Chapter 151

“Life debt?”

Over the receiver, Walter repeated the phrase like he didn’t understand what it meant.

In response, Kang-hyuk raised one corner of his mouth.

He didn’t know exactly what kind of person Walter was, but—

If he could see Kang-hyuk’s face right now, he might’ve felt like he’d just been punched. That smug expression was that irritating.

“Yeah, life debt.”

“I was never injured though…?”

“Not you. Your men. Want me to list the names right here? Smith, Simpson, Will, Bart…”

“Oh.”

Walter couldn’t say anything for a moment.

Every single one of the men Kang-hyuk mentioned had come back from the brink of death, dragged back to life by Kang-hyuk’s own hands.

If a doctor ever told a patient, ‘You survived because of me,’ it’d usually come off as arrogant or conceited.

But Kang-hyuk was an exception.

If not for him, they would’ve all died.

“Even besides them, Black Waters owes me a lot, don’t you think?”

“That’s… yeah, you’re right.”

Walter nodded weakly with the phone in his hand.

He was just an instructor now, but once, he had been a legendary mercenary who’d singlehandedly wiped out an entire terrorist stronghold.

The only other person he showed this kind of attitude toward, besides Kang-hyuk, was probably his wife.

“But… didn’t we pay that off with your retirement bonus? You’re not exactly broke, right?”

Walter, still nodding idly, suddenly seemed to recall something and brought it up.

Kang-hyuk shook his head as he replied.

“I’ve got a lot of expenses.”

“You’re telling me you burned through all that already?”

“Who said I spent it all? Anyway, that was just compensation for my time. This is a whole different deal.”

“Hah.”

If Walter hadn’t been former military, his reaction might’ve been different.

But Walter was a soldier, and even now as a mercenary, still considered himself one.

And Black Waters as a company had always valued the lives of its operatives quite generously.

So he asked,

“What… do you want?”

“An air ambulance.”

“Air ambulance? Aren’t you in Korea?”

Walter couldn’t understand why someone would request an air ambulance in such a small country.

It wasn’t just about land area either.

A flight that long would take at least 12 hours.

Surely, they could just transfer the patient using other methods in the meantime.

“I’m near Dubai right now.”

“Dubai…? What the hell? I thought you were working in Korea. You already switched to another country?”

Walter’s voice brimmed with betrayal.

In contrast, Kang-hyuk’s tone was calm and relaxed.

“No, I’m in Korea. Don’t you even watch the news? Didn’t you see the Boko Haram incident in South Sudan recently?”

“Boko Haram? Oh… yeah, I heard something about some Korean soldiers getting hurt while trying to save civilians.”

“They didn’t just ‘get hurt.’ Do you know how strong the ROK military is?”

“You always talk about the ROK military like you’ve seen them fight.”

“Anyway, one of them is severely injured. He can’t be treated here. He needs to go back home.”

“You can’t handle it there? Even with you around?”

His tone was as if he couldn’t understand what Kang-hyuk was saying.

To Walter—and to Black Waters—Kang-hyuk was practically a god.

If he had a scalpel in hand, no one died.

The only requirement was that the patient had to survive the initial incident.

‘Hell, he even flew into gunfire to rescue people before.’

Walter remembered how Kang-hyuk’s helicopter piloting skills—learned as a hobby—had once saved his life.

‘Come to think of it, I guess I do owe him one too.’

Though he’d never been seriously hurt.

Kang-hyuk had still brought him home safe.

Because he believed in the dumb tattoo Walter had etched on his skin as a joke.

‘Dumbass… like a tattoo could make you bulletproof.’

He hadn’t expected Kang-hyuk to believe in that all the way through retirement.

As Walter fell into a moment of reminiscing, Kang-hyuk continued speaking.

“Yeah. Even with me here, it’s not enough. So send the plane.”

“An air ambulance? Even I can’t just—”

“You’re a director now, right? And a shareholder too.”

“How the hell did you know that?”

“And another thing, you bastard—why haven’t you told anyone that the tattoo means nothing?”

“Oh, so you knew.”

Walter trembled slightly.

He was Delta Force, active duty back then, and he never once won in a sparring match with Kang-hyuk.

His head told him Kang-hyuk was far away and couldn’t reach him, but—

His body remembered the fear.

There was a reason Kang-hyuk was nicknamed the ‘Violent Angel.’

The mercenaries had given him that name out of sheer respect and awe.

“So just send it. I don’t want to lose an old friend.”

“That sounds like a threat.”

“You’ve gotten smarter since I last saw you. Must be the promotion.”

“Haa…”

Walter sighed and waved a hand to call over his assistant.

“Yes, Instructor.”

Even after becoming a director, Walter continued to work as an instructor—and preferred to be called one. He was a true soldier.

That’s why his assistant still called him instructor.

Besides, it was hard to call someone with a thick tank top and bulging arms ‘Director.’

“Check the status of our air ambulances. Find one closest to Dubai.”

“Dubai…? But that’s not an active op zone?”

“I said check.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

The assistant saluted—odd for someone in her role—and began typing away at the computer.

Kang-hyuk waited silently, listening to the conversation and the sound of keys clacking over the phone.

‘Mercs sure do value life more.’

Maybe it’s because their job puts a price on life.

Kang-hyuk had often felt that life was actually more respected there.

Of course, they treated enemy lives as less than insects.

But for allies, it was different.

“There’s one available.”

Walter finally delivered good news.

“There is?”

“Yeah. But after maintenance and loading, it won’t reach you until tomorrow morning. Is that okay?”

There was no question about it.

Given how things were going, there was no way the Korean government was going to send even a single air ambulance.

This was a situation where something came from nothing.

Kang-hyuk was beyond grateful—he was ready to fall prostrate in thanks.

“Tomorrow morning, huh.”

“That’s the best we can do. We still need to find a pilot. Though… just dropping your name will get a dozen volunteers.”

“Got it. Do it that way. Tell them to land at Dubai airport. We’ll handle the admin side from here.”

“Understood. I’ll make sure it gets there by 9 a.m.”

“Walter.”

“Hm?”

“Thanks.”

After saying that, Kang-hyuk quickly hung up, almost embarrassed.

Walter shouted into the already disconnected line.

“Hey, are you serious? You go back to Korea and suddenly get sentimental? Did you just say thanks? Ah, damn it, I should’ve recorded that!”

He shouted like he couldn’t believe he was the only one who heard such a rare moment.

He kept yelling for over ten minutes before the assistant finally snapped him out of it.

“Sir… there’s only 8 hours left until 9 a.m.”

“What? I thought it was 11 earlier?”

“You’ve been on the phone a while.”

“I talked that long?”

“You went on for quite a bit about the old days.”

“Hah…”

Walter sighed, realizing he really was getting old.

He also realized that his friend and lifesaver Baek Kang-hyuk probably hadn’t mellowed a bit.

‘What happens if we miss the time?’

Normally, nothing much.

This was Syria—infamously dangerous—and the other guy was all the way in Korea.

‘He’d probably take a vacation just to come here.’

He was that kind of guy.

Not just terrifyingly ill-tempered, but obsessive to the point of madness.

“Quick! Get the aircraft prepped and find a pilot!”

“Do we have a list of people who might agree even outside work hours?”

“A list? Ah, right. Here, pick from these. I don’t remember them all.”

Walter grabbed a pen and began scribbling names.

Every one of them owed their life—or the life of a comrade—to Kang-hyuk.

The assistant watched and eventually opened her mouth.

The list was simply too long.

“Surprised? Didn’t you know that was our golden age?”

“I’ve… heard stories…”

All the wounded mercs returned from missions perfectly treated.

How could it not be a golden age?

Compared to other multinationals of the same size, their casualty rate was barely a fraction.

Naturally, elite mercenaries flocked to join them, and business soared.

In the end, Black Waters owed an astronomical debt to Kang-hyuk.

“Call whoever’s available from this list. No one’s going to say no.”

If someone did refuse, they’d be scum.

Who turns down a few days’ effort for the person who saved their life?

“Yes, Instructor.”

As the assistant moved to make the calls, Walter shouted again.

“Oh! Hey! No drunks!”

“Drunks? Wouldn’t that be… obviously disqualified?”

“You’d think. But some of these idiots would still go if Kang-hyuk called. If they sound tipsy, just hang up.”

“Understood.”

Walter nodded, then looked out the window and muttered.

“Plenty of guys ended up dead after slurring in front of that bastard…”

Kang-hyuk was always rough and sharp-tongued—

But when it came to drunken antics, he was downright brutal.

Almost like he had some kind of trauma about it.

“Ah. Hans is good to go.”

“Hans? Hmm… yeah, that guy’s solid. Send him.”

“Yes.”

“What about the aircraft?”

“Still being prepped. It just got back the day before yesterday.”

“That recent… I see.”

Walter thought about how frequently the air ambulance had been flying lately and frowned.

Back when Kang-hyuk was around, almost everything was handled on-site.

Now, half the critical patients had to be transported.

‘Not that I can blame them… that guy’s a monster…’

Some of the doctors working at Black Waters now had been U.S. Navy physicians.

The best in the world when it came to trauma.

But they were still human.

Kang-hyuk was a monster.

And the gap was enormous.

—

“Which bastard is talking behind my back?”

Having hung up with a refreshed expression, Kang-hyuk dug at his ear and scowled.

If Walter had seen him like this, he would’ve freaked out.

Unfortunately, they were worlds apart.

“Wh-what happened?”

Jaewon, who had been listening quietly, finally asked.

Something seemed to have worked out, but it was all in English and hard to follow.

If it had been Korean, he would’ve caught it all.

“You don’t speak English, huh?”

As always, Kang-hyuk started with a jab before continuing.

“Anyway, an air ambulance will arrive by tomorrow morning. I’ll notify the Foreign Ministry rep, so you guys go check on Captain Lee Hyun-jong’s wounds. Make sure to disinfect and pack enough meds in case anything happens on the way.”