Chapter 4

Chapter 4

4. I Learned Hotel Management from a Game!

- Ding.

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9:41 ▽ ▮

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▷ Chase Bank

Checking Account

•••• 7734

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│ ↙ Deposit │

│ +$11,594,202.90 │

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↗ ▤ ⋯

Transfer Activity More

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Did I see that wrong?

I'd clearly spent 15 billion won buying the hotel the other day, yet 16 billion won had appeared in my account.

『Me: (Photo)

Me: Where did this money suddenly come from?

Sullivan: Probably dividends from the funds we allocated your assets into last time. The market did well this quarter.』

Ah! Now I remembered.

Thinking I ought to do at least some investing, I'd followed Sullivan's advice and divided the money among several places.

Three months had passed since then, so it was about time for dividends.

But maybe because the principal was so huge, the amount that came in was absolutely ridiculous.

They weren't kidding when they said money makes money!

It was literally on another level from the savings-account interest I'd carefully accumulated back when I was an office worker.

Especially since all I'd done after coming to Hawaii was splurge shamelessly on everything from luxury goods to buildings.

Get a grip, Kim Woo-jin!

At this rate, I might actually grow old and die without managing to spend it all!

Ah, but fortunately I did have something scheduled today that would definitely cost a lot.

The remodeling.

Like you'd expect from a bankrupt hotel, the interior facilities had been used until they were practically falling apart. Forget reopening—it'd probably be hard to even get a lodging permit again.

I'd contacted several curator firms about it yesterday.

Sure enough, one company immediately requested a meeting within a day.

- Knock, knock.

“President Kim, the representative from the curator firm scheduled to visit today has arrived. ”

“Yes, please send them in. ”

Perfect timing.

A moment later,

the person who entered was a woman dressed in a neat business suit.

“It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Vivian Serra, manager at Latitude Collection. ”

“Likewise. I'm Kim Woo-jin, owner of Hale Makani. ”

We skipped the handshake.

Because both her hands were occupied by an enormous stack of catalogs I couldn't imagine she'd carried here by herself.

“Excuse me. Hup! ”

- Thud.

The catalogs landed on the table with a heavy impact, and in the blink of an eye, she arranged them into neat intervals.

“Let's get started. ”

“Yes. Most hotels these days use this modern line. The walls are finished with wood veneer in a chevron pattern······. ”

- Flip. Flip.

As she turned through the catalogs and calmly explained all the technical terminology, none of it actually entered my ears.

But the core message this pleasant-looking curator wanted to convey was perfectly clear.

‘We can build it for a reasonable price! ’

Even the rough estimate she gave on-site seemed honest.

Frank, who'd spent over thirty years in the hotel industry, was nodding almost imperceptibly beside me.

“Is there any particular interior style among these that you'd prefer? Once you choose, we'll prepare a detailed estimate with the unit prices for each material. ”

Everything was going smoothly.

The hotels in the catalogs didn't look much different from the one I was currently staying at, and she said construction could begin as early as next week if I signed.

But once it was actually time to choose, something caught in my mind.

They were ‘not bad,’ but none made me think, ‘I like this.’

It had to be a hotel that was uniquely mine.

If I'd planned to throw money at some ordinary interior design, I wouldn't have bought a hotel in the first place······.

Wait.

It was right in front of me. A unique interior I absolutely loved.

I closed the catalog without hesitation.

“Um··· President Kim? ”

“Rebuild it exactly like this. The carpets, marble, palm trees, even that canoe hanging over there—everything. Make it as close to how it is now as possible, but with the finest materials available. Same for the rooms. ”

“Pardon? ”

“I've spent quite a long time living in hotels, and I've never seen another place that feels this distinctly Hawaiian. ”

Of course not.

Ironically, thanks to its severe financial troubles(?), Hale Makani hadn't been remodeled once in forty years, allowing it to completely sidestep every modern trend.

There probably wasn't another hotel where Hawaii's exotic atmosphere was displayed this openly.

But after hearing my request, the curator looked visibly flustered.

“Is it difficult? ”

“N-No. But most of these materials aren't manufactured anymore, so we'd have to place custom orders. I have no idea how high the cost might climb······. ”

“That's exactly what I want. ”

I happen to have a lot of money.

***

Grrrrr. Clang. Clang.

“Slowly! A little lower! ”

Two months had passed since construction began in earnest.

Vivian Serra, who was overseeing everything, watched the site with a displeased expression.

‘Seriously, what's so good about this outdated design that he's this obsessed with it? ’

Truthfully, it wasn't a very profitable job.

Having no upper limit on construction costs was great, but there was an absurd condition attached.

‘Make it as close to the original as possible, using only the finest materials. ’

Tracking down materials used in a hotel more than forty years old had already been difficult enough, yet they also had to be the highest grade available.

But after signing the contract, she couldn't exactly back out.

So she spent her days at the construction site and her nights hunting down materials for the next stage, enduring a hellish schedule.

‘Just try complaining once it's finished. Client or not, then I'll really······. ’

“Must be tough working in this heat. ”

Speak of the devil.

Just as she was grumbling inwardly, the man himself suddenly appeared, both hands full of cold coffee.

“Have one while you work. ”

“······Thank you. ”

The casually offered coffee was placed into her hands before she even had time to politely refuse.

‘What a strange man. He's already paying me to work. Why is he buying this for me too? ’

Having no way of knowing the culture of the courteous Eastern nation where even a guest at home was offered cold water, she stared at the Americano in her hand for a long moment.

“Then I'll be going. ”

“What? Ah, yes. ”

‘What, he seriously came here just to give me coffee? Hmph. Does he think this'll make me work even more carefully? How naive! ’

And after some time had passed,

she downed the coffee in one gulp and tightened the chin strap of her hard hat.

“Over there! That marble ornament is slightly crooked! Move it a little left! No, no, now it's too far left! Argh! Get out of the way! ”

It was the moment her principle that professionals only needed to deliver exactly what they were paid for began to crumble.

“Hngh! ”

The enormous statue that normally required a crane to move began inching sideways through her monstrous strength.

And thanks in no small part to that inexplicable strength, Hale Makani Hotel gradually regained its former appearance.

***

The hotel that had once seemed like it would never be finished was, like a construction site you passed every day on your commute, gradually becoming quite respectable before I knew it.

Of course, that was only what I could see from the entrance to the lobby. With the mess and construction noise, I still couldn't really go inside.

I tried once just in case, but... tsk.

Renovating more than thirty rooms plus the entire lobby really wasn't an ordinary job.

Reluctantly, I turned around and once again settled into my usual seat in the familiar café lounge.

Then shall I catch up on some work for the first time in a while?

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Pathological Liar Gallery

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[General] Remodeling the hotel I bought is almost done!

HotelMan | 2026.10.06 14:28:03 | Views 180 | Likes 8

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The curator said it'd take a while since everything had to be custom-made, but it's actually going pretty fast.

Looks like it'll probably be finished around the end of this month lol

I fucking love the classic vibe lmaooo

Hope they finish soon!

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└ Anon(219.74): Oh! This bastard finally came back

└ Anon(211.36): Why are you welcoming this lunatic lmaoooo

└ Anon(156.82): What kind of god-tier game are you playing that you've spent 2 whole months just decorating?

└ Anon(211.36): You don't know Hotel Tycoon? It's legit a masterpiece, download it on Stem and try it. But this guy won't even open the hotel and just keeps decorating, so I think he's using cheats

└ HotelMan[OP]: Yeah~ big bro doesn't lie~ It's real~

└ 2YearsOnFluoxetine(58.140): Day 1 of praying HotelMan gets prescribed fluoxetine.

└ CutieCoco: You're not posting watch proof again?

└ HotelMan[OP]: Shopping's gotten boring lately, so I barely go anymore.

└ Anon(211.36): Anyway, the way bullshit flows out of this guy as naturally as water proves he's the undisputed king of this gallery right now lmaoooo

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Heh, just as expected, what a passionate response.

But seriously, what the hell is Hotel Tycoon that everyone's going on about?

I've got nothing else to do anyway. Maybe I'll download it?

【Hotel Tycoon – 1,900 won】

Right, I disabled overseas payments on my Stem account······.

[General] Anyone wanna gift me Hotel Tycoon?

HotelMan | 2026.10.06 14:42:29 | Views 10 | Likes 0

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Pretty please

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└ Anon(211.36): This bastard must've been using a cracked version and it broke lmaoooo serves you right lmaoooo

└ HotelMan[OP]: Fuck off if you're not buying it!

└ Anon(211.36): You think I'm you? Post your Stem ID

└ HotelMan[OP]: HotelMan#7701

└ Anon(211.36): Idiot actually posted it lmaoooo

└ HotelMan[OP]: Ffs

└ 2YearsOnFluoxetine(58.140): Lmaooooooo

└ HotelMan[OP]: Damn, who was it? Someone actually gifted it. Thanks!

© Kim Mangcho#1ond5