The Fifth Day of Regression
Three days had passed.
Kim Namhu tried on the suit that had just been completed and found it to be of the highest quality the moment he slipped into it.
It was not merely the fabric. The stitching was flawless, each seam executed with exceptional precision. The fine details set this garment apart from anything produced in a factory, radiating an unmistakable aura of craftsmanship.
After the fitting, instead of offering his own opinion, Kim Namhu turned the question back on the tailor.
“How does it look?”
“Hmm…”
“Be honest. It’s fine.”
The tailor was a man who prided himself on his mastery of custom tailoring, claiming to be the best in all of South Korea. He understood that a suit was not something that looked good on just anyone.
Even if a young professional wore the most expensive suit imaginable, the result always carried an awkward, stiff atmosphere. It felt as though the wearer was dressed in borrowed clothes, the image of a student wearing his father’s suit.
At first the man himself would feel self-conscious, and anyone glancing at him would sense the unease immediately.
To truly suit a suit, one had to wear one every single day for years and spend years working in the right field. Only then would the garment blend seamlessly with the body, revealing that it truly belonged to that person.
‘Did he perhaps just return from the military? No…’
The tailor shop owner considered that this man must be a natural model.
Modeling was the most glamorous profession in the world. Talent was not required; any clothes worn by a model simply looked flawless.
‘Not at all. When a model is famous, he hides himself and lets only the clothes shine. This man…’
Right now, Kim Namhu was not being overshadowed by the suit at all. It sat on him as naturally as if it had been made for him personally.
Yet he was also showing off the full appeal of his own charisma. As the tailor who had created this garment, he had never experienced a moment of greater satisfaction.
The tailor felt that the clothes he had made had found their perfect owner.
It did not matter how handsome the face, how tall the stature, or how perfect the proportions. Many men simply failed to make clothes look right on them.
‘Charisma? Charisma?’
After weighing several possibilities, the tailor realized he could define Kim Namhu’s essence in one word.
Charisma.
Kim Namhu possessed an innate talent for making himself appear irresistibly attractive.
“No way. With this much talent, he could succeed at anything. Modeling, acting, celebrity—anything. I know some agencies. I can connect you with them right now.”
Kim Namhu let out a soft chuckle.
He himself had not been born with charisma. He had talent, but through countless years of hard work, he had only recently learned how to wear clothes properly.
‘It was around thirty. I even got called by someone asking if I wanted to try acting.’
But after spending his thirties as a host, his past was far too sullied.
Even if he succeeded in entertainment, one small scandal could destroy his life.
He had never done anything truly reprehensible as a host, yet the world was full of people who would spread rumors simply because someone was successful.
Merely revealing a host past would be fatal for any celebrity.
That was why, in his previous life, Kim Namhu had rejected the idea of becoming an entertainer.
‘Of course, even now.’
Kim Namhu smiled and replied.
“No. A cicada must eat pine needles. That path isn’t mine.”
“Oh, I see.”
The tailor looked genuinely disappointed.
A man with such talent working as a host was strange.
‘That’s not an unusual reaction.’
When forced to choose between being an entertainer or a host, most people would pick the former.
‘But compared to an entertainer who crumbles under scandals, a host who can simply sleep with women and walk away is actually far better sometimes.’
Young male entertainers had to apologize for crimes even if they didn’t commit them. Hosts could simply say they were hosts and move on.
‘It was tough, but it wasn’t a bad life.’
He had met many wonderful female clients.
He had given them pleasure and earned substantial money.
He had made love as often as anyone else.
As a man, this was the best life one could imagine.
‘But this is a second chance to enjoy that life even more sweetly. I can’t possibly let it slip away.’
The tailor gazed at Kim Namhu with open admiration.
“Truly an unusual customer. I wonder if that’s why I was drawn to you.”
If he had not been drawn to him, he would never have accepted a young customer who could only afford four million won.
Kim Namhu felt the tailor was treating him like a young nephew.
“Good. You look like a man who can enjoy anything he tries. You may keep the suit as a gift.”
“Eh?”
“Since you said you’ll continue to use our shop if you succeed, you’ll need suits. Spring and autumn, winter and summer—about one suit per season can be provided as a service.”
Even Kim Namhu could not simply accept such a valuable offer.
He had no idea of its worth. The suit was worth tens of millions of won.
So Kim Namhu calmly met the tailor’s eyes.
When the tailor was a woman, he could read thoughts from a glance. With a man, however, it was difficult.
That was not the host’s job.
“You have good luck.”
It was lottery-second-prize luck.
“Then I’ll definitely come here for my next suit.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
**
The first order was the suit and shoes.
He could have gotten a decent watch, but with the money he currently had, the only option was a mediocre one.
‘Better to skip the watch than wear something cheap.’
Next came hair and makeup.
With the money he had, he could easily cover this.
He remembered several shops that specialized in handling celebrities and high-society women.
The final step was the precious part: cutting the hair.
The precious part was the testicles.
‘How many men have retired after getting caught?’
Hosts dealt with women by nature.
And because they earned money by exploiting women’s affection, sex was easy.
Sometimes they would fail to use protection, or after drinking, they would accidentally impregnate a female client.
That created endless problems.
Whether the woman wanted to keep the child or abort it, both options led to trouble.
The best solution was perfect contraception, but no such method existed in this world.
So in his previous life, once Kim Namhu’s skill had risen enough, he had undergone vasectomy surgery.
He had securely blocked the passage of sperm.
Of course, he had wanted to have children someday, so he had frozen his sperm and stored it in three hospitals.
That way, even if one hospital failed and the stored sperm died, he would still be fine.
Kim Namhu immediately went to a urology clinic.
Freezing sperm was easy. The hospital would have no reason not to help, since it provided steady income.
The real problem was the vasectomy.
“Excuse me? Why won’t you do it?”
In front of Kim Namhu stood a middle-aged male doctor.
“Are you still a student? You’re young. You haven’t even married yet. Why get a vasectomy? Just use a condom.”
“The condom failure rate is ninety-eight percent. Out of one hundred times, two will fail. I can’t gamble my life on something like that.”
“If you use condoms properly, that won’t happen. No. Just live normally and have sex. Why insist on surgery?”
“I’m offering money. Double the price.”
Thanks to the suit purchase, Kim Namhu had some extra money.
“That’s not a money issue.”
And the doctor was clearly not a man who could be reasoned with.
The logic that he would use frozen sperm later for children simply did not work.
Kim Namhu looked at the cross on the wall of the clinic.
‘Ah…’
The man had been impossible to persuade from the start.
So Kim Namhu went to another urology clinic.
There he began acting from the very first moment.
He played the pitiful student to the utmost extreme.
“Doctor. I’m a drinker. I never use condoms and have sex recklessly. Recently I got a school friend pregnant. It’s twins! I can barely afford one child, let alone two boys. I’m still in university. If I keep working and another child comes, my life is over. I’m young, but… is there anything you can do?”
With this approach, the urology doctor nodded.
A young man who had to support his family was pitiful. And the family line would not be cut off with twin sons.
“Ah, in that case, there’s nothing I can do.”
The operation date was set immediately.
And since the vasectomy was not a major surgery, ten days later Kim Namhu had fully recovered.
After the operation, the urology clinic performed a sperm test. Not a single sperm was coming out.
Kim Namhu nodded.
‘Good. Now I need to prepare for the host interview.’