Vicente Palace and a Sudden Call

"What? You want to buy a resort?"

"Yeah."

Sandro's sudden proposal to buy a resort caught me completely off guard.

"Why do you sound so sincere when you're talking crazy? You almost had me believing you."

"I am being serious."

"No, you're not. This is pure fantasy. Besides, how are we supposed to buy a resort? We don't have that kind of money."

"What do you think banks are for?"

"A resort doesn't just cost a couple hundred thousand dollars. Where are we going to secure that kind of capital?"

"I have a few good reasons for wanting to buy it. First, you know Vicente Palace, right?"

"The five-star resort on Alona Beach?"

"Exactly. It looks like it's about to hit the market."

"What do you mean 'looks like'? Either it's on the market or it isn't."

"The owner is in a tight spot financially. Word is he blew a fortune at the casino. If he can't pay it back, the place goes up for sale immediately."

"Couldn't he easily pay that off? The property is quite large, and doesn't it have a lot of rooms?"

"Exactly. That's why I want to buy it. Right now, it's a two-story building with about fifteen rooms and twenty private villas. But the surrounding land is vast, it connects directly to the shore with a private beach, and the development potential is massive. It's perfect for expansion."

"I'm still not entirely convinced."

"The clincher is that we can get it for around a hundred and thirty million pesos."

"Wait, really?"

I was stunned when I heard the price. A hundred and thirty million pesos—roughly 3.1 billion Korean won. I had assumed a resort would cost tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. But 3.1 billion won? The modest price tag caught me off guard.

In Seoul, three billion won would barely buy a thousand-square-foot apartment with a Han River view. In fact, it might not even cover that if it was on a higher floor. But here, 3.1 billion won could buy a resort with thirty-five rooms and two swimming pools. Was there even a need to hesitate?

Besides, the synergy was perfect. The travel packages that Manager Jang Yun-mi was selling in Seoul already included hotel and resort accommodations. If we funneled our clients into our own resort, we wouldn't have to worry about vacant rooms. If anything, we'd be short on space.

We could provide meals and drinks... No, actually, converting the entire resort into an All-Inclusive model might be even better.

An All-Inclusive resort provides all meals, snacks, drinks, alcohol, kids' clubs, and various amenities completely free of charge during a guest's stay. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served, and snack bars operate outside of those hours. The lobby and pub offer free alcohol, cocktails, and beverages. Guests can eat and drink to their heart's content without worrying about the bill.

While most hotels charge an extra premium for all-inclusive packages, some transition their entire property to this model, offering it to every guest. I was leaning toward the latter.

It sounded like it would cost a fortune, and you'd think people would eat us out of house and home, but that rarely happens. It's like going to a buffet—we always think we'll eat a mountain of food, but we end up full much sooner than expected.

Besides, who goes on vacation just to stay inside the resort all day? Most guests spend their time outside on tours and sightseeing. They usually only eat breakfast or dinner at the resort and have a couple of drinks. Yet, the mere fact that food and alcohol are "free" makes people feel incredibly pampered. It gives them a sense of luxury.

Of course, there would be those who stayed in the resort and drank and ate constantly, but even that wasn't a problem. The cost was already factored into the room rates.

The cost of living in the Philippines is incredibly cheap. Giving away local ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beer wouldn't even make a dent in our margins. Since we get a lot of middle-aged Korean men, stocking up on soju would make them ecstatic. If we had a chef slicing fresh sashimi right in front of them, they'd probably applaud.

We could serve cold beers and cocktails to guests lounging by the pool or on the beach. When they got hungry, we could offer pizza, french fries, or fresh fruit.

There was no need to skimp on food; we just had to serve it generously. Since we were going to give it to them anyway, we might as well do it with a smile. If you encourage people to eat more, they actually appreciate the gesture even if they don't take you up on it.

Furthermore, Vicente Palace was a five-star resort, so the interior was already top-notch. We wouldn't need to remodel; we'd just need to clean and maintain it. Instead, we should focus on the small details that guests actually touch and feel.

For instance, we could upgrade ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the amenities to luxury brands, stocking not just shampoo and conditioner, but also facial masks and sunscreen. We'd provide thick, fluffy towels and bathrobes, and swap out the bedding for premium Hungarian goose down.

When people choose a resort, they look at the location and the photos of the interior. But when they actually review their stay, their satisfaction is determined by cleanliness, the smell, the quality of the blankets and towels, and the service. It's the little things that make or break a vacation.

Staff service is also a major factor, but I wasn't worried about that. The job satisfaction of Candy Tour's local employees was through the roof. They practically fought to work. They did everything they could to maximize their hours in uniform.

If they wore the uniform, they got paid. The longer they wore it, the more they earned. It was a simple equation. If you work overtime, you get paid overtime. It's only natural, so I didn't understand why they were so fanatical about it. Even during my time in the military and in private security, I always received my overtime pay.

Regardless, after doing the math, there was absolutely no reason not to buy it. We had to do it. In a gamble like this, you go all in.

"Sandro, can you pull this off?"

"Don't worry. You know I'm great at getting things for dirt cheap."

Hearing Sandro say that sent a sudden chill down my spine. Patrick still refused to talk about what had happened that day. I had asked him several times what went down when they went to purchase Emerald Canyon and Lumina Lake, but he always clammed up. Sure, Sandro had secured the properties, but not knowing how made me incredibly uneasy. I was worried the same thing would happen with the resort.

"Don't get greedy. Just pay the asking price. Don't try to haggle. The most important thing is closing the deal."

"I never even thought about haggling. But when someone offers a discount out of the goodness of their heart, it'd be rude to refuse, wouldn't it? I simply didn't decline their generosity."

"You... even when you bought the yacht last time."

"That was just me clearly stating our terms. Honestly, we don't need an engine. What's wrong with asking for a yacht without the engine to lower the price?"

"Hey. If you buy a car, can you ask them to take the engine out?"

"A car and a yacht are completely different."

"How are they different?"

"Honestly, who joins our marine tours just to actually sail? They just want to take photos. A yacht looks much better in photos than a bangka. And it's not like we're sailing out into the deep ocean; they're on it for maybe five or ten minutes. So who cares if the engine is barely functional? I was just asking if it was an option."

"The problem is that you asked while pulling out a gun."

"It was just uncomfortable in my pocket, so I set it down for a moment. I had absolutely no intention of threatening or intimidating anyone."

"Right. Sure you didn't."

It was at that moment that my phone began to vibrate. It was an unrecognized number, but I answered it anyway.

I hung up and looked at Sandro.

"Looks like our boss is heading somewhere again."

"I need to go to Korea for a bit."

"You look grim."

"A friend of mine was hurt."

"Take Scott with you."

"Why Scott?"

"You need a bodyguard. Scott is more than capable of keeping you safe."

"I don't need one. I can fight incredibly well."

"Scott can fight incredibly well too. Better, even. So take him."

Sandro's eyes showed genuine concern. I couldn't refuse.

"Fine. I'll take him."

"What are you doing here? This is embarrassing."

"Look at you, getting yourself stabbed like an amateur. Real smooth."

Meeting Dae-hun in the hospital, he looked surprisingly fine. Fortunately, his injuries weren't life-threatening. However, he had remained unconscious for a strangely long time, which had panicked Geun-su into calling me.

"That bastard Geun-su caused all this fuss by calling you. Where is he? I'm going to kill him."

Though he spoke with a smile, the wound didn't look shallow.

"What happened?"

"I was on my way home when some lunatic charged me with a knife. I let him have a free hit just to be polite."

"You idiot. It obviously wasn't a random attack. What really happened?"

After a brief hesitation, Dae-hun slowly began ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to explain everything that had transpired. He told me about returning to Gunsan after his discharge, how he had gathered a crew of loyal followers, and how they had been gradually expanding their territory. Then, he brought up the recent gambling den incident.

He spoke calmly, laying out the details one by one.

"So you're saying you walked right into the enemy's turf to fight them on their own terms? When there's such a massive difference in your sizes?"

"Those bastards won't step foot outside their territory. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Then you drag them out."

"How?"

"You bait them."

"With what?"

"Money."

"Money? We don't have any money."

"I have no intention of actually giving them a single cent. But if we make it smell like there's a fortune to be made, they'll swarm us like a pack of wild dogs."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I'll have to figure that out from here on. But more importantly, how are you guys even surviving financially?"

"Huh?"

"From what you've told me, you don't have a steady stream of income. You're just scraping by on odd jobs here and there. Isn't that incredibly unstable?"

Dae-hun looked slightly startled, then slowly lowered his head.

I was right. Whenever they tried to make a move with the money they scraped together, Geumho-pa would aggressively interfere, just like they did with the hold'em pub. He wanted to put his followers in charge of legitimate businesses and hand out generous bonuses, but the guilt of not being able to do so weighed heavily on his chest.

Loyalty, trust, and friendship were all well and good, but those only mattered when people had full bellies and a roof over their heads. If the hunger lasted too long, they would eventually scatter. And you couldn't even call it betrayal. It was just survival.

"First off, if I set up an online gambling site, could you manage it?"

"An online gambling site?"

I recalled something Sandro had mentioned a while back.

"Why don't we start a casino? Online gambling is completely legal in the Philippines."

He had casually thrown out the idea, saying it was a massive cash cow. I had turned him down back then, but the memory suddenly resurfaced.

"You need a war chest. At the very least, you need to feed your men. What if we host the servers in a place like the Philippines and run the operations from there?"

"If we had one, we could run it perfectly. But building an online casino isn't easy. I heard the crackdowns even in the Philippines have gotten really severe lately."

"Hold on a second."

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number.

Dae-hun, who had been listening to the conversation, looked at me in awe.

"Whoa. Your English is incredible."

"I got into the International Peace Support Group because of my English. Besides, I live in the Philippines now."

"Oh, really? Come to think of it, I haven't even asked how you've been. I'm sorry. What do you do over there?"

"I run a small travel agency in the Philippines. I've managed to make a few connections. I've put out feelers for someone who can build the online casino, so I'll let you know once I hear back."

"Wait, seriously? Just like that? You're building this for me?"

"Think of it more as a joint venture. I'll build it, and you'll run it. We'll have to negotiate the profit-sharing split, of course. Let's wait and see how the setup goes first."

"Man, even just hearing you say that means a lot. But a travel agency? Is it doing well?"

"Yeah. We get a decent number of clients. It's running pretty smoothly."

"I'm glad to hear you're doing well. Once things settle down on my end, I'll visit with my guys."

"You're welcome anytime."

"Get some rest and take care of yourself."

"Will do."

Before stepping out of the hospital room, I paused.

"You did good, though."

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't act rashly. You steadily gathered intelligence and built up your forces. You did well."

"Not really. I didn't want to drag you into this. I'm embarrassed."

"Cut it out. There's no room for embarrassment between friends. I'm heading out for real."