Asking for Help, Not Blackmail

Jeong Byeong-ju and Jo Byeong-jin stared at Kim Seong-ho in shock after hearing about the previous evening's events.

"Is that really true? DS Furniture is connected to Ilhyeon Fashion?"

"It has to be. That's why my sister-in-law tried to introduce me to the president of DS Furniture."

Jo Byeong-jin looked at Seong-ho, who was speaking with complete calm, as if the man himself were some kind of curiosity.

"I can't tell if you're bold or just numb… Doesn't this surprise you at all?"

"It does. But the first thought that hit me was how interesting it is."

"Interesting? What is?"

"The idea that a lot more people might be tangled up in this than I expected."

Jeong Byeong-ju, who had been listening, nodded.

"It's not just a handful of executives at Ilhyeon Hotel. It could be all of them—or maybe even more—who are linked to DS Furniture."

"Wait, if people who aren't even executives are involved… Are you saying the regular staff might be mixed up in this too?"

When Jo Byeong-jin spoke with open surprise, the corner of Kim Seong-ho's mouth lifted.

"That's exactly what I started thinking."

"But why? Why would DS Furniture even bother recruiting ordinary employees? What power does a regular worker have over vendor selection?"

"You're right that they can't influence vendor selection. But there are other ways they can be useful."

"Other ways?"

Jo Byeong-jin looked at him as if to ask what those could possibly be.

"Take the shampoo that DS Furniture supplies, for example."

Seong-ho recalled one of the embezzlement schemes he had uncovered in his previous life and spoke to the two men.

"A bottle of shampoo is placed in every guest room, and the guests use what's provided."

"Right. So what's the problem?"

"Now imagine a housekeeper goes in to clean a room, dumps a perfectly good bottle of shampoo down the drain, and then reports that the shampoo is empty. What then?"

"That would be…"

Jo Byeong-jin had been about to say such a thing could never happen, but the words died in his throat. He simply could not claim it was impossible.

"Or they just remove the shampoo and claim it's gone. Or they mark a nearly full bottle as empty."

"…We'll need to cross-check the number of guests against the actual amount of supplies used."

Seong-ho nodded.

"If ten people stay in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a day, even allowing for the size of the bottles, thirty should be more than enough. Thirty-one or thirty-two we can understand and overlook—guests often ask for extras and take them home. But when that number climbs to fifty, sixty, a hundred… that's straight-up embezzlement."

"If they've been skimming like that, the losses must have been enormous…"

Jo Byeong-jin said, looking stunned. Seong-ho had only used shampoo as an example, but every single item in the hotel could be compromised the same way.

Seong-ho told Jeong Byeong-ju and Jo Byeong-jin exactly where their focus needed to shift.

"From now on, this isn't just about trimming the fat at Ilhyeon Hotel. We need to find out who has been hurting the hotel."

"I understand. I'll start with the hotel's books right away."

"Then I'll dig into how the staff have been working. Something like this is hard to hide completely. Once we start looking, it shouldn't take long to find."

Jeong Byeong-ju and Jo Byeong-jin grasped his meaning at once and laid out their own next steps without being told.

Seong-ho nodded and added one more instruction.

"For work like this, inside help is best. While you're looking over the staff, do what I said before—find someone on the inside who will talk, and bring them in."

"Got it. We'll move right away."

The two men left the office, following Seong-ho's orders to examine Ilhyeon Hotel from an entirely new angle.

Once word spread that Ilhyeon Hotel was putting every supply contract out to open bidding, multiple companies rushed to enter the process. The industry looked on with fresh interest, seeing the monopoly DS Furniture had held for so long finally broken. At the same time, some people doubted whether the experiment would succeed at all. Ten years was not a short stretch of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time; could they really ignore that history and switch straight to competitive bidding? And given how many people were quietly entangled with DS Furniture, how would the hotel ever quiet the internal backlash? Curious eyes stayed fixed on Ilhyeon Hotel.

Yet even under that cloud of skepticism, the bid date and terms were announced. When the first tender—for cleaning supplies such as shampoo and conditioner—was confirmed and publicly posted, the doubters had no choice but to accept that the shift to bidding was real. Still, they did not drop their suspicion entirely. Internal resistance finally erupted at the hotel itself.

Kim Seong-ho stood at the window looking down at the hotel employees staging their protest.

Knock, knock.

The office door opened and Section Chief Jeong Byeong-ju stepped inside. He spoke to Seong-ho, who was still watching the scene below.

"I've already reported the illegal demonstration, and the police are standing by. What do you want to do?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Seong-ho kept his eyes on the Ilhyeon Hotel union members demonstrating in front of the building.

"Ask the police to come out."

"Even if they get taken in, they'll be released right away… What if they come back and protest again tomorrow?"

"Then report them again tomorrow. If they keep protesting the day after that and the day after that, keep reporting them every single time."

"Keep doing it?"

Jeong Byeong-ju looked worried as he asked.

"A day or two might be fine, but if this goes on, the guests won't be able to stand it and will leave. Are you sure about that?"

Seong-ho turned from the window and faced him.

"If any of the current guests want to move to another hotel, help them find one. And if anyone wants to check out early, refund them the difference."

"Refund the money too?"

"Yes. Explain the situation to everyone with reservations and handle them the same way as the guests already here."

Section Chief Jeong's eyes went round with surprise at the order. Seong-ho continued without pause.

"For any guests who choose to stay, discount their bill by up to fifty percent and give them a free one-night voucher they can use anytime within the next year."

"A free night as well? Are you serious?"

"I'd like to throw in meal vouchers too, but the food-and-beverage division is still shut down, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so we can't. We'll have to settle for the room vouchers."

Jeong Byeong-ju nodded.

"Fair enough. Anyone who stays with us through this is a loyal customer, so we should take care of them. But we can't just leave the protest running forever."

Knock, knock.

Another knock sounded while Jeong was still speaking. Seong-ho laid a hand on Jeong's shoulder and smiled.

"The solution just arrived."

He smiled at Jeong and watched Jo Byeong-jin come through the door. Jo gestured toward Managing Director Choi Jong-dae, who had come with him.

"Managing Director Choi here says he has something he wants to tell you."

"Good work."

Seong-ho smiled at Jo, then turned back to Jeong.

"I need a private word with Managing Director Choi. Would you give us the room for a moment?"

"Ah. Of course."

Jeong understood at once and motioned to Jo.

"Assistant Manager Jo. Let's step out."

"Ah—right. I happen to have work of my own. Shall we?"

Jo nodded and shot Seong-ho a quick glance. Seong-ho answered with a quiet smile and guided Choi Jong-dae to a chair.

"Managing Director Choi. Please have a seat."

"Yes."

Choi, who had been staring at the floor, walked to the chair without lifting his head and sat without looking up.

Seong-ho took the seat across from him, watched him for a moment, then spoke first.

"I understand you have something to say to me?"

"I…"

Choi hesitated, then finally raised his head. His face was drawn and miserable as he spoke.

"My son is a high-school senior this year."

The abrupt mention of his son drew a faint smile from Seong-ho. He had seen this exact approach countless times in his previous life, so he already knew why Choi was leading with his children.

Seong-ho settled into a more comfortable posture as Choi continued.

"I also have a daughter below him. She's starting high school this year."

"How are their grades? Both of them doing well?"

When Seong-ho brought up school so naturally, some of the strain left Choi's face.

"Yes. Both of them do reasonably well."

"That's good to hear. But why are you telling me about your children?"

At the direct question, Choi found it hard to open his mouth. He had come here resolved, yet sitting in front of Seong-ho, the courage seemed to drain away.

Seong-ho saw straight through him and spoke first.

"Managing Director Choi. Why don't you look at this first?"

He pulled one of two sheets of paper from the side of the desk and set it in front of Choi.

Choi looked down at the paper, then back up.

"What is this?"

"Read what's inside first. Once you do, you'll understand what it is."

Choi picked up the paper with a puzzled expression. As he read the contents, he could not hide his shock. His eyes went wide; sweat beaded at his temples. His hands shook so hard he could barely turn the page.

Seong-ho watched the reaction in silence, then spoke slowly.

"It's a strange thing. In January we had a little over three thousand guests, yet somehow we used enough shampoo for one hundred thousand people. Guests stay an average of three days. Even if they wash their hair morning and night, that's six thousand portions a day. Over three days, twenty thousand would be more than enough. Yet we went through five times that—one hundred thousand portions."

He tapped the desk in front of Choi.

"Doesn't that strike you as rather odd?"

Choi lifted his head. His eyes were unsteady, his mouth half open.

Seong-ho looked at him and smiled thinly.

"That's just the shampoo. I plan to examine every cleaning product, starting with conditioner. The linens, of course, will need a thorough look as well."

"Director…"

"Managing Director Choi."

When Choi called his name in a trembling voice, Seong-ho took the man's hand. Choi looked down at the hand holding his as Seong-ho spoke.

"Your children study hard, you said? Then we ought to help them keep studying without worries. Don't you agree?"

"Director…"

"If you help me, Managing Director, I would like to make sure your children can study without any concerns… What do you say? Are you willing to help me?"

The hand Seong-ho held began to shake. In truth, if Seong-ho had simply laid those documents on the table and threatened him, Choi would have had no way out. Instead Seong-ho was asking for his help. That was enough to break Choi completely.

"Director…"

For the last few minutes Choi had said nothing but "Director," yet the meaning packed into those three syllables kept shifting. In the final utterance, the decision to follow Seong-ho was unmistakable.

Seong-ho patted Choi's hand without a word, then silently placed the remaining sheet of paper in front of him.