Welcome to the Goblin Hotel - Chapter 2

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

Episode 2
“I’m Choi Eun-seok, the lawyer we spoke with earlier.”
The young lawyer extended his business card.
“I have no memories of my great-aunt.”
“I understand. I was told your client has been estranged from her family for some time. She very much wanted you specifically to inherit this.”
The lawyer withdrew a folder of documents from his briefcase.
Inside were a Property Registration Certificate and several photographs.
“Ah….”
“The property she left behind is a small hotel deep in the mountains.”
The building in the photographs looked more like a mountain lodge than a hotel.
A three-story structure perched on the low summit of a ridge.
He read the faded letters on the hotel’s sign in the photo.
“Dokkaebi Hotel….”
The Mudang’s words from days ago flickered through his mind.
‘You’ll need to go into Dokkaebi Territory soon. Pack your things in advance.’
‘You’ll hear from someone within four days. Don’t refuse—accept what comes.’
Zing—
His body tingled as though electricity were coursing through it.
‘It’s this…!’
The Dokkaebi Territory the Mudang had spoken of—it was this hotel.
It was real.
Now that he’d confirmed the truth, there was nothing left to deliberate.
For Song-i’s sake, he had to go to this place.
“…What do I need to do to accept the inheritance?”
“Kim Mal-suk has already prepaid all necessary expenses. You need only confirm your intent to inherit, and we can proceed immediately.”
“I accept the inheritance.”
The lawyer produced the documents.
“Just sign here.”
After signing, the lawyer handed him a bundle of keys.
“These are the keys to the hotel. I’ll send the ownership certificate once we’ve finalized the paperwork.”
“Is it all right if I go in today?”
“You’re welcome to enter whenever you wish, though it’s been vacant for quite some time, so it will need some work.”
***
He wanted nothing more than to visit the Dokkaebi Hotel that very day, but it wasn’t possible.
He had to bring Song-i, and there was too much to prepare.
The next day.
With the trunk packed full of supplies, he headed toward where the Dokkaebi Hotel stood.
“Dad, where are we going?”
“Hmm? Oh, I found a place I think Song-i will love.”
“A place I’ll love?”
“Yes.”
He ruffled Song-i’s tilted head and glanced at the GPS.
Finding the way felt like a test of his worthiness to inherit the place.
[You have left the route.]
[Please make a U-turn.]
[Recalculating route.]
[You have left the route.]
[Please make a U-turn.]
[Recalculating route.]
Despite following the GPS faithfully, he deviated from the route several times.
After multiple U-turns, he arrived at a spot where a small mountain rose beside a river.
“This must be it.”
Northern Gyeonggi Province—a remote place with no homes nearby.
He climbed the winding path until he reached the summit.
[Approaching destination.]
A weathered sign and a locked iron gate came into view.
“We finally made it.”
Song-i had fallen into deep sleep during the drive.
He stepped out quietly and stood before the locked iron gate.
Dokkaebi Hotel
The letters on the wooden sign appeared faint and blurred.
I pulled out the keys the lawyer had given me and inserted them into the lock.
‘Dokkaebi Territory.’
I turned over the Mudang’s words in my mind.
A land where malevolent spirits cannot set foot.
Please.
Let this place truly be that Dokkaebi Territory.
I turned the key while offering up a fervent prayer.
Click—
I unlocked the padlock and pushed the door wide open.
Inside the door lay a rather spacious clearing.
I parked the car inside and shook Song-i awake.
“Song-i, wake up, will you?”
Song-i rubbed her eyes with her hands and sat up, looking around.
“Dad, are we here?”
“Yes. We’re here.”
The sun would set in about two hours.
‘Could this place really become our new home?’
I felt good about it.
It was the Dokkaebi Hotel that my great-aunt—who had given me the Dokkaebi Pouch—had left me as an inheritance.
I hoped this would be a special refuge for Song-i and me.
A three-story building surrounded by forest.
The place had an ambiguous quality—neither quite a hotel nor quite a mountain lodge, but something in between.
The air was crisp, and the birdsong rang clear.
‘It’d be a good place to rest quietly.’
If there were no malevolent spirits.
I held out the red boots I’d prepared and offered them to Song-i.
“Song-i, change into these and come down.”
Song-i got out of the car in the boots and tilted her head.
“Dad, it’s not raining. Why the boots?”
“There’s too much grass. I don’t want our pretty Song-i’s feet to get hurt.”
“I seeee!”
“Song-i, shall we go inside and have a look around?”
I pointed toward the hotel building, and Song-i nodded silently.
Her lips pressed tight, and she looked tense.
“Are you scared?”
“No. My heart’s racing. It feels like we’re on a treasure hunt.”
Thank goodness.
Song-i wasn’t afraid of unfamiliar places.
I took her hand and smiled.
“Then let’s see if there really is treasure to find.”
“Yes!”
I opened the hotel entrance and stepped inside.
Sunlight filtered softly through the dusty hotel windows.
An old landscape painting hung on the wall, and beside it stood a refined front desk.
“Wow…!”
Song-i gasped with wonder at even so simple a sight.
White cloth covered the sofas to keep dust from settling on them.
My great-aunt had kept things in good order.
It didn’t seem like cleaning would be difficult.
‘Thank you.’
I offered silent thanks to the great-aunt whose face I’d never seen.
I pressed the light switch beside the front desk, and the lights came on.
“Good. The power’s working.”
“Oh! Dad, look over there!”
Where Song-i pointed, a fireplace stood.
Stairs rose to the left of the front desk, and a fireplace occupied the space to their right.
It appeared that a small room-sized space had been added to the back.
A fireplace in a hotel lobby.
It was a rare sight in Korea.
Song-i bounced up and down with laughter when she saw the fireplace for the first time.
“Wow! Santa Claus is coming to bring us presents!”
“Song-i, our house didn’t have a chimney, but Santa still visited us, didn’t he?”
“Hehe… but Santa Claus still likes chimneys better, doesn’t he?”
So Santa preferred to travel down chimneys rather than through doors.
I’d learned something new thanks to Song-i.
‘How on earth is our Song-i so adorable?’
“Haha, you’re right. Santa’s going to love this place.”
I pulled my darling Song-i close and held her tight.
“So, shall we start our treasure hunt again?”
“Yes!”
To the right of the first floor were the kitchen and dining room.
When I turned on the tap, water flowed out smoothly.
“The water’s working fine.”
It was odd that electricity and water still ran to a place that had sat vacant for so long,
but I figured Aunt must have arranged something and let it pass without much thought.
The furnishings—refrigerator, dishes, dining table, chairs—were all neatly covered with white cloths.
To the left of the lobby was a space that felt like a residential home.

‘This must be where Aunt stayed.’
Inside were a small living room, a study, a bedroom, and even a bathroom.
It looked like it would be ready to use with just a little tidying.
“Dad! This place is really great!”
Ever since we’d entered the hotel, Song-i had been grinning nonstop.
It felt like it’d been a long time since I’d seen her smile so freely, without a care in the world.
‘Huh…? A long time?’
Recently, the thing stealing Song-i’s smiles was those spirits that kept appearing out of nowhere.
But.
Now that I thought about it… there were no spirits here.
Were those stubborn creatures hiding from my sight?
I calmed myself and asked Song-i quietly.
“Song-i, have you… ever seen Them here?”
Them.
I’d started calling those beings ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘those’—worried that saying ‘spirit’ would frighten Song-i even more.
But Song-i understood right away.
“No. I haven’t seen Them here.”
That was a relief.
“Dad, does that mean there are no Them in this place?”
Song-i’s cheeks flushed with hope.
Was this really a Dokkaebi Territory?
Could it be somewhere that Song-i and I could rest easy?
‘Yes. There’s nothing like that here.’
I wanted to give Song-i a sure answer, but I held it back.
“Let’s wait and see. Your dad wants to believe.”
***
While exploring the hotel, the sun set.
“Should we sleep in the tent tonight?”
“Camping?”
“Yep. Camping.”
There wasn’t as much dust as I’d expected, but it still needed cleaning.
I put off tidying until tomorrow and spread out the tent we’d brought into the hotel lobby.
Even though it was a pop-up tent, once I laid down a mat and added blankets, it felt cozy.
Song-i nestled inside, hugging the blankets and rolling around.
“Ahahaha! Camping, camping! We’re camping!”
Judging by the way she was singing with some made-up melody, she seemed absolutely delighted.
I prepared dinner while listening to Song-i’s song.
I loaded charcoal into the Camping Stove and lit it.
Once the grate was set, I placed a frying pan on top.
I tossed in chopped kimchi and spam, stirring them together in a sweet sizzle.
As the spicy, savory aroma rose up, I crumbled instant rice into the pan.
Catching the scent, Song-i poked her head out of the tent.
“Dad, is that fried rice?”
“Yes. The kimchi spam fried rice you love.”
Song-i swallowed hard and stared intently at the pan.
“It looks delicious…!”
With sesame seeds scattered on top and sesame oil drizzled throughout, the savory aroma filled the lobby.
“It’s ready.”
Song-i came scampering out and settled into a camping chair.
Her sparkling eyes looked just like a puppy waiting for a treat.
“Let’s eat.”
With each spoonful she put in her mouth, Song-i’s shoulders bounced with delight.
“Song-i, does it taste good?”
“Yes. It’s the best!”
While we ate, the fire died down and the charcoal turned white.
I wrapped the sweet potatoes I’d brought in foil and placed them among the coals.
‘Roasted sweet potatoes—that’s the real camping experience.’
Though there was no meat grilled over charcoal, the sweet roasted potatoes would do just fine.
Song-i, who’d been eating in alternating spoonfuls of rice and sips of water, set down her empty bowl.
“Song-i, was it spicy?”
“It was spicy, but it tasted good. Phew—”
The way she fanned her face with her hand suggested her mouth was still burning.
I pulled out my secret weapon.
I threaded thick marshmallows onto a stick and toasted them slowly over the stove.
I blew gently on the roasted marshmallows and handed them to Song-i.
“Song-i, try this. Be careful—it’s hot.”
“What is this?”
“Sweet marshmallows.”
Seeing marshmallows for the first time, Song-i tilted her head, then cautiously took a bite.
“Wow— it’s so sweet! I want to eat this every day.”
“You can’t have it every day. You only eat it on special occasions like this.”
“Special occasions…? Is today a special day?”
“Yes. Because this is the first time you and Dad are camping together, just the two of us.”
That’s when it happened.
Song-i, who’d been eating the marshmallow, suddenly cried out.
“Look! A puppy!”
Through the open hotel entrance, a small dog wandered in.
It was a russet-colored mutt of the sort you’d see in a country yard.
‘What’s a dog doing out here in the mountains?’
The dog wagged its tail at the sight of us.
“Come here, puppy!”
Before I could stop her, Song-i dashed toward the dog and reached out.
The dog approached her with its tail wagging.
But something about the dog’s gait seemed off.
Looking more closely… it wasn’t putting its front right paw on the ground.
“Dad, I think the puppy’s paw hurts.”
Song-i looked up at me with tears glistening in her eyes.
With that gaze, she spoke without words: ‘Dad, please help the puppy!’
The dog looked up at me too, its small tongue hanging out as it panted.
Watching its tail wag like a propeller, I couldn’t help but smile.
“Song-i, let me take a look first.”
I approached the dog and held out my hand.
“Can I see your paw?”
The dog lifted its paw and rested it in my palm.
‘It’s quick to understand, isn’t it?’
If it had an owner, the dog’s fur would have been better groomed, and it would have worn a collar.
I carefully reached out and lifted the dog into my arms.
Between the pads of its foot, I could see a thin twig lodged deep.
“Song-i, would you bring me the first aid kit from inside the tent?”
Song-i quickly ran to the tent and retrieved the first aid kit.
“I’ve got it.”
I took the tweezers out of the First Aid Kit.
“Just hold still for a moment. I’ll get it out right away.”
Song-i crouched beside me and stroked the puppy’s head.
“A little patience, buddy. Dad’s going to make it better.”
Fussing over something like this only makes it hurt worse.
I gripped the splinter jutting out with the tweezers.
And pulled it out in one sharp motion.
“Yelp!”
The startled puppy writhed and slipped from my arms.
But still.
“Got it.”
A quick pull had been the right call after all.
The puppy walked a bit more naturally than before.
“Come here. We’re not done yet.”
“Yelp… yelp…”
Whimpering and backing away, the puppy found Song-i blocking its retreat.
“No you don’t. Come to Dad.”
At the firmness in Song-i’s voice, the puppy’s tail drooped and it padded toward me.
‘Smart little thing.’
I disinfected the puppy’s paws and applied ointment.
“All done.”
When I set the puppy down, it ambled over to the camping stove and lay down.
“Song-i, wash your hands.”
After washing up, I pulled the sweet potato out from where I’d nestled it in the coals.
When I split the sweet potato in half, hot steam rose from its golden flesh.
I blew on it gently to cool it, then handed it to Song-i.
“It’s hot, so be careful and eat it with a spoon.”
Song-i blew on the sweet potato and took a bite.
“Dad, can we give some to Nureong-i?”
The puppy’s ears perked up at the sound of its name.
“Once it cools down, I’ll give some to him. You finish yours first.”
A while later, I gave the cooled sweet potato to the puppy, and it wolfed it down eagerly.
‘This is nice.’
Watching Song-i and the puppy with soot smudged across their faces, I couldn’t help but smile.
“Ready for bed?”
“Dad, what about Nureong-i?”
I laid out a blanket so the puppy could rest comfortably.
“Sleep well, Nureong-i.”
Song-i bid the puppy goodnight.
Once Song-i went into the tent, I heard the faint sound of his shallow breathing.
After tidying up the stove, I lay down beside Song-i.
The tension that had built up melted away, and my eyes grew heavy.
Our first night at the Dokkaebi Hotel.
Strangely, it felt wonderfully safe.
Inheriting the Dokkaebi Hotel
Author
: WhyAreYouSurprised
Created
: August 25, 2026
Publisher
: ACES Media Co., Ltd.
Editor
: ACES Media Editorial Team
Address
: 10F, Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work has been published by ACES Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder.
The contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company 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
—————