Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Golden Spa Boom
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The third morning dawned at Flower Golden Resort.
An hour before the lobby doors opened at 9 a.m., the employees who had clocked in gathered in the lobby to receive the mascot's briefing.
And today, yet another outlandish event unfolded.
The mascot pointed to the resort's left window.
Beyond it lay part of the resort grounds that were still in ruins.
And the moment the mascot made its declaration...
"...!!"
The ruins beyond the window began to reconstruct.
Shattered glass swirled into a hemispherical dome, golden ornaments sparkling between the seams.
And inside it, vibrant golden flowers bloomed.
Steam rose from above, a glass walkway extended from the resort building, piercing through the window to form a door that connected seamlessly.
Supply mascot units rushed out and elegantly hung a sign above it.
All the employees stared wide-eyed at the golden glass greenhouse.
It looked like a enchanting place straight out of a fairy tale, but it wasn't meant for humans.
If a person wandered in without any information and tried to enjoy the spa, it would end in horrific descriptions like "■■-ified and vanished" or "limbs deboned, later found in the recycling bin."
The scented oils used there were a dead giveaway.
The spa's displayed ingredients included sun orange, grape, fig, Eternal Farm apple juice, 18-year-old ■■ mountain ■■ blood, bipedal primate vascular extract, and other premium selections...
Recalling the sample spa introduction text, Kim Sol-eum felt a dizzying vertigo.
'Perfect for dying.'
After much deliberation, he implemented an emergency measure.
Full automation!
Every massage here was handled automatically by bizarre greenhouse facilities.
Because Kim Sol-eum had dumped coins into severing the connection between this hazardous place and the staff as much as possible...
The process made the spa even creepier, but no regrets!
'No more Napolitan-style work rules...'
The theme of "guaranteeing private rest just for our valued guests" had paid off handsomely again.
Incidentally, the leftover coins were scraped together and poured into upgrading the resort room's top-tier bedding to match the new bed frames.
An investment with zero regard for profitability!
'Stay satisfied in your rooms and don't wander the lobby or halls.'
It was purely to minimize movement and block variables.
Practically a sealing ritual for exorcism.
The mascot's efforts to keep work rules from ballooning past 20 were tear-jerking...
The yellow mascot stifled a sigh and finally assigned new duties to the fresh employees.
First, the dolphin-masked Lee Seonghae, junior staff, to the spa reservation desk.
"Okay. Got it."
Next, the weasel employee to cleaning the spa waiting room.
"Y-yes..."
The weasel staffer, still not fully compos mentis, nodded repeatedly and scurried off with a deep bow.
And one employee watched this intently.
Ladybug mask.
He had realized something on his own.
'...Useless employees get assigned to no-direct-contact spots...!'
In a way, he had hit the nail on the head.
By Kim Sol-eum's standards, the more reliable the employee, the more likely they were assigned to deal with horrors directly.
A utilitarian placement to maximize overall survival rates, but people naturally judge others by their own values and mindsets.
'He's weeding them out!'
The ladybug employee clenched his fists.
Would useless employees get fired or converted into supply mascots?
Either way, a cold-sweat ending.
'Fuck.'
He scanned his competitors with dark eyes.
Now that he was an employee, the safest formula of "lay low and coast to clear" no longer applied.
Time for a different formula.
Make the cut.
Make the horrors deem him survivable...!
The yellow mascot called aside the employees from his own team and stamped boarding passes at the spa entrance seal.
The dormouse employee next to him was starting to relax, even smirking.
"At this rate, we'll escape in four days, right?"
"......"
Idiot.
The ladybug thought anxiously.
As room service desk duty, where did he rank...?
'Can't get pushed out before three stamps.'
But regardless of one employee's thoughts, the resort operated on.
The day began with the new facility.
That day's business was a success.
However, starting the next day, the yellow mascot began noticing odd phenomena.
Day four of operations.
Kim Sol-eum unwittingly exchanged bewildered glances with Jang Heo-un.
"......"
"Um, somehow the guests seem a bit... different..."
Indeed.
Something strange had been happening since the spa opened.
Until yesterday, the resort's guests had mostly looked like they were there for the theme park, or had just come from enjoying it.
Made sense. This was a theme park resort.
But... today, more guests had an eerie vibe.
"Heard it's quiet here, thanks for the gift, don't mind me, as long as there's bathwater, no problem, thank you."
The one who just passed was a bizarre lifeform with slime body and stick-on limbs.
The kind that would appear in a stranded-in-remote-forest horror tale.
No admission band on the wrist, no souvenirs or headbands. No one would think it came for theme park fun.
And today, such weird guests rushed the front desk like a wave to book rooms.
A flood that could be called a swarm!
'...??'
Business booming this much?
An ominous premonition stirred. Sales would be great, but...
Anyway, Kim Sol-eum greeted the next guest.
But this guest...
He even recognized the face.
"One room, spa included. Whew..."
A pale man in a chauffeur-like uniform and cap.
'The Taxi Driver of the Apocalypse...!'
Kim Sol-eum, who had owed him one during the Death End Road escape, broke into a cold sweat!
Why would this guy come to a theme park? Was there a theme park fan among the Four Horsemen?
'No good.'
He needed to assess the situation.
In the end, the yellow mascot spoke up.
"Hm?"
Kim Sol-eum hastily created a "How did you hear about us?" survey and handed it over.
The taxi driver skimmed it wearily with his eyes before answering verbally.
"Heard it's getting a lot of promo through reviews lately... Need a break for work. Can't quit till it's over. Haha..."
......??
Watching the taxi driver head to the fourth floor with his deluxe room key, the yellow mascot blinked.
'Promo through reviews...?'
Then he remembered.
The coupons the blue mascot had distributed.
'...!!'
No way.
The yellow mascot immediately summoned Lee Jaheon.
"Yes."
Oh my god!
"One of the guide mascots handed me a postcard."
Kim Sol-eum summoned the supply mascots on that duty and checked the postcards' origins.
'My god.'
...Dozens of postcards from guests who used the coupons were already piled up.
And there was Section Chief Lee Jaheon's one-liner too.
'......'
Great review, sure, but...
'Looks like these review postcards are circulating through some horror network as promo material.'
...And synergizing perfectly with the new distancing theme, drawing in horrors that would never normally visit a theme park...
Totally unforeseen boom!
'Argh.'
Kim Sol-eum could've wailed "Why is business so good?!" and slashed room counts drastically without issue.
But chasing away incoming guests like that clashed with his mascot identity...
In the end, the yellow mascot let his horns droop in resignation.
'...Think of it as filling satisfied guest quota faster.'
He recalled yesterday's conditions for the third facility addition.
Guest requirement jumped exactly tenfold.
And now a suspicious ceremony too...
'At least additional staff needed is still just three.'
Anyway, with guests pouring in, no worries about filling the quota.
"Any issues?"
Lee Jaheon, section chief, asked the droop-horned yellow mascot.
Of course, the mascot had no reason or guts to snap at the alien lizard who followed orders and left a good review...
The yellow mascot patted the lizard's back.
"? Yes."
It was like a sitcom.
But someone watched without a smile, anxious as ever.
The ladybug employee at the room service call desk.
His bloodshot eyes scanned the scene.
'Getting recognition?'
What if that lizard section chief got promoted?
He'd get pushed aside.
Survival odds drop...!
'No.'
He had to do something.
The ladybug employee recalled his "ace in the hole," but gritted his teeth.
The lizard section chief was too tough for tricks.
His special horror escape method was infamous in the company. Botch it, and his head might literally explode.
The dolphin junior was tricky too. Elite team.
Ultimately...
Only one easy target with high evaluation.
"......"
He turned to the front desk.
Jang Heo-un, the bison-masked employee promoted to manager, was working there.
That night.
Knock knock knock.
A guest visited Jang Heo-un's room.
"Wh-who is it...?"
"It's me. Ladybug."
"Ah!"
Tension eased slightly from Jang Heo-un's face as he recalled various work rules and stepped back.
Good thing the voice-mimicking ghost guest checked out yesterday. He handled the checkout himself.
'G-good.'
Jang Heo-un opened the door, and the ladybug employee stepped in awkwardly with an embarrassed look.
"H-hi. Bison sir. Sorry, but can I borrow one thing...?"
"Um."
"Yes?"
Jang Heo-un blocked the way.
"Don't come in."
"......!"
"It's in the work rules."
"......"
"N-not trying to be rude. Just... rules are rules, so safest to follow them."
"Of course."
The ladybug employee stepped back with a hollow laugh.
"My room's out of bottled water. Just lend me one bottle and I'll go right away..."
"Ah...! Sure. I have extras. One sec..."
Jang Heo-un's complexion brightened under his mask, and he quickly fetched a bottle from the room's fridge.
"......"
Seizing the moment, the ladybug moved ever so slightly.
Ever so slightly.
Flutter.
"......"
"Here."
"Thanks!"
The ladybug took the bottle from Jang Heo-un, who had returned from the fridge to the entrance, smiled, and left.
Jang Heo-un bowed back, then closed the door.
"Whew."
Alone again.
Nights like this felt scarier sometimes. Recalling the blood and guts from daytime made him queasy.
'Still worth it.'
This resort was amazing, and the mascot was incredible, cool, and great.
For the first time in ages, daily life felt vibrant.
Thinking that, Jang Heo-un checked the entrance for final lockdown...
But.
'Huh?'
Something lay on the floor by the door.
A flat yellow rectangle.
'Post-it?'
A standard document Post-it.
Probably dropped by a cleaning supply mascot or the ladybug employee.
Even its yellow hue made Jang Heo-un smile unconsciously.
'Fits right in.'
Paler than gold, but anyway, Jang Heo-un picked up the paper.
The front of the upside-down Post-it came into view...