HPK 1

[Starting today, you’ll be working at the Annex.]

After checking the text, Woo-seung shoved his phone into his bomber jacket pocket. He wasn’t notified days in advance, but on the very same day he was supposed to start. It was upsetting, but there was no one he could blame.

It was, to a certain extent, something he’d seen coming.

‘What’s wrong with her! Is she crazy?!’

The pain of hair being ripped from his scalp.

‘Hey, hey! Woo-seung! What are you doing?!’

The stickiness of whiskey streaming down the back of his hand.

Woo-seung swept a palm over the cheek that had been slapped back then, taking a deep breath of the still-dry air. The air here, which would soon be filled with the damp, cloying smell of the night.

He forced his reluctant feet forward and turned the corner. The setting sun cast unusually dark shadows across the asphalt. Soon, a familiar scene greeted him.

Opaque glass covering the entire facade, silver stems running down the walls. At a glance, it was hard to guess its purpose. It looked like a large select shop or an office building.

Had a customer already arrived? A few SUVs were parked one space apart. Even so, four parking spots remained empty.

Even on this street, which was crowded with similar establishments, ‘Girin’ was the largest. What set it apart from other host bars was that it was divided into a Main Hall and an Annex. Though they served different clientele, they were essentially in the same building.

As is the case with any job dealing with people, your value here decreased with age. At twenty-six, Woo-seung was in a position where being sent to the Annex wouldn’t have been strange at any moment. He had managed to hold on until now thanks to his popularity with younger female customers, but… that was over now.

‘This isn’t the first or second time I’ve had to take shit because you’re skipping drinks, you bastard. What did the other guys do to deserve this?’

The voice of the madam, who had scolded him as if he were a nuisance, echoed in his mind again. Despite his words, he had always stepped in to mediate whenever Woo-seung was involved in a commotion. However, when ‘that incident’ happened, even he couldn’t protect Woo-seung.

The memory of that time was both faint and distinct. The vivid sensations felt alien compared to the fragmented, afterimage-like scenes. Woo-seung clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to drive away the sticky feeling that clung to his palms.

“Achoo!”

As late spring set in, the daily temperature range had widened. The chill seeping through the gaps in his clothes was sharp. He had to be careful not to catch a cold at times like this. If he got sick and couldn’t come to work, the loss would be entirely his own. Woo-seung pulled his jacket tighter.

Just as he took a step, he felt a vibration rumble through the ground. It was followed by the sound of tires crushing pebbles. A large sedan was entering the parking lot. Its headlights brightly illuminated the dim space. Woo-seung naturally stepped aside.

The man who got out of the driver’s seat walked around the hood to the back seat. The door opened, and a man in a comfortable sweatsuit appeared. He stretched and then took a sip from the can of Coke in his hand.

“……”

The Annex manager?

That was his first thought. They were dressed similarly. Thom Browne and Prada. The managers, who loved to show off, were always decked out in luxury brands from head to toe. They didn’t even buy their underwear carelessly. Of course, the hosts had a similar desire to show off.

However, he had never seen or heard of a manager getting out of the back seat of a Rolls-Royce. Thinking he might be a customer, Woo-seung bowed his head and walked slowly. Getting into his line of sight would do him no good.

On his way, he picked up a few cigarette butts that had been dropped. As he turned toward the automatic doors, he saw the man had approached him. Woo-seung took a step back, gesturing meekly for him to go first.

Clang!

It happened then. A crushed can rolled to his feet.

The can, which stopped a few steps away, spewed out its contents.

coca-cola zero sugar. Woo-seung stared blankly at the words wrapped around the can before lifting his head.

The man was staring right at him, one hand tucked into the pocket of his sweatpants.

“What.”

His elegantly shaped left eyebrow arched. It was his way of asking, What are you looking at?

“……”

Woo-seung bit his lower lip and obediently lowered his head. The man gave off an imposing impression, and his body instinctively tensed.

Besides, there were two of them. Behind the man who had thrown the can stood another man in a suit, about the same height. It was the person who had walked around the hood and opened the back door.

Head bowed, he waited for them to go inside. I’ll pick up the can after that, he thought, but just then, the man kicked the can.

With a clang, the can rolled to a stop right in front of Woo-seung. It was a clear provocation. He must be one of the Annex managers who had heard about the trouble Woo-seung caused in the Main Hall.

“Not gonna pick it up?”

“…Pardon?”

The man nonchalantly gestured toward the can with his chin.

“I was helping you out so you could pick it up faster.”

What a truly shameless thing to say. Woo-seung’s gaze followed the man’s chin and dropped to the floor.

A black stain marked the path the can had rolled. A sigh rose to the back of his throat, but he suppressed it out of habit. He then picked up the can.

“Are you the cleaning guy?” the man asked.

“…No.”

“Then why are you cleaning?”

What was the point of asking that after throwing trash at him as if telling him to clean it up?

“It’s just… there was trash on the ground.”

Woo-seung carefully shook the can to gauge how much liquid was left inside. If there was a lot, he planned to stop by the bathroom and pour it down the sink before heading to the waiting room.

The man watched Woo-seung as if he were a curiosity.

“Right. Clean it up well.”

But it was only for a moment. He quickly lost interest and turned away. As his massive, wall-like body turned, the other man, who had been standing behind him like a stone statue, pressed the PUSH button next to the glass door.

“Ah.”

Before going in, the man pointed behind him as if he’d forgotten something. His fingertip was aimed at the very parking spot the Rolls-Royce had just pulled into.

“There’s trash over there, too.”

When Woo-seung looked at him in disbelief, the man grinned.

“Well then, have fun.”

As the glass door opened, the familiar scent of air freshener wafted out. The man disappeared through it.

What a strange person. He thought, watching the man’s broad back recede. About a minute after the man had gone inside, Woo-seung also started walking.

But only after, of course, picking up the trash next to the Rolls-Royce, just as the man had said.

The Annex was in the basement.

Woo-seung, who had always gone upstairs, stepped onto the staircase leading down for the first time. The waiting room looked no different from the one in the Main Hall. Except for the seating, the room was filled with things. Clutches, shoes, and discarded coats were strewn about chaotically. Not a single item wasn’t a luxury brand.

The scent of air freshener in the hallway and the scene in the waiting room were not so different from the Main Hall, but perhaps because it was in the basement, the air felt stuffy.

Woo-seung sat in a corner of the waiting room, trying to adapt to the new environment. A few people looked his way with curiosity, but no one approached him. Woo-seung blankly watched a group of men huddled on the sofa, gambling.

“Hyung. Want one?”

A man who had been sitting next to him eating a hot bar suddenly held out his hand. In it was a new, unopened hot bar. When Woo-seung hesitated, he spoke to him in a friendly tone.

“It was a two-for-one. Go ahead.”

“It’s okay. I just brushed my teeth.”

“Oh, really? Chan-il, you want it?”

Chan-il, who was lying on the opposite sofa scrolling through his phone, replied indifferently, “Just leave it there. I’ll eat it after I see a room.” The man tossed the hot bar toward him as if to say, suit yourself.

“So how old are you? You are older than me, right?” the man asked, munching on his hot bar. Despite his neatly swept-back hair and semi-formal suit, he had a boyish air about him.

“Twenty-six.”

“You are older. Pretty much everyone here is. But you look young, so I wasn’t sure.”

Tossing the empty hot bar stick onto the table, the man smiled.

“I’m Hyo-jun. Park Hyo-jun. I go by Jae-woo in the rooms… but whatever, you can just call me Hyo-jun.”

“I’m Woo-seung. Yoon Woo-seung.”

“Oh, Woo-seung? Like victory? Or win?”

When he smiled and nodded, Hyo-jun asked again, “Is that your real name?” Without missing a beat, he nodded again.

“You look even gentler when you smile, hyung.”

Hyo-jun let the corners of his eyes droop and spouted some nonsense about how he shouldn’t smile in the rooms. Woo-seung gave a few half-hearted replies and kept smiling. It was awkward, but having someone to talk to was better than just sitting there like a wallflower.

“Time for a lineup.”

A man in a crisp shirt opened the waiting room door and came in.

“It’s a re-pick, so only guys who didn’t go in before should come.”

It was Kim Jeong-oh, one of the Annex managers. Commonly called Manager Kim, his eyes scanned the waiting room before he pointed at a few people, saying, “You, and you.”

“Jae-woo, did you go in earlier?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then you go too, and the one next to you… What’s your name?”

The man was pointing at Woo-seung. Hyo-jun answered for him first.

“Ah, this hyung is new today.”

“I asked for his name.”

Woo-seung squeezed his knees and replied, “Yoon Woo-seung.” With a nod telling him to go too, the man checked his wristwatch.

“Get up, will you? You’re all so damn slow.”

He urged the hosts who were slowly getting up with an annoyed voice.

The hosts poured out of the waiting room and walked down the corridor. The corridor, too, was much the same as the one in the Main Hall. Doors lined the walls, and a large potted plant sat in the corner.

Upon reaching the door marked with the number ‘7,’ Kim Jeong-oh stopped the hosts. They all stood against the wall, waiting for the door to open.

“That’s weird. It’s Room 7, so why is Manager Kim handling the lineup…”

Hearing Hyo-jun mutter, Woo-seung straightened his clothes. His heart was pounding, beating unusually fast. It always did before he went into a room, but today was particularly bad. It was probably because of the change in environment.

“The lineup is here.”

After knocking, Kim Jeong-oh entered first. A U-shaped fabric sofa in a light gray tone was arranged with a black rectangular table in the center. The lighting wasn’t too dim, making it feel less like an adult entertainment establishment. It was definitely brighter than the other rooms.

Woo-seung, who entered the room fifth, soon found his eyes widening.

A man was sitting in the seat of honor. The man in the comfortable sweatsuit was not a stranger.

“……”

He took a deep drag from his cigarette and exhaled. Smoke dispersed into the air as the man’s eyes slowly moved from left to right.

A moment later, he stubbed out the cigarette held between his fingers in an ashtray. A hissing sound was followed by the unpleasant smell of burnt smoke.

“Jeong-oh.”

“Yes, President.”

At the man’s call, Kim Jeong-oh answered respectfully, his hands clasped in front of him.

“Are you that short-staffed?”

Uncrossing his legs, he pressed his temples. Before Kim Jeong-oh could answer, the man’s lips parted again.

“You’re letting the cleaning guy join the lineup?”

His voice sounded somewhere between playful and fierce.