The Drenched One had vanished sowhere while Yeon-woo was dealing with The Guest Without Taste. No matter how thoroughly he searched the hotel map, she was nowhere to be found.
"But since a contract was made, she couldn't have gone far."
There was no reason to flee in the first place. Her longti friend Yeon-woo was here, and there were desserts and the Aqua Park for her to enjoy to her satisfaction.
"The only thing that might remain unfulfilled would be the hunting urge."
"No?"
"Yes. To be precise, it differs sowhat from the predefined concept, but it's closer to sadism."
In Yeon-woo's estimation.
"The Drenched One enjoys the energy that cos from humans writhing in pain and terror."
It wasn't for nothing that her concept was 'a serial killer who prowls with a knife on rainy days.' As a Water Wraith, she'd have resentnt and jealousy toward the living, but it was impossible to deny the existence of such deviant tendencies.
It felt like a concentration of only the most combat-oriented Water Wraiths.
"Connected to that, she also seed to enjoy hunting gas reasonably well. The previous repetitive labor issue is a bit concerning, but The Drenched One was quite fond of the 7th Floor Hunting Grounds."
"Yes!"
"In various ways, it ans she enjoys destroying humans."
Alternatively, she might have truly left the hotel. She might have a ho of her own outside. Yeon-woo still didn't know much about the identities or backgrounds of the 'Monster Guests' that visited this hotel.
But The Drenched One was prone to loneliness. Having had Yeon-woo as her ally all those long years, there was no chance a greater interest elsewhere could arise.
Of course, strictly speaking, the ga character version of him was hard to call Yeon-woo himself, but....
'At any rate, a place nearby yet invisible on the map.'
That left only the Hunting Grounds.
"...Among them, the 7th Floor is the most likely. I've never introduced any other floors, and since her nature is closer to a fish, she'd prefer high-humidity zones."
"Yes!"
"If resources allow, I should purchase Hunting Grounds maps as well. Not being able to check remotely is inconvenient. Still, if she's just gone to the Hunting Grounds to play, at least that's a reli—"
After all, it was a space populated solely by monsters the hotel had generated on its own.
'I call them monsters, but they're essentially closer to mushrooms or plants.'
No risk of human casualties, so there shouldn't be a prob—
"......"
Shouldn't there?
"...Why do I feel so uneasy?"
"Yes?"
"Sothing feels off."
The truth was, Yeon-woo didn't know everything about this hotel.
'I'm still barely scratching the surface.'
Moreover, feeling this sustained discomfort was a first since giving all his emotions to The Guest Without Taste. His 'intuition' seed to be at work.
Yeon-woo murmured.
"It's like I need to shout 'no' at our invisible pet dog, just in case...."
"Mm?"
"......"
While contemplating the 'Maintenance Function' button floating in the Interface and his invisible monster friend, sothing caught his eye.
"......?"
A familiar face had entered the lobby.
"...Oh my."
"Hello?"
"I'm not sure about that."
It was Director Lee Seon-hae, who had successfully escaped this hotel before.
Yeon-woo adjusted his suit.
***
"...Mr. Yeon-woo."
Seon-hae, who had been sitting in the lobby chair, stood.
The escorts guarding her stepped aside courteously. Before she could even register the discomfort of that, Seon-hae took in the sight of Yeon-woo approaching from beyond the front desk.
"......"
"......"
Footsteps that made almost no sound.
A suit wrapping a large, sturdy fra. Seon-hae found herself involuntarily tilting her head upward. Beyond the lenses, eyes in which deep fatigue had settled gazed down at her with indifference.
Even on second look, the face was too youthful to call an adult's, yet the chill of authority pressing down from that tall height surpassed what Director Seon-hae rembered.
But to Seon-hae's eyes, that was....
"......"
As though.
"Thank you for visiting."
"...Ah."
"How may I assist you?"
The chill of hearing the exact sa voice as before lasted only a mont before his 'smile' snapped her back to awareness.
"Director Seon-hae."
"...You do rember , right?"
"Of course—you stayed in the highest-floor suite."
"Well, that's a relief...."
"Have you been well since then?"
"I don't think that's a question I should be hearing."
Exchanging a handshake with stiff movents, Seon-hae laughed hollowly.
"You are all right, aren't you?"
Not feeling guilty about having survived was a difficult thing.
He'd been the age of a student that adults should have been responsible for protecting. That such a student had either died in her place or gone through unimaginable ordeals—the specifics still unknown—was anything but pleasant.
She knew they'd both done their best at the ti, and still she regretted.
"Should I have waited longer?"
"No—in the end, I would have guided you outside."
"Of course that's how it turned out, but...."
Seon-hae was the type who affird herself. But she also knew she couldn't have accomplished anything special in a hotel like this. Staying would likely have been of little help.
Yet beyond that confusion and human compassion, the shock of having experienced sothing beyond common sense remained intact. Seon-hae wanted to ask everything, from start to finish.
"......"
"Director?"
...Whether, when he'd said he'd die halfway, he'd actually done it.
Whether those words had been sincere. Whether they'd been so kind of ominous prophecy she didn't understand. Or whether he'd been resigned to his fate—Seon-hae wanted to ask.
She wanted to hear what situation he'd been placed in, what kind of person he was.
"Director."
"...Uh...."
Seon-hae fumbled into a smile. Her eyes felt dry.
"Sorry, I haven't been sleeping well lately so I can't find my words."
Seon-hae brushed it off lightly.
"That's just how it is at this age, isn't it? Just breathing makes you tired~"
"I think it's too early for you to say that. Regardless of age, not being able to respond imdiately when fatigued is the sa for everyone."
"Since we're on the topic of age—our Yeon-woo is a legal adult, right?"
"Of course."
"That's not a barely-twenty-year-old's vocabulary."
"Ha ha."
Look at that, deflecting with a laugh.
'That man Baek Mu-jin didn't describe him as young for no reason, but with only suspicion and no proof, I can't say anything.'
Seon-hae had been studying the ins and outs of 'Gap society' since then. Apparently, depending on aptitude, labyrinths, Dokkaebi, and artists could have appearances wildly mismatched with their ages.
So Yeon-woo, who appeared to be around twenty, was an unknown. He might be older than he looked, but given Baek Mu-jin's reaction... it did seem to lean toward the younger side....
"I'm an adult."
"Oh, was I too obvious?"
"I understand the reaction."
"But I think this is partly your fault."
"I understand that, too."
Yeon-woo shrugged and asked.
"Shall I bring out so warm tea?"
"I'm fine—I need to head back soon. I barely squeezed out ti between shoots...."
"Co to think of it, you ntioned you were looking for a suitable filming location in this area."
"The shoot I just ntioned is in Seoul, though."
"Oh my."
Yeon-woo tilted his head.
"I worry you've co too far out of your way."
"I couldn't pass up a chance to see our Yeon-woo's face."
"A chance, you say?"
"Our Uncle was going to co himself, and I stole the trip from him."
"Aha."
"I ca to relay a ssage."
Seon-hae glanced at the lobby entrance and continued.
"Our Uncle has been trying various things to block this entrance, but he says a complete seal won't be possible right away."
"A complete seal."
"I still don't fully understand it myself, but apparently there's sothing like the formations you see in martial arts novels. They're trying to make it so no one can set foot on this path in the first place, but...."
"Sounds difficult."
"He also said it seems to be a characteristic of this hotel."
"How embarrassing."
At that light, joke-like remark, Seon-hae's throat tightened.
"Why should you be embarrassed?"
"...Are you upset?"
"......"
Seon-hae swept her face with her hands and smiled awkwardly again.
"...I shouldn't be like this at my age. No matter how old you get, there's always more to learn. Don't you think?"
"I find it admirable that you're always looking for room to grow."
"Hearing that from you is mortifying. Anyway, so—they tried to at least physically block the passage, but that's proven difficult as well."
"That's unfortunate."
"Like so ghost story."
Seon-hae recalled what she'd heard from her nesis of an uncle.
"Even when they blocked it with cent or steel bars, by the next morning it was gone. As though none of it had ever existed—not even marks where the grass had been pressed."
"I'm sorry for those who made the effort."
"They tried everything, and in the end, at least managed to erect one sign that wasn't affected by this phenonon. I checked on my way in—it's definitely still there."
"That one didn't vanish."
"They said it was so kind of item, treated with asures to resist this hotel's influence. It's consumable and needs periodic replacent, but they've placed it as a stopgap...."
After gazing at the ceiling for a mont, Seon-hae smiled sheepishly.
"I'm wondering if it'd be better to just remove it."
"Quite the dilemma."
"Right?"
Installing it might provoke an unnecessary spirit of challenge in unsuspecting passersby. But leaving the hotel entrance unguarded with no safety asures might let people wander in.
Yeon-woo smiled as he adjusted his glasses. One of the guards behind Seon-hae flinched, but the naturally flowing conversation settled him back into place.
"Since it was given with good intentions, it's probably best to leave it in place for now."
He continued.
"There will certainly be people who get more fired up by a prohibition sign, but just as many citizens will heed it and steer clear."
"That's the sa opinion as our Uncle."
As a horror-film professional, it nagged at her. Many of the accidents she knew of had happened precisely because people entered places they'd been told to stay out of. In film and in reality alike.
"Then let's wrap up the hotel entrance matter like this."
"Yes, sounds good."
"There's one more thing to relay."
After wearing a curious expression, Seon-hae spoke a beat late.
"...He says this hotel is too large?"
"Is it?"
"What's visible is already quite expansive, but he said if that were all, it wouldn't be this deep or wide. He suggested looking into whether there might be effects on other areas...."
"I see."
Yeon-woo nodded.
"I understand what he ans."
"Oh, you do?"
"It was sothing I was already worried about. If the Chairman himself is saying as much, I should inspect it as quickly as possible."
"Then I've conveyed everything I ca to say."
"Thank you for going to all this trouble for my sake."
"No, I'm the one who should...."
Seon-hae, who had been speaking casually, bit down hard on her lip.
"......"
"......"
Her expression began to twist, little by little.
"...You are all right, aren't you?"
"Of course."
"Tell it's not a lie."
"It's not a lie, Director."
"Ha."
Seon-hae dragged both hands down her face.
"Then why are you like this...."
The first feeling had been relief. That the student trapped in this insane hotel was truly alive, just as he'd said—that put her mind at ease.
But what followed imdiately was confusion.
'He doesn't seem alive.'
The closer he ca, the more she thought she could hear water lapping sowhere.
'He definitely wasn't like this last ti....'
Back then, he'd been weary and exhausted, but there was life in him. What people called 'human warmth,' too. Concern and consideration for them, visible between the cracks of his stiff, courteous composure. That had been there.
But not now. The ticulous courtesy remained, but only the polished deanor was left. Even trying to attribute it to emotional wounds or trauma, this was an entirely separate kind of response.
"I'd thought we'd gotten a bit close."
"I, too, wish to repay the kindness you've shown , Director."
"But your eyes are a bit strange."
"Is that so?"
"Why are you acting like a stranger?"
The guards standing behind Seon-hae tensed. She felt the air solidifying around her. These were people Baek Mu-jin had assigned, telling her to co back alive—and for them to stiffen like this.
Even Seon-hae herself, who knew so little, could tell sothing was wrong with the current Yeon-woo. His present state was not sothing that could be defined by human interpretation alone.
"It must be my imagination, but...."
It wasn't her imagination.
"I an, this."
Uncanniness.
"...This is...."
Not the young rescuer she'd known back then—no, it was him, yet simultaneously he felt as distant and foreign as an actor placed upon a stage.
Back then, even as reason told Seon-hae he wasn't human, hadn't she felt him as human? So why now? What had changed?
"......"
Seon-hae called out to him.
"Yeon-woo."
"Yes."
"Mr. Lee Yeon-woo."
"Yes."
"Listen."
She looked at that youthful face and asked.
"Are you really all right?"
"......"
"...Lee Yeon-woo."
"......"
No answer ca.
Before she could process what that ant, every staff mber guarding the front drew a weapon in unison. Director Seon-hae clamped her mouth shut.
The staff at the front desk, the waiting bellboys, the workers mopping the floors. Their heads turned toward Seon-hae at angles that looked ready to snap. Dead-black eyes pinned her in place, staring as though to bind her.
"Ha."
Seon-hae let out a hollow breath.
"No matter how I look at it, you really should consider changing jobs."
"Ma'am."
"What, I can't even say anything?"
"We may not be able to protect you."
The guard continued.
"Best not to provoke them."
"What did I even do?"
To Seon-hae, who tried to speak as though it were nothing despite her stiffened expression, Yeon-woo added.
"I like that na."
At those words,
the gazes vanished.
"......"
It hadn't even seed like a split second. The staff's heads had returned to their original positions. Seon-hae watched them revert to their prior appearances as though nothing had happened.
"......"
"However, that na effectively does not exist within this hotel."
What utter nonsense.
"I've been calling you Yeon-woo this whole ti?"
"That much is fine, but defining as 'Lee Yeon-woo' within this place may prove difficult."
"I really don't mind what you're called, but is there a reason I'd find convincing?"
"I'm afraid not."
"How about an unconvincing one?"
"That would be difficult to share as well."
"Then how about this."
Seon-hae called to him.
"General Manager."
And an answer ca.
"Yes."
"......"
That was a little sad.
***
This hotel's staff were closer to parts of the ga system than individual entities.
'Since they're also part of the hotel, it's accurate in the end.'
Because of that, they wished to censor the 'General Manager'—the 'Playable Character'—as well. Because, in the end, the General Manager as a character was also part of the ga.
'By ga design, being defined by the na Lee Yeon-woo doesn't make sense. In Hoone, you set your age before the tutorial and start, but there's no field for setting gender or entering a na.'
It was a plausible hypothesis.
'It's probably the sa logic as my body straining whenever I act outside what the ga has defined.'
Characters' clothes didn't wrinkle, and they didn't make expressions outside their settings.
'By that logic, I suppose I should be grateful they don't censor for making undefined expressions.'
Yeon-woo knew his na was Lee Yeon-woo, and knew that didn't change just because he was inside this hotel, but indeed. From the staff's perspective, the 'General Manager's' na changing was apparently an impossibility.
A fact even Yeon-woo had only learned after five years.
"I hadn't realized because almost no one here called by na, but censorship cos in from this direction."
"Censorship."
"My oversight. It was unintentional, but I apologize again for having the staff frighten you, Director."
"Yeon-woo."
He nodded.
"Yes, I'm listening."
"I'm not sure that was what needed to be said right now."
"I see."
Yeon-woo answered, and Seon-hae's smile twisted further.
"......"
"......"
A brief silence passed.
'...Wait, co to think of it....'
Yeon-woo belatedly realized.
Universally, having one's na called repeatedly by an elder (or at least soone who appeared to be one) had a fairly clear aning. Especially in Confucian cultures, all the more so.
"......?"
...Hm? Could it be?
'Am I being scolded right now?'
Was this a situation where he was being oblivious?
User Comments
0 comments from readers