This Bathhouse is Mine (For Now)

"Chan-hun got twelve seconds, and Jung-wang got fourteen?"

Do-jin checked the breath-holding records and laughed in disbelief.

But those two were actually the decent ones.

Especially when compared to Eun-seop's record.

Five seconds.

That was the record of Eun-seop, a former UDT member whom Do-jin had secretly expected to win.

"..."

"No, seriously, this is unfair! Water got in right when I was inhaling... I choked on it and couldn't breathe properly!"

Feeling Do-jin's gaze on him, Eun-seop cried out defensively.

Seeing him react like that without Do-jin even saying a word, it seemed Do-jin's "the boss is disappointed" look had struck quite a blow.

"Again! Please give me another chance!"

"Why do it again? Just let the event game go as it is."

"Ah, wait!"

Before Do-jin could even say anything, the team members stepped in and brought the game to a messy end.

From their perspective, it was much better for the game to end this way.

They now had the perfect counter to tease their team leader, who always brought up his glory days whenever they trained. There was no way they were going to let this opportunity slip by.

"L-Let go of me, you punks!"

"Uh-uh! We're off-duty, so watch the language!"

"That's right! We protest verbal abuse outside of working hours!"

"Stop the verbal abuse!"

"Hey! Hey! Let go of me!"

"Now that the breath-holding is over, let's have a swimming race! I feel like I could totally crush the team leader right now."

The charismatic Team Leader Hong who usually managed the security team was nowhere to be found.

There was only a loser being dragged around naked by his team members.

Once the promised three hours had passed, people began to gather in the lobby one by one.

Or rather, to be precise, people were only coming up from the women's bath.

The men had already finished bathing and come up two hours ago.

"Whew, that was refreshing."

"Tell me about it. I thought showering every day was enough, but soaking in a hot tub really makes a huge difference."

"...Wow, they really used up the entire three hours."

"I don't get why their hair is still wet. Did they have a relay swimming competition in there or something?"

"Hey, don't be like that. Some people still haven't come up even though the three hours are up."

At their colleague's words, the people checking the headcount looked on in disbelief.

Surely not, but there really were colleagues who hadn't finished bathing yet.

"...If they take this long to wash, how do they usually manage to get ready in ten minutes?"

"Well, you don't wash before morning drills either. It's the same thing."

The team member who had been surprised nodded, thinking, I guess so.

Since he and his colleagues could brush their teeth and shower in under five minutes when in a rush, he assumed it was a similar situation.

"Ah, this is great. This place is heaven."

"Seriously. The thought of leaving here in two hours is awful."

"Ugh..."

The man shuddered at his colleague's words.

In two hours, they would have to leave this cozy place and return to the freezing cold Three Meals House.

In truth, this was only natural.

Their duty was to guard the Three Meals House, after all.

"Why does my shift always seem to come around so fast?"

"If you say that to Team 2, they'll kill you. Didn't you see them earlier? They were green with envy when we packed up without them."

"Well, that's because they were on duty."

"Yeah. And now it's our turn to work. We're all in the same boat anyway."

The Three Meals House contained more valuables than it appeared.

There were dozens of security cameras, laptops, TVs, and equipment used for managing the school. Selling them secondhand would easily fetch tens of thousands of dollars.

Because of this, they needed personnel to guard the building.

Fortunately, the Three Meals House had a security team.

Since their employment contract was for the security of the Three Meals House anyway, they just had to guard the building in shifts.

Though we did get some extra duties.

Do-jin's pets, including Ttorang-i.

At Do-jin's request, they had to look after the animals for a few days.

They couldn't bring pets to the rented bathhouse,

and the veterinary clinic was closed for the year-end holidays, leaving them with nowhere else to board them.

Fortunately, the clinic was scheduled to resume normal operations on January 2nd,

so the security team agreed to take turns caring for them until then.

But is there even much for us to do? The boss said he'd drop by every morning, and those animals are incredibly smart anyway.

In terms of who required more supervision, the colleague currently chugging sikhye next to him was a much bigger handful.

He had irritable bowel syndrome, so if you looked away for a second, he would vanish to the restroom.

Just then, the nuisance finished his sikhye and spoke up.

"Sigh, I'm so jealous of the guys who are off-duty today."

"Jealous of what?"

"Of course I am. They get to slack off here at least until the end of the week."

The colleague didn't just say it; he seemed genuinely envious as he began to roll around on the floor.

For a split second, the man felt a strong urge to kick him and send him rolling, but he barely managed to hold back.

"...If you're that jealous, why don't you fill the tubs, clean up, and restock the amenities?"

"...Ah, never mind. On second thought, that sounds like too much work."

The security team normally operated on a four-shift rotation.

The off-duty shift was originally meant to be an emergency standby crew, but their role had changed since coming here.

To allow the other team members to rest, they had taken over the maintenance of the bathhouse facilities.

Unlike the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on-duty shifts who could rest completely when off the clock, the off-duty shift had to handle all sorts of chores.

To an outsider, they looked so much like bathhouse staff that they could easily be mistaken for them.

Even the sikhye his colleague had been drinking just now had been made and brought over by the off-duty shift.

"Is everyone here? I'd like to get started. Is anyone still missing?"

"Oh, looks like he's starting."

"Let's go."

Hearing Do-jin's voice from the inner lobby, the man and his colleague hurried over.

Most of the team members had already gathered inside, and fortunately, all the female staff had arrived as well.

"The security team is all here. You may begin."

Do-jin nodded at Eun-seop's words and bowed his head.

While everyone was taken aback by his sudden bow,

Do-jin raised his head and began to speak.

"First of all, as the person responsible for facility management, I sincerely apologize to you all. I promised to provide you with a safe and clean lodging, but I failed to keep that promise."

"..."

"I will make sure this kind of mistake doesn't happen again. As some of you may already know, I plan to carry out a major renovation to completely eliminate any hazards this time."

Do-jin was taking this opportunity to proceed with all the inspections and construction work he had been putting off.

The boiler, drainage pipes, fire safety, electricity, and even the exterior walls.

He had started all the inspections that a neglected, old building desperately needed.

Fortunately, the boiler construction wouldn't start until next week, so there was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no issue with running the inspections.

"It might not be enough to make up for the inconvenience, but you can comfortably use this place until the construction is finished. The work should be completed in a month, but even if the schedule gets delayed, we can easily extend our stay here."

He had already finalized the details with the building owner.

Do-jin had paid a month's rent and purchased all the food supplies stored here in a lump sum.

"I heard you recently got another ten-day business suspension for violating quarantine rules," Do-jin had said. "If you get warned one more time, they might order a complete shutdown. Why not take the money and rest for a bit?"

"It's not like you can run the business normally even after the suspension is lifted anyway."

When the building owner continued to hesitate despite several ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠attempts at persuasion, Do-jin finally pulled out his trump card.

"If you're really not interested, there's nothing I can do. I'll look elsewhere."

"Yes, it is urgent. The boiler in our company building burst, so my employees have no place to stay right now."

Although he didn't say it out loud, it was easy to guess what he wanted to say next.

If you're in such a rush, what gives you the confidence to act so tough?

If you're desperate, shouldn't you be offering better terms?

He probably wanted to say something like that but stopped himself.

Unfortunately for the building owner, Do-jin was no fool.

He had acquired a massive fortune through unexpected luck, and the YouTube channel he started for his wife was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠huge hit, bringing in a massive monthly income.

But that didn't mean he was stupid enough to let himself get ripped off when he saw it coming.

Who is he trying to play hardball with? He doesn't even know who holds the upper hand here.

Do-jin had already gathered the contact information of all the bathhouse owners in the area.

While a few were in slightly better shape, he knew most of them were in a similar predicament to Taepyeong Jjiljilbang.

In other words, Do-jin had plenty of options even if it wasn't Taepyeong Jjiljilbang.

"I'm in a hurry and need to sign a contract immediately. Rather than wasting time negotiating back and forth, it would be faster for me to just sign with another place."

After saying that, Do-jin quietly added, "Like Hwangje, or Maegbanseog..."

Instantly, a response came from the other end of the line.

"..."

Hearing the building owner react exactly as expected, Do-jin smiled wryly and set up an appointment.

As expected, competitors in the same area never get along.

Especially during a recession like this.

Thanks to that, he had secured temporary lodging with just a single phone call, so it wasn't a bad deal for Do-jin either.

The only issue is that we have to buy our own groceries to cook, rather than relying on the stored food supplies.

But that was only temporary.

Once the kitchen team returned from their year-end holiday, they would handle all of that.

What Do-jin was actually worried about was something else.

Will Jung-wang and the kids be okay?

They had only recently joined the Three Meals House.

They were still adjusting, so moving to a new place so suddenly could make them anxious in many ways.

Furthermore, for Go Jung-wang, staying here would make it difficult to film his own content.

The core of his 'Bandit King' character is grilling meat wildly outdoors.

Even though he had abandoned the name Bandit King for now, he hadn't abandoned the content itself.

Hadn't Jung-wang himself said he would resume filming soon?

But as long as they stayed here, filming would be nearly impossible.

I hope Jung-wang isn't too disappointed.

Remembering how passionately Jung-wang had worked after their collaboration video, Do-jin couldn't help but feel sorry.

Contrary to Do-jin's worries, Jung-wang was adapting to the bathhouse life perfectly.

"Alright, rolling! Three, two, one, cue!"

"Hello! I'm Chang-su!"

"And I'm Hui-su!"

"Nice to meet you, friends, older sisters, aunts, and uncles!"

"You missed us, right? We missed you a lot too!"

"Cut! Great job. From the next scene, we're going to introduce the bathhouse. Sound good?"

"Yes, Uncle! That's fine!"

"Uncle, is it really okay if we introduce it however we want? You won't scold us or anything, right?"

"Of course. From now on, you can film whatever you want. Just make sure you don't use bad words or do anything naughty, okay?"

"Yes!"

"We understand!"

"..."

Watching the filming take place right before his eyes, Do-jin felt quite conflicted.

While he was proud to see the siblings, Chang-su and Hui-su, preparing to make their official return to YouTube, he wondered if it was the right time to return when things were so chaotic.

Do-jin was now well aware of the situation in the online communities.

The kids are the victims, yet I have to worry about them getting hurt because of this...

It was frustrating that he couldn't fully celebrate the children's return.

At the same time, seeing Jung-wang put his own filming on hold to prepare for the children's return tugged at his heartstrings.

Scratch, scratch.

"Sigh, I don't know. I'm sure Jung-wang will handle it."

In any case, they had agreed to make their own decisions.

Since Do-jin had only planned to help from the beginning, the best he could do now was trust them and watch over them.

"I should go see the animals."

Perhaps because they spent every day together, he already missed the creatures back at the Three Meals House, even though he had seen them just this morning.

"I want to go look at Samsaek-i's toe beans and smell Ttorang-i's corn-chip scent."

When your mind was cluttered, animal therapy was the best cure.

He was heading toward the locker room with that thought in mind when—

"Do-jin!"

"Hmm?"

Do-jin, who was about to head down the stairs to the men's bath, stopped in his tracks at the sound of Seung-wan's voice coming from the women's bath stairs.

The tone of her voice calling him sounded unusually serious.

And sure enough, the words that came out of her mouth made Do-jin turn right back toward the lobby.

"We got a call from the Unanswered Questions team. They want to do an interview about the last live broadcast, Chang-su, and Hui-su. But..."

"But?"

When Seung-wan paused mid-sentence, Do-jin prompted her.

Seung-wan glanced over at the siblings and Jung-wang, who were in the middle of filming, and lowered her voice so only Do-jin could hear.

"...There are people spreading some strange rumors lately."

"Rumors?"

Do-jin looked puzzled at the mention of rumors, but his expression turned colder than ice at Seung-wan's next words.

"Yes. They're claiming that we and Jung-wang are holding the siblings captive just to steal their channel..."