Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 246

240. Merry Christmas, now with a side of Hunter materials.

 

Full booking. 

 

The person who was most excited at that word was Andrea.

 

“Mamma mia! How long has it been since we opened, and it’s already fully booked…! This is something I couldn’t even dream of at the 7-star hotel I worked at.”

 

As Andrea, dressed in his work suit, spoke and moved his hands nonstop, Kang Miyeon, who was sitting next to me, muttered. 

 

“A handsome movie actor shouting ‘Mamma Mia’…” 

 

It was fortunate that it was in Korean. 

 

I had known for a long time that the manager—no, the general manager, Hunter Kang Miyeon, has a weakness for handsome men, but it becomes even more apparent when she’s around Andrea. 

 

For your information, this is a conference room that was renovated from the penthouse on the top floor of Dungeon International, where the ‘Healing Tree’ is located. 

 

‘Healing Tree (S)’ 

 

“Handsome. The most handsome man…”

 

Thanks to that, the mutterings from Healing Tree about being as much of a “face-enthusiast” as the general manager are coming through in real-time.  

 

Since the top floor of Dungeon International is occupied by the picky and precious Healing Tree, I couldn’t ask just anyone to design the conference room interior. 

 

Aunt Misoon helped with the entire process: setting up partition walls on three sides, installing a full glass wall on one side, and even making space for a hologram device in case of video conferences. 

 

‘I’m an engineer, not an interior designer.’

 

The reason she helped despite grumbling was simple. 

 

‘You’ll be joining the pop-up store next quarter, right?’

 

‘…You…!’

 

‘I think we agreed to sign a contract for business extensions as needed. Oh, by the way, we’re preparing a Christmas season event, so I sent you an email with a graph showing that we expect sales to increase significantly. Did you see it?’

 

‘My child, you’ve grown up faster than I expected, huh?’

 

It’s because of the contract extension. 

 

I didn’t want to come out this petty, but because Aunt was involved in Uncle Junsoo’s disappearance, I ended up speaking a bit more harshly. 

 

Once she started, Aunt quickly finished the space.  

 

Today was the first time we had a regular meeting with the general manager and the managers of the chain below her in that fancy conference room. 

 

Until then, there hadn’t been many meetings. It wasn’t because they weren’t needed, but rather because every moment spent together felt like a meeting in itself, so there was no sense of needing to establish the concept of a regular meeting. 

 

However, since the hotel had grown in size and unlike Yeongchun Hotel, Dungeon International didn’t automatically upgrade its facilities, we felt that we needed a regular meeting to discuss the direction of the hotel’s operation. 

 

In the meetings of our hotel, which is quite a multinational company, English was used. 

 

Fortunately, everyone was good at English, so there was no trouble with communication at all. 

 

“It’s only natural, considering the 7-star hotel Andrea was at charges several hundred thousand won per night.” 

 

I said this to calm the somewhat heated atmosphere, which was a bit over the top due to the full booking. 

 

Bakery staff usually dislike the approach of the Christmas season because it means a rush of customers. 

 

However, when our hotel staff heard about the full booking, rather than disliking it, their cheeks flushed with excitement, leaving me feeling rather embarrassed.

 

“But the Dungeon International Executive Room is over a million won per night. That’s fully booked too.”

 

“Is that… thanks to Min Kangjin?” 

 

I also watched the Christmas carol video that Min Kangjin posted.

 

[The bright glow of the fireplace, the sparkling starlight, and your gaze that shone brighter than both.]

 

With disheveled hair as if just coming home after finishing the schedule, wearing a hoodie turned inside out. 

 

[I remember a Christmas from my childhood, like a scene from a movie.]

 

Beneath that, fingers strumming a guitar while wearing horn-rimmed glasses. 

 

[You asked me what gift I wanted while wearing a loose Santa suit.]

 

Though he’s without makeup, his face has a much fresher look than when he’s acting or performing on stage. Around that moment, he gazes into the camera with a slightly wistful expression in his eyes. 

 

Though there’s no makeup, the face has a much fresher, more innocent feel than the usual acting or stage presence. At that moment, while gazing at the camera, a somewhat wistful look appears in the eyes. 

 

[If it were now, I would answer like this.

 

‘I just wish you wouldn’t leave, Mr. Santa.’

 

I remember countless Christmases without you.

 

I miss you, Mr. Santa.

 

Please stroke my hair. Hug me. Just like that day, give me a gift, like you did for the young boy. 

 

I hope that gift is the white Christmas we shared together.]

 

The song Min Kangjin chose was <Memory of Christmas>. 

 

Min Kangjin interpreted the sad story of an adult recalling memories of their father dressed as Santa from their childhood with his unique emotional touch. 

 

On top of that, as he continued his acting career, his gaze grew deeper and touched the hearts of the listeners. 

 

With his eyes dampened, he looked at the camera, and as the chorus transitioned to the words, “Please stroke my hair. Hug me. Just like that day, give me a gift,”— 

 

The camera suddenly shifts as if it is surprised by that sight.

 

‘O, oh, my phone is falling.’

 

This short video, which ends with a flustered voice, has become popular on a video site, garnering millions of views. 

 

Most of the reactions were that it wasn’t a short practice video posted on SNS, but a concept movie. 

 

Everyone carries at least one memory of their parents dressed as clumsy Santas from their childhood, deep in their hearts. 

 

On top of that, with Min Kangjin’s idol-like appeal, his gaze growing moist as he asked to be stroked and hugged, the comments were filled with praise.

 

And the most important phrase was written below the video.

 

0spring_hotel

 

1224, you’ll have to sing it for the staff at the hotel staycation.

 

The Yeongchun Hotel account tag even advertised the banquet hall performance. 

 

In addition, a Christmas event notice was posted on the Yeongchun Hotel account that day by chance.

 

An announcement inviting everyone to the village of the toys, where if you find the scattered toys, you’ll receive a gift.

 

This strangely connected to the title of the carol, Christmas Memories, and raised interest in the hotel to the max. 

 

There are two reasons.

 

– Wow, this is crazy. Did Dungeon Hotel finally get Min Kangjin on board? And the song selection for the performance fits the concept perfectly…

 

One is the insane marketing skills of the hotel for securing Millennium Idol Min Kangjin. 

 

This was actually a misunderstanding, as we hadn’t recruited him, nor had we asked him to sing that song—but we were lucky. 

 

Another is the victory of the event planning where you would be invited to the toy house and receive a gift if you caught the toy friends. 

 

– I succeeded in getting a ticket. The concept isn’t just a toy village, but a game! I’m really looking forward to it because it’s a gift item that you get if you clear the game…!

 

It seemed like the event of delivering gifts through big and small games like the arcade of memories was quite popular.

 

So, the hotel’s full booking and rise in fame could be said to be the result of the synergy effect of Min Kangjin’s carol video and our hotel event. 

 

My cautious question, “Is the full booking thanks to Min Kangjin?” was really about which of the two had been more effective.

 

The general manager who understood what I said quickly answered.

 

“It’s thanks to our concept. The number of families who want to spend the Christmas holidays in a special way has increased dramatically.”

 

The general manager’s analysis was the latter.

 

“If it were solely due to Min Kangjin, most of the reservations—whether standard rooms, suites, or executive rooms—would likely be from young women in his fanbase. But this time, we have a lot of family guests bringing their children. That’s what the data shows.”

 

The general manager, who skillfully showed me a graph on her tablet that she always carries, pulled out another graph.

 

“Do you know why there are so many families bringing their children?”

 

There was a list of elementary school students’ future aspirations.

 

It was a familiar childhood dream everyone had seen somewhere before. 

 

Doctor, lawyer, teacher, firefighter, etc.  

 

Those future aspirations that often appear in textbooks and books were in reasonable proportions and were relatively tall. 

 

However, there was one long graph that stuck out, and underneath it was written.

 

Hunter.

 

“These days, the number one career dream for elementary school kids is to become a hunter. And our hotel’s current theme is all about hunters, right?”  

 

Meow—

 

As if she was right, the cat manager of the second branch cried.

 

Since this was a meeting with all the managers, the manager of the second branch was, of course, also present. 

 

For reference, the manager of the second branch was, naturally, settled right on top of my hand. 

 

“Add a game element to the hunter theme, and it’s a guaranteed win.” 

 

The manager smiled, as if grateful for the cat manager’s comment, and added,

 

That’s right. The poster on our hotel’s account looked like this.

 

System: The hotel is verifying the visitor…

 

You have been verified as a “Player” at the hotel.

 

A surprise quest, ‘Merry Christmas,’ has arrived. Would you like to check it?

 

Y / N

 

The content borrowed the format of a system window, and the font and design were inspired by classic arcade games from old-school video game halls.

 

 – No, it’s not just a toy village. It’s got a retro arcade theme!

└ But now, with a hunter theme added to it

└ You roam around the hotel looking for toy friends, so it even has an AR-based game vibe.

 

“No wonder kids are begging to come here!” 

 

The general manager exclaimed, sounding oddly exasperated. 

 

Those words came from the heart. 

 

Hyeyu had been begging relentlessly to participate in the game at the hotel. 

 

The person with the most influence in any family is usually under 19. 

 

In any case, I felt proud knowing this event was a success—even Hyeyu wanted to come. 

 

Now, all that’s left is to successfully carry out the event. 

 

“Now that I think about it, there are a lot of comments asking how this game event is being implemented.” 

 

At that time, Megumi asked.

 

“Should I reveal this in advance?”

 

– But how exactly is this being implemented? Are they handing out smartphones or something?

└Maybe? Creating separate gaming devices would be expensive, so they’ll probably hand out smartphones and collect them afterward.

└└For each guest? It seems complicated;;;

└Are they really providing all those devices? What kind of funding does Dungeon Hotel have?

 

Questions like these started popping up one by one. 

 

But I shook my head. 

 

Since the attention has already been grabbed, I decided not to spoil any more details about the event. 

 

The implementation of this game event is actually the most important point. 

 

“Alright, let’s all do our best. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.” 

 

I said energetically to the managers of Branch 1, Branch 2, and Branch 3. 

 

Now is the time to show everything we’ve prepared. 

 

Everyone responded energetically to those words. 

 

“Yes!”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Meow…?”

 

* * *

 

“Father, this is the famous Yeongchun Hotel, known as the Dungeon Hotel! How do you like it? It must be exciting, right?” 

 

The elderly man in his 80s, Choi Eulseong, who had been dozing off in the car, woke up to the cold plastic sensation on his nose. 

 

When he opened his eyes, his young grandson was holding a toy car in front of him.

 

What was the dream?

 

Lately, he hasn’t been able to remember his dreams well. 

 

Maybe that’s why, even after waking up from a dream, it feels like he’s still dreaming. 

 

Eulseong looked at the young woman and young man sitting in front of him with such thoughts.

 

And he muttered to himself.

 

‘My son, my daughter-in-law.’

 

And this kid, who looks exactly like his son from back in the day, the one who rushed a red car toward him, is his grandchild, Wonyoung. 

 

Choi Eulseong thought as he quietly lowered the car Won-young was pushing. 

 

Today’s date and such.

 

That’s why.

 

Choi Eulseong, who got out of the car with his son’s help, smiled brightly when he found a tree that was so big, flashy, and shiny that it filled the lounge. 

 

‘December 24th.’

 

Christmas Eve.

 

Because the date he had in mind was correct.

 

Suddenly, the start of the day felt refreshing.

 

But is it really morning now…?

 

Such questions quickly evaporated. 

 

He stared blankly up at the tree decorated with things like teddy bears, soldier dolls, and ballerina dolls, and spent a long time fiddling with the ornaments. 

 

“Grandpa. Don’t touch that. You’ll get in trouble.”

 

That is, until Wonyoung grabbed his hand.

 

It was at that moment, when he was told not to touch the small and cute things, that a mischievous thought suddenly rose in his mind.

 

The blond bellboy approached him with a bright smile.

 

“Ah, are you already participating in the event, Guest Choi Eulseong?”

 

Choi Eul-seong.

 

That’s his name.

 

Eulseong recalled his name, which was one of the things he often forgot lately. 

 

Of course, it wasn’t just after he was diagnosed with dementia that he started forgetting his name. 

 

At work, he was called by his title, and at home, he was called father or grandfather, so no one called him by his name.

 

Just the fact that he called him by his name made Choi Eulseong feel like the fog in his head had cleared a little, so he looked at the bellboy and asked. 

 

“How do you know my name?”

 

What emerged after the fog cleared was a sense of caution.

 

Why would someone he had never met know his name?

 

At those words, the bellboy smiled shyly and said.

 

“Our hotel will soon become a 5-star hotel. So, in order to provide the service befitting of that, we are memorizing the names of all the guests who check in.”

 

Choi Eulseong was a little bewildered by the bellboy’s cheerful voice that seemed to say, ‘A 5-star hotel!’ 

 

However, in the meantime, the bellboy brought out a ladder from somewhere and pointed to the tree and asked. 

 

“To participate in our event, you’ll first need to choose a toy. Which one would you like, Guest Choi Eulseong?” 

 

“Toy…?” 

 

“Yes, we’re currently holding a toy search event.” 

 

He looked up at the large tree, realizing that he had to find one of these ornament dolls.

 

He then asked if he could choose anything.

 

“Of course!”

 

“Then I…I’ll take this.”

 

Choi Eulseong answered by holding up one of the ornaments that he could reach.

 

It was a soldier doll.

 

The toy soldier that looked exactly like the one his father, a trader, had bought for him when he was seven years old. 

 

“Ah, yes. You’ve chosen a pretty doll. Then, with this… um… it’s been registered, Guest Choi Eulseong.” 

 

The bellboy gestured to the air.

 

As if pressing an invisible button.

 

Then a window appeared in front of Choi Eulseong’s eyes. 

 

System: The hotel is verifying the visitor…

 

You have been identified as the hotel’s ‘Player’.

 

Class: You have awakened as a Toy Friends (C).

 

Skill: You have acquired Location Search (C).

 

And at the same time, a small map appeared alongside the text.

 

As if Choi Eulseong had really awakened as a hunter.