Actually, Dad Was a Hero

Chapter 30: Shopping

Humming a tune, he drove towards a main street he had passed by a few times.

Relatively inexpensive yet not far from a residential area densely populated with luxury apartments, several imported car dealerships were clustered together.

Jin Beom-Min slowly drove along the roadside, examining the dealerships.

From German makers, synonymous with luxury cars, to sleek and futuristic Japanese makers, and even domestic large sedan dealerships that were as luxurious as foreign cars.

Looking around the car dealerships, which he would have considered a lifetime away from him in the past, was quite amusing.

However, he was at a loss as to which one to choose.

Since he hadn’t been particularly interested in foreign or luxury cars, he couldn’t tell what was good even when looking at the rows of cars.

And maintaining secrecy was also key.

According to Lee Sang-Jun, after the incident in France, foreign intelligence agents, as well as various criminal organizations, were desperate to uncover the identities of Ghost Squad and Jin Beom-Min.

In the midst of this, if an ordinary tile installer suddenly bought a top-of-the-line supercar, it could raise suspicions.

So, he was even more at a loss as to what to choose.

After glancing over a few car dealerships, Jin Beom-Min turned the car around and started examining the dealerships on the opposite side.

Then, a place caught his eye.

‘Men’s Motors’

It wasn’t a dealership for a specific car company, but a specialized importer that brought in and sold various cars.

This dealership seemed to mainly deal with RVs and off-road vehicles, and the ruggedly lined-up vehicles were quite impressive.

‘A car like that would be nice…’

A car that was practical and didn’t look too expensive, yet suited his taste.

To him, who had driven a truck all his life, sleek sedans or urban SUVs that seemed like inflated versions of those sedans didn’t hold much appeal.

Instead, large four-wheel drive vehicles with bumpy tires looked more appealing to him.

It would suit his physique better too.

Having made up his mind, Jin Beom-Min parked his truck in front of Men’s Motors and entered the dealership.

“Welcome, sir!”

A slender salesman in a well-fitted suit greeted him with a welcoming voice.

“Uh, hi, I’m here to look at some cars.”

“Ah, yes. What kind of car are you interested in?”

Jin Beom-Min’s appearance, having arrived in a worn-out truck, was quite shabby, but the salesman didn’t seem to mind at all and treated him kindly.

Jin Beom-Min, who felt a bit uneasy about entering the clean dealership with his work boots covered in dirt, liked the salesman’s approachable attitude.

However, it was also unavoidable from the salesman’s perspective. These days, there were often customers who, despite having considerable wealth, would deliberately dress shabbily to test the staff.

In any case, the salesman believed there was no harm in being kind to customers, and this time, he was right.

“I’ll just look around first.”

“Oh, of course. Feel free to browse.”

Despite saying that, the salesman followed him, lagging a step behind.

But Jin Beom-Min’s gaze was fixed on one spot, regardless.

A black pickup truck standing majestically at the back of the dealership.

A large and imposing physique, with massive tires that seemed to grip the ground firmly.

Four thick doors, a spacious back seat, and a cargo bed as wide as Jin Beom-Min’s 1.5-ton truck.

It was the vehicle that had completely captivated his attention from the moment he entered the dealership.

“Ah, this one! This is a very good product.”

“…Yes, it is…”

It looked like a well-trained warhorse. Not trained for speed, but a warhorse trained to fight fiercely and survive.

In a way, it felt like he was looking at himself.

“We brought in this year’s new model very quickly. It has a 3,500cc engine with 450 horsepower, permanent four-wheel drive…”

The salesman excitedly started explaining the car, but Jin Beom-Min’s ears were deaf to his words.

He slowly walked around the car, stroking its smooth surface with his hand.

He could feel the firm and cool texture of steel at his fingertips.

“…If you purchase it, we’ll give you a special service…”

“I’ll buy it.”

“…Yes?”

“I’ll buy this. How much is it?”

“Ah, yes. Well… the current price is around 140 million won…”

A hint of anxiety was evident in the salesman’s voice as he looked Jin Beom-Min up and down.

There had been countless customers who had scoffed at the truck, only to be stunned by the price and leave the dealership.

When Jin Beom-Min remained silent, the salesman quickly added,

“…If you lease it…”

“Cash.”

“Yes?”

“Cash, in full.”

“Uh… Ah, yes!”

The salesman beamed and led Jin Beom-Min to a table.

He quickly explained the contract details and handed him the contract, worried that Jin Beom-Min might change his mind. But even while doing so, Jin Beom-Min’s gaze remained fixed on the black truck.

“Please sign here and here…”

“Yes. Hmm… But can I take this today?”

“Yes? Today?”

“Yes. I’d like to drive it home while I’m here.”

“Hmm… Well…”

The salesman replied with a troubled smile.

“The import certification is complete, but you still need to register it and there are some procedures…”

“Do it all now. I have plenty of time.”

“Well, that is…”

“If possible, I’d like you to scrap the car outside. You don’t have to offer any other services.”

The salesman quickly calculated in his head. Usually, when selling a new car, the salesman would offer services like window tinting within the commission they would receive.

But if he didn’t have to offer any services in exchange for completing the vehicle registration and handover today… he would make a profit of several hundred thousand won or more.

Of course, he would have to run around busily today… but it wasn’t a dealership that got many customers anyway.

“…Alright. Please wait a moment.”

The salesman guided Jin Beom-Min to a small waiting room and hurried out.

Jin Beom-Min turned on the TV after sitting on the waiting room sofa with a cup of sweet mixed coffee.

[…Next is news from France. Millions of people have been displaced by the sudden disaster, but recovery efforts are underway with support from around the world. Correspondent Jo Gyeong-Min reports from Paris, France.]

The news was covering the Paris incident as a major headline every day.

Some broadcasters analyzed the unidentified monsters in depth, while others focused on the massive casualties.

However, what was on most people’s lips was the identity of the ‘Knight’ who had defeated the monsters.

There were various speculations about the identity of the Knight, who was known to have defeated monsters several times before the Paris incident.

But no one had yet uncovered Jin Beom-Min’s identity.

This was partly due to Lee Sang-Jun’s effective information control, but also because his identity itself was so unexpected.

[…Still, we have to try somehow. This is the hometown where I was born and raised.]

An elderly Frenchman, cleaning up the scattered corpses and the devastated streets, gave an interview with a sorrowful expression.

Jin Beom-Min pressed the remote to change the channel, but other broadcasters weren’t much different.

Every channel was either reporting on the Paris incident or analyzing the monsters.

Some even made absurd claims, based on misinformation, that our country should also arm itself with nuclear weapons.

If the TV broadcasts were like this, the videos and opinions online would be even worse.

As Jin Beom-Min shook his head and sipped his lukewarm coffee, the salesman entered with a confident look on his face.

“Sir, as you requested, it looks like it will be done by today.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. It’s not completely finished yet. If you could fill out these documents…”

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

While Jin Beom-Min was filling out the documents, the salesman, glancing at the TV, spoke up.

“Um, have you heard about that…?”

“Heard about what?”

“You know, the person who defeated the zombies in France.”

Jin Beom-Min felt a pang of guilt, but he pretended to be nonchalant and answered while looking down at the documents.

“Ah, yes. That ‘Knight’ person?”

“Yes. There are all sorts of rumors, like he’s a secret weapon created by the government, a result of human experimentation, an alien, and so on.”

“Oh… Is that so? I didn’t know…”

Jin Beom-Min chuckled inwardly and gave a vague answer.

Actually, if you think about it, the alien theory would be closest to the truth. After all, the word ‘alien’ itself refers to a human from another world.

“But I don’t think any of them are true.”

“Then what do you think…?”

“That person is probably… a reincarnated Heavenly Demon.”

Jin Beom-Min, unable to understand the nonsensical words, raised his head and asked,

“…Heavenly Demon?”

“Yes.”

“…He’s a human, right? Not a horse.”

“Ah, no…”

The salesman, flustered, added an explanation.

“Not the ‘horse’ character… the Heavenly Demon from martial arts novels… You don’t know?”

“Oh, I haven’t read any martial arts novels.”

“You know, the ones with sword energy swooshing and internal energy exploding! You can tell just by looking, right? How can a cyborg or an alien use sword energy? It’s obviously a Heavenly Demon.”

“Ah, yes… I see.”

“That’s right. I read it in a book.”

The salesman asserted with a confident tone and shook his head while looking at the TV screen.

“Those guys on TV don’t even know that… That’s why you should read books. Don’t you think so?”

“Well… Yes.”

As Jin Beom-Min shrugged and continued filling out the documents, the monotonous music on TV changed to a tense tune.

Jin Beom-Min and the salesman turned their attention to the TV, and a new news report began with subtitles.

[Breaking news. Just a moment ago, at around 11:30 AM, North Korea launched a projectile, believed to be a new type of surface-to-surface missile, towards the East Sea.]

“Huh? What are they doing again?”

The salesman asked Jin Beom-Min in disbelief. But Jin Beom-Min had no idea either.

“I wonder. Are they asking for money again…?”

“Oh dear, with the economy being bad these days…”

While the salesman grumbled, the anchor continued the news in a monotonous tone.

[The launched missile is reported to have ascended at a high angle and then fallen within North Korean territory near Hamhung at around 11:43 AM.]

“Oh, haha. It landed on their own land. A dud?”

“Haha, I guess so. What is it? Did their new missile experiment fail…?”

“Oh dear, instead of spending money on missiles, they should feed their own people, those fools… Ah, sir. Please sign here and here…”

“Ah, yes. Here?”

Jin Beom-Min lost interest in the TV and checked and signed where the salesman pointed.

Most South Korean citizens knew that most of North Korea’s actions were just a show to attract attention.

Jin Beom-Min was no exception. It was only natural, having lived in South Korea for nearly 30 years.

But until then, he hadn’t expected it.

That exactly 7 hours and 30 minutes later, he would be stepping onto North Korean soil because of this incident.