few hours went by without a word. Then, the car was parked in front of a cafe called ‘No Sunset’ near Mukho Port.
“Fortunately, it was still there. Only me and the river rise here.”
Cheol-ho Kim was about to say no.
The cafe was located on the second floor, so it was a structure that went up at once through an external staircase. I went up in case I didn’t know, and there were no customers, and I didn’t see any suspicious circumstances.
Jin Soo-hyeok and Kang-soo went up to the cafe.
Because of the time, the sun began to set on the mountain ridge on the other side of the sea.
I couldn’t see such a sunset from the front in the cafe.
“welcome.”
A middle-aged boss with a shaggy white beard greeted us in a Hawaiian T-shirt.
The inside of the cafe has an antique feel, and miscellaneous items are placed on the walls and here and there.
“Two Hawaiian juices, please.”
“Wait a little.”
After Jin Soo-hyeok paid the bill, he sat down on a chair by the yard.
“Here. It’s a place I used to come often with your mom.”
“…was it?”
The two of them could see the darkening sea in their eyes.
“Your mother hated the sea. I didn’t even know that and brought it here. When I asked why, the sea looked clean and cool on the outside, but he said he didn’t like it because he didn’t know what could be in the deep sea.”
In fact, Kang-soo once said something similar.
What was it that scared you so much? So the place where Gangsu lives now was also a mountain.
“I know.”
“Well, that’s why they made a nest in the mountain. I guessed.”
After a moment of silence, Jin Soo-hyeok opened his mouth again.
“I heard from Director Cheol-ho Kim that you worked in the Special Secret Service.”
“Is that so?”
“They say it was a very dangerous place. I don’t want you to do anything like that…”
The manager job was also suggested in the hope that such a thing would not happen.
But unlike ordinary managers, big things kept popping up every day.
“I just did it because it was my job.”
“hmm···. If anything, you can go back to the mountain. don’t hold on Instead, just allow me to visit you from time to time.”
Everything from the atmosphere to the voice was sincere.
Jin Soo-hyeok decided that that was the only way Kang-su could be peaceful.
“Sorry, but… that seems difficult.”
“…is something going on?”
“It is a private matter.”
“···i get it. After— I’m going to go to the bathroom for a while.”
While he was away, Kang-soo walked in from the dark cafe yard.
As I moved my gaze to the clutter in the cafe, I saw a familiar object.
Kangsu frowned and walked to the table where the item was placed.
A wooden box of a familiar size, shape, and color lay among the clutter.
It was a box that looked exactly like the one found in Min Hwan-sik’s hideout, which Jin Soo-hyeok’s will had heard.
There was a name written in a familiar handwriting towards the lower right corner of the box, at the tip of Kang-soo’s fingertips, as he barely touched the box.
「Donation of Han Jin-hye」
Returning life of a retired S-class mercenary