Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Master
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A glimmer of hope.
A hint of lingering regret.
A sliver of doubt.
His words contained all of this.
For a shot in the dark, William's reaction was too significant to ignore.
From the moment he'd rejoined the company, everything that had happened felt like the interlocking gears of a precision machine.
Now that it had come to this, Kanghyeok had to find the source of this detonator, even if the sky itself were to fall.
And Kanghyeok had a job to do.
To track down those who had destroyed the world.
It was something he could tell no one.
And so, he was alone.
He couldn't say he had seen the future, and without knowing the true nature of his enemies, he couldn't carelessly trust others.
He couldn't rely on anyone.
*I want to trust you.*
It was a sincere wish, but Kanghyeok knew that in the worst-case scenario, he might have to face William at gunpoint.
It was then.
“Are you really the Kanghyeok I know?”
Kanghyeok's brow furrowed.
“What do you mean?”
William set down his cigar and leaned toward Kanghyeok.
“You're saying things the you from a year ago never would have. It's as if you're a different person.”
Just as Kanghyeok couldn't read William's mind, William didn't know Kanghyeok's circumstances.
How could he possibly guess?
That Kanghyeok was the one and only person to have witnessed the apocalyptic future. And that he possessed a healing ability no other agent had.
The longer the silence between them stretched, the more an immeasurable tension simmered.
Kanghyeok stubbed out his short cigarette in the ashtray and put a new one to his lips.
*Click.*
Adding fresh smoke to the already hazy room, Kanghyeok spoke.
“William.”
As he nodded, Kanghyeok slowly began to speak.
“I'll find the answer to whether I can trust you or not myself.”
“Hmm.”
William watched Kanghyeok with a weighted gaze and nodded.
“I wish you luck. In the process, and in the outcome.”
“Let's go.”
William rose from his seat.
Kanghyeok also stood, walked to the door, and twisted the knob to open it.
With a trail of cigarette smoke, William stepped out the door.
As the two men faced each other at the doorway, William turned his gaze to Kanghyeok.
“The car and suit you requested are in the parking garage.”
“Thank you.”
William looked at Kanghyeok, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smirk.
Then, leaving behind only an enigmatic smile, he walked away from Kanghyeok's home, the sound of his dress shoes fading.
It was early dawn the next day.
The cool morning air, fresh and crisp, filled the city, heralding the start of a new day.
Beneath a cloudless, pale sky, Yohan moved busily, a pistol in his hand.
*Bang, bang!*
Two bullets struck the target, which was made of old tires fitted onto a post.
One in the chest area.
The other in the head.
Yohan immediately moved to the next target, ejected the magazine, and, with awkward but deliberate movements, inserted a fresh one.
Then he instantly resumed a shooting stance.
It wasn't an ordinary shooting stance.
It was a stance like Kanghyeok's, with the pistol held close to the body.
The Center Axis Relock system, or CAR.
It was a shooting technique that all company employees, including Kanghyeok, were required to learn, and it was the most practical stance for close-quarters combat.
By simply extending one's arms, it converted to an isosceles stance suitable for shooting distant targets, and it was easy to return to the original position.
Used by teams like SWAT and the FBI, its practicality was beyond question.
That was the stance Yohan was taking.
*Bang!*
Yohan extended his arms and fired one shot at a distant target.
*Bang, bang!*
He fired two shots at a close target just like before, and immediately fired another bullet at the head area of the distant target.
“Hoo, hoo, hoo.”
Yohan turned to Kanghyeok, his face full of expectation.
This time, his index finger was off the trigger.
*Beep.*
Kanghyeok pressed a button on his wristwatch, stopping the timer, and gave Yohan a faint smile.
“Not bad for your first time.”
“Hah!”
Yohan exhaled as if all his tension had suddenly melted away, letting his pistol-holding hand drop.
Then, noticing Kanghyeok's expression was different from usual, he spoke cautiously.
“Did I… do something wrong?”
“No, it's not that.”
“But your expression…”
He looked like someone with a lot on his mind.
Yohan grew flustered, wondering if Kanghyeok wasn't feeling well, but Kanghyeok just shook his head with a bitter smile.
“It's nothing.”
He then let out a sigh through his nose and continued.
“I'm going to be away for a while.”
“What? You didn't say anything yesterday.”
“Something came up.”
Yohan's expression noticeably darkened.
Guessing what the boy was thinking, Kanghyeok, with a heavy heart, said the words Yohan most wanted to hear.
“I'm not leaving for good. I'll be back.”
It might be something close to trauma.
The look on Yohan's face when he was left alone without his mother was still vivid in his mind.
For this Yohan, being alone again would be a fear worse than death.
“Ah!”
Yohan looked at Kanghyeok with a startled expression before averting his gaze.
“It's just business. You have an idea of what I do, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Until I get back, keep practicing what I've taught you. Don't listen to anyone else, just practice and practice. Think of it this way: a hundred drops of sweat in training will save you a drop of blood in a fight.”
Yohan pressed his lips together firmly and nodded.
Then, he held out the pistol.
It was Kanghyeok's pistol, the one he had been using for practice.
“I'll give it back.”
“Keep it.”
“No. You should take it.”
Sometimes, Yohan felt like a stranger.
He even wondered if this was really the same kid who, not long ago, had called him a Chino and spoken so informally.
“Use it for practice.”
Yohan's lips quivered for a moment, then he took the pistol with an expression that said he would cherish it until Kanghyeok returned.
“Will you be gone long?”
“I don't know.”
With eyes mixed with curiosity and worry, Yohan looked over Kanghyeok's clothes.
Kanghyeok was wearing a plain shirt and cotton pants.
It wasn't the suit he always wore when he fought.
“It's not something you need to worry about. It's not dangerous, either.”
“That's a lie, isn't it?”
Kanghyeok was silent for a long moment before answering.
“Probably.”
Even Kanghyeok couldn't be sure if it would be dangerous or not.
But he had a feeling it wouldn't be easy, and moving without the company's support meant he couldn't guarantee his safety.
What if the person who made this detonator had no connection to Nobody?
It would be safe.
And he would spend his time silently waiting for another opportunity to arise someday.
That wasn't what Kanghyeok wanted.
He hoped to find a clue related to Nobody's associates, even if it was dangerous. And if he really did, he couldn't even begin to guess what kind of people he'd be facing at gunpoint.
“…Be careful.”
Kanghyeok met Yohan's gaze for a while before speaking.
“I will.”
Kanghyeok turned his back on Yohan.
Yohan watched his back, not taking his eyes off him until he disappeared from sight.
Kanghyeok headed for the American South.
*Rumble, rumble!*
Driving down a rough country road, Kanghyeok glanced at an approaching vehicle.
The man in the truck was openly staring at Kanghyeok's car.
Then, as the two vehicles passed each other, he saw Kanghyeok's face and scowled fiercely.
What would his reaction have been if Kanghyeok had brought a sports car instead of an SUV?
Would he have spat, or would he have been intimidated and passed by quietly?
In any case, it was a remote place.
Racists were common, and farms and fields were visible as far as the eye could see.
There was a reason he had come all the way out here.
Kanghyeok, who had come this far by retracing his memories, put a cigarette between his lips and scanned his surroundings.
Then, before he could even light it, he found what he was looking for.
A gun shop that wasn't even listed on the GPS.
Kanghyeok removed the cigarette from his mouth and parked his car near the shop.
The hostile gazes of the white men who were drinking, smoking, and chatting at the entrance fell on him, but he completely ignored them.
*Clang.*
An old bell rang as the door opened, and the people inside the gun shop reacted just like the ones outside.
An Asian in this neighborhood?
Receiving such looks, Kanghyeok surveyed the inside of the shop.
A cramped interior.
The smell of sweat and hay.
Numerous cheap guns hanging on the walls.
A pot-bellied, messy-bearded shop owner standing at the counter, and the wall behind him.
And the many firearms displayed on that wall.
Kanghyeok walked straight to the shop owner.
“I'm here to see the Master—”
“Get lost. We don't sell anything to chinks.”
The shop owner waved his hand as if shooing a fly, and the other men in the store threw sneers at Kanghyeok before losing interest.
They probably thought he was just some clueless Asian hick who'd come to buy a gun and was getting turned away.
But that wasn't why Kanghyeok had come here.
Kanghyeok resumed the sentence the shop owner had interrupted.
“I'd like to see the Master.”
“I'm the owner of this shop. And didn't you hear me tell you to get lost?”
*Clack.*
The shop owner placed a loaded gun on the counter.
He seemed to expect Kanghyeok to get scared and leave, but Kanghyeok didn't even glance at the gun and continued speaking.
“Just tell him I'm here. He'll agree to see me.”
*Clink.*
Then, Kanghyeok placed a small accessory next to the pistol.
Compared to the pistol, it was too small and harmless to be a threat, but it was more than enough to capture the shop owner's attention.
A cufflink, signifying his affiliation with the company.
Seeing the cufflink, the shop owner's eyes lost their hostility, and he turned his gaze to Kanghyeok.
“What's your name?”
“Kanghyeok.”
The shop owner, his eyes fixed on Kanghyeok, picked up a radio from the counter.
At a glance, it looked like a cheap walkie-talkie, but its weight when lifted and the LED light from a custom-drilled hole revealed it was a modified device.
*Screech.*
No words were exchanged.
He just turned the analog dial back and forth, producing only static, as if trying to find a frequency.
But this was their communication.
Like Morse code, the bursts of static of regular length formed letters, and this combination was transmitted to the other party like a text message.
*Zzzt. Zzt.*
After a burst of static came from the radio like a reply.
“My apologies for not recognizing you.”
The shop owner spoke quietly, his eyes polite, like a completely different person from moments before.
“It's fine. So, can I see him now?”
“Please wait just a moment. I'll prepare the way.”
Kanghyeok nodded, and the shop owner came out from behind the counter.
“Hey! Fellas. Sorry, but we're closing up for the day.”
As if this was unexpected, the local residents in the store started complaining.
“What? All of a sudden?”
“I got something I need to buy right now. What's with the sudden closing?”
“Come back tomorrow. I'll give you a killer deal.”
“Don't tell me it's because of that Asian guy.”
“Hey now, just come on out. Let's go.”
The shop owner put his arms around their necks and guided them out of the store, whispering in their ears at the entrance.
“I talked to him for a bit, seems like he's got deep pockets. I'll treat you all later, so get ready to drink 'til you drop at the bar tomorrow.”
“Oh! Well, that's a different story.”
“Don't you forget that promise.”
The locals left, chuckling, and the shop owner even waved to them before firmly locking the store door.
*Click.*
After drawing the curtains to completely block the outside view, he turned to Kanghyeok and bowed his head.
“Please forgive my rudeness.”
Kanghyeok replied as he retrieved his cufflink.
“I understand. Sometimes, that's necessary.”
The shop owner smiled, greatly pleased by Kanghyeok's magnanimity, and returned to the counter, where he pulled down a shotgun displayed on the wall.
*Clank!*
The wall behind the counter then split open to the left and right, revealing a hidden door.