Chapter 13

Chapter 13

13. My Own Guest Room

If something goes in, then naturally something has to come out.

The same goes for the staff break room.

Since we put in all the amenities the employees needed, the miscellaneous junk that had been inside naturally had to be moved out.

And all of that junk went straight into a storage container.

But we couldn't have the employees going back and forth to a container forever.

Eventually, we needed a real warehouse near the hotel.

‘And while I'm at it, it'd be even better to build a killer executive office too!’

Like the offices group chairmen have in dramas.

A lounge café just for me, so to speak?

Besides, I didn't even need to think about which building to buy.

The Hale Makani annex.

Though these days it had been renamed the grand-sounding Aloha Shopping Center.

(So you're really saying you're going to buy that building?)

“Bingo.”

(Haah.)

“Is there a problem?”

(They've already seen how Hale Makani changed. If you say you're buying it, they may start negotiations with an absurdly high price.)

“How much?”

(The current market value is ten million dollars, so they'll probably ask for fifteen million.)

Exactly one and a half times what I'd paid for the hotel.

(Even if we negotiate well, it'll be hard to get them below twelve million. And if they dig in their heels······.)

Ignoring Sullivan as he kept rambling, I opened my banking app.

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11:56 ▽ ▮

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▷ Chase Bank

Checking Account

•••• 7734

Available balance

$786,592,210

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↗ ▤ ⋯

Transfer Activity More

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Hmm.

Twelve million dollars would disappear from this?

My God!

Astronomically speaking, that's basically nothing.

“Go ahead at twelve million dollars. Ah, but I'd like you to attach a few conditions.”

(Conditions?)

“It's not like I absolutely need the building.”

There weren't exactly zero other buildings nearby I could lease as storage.

If they were willing to make a clean deal, I'd pay full value,

but if they tried to make things messy, there was no room for compromise.

Because I had plenty of money,

and plenty of pride too.

***

Three days later, in a meeting room at Honolulu Airport.

“This is the final amount our side can offer.”

- Slide.

Sullivan pushed the document across the table.

“Hmm.”

“Oh.”

Some looked displeased,

while others looked genuinely surprised.

‘Classic.’

It was a trick to seize control by making it unclear who actually held final authority.

This wasn't a contract where only documents mattered, but a negotiation filled with calculations from both sides and plenty of room for compromise.

Their petty tricks were simply their best option for extracting the most benefit.

‘Of course, we're one step ahead.’

“If it's difficult to decide today, we'll schedule another meeting. Ah, but at the second negotiation we won't offer more than nine million dollars. And he said there won't be a third.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Exactly what I just said.”

“Ha! It's already ridiculous enough that you're trying to buy a fifteen-million-dollar building for twelve million. Now you're saying you'll cut it even further?”

Sullivan shrugged.

“Well, that's apparently what he intends.”

It was a way of emphasizing that he was merely here to collect signatures.

“You came all this way for nothing. Safe travels.”

“Yes. My flight is coming up, so I'll excuse myself first.”

With a dry handshake, the first negotiation collapsed.

After Sullivan and the law-firm delegation left the meeting room,

“Bill, are you insane? We need to sign right now!”

“Wait. They're obviously bluffing. They're doing this to hide how badly they want the annex.”

“Damn it!”

“They're really heading for the gate! Once they board the plane, it's over! Are you seriously going to throw away twelve million dollars right in front of you?”

“······.”

“This is crazy! Should we just call them back?”

By the time they finished arguing, Sullivan had already disappeared beyond the gate.

***

Three days later, in the same place.

- Slide.

Sullivan silently handed over the documents.

But this time, the other side covered his papers with documents of their own.

“Twelve million dollars.”

“I'm sorry, but as I said before, we cannot offer more than nine million.”

“No, back then the proposal was so sudden that we didn't have time to decide······.”

Sullivan casually glanced at his watch during the pathetic excuse.

‘Don't tell me... this really is the last chance?’

Their eyes met, both filled with urgency.

And then,

“We'll sell.”

The shareholders of the building were the ones who raised the white flag.

The annex left behind after they carved up and sold their father's hotel.

The siblings knew it too.

If Woo-jin didn't buy the annex, no one else would.

***

After the signing was complete, Sullivan headed back toward the gate with a complicated expression.

“Is something wrong?”

“How much did we predict the deal would cost?”

“Twelve million dollars.”

“Right. And that was if negotiations went exceptionally well.”

Yet the signed contract in his hand said nine million dollars.

“Do you think he knew this would happen from the start?”

“Hard to say. But if he did, then Mr. Woo-jin is several times more capable a negotiator than our entire legal team.”

“Pardon?”

“There's hardly anything scarier than knowing exactly how far you can choke someone before they tap out.”

After finishing his thought, Sullivan took out his phone and made a call.

“This is Sullivan. The contract is complete. The total acquisition price is nine million dollars.”

(Good work. We saved three million. By the way, you're heading straight back again, right?)

“Yes. There are still documents to process.”

(Once everything's wrapped up, come visit when you have time. I'll treat you to the full Hawaii course.)

“The full Hawaii course?”

He asked what that was supposed to mean, but the call had already ended.

***

Tsk. I didn't think it'd go this smoothly······.

Buying a ten-million-dollar building for nine million by sheer luck was fine.

The lot was 160 pyeong, with 90 pyeong per floor.

It was the perfect building to use the basement as storage and turn the fourth floor into my executive office.

But once the building actually transferred into my name, things started getting weird.

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Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Friday, April 9, 2027 · Page 3

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【Annex Separated 40 Years Ago Returns to Hale Makani】

Hale Makani, a 30-room boutique hotel on the outskirts of Waikiki, has repurchased the annex building that was sold in the 2010s and converted into a commercial property.

···

Seriously? A hotel buys an annex and that's newsworthy?

It was only a short article, but it had enough impact to appear near the top whenever someone searched for our hotel.

And naturally, the news began having a slight effect on our reservation rate too.

Though that wasn't what mattered right now.

【Hale Makani Annex】

4F: Executive Office (Planned)

3F: Vacant3

2F: Vacant3

1F: Southern Restaurant, Vacant2

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B1: Storage (Planned)

That was the current occupancy of the annex.

Except for the old restaurant on the first floor, everything was vacant.

It was because the building had poor accessibility despite once serving as the hotel's annex.

“Frank, what used to be here?”

“There was a banquet hall on the second floor, and lounge bars on the third and fourth. But as management deteriorated, everything was gradually converted into rental spaces over five years.”

It was the natural result.

After all, the structure received none of the advantage of enjoying hotel facilities without leaving the hotel.

The only thing that could still function was a suite,

but if someone had that much money, there was no real reason to stay in a suite at this tiny hotel.

One by one, anything that didn't make money had been stripped away until the building became nothing more than a shopping center.

And even then, it was full of vacancies.

“This actually works out better.”

“Pardon? President Kim, better?”

“It'd be awkward to kick people out if the place were full of random shops.”

“Shouldn't we be trying to fill even one more unit to generate rental income?”

“No.”

“Then······.”

“Let's use this chance to properly complete the lineup. It never made sense for a hotel not to have a suite or a banquet hall in the first place.”

And if I was making them, I might as well do it properly.

Enough that people would call them the best suite and banquet hall in Hawaii.

***

Two weeks passed.

- Rrrr. Bang. Bang.

“Here, your hard hat.”

“Thanks.”

I put on the hard hat Vivian handed me and looked around the annex, where construction was in full swing.

It was impossible to believe they'd gotten this far in only two weeks.

The banquet hall was almost finished,

and the suite and study had already begun taking on a luxurious form.

“You're really fast this time.”

“Of course! I started preparing the moment I heard you were buying the annex!”

“Ah.”

“It was obvious you'd give me another ridiculous deadline!”

“······.”

No.

This time, she really could've taken her time.

It was only an annex, so it didn't even affect hotel operations······.

But the atmosphere clearly said now was not the time to mention that.

“By the way, how much are you planning to charge per night for this suite? It's as big as suites in major luxury hotels, and the interior is all top-tier too.”

“It should be expensive.”

“Hmm, seven thousand dollars?”

“No.”

“Huh? Then ten thousand?”

I quietly shook my head.

If I tried to run it like a real business with some half-baked price, actual guests might come stay there.

It had to be the kind of price that made people think,

‘Even if I were rich, there's no way I'd pay that much to sleep there!’

You know the kind.

Those hotel rooms that occasionally show up on TV and make you curse out loud.

“What's the most expensive room in Hawaii right now?”

“Obviously Waikiki Sun Beach Hotel. At least twenty-seven thousand dollars a night, I think.”

“Then ours is thirty thousand.”

- Stop.

At my words, the noisy construction site suddenly fell silent.

Everyone looked like they wanted an explanation.

Yes, this reaction!

A filthy expensive vacant room,

my own guest room where I could let acquaintances stay and show off,

that was what Hale Makani Hotel's suite was meant to be.

A whopping thirty thousand dollars a night.

Surely no one's actually going to stay here at that price?

© Kim Mangcho#1ond5