Chapter 139
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: A Quiet Farewell
Click.
Yohan finished preparing to fire and grabbed the doorknob.
Feeling the taut tension, he slowly twisted the doorknob and, with the feeling of disarming a bomb, opened it about five centimeters.
Then he kicked the door, flinging the rest of it open at once.
Bang!
“Agh! You crazy bastard!”
The voice of the man clutching his face as he collapsed was familiar.
“Ju-Juan?”
“What the hell are you doing, you psycho!”
Flustered, Yohan switched the pistol's safety on and put it in his pocket. He thought he'd put it away quickly, but Juan had already seen the gun.
“What was that?”
At Juan's frozen voice, Yohan awkwardly scratched his head and helped him up.
“Sorry. I’ve had some things on my mind.”
“You… Ugh, forget it.”
He was annoyed, but it wasn't like he couldn't understand.
It hadn't been long since gang members roamed the city like ghosts, attacking people.
Everyone was living with the scars and fear of that day.
“My bad. I should’ve called out, not just knocked.”
“Sorry…”
“I said forget it.”
Juan checked to make sure his nose wasn't bleeding, then pointed toward the central staircase.
“Let's go for a night walk.”
“A night walk?”
He knew what it meant.
But the phrase itself felt so unfamiliar it was alien. In this city with its poor security, going for a walk at night was a good way to get shot.
“A lot more people are out and about at this time these days. No reason we can't be, too.”
It was a corridor-style apartment, so he could see the night view behind Juan.
A city with lights sparsely lit.
Not glamorous, but now, a city without gangs.
“Yeah.”
Juan grinned and clapped Yohan on the shoulder.
“Let's go. I'll buy you coffee.”
“Not drinks?”
“…I'm trying to quit.”
Juan muttered, looking at the central staircase, and Yohan let out a soft laugh before stepping out the door.
His gloomy mood seemed to wash away in the night air.
The two of them walked past the front of the apartment, along the main road, under the unlit streetlights, and to the park, where they sat on stone steps where the moss had withered black.
“Phew, feels like a different world. Ah, just sit tight for a bit. I'll go to the vending machine.”
Juan came back with two cans of coffee from the vending machine.
Juan took a sip of the canned coffee, so cold that a thin layer of ice sloshed inside, then mumbled his lips before speaking.
“So, where are you going?”
“…Why?”
“I caught a glimpse. You were packing. Going somewhere far?”
Juan asked nonchalantly and drank his coffee.
“Italy.”
And at Yohan's answer, he whipped his head around, surprised.
“That's pretty far. When are you coming back?”
He instantly felt he shouldn't have asked.
Yohan's face had suddenly darkened.
“I don't know. It'll probably be a while.”
Juan silently looked at Yohan, can of coffee in hand.
A gentle winter breeze blew, and the quiet stillness of the city settled heavily.
“What's that supposed to mean?”
Juan breathed out the words.
He had only just managed to mend his relationship with Yohan.
And now, Yohan was leaving for a place so far away he wouldn't be able to see him.
It felt futile, and a sense of loss seemed to well up from beneath his feet.
Juan rubbed his mouth, then brought the can to his lips.
Then, looking out at the dark city, he spoke in a low voice.
“You'll come back someday, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Come back when you're ready. It doesn't matter if it takes a long time.”
Juan went to take another sip of his coffee, only to find it empty, and clicked his tongue softly.
“What are friends for, you damn bastard.”
Yohan looked at Juan, his lips pressed firmly together.
Leaving the familiar city, being separated from the people he knew—it was all suffocating.
But thanks to Juan's words, his heart felt a little lighter.
It felt like he now had a place he could return to anytime.
“I'll try to come back soon.”
“Don't come back too soon. I need to make something of myself while you're gone.”
“What are you going to do?”
Juan smiled, looking both awkward and shy.
“I was thinking of studying a bit.”
It was such a shocking statement that Yohan's face immediately slackened.
“You?”
“I realized I can't hold a gun like you. So I'm thinking of picking up a pen instead.”
Juan smiled wryly and shifted his gaze toward the city.
He remembered the time he and Yohan had asked Kanghyeok to teach them how to shoot.
Back then, they had no other choice.
To live as an adult in this city, picking up a gun was the only way.
But things were very different now.
The city, Juan, Yohan, and the other residents.
In a city without gangs, they were living in anticipation of a slightly better future.
Just by getting rid of the gangs, they had found a reason to hope.
“Damn, the night view is incredible.”
Yohan followed Juan's gaze and looked at the city spread out before them.
It was a dark city, so it was hard to agree.
Still, he felt he understood what Juan meant, so Yohan nodded.
***
The underground firing range of the safe house.
In this place, which was ostensibly for agents using the safe house but in reality was a space to train Yohan, Kanghyeok held a phone to his ear.
He was on the phone with Gabriel.
She had called first to tell him she'd gotten permission from the Father to bring Yohan over.
(He gave his permission as soon as he confirmed the bulletproof performance of the cassock. You can send Yohan anytime.)
At Gabriel's excited voice, Kanghyeok let out a soft laugh and put a cigarette to his lips.
“I'll send him as soon as I get a plane ticket. It could be as early as tomorrow. If possible, I'd appreciate it if you could meet him at the airport.”
(That's not a problem.)
“Will you be the one coming?”
(Yes, I'm curious about this boy, Yohan.)
“Think of him as a little brother. I'd appreciate that.”
They briefly discussed practical matters, like the cost of Yohan's stay at the cathedral.
Gabriel said not to worry about money since he'd given them the bulletproof cassock, but Kanghyeok firmly refused the offer.
“They might treat him well at first out of gratitude. But over time, there might be people who give him the cold shoulder. I don't want to see that happen.”
It wasn't as if Kanghyeok had always been wealthy.
He'd had an upbringing that could in no way be called affluent.
Joining the military at a young age, making a career as a soldier—it was all because of that damn money.
At least while he was in uniform, he didn't have to worry about food or a place to sleep.
Kanghyeok knew the misery of being broke better than anyone.
(If you put it that way… I understand.)
“Take good care of him. Train him, too.”
(I've been wondering for a while, but he's really not your blood relative, is he?)
The question came out of nowhere, leaving him momentarily speechless.
First of all, they were different races.
And for the now-younger Kanghyeok to have a son like Yohan, he would've had to have a child as soon as he hit puberty, and he'd never even imagined such a freewheeling life.
“A horrible thought.”
(Haha, it was a joke. Still, I think you'd be a good father.)
Her voice came over, light and playful, but Kanghyeok smiled wryly as he lit his cigarette.
Click!
“You've got the wrong person. I'm not that kind of man.”
None of the Company's agents had built ordinary families.
At least, not among the field agents.
Because they knew, whether consciously or subconsciously.
That living a normal life with a family like other people was a fairytale, an empty fantasy.
Of course, the heart wants what it wants, so sometimes people did start families.
They married amidst blessings, congratulations, and the hope that 'you'll be different,' but reality is no fairytale.
It doesn't end with 'and they lived happily ever after.'
Field work came with a high mortality rate, and Kanghyeok himself had attended the funeral of a married colleague.
Watching the sobbing wife and young child as the dead husband's coffin was buried left a complicated feeling.
It made him think, *This is what happens when a man reeking of blood dares to dream of a fairytale life.*
“I have no intention of starting a family.”
(…Is that so?)
*Why does she sound disappointed?*
If anything, Kanghyeok was detached.
It was because he'd long since given up the idea of having a family.
“Anyway, please take good care of Yohan.”
After a brief farewell, Kanghyeok ended the call.
Then he looked at the small target beyond the rail.
A state-of-the-art facility with a modern rail system that electronically measured bullet placement.
If possible, he'd wanted to train Yohan in a place like this.
Crackle.
As he took a deep drag on the filter, the tip of the cigarette burned fiercely.
Somehow, he felt as if he'd been dreaming a futile dream.
A man who holds a gun starting a family—that was indeed a fairytale. But was teaching a seemingly earnest boy how to shoot also a fairytale?
The thought suddenly struck him: *Am I the kind of person who shouldn't have anyone by my side?*
“Tsk!”
Kanghyeok, rubbing his mouth with fingers that smelled of tobacco, pulled open the door to the firing range.
And came face to face with Leila, who was standing in front of it.
“Have you finished your call?”
“How long have you been there?”
Leila raised her arm and looked at the watch fastened to the inside of her wrist.
“Five minutes. Please come upstairs. William is waiting for you.”
“He's waiting? You should have sent a text or knocked.”
Leila studied Kanghyeok's face calmly, then smiled wryly, a faint crease forming between her eyebrows.
“I was told not to bring you up forcefully. And it seems it was a good thing I didn't interrupt.”
*Was the regret still on my face?*
Kanghyeok rubbed his face with his palm and started walking past Leila.
“Just a moment.”
When Kanghyeok turned his head, Leila tossed something small to him.
Kanghyeok caught it in mid-air, opened his palm to see what it was, and looked at Leila with wide eyes.
“A gift.”
“Isn't this expensive?”
“It's cheaper than the bonus I just received.”
Kanghyeok fiddled with the silver Zippo lighter in his hand.
The smooth feel characteristic of a new item was luxurious.
The fact that its appearance was no different from the one he had been using showed how much thought Leila had put into it.
Kanghyeok gripped the lighter tightly.
“I'll treasure it.”
“And I don't know what troubles you, but…”
As if wondering if her words might be rude, Leila paused before continuing cautiously.
“I am by your side. Always.”
*I hope that was some comfort.*
Leila conveyed her feelings through her aura and her gaze.
So Kanghyeok, too, replied not with words, but with his eyes.
*More than enough.*
Kanghyeok nodded and started walking to meet William.