Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 112

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 112.

[Bestiary]
[Monster Guest]
[Name]

[Lover of Dawn]

The lingering afterimage of happiness that remains even after all love has perished.

An emotion that defies time, becoming consciousness itself, walking through the frozen dawn.

She wishes for happiness to be eternal and cheers for the love of all beings. She seeps into the memories of others, restoring the moments when they shone brightest, and within those moments, she plays the role of “the beloved” and “the one who loves.”

And when she departs, those memories vanish entirely.

“Come meet me before morning arrives.”

She preserves all the world’s love in amber.

So remain in the present, do not answer the call of reminiscence, and do not heed the whispered “back then.” She dwells in the past, so as long as you remain in the present, she cannot reach you.

“I love you.”

※Warning※

The deep navy sky just before the storm arrives, and a field of wheat blooming with crimson poppies.

The more one clings to old bonds, the more frequent her approach becomes. If you believe in eternal love, fall asleep early; if you believe in a dark future, stay awake.

She makes you forget even what you have forgotten.

–

→ When the Lover of Dawn is staying, patrol the Guest Room Floor without fail for 24 hours straight
→ Additional: When the Lover of Dawn is in the Lobby, observe the Human Guest carefully (use all five senses)
→ Additional 2: If the Lover of Dawn’s secret meeting event occurs, you must interfere before dawn breaks
→ Additional 3: ★Lover of Dawn Counter discovered★ If you examine memory and records, within them….

* * *

“Wow, that’s terrifying.”

Seme reacted to Rawi’s jest.

“You don’t look particularly frightened.”
“Can’t you see my exhausted expression?”
“Strangely enough, I can see it far too well—honestly, it’s a bit irritating.”
“The nature of your irritation would require a sincere conversation between us, but I do agree that it’s unnaturally visible.”

His slightly crooked eyes surveyed the pitch-black surroundings.

“With darkness this absolute, you’d think nothing should be visible at all, wouldn’t you?”

Everything was black.

Above and below, left and right—all so dark it was difficult to distinguish them.

Yet his feet were clearly planted on solid ground. If he were foolish enough to lose his bearings in such darkness, he’d never have made it as a mercenary—not even as a newcomer like Rawi.

Above all, he possessed exceptional visual perception.

“This direction seems to be forward, at least.”
“The width certainly isn’t excessively broad, so….”

Seme ran his hand along the black “wall.” If wall was even the right word. The texture was indescribable—smooth as silk, yet simultaneously conveying a sense of impassable restriction.

“…Ah.”

And then another opening appeared.

“White…?”
“Rather than that.”

Rawi stepped onto the pristine white floor and lifted his gaze ahead.

“Isn’t this a room?”

Seme checked behind them.

“….”

It was the Guest Room door they had just seen moments ago.

It was right behind them. It was utterly absurd.

“…We seemed to have walked quite far, though.”
“What on earth is this situation where we opened a door and walked straight in?”
“They say the Labyrinth is originally like that….”

Just then, a composed voice interjected.

“It was a waiting room created to keep our guests here until we were ready to receive them.”
“Lee Yeon-woo.”
“My apologies for the wait.”

In the center of the White Room, a man in a black coat—Lee Yeon-woo—gave a light bow in greeting. Seme, who had been blinking, understood Lee Yeon-woo’s words a beat too late.

“So… the space wasn’t directly connected after all.”
“Of course I’m the only one who didn’t catch on.”
“It was a kind of ‘Gap-world,’ like where I live.”
“Ah, so that was also a Gap-world….”

Rawi rolled his eyes and nodded.

“So that’s why this side only appeared belatedly.”
“I really envy artists—lend me your eyes for a moment.”
“I’m afraid lending doesn’t work that way, customer~”

Until the owner granted permission, while the Labyrinth manifested this space called ‘Room 4,’ they had remained suspended in that dark corridor with spacetime severed.

Rawi added, turning to look behind them.

“Our very act of wandering through that dark place served as a ‘signal’—a knock upon the door, so to speak.”

Lee Yeon-woo opened his mouth in response.

“You understand well.”
“Ah, wait—then we didn’t actually need to trudge about in that darkness at all? It seems we would have arrived here simply by standing still.”
“Perhaps.”

Lee Yeon-woo let out a rare, quiet laugh.

“Thanks to your diligent footsteps, I was able to perceive the knock upon the door far more clearly. In that sense, your efforts were hardly wasted.”

At this graceful deflection, Rawi clicked his tongue and surveyed his surroundings.

“….”
“What is it?”
“Well, how should I put it.”

He turned back to look at Lee Yeon-woo.

“This room seems to resemble its master quite a bit.”

The air was pristine and evenly distributed. There was a sense of order, and the silence was profound enough to inspire contemplation.

“I’ve been wanting to ask since earlier—is that an aquarium?”
“It covers the entire ceiling, so calling it merely an aquarium would be understating it.”
“It looks incredibly luxurious and magnificent.”

The ceiling was not sky, but a water surface. Transparent water rippled softly above, covering everything overhead. Within it, silver-gleaming fish could be glimpsed.

They moved so slowly they appeared almost motionless. Yet upon closer inspection, they swam with deliberate grace along fixed paths. They were alive.

‘Or perhaps they were merely crafted to appear alive.’

But there was no denying how genuinely alive they seemed.

“Did you design this yourself?”
“This is not to my taste.”

A response that was neither denial nor affirmation. Rawi made no effort to hide his bewilderment.

“What? The interior design is so perfectly suited to this place.”
“Indeed.”
“Then is this the original characteristic of Room 4?”
“That couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Lee Yeon-woo, who had been gazing at the ceiling with an indifferent expression, finally lowered his gaze.

“It’s nothing more than taxidermy of someone’s inner self, done without consent.”
“Who would….”
“The Hotel’s taste is rather distasteful.”

He added with cynicism, as if critiquing someone else’s home décor.

“I advise you all to be careful not to attract a bothersome stalker like myself.”

Though his tone was monotonous, Rawi’s smile became strained. If that were true, then this vast Labyrinth had forcibly exposed Lee Yeon-woo’s essence and put it on display in the form of a room.

Having reached that conclusion, Rawi couldn’t fathom how Lee Yeon-woo could remain so composed.

‘I don’t think I could bear it if I were in his position.’

His inner self had been laid bare without intention.

‘This isn’t a joke—it’s genuine stalking….’

The Labyrinth’s malicious obsession with the one it had imprisoned. Most would go mad or feel revulsion in such circumstances. Yet Lee Yeon-woo stood in the very center of it all, composed and dignified, as though it were someone else’s problem entirely.

“You mentioned there’s no internet here, correct?”
“I’m not sure how you knew, but yes, there isn’t.”

Seme interjected in confusion.

“Why are you speaking as if the Labyrinth would have internet in the first place?”
“Because then we could call the police.”
“Who would… no, never mind.”

Seme shook his head. He had clearly been about to say, ‘Who would come rescue someone trapped in the Labyrinth anyway?’ Rawi knew this perfectly well, yet he averted his gaze.

Neither Rawi nor Seme was so thoughtless as to say such a thing outright in front of Lee Yeon-woo.

“…Still, it’s quite impressive.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“No, truly.”

Rawi fixed his gaze on the ceiling where ripples of water shimmered.

“It’s like a work of art, I’d say.”

The shadows of fish drift across the water’s undulations on the ceiling. Each time they glide over the walls and floor, light fractures anew, commanding the very air of the entire room.

Like a heartbeat, contracting and expanding repeatedly at a subtle pace.

“Quite luminous, too.”
“Indeed.”
“The number itself and the way to enter Room 4 are peculiar, so honestly I was prepared for the worst. But the blue and white aesthetic put me at ease. It feels like being inside pristine water.”
“I’m not sure why the interior turned out this way, given it’s not exactly that pure.”
“Ah, just joking.”

There were no fixtures for artificial light. Yet the space glowed with radiance.

This brightness had no direction. Light did not reveal the contours of objects. Instead, it suffused the space as a single state, making no distinction between matter and air.

Rawi approached the wall where water flowed.

“Wow….”
“You seem delighted.”
“Doesn’t it look like a wealthy estate? Or is it just me?”

Seme’s expression grew subtle.

“Is that what wealthy estates look like these days?”
“You know, with flowing water walls like this. I feel like I’ve seen it in a drama somewhere. Isn’t that right?”

To lighten the atmosphere, Rawi moved closer to the wall.

“I’ve never watched a drama, so I wouldn’t know.”
“Still, I hear you’ve taken on quite a few commissions from wealthy families.”
“In the Gap, being wealthy just means you’re someone of consequence. All I’ve ever seen when I visited were well-maintained facial skin and human eyes….”

It was Lee Yeon-woo who reacted this time.

“….”
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You must be upset.”
“Ah, well, it’s just the nature of the job.”
“Just because something was necessary doesn’t mean you shouldn’t feel disturbed by it.”
“That’s… certainly true.”
“At the very least, I wish you hadn’t had to see such things here.”

Lee Yeon-woo shrugged with those characteristic downturned eyes of his.

“I’m deeply concerned—this Hotel is embarrassing no matter where it’s shown.”
“Ah….”

He was speaking so openly about it. Even while trapped inside the belly of that Hotel.

‘It’s remarkable that he can speak like that even in such a situation.’

Lee Yeon-woo treated everything related to the Hotel as if it were nothing at all. Even though it clearly couldn’t possibly be nothing.

‘Perhaps it’s because he’s this kind of person that he can endure so much.’

Thinking this, Seme deliberately turned his gaze away.

“…Is this what they call a wall fountain?”
“You’re well-informed. Yes, it refers to water flowing down along a wall.”
“If no special measures are taken, mold would easily grow inside the house….”

At Seme’s words, Rawi turned to look at him.

“You were cautious with me, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“You said the Labyrinth wouldn’t even have internet connection.”
“I didn’t say it quite like that.”
“If we’re going to nitpick realism, then the mold problem shouldn’t exist either.”
“No, I meant the house outside of here, in the Outside….”

Seme trailed off, closing his mouth.

“….”
“….”

Rawi felt the same way.

There was nothing to say in front of Lee Yeon-woo, who couldn’t leave this place after all.

“Well… anyway, it’s impressive.”
“Yeah… it really is….”

But Lee Yeon-woo showed no displeasure, simply brushing his collar lightly with his leather-gloved hand.

“This place has its own merits, so that’s fortunate, isn’t it?”

It was a response layered with silent consideration—don’t worry about it. But that didn’t ease the hearts of those who had carelessly spoken.

‘What should I even say.’
‘Senior, you say something.’
‘You’re only a senior when it’s convenient.’
‘Ugh, seriously….’

Finally, Rawi awkwardly opened his mouth.

“Right, it really is impressive. I’m not just saying that.”
“Is that so?”
“Especially with the fish swimming around in here….”

Wait a moment.

“…?”

Rawi turned his head to look at the wall again.

It was a mirror, but a thin film of water was trickling down its surface. And as that water flowed, the shadow of a fish seemed to seep into the glass, its tail undulating.

And the reflection of Lee Yeon-woo beyond it,

‘…Wait.’

…Was he wet from the water?

When Rawi rubbed his eyes and looked again, Lee Yeon-woo in the mirror had returned to his usual immaculate appearance and was looking back at him with a puzzled expression. Their gazes met through the mirror.

“Is something the matter?”
“Oh, no. It’s just… how do I put it….”

As Rawi trailed off and averted his gaze, Lee Yeon-woo didn’t press further. Swallowing a sigh of relief at his response, Rawi thought to himself.

‘Did I just mistake the fish shadow for something else?’

Rawi looked up at the ceiling again.

“…I see.”
“Yes, they are separate entities.”
“I see.”

He’d thought it was just the shadow of the ceiling fish. But there was actually a shadow fish that existed independently. At a glance, the movements of the silver fish and the shadow fish were subtly different.

“Still, they overlap quite a bit.”
“They appear to be a pair, it seems.”
“That has its own charm….”
“Indeed.”

As both of them gazed upward at the fish for a while, Lee Yeon-woo gave a light clap with his gloved hands to redirect their attention. As their gazes naturally followed, Lee Yeon-woo opened his mouth.

“If you would prefer not to continue standing while conversing, I shall show you to the table inside.”
“Oh, there’s a table here as well?”
“I can offer you some warm tea.”

The floor beneath their feet as they moved was wood.

“This way, please.”

A lustrous sheen as if coated with thick lacquer. Yet instead of deep brown, it bore a pearlescent ivory hue. The silvery grain lines running through the wood grain were perfectly regular.

‘If this truly reflects who Lee Yeon-woo is, I can understand why he’s trapped in the Labyrinth.’

Rawi watched the back of the man leading them forward.

Even within the Labyrinth’s repugnant obsession, Lee Yeon-woo guided the two of them to safety with the unwavering composure of a refined adult.

The same posture as always, the same demeanor, the same responses….

“….”

So it’s true—kindness always comes at a cost.

* * *

[What?]
‘That’s right.’

Lee Yeon-woo thought again.

‘It’s become certain—when I’m injured, its guard drops.’
[What? What? What.]
‘At this point, I can’t deny it anymore.’

But psychologically speaking… is that really okay?

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