Chapter 26 – Chapter 26

For a moment, I unknowingly flinched.
It’s more scary to go in knowing you’ll get scolded. It’s even more creepy to say ‘come in’ with that calm voice.
It didn’t mean that I wanted to run away.
My personality is that I have to do what I have to do, and those who have been beaten up know what it is.
It’s not like I’ve been through this once or twice.

‘If you’re going to get hit, let’s just get hit quickly.’

I didn’t like living while looking at the other person’s eyes while trying to avoid it here and there. It’s better to be cool and confident. When I went into the manager’s office, Ahn Ki-pyo, who looked even more threatening today, was standing by the window with his back turned.

“…”

Even though I knew that half of the time I set the mood like that on purpose, I was also human, so I couldn’t help but be half overwhelmed by that atmosphere.
In the first place, it was natural for the person who made the mistake to shrink in front of the person who scolded them.

‘If I talk about Miho, there’s a high chance that Ahn Gi-pyo will just let it go.’

I know that.
There was a child in the house who could have entered an elementary school, and for three days and nights, the child had a fever and was in pain as if he were about to die.
I couldn’t go to work at the host bar because I was nursing it.

… Even if he gets angry at me for not telling me about it beforehand, in the end, Ahn Gi-pyo is the one who will ask if the child is okay.

He is such a person.
As the manager of a host bar, he works incredibly hard, but that doesn’t mean he ignores or forcibly exploits the hosts who work here.
So, in a way, Ahn Gi-pyo was the manager of this store, and he had a tight grip on the hosts.

No matter what anyone says, he was our boss who was proud of his job and respected the hosts, which even I had to admit.

However, being the host, I couldn’t say why.
If the fact that I have a child is known, I will no longer be able to continue working as a host.
Of course, there were definitely women with peculiar tastes.
There was also a woman who got a little sense of immorality and pleasure by paying money for a host who already had a child. But that’s a tiny minority, and even fewer of them are rich enough to carry the host’s life alone.

I could tell just by changing my position.
Guys honestly like young, pretty, unmarried women, because they don’t want to have sex with unexpected married women or women who already have children.
Especially in this day and age, there was nothing good about getting caught up in gossip or annoying things.

“Looking at the look on your face, even if you die, you won’t tell me why you didn’t come.”
“Yes…”

All of my hamstrings go numb when I face Ki-pyo Ahn, who is quietly and intently looking at me.
At the same time, I also thought that it was a force created by age.
If it were me, I wouldn’t have created such an oppressive atmosphere just by looking at it quietly like that.

“Hey, Hyunwoo Kim.”
“Yes…”
“Is your host funny? Or am I funny Is it either or both?”
“… No.”
“Are you feeling ashamed or pathetic about becoming a man, flattering women, pouring alcohol, and even selling your body?”
“…”

I never thought of it that way, I might have answered confidently in the past.
But, now I’m not sure.

‘I decided to be a good parent, but is it okay for me to continue working as a host?’

Even in this situation, such a thought suddenly came to my mind.
It’s late now, but wouldn’t it be better to start studying or get a job that can be proudly revealed anywhere by getting a technical license?

Wouldn’t that be a good thing for Miho too…

However, if I do that, the living expenses are the living expenses right away, but personally, I couldn’t do everything I wanted to do for Miho, let alone the income I could be satisfied with.
All other parents have the same concerns, and they will take care of their children even if they save money somehow.
Maybe I’m not an adult yet.

I thought it would be better to work as a host and save money hard in the short term.
Whatever it is, if you are frequently nominated by guests like Seonwoo Yerang, the income from this job is beyond imagination.
If all the luxury goods you receive as gifts are resold at a reasonable price…

“Hey, Hyunwoo Kim!”

「Wheek, click!」

A glass ashtray flew right next to my face her and slammed against the door, shattering her.
At the same time, there was a sound of running away from somewhere.

“If you’re going to do it that way, get rid of this right now! Who put a knife to your throat to host? You came looking for a comeback yourself! If you’re going to do whatever you want because you have a good face and some popularity, why don’t you set up a host bar yourself!”
“Sorry.”

I bowed my head involuntarily.
Now I couldn’t bear to make excuses, even playfully.

“Hey you.”
“…”
“Kim Hyun-woo, you mean.”

Gi-pyo Ahn, who had approached me before I knew it, said with a more serious expression than ever before. It wasn’t just to relieve his anger at her, but as an adult, a senior, and a manager as well as our boss.

“If you’re going to do it, do it right.”
“…”
“Don’t act like a child forever, and if you’re going to do it, do it right. There are a lot of idiots in this industry who want to be nominated but can’t get nominated, so they just want to stand in the hall and do some cleaning.”
“…”
“How do you think those children will feel when they see a guy with good abilities doing his own thing with the luck of being nominated by a big player the day after he returned?”
“…”
“Do you know how many family members are in this store?”

I couldn’t answer any of the questions properly.
Come to think of it, even when I was working here, I didn’t even know the names of the guys who worked in this store.
They are all insignificant hosts who are only under me… They say they don’t earn much money and don’t have the ability to just stand there.
I used to look at them thinking that way.
Even though I was the host…

“Although there may be nasty, real scumbags. On the other hand, there are quite a few sincere and desperate guys on this path.”
“…”
“There are bastards who hold back tears even when they are called vulgar and dirty jobs, such as being a host.”
“Sorry…”
“A host is not a slave. They’re not complete brainless idiots. We are people too, and even a store like this is a job for those kids.”
“…”
“This is the last one. Forgive me one last time Next time, if you close the shop for no reason like this time, I will get you out of here, no matter how successful you are or how much money you make.”
“All right.”
“Get out. Today, the nomination will probably come in.”

Today, too?
Then, even while I was absent for a few days, nominations continued to come in.
But, who?
To be honest, there was no way anyone would have spread rumors about my return…

‘The manager must have been more angry.’

I bowed my head and left the manager’s office.
When I came out, another bodyguard and a man who was also acting as a cleaner stood at the door.

“My brother-in-law is coming through the back door.”
“Ah yes…”

… I don’t even know this man’s name, but judging from the familiar face of his, it was clear that he had been working here for a while.
Obviously, this person must have received a lot of unfair words or glances from me.

“…”

Even if it didn’t mean a lot to me, or it wasn’t a deliberate act.
It’s only now that I realized little by little that it could have been a big scar for the other person or could have been remembered for the rest of my life.

“Hey, I’m sorry before.”

I thought it was embarrassing for a man to apologize and lower his head.
Conversely, I also knew that it was more embarrassing to not admit my mistakes and criticize others. No, that was the path to becoming the most pathetic and embarrassing parent in the world.

I thought I could understand why my parents had come to the teachers’ office and bowed their heads to all the teachers, even though they were busy, for me who didn’t even know what to do.

“Oh, that’s fine. I already heard about it from my brother. Well, I heard that it was all sorted out in one fist.”
“…”
“Loyal hyung is our big bread. My brother said he had it all sorted out, what should we say? Instead, let’s buy a glass of soup with pork soup next time. That’s all we need, Kim Hyun-woo.”

I said with a small smile at the refreshing forgiveness.

“I have to buy it every time I see it. But I don’t know his name… What is your name by any chance?”

A man with a fist-sized nose scratched his nose at my question.

“It’s Chudongman, Chudongman.”
“I will try to remember.”
“Is that so?”

Choo Dong-man, who spoke casually, took the broom and went on his way again, then glanced back at me and said,

“A little bit, do you think you’ve become an adult?”
“… I hear that word often these days.”
“Take care.”

After a small nod, I slowly walked towards the back door of the store that Chu Dong-man had pointed out.

Ahn Ki-pyo, Park Eui-ri, Choo Dong-man…

It was clear that there were probably many other people working to live in this store. But I never had the names of any of them in my head.
All of a sudden, I realize how narrow my field of vision was and how much I lived by treating other people as non-existent.

“Are you going to smoke after hearing the manager say something?”
“It’s the same, it’s the same.”
“Can people change easily?”

Of course, there was no need to respect the puppies who ran to the bathroom from the day they returned and tried to take medicine.

“Where is the dog barking, it tickles my ears.”

As I muttered, I immediately opened the back door where Park Eui-ri was waiting and went in. I could hear the sound of swearing behind me, but I didn’t pay any attention to it.
It was literally just a dog barking.

“I heard you called?”
“Didn’t you bring a cigarette? There is no one else to get it. Making a lot of money.”

My lips trembled when I saw Park Ui-ri handing me a cigarette.
How delicious it would be if I momentarily put that cigarette in my mouth and lit it… The urge to do so came up like crazy.
But soon I shook my hand with an awkward smile.

“Okay, I don’t want to smoke anymore.”
“… What?”

Park Eui-ri was surprised.

“One of the hardest things in the world is quitting smoking, and I’m going to go for a few days.”
“It’s already been five days.”
“Huh, you look pretty serious?”
“Yeah, what…”

Because there was a reason for that.

“Hearing the manager say something resounded throughout the store.”
“Because I just listened.”
“There are things like that, and the other kids would have hated you more if the store manager hadn’t scolded you like that.”
“…”
“Instead, I scolded them out loud, so the other kids could just quietly move on. Otherwise, the story would have been much more complicated.”
“Roughly, I thought it would.”
“Really?”
“Really.”

I wasn’t the kind of person to throw an ashtray, but when I suddenly threw an ashtray, I had guessed to some extent.
Besides, I heard footsteps running outside.

I opened my mouth slightly away from Park Eui-ri, who was smoking a cigarette.

“You don’t have to do anything to comfort me. It’s not that I’m depressed because of this, it’s because I know I’ve done something wrong, so I just keep quiet. And, you can’t get kicked out now. No matter what I was told, I would have stayed somehow.”
“You are an adult.”

I said with a smile.

“Hyung, why don’t you take this opportunity to quit smoking with me?”

In response to my question, Pak Eui-ri put on an expression that said nothing.

“It’s hard to quit alone, so don’t try to include me. Well, I’ll take a look at your condition and consider it if you think it’s okay.”
“Okay, Cole.”

I waited until Park Eui-ri finished smoking, then grabbed the doorknob again and said as I left.

“Cigarettes, that guy has nothing good about it.”
“Cool, cool… The day will come when I will hear you say that.”

I thought so too.
I live and live and the day will come when I change to this extent.