Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 284

278. Memory

 

Christmas morning at Yeongchun Hotel. 

 

I remember countless Christmases without you.

 

I miss you, Santa.  

 

Please pat me. Hold me in your arms.

 

Just like you did for that little boy that day—please give me a present.

 

I hope that present is the White Christmas we spent together.

 

Min Kangjin’s voice echoed through the lounge. 

 

That spirit of singing on the acoustic guitar from the morning after coming out for breakfast. 

 

‘I can’t help but respect that, seriously.’

 

Kang Miyeon, the hotel manager who was standing in front of the tree, thought so and admired Millennium Idol’s beauty.

 

Even though he was just wearing a beanie and a tracksuit, with skin so clear that even his blood vessels were visible as if he had only washed his face, why did he look so pure and cute? 

 

I can’t help it. I’m a fool for a handsome face. 

 

Lim Sehwan approached her, who was suddenly acknowledging it. 

 

“Um… Manager, I wanted to give this to you last night, but I couldn’t find you no matter how hard I looked.”

 

Before Kang Miyeon could even say thank you, Lim Sehwan, who had cautiously handed her the box, disappeared into the distance. 

 

It’s something she always thinks about, but despite his skills with his hands, he definitely lacks social skills. 

 

She opened the well-packaged box.

 

Waterproof Hand Cream (E)

 

—It smells nice.

 

—A protective layer forms on the skin’s surface, keeping the moisture for 24 hours even after washing your hands. 

 

—Using it increases stamina by 50%. 

 

‘What’s the point of applying expensive hand cream? If I want to help serve, I have to wash my hands, and when I wash my hands, they get dry again.’

 

She remembered what she had grumbled about before.

 

Could he really remember that? Kang Miyeon thought as she looked at Lim Sehwan, who had run off like a malfunctioning machine and was now peeking his head out from a distance. 

 

However, the moment Lim Sehwan met Kang Miyeon’s gaze, he quickly pretended to be busy making something. 

 

“….”

 

Kang Miyeon was watching Lim Sehwan’s back when she heard someone calling her from below and looked down.

 

“Hey! Hey, I found it! Just kidding! Now, where’s my reward?” 

 

It was Choi Eulseong’s cute little grandson. 

 

Kang Miyeon waved her hand at the little guest. 

 

“Wow, that’s amazing. Congratulations, guest. Here’s your reward.” 

 

She pulled a piece of dalgona from her pocket and handed it to the child. The little boy accepted it with a happy expression and then ran off to his grandfather.

 

“I got a reward!”

 

“Alright. Our little baby. Well done, well done.” 

 

Choi Eulseong smiled as he patted his grandson’s head. 

 

‘You said you couldn’t remember what happened on Christmas Eve…’

That was what Choi Eulseong’s son had said. He had slept in his room on Christmas Eve, and as soon as he woke up, he seemed to have lost all his memories and called himself ‘son’ instead of ‘dad.’ 

 

However, Kang Miyeon thought that perhaps Choi Eulseong’s son might have a secret he didn’t know about, as she watched him fiddling with the soldier figurine ornament in front of the tree for a long time this morning. 

 

Mr. Choi Eulseong stood quietly, pressing his forehead against the soldier figurine’s forehead, and muttered like this. 

 

‘Thank you…’

 

‘Memory’ is solely theirs, so the truth can’t be known, but—

 

If she dare to guess why he made the secret, it might be because he wanted to hide his weaknesses and return to being a father and grandfather.

 

The memories of being loved were quietly buried, and from now on, he just wanted to give more love.

 

Kang Miyeon stood in front of the Christmas tree, gazing at the guests who were happily finding their toy friends, enjoying breakfast with their friends, lovers, and families. As she watched them, her own memories began to surface. 

 

Memories of running a hotel in a world that had become an apocalypse.

 

There, she recalled the memories of meeting the heroes from the chaotic youth, sharing breakfast together. 

 

And the memory of quietly watching the boss’ small shoulders as she sobbed in the lounge. 

 

‘It’s like a dream…?’

 

The reason she feels all those memories like a dream is— 

 

“Congratulations. I will give you a dalgona as a reward.”

 

—because of the boss, who was standing over there with such a composed face, greeting the guest. 

 

As always, the kind guardian-like black eyes, which simply observed everything, remained calm and unchanging.

 

‘Isn’t this a dream?’

 

But at the same time, the reason she couldn’t truly believe this was a dream was simple.

 

“Ahem, I must say… the manager uniform suits pretty well.” 

 

A man with neatly brushed red hair tied back in a ponytail stood beside her, acting all cheeky. 

 

With skin as white as porcelain and a roguish vibe, his sharply upturned eyes—impossible to forget once seen—drew the attention of the guests.

 

“Gasp… Is he the new manager?”

 

“He’s so handsome.”

 

“A foreigner? Specializing in foreign guests?”

 

Merlin Grey’s chin rose as everyone whispered.

 

“Hahaha, at this rate, Kang Miyeon might have to pack her bags~”

 

It was because of this shameless reptile.  

 

What did you talk about with the boss last night?

 

He had said that registering himself as a staff member of the hotel was the only way he could stay in this world, and asked Megumi to “hire” him. Then he started spouting nonsense about how the regular staff uniforms were too tight, and how his legs were longer than those of “humans.” The moment he found and put on that manager’s uniform instead, Kang Miyeon realized she simply couldn’t look at Merlin Grey the same way again.  

 

“This is my hometown, you know?”

 

“Haha, if you really think about it, this hotel used to be mine, you know?”

 

With a laugh that was hard to tell whether it was bold or frustrating, Merlin said nothing further.

 

Kang Miyeon felt murderous intent.

 

Feeling a similar murderous intent, Lim Sehwan glared at Merlin Grey with equal intensity, but Merlin deflected all hostility with ease and began greeting guests in front of the Christmas tree. 

 

100

 

100

 

200

 

300

 

Satisfaction ratings began to pop up above the heads of the guests Merlin Grey was attending to, growing steadily higher. 

 

Kang Miyeon couldn’t directly see the satisfaction ratings, but she could easily read the ecstatic expressions of the guests in front of Merlin. This was enough to stir up a burning sense of jealousy within her.

 

As she interacted with the guests, almost as if competing with Merlin, a group of guests approached and stood in front of the boss. 

 

A familiar face.

 

“Ugh… I think I drank way too much yesterday…” 

 

“You drank a sip of tequila, didn’t you?”

 

“At that amount, it’s a lethal dose for him.” 

 

“Don’t drink again, Kim Junsoo.”

 

Kim Junsoo, Hwang Misoon, Moon Heeyoung, and Han Minhyuk.

 

“He’s the association president, right?”

 

“That’s Hwang Misoon from Misoon Workshop!” 

 

“Gasp, it’s Moon Heeyoung. I heard she transferred to the Baekho Guild, and now she’s just openly hanging out with the Association President?”

 

“Han Minhyuk… the suit fanatic… Wearing a three-piece suit even while on a staycation… I love you…”

 

As all the guests’ attention turned toward them, Kang Miyeon also put her competition aside and focused her gaze on the four of them.

 

Normally, she had thought of them as just distant top-ranked players from South Korea and difficult guests who were oddly obsessed with the boss. But after seeing their youthful selves, a strange sense of familiarity had started to form.

 

Besides—

 

“Geez… Those four can’t remember, right?” 

 

Last night.

 

As soon as they returned to the hotel and gathered in the lounge, the boss asked her baby Junghyo fans, “Did any of you have a strange dream or something?”—and the four of them responded like this.  

 

‘Hmm? What dream?’

 

‘My head did hurt a little, though.’

 

‘Felt like a hangover?’

 

The boss asked Alex if synchronization was possible, but for some reason, Alex shook his head with a frightened expression. 

 

‘Y, yeah, that was the case… but after I pressed the exit button, it seemed like the memory wasn’t saved…? None of them remember.’

 

As Alex stammered in response, Moon Heeyoung placed a firm hand on his shoulder and smiled brightly.

 

‘Where did Junghyo go? A date with Dad?’

 

At the evil-looking smile, Kang Miyeon felt a chill, but the boss sat in the lounge with a rather relieved expression and shared a drink with everyone. 

 

‘That’s a relief. I was worried you might have had a nightmare.’

 

‘A nightmare? What kind of nightmare?’

 

‘No, it’s just… memories from tough times… just thinking about them is hard, you know? Like a difficult past, that kind of dream.’

 

‘….!’

 

‘Sniff… sob…’

 

For some reason, Kim Junsoo started to cry at those words, and the rest of the baby Junghyo fans became solemn. 

 

The atmosphere was a bit strange.

 

Except for the boss, who was simply feeling relieved.

 

However, Kang Miyeon couldn’t help but be concerned about the boss. Wasn’t there any sadness in the fact that those memories were solely her own? Perhaps she might want some comfort… 

 

No, maybe she might want to gain confidence. 

 

The certainty about her own choice to return to reality, even if it meant giving up something precious. 

 

“Hmm… to have lost the memory…”

 

At that moment, Merlin muttered with a subtle expression.

 

“Well. Everyone has their own reasons.”

 

“What are you talking about? Why are you speaking like a sage, making me mad?” 

 

Kang Miyeon shot back, utterly dumbfounded. Usually, he babbled nonsense without a care, but every now and then, when he spoke like a sage, it really pissed her off. 

 

“You, you know? What the hell does ‘pissed off’ even mean? With my communication skills, which can translate over a thousand different species’ languages, I still can’t figure it out! Ugh, I’ve played this game for so long, why don’t I know this?” 

 

“How can you be so pissed off and still not know what ‘pissed off’ means? This is also pissing me off.” 

 

“Ah, that damn ‘king.’ King. King.”

 

* * *

 

“Congratulations. You completed the quest beautifully. All four of you.”

 

I smiled at the four of them. 

 

Uncle Junsoo, Aunt Heeyoung, Aunt Misoon, and Uncle Minhyuk. 

 

All four of them stood before me with the same familiar expressions as always. But to me, their faces felt just a little unfamiliar.

 

Uncle Junsoo’s once golden-yellow hair had turned black, Aunt Heeyoung’s thick prescription glasses were now a bit lighter, Uncle Minhyuk’s bar-exam-student outfit had changed into a suit, and traces of time had settled on Aunt Heeyoung’s face.

 

The four of them probably didn’t hold the memories of that time we spent together, but to me, those memories were so precious and wondrous.

 

‘Even if it had been a quest on which the fate of humanity depended—’

 

Would you like to begin the settlement?

 

Y / N

 

I quietly looked up at the settlement screen that had finished. Somehow, Merlin—who had been hired as a staff member—must’ve pulled some strings, because when I woke up in the morning, that screen was just there. 

 

Of course, I plan to receive the settlement only after all the guests have checked out.

 

Because I have no idea what might happen next.

 

‘Five-star hotel… My heart is racing.’

 

As I gently brushed my chest with excitement, Uncle Junsoo approached me with tears welling up in his eyes and asked. 

 

“Why? What’s wrong? Our boss…” 

 

“Yes?” 

 

“My baby, is your heart hurting? I told you not to overdo it!”

 

“Let’s get you to the hospital right away.”

 

“Mhm.” 

 

Why did they suddenly become so overprotective overnight?

 

I stopped the four of them with a puzzled look on my face.

 

“N, no… I just touched it out of habit. Anyway, about the quest rewards…” 

 

I held out the dalgona I had prepared in advance.

 

“This is a customized dalgona I made. Do you remember when we took photos together at the regular meeting? I captured that moment.” 

 

The four of them each made subtle expressions as they looked at the dalgona I had handed them.

 

No, Uncle Junsoo just started crying without any hesitation. I knew he was emotional, but why did he cry so much? 

 

Was this because of the hangover?

 

“What I want to give to Aunts and Uncles is memories.” 

 

I hesitated for a moment.

 

“Uh… um… and….”

 

As the four of them looked at me, for some reason, it became even harder to speak.

 

I continued talking while looking at my feet.

 

“I’ve been thinking… um… Aunt, Uncle, you’re all incredible rankers in South Korea, and you’re also very close colleagues with my dad. So, I might be being rude by calling you Aunt and Uncle, but calling you association president feels too distant…”

 

I feel like I’m rambling on, but I can’t stop.

 

“…Uh… well… how about calling you ‘Imo’, ‘Gomo’ and ‘Samchon?”

 

I said it.

 

I suddenly thought it was strange to change the title after saying that.

 

Besides, isn’t ‘Aunt,’ ‘Uncle,’ and such terms used only among real family members?

 

They had taken care of me like family all this time, but because of that, I couldn’t rely on them any further. But maybe this suggestion is too much of a burden to ask.

 

‘….I was being short-sighted.’

 

I realized the truth too late and raised my head.

 

“Even if you decline…”

 

At that moment, someone’s warm arms wrapped around my face.

 

(t/n : At first, Junghyo used “Ajussi” (아저씨) and “Ajumma” (아줌마), which can be used for strangers or people who are not close or related to you. On the other hand, “Imo” (이모), “Gomo” (고모), and “Samchon” (삼촌), which also mean “aunt” and “uncle,” are usually used for family members. Correct me if i’m wrong.)