Empire of the Ring

Talking with Jongil was quite helpful. Jongil’s simple solution had cleared Youngho’s confused mind.

“Park Jongil, no matter what, ’empty-minded’ suits you perfectly.”

“Ha! Man, don’t you know you’re the ignorant one? I’m studying these days, I’m going to enroll in Baku University next year.”

“…”

“I’m a CIA’s field agent. I don’t want people judging me because I only went to high school. Karajan also wants me to go to college since I’m going to be a dad.”

“Who judges you for your education?”

Although Youngho said that, he liked Jongil’s idea. It was amazing that Jongil decided to go to college, he could have gone to a college but because he did not have any money and his path was set to be an MMA fighter, he missed his chance. Even though it took a little while, he should do well in college since he’s smart.

“Man, I’m going to pay for your college.”

“Dude, in here all colleges are free. I’m a permanent resident, you know. You need to apply for it too.”

“No, it’s better to stay as a foreign investor now. It had more advantages for tax processes.”

Although they were always together, they had not had quality talks like this for a while. They encouraged each other.

***

When Youngho told the rebel leader that he would not be able to come again, he was anxious since it was such an inconvenience to sell them in the black market since they had to find a person to sell and negotiate the price of gold bars. The rebels could have newer weapons because of the money they exchanged with Youngho. Youngho would always pay them more than the black market and send them the money right after they parted. To the rebel leader, Youngho’s announcement was like a bombshell.

The rebel leader pondered for a while and suggested Youngho take all of the gold bars. He did not have enough money to buy 700 of them.

“Mister, I’m not in the state to buy them all.”

He had 13 million dollars left from selling information and 4 million dollars from wine sales but they were still not enough. It was only enough for 570 gold bars.

“They’re only rocks if we leave them in here. You can take them and pay me back when you have money, please take them all this time. It’s a little risky for us but I trust you.”

“I don’t crave for money to the extent to turn down your trust. I exchanged gold bars not just to earn money but I also wanted to help you achieve your independence.”

“…”

“It’s your cherished fund, how can I run away with that? I can only pay you 1.7 million dollars for now but for the rest of the money, I will pay you monthly. I won’t disappoint you.”

Youngho and Jongil came down the mountain with 20 rebels who helped them carry gold bars. In each of their backpacks, they carried 30 gold bars, Youngho and Jongil each carried 60 gold bars.

Not knowing about the magical power of the leather shoes, the rebels were utterly shocked that Youngho and Jongil easily carried the gold bars. The rebel leader who entrusted 720 gold bars to Youngho was a bold leader. He seemed to trust Youngho even more since he fought with Russian soldiers.

Youngho would be owing him 4.5 million dollars which he could make in four months from selling his wines. He was thankful that he could attain all of the gold bars from the rebels. His heart was full as if empty grain storage was filled with grains.

Although the amount of wealth he attained could not be compared to the wealth of a CEO of a mega corporation, he earned more than many people of his age could have earned. From going through different experiences and meeting many people, Youngho learned that a real businessman should be able to be responsible for his own wealth by taking care of other people around him because they were the ones who helped him make money. Money only existed because other people existed.

The weight of gold bars made the hummer shake. It was the weight of eight giant guys. It could only hold up because it was sturdy as a dump truck.

He stopped by a bank in Tbilisi, Georgia to transfer 17 million dollars to the rebels’ account and left for Baku. He could not stay there for another day because of the gold bars they had, it was unlikely for someone to steal his car but he was still worried.

Jongil also agreed to go straight to Baku taking turns to drive overnight. Although Jongil was usually not interested in money, he became insecure because of the amount of gold they had. He joked that he could only sleep after taking all of the gold bars home.

Jongil thought that Youngho would pay the rebels with the profit he made from wine sales since he did not know the fact that Youngho made 20 million dollars from the information business. Jongil worried that he would not be able to pay up the debt to the rebels for long. Youngho thought it was better for him to stay quiet since it was a secret between him and Michael.

***

They easily passed the checkpoint at Azerbaijan’s border. There was no official in Azerbaijan who would dare to bother a foreigner and permanent resident and especially when Youngho had an honorary police certificate. He did not search their car. They only rested a little bit when they stopped to put gas and took turns to sleep.

When it was around 10 AM in the morning, they could finally enter the farm. Since they had been nervously driving for the night, they were exhausted. They had accomplished a huge job since they carried 40 billion won in Korean currency.

Since the siblings have gone to school, they quietly moved all the gold bars to the safe in the basement and crashed out in their beds. They had not slept for almost two days, so even with the power of the rings, they were tired.

A noise came out from downstairs, it seems that the siblings were back from school. Someone was loudly going up the stairs. It was Zeynep. She jumped into Youngho’s bed and hugged him.

“Oppa, when did you arrive?”

“Around the noon. Is Fatima here?”

“Yup, she’s here. You came earlier than expected. We thought you’d come back around the day after tomorrow.”

Then she started to search in his backpack but there was nothing since Youngho had been in remote areas and came right back after stopping by a bank in Tbilisi. Zeynep became quiet because Youngho always brought a gift for her every time he went on a trip.

“I couldn’t bring a gift this time since I’ve been too busy. So, instead, what do you think about going to Flame Towers to eat French food and enjoy the night view?”

Her face brightened again. The siblings loved to go anywhere with Youngho. He had not been able to hang out with them recently because of busy work. He wanted to make it up to them this time.

***

Youngho was always not satisfied with eating French meal, so he bought street kebab. Szechenyi bought a kebab since he felt the same hunger as Youngho. Fatima and Zeynep were different from the guys since they were satisfied for enjoying the graceful atmosphere of the French restaurant. As soon as the kebab was gone from Youngho’s hand, Fatima held his arm. Zeynep ran around to take photos of a lighting water fountain. She was now bigger and because of her pretty face, she was in the center of people’s attention, so Szechenyi, being protective for his little sister, was secretly guarding her.

Fatima who had just come back with a street ice cream cone was talkative as never before. She talked about Zeynep’s school life, the atmosphere of Baku University, the story about how her beloved car was broken and Youngho had to come tow the car a few days ago, and other stories of her life without stopping. Seeing her being chatty like this was surprising. Maybe it was because they had not been talking like this for a while recently. Zeynep also joined them and started to talk, her talking voice was like a sweet sound of music to Youngho.

‘Should I teach Zeynep music? She has a pure spirit. If she does music, she will brighten the world.’

“Oppa, Zeynep wants to do music. Can she?”

Youngho was only thinking that in his mind but it seemed like Fatima had read his mind. She asked because Youngho was the leader of the family and she naturally thought that she needed his permission. However, Youngho was not sure how to give advice on their future.

“Zeynep wants to do music?”

“Yes. Remember the time we went to see the Nutcracker performance in Moscow? She had been saying it from then on.”

Youngho felt foolish. Thinking about the future was so important for the siblings but he had never talked about their dreams yet. He regretted not thinking about their futures deeply. He felt like he did not deserve to be considered the leader of the family. As an adult, it was his role to help the kids experience feeling of achievement for their work, so that they could keep trying to find their way into the future.

The siblings were special to Youngho. He considered them as his destiny and he secretly thought that Fatima should be his spouse in the future. Although not related by blood, he considered them as his own family.

Recently he had been thinking about marrying Fatima. He could feel that Fatima had a special affection for him. It seemed that she only lived for Youngho. Everyone else also thought of them as a couple, so it was not even strange to marry her. Youngho felt the same, since Fatima had been in his mind for a long time although he did not show it.

Although it was embarrassing, it was time to talk about their future together. In fact, Fatima had been treating him as a man for a while. She had been physically affectionate toward Youngho, which meant that she had opened her heart to him but he had been ignoring it. If only he gave his hand, she was ready to fall into his arms.

Youngho was pondering how he should begin talking about this to Fatima.

“Oppa, are you listening to me?”

“…”

“What do you think about me double-majoring in computer science?”

Youngho was not sure if Fatima was ready to be in a serious relationship since she wanted to study for long.

“Phew, oppa. You need to say something to me?!”

Fatima’s face looking up at Youngho was too pretty that he suddenly hugged her tight. Surprised by Youngho’s random move, Fatima only breathed heavily in his arms.