Chapter 137
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Something I Need You to Look After (3)
Clink.
Two bags were loaded into the car's trunk.
One held the clothes Kanghyeok had worn here; the other contained the prototype to be delivered to Gabriel and Amos.
A garment called a cassock.
It was a coat-like garment made of black cloth, similar to a suit, but in terms of protective coverage, it was far superior.
“Please deliver it safely to The Father.”
Gabriel said to Kanghyeok, her gaze on the bag containing the cassock a mixture of gratitude and apology.
“We’re in your debt.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“I heard the gist of it. That this isn’t the only one.”
Amos said.
Having spoken with The Master while Kanghyeok was changing, he continued in a voice filled with sincere gratitude.
“We’ll explain everything to The Father.”
“You should have gotten an email address from The Master. Send the sizes and what you need there. The price has been paid in full, so don’t worry about the financial side of things.”
Gabriel and Amos pressed their lips together firmly before nodding almost in unison.
“Understood. And as I said before, if you ever need our help, just say the word.”
“In that case, let me ask for one favor.”
“Anything.”
At the immediate, urging reply, Kanghyeok put a cigarette to his lips. He lit it and smoked half of it in silence.
“I have something I need you to look after.”
Kanghyeok’s voice was low, as if he were pulling the words from a deep thought within his heart.
***
Brenner, Italy.
It was a village with a small cathedral, reached by following a deep mountain path.
It was also the headquarters of the Errant Priests, and a training ground for people like Gabriel and Amos.
Upon returning, Gabriel and Amos told the father-like priest everything about their meeting with Kanghyeok.
“I see.”
“We hope you will grant his request.”
The Father pressed his lips together so tightly that rugged wrinkles formed on his chin.
Just as Amos and Gabriel, who had been focused on The Father’s clasped hands as if in prayer, lifted their pleading eyes, The Father exhaled and spoke.
“I cannot trust that man.”
“Father…”
“I encountered people from his company on the battlefield. They were as strong and cruel as demons. And above all, they were secretive.”
Rustle.
The Father rolled up his sleeve, revealing hideous scars.
The marks of a bullet wound that had pierced through and a deep gash from a knife.
The Father continued, stroking the marks that had remained as scars despite the passage of time.
“That is why I was so afraid when you told me you met him. I was afraid that demon would take you away. That he would deceive you.”
Gabriel cut in, her voice sharp as if it had sprung forth.
“No. He was not that kind of person.”
“Yes, he did not.”
The Father slowly closed his eyes, then opened them to look at Gabriel and Amos.
“I do not trust him, but I trust you.”
The Father was the one who had taken in Amos and Gabriel, war orphans, and cared for them until now.
The two were The Father’s soldiers and his faithful, and at the same time, his precious children, who could not be replaced by anything.
“Let me see the garment he gave you. If it is truly something that will help us, then I, too, will gladly accept his request.”
For a moment, Gabriel and Amos felt their bodies stiffen.
They wanted to grant Kanghyeok’s request unconditionally.
But what if the garment’s performance did not meet The Father’s expectations?
They would not be able to grant his request.
As Amos held his breath and sucked in his lips,
“Yes.”
Gabriel lifted the bag and handed it to The Father.
“Please, examine it.”
The Father took the bag and met Gabriel’s eyes.
“You seem to trust him a great deal.”
“As much as you trust us, Father, I trust that man.”
At that moment, Gabriel noticed an expression on The Father’s face she had never seen before.
It was a fleeting expression, so she couldn’t discern the exact emotion. But she thought it seemed close to a sense of loss or a faint melancholy.
“You’ve grown so much.”
The Father, murmuring, took the cassock out of the bag.
The distinct stiffness of a new garment and the unique scent of the fabric wafted out.
The Father, who was rubbing the fabric between his fingers to inspect it, suddenly flinched.
“Father?”
Amos spoke to him, but The Father simply shook his head without a word.
“It’s nothing.”
The Father had been on the battlefield.
He had fired guns and had seen, heard of, and experienced countless pieces of equipment.
That was why, when he touched this cassock, he felt something instinctively.
That in a form different from a bulletproof vest, it would protect his children even more safely.
Rustle.
Taking the cassock, he moved outside.
With Gabriel and Amos following behind, The Father approached a mannequin set up in the yard.
He draped the cassock over the mannequin, which was for combat training and barely held a human shape, and then pulled a pistol from his coat.
His suspicion of Kanghyeok.
His hope that this cassock would, please, show the bulletproof performance he expected.
After a long silence, The Father slowly squeezed the trigger.
*Bang!*
A bullet struck the cassock.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The Father pulled the trigger repeatedly, as if determined to thoroughly test the cassock’s bulletproof capabilities. Each time the dry report of the gun echoed in front of the cathedral, Gabriel watched the cassock with a tense face.
*Click.*
And when The Father’s pistol had expended all its bullets, Gabriel stepped forward and approached the mannequin.
As she unbuttoned the cassock to remove it from the mannequin, she suddenly froze.
“What is it, Gabriel?”
Gabriel turned to The Father and stepped aside.
The mannequin’s chest, where the bullets had been concentrated.
On the part of the mannequin’s chest that had been covered by the cassock from Kanghyeok, there were only scratches; no signs of it being cracked or dented.
***
*Vrooom.*
Having returned to the city, Kanghyeok headed straight for the safe house.
Dressed in a new suit, he had a cigarette dangling from his lips.
“Hooo-!”
He had taken three days to cover a short distance.
He had driven as if drifting with the wind, and upon returning to this city, he blew cigarette smoke out the window.
*‘They’ve probably finished testing its performance by now.’*
Given The Father’s personality, his distrust of Kanghyeok, he would have tested the cassock’s bulletproof capabilities by shooting it himself.
It was a critical matter.
The cassock was made of the same material as the suit Kanghyeok was wearing, and it was a means to win over the Errant Priests.
He wasn’t worried.
He trusted Jeff, and he trusted his own intuition from when he’d touched the garment, so he was confident the cassock he gave them wouldn’t perform below expectations.
Therefore, they would grant his request.
Pressing his lips together, Kanghyeok rolled the driver’s side window all the way down.
A cold wind whipped in, messing up Kanghyeok’s hair.
The cigarette smoke that had filled the car was gone in an instant, but Kanghyeok lit a new one.
*Click, fwoosh.*
After lighting the cigarette, he took a drag on the filter, his face more somber than usual. He then tossed the lighter into the cup holder, already occupied by a crushed cigarette pack.
*Puff. Hooo.*
Kanghyeok looked at the city through the windshield and exhaled a plume of smoke.
A city attacked by Iron Mask.
Bombs had gone off, and gang members armed with rifles had attacked people.
It was an unprecedented assault, and though they had done their best to stop it, there were still casualties.
There was no guarantee that something like this wouldn’t happen again.
For some reason, the cigarette tasted terribly bitter, and Kanghyeok rubbed the lit end between his thumb and forefinger, flicking the ember out of the car.
He tossed the rest of the cigarette out and turned the steering wheel, heading for Yohan’s apartment.
*‘He should be home by now.’*
Relentless kid.
Not even Kanghyeok himself had ever trained as if possessed like Yohan did.
Despite his meager natural talent, he had clawed his way to his current position through sheer, dogged effort.
I'm proud of him, so proud.
And that’s why I’m afraid.
That I’m unconsciously starting to think of him as a younger brother or a son.
*Rumble.*
Kanghyeok parked in front of the apartment building and slowly walked up to Yohan’s floor.
He knocked on the door, and when Yohan opened it, his eyes widened at the sight of Kanghyeok.
“Oh? What brings you here?”
“Come out.”
“Ah, yes!”
He must have been resting after training.
The faint scent of shampoo from his slightly damp hair gave that impression.
But Yohan immediately took a pistol and a magazine from the shoe rack and put them in his pocket.
“It’s not for training. Let’s go get something to eat.”
Holding the pistol, Yohan looked dumbfounded.
“E-Eat?”
“Come to think of it, I’ve never had a meal with you.”
Kanghyeok gestured toward the central staircase with his chin and continued.
“Get ready and come out. I’ll wait in the car.”
“Yes, yes!”
Yohan’s reply was tinged with bewilderment, as if he never expected Kanghyeok to suggest a meal.
Kanghyeok went down the central stairs and leaned against his car, looking up at the apartment building.
A moment later, he saw Yohan rushing down the stairs, and he got in the car and started the engine.
*Click.*
Yohan got into the passenger seat, fastened his seatbelt, and looked at Kanghyeok with a nervous expression.
“I was surprised when you suddenly asked me to eat.”
“Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Um…”
“What is it?”
“Are we… really just going to eat?”
It seemed he really couldn’t believe it.
Kanghyeok gave Yohan a brief glance and nodded, and only then did the tension fade from his face.
“Thank you. But I’m fine with anything.”
“Really?”
Kanghyeok thought for a moment, then drove out of the city.
There were restaurants in this city.
But with recovery work underway everywhere, a gloomy, funeral-like atmosphere pressed down on the entire city.
And frankly, the food was bad.
The food in this city.
Wanting to treat him to a proper, good meal, Kanghyeok drove to the same restaurant he had gone to with Gabriel.
They took a seat in a private room in the back, where classical music played softly, just like before.
“What would you like to order?”
*Clink.*
Kanghyeok placed the menu he received from the waiter in front of Yohan.
“Order whatever you want.”
Yohan, who had never been to a place like this, nervously picked up the menu, then wore a troubled expression. So Kanghyeok took the menu back, pulled a thick wad of cash from his wallet, and tucked it inside.
Then he handed it back to the waiter.
“Just bring us the best of everything you have.”
Flustered by a tip so large the menu wouldn’t close properly, the waiter still spoke in a polite tone.
“Would you like wine as well?”
“Yes, one glass will be fine.”
“Very well.”
The waiter gave Yohan and Kanghyeok a deep bow before backing out of the room.
The effect of the tip was immediate.
The service was so incessant it felt as if waiters were lined up just outside the curtain separating the room from the main area.
Not a single one of them gave Yohan a disapproving look for his shabby attire or acted disrespectfully.
*Clink.*
Sleek silverware was placed before them, along with a soup with a subtle aroma of spices, a rich steak, a generous basket of bread, and dishes garnished with sturgeon roe and Western truffles.
“Eat.”
Yohan, though nervous, carefully picked up his utensils.
He moved them toward food he had never seen before and, with a clumsy and awkward motion, began to eat the soup.
Kanghyeok also picked up his fork and knife.
But he didn’t eat right away. After confirming that Yohan was eating, he cut his steak and placed a large piece on Yohan’s plate.
“Oh.”
“The food here is quite good. Let me know if it’s not enough.”
Kanghyeok began to eat as if nothing had happened.
*Clink, clink.*
As the meal progressed, Yohan’s expression gradually relaxed.
The soft classical music eased his tension, and the delicious, warm food soothed him from the inside.
Fully focused on his meal, Yohan began speaking to Kanghyeok, expressing his thanks.
He talked about what had happened in the city, thanked Kanghyeok for training him, and smiled.
He repeated his thanks several times, saying these were things he never would have experienced if not for Kanghyeok.
By the time the steaks were finished and the soup bowls were empty, a calm and harmonious atmosphere filled the small room.
*Clink.*
Kanghyeok set down his silverware, looked into Yohan’s eyes, and spoke.
“I need you to listen without misunderstanding.”
“Yes.”
Seeing Yohan answer so spiritedly, Kanghyeok’s lips twitched.
Looking into those eyes, which seemed to trust him completely, ready to follow him even into hell, he found it difficult to speak.
But it was something that had to be said, so Kanghyeok forced the words out.
“I’ve asked someone a favor. To see if they could take you in.”
“…What?”
The corners of Yohan’s mouth, which had been turned up in a happy smile just moments ago, fell as if they had never been raised at all.