Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 259

253. Let’s go to Gyeongseong Hotel

 

Christmas Eve. 

 

Cheon Mikyung, who had been painting, suddenly stopped brushing her brush at the sound of the alarm.

 

Christmas Present

 

23:00

 

As she approached her phone, she saw the alarm title.

 

It meant it was time to give presents to the twins. 

 

The children, who had the habit of going to bed early like their father, Kim Junsoo, were in middle school but still fell asleep at 10 o’clock.

 

She had set the alarm while starting her work after having dinner with the kids, thinking she would leave presents by their bedside at 11 p.m. 

 

‘These days, even lower-grade elementary school kids know there’s no Santa Claus…’

 

How long will our children not know?

 

This is because they resemble Kim Junsoo’s naive side. 

 

Cheon Mikyung had that thought but then suddenly wished, “I hope they never find out for the rest of their lives.”

 

And she was quite surprised at herself for thinking that.

 

Since when… did I become such a sentimental person?

 

She turned off the alarm and looked at her self-portrait while holding her phone. 

 

There was something strange about her always sullen and fearsome appearance. 

 

‘The corners of my mouth are lifted.’

 

It was an expression that hadn’t been there when she was sketching. 

 

Cheon Mikyung’s smile. 

 

She furrowed her brows slightly, picking up her brush to fix the painting— 

 

“….” 

 

Then she put it down again.

 

The new year will come in just a week.

 

Wouldn’t it be okay to try drawing something a little different in the new year?

 

For an artist, change was a source of fear, but it was also something worth pursuing precisely because it was daunting.

 

And perhaps this change had been brought about by a man who had been her long-time friend, her lover, and was now her family. 

 

Kim Junsoo. 

 

From the moment that man who looked like a thug arrived in front of her on a red motorcycle, carrying a metal bag with ‘Hong Kong Restaurant’ written on it.

 

‘Did you order delivery?’

 

…?

 

She dropped her brush in an instant. A strange sense of déjà vu overwhelmed her. 

 

A motorcycle arrived for her when she was trapped in the underground workshop during the Great Disaster.

 

Up until then, it wasn’t strange.

 

But the strange thing was… 

 

‘Delivery…who ordered it?’

 

 

The voice was slightly thinner than what she remembered of Kim Junsoo’s.

 

And behind the owner of that voice, which seemed faintly blurred, was another inscription on the red motorcycle. 

 

Ilwolseong.

 

?

 

Not a Hong Kong Restaurant?

 

That was the moment she frowned.

 

Her self-portrait, wearing a faint smile, began to distort, crackling like an error on a game screen. 

 

!Error!

 

“…!”  

 

She suddenly jumped up from her seat.

 

She had clearly just seen a status window pop up over her self-portrait.

 

“T, this…” 

 

The moment she pointed to that status window.

 

That status window quickly disappeared.

 

So, she rubbed her eyes and then hit her own head. 

 

Was she lacking sleep?

 

Or was there something wrong with her body?

 

Maybe she was going through early menopause.

 

Yeah. She was already middle-aged. 

 

Cheon Mikyung tried to quickly convince herself of that. 

 

System

 

Huh? No. No. Forget it!

 

At least until this window popped up.

 

System

 

Ugh, why am I hereeee!

 

* * *

 

“M, me…” 

 

A familiar face walked toward me, breathing heavily in response to the question of who ordered the delivery.

 

A pale face with long, straight hair parted in a 5:5 split.

 

This was a face I often saw in Cheon Mikyung’s works.

 

A work titled <Self-Portrait>.

 

The person in front of me is the young version of Aunt Mikyung.  

 

I felt very strange.

 

It felt like this was the real past rather than a world created by the Demon King.

 

That’s why I felt like I was really time traveling.

 

Aunt Mikyung from the past had chubby cheeks. 

 

She’s cute.

 

I thought about that and smiled slightly. I saw Aunt Mikyung flinch, perhaps because she interpreted that smile differently. 

 

Ah. Or is it because there’s too much ogre blood on me? 

 

But there was nothing I could do.

 

Since I had to time it perfectly to match the moment the ogre broke the iron door, I ended up using the brutal method of slashing its neck directly. 

 

I tried my best to wipe the ogre blood off my face.

 

“B, but I ordered from a Hong Kong Restaurant.” 

 

At that moment, I heard Aunt Mikyung’s faint voice.

 

I lowered the hand that was wiping off ogre blood and looked at Aunt Mikyung. At that, Aunt Mikyung subtly stepped back. 

 

Hong Kong Restaurant.

 

The Chinese restaurant where Uncle Junsoo worked. 

 

I thought Uncle Junsoo would have arrived at the basement of the Seoyeon University Fine Arts Department by now— 

 

‘He’s not there.’

 

It’s a little strange.

 

I checked all the roads where motorcycles would likely travel on the way here.

 

I wonder if our paths might cross with Uncle Junsoo’s by chance.  

 

But I couldn’t find Uncle Junsoo anywhere. 

 

So, I thought about the possibility that Uncle Junsoo might not head straight to Aunt Mikyung, but right now, Aunt Mikyung clearly said, “I called Hong Kong Restaurant.” 

 

That means, regardless of anything, Uncle is probably wandering around somewhere near here. 

 

“Excuse me…” 

 

At that moment, Watanabe cautiously approached me from behind, speaking in a soft voice.

 

“It’s so scary. Right now.”

 

What do you mean? 

 

Ah. 

 

Only after hearing those words did I turn to look at Aunt Mikyung, who was frozen stiff, and the young art students in their early twenties.

 

They were all still in a state of panic after meeting the monster, and some of them were bleeding from the shock of being thrown from the iron gate.

 

“Mr. Watanabe. That—”

 

“Yes? Ah, yes.” 

 

Watanabe took the metal bag off the ‘Ilwolseong’ motorcycle that was lying on the ground. 

 

And then, inside that metal bag, he started taking out the emergency medicine he had picked up from a nearby pharmacy on the way.

 

Just like a Chinese delivery motorcycle delivering food.

 

At that sight, the college students around him naturally gathered around Watanabe.

 

“This friend is injured. Please disinfect here!” 

 

Although Watanabe couldn’t understand a single word, he instinctively started treating them. 

 

The painful groans and the exposed wounds.

 

With these two body languages, it seemed like there was nothing he couldn’t do.

 

At first, Watanabe trembled as he disinfected the deep wounds, but gradually, he regained his composure. 

 

There was a spark of life returning to his eyes. 

 

And most of all—

 

95

 

97

 

100

 

Satisfaction level increased.

 

‘★’ Acquired!

 

A sparkling window appeared with a cheerful ‘sharalala,’ and a bright star popped up before my eyes, scattering golden dust as it floated upward. 

 

‘I knew this would happen.’

 

Good deeds are indeed meant for others, but sometimes, there are moments when they are necessary for oneself. 

 

Especially when someone is trapped in a deep sense of helplessness, feeling needed by others can help them regain a strong sense of self-efficacy. 

 

I am someone who is needed by someone.

 

That person can survive only if I live.

 

If we are together, even in this ruined world, it is worth living.

 

That feeling.

 

That must be the primal emotion that allowed humanity to endure the great disaster, the apocalypse. 

 

Gyeongseong Hotel: ★☆☆☆☆

 

Remaining satisfaction up to 2-star hotel: 500

 

But what is this?

 

Suddenly, I frowned in front of the window that shattered the moment of emotion. 

 

Administrator 

 

Why… is the difficulty level increasing?

 

The system, no, Alex didn’t respond to my question. 

 

Are these reptiles chewing on my words again? 

 

‘Not only did they not give me the original hotel power, but now they’re also implementing it in a way that continuously increases the required satisfaction.’

 

Should I kill them?

 

While I was lost in such thoughts, Aunt Mikyung, no, the young Cheon Mikyung, asked me. 

 

“By any chance, have you seen the Hong Kong restaurant delivery motorcycle?” 

 

Aunt Mikyung’s question made me come to my senses.

 

However, rather than pretending to know about the Hong Kong restaurant motorcycle, I asked her as if it was the first time I had heard of it.  

 

“Hong Kong restaurant?”

 

“Yes. I sent a rescue request there. They said they would come straight here… and that they were coming with a friend.” 

 

“I guess you know someone at a Hong Kong restaurant.” 

 

At my words, Aunt Mikyung’s face became blurred. 

 

“Yes. Just… someone I know.” 

 

Perhaps he said he would come, but didn’t actually show up.

 

Aunt Mikyung looked like she felt a mix of slight disappointment and slight relief, but— 

 

“When I went to the Hong Kong Restaurant, it seemed like they had already left with the motorcycle. That’s why I brought the one that was left over on the other side.” 

 

“….!”

 

The following words were accompanied by a look of despair. It was the first time I had seen such an expression from Aunt Mikyung, whose face usually showed little emotion. 

 

‘From this point on, Aunt must have already fallen for Uncle.’

 

Even though Uncle Junsoo had secretly loved Aunt Mikyung for a long time after the catastrophe, it seems it wasn’t really unrequited love. 

 

Boom, boom, boom!

 

It was then. 

 

A loud thud sounded outside the building, and the entire building shook as if it was shaking. 

 

Something was happening.

 

The college students were muttering.

 

“What’s that? Another monster?” 

 

“What should I do…!”

 

I heard sobbing voices again.

 

I looked at their terrified faces and said.

 

“Let’s go together. We can’t stay in the basement forever. I heard the military is guarding the auditorium at Seoyeon University.” 

 

“There will be monsters outside. I can’t go. I’ll just stay here.” 

 

A student stepped forward.

 

The students who had faces filled with fear at those words agreed.

 

I didn’t really react to the student’s words and just stayed still.

 

In the early days of the disaster, the military was powerless against the monsters, but for unarmed civilians, staying with soldiers who were at least armed was the wisest decision to increase survival chances.

 

However, since they didn’t know what kind of monsters were emerging from inside the gate, it was natural for them to just feel like it was a natural disaster that would pass if they just covered themselves with blankets and trembled, or to simply panic.

 

I had no reason to take these people out by force and endure the resentment they would hear if they saw blood.

 

“Then you can just die here. I have no intention of dying, so I’ll go with this person.”

 

It was then. 

 

Aunt Mikyung stood beside me. 

 

As Aunt Mikyung stood beside me, a nervous female student next to her grabbed Aunt Mikyung’s hand. 

 

“I, I’ll…go with Mikyung too. She saved my life.”

 

Did Aunt Mikyung save her life? 

 

I don’t know what she meant, but I could tell that the atmosphere wasn’t normal.

 

The mention of Aunt Mikyung saving someone’s life caused a stir among the students around. 

 

“That’s right. Just now, Mikyung risked her own life to save us…” 

 

“What if Mikyung gets hurt after going outside…?”

 

“Ah, I don’t care! Whether we stay here or go outside, it’s dangerous either way! I want to go out with her!” 

 

One by one, like the brave citizens in disaster movies, they began to rise from their seats and gather around Aunt Mikyung. 

 

No, I didn’t plan such a touching story? 

 

Aunt Mikyung made a subtle expression as she looked at her colleagues surrounding her. 

 

The college students around her began holding hands one by one, their faces expressing confidence that there was nothing to fear as long as they were together. 

 

Seeing that, even Watanabe gathered in the circle.

 

“…This is… the nation…of delivery!” 

 

Huh?

 

Isn’t that what you meant?

 

But before I could stop him, Watanabe also became one of the circles, and this window popped up.

 

200

 

Exceeding satisfaction level achieved! Satisfaction points will be carried over!

 

Gyeongseong Hotel: ★☆☆☆☆

 

Remaining satisfaction for 2-star hotels: 400

 

Congratulations! You’ve unlocked the achievement ‘Humanity’s Last Hope,’ and a new facility, ‘Humanity’s Last Restroom,’ has been added to your hotel.

 

Oh.

 

Wow.

 

That’s amazing.

 

I stood in the middle of the circle with a very awkward face.

 

Everyone was looking at me with expressions as if they were asking me to say something ‘encouraging’.

 

I can’t help it. I have to say something.

 

“I’m from Gyeongseong Hotel. If we make it out safely, please come visit our hotel…”

 

Although my words lacked energy, everyone’s eyes sparkled with hope at them. 

 

“Let’s go play at Gyeongseong Hotel!”

 

At that moment, as if it were some kind of slogan, they all shouted in unison— 

 

Boom, boom, boom!

 

An explosion was heard from the stairs leading down to the basement.

 

At the same time, a notification flashed in the chat window with Alex. 

 

System

 

It’s touching and everything is good…

 

Something’s strange about this world…!