Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual Chapter 18

After sending the guests away, Lee Yeonwoo thought to himself. 

 

“Am I screwed?” 

 

“Yes.”

 

“Mean cat.” 

 

“No.” 

 

“Are you being serious?” 

 

It was incredibly brazen.

 

Lee Yeonwoo had seen it. In the 1st-floor lounge, just outside the field of vision of Director Lee Seonhae and Writer Hong Gyeongyeon. The monster cat staring intently at the three of them from behind. That anxious gaze.

 

Absurdly enough, those tearful eyes that seemed to say, ‘Are you really going to leave me behind?’

 

“It’s not like I’m in a position to run away, so put away those eyes. Where could I possibly go when my feet are tied to this hotel?” 

 

“Yes…” 

 

“You’ve already put me in a difficult enough position; acting cute won’t cover it up.” 

 

“Yes…” 

 

“Yes.”

 

He picked Coco up in his arms. As if it had never been sulking, the cat purred and rolled around in his embrace. To think it looked brazenly cute—this must be Stockholm syndrome.

 

“….”

 

Anyway, fine.

 

‘…I left a minimal warning, so I have no choice but to trust that they’ll restrain themselves.’

 

He had learned that it is a virtue to trust people first.

 

‘The problem is me, rather than them.’

 

What on earth should he do with this walking general hospital of a body?

 

“If only I had spoken better earlier, those people would have worried a bit less.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“But it’s not like their misunderstanding is completely off the mark either.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“What would have been the right answer to say in that situation?”

 

It was clearly a reaction of ‘Are you going around getting your human rights violated somewhere?’ Even Lee Yeonwoo would have deduced similarly. That is, if he had been given the same information as them.

 

‘Then again, no one would believe that the place they accidentally found after driving into the mountains and getting lost… is actually inside a horror hotel management simulation game.’

 

Even if it was a game, now that it had become reality, it was objectively a problematic situation. Swallowing a sigh, he spoke.

 

“Let’s go get some rest.” 

 

“Yes.”

 

He needed to do something about this ‘Stamina Depleted’ status effect. 

 

‘Things have gotten quite tricky.’

 

Objectively speaking, the current Lee Yeonwoo was not in a particularly dangerous situation. It was true that he was unintentionally suffering human rights violations, but practical threats were invalid to him.

 

‘Because it’s a game.’

 

He was aware that this kind of mindset was a bit dangerous.

 

‘But I am continuously on guard about that part as well. The tranquility I feel right now isn’t a delusion caused by a lack of a sense of reality. It’s merely a highly logical sense of relief stemming from a situation that poses no practical threat.’

 

Mental pain? It certainly exists. Things like a gloomy future and a sorrowful anger toward this stupid state where I can’t even take care of my own body.

 

But physical pain? It had been wiped clean, as if he had been anesthetized. He even resurrected when he died here.

 

‘It’s not okay just because it’s a game. There are simply many conditions that make it inevitably okay in the first place. The condition of it being a game is probably just one of them.’

 

Even though he was imprisoned, he had the goal of escaping. He didn’t resign himself or grow numb to it.

 

‘Above all, entering a game I’ve lived with for 26 years means I have a high, albeit one-sided, level of intimacy with it, which plays a huge part in this stable mindset.’

 

It had turned from pixel graphics into reality. Seeing it in person only made him excited and glad; it didn’t make him scared. If he were the type to be frightened by horror elements, would he have played a horror game in the first place?

 

Right now, the only factor causing psychological distress is the presence or absence of human guests. Please don’t get hurt and make it out alive. Other than that, Lee Yeonwoo’s personal mental pain maxed out at mere annoyance.

 

‘So I’m fine, but…’

 

He firmly pressed the operator elevator button.

 

“From an objective standpoint, it’s true that I’m not fine at all.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Yes, I admit it. It’s a total mess.”

 

He had been locked up in this horror hotel for several months already. The monster guests were eccentric, and even if he executed a strategy perfectly, status ailments remained. He got hurt and died at the drop of a hat. There were few people to talk to.

 

‘On top of that, my body has turned into a 19-year-old playable character, so I can understand their reaction.’

 

If Lee Yeonwoo had been in the guests’ shoes, he would have worried about the ‘General Manager’ too. He would have wondered if a kid who, generously speaking, looked barely of adult age was being abused in this ominous hotel.

 

“….”

 

The elevator arrived at the quarters floor.

 

“…But it would be troublesome if they found out the true identity of this hotel.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“I think so too.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo gently placed Coco down on the floor.

 

“Even so, I can’t just leave their questions and curiosity unaddressed forever. Especially if it stems from a desire to help another person.”

 

Those people are not game data.

 

“They are different from the NPCs in Hotel One whose behavioral patterns were fixed. They could take unexpected actions outside my common sense at any time. Unlike with the other monsters, I don’t know their set routes inside out, so if I let my guard down, an unexpected variable will inevitably blow up someday.”

 

He wanted to avoid variables outside his predictable range as much as possible.

 

“So I need to narrow down their scope of action, but to do that, paradoxically, it’s right to resolve at least a minimal amount of their questions and interest. That makes it easier to predict their actions.” 

 

“Yes!” 

 

“In that case, I should package this hotel in the most realistic way possible….” 

 

And ‘information packaging this hotel in the most realistic direction possible’ was already prepared. By leaving them be, they had prepared it themselves.

 

“A secret, luxury psychiatric ward… for the upper class with ruined personalities.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Indeed. If the setting is framed that way, my and this hotel’s bizarre presence would become somewhat understandable. Even if it’s a somewhat radical hypothesis, it’s better than giving them a pointless sense of incongruity.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“However, in that case, I can’t even begin to guess just how pitifully they’re looking at me.”

 

Should I consider myself lucky just for not being suspected of being in cahoots with the monster guests of this hotel?

 

‘Being misunderstood as a perpetrator vs. being misunderstood as a victim.’

 

If he had to pick one, it’s obviously the latter. Continuously showing them goodwill all this time had paid off. And this youthful face must have played a huge part in that too. That much is obvious without even looking.

 

“I feel like I keep repeating this too, but… I don’t feel practically threatened, but looking solely at the objective situation, I am a victim.” 

 

“No?” 

 

“What a shame.”

 

They didn’t show any signs of snatching Lee Yeonwoo and running away, perhaps because they thought the situation was too serious. Were they worried things would get more complicated? Then it’s fine as long as things proceed like this.

 

‘They’re people who will leave once their stay is over anyway. Until then, I just need to make it clear that I have no intention of leaving this hotel, and block any room for them to take unexpected actions.’

 

Then the immediate top priority.

 

“…Something like making them believe there isn’t much wrong with me.”

 

In the worst-case scenario, appealing to them with ‘I’m in league with this evil hotel’ wasn’t a bad option either. 

 

If he made them clearly perceive that there was no one for them to save here, their reason for risking danger to stay would vanish. 

 

‘But that would have a significant impact on me as well, so let’s watch the situation a bit longer for now. There’s no need to step forward and take a loss when the right time hasn’t even come.’

 

Lee Yeonwoo sat on the bed.

 

“There is one thing I’m curious about, though.” 

 

“Curious about.” 

 

“Just what exactly did Writer Hong Gyeongyeon imagine to make a face like that?”

 

A face drained white. An expression of disbelief. Writer Hong Gyeongyeon was famous for his wealth of diverse knowledge. They say his memory and imagination are good too.

 

At the time, he had focused on wrapping up the conversation and pushed the thought aside. And now, having returned to his quarters, he opened it up again. The clues he had presented weren’t many.

 

“The morning call. Let’s start from here.” 

 

“…….” 

 

“…Visual and auditory impairment that occurred within a few hours. Cognitive abnormality. Sensory integration problems. A guest who likes water. A dangerous hotel. A dangerous guest. Perpetrator… Victim… Operator, manager, staff…” 

 

“….” 

 

“…Higher-order sensory perception disorder… TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). TBI? There are no signs of trauma. TLE (Temporal Lobe Epilepsy)? There were no relevant findings. FND (Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder)… that would be a similar condition… No, rather than that, HIBI (Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury)? Brain hypoxia caused by asphyxiation…? But there were no marks on my neck… It’s hard to confirm…”

 

All sorts of brain disease names came out of his mouth. Which of these did Writer Hong Gyeongyeon diagnose me with?

 

“….” 

 

“…Water? Right, I definitely said… HIBI… sensory avoidance, dissociation. Dissociative perceptual detachment… water, hypoxia, sensory separation… Ah.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Ah, aaaaah… ah, wait a minute.”

 

He must have been crazy for a moment. Or maybe his brain wasn’t working right because it had been a while since he engaged in social life. But even taking that into consideration, he had done something stupid.

 

No matter how out of it he was, that was too much. Regret washed over him belatedly.

 

“I shouldn’t have mentioned the guest who likes water.”

 

If he hadn’t, he would have been held up longer. He wouldn’t have been able to end the situation smoothly. Even if he hadn’t provided such a clue, there was plenty of room for them to think in a different direction…

 

‘Still, I shouldn’t have said it.’

 

Isn’t ‘water torture’ too scary of a word?

 

* * *

 

“Water torture?”

 

All expression vanished from Lee Seonhae’s face.

 

“Did I hear you correctly just now?” 

 

“No, well, I’m not certain either.” 

 

“Uh-huh, okay, I’m trying to listen to that uncertain assumption, so tell me. I’m listening.” 

 

“First of all, he could have shown that behavior simply because he was focused on or distracted by something. But the possibility of that is a bit low.”

 

Sitting at the table, Hong Gyeongyeon explained.

 

“A static and empty space. With low environmental stimuli, it’s normal to become sensitive to external changes. You raised your voice higher than average, Director. It’s only right that he perceived it auditorily.” 

 

“I suppose so?” 

 

“Since we entered his field of vision, moving people and existences should fundamentally be detected. At the time, Lee Yeonwoo-ssi was in a state free of immersion or stress. Ah, well, I’m not certain about the stress part. But at least outwardly, he looked relaxed.” 

 

“So?” 

 

“It would be normal for external stimuli to enter his consciousness more easily. Yet he failed to perceive the presence of people… It has to be a medical or psychological breakdown, and either way, it’s serious.” 

 

“As expected of my personal encyclopedia—press a button and an answer comes out.” 

 

“Cut it out.” 

 

Hong Gyeongyeon was neither a doctor, a detective, nor a police officer. But as a genre writer, he had researched a lot of material and had much experience witnessing extreme crime scenarios. The data accumulated like that was not at a level to be ignored.

 

He was confident in his information-gathering ability. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to work as a writer.

 

“There were three things that came to my mind.” 

 

“Whoa, there are three? I was just thinking about what to do with this poor kid. I’m telling you, our Writer Hong should take the Mensa test sometime.” 

 

“Please stop. The first is higher-order sensory integration disorder, the second is sensory dissociation, and the third was selective perception blocking. But the probability of the third one is low.” 

 

“I won’t understand if you put it like that…” 

 

“Ah, selective perception disorder is failing to perceive a specific person or condition. You can think of it as a psychological blocking mechanism where you consistently fail to see only that specific thing.” 

 

“That definitely wouldn’t be our case. Who are we for him to go that far?” 

 

“I think so too.”

 

What remains is sensory disorder and sensory dissociation.

 

“Higher-order sensory integration disorder refers to the symptom of failing to connect audiovisual stimuli to concepts in the brain. It’s called agnosia. I know it… as a reaction that mainly appears when the brain is damaged.” 

 

“This is crazy, brain damage? I’m going to lose my mind. Will 119 come if we call them here?” 

 

“Would they come? And sensory dissociation is unconsciously blocking stimuli like people or sounds. The patient isn’t consciously avoiding it; rather, extreme distrust and fear have blocked the sensory pathways in the brain.” 

 

“I happen to know a really good counselor. They’d probably come if I called, right?”

 

The director, who had been joking around, let out a sigh.

 

“…Alright, extreme distrust and fear?” 

 

“Yes. To put it simply, it’s a trauma response.”

 

“I really don’t know which one is better.” 

 

“It’s highly likely to be both.” 

 

“Oh my, the world is going crazy. How can anyone be allowed to reduce a kid to that state?” 

 

“Would they be allowed?”

 

Absolutely not.

 

“This… there are several causes for agnosia or similar sensory disorders to appear. There are things like aftereffects of epilepsy-type seizures or functional neurological disorders, but….” 

 

“Do I look like a doctor to you by any chance?” 

 

“I’ll try to put it as simply as possible, so listen. Anyway, those don’t seem to fit this case. So I first thought about physical damage. For example, when someone is strangled.” 

 

“…? Did I mishear something?” 

 

“And when there’s a blow to the head, or when brain function is temporarily degraded due to aftereffects of diseases like seizures or epilepsy. Honestly, I don’t think it’s the latter…” 

 

“What do you mean?” 

 

“Brain abnormalities caused electrically have parts that don’t match Lee Yeonwoo-ssi’s symptoms or reactions. So let’s skip that. I said earlier it’s also possible when there’s a blow to the head.” 

 

“You did?” 

 

“I looked at his head to see if it was that, but since there were no external injuries, there was a high probability it wasn’t this either. Just getting hit isn’t enough. It has to be to the extent that the brain receives an impact inside the skull.” 

 

Moreover, both his vision and hearing were a problem at the same time. That would mean both his occipital lobe and temporal lobe had to be damaged together. For that level of damage, an injury should have been visible, but since it wasn’t, it probably wasn’t this.

 

“As another possibility, I used strangulation as an example earlier, didn’t I?” 

 

“…Uh, right.”

 

“If the blood flow to the brain drops rapidly, it can leave aftereffects. If the pressure was strong, fainting is possible even after just 10 seconds, and if it exceeds 30 seconds, brain cells are damaged. And if this lasts for about 2 to 3 minutes, long-term aftereffects can occur. Cognitive impairment, aphasia, sensory loss, and maybe even death…” 

 

“Ah seriously, why are such bloody words coming out?” 

 

“So, I know that such sensory disorders are included among those aftereffects. But I couldn’t confirm this because he was bundled up so thoroughly. Aside from his face, there’s no exposed skin at all.” 

 

“If he dresses like that to hide injuries, that’s a problem in itself.” 

 

“There’s plenty of possibility for that, but since I didn’t see it myself, I’ll count it as a ‘no.’ Above all….” 

 

“Above all?” 

 

“….”

 

Organizing his thoughts, Writer Hong Gyeongyeon spoke.

 

“Earlier, Lee Yeonwoo-ssi said he ‘played with a guest who likes water.’ There’s no way that means literally liking water or playing with them.”

 

He had literally just played with a guest who liked water using warm water. Of course, these two had no way of knowing that.

 

“If the sensory disorder occurred within those few hours, the prime suspect would be the 7th-floor guest.” 

 

“I agree with that.” 

 

“Assuming the 7th-floor guest likes water, and dealing with that guest is referred to as ‘playing.’ There is another situation where sensory disorder and dissociation can occur.” 

 

“…That thing you mentioned earlier?” 

 

“Yes. To summarize, it would be an extreme survival experience underwater.”

 

The writer adjusted his hat.

 

“It can’t go that far with just simple trauma. It would have to have been an event dangerous enough to medically induce an actual hypoxic state or the collapse of the sensory integration system.”

 

“Ugh, the words are getting harder and harder. Anyway, so… is that where the word ‘water torture’ came from? Because of that hypoxia stuff?” 

 

“I did try to think of other cases, you know? Like being isolated underwater on the verge of drowning. But is there an ocean here? A river? I know there’s an Aqua Park, but there’s no way someone of the General Manager’s level would fall in there and get isolated.” 

 

“If there is, someone’s intention must have been at play.” 

 

“And the moment intentionality is involved, we call it torture.”

 

The writer’s face was still pale. However, his voice was calm.

 

“At the time, Lee Yeonwoo-ssi went to the 7th floor. If they didn’t go to the Aqua Park with that guest and run into a problem, the incident must have occurred inside a guest room.” 

 

“And there’s nothing inside a guest room that would cause someone to be isolated underwater.” 

 

“That’s why I thought of water torture. This explains both the sensory disorder and the dissociation.”

 

While searching for something, he let out an “Ah,” and spoke.

 

“Right, this is it. HIBI.” 

 

“There goes another technical term.” 

 

“Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury. For several seconds to dozens of seconds, repeated asphyxiation cuts off the blood supply to the brain, causing oxygen deficiency, which eventually leads to damage in higher-order cognitive function areas.” 

 

“….” 

 

“This causes psychological problems too. A state of dissociation occurs, blocking the senses. In the midst of repeated life-threatening crises, the brain blocks external stimuli to activate a defense mechanism.”

 

“…I’m feeling a bit dizzy.”

 

The director leaned back in her chair.

 

“So? Then does that explain his appearance back then?” 

 

“Yes. If he really was in this state, social stimuli like voices, faces, or presence can be subconsciously deleted from consciousness. It’s the same for sensory disorders.” 

 

“Is that so?” 

 

“If the occipital and temporal lobes are damaged, even if you see a person with your eyes, you won’t recognize that it’s a person. The superior temporal gyrus… is that right? Anyway, the auditory side is the same. You can hear voices, but they just feel like noise, so you don’t understand what is being said.” 

 

“Our Writer Hong could be a doctor.” 

 

“Of course I can’t. That’s why a professional’s judgment would be needed, but I don’t know. This is all I can guess right now….” 

 

“Right, yeah.”

 

The director nodded.

 

“He said he was cold.” 

 

“…He did.” 

 

“Actually, it wasn’t even that cold of a day. Above all, Yeonwoo-ssi was bundled up tightly, even wearing a vest. The humidity was high too, so I even wondered if he was feeling hot. It seemed like he himself didn’t think it was strange.” 

 

“….” 

 

“Even if it’s a high-altitude area during the rainy season, it’s summer. So I just thought he was lying or had a constitution that got cold easily, but maybe it wasn’t just an issue of cold. No wonder his skin was completely pale.” 

 

“…He was coughing, too.”

 

He seemed to try to hide it, but unfortunately, the lounge was quiet and they were the only ones there.

 

“…Mmm…”

 

At the end of the silence, Director Lee Seonhae let out a faint laugh.

 

“Should we really just pick him up and run?” 

 

“You said that could lead to even greater harm.” 

 

“That’s true. Wow, this is really troublesome, isn’t it?” 

 

“It really is.” 

 

“….” 

 

“What are you thinking about?” 

 

“…I was thinking of contacting our respected elder Uncle….” 

 

“Are you crazy?”

 

The writer was horrified.

 

“You hated the idea of getting tangled up with the people from that family so much.” 

 

“And yet we received their help a few times when we went overseas.” 

 

“Is this that kind of situation…! W-Well, it is that kind of situation, but…!” 

 

“Well, I’ll think about it a bit more.”

 

A deep sigh came out.

 

“…Seriously, what are they trying to do?”

 

It truly was a sickening hotel.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, in the operator’s quarters.

 

Lee Yeonwoo, who fell asleep worrying about ‘just how far his image would plummet,’ is forcibly woken up while the ‘Stamina Depleted’ status effect has not yet been recovered. 

 

“….”

 

An event occurs.

 

“…Room 703…”

 

The second ‘Wet Person’ event.

 

Lee Yeonwoo raised his upper body. Coco, who had been sleeping sprawled right next to his face, got up as well. Stretching naturally, it really acted just like management. It didn’t even pretend to be flustered.

 

After checking Coco once, the clock once, and then the mirror once.

 

Lee Yeonwoo muttered in a cracked voice.

 

“I must be going crazy.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Yes.”

 

Please, just let me sleep.