Welcome to the Goblin Hotel - Chapter 13

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

Episode 13
Days of quiet routine stretched on at the Dokkaebi Hotel.
Two weeks had passed since Jung Yu-ri checked out.
A new notification appeared.
【 The moon waxes full. 】
【 Full Moon, D-1 】
【 A Lost Guest will arrive at the hotel. 】
“Already the full moon?”
Right.
It really is the full moon.
That day came round every thirty days—and tomorrow was it.
‘I hope the next guest is easier to handle.’
The next day.
The sun descended lower and lower beyond the ridge.
The second full moon night was approaching.
Right on cue, the notification appeared.
【 Night of the Full Moon 】
【 A Lost Guest will arrive at the hotel. 】
【 Please show the Guest the way. 】
What kind of guest would it be this time?
Even as I stacked wooden blocks with Song-i, my attention was fixed entirely on the world beyond the door.
Crash—
“Hee-hee-hee…! I won!”
Song-i cheered at the sight of the wooden blocks I’d toppled.
“Song-i, couldn’t you look away for just a moment?”
“No way.”
Song-i answered firmly and leaned in close.
Then she pressed a Red Heart Sticker onto each of my cheeks.
Min-jae saw my face and laughed.
“Pfft! Hehehehe….”
The penalty was to wear the stickers for two hours.
‘How am I supposed to greet a guest looking like this?’
Please.
I prayed the guest would arrive after two hours had passed.
But before long, I sensed a presence outside the door.
Hwang-geum-i lifted her head and perked up her ears.
“Woof!”
Song-i, who’d been stacking blocks, suddenly looked up.
“Is it a guest?”
“Seems like it.”
I stuck a Red Heart Sticker on Song-i’s nose and rose to my feet.
“Boss, you’re really going out there like that?”
The red hearts on both my cheeks shone like jewels.
“If I took them off now, Song-i would be upset.”
Song-i nodded.
“It’s a penalty.”
“The guest will be scared and run away.”
“Hardly. They’d have to be made of stone not to be charmed by this radiant face of mine.”
‘If you can’t avoid it, might as well enjoy it.’
I straightened my tie and slipped on my suit jacket.
My appearance was flawless.
With as much confidence as I could muster, I held my head high and headed toward the iron gate.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
The sound of knocking on the iron gate continued.
The guest stood pressed close against the door, as if drunk.
Knock.
Knock.
That was the sound of a head hitting the door.
This guest was a lean, muscular man.
His shirt hung loose, his trousers were wrinkled beyond help, and he wore only one shoe.
【 Lost Guest. 】
【 Status: Wandering, Extreme Fatigue. D-25. 】
【 Will you permit lodging? 】
“Will you be staying with us, sir?”
At the sound of my voice, the guest’s head snapped up, but his eyes remained half-closed.
Not drunk, then.
Just sleep-drunk.
He nodded slowly in response to my question.
“Yes… I need to sleep.”
His voice emerged low and drowsy, as if dragged up from the depths of slumber.
“Please, come in.”
I stepped aside, and the guest stumbled through the entrance.
Min-jae handed him the Room Key.
“Would you like to eat first, sir?”
“No. I just… need to sleep.”
‘I can’t let him go like this.’
Only through Soul Insight could I determine what service he truly needed.
I hurried after him and caught his shoulder.
“Wait, sir!”
Startled, he lifted his heavy eyelids slightly.
“Yes…?”
Show me.
What was your life and death like?
【 Soul Insight 】
‘There.’
I found myself standing in a Large Mart Parking Lot.
# Clank-clank-clank—
My guest was gathering shopping carts scattered across the lot.
He pushed the unwieldy carts with all his strength, their metal frames writhing like centipedes.
Sweat poured from him like rain, yet rest was nothing more than snatching a few breaths between pushes.
‘Those are incredibly heavy. He’s suffered so much.’
The scene shifted.
# A woman draped in luxury brands screamed at him.
“You scratched my car!”
“No, ma’am. I wasn’t anywhere near there.”
“Then who else is here? Pay up! Do you know how much this costs?”
I examined the scratch on her car.
‘The height is wrong.’
A cart couldn’t have made that mark.
She’d been damaged elsewhere and was taking it out here.
“I really didn’t do it, ma’am.”
“Did you just call me ma’am? Do I look that old to you? Huh?”
“I’m so sorry. Miss.”
“Kneel.”
“I… what?”
“Kneel down. I’ll let you go since you’re being so obedient.”
He dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.
Then he bowed his torso again and again.
“I’m truly sorry. Please forgive me this once.”
“Ugh! That makes it worse!”
The woman, clearly repulsed, got in her car and drove away.
# Inside the Mart Customer Service Office.
“Choi Il-ju. If you scratched a customer’s car, shouldn’t you report it?”
“I didn’t scratch it.”
That’s enough. We’ve deducted the repair cost from your wages, so remember that.”
“What? That’s not right!”
“Tsk! It’s your fault for scratching the customer’s car in the first place.”
Our guest grabbed the manager’s arm.
“The CCTV…! Have you checked it?”
The manager wrenched his arm free and shouted.
“Christ…! Let go. Don’t touch me like that.”
He demands accountability without even checking the facts properly?
‘What kind of ridiculous situation is this.’
# A night when neon signs glowed bright.
Our guest runs.
“Did you call for a driver?”
A man reeking of alcohol hurled his car keys down.
“Choi Il-ju!”
Our guest picked up the fallen keys and helped the drunk man into the car.
‘Is he doing this driving gig because of car repair costs?’
Even his daytime work looked exhausting.
Working such grueling hours, and then another job on top of it.
The scene shifted again.
# A dim dawn.
Our guest stumbled forward with half-closed eyes.
The traffic light at the crosswalk changed green.
He crossed the street.
Whoooosh—
A car barreling around the corner at high speed.
The other pedestrians dodged quickly.
But.
Exhausted as he was, he couldn’t get out of the way.
Thud—!
‘This is just too much.’
He had only ever done his best to survive.
Yet the world had ground him down.
When Soul Insight ended, I was back in the hotel lobby with my hand still on the guest’s shoulder.
I quickly collected myself and spoke.
“…I’ll show you to your room.”
“Yes….”
The guest dragged himself up the stairs behind me.
When I opened the door, he collapsed straight onto the bed.
Still wearing a shoe on only one foot.
“Please get some rest.”
There was no response.
The moment I closed the guest’s door, a notification appeared.
【 An Underworld Messenger has arrived. 】
‘Kang-rim’s here.’
I went downstairs to find Kang-rim sitting on the sofa.
“Welcome. What brings you?”
“I’ve come to prepare the Soul Guidance Contract for Choi Il-ju.”
“Do I really have to draw up a separate contract each time a guest arrives?”
Kang-rim laughed loudly, his expression seeming off.
“Haha, wouldn’t that be the proper procedure?”
Looking at his face, that wasn’t quite right.
It seemed like it could be done all at once originally.
‘But why. Why insist on making separate contracts for each soul?’
Kang-rim looked at me and asked in a subtle tone.
“Is it Korean food today?”
Ah. I see.
It’s about feeding the Underworld Messenger.
Every time he comes to draw up a contract, he plans to have a meal.
‘Very calculated.’
I shook my head inwardly and led Kang-rim along.
“Let’s head to the restaurant.”
When Kang-rim entered the restaurant and saw Min-ju smiling brightly, he flinched.
“Welcome!”
“…Yes, that’s right. Korean food today, then? …Much obliged.”
A Grim Reaper, saying “much obliged” like that.
Min-ju had trained him well.
“Just a moment, please.”
The table was spread generously with several seasoned vegetables, beef cutlets, and acorn jelly side dish.
Kang-rim’s mouth corners twitched slightly, as if suppressing a smile.
Kang-rim picked up a beef cutlet with his chopsticks.
His movements were extraordinarily careful.
“It’s been a very long time since I’ve had something like this.”
He chewed slowly, swallowed deliberately, and emptied each plate one by one.
The rice and side dishes were cleared without a trace.
“Thank you for the meal.”
Kang-rim, wearing a satisfied smile at the corners of his mouth, produced a document.
“Choi Il-ju has twenty-five
days remaining. Will you enter into a contract?”
“Yes. Since he’s our guest, I’ll make sure he has as much rest as possible before his departure.”
“Should you wish to send his soul on at any point, light incense in front of the door. I will come.”
‘Did the Grim Reaper enjoy his meal?’
Now he was even sharing tips like this.
“Understood.”
“Oh, and that suits you very well.”
Kang-rim laughed, pointing to my cheek.
‘Oh. The sticker…. I’d forgotten about it.’
Kang-rim departed.
I picked up the buckwheat jelly and entered Room 310.
Room 310 was the guest room reserved for the Dokkaebi.
Since the lobby was too open, it had been difficult to leave the buckwheat jelly by the fireplace each time.
So we used the farthest room in our hotel.
It had been a week now since we started leaving the Dokkaebi’s buckwheat jelly there.
Knock, knock, knock.
There was no answer from inside.
“Your meal has arrived.”
I opened the door and went in, setting the buckwheat jelly plate on the table.
A hairpin lay on the table.
‘For the past few days, only the jelly’s disappeared, and there’s been no gold bead.’
Somehow, the hairpin had been left behind.
The moment I picked up the hairpin, letters appeared before my eyes.
【 Service fee has been settled. 】
【 Service fee payment details: Chilpo Silver Hairpin 】
【 Estimated value: approximately 50 million won. 】
‘Wow…! 50 million won?’
Everything about the missing gold beads over the past few days made sense now.
Gold beads weren’t necessary after all.
“Our hotel accepts anything.”
***
Morning arrived.
I checked on the guests’ conditions once more.
【 Guest Details 】
*Room 201:
Baek Yeou
Spiritual Power Recovery in Progress
*Room 205:
Choi Il-ju
Wandering
Extreme Fatigue
D-24
*Room 310:
Dokkaebi
Satiated
‘Nothing out of the ordinary.’
After confirming there was nothing amiss, I prepared to leave the hotel.
I climbed into the car, rolled down the window, and called out instructions to the staff.
“Make sure Sam-mi-ho eats well, and Choi Il-ju in Room 205 probably won’t be coming out, but—”
Min-ju cut me off.
“Boss, you’ve already said that several times.”
Min-jae nodded with a smile.
“We’ll take good care of things here, so go safely.”
Song-i waved at me.
“Dad, bring back lots of delicious food!”
“Woof!”
I was just worrying over everything, that’s all.
‘Am I being too much of a nag?’
I laughed softly and replied.
“Sure. I’ll bring back something tasty.”
I fixed in my mind what snacks to get for Song-i and what premium jerky to bring for Hwang-geum-i, then stepped out of the hotel.
***
Cheongpa Seorim in Insadong.
Ting—
As I pulled open the door, the bell chimed clearly.
The old man I’d seen on my last visit was still at his post.
“So you’ve come?”
“Yes. I brought something else to have appraised today.”
“Come here and sit.”
The second visit was treated differently.
He even offered me a place to sit.
‘I feel like I’ve gone up in the world.’
“Did you come alone this time?”
The old man glanced behind me as he asked.
“Yes. I had many errands today, so I came by myself.”
The old man nodded and asked.
“So, what are we appraising today?”
I handed him the hairpin wrapped in tissue paper.
“This.”
“You’ve wrapped it rather carelessly in tissue again.”
I felt embarrassed and scratched my head.
“I tried to be as careful as I could.”
The old man took out a magnifying glass and examined the hairpin closely.
“This style was popular during the middle Joseon period.”
As the old man turned the hairpin this way and that to observe it, he exclaimed in wonder.
“My goodness…! To see the enameling on a middle Joseon Chilpo Silver Hairpin preserved this beautifully!”
The old man set down his magnifying glass and asked.
“…Is this also something you inherited?”
“Yes.”
“Well now. You’ve certainly been blessed with good ancestral fortune.”
I turned to the old man and asked.
“What would be the appraisal value for this?”
“If we do a direct sale here, around three million. You could get up to five million if we sent it to auction.”
Just as I’d expected, the valuation matched.
‘Should I send it to auction or not?’
While I was deliberating.
“If you need to sell it quickly, I could introduce you to a direct buyer.”
“…A direct buyer, you mean?”
“You don’t like auctions, after all.”
‘So he remembered that.’
I did dislike the hassle.
I nodded at the old man’s suggestion.
“I know a place where I do appraisals from time to time. That person offers fair prices. I actually sold that gold coin you gave me to him.”
I tilted my head.
“Then…wouldn’t that be a loss for you?”
“Park Jung-ho. Call him Park.”
So your name is Park Jung-ho.
It was a name that suited an antique dealer perfectly.
“Ah, if you’d introduce your customers to me, Mr. Park—”
“I’ve learned something after doing this work for a long time. If you get greedy over trifles like this, you end up taking bigger losses.”
“Why would you incur greater losses?”
“Old objects carry intention with them. Greed invites calamity.”
Park Jung-ho rummaged through a drawer and produced a business card.
“Here it is. I made a good profit last time, so I should take a loss this time to balance things out. But don’t worry—it’s not a complete loss.”
Jang Young-seok. A business card with only a three-character name and a phone number.
I took the card and slipped it into my pocket.
Now that my business here was finished, it was time to look into what had been bothering me since earlier.
I pointed a finger toward a corner of the shop.
“Mr. Park, what’s inside that dresser over there?”
A black aura was seeping out from that direction in slow, creeping wisps.
Inherited the Dokkaebi Hotel
Author
: WhyAreYouSurprised
Production Date
: September 3, 2026
Publisher
: ACES Media Inc.
Editor
: ACES Media Editorial Team
Address
: 10F, Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by ACES Media Inc. in accordance with the copyright holder’s contract,
and the contents may not be used in any form or manner without permission from the publisher and author.
This e-book is protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or copying may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260730113

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