Empire of the Ring

"Youngho, didn't Ilkwon say anything to you?"

"…"

"Phew, that prim dude. He still can't speak comfortably to you?"

"What is it about?"

"He had a fiance in North Korea. He couldn't get her out when he rescued his family but the broker he worked with last time contacted him and said that he could get in touch with her. He's dying to go see her."

Ilkwon's heart must be burned black by now. There was no other pain like when lovers could not be together. Even more so, since he did not know how his fiance was getting by without him in North Korea. Youngho called Kim Ilkwon immediately.

"Boss, I'm here."

"Sit down. I heard from Jongil but where does your fiance live in North Korea?"

"She lives in Wonsan. The broker said that he could take her to Tumen River but it seems like her whole family wants to come too… She can't leave her family alone."

"So, that means more money is needed to pay the broker. You won't need to pay much like last time since they're not in prisoner camp like your family, right?"

"I think I need some more in addition to the money you gave me last time but I couldn't say anything to you. You've done more than enough for us…"

"I'll give you the money, bring everyone here."

"…"

"You won't feel like living without her anyway, will you? I don't know how many her family members are but you can bring all of them and help them settle down in the Charles farm."

"I'm ashamed but I'll do as you said. Thank you so much, boss."

"That's alright. Now, get ready for the trip."

"Yes, Boss."

As leaving the porch, Kim Ilkwon's fists were clenched. He seemed to carry the whole world on his shoulders. He felt responsible for his fiance and her family, and as a man, he wanted to prove that he was a man capable of protecting his people.

Kim Ilkwon flew to Vladivostok the next day. Since his fiance's family lived normally and healthy, they were going to travel by train that crosses Siberia. It was a safe way for them to travel since they would not get inspected. Youngho just had to give their fake passports near the Azerbaijani border before they enter the country.

***

Youngho and Jongil arrived at Tbilisi in Georgia because the warehouse retailer shop was having a grand opening. Agent Philip was waiting for them at the airport.

"Lee, welcome. You must be busy with the farm work. You all look tanned."

"It's too hot in Baku right now. I'm afraid that I might get fired as an agent since I'm only focused in farming these days."

"Lee, if that's true, I'd have been fired by now already. Just don't cut me out from your team."

"Philip, Korean people respect relationships, it must be our destiny to work together. I'm going to hold on to you until you say you hate the Caucasus."

Philip was touched by Youngho's assuring words.

"Then I can finally proceed with my wedding plans and settle down here."

"Whoa, you have a fiance?"

"I've been seeing her for half a year but she would not leave here since she's from Georgia."

"What a good news! I'm going to tell Michael that you should be here as a stationary agent. Trust me, I can't even leave Baku right now."

"I'm only relying on you, Lee."

"Don't worry, there's no team like our team. We have a great teamwork together."

Although Philip was not a physically strong agent like Youngho or Jongil, he was a capable information collector who could not be compared to anybody since he was in charge of Georgia and Armenia. He did his job more than enough.

Yaniv did not come to the grand opening event of the warehouse retailer store. It was not a big event that the major shareholder should consider and it was better for him not to come since the Georgian government would not like to see mafias around.

"Hey! My brothers, welcome."

Sergey greeted Youngho's company with his friendly smile. Since Philip also had seen him a few times, he came along to the event.

"Brother, you've done a great job here. I should've come earlier but I had my family visiting in Baku."

"It's alright. Showing up here today is more than enough. You see? I think the officials here don't have a lot to do. They came all together in crowds for this small event. Well, you need to show yourself as the owner of the business."

The reason for the officials' attendance was because they wanted to receive free gifts. The officials here or in Baku had the same mentality.

After the fancy tape-cutting ceremony, all the guests were in line to get food from the buffet table and started drinking. There was another reason that the officials crowded in the event. There was a symbolic meaning to the opening of the retailer shop in Tbilisi, it meant that Georgia was secure now. Because of Russia's armed force, foreign investors avoided investing in Georgia but a Korean investor had just opened a huge retailer shop in Tbilisi. Georgian people were hopeful that Georgia would be getting more foreign investments from now on.

Representatives from Korean large corporates S and L, that made a foray in Georgia, also visited the grand opening event, so people expected more Korean investors would be coming in to invest in the Georgian market.

Although Youngho was not a major shareholder, he was the face representative of the company, and Sergey had prepared a lot of gifts and foods for the guests to give an impression that Youngho was a rich foreign investor.

After the event, the store was opened right away. Youngho was surprised to see the people crowding into the store after waiting in line before the store was opened. He had not thought that he would make a lot of money from this company although Sergey had given him five percent of the company's share. However, at this rate, the store might make him more than he thought.

Many people came in because it was the first day of opening and they were curious about the store, but it was also because they were attracted to the uniqueness of the warehouse retailer shop. Things were not sold individually but sold in bulks and boxes at cheaper prices. This type of stores had not been opened in Georgia. Youngho also spotted that popular items were already sold out and re-stocked from the storage in the outskirt of the town. It was quite satisfying to see. Sergey was also surprised to see the store's popularity.

***

Kim Ilkwon contacted Youngho from Vladivostok, that he had safely left North Korea with his fiance and her family. The family had five people. Youngho received the pictures of each family member and their birth dates and asked Sergey to make their passports.

From Vladivostok, Ilkwon's company should take the train crossing Siberia and transfer to another train in Nizhny Novgorod to get to Volgograd. The Siberia crossing train ran about 9,288 kilometers and it took six nights and seven days to get to Moscow. Youngho wondered what it would be like for the new defector family since it was their first time seeing the world. Kim Ilkwon had not dreamed of bringing his fiance to Baku too, but because of Youngho's help, he could bring all of her family out of North Korea. Even though he did not know them, it was satisfying to think that he was able to help them settle down in the new world.

"Jongil, why don't you go to Volgograd? We need to get passports from Sergey and give them to Ilkown."

"Oh yeah? Then I can bring them here."

"Yes, I'd feel more secure if you're with them."

"The security won't be so strict on the train, and since they have Russian passports, no one will bother them anyway."

"Man, I wish I can go but I trust you. Just make up some lies. Tell them they are mutes."

They should not lose the tension until they were safe in Baku because they could get by Russian securities, Azerbaijani securities, or even North Korean authorities on the way. It surely would sound weird when people who have Russian passports can't speak Russian.

"Man! Why don't you let me borrow your honorary police certificate. They can't distinguish Asian faces well. Maybe I should show them that or I should sell Sevan's name."

Since Jongil was now Sevan's distant cousin-in-law, there would be no problem if he sold Sevan's name.

Jongil happily left for Volgograd. Although he was flying to Volgograd, it was a 24-hour long returning trip by train. Jongil was still glad to have a short period away from Karajan.

Insoo's wife, Sunghee's baby would be born at any time now and Karajan was also due at the end of September. Her belly was huge, she now stopped working at the Chuncho Merchant direct store in Baku and rested at home doing little exercises to prepare for the coming baby.

She had been extra-sensitive and salty lately, and Jongil was the one who had to deal with her frustration. That was why Youngho decided to send Jongil, to give him some free time away from his wife. Soon, the farm would be noisy from the two babies' cries.

These days, Fatima and Zeynep frequently went to downtown to shop for baby products despite the high temperatures. Because the mothers-to-be could not go out freely with their big bellies, they were trying to help them. Youngho had not realized that there were so many products that babies needed. While buying products for Karajan and Sunghee, Fatima was buying pretty baby products for her own as well. Youngho thought that she was buying them for separate gifts but they were all stored in her room.

'Isn't she too ahead of time?'

Youngho could not say anything since one of Fatima's dreams was to be a mom. Since there would be babies born on the farm soon, she was jealous. She was eager to get married and have her own family. She could get married at any time, she was an adult and girls in her country tended to get married early. Youngho was pushing the wedding with an excuse that she needed to finish her study but in fact, there was nothing in the way of their wedding.

In fact, Youngho and Fatima shared a deep kiss not long ago. This was how it happened…