Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 71

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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 71.

Lee Yeon-woo made his way directly to the Operator’s Lodging.

“….”

The moment he arrived at the room, he removed his glasses with a deliberate motion and set them down, then steadied himself against the desk. His eyes, cast downward into the void, lost their direction and moved with languid uncertainty.

“Coco.”
“Yes.”
“I feel quite strange.”
“Yes.”
“This is….”

Lee Yeon-woo lifted his head. He pressed his palm to his forehead, then swept his fingers through his hair. His gaze, as though searching for something lost, swept across the empty air.

“This is rather unfamiliar.”

There was no panic, no self-loathing—no passionate turmoil of that sort. To be precise, the very motivation to be swayed by such emotions had withered away.

“It could become problematic.”
“No.”
“All the ‘righteous deeds’ I have committed thus far were ultimately for my own satisfaction.”

Fulfillment for others, affection for others—such things.

“Now I can no longer feel even that meager reward.”
“Yes.”
“Ah, indeed.”

A laugh escaped him.

“It would have been better if I could call this liberation.”

For the first time since arriving at this Hotel, he displayed a smile—supremely serene and utterly barren.

Where once lay a buffer that breathed shallow warmth into an immature human, there remained only the skeletal remnants of a deep compulsion for control and an obsessive fastidiousness that had been suppressed beneath the surface.

Lee Yeon-woo adjusted his glasses once more, his smile still lingering.

“What remains is only a sense of duty and moral rules. Pretending to be a good person by force would merely make me a hollow-hearted sociopath.”
“Yes.”
“Eventually, I’ll grow weary and resent others. To hope otherwise would be… but even that hope has been consumed entirely now.”

My heart, not my mind, was stained entirely in shades of negativity.

“Under sustained exhaustion, a person cannot endure. I am not that strong. Coco, what do you think?”
“No.”
“Oh, I see. You say no….”

An optimistic answer. Yet it was also proof that Coco viewed Lee Yeon-woo—now stripped of positive emotion—as an “even more suitable administrator.”

Lee Yeon-woo felt the need to verify whether Coco truly grasped the current situation. Blinking, he looked down at Coco.

“Coco.”

The smile evaporated in an instant.

“I asked for your thoughts.”
“….”

Soon, the smile vanished from Coco’s face.

“….”
“….”

The mouth disappeared.

“….”
“…ing.”
“….”
“ing….”

Squeeze, squeeze.

“…Ugh….”

Coco pressed her soft head against my ankle.

The tail that once soared skyward whenever I appeared now hung limp and lifeless. What remained was only a faint tremor before it fell flat against the ground. Drooping ears, rigid movements.

I observed every shift in silence.

‘Quite an odd sensation, this.’

That soft touch I would have once accepted with clumsy affection now felt like nothing more than a foreign object triggering physiological revulsion.

‘The prime suspect who dragged me to this place….’

This version of myself was truly,

how to put it.

“Ah….”

I laughed again regardless.

“―…haha!”

This is the worst.

“Good heavens, I don’t even understand why I’m laughing. What’s so amusing about this? This is certainly a problem. I can’t seem to regain my composure at all.”
“….”
“I apologize, Coco. So please….”

I continued, narrowing my eyes.

“Don’t make that expression. It will get better. I will overcome this.”
“….”
“Goodness, theory and practice are qualitatively different. Even though I thought it was something I had to endure, discontent keeps welling up unexpectedly.”

I diagnosed the present with a mind grown cold.

“Continuing to leave distrust as an unresolved variable in this hypersensitive and unstable state will be a fatal risk to long-term mental management and our partnership.”

He stared directly into Coco’s perfectly round eyes.

“All this time, I haven’t asked you ‘why.’ I haven’t pressed you for the exact circumstances of this calamity. It seemed you were more fearful than I remembered….”
“Hello?”
“I buried my suspicions under the pretense of convenience. I thought I could manage to wait until you were ready to speak the truth yourself, whenever that might be.”
“Hello.”
“But now, I find myself without such luxury.”

He called out to Coco with a smile on his face.

“Coco.”
“No.”
“We need to have the conversation we’ve been putting off.”
“No….”
“Let’s settle this once and for all.”

Lee Yeon-woo asked.

“Five years ago—was it you who drew me into the Facility?”
“No. No. No.”
“Then why did you?”
“I don’t agree.”
“Why?”

We need this conversation, don’t we.

“Why did you do it?”

What was your reason for making me abandon the perfect life I had?

“….”
“….”

Coco, now without a mouth, speaks.

“I hate it.”

A mass of something that had never formed a single ‘cordial relationship’ with anyone. Intense bewilderment and terror swirled within those perfectly circular eyes, strange and flawless.

“I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.”
“Coco.”
“Coco. Refusal. Impossible. Rejected. I hate it.”
“Co-owner.”
“I hate it.”

In that instant.

“””Miserable.”””

Distorted voices layered upon one another, and the small form of the Black Cat wavered and began to collapse.

“■■■■■■■■―!!!!”

The sound that erupted from its gaping maw was no longer that of any living creature.

Like thousands of crows shrieking in unison—a cacophony of discord.

That form, which cast no shadow no matter how bright the illumination, created an illusion as though a vast chasm had torn open in the very fabric of reality. As perspective collapsed and I tried to gauge how distant it was, how immense it truly was, The Caretaker’s ■ was ■■■ ■■ by ■ and ■■■ ■■■.

The skeletal joints protruding gauntly through ■■ were no biological tissue whatsoever. The framework of limbs stretched long like a vengeful spirit’s appendages bore ■■ ■■■ wood■■ like day■■■■. Each time that joint■■ bone structure ■■■ ■moved, ■■ ■struck and ■ foul stench■■ ■■■■.

‘…This is….’

…Eyes, nose, ears—all ambiguous in form.

With each undulation, multiple afterimages flickered within, and inside that mud-like body were crammed masterless keys, shattered glass, and photographs charred by flame.

Assuming the shape of a Black Cat, yet bearing all manner of
misfortune
within it….

“….”

Lee Yeon-woo gazed silently upon it.

The form unable to fix itself into any stable shape oozed downward like tar. The floor and ceiling where the puddle touched, even the light illuminating the space, began to discolor, crumble, and corrode.

An existence that corrupted the world merely by existing.

And before that.

‘…Still immature.’

Lee Yeon-woo could see that he had succumbed to fear, spiraling into panic.

“■■■■―…!!”
“….”
“■■■■■■■!!”
“….”
“■■…!”

His massive frame curled inward, attempting to shield himself. Likely.

“■■■■■….”

Pure negation.

‘Ah.’

Lee Yeon-woo’s brow furrowed slightly. From the uncontrolled Monster emanated a damp, fetid miasma. His near-obsessive aversion triggered an alarm in his mind—a visceral disgust response.

The instinct to flee this repugnant space surged within him.

‘Contamination. It’s similar to what I felt in the Power Generation Room.’

Yet I did not retreat.

“Did I… cause you harm?”
“….”
“Did my impatience make you anxious?”

I took another step forward.

“Answer me.”

An immature being could not bear the truth, and hasty interrogation would corner the other into desperation. Lee Yeon-woo advanced another step, continuing.

“It would be immoral to reject someone offering kindness simply because my condition is abnormal. It’s equally wrong to unilaterally pressure someone who lacks the capacity to resist.”
“….”
“I understand. I asked something unreasonable of you. I apologize.”

He suppressed the rising revulsion with shallow breaths, forcing down the rampaging compulsion through sheer reason.

“I’m sorry.”

My judgment was wrong.

“Your current state is my responsibility.”
“…The Caretaker….”

No.

Coco, having spoken those words, began backing away. Yet with that bloated frame, there was nowhere to flee. Lee Yeon-woo approached the melting, undulating black monster slowly.

‘Attachment may have evaporated, but the logical justification for maintaining this relationship remains clear.’

Then he extended both arms and quietly embraced that form.

“….”
“….”

A squishy, nauseating sensation.

‘This is dreadful.’

The moment contact was made, a revulsion as if skin were being flayed spread across his entire body. The screech of ravens echoing through his ribcage, the crawling sensation of insects ascending his frame.

Yet Lee Yeon-woo’s face remained utterly composed.

“I won’t ask further.”
“….”
“So please, calm yourself.”
“….”
“There are times when this happens.”

Though there was no affection in the hand patting his back, there was a stability that came from unwavering principle.

“Sometimes a secret left buried is better than a truth laid bare.”
“Yes.”
“It fortifies relationships and builds trust on stable ground. I haven’t known you long, but this is what I’ve learned.”

One could not live with everything exposed.

“If this subject is such a domain for you, then so be it. Let’s leave it at that.”

I would let you bury it as much as you wished.

Beyond something viscous and dripping, I felt the skeletal frame—gaunt and brittle. Lee Yeon-woo suppressed an inward sigh. I had always wondered why it seemed so fond of food.

Perhaps because even if that wasn’t the intention, “pity” fell into the category of “negative emotion.”

“….”
“….”

Lee Yeon-woo pulled him closer into the embrace.

“You’re making it impossible for a person to speak. What is this….”
“No.”
“Instead, I may become more sensitive and far more terrible. Despite my efforts, I might grow more childish than I am now.”
“That’s fine.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good thing.”

The form trembling with turbulence in my arms steadied, and that indescribable, grotesque cry fell silent. The massive body hesitated for a moment before carefully lowering its head.

Then it gently settled upon Lee Yeon-woo’s shoulder.

“…There’s not much difference after all….”

It was not heavy.

I might not be able to cherish it as I once did. Even now, Lee Yeon-woo remained somewhat stiff, enduring a physiological revulsion. Yet despite this, I wanted to convey something.

‘I’m not running away.’

Not disappointed, not abandoning you. Unlike what you fear.

“….”
“…Yes.”

The colossal form shrank with a sluggish, laborious motion.

“Yes. Yeon-woo.”
“Understood.”
“Yeon-woo. Guarantee.”
“You comprehend well.”
“I understand.”

Coco, now returned to the form of a small cat that could fit snugly in my arms, posed a question.

“How do you do?”
“Yes, I am well.”

Lee Yeon-woo’s eyes widened in a circular motion.

He gazed down at Coco, now docile at his feet, and with compulsive precision adjusted the wrinkled collar of his shirt. Deliberately suppressing the sensation of his stomach turning, he straightened his glasses.

Then he extended his hand and cradled Coco.

“Excellent work, Coco.”

Where positive emotion had been torn away, only a parched sense of obligation remained—yet that was no reason to fracture their bond or friendship.

“Of course, to achieve that, it would be better to escape this state as swiftly as possible. At this rate, I may soon reveal every unseemly aspect of myself to my feline mentor.”
“I concur.”
“Then, we must recover as quickly as we can, mustn’t we?”

His head remained pressed to the ground, yet he responded with the clarity of diction that had always defined him.

“Yes.”
“A sound judgment, Coco.”
“Yes.”
“Good.”

It did not purr and roll about as it usually did, nor did it leap onto his shoulder with sprightly grace. It merely burrowed slightly deeper into his embrace, as though it wished to be held in the palm of his hand.

Lee Yeon-woo could feel nothing there except revulsion.

‘In a way, it’s convenient.’

So then,

‘I need to resolve this quickly.’

I was truly exhausted.

“….”

The truth was.

My heart still hammered wildly, and my hands trembled faintly.

The smile stretching my lips twisted, and I felt as though I couldn’t breathe. Cold sweat trickled down as waves of dread and anxiety crashed over me. My face must have turned ashen.

‘Damn it….’

I laughed compulsively. The corners of my mouth felt stiff.

I swallowed the curses rising in my throat. I held back the sigh that filled my lungs. I no longer felt the necessity for it, but I still knew I shouldn’t, so I refrained.

The soggy sensation was revolting.

“….”
“….”

With trembling hands, I patted Coco and murmured softly.

“It’s okay.”
“….”
“I can’t let myself fall apart like this.”

I assessed the reaction. The Tasteless Guest was not an impregnable Stone Walls. If there were no gaps, I would create them. Wasn’t it the role of people like me to turn the impossible into the possible?

“…I can’t let myself crumble like this….”

If I’m to fall into a bed of thorns, if I’m to roll through mud, then we should share the burden equally.

“….”
“….”
“…I must be losing my mind.”

Self-loathing washed over me.

“How utterly childish.”

I needed to rest for a moment.

To treat people as people once more.

* * *

When cornered, the mind conjures every conceivable thought. Driven to this extremity, I had no luxury for dignity or restraint.

“….”

That day, as I wandered through the Hotel, I discovered an item.

[Noble Mercy]
[To pursue a fleeing beast for long is beneath dignity. When its breath grows ragged, the Nobility draws near and severs it. Whose blood is it? Does it belong to the one who wields the blade, or to the one who is cut?]

“….”

[Critical hit on targets with HP 20% or below (damage reduced if HP condition unmet)]
[Inflicts temporary status abnormality ‘Excessive Bleeding’ on attack]
[Triggers ‘Agitation’ judgment on adjacent targets upon use]

“So it was here.”

Living long enough, you end up doing the strangest things.

‘Truth be told, I’m not confident about this.’

Deceiving someone was never pleasant, and in a situation like this, success was far from guaranteed. For someone who despised uncertain futures, nothing could be more troubling—and yet….

‘But I can’t stake my future on a gamble whose very possibility remains unconfirmed.’

My opponent was far too cunning—I couldn’t tell whether I’d been playing this well at all. I had to see just how far this possibility could extend, one way or another.

Beyond my gaze fixed on the hunting dagger, a flash of white fabric brushed past.

“But I’m still uncertain, I’m afraid.”

Should I practice, then?

The thought crossed my mind, but no matter how I considered it, mere pretense wouldn’t suffice. Lee Yeon-woo, who had been examining the finely honed dagger, finally tucked it into his coat and exhaled softly.

My murky future—well, let that be what it is.

“You seem bored.”
“….”
“…Shall we cook something together?”

When I called her a ‘friend’.

I thought I heard a rich, luminous laugh.

—————
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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