Yoo-hyun’s success was not the result of his own effort alone.
He had received help from those around him.
And the senior who had given him the decisive help was right in front of him.
As soon as he entered the airport, Yoo-hyun shouted at Kim Younggil, the assistant manager.
“Hello, Assistant Manager. You look great.”
Yoo-hyun grinned at Kim Younggil’s words.
“Of course. I’m going with you, after all.”
“Save that for Park, the other assistant manager. Let’s get the paperwork done first.”
Yoo-hyun followed Kim Younggil with a faint smile on his face.
He had not paid much attention to Kim Younggil in the past, so he did not know him well.
Even after he came back, he had kept some distance from him because of his not-so-friendly personality.
He had thought that he would never get as close to him as he was to Park Seungwoo, the other assistant manager.
As they helped each other and got to know each other better, he understood him more deeply as a person.
That was enough for him.
After getting their plane tickets, Yoo-hyun said as they stood in line for the departure procedure.
“This trip will be relaxing. We’re not going for work, are we?”
“Well, yes, but I still have a lot of things I want to see.”
“First of all, the Apple presentation. I’m curious about what they’re thinking, since we’re just doing what they tell us to do.”
That was typical of Kim Younggil.
He had a purpose even for a trip that was almost like a vacation.
He looked serious, as if he had already made a plan.
“Well, it’s not my field, but I also want to see the design exhibition. I was really impressed by your mockup, you know.”
“It’s not mine, though. What are you talking about?”
“Still. You planned it all, didn’t you? I want to have that kind of vision, too. Funny, huh?”
Yoo-hyun smiled inwardly.
“No way. If you need anything from me, I’ll help you with anything.”
“Thank you, Yoo-hyun Han.”
“You’re welcome, Younggil Kim, the section chief.”
“Hey, I’m not that yet.”
Kim Younggil jumped, but Yoo-hyun was calm.
“What does it matter? You’ll be one soon.”
“I can’t beat you, can I?”
Kim Younggil shook his head at Yoo-hyun’s good-natured reply.
Then he remembered something and asked Yoo-hyun.
“Oh, what about Jang Hyemin, the senior?”
“She’ll be there before us. We agreed to meet on the first day of the conference.”
“I see. She’s really going there for work.”
It was when they had passed the immigration check without any trouble.
Kim Younggil suddenly blurted out something in the too-ordinary atmosphere.
It was quiet without anyone to cause trouble.
“It feels awkward to have nothing happen.”
“Ha ha. Really. I get a headache thinking about the last trip to Germany.”
He recalled the recent European exhibition, which was full of unbelievable incidents.
They had never had a smooth journey from the airport to their destination.
Someone had left their luggage at the immigration desk.
“That was Park, the assistant manager, who left his luggage here.”
“Yeah. He’s such a klutz.”
Someone had almost missed their flight because they were in line at the duty-free shop.
“Choi, the section chief, was also a secret shopaholic.”
“I know. I didn’t expect him to waste so much time.”
Someone had gone crazy and picked a fight with Ilseong Electronics at the boarding gate.
“This was crazy. I had to hold you back when Kim, the deputy manager, or rather the team leader, exploded.”
“I thought I was going to faint when Park, the assistant manager, spoke Japanese.”
Someone had pretended to be Japanese for no reason on the plane.
“Didn’t Kim, the deputy manager, also order in Japanese?”
“I did, too. Looking back, I think I was swept away by the mood and went crazy. Ha ha ha.”
It was a series of events that would make anyone laugh their guts out.
He had been speechless then, but not anymore.
It had become a happy memory that made them laugh and chat on the plane.
“But I don’t want to go through that again. It was too spectacular.”
“Me neither. Let’s just have a smooth trip this time.”
Kim Younggil, the assistant manager, smiled brightly.
The flight time to San Francisco was 10 hours and 30 minutes, similar to the flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
But since it was a direct flight, they didn’t have to take a train or drive a long distance.
It took less than 30 minutes to get to the exhibition hall or the hotel by car.
“Wow, direct flights are really nice.”
“Right? And here, if there’s a problem with the car, it’s fixed right away.”
“Ha ha. Last time, we had so much trouble with the rental car.”
“We don’t have to worry about that anymore, right?”
To be frank, they could walk there if the car broke down.
Yoo-hyun rented a car without any hassle and drove off.
The clear weather and the smell of the sea coming through the window made his heart race.
The contrast between the open landscape and the luxurious downtown caught his eye.
“Wow. This place is amazing.”
“Right? It’s a nice place to live.”
“Have you been to San Francisco before?”
“Yes, I’ve been here a few times.”
“Wow, that’s impressive. You’ve traveled abroad a lot, haven’t you?”
San Francisco was not just a place he had visited a few times.
He had started coming here since the Apple business, and he had often visited when he was briefly stationed at the US branch.
Especially when he invested in Silicon Valley companies and expanded his business area, he had come here countless times.
It felt like a second home to him.
Kim Young-gil, his deputy, had no idea about his inner feelings. He was looking at the outside scenery and muttering to himself.
“I should have bought some land here.”
“It’s very expensive here.”
“I know. I searched online and the accommodation prices are no joke.”
“It’s more expensive because it’s the end of the year. It’s peak season.”
San Francisco was famous for its high land prices.
There were plenty of places to stay, but the demand was so high that they were much more expensive than other areas.
There was a company that came up with an idea to overcome that.
Yoo-hyun smiled at the fleeting memory of the past.
He had many connections in San Francisco.
He had been driving for about 20 minutes.
He passed by the exhibition hall without any trouble.
His accommodation was nearby.
He didn’t have to attend the exhibition or take care of any booth. He didn’t have to worry about being suddenly called away like he did on his previous trip to Germany.
Everything went so smoothly.
Kim Young-gil said with a hint of anxiety.
“Yoo-hyun, I’m feeling uneasy because it’s too easy.”
“It was just an exception last time.”
“I guess so. Unless there’s a fire in the hotel, we won’t have any problems like that anymore.”
Yoo-hyun couldn’t finish his sentence.
He saw smoke rising from his destination.
There was a crowd of people in front of the hotel.
Red fire trucks appeared in front of Yoo-hyun.
There was a brief silence.
Yoo-hyun parked his car in a nearby vacant lot and hurried to the hotel.
The hotel was a mess.
It didn’t look like a big fire.
But there was so much smoke that the hotel couldn’t operate today.
He got a refund with some extra compensation.
He could bear that much.
He just had to move to another place.
There had to be at least one room available.
Yoo-hyun’s expression darkened as he drove around the nearby hotels.
Kim Young-gil was the same.
“…There’s none here either.”
“Let’s go to the exhibition hall.”
“They should have a list of accommodations there.”
“Oh, okay. We’ll find one soon. There must be one somewhere.”
Kim Young-gil, the deputy, gave an answer mixed with hope, but the reality was not easy.
When they arrived at the exhibition hall, there were already many people in the same situation sitting in a row.
They barely managed to get a list of accommodations that someone else had used, but it was all taken.
That’s when the phone calls started.
The sky was getting dark.
Kim Young-gil asked in a tired voice.
“Is there no room there either?”
They had already gone through two pages of the San Francisco accommodation list.
There was one page left, but if they couldn’t find a place to stay here, there was no hope.
They called until the end, but they couldn’t find an answer.
“What about the place that asked for twice the price? Should we call them again?”
“Yes. I’ll check it out.”
Yoo-hyun left weakly.
-We’re sorry, but all the rooms are sold out, so we can’t take reservations today.
But even that was gone.
Kim Young-gil clicked his tongue.
“This place is really too much.”
“There’s nothing we can do. What do you want to do? If we drive a little further, we might be able to find a place to stay.”
“Sigh, there’s no choice. I don’t know if we’re going to end up going to LA.”
It was not only Yoo-hyun’s problem.
The people lined up in the exhibition hall corridor seemed to have no choice but to sleep on the street.
It was a blessing that they had rented a car.
Yoo-hyun brushed off his butt and got up from his seat.
That’s when it happened.
A rough moan was heard mixed with the noise.
He looked up and saw someone arguing.
Yoo-hyun jumped up in an instant.
“Deputy, excuse me for a moment.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“I think I found the answer.”
Yoo-hyun’s mouth curled up.
Two young men were walking around the Freemason Center, the San Francisco exhibition hall.
One of them, who was holding a picket and wearing horn-rimmed glasses, grumbled.
“Brian, I like what you’re doing, but this feels too rushed.”
“Then what do you want me to do? Miss this opportunity?”
“What I mean is, let’s plan a little more. Who would willingly come to our room that we can’t even pay the rent for?”
“Joe, don’t worry. There are thousands of people rolling around in front of us, they won’t care about that.”
It was easy to say, but they had already failed several times.
It was never easy to bring someone into someone else’s house.
As they walked, a middle-aged man came up and pointed at the picket.
-We rent you a bed. Breakfast included. Price 50 dollars.
“You’re going to rent us a bed? Where?”
Brian Chesky, who had a gloomy face, quickly took the word.
“House? Where is it?”
“If you drive for about 15 minutes from here…”
“No, how can I trust you and go there? I thought something was wrong. You’re a scammer, aren’t you?”
The middle-aged man got annoyed and walked away.
Joe Gavia, who saw that, bit his tongue.
“Well, at least he didn’t ask if we have a bed.”
“We can buy an airbed if we get the money.”
“Yeah. That’s true, but let’s not say that. It might start a fight.”
The words he said out of worry became seeds.
A couple came up and clung to them.
The woman snapped at Brian Chesky in a sharp voice.
“You have three beds in one room and three people sleep there? Does that make sense?”
“No. We have one bed in the room and two in the living room.”
“What if someone attacks us? Are you responsible?”
“We’re going to sleep together, so we’re responsible…”
Brian Chesky flared up, and the man with a tattoo on his arm grabbed his collar.
“Are you mocking us for not finding a room?”
“Ugh. No, that’s not…”
“Do you want to die?”
It was when the tattooed man growled.