Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 43

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

Chapter 43.

“For ordinary guests, we typically take certain precautions….”
“Precautions.”
“It doesn’t seem you require them, sir. You appear not to have suffered any nightmares.”
“That’s right.”
“I see.”

The Hotel General Manager personally assisted Baek Mu-jin with his departure.

“Your signature, please.”

What was handed to me was a classical-style guest registry. I picked up the pen and wrote my name.

I deliberately grasped the edge of the registry, but the sensation beneath my fingertips was frigid—as though it had been stored in a freezer. Only where this Young Goblin held it felt particularly cold.

“….”

The body temperature was remarkably low. Unlike other goblins.

‘Like a corpse pulled from water.’

Never once removing the gloves. Occasionally coughing as though on death’s door, and each time the stench of blood wafted forth. Hearing phantom sounds, gazing elsewhere. Before the grand Swimming Pool, breathing ceased entirely.

And then it gazed into the deep water as though yearning to drown.

‘What a vicious curse.’

The curse of a water spirit—and therefore, affection. This is what untraditional goblins always do. I understood that this curse arose in the process of saving Lee Sun-hae.

Becoming the object of a malevolent spirit’s attachment, sacrificing another’s life in exchange.

‘Whether it was the only option or simply more to its liking, it’s not something a sane being would do.’

But it is effective. Efficient. And I am not the sort to crumble beneath such a curse.

I appreciate that about you.

“…You seem to have quite a fondness for this Hotel.”
“Does it appear that way?”
“If you didn’t, you would have grown weary far more quickly. It wouldn’t have been strange if it had collapsed long ago.”
“Your words are correct.”
“It appears to be a space where quite a lot has transpired.”

Even a cemetery was not like this cemetery.

“Sin piled upon sin, and then…”

The traces of resentment and suffering were more acrid than a plague pit. It was enough to cause a headache merely from witnessing it.

“This Hotel has not served as a particularly restful space for me.”
“Has your vision grown fatigued?”
“That too, certainly.”

For Baek Mu-jin, whose vitality was no longer what it once was, this place demanded far too much—to see, to hear, to feel.

“Yet I believe it to be a fine Hotel.”

A Labyrinth of considerable worth.

It was deserving of preservation.

“As long as you do not wish it, I shall not speak of this Hotel to anyone.”
“I appreciate your discretion.”
“Do you have any thoughts of leaving this place?”

Did the Young Goblin retain memories from when it was human? To ask such a question would be difficult to answer with certainty. It conducted itself quite humanly at times, yet would suddenly reveal a stark inhumanity.

Baek Mu-jin added his own conjecture—that even this alien inhumanity might be a form of ‘lost humanity’.

‘If so, perhaps it inherited memories only in fragments.’

If that were the case, adapting to human society would not be easy. There were too many rules that could not be understood with only fragmentary information. Above all, there was nothing to gain from the Young Goblin revealing itself in this age.

“If you ever find yourself outside these walls, I trust you’ll use the business card Sun-hae provided. Should you wish it, I’ll ensure you’re spared from any troublesome entanglements.”
“Is this a gift of gratitude for assisting Director Lee Sun-hae?”
“No, the gift of gratitude was the death row inmates I brought.”
“….”

Baek Mu-jin raised an eyebrow.

‘He truly does favor humanity.’

Or perhaps it was a reverence for life itself. Each time I encountered this aspect of him, I found it surprising, yet it remained distinctly characteristic of a young, traditional Dokkaebi.

“…Very well, then….”

I found myself offering counsel I hadn’t intended to give.

“Since you appear quite young, allow an old man to leave behind a few more humble words of wisdom.”
“I shall listen with gratitude.”
“Remember this: you are not the one to be devoured, but the one who devours.”
“That’s hardly welcome advice.”
“Heh.”

In moments like this, I truly felt that he was a Dokkaebi—a young one at that. Beneath his courteous demeanor lay an unmistakable playfulness.

“Whether you like it or not, it is your nature, your very destiny. No amount of false humility, no matter how convincingly you clasp your hands and feign the role of prey, will hide it forever. Someday, it will be exposed.”
“An act, you say?”
“Those with keen instincts will see through it at a glance. When that moment comes, a clumsy pretense of obedient civility won’t save you from being consumed. It would serve you well to learn how to… control yourself beforehand.”
“Is that advice?”
“If you’d rather not hear it, consider it nagging.”

Baek Mu-jin clicked his tongue.

“But you already hold the reins of this Hotel in your grasp, do you not? When one who sits at the apex possesses at least a measure of conviction, only then does true balance find its stability.”
“It sounds as though you’re encouraging tyranny. I wonder if my partner and I would see eye to eye on such matters.”
“That’s not the case.”
“Is that so?”
“I favor your approach.”

You suppress all manner of wickedness. You persuade, captivate, and at times oppress—bending all toward your desired end. What form of violence could be more gentle, more tender than this?

I don’t think he was entirely unaware of his own nature.

Was there another Labyrinth like this in the world? A space where two Dokkaebi existed, and one of them had forged peace through their own self-righteous sacrifice. Such a Labyrinth was difficult to find anywhere else.

Especially when one of them was an offering.

Baek Mu-jin merely hoped that this value would not be tarnished.

“Do you favor goodness?”
“It’s a universal preference.”
“Then you were born under an ill star.”
“Ah, what a sorrowful thing to say.”
“It can’t be helped. Since you harbor something so ominous, no matter how hard you try, people will inevitably fear you.”
“I suppose I should hope to become a harmless haunted house instead.”
“A haunted house, now that’s an amusing notion.”

This Labyrinth still craves blood, suffering, and screams. Yet he had refused the death row inmate. To dwell in such a Labyrinth and refuse such a gift was truly remarkable.

And as for you….

“….”

I’ve been talking unnecessarily long. Baek Mu-jin brushed away his idle thoughts and changed the subject.

“You’ll live a long time.”
“Is that a prophecy that I’ll be cursed much?”
“Clever of you to understand.”

To grasp even human wit—how rather admirable.

“I don’t particularly think it will be so, but don’t take it too much to heart.”
“Take it to heart.”
“Yes, yes. This old man was worrying needlessly.”
“That can’t be.”
“Since things have come to this, even my advice just now has ceased to be a gift.”
“It was gift enough.”
“Since it’s difficult for me to discern your tastes, won’t you tell me directly?”
“What do you….”
“What do you want?”

It would be faster to just ask.

“Is there a gift you’d like?”
“…There are many.”
“Really?”
“….”

The Dokkaebi fell silent for a long moment. I could see exhaustion etched into his features like an ancient, withered tree.

* * *

‘A gift, then.’

A major corporation chairman. A man of power who seemed intimately familiar with the workings of ‘whichever world’ this was. The cards Baek Mu-jin could offer me would be endless.

‘…How is my father doing? My youngest brother?’

I longed to hear news of my family. Had they forgotten me? If they had, what kind of life were they living now? Did my place still exist waiting for me there?

‘What about that idiot?’

I wondered about my friends too—the ones I’d gotten into all sorts of trouble with. We were all too busy scraping by to even meet up, and I’d been dragged here without even a proper goodbye.

‘My job? My identity? How is the world I vanished from moving on without me?’

I missed my family. I wanted to know how my friends were doing. Most of all, I desperately needed a way out of this place. Someone like Baek Mu-jin might hold the key to understanding this bewildering situation.

My deliberation was brief.

“….”

Both this Hotel and he himself were unstable.

“…Could you block the path for me?”
“The path?”

Baek Mu-jin asked back in an emotionless tone. Lee Yeon-woo continued calmly.

“This Hotel draws people in.”
“And?”
“Just as it did with Director Lee Sun-hae, someone else might find themselves enchanted on a rainy day, driving toward this place without thinking. In this world, there are those who are drawn to danger, are there not?”
“Such inclinations do exist.”
“I would ask that you block that path.”

I couldn’t leave immediately anyway.

Even if I could, what could I accomplish out there? Would I beg my family and friends—those who might not even remember me—to recall my existence?

That wasn’t my best course of action. I knew that some opportunities, once missed, could never be grasped again. The Hotel had taught me that, and my current circumstances proved it.

I wouldn’t waste this chance on something so foolish.

“However, the work will not be simple. If I recall correctly, this Hotel’s domain encompasses a considerable portion of the Forest Path connected to the Main Gate. The Hotel’s resistance could prove quite formidable.”
“You’ve raised it quite strong.”
“Indeed.”
“Very well, blocking the path then….”

Baek Mu-jin gave his affirmative answer.

“Let’s do it that way.”
“Thank you.”
“It may take some time.”
“I ask only for your assistance.”

The world is composed of countless variables. Time flows onward, and humans are creatures destined to regret. That is why I strived to give my best in every moment.

That was who I was.

“I hope you have a good day.”

The Lee Yeon-woo I knew.

* * *

“Chairman.”

The Young Man opened the car door.

“Have a drink.”
“Is this what our Sun-hae felt like?”
“…Did something happen to you?”
“How peculiar.”

Baek Mu-jin added.

“It was quite an enjoyable experience.”

Though not entirely comfortable.

Baek Mu-jin settled deep into the back seat.

As the Young Man took the driver’s seat, the car began to glide down the uneven slope. Beyond the heavily tinted windows, a moisture-laden forest rushed past in a blur.

“I’m relieved there were no particular issues.”
“You must have had quite the ordeal driving all the way to Gapyeong.”
“Considering the resignation letter I’ll soon submit, this is nothing.”
“Presumptuous.”
“I understand you’ve already addressed that matter.”
“All the worthwhile ones end up leaving.”
“Had you invested a bit more effort in raising your children, the situation would be better than it is now.”
“I recall putting in considerable effort, in my own way.”
“…”

In the familiar silence that settled between them, Baek Mu-jin posed a question. His tone was casual.

“Will you call it another misunderstanding?”
“Yes.”
“I hope we can resolve this within three instances before reaching Seoul.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Baek Mu-jin has always seen history and value in all things. His own bloodline was no exception. Precious things deserved treatment befitting their worth. This was why he endured such presumptuous conversation.

Because it was an object worthy of such consideration, he accorded it that very respect.

“I need to block the passages.”
“…Block the passages, sir?”
“The Dokkaebi requested that I seal off the paths as a gift.”
“But then the Labyrinth would receive fewer offerings of food.”
“That’s precisely what he wants.”
“He wishes to starve to death?”
“He appeared to be contemplating some alternative.”
“If the Dokkaebi possesses such inclinations, perhaps….”
“The door cannot be closed.”

Baek Mu-jin opened the tumbler himself. An otherworldly herbal fragrance filled the air around the tea.

“All manner of unclean spirits converge upon that House. What use is closing the door?”
“But what if you forcibly sealed it regardless?”
“The wandering spirits without refuge would scatter in all directions. Everything would descend into chaos.”
“Surely it’s too heavy a burden for the Young Goblin to bear alone.”
“How can I dissuade him from what he deems right?”

That stubborn creature.

Baek Mu-jin felt he understood the Dokkaebi’s nature. His aura was clear and pure, indistinguishable from that of a cultivated sage, yet without such discipline, he would surely have become a madman commanding the world.

“Had he truly despised it, he would have chosen death instead.”

With sincerity and utmost effort, he would have sought escape from that position and station. Bearing the star of a tyrant yet born with the nature of a virtuous ruler, he had become a living contradiction.

“Then he is indeed one of the offerings?”
“Yes. He was originally part of the foundation but became ensnared in the creation process. Yet even after becoming a Dokkaebi, he never abandoned his humanity.”

Whether he failed to abandon it or acquired it along the way, I cannot say.

“It would have been easier had he been entirely consumed as an offering and lost himself.”

Neither dead nor alive. His fortune was extraordinarily poor, and the world called even this a miracle.

“It was a sight of absolute perfection.”
“I understand what you mean, Chairman, and I know what you do. However, I….”
“His value is too great to disturb. He is a beast who knows his own path without guidance—not something for a tender-hearted child like you to nurture.”
“….”

I could see the precious Youngest Son’s blood rising to his face. Given this family’s temperament.

“Are you angry that I disrespected you so?”
“You misunderstand.”
“Two chances remain.”
“I remember, Chairman.”
“I wish I could have witnessed that directly myself.”

The immense power radiating from him was of a different caliber than any other being. The aura reminiscent of a mystical spirit and the unpredictable Hotel Management proved his extraordinary nature.

Neat black hair and a composed expression, beneath which lurked beast-like, elongated eyes…..

“His actions are those of a fox, yet those eyes belong to a man-tiger.”
“….”
“His aura sinks like an icy lake into the abyss, yet his presence is overwhelmingly oppressive beyond compare. And yet the demeanor he affects is oddly gentle and orderly. That’s what I mean to say.”

Admiration tinged Baek Mu-jin’s voice.

“Despite all that, he considers himself human and wishes to live as one. How can such an alien being wearing a human mask possibly do so…. Truly, an individual beyond standard classification.”
“….”
“Ah, yes… and quite the audacious spirit too.”

Baek Mu-jin held up a wine bottle. The Young Man spoke in a restrained tone, as if suppressing a sigh.

“If he possesses human form and human thought, then ultimately he is human, is he not?”
“He is human.”
“He’s nineteen years old.”
“That’s what his body appeared to be.”
“What of his mind?”
“I’m not omniscient enough to make such a determination.”
“Has he spent his entire life trapped within that?”
“From that perspective, calling him a child wouldn’t be strange.”

Trapped in repeating time, dying and being reborn countless times while maintaining the same body. An existence that never had the chance to experience time’s passage in society. Who could possibly presume to guess the age of such a thing?

“Yet despite all that, he conceals his true nature completely and knows how to blend with humans. He puts on such a composed facade that even an impatient person would find it infuriating.”
“Could he integrate into society?”
“Listen here.”

Baek Mu-jin remonstrated with his youngest son.

“If you force a dog or cat to stand on two legs and dress it in clothes, do you think it finds comfort in that?”
“…Perhaps not. But the Hotel Owner does not regard himself as human.”
“He may come to understand soon enough.”
“Understand what, sir?”
“That humans simply lack the worth for such consideration.”

In the end, he would arrive at precisely that conclusion.

“Weak and pathetic.”

They call their greed a right, mistake convenience for freedom, and live deceiving themselves. They excuse the shackles they have chosen as chains imposed upon them, and sell away tomorrow’s possibilities for today’s fleeting pleasures.

“They evade responsibility by blaming fate for their wretched existence, finding cowardly solace in that evasion. They flee from pain yet cling to their constrained lives, unwilling to relinquish them. Humans merely grumble while bound, lacking even the courage to untie the knots.”
“….”
“More talkative than any creature alive, yet they cry for freedom without ever paying its price. They even hypnotize themselves with ‘it couldn’t be helped’ and ‘this is the wiser path,’ mistaking the very moment a demon shakes their leash as a path to salvation.”

The Young Man then asked with a tone of reluctance.

“…A remarkable perspective, sir. I never expected someone who understands the value of talent better than anyone to hold such a low regard for humanity.”
“Of course, these are not my own views.”
“Then whose words are these, sir?”
“The demon’s, I imagine.”
“The demon…?”
“Yes.”

Baek Mu-jin posed a question.

“And you—what do you think?”
“Father.”
“Do you see it differently?”
“….”

The Young Man spoke, his tone measured.

“No, sir.”
“Yes, yes….”

Baek Mu-jin nodded as if to soothe me.

“That creature can never become human, nor should it ever try.”

He examined the wine bottle Lee Yeon-woo had handed him with careful attention. The elegantly wrapped bottle gleamed with a sleek, dark luster. Yet within it surely lay that clear, pure liquor I had tasted before.

“Does a tiger hiding its claws also hide its fangs?”
“….”
“If that were possible, it would be terribly unjust, wouldn’t it?”

In this world, there undoubtedly exist creatures born as predators, for whom consuming prey is their very nature.

“Let’s see how much grass a tiger will eat.”
“Your tastes are rather cruel, sir.”
“Now that such a being has revealed itself, whether it wishes to or not, its name will soon be heard.”
“I only hope it happens after I’ve settled my affairs.”
“Had you possessed even a shred of initiative, this old body wouldn’t need to take the field personally.”
“I have no desire to evolve.”
“Insolent.”

Setting down the wine bottle, Baek Mu-jin whispered into the void.

“…I should have asked whether it possessed a card.”

* * *

“…Who….”

Lee Yeon-woo murmured.

[Sixth Sense]
‘Someone spoke of me.’

“It feels like they’re cursing me to become a villain.”
“Yes.”
“Yes?”

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