The Host's Strategic Battle
Slowly, time slipped away.
Kim Namhu had now shed every trace of newcomer.
His adaptation was faster than any rookie before him.
*How many hardships did I endure back then?*
Even in my previous life, talent had been acknowledged.
But the host industry was never easy.
Even if you received a choice and rode high for a moment, one careless word from a female client could freeze the room's mood.
After repeating those mistakes, searching for the cause, and fixing them, only then could I finally earn my own share.
But now, there was no need for that.
Regular customers had begun to appear one by one, and this subtly influenced the choice process.
Naturally, hosts with regulars were more attractive to other women than those left without.
When sitting in the room, apologizing to a client who called for you, that same client always returned to Kim Namhu.
It was still a modest income, yet every day felt fulfilling.
Life at The Queen was settling into a comfortable rhythm.
Originally, the host world was full of transient people, so genuine bonds were not easily formed.
Even when bonds were made, they often faded quickly as hosts quit the job.
But once Kim Namhu had proven himself an ace and his adaptation was flawless, the seniors gradually began to greet him and build familiarity.
Kim Namhu accepted each senior's greeting as he entered the back area of the bar.
He opened the door to the host waiting room.
“Ah, our little cutie has arrived?”
Jang Hyo-woon, who had recognized Kim Namhu's talent from the start and liked him, greeted him with a bright smile.
Kim Namhu was already known to belong to Jang Hyo-woon's faction, and seeing an exceptionally capable maknae only made him cuter.
“Then, let's keep the sales climbing today. Take in plenty of table charges. Sell plenty of drinks. Handle secondary outings appropriately. Receive generous tips.”
Everything Jang Hyo-woon listed were the means by which a host earned money.
Mastering just one of these made a host far more profitable than most office workers.
And what Jang Hyo-woon truly wanted to say came next.
“We're able to make money this easily because of the host barrier, right? You probably already know this, Namhu, even without me saying it. Still, as your senior, I'll explain again. Without the host barrier, we'd all just be sparrows. Sparrows that have no choice but to suffer grievances from any husband. So, while secondary outings and tips are nice, let's focus on table charges and selling drinks.”
“Yes, understood.”
Jang Hyo-woon must have been worried about Kim Namhu, who had begun attracting regular customers.
Kim Namhu understood his senior's position well.
If it were him, living a second life, he would not have thought that way.
But a newcomer who had received some regulars through talent or luck tended to become arrogant.
*Isn't it much more beneficial for me to find my own regulars outside and enjoy their company?*
And such newcomers did not realize that outside was hell and a jungle.
If a client's husband or boyfriend came looking for them, they would suffer both legally and physically.
The host bar, however, had systems in place to prevent that.
Hosts and host bars existed in a mutually beneficial relationship.
“That's right. You'll handle it naturally.”
Shortly after, Main Lee Sang-soo arrived for a brief meeting.
He checked whether the hosts had come in on time and were in good health.
“No problems today? Sales are excellent lately. The atmosphere is good. So, just do what you do best.”
Hosts were a kind of salesmen.
And salesmen earned vastly different amounts depending on how well they performed their work.
How much each host earned was written daily on the whiteboard in the host waiting room.
The whiteboard was now like a flower garden.
On it, table charges and drink prices were recorded as pure monetary figures.
The atmosphere inside The Queen would never turn strange because of sales.
Lee Sang-soo knew all of this was thanks to Kim Namhu.
Even if every host worked hard to create a good atmosphere, one spark was still needed.
An ace could not easily provide that spark.
Yet a newcomer who had only recently become a host had done so.
Lee Sang-soo met Kim Namhu's eyes and smiled in recognition of his contribution.
Kim Namhu nodded slightly and smiled back.
Receiving recognition from above felt good.
*But there was a slight unease.*
Just as a thorn always pricks, a thorn is more likely to cause trouble.
To some, Kim Namhu might appear like a thorn; to others, a troublesome rock.
*It would be best if no unnecessary troubles arose.*
Kim Namhu simply wanted to enjoy time with female clients and earn a lot of money.
He had no desire to involve himself in the petty politics happening in the host waiting room.
And Lee Sang-soo's words continued.
“Look at the whiteboard. Everyone's sales are above average, right? Makes me happy too. But how wonderful it would feel if we all became aces at the same time?”
Lee Sang-soo's ambition knew no end.
In a way, it was only natural.
A host whose ambition vanished would be finished as a profession.
Without ambition, motivation would vanish, and that would immediately show in behavior toward clients.
When something was impossible, one had to work hard to make it impossible.
When it was possible, one had to work hard to make it possible.
“This is just to make the mood good. If that makes me unqualified as Main, so be it. This month, the host who becomes ace gets a special bonus from me.”
A bonus.
In this context, it meant ten million won.
A monthly bonus was enough to give everyone motivation.
It was now the beginning of the month.
Everyone carried a faint hope.
Moreover, the eyes of the aces who had taken the top spot by turns sparkled.
Ten million was no small sum to them.
It was the idea that if they simply worked a little harder than usual, they could pocket ten million as unexpected gain.
There were three aces known as such at The Queen.
Choi Moon-ho, who wrapped female clients with cold charisma and steadily raised high sales.
Jang Hyo-woon, whose sales rose terrifyingly with his unique charm, though the atmosphere fluctuated with his mood.
Oh Chang-won, who quietly took first place in sales when Choi Moon-ho and Jang Hyo-woon clashed.
And Lee Sang-soo did not seem to intend to pit only the aces against each other this time.
He presented one more.
“But the lower-ranked hosts have almost no regulars and are very behind. We can't just leave them playing around. For hosts with less than one year of experience, we'll hold a special competition. The winner among the newbies gets half the bonus.”
Five hundred thousand.
Still not a small amount.
Kim Namhu's interest began to rise.
Kim Namhu looked around for potential competitors.
The host bar was always filled with new faces entering and leaving.
In three months, there was almost no one who dismissed someone as a newcomer.
Yet Lee Sang-soo had declared that anyone with less than one year of experience would be treated as a newcomer.
Naturally, there were quite a few competitors.
*For starters, Cha Ji-hoon and Shin Yong-geom come to mind.*
In truth, Kim Namhu's experience was not that different from theirs.
And among the newbies, only those two were earning a decent living.
The rest were still groping for the basics of what a host does.
To earn one's own share, at least one year was required, before which one waited for choices and earned pocket money.
And just as Kim Namhu was thinking this, Cha Ji-hoon and Shin Yong-geom appeared to be thinking the same.
They naturally met each other's eyes.
Then, the most senior Cha Ji-hoon spoke first.
“Shall we go grab a coffee?”
Coffee was the best friend to hosts working late into the night.
The three left The Queen briefly and each bought a convenience store coffee.
Still, Cha Ji-hoon calculated that he was the senior.
“Looks like five hundred will go to one of us.”
Cha Ji-hoon was a talent nurtured within Jang Hyo-woon's faction, while Shin Yong-geom was nurtured within Choi Moon-ho's faction.
Oh Chang-won, being too independent, had no juniors to nurture.
“This month, let's work hard. No one will resent whoever wins the top spot.”
Cha Ji-hoon had learned a lot from Jang Hyo-woon, so his personality was very similar.
He smiled broadly and enjoyed his sweet coffee.
Shin Yong-geom gave a subtle sign of discomfort and said,
“No resentment, right? We're just receiving money for good work.”
Kim Namhu recalled the relationship between the two.
*Essentially, an uncomfortable relationship.*
They came from the same background as street thugs.
But their family tree was twisted like a dog's.
They had graduated from the same high school, where Shin Yong-geom had been the senior year.
A wall that could not be crossed among street thugs.
Yet in the host industry, Cha Ji-hoon was more skilled and had several more months of experience.
Therefore, Cha Ji-hoon had received protection from senior hosts and spoken freely to Shin Yong-geom.
*They said that when only the two of them were together, they treated each other as juniors.*
But now, with Kim Namhu present, Cha Ji-hoon treated Shin Yong-geom as a complete junior.