Chapter 6 – Sbashiva (Thankyou)
I remember the time I met Putin in a bar.
And it must have been Senior Lee Jeong-seok who chose that bar.
He’s the one who enjoys drinking.
But you can’t get full on the first drink, right?
We’re already on our second bottle of vodka.
“Drinking vodka in Russia, huh.”
Senior Lee Jeong-seok was caught up in the mood.
Everyone needs a break without any other thoughts once in a while.
But that only applies to Senior Lee Jeong-seok.
“Why do you keep glancing around? You’re making me nervous.”
“Just looking around.”
“If you keep looking around like that, people might get uncomfortable. Look, there are already people staring at us.”
It seems they’re curious because two Asians are sitting in a bar full of Russians.
“And when did you learn Russian?”
“I had to learn it since we’re coming to Russia.”
This level of preparation is basic.
Especially since I had to talk to Putin, knowing Russian was a must.
So I studied it whenever I could, and even reached out to Russian exchange students in Korea.
“You still have a sharp mind, huh.”
There’s a reason why Senior Lee Jeong-seok thinks this way.
He had some interest and learned a bit beforehand.
But it’s all just stuttering at best.
However, Lee Seon-su speaks Russian as if he has lived in Russia.
“When a person thinks they absolutely have to do something, they tend to focus more.”
It’s a meeting with none other than Putin.
A business that starts from it.
It’s an opportunity to make an enormous amount of money—who would take it lightly?
“It’s not as easy as it sounds. If it were, there wouldn’t be anyone who hasn’t succeeded in this world.”
True, it’s not easy.
But if you’ve had an experience where you couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality, you would believe it’s possible.
I don’t want to live a miserable life and die like that.
Grit.
“Why are you grinding your teeth?”
“It’s nothing. Just thought of something all of a sudden.”
I grind my teeth whenever I think of Samdo General Construction.
And it seems like I’ll be running into Samdo Group quite often.
No, it’s inevitable.
Because I’m going into construction as well.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For dragging you into something so difficult.”
It seems Senior Lee Jeong-seok thinks I’m grinding my teeth because of him.
“Why would I say this is difficult? Think about your wife and baby. Then does it seem hard?”
“Definitely not hard.”
If you have a family you must take care of, even if it’s hard, you can’t say it’s hard.
“Huh?”
“What?”
I didn’t think we’d get full on the first drink.
But I saw Putin entering the bar through the door.
It was definitely Putin.
“Let’s drink.”
I pretended not to notice and raised my glass.
“How dull.”
Now I needed to have a natural meeting with Putin.
But how?
If I just go up to him out of the blue and ask to drink, it’d raise suspicion.
In that case, I need to use Putin’s personality.
Putin highly values the image of a strong man.
“Senior. This is our first time in St. Petersburg, so let’s have a wild night.”
“A wild night?”
“Yes. A really wild one!”
I raised my hand and called over the bartender.
The bartender approached us.
“Я заплачу за весь алкоголь здесь. (I’ll pay for all the alcohol here.)”
The bartender seemed like he didn’t understand.
“Что? (What?)”
“Клиенты, я оплачу все за алкоголь. (For the customers, I’ll pay for all the alcohol.)”
“Правда? (Really?)”
“Yes. И отдай гостю по бутылке водки. (And give each guest a bottle of vodka.)”
The bartender looked at Lee Seon-su like he was crazy.
“Есть деньги? (Do you have money?)”
“Конечно. (Of course.)”
I pulled out some dollars from my wallet.
They were hundred-dollar bills.
I laid ten of them on the table.
“Hey, are you crazy?”
“Senior, I’m treating the Russians here. Do you know how much money we’re going to make here?”
“We haven’t made it yet.”
“It’s okay. We will.”
I pushed a thousand dollars towards the owner.
The owner picked up the money with a baffled expression and said,
“Много ли денег? (Do you have a lot of money?)”
“Нет. (No.)”
“Но зачем покупать алкоголь? (Then why buy alcohol?)”
“Здесь хорошо и алкоголь. (I like this place, and I like the alcohol.)”
The bar owner smirked.
“Если вы похвастаетесь деньгами здесь, вы будете в беде. (If you flaunt your money here, you’ll get in trouble.)”
The owner was right.
It hasn’t been long since the Soviet Union turned into Russia.
Mafia were rampant.
An Asian or two could disappear without a trace.
“На всякий случай, если кто-то касается меня, назовите мое имя. (If anyone messes with me, just say my name.)”
“Имя? (Name?)”
“Да, Юрий Паченко. (Yes, Yuri Pachenko.)”
It seemed like the bar owner was showing me goodwill.
“Зачем ты пытаешься мне помочь? (Why are you trying to help me?)”
Yuri, the bar owner, shrugged.
“Я тоже люблю Санкт-Петербург. (I love St. Petersburg too.)”
Yuri had lived in St. Petersburg almost all his life. He liked what Lee Seon-su had said.
He liked this place.
He liked St. Petersburg.
Even though Seon-su was an Asian, Yuri wanted him to keep liking St. Petersburg.
He didn’t want Seon-su to have a bad impression of the city.
“Но этого может быть недостаточно. (But this might not be enough.)”
Yuri shook the thousand dollars.
He pulled out ten more hundred-dollar bills from his wallet.
“Этого достаточно? (Is this enough?)”
“Достаточно. (It’s enough.)”
A bottle of vodka costs about three dollars.
Two thousand dollars would buy over 660 bottles of vodka.
There’s no way this bar had 600 bottles of vodka.
It must have included the cost of other drinks as well.
Yuri, the bar owner, took the two thousand dollars and left.
Senior Lee Jeong-seok shouted,
“Hey, are you crazy? Two thousand dollars is… that’s like…”
“1.6 million won, right? That’s about two months’ salary for an average employee, isn’t it?”
“Exactly!”
“But for the price of safety, it’s cheap.”
“Safety? What safety?”
“Didn’t you hear? If you flaunt money, you’ll get in trouble.”
“I think I heard that… but still…”
“Waaah!”
Suddenly, people in the bar raised their hands and cheered.
Yuri had told them that Seon-su was buying drinks.
Everyone rushed to grab bottles of vodka and other drinks.
They came over and poured drinks for each other.
The atmosphere in the bar started to change into a festive one.
People started to sing loudly and put their arms around each other’s shoulders.
“Hey, Seon-su!”
I pulled Senior Lee Jeong-seok up and joined in the shoulder-locking.
I wasn’t an exception either.
I barely managed to sing along to a song I didn’t know.
But I wasn’t just blending in.
I was watching Putin.
He was in a corner, drinking vodka with Yuri.
They seemed to know each other.
Soon, Putin and Yuri got caught up in the atmosphere and started drinking and singing with the other customers.
***
One by one, people began to leave.
Some went home, and some passed out, sleeping wherever they fell due to excessive drinking.
The festive atmosphere started to fade.
Senior Lee Jeong-seok also fell asleep in one corner.
“Это здорово. (This is amazing.)”
It was Yuri, the bar owner.
He was now drinking with me.
“Я хорошо пью алкоголь. (You drink alcohol well.)”
“В хорошем настроении. (I’m in a good mood.)”
“Благодаря вам у меня хорошее настроение. Но почему вы пришли? Корейский. (Thanks to you, I’m in a good mood too. But why did you come? Korean.)”
While drinking with Yuri, I told him that I was Korean and my name.
“Пришел на работу. (I came here for work.)”
Just as Yuri was about to ask me something, Putin, who had been sitting at another table, stood up.
Yuri raised his hand when he saw that.
“Идем? (Are you leaving?)”
Putin waved his hand and left without a word.
Yuri turned his head back as if he was used to it.
“Конечно, он пришел на работу. Чем ты занимаешься? (Of course, he came here for work. What do you do?)”
I heard Yuri’s words, but my mind was on Putin.
Was it okay to let him go just like this?
Was buying drinks and creating a good atmosphere not enough?
“Не слышно? (Can’t you hear me?)”
“Извините. Я думал о другом. (Sorry, I was thinking about something else.)”
“О чем ты думаешь? (What are you thinking about?)”
I can’t say I was worried about Putin.
I answered nonchalantly.
“Спрашиваемая мысль о работе. (I was just thinking about work.)”
“Не получается? (Is it not going well?)”
“Я думаю, что так. (I think so.)”
“Что ты делаешь? (What kind of work?)”
I decided to answer simply with one word.
“Газпром. (Gazprom.)”
That one word seemed to do the trick.
Yuri shook his head with a sympathetic expression.
“Будет тяжело. (It will be tough.)”
“Наверное так. (Probably.)”
“Никто не знает? (No one knows?)”
“Да. (Yes.)”
Yuri thought deeply and then spoke.
“Ты сможешь снова прийти завтра вечером? (Can you come again tomorrow evening?)”
Could it be?
“Ты хочешь представить кого-нибудь, кого знаешь? (Are you planning to introduce someone you know?)”
“Да. (Yes.)”
My heart started to pound.
Could it be that the person Yuri wants to introduce is Putin?
“Кажется, он влиятельный человек? (He seems like an influential person?)”
“Да. (Yes.)”
How frustrating.
He’s only giving short answers.
“Кто? (Who is it?)”
Yuri grinned.
“Человек, который любит корейцев. (Someone who likes Koreans.)”
Is he going to keep it a secret until the end?
“I bought drinks today. He seemed to appreciate that we mingled together.”
The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that it’s Putin.
It also seemed like Yuri was speaking highly of me.
“Вы пытаетесь мне помочь? Почему? (Are you trying to help me? Why?)”
Yuri’s answer was straightforward.
“Потому что мне здесь нравится. (Because I like it here.)”
Then, he raised his hand and rubbed his fingers together.
“Ты позволил мне заработать деньги. (You helped me make money.)”
Judging by his smile, it was half a joke.
“Завтра я сделаю место. Остальное делай сам. (I’ll set up a meeting tomorrow. The rest is up to you.)”
I’m grateful that he’s even arranging a meeting.
“Он любит делать ставки на алкоголь. (He likes to bet on drinking.)”
A hint.
“Даже если проиграешь, делай до Конца. Посмотрев сегодня, кажется, что не проиграю. (Even if you lose, see it through to the end. Judging from today, it doesn’t seem like you’ll lose.)”
That was Yuri’s honest opinion.
He had seen Seon-su drink countless shots of vodka given by dozens of people.
Despite that, Seon-su continued to drink.
Singing and dancing can help sober you up quickly.
But drinking again right after can get you drunk quickly as well. Yet, Seon-su still seemed sober.
“Сегодня отдохнем и увидимся завтра вечером. (Let’s rest today and see each other tomorrow evening.)”
Yuri stood up and waved his hand.
Then he kicked awake the sleeping customers.
Since the sun was rising, he was telling them to go home.
The customers started to get up, gathering their things.
They smiled and waved at Seon-su before leaving the bar.
Seon-su also woke up Lee Jeong-seok and headed back to the hotel.
***
The next day, they returned to Yuri’s bar.
They had prepared thoroughly over the past day.
“Seon-su, are you sure he’s going to introduce us? What if it’s a lie? What if it’s a scam?”
Senior Lee Jeong-seok seemed very worried.
“Be more cautious when people show you goodwill for no reason. Especially abroad.”
That’s true.
But not right now.
And if it’s not Putin, they can just have a drink and end it.
“Let’s trust Yuri for now.”
“Sigh. Fine.”
This was one of Seon-su’s strengths and weaknesses, according to Lee Jeong-seok.
Trusting people too easily.
And continuing to trust even when it’s broken.
“Let’s go in.”
They entered the bar.
When Yuri saw them, he waved enthusiastically.
Then he pointed to a corner.
Putin was there.
Yuri walked over.
“Я представлю. (I’ll introduce you.)”
They followed Yuri to where Putin was sitting.
Putin looked at them.
Then Yuri spoke.
“Знаете? Корейцы. (You know? Koreans.)”
Putin nodded.
“Сядь. Корейский. (Sit down, Korean.)”
At Putin’s words, Senior Lee Jeong-seok and Seon-su sat down in front of him.
“Говорят, что вы хорошо пьете. Сделаем ставку? (They say you drink well. Shall we make a bet?)”
I never said such a thing.
Yuri winked from the side.
It was obvious that he had set up this situation on purpose.
“Если ты меня победишь, я помогу тебе. (If you beat me, I’ll help you.)”
He must’ve heard about Gazprom as well.
It doesn’t seem like I can afford to lose.
No, I must win.
“Вы хорошо играете в армрестлинг? (Are you good at arm wrestling?)”
So it’s a drinking game.
—
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