I Became a Hotelier at the Goryeo National Hotel - Chapter 2

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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 2

It was the first time twenty-three-year-old Seo Rin had seen such a sight in her life.

“…This can’t possibly be a hidden camera show.”

A hidden camera show that locks up ordinary people who fell asleep after drinking soju at a historic site and films them in a stable?

“That’s ridiculous.”

Seo Rin let out a hollow laugh at her own words that made no sense even to herself.

Then there was only one answer.

“…It’s just a crazy dream.”

But what an incredibly vivid dream this was.

Her mother had been a huge fan of historical dramas, and it had been their habit to watch one episode of a historical drama together before bed – could this be the influence of that?

“…Then I shouldn’t just sit here! This is my first dream set in a historical drama.”

And such a vivid one at that!

Seo Rin jumped up from her spot, but her head spun and she grabbed onto the wooden pillar in front of her.

“Ugh, even the hangover feels unnecessarily real?!”

As she stood up, the clothes covering her body fell off and she felt the cold air. After hesitating, Seo Rin picked up the clothes and put them back on.

As she roughly tied the clothing strings, she noticed that the form looked different from the hanbok she knew.

“What era are these clothes from? They don’t seem to be from the Joseon period?”

Judging by how loose they were, they didn’t seem to be women’s clothes either.

Seo Rin folded up the long sleeve ends and stepped outside the stable.

“Huh?”

After leaving the stable, Seo Rin couldn’t close her mouth at the scene unfolding before her eyes.

A crowd made up entirely of women was rushing toward her direction, kicking up dust clouds like people being chased by wasps.

“What, what’s this?”

Caught up in the sudden crowd, Seo Rin found herself squeezed among the people before she could even collect herself.

“Kyaah!”

This, this is just like that time! It’s exactly like that time on December 31st when she fearlessly went to Bosingak to hear the bell ringing and nearly got trampled to death!

Seo Rin tried to somehow escape to the side, but she was trapped in the continuously moving crowd and couldn’t budge. Like a small boat swept up by a giant wave, she was helplessly pushed along wherever the current of people flowed.

“Excuse me, wh-where is everyone going right now?”

Seo Rin asked the person next to her, but they either didn’t hear or just kept looking ahead and hurrying their steps.

Everyone’s expressions were uniformly grim. Those expressions made her wonder, ‘What on earth is happening?’

Seo Rin was swept along with a mixture of curiosity and anxiety until she finally arrived at the destination.

The place they arrived at was in front of some building’s bulletin board.

“A, a wall notice has been posted!”

At someone’s shout, people swarmed toward the bulletin board.

“Squawk!”

In the process, Seo Rin, who had been at the front, was pushed toward the wall notice and inadvertently saw what was written there.

“What is this…?”

The text written on the wall notice was full of Chinese characters.

Having earned the highest grade on the Chinese Language Ability test to get extra points in hotel interviews, she was able to read the text at once.

“Hyeeumwon1) applicant document examination pass…ed candidates?”

‘Since Hyeeumwon was said to be a hotel, then would be… a hotelier?!’

Intrigued, Seo Rin examined the wall notice once more. A name she discovered among the list of 40 successful candidates.

“Huh? Oh! Number 11 Oh Seo Rin ?! Why is my name there?!”

And?! The birthday was exactly the same except for the year!

‘…If it’s the year, that would make her nineteen years old?’

They say dreams reflect the desires of reality!

In her dream, she had suddenly passed the document examination for a hotelier position at Goryeo National Hotel. And she had even become younger!

‘It’s not like I particularly had complaints about my age though…’

Just then, a mixture of joyful cheers and crying sounds erupted from those around her who had checked their results.

Seo Rin, experiencing ‘passing’ for the first time, also shed tears streaming down her face. However, these weren’t tears of joy but tears of sorrow.

“…How wonderful it would have been if this happened in reality.”

As she was wiping her tears with her sleeve while sniffling, a white cloth appeared before her eyes.

Looking up with reddened eyes, she saw a cute-looking girl in front of her, extending a handkerchief with a worried expression.

“Um, th-there will be other opportunities next time. D-don’t cry.”

Seo Rin took the handkerchief to deal with her overflowing tears and runny nose, and blew her nose with a loud honk.

“Th-thank you. This… um, I’ll wash it and return it to you later.”

If we meet again in a dream, that is.

“Huh? Th-thank you.”

I was the one who borrowed it, yet the girl who lent the handkerchief was saying thank you.

‘…What a kind child.’

Having suffered mentally from colleagues who showed territorial behavior or subtly looked down on her for being a high school graduate during her working life, Seo Rin’s heart opened to this kind girl she was meeting for the first time.

‘Even an ideal friend appears. This dream isn’t bad, is it?’

“I’m called Oh Seo Rin. What’s your name?”

“Huh? I’m called Park, Park Gap-i.”

“Gabi?”

“Gap as in ‘armor’.”

“Are you by any chance the eldest daughter?”

“R-right. H-how did you know?”

…How could I not know? Gap, eul, byeong, jeong, mu, gi, gyeong, sin, im, gye…

Creak―

Just then, the building’s main gate opened, and a man dressed in official robes came out and announced to the gathered people in a stern voice.

“Successful candidates should enter immediately according to their assigned numbers.”

Upon hearing this, Gap-i looked at Seo Rin apologetically.

“Um, I, I have to go inside now.”

“Huh? What number are you?”

“I’m… I’m number 12.”

“I’m number 11. I passed too. We can go in together.”

At this, Gap-i’s face brightened.

“R-really? Th-that’s great!”

Seeing her crying earlier, he must have thought she had failed. Seo Rin’s heart was touched once more by Gap-i’s genuine joy.

Seo Rin and the other document examination passers followed the official through the large central gate, their eyes widening as they entered.

“Wow!”

The interior of Hyeeumwon was truly a magnificent sight.

Built in terraced levels following the steep mountain terrain, Hyeeumwon was enormous in scale.

On each slope divided into eleven tiers along the hills, dozens of majestic buildings were arranged in perfect order, with water flowing around the entire complex, cascading down flower-decorated steps to create small waterfalls before forming large ponds at various points.

The ornate roofs and buildings that harmonized perfectly with the surrounding landscape were truly overwhelming.

“Huh~ Whoa~”

Taking a deep breath, she caught the rich scent of grass.

Seo Rin was amazed to see magnificent structures filling what had been nothing but empty ground until she fell asleep.

‘Wow, my imagination is incredible! To think I could create such a vivid 3D rendering in a dream.’

While walking lost in admiration, the successful candidates soon reached a wide open area.

In the center of the front courtyard, on a stone plaza open on all sides, a temporary platform had been erected and surrounded by white cloth screens. That seemed to be the interview location.

And right in front of the platform sat men dressed like Hyeeumwon staff at tables.

“From now on, we will verify your identities and distribute exam tickets, so line up in groups of five!”

As the candidates formed neat lines, the staff received identity documents and distributed exam tickets.

When Seo Rin’s turn came, she had no documents to verify her identity.

As the flustered Seo Rin stood there looking dismayed, the man in front sighed and held out paper and an inkstone containing ink.

“There’s always one of these scatterbrains wherever you go. State your exam number and make your handprint here.”

“Number 11.”

When Seo Rin stood there blankly, not knowing what to do next, the staff member clicked his tongue and dipped her palm in ink, making her press it on the paper.

Then he carefully compared it with the handprint on Oh Seo Rin’s exam documents before handing over the exam ticket.

“How do you expect to take the exam like this! Pull yourself together!”

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

Regardless of the process, Seo Rin safely received her exam ticket and pinned it to her chest, then looked around and spotted an empty seat at the very end.

Footnotes

1) Wonri : Lower-level administrators working in an institution . They mainly handled practical tasks such as administrative work, document processing, resource management, and guest reception.

2) Front Courtyard : A garden or yard located in front of a building.

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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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