I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 47

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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047-Resort
47.
“You want to buy a resort?”
“Yeah.”
I was genuinely shocked by Sandro’s sudden suggestion to purchase a resort.
“Why are you saying something so ridiculous with such a straight face? I thought you were serious.”
“I am serious.”
“No, you’re not. You’re joking. Besides, how are we supposed to buy a resort? We don’t have that kind of money.”
“What are banks for then?”
“A resort doesn’t cost just a few hundred million won. Where would we even secure that much capital?”
“Listen, I have several reasons for wanting to purchase a resort. First, you know Vicente Palace, right?”
“You mean that five-star resort on Alona Beach?”
“Exactly. It looks like it’s about to go on the market.”
“Either it goes on the market or it doesn’t. What do you mean ‘looks like’?”
“Their cash flow situation is tight right now. The owner got in deep with casino gambling. If he can’t pay it off, it’ll hit the market immediately.”
“Wouldn’t someone that established pay it off easily? The property is fairly spacious, and they have a decent number of rooms, don’t they?”
“Right. That’s why I want to buy it. Currently, it’s a two-story building with about 15 rooms and roughly 20 private villas. The surrounding land is extensive, and it connects to the beach with a private beach access. The development potential is excellent, and expansion would be straightforward.”
“Still, I’m not entirely convinced.”
“Here’s the clincher—it’s possible to acquire it for around 130 million pesos, which is about 3.1 billion won.”
“Wait, really?”
I was startled when I heard the price.
3.1 billion won?
I’d assumed a resort would cost at least hundreds of billions, if not trillions of won.
But 3.1 billion won?
I was somewhat surprised by the modest price.
In Seoul, 3 billion won would get you
a single 30-pyeong apartment with a Han River view—and that’s being optimistic.
In fact, you’d likely struggle to afford even that.
The higher the floor, the higher the price climbs.
Yet here, a resort with 35 rooms and two swimming pools costs 3.1 billion won.
Was there really any reason to hesitate?
Moreover, the synergy aligned perfectly.
Jang Yun-mi’s tour packages included hotels and resorts.
If I incorporated this resort into those packages, I’d never worry about vacant rooms.
In fact, I’d likely face a shortage.
Provide meals and beverages…
Or better yet, convert the entire hotel to an all-inclusive model.
All-inclusive means guests staying at the hotel receive complimentary meals, snacks, beverages, alcohol, kids’ clubs, and all amenities during their stay.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided, with snack bars and light refreshments available outside those hours.
The lobby and pub offer alcohol, cocktails, and beverages.
Any guest can enjoy meals and beverages without hesitation.
Most hotels offer all-inclusive service only to those who pay extra, but some hotels convert the entire property to all-inclusive, providing the service to all guests.
I’m considering offering all-inclusive service to every guest at the hotel.
It seems like it would cost an enormous amount,
but when you offer all-inclusive, people don’t actually eat as much as you’d think.
It’s like how we pretend we’ll eat a lot at a buffet, but end up eating less than expected.
Besides, when people come on vacation, will they stay cooped up at the resort?
Most of the time they go out sightseeing or on tours.
At the resort, they only eat breakfast and dinner.
They don’t drink that many drinks either.
Still, knowing that food and drinks are free just makes people feel good.
It makes them feel pampered.
Of course, some people do eat and drink a lot while staying at the resort, but that’s not a problem either.
All those costs are already included in the accommodation fee.
The Philippines has cheap prices.
No matter how much beer we serve, it barely makes a dent.
Since older gentlemen come often, they’d probably appreciate having soju available too.
If we slice sashimi in front of them, they’d applaud.
Just give a beer or cocktail to people playing at the pool and beach.
When they’re hungry, serve pizza, french fries, or fruit.
Don’t be stingy with food—serve it generously.
Whatever we’re going to give anyway, just give it with a smile.
When you encourage them to eat more, people love it even though they won’t actually eat more.
Besides, Vicente Palace is a five-star resort, so the interior is beautifully designed.
I’ll keep the interior clean and well-maintained, but won’t make major changes.
Instead, I think it would be good to pay attention to things that guests directly touch and come into contact with.
For example, upgrade the amenities to luxury brands
and stock not just shampoo and conditioner, but also face masks and sunscreen.
Use thick, fluffy towels and robes.
Switching the bedding to Hungarian goose down would be nice too.
When choosing a resort, people mainly look at location and interior design,
but when actually evaluating a resort, the differences often come down to cleanliness, smell, the bedding I slept under, towels, and service.
It’s nothing major, but it can make you feel good,
or it can ruin your mood.
Staff service also plays a huge role.
But I’m not worried about that.
Job satisfaction among Candy Tour staff is at the highest level.
They make an effort to work proactively.
They go out of their way to increase the time they spend in uniform.
When they wear the uniform, they get paid.
The longer I wear the uniform, the more money I make.
It’s a very simple logic.
Isn’t it natural to receive allowances for working beyond regular hours?
I don’t quite understand why everyone’s so excited about it.
Even when I was in the military, even when I did security work, I always received allowances.
Anyway, after hearing the amount and thinking it through and doing the calculations, there’s no reason not to make the purchase.
I absolutely have to buy it.
This is something I can’t pass up.
“Sandro, you can make the purchase, right?”
“Don’t worry. You know I’m incredibly good at getting things cheap, right?”
The moment Sandro says that, anxiety washes over me.
Patrick still hasn’t mentioned what happened that day.
I’ve asked him several times what happened on the day we went to purchase Emerald Canyon and Lumina Lake, but he won’t say.
He did bring back the purchases fine, but not knowing what occurred makes me even more anxious.
I’m worried the same thing might happen when we go to buy the resort.
“Don’t be greedy. Just pay the fair price and bring it back. Don’t try to haggle. What’s important is completing the transaction.”
“I’ve never even thought about haggling. But he keeps offering discounts out of goodwill, so it’s hard to refuse. I’m simply not refusing.”
“You… when you bought the yacht last time too.”
“That was me clearly stating our conditions. Honestly, we don’t need an engine. So what’s the problem with asking for it without the engine?”
“Hey. Can you buy a car without an engine?”
“A car and a yacht are different.”
“How are they different?”
“Honestly, who comes on our marine tour to actually ride the boat? They just come to take pictures. So a yacht is better than a bangka. But we’re not going far out on the boat anyway—just five or ten minutes. So wouldn’t it be fine if the engine performance isn’t that great? I was just asking if that was possible.”
“The problem is you pulled out a gun while asking.”
“That was just because it was a bit uncomfortable having it in my pocket, so I took it out for a moment. I absolutely had no intention of threatening or intimidating anyone.”
“Sure you didn’t.”
That’s when it happened.
Zing zing zing zing.
My phone rings.
An unknown number.
I answer anyway.
“Hello?”
“Are you perhaps Gong In-bae?”
“Yes, I am. Who is this?”
“Hello. I’m Jung Geun-su, and I serve Seo Dae-hun.”
“Yes. What’s the matter?”
“Dae-hun told me that if anything happens to him, he should contact you and inform you.”
What?
Something happened to Dae-hun?
“What happened to Dae-hun?”
“Dae-hun has been stabbed.”
“What? How is he?”
“He’s admitted to the hospital right now, but he hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”
“Understood. I’m heading there now.”
I hung up and looked at Sandro.
“Our boss is off to another adventure, it seems.”
“I need to make a quick trip back to South Korea.”
“Your expression doesn’t look good.”
“A friend got hurt.”
“Take Scott with you.”
“Why Scott?”
“You need at least one bodyguard. Scott’s good enough to keep you safe.”
“I’m fine. I’m damn good at fighting.”
“Scott’s damn good too. Better, actually. So take him.”
Looking at Sandro, I could see genuine concern in his eyes.
I couldn’t refuse.
“Fine. I’ll take him.”
.
.
.
“What are you doing here? You’re embarrassing me.”
“Getting yourself stabbed instead of being careful—that’s what you do best.”
Dae-hun, whom I met at the hospital, looked perfectly fine.
Fortunately, the doctors said there was no threat to his life.
But strangely, he hadn’t woken up for a while.
Geun-su had called me out of anxiety.
“This bastard Geun-su called me, and now look at this mess. Where the hell is that bastard? I won’t let him off easy.”
I said it with a smile, but the wound didn’t look shallow.
“What happened?”
“I was heading home when some crazy bastard came running at me with a knife. I took the hit lightly.”
“Crazy bastard. It wasn’t a random stabbing, so what happened?”
After thinking for a moment, Dae-hun laid out everything that had happened step by step.
How he’d been discharged and returned to Gunsan.
How he’d found colleagues to work with.
How they were gradually expanding their influence.
And finally, the recent casino incident.
Dae-hun explained it all calmly, one piece at a time.
“So you’re saying you walked into enemy territory and fought them on their own terms? With this much of a weight class difference?”
“These bastards won’t come outside their base. What am I supposed to do?”
“Then you drag them out.”
“How?”
“We need to tempt them.”
“With what?”
“Money.”
“Money? But we don’t have any.”
“I never intended to actually give those bastards anything anyway. If we just dangle the scent of potential earnings, won’t they come running like a pack of dogs?”
“How are you planning to do that?”
“I’ll figure that out as we go. But setting that aside—can we actually make a living this way?”
“Huh?”
“From what I’m hearing, you don’t have a steady income. You’re just scraping together money from whatever odd jobs come up. Doesn’t that make you anxious?”
Dae-hun seemed momentarily taken aback, then lowered his head.
He was right.
Whenever I tried to do something with the money I’d earned from various jobs, the Geumho Gang would crack down hard on me.
Like with the Hold’em Pub.
I wanted to give my followers their own establishments to run, to hand out generous bonuses.
But deep in my heart lay a gnawing guilt that I couldn’t do these things.
Loyalty, trust, friendship—they’re all beautiful concepts.
But such words only ring true when your belly is full and you have enough to survive on.
When hunger drags on, there’s no telling when someone will abandon you.
And you can’t even call it betrayal.
It’s just survival.
“For starters, could we run an online gambling operation?”
“An online gambling operation?”
I recalled something Sandro had mentioned before.
‘Why don’t we try running a gambling operation? Online gambling is legal in the Philippines.’
He’d casually suggested we try it, saying there was money in it.
I’d turned him down back then, but suddenly it came to mind.
“We’d need startup capital anyway. That way we can at least feed the guys. We could set up servers in the Philippines and run operations from there, couldn’t we?”
“If we had the capital, I could manage the operations fine. The problem is that setting up a gambling site isn’t easy. I hear the crackdowns in the Philippines have gotten stricter these days.”
“Wait a moment.”
I made a phone call.
“Patrick?”
“Yes, boss.”
“Do you know anything about online gambling operations? That thing Sandro mentioned last time?”
“You mean internet poker, Hold’em, sports betting, and things like that?”
“Yeah, exactly. You’ve got it.”
“Should I search for someone who can set that up?”
“That’s what I like about you, Patrick.”
“I’ll get right on it.”
“Find someone and get back to me.”
“Yes, boss.”
Dae-hun, who had been listening to the call, spoke with admiration from beside me.
“Wow. Your English is incredible.”
“I went to the International Peace Support Unit because I’m good at English. And I’ve been living in the Philippines lately.”
“Oh. Really? Now that you mention it, I never got to ask you about yourself. I’m sorry. So how are you getting by?”
“I’m running a small travel agency in the Philippines. So I’ve made some connections. I’ve already put out feelers to see if anyone can set up an online gambling operation, so I’ll let you know when someone comes through.”
“Huh? Really? Just like that? You’re doing this for me?”
“It’s not so much doing it for you as it is… outsourced operation, I guess? I’ll build it, you run it. But we’ll need to adjust the profit split, right? Let’s decide once we see how it develops.”
“Well, thanks anyway. By the way, you’re running a travel agency? Is business good?”
“Yeah. We get a decent number of customers. It’s running smoothly.”
“That’s great. I’m glad you’re doing well. Once I’m doing well too, I’ll visit. I’ll bring the kids.”
“You’re always welcome.”
“Then take care of yourself and get some rest.”
“Got it.”
Before leaving the hospital room, I paused for a moment.
“You did well, though.”
“What?”
“Not acting recklessly, but steadily gathering information and building influence. You did well.”
“Well, I didn’t want to contact you because I was embarrassed.”
“Don’t be. There’s no need for that between friends. I’m really going now.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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