The Inn Is Now OPEN

After dinner, Yu Hyeon tidied up the backyard while Yu Jin wiped down the pot with detergent on a wet wipe.

It felt too early to head inside, so I sat idly in front of the oil drum stove. White ash drifted up from the dying flames.

Yu Jin, pouring pork drippings from the frying pan into a plastic bottle, spoke up.

"I hope the water starts running soon."

I sat on a milk crate and looked up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the sky.

"You're telling me."

If there was one thing this ruined world had going for it, it was the Milky Way in the night sky. With every trace of humanity's lights snuffed out, the stars had come back.

Yu Hyeon rose from his seat and gave a slight bow.

"Thank you for the meal, Boss."

"My pleasure. Heading in already? Why not stay out and watch the stars a while longer with us."

"If we're going out farming again tomorrow, I need to manage my condition."

As an employee, he scored a perfect hundred. As a friend, though, the man was a real bore.

He stopped at the door and turned back toward Yu Jin.

"Yu Jin, you should come in too."

But Yu Jin showed no intention of getting up, resting her chin on her hand as she stared blankly at the embers.

"Ah, you go ahead, oppa. I'll come in a bit."

"...Fine. Don't stay out too late. And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don't give the Boss any trouble."

Yu Hyeon nodded and closed the door behind him, going in alone.

The two of them had always been attached at the hip, like a set menu. Chasing after her big brother's heels had been Yu Jin's default setting, especially.

"What's this? Why aren't you following your brother today?"

When I asked casually, Yu Jin, sitting beside me, shot me a sidelong glance. The moment our eyes met, she whipped her head away.

"That's my business."

"Well, suit yourself."

A big brother leaving his grown little sister alone with a man out here. Ordinarily, this was a silent signal meaning feel free to become my brother-in-law.

Apparently his guard had loosened considerably. Had he decided I was reasonably trustworthy after just a few days?

I couldn't say what was in his heart, but as a survival strategy, it was excellent.

He probably figured that even if he couldn't read me as a person, my abilities were a sure thing. His sister had nothing to lose by getting close to me.

I was gazing blankly at the night sky when Yu Jin kept stealing glances at me from the side.

Ugh, she is so annoyingly conspicuous.

"Why are you so jumpy? If you've got something to say, just say it."

"...Who's j-jumpy?"

Hugging her knees, Yu Jin pushed out her lips in a pout. Her words said one thing, but her shoulders were stiff as boards.

Honest to a fault, this one.

I snorted and leaned back against the milk crate.

"Let's hear it, then."

"...Hear what?"

"Weren't you trying to negotiate something?"

I had the status window ability. In this wrecked world, I was the only one who could give the girl what she wanted.

If she wanted more than the room and board that came with being an employee, then naturally she'd have to offer something worthy in return.

And in this line of work, what a woman could offer a man was pretty damn obvious, if you asked me.

But Yu Jin shot up and scowled.

"What are you even saying, seriously."

"Then why aren't you inside? Why are you sitting out here hovering like this?"

"I told you, it's my business."

She muttered it while looking away, then added under her breath.

"...It's not like there's anything to do stuck alone with my brother anyway."

Well, fair point.

What exactly were a brother and sister supposed to do in a cramped single room furnished with nothing but a blanket and a pillow?

Unless they planned on combining with each other, there wasn't much on the agenda.

Ah, there it was. The way she kept squirming around—frustrated desire, apparently.

"Well then, if there's nothing to do, how about doing this with me instead?"

I curled my index finger and slid it into the ring made by the finger ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and thumb of my other hand. Sex.

"Wh-what?!"

Judging by how Yu Jin freaked out, I'd clearly read the situation wrong.

Tch, and here I heard that in an apocalypse, bold, straight-talking manly men were all the rage.

It wasn't like it was an unspeakable thing to say. What dating spots or flirting games existed in a world this dead? When a man and a woman lock eyes, they either do it or they don't.

"Sorry, I thought you were checking the waters because you wanted it."

She flushed red to the tips of her ears and snapped at me.

"...Why is your way of thinking SO extreme, Boss?!"

"Half measures don't help survival one bit."

All or nothing. Certainty was king.

"So if it's not sex, then what is it, exactly?"

"There's nothing. It's nothing like that."

"I see."

"Yeah."

After that, not another word passed between us.

The embers in the oil drum finally burned out completely. The night air had grown quite chilly.

We'd had our fill of stargazing anyway. I stood up, brushing off my knees.

"Alright, I'm heading in. Don't catch a cold—come in when you've had enough too."

"...I was about to come in anyway."

Yu Jin unfolded her cramped body and stood up.

"Hnnngh..."

She stretched both arms up to the sky, and the hem of her loose t-shirt rode up with the motion.

Even in the dark, her smooth, exposed waistline and the dimple of her navel were on full display. The destructive power was considerable.

"...Why are you staring so hard?"

Catching my gaze, Yu Jin yanked her t-shirt down in a flash.

"Your belly button."

"Ha? Wow, aren't you bold."

"What am I supposed to do, walk around with my eyes covered? I can look."

This was a world where the concept of sexual harassment no longer existed.

"So what are you going to do about it? Call the cops on me?"

"...Ugh, you're so annoying."

I snickered to myself and walked into the inn.

Sleeping arrangements were, naturally, all three of us in one room.

The other guest rooms were still completely empty, and this employee dorm was the only one finished being renovated.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

It was a tight squeeze even lying side by side—barely room to roll over—but nobody complained.

Wind and rain kept outside, a cozy blanket, no goddamn zombies. This might as well have been a five-star hotel.

Of course, the sleeping layout was a fortress formation: the big brother in the middle, with me and Yu Jin on either side hugging the walls.

But when I walked straight past the dormitory door, Yu Jin trailing behind me blinked in confusion.

"Huh? Boss, where are you going?"

"I've got some work left. You go on in and sleep."

"Work...?"

"There's something I need to make."

I gave a vague wave at Yu Jin standing there dazed, then opened the door to the owner's room at the end of the hallway.

It was a junk room with nothing but a rickety old desk for furniture, but somehow it felt reassuring.

The Simple Workbench I'd restored earlier. A black rubber mat lay spread across the desk, and on it I'd laid out everything the crafting would require.

The LED string lights from a Christmas tree that Yu Jin had proudly scavenged.

Plywood stripped from the back of a picture frame that had hung on the inn's wall.

The batteries looted earlier today. Even the electrical tape I'd been saving.

Everything was ready. Standing in front of the workbench, I summoned my status window.

Doing this standing up is surprisingly awkward. Next time the girls head out, I'll have them grab a chair.

The main goal was the increased visit rate from [Survivor Attraction]. No customers, no business—whether you fleeced them or they fleeced you.

And on top of that, a chance of immediate entry. It meant that if the conditions were met, survivors would essentially get abducted straight to the inn.

This was the ultimate cheat code for running a lodging business.

Next, I examined the crafting requirements. Every material I'd gathered had passed system inspection—zero additional points required.

The catch: if I wanted it finished instantly, I'd have to cough up a labor fee of a whopping 500 PT.

Was I insane? No way was I pressing that button with points. The pork fat I'd so usefully devoured earlier had been worth a measly 300 PT.

An hour of manual labor? I'd just sweat that out with my own two hands.

Thanks to the Simple Workbench buff, anything D-rank or below had a 100% crafting success rate.

What baffled me was that something with this much effect was rated only D-rank. Most of the other recipes on the list were utter garbage.

Maybe it was some kind of early-game perk the status window threw in.

Either way, with zero chance of failure, there was no reason to waste precious points.

"Alright, let's do this."

I hadn't touched a craft project since middle school, but the blueprint drew itself naturally in my head.

I pulled the old plywood toward me and gripped the awl.

Pressing down on the plank, I punched holes in the shape of the letters O-P-E-N.

I pushed a miniature bulb into each hole and secured the wiring firmly with electrical tape.

Press the switch and battery pack on tight, and done. A fairly respectable sign, if I said so myself.

Click—.

Switch ON.

White LED light burst to life, illuminating the letters.

Cha-ching—

The system notification I'd been waiting for appeared.

Craft something once by hand, and it got registered as a blueprint. From now on, as long as I had the materials, it seemed I could pump one out with a click and zero point cost.

Unlimited mass production wasn't possible, admittedly—the cooldown grew longer with each successive craft.

But it wasn't like I'd be churning out signs by the dozen, so no matter.

A blinking cursor on the status window. I remembered the half-day torment of picking a game ID back in the day. That nightmare came flooding back.

In the end, I spent the whole night agonizing before I finally settled on a name.

The next morning, seeing my haggard face, Yu Jin asked me.

"Boss, what on earth were you doing alone in that room last night?"

"Enjoying some quality time with myself. Why?"

I cleared my throat once and pulled out the sign I'd labored over all night. Okay, most of that time was spent agonizing over the name, but still.

"...!"

The siblings' eyes went wide.

"So you'll be... taking in outsiders now."

"Oh, right. This is an inn, isn't it?"

Yu Jin tilted her head.

"But do we really have to take in guests? We could just go out farming like before, couldn't we?"

Nonsense. When trading with survivors recognized as guests, the point exchange multiplier on goods changed.

Meaning that for the very same item, I could rake in far more points.

If a guest was loaded, I'd just fleece them under the guise of lodging fees. If they were broke, I'd put them to work farming.

"Anyway, with the sign up, I'm planning to give the inn a brand-new name too."

"A new name?"

The siblings' attention focused on me.

"Behold, the name... Nakwon Inn."

I announced my masterpiece, and silence fell.

Yu Jin stared at me blankly for a moment, then promptly burst out laughing.

"What? Nakwon Inn? Pfft—HAHAHA!"

"What's so funny? It's direct and catchy."

This place had been the Nakwon Village slum to begin with, and I'd chosen 'Nakwon'—Paradise—to carry the deeper meaning of the last remaining haven in this world.

"What, did you want me to call it the 'Paradise Central Forest Hill Summit Palace Inn' instead?"

"Pfft. What does that even mean."

Still snickering, that one.

Just then, an alarm sounded from my status window.

Cha-ching—!

I turned to Yu Hyeon.

"Yu Hyeon, have you ever done an escort before?"

"...Do you mean a rescue operation, sir?"

"Yes, something like that. We've got a very special guest who needs to be safely escorted to our inn."

I couldn't let this opportunity slip by. Time to bring the customer safely home to our establishment.

Never mind that instead of a ceremonial limousine, this would be a walk-it-there escort service, delivering our guest entirely on foot.