Chapter 44
Chapter 44
-------------------------------------------------
Translator : M.N 1391
Chapter: 44
-------------------------------------------------
Kim Jun quietly exchanged a few murmured words with Tom again, then opened his mouth. When Tom nodded, Kim Jun spoke.
“They decided to procure several USFK supplies locally.”
“Locally procured as in Korean companies?”
“Yes.”
“Hm…”
How would the company providing those supplies be selected? If done properly, it was business cultivation, but if corruption was involved, it would become a perfect opportunity for skimming.
Skimming off the U.S. military? One might scoff, but since no one knew how the situation and the people were entangled, he couldn’t jump to conclusions.
Who knew? Maybe they would supply the items for the U.S. military honestly, and in return skim off the items supplied to the Korean military.
Gangwan couldn’t yet be certain whether there was some insolent punk planning to use his abilities for personal gain, so he set that matter aside for now.
Because the next thing was more important. The very fact that the U.S. military had stepped in.
The FBI and the U.S. military? A combination that normally would never pair up, yet here they were, working together…
“Is the matter I’m supposed to interrogate related to terrorism?”
At Gangwan’s question, both men’s expressions stiffened. His insight had surprised them.
“Impwessive. Quite cowwect.”
Even Tom let out a startled exclamation.
Gangwan lightly scratched his chin and said:
“If that’s the case, I’ll cooperate as much as needed.”
It wasn’t as though he held some special grudge against terrorists, but he decided to cooperate anyway. Thanks to all the rumors about the Untouchable, fewer inmates had been acting up lately.
In short, he was bored~ that’s what it meant.
Humans were truly fickle creatures. If he hadn’t ended up somewhere this warm and well-fed, he’d have been too busy surviving day to day as a homeless man to even think the word ‘bored’.
Anyway, meditation was fine for a day or two, but boredom had crossed into agony. So Gangwan saw this FBI visit as a chance to step outside. Yeah! When else would he get to go out for a change of mood? And to the U.S., no less, where he didn’t have to care about local authorities’ watchful eyes.
Kim Jun’s face curved into a smile at his hearty agreement.
“An excellent decision.”
It was a compliment dipped in honey, but Gangwan wasn’t finished speaking.
“Alright, then let’s work out the details.”
“Details?”
“You’re not planning on sending a U.S. terror suspect to Korea to meet me, right? Naturally I’ll be going to the U.S. So in that case, shouldn’t we settle things like the length of stay, place of stay, meals, and free time in advance?”
“...”
Their honey-stuck expressions made Gangwan narrow his eyes.
“You’re not thinking of putting me inside an American prison, are you?”
“Hmm…”
At his last question, Kim Jun exchanged looks with Tom.
The sight made Gangwan speechless. They really were planning that?
“Hey, FBI guys. Do you know that even in this prison I’m practically always in solitary?”
Thanks to his tacit arrangement with the guards, the only times he left solitary were to discipline and straighten out the disobedient inmates. Because of that, his time in solitary had grown even longer, but with the magical words ‘grace period’ or ‘exercise time,’ the guards could unleash his stubbornness and violence whenever they needed to handle troublesome inmates.
Gangwan continued.
“I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t hesitate to punch someone if the guy in front of me annoys me. And you want me to stay in an American prison? You realize that’s a ticking time bomb?”
Kim Jun responded with a serious tone.
“We’ll take that into consideration.”
“It’s not ‘consideration’. That’s part of the negotiation. Even if you have to get approval from above, let’s settle every detail now. At this rate, I was about to get stabbed in the back.”
Gangwan grabbed onto the fact that he could have been thrown into a U.S. prison if he hadn’t brought it up, and from there the tug-of-war began.
Kim Jun tried to dodge by saying he needed to check agency regulations, and Gangwan insisted there was no reason to endure danger and inconvenience just to go to the U.S.
The argument came to a pause when a guard entered with fried chicken.
“Ahh! This is the stuff!”
Biting into a thick drumstick and gulping down white liquor, Gangwan expressed his admiration. The two men watched him silently.
When he met their gaze, Gangwan said:
“Want some? You can order another whole chicken if you want.”
There was absolutely no chance he would share his portion. That was the implication. Kim Jun quickly waved his hands.
“No, it’s fine.”
Since they said it was fine, Gangwan tore into the chicken diligently.
One might wonder if he was really Korean, wasn’t this the country that supposedly shared even a single bean? But as someone who had lived through countless reincarnations, and who hadn’t reincarnated but possessed someone instead, it wasn’t as though that uniquely Korean spirit of ‘we’re all neighbors’ would suddenly bloom within him.
Once he finished the live mukbang intense enough to make the two unconsciously swallow their saliva, Gangwan washed it down with beer. Then Kim Jun spoke.
“We’ll inform you of the schedule later.”
“That part you can handle however you want. The real issues are where I’ll stay and what I’ll be eating.”
“State your conditions first.”
“It’s not like I expect a 5-star hotel suite. But at least the room should be clean, hygienic, and free of bugs.”
“Understood for now.”
“And as for meals, I don’t want anything that feels like the U.S. military is invading my mouth.”
“... What do you mean?”
Confused, Kim Jun listened to his explanation.
“I’m saying I don’t want food so greasy it feels like an oil field exploded in my mouth.”
At that, Kim Jun and Tom gave wry smiles. It was black comedy, America sending troops not for terrorism, but for oil fields. Even if it meant stepping onto land where another country’s sovereignty still lived.
“Anything else?”
“For now, that’s all that comes to mind.”
“That’s good. But later you can’t change your demands.”
“Come on. You’re worried I might get to the U.S. and ask for an escort girl or something?”
“Well… who knows? Mr. Lee is, well, as you know, a criminal.”
Carefully phrased, worried he might take it as provocation, but Gangwan simply nodded.
“Of course I understand what concerns you, but I’m not that stupid. I’m not going to ruin a legitimate chance to step outside, even to the U.S., over some petty stubbornness. Don’t you agree? There’s no way there’s only one terrorist. And it’s not like the terror threat will end with this incident…”
If he showed real ability this time, would the U.S. really stop using him after just one case?
In his judgment, the answer was ‘hmm, doubtful’. For a country so sensitive to terrorism, if something proved useful for terror investigations, they would summon even someone like Uri Geller with voodoo if they thought it worked. Was that guy still alive?
Anyway, the two men’s expressions stiffened at his words. Gangwan appeared too smart, far too smart. If he were moderately smart, he would be a useful asset. Too smart made him hard to control.
They exchanged silent glances. Probably discussing things like future security measures or contingencies in case Gangwan tried to escape.
Guessing their thoughts, Gangwan clicked his tongue inwardly. He had no intention of doing anything like that, yet they worried endlessly.
But he didn’t bother pointing that out. If they insisted on making themselves suffer, he could just consider that his revenge.
Then something popped into his mind.
“Ah!”
“What is it?”
“At the very least, the plane seat has to be business class. Reading bodily responses requires a lot more concentration than you’d think.”
“Understood.”
It was a plausible excuse, and Kim Jun nodded. He didn’t have the ability to distinguish truth from lies as well as Gangwan did.
= = = = =
The second meeting between the FBI and Gangwan took place half a month after the first. And during that time, he didn’t encounter a single inmate.
It was strange. Normally, when the guards escorted him to the exercise yard, they would deliberately arrange it so he crossed paths with inmates who needed ‘constant supervision’ (those who had previously ignored orders and been taught a painful lesson by Gangwan). That way, even the ones who had slowly regained their spirit would deflate again, making management easier.
Gangwan thought things over. It seemed the higher-ups needed time to process something complicated. And if he caused trouble in the meantime, it could affect his departure, so the warden must have given strict instructions.
“Took longer than I expected.”
At Kim Jun’s remark, Gangwan replied:
“That’s just how government workers are.”
“... Then let’s go.”
Since he himself was technically a government worker, Kim Jun held his tongue and hurried him along. Gangwan didn’t speak further and followed.
Since he was leaving under the justification of a special furlough approved by the Minister of Justice, he wore regular clothes. They couldn’t have him walking around in prison garb.
But the next part was a problem.
“An electronic ankle monitor? No.”
The prison staff attempted to put one on him in case he tried to escape, but Gangwan refused.
Kim Jun defended the staff.
“If the ankle monitor is out of the question, we’ll have to use handcuffs.”
“I’d rather go with handcuffs. It’s not like I’m some sex offender…”
“If you walk around with handcuffs, you’ll attract attention. Is that alright?”
“I’m the most famous criminal in this country. Do you think I’d blink an eye just because people see me in handcuffs?”
Between handcuffs and an ankle monitor, he’d choose handcuffs every time. A man had pride, what self-respecting man would wear something for sex offenders?
Because of his stubbornness, Kim Jun had no choice but to cuff his hands and move.
Kim Jun and Tom stood on either side of him.
“Wow~ This feels like I’m some kind of chairman.”
Someone might say, “What chairman wears handcuffs?” but even chairmen wear handcuffs when they go to prison.
His comment made the others snort in amusement. Tom, if nothing else, seemed to really like Gangwan’s calm, bold, one might say shameless, demeanor.
“You. Gwreat sense of humow.”
“Thx.”
The three got into a sedan and headed for the airport, but Gangwan soon complained.
“This guy is way too big.”
“Just endure a little.”
“If he crowds me like this on the plane, I’m just going to lie down flat.”
Was he being picky? No. If he had to spend ten-plus hours getting crushed in a plane seat on a trip meant to ‘help’ them, he’d rather stay in solitary and scratch his belly lazily.
The car dropped them at the airport entrance and drove off somewhere. Gangwan tilted his head.
“You’re not telling me only you two are escorting me, right?”
“Of course not.”
At Kim Jun’s reply, Gangwan looked around and nodded. His oddly sharp senses lately could feel eyes watching him from multiple spots. Probably long-distance surveillance operatives. Even the CCTV cameras throughout the airport were likely being monitored.
But Gangwan, a man confident in his own actions, walked into the airport boldly without the slightest hint of intimidation.