January 8th.
Kim Cheol-soo headed to Incheon Airport to supervise the shipment of wheat to Ukraine.
Grain is usually loaded on ships called bulk.
The long, huge ship, which looks like two or three football fields attached vertically, has four to six cargo holds called ‘holds.’
If rainwater or foreign substances enter that space when loading grain, or if the weight of the cargo is measured incorrectly, trade disputes are bound to arise.
Once a dispute arises, a huge amount of money, including travel expenses, can be lost, and many headaches can arise, so it is necessary to observe the shipment and prevent accidents.
There have been no direct flights from Korea to Ukraine yet.
So Kim Cheol-soo bought a plane ticket to Kiev via Istanbul and packed his luggage tightly because he would have to stay for a long time.
Then I took a flight from Incheon to the Turkish airport and arrived in Istanbul around 8 am.
Istanbul, a key crossroads connecting East and West, was filled with people of various races filling the airport.
Arabs, Anglo-Saxons, Indians, Slavs, Blacks, Asians, etc.
“OMG..”
Kim Cheol-soo stretched and relieved his sore body.
After exiting the transfer section, I went to a cafe to look for water to drink and was surprised when I saw the price tag.
I knew it, but I couldn’t help but be surprised every time I saw it.
Because it was $5 for 250mL of water.
In comparison, 1,000 mL of yogurt sprinkled with all kinds of fruits and cereals was $2.50.
‘I feel this every time I come, but it’s such an amazing country.’
After surviving the two-hour transit time by purchasing yogurt instead of water and eating it with a spoon, Kim Cheol-soo boarded Turkish Airlines and headed to Kiev, Ukraine.
When I boarded the plane at Incheon Airport, I still saw Asians, but on the plane heading to Kiev, most of them were Slavs with blue eyes and blonde hair.
The Black Sea stands between Istanbul and Kiev, and when you look down from a cloudless airplane, it is so blue that you can’t tell why it’s called the Black Sea.
When I finished the immigration process and came out, I was greeted by Mark, a local from the Hanyoung Trading Company agency in Kiev.
After arriving at the dealership, Kim Cheol-soo moved to the nearby hotel he had reserved.
“The ship C.Opal is scheduled to enter port at 2pm tomorrow. There I will meet the inspector, Alexandrovich, and we will enter the port together. The Odessa airport is under repair, so we will travel by car, so I am resting. There are many things to enjoy here on the streets of Kiev. But “There are a lot of pickpockets, so don’t carry your wallet or expensive items in your hands.”
“okay.”
Kim Cheol-soo, who carefully took Mark’s advice to heart, washed up at the hotel and went out of the hotel wearing simple clothes and a thick jumper.
Unlike when I arrived on the plane, the sky was overcast with heavy clouds, and the cold wind made my clothes adjust by itself.
It was said that strong winds and rain had been falling for quite some time, so it seemed like this shipment would take a long time.
People walking down the street would glance at Kim Cheol-soo, who had black hair that was hard to see, and then pass by with an expressionless expression.
For first-time visitors, the Ukrainians were so gloomy that they had little smiles or facial expressions.
On the road around the Dnieper River, which runs through Ukraine, many people brought out their household goods and sold them, and Kim Cheol-soo leisurely looked at them.
A full meal at a famous high-end restaurant in Kiev, Ukraine costs 150 hryvnia (Ukrainian currency), which is only about 6,000 won in Korean currency, and riding a city bus costs only 3 hryvnia (100 won). It was possible.
The fact that prices were this low was also evidence of the difficult economy, and because the economy was difficult, people often brought home antiques and sold them.
From LP records that show the depth of time, to wedding dresses with gorgeous lace…
Various items filled the long street, and a lot of leaves had fallen on the items as they had been on display for so long.
Kim Cheol-soo, who was scanning the items because most of them were not worth buying, stopped in front of two people who were arguing.
“How much is this?”
“5,000 hryvnia.”
“It’s too expensive.”
“Then don’t buy it.”
5,000 hryvnia.
It was about 200,000 won in Korean money, and that amount was about half the average monthly salary of Ukrainians.
The old woman slapped the young woman’s hand and said, ‘Go!’ She shouted, and she wondered what was missing from the young woman. She kept looking at a certain object and then turned her body.
Kim Cheol-soo, curious as to what kind of item it was and why it was so expensive, quietly looked at the item in the woman’s cart.
Among them, a pocket watch stands out.
The woman looked at Kim Cheol-su and spoke in Russian.
“Japanese?”
“No. I’m Korean.”
“Korea? Where is that country located?”
“It’s between Japan and China.”
“I see. What should I show you?”
“I’d like to see that pocket watch.”
The old woman was fiddling with her pocket watch, then looked at Kim Cheol-soo and called out the price.
“Ten thousand hryvnia.”
At those words, Kim Cheol-soo burst into laughter.
‘Isn’t this a rip-off for tourists?’
“Let’s take a look at the items first.”
Unlike earlier, when she had not even allowed the young woman to touch her, the old woman willingly handed the pocket watch to Kim Cheol-soo.
Kim Cheol-soo was about to look at the pocket watch he had received, but then turned his eyes to see a young woman looking intently in this direction.
‘It looks like you quite liked the item. ‘What could that be?’
Kim Cheol-soo quietly looked at the precise pocket watch in his palm.
First of all, it was a 24-hour display rather than the usual 12-hour display, and the date was also indicated.
It was a wind-up type, and the second hand was still moving.
Inside the blue circle in the middle was a pattern that seemed to represent the constellations of the Earth, and a small logo called Patek Philippe 1886 was engraved on it.
Kim Cheol-soo’s eyes widened for a moment at the logo and date, but then quickly returned.
Patek Philippe was a high-end watch brand that is still considered one of the best in the world.
Judging by its condition, it was an antique that was over 100 years old, and it was surprising that it was so well kept.
Maybe it’s something of great value?
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“6,000 hryvnia.”
As I sang 1,000 hryvnia higher than I had sung to the young woman earlier, the old woman’s eyes shook greatly, and after thinking for a moment, she nodded.
“Okay. I’ll sell it for 6,000 hryvnia.”
“Do you mind if I have a dollar?”
“It’s difficult with dollars. But I can sell it for 200 dollars.”
Kim Cheol-soo took out two $100 bills stuck between both socks and handed them to the old woman, who then handed her a pocket watch.
“Spasiba (Спасибо)!”
The old woman smiled and shouted thank you, and Kim Cheol-soo also smiled and answered.
“Spasiba.”
Kim Cheol-soo also turned around with a satisfied expression, and the woman who had been watching him from earlier quietly clung to him.
Golden hair, blue eyes, a sharp nose, a slim chin, and a small face.
She was a typical Slavic beauty.
His hair was matted and overall messy, as if he hadn’t washed it for a long time, but he looked quite young.
“hi!”
Kim Cheol-soo asked, slightly moving away from her.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m interested in that watch, would you mind selling it to me?”
“How much can I give you?”
“I can’t give you money right now, but I can give you something else.”
She crossed Kim Cheol-soo’s arms and pressed her large breasts against his arms.
Surprised by her sudden action, Kim Cheol-soo quickly released his arms and took a couple of steps away from her.
“Sorry, I had no idea.”
“Asian people like it but always leave it out?”
Kim Cheol-soo quickly stopped her from clinging to her again.
While holding tightly in my hand the pocket watch I bought a little while ago.
“No matter what you give me, I have no intention of selling this. It’s unpleasant, so can you please stop sticking with it?”
Javiya quietly watched Kim Cheol-soo, who was hitting an iron wall unlike other Asians.
She also had an eye for seeing, and thought that watch would be worth a lot of money.
I thought I could repay all my debt if I just sold that watch, but I never thought it would fall into the hands of some Asian person.
We went into the hotel together and tried to steal the watch, but judging from the way he hit the wall, it seemed like the Asian man also fully understood the value of the watch.
If those kids hadn’t taken the money to collect, he would have bought the watch himself before that Asian guy did!
‘I have to get that watch somehow.’
When Kim Cheol-soo spoke several times with a straight face, Zabiya laughed and walked away from Kim Cheol-soo.
“Sorry. My name is Zabi. What about you?”
“Are we close enough or doing business that we need to communicate?”
“Not really, but I think we’ll see each other often.”
“Well, I’m not a tourist here. I’m leaving here tomorrow, so we won’t be seeing each other often.”
At those words, Zabiya became urgent.
‘What do we do?’
Kim Cheol-soo held his pocket watch tightly in one hand and turned around to head towards the hotel, while Zabiya followed behind him without saying a word.
Even as he was almost arriving at the hotel, Kim Cheol-soo, who was getting nervous about Javiya following behind him, stopped and said.
“Why do you need that pocket watch?”
“That pocket watch is the only thing that can save me right now.”
“If you want to get something like that, wouldn’t you have to pay that much?”
Zabiya responded to Kim Cheol-soo’s words.
“All I have now is this body.”
“It’s difficult. That’s not what I want.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I’m sorry. There’s nothing I want right now. I just want to go to the hotel and get some rest.”
Kim Cheol-soo abruptly ended the conversation and entered the hotel, while Javiya was blocked by the hotel guard.
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