Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 20

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

Chapter 20.

『The bathtub’s depth warps unnaturally. Water ripples endlessly, and the body sinks. It will never surface again.』

“….”

A cutscene dialogue from the event “Beneath Shallow Waters.”

‘The intervention condition is for the player to directly pull The Wet Person out of the bathtub.’

As expected, it was an event where attention manipulation was possible.

In exchange for temporarily blocking the bathtub’s erosion, a penalty follows without fail. A fixed occurrence of “drowning nightmare” at 100% probability. The persistence of a vicious hallucination of being submerged in water….

‘On top of that, rapid deterioration of lung function and decreased oxygen saturation. A 90% probability of sleep apnea attacks during sleep. Even a 30% increase in command error rates due to system anomalies.’

The conditions were dire, but with luck, I could activate the “victim conversion flag.” The probability of the player becoming the kidnapping target instead of the guest would be enabled.

If this flag functioned properly, the human guests would enter relatively safe territory.

‘In exchange, I would die.’

I felt no particular emotion about it.

Lee Yeon-woo observed the large hand that had emerged from the bathtub.

“….”

Patting it, I sank back into thought.

‘…If pulmonary edema overlaps with this state, my current organs won’t endure it. In the main game, there would be recovery items, but in the tutorial, that’s hardly an option.’

It was a death sentence.

‘No, if I play my cards right, maybe I won’t die.’

It’s still dangerous either way. But what if I ignore it?

‘The Wet Person claims the guest room as a permanent habitat.’

The reduced stamina becomes permanently unrecoverable, and the room’s malfunctions persist. In other words, my health bar shrinks and I’d have to abandon Room 703. In that case, it gets designated as an ‘off-limits’ guest room.

Horror games are full of those, aren’t they? The kind of rooms staff warn you never to enter. It would become that archetypal forbidden space.

‘That’s… not ideal.’

I stopped patting the corpse’s hand.

“….”
“…?”

Whether it was my imagination or not, the corpse’s hand seemed to twitch slightly.

I gazed at it quietly for a moment, then spoke.

“I must say, I find myself at quite a disadvantage. I’m still adapting to this strange order, yet our monstrous guests have already perfectly internalized the Hotel’s very nature. Thanks to that, I’m acutely aware of my own inadequacy with each passing moment.”
“….”
“It seems you quite enjoyed our time playing in the bathroom before. The way you’ve been triggering events one after another suggests I’ve captured considerable interest and attention. I’m not certain whether you still possess such ’emotions,’ but….”

I’d prefer to leave the fragile human guests alone.

“I understand.”

I pulled my lips upward into a proper hotelier’s smile.

“My old friend wants to play together. There’s no reason to refuse.”

I grasped the cold hand. In game terms, I’d selected the ‘grasp their hand’ option. Thanks to that choice, despite my body being no sturdier than overripe fruit, I could exert considerable grip strength.

‘…I didn’t need to worry about my health in the first place. I’ve just made a fool of myself being overly cautious in front of such a sensitive guest.’

Whether my body became like overripe fruit or pudding, it adapted automatically. This body shouldn’t have been capable of such grip strength at all. This too must be a privilege included in the game system.

Whether I should even call it a privilege, I’m not sure, but regardless.

“…Let me try taking one out.”

For the record, the outcome is random.

If luck turns against you, you get dragged into the deep sea.

* * *

“…Sigh….”

Hong Kyung-yeon was currently on the 7th Floor.

“…What am I even doing here.”

Right? What indeed.

‘No, get a grip.’

This was no time to stand here vacant-minded. I had to do one of two things: flee this place or search the Guest Rooms thoroughly. My urgency spiked.

‘Should I alert the Director quickly, or should I do something—wait, am I even in a position to do anything right now? Do I have the standing for it? Lee Yeon-woo may look young, but he’s the Hotel General Manager and an expert. It might be better to let him handle it rather than introduce a variable like me….’

Let him handle something like that on his own?

“….”

Was that the right thing to do as a human being? Wasn’t that wrong?

‘…I don’t know.’

I didn’t even understand how this Hotel operated. Acting rashly could trigger a far greater catastrophe. So I had to exercise restraint.

‘Stay within bounds.’

At least then I wouldn’t become a variable in this Hotel.

‘Surely a guest wouldn’t actually kill the Hotel General Manager. They wouldn’t do that. If I stepped forward carelessly and ended up hurt worse, or the situation spiraled out of control… that would be an even greater harm.’

I felt bewildered and disillusioned—having to convince myself this way in this moment. And I was disappointed in myself for lacking any real qualification to act.

But all this deliberation wouldn’t change anything.

“…Right.”

I needed to calm myself first.

‘I’m not thinking rationally.’

Perhaps it was because I’d recalled old memories.

Impulsive decisions always left me with regret. Hong Kyung-yeon decided to return to his guest room. It seemed I needed to have a conversation with Lee Sun-hae.

Yes, that’s what I should have done.

“…!”

Splash――!!
The sound of something falling.

My head snapped toward the noise.

The sound had come from Room 703, its door slightly ajar.

* * *

‘Ah, this is troublesome.’

My luck today was truly abysmal.

‘How surprising.’

Not only was I caught in consecutive events, but I’d lost a 50% probability gamble. Someone was clearly draining my luck entirely. The suspects were Coco and this Hotel.

‘…I suppose I should stop escaping reality now.’

I looked straight ahead.

‘How ominous.’

It was the face of a rather handsome young man, but….

“A hypocrite.”
‘Every word out of your mouth blames someone else. Still the same.’
“A warm hypocrite. Don’t live. Don’t exist before my eyes…!”

A mouth split wide open, pointed teeth, crimson eyes. Scales bristling across its skin and hair streaming wildly through the water—all of it formed a grotesque harmony. It was the quintessential image of a Water Ghost, as if plucked from an illustration.

‘According to the description, it’s still weeping even now. Beneath the water surface, endlessly.’

It was recorded in the compendium. Though hidden beneath the water, they are always crying, it said.

Lee Yeon-woo reached out without hesitation. Then, with a soft touch, I pressed gently against the creature’s eye socket.

“….”

…My sensation was remarkably dull.

‘Is it because of my abnormal state?’

The prolonged ‘cold’ had numbed my nerve endings. Yet it still didn’t hurt. Not even now, with my throat constricted and my body plunged beneath the water.

A character drowning wouldn’t cause pain to the user beyond the monitor.

‘If only this Hotel had no human guests, I could have quietly ended things by now. We’ve both become unfortunate. Me and this friend here.

Though, strictly speaking, this one isn’t human.

‘Perhaps because it feels so real, unlike a game. Strangely, it carries the scent of humanity.’

The embodiment of concepts. That’s the characteristic of the monster guests who visit this Hotel. But facing such vicious hatred and desperate struggle makes me think differently.

A rather troubling suspicion—that this might be something wearing the mask of a game, rather than the game itself.

‘I’ll contemplate that slowly later….’

Lee Yeon-woo looked toward the water surface above.

“Don’t leave me behind.”
“….”
“I’m so lonely. You’ve closed your mouth now. I can’t hear you. Let’s sink like this. Die. Don’t stay alive. I’m so lonely. It can’t be this hot. I’m so lonely….”
‘Hmm.’

I could say with certainty that if my personality had been even slightly more agreeable, I wouldn’t be this lonely now.

‘Without an item, I’ll need to find another method. What should I try?’

One of the drawbacks of the tutorial bug: I couldn’t obtain the item corresponding to the common guest’s event in both versions. That’s why I wanted to avoid the bathtub event if possible.

“….”
“I’m so lonely.”
‘Let me think.’

What did I do in situations like this?

‘Without an item, there’s a 99 percent probability of death….’

In other words, death wasn’t systemically guaranteed. If there was even a 1 percent gap, well, that wasn’t a bad condition.

‘I have a cheat method that won’t let me die.’

How fortunate that I’d learned blood magic. Given the circumstances, feigning death was the better choice.

Cold hands strangling my throat. I felt sharp nails digging into my skin. I released the tension in my own hands that had been gripping them.

If this were a game, I’d just selected that option.

[Use Item ◁]
[Resist ◁]
[Surrender ◀]

Go on, consume me.

* * *

“Ugh….”

The expansive window of a 21st Floor guest room.

“As expected, I can’t see it from this angle.”

Too much time had passed.

Lee Sun-hae knew Hong Kyung-yeon’s habits. The cigarette pack he’d taken looked light, and even if it held three cigarettes at most, Hong Kyung-yeon showed no sign of returning to the room.

An ominous thought crept in.

“…Don’t tell me he went down to the 7th Floor?”

Lee Sun-hae grabbed her outer jacket and put it on.

* * *

Hong Kyung-yeon had been standing before Room 703 for quite some time.

He heard the sound of something thrashing in resistance. He heard the heavy sound of something sinking completely into water. And then, as all noise fell silent, he heard it all.

His trembling hand hovered near the room’s door handle.

“….”

But in the end, Hong Kyung-yeon chose to retreat.

“Ugh….”

He shuffled away from the door.

‘…There must be a reason he said the 7th Floor was dangerous.’

He understood why it was dangerous, but there could be something worse beyond that.

He kept thinking, but Lee Yeon-woo was a professional. He naturally knew far more about this Hotel than Hong Kyung-yeon did. In other words, the probability of Hong Kyung-yeon causing an accident was far higher than the probability of Lee Yeon-woo dying.

Hong Kyung-yeon moved his feet silently toward the Elevator, but as quickly as possible.

‘I should tell the Director. If I explain the situation, he’ll make a better judgment than I can right now. Yes, I’ll contact him, or maybe his family, or… or….’

Lee Yeon-woo needed help. That was the right thing. But the help he needed certainly wasn’t from Hong Kyung-yeon. So I had to find another way, and quickly.

I admitted to myself that I was spiraling into panic. This wouldn’t do. I’m not helping anyone right now.

‘The Director should still be awake….’

And then.
That’s when it happened.

Creak―…

“….”
“….”

Squelch, squelch.
Footsteps dripping with water.

My breath caught.

Hong Kyung-yeon turned around.

“…Ah.”

A tall man, drenched and dripping, stood holding a blade.

“….”
“….”

…A kitchen knife?

‘…Why is he holding a knife?’

For what purpose?

Hong Kyung-yeon instinctively examined the blade first—checking for blood. Fortunately, there was none. Of course, he could have wiped it clean. Nothing was certain.

He stepped back. The figure advanced one pace.

“….”

Those eyes and lips were visible between strands of disheveled hair.

‘He’s smiling.’

Eyes bloodshot crimson. Lips wet with delight.

‘So… why?’

Lee Sun-hae had mocked Hong Kyung-yeon for being fearful. But Hong Kyung-yeon had always felt wronged.

He possessed ordinary sensibilities. He startled at gunshots, felt fear at the sight of blood, screamed when surrounded by insects. Nothing more than that.

So he wasn’t a coward.

He was simply ordinary, except.

“….”

When cornered, he lost his reason.

“…What are you doing?”

Hong Kyung-yeon valued his own life moderately. Had he valued it greatly, he wouldn’t have spent his promising twenties following Lee Sun-hae around on such foolish ventures.

“What were you doing?”
“….”
“Why did you draw a knife? What was that water sound earlier? Did you call Lee Yeon-woo? Have you been to some water festival? Why do you look so pleased?”

The target was far too, far too infuriating not to mock.

“Do you enjoy tormenting people who can’t even resist?”

You must enjoy it, damn it. You must be having the time of your life.

“You’re not a pervert.”

Losing reason could mean attacking an innocent person. But as the saying goes, you see what you know. Hong Kyung-yeon deduced based on facts, and now the other party had even drawn a knife.

Even if he wasn’t the culprit behind Lee Yeon-woo’s cognitive disturbance, this was simply a madman.

“Say something, anything. Can’t speak? Well, I’m sorry about that, but I’m not sorry about the rest. Should I call the police? I shouldn’t, right? This insane Hotel—I swear, I should haul out every single staff member.”
“….”
“Why did you bring a knife? Are you going to stab me? Will you? If I beg nicely, will you let me go? No, right? No, you won’t. I’ve never seen anyone with eyes rolled back like yours who wasn’t a deviant. Or go ahead and refute me. Since you didn’t, I guess I’m right, aren’t I?”

My opponent’s face twisted grotesquely. It was the kind of look that said, ‘What is this insane creature?’ Contempt, annoyance, irritation—the thrill and pleasure had drained away.

‘No.’

That made me even more irritated.

‘Why was I in such a good mood just a moment ago?’

And the answer was already there. The red marks caked under those fingernails, and what was smeared around the mouth….

“Ah, you really are insane, aren’t you??”
“….”
“…I….”
“….”
“…I’m… not sorry, you lunatic.”

I’d thought it was just a split lip. But why was there blood on the lips with no wound? And why were the teeth so red?

Hong Kyung-yeon’s face had gone pale—no, positively blue.

‘Surely this madman didn’t…?’

It was true, but slightly different. Monsters devouring humans the way humans devour animals wasn’t particularly unusual. At least not in fiction.

The problem was that this place was both a game and reality. And Hong Kyung-yeon didn’t even know this was a game. He didn’t know his opponent wasn’t human.

“….”

So a truly horrifying hypothesis had just occurred to me.

“…1, 119… 119… No, why isn’t the signal working again… I really want to cry… The smell of blood is driving me insane….”
“….”
“Ha, even if we’re just talking physical strength, I’m losing… Ah, I should’ve just left with the Director. What was I thinking staying alone in this insane Hotel for some fortune and glory?”
“….”
“What did you eat to grow so big? Your hand is the size of my face? You’re jealous? Wait, don’t tell me you actually ate what I think you ate growing up? Please tell me you didn’t. Why does it sound like I’m hearing ‘please no’ from somewhere… Please, world.”
“….”
“Ah! Go ahead and kill me, come on, really try it. You think I’ve never taken a knife before? You think you’re the only one who knows how to consume people? I have hands and feet and teeth too!”
“….”
“Let’s all die together…!!”

And then Lee Sun-hae, the Director, had just arrived at the 7th Floor.

“….”

Inside the Elevator, she heard her workplace colleague’s declaration of mutual death.

“…What is this.”

What in the world was happening.

She was following the exact same question that Hong Kyung-yeon had harbored in the Lobby.

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