The New Host Is Too Good
The first box was filled with joy.
And it wasn't just Choi Moon-ho.
Aces leading other factions came to find Lee Sang-soo one after another.
The next one to arrive was Jang Hyo-woon.
If Choi Moon-ho's faction earned the most money, Jang Hyo-woon's faction had the most players.
That was thanks to Jang Hyo-woon's personality.
He was popular with women, but he was also popular with men.
He was a host who attracted people without discrimination between the two.
“What do you want now?”
“Ah, hyung. Is the time okay?”
“No clients today? The ones who usually don't even look for me.”
“Even if there's no time, you have to come looking for me, hyung.”
Lee Sang-soo tried to give him a light slap, but Jang Hyo-woon was not the type to back down at this level.
Instead, he sat right next to him with a playful smile.
Seeing that, Lee Sang-soo had no choice but to burst out laughing.
Jang Hyo-woon had the skill of making the atmosphere fun and lively.
It wasn't something he could learn with effort.
It was a talent you had to be born with.
Jang Hyo-woon was a high school junior of Lee Sang-soo, and from their school days he had been famous for seducing women.
If he kept going like this, some women would get pregnant, and he would become human trash, so Lee Sang-soo had no choice but to pull him into the host industry.
Fortunately, Jang Hyo-woon was a born host, and he had gone through good times and bad times with Lee Sang-soo.
“Here, hyung's gift.”
What Jang Hyo-woon pulled from his pocket was a liver protector.
For a host who had no choice but to drink alcohol every day and exhaust their liver, it was an essential item.
“What is this? Am I supposed to go to the field today too?”
“Sometimes hyung might feel like drinking. Then why drink outside paying money? You can drink for free with the female clients here.”
“That guy.”
Lee Sang-soo laughed again at Jang Hyo-woon's cheeky attitude.
Now that he was earning well in the host industry, his playful side remained the same.
This attitude didn't discriminate between seniors and juniors, and it was the reason he was successful as a host and why so many juniors followed him.
“Hurry up and say what you want and go work. Don't you know that the regulars will cause chaos without you?”
“Ah, then I'll say it right away. There was a friend I interviewed today, right? I don't remember the name though.”
“Yeah. Kim Namhu. You don't mean that guy?”
Lee Sang-soo couldn't help but be surprised again.
Although the reason was different from Choi Moon-ho, Jang Hyo-woon didn't really have ambition to take on subordinates either.
If Choi Moon-ho was the type who was most interested in his own success because he was good at what he did, Jang Hyo-woon was the type who would live however the water flowed, whether with him or without him.
“Tsk. How long has the maknae been stealing the ace from this host bar floor?”
“Ah, hyung too. Didn't you think of that when you brought me in? If there's a sharp kid underneath, it's convenient in various ways. And I think that kid has potential.”
Jang Hyo-woon spilled out what he wanted to say first, then thought about Lee Sang-soo's words for a moment.
He was quick on the uptake.
“Eh, wait. Who else came besides me?”
“Yeah. Choi Moon-ho.”
“That bastard?”
“He's your senior, but he's not your kid.”
Originally the ace of this box was Jang Hyo-woon.
But after Choi Moon-ho was recruited later, his sales were the highest.
The two couldn't possibly get along.
That's why multiple factions had formed within a single box.
“Ah. Choi Moon-ho is out. Hyung, you know his style, right? No matter what else, he only orders expensive alcohol for female clients. It's not something you should learn.”
“But he doesn't cross the line.”
“He doesn't cross the line, but it doesn't sound good to the clients?”
Jang Hyo-woon and Choi Moon-ho had completely different working styles.
Jang Hyo-woon was the type who had fun with the clients and made them come back often, while Choi Moon-ho was the type who used his charismatic charm to seduce clients and make them order expensive drinks.
They didn't understand each other's styles.
“The money is good. But if the clients overdo it, eventually the clients will stop coming. Since we're going to have to deal with it, it's better to spend moderately, have the most fun, and be happy.”
“You know this floor isn't run that cleanly either. There are clients who come on credit. There are clients who come after marriage. And we don't stop the clients who come. If the client is spending money, we don't stop that either.”
“So you're going to teach dirty things to a kid with potential? That's not right.”
Lee Sang-soo cut off Jang Hyo-woon's long lecture.
“Okay, okay. I'll think about it. You go work. Stop slacking off.”
“It's harder for me to talk to hyung. I'd rather drink with female clients.”
After Jang Hyo-woon left, Lee Sang-soo felt like smoking.
There were many female clients who hated the smell of cigarettes, so he had quit, and it had been a long time, but on days like this when he was stressed, cigarettes always came to mind.
“What should I do?”
Just taking on one maknae was the issue.
It wasn't something that should cause so much headache.
And strangely, the reason it was a worry was because both sides had a little bit of a point.
Even Lee Sang-soo saw that Kim Namhu had potential.
If he was raised well, he could even think about the birth of a new ace later.
A sharp needle always pierces the pocket, and the raw stone of a gem always looks different from an ordinary rock.
**
Kim Namhu spent time having dinner with his family.
Thanks to saving on the suit, there was quite a bit of money left over.
And once he started working as a host, the lifestyle would switch between day and night, and eating with the family would become difficult.
“If I had my way, I'd take you to a fancy restaurant and treat you to dinner.”
But then there would be a lot of questions.
Kim Namhu didn't want to rub salt in the wound and didn't want to keep secret that he had earned money by exploiting female professors or that he was going to work as a host in the future.
So he bought the highest grade Australian beef from the meat shop and wrapped it as a gift set.
And he went to the place where his mother ran both the shop and the house.
It was still morning, so his mother was resting.
After doing business late into the night, morning was the only time she could rest.
“Mom. The part-time job bonus came out today, so I bought some meat.”
“Sigh. What is this? Beef? This expensive.”
Kim Namhu felt that his choice was right.
If he had tried to eat meat like this at another store, his mother would definitely have looked at the price tag and grumbled.
“No. This is Australian beef, so it's not that expensive. I bought it because it's cheaper than pork.”
“Really?”
Among Australian beef, the cheapest sirloin could be bought for 2,000 won per 100 grams.
That was about the price of regular pork, so it wasn't a complete lie.
And sirloin was the part used as sirloin in Korea and was a delicious cut that sold well at meat shops.
“Let's grill it first. Do we have side vegetables at home?”
The restaurant also had various things ready, and a nice table setting was quickly prepared.
Kim Namhu put three pieces of sirloin on the grill pan.
“Today I bought a lot, so no sharing with the son. Each one gets one piece.”
Kim Namhu hated it most when his mother, whenever he ate meat, always piled it on top of his siblings' rice without eating herself.
So he also stopped his mother from grilling the meat.
“Mom, I can grill meat well now. You just eat it quietly.”
His younger brother, thinking he could eat a lot of beef for the first time in a long time, was just smiling brightly.
Kim Namhu quickly grilled the meat, cut it, and distributed it to each person's plate.
When his mother secretly picked up a piece of meat and put it on her rice without noticing, he immediately picked up his own meat and put it on her rice.
“That's forbidden. Eat it first.”
His mother ate the meat with a smile for the first time in a long time.
She had asked for the most expensive sirloin from the meat shop.
It couldn't have been any better.
It was literally a taste that melted in your mouth.
His younger brother opened his eyes wide.
“Hyung. Is this Australian beef? Why is it so delicious?”
“Australian beef is usually delicious. The nearby meat shop cuts the meat really well. Maybe it tastes even better.”
“Wow. I've never eaten anything this delicious!”
His mother was the same.
Seeing her son keep putting meat on her rice, she had no choice but to eat it deliciously.
“Aren't you eating?”
“I'm grilling it all and eating. Look, there's still some left.”
Kim Namhu had bought plenty of meat, and there was still a lot left that wasn't grilled yet.
His younger brother quickly ate the meat and seemed to be full alone.
Kim Namhu told his younger brother.
“You know how to make cold noodles, right?”
“Of course. I helped out at the shop more than hyung did.”
“Then make three cold noodles with plenty of water.”
His younger brother, in a good mood from the beef, immediately stood up from his seat.
When his brother brought the cold noodles, Kim Namhu let him take over the grilling role too.
The three family members had a comfortable meal after a long time.
Kim Namhu treated his family to delicious beef.
Just that was enough to make him happy.