Chapter 31
To be honest.
“……”
I thought it was beautiful.
“This wasn’t a situation where I should be looking at it that way.”
But the instinct toward beauty weighed heavier than anything else. Lee Seonhae saw it. It was a primordial lifeform and at the same time an extremely rational figure, a pitifully delicate process of reconstruction.
A stream of blood shot upward over the water that emitted a dazzling glow. It looked like a lotus blooming from a frost-covered pond, and also resembled a certain classical illustration she had once seen.
Frozen blood.
A twisted body.
The disassembly of the self.
And then reassembly.
“Do you need help?”
“……”
I saw your eyes.
And you were looking at me as well.
I felt fear. Fear toward the unknown.
I felt reverence. Reverence toward pain.
Were those sinners, trapped and twisted inside ice while losing their identities, like this as well?
Those people who suffered so desperately just to maintain their forms. The scene before her eyes was a collapse of the self that surpassed that pain, and at the same time a miraculous restoration.
“If that horribly empty illustration were overlaid with a sense of rapture.”
A line crafted without destroying the pain, preserving every single grain of it one by one, cruelly precise.
It would look exactly like that.
I saw that somewhere, in some book…
“……”
…Where was it again?
The place they arrived at after barely shaking off the “Wet Man” was the emergency treatment room.
“……”
Lee Yeonwoo fell silent for a moment with the unconscious Lee Seonhae beside him.
There was no grand reason. He simply felt a bit wronged by the current situation and was asking himself exactly where his life had started to twist off course.
“If I hadn’t been kidnapped.”
No, rather than that.
“Is it normal for the tutorial to be this difficult from the start?”
Even if this hotel had appeared in reality. The essence of Hotel One was still a game. If that was the case, then it should at least have a minimum level of plausibility.
“Even if this game was infamous for its difficulty…”
If it had become reality, shouldn’t there at least be some degree of leniency? He had a body that had gone through the tutorial hundreds of times, but never once had it been this cruel.
“…Hmm.”
Then again, comparing the “difficulty” between the game and reality was probably meaningless.
“Until human guests appeared, I thought of this place as nothing more than a theme park with a Ho-One concept. What a regrettable turn of events.”
In the end, a person had to face reality.
“……”
Falling silent again, Lee Yeonwoo looked over Director Lee Seonhae once more.
“She looks a little comfortable now.”
Just moments ago she had been standing on the threshold of death. From Lee Yeonwoo’s perspective, the mere fact that an innocent person hadn’t died after getting caught up in such an absurd incident was truly fortunate.
“It’s also fortunate that the treatment room was just as I remembered.”
On the twenty-third floor Aqua Park, there was an emergency treatment room for guests. Even though circumstances had changed, the basic emergency medicines were still there.
“I only administered medicines that have no side effects for human guests, but since this has become reality I was worried I might make a mistake. Seems like I wasn’t mistaken.”
Ho-One was a dot game, so even the item images were crude. They differed greatly from the vivid appearance of reality, so it would have been easy to confuse them, but he seemed to have managed by relying on the colors and names.
Maybe it was because the humidity was high. His vision felt slightly dim, and he adjusted his glasses.
“…I should watch a little longer.”
Whether it was due to psychological shock or accumulated fatigue, Director Lee Seonhae showed no sign of waking up even after the medicine had been administered.
“But her breathing is gradually becoming steady.”
Her complexion was much better than before.
“Judging by how strength is slowly returning to her muscles… it seems she has passed the critical point. Well, even in the game the item’s effect was certain. It seems that immediacy works here as well.”
Lee Yeonwoo leaned deeply into the backrest.
“……”
…He was tired.
Perhaps because he had done a series of insane things, he was unbelievably tired. On top of that, his head was still spinning from the aftereffects of the Jeoksim Juhae ritual.
He quietly tilted his head back. The dark ceiling entered his view.
“……”
To be honest, his rationality had been somewhat blurred at that time.
“…No matter how I think about it, climbing up through the pipes was a bit excessive.”
At the time he had been too desperate. Theoretically there was no problem, and more than anything it seemed like the most efficient method. He couldn’t find any reason not to do it.
“In fact, there weren’t many ways for someone in my position to bypass the rules.”
The twenty-third floor, which one could not step foot on during the tutorial according to the rules. But the water pipes, which had never been implemented in the game and therefore had no rules attached to them at all. There had been no choice but to aim for that gap.
So he used it.
The pipes.
“With my body.”
Turned into a mass of blood,
becoming a liquid,
flowing through the pipes…
“……”
Lee Yeonwoo reflected for a moment.
“That was insane.”
It was absolutely not something a sane person would do.
But what could he do? That was the only method that had come to mind at the time.
“There also happened to be appropriate equipment attached to the water tank in the power generation room. It was a structure that appeared in the game. Multiple layers of grinders were installed so that the pipes wouldn’t get clogged by foreign substances…”
Fortunately, within the game system that equipment was not included among the conditions of “death.” Thanks to that he survived, although it hurt quite a bit. The situation had been so chaotic that he hadn’t really noticed the pain anyway.
When someone is on the brink of death, that kind of pain doesn’t even reach the brain.
“……”
Still, it seemed like he should reflect.
“If I set up an automation engraving later it’ll be easier than today, but even so that was insane. If I hadn’t done it Director Lee Seonhae would have died, but even so it was insane…”
Once this incident was over, he really needed to rest properly.
“I should have sent the guests away earlier.”
It was a shallow regret that had no meaning now.
After all, bound by the rules, he wouldn’t have been able to say a single word to the guests. He had actually tried countless times, but he couldn’t even move his lips.
Still, he couldn’t help looking back. Thoughts that maybe it might have been possible if he had clung on without giving up. Thoughts that maybe he should have searched more diligently for a way around it.
“—……”
With a small sigh, he pushed those regrets aside.
“…Still, thanks to Director Lee Seonhae sending the signal, it was easier to find the pipes.”
She had probably done it by accident while touching things without knowing what they were.
After experiencing it directly, the pipes in this hotel were unbelievably tangled. Just managing to find the route this quickly was something to be grateful for. If he had been three minutes later, the Wet Man would have finished the execution.
“……”
But right now, Lee Seonhae was alive.
“……”
“……”
“…Ugh….”
After waiting a little longer, Director Lee Seonhae finally stirred awake.
“…Oh my.”
If he followed his feelings, he would have made a huge fuss. Even if the situation was sudden, it was a reaction that would naturally come from Lee Yeonwoo.
“The medicine in this hotel actually works.”
As someone who had been bound to this game for twenty-six years like a wandering spirit, a part of his heart even fluttered with excitement.
“If someone else’s life hadn’t been on the line, I would have been purely happy.”
This was a game that had never had a single update in his entire life, let alone merchandise. Wasn’t this basically vivid merchandise itself? An item that had actually appeared in the game had been implemented.
For Lee Yeonwoo, it felt like performing real magic with Harry Potter’s wand. Like a Star Wars lightsaber toy turning into a real beam blade. Like catching a stray cat with a Pokémon Monster Ball merchandise.
“……”
“Ugh, Mr. Yeonwoo…?”
“Yes, Director.”
But he calmly waited without showing it outwardly.
It was image management. For the sake of social life. No one wanted to know about Lee Yeonwoo’s twenty-six-year-old love for Ho-One. It was only natural to be considerate.
“Are you feeling a bit clearer?”
“…Where am I?”
“This is the emergency treatment room. Have you ever stopped by here before?”
“Uh, no… I’ve been somewhere similar though…”
“Then you may have visited the staff break room.”
“Oh, so that was the break room. There was only some strange sign attached so I couldn’t tell what it was.”
“I see…”
…A strange sign?
“In the game it was clearly attached properly. Just like the sign for this treatment room… Ah.”
Then he realized.
“Just because it reads as Korean to me doesn’t mean others see it the same way.”
The identity of the General Manager inside Hotel One had always been unclear.
Some interpreted it as human, but many believed it to be a ghost or monster. Like this, today as well, Lee Yeonwoo had taken another step away from the category of human.
“My modest dream of returning to society feels more and more distant.”
But now was not the time to worry about such trivial matters.
“I sincerely apologize for not being able to help you in time.”
“Huh?”
“You must have experienced many frightening and painful situations, but I truly thank you for enduring them until now. I treated your urgent injuries while you were resting. Is there anywhere else that feels uncomfortable?”
“Injuries… injuries, ah. This…! Huh? Wait? They’re all healed?”
“How does your physical and mental condition feel?”
“Both are fine. I didn’t realize while I was running around earlier, but I must have been really exhausted. My head was pounding, but that’s gone now… and my vision is clear too.”
“That is a relief.”
“……”
“……”
A moment after the conversation stopped, Lee Seonhae suddenly sprang up from the bed and grabbed Lee Yeonwoo by the shoulders.
“What on earth are you doing here?”
“I work as the General Manager.”
“There were nothing but monsters in this place.”
“They are a kind of staff under my management.”
“What kind of country has staff who try to beat their guests to death like that?”
“If you think of it as a kind of extraterritorial region, it may be easier to understand.”
Even for him it had taken a long time to adapt. This hotel denied the constitution and common sense simply by existing. Calling it “extraterritorial” was half a joke, but it wasn’t entirely wrong.
However, Director Lee Seonhae’s expression did not look good.
“Just earlier her eyes were filled with fear. That’s unexpected.”
He had expected her to be much more frightened after witnessing his emergency restoration protocol directly. Yet her face showed confusion and sympathy rather than fear.
“Is she forcing herself to endure the fear?”
This situation had happened due to his poor management, yet the victim was showing consideration toward him. As a human being, there could hardly be a more embarrassing situation.
Pushing aside his fatigue and awkwardness, Lee Yeonwoo smiled as he always did. Even if he showed weakness as the person responsible, it wouldn’t benefit either of them in this situation.
“I sincerely apologize.”
Director Lee Seonhae waved her hands.
“Mr. Yeonwoo didn’t make this hotel.”
“If I had the authority and ability to do that, I wouldn’t have created a situation where everyone suffers like this. It is truly regrettable.”
“You really don’t look like someone who should be working at a hotel like this.”
“Thank you for the excessive praise.”
“Seriously, why did you come here? Why are you working here? Did someone drag you here?”
“Haha.”
That was something he still wondered himself.
“I can only guess that Coco might be behind it, but nothing is certain.”
After experiencing one unrealistic situation after another, he even started thinking like this. Perhaps it was something like an unavoidable natural disaster. Like a typhoon or an earthquake.
“…Alright. Who am I to dig into something like that. Sorry for asking about something sensitive.”
Once again Director Lee Seonhae accepted it on her own. It was something to be grateful for.
“No. The fact that you survived with all your limbs intact is already something I am grateful for.”
“…Do a lot of people die here?”
“That is not the case.”
Since this place became reality, not a single person had died here.
Even during the game days that only happened during the early adjustment period. After that he somehow managed to send everyone back alive. It was also thanks to controlling the hotel’s tendency so that it rarely accepted human guests.
“Let me tell you in advance that you no longer need to worry. As long as I am accompanying you, Director Lee Seonhae, there is no risk of you dying or getting injured.”
“……”
“But remaining trapped on the twenty-third floor like this would be harmful for your mental health. I know a way to leave this place, so please rest assured.”
“…Um…”
Director Lee Seonhae smiled awkwardly. After hesitating, she asked.
“…Mr. Yeonwoo, you are Mr. Yeonwoo, right?”
Her voice trembled slightly.
“……”
What exactly was she asking?
“Is she asking whether the horrifying mass of blood she saw before losing consciousness and the current me are the same being? Or did she encounter some monster imitating me while wandering around the Aqua Park?”
Lee Yeonwoo did not want to become an object of fear. Rather than risking it, he decided to attribute the caution in her question to the monster staff.
“Did you encounter something that looked exactly like me?”
“Uh… yes.”
The director hesitated, then smiled.
“I encountered something similar.”
“If it was similar?”
“Well… it perfectly copied your voice on the radio…”
“Did that voice try to lure you somewhere dangerous?”
“There was a murderer outside, but it kept urging me to come out of the hiding place.”
“In that case… you were a bit unlucky.”
“What happens if you’re lucky?”
“You connect to the radio I have.”
Lee Yeonwoo tapped the in-ear device in his ear. It was a function described in the actual game.
“On the twenty-third floor, radios sometimes appear with a low probability. Half the time they connect to the real General Manager, but the other half a fake General Manager answers.”
“…At first it imitated you really poorly…”
“That’s to make you relax. They intentionally show clumsy behavior at first, then by the second or third time they imitate perfectly. That way it’s easier to deceive people.”
Looking at the game logs, he knew how the guests trapped on the twenty-third floor had died because of those radios. They all lost their lives after being tricked by fake instructions.
“In that case, it is understandable that you would question my identity right now.”
She couldn’t be certain whether Lee Yeonwoo was real or fake. Unlike him, she did not know Ho-One inside and out. Even if he explained the rules, it would be difficult for her to trust him completely.
“How about this? I was able to identify your location through the signal you sent through the water pipes.”
“…Me? I never did anything like that.”
“Didn’t you put your ear to the sink?”
“Huh? The sink… the one where water and monsters were flowing backward?”
“That’s right. A survival signal.”
In reality it was a device for announcing that someone was alive, and within the game system it was a gimmick that allowed the location to be identified. Either way, it was an excellent response.
“If something flowed backward through the sink pipe, it means the pipe signal was successfully transmitted. The pipes in the power generation room were pounding loudly.”
“No, how is that a signal…?”
“Did you experience any other unusual events?”
Lee Yeonwoo recalled the three possible cases in survival route B. The radio, the sink, and…
“For example, did the wired telephone at the information desk ring? It must be a wired phone, not a wireless one. If the bell rang even though no one touched it, it means preparations to send a rescue request are complete.”
“…I saw it… but it felt ominous so I ignored it. I didn’t pick it up…”
“…That was wise. That caution must be why you survived until now. The several hours of mental suffering you experienced happened because my arrival was delayed, so please do not blame yourself.”
A rescue request only became possible after the wired phone rang six times. But if someone picked up the receiver prematurely, it could be disastrous. It was a dangerous trap that could even destroy the brain.
“I also have no desire to see a perfectly normal person turned into an idiot. In this hotel it is better to be overly cautious like Director Lee Seonhae.”
Still, considering how cautious she had been… she had wandered quite a bit.
“……”
…Hmm.
After roughly organizing the situation, Lee Yeonwoo spoke with quiet admiration.
“You moved around very diligently.”
“Ah, yes… it just happened somehow.”
“I see.”
Was this the bold spirit of a horror film director?