Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Are We Looking at the Same Thing?
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A week later.
“That's enough for today.”
At Kanghyeok's words, Yohan stopped his finger from pulling the trigger.
He then turned his head to look at Kanghyeok, who spoke while gesturing with his hand.
“When you're not shooting, take your index finger off the trigger.”
“Oh.”
Yohan hastily removed his index finger from the trigger and placed it alongside the pistol.
This was extremely important.
If a finger was on the trigger, the gun could fire unintentionally, harming oneself or others instead of the enemy.
Kanghyeok took the pistol back, pulled the slide for a quick function check, switched the safety on, and tucked it away.
He then spoke to the tense Yohan.
“We'll do the rest tomorrow.”
Yohan's eyes widened as he replied.
“Yes, yes!”
Kanghyeok smiled silently and looked at the target, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
The grouping of the bullet holes was messy.
It was a shame to say, but Yohan had no talent.
In truth, how many people were born with talent?
So this wasn't anything special, nor was it a sin.
*'Still, there's potential.'*
Yohan's concentration and willingness to learn were admirable.
So what if he had no talent?
How many bastards had died because they relied solely on talent and got cocky?
If you lacked talent, you just had to make up for it with other things, and thankfully, Yohan had those.
In that case, time and practice would solve everything.
It surely would.
“Let's head back.”
Kanghyeok turned toward the car, and Yohan followed him.
The sound of footsteps from behind wasn't bad.
*Click.*
In front of the car, Kanghyeok took out a cigarette, put it to his lips, and lit it.
He exhaled.
Then he glanced at Yohan, who was standing by the passenger door, hesitant to open it while watching Kanghyeok's expression.
It was an experience he had long forgotten.
Sharing a connection with someone.
Ever since becoming Deputy Team Leader, he had always been alone.
Even when he occasionally had support, it was always a one-time thing; he never opened his heart.
Kanghyeok shifted his gaze to where Yohan would be sitting in the passenger seat.
At Kanghyeok's age before regressing, it wouldn't have been strange for him to have a son Yohan's age.
“Pfft.”
A son? He hadn't even been married back then.
In any case, teaching Yohan, who wasn't affiliated with the company, felt quite meaningful.
After finishing his cigarette, Kanghyeok got into the car where Yohan was waiting.
*Vroom.*
The parking lot in front of the apartment building.
As he slowed down to park, Kanghyeok saw two unfamiliar cars.
A dark red SUV and a jet-black mid-sized sedan.
Both were so clean they looked as if they had just rolled off the factory line.
They were luxury cars, a rare sight in this area.
Kanghyeok's face hardened as he spoke.
“Get out first. Go straight up to your apartment.”
Yohan got out of the passenger seat with a puzzled look, while Kanghyeok unbuckled his seatbelt, his eyes fixed on the cars.
But he didn't get out.
Because he knew who owned those cars.
*'William.'*
And though he couldn't see through the dark tint, he knew he was inside.
It went without saying, but the apartment building Kanghyeok lived in was a rather sad place.
There was no one to manage it, so there was no one to clean it.
A thick layer of dust covered the ground, but there were no footprints near the cars.
William had come sooner than expected.
Kanghyeok pondered the reason for his visit before opening the car door.
When thinking wouldn't yield an answer, facing the problem head-on was always the fastest and surest way.
*Thump.*
As Kanghyeok got out, the door of the parked car opened, and, as expected, William emerged, dressed in a crisp, wrinkle-free suit.
“It's been a while.”
“I expected you to come later.”
“I happened to have some time. Let's talk upstairs.”
Kanghyeok and William walked shoulder to shoulder up to the apartment.
The residents they encountered moved aside to let them pass and didn't make any unnecessary small talk.
Thanks to that, Kanghyeok could focus his full attention on William.
He also noticed William glance with interest toward the floor where Yohan lived.
“Hmm.”
William's lips curled into a smile as he saw Yohan peeking at them through a slightly ajar door.
“You two seem to have gotten quite close.”
“It's nothing for you to worry about.”
“But it does concern me.”
The smell of gunpowder clung to Kanghyeok.
A smell impossible to acquire without firing hundreds of rounds tickled William's nose with its strong presence.
*Beep, beep, trill.*
Entering Kanghyeok's apartment, William perched on the desk chair and spoke.
“So you've started training him after all? What about the other one?”
Annoyed that William had found out he was training Yohan, Kanghyeok clicked his tongue softly and replied.
“I'm only training Yohan.”
“Why? Weren't there two of them?”
“I wasn't interested.”
Two people had asked Kanghyeok to teach them how to shoot.
Yohan and that friend of his.
But he didn't take a liking to the friend.
He was the one who had stolen the laptop with the cryptocurrency and run off. Kanghyeok felt no need to train someone like that.
*'He'll probably learn from Yohan, though.'*
As friends, Yohan would have taught his friend what he learned from Kanghyeok.
But it would be far inferior to learning directly from Kanghyeok, and as the days passed and the skill gap widened, that guy would come to regret it bitterly.
“If you need anything, I'll provide it. Guns or bullets.”
“Yohan is my business. I'll handle it myself.”
After his curt reply, Kanghyeok asked a question with his eyes.
*What's your reason for coming here?*
*Why have you come to see me with such an unusual look in your eyes?*
*Click.*
William took a cigar case from his coat and pulled out a thick Cuban cigar.
He then cut both ends with the special scissors included in the case, put the cigar to his lips, and lit it with a lighter.
Soon, the heavy yet savory aroma unique to cigars filled Kanghyeok's entire apartment.
“You look healthy. Surprisingly so, considering what you've accomplished.”
“Is that a problem?”
With the cigar in his mouth, William gazed at Kanghyeok for a moment before shaking his head.
“If you don't intend to talk, then I have nothing to say either.”
The conversation died, and silence fell.
William watched Kanghyeok as if sizing him up, and Kanghyeok, not avoiding his gaze, took a cigarette and lighter from his pocket.
*Click! Fzzt.*
He exhaled.
The smoke exhaled by the two men filled the hot, stuffy room where the windows hadn't been opened.
A strangely oppressive atmosphere and a sharp, piercing discomfort also settled in.
*'He saw my suit.'*
In principle, the suits were consumables.
If they were in good condition, they could be repaired and reused, but if they were in bad shape, they had to be returned to the company.
That was because the bulletproof suits were company secrets.
Not that the company did anything with the suits.
Usually, they were immediately placed in an opaque bag and incinerated without a trace at the company's incinerator.
But William was speaking as if he had examined Kanghyeok's suit.
*Crackle.*
Narrowing his eyes at William, Kanghyeok took a deep drag from the filter.
“This is uncomfortable.”
“What is?”
Kanghyeok perched on the bed, his eyes never leaving William.
“All of this.”
William let out a deep laugh, crossed his legs, and took a long drag from his cigar.
“There's good news, too. A safe house will be established here soon. This city you risked your life to protect will gradually change.”
William emphasized the word "life," exhaled smoke, and continued.
“Tell me if you need anything.”
“Like what.”
“Any facilities you'd like to see in this city. I can make that happen with my authority.”
Kanghyeok's lips twitched.
William was deliberately avoiding the topic. And yet, he was staring through him with those lizard-like eyes, as if piercing his very soul.
*I won't show an emotional reaction.*
It would feel like playing right into William's hands.
“A hospital would be nice.”
“Is that necessary?”
“The only hospital in this city was wrecked. And besides, if a safe house is being built, it'll need a hospital anyway, won't it?”
“Hmm, that's true.”
*Anything else?*
William asked with his eyes as he smoked his cigar, and Kanghyeok opened his mouth to answer.
“I'm sure you'll handle the rest just fine. More importantly, I have something to ask you.”
“Go on.”
Kanghyeok thrust his hand into his pocket.
But he hesitated to take out what was inside.
Right now, William's eyes were filled with suspicion toward Kanghyeok.
He wasn't sure if it was okay to show this thing in his pocket to such a person.
But there was a clear advantage to showing it.
William would react one way or another, and based on that reaction, he might be able to judge whether he was a trustworthy person or not.
Kanghyeok slowly pulled his hand out of his pocket.
“Do you know what this is?”
“What is that?”
“It belonged to Nobody. He was going to use it to blow up the city.”
Nobody's detonator.
If William suspected Kanghyeok, then Kanghyeok also had the right to suspect William.
It was William who had tried so hard to reinstate Kanghyeok, and it was William who had given him the mission.
And on that mission, Kanghyeok had faced Nobody.
It could be called a coincidence.
But he couldn't ignore the possibility that William was involved, even in the slightest, with the people Kanghyeok was hunting.
“Are you sure you don't know what this is?”
William held out his hand, asking to see it, and Kanghyeok handed him the detonator.
All the while, his eyes remained fixed on William's face.
“It's crude. But well-made. The work of a professional.”
He couldn't tell from his expression if he was feigning ignorance.
*In that case?*
Kanghyeok reached out and took the detonator back from William.
“I intend to find out where this was made.”
William's expression changed.
His stiff lips parted, and a question came out like a groan.
“Why?”
“It seemed like there were people backing Nobody. I've judged them to be a potential threat, so I'm thinking of digging into them.”
William and Kanghyeok exchanged silent glances.
Then, William was the first to speak.
“That's not a good idea.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I'm worried I'll lose you.”
“Are you saying I could be in danger?”
“A 'what if' can always happen.”
“Wouldn't it be fine as long as someone doesn't make that 'what if' happen?”
“In any case, I can't recommend it.”
William's words, spoken with a slight shake of his head, only strengthened Kanghyeok's resolve.
“I'll report back when I'm on duty.”
At Kanghyeok's words, which made it clear he would investigate no matter what, William frowned.
“You don't understand. I'm telling you not to do it.”
In response, Kanghyeok pulled back the corners of his lips, revealing his canines, and replied.
“Have you forgotten? I'm a contractor.”
A contractor is not a company employee.
Merely in a symbiotic relationship with the company.
The company cannot exercise any binding legal force over him.
William bit his lip until it turned white, then narrowed his eyes.
“Why go to such lengths over this?”
“I simply want to know.”
William's brow furrowed as he watched Kanghyeok return the detonator to his pocket.
“Know what?”
“Whether we're looking at the same thing.”
Kanghyeok continued in a deliberate tone.
“Or if we're looking at different things.”