Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual Chapter 10

Naturally, he had intended to send them out.

 

“In a hotel like this, a civilian… people who likely know nothing about Ho-One… in a place where you could lose your mind or die if you’re not careful, I—ha.” 

 

The cat mumbled.

 

“Yes, no, yes, no… hello… yes….”

 

“Was it you?”

 

“Yes-no?”

 

“Where did you learn such nasty words?”

 

“Yes-no?”

 

“One of us has clearly lost our mind.”

 

This is no joke. This hotel truly kills people. He, too, had killed countless guests while playing tens of thousands of times. To be precise, he couldn’t protect them from the malice of the hotel.

 

But that was fiction on the other side of a monitor; now, this is reality conveyed through five senses.

 

‘He had intended to treat them appropriately and send them out, but the words wouldn’t leave his mouth.’

 

It felt as if his speech circuit, let alone his words, had been paralyzed. In front of the guests, Lee Yeonwoo was a diligent manager. He wasn’t even aware that had happened in the moment.

 

It resembles mental contamination, yet it’s a form of coercion with a different texture. As if he, himself, wanted to accept these guests, ‘something’ betrayed his will.

 

“Why?”

 

There were parts he could guess. 

 

“Because before it is reality, the foundation of this place is a ‘game’?”   

 

In Hotel One, there is no such function as refusing guests. The weight given to guests only varies according to playstyle. Furthermore, this was the tutorial period where almost all authorities were locked. 

 

“I must be crazy.”

 

To be this inflexible.

 

‘If this were a simple game, I would have just let it be.’ 

 

There had been a sliver of hope he held onto until the very end. Even if Coco referred to them as ‘people,’ he thought perhaps they could be sophisticated AI or elaborate NPCs. 

 

‘But they weren’t.’

 

The moment he faced the ‘human guests’ at the front desk, he had no choice but to accept them, whether he liked it or not.

 

‘I had half-guessed it from the moment the monster guests showed reactions beyond the game, but the guests who come here really cannot be dismissed as mere data.’ 

 

Faces he had encountered multiple times through various channels or articles beyond the screen. They were not clusters of data, but real people whose pulses beat and whose body heat could be felt. 

 

Director Lee Sonhae and Writer Hong Gyeongyeon.

 

“No matter how much I pick it apart, they didn’t look like game characters. The immediate reaction they showed when I asked about the films they made was not a level that could come from rendering game resources.” 

 

However.

 

“…How on earth can one just bring living people into this place?”

 

“….”

 

“Coco?”

 

“No….”

 

“Do you have the will to offer even a shred of a logical answer to my question?”

 

“No….”

 

“Good, fine. Debating against a wall isn’t his hobby, either.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo’s own emotional response right now was utterly useless. A simple venting of emotions would be of no help in overcoming the situation. 

 

Didn’t he already know the opponent was neither human nor a complete cat?

 

‘It’s a situation where it’s unclear whether Coco even has the authority to answer.’

 

What would improve by badgering Coco in such a situation? Pushing a child with underdeveloped language skills was, at the very least, not something a person of common sense over forty would do.

 

“….”

 

He calmed down.

 

“…To my embarrassment, I became excited for a moment. I apologize.”

 

“No!”

 

“Let’s argue later about whether it was you who caused this mess or the intervention of a different opinion. Right now, post-processing is a more urgent priority than identifying the culprit. It’s a waste of time to debate who is the bigger piece of trash.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What matters now is how to get those people out of here. I need to think about whether there’s a common-sense escape route in this hotel.”

 

“Common-sense escape.”

 

“Your language acquisition speed is surprising, excellent. I only hope that learning doesn’t return as a disaster for humanity later.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Then what I must do is….” 

 

The answer came quickly.

 

“Meals.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“It’s certainly an important part. Since it’s also an issue the guests asked to confirm first, I might invite unnecessary suspicion if I don’t return an answer immediately. But I can’t exactly serve them something unverified, either.” 

 

“Meals.”

 

“Inducing them to resolve it outside would be the safest from their perspective. No, in the first place… where are the current coordinates of this hotel?”

 

He thought for a moment. He could roughly infer it.

 

“They said they came by car.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Did they also say they got lost? Heavy rain enough to soak them in the brief move from the car to the hotel entrance, and surrounded by mountains on all sides….” 

 

“Yes.”

 

“In this day and age, if they believe the signal was cut off just because it rained a little, that means it’s quite a remote area. I don’t know if it’s the mountains of Gangwon Province, but at the very least, I should assume there are almost no convenience facilities I know of within this radius.” 

 

“Yes.”

 

“The cleanest solution would be for me to go out and procure things personally, but my range of activity is tied to this hotel system. In the end, it means I have to consider putting out ingredients from here….”

 

He rolled his eyes dryly.

 

“The thing is, I don’t know if those will be suitable components for humans with general biological structures.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“…Did you just say they are suitable ingredients, Coco?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“….”

 

Lee Yeonwoo decided not to calculate the probability that Coco wasn’t lying.

 

“Let’s try it, just once.”

 

Because becoming the control group himself is the easier and faster path.

 

“I will eat it first.” 

 

“Yes.”

 

“Even if I say it’s okay for me to eat, there’s no guarantee it’ll be fine for others… but it’s a more rational choice than sitting idly by and watching the stomachs of the nation’s masters melt away. Is it not?” 

 

“Rational?”

 

“Every time this happens, I miss the body of a healthy adult male.” 

 

“Yes.”

 

“Though he was a bit old to be called ‘most standard,’ there was no database more suitable as a clinical specimen to use with a peaceful mind. As they say, you don’t know the value of what you have until it’s gone….”

 

“Yes… yes?” 

 

Coco looked up at Lee Yeonwoo mid-answer. Lee Yeonwoo, who was meeting that round gaze, soon nodded calmly.

 

“A body in the late stages of growth has individual differences in metabolism and hormonal factors, leading to variability in some indicators. Usually, minors are not used as specimens except in cases of pediatric disease research or when there is no substitute, but theoretically, that is how it is.” 

 

“Yes?”

 

“Of course, since I don’t know exactly what mechanism this body runs on, it’s hard to see it as a complete nineteen-year-old, but that in itself has uncertain variability….”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo nonchalantly adjusted his glasses frames.

 

“The conclusion is that this body is not very reliable for experimental use.”

 

What an unreliable specimen this is.

 

‘It is possible to obtain food without much difficulty.’

 

Because the concept of service existed even in this horror hotel.

 

There were many cases where monster guests, whose very forms were unclear, let alone human guests, complained of hunger. Perhaps because it was the most basic service, even the tutorial had the minimum distribution function unlocked.

 

‘Though there are constraints on activity range and authority.’ 

 

The kitchen is inaccessible. Cooking utensils cannot be used. 

 

“A hotel without a chef—the management state is truly a spectacle.”

 

“No.”

 

“I know. Later, I will have to hire a chef, too. It sounds like a story for the distant future.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo, staring dryly at the empty lobby, clicked his tongue.

 

“Even so, it is possible to summon the results requested by the guests. If it’s within this illogical system.”

 

From where?

 

“….”

 

In the hallway.

 

“….”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Let’s try it.” 

 

On both sides of the guest room floor hallway, there exists a small freight elevator called a ‘dumbwaiter.’

 

Originally, it is the standard sequence for dishes cooked in the kitchen to come up through this, and for waiting staff to transfer them to trays and deliver them to guests.

 

‘But now it is the tutorial stage where many things are lacking.’

 

He doesn’t know what structure it runs on now that it has become reality, but at this stage, Lee Yeonwoo could only receive the result value of ‘cooking’ from the dumbwaiter.

 

“…Do you think this is a method that will also work for human guests?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Well, back when it was a game, the food in this hotel had no problem for ‘human guests.’ But I wonder if that will still be the case now.” 

 

“No.”

 

“I occasionally even envy that optimistic attitude of yours.” 

 

The problem is that even this stubborn system has minimum procedures.

 

Under the tutorial system, there is no authority for the operator to insert service first at his discretion. It was a passive structure where the dumbwaiter only operated when the guest made a clear ‘request.’

 

“Eventually, I’ll have to ask what kind of meal the guests prefer.”

 

The system only provides options, and Lee Yeonwoo was skilled at picking the closest to the best among those crude options. That was a social skill he had accumulated as a person.

 

If there is a possibility, he must move.

 

* * * 

 

While they were in the middle of a conversation, the telephone rang.

 

“A phone?”

 

“Did it come from the front desk?”

 

“Other than that, there’s no one else to contact us.”

 

“I wonder what’s the matter this late….”

 

The director answered the phone.

 

“Hello?”

 

—Excuse me, guest. This is the front desk calling. I hope I haven’t interrupted your rest.

 

Kind and polite tone. The voice conveyed through the receiver seemed like the neat silhouette he saw in the lobby, molded into a voice.

 

‘I can tell who it is just by the voice.’ 

 

A slightly bitter laugh escaped. Gentlemanly, polite, and graceful. It wasn’t just at the level of speaking well, it was a noble way of speaking that… made the listener straighten their posture.

 

‘Listening to the voice alone without seeing the face, he’s like a seasoned hotelier through and through… but no matter how I think about it, his age….’ 

 

Guessing the history contained in that voice without realizing it, the director asked.

 

“Ah, yes. What is the matter?”

 

—We are reviewing measures to provide guidance regarding breakfast tomorrow morning. By any chance, is there a particular type of meal you prefer?

 

“Oh… is a meal possible? I thought it might be difficult.” 

 

—It is not confirmed, but we are adjusting while looking for the best possible option. For your reference, the guests in Room 2102 requested Western-style food. If you tell us comfortably, I will prepare it with a composition as similar to that as possible.

 

“Oh, then… hold on a second.”

 

The director turned to the writer.

 

“Dear, is there anything you want to eat in the morning? Korean, Chinese, Western….”

 

“…Korean?”

 

“The stomach should be comfortable in the morning. Okay, got it.” 

 

She pressed the phone receiver back to her ear.

 

“Anything Korean food would be fine.”

 

—Thank you. By any chance, are there any additional details to consider? For example, ingredients you cannot eat.

 

“No, there isn’t anything in particular, but it would be good if there were soup or porridge. His digestion isn’t very good in the morning.”

 

—Thank you for your valuable input. For your comfortable morning, we will prepare it with the utmost care within the possible range.

 

“Wow, thank you.”

 

—Not at all. I am rather more grateful to you for responding. I apologize for contacting you suddenly at a late hour. I wish you a peaceful night.

 

“Yes, you too, Manager.”

 

Soon, the connection was cut.

 

“Why? Are they giving us breakfast?”

 

“A buffet or something like that would be hard, but since they’ve said this much, wouldn’t they give us something?”

 

“He was even thinking of driving far out tomorrow morning if need be.”

 

“Even if the guests bring their own, the staff has to live and eat here, right? I think he means he’ll utilize that.” 

 

“Then wasn’t meal provision possible from the start?”

 

“There are guests who would hate it if ingredients used for staff meals were utilized. They need that much pickiness so they don’t offend guests who are even ‘eccentric.’” 

 

“Just how unique are the guests here?”

 

“There are so many unreasonable people in the world who dislike eating the same rice as the staff. If it’s this much, it’s not even at the level of being unique. Although it is definitely strange.”

 

“Anyway, unreasonable people are the problem wherever you go.”

 

“That’s just how the world is.” 

 

The two reached that conclusion. 

 

Anyway, the staff here must eat too.