Welcome to the Goblin Hotel - Chapter 5

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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 5
Min Jae needed surgery for his injured eyes.
Min Ju scraped together every won she had, but still came up fifty thousand short.
Just fifty thousand won.
Min Ju went to the Restaurant Owner, who had employed her faithfully for two years, and pleaded with him.
“Please, I just need fifty thousand won as an advance. My brother’s surgery cost—”
But.
“Why should I trust you with an advance?”
The answer was cold refusal.
The siblings had no friends or family to borrow from.
All they had was each other.
The world was merciless to them.
“I’m sorry, noona,” Min Jae whispered.
Despite the surgery, Min Jae never recovered his sight.
Yet the surgery costs didn’t diminish because the outcome was poor.
‘Should I just ask Min Jae to run away with me?’
The thought tempted her for a moment, but Min Ju’s conscience refused it.
In the hospital bathroom.
Min Ju held back her tears with sheer force of will.
“I can’t cry. Min Jae will notice…”
As Min Ju stood there, eyes red and trembling with suppressed sobs, something caught her gaze.
There, before her eyes, was something that seized her attention.
<Quick Cash. No Collateral. Same-Day Loans>
A yellow sticker with blue lettering, pasted on the bathroom door.
“…”
Min Ju knew better.
She knew usury was not to be touched.
But it was only fifty thousand won.
‘Just one week. I’ll pay it back when I get my paycheck.’
With that thought, Min Ju stepped into hell.
She didn’t realize it until a mere week had passed.
***
A mountain in Chungcheong Province.
“Where is she? Find her now!”
The beam of a flashlight tore frantically through the forest.
“Noona, go ahead…!”
Min Jae’s face had gone ashen—he still hadn’t fully recovered since the surgery.
The siblings worked ceaselessly, yet the debt only swelled.
Fifty thousand won had become ten million won in just two months.
‘What kind of calculation is this?’
Sobs threatened to rise; anger flared—but the world took no side with them.
Even the police were indifferent to the siblings’ plight.
The Loan Sharks were ready to sell off Min Ju, barely twenty-one years old.
And when Min Jae learned of it, he smuggled his sister out and now they were fleeing like this.
But reality was no film.
Min Jae twisted his ankle as he ran.
Drenched in sweat, Min Ju dragged her brother’s arm forward.
“Just a little further, Min Jae…!”
“Noona, just go. You can’t let them catch you…!”
“No. We go together. Just a little more—there has to be a way out.”
Even as she stumbled and fell, scraping the ground, Min Ju refused to let go of Min Jae.
With nails breaking and knees bleeding, she pushed forward.
“Huff… huff…”
Their legs grew heavier, weaker.
Both siblings prayed in their hearts.
‘Please, someone save my Min Jae.’
‘Someone… anyone… protect my sister.’
They walked blindly ahead, fleeing the Loan Sharks’ shouts.
Soon a thick fog began to settle around them.
“Thank goodness. The mist will make it harder for them to find us, Min Jae.”
“……”
But Min Jae’s eyes were already unfocused.
“Min Jae, no…! Get a grip, Min Jae!”
Unaware of anything, Min Jae limped forward reflexively, stumbling with each step.
“Hngh…!”
Min Ju bit her lip, choking back a sob.
Then she saw a building ahead, its lights blazing.
She pounded on the iron gate as if to shatter it.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
“Please! Please, just open the door!”
Anyone. Please.
Save us.
***
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
The sound shattered the quiet dawn.
I turned to Song Yi with a hard face.
“Song Yi, go inside your room.”
Sensing something was wrong, Song Yi withdrew.
At the iron gate, I heard a woman’s voice, hoarse with weeping.
“Hngh…! Min Jae. Come to your senses.”
What could have brought a weeping woman to this remote mountain at dawn?
I unlocked the gate and asked.
“What’s happened?”
That’s when the letters appeared before my eyes.
【 Guest requires rescue. 】
【 Status: Exhaustion 】
【 Do you permit lodging? 】
【 Room rate: 12,000 won 】
‘So I have to approve before they can enter?’
The woman weeping outside looked up.
“Ah…! Ah…? It was right here just now…!”
She turned to look behind her, then whipped her head back to me, asking urgently.
“Who…who are you?”
‘She’s the one who pounded on my gate, and she’s asking who I am?’
Well, by her look, she’s not in her right mind. I’ll give her that.
“The hotel owner. Not quite open yet, though.”
The woman stared at me blankly.
“A hotel…?”
“That man looks in bad shape. You’re going to leave him out there?”
“Ah…! Please save my brother.”
Hwang Geum Yi had come outside at some point and was licking the collapsed man’s hand.
‘So they’re siblings.’
Both looked young.
What on earth was their story?
Curiosity stirred, but I decided to handle the immediate crisis first.
“Let’s get him inside.”
I helped support the man and moved him to the sofa in the lobby.
The notification I’d seen earlier said he was in a state of exhaustion.
The man’s face was pale, and he didn’t respond even to voices.
I took a spoonful of the medicinal honey I’d been saving and mixed it into water.
‘So this is when I use it.’
I swallowed a sigh and poured the honey water slowly into the man’s mouth.
“…Mm.”
As the medicinal honey entered him, color returned to his pale face and his eyes opened.
“Sister…? Sister, are you okay? What about those guys?”
“Min Jae! You’re awake?”
The woman burst into tears and embraced her brother.
‘Touching, I suppose.’
But I had other priorities at the moment.
I held out the bowl of honey water to the man.
“Finish this, please. You need the energy. The two of you can share it.”
“Who…are you?”
These siblings kept asking who I was, even though they were in someone else’s home.
Identical, both of them.
I let out a quiet laugh to myself before answering.
“I own this hotel.”
A moment later.
After sharing the medicinal honey water and regaining their senses, the siblings finally offered their thanks.
“Thank you for helping us.”
“Thank you.”
Their clothes were matted with dirt, dead leaves, and weeds.
“Might I ask how you ended up in such a state? Anyone would think you’d crossed the DMZ—”
I narrowed my eyes, studying them both.
“…Hmm.”
‘I wonder what the bounty for reporting a spy is…?’
Flinch.
The two of them waved their hands frantically.
“No, no! Loan sharks were chasing us…!”
“And this is Chungcheong Province anyway. It’s nowhere near the DMZ!”
Their reaction to my offhand remark was remarkably sharp.
But then.
‘Loan sharks? Chungcheong Province?’
“This isn’t Chungcheong Province.”
“……!”
“……?”
“This is Northern Gyeonggi Province.”
At my words, their faces went pale as blank paper.
After feeding them that precious medicinal honey to save their lives, they looked ready to die all over again.
“…That can’t be right!”
“You’re joking…? You’re lying, aren’t you?”
I shook my head silently.
Their eyes darted back and forth in panic.
“We were in the mountains of Chungcheong Province. How could….”
Seeing their genuine shock, it seemed they really had been in Chungcheong.
Which meant…the hotel must have done something.
Or perhaps the Dokkaebi had.
The woman’s hand trembled slightly.
“I didn’t misunderstand. I definitely saw a house and knocked on the door… and then it suddenly turned into a hotel.”
The woman looked as though she might faint at any moment.
Clap—!
I clapped my hands together to dispel the mood.
“So, guests…? Will you be staying with us?”
At my words, the two dug through their pockets and pulled out crumpled bills.
One ten-thousand-won note and two one-thousand-won notes.
“Will…this be enough for now? We’ll pay the rest later….”
‘So that notification about the room rate was referring to this.’
I gazed at the crumpled bills with an indifferent expression before speaking.
“I don’t accept payment. I haven’t filed for business registration yet. Taking money would be illegal.”
“Ah…then what should we do….”
“I need help preparing for the opening, so if you’re willing to work, I can offer you rooms. What do you say?”
The siblings’ faces brightened.
“Thank you.”
“We’ll work hard!”
【 Staff Hired: 2 】
【 Staff Dormitory: Unlocked 】
Rumble—
A loud sound echoed as a space I hadn’t seen before appeared.
In front of the Manager’s Room.
A new room had manifested across the corridor.
“…This is a dream, right?”
Their eyes grew clouded again.
I scratched my head before answering.
“It may feel like a dream, but it isn’t.”
The notification that had appeared earlier was clearly for a guest paying 12,000 won for lodging.
But this time, it had changed from a guest booking to a staff recruitment.
‘It changes depending on my choice.’
Day three at Dokkaebi Hotel.
There was still so much I didn’t understand.
Song Yi had been peeking her head through the doorway for quite some time.
“Dad… can I go out?”
“Yes.”
With my permission, Song Yi darted straight into the lobby.
“Song Yi, come say hello. These are the people who will be helping out at our hotel for a while.”
Song Yi placed her hands above her navel and bowed in greeting.
“Hello! I’m Song Yi Kim!”
They smiled and exchanged greetings with her.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Min Ju Kim.”
“Hi, I’m Min Jae Kim.”
“Can I call you Min Ju and Min Jae?”
Even as they greeted Song Yi, they were tidying up their soiled clothes.
They seemed well aware of what they looked like.
I pointed toward the newly built staff dormitory.
“Go wash up, and then let’s have a meal together.”
***
A thick fog appeared before the loan sharks searching for the siblings.
“What’s with all this fog?”
“If we lose them now, it’ll be hard to catch them.”
The security deposit on the siblings’ old home had already gone into the loan sharks’ hands.
If they lost them here, it would be impossible to catch them—homeless and desperate.
Smack!
The burly loan shark struck his subordinate’s back of the head.
“Damn it. You should’ve kept watch properly!”
Following the siblings’ trail, they descended the mountainside.
They were certain the two had entered the fog as well.
“They must’ve run that way. Let’s go.”
“Boss! There they are!”
They saw the siblings enter a building with its lights on.
“Move!”
It wasn’t far.
But as they advanced, the fog grew thicker still.
Soon, they couldn’t even see the person standing right beside them.
“Stay close. One wrong move and we’ll lose our way.”
“Boss! Where are you?”
“I’m right next to you, you idiot.”
“I’m coming closer to you now.”
“Hey! Why aren’t you getting here?”
“Where exactly are you, boss?”
“You damn fools! Why aren’t you coming?”
“I can hear your voice, but I can’t tell which way to go, boss.”
Twelve hours later.
The loan sharks had barely managed to find each other.
But there was no other fortune to be had.
They couldn’t find the way out.
“Gasp… gasp… gasp… Boss, something’s really wrong here.”
“Damn it. This fog can’t possibly last this long.”
“The building those bastards went into was definitely close… but no matter how far we walk, we can’t get out.”
“The cell phone signal won’t pick up.”
The loan sharks walked with their hands gripping each other’s collars.
Gurgle-gurgle-gurgle.
Their bellies ached with hunger, and their throats were parched.
Two days passed like that.
The Loan Sharks’ minds grew progressively hazier, and fissures opened among their ranks.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
“It’s your fault!”
“Get it together, you bastard.”
“Why’d you have to drag that woman into this?”
“Waaaahhhhh—! I’m dying because of this asshole…!”
“Why is it my fault? If you’d just kept watch properly!”
They grabbed each other by the collar and tumbled across the dirt floor.
Soon exhausted to fight further, they lay sprawled and gasping.
Then the fog that had been slowly obscuring their vision began to lift.
“Wait? The fog…! The fog is clearing.”
The Loan Sharks scrambled to their feet.
As the fog dispersed, they raised both hands high.
“Don’t move!”
Soldiers with rifles trained on them encircled their position.
The frontline soldiers’ eyes gleamed with a sharp, predatory intensity as they looked upon them.
“Please spare us!”
The burly boss was the first to drop to his knees and plead.
In his wandering through the fog, the appearance of soldiers felt like salvation to him.
But it was a mistake.
What awaited these ex-convicts who had illegally entered a Civilian Restricted Area was not rescue.
Inherited the Dokkaebi Hotel
Author
: WhyAreYouLate
Date of Creation
: August 25, 2026
Publisher
: ACES Media Co., Ltd.
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 Co., Ltd. according to a contract with the copyright holder,
and the content may not 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 duplication 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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