Chapter 6
Living creatures read the world and respond to it in their own ways.
“……”
That was what I sensed as a child—the existence of “reason.”
It might be a matter of intelligence. It might be a matter of brain size or capacity. We do not fully understand them. But the rules are clear.
Rules between individuals, rules of response. They existed somewhere between language and the nonverbal. There was nothing fundamentally different from humans.
“Yeon-woo.”
A frog with its belly split wide open.
Lying still.
Unable to move.
“Already finished?”
“…Yes, teacher.”
“As expected, you’re very skillful. You’ll become an excellent doctor.”
“I’m not sure.”
“That’s fine. Dreams are something you build slowly.”
“Yes.”
“But your talent is truly exceptional.”
“……”
“I hope you won’t waste that talent.”
Talent.
Splitting open a frog while it is still alive?
‘Is that exceptional?’
To incise a living body for the human-centered benefit called experience. That act could be called talent.
I thought it was a little strange.
‘But perhaps it is a realm I cannot yet understand because I am still young.’
Adults said he was smart, a genius with many talents. The praise was not unpleasant. The more favorably they evaluated me, the more benefits I could obtain.
But as I looked at the frog with its beating heart laid bare, I thought,
“……”
I killed a person today.
Defined by humans as a “frog.”
The palm-sized person whose eyes met mine across the small tank yesterday.
The morning of day 180 was rather unpleasant.
“……”
“Hello—”
“……”
“…lo…!”
“This is a new reaction.”
Coco curled up like a cat that had seen a cucumber.
No, more accurately, it would be right to say it became a round lump. It looked like a “terrified slime.” Far too shapeless to be called a cat, its form was somewhat ridiculous.
I lifted Coco while sitting on the bed.
“Hello…! Hello… hello….”
“……”
“…hello….”
In proportion to the volume of its voice, its body shrank.
A black, squishy cushion busily tilted its head while watching my mood. Considering how vicious I must have looked, it was a reaction easy to guess.
“I had an unpleasant dream.”
“Hello.”
“It’s not as if things can’t be fine….”
The lukewarm warmth against my palm gradually pushed away the unpleasant afterimage.
“……”
My eyes met the mirror in the lodging.
“…Ah.”
A vicious expression.
“This is hard to look at.”
“No.”
“It’s a dull face.”
Isn’t it.
“With a face like this, it would be difficult to give a pleasant impression.”
I closed my eyes and calmed my sharpened nerves. I had been reading torture records until dawn; a display like this was an expected result.
Thinking that, the corners of my mouth softened on their own.
“…It’s fascinating that even this body can develop dark circles….”
It was likely the price for forcing “additional study” the system had not anticipated. Research beyond the scope of the game inevitably accumulated fatigue. Even if this body did not require sleep, it was still troublesome.
Because of that, I had to at least pretend to rest my eyes.
“If one dies and revives, would even minor status conditions like this recover? What do you think?”
“No.”
“I am not so extreme a person as to choose suicide merely for a poor complexion. Using resurrection as a painkiller leaves a rather unpleasant aftertaste.”
“Yes.”
“My body is fine, yet my mood is strangely unpleasant.”
A body that did not need to eat, wash, or sleep.
Perhaps because that setting was reflected, the operator’s lodging did not even have a bathroom. But if I forcibly slept and woke, my hair would sometimes become disheveled by random chance.
Yeon-woo looked into the mirror and neatly arranged his messy appearance.
“Hello?”
It probably meant, “Do you need this?”
“…Thank you.”
Coco brought the necktie at the perfect moment.
Saying “hello” while holding a tie in its mouth—where exactly was that function implemented? Academic curiosity stirred, but dissecting it was out of the question.
‘Living alone is making my jokes dreadful. I should reflect on that.’
Lee Yeon-woo’s appearance soon returned to its proper place. As always, neat and without disorder.
“……”
…but still a boring face.
“To entrust a person like this with the duties of general manager—the hotel’s personnel system is truly hopeless.”
“No.”
“Fortunately the guests have strong hearts that are not hurt by a face like this. In an ordinary service job, I would have been fired long ago. I am not suited for work as kind as service.”
“No.”
“Coco, you have a tendency to think too well of me.”
“No.”
“…I wonder….”
The face of a killer.
“……”
He put on his glasses,
looked into the mirror again,
and smiled.
“This is better.”
His usual, composed appearance.
“Isn’t it?”
“No.”
“Ha ha, unfortunate.”
Aside from the fact that I had dreamed for the first time in a long while, it was an otherwise ordinary day.
I moved to the front desk and received the guests who had accumulated while I slept. I toured the hotel, checking on the few lodgers, saw off those wishing to check out, and called staff to prepare the rooms.
“I miss the Auto function.”
“No.”
“I truly miss it desperately.”
“No.”
“I know it unlocks after the tutorial ends. There’s no need to remind me.”
However, I still had no intention whatsoever of accepting human guests. I had no sense of what stance to take if an actual person arrived. The current Lee Yeon-woo was neither human nor NPC.
Of course, the day was not without gain.
“Communication remains insufficient, but through consistent response patterns and repeated learning, I judge that the foundation of trust is being established. What do you think?”
“……”
“Why no answer?”
“Yes… no… yes… hello….”
“I warned you not to use your clumsiness with human language as a shield, you naughty cat.”
For now, I was building familiarity with the monsters inside the hotel. It might be optimism on my part, but that was how it felt.
‘…Is it because of the play style I chose?’
This hotel could be operated in various ways. The method he preferred was the non-lethal route. Instead of hostility toward monsters, one managed and contracted with them, recruiting them as allies.
The method was simple. Provide optimized service for each guest. It was difficult at first, but would a 26-year veteran player not know a single strategy?
‘Even if they are defined as phenomena rather than organisms, there is nothing wrong with attempting to identify unknown entities. If I am lucky, I might reduce a mere phenomenon to the level of a living creature and place it within my own understanding.’
It was a typical researcher’s mindset.
“Right now we are somewhat distant… but there is ample opportunity to learn about one another, so it will improve gradually. We are simply not yet accustomed to each other’s ways.”
“Yes.”
“They are not animals like dogs or cats with abundant data. It is natural that adaptation takes time.”
“Yes.”
When they were merely graphics in a game, I could say, “you are this type of character,” and move on. Now, this was reality. Entities akin to living creatures.
I could not treat them as if following a game strategy. Fortunately, my previous studies were helpful.
“……”
To think that studying such scribbles—unworthy of being called books—would provide practical help. As both an ordinary citizen and a researcher, it was rather damaging to my pride.
‘These recent dark circles may be a symptom of blood deficiency during research….’
In any case, the foundation of this hotel originated from that unpleasant history.
“It is fortunate there is still more to study.”
“Yes.”
“Sometimes I even forget why I was so wary of this knowledge. That fleeting moment is rather chilling.”
Which brings me to this.
“If the sacrifice or medium were not another person but myself… that might be a rational conclusion in its own way.”
“No.”
The cat burst into frantic cries.
“No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.”
I had grown fairly accustomed to such sudden commotion.
“Enough.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
“Yes.”
Though lacking understanding of humans, Coco was a good friend who listened attentively when politely asked for help. There was also the fact that circumstances left us no choice but to become friends.
“……”
…It hardly mattered.
“Shall we discuss this topic today?”
“Yes.”
“Very well, please sit comfortably.”
“Yes.”
“Verifying the results of a specific project is an extremely rigorous process. The same applies to confirming the harm it may cause to the human body. The most certain method is to project it directly onto a human subject,”
“No.”
“Unfortunately, the barriers of budget and ethics often block the path ahead.”
“Yes.”
“Even if we turn to animal testing, the difficulties remain. In the case of pigs especially, the cost per specimen is enormous. Unless it is a major national project, such a budget is not approved. At times like this, we can adopt a very efficient shift in thinking.”
“Yes.”
“Donating one’s own body as the test subject is, at the very least, not illegal.”
“No.”
“Ah, a valid point. Of course, there are cases where legal conflict is unavoidable… but if one can pass IRB review, it is an entirely legitimate experiment. Provided voluntary consent is written, risks minimized, and all conditions met.”
Lee Yeon-woo sank deep into the sofa. A leisurely ease spread across his expressionless face. It was one of the few enjoyable conversations in his monotonous isolation.
“For reference, I was a frequent guest of IRB reviews.”
It was less pride than confidence in verified knowledge.
“The review standards grew stricter each year, but in any case, it was not illegal.”
“Yes.”
“In that sense, even if the technology’s origins are impure, if I am the one paying the price… might I not be somewhat free from ethical responsibility?”
“Yes.”
“You mean no?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm. I thought it was quite a plausible idea.”
His lips curved crookedly.
“To begin with, did this hotel ask my consent and abduct me through legal procedures?”
“No….”
“Then I believe voluntarily assuming risk within this place should be sufficiently permissible. Above all, the fact that it can draw efficiency beyond the conservation law is quite attractive.”
“Yes, no, yes….”
“I cannot tell which parts you wish to refute and which you wish to affirm.”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
In any case, it was easy to understand why zealots clung to such dreadful knowledge.
This unpleasant knowledge produced results exceeding what was投入. Pretending to obey the law of conservation while substituting required resources with human emotions and souls.
There was certainly a formula corresponding to it, but I was still learning.
“……”
After checking the time, Lee Yeon-woo looked at Coco.
The cat lay stretched out.
Rather cute.
“Shall we head up?”
“Yes!”
“Good.”
Just as he returned to the lodging to end the day—
“……”
“…Hello?”
He immediately understood what Coco’s upward gaze implied.
Just as this cat was the hotel itself, he too was a being bound to this space. He was also its owner and general manager. Any variable occurring within the hotel was first captured by instinct.
A sensation rippled. Sticky and ominous otherness. The presence of a guest.
But…
“—Ha,”
…this was different from before.
“I must be losing my mind.”
It was unmistakably a human guest.
By whose permission?
Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province.
A black sedan rattled along a rain-filled road. Each time the wheels struck a deep puddle, the vehicle shook violently.
“Wow, look at this bumpy road.”
“After this inspection, you should take the car to a repair shop.”
“It feels like riding an amusement ride. My backside hurts. What is this, Disco Pang Pang?”
“It’s an unpaved road. It can’t be helped.”
“You’re always so indifferent.”
The woman gripping the steering wheel grumbled playfully. Deep fatigue and weariness were evident in her eyes.
It was a torrential downpour common during the monsoon season.
“At this rate, I’m not sure the filming crew will be able to move properly.”
“I believe that is a matter for the director to consider.”
“So you don’t want to worry with me? Writer Hong is so cold. We’ve known each other so long. Has the love gone cold?”
“Ha…”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.”
Director Lee Seonhae laughed.
“Maybe it’s because there are so many mountains, but the atmosphere is incredible. The air is clean. I was considering Gangwon Province if necessary, but at this level, Gapyeong isn’t bad. Solving it within Gyeonggi Province will reduce the burden on the actors.”
“It is better than Gangwon, but Gapyeong is not particularly close either. The terrain is also less rugged than expected. Had it been Gangwon, we would not have had to come this deep.”
“Oh dear, are you still sulking? It’s eerie enough and good. People could die out here and no one would know.”
“It’s not that it’s bad, I just…”
“I know how ambitious you are, but we can’t treat the actors like tools. We’re professionals, aren’t we?”
“…Is that not the nature of an original creator’s ambition?”
They were a film director and a story writer, visiting for a pre-shoot location inspection.
“I mean, honestly. It’s ambition, yes, but… you know.”
“Ah, I understand. Cha Dohyeon does have that side.”
“I know it’s not good to speak ill of actors, but Cha is truly difficult to handle. Choosing Gapyeong was because of his insistence, wasn’t it?”
“He has enough recognition to make such demands. And above all, there is no actor better suited for the male lead of this script. The side with more to lose must yield.”
“If Han Yeseol hadn’t adjusted to his schedule, I would still be displeased.”
Writer Hong Gyeongyeon sighed.
“I’m sorry. You’re driving and I’ve been complaining too much.”
“Oh come on, we’ve known each other for ages. It’s because you’re tired. When your body feels bad, you become sensitive and irritable.”
“…Thank you.”
The man crossed his arms and leaned back.
“It’s taking longer than expected. Are we still far?”
“What, should we have sent someone else?”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
Location scouting before filming was always important.
The two, long-time partners, always worked this way. They assigned preliminary research to staff, then personally walked the site. It was an essential process to match the visual image.
Two filming crew members accompanied them this time.
“Are you okay with motion sickness in the back?”
“Yes… I’m glad I took medicine.”
“Thank you for coming all this way.”
“This is our job.”
Without the filming team, it was difficult to estimate real site logistics. Considering the rugged, dense mountains, they kept the team as small as possible.
The larger the group, the more exhausting movement in the mountains became.
“Um, but…”
“Yes?”
“It seems like it’s getting dark rather quickly.”
On a summer day swallowed by torrential rain,
“Oh, you’re right.”
The downpour made it difficult to see even the road ahead.