Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 49

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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 49.

Contracts with monstrous Guests came with staggering penalties, yet they offered equally substantial advantages. It was only natural when one considered the implications of the word “contract” itself.

I had hired the Guest as Hotel staff, establishing a relationship bound by mutual obligation.

‘In certain domains, I could receive their protection.’

Yet calling it assistance felt somehow inadequate.

When I contracted with the Wet Person, my breath had ceased in the depths of water—so by the system’s logic, I was considered a Water Ghost in certain respects. The inconveniences I’d endured stemmed largely from living outside the water.

‘Born as a mammal, having spent my entire life on land, it was somewhat unjust….’

A fish that could only speak and breathe underwater, forced to survive on land—labored breathing and bodily deterioration were inevitable consequences.

Yet conversely, while remaining within the water as I was now, I had gained a measure of freedom from both external and internal threats.

‘Having a Staff Member accompany me as an escort was merely a bonus.’

Surrendering myself to the current, Lee Yeon-woo glanced to the side. The Water Ghost whose eyes met mine broke into a radiant smile.

“Hello?”
“Yes, hello.”
“Hello!”
“How much longer must we do this?”
“Hahahaha!”
“I think I’ve lost my mind.”

Some Guests underwent drastic personality changes upon forming a contract. Those who placed significance on the weight of relationships were the primary examples, and the Wet Person was the quintessential case.

‘I thought it was because he confirmed I wasn’t merely a hypocrite with empty words.’

When I chose the virtuous path and sought to aid the Wet Person, he mocked me as a hypocrite. Yet even as he derided that hypocrisy, he found a glimmer of warmth and solace within it.

After all, the user continues to walk upon solid ground and wander beneath the light—a fundamentally different existence. It was a hypocrisy born of comfort, precisely because their circumstances were not aligned.

‘But if the user maintains the same conduct even after the contract, the Wet Person will begin calling the user a friend and treating them with familiarity.’

For reference, the Wet Person no longer retained the form it possessed at the time of contract. The Wet Person was an amalgamation of countless Water Ghosts, after all. As evidence of this, the Wet Person now gracefully parting the waters was female in form.

“Where are you going? Deeper? Even deeper?”
“I’m not going deeper.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“I’ll make a formal request later.”
“Is that so?”
“I’m heading to the Record Room now.”
“This?”

Crack――!!

The grotesque hands extending from the sewer walls were crushed to pieces by a single sweep of that massive tail.

“Oh.”
“Is this one a friend too?”
“Good heavens, certainly not.”
“Is that so?”

At that, the Wet Person began humming contentedly. Thinking back, it was the melody that had flowed during the Aqua Park chase stage. Thanks to that, even the 26-year veteran user’s mood brightened somewhat.

‘It seems to have quite enjoyed hearing that it wasn’t a friend.’

The Wet Person was particularly selective about the contractor’s companions. If it formed contracts simultaneously with other water-related guests, underwater accidents would occur continuously throughout the Hotel for an entire week—such was its possessiveness.

“….”

Even so, there remained something peculiar about the situation.

‘The monster that serves as the subject of this event has no connection to water, does it?’

Then what was that attack just now?

‘Was it merely a reflexive wariness toward an alien presence swimming in its own domain of water?’

In the original event scenario, merely satisfying certain conditions wouldn’t cause a contracted Guest to appear directly. The game simply wasn’t detailed enough for that.

However, the benefits and penalties were meticulously linked. Particularly, if one fell into the water while still contracted with the Wet Person, their phantom would remain visible until I surfaced. Like a crow staring at a corpse.

‘In the game, that is.’

Recalling the situations where penalties had applied before arriving here, I had suspected the benefits in the water would also manifest. Seeing the Wet Person’s phantom was well within the realm of expectation.

‘But this… isn’t that a completely different story?’

Crack—!!

“….”

Crunch, crunch, crunch—!!!

The Wet Person swung an enormous tail, pulverizing grotesquely elongated arms and tangled masses of hair. Those creatures extending from the Water Pipe Hole were unmistakably the masters of this chase.

“That thing.”
“Yes.”
“That thing!”

He faced Lee Yeon-woo with an expression suggesting he couldn’t bear to witness this absurd situation without confiding in his friend. He pointed and asked.

“What is that?”
“A Stalker, sir.”
“We find this truly, absolutely, deeply displeasing.”
“What a coincidence—I feel precisely the same.”
“It keeps pursuing us, acting as though it owns this Water Channel.”
“Continuous pursuit is the essence of a Stalker. You’ve grasped it perfectly.”
“This is most offensive. Such behavior is unacceptable. Do you understand me?”
“I do.”
“Yes, exactly. You’re on my side. You’re my friend.”
“Indeed….”

A complex voice difficult to assign a gender to. Beyond such confusing speech patterns came a resonant humming that reverberated through the mind. A vibration reminiscent of whale song, yet far more menacing.

‘This sound effect didn’t exist in the game either.’

This protective behavior toward the Contractor was equally blatant. Though it seemed less like protection and more like possessiveness—or perhaps the wrath of a superior entity toward an inferior creature attempting to claw its way upward.

‘I thought I’d exchange pleasantries and then step back, but this conversation flows better than expected. In the game, such interaction itself was impossible. If it had been possible to that extent, even a dot-based game would have struggled to run….’

It wasn’t simply because a game had become reality. No, there was something I could sense lurking beneath the surface.

“….”

Lee Yeon-woo parted the water as he spoke.

“…Friend.”
“Yes, friend. My friend.”
“Do you remember me right now?”
“….”

At that question, the Wet Person’s mouth split open grotesquely. Whatever implication lay within that response, eyes brimming with joy narrowed into delicate crescents.

“””I remember you!”””

Wait, hold on.

“My friend, my precious warmth, our sweet blood!”
“….”
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to come to the water. Poor friend, why do you suffer so outside the water? We’ve been waiting for you like this. We are your friends!”
“….”
“Are you angry because I remembered you late? Angry every time I was late? I promise you, it won’t happen again. Never again. We will, we will, all of us will remember you.”
“…Oh.”

This is unexpected.

‘This wasn’t something I’d prepared for.’

It felt like I’d been struck from behind.

I already knew the Wet Person belonged to the meta-aware customer category. So I’d always wondered why, despite recognizing me all this time, they showed no special reaction or penalty.

But now that the game had become reality, emotions beyond mere data seemed to be intertwining.

“I remember you.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“You remember us, don’t you?”
“Of course.”

How could I forget The Guest who shoved me into the bathtub every time I started a new playthrough? A Water Ghost who drowned in water inflicting water torture—that was quite an impressive attitude, after all.

“Why have you been so inconspicuous all this time?”
“Did I need to show myself? You’re already soaked in water—why would I need to appear?”
“….”

That sounded remarkably ominous.

“…May I interpret that as you always being with me?”
“We’re always together! Isn’t that right, friend?”
“I’d like to know exactly where you’ve been with me.”
“Death always clings to your every breath.”
“This is maddening.”

Even with all that needless metaphor, I could decipher the meaning. It was saying it had been clinging to my lungs.

‘No wonder Baek Mu-jin looked at me so strangely.’

That peculiar gaze I’d caught at the Aqua Park must have meant exactly that. I’d wondered where he’d read my Hotel Management approach from, but he’d gleaned it directly from The Guest attached to my body.

How absurd I must have appeared in his eyes.

“What happened to my privacy, friend?”
“Water is always one.”
“But I am water that has taken root outside of water, am I not?”
“Doesn’t it hurt much?”
“Your friend is requesting minimal privacy protection.”
“You’re water too….”
“Nevertheless, I am clearly a separate entity.”
“Let’s go down, down below.”
“I’m busy.”

True to form for a Water Ghost, its whining was no different from a child sprawled across the floor of a Mart. I’d sensed its childish nature even in the game, but experiencing it in reality made the situation considerably worse.

‘At the very least, a child sprawled out in the Mart wouldn’t come rushing at me to drown together in the water.’

But I, Lee Yeon-woo, with my experience in childcare, knew better. These things required drawing firm boundaries.

“Friend, please know that The Human Guest frequents the Aqua Park when no one else is around. I shall visit often to swim. And when my tail grows parched and withered, I will come straight to find you without hesitation.”
“It mustn’t dry out.”
“Will you accept my invitation?”
“…Ah, yes. I’d like that.”

The Wet Person’s eyes widened with laughter. The word “invitation” seemed to please them greatly.

“Your Hotel has always welcomed us.”
“Where else have you visited?”

This was where things became genuinely intriguing.

I now understood that the guests here were far more than mere replicas of game data. The Wet Person was no exception. I found myself curious about how far their reach extended into the outside world.

But the answer that came back was simple. Perhaps it was the answer I had anticipated all along.

“Only in the water.”
“Nowhere else?”
“A cold, deep, dark home.”
“No place that would take you in?”
“No one sees us. No one takes our hand.”
“No one at all?”
“Boatmen sometimes glimpse us, but they flee in terror to the shore.”

The Wet Person’s voice, heard from within the water, was layered and overlapping. The voices of countless drowned souls intermingled, creating a cacophony as if multitudes whispered in unison.

“…Yes.”

After a brief silence, I added my words.

“You must have been terribly lonely.”
“Are you not the same? Are you not lonely?”
“I am not.”

Humans are social creatures. I too required connection.

“But right now, there are more pressing matters, so I simply refrain from acting.”
“The Facility?”
“That’s correct.”

Tangled as things had become, I persisted in the belief that life itself was the gradual unraveling of such knots.

“…Ah,”

Lee Yeon-woo, drifting along while surrendering myself to the current, seized the lever on the wall. Using the recoil, I pulled the lever forward with all my strength.
“Here it is.”

Boom—!!

A massive iron gate descended to block the Water Channel, sending out a heavy tremor.

“….”
“It won’t come here anymore.”
“We’ve sealed it off.”

The creature could not breach the descending isolation shutter. The pursuit had ended here. Since it couldn’t exert its full power in the contaminated Water Channel, there was no need to worry about it breaking through walls and forcing its way in as before.

‘I hope no other unforeseen variables emerge.’

Lee Yeon-woo cleared away the debris obscuring my vision and lifted myself toward the Water Surface.

Or rather, I tried to.

“Where are you going?”
“….”

I nearly shuddered.

“To… work.”
“You’re busy.”

The Water Ghost released my ankle without resistance.

‘What curse has attached itself to my ankle.’

The ligaments in my ankle and sensation had already been damaged in that grip long ago, but I had to be grateful that it was released without further force. I knew well that if I had resisted, this entity would have torn my ankle clean off.

‘What strange experiences I’m having. The Wet Person I remember from the game wasn’t someone who communicated this well with guests, regardless of whether a contract was made….’

Lee Yeon-woo offered a parting greeting.

“I’ll see you later at the Aqua Park.”
“Good, let’s play again.”

It was a farewell far gentler than the blind murderous intent I’d witnessed in the game—remarkably restrained. There, Lee Yeon-woo grasped the reason.

‘Ah, of course.’

It was thanks to the memories from the previous files.

‘It knows I’ll remain a friend even without being held back.’

In other words, it was the result of accumulated data—trust, affection, and the like.

In the game, no matter how many files accumulated, characters moved only according to their fixed algorithms. But reality was different. As memories accumulated, emotions and the very shape of relationships transformed.

‘Thank goodness the memories from when it was a game remain.’

If it had been pure reality, it would have been nearly impossible to convince this assertive Guest to accept the words “acknowledge that I am a separate being and respect my personal circumstances.”

‘This is trust that can only be earned by remaining the same for at least twenty-six years until death. How absurd.’

There are limits to human distrust….

“….”
“…Yes, see you next time.”
“That’s right, friend!”

Dozens of overlapping laughter echoed through the blood-red waters, and then the Wet Person vanished without a trace. Thanks to this, Lee Yeon-woo was able to surface smoothly without obstruction.

“Yes. Yes. Yes.”

Splish splash!!
Coco, having shaken off the water, looked up at Lee Yeon-woo.

“….”
“….”
“…Hello…?”
“…Perhaps….”

Lee Yeon-woo retrieved a blood pack from his inventory and tore it open. He brought it to his lips and drained it in one long pull.

“I feel a bit better.”

Even as I questioned whether this was appropriate, memories surfaced of my days at the Company, perpetually clutching ginseng sticks between my teeth. It seemed that office workers everywhere were creatures obligated to maintain at least one nutritional supplement.

“In any case, thanks to you, I’ve escaped the chase sequence far more smoothly than I expected. It was originally a high-difficulty section where I would have needed to ride the current while evading the creature’s grasp or striking it back with weapons….”
“Yes.”
“Well, something good is still something good.”
“Yes.”

Lee Yeon-woo gazed down at his damp, clinging clothes. The garments themselves were no great concern—they would dry soon enough. Unlike my body, which had become thoroughly ruined, my clothing remained within the jurisdiction of the game system.

‘A few more steps and not even a wet footprint will remain.’

Such was the nature of low-budget game mechanics.

‘Though I must admit the quality is surprisingly high for that.’
“Ting.”
“We’re almost finished.”

As Lee Yeon-woo lifted Coco into his arms, she settled familiarly onto his shoulder.

“Now we head to the final room.”

The Record Room.

The key to the 14th Floor awaits there.

* * *

Countless eyes peering from within the holes that honeycomb the entire chamber.

Between each gap, monitor screens gleamed, their interiors preserving taxidermied fragments of the past.

The blood of victims, screams of anguish, and prayers born of madness….

“….”

All of it blended together to mean the “Central Control Room.”

Lee Yeon-woo approached the center of the room. Upon the table lay a single metal button, unnaturally smooth to the point of seeming alien. The numeral “14” was intricately engraved upon it—the final destination I had sought.

The moment I grasped the button in my hand.

“―Well then….”

Every screen in all directions crackled to life in unison, beginning to focus solely on me. From somewhere distant, the cry of a monster echoed through the Corridor.

“Let us move at once, Coco.”
“Yes!”

They saw me.

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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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