Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 12

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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 12.

“What?!”

The Staff Member gripping the steering wheel jumped in surprise.

“Your hand was injured that badly?”
“Yeah.”

The Director sitting in the back nodded.

“I didn’t mention it earlier because I thought you’d all be too shocked. Sorry about that.”
“Oh, no… there’s nothing to apologize for… I was just startled….”
“What do you mean no? I’m not joking—my heart literally skipped a beat. The way the blood was dripping, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me for a moment.”

The other Staff Member asked the Writer.

“You saw it too, Writer?”
“Yes, I did. The blood was dripping onto the floor so heavily that I assumed it had to be a serious injury, so I couldn’t help but look. The Director remained composed, but I’m afraid I showed my alarm.”
“Well, that seems… quite dangerous, doesn’t it? Given the circumstances, the injury itself….”
“It was quite dangerous. I didn’t get a good look because he hid it behind his back immediately, but he was wearing gloves. Those white gloves you saw yesterday.”
“Those looked pretty thick.”
“For blood to drip through fabric gloves like that, the wound would have to be deep or penetrating. The amount of bleeding would require a vein rupture at minimum.”
“A vein rupture?”
“I have no idea how that would even be possible.”
“But… there was no sign of any of that.”
“Exactly. I have no clue how he managed it.”

The Director chuckled.

“You make such a fuss over everything, yet when something actually happens, you become so composed.”
“Spend a few years following the Director around, and you end up like this….”
“Remember when we went to Mexico?”
“Please don’t bring that up—just thinking about it makes me nauseous.”

The Writer’s voice carried the weight of exhaustion. Lee Sun-hae had debuted as a documentary director, and that background explained her meticulous approach to reconnaissance.

Films grounded in reality, rich with intricate detail. Mise-en-scène that submerged audiences entirely into the world on screen. Together, they crafted such cinema.

“God, this one genuinely unsettled me. When I’ve visited war zones or drug dens, at least I could mentally prepare myself—’of course, a place like that.’ But this wasn’t even overseas.”
“I told you that Hotel was genuinely strange….”
“In the first place, what injury could possibly occur inside a Hotel?”

This was the crux of it.

“If they didn’t want to show us something, why would they be in the Lobby bearing such an injury?”
“We can’t entirely rule out the possibility that they wanted to show us, can we?”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because the atmosphere suggested they wanted us to leave this Hotel.”
“So essentially—’this Hotel is so dangerous, get out’?”
“Not quite to that extreme, perhaps… but I thought it might have been along similar lines.”

After a moment, the Writer changed course.

“No, that’s not it either.”
“Right. That person didn’t welcome our presence in this Hotel, but simultaneously refused to explain why. They actually tried to conceal it.”
“Someone like that wouldn’t openly display such an injury. Besides, we don’t even know if that injury is connected to the Hotel’s suspiciousness.”

The Staff Member driving grew emotional.

“What is it? Do you two know something we don’t? We just slept without thinking about anything…!”
“Since we’re on the subject, you all should stay at the Guesthouse from tonight on. You didn’t cancel the reservation, right?”
“I just contacted them saying we might not be able to check in often since you told us to leave it as is just in case. But… is the Hotel really that dangerous?”
“It’s only speculation at this point.”
“Speculation, right?”
“That’s correct.”

The Director began counting on his fingers as he spoke.

“Even though that Hotel is hidden in a remote location, luxuriously developed in a way that doesn’t match its surroundings, has fewer guests than expected for a trial operation, the Hotel General Manager secretly refuses guests, and showed an oddly composed reaction despite that person being severely injured!”
“….”
“All of this could have been coincidence, right?”
“…They say coincidence stacked upon coincidence becomes inevitability.”
“Is that really the right phrase to use here?”
“Why can’t the Director and Writer just go to the Guesthouse with us instead?”
“At first, I only stopped by to see if I could find some decent inspiration or material.”

The Director recalled the moment he first saw the Hotel.

“It’s not something you see every day, after all.”

A Hotel nestled in the rainy Mountain.
An empty yet lavish atmosphere.
Peculiar Staff Members.

“But now I’m just curious.”
“Ah, Director….”
“More than anything, it bothers me. There’s no concrete evidence, but the Hotel General Manager has been favorable to us all along. And this time, I even saw him with serious injuries.”
“It’s not something that has anything to do with us.”
“I’m not trying to do anything about it—I just thought it would feel unsettling to let it go like this. And before all these reasons, it’s simply… intriguing, isn’t it?”
“You’re going to end up hospitalized again at this rate.”
“If I feel like I’m dying, I’ll back off, so don’t worry too much.”
“I’ve been worried ever since that comment came up.”
“I want to know more.”

Lee Sun-hae smiled mischievously.

“So, what do you think?”
“Pardon? About what?”
“Hmm? Writer, why do you think the Hotel General Manager sustained such an injury?”
“…Oh, me?”

The Writer, who had been gazing out the window, responded. He then scratched the back of his neck roughly, as if questioning why he was being asked.

“I’m not a profiler.”
“Still, when it comes to crafting stories, Hong is the best among us. And his research skills are unmatched.”
“I’m not sure if this is even appropriate… but yes, well, if I were to think of it simply as a story.”
“If you were to think of it?”
“Wait, let me think for a moment.”

The Writer’s face scrunched in concentration—the same expression he wore when crafting screenplays.

“…First, I’d need materials.”
“Materials?”
“In a mystery, you’d call them clues.”
“True. With just what we’ve heard so far, it’d be difficult to construct a detailed narrative.”

The Director tapped his chin thoughtfully before speaking.

“Until we boarded, there wasn’t a single moving Elevator.”
“Actually, one was moving.”
“Really?”
“No, I mean besides when we boarded. I saw it from the Lobby.”
“You clearly saw the Elevator moving?”
“Yes, I even saw it stop at the 7th Floor.”
“The 7th Floor?”

As the Director murmured, the Writer interjected.

“Isn’t that the floor the Hotel General Manager mentioned?”
“He said there were many guests there because it was raining, I think.”
“I thought that was an odd thing to say.”
“It was certainly a memorable remark. Anything else?”
“With this, I think we can establish a sequence…”
“Right, and that Hotel Elevator is incredibly fast.”
“We boarded from the 21st Floor.”
“No matter how fast it is, descending from the 21st Floor to the 1st Floor takes time. If the Hotel General Manager’s hand injury occurred in the Lobby, then—”
“Then he would have known we were descending from the 21st Floor.”
“And in that interval, a guest went up to the 7th Floor.”

The conclusion had been reached.

“The Hotel General Manager saw us coming down and sent someone from the Lobby up to the 7th Floor?”
“He may have been trying to keep us from crossing paths with them. It’s highly likely. If someone sustained that much injury, it would be more natural for them to seek treatment first rather than appear before us.”
“Right, and there’s no reason the Hotel General Manager specifically needed to greet the guests. He’s not just any Staff Member.”
“I suspect he determined there was no time to treat the hand injury. Even if descending from the 21st Floor, the Elevator moves quickly… wait, hold on.”

The Writer paused. Something had occurred to him.

“Still, there was no reason the Hotel General Manager needed to appear before us specifically. The Hotel General Manager’s role is to oversee the Hotel as a whole, not to attend to guests individually.”
“This Hotel might be unusual, but even the special Hotels I know don’t have their General Manager come out directly. We’re not guests of such distinguished standing, are we?”
“Then it could have been to divert our attention. Someone was sent to the 7th Floor to prevent us from crossing paths, but there was still something in the Lobby that we shouldn’t have seen or come into contact with.”

The Writer asked the Staff Members.

“Did you notice anything else?”
“…I’m a bit scattered right now, but wait.”

The Staff Member in the passenger seat spoke up.

“Uh, there was a lot of rainwater?”
“Rainwater?”
“On the floor.”

The Staff Member’s voice was uncertain. The atmosphere had taken on an odd quality.

“There was a trail of water starting from the Entrance, I suppose you could call it. I thought someone had entered the Hotel completely drenched from the rain.”
“There aren’t many guests here though… wait, another one?”
“That’s….”

The Staff Member in the passenger seat turned to look at the driver.

“Do you remember what we saw yesterday?”
“I remember, but what is it? This is scary. What’s with this atmosphere?”
“Director, we fell asleep while we were just looking around the rooms yesterday.”

The Staff Member spoke while looking back.

“I was in such a nice room on the 21st Floor, and I kept thinking, when would I ever get another chance to see a place like this? So I was looking out the window. I figured the scenery would be beautiful since we’re in the mountains.”
“And then?”
“Well, it rained so heavily that there was nothing to see. I felt disappointed, so I decided to explore the Hotel. As for the service facilities—I’m not sure if we’re just not supposed to use them, but the Elevator wasn’t running at all.”
“So you went out and checked?”
“Yes, so the only place I could go was the Lobby, so that’s where I went.”

The Writer interjected.

“What did you see there?”
“It was right when I got out of the Elevator. The Lobby was completely empty except for the staff, and then someone came through the entrance as the door opened.”

The Staff Member’s expression grew weary.

“It was some tall stranger, completely drenched from the rain….”

Long hair that looked completely unkempt. Clothes bundled up tight despite it being summer. Boots full of rainwater.

“He was incredibly tall. Even though he was walking with his head and waist bent down, he still seemed taller than us. I don’t know why he got so soaked, and it’s not really our business, but… normally when someone gets that wet, don’t they do something about it?”
“Like drain the water from their boots, or at least wipe their face. His hair was matted so badly he looked like he could barely breathe, but he just walked right past like that.”
“We found it kind of unsettling, so we just got right back on the Elevator and went back up. The Hotel General Manager had warned us to be careful because the guests here are eccentric. That’s what came to mind….”

The Director asked with concern.

“He didn’t see your faces, did he?”
“No, no? We literally just got off and went right back up. We were only down there for maybe 1 or 2 minutes, just kind of standing there in a daze. Even at the longest, it couldn’t have been more than 3 minutes.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“But now that I think about it, something seems odd.”

The Staff Member’s expression grew strange.

“There were quite a few staff members there, but not a single one… acknowledged him.”
“Acknowledged him? What do you mean?”
“The guest was soaked that badly, but no one brought him a towel. I mean, that’s a service matter, so maybe that’s understandable. But they showed absolutely no reaction whatsoever.”
“No reaction at all?”
“He was making the floor wet with rainwater—you’d think someone would at least glance at him.”
“Wow, that’s unsettling.”

The Director asked, considering something.

“What time was that?”
“Well… it was early morning. I went to bed late.”
“Roughly what time?”
“Around 3 AM?”
“Okay.”

The Director glanced at the Writer.

“Does that piece together?”
“…What time did we come down?”
“Around 6 AM, I’d say.”
“That water trail we saw at the entrance earlier—the Guest probably created it?”
“Unless there’s another person that peculiar?”
“Well, I’m not certain this is correct, but….”

He continued, his timing slightly off.

“Let’s assume the Guest has a hobby of taking walks outside only during the sparse early morning hours.”
“Well, 3 AM or 6 AM—both fit.”
“Since we came down at 6 AM, the Guest must have arrived earlier. Setting aside the exact timing of their activities, what matters is that the Guest and the Manager encountered each other in the Lobby.”
“The Manager could have found the Guest already there, or the Manager could have been in the Lobby and seen the Guest enter.”
“And though I don’t know why, the Manager confirmed we were coming down from the 21st Floor and sent the Guest back to the 7th Floor. Probably because that person is the ‘Guest who likes rainy days.'”
“Not many people in the world enjoy taking walks in the rain with no protection, especially not adults.”
“We can’t know for certain, but is there anyone else in this Hotel capable of inflicting such an injury? Given the timing, location, and the Hotel General Manager’s actions….”
“The Guest on the 7th Floor is the most likely culprit?”
“Of course, there’s no direct evidence, but based on the circumstances so far….”

The Staff Member at the wheel asked a question.

“Couldn’t he have been injured before meeting the Guest on the 7th Floor…? There’s no proof that the wound came from the Guest on the 7th Floor….”
“Then he would have gone to get treatment beforehand.”
“R-really?”
“He’s not in a position to personally greet guests. He’s an executive manager. And if he were injured that badly, he should have sought treatment first.”
“But….”
“Of course, that would be true if he were a normal human being.”

For instance, if the Hotel General Manager possessed a mental structure that neglected his own injuries, the logic would shift somewhat.

“He was bleeding yet remained composed, appearing before us as if it were nothing at all. Observing such conduct, we must also consider the possibility that he is an unconventional person.”

It was common sense that an injury required treatment first. However, this could vary depending on psychological motivation—for instance, if someone prioritized something else over their own safety.

“But even so, would the Hotel General Manager, someone for whom appearance matters, really leave a hand injury untreated for so long? Especially someone who seems so professionally conscientious?”

An injury sustained before meeting the Guest on 7th Floor? If that were the case, he would have sought treatment immediately. If he had a compelling reason to see the Guest on 7th Floor, he would have gone with a treated hand.

The Staff Member continued questioning.

“Oh, what if he was injured elsewhere and… there’s something we shouldn’t see, but he didn’t have time, so he came as is?”
“That’s precisely what I mean—he said he didn’t have that much time. The injury clearly occurred after contact with the Guest on 7th Floor. If it had happened before, it would have been treated, as I mentioned earlier.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
“And something we shouldn’t see? It’s unlikely that something of that magnitude appeared in the Hotel Lobby overnight. When we went to the Lobby at 3 AM, was the Hotel General Manager there?”
“No, at that time… only staff members were there.”
“Then at minimum, there was nothing we shouldn’t have seen in the Lobby at that time. Which means it appeared within three hours. If there was a major incident among those, it would be the Manager injuring his hand.”

The Director murmured.

“He injured his hand and something we shouldn’t see appeared… A scene, perhaps?”
“When he injured his hand, some indelible trace might have been left. The most obvious example would be blood.”
“A few drops of blood wouldn’t have required him to block the way so thoroughly. Either that ‘something’ was too conspicuous, or he didn’t even have time to clean it up and hide it?”
“Since I know so little, it’s difficult to say with certainty. But if we organize the situation in this somewhat extreme way…”

The Writer summarized.

“So the Hotel General Manager took measures to prevent us from encountering the Guest on 7th Floor. And that Guest on 7th Floor is, in all likelihood, the person who inflicted the injury on the Hotel General Manager’s hand.”

* * *

“Do you think they found out?”
“Yes.”
“I was too obvious blocking that entrance. My reputation as Hotel General Manager is ruined.”
“Yes.”

Coco never spoke in empty pleasantries. As a result, Lee Yeon-woo’s mind and body were being shredded in real time. My heart was being gnawed away by Coco, and my body had been torn apart by the monstrous guest.

Yet only after confirming that the group had safely exited the Main Gate did a belated sense of relief wash over me.

“Yes, as long as someone lived. Isn’t that right?”
“No.”
“Wretched cat.”
“No.”

I dismissed the irritating rebuttal lightly. I rang the bell to summon the Staff Members.

Soon, Staff Members carrying large mops approached expressionlessly and began scrubbing the floor. The ground was a mixture of rainwater and congealed blood—a sight far too gruesome to explain away as merely a minor hand injury.

I gazed at the stained floor for a moment, then glanced at the large mirror behind me.

“….”

…My back was torn open.

Marks as though a beast had ripped away flesh.

Resurrection takes time. Had I died, the next target would have been the guests who had just left.

“…Those precious people nearly met an untimely end. How perilously close that was.”

It was fortunate that their lives were so tenacious.

“I never imagined blood magic would be put to such use.”
“Yes.”
“Still, it proved quite useful, did it not?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”

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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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