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Chapter 253.1: Let’s Not Overdo It (2)

After dinner, Kang Chan sat back down on the rocks that overlooked the river. He leaned back, staring off into the distance.

Compared to the blood-red sunsets in Mongolia, Africa had quite normal ones. However, they carried with them a certain sadness that was difficult to hide, making the hearts of anyone watching them mourn.

The cries of a deer whose throat was clamped on by a beast, the moans of a lion dying from the horns of a water buffalo, and the sight of predators in every direction—the sunsets of Africa always gave off a mood that spoke of death.

Kang Chan made his trademark smirk as he watched the sun sink below the horizon. He had been in Africa for quite a long time, but he had never seen a giraffe, a rhinoceros, or a lion even though they were frequently shown on TV.

Rustle. Rustle.

The aroma of delicious coffee tickled the bottom of his nose as he heard someone walking over.

“What are you up to?” Seok Kang-Ho asked as he approached Kang Chan.

“What do you think?” Kang Chan jokingly shot back.

Seok Kang-Ho laughed as he handed Kang Chan a mug. “Phuhuhu.”

“It’s worth two packages of instant coffee,” Seok Kang-Ho explained.

Yeah, this is what I like about this guy.

“I brought some water too so you can brush your teeth when you’re done with your coffee.”

Lifting the mug to his mouth, Kang Chan smiled against its rim. Seok Kang-Ho was the only one who took care of him like this.

“Gérard’s quite worried about you. He thinks you’re going to be in a lot of trouble tomorrow when the UN command center issues new orders for the operation.”

“These people are more important than that.”

“Is that what’s making you worry?” Seok Kang-Ho asked as he used his free hand to take a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He then offered it to Kang Chan. “Are you going to go rescue the other hostages tomorrow?”

Kang Chan gazed at him as he accepted the pack and pulled a cigarette out of it. To them, instant coffee should always be accompanied by a smoke or two.

Click!

The flickering red glow on the tip of the cigarette was more noticeable now that it was starting to get dark.

“Hoo! I hate how much fun it is to live!” Seok Kang-Ho randomly exclaimed. The stream of smoke from his cigarette rose and eventually disappeared into the darkness. “We’re probably going to die early from smoking cigarettes, though.”

Kang Chan couldn’t stop himself from chuckling.

“So you should just fuck all and do whatever the hell you want before you die! What’s the point of letting anything hold you back? Life’s too short for that!” Seok Kang-Ho declared.

“Are you worried about me?” Kang Chan mischievously asked.

“Who? Me?”

“Is there anyone else here that I’m talking to?”

Seok Kang-Ho rubbed the tip of his cigarette on the ground.

“To be honest, I am a bit concerned about you, Cap. What are you going to do about the backlash? I doubt you even have a plan for the consequences that would soon follow.”

Pft. Phuhu.

The two made their trademark smiles and looked off into the horizon.

Kang Chan inhaled the last of his cigarette and rubbed it on the ground the same way Seok Kang-Ho did. He then flicked it away.

“My dream was never to become a soldier,” Kang Chan began. “As I said before, I came all the way to Africa back then because I didn’t want to live like trash after being fucking born into this world. If I hadn’t met you or Gérard back then, I have no idea what would have become of me.”

Seok Kang-Ho made himself comfortable and rested his hands on his knees. He then watched the darkness settling on the earth.

“Failing to protect the people I need to protect horrifies me the most in this world,” Kang Chan continued, then let out a long sigh.

“I can’t let these people die just because the color of our skin is different or simply because they’re not a part of our everyday lives. I’m sorry for making you, Gérard, and the rest of the men stay here, but if I return to the base now, I know I’m going to live the rest of my life haunted by the fact that I left them alone to fend for themselves.”

Seok Kang-Ho nodded, empathizing with him. “Is it just me or are you also craving some ramyeon right now?”

“Hey! I’m trying to talk about serious matters here!” Kang Chan complained.

“Don’t blame me! Topics like this always make me crave ramyeon!”

The two ended up chuckling together, bringing their discussion to an end.

“I’m already happy and satisfied for getting to reunite and return to Africa with you. If anything, all I hope for right now is that Africa didn’t call you back here,” Seok Kang-Ho said, concern evident in his voice.

“What are you talking about?” Kang Chan asked with a baffled expression.

“It just seems that way. It’s almost like Africa summoned you here again because it couldn’t stand watching you become happy.”

Why is this punk saying something so deep?

Kang Chan smirked. “Did saying that make you crave ramyeon again?”

“Hey! Did you really have to interrupt me while I’m talking about a serious topic?” Seok Kang-Ho asked, pretending to be angry.

“You little bastard!” Kang Chan exclaimed in mock shock.

“Phuhuhu!”

The two chuckled again as the sun finally disappeared completely from view.

“The moon looks so fucking beautiful!” Seok Kang-Ho exclaimed.

Having been apart for a while, they were glad they got to sit together like this.

“Geez! It would’ve been perfect if it weren’t for these damn mosquitoes!”

Seok Kang and Kang Chan quickly gulped down the rest of their coffee in an attempt to get rid of its sweet smell. If they kept the coffee in their hands any longer, the mosquitoes would come swarming over for it, eventually turning it into a half-coffee and half-bugs mixture.

“Are you going to stay here? Why don’t you have some of the other guys switch out with you?”

“They probably haven’t gotten used to this place yet. It would be for the best if either you or I take the responsibility of watching over large areas like this. That aside, you should teach them how to watch out for bugs or bats,” Kang Chan said.

Seok Kang-Ho grinned. “I already told them about it,”

He stood up and took Kang Chan’s mug from him. The moonlight made the outlines of the gun at his waist, the one at his ankle, and his bayonet clearly visible.

“Are you still planning to use your mug as an ashtray?”

Kang Chan snorted. “Considering how much ashes we’ve scattered on the ground already, I should still have plenty of room here.”

“All right. I’m going to go put this away. Let’s switch after I’m back.”

“Take your time.”

Seok Kang-Ho headed toward the cave. Pebbles crunched under his boots with each step he took.

There would always be mysterious and unrecognizable noises coming from the darkness of the night. One would die from anxiety if they paid attention to every little thing like that. However, they would also die if they missed a sound the enemy made.

An explanation wouldn’t be enough to understand something like this. Experience was the only one that could truly prepare them for such situations.

Krrk! Krrk! Kerk! Keerk!

The cries of birds and animals were also quite hard to get used to. They were totally out of sight during the day, but they cried so fucking loud at night.

A moment later, Kang Chan heard footsteps closing in again.

“What are you doing here, Cap?”

Why are these punks all asking the same question?

“Can’t you tell just by looking?” Kang Chan asked with feigned annoyance.

Gérard and Kang Chan grinned in a similar fashion before Gérard sat down next to Kang Chan.

Click!

The punk rested the rifle he had brought with him against his shoulder.

“How many guys will you take tomorrow?” he asked.

When Kang Chan turned to him, he saw Gérard waiting for a response with thoughtful, deep eyes.

“I don’t know yet,” Kang Chan responded. “I’m not familiar with the geography of this area, and the UN command center could order a rescue as well.”

“From what I’ve heard, it’s a pretty long way around the mountains because we’ll have to take some detours. If we’re going to do something, we better get going as soon as we’re done with breakfast. The UN won’t issue any rescue operation for anyone for as long as the rebel forces haven’t launched any offensive yet anyway.”

“What about the terrain?”

“Apparently similar to where we are now. I’ll grab a map when we go on a food run tomorrow.”

Kang Chan nodded. If the area on the other side of the mountain was similar to where they were now, they could end up taking a nice RPG hit like the American Green Berets.

Gérard continued, “Even if we do get them out, their numbers will be an entirely different problem in itself. No matter how hard you squeeze them in, the trucks can only hold a hundred people at most. We need a way to bring back the other three hundred people.”

“What about our heavy weaponry?” Kang Chan asked.

“Aside from the ones that we brought with us, we also have Iglas and machine guns. We’ll bring them tomorrow morning if you think you’ll need them.”

“Go for it. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Got it, Cap,” Gérard responded, looking far more at ease than before. “Do you remember when I said I felt uneasy in the past?”

“That’s the reason I told you to come to Korea in the first place,” Kang Chan answered.

Keeping his gaze on the horizon, Gérard replied, “If you go to Korea, I’ll take my uniform off. I no longer have the confidence to stay alive in a place like this alone.”