Welcome to the Goblin Hotel - Chapter 42

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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 42
The luxury sedan glided down the highway with quiet, weighted grace.
Secretary Kim gripped the wheel in the front passenger seat with Min-jae beside him, while the chairman and I sat side by side in back.
Chairman Jang, his eyes closed as though dozing, spoke in a low voice.
“Don’t let me shortchange you for your trouble.”
“As I mentioned, I’m not yet certain this is something I can resolve.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’ve left your business to come out here—that deserves proper compensation.”
Though I’d only met Chairman Jang twice now, I could read his character well enough.
He wasn’t stingy or grudging with payment; if anything, he was generous.
Yet he wasn’t the type to throw money around carelessly either.
‘Is that boldness what built his business fortune?’
Connections like this were worth maintaining.
I might need his help someday myself.
The car drove on for another hour before stopping.
Before us lay a narrow mountain trail climbing upward, with a signboard planted at its entrance.
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This is private property. Unauthorized entry and damage are strictly prohibited.
Violators will be subject to criminal prosecution.
*According to Article 319, Section 1 of the Criminal Code: imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine not exceeding 5,000,000 won.
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“Do people trespass often?”
“Not anymore.”
There must have been some trouble in the past.
I gazed up the trail climbing into the mountain and spoke.
“The path is quite narrow.”
Chairman Jang, squinting as he looked up at the mountain, replied.
“To build the villa, we need to widen the road—but we haven’t even started. Tsk! Every time we try to get going, fog rolls in, rain falls.”
“Is that so?”
“Surely something’s off about this, wouldn’t you say?”
“Has anyone been injured?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Well, that’s fortunate.”
Whatever was going on, it didn’t seem to pose immediate danger.
‘I suppose I’ll have to walk up.’
I’d climbed a mountain only yesterday, and the sight of another one now drew an involuntary sigh from my lips.
“What do you make of it? Do you sense anything unusual?”
“Well… the air is quite clean and fresh.”
Chairman Jang, dressed in casual hiking wear, nodded as though he’d anticipated my answer.
“Then let’s go a bit further up.”
Secretary Kim moved to stand beside the chairman.
“I’ll accompany you, sir.”
“No need. You wait here and handle the work I’ve outlined.”
“But Chairman—”
“It’s fine, really. I have President Kim and this young man here, so don’t worry.”
At the chairman’s words, Min-jae responded with eager enthusiasm.
“I’ll stay right at your side, Chairman. No need to worry—go ahead and get that work done.”
Secretary Kim hesitated for a moment, then gave a quiet nod and stepped back without further protest.
Chairman Jang then led the way up the uneven trail.
Min-jae quickly moved to fall into step behind him.
“Chairman, how long until we reach our destination?”
“About fifteen minutes to the villa site.”
“I’ll keep you company on the way up.”
“Ha ha ha! You’re quite the eager one, aren’t you? How old are you this year?”
“I’m twenty.”
“Prime age, that.”
We passed through the dense thicket of trees that crowded the forest’s edge.
Then the Cypress Forest opened before us, with tall trees stretching up the slope in orderly ranks.
A gentle cypress fragrance filled the air, and my eyes felt refreshed by the sight.
Min-jae looked around with wonder as he spoke.
“Wow…! The forest is so beautiful.”
“Heh heh heh. Isn’t it? You’ve got a good eye for these things, young man.”
“Heh heh…. Thank you so much. But how on earth did you find a place like this? You’re truly remarkable!”
“It’s not easy to discover a tract of land this size all at once. Building a forest like this takes time—real time.”
Min-jae and the Chairman chatted as they climbed the mountain path, while I followed quietly behind, taking in my surroundings.
Just as the Chairman had said, the terrain wasn’t particularly steep.
Chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp-
The song of mountain birds echoing from deep within the forest cleared my mind.
I began to understand why the Chairman and his wife had taken such a liking to this land.
“Hah hah hah hah hah!”
“Heh heh heh…!”
Whatever they were discussing, the laughter of the Chairman and Min-jae ahead of me echoed through the trees.
Then, quite suddenly, the Chairman stopped in his tracks and turned to look back at me.
“From here on, Kim will take the lead. Just keep climbing straight ahead from here.”
‘So it starts here.’
“Then I’ll go ahead. Please take your time.”
I quickened my pace and moved past Min-jae and the Chairman, taking point.
The clear, refreshing air that had surrounded us moments before vanished, replaced by a hazy mist.
The humid air of midsummer rainy season clung to my skin.
The Chairman, following behind, spoke up.
“What’s your assessment?”
“This isn’t ordinary fog, I’d say. It doesn’t feel right at all.”
The Chairman nodded slowly.
“Right. Very unpleasant indeed.”
“And this mist—it wasn’t here before?”
“Not at all. There was nothing like this two months ago.”
“I see.”
This place felt utterly different from the forest’s entrance.
It resembled the same tackiness I felt approaching a Corpse or Evil Spirit.
‘Though weaker than that.’
Normally, the deeper you venture into the forest, the clearer and fresher the air becomes—but now, the higher I climbed, the heavier it grew.
Fortunately, the fog wasn’t thick enough to obscure my vision.
Thud-thud. Thud-thud.
I was climbing at a brisk pace when I suddenly halted.
‘Someone’s here.’
Through my heightened senses, I felt the weight of another’s gaze.
I turned my head quickly to locate the source of unease.
About twenty meters off the path.
A black silhouette between the shadows of the trees.
It was waving toward us.
“Three o’clock, twenty meters. Someone’s there.”
The Chairman narrowed his eyes and followed my gaze to where I’d pointed.
“Someone’s there, you say?”
Min-jae stepped up beside the Chairman and extended a finger.
“Right there, sir. See? Over there.”
The Chairman craned his neck to look but shook his head.
“Tch! I don’t see anything.”
‘I thought as much.’
Watching the woman continue to wave toward us, I spoke slowly.
“Given that you can’t see her, it doesn’t appear to be human.”
“If it’s not human, then what is it?”
‘Will he believe me?’
The thought flickered past for just a moment,
‘But if he doesn’t, so be it.’
There was little to lose.
“It appears to be a ghost.”
The Chairman’s eyes widened as he stared at Min-jae.
“What? Then how did this young man see it?”
The Chairman seemed less startled by the appearance of a ghost than by the fact that Min-jae could perceive it.
Min-jae scratched the back of his head sheepishly and answered.
“Ha ha… My Spiritual Sight has opened as well.”
The chairman let out a bewildered laugh.
“Well, I’ll be. Two people who can see ghosts… I’m curious what kind of place that hotel of yours must be.”
I kept my gaze fixed on the ghost as I answered.
“You should visit sometime. It’s a fine place for rest.”
“I suppose so. But… what do we do now?”
“I’ll go closer and investigate.”
I unwound the rope coiled at my waist and gripped it in my hand.
“Will you be all right?”
I nodded silently, signaling that I would be fine.
I’d know soon enough what I was dealing with.
‘Whether this is a ghost I can burn away, or something else entirely.’
“Be careful.”
I moved slowly toward where the ghost was waving its hand.
As the distance narrowed.
The ghost’s form, which had been only a shadow hidden in mist, came into view.
It was a female ghost dressed in a stretched-neck t-shirt and loose pants.
Blood had dried and crusted on her hair, and from her bloodshot eyes, crimson tears streamed down her face.
— Sob, sob, sob…! Please come here and help me.
It happened in an instant.
The ghost increased the distance between us, her voice growing fainter.
I could catch her in one swift throw of the rope.
‘But the fastest way to solve this problem is to follow her.’
The strange energy permeating this mountain seemed to stem from that female ghost.
Without hesitation, I followed where she led.
Fortunately, the forest’s terrain was neither rough nor overgrown with thick brambles, so the going wasn’t difficult.
After the ghost retreated a fourth time, she finally stopped.
I maintained a suitable distance and stopped as well.
The woman, tears of blood streaming from her eyes, collapsed to the ground and pleaded.
— Please…! Get my child out of here.
“Your child?”
— Help me. My child is here.
‘What does she mean?’
The words of wounded spirits were difficult to comprehend.
But I had a method to understand them.
Whoosh—
I threw the rope and yanked the ghost close.
— Ah… ah, no…!
“If you have something to say, open your eyes.”
I chose a faster method than words.
【 Soul Insight 】
# Crash-bang-bang!!
The moment my vision shifted, a sharp sound pierced my ears.
“Where’d you hide the money! Huh?”
“There is none. Even if I wanted to eat and die, there’s nothing!”
“Where’d you stash it! You said it’d only take a day!”
Clang!
A man with venom in his eyes turned the entire house upside down.
Walls stained with mold.
Grocery store flyers stuffing the gaps between broken floor tiles.
Beyond the overturned household goods, a boy could be seen.
‘Can’t be more than five years old.’
The child sat in the corner of the room, mouth clamped shut, weeping.
‘That crazy bastard!! What kind of thing is this to do in front of a child!?’
The man paid the child no mind and ransacked the house like a madman.
He yanked out drawers, shook them violently, and when nothing of value appeared, flung them aside without hesitation.
Crash-bang-bang!
He pulled out every tattered piece of clothing they owned, shook each one, and even peered inside the broken floor tiles.
“Where’s the money!”
The man’s bloodshot eyes widened with rage, and his movements suddenly ceased.
The wardrobe, now emptied of everything it had held, stared back at him.
He positioned himself beside it, peering into the gap.
The woman’s eyes wavered violently.
The man whose gaze locked with hers let out a low, menacing chuckle.
“Ah, so it was here?”
He pulled the wardrobe slightly and peered behind it, then withdrew a grimy envelope.
A grimy envelope came free in his hand.
“Finally found it.”
The woman’s face drained of all color.
“No, don’t! If you take that, how are we supposed to live? Give it back! Now!”
“You think I’m doing this just for myself? Wait. By tomorrow it’ll be double. No—ten times what it is now!”
“Give it back…! You can’t take that…!”
The woman lunged at the man’s arm, trying to wrench the envelope from his grip.
“Damn it…! Don’t be difficult. Get out of my way!”
He shoved her aside roughly.
Thud!
Her head struck the corner of a drawer that had been thrown to the floor.
The impact made a sickening sound.
“Damn.”
Blood trickled.
Blood flowing from the fallen woman’s head pooled across the disheveled room.
The man shook her body.
“Hey…! Wake up, you bitch!”
…….
“Why’d you have to come at me like that? What am I supposed to do if you die like this…!”
His trembling hands cursing, the man’s head snapped up suddenly.
His glassy eyes fixed on a child weeping silently nearby.
The child pressed small hands over his mouth, shaking his head.
“Nngh…uh….”
Tears and stifled cries leaked between his fingers.
The man stuffed the blood-stained envelope into his pocket and rose to his feet.
He staggered toward the child.
“Su-chan, come here. Your mother’s calling you?”
‘This bastard…!’
The vision grew steadily darker.
His hand reached out toward the child.
Inherited the Dokkaebi Hotel
Author
: Waegeurae Nolla
Date of Publication
: August 25, 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 has been published by Aces Media Inc. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder.
No part of this content may 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

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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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