Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 9

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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 9.

The Young Man naturally guided them to the Front Desk. As he took his position behind the counter and straightened his posture, the very air seemed to settle into order.

“How may I assist you?”

The Director burst into laughter at the absurdity of it all.

“You’re asking again?”
“It’s an occupational habit. When I stand in my designated place, the prescribed words simply emerge on their own.”
“Ah… right, those things do slip out sometimes. That’s what happens when you get older, I guess.”

Lee Sun-hae, who often found filming terminology bleeding into her everyday speech, immediately grasped his meaning. It was a trait shared among those whose professional language had become so deeply ingrained it bled into their personal lives.

“We’re looking to book accommodation.”
“May I inquire how many days you’re planning to stay?”
“Well, let me think… just a moment….”

The Director turned to glance at his companions behind him.

“How many days was our location scout supposed to take again?”
“If you’re referring to the guesthouse, we had a week reserved.”

The Director looked back at the Young Man.

“We need to stay for a week. Is that possible?”
“Of course. Is there a particular floor or location you’d prefer?”
“No, nothing like that. If anything, maybe a higher floor? The view would be better, I’d think.”
“Understood. I’ll do my best to accommodate your preferences when assigning your rooms.”

He handed over a classic room key with a rectangular key tag. The substantial weight settling into her palm felt unfamiliar, yet the Director found it oddly intriguing.

‘It all feels so unreal, in a way.’

Like watching a movie prop come to life….

“I’ll escort you to the 21st Floor.”
“Oh, that’s quite high up.”
“However, our Hotel operates exclusively with double occupancy rooms. Would it be acceptable if we assign you to adjacent rooms 1 and 2?”
“Ah, yes. That’s fine.”
“Thank you. Before check-in, I’ll brief you on a few important guidelines.”

A polished explanation flowed forth.

“As mentioned earlier, the Facility is currently in a trial operation period, so there may be some shortcomings in our overall services. While guest room usage itself shouldn’t present major inconveniences, access to certain common facilities is restricted.”

Hong, who had been listening quietly, ventured a careful question.

“Then, what about meals?”
“We apologize for the inconvenience. Most of our current guests came prepared after understanding the trial operation situation in advance, having brought their own provisions.”
“Does that mean… we need to arrange our own meals?”
“We regret this exceptional circumstance. Would it be acceptable if we confirm what conveniences we can provide on our end and inform you afterward?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Thank you for your understanding. We’ll do our best to minimize any inconvenience.”

The Staff Members watching from behind murmured softly among themselves.

“This place looks really expensive….”
“Don’t worry about it, you guys. I’ll cover everything.”
“We love you, Director.”
“When else am I going to get to show off my money?”

The Director pulled out his card.

“Please process the payment. How much is it?”
“….”
“…Excuse me?”
“We won’t be charging a lodging fee.”
“I’m sorry?”
“We’re currently in trial operation.”

Watching the young man’s eyes crescent into crescents of delight, Director Lee Sun-hae, who had encountered numerous celebrities over the years, found herself reflecting.

‘He really knows how to use his body well.’

In their industry, “using one’s body well” had nothing to do with athletic prowess or posture. It meant mastering the angle of a smile, the tilt of one’s head, the precise duration of a lingering gaze.

‘It was knowing exactly how to smile to appear most favorable.’

I continued to notice it—she was remarkably skilled at smiling.

“It would be unreasonable for me to demand payment when I cannot provide services beyond guest room accommodations.”
“…Oh, is that so?”
“However, if you could share any inconveniences you experienced during your stay, that would be invaluable feedback for us.”

The Director surveyed the guests in the Lobby.

“But wouldn’t the other guests complain about fairness issues?”
“The guests currently staying at this Hotel are already aware of what kind of establishment this is.”
“What kind of establishment?”
“One that doesn’t operate service facilities and provides meals only in the most limited capacity. I sincerely apologize for not informing you of this beforehand.”
“No, there’s nothing to apologize for. We’re the ones who should—”
“Since there was an oversight on our part, this level of accommodation is well within my discretionary authority.”
“…If you put it that way, I suppose I have no choice.”

I was curious about the caliber of this place, but when someone spoke with such conviction, it felt wrong to push back.

‘Haven’t they finalized the exact costs yet?’

If it was a trial operation, that would make sense.

‘If not that, then…’

As I was pondering this, the Young Man continued smoothly.

“We’ll transport your luggage to your guest room.”
“Oh, it’s in the car right now.”

The Young Man glanced over the Staff Members standing beside her, then smiled again at Lee Sun-hae, the Director.

“If you simply open the car door, our staff will handle moving the necessary items inside.”
“My luggage is all mixed together though.”
“If you’re concerned about exposing personal items, we can have you sort through and select only what you’d like brought inside.”
“Ah, I’ll do it that way then.”

The group had brought luggage and suitcases from the car, packed for a week-long survey.

As they dragged their belongings into the Hotel Lobby, the waiting Staff Members approached silently.

“Our staff will handle transporting everything to your Guest Rooms.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s naturally our responsibility.”
“Hmm, is there anything else I should know about?”
“Anything else…what do you mean?”
“You’re in a trial operation phase. There must be precautions to take. Beyond just not being able to use the service facilities.”
“….”

Rather than answering immediately, the Young Man extended his hand and politely gestured toward the Elevator.

“…I hope you won’t forget what I mentioned earlier.”

The Director watched the Young Man. “I hope”—that phrasing didn’t suit him, despite their brief encounter. He had maintained a thoroughly professional demeanor throughout.

But that was clearly a personal warning.

“…Is there anything else?”
“Because of the rain, the 7th Floor Guest Rooms are currently quite full with guests.”
“Because of the rain?”
“There are guests who have a particular preference for rainy days.”
“I see, but….”
“If you need anything further or have any questions, please contact the Front Desk. We’ll respond immediately.”
“Ah, yes.”
“I hope you have a peaceful stay.”

Natural intonation. Yet an unnatural flow. The Young Man skillfully commanded the atmosphere through his posture and tone.

The group watched the Manager’s receding figure for a long moment.

“….”

…It felt strangely unreal.

“…Director, what about our dinner?”
“Ah, I should have asked about that.”

I said as much, but my body felt heavy. Driving through the downpour was no simple task.

‘It hasn’t been long since I promised to look into the meal arrangements.’

Asking now wouldn’t yield any new answers.

“Should we head up and organize our luggage first?”
“Yes, let’s go up.”
“A key instead of a card—isn’t that really unusual?”
“It’s rare to see in a hotel of this caliber.”

Most places use cards.

“Some kind of concept, maybe?”
“It does have a classical atmosphere.”
“Exactly.”

The Elevator arrived in the meantime.

Without a whisper of friction, the golden doors slid open smoothly.

“This is quite an unusual hotel.”

* * *

“Wow, unbelievable.”

The moment Lee Sun-hae opened the door, the Director let out an exclamation.

“Did we get assigned a suite room?”
“At this level… isn’t this just a house?”
“Honestly, it seems better than our actual home.”

The Staff Member, who had recently succeeded in purchasing a home through maximum leverage, added bitterly.

“It looks like it’s easily over 1,000 square feet.”
“What kind of hotel room size is this….”
“It seems like a suite room?”
“But you said this place only has a hundred-something Guest Rooms.”
“135.”
“You said each room is spacious, so aren’t they all like this?”
“Geez, then who would come here? It must be incredibly expensive….”

The Director’s expression grew subtle at the Staff Members’ chatter.

“Director?”
“Oh, well. I didn’t mention it earlier.”
“What is it? Why are you like that?”
“The lounge table in the Hotel Lobby is a brand.”
“What brand?”
“…An expensive one.”

The Writer asked.

“Do you know the name?”
“Listen closely.”

Upon hearing the name, the Writer was taken aback.

“…Why is something like that in the Hotel Lobby?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“It must have gotten soaked by rainwater.”
“We blocked it off with towels, so it should be fine.”
“No, seriously, why is that in the Lobby….”
“Let’s just look around the Guest Rooms first.”

The group began surveying the interior of the Guest Rooms with noticeably more careful steps. The bedroom, bathroom, and toilet were furnished as standard, and beyond that, unfamiliar spaces unfolded.

“…What is this place?”
“Maybe an office?”
“Why would a hotel have an office?”
“Suites typically have them.”

One office, and one dining room.

“What is this now?”
“A dining area…?”

One Reception Room.

“What’s this space supposed to be used for?”
“Just call it a living room.”
“What do you mean by ‘call it’ a living room?”
“It’s just a living room.”
“Ah, I see….”

The group exchanged glances with one another.

“We were actually allowed to take this room, right?”
“I’m starting to wonder if we’re going to get dragged away on a boat while we sleep.”
“At this point, I’d accept having my organs harvested.”
“Accept? What are you accepting, you people?”
“Director, Director. We’ll just pay extra. I’ll chip in too.”
“Me as well.”
“My heart feels incredibly heavy right now.”
“Now you’re starting to get suspicious? How late.”
“I’ve been suspicious since the Lobby.”
“The Writer seems to be quite fearful when you look at him.”
“Please call it being cautious.”

The Staff Members, who had been chattering away, finally got down to business.

“So how should we divide the rooms? Three women and one man.”
“There are two beds, so we’ll just split them in pairs. Hong and I will take one, and you all can sleep together.”
“We don’t mind… but are you sure you’re comfortable with that, Writer?”
“…Yes, well… we were planning to all sleep together at the Guesthouse anyway….”

With the rooms being separate, it was actually a stroke of luck. Far more comfortable than the Guesthouse. Of course it was. It practically rivaled a suite room.

After finishing the room assignments and unpacking.

“Hey.”

The Director called out to the Writer.

“Hong, let’s talk for a moment.”
“I was wondering when you’d bring this up. Did you discover something?”
“The way you say it makes this feel like some kind of undercover investigation.”
“To be honest, I’m feeling something similar.”

The two of us sank deep into the reception room sofa.

“Based on my speculation… it seems like a Membership Hotel.”
“A Membership Hotel…?”

Hong was genuinely committed to research. He grasped the meaning immediately.

“Do places like that usually exist in remote areas? Especially in Gapyeong?”
“They’re surprisingly common in sparsely populated regions.”

The world contains spaces with undisclosed names and locations. Thoroughly private hotels where even unlimited wealth cannot grant entry without a recommendation from an existing member.

“Places like that typically operate on a membership or invitation-only basis.”
“…That’s not really my area of expertise, so I don’t know much about it.”
“It’s not a setting that appears often in our genre anyway.”

The Director recalled what happened earlier.

“You saw the Lobby staff, right? Not to mention the Manager who showed us around. They were all remarkably attractive. And the service quality was exceptional.”
“Yes, well, that was certainly the case.”
“There are places like that—facilities created for exclusive use, not shared with others.”
“By ‘others,’ do you mean ordinary people?”
“Exactly. Or maybe they just built it as a hobby.”
“Who builds a hotel as a hobby?”
“If money is overflowing, it’s possible. I suspect this place is one of those.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“Still, this place doesn’t seem to be quite that strict….”
“It seems strict enough.”
“No, they accepted us even though we’re not members. The Manager said it was at his discretion. And entry wasn’t that difficult.”

Deep in the mountain—a place we would never have reached if we hadn’t lost our way. Paradoxically, it’s a place one could stumble upon only by getting lost.

“Usually, places like this either hide their entrances entirely or block them off.”
“…It doesn’t feel like we’ve come somewhere we shouldn’t be—at least not in the way I was thinking before.”
“But the Manager said it himself, didn’t he? That as the operator, he has no problem with it, so who would lodge a complaint? Even if we call him the owner of this Hotel, it wouldn’t be strange.”
“For an owner, he certainly exudes confidence.”
“Guests who come to a Hotel like this are all rather exceptional, and he was saying he could silence their complaints. That’s why I thought it might be a hobby.”
“No matter how I think about it, it feels like we’ve come somewhere we shouldn’t be.”
“At minimum, he’s someone wielding authority beyond that of an owner. This place wasn’t built to make money—it was built for something else. And considering he’s not overly strict about security….”
“It’s a hobby?”
“There’s a possibility of that, I’d say?”

There were still strange things about all this.

“I still can’t figure out why someone like that would work as a Hotel General Manager. It could genuinely be a hobby, but he provides service far too skillfully for that.”

She added further.

“The man smiles very well.”

It wasn’t simply a matter of being “kind” or “smiling often.”

Most people don’t know which muscles they use when they smile, or how far their lips curl. But that was unmistakably the smile of someone who knew “exactly how they needed to appear to be most valuable.”

“Even among actors who do nothing but eat and perform, there are those who don’t understand how they appear on camera.”
“So what you’re saying, Director, is….”
“He’s probably not just some wealthy idler. Can you really imagine someone who controls his body that precisely having no purpose, buried away in some remote corner like this?”
“….”
“Why are you silent?”
“It feels like we’ve come somewhere we shouldn’t be.”
“Are you frightened? How many times have you said that now? It’s the same world where everyone lives—where could there possibly be a place you can’t go?”
“It just feels like a different world.”
“When you say things like that, I feel terribly alone.”
“I sometimes feel a distance between us too, Director.”
“We can’t work together on art if we keep our distance like that, Hong.”

The Writer groaned.

“Do you visit places like this often?”
“Not often, maybe once or twice?”
“Even that sounds like a lot to me.”
“But that place was far more strict than here.”
“The word ‘strict’ keeps coming up.”
“More importantly, it wasn’t even in Korea—it was overseas. And I only went there following my uncle when I was young. That was it. I wasn’t even a member of that place.”
“What about now?”
“Of course not now either. Do you know how much monthly membership fees cost for a place like that? If I had that kind of money, I’d be making films, not wasting it on membership.”
“That may be true, but… something feels off about this.”

The Director shrugged.

“It is unusual. Normally, places like this operate as resorts rather than hotels. Or they only allow long-term stays, or you rent an entire floor, or there’s a dedicated chef and manager…”
“You keep talking about a different world.”
“Compared to those places, I’d say this is quite relaxed.”
“I still thought this was luxurious enough.”
“But when you think about it this way, something does seem odd.”
“Everything seems odd to me.”
“No, listen.”

The Director tapped the table.

“The Hotel General Manager said something in the lobby. Remember what he said earlier?”
“…That the guests here tend to be difficult?”
“The service is so perfect, yet the Hotel General Manager openly criticized the guests.”
“He could just be that kind of person.”
“If he were that kind of person, he would’ve shown it all along. But except for that one time when it was just us, he hasn’t brought up anything similar. And he’s the owner sitting at the top of the guest hierarchy.”
“Now that you mention it, why is the owner taking on the role of Hotel General Manager? This is such a large hotel, not some small guesthouse. Wouldn’t the scale be too much for one person to handle?”
“In other words, there must be a reason why he has to.”
“That this person must manage the hotel personally?”
“So I’m thinking—the hotel itself isn’t what’s important here.”

The hotel itself didn’t seem to be the main focus.

“The guests, or the Facility itself—that’s what matters.”
“…”

The Writer’s expression darkened.

“Isn’t the guest the main focus for a hotel of this caliber?”
“The hotels I mentioned earlier—the hotel itself is what matters. Those distinguished guests find their way there naturally. In other words, people who suit a particular type of hotel gather there.”
“Then what about this place?”
“What if you thought about it the other way around?”
“A hotel for the guests?”
“A hotel was built to suit a particular type of guest.”
“And the Hotel General Manager described that particular guest as ‘difficult.'”

The Director folded his arms, lost in thought.

“When we said we’d be staying here, there was no sign of welcome. Someone that skilled at managing their expression wouldn’t have shown that much if they weren’t essentially asking us to understand.”
“Then couldn’t they just turn us away?”
“There must be a reason they can’t. But it didn’t seem like it was out of fear of receiving a bad evaluation from us, at least.”
“Being the owner of a hotel like this, that would make sense. So was the Director genuinely concerned about us because the guests here are so difficult?”
“It might not have been just casual talk.”

The facilities the Director had mentioned were typically located overseas. Korean land is too cramped to maintain that level of privacy. Building domestically might have made it this “free” in nature.

“But why go to such lengths to build it domestically at all?”

Simply to keep it nearby for enjoyment? Yet the location is deep in the mountains. Helicopters and private aircraft are difficult on unpaved roads.

“If the goal was to create a plausible accommodation within Korea, they wouldn’t have built it in a place like this.”

Setting aside the road conditions, at minimum they should have kept the airway open. The standard approach would be to clear the surrounding trees and secure a helicopter landing pad.

“But the building and forest are nearly touching, and there’s a walking garden on the rooftop, they said. That means there’s no space to land a helicopter. The only route is that rough unpaved road.”

Of course, there might be secret passages she didn’t know about, but based on the visible conditions alone, this place was a space that had chosen isolation.

“Then what is this place really for? It’s almost as if the purpose is to hide something….”
“…Wouldn’t the entrance be too openly exposed for something like that?”

The Writer countered.

“People like us could easily wander in by mistake, yet there wasn’t a single barrier in place. If security were truly thorough, they would’ve at least put up iron gates to mark it as private property.”
“Right? They could’ve put up gates and called it private land. But there’s nothing like that—just a clear path. Even though it’s an Unpaved Road, the security really isn’t that strict.”
“If this were a space meant to hide something, they would’ve secured it far more carefully.”
“Or maybe letting outsiders in is part of the purpose? It fits their intention, so they deliberately left it open.”
“Perhaps they wanted to promote it to those few outsiders who do find their way here? Word of mouth is how any business survives, after all. Hobby or not.”
“For something like that, it seemed too passive… Their reaction was almost like they wanted us to leave….”

At the Director’s murmur, the Writer’s expression hardened with resolve.

“Should we leave?”
“At this hour?”
“That’s exactly why we should go now.”
“Why not? It’s interesting.”
“I don’t risk my life for entertainment.”
“Come on, it’s just speculation. I’m just throwing it out there for fun. We curse at the government when it’s just us—this is barely the level of ghost stories people swap during orientation.”
“I still don’t like it. It’s already scary enough without ghost stories on top of everything else.”
“Hong is just too timid, isn’t he?”

Lee Sun-hae laughed and waved it off playfully.

The Hotel General Manager had clearly been favorable toward them. The private warning he’d given, even while seeming bound by his role, proved it. As long as he was here, there would be no real danger.

‘Probably.’

So as long as we were careful on our end, it would be fine.

“Still, aren’t you curious? This kind of thing could be great inspiration for your work.”
“….”
“You’re not denying it.”

See?

Green and blue are the same color.

* * *

“…Why.”
“Hello?”
“Why couldn’t I say a single word asking him to leave when I have a perfectly functioning mouth.”
“Yes.”
“What kind of person is he?”
“…Yes, no, yes….”
“What kind of person is he.”

Lee Yeon-woo, who had nearly died from a spike in blood pressure, ground his teeth.

“Not only kidnapping and confinement, but turning me into such a despicable criminal.”

I couldn’t forgive it.

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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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