Chapter 35
“How much do you know about humans?”
“No.”
“Oh, we have a long way to go.”
“Yes.”
“Or maybe you’re distracted by food.”
Lee Yeon-woo placed a steak in front of Coco. Coco stared intently at the meat, as if ready to bury her face in it. Truly, a creature with a tremendous appetite.
Seeing this, Lee Yeon-woo took a seat across from Coco. Since Coco sat in the center of the table, it was technically ambiguous to call it across, but close enough.
“Hello?”
“This is boiled pork. The head meat is boiled, compressed, and thinly sliced. Its texture will be very different from the steak in front of you.”
“Hello?”
“That side is buckwheat jelly salad, and next to it is buckwheat pancake. This is buckwheat tea.”
“Pork? Buckwheat?”
“Yes, I kind of… like it.”
There were only a few foods Lee Yeon-woo could say he liked. Alcohol, pork, buckwheat, rice cakes, and some fruits. But he generally avoided eating as a matter of habit.
It felt as if a foreign substance had entered his body…
“I felt the same in the game, but since it’s a Western-style hotel, Korean dishes are hard to find. The few I did find were usually the type that would appear at funerals or ancestral rites.”
“Ancestral rites.”
“From the eater’s perspective, it feels odd, but I don’t mind. Since these are foods I already preferred, it’s fine. They even included plain steamed rice, as if intentionally mimicking an ancestral table.”
Pork head meat with buckwheat jelly was an excellent combination. Add the pancakes and greens, and it was perfection. Finish with a steamed rice cake, and it would be flawless.
‘I never imagined I’d benefit from the tutorial like this.’
Colleagues had once said he had the taste of ancestors, even beyond ordinary adults, but he ignored that thought.
Lee Yeon-woo bit into a buckwheat pancake.
“Hmm…”
…It was delicious, yet.
‘It’s more uncomfortable than when I tasted food for human guests, maybe because it’s been so long.’
The peculiar discomfort of a foreign substance entering the body. He set down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and changed the subject.
“Let’s leave the menu talk there.”
It was just an excuse.
“Today, I’d like to talk a bit about humans.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not sure if this discussion will help you, Coco, in understanding humans, but I think the most important thing in bridging the gap between species is ultimately understanding and acceptance.”
“Yes…”
“You’re acting like a student who refuses to study. The fact that you’ve learned that expression means you somewhat understand me, the human, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Lee Yeon-woo scooped some pork with his spoon. Its texture was soft, just as intended. Minor changes like this were possible even within the game system.
“Humans. And humanity. A topic with endless discussion possibilities.”
Coco opened her mouth wide, as if saying, ‘Why should I care?’
“Oh.”
“……”
“Oh. Oh.”
“…Wait a moment.”
By the stars…
‘Where does this food even go?’
Lee Yeon-woo stopped cutting the steak. It wasn’t suitable to cut for that mouth size. He placed the entire piece of meat directly in Coco’s mouth.
Coco absorbed it without chewing. Not surprising, but interesting.
‘I wonder how the digestive system is structured.’
Setting aside that curiosity, Lee Yeon-woo continued the main discussion.
“Let’s continue.”
First, philosophy.
“From a philosophical perspective, humanity is the combination of reason, autonomy, self-awareness, and moral responsibility. A tiring being that constantly asks, ‘Who am I?’”
“Moral responsibility.”
“Exactly. My actions, trying to get Director Lee Seon-hae and Writer Hong Gyeong-yeon out safely, also fall into the same context. Humans generally possess this sense of responsibility.”
“Generally?”
“Do you think otherwise?”
“Yes.”
“Unfortunate.”
Anyone with social experience knows this: not all humans possess a ‘universal sense of responsibility’.
‘Few know it as well as I do.’
It’s mostly a matter of probability and average. Humans are highly individualistic.
“Then let’s move on to law. Legally, humanity can be summarized as the prerequisite for rights. It’s the foundation for being equally respected before the law.”
“No.”
“How honest. Well, given the game system and lawless existence you, Coco, inhabit, human-made laws probably hold little significance or interest. That kind of perspective is awkward, but intriguing.”
“Hello!”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
Lee Yeon-woo added,
“In short, humans are beings that must follow complex agreements to secure minimal rights.”
Law defines humanity this way.
“Then how does science define humanity? Simple: we’re highly developed primates. Species with advanced brains, sociality, and meta-cognition. But…”
“Ing.”
“Yawning already?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, social life starts with enduring words you don’t want to hear. Sorry, not finished yet.”
No need to apologize. Since Coco likely caused him to end up in this lair, as the kidnapper, he had a duty to share the burden of the manager’s dilemmas.
Such discussions only clarify when shared with others.
“Also, there’s the view that only humans produce art. From that perspective, human nature in art is probably the refinement of experience, interpretation, and the height of self-expression.”
“Ing.”
“You’ve become quite clever. Not that that charm worked on me, but it shows your interactions with humans have developed. We’ll end it here.”
Her behavior had become rather cute.
‘That tantrum is probably imitating human behavior.’
What could she have referenced in this cold hotel?
‘If external influences didn’t exist, her intelligence system might have already been highly developed. Or perhaps there was a channel to learn human culture. But… no.’
He let that question pass.
“…So…”
Back to the main topic.
“…In summary, humans are beings that understand others, perceive themselves, create meaning, and hold moral responsibility. Countless people have pondered this for a long time and reached this conclusion, regardless of whether it’s truly correct.”
Lee Yeon-woo tasted the boiled pork and set down his chopsticks.
‘Difficult conditions to stimulate the palate.’
The taste of thick blood lingered in his mouth as the pork slid.
“I don’t think I’m not human.”
“……”
“…Unlike during the tutorial, I feel a more genuine biological response.”
Following the scent of blood, his tongue brushed his lips and his gaze rolled.
“I sense fatigue, pain, hunger, and the incomplete existence of sensations.”
“……”
“But do you know about the unpleasant valley?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“Yes?”
“I feel that discomfort right now. I don’t know what to do with this state, being neither fully living nor inanimate.”
“No.”
“Do you wish me to completely lose my humanity?”
Lee Yeon-woo chewed the buckwheat jelly.
Green onion and red pepper. Soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil. Strong in taste and aroma, yet masked by the iron-like taste of blood. He smelled it even just by breathing.
Feeling buried alive in blood.
Yet, or rather, because of that.
“……”
He continued eating.
“…Perhaps you are right.”
“Yes.”
“It might be far more efficient and rational if I cease to be human. Considering statistics, probabilities, and the overwhelming majority of outcomes.”
“Yes.”
“But if I give up one by one, I cannot imagine the choices I would make later. And as you know, I hate uncertainty. Not everything can be clear, but at least my own being must remain in my control, right?”
“No.”
“Do you think that?”
He clicked his tongue as if genuinely disappointed.
“It’s quite frustrating…”
Also, an interesting perspective.
‘This hotel truly needs someone like Lee Yeon-woo.’
Smiling slightly, he continued.
“Something seems amiss to you, but it’s important. Someone who can’t maintain their foundation cannot handle greater tasks, right?”
“Hello.”
“This isn’t a loss for you either, Coco. You want me to settle here and manage this mysterious hotel and its moving guests ideally, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then, even if I’m not ‘human’, it doesn’t matter.”
That much he could stake gladly.
“The important thing is that I remain ‘me’, not how my cells are composed.”
“……”
“Humans are naturally the product of adaptation and evolution. I will follow that path, only my pace is unusually broad and fast.”
Yet he wished to remain ‘me’.
“…Shall we think about what ‘I’ am?”
“Yes.”
“I usually skip meals. I get full quickly and tire of food easily, so I eat little. If it tastes bad, I avoid it. Feeling full is burdensome and uncomfortable.”
“Yes.”
“I try to live an ideal life, but it’s not easy. When focused, I skip meals, exercise, and sleep. Only afterward do I regain the mind to manage myself.”
“Yes.”
“…And…”
What else?
What expresses me? What is my core?
“……”
“……”
“…The fact that so many things come to mind that I can’t even say aloud means I’m not insane yet. Quite fortunate, isn’t it?”
“No.”
“Naughty cat.”
Philosophy and psychology were not his specialties.
Yet, Lee Yeon-woo understood himself. He knew what he could not give up even in death. That remained, even if every cell was replaced and life and death repeated.
Naturally, failing to do so… was incompetence.
‘At least for me.’
That was natural.
“I think it’s somewhat organized now.”
“Hello?”
“Yes, doing what can be done immediately is priority.”
There was much to do. Although his mind was still complex, sustaining life by harming others could not be considered ‘me’.
Measures were needed for both himself and the hotel.
“Then first…”
Tutorial Reward Collection
Nightmare Assets ×300
Random Box ×1
Employee Hiring Voucher ×10
“Shall we open the gift box first?”
“Yes.”