A Lesson in Humility
Choi Moon-ho glared at Kim Namhu with a sharp, cold intensity.
“You should be saying thank you to me in a situation like this, right? Like buying me a bowl of beef.”
Kim Namhu knew exactly what kind of situation this was, and Choi Moon-ho understood the current circumstances perfectly as well.
He was not the time to act with open arrogance, but he was making full use of the complicated situation to maintain his proud stance.
*He’s pulling every string so no one hears his excuse later.*
In truth, this could have been resolved in a hundred different ways without any problem at all.
If one of his close hosts had gotten into a messy situation and apologized, Kim Namhu would have let it slide and even said thank you for covering his back.
But Choi Moon-ho was never the type of man who would do that.
His pride was simply too strong to apologize to a fresh-faced newcomer.
“I’ll give you a piece of advice as your senior. Stop acting cocky just because you’re on a hot streak right now. Humility is the only way this industry lasts. If there’s a senior here who helps you, and you get your ass handed to you by stealing a client, you better look everyone in the eye and fight back, because when real trouble comes, there won’t be a single soul left to help you.”
The words were correct.
Yet the person delivering them was completely wrong.
It would have been one thing if Lee Sang-soo or Jang Hyo-woon had spoken them. But Choi Moon-ho was a man worlds apart from that.
He clearly intended to crush Kim Namhu with words alone.
*He really is that kind of person.*
Meaning that in his past life he had also stabbed Lee Sang-soo and Jang Hyo-woon in the back and walked away to start his own path.
Lee Sang-soo had always treated his hosts well, and betraying such a kind man was never easy.
You needed a certain kind of character to pull it off.
Right now Choi Moon-ho was proving he was exactly that kind of person.
It was no joke to bully a newcomer with nothing more than your seniority as a shield.
*It’s already too late. Even if I try to claim that client now, I’ll just look stupid.*
No matter how strong Kim Namhu was, he was still a fresh-faced newcomer whose sales had just started to climb.
Fighting a veteran like Choi Moon-ho who had built his reputation in The Queen for years and who knew the political games inside out would have been a losing battle.
Even if Jang Hyo-woon tried to help, the results would have been too small to matter.
But Kim Namhu had no intention of stepping back.
*In my past life I would have swallowed the dirt and kept earning money no matter how dirty it was.*
Things were different now.
Even if he moved to another bar, the high-spending regulars who followed him would come along, and the owner would definitely back him.
He was more than ready to fight.
So Kim Namhu confronted him with perfect politeness.
“My client. I’ll let the one-time treat pass. But I hope this never happens again.”
One incident could be overlooked.
But if it happened again, he would not stay quiet.
That was what had wounded Choi Moon-ho’s pride.
“You’ve gone insane?”
“No.”
“Then what the hell are you trying to do?”
“If something like this happens, the least you could do is contact me first. That’s just common sense.”
A jimmyung client had come to him, and if Kim Namhu had not been available, the basic courtesy would have been to call ahead.
“It’s completely backwards. If you were my senior, that would be the right thing to say. But you’re forcing me to report every little thing to you like a rookie?”
This was an old habit.
A rotten habit that existed everywhere in Korea, dictated by the power imbalance between seniors and juniors.
Hosts were supposed to treat each other the same way in the same situation, but somehow the rule only applied to juniors, never to seniors.
Kim Namhu almost laughed out loud at the words.
Even when he had been a nobody, he would have found such behavior unfair. Yet here was Choi Moon-ho, enjoying Ace-level treatment as if it were his birthright.
It was laughable how he treated Kim Namhu like he could be stepped on with absolute ease.
His will to grind Kim Namhu into the dirt was clear, and the more he saw it, the more irritated he became.
*If you show even a little weakness once, everyone will keep seeing it.*
Kim Namhu had no intention of living that way.
He was the most successful host in Korea.
There was no way a mere Ace from Gangbuk could bring him down.
*He misjudged me completely.*
Choi Moon-ho read the absolute lack of fear in Kim Namhu’s expression.
The mask of indifference was cracking.
He was about to unleash his rage.
But before Choi Moon-ho could truly begin, Kim Namhu spoke with perfect timing.
“These days the clients who come looking for me are mostly introduced by existing regulars. That’s why I get a lot of jimmyungs from clients who don’t even know my name. Did you know that?”
“What?”
Choi Moon-ho’s face froze.
He had always believed he had completely claimed every woman who came to him.
He had shown off his charm enough, and the nights had always been fun.
The women had fallen head over heels for him.
But if that particular woman had been introduced by one of Kim Namhu’s regulars and had a close relationship with her, the situation could flip instantly.
Women who came to the host bar knew it was just entertainment.
There were the crazy ones who gave everything to a host and then broke down completely, but the majority were normal clients whose networks mattered far more than their feelings for any single host.
“Does that worry you?”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
No matter how successful Choi Moon-ho was at The Queen, he would still be several steps behind Kim Namhu, who had been the most successful host in all of Korea.
Choi Moon-ho’s surprise was obvious in his tone.
And that only made his wounded pride bleed deeper.
Choi Moon-ho realized he was the one who was being cornered.
He simply refused to admit it.
Choi Moon-ho stood up first and said, “Fine. It was your client’s introduction, right? But in the end, everything comes down to the client’s decision. You know that much, don’t you?”
What Choi Moon-ho would have believed was that he had completely seduced the woman with his charm that night.
His memory was hazy.
When he remembered that evening, he remembered making the woman happy, and she had been thoroughly hooked on him.
But whether she had chosen him over her network was something only she could know.
Choi Moon-ho’s pride had twisted that memory beyond recognition.
He had convinced himself the woman would have picked him over anyone else.
Most people lived in self-deception, and Choi Moon-ho was no different.
“It doesn’t matter who introduced her. What matters is who the client chooses. When she comes back, who do you think she’ll look for?”
“Obviously me.”
Kim Namhu answered calmly.
“You idiot. I gave her one-on-one service. I’m an Ace at The Queen. Ordinary women never resist me. Got it?”
Choi Moon-ho’s words dragged on.
This was no longer about scolding Kim Namhu.
It was words meant to convince himself.
And they worked.
He felt genuine certainty.
Kim Namhu nodded and said, “Senior Moon-ho, it’s fine to do your job with pride, but the one who should have prevented this was you, not me. Right?”
“What?”
Choi Moon-ho could not believe a brand-new host was charging at him head-on like this.
Even a junior host would never have dared speak to him that way.
He was an Ace respected by the Main.
“Want to go all the way? I did give you a chance, didn’t I?”
“Go ahead and try. Whoever loses more will be the one to regret it. An Ace’s pride can be wrinkled and still leave scars, but a newcomer with only a year of experience has no pride left to be wrinkled in the first place.”
A newcomer was supposed to learn on the job, taking hits from clients and getting helped by seniors. That was the usual path.
Such hosts never worried about pride.
They had no time for it.
*He actually…?!*
Choi Moon-ho finally understood he had made a mistake.
He had assumed Kim Namhu, like every other junior, would naturally submit.
But looking at the result, this was a bet he was losing badly.
Even if Choi Moon-ho won, it would be the expected outcome.
But if Kim Namhu somehow came out on top, the damage would be enormous.
A new host beating an Ace was a reputation that could never be easily earned.
*But I can’t back down now.*
That would be a direct insult to his pride.
“Fine. Go ahead and try.”
“I was already bored waiting in the waiting room. This will be fun. Tell Cha Ji-hoon, and in thirty minutes every host in The Queen will know what happened?”
It was true.
Hosts always became excessively interested in these situations.
And if it was Cha Ji-hoon spreading the word, even ten minutes would be enough to reach everyone.
“Coffee was very well received.”
Kim Namhu finished his coffee and stood up.
In his hand was his phone.
The first thing he needed to do was simple.
Find out exactly which client had introduced him.
*You can’t treat your regulars or your relationships with them lightly.*
Kim Namhu had always been careful when choosing a single client, and he had always poured his heart into every relationship he built.
It went far beyond the usual host-client dynamic.