Chapter 27
Chapter 27
I went outside alone and looked around.
The gazes of the hosts who had come out first stabbed into me, and then snickering laughter tickled my ears. Needless to say, not a single one of the hosts working here was on my side.
It was my own doing.
It was true that I had been a prick with no manners and had monopolized many customers in various ways.
At least Ahn Gi-pyo had beaten me up so badly that, as Park Ui-ri said, it echoed throughout the entire store, so it ended there.
If he hadn't, I was certain they would have ripped into me even worse than on my first day.
"Hey, Kim Hyun-woo. Long time no see?"
See?
Even after the Manager-nim pummeled me, there were still guys who couldn't hold back.
"I wonder what kind of nerve a guy who was a eunuch has to come back here. I guess the taste of money is scary? Look at you, coming back to Valentia with a face of steel plate?"
The guy with the pale blonde hair and light blue eyes that didn't suit him was named No Mae-guk, a mixed-race person born between a French and a Korean.
Born with many charms that Asians rarely have, he was also one of the top three hosts in Valentia.
But even he had many of his fixed reservations stolen by me.
If it were the old me, I might have snapped at such childish provocations and yelled something, but not anymore.
I shrugged and said.
"Is there anyone in this world who hates money? You're stuck here for years because you like money too. And, even if I was a eunuch, I'd still be better than you, wouldn't I?"
"...!"
"Teolgeureok!"
Seeing No Mae-guk jump up angrily at my words, I let out a snort and laughed.
His actions were no different from a child's.
No, Miho was much more mature than this bastard.
That child, having lost her parents at such a young age, carrying such a huge wound, was still bravely moving forward with hope—much better than this jerk.
"This bastard! Do you think you're still the top host at Valentia?"
Mae-guk rushed at me and grabbed my collar.
This is really the problem.
These host bastards, having seen things while doing this job, think they're cool grabbing someone's collar. But from my experience of having my collar grabbed by Park Ui-ri too, what these guys do is just a cheap imitation of that.
It only stretches the neck part of my clothes.
I lightly grabbed Mae-guk's wrist that was holding my collar and said.
"If you don't want to die, let go."
In the past, it might have been a bit difficult, but now I easily overpowered Mae-guk's strength.
"...!"
Mae-guk's eyes went wide, and then he cautiously stepped back from me.
After that, as if ashamed of his own disgrace, he flushed red and tried to borrow strength from the other guys.
"This bastard, still got that same attitude. Unbelievable, just unbelievable. Why the hell did the Manager-nim take you back?"
"Must be for the money, right? He does bring in a lot, doesn't he?"
"Well, besides that, there's no reason to take him back. But hey, as I said before, you're not the old you. Kill that temper. I'm worried you'll really get into big trouble. As a coworker, I'm telling you."
With several of them standing shoulder to shoulder, he gained courage again and came closer to me, patting my shoulder. Watching him, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, thanks for worrying. I was actually thinking of killing my temper anyway. I've got a reason to work hard and last a while."
"Oh, is that so? Then I'll let you sit with me later. How about you apologize to me right now? For your usual rude attitude. It won't hurt you, right? You'll get a precious opportunity to build new connections with just one apology."
"..."
At that, I glanced around.
In a way, this wasn't just a nerve war between me and Mae-guk. Everyone was watching us.
And more than half were backing Mae-guk.
As I said before, it was all my doing.
The result of the seeds I had sown.
If I had acted modestly and helped others even a little during my heyday, this scene would have been 180 degrees different.
'If I apologize here, will things get a little better?'
I don't know.
I've never lived that way, so I can't be sure. My personality might break, but I've never bent to anyone.
To the extent that I've even shown arrogant attitudes to customers.
But...
["I have to earn a ton of money!"]
Now there was someone to protect, someone to take responsibility for.
I was definitely not the old me anymore.
Right now, it wasn't even certain if I'd get any reservations today. Even if I did, I was anxious that it might just be like an opening boost that shines briefly then fades.
In this situation, if bowing my head once and bending my pride a little could improve even some of the annoying problems... wouldn't that be a good deal?
[....]
I know.
In the past, I would never have thought like that.
Also, I knew well that a guy like Mae-guk might not be satisfied with just a bow.
But in a way, it also meant I was that desperate.
"Really, if I apologize... will you accept it?"
"..."
"Rustle, rustle..."
At my words, I saw some hosts who had been deliberately looking away stir in surprise.
I know how strange that sight is.
So much so that that bastard Mae-guk's eyes widened, and then he frowned belatedly.
"...This bastard, did you eat something wrong? Are you really Kim Hyun-woo?"
"Yeah. More importantly, will you accept if I apologize?"
I was serious.
"Well, that depends... on what you do."
"Then, I'll start with an apology."
There was a bit of playfulness in Mae-guk's tone, but at this point, I could afford to compromise my pride to some extent.
And just as I was about to bow my head.
"Kwang!"
The door marked "Staff Only" connected to the manager's office burst open, and Ahn Gi-pyo came out, shouting loudly.
"What the hell are you guys doing!"
His presence and voice were enough to echo from the manager's office to the entire hall, so you can imagine how loud it was when he shouted directly in the hall.
"..."
All hosts, including me, even held our breath for a moment, and the entire hall instantly fell silent.
The only thing audible was the sound of Ahn Gi-pyo's heavy footsteps approaching.
"Ttokak, ttokak!"
The sound of the shoes Ahn Gi-pyo liked to wear seemed especially loud today.
"Hey, No Mae-guk. What's your job?"
"..." "...I'm a host."
"Then what's Kim Hyun-woo's job?"
"The same, a host."
Ahn Gi-pyo said in front of everyone.
"Are we some kind of gangsters or office workers with a strict hierarchy? We're all in equal positions, so do you have to make such a big deal out of it to feel satisfied? If you two have issues, settle it over a drink. Don't make things messy for everyone else."
"..."
"How long are you guys going to act like children? The more you act like this, the more everyone gets criticized and looked down upon. You're making every single person here look like pathetic bastards who just sell their dicks for money."
"..."
"If you're adults, act like adults and do your damn jobs. Don't make things complicated and tiring. And Kim Hyun-woo. You, come talk to me for a bit."
Again?
Leaving the snickering sounds behind, I followed Ahn Gi-pyo to the back door once more. There, Ahn Gi-pyo put a cigarette in his mouth and then held one out to me.
"It's fine, I quit smoking."
"...You're talking crazy. Did you get upset because I yelled at you? Don't refuse, just smoke."
"I really quit. It's been over 5 days."
At my words, Ahn Gi-pyo looked at me with an expression of disbelief, then nodded the cigarette in his mouth up and down once, and put it back into the pack.
Surprised, I spoke.
"Ah, Manager-nim, you can smoke. Why are you doing that, making me feel burdened..."
"Forget it, punk."
...
Without smoking, a slightly awkward silence followed.
Normally, at this timing, we'd both inhale the smoke deep into our lungs, catch our breath, and then continue talking.
But neither of us had a cigarette in our mouths.
"Tsk, do you feel wronged?"
As expected, Ahn Gi-pyo was the first to speak.
How could I possibly speak first in this kind of situation? Mae-guk might be in an equal position according to Ahn Gi-pyo's words, but Ahn Gi-pyo was the Manager-nim.
Clearly a superior above me.
"About what?"
"About me putting you in your place not once, but twice. Do you feel wronged?"
"Not at all... that would be a lie, so just a little."
"Then you should have done things right."
"I was trying to do things right. The bad karma I've built up is too big, so I was trying to resolve it somehow. To the point where I was about to bow my head and apologize to that bastard."
Saying it out loud made me emotional.
Men flare up mostly when they feel unjustly treated or when their pride gets a big scratch. In this case, it was the former.
If I had just apologized well, it might have led to a smooth progression, but Ahn Gi-pyo butted in and...
"Ha, what a funny bastard."
"Excuse me?"
I was flabbergasted.
I couldn't understand at all why Ahn Gi-pyo was reacting like this when I hadn't done anything wrong.
"Aish, Hyun-woo, Kim Hyun-woo."
"..."
"You're still clearly young. You haven't experienced much of society life, have you?"
"Well, that's..."
"There are so many bastards like you, so in today's world, it doesn't matter if someone works hard or tries hard. In the end, it's the ones who are good that are valued, don't you think?"
"..."
Ahn Gi-pyo said.
"In that atmosphere earlier, if you apologized to that bastard Mae-guk, do you think he would have sincerely accepted it?"
"..."
"Do you think he would suddenly change the mood to a heartwarming conclusion after leading it that way? You know what kind of animal men are, too. If you're going to apologize, if you're going to correct your mistakes, you at least need to set the right place and mood. These days, even elementary school kids wouldn't just randomly throw an apology out of the blue."
Even as I thought 'what's wrong with accepting it,' I also felt that Ahn Gi-pyo's words made sense. Then Ahn Gi-pyo snickered, looked me straight in the eye, and opened his mouth.
"It's not that it was terrible. It's surprising that you tried to bow your head first, and that you even quit smoking. Did you decide to kill your pride?"
"Because... pride doesn't feed you."
"..."
Ahn Gi-pyo was surprised and licked his lips, then asked me in a serious voice.
"Why did you change so much? No, how can you change that much? Let me know so I can use it on the other guys too. You know, the ones who come here couldn't work in normal places, so they all crawled in here. Managing those bastards alone is a damn pain. Even I, who've seen all kinds of people, have never seen someone change overnight like you. Got any secret tips?"
I answered.
"I just had a reason to become an adult."
Ahn Gi-pyo said with an incredulous expression.
"You're bullshitting."
So harsh.