When Gun-Ho arrived at the airport in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, he looked at his watch.
“Gee, it’s already 9 pm. We need to grab a taxi quickly. Chan-Ho, let’s have dinner after we check in to the hotel.”
“I’m good with it.”
After passing through the customs, Gun-Ho went out to the waiting area in the airport. There was a lady who was waving a white paper that said ‘Gun-Ho Goo.’
“Are you waiting for me?”
“Are you President Goo from Korea?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I’m from the Foreign Affairs and Trade Office of Antang City.”
“Foreign Affairs and Trade Office?”
“Yes.”
Gun-Ho, who used to live and run a business in China, had an idea who sent this person.
‘I guess the deputy mayor of Antang City arranged it in an effort to bring foreign investment funds to his community. So, he sent a vehicle and personnel to pick up a businessman from Korea.’
When Gun-Ho followed the person, who came to pick him up, to the outside of the airport, a black Audi was waiting for him.
“Chan-Ho, let’s get in.”
“Sir, are you sure we can just get in this car? We don’t know this person.”
“It’s okay.”
The lady who was sitting in the front passenger seat said, “I was told that you have a room reserved in Jinqiao Fandian (name of the hotel).”
“That’s correct. If you could drop us off at the hotel, I would appreciate it.”
Guiyang City was roughly equivalent to a province in Korea, so it was certainly a huge city. Its population was 4.5 million, which was about the same as Busan City’s in Korea.
While heading to his hotel in the car, Gun-Ho asked the person from the Foreign Affairs and Trade Office, “How large is Guizhou Province?”
“It’s exceeding 170,000 ㎢.”
“Wow! 170,000!”
Chan-Ho, who was sitting next to Gun-Ho, asked, “Why are you so surprised?”
“The size of Guizhou Province is 170,000 ㎢. How can I not be surprised?”
Chan-Ho Eum didn’t seem to quite get how large 170,000 ㎢ actually is.
“How big is it?”
“The Guizhou Province itself is way bigger than the size of the entire South Korea. South Korea is less than 100,000 ㎢ while Guizhou Province is 170,000 ㎢.”
“Oh, I see. It’s indeed huge.”
Gun-Ho asked the staff from the Foreign Affairs and Trade Office again, “How large is Guiyang City then?”
“It’s 8,000 ㎢.”
“8,000!”
Gun-Ho couldn’t close his mouth in surprise. The size of Guiyang City was larger than Korea’s North Chungcheong Province.
“Oh, my gosh! One single city is larger than our province. How large could this country be then?”
The Audi continued to move until it reached a city where tons of buildings formed just like a forest.
“I thought that Guiyang City was the countryside, but it is actually a large city.”
When the car arrived at the hotel, Gun-Ho thanked them for the ride.
“Thank you so much.”
“I will come back tomorrow morning at 9 am to pick you up. You can take a bus to get to Antang City, but the bus is very old and slow. We will take you to Antang City with our car.”
“Oh, you will be here to pick us up tomorrow morning? Thank you very much.”
Gun-Ho went into the hotel and checked in.
“Two Dan ren fang (room for one person) please.”
Gun-Ho received two keys for each room and gave one to Chan-Ho Eum.
“Don’t walk around by yourself. Since you don’t speak Chinese, you can get into trouble if you get lost. You have to be with me if you want to go outside, okay?”
“Okay, sir.”
“Put your luggage in your room and come to the lobby. We need to eat even though I’m not sure if we can find any place to eat at this hour.”
Gun-Ho and Chan-Ho walked on the street. Many stores were already closed.
“Oh, I think there is a snack bar over there behind the alley.”
“It says Yangming kuaican. I think it is a snack bar.”
“How come you can read Chinese letters?”
“Of course I do. They are very basic Chinese letters.”
“Whoa, you are unbelievable, sir.”
Gun-Ho ordered some crullers, stir-fried tofu, pork, etc. along with a bottle of beer.
“How is it? You like them?”
“They are good. The tofu tastes a bit strange, but overall, these are very good.”
“Let’s be happy with what we could have at this hour. We can have much better food tomorrow. I guess the Antang City’s deputy mayor will invite us for very nice food.”
After having a few soft crullers with a beer, Gun-Ho felt full.
“Let’s go back to the hotel. We started our day at Incheon International Airport, and flew to Shanghai City, and then flew again to Guiyang City. It was a long trip. You must be very tired. Take a deep sleep and get ready for tomorrow.”
Gun-Ho walked out of the snack bar after paying for the food in cash.
When Gun-Ho and Chan-Ho walked out of the alley heading to the hotel, two men, who were walking towards Gun-Ho, hit Gun-Ho’s shoulder when they were passing him.
“Pickpockets!”
Chan-Ho grabbed the back of the one of the two men’s neck in the blink of an eye and twisted his arm.
The man screamed in pain.
While the man struggled to get out of Chan-Ho’s restraint, a wallet fell to the ground. It was Gun-Ho’s wallet.
“What?! That’s my wallet!”
Gun-Ho quickly picked up his wallet from the ground. Until then, Gun-Ho didn’t even realize his wallet was stolen.
Chan-Ho twisted the man’s arm one more time, and the pickpocket screamed. The other man, who was tall, took out a jackknife.
Chan-Ho took off his jacket and threw it towards Gun-Ho, and said, “Sir, please hold my jacket. I guess I need to do some exercise.”
“Let’s just get out of here. That man is jumping around with a knife.”
Chan-Ho made a sound by cracking his knuckles.
“Chinese jackas*es! You picked the wrong guy today!”
Chan-Ho had massive forearms compared to ordinary men since he worked out a lot. Under the streetlight at night, Chan-Ho’s muscles and the tattoos on his arms stood out.
The man, whose arm was twisted by Chan-Ho, shouted to his party.
“Ni kan! Qianbi shang de wenshen (Look at that man’s tattoo on his arms)!”
When Chan-Ho was about to attack them, the two pickpockets ran away without even looking back at them.
Gun-Ho said with a smile while giving Chan-Ho’s jacket back to him, “If you were not here with me today, I would have lost my wallet for good.”
“I was about to break their jaws.”
“Well, you should be careful. They had a knife. It’s dangerous!”
“There is a way to subdue a man who is holding a knife.”
“Anyway, they are very skillful pickpockets. I give them that. I didn’t even know that my wallet was gone until I saw it on the ground.”
“I think they targeted us because we look different from local people here, and they probably saw us coming out of the hotel.”
“I guess we’d better change into some local shabby clothes.”
Gun-Ho and Chan-Ho arrived at the hotel.
“Well, have a sweet dream, and I will see you tomorrow morning around 8 am. I think we can have breakfast at the hotel.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I believe you have beers in the refrigerator in your room. If you want more beer for tonight, have them. The last time I checked the refrigerator in my room, there were beers and some snacks like peanuts.”
“Okay, sir.”
