Empire of the Ring

Chapter 72: Suffering of South Ossetia (2)

It was still October but Youngho spotted snow all over on the way to Tskhinvali. South Ossetia was located in the alpine region in the middle of the Caucasus mountain range and it had a long winter. The road signs showed a shocking number of the altitude of the region, 1,500 to 2,000 meters of sea level was the basic altitude in here. Youngho felt dizzy because of oxygen deficiency. As he drove on cliffs, he did not feel nauseous like the last time but he still could not stand the winding path.

Youngho visited the restaurant at a resting area, the owner lady in her forties greeted him. Since he had given her two bottles of pepper, she remembered him well although she saw him only once before. Youngho brought different spices to give to her. When he showed them to her, she liked them but her face was darkened. Youngho knew that she must be thinking that he came to sell the spices. When Youngho said that they were gift to her, she hugged him tightly, he could smell stink when she came near. She gave him some oily meat bone soup, this time Youngho put plenty of chili powder and dried garlic pieces in the soup and it tasted good. Made with meat from cattle that had been eating fresh grass and hay from the high mountainous area, the soup felt like a healthy medicine. It was a great restorative food for travelers who were struggling with oxygen deficiency in the area.

As Youngho ate the soup deliciously, a truck driver sitting next to him was curious. He gave him a spoonful and as soon as he drank it, he grabbed his neck and coughed for its spiciness. His facial expression seemed to ask Youngho, 'how could a man eat something like this?' but he drank his last broth into his mouth and left the place with satisfaction on his face.

Although the size of the country was as small as twice the size of Jeju Island of Korea, because of the touch winding mountainous paths, it was evening when Youngho go to Tskhinvali.

Katya was waiting for him at the hotel cafe and she gave him a big hug with tears in her eyes. Surprised by her physical contact, Youngho told her that he was not familiar with this kind of greeting yet and she let him go finally. Before he left Baku, he looked at Fatima's face for a long time to get immunized for looking at a beautiful woman but Katya's hug was still fatal. Now that Katya came back from Volgograd from meeting her family and her worries were gone, she looked even brighter.

"Boss, I don't know how to appreciate for your favor. It's all because of you that I got to meet my family in three years."

"Katya, why are you calling me boss all of a sudden?" Although Youngho was her superior, he was not her boss since they were all hired by the CIA as agents.

"You are a true leader. Taking care of your underling like this, it's what a boss does. I haven't had a superior like you, so I consider you as a boss." Youngho wanted to say something but he did not know where to start. She seemed that she misunderstood his favor. Katya continued,

"Also, you didn't look at me as a woman but you lifted my worries from me."

"…"

"I want to have you as my boss for a long time, so don't reject me."

'Please don't reject me?' Youngho could not figure out what she meant.

"Katya, you don't have to call me boss. I just wanted help you as a coworker and because I wanted you to focus on work. And you're making me nervous, what do you mean by 'don't reject you?'"

"Hahaha…"

"…"

"I'm sorry I must have said it wrong. I heard about your business from my mom. I meant that I can work hard. So if you need anyone, you can hire me as your employee. And maybe sometimes, you can see me as a woman too."

"…"

'What in the world is this woman talking about? This can't be good for our work, and even to Fatima… Wait, why am I thinking about Fatima at this moment?' Not caring about Youngho's complicated face, Katya continued,

"I've been told that I'm pretty my whole life and I haven't seen a man like you. I've got to say, you made a scratch on my pride a little"

'Ah-ha! She meant this. I see. Of course you are beautiful. I'm trying my best not to look at you as a woman here!' Katya was surely beautiful but saying that out loud on her own was a little sassy. Katya was captivating but Fatima had a different charm that could not be explained. However, Fatima who was beautiful enough to make Baku roister never mentioned about her own beauty. Katya's words just made her less appealing to Youngho.

"Katya. You are beautiful but because we met as coworkers, I could not express anything about that. Maybe my attitude came across as a little rigid but you don't have to feel bad. You are beautiful enough to make me flutter. Okay?"

"Hahaha…"

"Hmmm."

"Well, you are a man after all since you are saying that I made you flutter."

Because the bed was different, Youngho could not sleep deeply. He opened his eyes and it was still early in the morning. He felt a bad headache. It seemed like he had drank until he could not remember last night with Katya again. He remembered singing a few songs again at a bar but did not have any recollection of what happened after that. He checked if Katya was in his hotel room but thankfully he was alone.

He decided to get up and work out at the hotel's fitness center and sweat out all the alcohol. However, when he called the front desk and asked about the fitness center's location, a lady said that it was out of order.

'Out of order? It was out of order last time too. You are just closing it because there were not enough guests.' There was nothing to expect at the hotel. He knew if he went down for coffee in the lobby, they would give warmed up yesterday's drip coffee, so he just made his own instant coffee with hot water.

The windows of his rent car parked outside at the hotel parking were covered with frost due to the chilliness. He picked up his jogging suit and sneakers from his car and got dressed to run around the quiet streets nearby. There were remains of war everywhere in the town, such as burned-down tanks, fallen buildings and walls. It made him wonder if they just left them on purpose. Living in the environment like this, Youngho could guess the sorrow in the people's hearts. However, there was a great thing in the city. Whether it was because that everybody was poor or because that everyone was from the same root, the security in Tskhinvali was one of the best in the world.

As the sun was rising, stores started to open and Youngho could spot some milk delivery bicycles on the streets. After an hour of jogging, he felt like he sweated all the vodka from last night. Since he could smell alcohol while running, he could guess how much vodka he drank.

Katya cried a river in front of Youngho last night. She recalled her harsh past and the time that she had to spend alone far away from her family. As Youngho was drunk with Katya, he said something in emotional sympathy but he did not remember what it was. He was uncomfortable about that but he could figure out what it was as soon as he finished working out and entered the hotel lobby.

A clerk at the front desk called Youngho, saying that they received an international call from Russia while he was gone. The only friends he had in Russia were Sergey and Yaniv. He called Sergey right away and he told him surprising news.

"Mr. Lee. I'll send other stuff later so don't worry about that, and Michael will escort the family to where you are."

"…"

'Is this what it was? Man, I must have called him and asked to send Katya's family here after seeing Katya cry.'

"Lee, why aren't you saying anything?"

"Mr. Sergey, did I make any mistakes last night? I drank a little too much…"

"No, nothing. And also, boss wants you to visit Volgograd before going back to Baku. He wants to have a drink with you."

'Man, does he want to kill me by making me drink too much?'

"Mr. Sergey, I'm sorry that I keep bothering you with personal matters."

"It's my pleasure. Aren't we friends? I can do this much for you."

"I'm just sorry because I know you're busy."

"Not a problem. They will arrive in two days by the way."

"Thank you Mr. Sergey. I'll see you back in Volgograd."

Talking to Sergey was now so comfortable since he felt like a friend. He was even more charming as Youngho got to know him better

Rena and Katya's mother entered the hotel lobby escorted by Michael. Having found Youngho, Rena came running to Youngho's arms, saying 'papa.' He did not pay attention to what she said because of Michael behind her. Michael who was walking slowly behind her greeted Youngho. He was Yaniv's old bodyguard in his forties and the fifth-in-order in the Southern Russia mafia organization. The night when Yaniv's mansion was attacked, he was charmed by Youngho's martial arts skills and strength, he had been asking Youngho to teach him.

"Michael, you went through troubles because of my personal request."

"Haha… It's no problem. It was like going on a trip. Boss also told me to help them settle here and escort you to Volgograd."

"Man, is he scared of me running away?"

"Yeah, he said I need to abduct you. He's enjoying the wine business these days."

Yaniv must be determined to monopolize Zeynep Farm's wine by treating Youngho well

"He must think I'm a drunkard. I always get sick returning from drinking hard in Volgograd."

"Hahaha…"

Katya had no idea that her mother and daughter were moving to her town. Youngho did not mean to surprise her but she did not seem to care about what Youngho said on that night, so he did not say any more. Katya appeared at the hotel later and her surprised face was gold.

The family hugged one another in joy. Although they had seen each other not long ago but because it was a short meeting, they had missed each other more. Rena called Youngho as if he was not the part of the family, calling him 'papa.' Youngho realized what 'papa' meant at that moment,

It was Russian word for 'daddy' although people called old men 'papa' too but Youngho was not an old man. 'Is she going to stop all the women coming toward me? I'm still single,' he thought.

Now that Youngho made a big mess, he needed to take care of it. Katya believed that Youngho did not call the family without any measure. Since he had resolved her debt issue and found an apartment for her family in Volgograd, Katya trusted him like the Midas touch.