Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 264

258. Yes? Here?

 

“Uncle~ I’m telling you to go to the first floor, the first floor!”

 

Uncle Junsoo, perhaps seeing something, stretched out his hand with all his might and formed the shape of a “1” with his whole body.

 

It must have been because his vision improved after awakening.

 

Whatever it was.

 

“Uncle, behind!” 

 

“Hmm?” 

 

Without even looking behind him, Kim Junsoo caught a swordfish that was trying to cut in with the trident.  

 

Kim Junsoo casually grabbed the swordfish, whose neck had been pierced in an instant, and threw it to the whales. 

 

“Phuu-!”

 

“Phu~”

 

The whales made joyful sounds as they began sharing the swordfish.

 

“But just now, you called me ‘uncle’… Do I really look that old, Noona?” 

 

Despite just hunting a D-class monster, Kim Junsoo focused solely on the word “Uncle,” putting on a sad expression. 

 

“No, it’s just that you resemble Uncle I know.” 

 

Now that I think about it, Uncle was someone who seemed so cheerful yet was surprisingly terrifying in his own way. 

 

I thought about that as I looked at the current Kim Junsoo.

 

Kim Junsoo was riding on the back of a C-class monster, a Sky Whale, and training them.

 

The way Uncle trained the Sky Whale wasn’t through high-level methods like using a taming skill or anything of that sort. 

 

As soon as they arrived at the Han River embankment, Kim Junsoo charged at one of the Sky Whales, then proceeded to subdue all the ones rushing at him with his fists. 

 

Afterward, he began gently soothing the whales by catching birds or small monsters flying nearby and feeding them to the whales. 

 

This could be called the “carrot and stick” method.

 

‘Thanks to that, we managed to cross the Han River without any issues, but—’

 

I saw Uncle jumping onto the glider with a leap, saying goodbye to the whales. 

 

“But you don’t actually know my exact age, right? Why do you keep calling me ‘Noona’?”  

 

“Yes?” 

 

I just realized, but Uncle, I think we’re the same age, aren’t we? 

 

At my words, Uncle Junsoo flinched and subtly slapped my shoulder. 

 

Then, pretending to be shy, he smiled and started the motorcycle. 

 

“Hey~ If you’re pretty, you’re all my Noonas~” 

 

….? 

 

What are you talking about?

 

As Uncle Junsoo rambled on with his nonsensical chatter, we cut through the ruined city in the southwest of Seoul and entered a corner of Gosichon, where Hwang Misoon asked me,

 

“That Oppa, what’s your home address?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

I answered with a calm face.

 

Of course.

 

There’s no way I would remember the address of where Uncle Minhyuk lived over 20 years ago. 

 

At my answer, Hwang Misoon’s expression was twisted. 

 

“Yes? This crazy Unnie…” 

 

“But I don’t think I’m Unnie.” 

 

“…If you’re pretty, you’re all Unnies…  but seriously, where is that oppa, you little brat?”

 

How can she lose her temper so quickly? I thought she was holding it together for a while.

 

Thinking that way, I called out to the being I needed at this time.

 

‘Activate location search!’

 

It was activating the Location Search (S) skill that I had set up at the hotel. 

 

System

 

Yes…? Here?

 

 

* * *

 

“Thank you! Merry Christmas to all!”

 

As the M5 performance or the Millennium Stone performance ended and people started to rush out to the lounge, Kim Jun-su and Hwang Mi-soon also left their seats. 

 

As usual, the two of them started bickering, and before long, a “drinking battle” began, with Kim Junsoo inevitably passing out first. 

 

Hwang Misoon, who was carrying Kim Junsoo, said this as she left first.

 

“I didn’t even drink that much, but I guess I’m getting older… my head hurts, and I keep seeing things. But where did Lee Semyung and Junghyo go…?” 

 

“They were going out with Team Leader Han.”

 

When Yoojun subtly interrupted to answer, Hwang Misoon clicked her tongue.

 

“Seriously, humans. They love romance. I wonder if Lee Semyung is crying somewhere. I should go find him.” 

 

After most of the people left, Han Minhyuk sat alone in the banquet hall, sipping a glass of wine.

 

“Why do you drink so much?”

 

Moon Heeyoung, who saw that, got up from her seat and stopped talking. 

 

The answer was unexpected—

 

“I liked wine. I even drank it in Sillim-dong sometimes.”

 

The answer came back.

 

Is this the power of Christmas?

 

“You drank wine in the Gosichon? What a crazy guy.”

 

“Those kinds of guys were around sometimes. They’d settle for instant noodles in the gosiwon, but they’d drink wine like idiots. That’s what poverty is. It makes you keep creating things you don’t want to give up.” 

 

As she watched Han Minhyuk, whose fingertips exuded an aristocratic elegance as he poured more decanted wine, Moon Heeyoung let out a hollow laugh. 

 

“You were an exiled prince. Technically, you were a grand prince, but still. You chose your own exile. And now, you’re talking about poverty? It’s a deception.” 

 

Han Minhyuk smiled slightly at Moon Heeyoung’s words.

 

There was no sound, but she clearly saw him smiling.

 

“Maybe it wasn’t money that was lacking. Perhaps that’s why… you developed the habit of creating things you didn’t want to give up.” 

 

“…At that time.”

 

As Moon Heeyoung noticed the deepening intensity in Han Min-hyuk’s eyes, she carefully began to speak. 

 

“Did you call that number back then?”

 

That number.

 

The number she was referring to was the one she had given Han Minhyuk over 20 years ago — his biological mother’s number. 

 

Han Minhyuk was a quick-witted guy.

 

When he asked what he wanted in exchange for the forced kiss, he didn’t flaunt his pride but immediately told her what he desired.  

 

Asked for the number of the person who gave birth to him.

 

Moon Heeyoung was quite surprised by the unexpected earnestness in his eyes.

 

“….”

 

Han Minhyuk didn’t answer.

 

Seeing that he didn’t respond, Moon Heeyoung made a definitive conclusion.  

 

“So you never tried it. Good. It wouldn’t have suited you anyway.” 

 

It was her way of offering comfort.

 

Yeah. To cling to the person who abandoned him. That wouldn’t suit Han Minhyuk.

 

Moon Heeyoung thought that, lightly rubbed Han Minhyuk’s shoulder, and got up from her seat.

 

“Just drink and come out.”

 

Han Minhyuk remained motionless for a long time after Moon Heeyoung left the room. 

 

He just sat there quietly, savoring his wine glass for a long time, staring at the screen.

 

A woman’s face was on the screen.

 

The woman who, whether he was 10, 20, or now in his middle age, still had the same face as when she was in her twenties. 

 

‘Mom.’

 

Han Minhyuk recalled the person he had first and last spoken to on the phone when he was young.

 

It was a call that he barely remembered anymore.

 

Early days of the Great Disaster.

 

Back when he was trapped in the lecture hall of the law academy, waiting for death.

 

He saw the signal for a call to be possible on his phone for the first and last time. 

 

Logically, he should have called 119 or 112.

 

At that time, he had not thought that the ‘great disaster’ was a disaster that would cause the collapse of the country.

 

However, his fingers kept pressing a number as if they had been waiting.

 

How amazing it was to him. 

 

It was the fact that he remembered that number, which he had only glanced at briefly.

 

‘Mom.’

 

He spoke those words for the first time over the disconnected receiver.

 

He lied about sending her to the United States, but he knew that she was still in Korea.

 

He also knew that, after cleaning up her identity, she had remarried a new man and was living off the large sums of money sent by her wealthy husband. 

 

That she had never looked for me.

 

And yet, he looked for his mother.

 

It didn’t matter if she didn’t answer the phone.

 

At that time, he just needed someone to call.

 

All he needed was someone to pick up his phone and say, “Mom.” 

 

Tut—tut—tut—

 

But when that didn’t work.

 

He realized.

 

That I was going to die like this.

 

Even if I wasn’t torn to pieces by the hands of those giant monsters roaming around out there.

 

Even if I somehow survived.

 

I was dead.

 

“….”

 

It was the moment he swallowed his wine, recalling that moment.

 

Snap—

 

The screen was distorted. It was a mess, like clay that someone had roughly kneaded with their hands.

 

And then, when the clay flattened out and found its place again—

 

‘Uncle. We should go back.’ 

 

A woman was on the screen, shedding tears.

 

It wasn’t his mother.

 

She had never cried like that while looking at him.

 

She only wore a look of contempt, as if she was utterly disgusted. 

 

The face, reddened around the eyes, twisted in a way that looked both frantic and tense, yet it also seemed…

 

‘She’s cute.’

 

She was cute.

 

To the point where it was ridiculous.

 

Because she resembles Junghyo from her childhood.

 

‘Uncle… let’s turn back over there.’

 

It was the exact same expression as that child who would hide behind their coat after watching a slightly scary movie back in school.

 

But that kid never said anything like it was scary or sad.

 

As if she feared that if she said she missed her father, she’d be kicked out of his house. 

 

That kid was like that.

 

Not once did she do that—

 

‘Uncle… I… I’m so… so scared.’

 

 

She was a kid who had never shown her emotions.  

 

But why?

 

She was standing there like that.

 

Han Minhyuk stood up from his seat.

 

She didn’t look like that at all in his memory, but it was still Junghyo. 

 

My only family. Junghyo.

 

‘Don’t cry.’

 

A kid who couldn’t cry anywhere.

 

And at that moment—

 

System

 

Again?

 

A strange window popped up.

 

Han Minhyuk’s pupils dilated, and his body staggered.

 

He held onto the chair tightly and let out a ragged breath.

 

It doesn’t make sense. 

 

“….?” 

 

This was the first hangover he had experienced since his awakening.