Welcome to the Goblin Hotel - Chapter 19

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

Chapter 19
I helped the Riverside Restaurant owner’s grandmother to her feet.
“A Dokkaebi? No, that’s not it.”
“But that blue fire—!”
Had she seen that green glow after all?
I answered as though it were nothing.
“The Black Stone had something wrong with it. I just cleaned it up.”
“That stone—! Was it such a serious matter that the Dokkaebi himself came all this way to find it?”
“Grandmother, I told you—it’s not a Dokkaebi. Look carefully. See? I’m just a person.”
“Yes, yes. I understand.”
Her words said one thing, but her eyes told a different story entirely.
Her gaze held absolute certainty.
I scratched the back of my head.
“About that stone though—what should we do with it? Your son seemed to treasure it.”
The ornamental rocks her son had collected.
I could tell how much he cherished them just from seeing them lined up neatly on the sunny windowsill.
‘He must have been quite fond of them.’
The grandmother jumped up at my words.
“Good heavens, if my son can’t even be grateful for having his life saved, is he even human? My boy would never be that kind of person.”
I nodded and spoke gently.
“Then I’m relieved. That stone was actually the one that killed the Gumiho.”
The grandmother’s eyes went wide.
“What? That wretched creature—!”
“Oh, no—I don’t mean your son did it. It was a very, very long time ago.”
The grandmother let out a sigh of relief and spoke.
“Lord have mercy—who would do such a terrible thing?”
“That’s why that stone carried a grudge—you might say—for two Gumihos’ worth.”
I was in the middle of explaining the whole story to her when
a call came in from her son and daughter-in-law at the hospital.
The news was that their ailments had suddenly vanished completely.
“Oh, what a tremendous debt of gratitude I owe you.”
The grandmother bowed to me repeatedly.
Watching the elderly woman keep bending like that made me uncomfortable.
“I should at least offer you a meal—!”
She held my hand and wouldn’t let go for some time.
“Grandmother, I’m busy today. I’ll stop by another time.”
“You must come again—promise me?”
“Of course. I’ll come back with my family next time.”
***
After making that promise with the Riverside Restaurant owner’s grandmother, I hurried back to the Hotel.
Before getting out of the car, I checked my Spirit Power Points first.
Adding the 500 points I’d earned today to the 100 points I’d received after handling the Hand Mirror’s wish last time.
【 Spirit Power Points: 600p 】
“I’ve earned it. Time to spend it.”
I held back 100 points for the hotel’s automatic management and gave 500 points to Song-i.
Some time had passed since I’d raised her Spirit Power.
I figured I could afford to boost her by 500 points.
【 Employee Details 】
*Song-i:
Health: Good
Spirit Sight
Trust: 99/100
Spirit Power – 2,825p
Seeing Song-i’s Spirit Power Points made my heart swell with satisfaction.
‘That’s reassuring.’
Apparently, ominous things emerge during the New Moon.
Keeping Song-i safe was what mattered most.
I’d been assured the hotel was secure, but you never know.
Now it was time to install the lighting.
I had to hurry before sunset.
I quickly unloaded the luggage and called the children over.
Min-ju counted the stacked light installations and gasped in surprise.
“Eighteen… nineteen… twenty…? You’re going to install all of these?”
“Yeah. It gets dark out here in the mountains when there’s no moonlight.”
Min-jae was already reading through the instruction manual.
“So you just assemble it and plug it in?”
“Right. Simple enough.”
I lifted one of the boxes as I spoke.
“Let’s take everything out and lay it flat before we assemble it. That way it’ll charge a little more.”
Min-ju answered while opening a box.
“I’ll get them all out. You and Min-jae can handle the assembly.”
Then she carefully set the solar panel facing the direction of the sun.
That’s when Song-i tore open one of the boxes.
String lights came tumbling out in a cascade.
“Wow! Christmas lights! Now our house is Christmas every single day!”
Song-i wrapped the string lights around her neck and bounced up and down.
Even though the bulbs weren’t lit yet, the place already felt festive.
We dug into the earth, planted support stakes, and set up the lights one by one.
Thunk. Tap-tap.
The sound of hammering echoed through the garden.
We finished the installation before the sun got too low.
One by one, soft yellow lights flickered to life.
When the string lights came on too, the garden looked completely transformed.
Min-ju caught her breath and spoke.
“Wow…! It really looks like a hotel.”
“Well, it used to be one.”
Song-i ran excitedly through the garden,
and Hwang-geum-i bounded after her, tail wagging.
“It’s so sparkly! It’s really pretty!”
Now night wouldn’t be a problem anymore.
‘I wonder if Choe Il-ju would like it too.’
***
Song-i’s eyes started drooping early in the evening.
“Dad, I’m getting sleepy…”
She’d been running around bouncing all afternoon.
She must have been quite tired.
“Want to head to bed early?”
“Yeah…”
Song-i barely managed to brush her teeth with half-closed eyes before flopping down on the bed.
“I’m going to sleep now…”
I bid goodnight to Song-i, who was already burrowing under the covers.
“Sleep well, Song-i.”
There was no response—she was already asleep.
I came out to the lobby, sipped some warm mistletoe tea, and waited for Choe Il-ju.
Rina’s new song “Could I Become a Star?” was playing through the speakers.
Min-jae was singing along when he brought something up.
“Manager, our YouTube channel just crossed a hundred thousand views.”
“Already?”
“Ever since Rina released her new song, the numbers keep climbing.”
“Glad we wore the mask.”
I nodded thoughtfully.
If I’d shown my face, it would’ve made things tiring for Song-i.
Min-ju tilted her head and looked at me.
“Manager, what if we uploaded more videos to our channel?”
“Is there more to film?”
“Just everyday moments, you know. The scenery here is beautiful and there’s plenty to capture.”
“You two think about it and decide. I’ll fully support whatever you come up with.”
“Nice!”
If we keep filming varied content, Song-i won’t get bored as easily.
She’s supposed to be going to kindergarten after all.
I felt bad letting her spend her days in tedious monotony.
Anything that could fill the hours, I was for it.
Around nine at night.
A greeting drifted from the stairway.
“Good evening.”
It was Choe Il-ju.
Min-ju and Min-jae turned their heads to look at him, and both answered at once.
“Good to see you! It’s nice to see your face.”
“Welcome. Would you like to eat something?”
It was clear from their warmth that they’d missed him—it had been a while since his first stay.
Choe Il-ju shook his head.
“I’ve eaten, thank you. But might I trouble you for some Mistletoe Tea?”
Min-ju shot up from her seat.
“Just a moment, please!”
Min-ju disappeared into the kitchen, and we moved to the porch swing.
A paper-thin crescent moon hung in the sky.
Yet it wasn’t dark.
“Ah…!”
Choe Il-ju let out an admiring breath at the sight of the Light Installation set up in the hotel garden.
“Bright and beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yes, indeed.”
“It will be useful for tending the Vegetable Garden as well.”
Choe Il-ju drained the warm Mistletoe Tea that Min-ju had brought, savoring it slowly.
Then he rose from his seat.
“Are the Plant Support Stakes ready?”
“Yes. We’ve left them by the Vegetable Garden.”
We followed Choe Il-ju toward the Vegetable Garden.
“Would you hold the stake steady for me?”
“Of course.”
I grasped the stake carefully.
He tapped the top of it with a hammer.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“Once you’ve set the stake like this, you bind it with twine and you’re done.”
Min-jae nodded.
“It’s easier than I thought?”
“When you do these simple things well, the crops grow properly.”
We set up the stakes as Choe Il-ju showed us, thinning out the lettuce seedlings.
Cute little lettuce sprouts.
I’m sorry.
Choe Il-ju let out a quiet laugh watching me.
‘Wait… was he laughing?’
I’d seen the corners of his mouth relax before, but I’d never seen him laugh quite like that.
Choe Il-ju spoke to me.
“The thinned lettuce shoots make excellent quick pickles.”
“So they’re not meant to be discarded?”
“Why would we waste precious crops?”
“I see.”
Fortunately, those adorable lettuce shoots didn’t have to be thrown away.
Once the work was finished,
Choe Il-ju’s expression had shifted as he surveyed the Vegetable Garden.
The expression on his face was unmistakably
one of satisfaction, not exhaustion.
Min-jae whispered in my ear.
“He’s changed a lot, hasn’t he?”
“He really has.”
【 Guest Details 】
*Room 205:
Choe Il-ju
Wandering
D-10
At last.
The exhaustion lifted from Choe Il-ju’s information.
***
I set the buckwheat jelly on the table in Room 310 for the Dokkaebi to eat, then carefully lay down beside Song-i.
The moment I did, Song-i burrowed into my arms.
“Dad… I’m cold….”
Despite her words, her body burned like a coal.
I rushed to fetch the thermometer.
Beep-beep-beep!
The red light on the thermometer told me things were worse than I’d hoped.
“39.7…!”
I gave her fever medicine and wiped her body with lukewarm water.
“Boss, I brought the honey water for your sore throat,” Min-ju said carefully, extending the cup.
I took it from her trembling hands.
“Song-i, let’s drink the honey water.”
I lifted her slightly and let the liquid trickle slowly into her mouth.
The honey water made no difference.
Song-i’s eyes fluttered open for a moment, then closed again.
The fever wouldn’t break.
“Mmm….”
A soft whimper escaped her lips.
Min-jae stood beside the bed, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
“Shouldn’t we take her to a hospital?”
Min-ju shook her head.
“Gang-rim told me not to leave tonight. It could be dangerous.”
Gang-rim’s warning replayed in my mind.
On the new moon, restless spirits and worse things roam.
Don’t leave the hotel.
Min-ju spoke in a low voice.
“Boss, just hold on until dawn.”
It was barely one in the morning.
Despite the fever medicine, the temperature still hovered above thirty-nine degrees.
Dawn was still hours away.
I changed the cool cloth on her forehead and watched her carefully.
Heat radiating from her small body in waves.
Her skin burned, yet not a drop of sweat fell.
“I’m cold….”
Song-i curled up, trembling.
‘I’m supposed to just watch her suffer like this all night?’
I can’t.
No. I won’t.
“We’re going to the hospital.”
I bolted upright, grabbing my keys and wallet.
Min-ju caught my arm.
“Boss, Song-i could be in more danger if you leave.”
“No. Song-i will be fine.”
I raised Song-i’s wrist to show her.
A wood bracelet with a reddish glow was wound around her arm.
“She has the Apotropaic Wood Bracelet.”
Min-ju nodded at the sight of it and stepped back.
I lifted Song-i into my arms and spoke.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Min-jae stepped to my side.
“I’m coming with you. I can help with anything.”
“All right. Thanks.”
Vroom—
The engine roared to life, breaking the silence of the mountain.
“Min-jae, keep a close eye on Song-i.”
“Don’t worry. Focus on driving.”
The headlights carved through the darkness.
With each curve, tree shadows swept across the windows.
Driving through the dark mountain area felt desolate and hollow.
The winding mountain road opened onto the Riverside Road.
We passed quickly by the Riverside Restaurant where we’d stopped this afternoon.
If I’d left the Gumiho’s wish unresolved, I couldn’t imagine what might have happened.
‘Good thing I settled that this afternoon.’
Soon the lights of the city came into view.
I spoke to myself as if I were speaking to Song-i.
“Song-i, hold on a little longer. We’re almost there.”
The moment the Emergency Room sign caught my eye,
my taut breath loosened slightly.
Nothing had happened on the way here.
Thank goodness.
Worrying about what Gang-rim said had only delayed us getting to the hospital.
“Min-jae, let’s go.”
I rushed into the Emergency Room carrying Song-i.
And.
I saw the Emergency Room in ruins.
“Boss, those things….”
“Yeah. Restless spirits.”
The Emergency Room was filled with the unruly, rampaging spirits Gang-rim had warned me about.
The Dokkaebi Hotel Inheritance
Author
: WhyNotNola
Production Date
: August 25, 2026
Publisher
: Aces Media Inc.
Editor-in-Chief
: 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 agreement,
and the content cannot be used in any form or by any means 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
—————