God of Blackfield

Seok Kang-Ho immediately frowned after checking the text message. “These fuckers are also quite incredible.”

He handed over the phone to Kang Chan.

[You’re going to die anyway.]

Who could it be?

Kang Chan felt like he’d run over, beat up, and catch that guy if he just knew where he was, even if he were in Africa.

“Let’s go. Let’s catch this guy after we have lunch and replenish our energy,” Seok Kang-Ho told Kang Chan.

“Sure.”

Kang Chan assumed the guy might be connected to the parking lot gang because, if it was the guy Sharlan was taking orders from, then he wouldn’t have excluded Smithen. Rather, he would’ve been the first one to receive the text.

If that were the case, then Kang Chan needed to find the guys and finish them off completely while he was being protected by the security company.

“What are you going to do after class?” Seok Kang-Ho asked Kang Chan.

“I have to go early today. There’s someone I have to meet.”

“I see. I also have a meeting about the retreat. Let’s go eat something good tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

It looked like Dayeru was becoming more and more like Seok Kang-Ho.

Should I treat him like a teacher and as someone older?

Kang Chan shook his head.

Things like this would be solved with time.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, the kids seemed hyped up.

This was especially true for the eleventh-graders, as they had both the break and the retreat.

Kang Chan finished eating while he sat next to Kim Mi-Young, who was happily talking to Cha So-Yeon.

***

After classes ended, Kang Chan walked home with Kim Mi-Young. He then changed his clothes and immediately headed out to a nearby coffee specialty store.

“I’m the president, Kim Tae-Jin. I didn’t know that you were a high schooler, Mr. Kang-Chan.”

Although Kim Tae-Jin didn’t hide his surprise even as he handed over his business card, Kang Chan liked the sharp look in his eyes.

“Is there anything else besides the text messages?” Kim Tae-Jin asked Kang Chan.

“That’s everything for now.”

“That’s a lot of money to spend for only threatening text messages. It would be best to tell us everything you know for the safety of those that need guarding.”

“It could be a mafia organization, but I’m not sure about that either.”

“We can connect with almost every gangster in South Korea. Even if all we know is their name, we should be able to act first. The best way to guard our objective is to remove the risk factor before something could even transpire.”

“Please just stand guard for now. That’s enough.” As soon as Kang Chan finished his answer, Suh Sang-Hyun, the executive director, butted in.

“You probably don’t know this since you’re still just a student, but even the gangsters can’t walk over our president. And why would we work needlessly when we can just immediately remove the root cause?”

Kang Chan sharply looked at Suh Sang-Hyun.

He kept talking thoughtlessly just because he knew some things about gangsters and Kang Chan was still a high schooler. Could someone like him do his job properly?

Suh Sang-Hyun just glared right back, as if not to lose.

“Director Suh,” Kim Tae-Jin called.

But Suh Sang-Hyun shut his mouth when Kim Tae-Jin briefly shook his head.

“If you want to help, then please just look into who sent the text messages. And Mr. Seok Kang-Ho will go on a three-day, four-night retreat next week at Jiri Mountain. Please make sure that people don’t notice you guys there as well,” Kang Chan said.

Kang Chan signed the contract and received the receipt.

The contract process ended with that.

“Then we’re done here, right? If so, I’ll get going now,” Kang Chan said.

“We’ll try our best.”

Kang Chan left the coffee specialty store right after shaking both of their hands.

“That brat sure is arrogant just because he has some money,” Suh Sang-Hyun said while observing Kim Tae-Jin’s mood. He was about to call Kang Chan rude but decided to play it safe due to Kim Tae-Jin’s aura.

“He’s the son of the Kang Yoo Motors president, right?” asked Kim Tae-Jin.

“Yes.”

“You’ve worked eight years in the security office?”

“Eight years and three months, to be exact.”

Kim Tae-Jin looked at Suh Sang-Hyun with pity.

“And you still didn’t feel anything while looking into that student’s eyes?” Kim Tae-Jin asked again.

“Pardon?”

Kim Tae-Jin stared in the direction of the exit Kang Chan took.

“I didn’t think I'd get to see those kinds of eyes again. Have I gotten too sensitive nowadays?” asked Kim Tae-Jin.

“What's it like?”

“I thought that I had seen the Neck Ghost.”

“Pardon?!”

Suh Sang-Hyun quickly looked after exclaiming.

“You said you checked on the president of Kang Yoo Motors, right?” asked Kim Tae-Jin.

“Yes, our guys are guarding him even now, but there’s nothing unusual to report.”

“The look in Kang Chan’s eyes is of someone that has killed people. A lot of people.”

“Is it that bad I didn’t notice?”

Kim Tae-Jin nodded.

“It’s quite easy to discern if one thinks they can kill another by the look in their eyes. However, noticing the look of a person that could twist someone else’s neck at any second is difficult. That’s why they can win without much effort. From what I’ve seen, if you and that student fought right there and then, you definitely would’ve died.”

“No way. Aren’t you just being overly sensitive?”

Kim Tae-Jin smiled bitterly.

“I was just like you when I fought with the Neck Ghost. But having my chest stabbed made me realize the importance of experience. You’ll learn of it eventually.”

Suh Sang-Hyun couldn’t say anything else because he knew Kim Tae-Jin was being sincere.

There wasn’t anyone on their side that had come back after killing as many of the enemies in the DMZ [1] as Kim Tae-Jin. Since the state of affairs had changed, it would be difficult for someone like Kim Tae-Jin to emerge again in the future. Of course, this was excluding the legend in the DMZ that Suh Sang-Hyun most respected.

“Focus. There’s something suspicious about this case. Place two more guys for each person,” said Kim Tae-Jin.

“Is it that bad?”

When Kim Tae-Jin gazed at him sharply, Suh Sang-Hyun quickly answered with an ‘Understood.’

“If someone like him goes crazy, then not only you, but everyone else that has failed to guard their detail will lose their necks.”

Can he really do that in today’s world?

But as if he read Suh Sang-Hyun’s mind, Kim Tae-Jin shook his head.

“Don’t think that he’s going to calculate what’s going to happen later. He would just click his tongue, not bothering to worry about things like that.”

“Do you really think so?” asked Suh Sang-Hyun.

Kim Tae-Jin pursed his lips while looking down at the contract.

“If the task was to guard someone against that student, then I would’ve never taken on the role. It would be better to pay the financial penalties of twice the original amount.”

“I’ll increase the number of guys immediately.”

“Search through that student’s surroundings. If needed, I’ll call the National Intelligence Service and the National Police Agency as well.”

Suh Sang-Hyun got rid of his doubts.

The Kim Tae-Jin that he knew wasn’t someone that would ever spout nonsense about this kind of thing.

***

After Kang Chan came home, he surfed the internet when his phone vibrated. It was Oh Gwang-Taek.

It was just in time because he was feeling rather unsettled by the parking lot gangsters.

“Hello?”

– Kang Chan, everything’s alright on your end, right?

“Why? What’s wrong?”

Kang Chan could instantly tell that Oh Gwang-Taek’s voice didn’t sound good.

- Remember Do-Seok from the Namsan Hotel? He got attacked. He’s in the hospital right now but isn’t doing well. So be sure to be extra careful from now on.

Was it the parking lot gangsters after all?

Kang Chan felt strangely relieved, even though he felt sorry for Suh Do-Seok.

- Things like this happen in our work all the time, but it’s strange this time. He’s injured so much that he can’t work anymore. I can’t help but wonder if he got robbed as well.

“Is there a reason why Do-Seok would be a target?”

-That’s why I’m telling you this. There have been many cases where they attack the business, but there aren't a lot of cases where they attack the employee themselves. And they did it too cleanly for this to just be a robbery. So be extra alert for now. I’ll send over my guys if need be, so don’t complain and just pretend that you didn’t notice anything.

Should I say it, or should I not?

Kang Chan made up his mind after debating about it for a moment.

“We also got threatening text messages.”

- What? What did you just say?

“A few people around me, including Mr. Seok Kang-Ho, got text messages saying we’re going to die. It seems like someone’s picked up the phone I lost in the hotel, but I think it roughly connects to what I heard about Do-Seok.”

Since he had already told him the gist of it anyway, Kang Chan decided to tell him everything—from the process of reporting it to the police to receiving the texts even today.

- It’s those fucking parking lot gangsters. Those fuckers! Okay. Anyway, take care of yourself.

“Okay.”

He ended the call without any unnecessary talk.

Kang Chan felt better as it seemed like he honestly got to know who the enemy was. And with the look in Kim Tae-Jin's eyes, he wouldn’t lose to people like the parking lot gangsters.

‘It’s also not good to go around searching for the fucking gangsters.’

Kang Chan licked his lips.

Now that he had identified the suspects as the parking lot gangsters, it became awkward to search for them without Oh Gwang-Taek’s help.

‘Those fucking dickheads.’

Thinking about it, Kang Chan didn’t actually get any threatening text messages.

It wasn’t like he was upset, but he got strangely angry.

1. The DMZ refers to the demilitarized zone, which is a strip of land that acts as a barrier between North and South Korea ☜