Empire of the Ring

pαndα`noνɐ1~сoМ

"Boss. Why do you insist on having the wedding ceremony here? We should have a huge, magnificent wedding ceremony in Denmark! I'm sure the Danish royal family won't mind when the autonomous state is paying for everything."

"He's not planning to live in Denmark. It's more reasonable to have a wedding here."

"Oh, come on. We live in the 21st century. We don't have to be so rigid with such tradition. Besides, the Danish princess's wedding will be big news all around the world. Maybe some broadcasting companies might pay us to live-stream the wedding. We can spend the money to pay for the wedding expense."

It was, in fact, a brilliant and highly possible idea.

Compared to the unknown autonomous state, Denmark was also a widely well-known place that could attract more people's attention.

Youngho was planning on using Szechenyi and Princess Isabella's wedding to promote Kazakhstan as well as the autonomous state, but now Kim Chun just suggested him a better idea. Making money through the wedding also sounded intriguing. There would be not many people who would want to come to the autonomous state where there was not much to see and where it was physically difficult to reach.

"Commissioner Kim. That is such a brilliant idea!"

"Brilliant? Oh, it's not only brilliant. It's killing two birds with one stone. When the princess comes this time, you should mention about the possibility of the wedding. Tell her that this place is not safe because of the IS."

Thanks to the IS, the wedding in Denmark would be easily justified. Also, the state would not have to worry about embellishing the city. It was funny and ironic that the IS was helpful to the autonomous state.

"I'll ask the prince and see how she feels about that. Let's decide what to do after that. By the way, there will be at least 500 households that will be moving into the state from Kyrgyzstan. Do you think our city is big enough for the increased population of the state?"

"I thought about that too. Why don't we exploit the plain on the way to the Archduke's palace?"

The area between the towns and the palace had been left alone as a buffer zone to prevent any damage caused by the continental wind. There was nothing but a bunch of trees and stone walls. It would not be difficult to turn the area into a residential town. All it needed were water and sewage system, and also basic infrastructures around the residential area.

"Wouldn't it be inconvenient for people to commute to the city?"

"It is only four kilometers away from the administration building. It wouldn't be that hard if we run shuttle buses. It's only going to be used as a commuter town."

"Are you saying that this would be only for Koryoins?"

"We will allow any people who prefer to live in a suburban area to move to the town. Especially, I'd like all Countryside Force guards and the Kazakh navy soldiers to move there. They'll be closer to the wharf. They can probably even walk to go to work."

"Then, why not build the town close to the palace?"

"I think we'll have to leave the area empty at least a kilometer away from the front gate of the palace. I was going to make a public park there in the future. What do you think, Boss?"

"Hmm… It won't look good if the palace is too far from the town. But we also cannot ignore security around the palace. Let's sleep on it. We'll find a way."

The inside of the palace was almost completed and ready for Youngho's family to move in. However, Youngho thought that it would be funny if such a small family like his was the only people that lived in such a big place. So, Youngho decided to stay in the house near the administration building as he had been.

The house was as big as the mansion in Baku. It also had a lot of guest rooms. So far, Youngho felt no inconvenience staying there.

It looked like the palace would only be used for big events and only as a symbol of the autonomous state since Fatima did not even want to move to the palace, even though she was the Archduchess of the fallen Serbian Kingdom.

Now that the Koryoin immigrants were settled where they would reside, the construction work needed to begin as soon as possible. They would not come all at once, but small groups of Koryoins would be continuously moving to the state. Youngho expected to have 500 households, but it was more of hope rather than a reasonably estimated number.

Once the construction work for houses started, workers could not stop until they were completed. Otherwise, the houses in progress would be easily damaged by environmental factors such as rain, snow, sun, and winds.

"Boss. How about we make outlines of the town first, then built 100 houses for a starter? I mean, we need to make sure exactly how many households will be moving in. Besides, it will cost too much to build the whole 500 houses at once."

"We will only work on house site development, then let people build their houses on their own. It's just the way how we dealt with the technician immigrants from Georgia."

Youngho was thinking about benchmarking the Georgian immigrants' case. Koryoins would quickly adapt to the culture and life of the state while building houses with other residents together. The residents would gladly help Koryoins during weekends since they always welcomed newcomers.

***

Europeans usually had their Christmas break around December 20th. Tourists would expect busy Christmas time but they were often startled to see that a lot of restaurants and stores were actually closed for the holiday. It was because most of the Christian countries enjoyed calm, quiet and family-oriented Christmas season.

As a matter of fact, the day after Christmas is the busiest day because stores would have a huge sale event which was called a boxing day.

The autonomous state's Christmas was on January 7th because most of the people were members of the Orthodox church. However, they started decorating for Christmas early because of Princess Isabella's visit.

The state was no longer poor and people were relaxed enough to decorate for the season.

Watching the city's holiday view, Kim Dong-Sung, the chief doctor of the state, spoke with excitement.

"It does feel like the end of the year."

"It's Christmas time. The people of our state deserve some fun. They've been working so hard from the beginning."

"It is quite different from Christmas in Korea."

"Agreed. Isn't it a little too quiet here unlike Korea?"

"Well, there are not many patients anymore at the hospital and my days are slow. Am I invited to the hunting event when the princess visits?"

The hospital was not so busy since the number of patients from Almaty and Astana had been decreasing since the winter began. Kim Dong-Sung was a very active person unlike other doctors, and he wanted to be involved with every fun activity.

"Of course, you are a hunter now Dr. Kim. You'd better join us. Also, it wouldn't make sense to go on a hunting trip without a medic."

"Oh no. I have no other choice but to join the hunting trip now."

"By the way, it is the holiday break time now. Don't others want to pay a visit to Korea?"

"We are here to be part of the state. I am sure they want to visit Korea but I suggested not going to Korea until next year because we might not want to come back when we go to Korea now. Some of the doctors' families decided to make a trip to Europe instead."

They did come to the state to settle down. It would be a good idea not to go back for it would remind them what they had left behind in Korea. It was probably a wise decision to go to other countries like Europe.

"I would pay for their vacation. Why don't you let them go on a trip to other countries? You can divide them into families and let them take turns so that there were still some doctors left in the state for emergency situations. There are numbers of Arirang Hotels all over the world."

"Oh! I totally forgot about Arirang Hotel. You wouldn't charge your people, right?"

"No way. I told you it's on me. I would also arrange light airplanes for short-distance trips."

Youngho though that it was necessary to offer a special bonus trip to the doctors so that they could enjoy a little luxury for their morale. The doctors were special people who came to the state for a sense of duty. Youngho was touched to hear that they made a pact to not to go to Korea for a year.

He offered to pay not only because he wanted to pay them, but also because they were heads of their families. Youngho wanted to satisfy their desire to serve their families and make them happy.

Although European countries were in danger of terrorism, they were still attractive countries to travel around. Yet, the fact that Arirang Hotels were in safe places like Frankfurt, Moscow, Georgia, and Baku made the people of the state proud.

Arirang Hotel was also built in Tskhinvali, which was in South Ossetia. It was such a remote area but it was a very safe place.

"Ever heard of Tskhinvali in South Ossetia?"

"I've heard there is an Arirang Hotel there. Wasn't it invaded by Russia?"

"That's why it is safe from the IS. The country has such a beautiful natural environment. It would be a perfect place to fly on a light airplane. Would you please recommend the place to other doctors?"

Il-Kwon was the only person who regularly visited Tskhinvali for now because Youngho did not want to face Katya's affection, but he decided to take the medical team to the country for their holiday trip. It seemed to be a good idea since the doctors could check on Rena and the grand mother's health. Also, Youngho needed to see Katya to discuss hotel expansion anyway.

***

Three eight-seater light airplanes landed on a military runway outside of Tskhinvali. Although it was the capital of Ossetia, the runway was only about one kilometer long. It was because it was mostly used for helicopters.

Youngho, the medical team, and their families stepped out of the planes.

Some military officers were waiting for Youngho outside despite the cold weather.

They were more excited to see Youngho than to see President Putin because whenever Youngho visited Tskhinvali—he invited the officers for meals and drinks, he also gave them gifts as well. Foreign businessmen were no more than a money pocket for officers where bribing was prevalent. The cold weather was not an issue for them because they knew a bit of favor would bring a bigger profit for them.

"Wow. It is an honor to be welcomed by officers like you."

"The hotel manager was constantly poking with the news of your visit. In addition to that, our president was very interested in the visit of famous medical doctors of Kazakhstan."

They seemed to be expecting a lot from the medical team. Probably, someone was sick, or they needed a health check-up.

This was a place where people put their lives on the line to have an appendectomy due to the country's poor medical system. Rena once had to go to Tbilisi in Georgia to have an appendectomy. It turned out that the officers were waiting to receive the Korean doctors from Kazakhstan.

Katya welcomed Youngho with a big smile at the resting place of the military base. Soon, Rena rushed into Youngho's arms.

"Welcome, Boss."

"Papa!"

The doctors and their families were shocked by how beautiful Katya was and how a little girl came running to Youngho calling him 'Papa'. Even though Youngho already explained the relationship between Youngho and them, they seemed to think Youngho's explanation was only an excuse for an affair.

Il-Kwon realized the situation and introduced Katya to the doctors. It was quite awkward for Youngho.

Youngho would probably have to go through the explanation again because Katya was too beautiful, and Rena kept calling him papa. What was more, Katya was blushing when she welcomed Youngho. It would be very difficult not to think that there was something between the two.

After a short introduction, some of the doctors' group went to the hotel escorted by Katya while Youngho, Kim Dong-Sung, and internal specialists had to visit the president's palace. It turned out that the president had a slight symptom of pneumonia. The group was able to join the others at the hotel after they gave an injection and gave some medicines for the president. It was fortunate that they prepared basic medical instruments and medicines just in case.

On the way to the hotel, Youngho had to suffer because Kim Dong-Sung kept asking about Katya and Rena. Youngho had to tell the group the whole story of how he met Katya since Kim Dong-Sung thought their relationship was abnormal.

"That's how we have this unique relationship."

"Katya's family must consider you as their savior."

"I helped them because I could help them easily with a few words to a friend. But it turns out to be a huge grace for them. And also, I could not tell the truth to a girl who believes that I am her father."

"It would be a big scar for the little girl."

"That's right. I couldn't say no. I just pretend that I am her father. Katya is helping me out with the hotel business to repay me."

"Well… But still being PRETTY could cause a PRETTY big problem."

"Huh?"