Welcome to the Goblin Hotel - Chapter 26

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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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Episode 26
Five hours earlier.
Ding—
Ding—
Ding—
Lina’s phone chimed in rapid succession.
Notifications for messages on a social media account she’d created and then essentially abandoned.
“Huh…? I’m sure I turned those off….”
Even neglected accounts drew fans who drifted in and out, and if left unchecked, they’d buzz all day long—so she’d definitely silenced the alerts.
Could it have been accidentally triggered in her pocket?
‘Or… her?’
Lina glanced sideways at the white cat perched atop the cat tower, gazing down at the world with aristocratic disdain, and let out an amused snort, shaking her head.
“Nah, no way.”
Ding—
Ding—
Ding—
Before Lina could silence her phone’s notifications,
she quickly scanned the endless stream of incoming messages.
[ Unnie, something’s wrong with Yena. ]
[ Is Yena okay? ]
[ Quick, check Yena’s latest post. ]
“Sigh. Did Yena make another one of her weird food things? Why’s everyone losing their minds…?”
Thinking of Yena, who frequently crafted bizarre dishes and shared them on social media, she heaved a deep breath.
Lina tilted her head quizzically and navigated to Yena’s account.
“……!!!”
The latest post on Yena’s account that she found.
It showed a photograph of a doll with a cord wound around its neck, hanging, and beneath it the hashtag #EXECUTION was written in stark clarity.
Startled, Lina double-checked to make sure it was actually Yena’s account.
“Yena would never post something like this…. Could it be hacked?”
As she thought, ‘I need to tell her to nuke the account first,’ her finger froze mid-swipe.
“Those dolls….”
Now that she thought about it, they were the ones she’d seen at Yena’s apartment.
“What the….”
Those were definitely Yena’s dolls.
Even the blurred background behind the doll now looked like Yena’s apartment.
‘But there’s no way Yena would do something like that. She loves those dolls.’
Yena treasured every single doll her fans had given her.
There was no way she’d have taken a photo like that with them intact.
Lina bit down hard on her lip.
“There’s nothing wrong. There can’t be.”
Once she talked to Yena, this would all turn out to be nothing—just some silly misunderstanding.
Lina suppressed her rising panic and called Yena.
Brrr—brrr—
The ringtone played as the call connected.
Her bottom lip, bitten so hard, was already starting to swell.
「 The customer cannot take your call at this time. Your call is being transferred to voicemail. 」
After calling several more times without an answer, Lina dialed her Manager.
「 Yeah. Lina. 」
“When did you last hear from Yena?”
「 Yena? The last time was last month after the signing event, when I drove her home. Why? Is something wrong? 」
At the Manager’s casual tone, Lina’s voice cracked with emotion.
“You’re not managing your artists!? Yena’s not answering her phone right now…!”
At Lina’s sharp voice, a small laugh came through the speaker.
「 Ha. Lina, Yena said she wanted a break for a while and asked me not to contact her first. She’s probably buried in those dolls from the signing event, happy as can be. 」
“That doesn’t sound like it’s the case!”
「 What’s wrong? 」
“I don’t know. I’m going over there to check myself. Delete the post from Yena’s social media.”
The Entertainment Agency kept passwords to all their artists’ social media accounts.
On occasion, when strange posts or photos were uploaded, they handled them directly.
Lina ended the call in a rush and grabbed her car keys.
During the drive, she’d bitten her lip so hard she could taste blood.
The metallic tang rising in her mouth made her stomach churn, but she forced it down.
A moment later.
Ding-dong—
Lina stood before Yena’s Apartment and pressed the doorbell.
After waiting briefly, anxiety got the better of her and she jabbed it again, rapid-fire.
Ding-dong—ding-dong—ding-dong—!
‘Right… what was the passcode again…?’
She was reaching for the keypad when—
Click.
The door opened.
“Yena! What’s wrong? I couldn’t reach you, I was so worried—”
Lina’s words came tumbling out, then gradually died on her tongue.
“…I…”
The figure visible through the cracked door looked nothing like herself.
Bits of food clung to her hair, and a stench—rank and putrid—emanated from her body.
Yena spoke, her eyes unfocused.
“What brings you all the way here, unnie?”
“…You wouldn’t answer my calls.”
“…Oh. I was busy.”
“Can I come in for a moment?”
Yena stood dazed for a beat before answering.
“…Yes. Come… in.”
‘Formal speech?’
Everything felt wrong.
Yena’s eyes were turned toward Lina, yet they didn’t quite meet hers.
Her pupils expanded and contracted, trembling.
‘Something’s not right… Should I call Manager?’
Lina pushed past the stench and stepped inside.
Clothes, bedding, food waste—everything lay scattered across the floor.
The foul odor burned Lina’s nostrils; her head spun.
“Have a seat, unnie. Can I get you something to drink?”
The sofa Yena had gestured to—
Someone had spilled instant ramen on it; noodles had hardened there, and cookie crumbs lay scattered haphazardly.
What on earth was happening?
Yena seemed oblivious to the state of her apartment and herself.
“Actually, no… it’s hot. Could you open a window?”
“Of course.”
Unable to bear the stench any longer, Lina hurried to crack open a window.
“Agh…”
With fresh air flowing in, her mind cleared enough to take in her surroundings more carefully.
A room that had once held an abundance of cute Dolls.
Lina’s gaze fixed on that corner.
“…!!!!”
Her body went rigid.
Dangling.
Hundreds of Dolls hung from the ceiling, nooses looped around their necks.
Lina’s palms grew slick with sweat; she wiped them surreptitiously on her pants and asked, “Yena… why are the Dolls like that…?”
Yena tilted her head, as if confused by the question.
“…?”
“It’s strange, isn’t it?”
“Strange? But…if they hang alone, they get lonely…”
Yena moved slowly and picked up a length of rope from the floor.
“Do you want to… join them, unnie?”
Yena’s lips twisted into a grin, her eyes vacant and hollow.
Lina stepped backward.
‘That’s not Yena. Not at all.’
Every hair on her body stood on end.
***

Crackle, crackle.
Along with the sound of charcoal burning, Lina’s voice—tinged with tears—drifted softly across the courtyard in front of the Spiritual Hotel.
“…I even tried psychiatric counseling through my agency, but it didn’t help. The only time I feel any relief is when I take medication and fall asleep.”
I regarded Lina with curiosity.
“But why did you come to me?”
“While searching for a way to save Yena, I thought of you….”
From Lina’s words alone, it was difficult to understand the situation in detail.
I watched as Lina’s eyes, when she looked up, darted nervously from side to side.
‘I should take a closer look.’
I activated Soul Insight toward Lina.
“Mm….”
What I saw matched exactly what Lina had described. In fact, seeing it directly made it seem far more grave.
‘Whatever’s causing this, it’s nasty business.’
When Soul Insight faded and I returned to the present moment, Lina was still speaking.
“…You run a hotel for spirits, so I was certain you must have another way to handle this.”
‘Is this really something I can solve?’
“Please…. Please help us. You can handle this, can’t you?”
I glanced back at Gang-rim and Miho.
Miho turned her head away as if uninterested, but her ears were perked up all the same.
Gang-rim, meanwhile, was concentrating on stacking meat atop lettuce as though nothing were amiss.
From the way they’d both mentioned detecting Ghost Scent, this clearly involved spirits somehow….
‘If it’s just a spirit playing pranks, I can burn it away. But….’
It might not be something so simple.
As I paused to consider,
Gang-rim, having chewed and swallowed a large lettuce-wrapped bite, spoke with deliberately grave composure.
“Hm…. There won’t be much time.”
“Not much time for what?”
“With Ghost Scent this virulent, she’ll be consumed in two days.”
Lina’s shoulders trembled.
“C-consumed?”
“Ah. Not literally consumed, but she’ll lose complete control over her body. Human spirits are fragile things, you see.”
Lina didn’t know who Gang-rim was.
Yet she seemed to sense instinctively that he was no ordinary presence.
“Then… what happens to my Yena? Gh-huh…!”
‘Now is hardly the time to be wandering around carelessly.’
Choi Il-joo’s checkout was just around the corner.
But,
‘I can’t just ignore her tears like this.’
“Sigh….”
I exhaled and spoke.
“Tomorrow.”
“Yes…?”
At my words, Lina lifted her head, her eyes puffy and red.
“Tomorrow morning, when daylight breaks, we’ll go together. I can’t promise I’ll be able to solve it, but I’ll look at it directly and decide.”
“Really? Oh, then I’ll come back in the morning. Thank you so much….”
I stopped Lina as she rose hastily from her seat.
“Can you even drive in that state? I’ll have a room prepared for you. Rest here instead. Minju, would you show her to a room? And find her some fresh clothes as well.”
“Of course. Lina, this way please.”
After Lina disappeared into the hotel,
I turned to Gang-rim with my questions.
“Could it be Possession?”
“I couldn’t say for certain, having not witnessed it directly.”
“Would it be possible for you to accompany us tomorrow and investigate?”
“Haha. I’m subject to many constraints. Being a civil servant, as it were, comes with its restrictions.”
“I see….”
“Still, if you ask it of me, I could push through—”
“Then there’s no need to strain yourself. If the situation becomes something I cannot handle, I’ll call for your help then.”
“Haha. As you wish.”
Gang-rim smiled and stacked more meat on his lettuce wrap.
Then, with an unfounded assurance that “the owner will manage it just fine,” he slid the bundle into his mouth.
Throughout the night, the brazier had been refilled several times over.
The refrigerator, which had been packed with meat, had vanished into someone’s belly.
***
Before the sun had fully risen, Lina was already pacing the lobby.
“Let’s take my car.”
I left Song-i in Minju’s care and stepped out of the Spiritual Hotel alongside Lina, who had been restlessly circling the lobby.
Throughout the drive, Lina said nothing, only fidgeting with her fingers.
We entered the Luxury Apartment Complex, following the route the navigation system guided us toward.
Click.
I parked comfortably in the spacious lot and climbed out of the car.
“…It’s over there.”
I looked up at the topmost floor of the apartment building, following where Lina’s finger pointed.
‘The sky is so clear…’
Yet that place alone seemed dim, as if cast in shadow.
“Something’s definitely there.”
At my murmur, Lina’s shoulders trembled slightly.
Moments later.
I stood before the entrance to Yena’s apartment, which I had seen through Soul Insight.
“Ugh…!”
A nauseating stench poured through the crack in the door.
It felt like burying my face in a garbage bin.
‘Is this Ghost Scent…?’
Her face flushed, Lina spoke as if making excuses.
“It’s… no matter how much we clean, the smell won’t disappear and just keeps getting worse.”
If we didn’t solve this problem soon, the neighbors would likely lodge complaints.
‘A rotting stench emanating from a famous idol’s apartment.’
I smiled wryly and answered.
“It’s fine.”
Her face flushed, Lina punched in the passcode and opened the door as she spoke.
“The Manager and the stylist saw them take their medicine and fall asleep in the early morning before they left.”
The apartment was quiet.
It seemed they had tidied up in the meantime—gone was the filthy state I’d witnessed through Soul Insight.
“Yena should be sleeping in this room.”
When Lina opened the door, a faint sound of breathing emerged.
‘Pardon the intrusion.’
I stepped carefully into the room.
Then I looked around.
Among the neatly arranged dolls.
One pink bear doll caught my eye.
As I moved toward it, Lina followed close beside me and spoke.
“Yena loved dolls. So I’ve been continuously rearranging them, hoping it might help.”
“You should have put them away instead.”
“Pardon?”
“Tsk!”
The pink bear doll was surrounded by dark energy.
Writhe. Writhe.
The dark energy emanating from that doll had become thick tendrils, wriggling and coiling.
Threads formed of dark energy.
They were…
Extending far and splitting into multiple strands that wrapped tightly around the arms and legs of Yena, who lay sleeping on the bed.
I Inherited a Goblin Hotel
Author
: WhyWhatAmazed
Created
: August 25, 2026
Publisher
: ACIS Media Inc.
Editor-in-Chief
: ACIS Media Editorial Team
Address
Seoul, Gangnam-gu, Teheran-ro 325, Urban Bench Building, 10F
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work has been published by Aces Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder,
and the content may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.
This e-book is protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reprinting or reproduction may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260730113

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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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