Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Before going to the manager, I felt strangely anxious and pulled out my phone first.
[Current Time]
[PM 6:10]
I scratched my head.
"......She wouldn't have woken up already, right."
That had to be it.
Because only an hour had passed since Miho fell asleep.
"Didn't she go to the bathroom before sleeping?"
Ah shit, if she ate all that ramen broth, she'd definitely need to pee soon. But that kid didn't seem like a complete baby.
She could handle going alone, right?
"I'd rather she just piss on the wall than hold it in......"
I'm going crazy.
Once I started thinking about it, one thought led to another and another. I'd never felt like this in my life.
Unless it was a really serious problem, I thought I was the type to forget once I turned my back.
For no reason, Miho kept floating in my head, and out of anxiety I kept chewing on my index finger and rubbing it against my thumb.
'No use, let's just go back today.'
Anyway, I'd almost finished cleaning.
Ahn Gi-pyo would let it slide with some flexibility. Having made up my mind, I flung open the door to go in alone.
「Bbeolkeok!」
"Manager-nim!"
"Kim Hyun-woo, you've got a request."
"Huh?"
I frowned hard.
At that, Ahn Gi-pyo looked incredulous.
"You son of a bitch, still not hungry enough? You haven't even shown your face properly, and a request comes in; you should be thankful, but what kind of reaction is that?"
"No, that is, ha......"
At this rate, my hair will fall out.
I scratched my head like crazy and bit my innocent index finger again. Honestly, from a host's perspective, this was nothing short of a heavenly turn of events.
I thought I'd have to clean and hand out business cards for a while, but a request came in this quickly.
If a request comes in, I can confidently drink with a woman in the hall and advertise my worth everywhere.
The rich get richer, the poor get poorer.
The poorer you are, the poorer you become; the more wealth you have, the richer you get.
Ironically, this principle applies in the host industry too.
The more popular a host, the more popular he gets; the unpopular host naturally gets fewer requests, loses presence, and retires.
Since I'd taken a long break after hitting rock bottom, I expected a tough journey and a long time to return to the top.
But if a request comes in today, I can start off on a very good note.
The problem is that Miho would be waiting for me at home.
"Excuse me, Manager-nim."
"What? Hurry up and get ready. The customer is waiting for you to come pick her up right now."
「Ttak!」
If I could just close my eyes, nod, grab the wheel, pick up the customer, and satisfy her with my skilled abilities, that would be it.
That would be the right thing to do, but......
"......Honestly, I think I've gone crazy right now."
"What are you saying, you bastard."
"I know it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But I just want to clock out and go home today."
"Are you crazy? You said you wanted to come back. The perfect chance to return has rolled right to your feet, and you're going to kick it away?"
"I should come back. I should, but...... I have a situation today."
"Did you leave a girlfriend at home or something?"
If it were a girlfriend, I would have just driven off to pick up the customer. But Miho was still a very young child.
Damn it, I never thought I'd feel this way in my life.
That tiny girl couldn't even eat a bowl of ramen properly without me. Thinking of that tiny kid squirming between my legs, munching on ramen......
"As I thought, I'll just go home today."
"If you leave like this, you'll be on my bad side again and might not be able to come into the shop from tomorrow."
......He's really being petty.
I haven't even been rehired for an hour, and if he knew how it felt to hear that, he'd never say it.
"Still, today......"
"Hey, Kim Hyun-woo!"
「Kkwang!」
Fuck, that startled me.
It wasn't Park Ui-ri, it was Ahn Gi-pyo. Ahn Gi-pyo slammed his slender fist on the counter table, and a sound that made the ground shake erupted.
I thought my heart would drop to my navel.
"You come in after a long break, and because I kindly accepted you, do you think the manager is a joke?"
"Who said I see you as a joke? I told you I have circumstances."
"What circumstances?"
"Well......"
"Hey, I have circumstances too. Why do you think I'm asking you this much when you're pulling away like that? It's because that customer is a big spender who can only be satisfied by you."
Well, that's true.
To be honest, a host bar manager can't have a gentle personality. After all, it's a position that often has to deal with the police.
But Ahn Gi-pyo wasn't the type to force things.
When hosts got drunk or sick with a cold, he'd cover for them even if it meant getting scolded or hit by customers.
For someone like him to go this far to keep me meant that the customer truly couldn't do without me.
'Honestly, I did work my ass off as a host.'
Studying English proverbs, studying classical orchestras.
Besides that, I learned all kinds of things to capture customers' hearts. But even if I got into the women's hearts, in the end it always came down to sex.
Being impotent, I inevitably drifted away from women.
Seeing this, they really were damn picky bitches. They get everything they want, but if you can't provide sex, they cruelly cut you off.
Aren't they total sons of bitches?
Well...... they pay a huge amount of money, so I have to let it slide......
"Haa, huu......"
I let out a deep sigh and pushed my bangs back. Unable to hold back, I lit a cigarette in front of Ahn Gi-pyo and asked.
"Who is it?"
At my question, Ahn Gi-pyo looked relieved and somewhat apologetic as he said the woman's name.
"Seonwoo Ye-rang."
Ah, that woman......
Certainly, Seonwoo Ye-rang was a major player that others couldn't handle. While I was gone, there must have been chaos.
"......After you left, she came a few times then stopped. Then out of the blue she contacted me again. She asked if you had come back. If not, to give her your contact. When I asked if it was okay that you were impotent, she told me 'Fuck, shut up and give me his number.'"
"Same as always, that temper."
Anyway, she must have been really pent up 'that way'.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have sought me out when she didn't even know I was back on my feet.
Coin Queen, Seonwoo Ye-rang.
Age 24.
She was a noona two years older than me, a woman with so much wealth she didn't even know how much she had. It was all money earned from 'coins'.
Everyone says it's luck, but having played with Seonwoo Ye-rang a few times, I know.
That woman is a genius with innate talent in that industry. But she has a fucking dirty and selfish personality.
She never handles other people's coins.
She strictly inflated only her own coins, a monster among monsters who earned hundreds of millions just by breathing. But in that process, she endured enormous stress and used me to relieve it.
"If it's Ye-rang noona, that's a jackpot."
"......"
Ahn Gi-pyo silently affirmed.
Because that bitch, whenever she showed up at the shop, the earnings that day were truly enormous.
"Puheu......"
I took a long drag of the cigarette, and cold sweat poured down my back like crazy.
Actually, I was trying to lead the conversation to naturally decline, but after hearing Seonwoo Ye-rang's name, it became harder to refuse.
She was truly a customer that only I could handle.
Considering the money Seonwoo Ye-rang threw around, there was no way Ahn Gi-pyo would give up.
'No wonder he's throwing all kinds of threats, real and fake, acting crazy.'
「I'll be right back, okay?」
It couldn't be helped.
This was all to feed Miho well, dress her in nice clothes, and buy her only good things. Isn't that what being a head of household means?
[......]
'She hasn't woken up yet.'
Yeah, she looked really tired, so she'd sleep until dawn. I was like that when I was little. My parents always told me that once I closed my eyes, I slept like the dead.
So, today will be fine.
"Where do I go?"
At my words, Ahn Gi-pyo beamed and immediately told me the location where Seonwoo Ye-rang was waiting.
[Blue Arcade near Cheonsan University]
Of course.
I knew this bitch would be in a place like this.
"Hey, Hyun-woo. Is that bruise on your eye okay? How about wearing glasses or sunglasses?"
"It's fine. Besides, Ye-rang noona isn't the type to care much about face or body."
"What?"
From his reaction, no one had figured out Seonwoo Ye-rang's true nature. Well, what would those socialites who just drink and hit on women know?
Only I, who also had few friends like Seonwoo Ye-rang, understood this.
[Kim Hyun-woo: On my way now.]
[Seonwoo Ye-rang: Hurry up and come. Whether it's a fine or bail, I'll pay for you, so fly here like a bullet.]
[Kim Hyun-woo: Yes yes, I'm coming.]
After sending the messages casually, I floored the accelerator and looked at the guide sign above.
Cheonsan University was in the exact opposite direction from my studio.
"......She hasn't woken up."
Aish, shit.
I roughly bit my lip and drove toward Cheonsan University. Even without Seonwoo Ye-rang's words, I sped like a maniac.
「Bbang bbang!」
Cars honked at me, but I drove on without caring. The advantage of a luxury foreign car is that almost no one dares to cut you off.
They honked, but no one directly swore at me.
Before they could even roll down their windows to curse, I was already gone.
[Cheonsan University Blue Arcade]
「Kkiik!」
I stopped the car and lowered the window, simultaneously recalling my mindset as a host.
Smile, smile......
"Ye-rang noona! Over here, here!"
As I called out to Seonwoo Ye-rang with a bright smile, a woman in an unmistakably conspicuous outfit walked out from the crowd, chewing gum with a loud smack.
A crop top that showed her navel clearly, and dolphin shorts you'd wear around the house.
She wasn't even wearing a bra, so her nipples were visible, but her nonchalant attitude stood out the most. Honestly, if someone had the guts to report her for public indecency, she'd have been arrested immediately.
"Fuck, you're damn late."
"No one in this world could have come faster than me. Now get in quickly?"
"This bastard, you've got some nerve?"
"Hmm, suit yourself."
Flinch, Seonwoo Ye-rang's body trembled.
"It seems like I'm the one in control here, doesn't it? You must be quite pent up."
At my words, Seonwoo Ye-rang licked her lips obscenely with her tongue and climbed into the passenger seat.
"Fuck, I'm totally screwed today."
"Hehe, trust only me. But noona, I might not be able to play long today."
"I'll see what you do."
"I've told you first, clearly."
I fastened Seonwoo Ye-rang's seatbelt, then pressed the accelerator again. Seeing the speed on the dashboard and my rough driving, Seonwoo Ye-rang's eyes widened slightly.
Then she grinned and shouted.
"Yeah, floor it! Floor it more! I'll pay for everything!"
"Still, I'm keeping to the speed limit, so it's fine."
"Yahoo!"
Crazy bitch, she still doesn't listen to a word I say.