Empire of the Ring

There were five countries on the Caspian coast. Russia and Kazakhstan were in the North Center, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan were at each side of the South Center, and lastly, Iran was in the South.

The countries that occupied most of the coast were Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and the oil crude deposits in the Caspian Sea were concentrated in both countries.

Because of that, Russia recently began insisting that the Caspian Sea was not an inland sea but a lake. If it was defined as a lake, the whole sea would fall under communal ownership of the five nations and they could divide natural resources evenly and they could even redefine each country's districts. Since Russia did not own dominant parts of the Caspian Sea, it was trying to redefine the sea to earn more oil crude deposits.

It seemed that the five countries would be having a long dispute over the definition of the Caspian Sea soon.

The reason that Russia claimed that it was a lake was that the sea's salt concentration was only about thirty percent of other seas. With its low salt concentration, the sea at Russia's side used to freeze during the winter, so Russia went through many troubles during the winter.

Kazakhstan's front sea was also frozen in the winter. This was why Youngho preferred an icebreaker or a car ferry freighter that was as strong as an icebreaker. Thankfully, the Volga-Don Canal was open in the winter. Now, the only thing he needed was a ship that could pass through the Northern Caspian Sea.

"I just visited to see how much progress has been made."

At Baku's shipyard, Youngho asked Steve Janssen, the vice president when they were having coffee together.

Steve Janssen, who had expected another order from Youngho's visit, was choked at his words. It was because Youngho was pressuring him to finish the work fast.

"Mr. Lee, you'd know it well but a ship in the making cannot be rushed. Especially, what you asked for is a special ship with a reinforced body using special steel and…."

"Oh, I know that well. I'm just asking out of curiosity. By the way, you said that you had worked at a shipyard in the Netherlands. Should I visit there to order a ship?"

He has choked again in surprise. Youngho's last words indicated that he would be ordering an even bigger ship, unlike smaller ships that went around the Caspian Sea.

"If you ask me, I can get a great deal for a ship from the Netherlands."

"It'd be best if it is the latest model but I want something that I won't have to wait for too long. I just hate waiting."

Youngho's words meant two things; that he would be okay with a used ship and he was also pressuring Steve to speed up the making process of the two icebreakers that he had ordered.

After breathing heavily, Steve hastily began to explain that a deal between shipyards could get Youngho a ship at a much lower price. He thought that he could only be off the hook from Youngho's pressure when he successfully closed a new deal.

"How big a multipurpose freighter should be in order to cross the Atlantic? I need a sturdy one that can put up with heavy waves."

"Usually, a ship in 20,000 to 30,000-ton class can sail through the Atlantic regardless of the weather but you're not talking about the ones in 100,000-ton class, do you?"

"Well, it'd be the bigger the better but it's not going to be used as a cargo liner. It'll be used as a direct freighter that would carry whatever I need whenever I need it. If an expert like you could help me, I'll pay you a decent commission."

"Alright, you can leave that to me. I happen to go to the Netherlands this weekend. I'll look for a great freighter for you as a priority since you're asking."

Youngho smiled at Steve's reaction. Steve was intrigued by the mention of 'commission.' Since it was a great chance to earn extra money, he was determined to give his best effort for Youngho's order.

***

The best thing since the end of the war was that the sky route was open again for Youngho. Since he could fly to anywhere, the two Cessna airplanes were frequently used.

He visited Kazakhstan's Arirang Farm usually twice a week since he had his own runways at both farms. About nine Serbian descendants who learned how to fly a light aircraft now worked as regular pilots for him and other farm's businesses.

There was no need for safety accidents since they strictly kept the rule of not flying in the bad weather. Youngho and his friends also kept the rule.

Youngho just dismissed a regular meeting with employees of the security company. It did not even last ten minutes since he did not like long meetings. Whenever he had a meeting, he kept everything to the point precisely and finished it quickly since he believed long meetings were never good. As employees left the room, Jongil complained.

"Hey! I had something to say. Why did you dismiss it so quickly?"

"Nobody likes long meetings when there's nothing left to say."

"I asked Karajan to set up a blind date with her friend for the Korean security guards, whom should I send? I should get recommendations from the team leaders."

"Man, what recommendations? You should send the team leaders first. Don't pick, just get whoever that's ready first. They'd fall in love with any of Baku's beautiful ladies."

Youngho really thought that the ladies of Baku were the best brides. They were somewhat conservative and very dedicated to their families, so he wanted to recommend them to the Korean security crews. Not to mention, they were beautiful with their western looks but with dark hair and eyes.

"Stephany's thirty next year. She's not going to get married any time soon, so her mother asked me to get a Korean man for her."

Stephany was a manager of Chunho Merchant's direct store and Karajan's distant cousin. She had been a member of Chunho Merchant, the foundation of Zeynep Corporation now, since the beginning as Karajan.

"Call Park Taeyoung who's now in Frankfurt's Arirang Hotel as a security team leader. He'd be a perfect match with Stephany."

"Wouldn't he reject it since she's old?"

"Man, he's going to be part of Zeynep Corporation family. You think he's going to refuse this opportunity?"

"I'm serious. Stop joking."

"Are you afraid that you're going to lose your position, man?"

Since the two were being loud in the hallways of the security company's office building, the employees peeked at them curiously. Thinking that it was a great chance, Jongil shouted.

"Anyone interested in dating a Baku girl, come to the conference room!"

Since the Korean security crews had been so busy working, they had not been able to get out of their solo status. Youngho wanted to help them out.

Youngho and his friends picked the ones financially suffering from Korea, so they were only busy supporting their family members. There were plenty of rooms left at the villas near the farm's reservoir, so he decided to hurry and find the crews' spouses. He also was going to tell Fatima since she would also be glad to help to find girls for them.

***

The Christmas Eve's party had a constant stream of visitors. The reception hall of Baku's Arirang Hotel was full of well-dressed young men and women.

As Youngho's opening words were finished, Jongil took over the mike as the MC of the night. He introduced himself to the crowd and then began explaining what kinds of benefits would be given if a Serbian descendant and a security crew got married.

The day's event was held for unmarried Zeynep Security Service's employees, Serbian descendants, and some Baku girls.

Since the descendants of the Serbian Kingdom could not get married to a Muslim man for a religious reason, they had to pick either Korean security crews or Serbian descendants as their spouses.

After today's event, there would be many new couples on the streets of Baku downtown.

As the music was turned on, Youngho and Fatima came up to the stage for a dance. Starting with the two, young men and women started to find their partner for the dance. Only the courageous would get a girl. Youngho wished the best for his Korean security crews and danced until he was dizzy.

Youngho was feeding Leon some soup. As Leon's face was now being covered in soup, Youngho's phone in his pocket vibrated.

It was Szechenyi.

"Hyung. It's me."

"Hey, how's everything? It's not too cold in Austria?"

"It's the best place for skiing. There's a lot of snow. If you're not too busy now, can you come here with Leon?"

Bringing Leon meant bringing Fatima as well.

"Well, I don't know about that. It's cold there. I'd consider coming if it was Spain."

"I'm only asking because there's someone who wants to see you and Fatima."

"What? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, nothing's wrong. I just met a European noble. He wanted to talk to you two. We're staying at his mansion now. A friend that we met at this ski resort invited us."

A noble, a mansion, and a friend from a ski resort. Youngho was trying to picture something but he could not. Asking to meet family members meant that he wanted to see adults of the family.

"I'll ask Fatima first. Oh, and if you see a great hotel, please let me know. We can start our hotel chain there too."

Youngho's mind was only full of the hotel chain business. Rather than being curious about the noble's invitation, he was more intrigued to see Austria's vacationland where the upper class gathered.

"No way. You need to bring several guards with you. You need to know your position now. Besides, you don't even know what kind of noble he is. If you want to make an impression and not to look down on, you need to have some people around you."

Youngho was going to move with Fatima only but Jongil was scolding him for his stupid decision.

"Then, why don't you follow us?"

"Since you'd be gone, I'll be the number one here."

"Man, I just want to travel quietly this time."

"Shut up, dude. You need to bring Old Niksic's grandson and Ilkwon. Or there's no trip for you, okay?"

Because of Jongil's stubbornness, Youngho ended up bringing two men and one Serbian woman as Leon's nanny. Jongil followed them to the airport and gave an earful until they went through the security check.

"Speak with pride. Tell him that you're Korean royalty's descent. You're lucky that your last name is Lee*."

"Hahaha…"

Youngho could not laugh hard since Jongil seemed to be serious.

Thankfully, there was a flight that went directly to Vienna, Austria. To get to Innsbruck from Vienna, the group had to be on a train for four and a half hours.

Young Leon was nagging since he was tired from traveling long hours. However, Old Niksic's grandson Vaso was happy that he was on a trip with the Archduchess's family.

"Vaso! You should keep your mouth closed when in public."

Lestina, the woman in her thirties who came along as Leon's nanny, scolded Vaso after seeing him kept smiling in excitement. Looking at the two, Ilkwon worried.

"Boss, I heard that European nobles are strict about manners. I hope you won't get into trouble because of us."

Ilkwon did not feel comfortable about this trip. Youngho felt the same.

"It'd be rather rude if nobles stick to their old manners and ask that to others. Also, it seems that our Lestina is strict about etiquettes too. I think if we keep quiet, we'll be just fine."

Despite the two's worrisome voices, Fatima was calm and even relaxed. It looked like that she was now used to act as the Archduchess since she spent a long period of time with Serbian descendants at the farm.

It was already after eight in the evening.

Although it was considered late in Europe, the city was still crowded with winter travelers who were visiting the city that had held the Winter Olympics twice. Since it would not be courteous to visit a mansion belonged to a stranger, Youngho picked up his phone to call Szechenyi to let him know that his group will be visiting the mansion the next day.

"Oppa! Unni!"

Zeynep's bright voice pierced into their ears. Szechenyi and Zeynep had come to receive them.

*Lee/Yi- Lee is pronounced as Yi in Korea. It is one of the most dominant surnames in Korea. It is usually considered as a royal surname since the House of Yi ruled Joseon Dynasty, an old Korean dynasty. All of the surnames of the kings of Joseon were Yi (or Lee).