chapter 3
chapter 3
First Day at the Hotel, Meeting the Group (2)
Han Gain
When we headed to the dining area, three people were already seated besides me and Eun-sol.
A boy who looked much younger than me—probably middle school age.
A cute-looking girl around my age, nervously glancing around.
And—
A foreign woman with an appearance so stunning it was hard to believe.
I’m not joking—just looking at her felt like getting hit.
Hair like molten gold flowing over her shoulders, eyes like polished emeralds.
And even her figure radiated warmth and kindness to the point that I was left speechless.
Wasn’t someone like this only supposed to exist in movies?
I must have stared for about five seconds.
She gave me an awkward smile—
Only then did I realize how rude I’d been.
I quickly bowed my head and sat down.
I should at least apologize.
I forced some English together.
“I’m so sorry, but…”
“It’s okay. I lived in Korea for six years, so I speak Korean well. And I’m not American or British to begin with.”
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
“You were lying down earlier. Are you okay? Not hurt?”
“No, I’m fine. I was just tired and accidentally fell asleep.”
“We all went through something exhausting. This is the first time I’ve experienced something like this. And… thank you for shouting for us to come to Room 105 earlier.”
“No, not at all. That big guy was already holding things off really well.”
“That’s true. Jincheol saved us. We should thank him again when we see him. I’m Elena Ivanova. You can just call me Elena. And you are?”
“I’m Han Gain. I think we should all introduce ourselves. Looks like everyone else already did while I was asleep.”
“I’m Yoo Song.”
“Park Seungyeop.”
Click—
The door opened, and the man I saw earlier entered.
His arm, which had been bleeding, was now tightly wrapped with a soft cloth.
As he approached, his size became even more apparent.
At least 190 cm tall—maybe more.
And not just tall—
His build was that of a professional athlete.
No wonder he could fight those monsters.
As I admired him—
A deep voice spoke.
“I’m Cha Jincheol. Mind if I speak casually? You look like a student.”
“That’s fine. You can just call me Gain.”
“Good, good. Gain, thanks for telling us about that room. Damn those monkeys—hurt like hell. No matter how much I smashed their heads, they wouldn’t die. Didn’t even run. What a mess. Never thought I’d end up like this fighting just two of them.”
I was slightly startled when he casually called me “Gain,” but I let it go.
Honestly, someone who looked like he’d conquer kingdoms in another era wasn’t someone I’d nitpick over something trivial.
And I had told him to speak casually first.
As introductions ended—
My status window flickered.
[User: Han Gain (Wisdom)
Day: 1
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Rest Room)
Party Info (!)
Sage’s Advice: 2]
Party info?
Following instinct, I focused on it—
And a new window appeared.
[1. Han Gain (20) – Wisdom
2. Cha Jincheol (31) – Courage
3. Yoo Song (17) – Affinity
4. Elena Ivanova (23) – Justice
5. Park Seungyeop (14) – Luck
6. Lee Eun-sol (32) – Wealth]
The numbers seemed like ages.
But what were these traits?
To confirm, I asked the easiest person to approach.
“Yoo Song… are you 17?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“See the number next to your name? I thought it might be your age.”
As I spoke—
Everyone looked confused.
They couldn’t see it.
“…Looks like this window is only visible to me.”
“Window? You seeing something weird? You’ve been staring into space muttering. What is it? Does it show our ages or something?”
“…Yeah. I’ll explain.”
After a brief discussion, I explained the status window—how it showed info like date, location, and more.
It seemed connected to “Wisdom.”
Then—
Others started speaking.
“Wisdom… so maybe you get knowledge others don’t? I think I got something similar. Mine says ‘Courage.’ I kind of get it—I feel physically stronger.”
“Stronger? How?”
“Not sure yet, but when I fought earlier, even I was surprised. I do work out, but that was ridiculous. My arms just kept swinging, and I didn’t get tired even after 30 minutes. Strength, stamina… even recovery seems better.”
“I… do I have something too? ‘Affinity’… I don’t even know what that means. I don’t see anything.”
“I think I know.”
“You do, Eun-sol?”
“When the monkeys attacked, you were lying near the tree. I thought you’d die. But strangely, they didn’t attack you. I thought it was luck—but maybe that’s ‘Affinity.’”
“Then what about me?” Seungyeop asked.
“Hmm… ‘Luck.’ Anything lucky happen?”
“If I were lucky, I wouldn’t be here surrounded by monsters.”
“…True.”
“Elena, you’re ‘Justice.’ Any idea?”
“Not really. Maybe I’ll get some hero-like power later. Eun-sol, yours is ‘Wealth.’ Any guess?”
“Hmm… maybe it means I’m rich? Though in this situation, that doesn’t seem useful. Maybe something like the Midas touch? Turning things into gold?”
She joked, patting Song’s head.
Song flinched like a turtle—
But didn’t turn into gold.
“Seriously… what is this place? I just wanted to enjoy life after exams. Classes start in two weeks.”
Eun-sol tilted her head.
“Classes? Abroad?”
“No, just Korea.”
“Korea starts classes now?”
“…Early March, usually?”
Silence.
Jincheol spoke.
“…We have a lot to talk about. You think it’s school season. But for me, yesterday was November 24.”
“Mine was May 3.”
“March 9.”
“May 16. But more importantly—what year was ‘yesterday’ for everyone? And judging by our clothes… where were we?”
Through discussion, we realized:
Everyone’s “yesterday” was different.
Everyone came from different places.
What the hell?
What happened to us?
What do we do now?
Silence fell.
Too many questions.
My mind froze.
Grrrrrrrr—
Song’s stomach growled loudly.
She turned red.
“S-sorry!”
“Haha, nothing to apologize for. I’m starving too. Let’s eat first.”
“Yeah. Let’s see what happens.”
“I’ll press it.”
Elena pressed the meal button.
It blinked red.
…Nothing happened.
Five minutes passed.
Then—
Seungyeop spoke.
“Look at the display. Something changed.”
“/Welcome to Hotel Pioneer.
The hotel always loves its guests.
However, staff are shy and work when not observed.
The elevator is broken.
Privacy is guaranteed. Please keep meal times./”
The new line—
Staff work when not observed.
“…Are we supposed to leave?” I said.
“Yeah. They’re too shy to serve us while we’re watching.”
Everyone reacted in disbelief.
“What kind of restaurant is that?!”
“At this point, questioning anything is pointless,” Elena said.
“…Let’s just try it.”
We left.
Closed the door.
Waited ten seconds.
Opened it again.
And—
Everyone gasped.
The table—
Was full.
Dishes from all over the world.
Steak, pasta, spicy pork—
And things I’d never seen before.
Jincheol spoke.
“Not much time left. Just grab something and eat.”
That day—
I discovered one good thing about this hotel.