I Became a Hotelier at the Goryeo National Hotel - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 10

“You have all worked hard coming from far away to take the exam, but the evaluation of the exam has taken longer, so we could not finish all the tests today. Therefore, the remaining exams will have to continue again tomorrow.”

The examinees murmured among themselves. One of them raised their hand and carefully asked.

“…So then, do we need to find lodging nearby and come back up again?”

The examinees looked at Jeong Yeon Hwa with worried faces.

“You need not worry about that. We will provide Hyeeumwon’s accommodations, so you can rest there tonight. Are there any examinees whose schedules would be disrupted?”

But no one raised their hand.

Since Hyeeumwon had given advance notice to allow sufficient time for the exam, considering the possibility of unexpected situations arising during testing, most examinees had come with plenty of time to spare.

“Well then, now follow Nok Sa to where you will stay tonight. Gather here again tomorrow at jin-si. Have a comfortable night.”

The examinees’ faces brightened at Jeong Yeon Hwa’s words.

Regardless of whether they passed or failed, being able to stay at Hyeeumwon for a day was like a dream come true.

With the red sunset beginning to spread across the western sky behind them, the examinees excitedly followed behind Nok Sa. After passing through several inner gates, a pavilion built long on a stone foundation appeared.

“Wow! It’s beautiful!”

A single-story building from which a subtle wood fragrance wafted, as if the lacquer smell had not yet faded. The densely placed wooden pillars and blue dancheong were dyed a warm brown color in the sunset light.

“Hmm~ It’s Anbin-gak? I would have preferred to stay at Yeongwol-gak if possible.”

“What’s Yeongwol-gak?”

At Seo Rin’s question, Da Sim gulped down the jerky she had been chewing and pointed at the building with her finger.

“Anbin-gak. This is the lowest grade among Hyeeumwon’s guest rooms. In other words, it’s the cheapest guest room. It’s usually where busy merchants stay.”

This time Da Sim pointed beyond it.

“Tsk. Beyond there is Yeongwol-gak. Yeongwol-gak, doesn’t the name alone sound luxurious? That’s the mid-grade guest room, and though they call it mid-grade, it’s incomparable to the level of guest rooms at ordinary inns.”

“Since you say it’s mid-grade, I suppose there’s a grade above it?”

“There is, there is. Something that sounds expensive just from hearing about it, called Bohwa-gak. It’s the pavilion with guest rooms for distinguished guests.”

Seo Rin nodded as she listened to Da Sim’s story.

‘It’s quite systematic, isn’t it? They’ve divided and graded it like modern hotel rooms.’

When they reached Anbin-gak, there were Da Bi waiting for the examinees with lanterns brightly lit in the wide area in front.

Head Da Bi stepped forward in front of the examinees who had arrived at the lodging.

“We will distribute room keys, so line up in groups of three.”

As the examinees lined up in groups with those they were close to, the Da Bi came out and distributed keys along with night snacks in order.

The keys were each marked with ‘Mae ‘, ‘Hwa ‘, ‘Dong ‘, ‘Baek ‘, ‘Su ‘, ‘Seon ‘, ‘Jjil’, ‘Re’, ‘Choe’, ‘Gang’, ‘Geuk’, ‘Mi’, ‘Nam’.

“Maehwa, dongbaek, suseon, jjillae, choegang geuk minam?! Anyone can see these are names made from the nicknames of the ‘Four Great Ministers’!”

Da Sim turned her head sharply and looked at the Da Bi with moist eyes.

“D-did the Yeo Gwan perhaps name these rooms?”

“That’s right. Why do you ask?”

“…Are the Yeo Gwan perhaps?”

“…Don’t tell me examinee number 19 is also?”

When Da Sim slowly nodded with sparkling eyes, the Da Bi secretly gave Da Sim one extra bundle of night snacks.

The three wandered around inside Anbin-gak to find the room assigned to them marked ‘Mae ‘.

“No, why are all the rooms scattered so far apart like this?”

“I know, right. They even arranged the order however they wanted!”

Da Sim panted heavily as she enthusiastically agreed with Seo Rin’s complaint.

As they walked around like that, she felt a somehow chilling gaze from behind.

When she glanced back, it was them again! Shin Yi and her gang.

When their eyes met, Shin Yi’s subordinates(?) bumped into Seo Rin’s shoulder as they passed by, then went off to find their own rooms.

Da Sim got angry and shouted.

“What the hell are those girls doing?!”

“S-Seo Rin, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Hey. Why do you keep just enduring it since earlier?! You should have given them a piece of your mind. If you just keep enduring it, they’ll continue to look down on you?”

“Yeah, I got it. I just didn’t want to ruin my good mood because of them.”

“Ugh!”

“Don’t worry. I won’t just keep enduring it either.”

Soothing Da Sim who was looking at her with an expression that said ‘Yeah right, as if you would,’ Seo Rin found the room with ‘ (Plum)’ written in large characters, unlocked it, then opened the door wide.

“Wow!!”

“This is really a basic grade guest room?! It’s so nice?”

Seo Rin poured out admiration as she looked inside the guest room.

On one side of the neatly organized room, necessary furniture like a fine-grained writing desk and portable table were placed, and on the opposite side, a bird and flower screen was spread out.

A neat and simple but elegant guest room where everything that should be there was filled without a single thing missing.

“Wow, isn’t this Song Dynasty porcelain? Look at these smooth curves!”

Da Sim, who had entered the room at some point, was stroking the porcelain placed on the writing desk with rapture.

“Th-the blanket is also really s-soft! It’s like silk!”

Gap-i had also somehow pulled out luxurious mattress and blanket from the chest and was lying on them, flailing her arms and legs.

“It’s too nice for a basic grade room?!”

Da Sim put down her luggage as she responded to Seo Rin’s impression.

“I guess since it’s a place run by the Imperial Court, they put a lot of care into it.”

Gap-i asked while touching the soft blanket.

“Is th-this room lodging ex-expensive?”

“I wonder? Since it’s run by the state, maybe it’s not that expensive?”

The three had a meal with rice balls that came out as a night snack, talked about tomorrow’s exam, then washed up and soon went to bed.

Perhaps because the bedding was cozy and thick, it wasn’t long before snoring sounds could be heard from the two. They had all accumulated quite a bit of fatigue from taking the exam without realizing it.

But there was one examinee who was the only one with her eyes open…

‘I can’t… sleep!’

It was Oh Seo Rin. Her body was tired and she felt like she might faint at any moment, which was the same for Seo Rin too.

‘No, why am I feeling fatigue in a dream! I can’t fall asleep yet! If I do, I’ll wake up from the dream!’

She hadn’t even reached the passing ending yet, so it would be too unfair to wake up like this.

But the warmth gently spreading up from the floor made her body drowsy and her eyes kept trying to close.

‘Ah, this won’t do! Let me go out!’

Seo Rin sprang up and grabbed a set of clothes before coming out. It was the very outer garment that had been covering her body in the stable.

‘It’s quite thick, so this seems perfect as a windbreaker.’

Though it was autumn, the nights were quite chilly. Especially in the mountains.

As Seo Rin left her room, she quickly slipped her arms through and put on the clothes.

The round moon hanging high in the night sky brightly illuminated Hyeeumwon, making it walkable even without lanterns.

Perhaps because everywhere was silent at night, she could hear the sound of water flowing along the waterway that surrounded Hyeeumwon.

Seo Rin decided to walk around inside Hyeeumwon to help herself wake up.

‘Come to think of it, there was a pond on the right side of the grounds.’

According to the panoramic map of Hyeeumwon she had seen at the visitor center, there was definitely a pretty gazebo and rectangular pond in front of the central gate.

Seo Rin came down the stairs that were modestly decorated with autumn flowers. When she turned her head, she could see the gazebo standing beside the pond beyond the wall.

“Found it!”

Seo Rin exclaimed with delight and moved her steps toward where the gazebo was.

* * *

‘…Mother….’

A young-looking boy flailed his hands toward the place covered by flames.

But no matter how much he reached out his hands or put strength into his legs, the boy could never move forward even a span’s distance.

His mother’s hand that had pushed him and his younger sister outside before the house collapsed in flames.

That hand that had deliberately pulled away his grip, which he had held like a lifeline, and pushed him away!

Thus the young boy had to helplessly watch everything being swallowed by flames while holding his wailing younger sister.

Notes

1) Jinsi : The time when dragons fly and prepare for rainfall, referring to 7-9 AM.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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