Empire of the Ring

“Insoo, do you want to visit Korea this time? The Kazakh navy soldiers are going there to receive training in Korea. Why don’t you bring some of our Countryside Force guards there to get the training too?”

“Would it be okay if I am away from work for a while?”

“I can take care of the security company, don’t worry about it. You can have a break with your family.”

“I’ll come back as soon as the work is done. I can’t have a vacation when you guys are working hard here.”

“Oh, please. You need to make your wife happy sometimes.”

Since Insoo and his wife still had relatives in Korea, Youngho thought it was a good idea to send him with the Countryside Force guards this time.

“My parents and wife would love to visit Korea but I don’t know if I can enjoy the time there knowing we’ve got tons of work to do here.”

“When are you going to Korea if it’s not for this kind of occasion? You need to have fun with the excuse of a business trip. You might not be able to go to Korea for a while.”

Youngho also wanted to visit his hometown but he did not have any excuse to go to Korea now. He decided to be satisfied with sending his friend instead.

“Man, why don’t you send me with him too?”

“What? No way. Who’s going to watch out for the state if both of you’re gone? You can go there when Insoo’s back, okay?’

“Man! I need to prove to the Countryside Force guys that I used to be great in Korea. They don’t believe me no matter how many times I tell them.”

“Dude, who’s going to believe you? They’ll only think that you had been chasing girls in the Caucasus region before getting married.”

Jong-il also wanted to visit Korea after hearing that his friend Insoo was going there.

It was natural since he needed to go straight to home after work in the autonomous state because there were too many people looking up to him. He used to be a heavy drinker and he liked to be with people, but because the state had been regulating alcohol consumption, he had not been able to enjoy his old lifestyle here.

He missed his old days when he used to enjoy the streets in the late at night.

He also missed some jajangmyeon which was a Korean noodle with black soybean sauce.

“Man, when you miss your hometown, jajangmyeon is the best to soothe you. Should we ask Kim In-hwa to make that for us?”

“That girl makes it so watery. Where did she learn how to cook like that?”

“Dude, you should be thankful that you can even eat jajangmyeon in a foreign country.”

Kim In-hwa often made jajangmyeon for the Korean people in the autonomous state saying that she learned how to cook it during her last visit to Korea. For that, she was loved by the Koreans in the autonomous state. Although not perfect, the unique smell and dark color were enough to make everyone feel like home.

Although Youngho had left Korea ten years ago, it was still difficult for him to change his eating habits. Or it might not be the eating habits but because of nostalgia. There was a saying in Korea that even crows from hometown are prettier than crows from other places. It would be the same for everyone who left their hometown.

“It was so good today. Your cooking skills have improved.”

“Do you think I can become a cook at the cafeteria here?”

“Oh, no one’s going to stop you for that. You can do whatever you want. If you work in the kitchen, Mr. Lee will be sad though.”

As Head Doctor Kim Dong-sung complimented her as he ate her food, Kim In-hwa’s face brightened.

“If I only make small portions of food, just like I have now, I can make it tasty but when there are more than ten people, I can’t guarantee the taste.”

“By the way, why doesn’t Mr. Suh Min-seok eat jajangmyeon?”

“That’s his least favorite food, sadly. He also thinks that my jajangmyeon is bad.”

“What? How come the groom-to-be doesn’t like the food that the bride-to-be made? He’s going to regret saying it for the rest of his life.”

Youngho saw Suh Min-seok eating rice alone in one corner of the cafeteria. It made Youngho and Jong-il burst out into laughter at the same time.

Not knowing the reason why the two were laughing, people around them glanced at them.

“One more bowl for me, please!”

“Okay, Mr. CEO!”

“Suh Min-seok! I know this is not the best tasting dish in the world but you need to force yourself to eat it, or you might end up alone in the end.”

Suh Min-seok reluctantly came near the two and shoved the jajangmyeon down in his throat. This made them laugh even more.

***

“Wow! I didn’t know there was a place like this in Baku.”

“Didn’t someone take you here when you came to the farm?”

“We were planning to visit the Serbian ranch but then we had to go to the autonomous state suddenly. Mr. Park talked about here so many times. It’s worthy to talk about.”

“He should be proud of this place since he put so much effort in building this place. This looks peaceful on the outside but on the inside, it’s a huge fortress. The ranch could take a missile and not be bothered by it.”

Youngho was flattered to hear the follower couple’s compliment.

The ranch surely was a strong fortress. Behind the homely Serbian village, there was a rampant that was built with geographic features. Inside the walls, there were large mansions, warehouse buildings, and sheep sheds scattered around on green pastureland.

Since the follower couple had only seen deserted, brown land in the autonomous state, it was a refreshing scenery for them.

Youngho was also pleased to see the scene where beautiful trees were lined up at the end of the pastureland.

“Is this where you store wine too?”

“Haven’t you heard that we store them in caves? I can’t even visit there whenever I want to. If the taste of wine changes because of me, thousands of dollars would be at stake.”

“Wow! This place is a real treasure cellar then.”

Since there were gold mines, the Serbian ranch was indeed a treasure cellar.

Kids, especially Jelyan, also often nagged to come here because it was quite different from Zeynep Farm.

Youngho visited the Serbian ranch to check how many gold bars had been produced, and to see the new wine storage cave that was newly discovered recently.

He brought the follower couple because his kids had been missing them—for not seeing them so often as they used to at the state. Also, he wanted to give the couple some time to refresh, so that they would resolve the issue between them. The two had been at cold war for a while. But by the time they reached Zeynep Farm after passing the Caspian Sea on a light airplane, they seemed to have reconciled as they were laughing with each other.

Although it was a business trip, it was a fun trip for them after all.

“I don’t see any cave around here. Where on earth is it?”

“A treasure cellar can’t be seen so easily by the public.”

“That’s true.”

The entrance of the gold mine and wine storage caves were hidden well from the public’s eye. Even Suh Min-seok, who had a keen eye, could not find it at a glance.

The ranch was where only the descendants of the Serbian knights lived. These were the people whom Youngho trusted absolutely since they were loyal to Fatima and Leon to their death. Youngho still did not get their loyalty to the fallen lord’s family but the descendants of the knights strangely had kept their loyalty to the kingdom until today.

“Who are these descendants of Serbian knights?”

“They’re the kind of people like Suh Min-seok and Kim In-hwa.”

“What?”

“Fatima and Leon are everything to them. They believe that they are the only ones who could protect the two so they need to live nearby my wife and son.”

“They are a little strange.”

“Their perspective is very different from us but they’re good people.”

“This is a modern time, how can they still keep their faith and loyalty to their long-lost kingdom?”

“Our business has grown this big only because of these sincere people. That’s why I’ve given land to them.”

The Serbian ranch and the village looked like a rural village of Western Europe.

The playground at the entrance of the village looked great as well. Its parking lot was filled with SUVs and commuting buses that transported people to Zeynep Farm. The scenery was indeed better than the autonomous state’s scenery.

“Well, this surely looks wealthier than the autonomous state. But I still don’t get them.”

“Anyone would think so. It’s just like how I don’t get you two.”

“Mr. CEO. You’re teasing us again, right?”

“Oh, In-hwa, how can you be so rude in front of the CEO?”

“Hey, idiot. Can’t you see that Mr. CEO is laughing?”

“Hahaha…”

Kim In-hwa snapped but no one could stop laughing.

***

Youngho’s group was back at Zeynep Farm.

Kids were having so much fun with the follower couple in the field that he could hear their screams inside the mansion.

March in Baku was incredibly warm compared to the Arirang Autonomous State that it was great weather for kids to play outside. Since the kids spent the harsh winter at the autonomous state, the weather at Zeynep Farm was dreamy for them. They still needed thick jackets in the morning and in the evening but it was still great.

Leon’s burst into tears. He must have fallen or skinned his knee.

He was an active child. He was injured too often that Fatima and Youngho did not care too much when he fell. They became even careless after Zeynep put her ring on him. His healing speed was so fast that after a day of getting an injury, his wound was already gone. They did not have to worry about a thing.

No matter how much of a trouble maker Leon was, it did not bother Youngho at all. He was glad that his son was a healthy boy who ate, slept, and played well.

Many things about the ring and leather shoes’ bizarre powers were still a mystery to Youngho. The big question was—why only Youngho was experiencing changes when others who had the ring on stayed the same since only his eyesight and hearing had been enhanced. At the same time, he was excited about what would come next.

Youngho was making a barbecue at the front yard of the mansion to feed the family.

Sitting next to him was Fatima who kept on exclaiming as she listened to Youngho’s story.

“Whoa, so what happened?”

“Well, he’s playing with the kids now. That couple has been an energizer for me lately. I mean, it’s hard to hold my laughter when I even look at their faces straight.”

“Mr. Suh can be quite unpredictable sometimes. How did he come up with such an idea?”

“So it made me wonder. How would I do if I send my profile too? I want to see how much popularity I’ll get if I do.”

“If you do it, it’s not going to be so innovative. That’s ill-intention.”

“Come on, I’m just curious.”

“Mr. Suh must’ve been desperate. You know he must feel so different around you or Mr. Jong-il. You two are not normal people.”

“Hey, why am I not a normal person?”

“You’re not normal. If you were in primeval ages, you would’ve been great.”

“What?”

“Haha… Kids! Come and eat!”

After playing and running around for all day, the kids and the follower couple were starving.

Since they ate so quickly even before the meat was thoroughly cooked, Youngho could not even get a piece yet.

Grilling needed some skill too since poorly grilled meat was burned outside when its inside was still red. He had picked up barbecue tongs after watching Suh Min-seok failing poorly.

He did not have a chance to drink because he was busy grilling meat, so he gave a look to Suh Min-seok multiple times but it seemed that he had not received any sign from him. He was enjoying his meat so much.

If Youngho directly asked for a drink, Fatima would give him an earful. So, he made a comment.

“Suh Min-seok, don’t you need something to drink with lamb meat to soothe your stomach? There’s soju in the basement. Bring it if you want to drink it.”

“Oh, don’t mind me. I don’t need soju to enjoy this.”

‘Jeez, that senseless idiot.’

“Fatima, do you ever want to try drinking?”

“Why would you drink such a bitter drink? Lamb meat is so tasty by itself.”

Since no one stood on his side, Youngho only comforted himself.

He thought that he should go back to the autonomous state at once in the morning. He was going to gather his friends; Park Jong-il and Cho Chul-hwan, and drink all night long.

“By the way, honey. You need to go to the international school tomorrow. It’s Rena’s first day of school.”

“I was going to return to the autonomous state.”

“Flu is going around these days, so I made an appointment for Leon’s shot. Also, Mr. Suh and Miss. Kim would want to have some free time to tour around Baku. You should stay here for a few more days. Kids will be sad to let you go so early.”

“…”

Before Youngho could even answer, the follower couple answered her first.

“Thank you, Archduchess.”

“Oh, you’re welcome. Please stay here for more days. I know following him is a tiring job.”