Chapter 2
“No.”
Day 11 of hotel confinement.
Judging that he had adapted to his new body to some extent, Lee Yeon-woo began the tutorial. It was not easy, but for Lee Yeon-woo, a veteran user of twenty-six years, it was not entirely difficult either.
The first was understanding the building structure.
The second was greeting guests.
The third was cleaning.
The fourth was how to use the staff.
The fifth was learning how to operate the power plant.
“This hotel does not have a single part that runs legally.”
“No.”
“My little partner is quite generous with standards. Which part exactly is not illegal? If you will excuse me, it looks like a clear violation of labor laws to my eyes.”
He was not speaking about himself. The operator was also the owner and general manager, so that could be overlooked. What was truly horrifying was the reality that the ‘staff,’ who were monsters, worked without rest.
“To think I am the owner of such a company. What a tasteless joke.”
It was a perfectly illustrated black corporation.
“No?”
“Perhaps you lack the awareness that this is not a game but reality.”
Or perhaps there was awareness, but no concern.
“Of course, when it was a game, this was natural. The developer of this game was not someone with enough leisure to implement resting animations for each NPC. However, what I am trying to say is that this… is reality.”
If he was not truly in a coma, that was.
“To apply the game exactly as it was to such a respectable hotel. What a lack of flexibility. In my view, this is not work but exploitation. Do you have any advice for a solution?”
“Yes.”
“A company without answers.”
“Yes.”
“I am surprised you admit that.”
Coco rolled about in Lee Yeon-woo’s arms as if it had nothing to do with her.
The low purring sound was insufferably sly and adorable. When touched, she was squishy like slime, her fur soft as velvet, her lukewarm warmth exquisite.
“I feel rather uncomfortable.”
Having obediently acknowledged his own limits, Lee Yeon-woo stepped out of the power plant room.
“To be called a co-operator and yet have so little I can do, it puts me in quite an awkward position.”
“No.”
“Do you not think my situation is far from easy to dismiss so casually?”
This hotel had high entry difficulty for certain situations and areas.
One of them was the power plant room. Even merely breathing there contaminated the mind, increasing the operator’s probability of suicide. In a situation where he could barely take care of himself, he could not consider the labor environment of the staff.
“…That was a shameful complaint.”
Securing enough leeway to look around him came first.
Thus, Day 27 of hotel confinement.
“……”
Lee Yeon-woo eventually reached a limit.
“The door will not open.”
“Yes.”
“At my age, having worked this far in the body of a minor, doing hotelier work that is not even my major, I should at least appear commendable. It was even unpaid. Since I am not receiving money, would it not be reasonable for you to at least open the door?”
“No.”
“That answer piques my interest. Let us examine this precisely, partner.”
He looked down at the four-legged creature and asked in a dry voice.
“Are you unwilling, or are you unable?”
“Hello.”
“My apologies. It seems my questioning method was incorrect again. Are you unwilling?”
“No.”
“Ah, I see….”
Lee Yeon-woo rolled his eyes without much reaction.
“…To think that even my only friend who converses with me lacks the authority to open this door. There is no disaster quite like this. And I, who have become a co-operator along with you, where am I supposed to negotiate now….”
The tutorial had long been completed in every other aspect.
He had done everything required. He had nearly mastered the hotel’s functions.
Even if it had become reality, it differed little from the flow he remembered. It had even reached the point where high-difficulty monster guests that should not appear during the tutorial had arrived, as if the in-game bugs had been reflected 그대로.
However, there was exactly one stage he had not completed.
“…Coco.”
He called the monster whose form he could draw with his eyes closed.
“There are many problems with bringing an actual human here.”
“No.”
“I am not unaware of what the tutorial process requires. I also remember that after monster guests comes learning how to respond to human guests.”
“Yes.”
“I know. But humanely speaking, that is unacceptable. And I am human. If one is human and not a beast, there are lines that must be kept. Are you familiar with morality and ethics?”
“No.”
“Was today the third day I died of hypertension?”
“No.”
“I was speaking to myself.”
“Yes.”
Among the beings who visited or resided in this hotel, ‘guests’ were largely classified into two categories. Monster guests and human guests.
And human guests were literally… just people.
“Shall we sit down, Coco.”
“Yes.”
“Let us have a conversation.”
“Yes.”
“I have no intention of bringing another new person here besides myself. There are things possible only because it was a game, and this game is particularly so. For what purpose would I bring someone here, to have them killed?”
“Yes.”
“Did you just state that bringing someone here to be killed is correct?”
“Yes.”
Fine. He did not want to concede, but even if he conceded a hundred or a thousand times.
“Then can that person resurrect as well?”
“No.”
“Allow me to confirm further. Is that person closer to a game character I know? An NPC? Or are they an ordinary human who wakes up in the morning, goes to school or work, eats meals, and endures the day with average emotions?”
“Yes.”
“Are you saying that such an ordinary person, who cannot resurrect like me, must come here and stay? That it is part of the tutorial? And that I must learn how to respond to such people?”
“Yes.”
“For my sake, push unrelated strangers onto a bed of thorns?”
“Yes.”
“You must be insane.”
This kidnapper was now trying to make him a murderer.
Of course, Lee Yeon-woo had no intention of dealing with actual people.
In the end, he abandoned the idea of acting honorably. Life had many variables, and rather than become a murderer, it was better to find another path to survival.
There would be another way besides clearing the tutorial.
Thus time passed, and it became Day 34 of hotel confinement.
“It is unpleasant to realize that I am adapting.”
“No.”
It was livable, more or less.
“I would like to see what happens when the tutorial is completed.”
Hawon progressed differently from ordinary games. Even the proper interface only appeared after the tutorial ended. For a system so peculiar, it had many bugs.
His current situation was precisely that.
If left alone, resources accumulated endlessly.
Originally, this game’s tutorial ended in at most four days. However, if one intentionally delayed more than thirteen days in this short section, the system became overloaded and several fatal bugs occurred.
The first concerned the types of guests. High-difficulty monsters that should appear gradually according to user level would rush in from the beginning. Not exactly welcome in an already difficult game.
And the second was the accumulation of resources.
The amount of resources that could be stored depended on the hotel’s grade.
However, during the tutorial phase, there was no interface, and thus no upper limit on resources. There was no warehouse, yet items piled up indiscriminately.
From the perspective of a seasoned user, it was manageable.
“…Without an interface, I cannot know the exact numbers.”
“Yes.”
“But the amount will not be small.”
Resources far exceeding the tutorial average must already have pooled within this hotel.
Usually, such excess resources were reset upon tutorial completion. The problem was that Hawon’s error-handling code was poor.
To process undeleted resources, the system forcibly converted them all into experience points.
He had once reached level 666 in one stroke using this method.
Under normal leveling, one had to consume special items every five levels to perform a limit break. However, this bug ignored that process and caused levels to skyrocket.
Naturally, it came with various side effects and conveniences.
In this situation, where the game had become reality, such aspects would feel even more significant.
How high would the level rise this time?
“There are only the two of us here, so I will speak frankly. I am rather looking forward to it. And that makes me quite displeased. It seems twenty-six years of attachment are clouding my reason.”
“No.”
“The fact that living like this is not as bad as expected makes me reproach myself. One would have to be fairly insane to enjoy such an unreasonable situation.”
“Yes.”
He looked at Coco with indifferent eyes.
“Sometimes I wonder whether you are expressing a desire to fight me. Of course, you will say that is not the case.”
“Yes.”
“I must not grow accustomed to this. I will reflect on myself.”
He had played this game for over twenty years. Regretting its service termination, he had inquired about the rights and even received copyright transfer. Had he not entered the very game he cherished as part of his daily life?
He acknowledged that he could not lack affection for it.
There was no risk of death, no issue with food or livelihood. Although he was technically kidnapped and confined, if viewed generously, it could be considered a form of retreat.
At this level, it was not entirely bad. It was not so different from entering an immersive studio secretly created for his game, which had neither merchandise nor updates.
If he thought of it as staying overnight in a theme park or haunted house, it was tolerable in its own way.
“Still, I would prefer to return to my original life.”
“No.”
“How resolute. I understand what you mean, though. In this nineteen-year-old body like wet hanji paper, it would be difficult to expect my original life. Even if I escaped from here.”
“Yes.”
“Could I live an ordinary human life? Would there be a risk of being taken by the National Intelligence Service? Would people even recognize this suddenly younger appearance of mine… In truth, I do not know.”
“No.”
“Hearing that only makes me less confident. If it was an attempt to prevent me from wanting to leave, I would say it was not entirely ineffective….”
He murmured.
“…When will that door open.”
Time passed.
It became Day 52 of hotel confinement.
“Now, repeat after me.”
A carefully drawn smile appeared over Lee Yeon-woo’s once dry expression.
Managing expressions was one of his specialties. As always, the corners of his mouth rose smoothly.
Then, in a pleasant tone, he said,
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
Lee Yeon-woo nodded at Coco’s reply.
It was a signal of mutual understanding. He had taught her the language of society.
“You are doing well. Remember that human language can express much even through intonation alone. Since you understand my language, you will surely learn intonation quickly as well.”
“Yes.”
“Nodding there will express understanding more clearly. By nodding, I mean moving the head above the neck, particularly the chin….”
Lee Yeon-woo entered full interaction with the hotel.
Since Hawon had become reality, there was no reason he could not aim for more than the game allowed. Above all, he was bored.
If the tutorial felt dull, it meant he was in a relatively relaxed situation. It was something to be grateful for.
Had he entered the main play, he would have been endlessly busy, responding to guests and managing the hotel without pause. But that was not the case now.
He still had not completed the tutorial.
“Hello!”
“Excellent, Coco.”
He could not become a murderer for the sake of his own safety