The Unyielding Tide
Kim Namhu had spoken as if he felt guilty, yet the words themselves mattered little.
Choi Moon-ho had grasped, in a single heartbeat, that every last detail of what had happened pointed straight back to Kim Namhu.
And in that realization, he also understood he could do nothing.
He had no choice but to endure the protagonist’s nauseating pretense of goodness.
The manager hung up the phone and said, “Oh. A host who’s remarkably polite. Hyeri’s regular customer material, isn’t she?”
Hyeri smiled, winked at Kim Namhu, and looked exactly like a puppy begging for praise.
The manager laughed. “I’ll stop by the Queen for the staff after-party soon. I’ll check whether Hyeri mentioned me or not. When that day comes, serve her properly, yes?”
“Yes. I’ll give her my very best.”
“I didn’t know a host like you existed. And since I also acted badly this time, allow me to apologize. I’m sorry.”
“No need. Life is full of moments like this. And if you get the first button wrong, you can always fix it later, can’t you?”
Kim Namhu smiled like the world’s most virtuous man and bowed his head.
The manager’s office visit ended as simply as it began.
Kim Namhu hailed a taxi and went straight to the Queen.
The waiting room felt strangely empty.
The cause stood at the very center: Choi Moon-ho, face twisted as if he had just eaten something foul.
Kim Namhu greeted the seniors, including a nod to Choi Moon-ho.
Even if grudges still simmered between them, respect for seniors demanded he show courtesy.
“Let’s talk somewhere alone.”
Choi Moon-ho called him over and led the way into an empty private room.
“Whatever little drama you pulled off today, it won’t just blow over so easily.”
“And if it doesn’t blow over, should I start spreading rumors?”
Kim Namhu refused to be gentle.
Only Choi Moon-ho would suffer if word of today’s events leaked out.
From his perspective, burying the incident was far more profitable.
“Senior Moon-ho, I’m just a newbie giving advice, so don’t take it the wrong way. I have no intention of starting any rumors. Customers won’t suddenly flock because of it. You’d be better off staying quiet.”
Hosts ultimately earned the most when they brought in more clients and earned more money.
Everything else was nothing but petty pride.
Whether one understood that or not was the true measure of a host’s success.
Kim Namhu had no interest in wasting energy on places where a single sip of water would do no good.
“Let’s just let it go smoothly. Have lots of sex, earn lots of money. That’s what matters. Between men, what good does arguing do?”
If Choi Moon-ho possessed the ability to become the superior host, he would have apologized, closed the matter, and moved on.
But he clearly lacked that ability.
He chose silence instead, clutching what remained of his pride.
Still, Kim Namhu decided he would not trouble the man again and stepped out of the room first.
“Then I’ll be heading in. There’s plenty of work waiting for me today.”
Choi Moon-ho gave no response.
Kim Namhu stepped outside and felt, deep in his bones, that the day would come when he would clash with Choi Moon-ho again.
He had only wanted to work quietly as a host, yet opponents kept finding him.
‘That can be dealt with later.’
Kim Namhu let the thought go.
***
Jang Hyo-woon pulled him aside and asked in a low voice what had happened.
Kim Namhu knew the question came from concern, so he answered only the facts.
After hearing every word, Jang Hyo-woon understood there was nothing he needed to do for him.
The only thing he could say was, “Well done.”
It was a dirty trick to steal a fellow host’s clients, but it happened often enough.
To finish so cleanly was rare.
“Remarkable. And the opponent wasn’t even on the same level. Choi Moon-ho, of all people. A regular new hire would have said nothing and lost the client without a fight.”
“Luck was on my side.”
“I know that luck alone doesn’t solve everything. Well done. Protecting your own clients is important work.”
In the end, a host’s value came down to how many clients he attracted and how high-quality they were.
Keep stealing clients and the host business would eventually slip from his grasp.
“Choi Moon-ho won’t sit quietly. Right now the timing isn’t right, so he’ll play dead. But the moment an opportunity arises, he’ll try another stunt?”
“Then I’ll answer the same way.”
“Confidence suits you.”
Jang Hyo-woon understood Choi Moon-ho was no ordinary host.
A new hire could win once, but beating him repeatedly was another matter.
‘Still, if that day comes, I can help him.’
Jang Hyo-woon clapped Kim Namhu on the shoulder.
“Next time, don’t try to handle it alone. Tell your senior right away. This time you got lucky.”
“Yes.”
Jang Hyo-woon found Kim Namhu’s reaction utterly fresh.
The move was exactly the kind a veteran host would have made. Against an Ace host, a new hire could never have reacted with such calm.
No matter how smart or diligent, the instant he faced an Ace he would be crushed by pressure and fail to display his real skill.
Usually new hires did one of two things.
They either exploded in fury or folded under the Ace’s pressure.
Kim Namhu had done neither.
And the way he had shut Choi Moon-ho up without escalating the fight was flawless.
If Choi Moon-ho kept pushing, the argument would drag on and both of them would lose.
The entire waiting room would be swayed by something that had nothing to do with bar sales.
That was an outcome Lee Sang-soo and every host loyal to him would hate.
Yet Kim Namhu had convinced the prideful man that continuing to fight only brought him harm.
“Yes. Keep acting the same from now on. You know I trust you, right?”
“I do.”
A short reply, yet one that carried no resentment.
Once the conversation ended, Kim Namhu rose.
“Then I’ll head in, Hyo-woon senior. I have choices to make.”
“Sales are already picking up. You can take it easy.”
“When the tide comes in, you pull tight.”
“Haha. Yes. Go on.”
Jang Hyo-woon watched him disappear into the waiting room and scratched his head.
‘Is this the chance I’ve waited for?’
The Queen’s sales had been strong lately.
The two factions—the Moon-ho faction and his own—were competing fiercely, new hires were pouring everything into the mix, and the whole scene looked enviable to outsiders.
But inside, it was fragile.
The mere fact that Choi Moon-ho had reached down to touch a new hire under Jang Hyo-woon’s command was enough.
If Jang Hyo-woon had lacked loyalty to Lee Sang-soo, they would have collided right there and the factions would have torn each other apart.
‘Then I’d either go independent or Choi Moon-ho would. One or the other.’
And the halved Queen would naturally begin its slow decline.
To prevent that, Jang Hyo-woon had avoided open confrontation with Choi Moon-ho until now.
But the addition of this monstrous power—Kim Namhu—changed everything.
‘In the end, host wars are Ace wars.’
Even a dozen minor hosts couldn’t stand against a single Ace.
If Kim Namhu kept growing toward that level, Choi Moon-ho’s independence would no longer matter.
If the fight went smoothly, he could absorb the hosts under Moon-ho.
If Choi Moon-ho won the faction war and went independent, that was one thing.
If he lost and went independent, many hosts who wanted to stay at the Queen would follow.
‘Plenty of upside…’
Jang Hyo-woon smiled, thinking the long-awaited opportunity had finally arrived.
***
The CEO of Kim Hye-ji’s agency kept her promise.
She brought a large group of clients and held a party at the Queen.
She announced that she had come solely to see Kim Namhu, and the huge sales were recorded as his share.
Given that it was the CEO of a top agency, the revenue was enormous.
Kim Namhu had now become the highest earner for the month.
Choi Moon-ho had fought desperately, yet he could not catch up.
Jang Hyo-woon clapped and cheered from the waiting room. “The new Ace is here! In under a year he’s taken first place in sales—first time ever! Hahaha!”
His faction showered Kim Namhu with praise.
Even those who had once envied him now had no choice but to acknowledge his talent.
At this level they could see that he was simply born with a different vessel.
Among the hosts who had followed Choi Moon-ho, one of them dumped cold water.
It was Im Geun-woo.
“Don’t put too much pressure on him. There are always days when sales spike for everyone. Next month, if sales drop, how much will Namhu suffer?”
He meant it as encouragement for Namhu, but his real thought was that the one-month spike might simply be luck and he should stop hyping it.
Im Geun-woo looked rough and manly, yet he knew how to speak like a host.
The hosts under Choi Moon-ho muttered among themselves.
“Yes. That’s the truth. Some months just don’t have luck.”
“Ace hosts aren’t made by anyone. Half the year at least you have to top the charts to be respected.”
“A new hire got the lucky month early.”
The waiting room buzzed with nothing but talk of Kim Namhu.
And Kim Namhu himself, the center of it all, was checking the day’s news on his phone as if none of it concerned him at all.