Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 250

244. I missed you

 

!Error!

 

Quest settlement due to system malfunction…

 

An error window that follows.

 

I closed that window and kept fiddling with the system window, over and over.

 

‘So this is how it’s done.’

 

I had been watching Alex for several days as she mimicked Merlin Grey’s system window. 

 

And now I’m imitating Alex.

 

!Error!

 

System malfunction, loading time delayed…  

 

If I focus just a little more, it feels like I could interfere more strongly with the system window Alex created. 

 

Merlin Grey’s system was so powerful that interference like this was completely impossible, but Alex’s system was different. 

 

!Error!

 

Please wait a moment…

 

If Merlin’s system window is on the level of a computer, Alex’s system window feels more like a simple 2D arcade game console. 

 

‘This is the difference in mana.’

 

Alex’s abilities are still not at the level to catch up to her father’s. 

 

!Error!

 

Time…

 

When I closed the last window, a new one popped up, almost as if it couldn’t be stopped. 

 

System: What the hell are you doing?

 

System: What are you going to do? What are you going to do? Just say it.

 

It’s Alex.

 

‘But how should I answer this….’

 

I hesitated and then thought of what I wanted to say in my head like when I activate a skill. 

 

‘I’m looking for someone. Give me a quest.’

 

System: So you want me to change the quest to ‘that person’? Search for a location?

 

That’s it. 

 

To think I can communicate with the system. 

 

I felt a strange mix of emotions. 

 

Up until now, I had always been in a position where I simply followed the system’s commands(?) without question. 

 

System: I got it. Just wait a bit. Please. 

 

System: Loading… 

 

0…

 

5…

 

While waiting through the seemingly endless loading, Choi Eulseong’s son spoke in an angry voice. 

 

“Say it again. What did you say?”

 

The person he was urging was Choi Eulseong’s grandson, Wonyoung.  

 

“I told Grandpa to sneak out because I wanted to play the game faster…”

 

The voice of the young boy trailed off under his father’s angry tone.

 

“So that’s why Father suddenly went to the bathroom alone?” 

 

The voice of the boy’s mother, who had complained to me earlier, grew louder.

 

“We were supposed to meet at the cafeteria, but when I went there earlier, he wasn’t there…”

 

“We promised to watch the performance together and then go play the game, Wonyoung-ah.” 

 

The boy’s mother scolded her son while glancing at me. 

 

The boy lowered his head and started to cry.

 

“They said we can play marbles at the cafeteria… I just wanted to try it quickly.”

 

“We should eat together first, then go and do it.”

 

The boy’s father put his hand on his forehead and got up from his seat.

 

“Huh… Huh-uh…! Waiting for food is boring, what can I do?”

 

It was a childish remark.

 

Kids naturally lack patience, so they get bored during the time adults leisurely sit and have a cup of coffee after a meal. 

 

Choi Eulseong’s grandson is still in kindergarten. 

 

A child needs to be at least 7 years old in order to sit at a desk and handle lessons as an elementary school student. 

 

So he might not have liked eating with adults in a boring way.

 

I understood, but with Choi Eulseong having disappeared, the parents only scolded the child even more. 

 

In the end, the child burst into tears.

 

“Hwaaaa..! I hate Mom and Dad!”

 

And in the end, this window popped up.

 

 

‘Guest Room 201’ regrets coming to Yeongchun Hotel.

 

Regret.

 

Regrets coming to our hotel.

 

This window came from Choi Eulseong’s son.

 

It was understandable. For him, what should have been a precious Christmas was turning into a nightmare—sweating over finding his missing father at our hotel and trying to calm his son down.

 

If this continues, this Christmas will remain a bad memory for the entire family.

 

‘Damn it.’

 

This wasn’t an event planned with anticipation for this kind of Christmas.

 

As I watched the parents struggling to comfort the boy, I immediately wanted to bring Choi Eulseong.

 

As if responding to my feelings, a window opened.

 

Quest ‘Find the old friend, Choi Eulseong’.

 

—Please search around the hotel and find the old friend, ‘Choi Eulseong.’

 

—If you find the old friend, ‘Choi Eulseong,’ and give him a heartfelt hug, you will receive the ‘memories’ of the two as a completion reward.

 

—!Note! When you clear the pop-up game, you can activate a skill to receive a hint about the location of your old friend.

 

As soon as the window appeared for me, Geumdong, who was next to me, muttered while looking into the air.

 

“Wow, ’m also a hunter… A quest…” 

 

That’s right. In front of Geumdong, the awakening and quest window had appeared as well. 

 

“Awakened?”

 

“Yes? Oh, this is the boss…?”

 

The reason why Geumdong awakened was simple. 

 

“Mhm. I did it. So now, let’s go to the cafeteria and play marbles.” 

 

The activation condition for the ‘Location Search (S)’ skill that I just upgraded was winning the pop-up game.

 

“I’m going to take all of your marbles.”

 

“….!” 

 

* * *

 

The boy was walking down the empty hotel hallway.

 

After his grandfather disappeared, the sulking boy sneaked in here without his parents knowing. 

 

‘Dad doesn’t know anything.’

 

All day long, Dad kept telling him to be careful, not to run around, and things like that. 

 

Adults liked sitting still and being bored. They had no understanding of the boy’s desire to explore every corner of the hotel. 

 

‘Wow! The ticket has been taken!’

 

The father may never understand the joy the boy felt while playing with his Ddakji.

 

So, while eating in that boring banquet hall.

 

‘Be careful!’

 

“Be careful, people are watching, sit still, it’s dangerous, it’s noisy,” those are the words he would have repeated. 

 

The boy, unable to help his frustration, went to the cafeteria and threw the soldier doll he had secretly stolen from the lounge tree into the air and caught it repeatedly.

 

Tuk.

 

Tuk.

 

Tuk tuk.

 

In fact, the boy’s father was always busy.

 

He often worked overtime and was busy sleeping when he got home.

 

Only recently did he start paying a bit more attention to the boy, taking some time out of his schedule. But the brief joy of having more time together soon faded—

 

‘Dad has become the king of nagging.’

 

The boy stuck out his lips in a pout.

 

I want to play with Dad.

 

‘Dad!’

 

 

His father’s brightly smiling face, his hands hugging and caressing the boy. 

 

Just having those things made the boy feel like he had the world.

 

Tuk.

 

Tuk, tuk.

 

The boy’s hand missed the soldier doll.

 

It was because his eyes went to a large painting in the hallway.

 

The boy’s steps also stopped.

 

The old soldier doll, the worn ballerina, and the other old toys, all depicted in a somewhat unique artistic style and color palette, embracing each other. 

 

The scene of those things, which looked like they had been abandoned by people for a long time, embracing each other, captivated the boy’s eyes for a long time.

 

It was as if the toys he had left in a corner of the house were like that in places where his eyes could not reach. 

 

The boy was still young and inexperienced, but he was absorbing the deep loneliness and longing that radiated from the entire painting. 

 

I miss you, oil in canvas 

 

by Cheon Mikyung 

 

So, although the boy couldn’t read the words written under the painting, he felt the same emotion.

 

‘I miss you.’

 

Without knowing who he was saying it to, the boy muttered those words quietly to himself. 

 

And at that moment.

 

Congratulations. You have found the ‘Old Friend Soldier Doll.’

 

Please hug the ‘Old Friend Soldier Doll’ to complete the quest.

 

The soldier doll popped right out of the painting.

 

‘Oh, I found it.’

 

The boy then remembered that he was doing the quest.

 

In fact, the boy’s dream was to become a hero who saves people.

 

‘When I grow up, I will become a great hero and make Dad happy.’

 

He often imagined his father, who now seemed nothing but distant, smiling at him and saying these words. 

 

 

‘As expected, you’re the best.’

 

As the elevator doors opened, someone walked towards him.

 

It was a large soldier doll.

 

“Wow….”

 

The boy let out an involuntary gasp of admiration as he looked at the soldier doll, which was even larger than he was. 

 

The soldier doll, with blonde hair and green eyes, identical to the one his father had once bought for him, was running toward him.

 

“W, why are you here…?”

 

The soldier doll, perhaps startled to see a young child here, asked him.

 

There was also a pretty older sister behind her. 

 

He remembered his father telling him that the older sister was the boss of this place. 

 

‘She looks like a black cat.’

 

The boy looked at the older sister who was looking at him with concern and hesitated.

 

“Because Dad keeps getting angry…”

 

“….”

 

At those words, the soldier doll, flustered, turned to look at the older sister. 

 

At that, the boss sister made eye contact with the soldier doll and hesitated for a moment.

 

She then tapped the soldier doll’s shoulder and very slowly approached the boy.

 

“So you ran away? Because Dad got angry?”

 

The boy nodded at the cautious question.

 

“Dad seems sad because of me lately. I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him smile…” 

 

The boy lowered his head.

 

“I feel like it’s because of me, and I’m upset.”

 

At the boy’s words, the boss sister, Junghyo, gently placed her hand on his shoulder. 

 

“That’s because Dad is worried about you.”

 

“It’s not because I’m jumping around and acting dangerously, making him angry?” 

 

The boy looked up at Junghyo with a sad expression.

 

“I think Dad doesn’t need me anymore.”

 

“….”

 

“He might want to throw me away.”

 

Junghyo, who had been quietly watching the boy’s trembling hand, took his hand in hers.  

 

Then, the wrinkled hands that were trembling with fear of being abandoned and becoming useless suddenly stopped.

 

“The reason Dad is angry at you…is not because he wants to abandon you.”

 

Junghyo quietly looked at the boy’s tear-stained face and hugged him tightly. 

 

“What makes your Dad angry is… because he needs you more than anyone, and he loves you.”

 

At the same time, a window appeared before Junghyo’s eyes.  

 

Congratulations! You have found and given a heartfelt hug to your ‘Old Friend, Choi Eulseong.’

 

You have completed the quest ‘Find the Old Friend, Choi Eulseong.’ Please go to the hotelier to claim your reward.

 

“You are never, ever useless. If it’s something like that…”

 

At that moment.

 

Ding.

 

The elevator door opened with a cheerful sound.

 

As the door opened, Choi Eulseong, in his boyhood form, saw his father appear before him. His father quickly ran towards him.

 

“Where have you been, Dad? I was worried.”

 

So…you were worried.

 

Choi Eulseong smiled brightly at his father.

 

He said to his father inwardly.

 

I missed you.