A Mother's Plea
The Wednesday had finally arrived.
Kim Namhu had been the only one among them who received a day off.
And right now, he had not been able to truly rest even one of these days off.
It was because he had been busy managing his regular clients.
But today I must rest.
Kim Namhu had made that decision.
To be precise, he had simply decided not to handle any host-related tasks.
Kim Namhu stepped out of his gosiwon wearing ordinary clothes.
He called his younger brother and headed toward the general hospital where their father was hospitalized.
“Are you paying the hospital bills well?”
“Yeah.”
His father’s illness was pancreatic cancer.
There had been no early symptoms, making early detection difficult, and by the time they confirmed the pain in his body, the cancer had already spread widely.
Cancer cells had invaded his arteries, making surgical resection impossible, and he was currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
It was a painful process.
His father was enduring the painful treatment because of the faith of his two sons.
Kim Namhu fiddled with his wallet.
Inside it was a check card containing a little over ten million won.
He had been giving the money he earned so far to his younger brother in large amounts to cover the hospital bills and living expenses.
And he had saved even more by earning extra.
The two sons briefly visited their father and had a conversation.
“Right. Are you doing well with the work lately?”
“Yes.”
“The store is doing well too. We’ve already calculated the hospital bills.”
“Father, don’t worry about anything. Just keep receiving treatment steadily.”
The two sons had exchanged enough conversation.
Afterward, they visited the attending physician.
The doctor explained once more how difficult the illness of pancreatic cancer really was.
“Even though you’re receiving treatment well now… as I explained last time, pancreatic cancer is an extremely harsh disease, and the numerical chance of long-term survival is only about 20 percent.”
Kim Namhu had not come all the way to the hospital just to hear such words.
He immediately stated his purpose for visiting the hospital.
“I understand. The only reason I came to this hospital today after a long time is to request two favors.”
“What is it?”
“I heard that we can try some experimental drugs. Although insurance won’t cover them, there are expensive foreign medications.”
“Yes, that’s right. But they cost a tremendous amount of money.”
The doctor knew that Kim Namhu’s financial situation was not particularly affluent.
“So I’m about to ask for one more favor. I’ve been earning some money recently. It’s not illegal, but it’s not something I can proudly reveal either. So, is there any way to secretly calculate the hospital bills?”
Kim Namhu had no intention of telling his father that he was working as a host.
As long as it was not illegal, Kim Namhu did not care how he earned money, but his parents’ minds would certainly be different.
That was why he had come to the hospital on his day off to make the request.
The doctor scratched his head.
He was a doctor.
Regardless of the method, as long as money was paid, it was better to cure the patient.
He did not ask how Kim Namhu had earned the money.
“In that case, we can think of a method like this.”
“What method?”
“Our hospital operates a welfare foundation. We can take measures to allow patients to receive treatment by making anonymous donations there and designating them.”
It was a good method.
With this method, they could attempt the expensive treatment without their parents finding out.
Kim Namhu stood up from his seat and bowed his head to the doctor.
“In that case, I don’t mind the money coming in however much. Thank you in advance.”
“No. I’m sorry that I couldn’t help with the money issue. As long as I can treat the patient, I can tell any small lie.”
Unlike in his previous life, Kim Namhu now held hope that he could provide his father with better treatment.
Even if it cost a lot of money and might not even work against the cancer, at the very least, his father would not pass away powerlessly as in his previous life.
This is the beginning. This is it.
If one new drug didn’t work, he had already decided to find even more expensive ones.
So he intended to do everything he could until his father was fully healed.
Life was like that — when there was a sunny day, there was also a rainy day.
Although The Queen was the highest-earning host bar in Gangbuk and had set sales records, the atmosphere could not stay good forever.
On the contrary, it was only natural to predict that after achieving the sales record, sales would be sluggish for a while.
Having worked as a host for a long time, Kim Namhu had expected that of course.
But most hosts seemed not to have anticipated it.
The host waiting room, which had been lively just a short while ago, now felt strangely empty and stagnant.
“Last month, did everyone get collectively conned?”
Jang Hyo-woon sighed while checking the sales on the whiteboard.
As an Ace, he had no problems.
Even in months when sales were poor, he kept pulling in steady sales, which was why he was called an Ace.
The real issue was the junior hosts following him.
Those with real skill could endure, but hosts with vague abilities had already hit rock bottom in sales.
Especially those with short careers.
Kim Namhu was among them.
“What happened to our maknae all of a sudden?”
“No. The boss and even the friend were eating. The sales 1st place among the new recruits was him. This is a big deal.”
Kim Namhu was not particularly worried, but an odd situation had arisen where others around him were far more concerned.
Sales will naturally follow if one has real skill.
Beyond Kim Namhu’s firm belief, Jang Hyo-woon was more worried about the new recruits who shone briefly before crashing and having their mental state shaken.
Because of that, everyone was giving advice one by one.
Hosts were not usually very smart people and were full of superstitions and superstitions.
Each had their own superstition they repeated whenever they hit a slump, and they passed it on to the juniors as great know-how.
“Put a salt packet in your pocket. It blocks bad energy, they say.”
“I heard from a shaman I trust that buying an amulet is the way to go. Money comes out, but it’s powerful.”
“Golden panties are best. You’ll have to be careful when going out for a secondary, though.”
It felt like every superstition from the East and West had appeared.
Kim Namhu had no choice but to nod his head while pretending to listen attentively to the seniors’ advice.
There are times when I’m jealous of successful new recruits, but in the end, they’re all good people.
Meeting such kind-hearted people in a host bar that attracted the dregs of society was not easy.
Even Oh Chang-won, the independent Ace who seemed to care about nothing but himself, was giving advice.
“If nothing else works, just put a pair of women’s panties in your pocket. Sometimes it has an effect, so go ahead.”
Kim Namhu was a little surprised that even Oh Chang-won would give such advice.
And Jang Hyo-woon, who had actually worked in this industry, gave practical encouragement rather than superstition.
“Everyone is teaching you good things. If you’re skilled, sales will naturally rise. There are times when things won’t work for a while. Just stay honest as usual. Got it?”
That was the correct answer.
It was ironic that Jang Hyo-woon himself, who spoke such wise words, kept a lucky item in his wallet.
That hyung always carries dried sunflower petals, they say?
Kim Namhu told everyone who was worrying about him.
“The regular customers seem to be busy right now for a moment. They’ll come by once they’re free.”
Kim Namhu’s regulars all had lives and private lives.
Sometimes both of them were busy at the same time.
Jang Sun-young had said she was helping with her madam duties briefly because she had urgently requested help from her old Ten-Pro.
Ha Ji-yeon was going on a family overseas trip for a month, so she wouldn’t be in Korea for a while.
Han Ki-ju was the owner and boss, so she was not a money-making regular customer anyway.
And Jang Hyo-woon patted Kim Namhu on the shoulder as if he thought Kim Namhu was boasting.
“If you have a hard time, tell me. I can buy you dinner anytime.”
“Yes.”
Kim Namhu calmly waited for the next opportunity.
It was nearly luck to meet a good regular as a host.
I’ve been making good regulars so far by using my memories from my previous life, but…
Fundamentally, a host makes a regular by choosing a client who matches well with them and enjoying time together to win their heart.
But it was not easy to find such regulars easily.
Jang Sun-young could be found because she knew about the liquor store she ran as a side gig after retiring from the Ten-Pro, and Ha Ji-yeon could easily build a relationship because she was a famous problem client at The Queen.
Finding other regulars was difficult.
But I can’t go to a background investigation center to do dirty work either.
Kim Namhu did not want to do such dirty things to obtain regulars.
It would be tarnishing his own pride.
Just then, a message came to Kim Namhu.
It was from Jang Sun-young.