Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Even after arriving at the entrance of the host bar, I kept sneaking glances at my watch, unconsciously checking the time.
Seonwoo Ye-rang saw this and snorted.
"Hey, you broke or something? Sold your watch too? Based on how you're doing today, noona will buy you a Vacheron—the one you like."
The name of the watch brand that's the only one capable of making Patek nervous.
Especially the kind of watch I like. Back in the day, just hearing that name from a woman's lips would raise my tension and make my heart race.
"Oh, yes. Thank you..."
Today, nothing—not Patek Philippe, not Vacheron—registered in my ears.
Seeing me like that, Seonwoo Ye-rang looked incredulous.
"This bastard, what's wrong with you today? You're a host, I'm the customer hiring that host. You don't want money?"
"Just shut up and let's get inside quickly. From the way you're talking, looks like you've got a hell of a lot pent up. I'll work hard to relieve it fast."
"You fucking bastard. You say that now, but if you're no different from the other bastards, I'm never coming to this place again. I told you clearly. You know I'm not the type to say things twice, right?"
Look at her talk.
Sometimes I honestly couldn't tell if this noona was a man or a woman. Still, even though I thought I was crossing the line a bit as a host today with my lack of service spirit, she just nodded obediently.
It was clear that Seonwoo Ye-rang's stress and desires had hit their peak.
Well, it's not easy matching this woman's standards.
"You've lost a lot of weight, noona."
"Fuck, since there's no bastard to keep me company, I had to do something to relieve stress. Signed up for Pilates, got a personal trainer, did this and that—just made my body even better."
"You look good."
"Oh, really?"
With any other woman, she'd be proud of her slimmed waist and still voluptuous chest, or happy about the compliment.
But Seonwoo Ye-rang's reaction was completely indifferent.
That was only natural.
This woman didn't want that kind of thing. If a host tried to approach her that way, they'd end up suffering a huge loss instead.
「Thump, thump!」
Anyway, despite being such a crazy woman, there was a reason the manager loved Seonwoo Ye-rang so much.
「Bang!」
The moment she burst through the door, Seonwoo Ye-rang shouted.
"Fuck, manager! Empty out all the Château in the store today. I'll buy everything at double the price—even the ones you've been hoarding. Two bottles for me to drink, and the rest goes around to the other customers. Got it?"
A truly fucking crazy bitch.
Even buying from duty-free, Royal Château 38-Year costs nearly a million won, and if purchased at a department store, it's a premium whiskey worth 1.5 million won.
Drinking that in a bar multiplies the price several times over. Offering to pay double meant she was basically advertising, "I'm a sucker."
But even with that sucker behavior, Seonwoo Ye-rang had so much money she could kick it with her feet.
「Thunk!」
[Seonwoo Ye-rang]
She casually tossed her Black Gold VVIP credit card, which had her name boldly printed on it, to An Gi-pyo, then immediately linked her arm through mine and shouted.
"Hey, we're going straight to the room today."
"Fine by me."
I subtly pressed and rubbed my elbow against Seonwoo Ye-rang's thick chest to gauge her condition.
She was so worked up it seemed like she'd be ready to spread her legs and have a dick shoved in her pussy right then and there.
Of course, if I actually did that, she might hire a contract killer to have me murdered.
"Oh, give me a moment."
Before going in, I entered the staff break room and grabbed the two laptops that were still there. Each one cost between 11 million and 12 million won.
And they were essential equipment for relieving Seonwoo Ye-rang's urges.
Along with headsets, mice, and other stuff.
While I was preparing all this, none other than the manager, An Gi-pyo, came in personally to set up the room. Even though he was doing menial work, his mouth was already stretched wide enough to reach his ears.
Even without calculating, I could tell the revenue from just one Seonwoo Ye-rang was enormous.
"Today, we sincerely welcome you to Valentia. Seonwoo Ye-rang-nim."
"Oh, enough. Get lost."
The moment she entered the room, Seonwoo Ye-rang took off her socks, threw off the white windbreaker she had on over her crop top, and waved her hand dismissively.
Then she pointed at me with her index finger and said.
"You guys better hope this one does well today. If this impotent bastard can't even pull 'this' off, I'm seriously never coming back to this place."
"...He'll do well. Don't you know, Seonwoo Ye-rang-nim? Hyun-woo wasn't the number one in requested hosts at our bar for nothing."
"That's in the past. Who knows if he still is now?"
"I trust Hyun-woo."
What a kiss-ass. So fucking cringey.
Look at him. When it was cold-heartedly kicking me out, he was one person, but in front of Seonwoo Ye-rang, he's puffing me up like crazy.
'Back in the day, I'd have snorted at times like this.'
How should I put it.
Today felt a little different.
Maybe because for once, An Gi-pyo actually treated me like a real adult. For some reason, even words like that made me feel good and motivated me to work hard.
'Yeah, let's forget about it for a bit.'
Worrying about Miho is one thing, but in the end, if I want to get out of here even one second faster, I had to focus on the work.
"Hyun-woo, I trust you."
Even as he closed the door to leave, An Gi-pyo left me with those words and quietly exited.
Meanwhile, Seonwoo Ye-rang was already pouring the Royal Château 38-Year into her whiskey glass by herself and downing it straight.
"Kh, fuck. Tastes like shit."
No way...
Royal Château 38-Year is an incredibly famous whiskey, and at the same time, it's the best liquor that never fails to be recommended as an entry-level premium whiskey.
It's characterized by the deep, mellow aroma of sherry oak, cedar, and soft almond notes, with a smooth finish despite its high alcohol content.
At the end, the rich flavor brings a strong burst of spice followed by a floral finish.
I've almost never seen anyone react negatively to this liquor.
But from the way Seonwoo Ye-rang was talking, she was still absolutely seething with anger. Well, I guess the crypto industry always feels like you're working with a guillotine over your head.
「Click-clack, click-clack!」
The moment she turned on the laptop, Seonwoo Ye-rang habitually checked the crypto charts. Watching her incredibly fast mouse and keyboard movements, I was impressed.
I was no slouch myself—back in high school, I skipped school and made a name for myself as a PC bang regular—but her speed was something even most pro gamers couldn't match.
However, her actual gaming skill wasn't quite at that level.
"Ah, fuck. I didn't want to check! I knew today was a downtrend, so why did I look?! So fucking annoying! Hey, Kim Hyun-woo. Log in right now."
"Yes, yes..."
[Space Ground]
It was the game Seonwoo Ye-rang absolutely fucking loved.
Even though it's been over four years since its release, this was the only game she played. Even when new and interesting games came out, she never looked away.
In a way, she was a consistent woman.
Honestly, if I hadn't become impotent, Seonwoo Ye-rang would have been one of the women who would never abandon me.
「Fuck! If I just needed a gaming friend, I would've called a massage parlor or some office girl who's good at games, not a host bar, you bastard!」
Seonwoo Ye-rang said that with an even angrier expression.
Though she was always a hot-tempered woman to begin with.
"Hey, you not drinking?"
I didn't want to touch alcohol because I planned to drive straight home after the game, but that was never going to be possible.
"...I have to drink."
I downed a glass of Royal Château 38-Year—worth a fortune even per glass—straight, coolly. Even though it was premium whiskey I hadn't tasted in a while, it had absolutely no flavor.
I couldn't even tell if the alcohol was entering my body.
"Kh, delicious."
Still, as a host, I naturally put on an act to match Seonwoo Ye-rang's mood.
"Noona, how about we just get two chickens today and call it?"
Two chickens was by no means a small goal.
Honestly, back in the day, maybe.
But after four years, in a genre of FPS battle royale where only veterans remained, winning first place twice was an incredibly difficult task.
But Seonwoo Ye-rang looked dissatisfied.
"Three times. You, you bastard. I'm spending this much money, and you're still thinking about another woman right now?"
"No, that's..."
Well, it was another woman, technically.
"If you want to go home that badly, feed me three chickens. Then I'll let you go feeling satisfied too."
Damn it.
First place three times... Even with good luck, it would take several hours. But Seonwoo Ye-rang doesn't intentionally throw games, so.
It wasn't completely impossible.
"Whew, fine. Let's go."
"Okay. Fuck, you're all dead, you bastards."
The moment we entered the game, Seonwoo Ye-rang's nickname caught my eye.
[ShutUpIfYouAreWorseThanMe]
[GrandMaster 891p]
For reference, in Space Ground—still played by hundreds of thousands of people—Grandmaster was within the top 0.5 percent, an elite tier.
And my nickname wasn't much different from Seonwoo Ye-rang's.
[zlGodOfMartialArts123]
[UnRanked]
Since I hadn't played with Seonwoo Ye-rang this season, my rank wasn't displayed. I hoped being unranked might lower the game's matchmaking level, but ironically, Space Ground allows all tiers to play together—except it matches games based on the highest MMR in the party.
So whether I had a rank or not, the game would be filled with only top-tier players by Seonwoo Ye-rang's standards.
'Well, it's better that way.'
If the game matches at Seonwoo Ye-rang's level, three first-place wins weren't completely out of the question.
[Current Time]
[PM 7:00]
Already 7 PM.
If I finish as fast as possible and somehow manage it, maybe before 10 o'clock...
「Click!」
[Game Ready]
While the game was matching, I kept talking to Seonwoo Ye-rang so she wouldn't get bored.
This game includes a tedious looting phase, so it was important to keep her entertained during that time.
"The other hosts probably knew you liked games too, noona, and tried hard. Guess they didn't satisfy you?"
"Fuck, I thought I was going to die from frustration. If I'm going to play with bastards like that, I'd rather play with pros. But pros are too young; how am I supposed to get laid with those kids?"
"True..."
Even though Seonwoo Ye-rang has a foul mouth, lives recklessly, and tries to solve everything with money as the Crypto Queen.
She's not the type to mess with ordinary people.
Instead, since she's overflowing with money, she simply controls hosts she can buy with it. After all, that's what hosts exist for.
[The game is starting.]
In the middle of our brief conversation, the game began.
"Noona, here's a level 3 backpack."
"Oh, nice. Love it."
"Noona, I brought a level 3 vest too."
"Kyah! Good!"
This bitch is way happier about this than when she drank Royal Château.
She's seriously addicted to games.
Then...
"Hey, footsteps! Hyun-woo, footsteps! Footsteps!"
"Okay, I'm covering."
"Hurry the fuck up! Right in front of me... Aack! Two of them coming at once!"
"I'm already here! Low HP, low HP! That bastard's almost dead!"
Despite Seonwoo Ye-rang's urgent call, I calmly provided covering fire from a safe position, reducing both enemies to almost no HP at the same time.
And if I do this much...
「Dut-dut-dut-dut-dut-dut-dut-dut-thud!」
[ShutUpIfYouAreWorseThanMe has achieved a Double Kill.]
[Assist - zlGodOfMartialArts123]
At that moment, I glanced sideways.
There was Seonwoo Ye-rang, already looking like she'd reached a climax, madly groping her own chest and enjoying herself immensely.
"Yeah, fuck, this is it. This is me...! Ha, now I feel so relieved. As expected, Hyun-woo's the best."
Technically, I fed her the kills, but in this game, the person who gets the kill usually takes almost all the catharsis.
Unlike Seonwoo Ye-rang, who was groping her chest and reaching a climax, I grew even more tense and sharply heightened my focus.
'Somehow, I have to get the chicken right from the first round.'
I had to.
But strangely, I felt like it might be possible. Even though it had been a while, my focus today was incomparably sharper than usual.
...What the hell, really?