Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 32

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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 32.

Lee Yeon-woo had been playing this game for twenty-six years. Even for someone like me, it was rare to see a Human Guest kidnapped to the 23rd Floor who was this active.

And a horror-thriller film Director—not an NPC—had pulled it off.

“Usually, people only attempt two things at most.”
“There are people who’ve actually attempted two things?”
“Quite a few, actually.”

It was unavoidable with NPCs whose behavioral patterns were predetermined.

If no one used a feature you’d painstakingly created, wouldn’t that be frustrating as a developer? This game’s developer had meticulously mapped out routes for every conceivable scenario.

‘Which is why I’m the only user of this game.’

People only stick around when the difficulty is balanced. No matter how much the subject matter appeals to you, what good is it if you get eliminated at the entrance? For Lee Yeon-woo, who had endured these long years alone, it was a bitter reality.

“What’s certain is that the Director’s range of activity was quite extensive. Do you happen to remember where you first woke up? Of course, if it’s uncomfortable, you don’t have to say.”
“Not really… oh, some swimming pool? A swimming pool with colorful structures like a water park or playground. I woke up half-draped over the edge. The water here was so shimmering—it was kind of strange.”
“The swimming pool.”

This was another remarkable detail.

“Did you happen to see anything like eyes?”
“Eyes…? Does it snow here too?”
“No, I mean the visual organs of a living creature.”

When Lee Yeon-woo tapped the corner of my own eyes, the Director finally seemed to recall something and nodded.

“Oh, I saw them. Terrifyingly huge eyes. They were way down at the bottom.”

…He saw that face-on and survived unscathed?

“….”
“…Did I do something wrong?”
“Not at all. I was simply admiring your remarkable mental fortitude, Director.”
“Does looking at that kill you?”
“It doesn’t kill you, but ordinarily, one’s sanity cannot withstand it.”
“Lee Yeon-woo as well…?”
“Without that level of resistance, he wouldn’t have been able to work as the Manager of this Hotel.”
“I’m not sure if that’s an advantage, honestly.”
“That is regrettable.”

It appeared that Director Lee Sun-hae had been assessed as a Guest with exceptionally strong mental fortitude. Had she been a Guest with a low Sanity stat, she likely would have suffered a complete mental collapse the moment she laid eyes on it.

‘Either extraordinarily fortunate, or naturally gifted with mental strength.’

Perhaps both.

‘Without an interface, there’s no way to verify a Guest’s stats, and this is truly inconvenient….’

In any case, the fact that she was alive was a miracle. Had Lee Yeon-woo’s arrival been delayed by merely three minutes, she would have lost her life.

“…First, allow me to briefly explain the current situation. You were kidnapped around 2 AM and brought here to the 23rd Floor Aqua Park.”

Considering her state when discovered—mere moments from death—it was certain. They had carried out the abduction the instant the two of them fell asleep. These monster Guests truly were utterly reckless.

“Since Hong Kyung-yeon, who was with you, was quite distressed, the Hotel took certain measures. Currently, he believes you were called away on urgent business and departed for Seoul first.”
“…?”

Director Lee Sun-hae’s expression grew suspicious.

“Brainwashing?”
“More akin to hypnosis.”
“Illegal?”

Lee Yeon-woo could not deny it. While not his specialty, even a cursory examination made it abundantly clear that it was illegal.

‘Article 155 of the Criminal Act—destruction of evidence; Article 136—obstruction of official duties; Article 324—coercion; Article 283—intimidation; forced hypnosis… Personal Information Protection Act… Mental Health Act….’

Multiple criminal charges stacked upon the perpetrator—it was undoubtedly a serious crime by any measure. At this level, a single attorney would be woefully insufficient; even an entire law firm would find it troublesome.

What was there to say? Lee Yeon-woo stopped deliberating and accepted it readily.

“I’m at a loss for words.”
“Oh… no, it’s a hundred times better than watching my brain cells die from worrying about an incompetent senior.”
“I must say again, I’m truly ashamed. Our Hotel has caused your party considerable harm.”
“No, that guy and I… we’re both just unremarkable people….”
“Then let’s apologize to each other and move on.”

That’s what I said, but ultimately, this was something that happened within the system I managed. Now that such a mess had occurred, there was no point in determining ‘who was the perpetrator.’

So my words of shame were sincere.

“….”
“Are you alright?”
“Ah, yes, it’s just that the conversation feels oddly synchronized somehow….”
“I see.”
“Yes, well… it does.”

The Director’s expression grew even more peculiar. He didn’t show it, but Lee Yeon-woo felt similarly. It was like becoming the owner of a dog that had caused an accident. Of course, this was closer to an incident than an accident.

‘To think I’d become a criminal through no fault of my own.’

If I were arrested like this, I couldn’t even fathom what my sentence would be.

‘I’ll need new business cards. My company people would find this hilarious.’

It seemed I’d have plenty to talk about at the next company dinner….

“….”
“….”
“…So, I’m about to head out now.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Before we move, I’ll explain the situation ahead of time.”
“I’m listening.”

There were several rescue methods. One was the administrative route, the other was the contract route. Both were possible, but the most moderate approach was the administrative route.

‘All conditions are in place. If the tutorial bug I attempted through Hong was successfully applied, the administrative route alone should be sufficient to resolve this.’

The problem was… this might not work.

“….”
“Lee Yeon-woo?”
“…Forgive me, I had something to think through.”
“So… your eyes and ears are still…?”
“No, I’m fine now.”
“I know that doesn’t heal that quickly.”
“This Hotel has its own methods, so I’m truly fine. Thanks to your patience, I’ve finished organizing my thoughts. Now, if I may ask a few more questions.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Would you be alright staying here alone?”
“Ugh.”

Director Lee Sun-hae made a face of pure disgust. She genuinely looked appalled.

“In typical horror movies, the person left alone like this always dies.”
“It’s somewhat different. You’d do better to think of it as a game rather than a movie. As long as you don’t break the rules or use them well, there’s no reason to die.”
“Have you thought about changing jobs? This Hotel really doesn’t seem like a place for people to live.”
“That’s not something I can decide for myself. But you don’t need to worry—the Guest on 7th Floor will target me first.”

Wasn’t that why I’ve endured all these countless events so far? Lee Yeon-woo felt a strange sense of accomplishment.

And then I was contradicted.

“That’s what worries me more.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”

But what could I do? This was the only method I had available right now.

“I can’t explain everything. The more confused you become, Director, the greater the threat from this Hotel grows. So, to give you at least a partial warning about what to watch out for going forward….”
“….”
“I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t be too shocked if I suddenly get stabbed or fall into the swimming pool.”
“….”

Director Lee Sun-hae’s eyes widened. The look of someone saying, ‘Is that supposed to be a request?’ Lee Yeon-woo honestly sympathized.

“That’s an entirely reasonable reaction. I’m almost embarrassed that I was concerned about your mental state—you’re clearly in perfect health. Congratulations.”
“…You’re the one who seems… not quite normal… I mean….”
“I’m not so tactless as to make such unreasonable demands.”

I understood. If I had been in Director Lee Sun-hae’s position, I would have suspected my mind had fractured. In essence, wasn’t this demanding complicity in murder?

‘But what else could I do?’

I had decided to do it.

“….”
“Will you grant me your understanding?”

It was a request, but simultaneously a declaration.

Lee Yeon-woo had always been this way. If I determined something needed to be done, then it needed to be done. If necessary, I would explain and seek consent. But nothing beyond that.

If I judged it right, and there were no issues with it, then it was something that had to be done.

“….”
“…An explanation….”
“Yes.”
“An explanation, just a bit more… so I can at least pretend to understand, give me something….”
“Yes, I understand your request, Director.”
“You did understand, right?”
“Of course.”

* * *

【Rescue Routes: The Wet Person】 WET ENTITY RESCUE ROUTES

■ Rescue Method 1
: Send Home Route

* Condition 1: Maintain continuous ‘Send Home’ selection until checkout
* Condition 2: Control guest movements to prevent overlap with the Hotel’s ‘Wet Person’

■ Rescue Method 2
: Management Route Progression

* Condition 1: Enter the 23rd Floor within 11 hours of abduction
* Condition 2: Secure the rescue target within the Aqua Park (※location confirmation required)
* Condition 3: Statement directed at the Wet Person: “You are not my guest.” (※consumes 1 Nightmare Resource)
* Condition 4: Tutorial completion required (※confirmed bug application possible)
* Condition 5: The Wet Person in a non-agitated state

■ Rescue Method 3
: Contract Route Progression

※ This is a rescue contract, not a standard contract, and requires additional conditions
※ Exceptionally, contracts with water-affiliated monsters are possible

* Condition 1: Perform self-harm events 2 or more times
* Condition 2: Select structural dialogue 2 or more times
* Condition 3: Enter the 23rd Floor Aqua Park within 12 hours
* Condition 4: Death in the Main Pool (※regardless of cause, must be submerged in water)
* Condition 5: The Wet Person in a non-agitated state

* * *

“….”

This kid is genuinely dangerous.

‘In very many ways.’

After hearing the rough explanation, Lee Sun-hae’s mind went blank.

“…So.”

The Director forced himself to focus. He certainly wanted to leave this Hotel quickly, but there was something he needed to confirm first.

“First, Lee Yeon-woo will step forward and try to persuade the Guest on 7th Floor with a few materials.”
“Yes.”
“If that doesn’t work, we’ll need to appease them, so you’re willing to play half-dead? Like pressing coin into the hand of someone heading to become a Water Ghost? Yourself?”
“Yes, that method is most effective. Because they’re a Water Ghost.”

Lee Yeon-woo’s voice was composed. Polite and courteous, yet betraying no emotional disturbance. It was the kind of measured, precise tone an announcer might use when delivering tomorrow’s weather forecast.

“The Wet Person desires that. They’re a guest with considerable loneliness.”
“That’s not what I was asking. Are you out of your mind?”
“I cannot claim to be in perfect sanity, but given the current circumstances, I assure you this is the most rational judgment I can render.”
“If you’re being rational, you shouldn’t say things like—”
“….”

Lee Yeon-woo tilted his head. Then he continued, his voice quiet and measured.

“I appreciate your concern for me, but there’s no need to agonize over it so deeply.”
“That’s not something you can just say away.”
“My death and suffering do not carry the same weight as Director Lee Sun-hae’s.”

Wait, hold on.

“….”

What was he saying?

“…What did you say?”
“The weight differs.”

It took less than a second to realize something was wrong with those words. But what was even more absurd than that strange statement was his demeanor, the pallor in his face as he spoke.

How to describe it? Yes, a face as composed as a wax figure.

‘This isn’t like him at all.’

He was the Lee Yeon-woo I knew, wasn’t he?

But looking at that face, my certainty crumbled. The concern and exhaustion I’d seen while he saved Lee Sun-hae, the worry—it all seemed like a lie.

Was even that human concern he’d shown me nothing but hollow performance? I asked the question.

“…Do you weigh lives against each other?”
“Do you believe a murderer and a volunteer should be weighed equally?”
“Are you perhaps a murderer?”
“I apologize. That was an inappropriate analogy.”

Yet he was still showing consideration for Lee Sun-hae. I felt it in the brief moment of his contemplation, in the way his eyes betrayed his concern for not offending her.

And yet, I speak anyway.

“Do you believe human life and machine life are equivalent?”
“….”

Only then did Lee Sun-hae understand.

‘This person right now….’

Lee Yeon-woo did not regard himself as a living being.

A sense of déjà vu pricked at her brain. A detail she’d glossed over surfaced. Perhaps Lee Yeon-woo saw himself as consumable—like a block that naturally develops holes when flowers are inserted into it.

A chill of wrongness crawled up her spine.

‘This can’t be right.’

You?

‘You, who showed me that wondrous sight?’

She realized then. All that abnormal, senseless stubbornness and rudeness—it was directed entirely at Lee Yeon-woo himself. An indifference born from refusing to classify himself as a living creature.

And the fact that he was even trying not to say it rudely was absurd beyond measure.

“…what do you….”

Lee Sun-hae had to object.

She didn’t know why she thought so, but she simply had to. It felt necessary. So she recalled that moment—when blood was restored into a person.

“No, listen. Yeon-woo.”

It couldn’t possibly be painless.

“You’re human, aren’t you?”
“That is correct.”
“It hurts, doesn’t it?”

Lee Sun-hae was bewildered herself. In such a dire situation, she couldn’t fathom why she was speaking with such urgency and pressure. This wasn’t the time for debate, was it?

‘Either way, he said he’d save me.’

But she couldn’t help it.

“So….”

Even a forced smile wouldn’t come; the muscles around her mouth ached with tension.

‘Why do I have to be this confused?’

Lee Yeon-woo is a special existence. In this Hotel, perhaps unique in the entire world. Not merely a person of integrity, but possibly something more than human. Lee Sun-hae was already overwhelmed by that fact.

‘I’ve only just met him. Failing to rescue a child caught in danger is certainly something to blame myself for, but… was it really something to panic about to this extent?’

But it was difficult to simply move past it.

“But why—”
“Director.”

She was about to say something, but Lee Yeon-woo spoke faster.

“I can be restored anytime the conditions are met. As you’ve witnessed firsthand, the deterioration of my body is merely a temporary phenomenon.”
“…Are you really saying that right now?”
“Whereas you, Director, are a ‘human’ vulnerable to pain, are you not?”
“Wow, are you bragging that you’re not affected by such trivial things?”
“Not at all. But it’s undeniable that if you were to die or be injured, restoration in the manner I experience would be difficult.”
“And?”

Lee Yeon-woo smiled with composure.

“That’s precisely why you’re precious.”
“….”
“If one of us must be harmed in this dead-end situation, wouldn’t it be rational for the less valuable one to step forward? That is common sense.”
“…Who exactly came up with that kind of common sense?”
“Isn’t it a simple calculation even a child could perform?”

Lee Yeon-woo spoke thus and smiled. Listening to his words, he seemed like a being who understood the world solely through numbers and function.

Yet Lee Sun-hae didn’t treat herself that way.

Only herself, precisely.

“Since you seem so concerned, I’ll die just halfway.”
“….”
“Would that be a reasonable compromise?”
“…No.”

…Did I just hear a suicide threat?

I couldn’t even muster a response. My mind had shut down entirely. She was undoubtedly trying to reassure me in her own way.

But that strangeness filled me with irrational dread.

‘Why is she so calm about this?’

How could someone speak of their own death so casually?

‘What does age matter? Standing before someone like a deity, how could she say something so… absurd….’

I couldn’t comprehend it.

“….”

My strength drained away.

“…What does dying halfway even mean? Getting shot slowly still kills you.”
“That’s an amusing way to put it.”
“….”
“You truly are Director Lee Sun-hae.”
“Ah….”

Lee Sun-hae finally lowered her head.

Ordinary humans converse under the assumption that words will be understood. But this person was saying she’d use death as a conversational tool. It was abnormal thinking.

“…Really….”

I wanted to pass out. Genuinely.

* * *

“…Really….”
“….”

Even at a glance, the reaction was unmistakably negative.

“….”

Hmm.

‘What went wrong?’

Unaware of his own condition, Lee Yeon-woo—whose social instincts had been worn thin by relentless overwork—fell into contemplation alone.

‘They seem upset, but which part of my explanation offended them?’

Perhaps the analogy had been too blunt.

‘This is my first time dealing with The Human Guest in an event situation. My service must have been lacking.’

Had he rested properly, Lee Yeon-woo would have recognized his own misstep. He possessed that much perceptiveness, after all. But in his current exhausted state, he lacked the capacity to reach that conclusion.

He never considered that his words might have sounded like, “I’ll die in your place.”

‘Once I safely escort them home, their mood should improve.’

And so he found himself standing before The Wet Person.

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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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