Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual Chapter 113

Novel: Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual Author: wuxiafull Updated: Jun 03, 2026

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Now reading: Chapter 113 from Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual, a Fantasy novel by wuxiafull.

Lee Yeon-woo considered himself a person of common sense. But he couldn't ignore results that were staring him in the face, either. That would be grounds for having his researcher credentials revoked.

"......"

...Could it really be 'that kind' of world?

'They seem to call it The Gaps, but surely it can't be a world where human rights have hit rock bottom to that extent?'

[Yes.]

'What exactly do you know that you're agreeing, Coco?'

[Yes? Yes.]

'I can never read your intentions.'

Let him recall ordinary sensibility.

If soone got hurt right in front of you, you'd at least feel uncomfortable. If you couldn't stand the sight of blood, it might even be frightening.

But if this kind of injury was commonplace in their world. If it was everywhere, the two students' reactions made sense. Because soone frightening was showing weakness.

'Rather than discomfort, it would actually bring relief.'

But really, to that extent.

"......"

"Yeon-woo?"

"...Ah, yes, one mont...."

Yeon-woo lightly rubbed his eyes, then pressed firmly on the bare bridge of his nose where his glasses weren't, and raised his head.

"Where were we?"

"The French toast we had for breakfast this morning."

"You said you coated it in sugar?"

"Yes, we had it for dessert, and it was just like pudding...."

Seo asked with an awkward expression.

"We must have worn you out."

"No, it's not that."

He'd simply been staggered by the realization that 'a world where human rights have hit rock bottom to this degree actually exists.' Now that he'd secured a ga character's semi-permanent stamina through Physical Improvent, there was nothing to be tired about.

"I've always looked like this."

"Oh, um...."

"I'm more worried about the two of you, actually."

"In what sense?"

"You need to get out of here soon."

Yeon-woo decided to acknowledge it.

"People with so much ahead of them to see and enjoy, trapped in a place like this."

The effect had been too good for its own sake.

'Rawi's case aside, Seo is especially at risk.'

Rawi was fine. That one subtly showed friendliness but kept a asured distance through reason. Perhaps his inherent distrust of people was lending him strength.

But Seo was clearly unstable. Talking with him had made that abundantly clear. He was unmistakably overlaying his own bad mories onto Yeon-woo's situation.

"......"

"That's why I'm worried."

What was certain was that both of them had let their guard down.

If they were truly residents of a world where 'such things' were normal, it might be fine. Only Yeon-woo's conscience would be uncomfortable. Frankly, it wasn't the kind of thing you should do in front of a kid.

And even if they weren't kids, the sa applied.

"......"

After a brief silence, Rawi spoke up.

"...You really do sound like a grandfather...."

"That's a critique I've heard often enough, and hearing it again now doesn't make it any more pleasant."

"Oh, sorry? But you've heard it often?"

"I've been called an old soul, and quite a few tis told I'm like a Confucian scholar."

He'd been cursed at his fair share for being no fun.

"I thought I'd beco rather flexible after going through various things, but back when I didn't know any better, I was far more principled than I am now. What I considered rational behavior on my own part must have seed quite... stifling and rigid to others."

"......"

Seo, who had been quietly listening, spoke.

"Do you rember those days?"

"To so extent, yes."

"All of it?"

"Well, not all of it...."

This year — no, he'd reached a point where he could no longer even use such expressions. In any case, he'd already been past forty when he was first dragged into this hotel. It wasn't exactly an age for vividly recalling one's school days.

That said, it wasn't as if he'd forgotten the friend who used to tease him by calling him a 'scholar bastard,' either.

"I rember what I rember."

"Oh, that's...."

"I was an unremarkable person."

"I highly doubt that was the case."

"Quite decisive of you."

"I only ant to think it, but the words just ca out on their own."

Rawi grinned with that slightly upturned smile of his. Yeon-woo always thought it, but the man had a subtly serpentine look about him.

"I'm curious~ What kind of person were you?"

"Let's see."

Yeon-woo blinked. It took a mont to recall what kind of person he'd been when he was a minor. It was such ancient history.

But there was one thing he knew for certain.

"First of all, I was a model student."

"You look the part."

"I had the best grades among my cohort."

"Doesn't sound like much has changed."

"There probably aren't any dramatically different points."

Plant beans, get beans.

'Though picking the wrong ga once did twist my fate rather thoroughly.'

"Good grades, and then what?"

"An obedient, competent worker is sothing any organization wants to wring dry down to the marrow. Various things happened, but in the end, I was at a research facility."

Rawi tilted his head.

"A research facility... sohow that doesn't seem to fit."

"I practically lived there."

At that, Seo spoke up.

"May I ask what field it was?"

"Life sciences, specifically genetic engineering."

Yeon-woo added, recalling his forr workplace.

"I handled genetic modification and cell culture experints."

"That sounds... dangerous."

"Oh dear."

It was understandable that soone without relevant knowledge might feel uneasy.

'Genetically modified crops are a controversial field, and cultured at is the sa.'

Yeon-woo added,

"I won't deny it can sound that way, but no uninvolved person was hurt or injured by my research. Safety testing was conducted thoroughly."

"And who conducted those safety tests...."

"I took full responsibility for them. There were no issues after testing, either."

He'd said it hoping to build so trust, but Seo's expression hardened instead.

"Were you on the side conducting the research, or on the side receiving it?"

It struck him as an odd question, but Yeon-woo answered calmly.

"If I had to say, both."

"You experinted on yourself... with your own research?"

"Isn't that the most intuitive and reliable thod?"

If the project director personally tested the safety of the crops or cultured at, wouldn't the results carry credibility? He'd leveraged the psychology of 'If he's testing it on his own body, surely it must be safe.'

"If I tested on soone else and an unmanageable variable erged, the aftermath would be exhausting to clean up. It wasn't sothing I personally wanted either, so I judged that using my own body was the fastest and cleanest approach."

To that, Seo followed up.

"It doesn't sound like a very good workplace...."

"Truly good workplaces are few and far between."

"Were you able to rest when you needed to?"

"Accidents tended to happen whenever I stepped away."

He shrugged.

"If I pulled out, all those problems would fall squarely onto other people's shoulders. It was easier for to just shoulder a reasonable burden myself. I did end up working quite a lot because of it."

"Why didn't you just... take a break?"

"The situation didn't allow for it."

A researcher capable of protein structure analysis, ferntation and microbial engineering, and genetic manipulation was a rare find. Any company would be reluctant to send ho a talent who did the work of a hundred.

"It was work that soone had to do, and I simply happened to be able to do it."

More than a few projects had co his way through such gentle persuasion.

"I've rambled on too long. My apologies."

"...No."

After hesitating, Seo asked.

"Then now, how are you...?"

"As you can see, I'm staying at this hotel."

As both General Manager and guest.

"In the end, it's a similar job."

Whether there or here, he had to plug unpredictable variables that could erge at any ti.

"Though it differs in many ways."

"That's...."

Seo seed to want to say sothing but swallowed it.

"I see."

At that sight, Yeon-woo couldn't help but think.

"......"

He needed to get them out quickly.

'He reminds of Director Lee Seon-hae.'

[Yes.]

'How unfortunate.'

[Yes.]

Seeing how deeply affected he was by a re story about overwork.

***

"Let interpret that for you."

"Ah, was that a conversation that needed interpreting?"

"You don't have much knowledge about The Gaps, so it's... yeah."

"I could tell your expression was getting worse."

Rawi scratched his neck.

"That wasn't just a story about being a researcher, was it?"

"I'm not sure what he thinks of it himself, but, well."

Seo didn't look entirely certain either.

"Since this place is a labyrinth, it's hard to guarantee that Yeon-woo's mories are clear. To begin with, he's not exactly soone whose face value is all that high, is he?"

"But people in The Gaps age erratically compared to outsiders, I've heard... Looking at how Yeon-woo acts, he's at least an adult, right? I'd assud he was at least twenty-five."

That was more than old enough to work as a researcher in The Gaps. If you had use, never mind adulthood — the society of The Gaps was one where employnt under the age of ten was entirely possible.

"I can't deny that point."

Seo readily acknowledged The Gaps' cruelty.

"But that's not what I'm getting at. If our earlier hypothesis is true, the appearance Yeon-woo had when he was offered would have been preserved until now, right?"

"But if he was an Artist after all...."

"It's not like just breathing delays aging."

"Oh, it doesn't?"

"......"

Seo stared at him for a mont with a look that said 'how did this kid end up thrown into The Gaps in this state,' then continued his explanation.

"...For an Artist to maintain a youthful appearance, they need to either unconsciously devote energy to self-preservation or be supported by an environnt that prevents bodily deterioration. It's a technique, after all."

"How do you use a technique unconsciously?"

"You have those eyes, and that's really what you're going to say?"

Mages understood the process and then cast magic, but Artists often had no idea how they'd achieved what they did. It was the sa with the aging delay technique.

"Sure, deliberately inducing the delay would be far more effective. But that also requires the individual's capacity and environnt to properly support it."

"But Yeon-woo didn't seem to describe it that way."

"You don't even need to go that far. Just look at how Yeon-woo's been since we started watching. You rember how he carried himself in the underground Hunting Grounds."

"That's a good point."

Rawi nodded.

"Soone like that doesn't seem the type to waste energy maintaining his 'looks'~...."

"Yeon-woo's the kind of person who's satisfied as long as his body's intact and all four limbs are attached."

"Ouch, harsh."

But he didn't bother to argue, since he agreed on so level.

"He doesn't seem to have any attachnt to that."

"And if you've gone through the side effects and stress of those kinds of biological experints, in most cases you'd actually look older than your real age."

"We still don't know what kind of experints he did, do we? It could've been, you know, genetically modified foods and stuff like that."

"I... for various reasons, don't think Yeon-woo is an outsider."

After a mont's thought, he added,

"The three-character na and his ethics could suggest he's from the outside, but, how do I put it."

"Fair point, soone who'd lived on the outside their whole life wouldn't be in a labyrinth like this to begin with."

"Exactly, I think he's here because he was deeply involved. That would also explain the offering."

"That's what you'd said was the condition, right?"

A hapless researcher who'd been working overti at a perfectly normal company only to wake up kidnapped into a hotel inside a ga would have found these words quite unfair.

"His behavior is unusually mature, but that seems like an innate disposition... Just as outsiders fuss about skin age, there's a thing called age in spiritual energy here too. Yeon-woo is on the extrely young side."

This was likely due in large part to the hotel having only recently transitioned from ga to reality.

"So to , even if Yeon-woo originally ca from the outside, he looked like soone who'd lived in The Gaps for quite a long ti."

"Well, naturally... soone with that level of skill would have to be, well...."

"And do you think genetic modification or cell culture experints conducted in The Gaps would be as safe as food research?"

"I misspoke, sunbae-nim."

In a society where one wrong altercation could kill you, where bad luck left you in a state worse than death — that was The Gaps. The word 'research' didn't sound terribly mild in such a place.

"And yet he has such a young appearance."

"You're not exactly old-looking yourself, sunbae-nim."

"Shut up. Anyway, it ans he was offered before he even had a chance to age. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

Once again, a hapless researcher in his forties would have found this quite unfair.

"So picking up from there, listening to what Yeon-woo said, it sounds like he both participated in the research and volunteered as a test subject. That's not normal."

"Uh... it isn't?"

Rawi blinked.

"I thought I'd heard it wasn't illegal to experint on yourself with your own research."

"Really? That's a bit surprising... so the outside isn't exactly safe either."

"To be honest, I'm not sure myself. But doesn't it sound reasonable? Taking responsibility for what you've done?"

"But even so, that's an outside-world standard, isn't it?"

"Maybe...?"

Seo checked his expression and asked.

"Do you know about 'the Clock'?"

"That thing in our room too?"

"You don't know."

This was sothing Seo had first heard from the Hero who had saved him — the one who had briefly taken him along and taught him how this world worked.

"A long ti ago, sothing was a worldwide phenonon. Research into a certain Clock."

"Not a clock that tells ti, I assu...?"

"Apparently it was an incredibly remarkable object."

"You're not even answering anymore. Anyway, was it so kind of legendary relic?"

"It wouldn't be old enough to call a relic. It was made in 1969, supposedly."

"That's oddly specific, isn't it?"

"That, what was it."

Seo, after thinking for a mont, looked up at Rawi.

"You're an outsider, so you'd probably know this better than . Sothing about a spaceship being launched around that ti, Apollo or Napoli or sothing?"

"You've got the wrong person. It's been ages since I dropped world history."

"I don't know how to respond to that. Anyway, there was apparently a date known to outsiders as the first human moon landing."

"Oh, the moon landing. Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong. I know that."

"The object was supposedly made on that occasion, though I don't know the details myself."

Seo carefully set down the blade he'd been handling.

"Just... sothing like that was made back then, and it had trendous power. That's the story."

"Trendous power?"

"But because it was such an extraordinary object, people fought over who'd keep it and it shattered to pieces...."

"An extraordinary object, and it shattered?"

"I told you, I don't know the details."

Seo, seated on the sofa, drew the blade from its scabbard and rested it across his lap.

"To restore its original power, or to research its properties, or to make use of them — there was a ti when people were fervently studying fragnts of the Clock. It wasn't that long ago, either."

"Ah, so then."

Rawi tapped his chin.

"You think Yeon-woo might have been one of the people doing that research?"

Since Yeon-woo had said he'd participated in research.

"He didn't seem like the type to do sothing like that~... Couldn't he have just been an ordinary researcher on the outside? You know, genetic engineering and stuff."

"What business would an ordinary outside researcher have being claid by a labyrinth?"

He had.

"His age, too... he looks about your age."

He did not.

"I don't know why I keep wanting to argue, but let say it since it's on my mind. Isn't there a possibility he's actually sowhat older? Like if he'd lived on the outside."

"You think Yeon-woo is older than you?"

"There's apparently sothing only mages can sense about soone's youth, so I don't think he'd be like, in his thirties or anything... but like you said, maybe he's just a baby-faced outside researcher who was born acting mature."

"Ah, fair enough. There are Artists who live on the outside too."

Seo rolled his eyes and organized his thoughts.

"So what you're trying to say is 'isn't it possible that Yeon-woo is a baby-faced researcher in his early-to-mid-twenties who was living on the outside'...."

He shrugged.

"His spiritual energy is tangled every which way, so it's hard to tell for sure, but among those tangled lines, there are parts that resemble yours. That's why I said he might be around your age."

"......"

"I'll say it again: unless you're from The Gaps, there's no reason to be offered to a labyrinth. Just because soone gets swept up in a labyrinth's formation doesn't an anyone can be offered — you have to carry enough weight to beco a 'character' in a 'story.'"

"That's... right."

"Anyway."

He continued.

"The outside has things like human rights and whatnot, so apparently people under twenty can't do dangerous work."

"Is that a human rights issue? It feels less like 'can't' and more like 'the conditions aren't t'...."

"'Conditions not being t,' that's a refreshing perspective."

"Being a researcher isn't that dangerous a job to begin with, is it? You'd have to be careful with chemicals and such, but anyone smart enough could do it."

"Oh, research on the outside is like that?"

"The Gaps really is a dystopia, I'm telling you."

Neither of them thought Yeon-woo's youthful appearance was the result of rejuvenation. The Gaps, and Artists, simply had no shortage of people under twenty who were that precocious. Personality aside.

Seo nodded and continued.

"But if he belonged to the side researching the Clock, it would also explain being offered to a labyrinth. A labyrinth can't be created without a substantial history or story behind it."

"About that, though."

Rawi pointed at the ceiling and asked.

"This is a hotel, right?"

"It's a hotel."

"Between a hotel and a researcher, there's really no connection...?"

"It was about five years ago, wasn't it?"

Seo spoke while eting his own gaze in the blade.

"Until then, there was sothing called 'The Foundation.'"

He continued.

"We design the groundwork for the future."

"......"

"For a better structure of living."

"...Uh...."

Rawi shrugged.

"Sounds like a convincing slogan."

"It was The Foundation's official motto."

『The Foundation conducts convergent foundational research in technology, space, psychology, and community structure to enhance quality of life.』

『We design the groundwork for harmonious coexistence between individuals and society, and propose policies and technologies for a healthier, safer future environnt.』

『And all of these processes are dedicated to laying the foundation for a world where people can exist more wholly.』

"As you said, they put up a convincing slogan and operated worldwide. Despite being essentially a group of mages led by Artists, they established multiple bases not just in The Gaps but on the outside as well."

"Is that even possible?"

"It happened because it was possible, didn't it? Though it was probably rare. It's difficult for The Gaps and the outside to share a single enterprise that way."

Wiping the blade with a cloth, Seo continued.

"They'd spread like cancer cells. They'd partnered with multiple governnts and established so many facilities that it was said to look impossible to dismantle...."

"......"

Rawi asked.

"Given how you're talking about them, they weren't a good organization."

Seo answered.

"A den of madn and egotists."

"What was their goal?"

"I just said, 'a better structure of living.'"

"Right, but what does that...."

"This is sothing I heard from soone else too."

Stroking the blade, he said.

"...Apparently, they tried to create paradise."

***