Chapter 1453: Return to Work (3) |
Kang Jin-Ho asked weirdly, “…? What’s all this?”
The hotelier politely replied, “These are some of the finest dishes our hotel offers, sir.”
“Is that right? But we never ordered room service, though?”
“Everything has already been paid for, sir. Please enjoy them at your leisure.”
The dumbfounded Kang Jin-Ho stared slack-jawed at the room service attendants bringing various dishes into his room. He didn’t have to think too hard about who would do something like this.
How noisy…
The attendants smartly set the table up and prepared several bottles of wine.
“Wowsers, now that’s a feast, alright,” said Lee Hyeon-Su, his face full of smiles at this sight. “Doesn’t it feel great to be treated like VIPs, sir? Haha! To think America of all places would treat me like a prince one day! Yup, I made the right call to leave the Yeongnam Group.”
Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. Since when did you leave the Yeongnam Group? Didn’t you join the Assembly because Yeongnam got destroyed?
“This doesn’t feel right, though?” Kang Jin-Ho said.
“Hahaha~! Come on, sir. A VIP treatment like this shouldn’t even bother someone as rich as you, sir! The price tag for this feast probably cost peanuts, anyway.”
The hotelier addressed Lee Hyeon-Su. “May I pour you some wine?”
“Yes. Thank you very much~!”
Lee Hyeon-Su relaxedly reclined against the sofa.
An attendant took out a bottle of wine from an antique-looking wooden box before gently wrapping in a white cloth. The hotelier smartly presented the bottle’s label to Lee Hyeon-Su.
“This is a bottle of Romanée-Conti, 1994 vintage. I shall prepare you a flute immediately.”
“Aha, Romanée-Conti, eh? Very good. I… What did you say?! Wait, it’s a real thing?! Uwaaaaaah! What the f*ck! Don’t open it! Don’t f*cking open that bottle! Put it down right now, you numbnuts!”
Lee Hyeon-Su jumped out of the sofa and practically snatched the bottle off the hotelier’s hand.
Kang Jin-Ho deeply furrowed his brow. “What’s with the overreaction?”
“T-t-thirty!”
“Huh?”
“It, it’s a genuine Romanée-Conti, sir! One bottle costs at least thirty million won! Thirty million!”[1]
“Hiiiiieeeek?!”
Even the one and only Kang Jin-Ho jumped up in fright at that price tag. What kind of dogsh*t nonsense was this? A bottle of wine costing how much? Thirty million won?!
The somewhat panicky attendants approached Lee Hyeon-Su. “S-sir, let us pour you the…”
“Don’t come here! I ain’t drinking this, you hear me! You open this bottle over my dead body! F*ck me, how do you expect me to piss away a thirty million won bottle of wine?! No! I, Imma sell this online or something! Don’t you dare!”
“…”
The hotelier and the attendants all looked at Kang Jin-Ho in flabbergast and panic. However, the only thing the pale-faced Kang Jin-Ho could do was powerlessly wave his hand.
“We are… not opening that bottle.”
“M-mm… Understood, sir. Very well.”
Being able to humor the demands of the hotels’ top guests was the most important virtue of any self-respecting hotelier, wasn’t it?
“Then, allow us to prepare sparkling wine instead. This is a bottle of Armand de Brignac Blanc de Blancs.”
Kang Jin-Ho, still frightened by the astronomical price of the previous bottle, hurriedly looked at Lee Hyeon-Su. “H-how much is this one?”
“I think it’s around two million won, sir.”[2]
“Oh…”
It was still inconceivable for a bottle of booze to cost two million won, but it still sounded like a steal when compared to something that cost thirty million.
Besides, they were drinking for free, so that much should be more or less fine, no?
While watching the attendant expertly pour the sparkling wine into a flute, Kang Jin-Ho subconsciously began mumbling, “There goes a hundred thousand won, another hundred thousand, and another hundred…”
In other words, the liquor contained in that flute—about the same quantity as a pool of piss left behind by a puppy!—cost three hundred thousand won!
Yup, money sure can be terrifying.
While Kang Jin-Ho was helplessly shaking his head, Lee Hyeon-Su was still clinging to the bottle of wine, his whole body shivering away.
“1994 vintage? Then, h-how much would this be? Goddamn sons of b*tches! What are they scheming?! Gifting us such an expensive bottle and all!”
Once upon a time, Lee Hyeon-Su was naïve enough to wonder why some people used expensive booze as gifts for the top businessmen or those wielding political power as a way to ask for a “small favor.” Why would such important people humor the requests because of some booze? He couldn’t understand it back then.
But now that he was physically holding a bottle of wine costing thirty million won, he could understand why. How could a sane person not willing to humor those requests after drinking liquor this preposterously expensive?!
The hotelier smartly bowed. “Then, please enjoy our dishes. If you need anything else, perhaps something a little extra, our attendants will be on standby outside the door. Feel free to call them anytime.”
Kang Jin-Ho faltered slightly. “H-hang on? There’s no need to be on sta…”
“Have a pleasant day, sirs.”
The hotelier and the attendants exited the suite while bowing politely.
Kang Jin-Ho scanned the feast waiting for him on the table and slowly shook his head. “Geez. Do I have to…?”
“Huff, huff, huff!”
Kang Jin-Ho was interrupted by Lee Hyeon-Su nervously panting away. When he looked to see what was up, Lee Hyeon-Su was incredibly cautiously placing the bottle back inside the wooden box. Despite his precariously trembling hands, Lee Hyeon-Su still successfully closed the box shut!
“Holy sh*t! I thought I might have a nervous breakdown just now, sir!”
“…”
Humans could be such strange creatures.
If someone asked Kang Jin-Ho or Lee Hyeon-Su for their help while offering the compensation of thirty million won, their acquaintances would start guffawing first in derision even before the two men could.
Never mind Kang Jin-Ho, even Lee Hyeon-Su boasted tremendous wealth. As a matter of fact, he was rich enough to be among the top 0.1% in his age group.
Even then, receiving a bottle of wine costing thirty million won still felt completely different.
Kang Jin-Ho muttered quietly. “Is this why some bribes are not money, but gifts?”
He used to wonder why some people would forgo the convenience of money and relied on gifts instead when bribing someone, but maybe it was because they were aiming for this feeling?
Kang Jin-Ho glanced at the doorway. “And what are those?”
“I’m not sure, sir. Most likely expensive gifts,” said Lee Hyeon-Su.
They were too occupied to pay attention until now, but there were gift-wrapped boxes piled up by the suite’s doorway. The sheer number of them, plus their sizes, meant the two men didn’t even dare approach those boxes.
“Huh…” Kang Jin-Ho was about to say something, only to groan loudly. “They didn’t have to do this, though.”
Lee Hyeon-Su shook his head. “I guess this is how Americans operate, sir. Although it feels a bit over the top, don’t you think it kinda feels nice to be appreciated, too?”
“Mm…”
Lee Hyeon-Su was right. It didn’t feel so bad.
“Besides, sir. Let’s be brutally honest here. When did we ever get treated right while visiting other countries? We should be treated like VVIPs wherever we go, but all we got was people swinging their blades at our throats instead.”
…And Lee Hyeon-Su was also right about that.
Kang Jin-Ho was forced to comb through his memories just then and swiftly realized that… Ever since his return to the modern era, all of his overseas trips involved deaths and destruction.
He chopped, sliced, and hacked people to death in Britain. And he did the same in Japan. What happened in China didn’t even need to be brought up here!
When he thought about it some more, didn’t his first-ever visit to Japan involve him cutting someone’s head off before coming back home right away?
Apparently, millions of Koreans visited Japan every year. Even then, none of those tourists would’ve had an itinerary quite like Kang Jin-Ho’s!
Lee Hyeon-Su nodded weightily. “Yes, this should be normal, sir. Something we should’ve received all along. It’s about time we get more used to it.”
Could they, though? Get used to this? When a bottle of wine cost thirty million? Kang Jin-Ho was skeptical about him getting used to this kind of thing anytime soon.
“Nope, I’m still not sure about this.”
“I get it, sir. Whatever it is, things on the extreme ends of the scale usually defy human comprehension, after all.”
“Mm…”
“By the way, sir? I don’t mind other people saying that, but not you. You shouldn’t even say such a thing.”
Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. What was Lee Hyeon-Su even talking about here?
“Compared to ordinary people trying to comprehend this kind of stuff, martial artists should find comprehending your martial prowess a lot harder, sir. If you want to talk about things at the extreme end of the scale, you are the most extreme-ist of them all.”
“…”
Kang Jin-Ho licked his lips, unable to find something to refute that claim with.
Lee Hyeon-Su glanced at the dishes. “Let’s dig in, sir. I can already tell we’re looking at some seriously expensive food here. Besides, they wouldn’t be crazy enough to serve us cheap burgers and fries to accompany a thirty-million-won bottle of wine, anyway.”
“Speaking of which, I wouldn’t mind a pot of kimchi stew right about now,” said Kang Jin-Ho.
“…Just think of these foods as elixirs from the heavens coated in gold dust, sir. We have a duty to eat this.”
Lee Hyeon-Su’s eyes were ablaze with the fiery determination of a man ready to finish every dish here. Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t help but chuckle softly at that. Unfortunately for Lee Hyeon-Su, however…
It seemed the heavens had other ideas. Enjoying a peaceful meal was asking for a bit too much this time.
Knock, knock!
Someone knocked on the door. The two men’s head reflexively turned toward the doorway, before they frowned slightly.
“Come in,” said Lee Hyeon-Su.
Creak…
The door smoothly glided open, and a familiar face stepped inside while bowing slightly. It was Colonel William Reese. However, he wasn’t alone. Someone new followed him inside.
“Good to see you again,” said Reese, then pointed to the person behind him. “This is…”
“Let me handle the introduction, Reese.”
The unknown man stopped Reese, then stepped forward while offering his hand for a shake at Kang Jin-Ho.
“My name is Reynold Spencer, the United States Under Secretary of the Army. It’s an honor to make your acquaintance, Mister Assembly Master.”
“I’m Kang Jin-Ho.”
Kang Jin-Ho also reached out and held Spencer’s hand. While shaking hands, Spencer noticed the feast on the table and furrowed his brow.
“We told the hotel to prepare the room service at least one hour ago, but it seems they have failed to deliver on time. I should speak to the ones in charge before we leave.”
“No, it’s fine. We don’t mind.”
“I see. Thank you for your understanding.”
Spencer smiled brightly, but Kang Jin-Ho could only put on a cramped smile instead.
Looks like this Spencer dude will make the hotel pay later.
Despite the smile, Spencer’s expression said he would never overlook this mishap. Then again, Kang Jin-Ho could understand why.
From Spencer’s perspective, all these expensive dishes and alcohol should have been a part of his plan, his tools in a way, to lower the tension and start the meeting in a more jovial mood. However, a slip-up from the hotel management meant Kang Jin-Ho hadn’t even gotten the chance to enjoy the food yet.
No wonder he was angry.
Spencer remained smiling as he apologized. “Forgive us for visiting you without a prior appointment. The business at hand was just too urgent for us to wait, unfortunately. However, we can come back if you’re still in the middle of your meal.”
Kang Jin-Ho shook his head. “No, it’s fine. Let’s enjoy the food together while we chat.”
“Will that be okay?”
“Yes. I’m sure you’re a busy man, so let’s not waste your time like that.”
“Thank you very much.”
Spencer’s smile widened.
At least on the surface, he didn’t look like a man from the United States military or an undersecretary of a government department. Put a straw hat on his head, and he might even successfully pass off as a farmer from California or something.
“The reason for my sudden visit is… to discuss the demands the Korean Martial Assembly has made,” said Spencer. “This will be an official meeting, and I will officially speak on behalf of the United States government.”
Lee Hyeon-Su’s brows quivered ever so slightly just then.
Wow. The pressure coming from him is no joke.
Although what Spencer said wasn’t anything special, Lee Hyeon-Su still felt invisible pressure bearing down on him. But that only proved how gigantic the thing backing Spencer was.
“Take a seat,” said Kang Jin-Ho while pointing to the table.
Spencer and the envelope-carrying Reese took their seats, before staring at Kang Jin-Ho.
“My apologies for holding this discussion in a hotel,” said Spencer.
“It happens fairly commonly, doesn’t it?”
“Indeed. Unfortunately, it’s because our martial society’s… location, shall we say, hasn’t been set yet. Again, I can only ask for your understanding on this matter.”
It seemed Spencer was a surprisingly dignified, no-nonsense type.
Thanks to the group of Americans he had run into, which included Reese, it felt like Kang Jin-Ho’s preconceived notion about the people of this country was gradually changing. He always viewed Americans as free-spirited and not as stuck-up about etiquette as the Koreans, but now…
In a way, they seem more etiquette-driven than Koreans.
Then again, America’s population was vast, to say the least. It would be wrong to make a sweeping generalization about its people.
Once Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su settled down into their seats, Spencer scanned the food once more. “Then, should we…?”
Kang Jin-Ho lightly shook his head. “We’re not particularly hungry, so why don’t we finish our chat first?”
“Oh, I see. Then, Reese? Can you bring us a bottle of wine?”
“Understood.”
Reese brought new flutes and a bottle of wine, and Spencer personally filled the empty glasses.
He said, “Nothing is better than a glass of wine to lift up the mood, gentlemen.”
Lee Hyeon-Su lightly retorted with, “Bringing booze to a negotiation? That doesn’t sound like a proper procedure to me?”
However, Spencer countered with a genial smile. “Alcohol does nothing to you, if I remember correctly. In fact, it’s like a bottle of soda to you, isn’t it?”
He was right about that. Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled helplessly while nodding away.
Spencer glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su and Kang Jin-Ho. “I’m not going to waste your time by dragging this negotiation out, Mister Assembly Master. We at the United States government are fully prepared to honor every one of the demands made by the Martial Assembly.”
Lee Hyeon-Su’s brows shot up.
Holy cow! They are gonna honor them all?
All negotiations started off with the “initial demands.” One side would demand the maximum-possible amount at the start, while the other side would come up with their own absurd demands. And then, both sides would discuss and adjust their demands until they agreed on more suitable terms.
Since that was the case, Lee Hyeon-Su also started off with the maximum amount of things he could make demands for. So, to hear that America was ready to honor them all…
Wow. Is this one of those bizarre phenomena of the “great” nation?
When the netizens cooked up that saying, they were thinking of the other great nation, but it still seemed oddly appropriate in this situation.[3]
“However…”
Spencer stared intently at Kang Jin-Ho.
“We have one condition.”
1. At the time of TLing, that’s around $22000 US. ☜
2. At the time of TLing, around $1500 US. ☜
3. The “Bizarre Phenomena of Great Nation” is a Korean internet meme that involves “strange” things only possible in China. Such as a screenshot of someone complaining about buying a fake iPhone off a certain Chinese online store, only for it to boot up with the Samsung logo, etc, etc… ☜