Three Friends' Travel Plans
Kang Jihun stepped out of the company building and was on his way home. Whether it was because of the conversation he'd had with his father about the Gangryonghoe succession, his expression as he drove down the road wasn't particularly bright. At that moment, Jihun saw the red traffic light ahead and came to a stop. The words his father had just said echoed in his mind.
Jihun bit his lip with a displeased expression and stared straight ahead.
Just then, his phone mounted on the dashboard rang. Jihun checked the caller ID—Park Jaehyuk—and tapped the call button, switching on the speakerphone.
“Hey, Jaehyuk.”
“Jihun. You busy?”
“Nah. Heading home right now. Why?”
The traffic light turned green. Jihun stepped on the accelerator and continued the call as he drove.
“Jeonghan’s on leave. It’s been a while—let’s all three of us meet up.”
“Jeonghan got leave?”
“Yeah. But he says once he goes back this time, it’ll be tough to get more leave for a while. Things are gonna get busy.”
“The training must be no joke, huh? If it’s to the point where leave is hard to come by…”
“He’s in the Special Forces. What do you expect?”
Jaehyuk changed the subject.
“Anyway, how was the trip with Suyeon?”
“It was… nice.”
Thinking back on the dates he’d had with Lee Suyeon at the villa, the unease he’d felt during the conversation with his father about the succession seemed to ease a little. That didn’t mean he could completely ignore the repulsive reality that he might become the successor of the Gangryonghoe, though.
“Did you two fight or something? Your voice sounds a bit off…”
“We didn’t fight. It’s personal stuff. Extremely personal.”
“Well… if you didn’t fight, that’s good. Come to the OO Hof House by six-thirty tonight. I’ll go with Jeonghan.”
“Got it. See you later.”
Jaehyuk ended the call. As Jihun kept driving, he thought to himself, I need to drink with the guys and shake off this shitty, uneasy feeling.
A few hours later, at the OO Hof House.
Wearing a brown coat, dark jeans, and black sneakers, Jihun walked into the pub. Lee Jeonghan and Jaehyuk greeted him.
“Yo!! Over here, man!!”
Jihun sat down at the table with them. Jaehyuk grinned.
“Did you have a good time with Suyeon?”
“Of course.”
Jeonghan, who had been sipping his beer, glared at him.
“Did you do it?”
“Uh… would you believe me if I said no?”
“Honestly, I’d find it more believable if you said you saw a horned centaur on Line 1.”
Jaehyuk chimed in.
“Exactly. You two have been dating for years. There’s no way you went on a trip for a few days and didn’t do it even once.”
“Just be honest, dude. It’s not like you hit Suyeon or anything. I’m asking if you did a completely normal thing that any regular couple would do more than once. I may be her overprotective older brother who thinks the world of her, but I’m not gonna chew you out over that. You can tell us straight. Just don’t go into too much detail.”
“……Yeah, we did. Quite a lot, actually…”
“Hmm… did you wear a condom?”
“A condom…? Yeah, of course we did.”
“Good. As long as you wore one, we’re fine.”
Then both Jeonghan and Jaehyuk gave him a serious warning.
“Like we always say, don’t get her pregnant yet. Suyeon’s only twenty-one and hasn’t even graduated college. It’d be really hard on her to suddenly become a mom without any preparation.”
“An unplanned pregnancy is a big deal. Still, you’re not the kind of guy who couldn’t handle that, right?”
Jihun nodded at them.
“Yeah. I won’t get her pregnant before we’re married.”
“Okay. Let’s drink to that.”
As the three of them drank, Jihun, now slightly tipsy, let out a sigh.
“Sigh… I’ve been feeling so fucking uneasy lately… I just wanna empty my head completely…”
Hearing Jihun’s grumbling, Jaehyuk asked,
“What’s got you so uneasy? That personal stuff?”
“Yeah… it’s messing with my head a bit…”
Jihun downed his beer. Jaehyuk watched him for a moment, then—perhaps because the alcohol had loosened his tongue—asked naturally,
“Then how about the three of us take a trip to clear our heads? Overseas.”
Jihun was silent for a moment as if considering it, then answered,
“I’m in. But where should we go…? Japan? Thailand? Or… anywhere else come to mind?”
Jaehyuk and Jeonghan fell silent in thought. After a while, Jeonghan slowly spoke up.
“I’ve always wanted to go to America…”
The moment he heard that, Jihun made the decision instantly.
“Okay!! Let’s go to America!! If we’re doing it, let’s do it right—New York. Deal?”
Jihun, also quite drunk, had made the call abruptly. Jeonghan blinked at him in surprise, and Jaehyuk stared with a dumbfounded look.
Damn, that was fast…
“Uh… but isn’t a trip to America crazy expensive? Maybe we should think about it a little more instead of deciding right away…”
“It’s fine. I’ve got a friend who went to New York. From what he told me, the price should be manageable.”
Jeonghan nodded.
“Well… if you say it’s doable… When are we going?”
“Jeonghan, when’s your next leave?”
“Hmm… our unit’s training is no joke… I think I’ll be able to take a long one around August next year.”
Jaehyuk stared at him blankly.
“Next August? The Special Forces really are that brutal, huh…”
Jihun asked Jaehyuk,
“Next August—that’s your summer break, right?”
“Yep. I’ll be back in my third year and it’ll be summer vacation.”
“Then as long as Jeonghan can get leave in August, we can all match our schedules.”
Jeonghan told them,
“If I can get leave in August, I’ll contact you guys before I take it.”
Jaehyuk nodded.
“Okay. We’ll plan the trip once we know how long your leave is.”
Jeonghan nodded back. As Jaehyuk ate some chicken, he thought, A trip to New York… It’s pretty sudden, but it sounds fun. It’s been a while—I need to clear my head and get some rest too.
A few months later, August 2024.
At K-World, the amusement park located in Seoul.
A man who appeared to be in his early fifties, with black hair, wearing horn-rimmed glasses, a green short-sleeve shirt, and black cotton pants, sat on a bench holding a can of ion drink. Beside him sat another man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, a black short-sleeve shirt, jeans, and sporting a mustache and goatee.
“You’ve changed a lot since I last saw you.”
> Han Ki-chan. Director of the National Intelligence Service’s Fifth Bureau.
Ki-chan took a sip of the ion drink from the can in his hand. The man sitting beside him with one leg crossed—Minhyuk—asked,
“Did you take care of what I asked?”
“I sent it to your subordinate. It took longer than planned because I had to watch out for the other guys.”
“Sorry for asking something unnecessary.”
At Minhyuk’s apology, Ki-chan answered as if there was no need for it.
“Unnecessary? After everything you’ve done for me, how could it be unnecessary? If it weren’t for you back then, I would’ve died at the hands of those Russian bastards in Shenyang. I wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
With that, Ki-chan finished the rest of the ion drink, crushed the empty can, and asked,
“So, is there anything more I can do for you in this situation?”
“There’s nothing more you can do for me in your current position.”
Minhyuk uncrossed his legs, sat up straight, and said,
“Unless you become the deputy director.”
Ki-chan adjusted his glasses slightly.
“You want me to push out Nam Sang-hoon and take the deputy director position?”
“Honestly, I don’t think it’s that difficult.”
“Well, compared to destroying the Gangryonghoe or taking down Cha Jinyong, it is a lot easier.”
“We’ll talk to our people inside the agency to help you become deputy director. All you have to do is stay put.”
Ki-chan’s lips curved into a slight smile.
“Alright. I’ll push out that son of a bitch Nam Sang-hoon and become the deputy director.”
With those words, he crushed the empty can flat with both hands and tossed it neatly into the nearby recycling bin.
A few days later.
Lee Jeonghan, wearing a gray short-sleeve shirt, black cotton pants, and white sneakers, had come out on leave. He arrived at the hof house where he was supposed to meet his friends and opened the door.
“Hey!! Lee Jeonghan!!”
Jihun spotted him the moment he walked in and waved. Jeonghan smiled brightly when he saw Jaehyuk and Jihun sitting together, then walked over and took a seat.
Jaehyuk asked,
“How’s the Special Forces? Manageable?”
“It’s fucking brutal. It’s called Special Forces for a reason. My whole body aches like hell from all the training.”
Jeonghan gulped down his beer. Jaehyuk stared at him quietly. Jeonghan had changed a lot since becoming a staff sergeant in the Special Forces. He was still the shortest of the three, but unlike his high school days when he’d been around 170 centimeters, he was now in the early 180s—almost the same height as Jaehyuk. His shoulders were broader than before, and his forearms had grown noticeably thicker.
“Yeah, the training intensity does look pretty rough.”
“But it’s not impossible to endure. There were some pretty fun trainings too…”
“Fun trainings? Those actually exist?”
“Tactical shooting drills were surprisingly enjoyable. Stuff like clearing buildings with pistols and rifles, taking out targets, or rescuing hostages.”
Jeonghan always had insane shooting skills. Looks like he’s putting his talent to good use.
Jaehyuk picked up a chicken wing and ate it. Jeonghan asked his friends,
“So, have you guys set the whole travel schedule?”
“Of course. Your leave goes until the 20th, right?”
“Yeah. Until August 20th.”
Jaehyuk explained the plan.
“We’ll depart from Incheon Airport on August 15th and fly to New York. The flight takes about fourteen hours, so we’ll arrive around 11 a.m. local time on the 15th. We booked the Ritz-Carlton. After we drop off our luggage, let’s grab lunch. Return flight is set for the morning of August 18th, New York time. That way you’ll be back in time for your return on the 20th.”
Jeonghan nodded.
“Okay. Did you plan out the rest of the itinerary too?”
“Not really. We didn’t make anything too detailed. We’re just gonna hit up the famous tourist spots.”
Jihun nodded in agreement.
“If you pack the schedule too tight, you just end up exhausted. Life’s more fun when things don’t go exactly according to plan, right?”
With that, Jihun raised his beer glass and suggested a toast.
“Shall we clink glasses?”
“Sure. We should. Jeonghan, is your glass full?”
Jeonghan showed them his beer-filled glass and smiled.
“Mine’s full. Alright, cheers!!”
The three friends about to head off on their New York trip clinked their glasses together in a toast.