The Motel Room Revelation
"No way! There's no way my boyfriend would do something like that!" SunsalRamen vehemently denied the claim. But Park Jihun didn't even blink, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. "No way, huh?"
He closed his eyes and opened them again. Beyond the tangled mess of SunsalRamen's aura, the blurry scene flickered back into view: a red neon sign. Air thick with the smell of alcohol. Clothes scattered haphazardly. Messy bed sheets. And a man tangled up with a stranger.
'Good grief.' It was an ugly sight, no matter how many times he saw it.
"I contacted him earlier, and he said he was at home. He told me to call him later..." SunsalRamen continued, trying her best to sound composed. "Isn't it possible that you saw something wrong, PerpetualJobSeeker?" Her voice, however, was trembling thinly.
Park Jihun let out a scoff, as if mocking her. "Home, my foot."
The chat room went silent for a split second.
"...What?"
"He's lying." Jihun’s voice was low but firm. "He's not at home."
Through the Discord call, SunsalRamen’s ragged breathing was audible. "No! My boyfriend isn't that kind of person!"
"You still think so?" Park Jihun narrowed his eyes. The vision was becoming clearer—the light leaking from under the door, the red neon sign, the blurry motel sign. Jihun drove the point home. "Your boyfriend. He's at a motel right now."
The chat room erupted again.
Shocked, SunsalRamen couldn't say a word for a long time. Only the sound of her heavy breathing lingered faintly over the Discord call. Only after a long while did she ask in a voice she barely managed to squeeze out. "...What should I do?"
Park Jihun replied in a cold tone. "Call him. Right now."
SunsalRamen didn't answer immediately. There was a faint rustling sound over the mic, as if her hands were shaking. Finally, she spoke. "...R-right now?"
"Yes, right now." Park Jihun’s answer was short and dry. His voice left no room for hesitation. The chat room was boiling over again.
She hesitated, then seemed to make up her mind, saying in a trembling voice, "...Okay. Just a moment."
A moment later, the sound of her fiddling with her phone was heard. Then, the ringing tone began to play over the Discord call. "I'll put it on speakerphone."
Beep— Beep—
But the other party didn't pick up. The chat room stirred again.
SunsalRamen tried to act as if it were nothing. "He usually... can't pick up well when he's gaming." But her voice kept trembling.
[The call could not be connected, forwarding to voicemail...]
The call never connected. The Discord call went quiet. Breaking the silence, a KakaoTalk notification sound chimed a moment later.
Ding—
The chat room went wild.
SunsalRamen was silent for a few seconds. She was likely reading the screen. Then, she parted her lips with difficulty. "He said... 'Why again? I'm busy right now, call me later.'"
The chat room reactions were divided.
Park Jihun stared at the monitor with cold eyes and said, "He's not busy. He's avoiding you."
SunsalRamen finally dropped her head. Her thin, trembling breaths continued for a few moments before a voice, teeth gritted, flowed out. At that moment, another voice cut into the Discord call. "Noona, it's dangerous to go alone. I'll go with you." It was a man's voice.
SunsalRamen gasped. "Why are you going? I can go alone."
"How can I let you go alone? If you're going, I'm going with you." Her younger brother must have been watching the broadcast from the side.
The younger brother didn't stop there. "We have to leave evidence. It'll be a headache if that jerk tries to back out of it later. You even booked the wedding hall."
SunsalRamen paused. "Recording...?"
Park Jihun looked at the screen for a moment and said, "Don't record it, make a video call."
SunsalRamen asked back, flustered. "A video call?"
"Yes." Park Jihun's voice was low and firm. "I need to see it so I can guide you properly. Give me the number. I'll call."
The younger brother nodded immediately. "That's better. Noona, just turn on the video call. We need to leave evidence anyway."
SunsalRamen hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded slowly. "...Okay."
Sounds of hurried movement came over the Discord call. The sound of drawers opening and closing, the sound of grabbing a coat, the sound of aimless footsteps. "I'm about to leave now."
"Noona, give me the phone. I'll hold it." Her younger brother chimed in calmly from the side.
Park Jihun said, staring at the monitor, "No need to rush. He's still there."
Then the younger brother replied, "Yes. Just tell us where."
Meanwhile, the chat room was completely on fire.
The sound of the front door opening rang out harshly over the Discord call. Click. Park Jihun’s gaze turned cold. "I'm going to call, so turn on the video call."
A moment later, the words 'Connecting' appeared at the bottom of the broadcast screen.
[Connecting video call...]
SunsalRamen. Or rather, Noh Jung-hee, twenty-eight years old this year. She couldn't understand why she had to leave her house in the middle of the night. Just an hour ago, she had been exchanging messages with her boyfriend, wondering what to eat tomorrow. Now, she was walking toward a motel district with her younger brother, listening to the fortune-telling of some streamer whose identity she didn't even know.
'Is this right?'
But she couldn't stop her footsteps. Earphones were plugged into her ears, and the low, dry voice of a man was clearly audible. "Look straight ahead."
Noh Jung-hee swallowed unconsciously. Beside her, her younger brother was holding his phone, continuing the video call. "Noona, go slowly. You're going to trip."
"...Yeah."
Had she been impatient without realizing it? She slowed her pace a little. But her heart still wouldn't calm down. The night air was cold, but her back was damp with cold sweat. The streetlights looked blurred. It was a situation she couldn't believe with a sane mind.
'It can't be. It really can't be.'
She repeated that to herself several times, but doubt had taken root in a corner of her heart and was growing larger.
"Right."
The voice heard through the earphones. She turned her steps. As she entered the entrance of the motel alley, the air changed. The red light spreading on the walls of old buildings, the cars parked crookedly in the parking lot, the people walking around drunk and staggering.
"Keep going."
At the short, firm words, she swallowed dryly. Her breathing became rapid, and her legs grew heavier. Her younger brother asked cautiously, "Noona, are you okay?"
"...I'm not okay."
Her lips were already parched. But she couldn't turn back now. "There. Take the elevator to the third floor."
She entered the motel. She took the elevator and got off on the third floor. The hallway was narrower than she thought, and the lighting was dim. Her younger brother held his phone and shone the camera. Noh Jung-hee held her breath without realizing it. Soon, a low, sunken voice was heard.
"Don't stop, go to the end."
One step. Another step. Noh Jung-hee walked down the hallway as if pushed to the edge of a cliff. Each door had a number on it, but they didn't register in her mind. Her vision kept shaking. Her heart pounded as if it were beating right next to her ears.
"...Here?"
Her younger brother whispered softly at the end of the hallway. When Noh Jung-hee turned her head, it said '312'. The doorknob was within reach if she just stretched out her hand. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her fingertips were trembling.
"Um..." Noh Jung-hee barely opened her mouth. "What do I do now?"
Park Jihun’s voice came through the earphones. "Wait."
Noh Jung-hee tilted her head. She couldn't understand why he told her to wait. But she couldn't move at that one word. Her younger brother also stopped, as if frozen together. The hallway was silent. It was so quiet that she felt like she could hear the sounds from behind the door.
That was when it happened.
Ding—
The elevator arrival sound rang out again at the end of the hallway. Noh Jung-hee and her younger brother turned their heads at the same time. The elevator door opened, and a delivery driver carrying a delivery bag was striding across the hallway. He glanced at Noh Jung-hee and her younger brother, tilted his head, and knocked on the door.
"Delivery for your order."
Click—
The tightly closed door of room 312 began to open slowly.