Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual Chapter 42

When Baek Mujin finished his call and was about to take the elevator.

 

“….”

 

The lights of the rooftop garden slowly went out.

 

The lights that had been embedded like stars sank into the darkness all at once.

 

Baek Mujin’s gaze, which had been scanning the surroundings, stopped at one spot. A beautifully decorated outdoor staircase. Only there, small lights were still flickering. He felt a call of some sort from those small lights.

 

“….”

 

Baek Mujin didn’t refuse and stepped foot onto the staircase. Holding the handrail, he stepped down the frosted glass steps one by one.

 

Slowly, following the spiral of the staircase.

 

‘…The scent of flowers.’

 

It was not his imagination. Baek Mujin clearly smelled the scent of flowers. It was neither a scent drifting from the rooftop garden, which was already far away, nor an artificial fragrance from the imitation flowers decorating the stairs.

 

And then…. 

 

‘Small footsteps.’

 

The sound of young children laughing.

 

“How young.” 

 

A giggle rang out as if responding to his murmur. It was innocent, yet hollow like a passing wind.

 

At that, when Baek Mujin stood in the middle of the stairs and looked at the wall of the hotel.

 

“….”

 

That was all. The scent and the sound vanished.

 

Baek Mujin, who stared at the empty exterior wall of the building for a moment, moved his feet again.

 

The lights on the stairs he passed clicked off just like that. The young presences that had been huddled together like titmice also went out along with those lights. The playing spirits returned home.

 

“….”

 

Soon, a different scent and sound met Baek Mujin.

 

‘This staircase was connected to the Aqua Park as well.’

 

The fishy smell of water brushing against his nose. A deep, submerged weeping.

 

‘It seems each hotel section has its own separate domain.’

 

He saw the entrance to the 23rd floor, the Aqua Park.

 

He considered entering for a moment, but the lights of the staircase still continued downward. It seemed the destination of this light was not here. Baek Mujin moved his steps further down.

 

And when he reached the 22nd floor. As the outdoor staircase ended and he stepped into the hotel interior….

 

“.”

 

All light stopped.

 

“Where….”

 

Who called me?

 

Baek Mujin casually rolled his eyes and scanned the guest floor hallway.

 

He spotted an elevator nearby. Though the button lights were off, a faint indicator displaying the currently stopped floor glowed clearly. 

 

’14th floor.’ 

 

Baek Mujin stared at that number.

 

‘A floor containing the number 4 doesn’t exist in this hotel.’

 

That was the explanation given by that young goblin, saying it was avoided since the design stage.

 

‘It didn’t look like a lie, though he seemed to be hiding something… I see.’

 

The elevator was stubbornly insisting that it was staying on the 14th floor.

 

‘It seems the goblin and the hotel are of different opinions.’

 

The elevator next to it was the same.

 

‘14th floor.’

 

The one next to that, and the one next to that as well, were all on the 14th floor. A space that shouldn’t exist was radiating light brazenly, as if trying to prove itself.

 

“….”

 

Baek Mujin gazed at that sequence of numbers without any emotion.

 

“…I’ll have to give a compliment.”

 

Is he not staying in quite an interesting place?

 

Existences that treat him with such blatant hospitality are rare. Whether this was mischief or a welcome. Baek Mujin closed his eyes and focused on the sounds of reality flowing into his ears.

 

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass, the sound of rain poured down as if it would consume his vision.

 

‘It is not just rain.’

 

Between the sounds of rain, a faint friction sound, like wet cloth being dragged, was mixed in. Baek Mujin pressed the elevator button. A momentary noise brushed past, but he did not bother to listen to it.

 

“…Hmm.”

 

The doors opened.

 

‘Is it working?’ 

 

The air blowing from inside was exceptionally chilly. A damp humidity, as if soaked in rainwater, brushed the tip of his nose. A fishy and musty smell, both familiar and strange.

 

Baek Mujin silently stared into the dark interior of the elevator.

 

‘This is quite heavy to be a mere prank by that young thing.’ 

 

He had smelled this air in a mortuary before. It was the scent of a corpse just pulled from the water. Baek Mujin, whose thoughts reached that point, soon turned his body away.

 

‘Then it must be a greeting from this hotel.’

 

He took out a silver Zippo lighter from his inner coat pocket. With a clear ‘clink‘, a flickering flame soon stood upright.

 

The small light illuminated the front. Wherever the light reached, the doors on both sides of the hallway were lined up at perfect intervals. It was a natural and ordinary structure.

 

“….”

 

He took one step forward.

 

Though the flame didn’t tremble in the slightest, the shadows on the floor animated irregularly. 

 

The hallway was perfectly decorated for the guest. Frames revealing the manager’s taste, a vase of flowers on a table, sophisticated lighting. All of it revealed itself as shadows in the darkness.

 

‘Why is it so bustling?’

 

It felt like it was about to strike up a conversation, claiming to be alive.

 

‘Are they all landscape paintings?’

 

The frames hanging on the wall all contained the same landscape. Every time the light brushed past, the trees in the paintings shook minutely. They swayed and dropped leaves as if caught in a spring breeze.

 

Such was the hallway, entering his view.

 

‘Right.’

 

It is orderly.

 

“….”

 

Where Baek Mujin eventually headed was the central staircase for guests.

 

He looked down over the handrail. As the stairs went down, they were submerged in pitch-black darkness, and the bottom could not be seen. That endless abyss evoked a faint sentiment.

 

‘It’s a throat.’

 

A giant throat is imitating a staircase.

 

‘It seems to have swallowed light and space, then that must be….’

 

On a handrail several floors down, something clinging closely at a bizarre angle was captured. The small light of the Zippo lighter in Baek Mujin’s hand brushed past that spot.

 

In that instant, the shape was revealed.

 

‘Is it a foot?’

 

What was revealed in white was a human foot.

 

‘No, it must be something that looks like a person.’

 

Quite impressive, wasn’t it? The talent for imitation was excellent.

 

‘Is that all, or is the rest invisible?’

 

The pale, smooth texture was vivid under the light. It looked as if it had been submerged in water for a long time and had become bloated. The sound of water he had heard inside the young goblin’s lungs on the 23rd floor was felt once again.

 

“A water ghost trapped in the water has formed an attachment.”

 

He takes a very weary life upon himself. Or perhaps it is a simple preference. He becomes even more curious about the reason he is stubbornly holding onto the General Manager position of such a hotel.

 

‘A fellow whose thoughts are impossible to read.’ 

 

Baek Mujin heard the sound of water dripping like beads. The stench of a water-bloated corpse was foul.

 

“….”

 

…Right. 

 

Is that how it is?

 

“An ominous thing.”

 

The small light in his hand was still radiating.

 

As if it were no longer of value, he withdrew his gaze and slowly moved his feet.

 

The place he headed to this time was the emergency staircase. Here, once again, the lights were uniquely on. Baek Mujin put out the lighter’s flame and pushed his body inside. The heavy iron door closed weightily.

 

The sound grew muffled. 

 

“….”

 

Thump,

 

Thump.

 

The sound of descending the stairs.

 

“….”

 

The lights in the passage flickered occasionally.

 

Baek Mujin went down that path with an impassive face. Getting down to the 17th floor would take some time. Perhaps even more time than expected. 

 

Above his head, at the corner of the stairs one floor up, a white foot stood silently. A bloodless ankle was merely standing there. Without moving a single step.

 

Baek Mujin knew it.

 

But he didn’t look.

 

There was no reason to.

 

“….”

 

When he reached the 17th floor, the passage door opened without a sound.

 

A smooth movement.

 

Attire tidied without a single speck of dust.

 

An unwavering smile.

 

“…Are you a staff member?”

 

“….”

 

The being lowered its head without a word. Then, with an elegant gesture as if gliding, it guided the way. It was smooth without any excess, yet it was a movement in which not a shred of humanity could be felt.

 

“I’m having many interesting experiences today.”

 

A part of a labyrinth can ultimately only be a labyrinth. A labyrinth that knows how to ‘interact’ with humans tends to be of high value. A labyrinth that provides hospitality, and a hotel operated by a goblin.

 

“Very interesting.”

 

The gesture pointed to Room 9, where he would stay. It stood frozen like a mannequin, waiting for Baek Mujin’s command.

 

“….”

 

“Let’s go.”

 

The staff member bowed as if offering a greeting of thanks and led the way. No sound of footsteps could be heard.

 

“Your ego seems quite faint.”

 

Baek Mujin threw words into the quiet hallway.

 

“Yet you are too refined to be called a miscellaneous ghost. If your reason were this unclear, you should have fallen and been crushed long ago…. Is this also the influence of your second master?”

 

“….”

 

“He’s a more compassionate friend than expected. Well, that’s how it goes when one becomes a goblin. Does he cherish even such faint traces simply because they resemble humans? Stubbornly treating you as people, as his staff.”

 

Baek Mujin’s eyes narrowed.

 

“If that kind master were to leave this nest… what would become of you all?”

 

It was that moment.

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

The face of the staff member walking ahead turned toward Baek Mujin. While its body was still advancing forward, only its head had turned completely backward at a grotesque angle.

 

With a perfect smile.

 

With a clean face.

 

It laughs.

 

“….”

 

Are you loved?

 

“Whether it’s angry, or simply an error….”

 

It began softly and pitiably.

 

Noises that spread like faint ripples seeped from between the empty guest rooms. Sounds of joyful laughter, sounds of conversation, the sound of champagne glasses clinking… heavy with fulfillment.

 

It was as if a massive party were being held, but Baek Mujin knew. There are not this many guests in this hotel, and beyond those doors, it is all empty.

 

‘It’s muffled and heavy, like being underwater.’

 

The noises seeping from the walls, floor, and ceiling constantly whispered something to Baek Mujin. However, there was no way to understand the words spat out by vocal cords bloated by water.

 

Baek Mujin predicted politely.

 

“Do you feel displeasure?”

 

“….”

 

“But you do not possess that much reason.”

 

“….”

 

“It is a peculiar place….”

 

He soon stands before Room 9.

 

“….”

 

The staff member had already vanished.

 

“Quite petty, too.”

 

As he stepped inside the room, that cheerful auditory hallucination also stopped.

 

* * *

 

Ah, for your information.

 

The 22nd floor of this hotel is not a guest room floor.

 

Was it the sky lounge…?

 

* * *

 

“How long has it been since you started working at this hotel?”

 

“….”

 

At Baek Mujin’s sudden question, Lee Yeonwoo showed an unwavering smile. It was the face of a typical service worker, whose inner thoughts could not be known.

 

But even if he looked this way, he was in a bind.

 

‘…How should I answer this?’

 

If the time spent on resurrection is added, it’s approximately five years. If the game play time is also combined, it exceeds thirty years. Whichever he chose, there was a large gap from practical common sense.

 

Lee Yeonwoo spoke as he tidied the dining table.

 

“I consider it to be quite a bit of time.”

 

“I suspect it has been quite long, but….”

 

“I see.”

 

“You are rather hard to see through.” 

 

“….”

 

It was awkward.

 

It was a matter of pride, but reality was like that. Lee Yeonwoo’s common sense was at the level of a newborn infant. At least in that… mysterious world Baek Mujin was talking about.

 

He couldn’t reveal the truth either. Even if it weren’t for the system constraints, the fact that he was kidnapped to operate a horror simulation game was too peculiar.

 

‘I don’t want to be kidnapped to somewhere else and treated as an experimental subject again.’

 

But even so, was he to keep his mouth shut entirely?

 

‘Do you know the probability of a guest with this much information visiting this hotel again?’

 

Lee Yeonwoo finished his calculations.

 

“When I came to my senses, I was acting as the General Manager of this place.”

 

“You were?”

 

“Yes, that was the case for me.” 

 

“Was the start of your memory here?”

 

“That is not the case.”

 

“An interesting riddle.”

 

“I am glad if it sounds that way to you.”

 

“There is far too much accumulated in this hotel.” 

 

“Aha.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo didn’t know much about Baek Mujin. The information that he was the head of a major corporation and Director Lee Seonhae’s uncle was all. However, before even a day had passed, he had a rough estimate of what kind of category this old gentleman fell into.

 

‘He speaks quite poetically.’

 

He must have been a liberal arts major.

 

He wished they could converse fairly with facts and figures, but as a person in the professional world, he had no intention of pushing logic onto an elderly guest. Thus, there are words to say and words to deflect.

 

Fortunately, Lee Yeonwoo’s Korean language scores had also been high. Reading between the lines was no problem.

 

“I have managed it to the best of my ability in my own way, but I am deeply sorry if it appeared so antique as to show its age. Was there any inconvenience among the services provided?” 

= How much could you have possibly seen in such a short time, sir?

 

“The smell of water was strong.”

= Do you keep a water ghost?

 

“The smell of water…. I have no words to offer in excuse. As it is currently in the pilot operation stage, there are sections where management is lacking, and it seems I have caused you displeasure during your movement.”

= When did you happen across the water ghost of our house that even I haven’t seen for a while?

 

“Do not worry about this old man; I personally found it interesting.”

= Looking closely, you live in quite a foul place too.

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

Lee Yeonwoo poured the pairing wine. Baek Mujin appreciated the aroma in the glass and gave a light nod. Lee Yeonwoo, who keenly captured that moment, asked naturally.

 

“Does the aroma suit your preference?”

 

“Do you produce the wine here directly?” 

 

“Yes, it is a house wine produced in small quantities to bring out the optimal flavor for each dish in our hotel.”

 

“Quite… good.”

 

“Would it be impolite if I prepared a few bottles as a souvenir for when you check out?”

 

“That is welcome news.”

 

“I am glad to hear you say so.”

 

As expected, there is no case where a bribe doesn’t work on an elder with white hair.

 

‘The older they are, the more they are especially weak to flattery that is served up openly for them to see.’

 

Fortunately, his social skills did not seem to have grown rusty. Seeing as the man was playing along to this extent, it seemed he wouldn’t particularly take issue with this hotel and dwell on it.

 

‘From my position where even my identity is unclear, it’s the best result.’

 

In a situation where he didn’t even know which world he was stepping into, Baek Mujin chose a benevolent bystander’s role using a few bottles of wine as an excuse. For Lee Yeonwoo, it was something to be beyond grateful for.

 

“You.”

 

“Yes, please go ahead.” 

 

“Won’t you join me for a meal?” 

 

“If it doesn’t make you uncomfortable, I would gladly keep you company.” 

 

“Right. The staff here were all quite taciturn.”

 

“They are cold-hearted friends who don’t act warmly toward me either.”

 

“Dear me, that must be quite lonely.”

 

“Instead, there are none like them when it comes to silently listening to my stories.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo took a seat across from him. However, he did not particularly touch the provided food. Baek Mujin also tasted a piece of his own dish as if he knew that would be the case and spoke.

 

“The scent of blood is quite thick for a place where people rest.”

 

“My apologies, but those are traces difficult to completely erase on my level.” 

 

“No, you are erasing it well enough.”

 

A gray gaze lingered on Lee Yeonwoo’s face.

 

[Will you permit Existence Detection?]

[Yes/No]

 

“….”

 

[No]

 

“I have committed a discourtesy.”

 

“A discourtesy? I do not think so.”

 

“It was something I should have apologized for yesterday. This old man was so distracted by the hotel tour that I committed an act of rudeness. I am sorry once again.”

 

“Please do not concern yourself. I consider it a legitimate curiosity that a guest might have.”

 

“I was simply curious how it could be so.”

 

Baek Mujin sipped the wine. Like with yesterday’s tea, he was a person who liked to drink something.

 

‘Is he the type who doesn’t like eating?’

 

If so, Lee Yeonwoo thought he might feel a strange sense of kinship.

 

“The scent of blood came from you as well.”

 

“I am only embarrassed that my poor condition was read by the guest.”

 

“I shall ask. Do you truly believe this hotel can be a place of rest for humans? Did you yearn for humans so much that you desperately hoped someone would stop by here?”

 

“I am not a person so arrogant or lacking in discretion.”

 

“Then why do you go that far?”

 

He wiped his mouth with a napkin.

 

“How many times have you died here?”

 

“….”

 

How many times?

 

“…I have never counted.”

 

Because death happened as naturally as breathing due to the nature of the game.

 

Death was daily life not only during the last five years but also within the data he had played for several years. The counterpart seemed to be perceiving this hotel through some kind of record. It was not a domain for a hasty answer.

 

Baek Mujin nodded as if he understood even without an answer.

 

“The history accumulated here is far deeper than it appears on the outside. That would mean the axis of time flowing inside the hotel was different from reality. Is that not so?” 

 

I wonder how it would be as a game if in-game time were exactly the same as real-time.

 

“But to my eyes, that physical body looks to be about 19 years old….”

 

Thanks to him, Lee Yeonwoo became certain of his biological age, which he had only vaguely guessed. It seemed the set age from the start of the game had been maintained. How grateful he was.

 

“I am speaking with a heart of gratitude for you saving my foolish niece. If you live as a human, you will be a human; if you live as a beast, you will be a beast; and if you live as a ghost, you will be a ghost.”

 

“….”

 

“So please, live as you please.”

 

“…Thank you for the advice.”

 

And Lee Yeonwoo thought to himself.

 

‘If I say I’ll live as a human, will my long-lost human rights return too?’

 

That was definitely something he was curious about. Because by all accounts, they seemed to have been gone for quite a while.