Real Man

Chapter 302:

Chapter 302

Brian Chesky was the first to speak in response to Yoo-hyun’s request.

“The situation right now is…”

Airbnb was a newly started company.

They had come up with a novel concept of shared accommodation, which inevitably caused friction with the surroundings.

Brian Chesky’s words were full of the countless efforts they had made to overcome that.

Joe Gebbia also chimed in.

“The unexpected problem we faced was…”

Joe Gebbia’s words were similar.

Just listening to their story, it seemed like they had fallen several times.

They spent more money than they thought, and the people were troublesome.

Yet, they managed to move forward little by little.

“So you decided to raise some investment for now?”

Yoo-hyun asked, and Brian Chesky answered with a more serious expression.

“Yes. But…”

“That part too…”

Joe Gebbia also added his voice, as if hesitating.

They strangely seemed to be reporting to Yoo-hyun.

Yoo-hyun felt like he had to listen to their story now, or it would be too late.

Their words were long, but the summary was simple.

Airbnb was going through the same hardships as any early-stage startup.

They didn’t make much profit right away, so their cash reserves kept shrinking.

In a difficult situation where they couldn’t promote more boldly, their sales didn’t increase much.

They chose investment as a way to gain market trust and funds, but that wasn’t easy either.

They were getting impatient.

Of course, there were some positive things in the meantime.

“Nathan made a website…”

Yoo-hyun nodded as he heard Brian Chesky’s explanation.

“Brian, I checked it out too. It looked pretty good.”

“He’s got skills.”

An engineer who could turn the two designers’ brilliant imagination into reality joined them.

Nathan Blecharczyk.

He took charge of Airbnb’s system as he did in the past.

Thanks to him, they could at least relax on the system side.

Yoo-hyun pointed out the problems hidden in their words.

“In my opinion…”

He pinpointed the overall improvement points, and the two listened attentively.

Joe Gebbia even took out a notebook and wrote them down.

In the middle of that, Joe Gebia asked first.

“Steve, I’m going to do as you say, but there’s one problem.”

“Customer management is not working?”

“Yeah. Right. It’s hard to deal with a lot of people. There are problems everywhere.”

It was about strangers sleeping in someone else’s house.

Since the concept of shared accommodation was not established yet, there were bound to be problems.

The more troublesome thing was that it was unpredictable.

Both the hosts and the guests were problematic.

“It must be hard to manage them all.”

“Exactly. We have some terms and conditions, but it’s awkward for us when the hosts suffer losses.”

“Before that, you should…”

Yoo-hyun was about to answer when it happened.

Bang!

The front door opened and a man came in.

He had thick eyebrows and long eyes, and his short hair suited him very well.

He was also a man who had a past connection with Yoo-hyun.

“Nathan, if you’re wondering who’s here…”

As Brian Chesky opened his mouth, Nathan Blecharczyk gasped and said.

“Brian, Emma is here right now.”

“What? Emma?”

Brian Chesky was surprised and got up.

Joe Gebbia was also flustered by his side.

Yoo-hyun wondered what was going on and turned his head. He saw a woman sneering at the entrance.

A woman with a ponytail scanned around fiercely.

Everyone avoided her gaze.

It was not fear, but embarrassment on their faces.

As she was about to yell, Yoo-hyun opened his mouth.

He had already figured out the situation and said it out loud.

“Emma, why don’t you sit down here and talk?”

“Who are you?”

Emma Johnson frowned at the unexpected intervention of a stranger.

Yoo-hyun smiled and said,

“I think I can help you.”

A moment later,

Emma Johnson sat on the sofa opposite Yoo-hyun with her arms crossed.

Joe Gebbia sat next to her, and Nathan Blecharczyk next to Yoo-hyun.

Brian Chesky handed Emma Johnson a coffee and quietly dragged a plastic chair over.

Screech.

In an awkward atmosphere, Yoo-hyun politely said,

“Emma, can I hear your story first?”

Then Emma Johnson began to vent her complaints as if she had been waiting for it.

“No, this time I had a guest who…”

Emma Johnson was an Airbnb host, that is, a homeowner.

She was the third host of Airbnb and had received quite a lot of guests.

The guests were problematic, but so was she. She had a rough personality.

Even without looking at the data, it was obvious that she had a lot of trouble.

Yoo-hyun reacted appropriately to her endless words.

“He was not a guest, but a complete thief.”

“Yes. This is the third time. And he denies stealing anything. It’s crazy. I can’t even install CCTV in my house.”

“You must have suffered a lot.”

Yoo-hyun nodded his head and Emma Johnson gained confidence and went on stronger.

“Don’t even say it. What the hell is Airbnb doing, not screening these guests?”

“I’m sorry. We’ve been neglecting our family too much.”

“Family?”

She asked as if surprised, and Yoo-hyun said,

“Of course. There’s no Airbnb without hosts.”

“Hmm, hmm, right. You know how much I’ve earned for you.”

Emma Johnson was not wrong.

She was one of the oldest hosts, who had been with Airbnb’s history.

She deserved to be treated accordingly.

With that in mind, Yoo-hyun asked,

“By the way, how much is the damage?”

Emma Johnson looked around and said,

“This time it’s 200 dollars, and it’s over 400 dollars if you add up everything so far.”

“Emma, that’s ridiculous…”

Nathan Blecharczyk tried to argue, but Yoo-hyun stopped him.

“Wait a minute. Emma, I’m really sorry.”

Then he took out some money from his wallet and put it on the table.

There were five 100-dollar bills.

“Wh, what is this…”

Emma Johnson’s eyes widened.

Joe Gebbia, who saw that, exclaimed in surprise.

“Steve.”

“Joe.”

Yoo-hyun called Joe Gebbia’s name briefly and put his index finger on his mouth.

He felt Yoo-hyun’s charisma for a moment and closed his mouth.

Brian Chesky and Nathan Blecharczyk were the same.

Yoo-hyun relaxed his expression and said to Emma Johnson,

“Please take this as compensation for your loss.”

“I didn’t come here to get money…”

“Don’t think of it as money, but as our heart.”

“…”

Emma Johnson blinked her eyes silently at Yoo-hyun, who bowed politely to her.

“I’m sorry for causing a lot of trouble to your family. I wasn’t prepared properly.”

“You don’t have to say that…”

Emma Johnson, who was flustered, nodded along.

She had been wild and rough like a mustang, but suddenly she turned into a gentle lamb.

Yoo-hyun saw that and was sure that she didn’t have any bad intentions or complaints against the Airbnb staff.

Judging by her tone, behavior, and reactions, she was likely to be working in a job that involved dealing with people directly.

It was inevitable to have emotional wounds when doing emotional labor all day long with customers.

How would she feel if she had to deal with stress even when she came home?

The mistake of the Airbnb guest had caused her more stress.

And what she needed to soothe that was not money, but recognition.

Her eyes, which were swayed by a few words, proved that Yoo-hyun’s guess was true.

Meanwhile, the Airbnb staff were stunned by Emma Johnson’s sudden change of attitude.

Then, Emma Johnson asked a question that came to her mind.

“Steve, is that Ferrari on the first floor yours?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Then are you an investor?”

“I wouldn’t call myself that. I’m just a fan of Airbnb.”

Yoo-hyun waved his hand modestly, and Emma Johnson nodded as if she understood the situation.

“I see.”

It seemed that there was some misunderstanding in between.

Apart from that, Yoo-hyun continued to talk with Emma Johnson in front of the Airbnb staff.

He hoped that they would find the answer they wanted in this conversation.

“When I first stayed at Brian’s house…”

“Hahaha. That was so clumsy.”

“Yes, it was. But it was such a great experience. When would I ever stay at a local’s house like that?”

“Everyone says that. It’s rewarding too.”

Emma Johnson nodded as if she agreed.

She, who had come to the office in anger, was also an Airbnb host.

She had accumulated memories with countless guests over time.

Yoo-hyun spoke to her in a serious voice.

“Emma, thanks to you, people get to know the beauty of San Francisco.”

“You don’t have to say that much.”

He didn’t just compliment her, but gave value to her work.

“No, I mean it. You showed people that strangers are not strangers, but friends you haven’t met yet.”

“That’s…”

He sincerely acknowledged what she had done.

“Guests are not strangers, but friends you haven’t met yet. You did that.”

“Th-thank you. I’m embarrassed.”

Yoo-hyun greeted her again as he saw Emma Johnson stuttering.

“No, thank you.”

Yoo-hyun’s actions and words might have seemed over-the-top.

But Emma Johnson looked very touched.

His words had healed her wounds.

Maybe that’s why?

She thanked the other Airbnb staff as well.

“Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I’m also finding vitality these days thanks to Airbnb.”

Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk waved their arms at the same time in confusion.

“No, Emma.”

“We’re sorry we couldn’t do better.”

“Don’t say that.”

They cleared up their misunderstandings in a warm atmosphere.

Emma Johnson stood up from her seat and Yoo-hyun said to her.

“Emma, don’t forget that you’re our third family member.”

“Of course. I’m proud to be an early member.”

“We can’t just force pride on our family. We’ll prepare a nice gift for you soon.”

“Can I look forward to it?”

“Of course.”

Yoo-hyun nodded coolly and Emma Johnson smiled and left.

The money on the table was still there.

Yoo-hyun picked up the money and stopped her.

“Emma, you dropped your money.”

“No. I don’t think this is my money.”

“You can take it. You suffered damage.”

Yoo-hyun said again, but Emma Johnson shook her head.

“I just need to be more careful from now on. I’ve made money thanks to Airbnb anyway. I’ll think of it as taking some from there. Well then.”

She left a smile and disappeared.

“…”

The Airbnb staff watched her blankly.

Brian Chesky sat down with a thud and muttered.

“I feel sorry for Emma. I provoked her.”

“Don’t worry about it. She’s nice, but there are really bad hosts out there too.”

Yoo-hyun said casually and Nathan Blecharczyk asked in surprise.

“She’s nice?”

“Isn’t she?”

Yoo-hyun asked back and Nathan Blecharczyk gave a bitter smile.

Then he belatedly reached out his hand.

“It’s an honor to work with such an amazing friend. I’m Nathan.”

They didn’t need much explanation since they knew each other’s existence.

Yoo-hyun grabbed his hand and smiled.

“I’m Steve. I’m honored too.”

That’s how another new connection was made.

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