Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 95

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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 95.

Lee Yeon-woo had never considered himself particularly charismatic.

What he had learned from his experience with Director Lee Sun-hae was this: allowing others to develop premature debt or intimacy toward him was an extraordinarily dangerous element within the Facility. It clouded judgment.

‘Excessive trust will only cloud those students’ decision-making.’
[Yes!]
‘And I have no desire for my information to spread through some unknown society I know nothing of. Therefore, maintaining a strictly professional distance and finding the entrance as quickly as possible to send them out is the rational approach.’
[Hello?]
‘Fortunately, the Wet Person seems willing to cooperate with my terms.’

When their eyes met, I read a clear message: ‘I find this genuinely absurd and irritating, but I’ll tolerate it for now.’ This gave me some assurance that my safety and that of the two students could be maintained.

“….”
“….”

…Perhaps not.

“…Your patience appears shorter than anticipated.”

Lee Yeon-woo looked down at the Girl in Raincoat—the Wet Person—who had drawn close enough to nearly touch his face, raising an eyebrow.

“I can see you’re thoroughly sulking.”
“….”

The pallid girl’s hand slowly lifted a cold kitchen knife.

“Really now?”

Watching her pouting face and the deliberate, unhurried movements—as if she wouldn’t be satisfied until blood was spilled—Lee Yeon-woo clicked his tongue softly.

‘This is less murderous intent and more like a petulant seven-year-old throwing a tantrum.’

The Water Ghost’s characteristic emotional deprivation and sadism had twisted into this warped form of expression.

‘It’s all the more pronounced because the form I’m wearing today is that of a minor.’

Well then. Lee Yeon-woo willingly spread his arms wide, adopting the weary disposition of a guardian forced to absorb the tantrum of a petulant Water Ghost wielding a weapon—barehanded.

“….”

Go ahead. Stab me.

‘If I ignore that temperament right now and a blade ends up grazing the children behind me, cleaning up that mess would be twice as difficult.’
[No?]
‘Lost blood can be replenished, that’s all.’

This was no time to calculate cost-effectiveness.

‘Rather than let them witness me in a sorry state, the most certain and economical solution is to take a few holes in this body. It’s not difficult at that level.’

Though I wasn’t the one who dragged them into the Facility, having decided to let them leave alive, I owed them this blood. Responsibility was always such an exhausting thing.

‘They must know they can’t handle their own temperament. What can I do about it?’
[Water Ghost. Temperament. Bad.]
‘Save the gossip about clients for after work, Coco. Though personally, that’s a very fair assessment.’
[Coco. Guarantee.]
‘There’s no need to guarantee what every staff member already knows.’

And yet, the restraint shown even now was the effect of ‘friendship’.

‘But if I only rely on this, I can’t know how long that resentment will last. That’s what the water attribution contract we made at the Aqua Park was all about.’

The mark of friendship. The price of trust.

‘And I tried to distance myself from it….’
[…? No?]
‘From their perspective, that’s what it looks like.’
[Understood.]

So I could understand why the Wet Person felt such betrayal.

‘People who have only one friend tend to be like that.’

But that’s beside the point.

“I’m warning you in advance—I won’t tolerate fatal wounds. I trust you won’t do something so foolish as to destroy your only friendship in a fit of rage and then whine about loneliness later.”
“….”
“Unlucky?”

The Girl’s mouth split into a grotesque smile, and without hesitation, she drove the blade forward like a child splitting open a cherished doll to examine its insides.

The cool sensation of fabric tearing, skin parting.

‘So cold.’

Even as that chill washed over him, he didn’t furrow his brow once. Instead, his bloodless lips parted to speak dryly.

“How unfortunate.”

The affection of a madman.

Even as blood sprayed, Lee Yeon-woo kept his arms open and quietly embraced this small killer, his face etched with a faint exhaustion.

[Hello?]
‘Yes.’

As always, it was something I could do.

* * *

With a dull thud,
Seme pushed himself upright.

“….”
“…Seme, senior?”
“No, wait.”
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s just….”

It was then that Seme, his face drained of all color, began to move.

“You were awake.”
“….”

Lee Yeon-woo entered through the shattered door.

“….”

Seme’s eyes swept over Lee Yeon-woo hastily.

“…Just now, that….”
“Is there a problem?”
“Surely just before….”

Seme, about to say something, bit down on his lip instead.

“No.”

He added slowly.

“It must have been my imagination.”
“I see.”

Rawi’s eyes rolled, observing Seme’s crumpled expression—as if he’d suffered a nightmare—and the cold sweat beading on his skin. His gaze caught on Lee Yeon-woo’s coat.

The fabric along the side was torn.

‘…It should have been intact just moments ago?’

But in an instant, the hole in the coat sealed itself as if healing.

As if it were alive.

“….”

Rawi’s gaze swept across Lee Yeon-woo’s face. It was pale and composed, no different from before. He could find no obvious signs of anything amiss.

And that very fact created a sense of wrongness.

‘If nothing had truly happened, our senior wouldn’t have reacted that way.’

He was a water-attribute mage, and thus shone all the brighter within this Water Mist.

“….”
“Have you rested sufficiently?”
“Yes, well. Thanks to you.”

Rawi shrugged.

“Does Senior Lee Yeon-woo not need rest?”
“I suppose not.”

Lee Yeon-woo continued in a measured tone.

“Standing outside a door and breathing in damp mist hardly qualifies as something requiring rest.”
“I see….”

Though that didn’t seem quite right.

‘His condition looks a bit worse than before, doesn’t it?’

Rawi’s gaze swept across Seme’s face, but he simply laughed it off. What could he say when the man himself denied it? Better to behave well while being treated kindly.

Lee Yeon-woo, who had confirmed it, continued speaking.

“Once you’re in a condition to move, we’ll proceed to find the exit.”
“By exit, you mean….”
“I intend to send you back to where you came from. I’ve determined it’s better to choose a safer method, however vague, rather than risk the Elevator.”
“Hmm….”

Rawi glanced at Seme and asked.

“A safe method?”

To that question, Lee Yeon-woo answered in a composed tone.

“Of course.”
“I see.”
“You won’t come to harm.”

Rawi couldn’t help but ask.

“What about Lee Yeon-woo? Are you certain you won’t be hurt?”

Lee Yeon-woo turned to look at Rawi and countered the question.

“Would you prefer if I were?”
“Don’t joke like that.”
“It’s fortunate you still have the capacity to worry about others.”

He adjusted his gloves as he spoke.

“No matter what I do, I’m unlikely to die from it, so there’s no need for concern.”
“My goodness.”
“I’ll look after myself, so the two of you should focus on your own safety.”
“How reassuring~”
“Then follow me.”

Faced with such an indifferent and composed demeanor, Rawi didn’t press further.

‘Someone with that level of ability wouldn’t fear injury, after all.’

In the first place, it was questionable whether he could even sustain injuries. In every way, he seemed to have transcended the point of fearing wounds or pain itself.

Yet something felt off.

‘No matter how I look at it, something feels strange.’

It was something he noticed belatedly.

…There was the scent of blood emanating from him.

* * *

“The Rocky Shore.”
“Yes, if we go that way….”
“We should search from where the Shipwreck is located.”

Answering Seme’s words, Lee Yeon-woo observed the complexions of the two.

‘I told them to rest well and even stood guard, yet their faces look like they’ve seen a corpse.’

Why was that? Lee Yeon-woo ignored the lingering discomfort in his abdomen and arrived at a dry conclusion.

‘I wiped away the blood stains, but I couldn’t completely mask the scent of blood. In this damp mist, their stomachs must be quite unsettled.’
[Yes.]

Lee Yeon-woo had no intention of squeezing out false emotions to make excuses. He simply attributed the children’s fear to the scent of blood he’d shed and the killing intent of the Water Ghost lingering outside the door.

They’d called themselves ‘mercenaries’ with their own mouths, so they should possess the senses to detect such things.

‘Then this reaction makes sense.’
[Why?]
‘Your vocabulary is quite refined.’

Lee Yeon-woo explained with genuine pleasure.

‘Most people would be frightened if a stranger offering to guide them reeked of blood.’

He deliberately didn’t mention that the Wet Person had come right up to his face and brandished a blade. How could he explain that he’d taken a knife strike while indulging an adolescent Water Ghost’s tantrum?

‘I don’t want to create a situation that would hamper these students’ mobility.’

Explaining that would require starting with his relationship with the Wet Person, and then revealing how childishly they’d bickered back and forth.

‘Just because one’s body has regressed doesn’t mean the mind should too. I’m concerned about that. At the time, I thought accepting the blow was the wise response, but I never imagined it would actually hurt the Wet Person’s feelings….’
[Hello?]
‘There’s no need to worry too much. Even if feelings were hurt, it’s merely what you’d call pouting or mischief… at least not as angry as before, so we’re actually in safer territory.’
[Hello!]
‘Yes, fortunately.’

Lee Yeon-woo’s willingness to take the blade had borne fruit. The Wet Person seemed grateful that Lee Yeon-woo had accepted their anger, and equally embarrassed by it.

Though it seemed the anger hadn’t fully dissipated yet.

‘Still, as long as we continue bickering at a reasonable pace, they’ll follow my lead….’

They understood it too. That venting frustration on Lee Yeon-woo, a friend who accepted whatever came their way, was less costly than tormenting or killing these students.

After all, Lee Yeon-woo wouldn’t want to fall into a cold war with himself either.

‘So even if he throws another tantrum, those two shouldn’t come to any harm.’
[Ugh.]
‘Coco, stop.’

I couldn’t say how long the Water Ghost’s patience would hold out.

“….”
“Ah, it’s over there.”
“Is that the shipwreck?”
“Yes, we came through there and entered toward the Harbor.”
“I see.”

Following Seme’s guidance, Lee Yeon-woo swept his gaze across the surroundings.

‘…Since the Wet Person came up in conversation, I’ll mention it—but it feels a bit different from when I came before. What’s your take on it, Coco?’
[Yes!]
‘So it has changed after all.’

Back then it was merely a Hunting Ground, but now—whether from the Wet Person’s influence or not—I could feel that distinctive damp aura characteristic of Water Ghosts emanating from every corner. It seemed their attack patterns had shifted somewhat as well.

‘It’s like a horror film.’

Yes, that was precisely the sensation.

‘Has this place caught the Wet Person’s fancy? Or perhaps he’s done something to it—designated it as a secondary habitat or something. If that’s the case, would the Aqua Park be affected as well?’
[Huh? Yes.]
‘So even you don’t know much about this, Coco. Understood—I can ask you about it privately later and get answers. But by then, his mood will need to have improved.’
[No?]
‘I share that sentiment. That friend isn’t exactly the good-natured type. But I’d prefer he didn’t torment those young students who are already frightened out of their wits.’

With Director Lee Sun-hae, it had seemed like a matter between adults. But this is an adult versus minors—a situation I’d find troubling, and one that might even make the Wet Person seem pathetic if I witnessed it.

‘But surely he understands that much himself?’

How contemptible it is for an adult to torment children?

“Hello?”
‘…Hmm….’

Coco’s point held merit.

‘I should prepare for the possibility that we might not find the Entrance after all.’
“Hello!”
‘If things truly deteriorate to that extent, dragging them up to the Hotel will be our only option.’

Lee Yeon-woo, having thought that far ahead, pressed his throbbing temple and swallowed back a weary sigh.

“….”

He despised the thought of exposing those children to that den of madness and sadism more than anything.

‘Something feels wrong about this.’

[Sixth Sense]
‘There is no ■ in this place.’

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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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