The Showdown of Intimidation
Shin Yong-geom felt a surge of emotion well up inside him.
“Ji-hoon-ah, shall we have a reunion with our old school friends? Why are you using casual language between us?”
“Now we even have our maknae Namhu. This isn’t a school anymore, is it? It’s a host bar.”
Cha Ji-hoon answered with a sly smile, his tone playful and easygoing.
Shin Yong-geom bit back his anger, something he had never been able to do before.
A street kid who would swing first and ask questions later could never become a host.
There were many difficult clients in the bar, and only someone who could endure them could survive. Moreover, if he got into a fight and got even a scratch on his face, it would mean weeks without income.
With five million won at stake this month, he absolutely could not afford to throw a punch.
“Hyung Yong-geom, I treat you well in public, don’t I? So how about we settle the business side cleanly?”
“Watch yourself. I’m keeping an eye on you.”
The two men traded jabs without backing down, locked in a silent standoff.
Kim Namhu watched the entire exchange with quiet amusement.
Back then, the age gap between them had looked enormous, and a year of experience had seemed like a mountain. After everything he had endured, he now saw how meaningless it all had been.
Their petty squabble now seemed nothing more than the playful antics of children.
Kim Namhu immediately realized it was best to stay out of it.
He would simply watch, collect the five million later, and be done.
Then Shin Yong-geom dropped his hand.
“Ji-hoon-ah, this place isn’t about sales, right? When you become an Ace, where will your seniors and juniors be?”
“Then what?”
“Let’s sort things out between us. Compare our sales this month and just roll with it. If you win, I’ll treat you like a senior—even on the streets. And if I win, you’ll call me hyung in the shop.”
A man could never refuse such a challenge.
Refusing a bet was, in essence, admitting defeat.
Especially for two young men still brimming with blood and fire.
“Hyung Yong-geom, confident in yourself? You don’t even have any regular clients.”
“Even without regulars, I’m still ahead in sales.”
Both of them kept the conversation light, masking any real tension.
Then Shin Yong-geom stood up, convinced that Kim Namhu was loyal to Jang Hyo-woon’s faction and would inevitably side with Cha Ji-hoon.
“I’ll go get our choice then. We need to pull in every possible client.”
After Shin Yong-geom left, Cha Ji-hoon finished his coffee with a small, satisfied smile.
His hand was trembling slightly.
He had been bluffing, but in the end this was a sales battle, and Cha Ji-hoon actually trailed Shin Yong-geom in current earnings.
Kim Namhu asked him directly.
“Why start an argument in the first place?”
“Huh?”
“It wasn’t necessary, was it?”
To Kim Namhu, this whole thing was pointless.
Cha Ji-hoon laughed softly.
“I have my own dreams, you know?”
“What kind of dream?”
“All host dreams are the same. First, become an Ace. Build a solid box and work with reliable guys. Earn a lot of money that way. But watching you, I thought maybe staying still isn’t an option anymore.”
Kim Namhu didn’t fully understand what he was saying.
It had sounded like a drunk’s rambling.
“The real climbers do it this way. If I stayed like I am now, I’d never reach the top—I’d just fall flat. So I’m not starting trouble with you out of spite?”
Only now did Kim Namhu understand.
Cha Ji-hoon was deliberately cornering himself.
That was why he had picked a fight with Shin Yong-geom in the first place—not out of hatred, but as motivation.
“Whoa. You threw your plan out the window without looking back?”
If the plan failed, it would be uncomfortable to keep hanging around the waiting room.
“Haha. What can I do? I didn’t think there was enough guts for this kind of thing.”
Kim Namhu recalled how Cha Ji-hoon had been in his previous life.
He hadn’t been particularly successful as a host.
‘But maybe this time it’ll be different?’
Kim Namhu had simply done what he always did.
He never imagined it would change an entire person’s life.
‘Watching it unfold will be interesting.’
Whether in the world or in this industry, an indecisive attitude only led to the bottom.
To reach the middle, you had to charge forward without looking back. And only if you had real talent could you hit the top one percent.
Cha Ji-hoon had always been a bit laid-back, but this time he seemed determined to change.
No one knew where the talent of those who pushed themselves ended, but something good was bound to come of it.
Kim Namhu teased him, wanting to support his friend.
“But aren’t we competitors? How about we settle it between ourselves—whoever wins sales gets to call the other hyung?”
Cha Ji-hoon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Whoa. You’re trying to eat me? Where did you learn that kind of thing?”
“From watching what Hyung Ji-hoon is doing right now.”
The two men laughed together and headed back into the shop.
**
Hosts earned their money with their tongues.
Whether it was making women laugh at the bar or pleasing them in bed, the tongue was everything.
And because hosts were good with their tongues, news spread fast.
Even though not much time had passed, the waiting room was already buzzing with the story of Cha Ji-hoon and Shin Yong-geom’s bet.
Originally, the Ace seat worth ten million won should have been the biggest topic.
But when new hosts fought over senior and junior positions, all eyes turned to them.
‘Yeah, fights are always the most entertaining.’
Jang Hyo-woon and Choi Moon-ho, who had brought Cha Ji-hoon and Shin Yong-geom, reacted differently.
Choi Moon-ho pretended not to care while quietly pushing Shin Yong-geom toward the lower-ranking hosts, urging him to pull as many choices as possible.
Jang Hyo-woon called Cha Ji-hoon over when two of his regulars showed up.
Then he walked straight to Kim Namhu.
“Maknae.”
“Yes?”
“You don’t have any thoughts about the five million?”
“Of course I do. It’s a huge amount.”
Five million was never a small sum.
Even if you could earn more later, ignoring money like this now would mean you might never earn the big money at all.
“Then how about you push a little too?”
“No. Hyung Jang Hyo-woon is always too busy pushing other people.”
“Pushing who?”
Jang Hyo-woon played dumb.
Right now Jang Hyo-woon and Choi Moon-ho were in their own factional standoff.
If word got out, they would lose.
“I’ll handle it myself.”
“You’re bluffing about having two regulars already? Regulars spend big, but you need steady monthly sales.”
Jang Sun-young ran her own shop, so she didn’t come to The Queen every day.
At most once a week or every two weeks.
Ha Ji-yeon came roughly twice a month, but she wasn’t the type to throw money around.
She would simply order what she and Kim Namhu would drink, enjoy herself cleanly, and leave.
This kind of revenue didn’t contribute much to TC or alcohol sales.
Jang Hyo-woon thought for a moment.
“Just to be safe, I’ll warn you—don’t ask your regulars for help with this.”
Kim Namhu nodded.
He understood why Jang Hyo-woon was giving the advice.
This deal was only five million at best.
Big money by host standards, but tiny compared to what two regulars would spend over the coming months.
Asking for unnecessary help from a regular could cost you the regular forever.
Especially for promising new hosts who thought their girlfriend had become a regular and started making demands, only to lose them later.
“I have no such intention.”
“Then you’re not asking regulars for help either, and you’re turning down my offer. I’m curious what you’re actually thinking.”
“Seeing is more fun than telling. I’ll show you directly.”
Kim Namhu smiled.
“Give me just one hint?”
“Do you remember that old story about the sun and the wind making a traveler take off his coat?”
“Did the traveler have an especially beautiful woman?”
Jang Hyo-woon tossed out an empty joke.
He had asked for the hint just so he could watch Kim Namhu do his thing with pleasure.
**
Kim Namhu had no intention of using the choice system to boost sales.
In Gangbuk, most clients barely noticed the luxury suits he wore.
And honestly, there were plenty of hosts with better looks and bodies than him.
As he had told Jang Hyo-woon, he had no intention of asking regulars directly for help.
Even if Jang Sun-young or Ha Ji-yeon could afford to spend generously in one night, he would never risk upsetting a regular over something this small.
‘But there’s always another way.’
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