Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 25

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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 25.

“…Ugh….”

Cough, cough…! Cough!

Lee Sun-hae lurched upright, expelling water violently.

“Ack, ah… my nose is clogged… water got in my ears….”

She scrubbed at her ears to dispel the unpleasant foreign sensation. Unsatisfied, she pounded the side of her head repeatedly. But the water showed no sign of draining.

“Ugh, seriously….”

The vigor of her youth served her well—her mind cleared quickly.

‘I’m going to drag that lunatic through an investigation, I swear.’

Even as curses flowed toward the Guest on 7th Floor with newfound clarity, Lee Sun-hae became aware that the ground beneath her feet was far too wet and heavy.

…Wait?

“…?”

Lee Sun-hae realized the place she occupied was remarkably humid. Whether from prolonged water exposure or the low temperature of the water, her body felt frigid.

“….”

Hold on—something’s wrong here. ‘Water temperature’?

“…Where am I?”

As she lifted her head, instead of the Hotel’s walls, an immense darkness stretched before her eyes—boundless and impenetrable.

“What the….”

And simultaneously, it was light.

Beneath a ceiling—or perhaps a night sky—so impossibly distant that one could not discern which, a vast expanse of water stretched out. It was far too expansive to be called a Swimming Pool. Far too serene to be called a sea. With each ripple across the surface, an ethereal blue luminescence bloomed from the depths below.

A phantasmagoric vista one might glimpse on some distant foreign shore. It was undeniably beautiful, yet it was cold, alien, and deeply unsettling. I could not shake the nauseating sensation that merely witnessing it gnawed at the very foundation of my sanity.

How long had I been staring at it?

“….”

Lee Sun-hae suddenly snapped back to awareness.

‘…No, wait. This isn’t the time for this. Did that lunatic really drag me all the way here?’

It was as she wrung out the water from her drenched clothes.

“….”
“….”
“….”

There was more than one.

In every crevice of the dark ceiling, behind every invisible pillar, and within every shadow of the lightless depths below.

Something. Many things.

“…What?”

…were watching me.

* * *

Lee Yeon-woo had always thought it.

That it would be better if I died.

My death.
My wounds.
My suffering.

All of these were domains he could control entirely on his own. They were wholly his, mere constants that didn’t need to be excluded from his calculations.

“….”

…So he was angry at the variable standing before him.

“…Ah.”

Quite angry. Very angry, actually.

“So what you’re saying is.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Director Lee Sun-hae has gone missing.”
“She was definitely talking with me yesterday, no, even until dawn… She’s not the type to slip away somewhere in between, and there was no reason for her to… Her phone is still there, just as it was… Even her shoes are still….”
“Indeed, thank you for your cooperation in explaining the situation.”

I had considered the possibility. The Wet Person, once tracking begins, abducts a human guest within four days and brings them to the Aqua Park. And after twelve hours pass, they die.

The phrase “within four days” here—four days is the maximum, but the minimum is undefined. The fastest time I had confirmed was one minute later. This guest was utterly unpredictable.

“I, I didn’t know what to do, so we were using separate rooms. Something seemed to happen at dawn, but I couldn’t confirm it. It’s because I, I was just sleeping….”

At Hong Kyung-yeon’s self-reproach, I lowered my gaze for a moment, then let a smile settle on my face.

“Resting within your guest room is a guest’s natural right. It is not your fault, Writer. Based on the circumstances you’ve described, Director Lee Sun-hae’s absence was likely not of her own volition.”
“Yes, that’s right, that’s right. I need to calm down.”
“Yes, you’re doing well.”

I steadied Hong Kyung-yeon’s agitation. I still needed information.

“When was the last time you spoke with the Director?”
“The last time I saw her was, um… around two in the morning. To be precise, it felt like around one fifty-something.”
“I see. Then what time exactly did you realize the Director was absent?”
“Seven o’clock. I had packed all my luggage before bed, and planned to just take it and leave after waking up in the morning. It was seven o’clock. Yes, seven o’clock.”

So the gap was approximately five hours. That meant she’d been abducted at most five hours ago.

‘If it weren’t for the tutorial, a single system upgrade would have given me an exact estimate of when she was taken. Without an interface, I feel completely helpless as a user. This is terribly inconvenient.’

Well then.

‘So what do I do now?’

Venting my anger would accomplish nothing. The golden window of opportunity had a fixed deadline.

‘The timing is far too convenient—I can’t rule out the possibility that Hotel One orchestrated this. Coco’s reaction yesterday was particularly suspicious. If they really did incite The Wet Person… it would be reasonable to assume they took action the moment I fell asleep at 2 AM.’

So how much time remained?

‘At minimum, seven hours.’

The problem lay in the fact that I was still progressing through the tutorial.

‘…I cannot move to the 23rd Floor right now.’

I thought.
I thought.
And I thought again.

This was why, through that long dawn, I had forgone even a moment’s rest in my Lodging bedroom, meticulously examining countless scenarios. Even this worst-case outcome had fallen within my contingency calculations.

I had wondered if the game could truly be rigged so unreasonably. So I had assigned that probability a low weight, and I had genuinely hoped they could check out safely.

“….”

And yet the game had already begun.

“…Writer Hong Kyung-yeon.”
“Yes? Ah, yes. Yes.”
“If you wouldn’t mind, would you help me with something?”
“Oh, if there’s anything I can do…!”
“This place is called ‘Hotel One.'”

Lee Yeon-woo drafted a document. The sound of the pen tip rolling across the paper was rhythmic and precise.

“The standard tutorial completion criteria are as follows. For ‘human guests,’—”

He looked up after finishing his signature on the final line.

“To be considered fully ‘complete,’ I must secure a nightmare from the guest and proceed through the proper checkout process before exiting through the Main Gate.”
“…I’m sorry? What do you mean….”
“However, in the current ‘tutorial bug’ situation, exception clauses do apply. When the scheduled lodging period ends, there’s approximately a 60% probability that completion is granted even if only some of your party checks out.”
“…I apologize, what are you saying?”
“Furthermore, cases have been reported where completion is processed with similar probability by securing only the nightmare. Combining these two variables yields a calculation of approximately 82.4% to 85.6% probability of achieving a ‘conditional completion’ judgment.”
“That’s….”
“If I may proceed.”

He handed over the register—the contract.

“I’d appreciate your signature here.”
“…Wouldn’t you consider explaining further?”
“You’ll forget it all eventually, as every guest who has visited this Hotel has.”
….

Hong Kyung-yeon, having received the fountain pen, looked at Lee Yeon-woo. A bewildered expression. The face of someone lost. Perhaps he thought the situation was unreal.

He stared at the pen’s tip and asked.

“So what changes?”
“The probability of Lee Sun-hae’s survival increases dramatically.”
“And?”
“You’ll be paying the lodging fee.”
“But you said you wouldn’t accept it.”
“That was the plan, but unfortunately that matter requires separate additional work. I humbly ask for your understanding.”
….
“…Upon tutorial completion through the bug….”

Lee Yeon-woo fell silent for a moment before speaking. Adding words that would be forgotten anyway was, after all, his final courtesy as a hotelier.

“If a companion has a specific event in progress, upon completion judgment, that event can be immediately inherited and continued. If there are no other variables, it means you can proceed directly to the 23rd Floor.”
“…What happens if luck is extremely poor?”
“Then I must resort to somewhat dangerous methods. It’s a foolish and inefficient approach, but there’s no more certain way to save someone. Of course, if luck favors you, such a situation shouldn’t arise.”
“…What should I do….”
“Your signature, please, Guest.”

Ah, this was game dialogue. Only then could ‘nightmare acquisition’ occur.

“Did you have an unpleasant time at our Hotel?”
“….”

A long moment passed.

“…Yes.”

Hong Kyung-yeon signed with trembling hands.

“…Here.”
“Thank you.”

Lee Yeon-woo smiled and bowed his head.

“I do hope you have a wonderful day.”

* * *

“I do hope you have a wonderful day.”
“….”

Hong Kyung-yeon blinked.

I felt a bit dazed for a moment, but it quickly faded away.

“…Huh? Ah, yes. Have a good day.”
“What shall we do about the luggage you left in your room?”
“Luggage… Right, my apologies. I came down without it. I must have forgotten.”
“It happens quite often when guests haven’t fully recovered from their fatigue. Please don’t concern yourself. If you’d like, our Staff Members will retrieve your belongings from your room and bring them down to the Lobby for you.”
“I’d be grateful for that.”
“It’s only natural that we do our best for those who visit our Hotel.”

Lee Yeon-woo called for the Staff Members. He still used that small golden bell to issue his commands. Their ‘methods’ still left an unsettling feeling, but I forced myself to look away.

One instance of selfish interference harming a child was enough.

“….”
“Come to think of it, Director Lee Sun-hae….”
“…Ah, an urgent matter came up, so she left for Seoul first.”
“My, Seoul?”
“I’m not entirely sure what it was about.”

I could hazard a guess. It seemed likely her maternal family had summoned her. I’d heard she’d sought advice from her Uncle before. This was probably a consequence of that.

‘She might be getting an earful about how I recklessly disturbed such a dangerous place.’

I felt genuinely apologetic. If I hadn’t ventured to the 7th Floor, this situation would never have spiraled this far. Here I was, well past thirty, and causing such trouble.

“We’ll have to handle the work we were doing in Gapyeong ourselves for now. Since the person who went to Seoul doesn’t seem like she’ll be back anytime soon… if she happens to stop by the Hotel alone, please see her out.”
“Ha ha, that’s quite the difficult request to make of a Hotel staff member.”
“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant….”
“Just a small jest. I understand perfectly well what you’re concerned about. Should the Director truly return here alone, I’ll use my personal discretion to ensure she can return home safely.”
“Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease.”
“Then please, don’t worry yourself.”

The Hotel General Manager’s eyes crinkled as he smiled.

“You should be able to return home peacefully, shouldn’t you?”
“….”

I’d been thinking it all along—he smiled just like a fox.

He seemed cunning yet refined, kind yet utterly inscrutable. Director Lee Sun-hae had once described him as someone who “knew how to use his body well,” and she was absolutely right.

He was a man who perfectly understood how to draw another’s attention entirely to himself.

“I’ll do my utmost to ensure there’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“…Yes, thank you for your help.”
“Take care on your way.”

What was it?

‘…Did I forget something?’

I couldn’t place why, but something felt off.

That question lingered with me even as I climbed into the Car.

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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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