Chapter 162: Investigation (2)

Chapter 162: Investigation (2)

“Thankfully, looks like there's no traffic,” said Nam Sang-Hyeok.

“Yes, looks that way.” Jo Gyu-Min sitting in the front passenger seat nodded slightly.

Their off-road vehicle was currently driving on a wide, sparsely-populated road.

The driver, Nam Sang-Hyeok, glanced at the clock. “If traffic stays like this, we should reach our destination in around four, maybe five hours.”

“It's not that far away, then.”

“Indeed, it isn't,” Nam Sang-Hyeok replied to Jo Gyu-Min. Truth be told, however... His focus was still locked on the passenger riding in the back seat. Kang Jin-Ho sat there, his arms crossed and his eyes deeply closed. His silence was so unnerving that Nam Sang-Hyeok could barely focus on anything else.

'Just who... is that guy?'

Despite boasting such a... naive-looking face, he still blew away all those hoodlums by himself. That was not a feat a normal human could pull off!

Even Korea's legendary street fighter, Sirasoni, wouldn't be able to do something like that. Not to forget, those hoodlums were all brandishing scary weapons, too! Yet, Kang Jin-Ho still one-sidedly pummeled them to the ground.

'Maybe, he's a member of some special forces?'

That had to be it—otherwise, what happened back in the diner wouldn't make much sense.

'Besides all that, what did he mean by beating the grass to scare the snake?'

Simply put, Kang Jin-Ho was implying that he had caused a scene to draw someone out of hiding. However, provoking the local hoodlums would only draw out the Triad, wouldn't it?

'Whatever the case might be, I better get myself out of this mess real quick.'

No matter how good Kang Jin-Ho was at using his fists, what he was trying to do was tantamount to committing suicide. Nothing more. Even the CCP didn’t dare to carelessly provoke the Triad, after all!

Living in Korea would sometimes make people underestimate the capacity of organized criminals. Nam Sang-Hyeok used to be one of those people. No matter how overbearing a criminal gang was, it shouldn't be able to lift a single finger as soon as the cops or the Public Security Bureau showed up on the scene—that was his mindset before coming here.

However, living in another country had taught him how wrong he was. As it turned out, South Korea's public security was easily one of the best in the entire world. Living here also taught Nam Sang-Hyeok that China wasn’t South Korea.

Imagine how poor the public security had to be for dozens of gang members wielding various weapons to brazenly engage in a mass brawl in broad daylight. Such a thing would be unthinkable if the Public Security Bureau were doing its job.

Nam Sang-Hyeok had a pretty good idea of how short-tempered, cruel, and driven the Triad members could be. As such, he wanted nothing to do with Kang Jin-Ho if he could.

As the car drove on, Kang Jin-Ho slowly opened his eyes. He took in the sights of mountain peaks that felt intimately familiar. "...Tian Shan."

With a hint of distant longing in his eyes, Kang Jin-Ho quietly watched the scenery outside the car window.

***

“You... want to climb that mountain?” Nam Sang-Hyeok stared at Kang Jin-Ho in a daze.

“Yes, that's correct,” Kang Jin-Ho flatly replied as if he wasn't concerned about anything.

“Huh. Mister Kang... Mister Kang, wait.” Nam Sang-Hyeok sucked in a few deep breaths to organize what he wanted to say, then unleashed his barrage. “Please listen to me. This isn't Korea, Mister Kang. And those mountains you see over there, they are not the same sort of mountains you'd find in Korea! No, wait! Even in Korea, you're prohibited from hiking in the middle of the night, Mister Kang! In other words, you're asking for death here! Even in comparatively small mountains in Korea, it's easy to get lost, you know? But in those mountains? You get lost, and no one will ever find you! What I'm trying to tell you is that this place is not like Korea, where you can just keep going down the mountainside until you find a road or a village!”

Jo Gyu-Min inwardly tutted while watching figurative flames fly out of Nam Sang-Hyeok's eyes and mouth.?

'Was I like that in the past?'

Looking back, Jo Gyu-Min had to admit he used to act similarly to Nam Sang-Hyeok. He would try to interfere and voice his opposition to almost every little thing Kang Jin-Ho had done. But Jo Gyu-Min had come to learn that Kang Jin-Ho's actions were not as reckless as they initially appeared. Now that he knew Kang Jin-Ho could be thoughtful and calculating, Jo Gyu-Min decided to just place his trust in the young man's decision-making. However...

He inwardly hoped for Nam Sang-Hyeok to win this argument. Jo Gyu-Min wasn't blind, so he could see the sun setting below the horizon just like everybody else. Even then, if Kang Jin-Ho insisted on hiking at night... Jo Gyu-Min would have no choice but to follow.

Unfortunately for him...

“Yes, I am aware of all those,” said Kang Jin-Ho in his usual unperturbed manner.

“If you're so dead-set on hiking, how about finding a place nearby to spend the night? And start climbing tomorrow morning? There aren't any rescue services to find you if you get lost up there, Mister Kang. This isn't Korea where rescuers will show up almost immediately, you know?”

'Yes, you're doing great, Mister Nam!'?

Jo Gyu-Min dearly wanted to cheer on Nam Sang-Hyeok right now if he could. Although, no one knew whether such a thing would please Nam Sang-Hyeok or not.

“Thank you for your concern.” Unfortunately, Kang Jin-Ho remained adamant.

'Gee whiz, it's like I'm talking to a wall!'

Nam Sang-Hyeok finally gave up on changing Kang Jin-Ho's mind. Since time immemorial, trying to convince someone unwilling to listen had always been a total waste of time.

“If you insist, there's no helping it, then...”

Kang Jin-Ho fastened his luggage on his back, then picked up the bottle of water he had bought from a rest stop earlier.

“...Okay, so. What you're saying is... We are not hiking, but,?uh, literally ascending the mountainside? Like, traversing the Taebaek Mountains? Something like that?”

“Yes, more or less.”

Jo Gyu-Min began shuddering just then. “I-in that case, why didn't you...”

“Mm? Please repeat that?”

‘You should've said that upfront when you were telling me to go back earlier, you son of a b*tch! I thought I'd be hiking my butt off for one day, then have enough material to boast about at the company water cooler, you know! But this is not just one day, is it?!’

‘If reaching the destination takes three days, how long will we need when coming back down?!’

“H-hang on a minute. Are you saying we'll have to ascend this mountain the whole night?!”

Kang Jin-Ho tutted slightly. “Of course not. We'll set up a camp nearby.”

“...Huh.” Jo Gyu-Min turned his head and stared at the distant moon shining brightly in the night sky. For some reason, he was missing his mother tonight.

***

Kang Jin-Ho was surprisingly proficient at setting up a camp.

He gathered some leaves and branches, then tied them down to create passable bedding for two. Next up, he dug a small pit and got a campfire going. All these took less than ten minutes to complete.

Judging from his speed, this couldn't have been his first time camping outdoors. However, as far as Jo Gyu-Min's memories went, Kang Jin-Ho didn't have any outdoor-related hobbies, so this came across as rather strange.

'This is weird...'

Kang Jin-Ho should be an amateur in all things related to camping, yet he seemed just so proficient in everything he did. Of course, even an amateur could acquire all the information they wanted on the Internet these days. However, a brutal wake-up call waited for those hoping to put the knowledge in their heads to actual reality.

Jo Gyu-Min knew the severity of that 'disparity,’ so he couldn't explain Kang Jin-Ho's proficiency.

After Kang Jin-Ho was finished setting up camp, he poured some water into the cup and handed it over to Jo Gyu-Min.

“N-no, I'm fi—” Jo Gyu-Min was about to politely decline, only to notice the steam rising from the cup. He then unhesitantly accepted the offered cup. He could see the boiling water inside, and his head slowly shook all on its own.

'Did he bring a Thermos with him or something?'

That couldn't be it, though, since Jo Gyu-Min didn't remember seeing Kang Jin-Ho prepare hot water before setting off for this trip. So, where did this hot water come from? When the campfire only got going literally minutes ago?

Meanwhile, Kang Jin-Ho got up and began hoarding the luggage to one side. Then, he suddenly stretched himself and loosened his muscles.

Jo Gyu-Min looked at him weirdly.

'Huh? A... nighttime exercise?'

Didn't Kang Jin-Ho say it's time to go to bed? So, what was he doing now?

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Jo Gyu-Min. “Get some rest in the meantime.”

“...Are you going somewhere, Mister Jin-Ho?”

“Not 'going,’ but 'welcoming,’ actually.”

Jo Gyu-Min's head tilted to the side. “I'm sorry?”

Kang Jin-Ho smiled meaningfully. “The snake has shown up, so it's time to hunt it. That's all.”

“A... snake?” Jo Gyu-Min's head tilted even more.

“I'm genuinely curious now. What will come out after hunting the snake? A dragon? Maybe a tiger?” Kang Jin-Ho muttered before turning around to leave the campsite.

'What on earth was he talking about?'

Jo Gyu-Min narrowed his eyes while righting his head. Maybe, it had something to do with the 'beating the grass to scare the snake' idiom from earlier in the day? However, what did that have to do with their current situation? However, Jo Gyu-Min didn't need long to get his answers.

Suddenly, this strange chill flooded the surroundings. Jo Gyu-Min quickly squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again.

Kang Jin-Ho was still standing there, but he... He was no longer the same Kang Jin-Ho.

That person had the outward appearance of the everyday Kang Jin-Ho, yes, but his atmosphere had totally changed. Jo Gyu-Min could instinctively feel it. In other words, Kang Jin-Ho's hidden 'side' had come out.

“B-but, why?”

Why was he unleashing his dark side in the middle of nowhere?

Kang Jin-Ho quietly looking up at the heavens suddenly raised his voice.

“Come out. Now.”

1. “Sirasoni” was the nickname of Yi Seong-Sun, a well-known gangster in Korea.