"So that's how it went!"
Lee Seon-hae declared brightly.
"Having completed our self-examination, we're thinking of heading out of the hotel!"
"I see, indeed."
Lee Yeon-woo nodded.
"I'm glad it was a meaningful time."
He had no idea what exactly had "gone that way," or what kind of self-examination it had been.
'Did she not sleep well?'
Whether it was brooding or nightmares, either way, Lee Yeon-woo was simply grateful for their voluntary departure.
"Whenever it's convenient, please proceed with checkout and I'll assist."
"We feel terrible causing trouble until the very end."
Then Lee Seon-hae elbowed Hong Gyeong-yeon.
The writer flinched, then raised his head. He seemed at a loss for how to begin, hesitating, before finally speaking.
"…I'm truly sorry."
"Please don't trouble yourself."
"No. I shouldn't have been… so reckless…."
"That only speaks to the depth of your consideration."
"No, I acted carelessly and only caused Mr. Yeon-woo more harm. I wanted to say I'm sorry for causing turmoil in this hotel when you must be so busy."
His tone was composed, but the genuine remorse was unmistakable. He was probably viewing Yeon-woo as some twenty-odd-year-old kid. It looked like he was blaming himself for being a nuisance to a youngster.
"This was entirely because we underestimated the situation. You warned us, and we sensed something was off, but we did what we shouldn't have. We wanted to know more, thought maybe we could do something… and acted recklessly."
"……."
"I'm sorry that Mr. Yeon-woo paid the price for it. We were needlessly stubborn and someone could have died. I've written scenes like that countless times, and yet the moment I was inside one, my instincts deserted me."
A writer, perhaps. It was clear he'd spent considerable time crafting and agonizing over this apology. Emotionally rich yet cleanly structured.
"If I hadn't done what I did, you wouldn't have been hurt that badly. I know we were a great burden to you, Mr. Yeon-woo. I'm truly sorry."
"This isn't just a verbal apology, by the way."
Lee Seon-hae smiled and held out a business card. Black background, numbers embossed in gold leaf.
"This is my personal card. I'm currently active as a director, but I have a wide network and there's a lot I can do. If you ever need anything down the line, I'll help with everything I've got."
"A personal card—what a precious gift."
"Mm, ah, well. I'm not sure something like this counts as compensation… I'm sorry, it's all we can offer right now."
"It's more than sufficient compensation. Thank you."
Lee Yeon-woo examined the card. Firm yet smooth matte material. Numbers embossed with fine gold leaf on its surface. Clearly in a different league from the mass-produced kind you hand out to anyone.
"…A fine card indeed."
…A strange feeling. Never thought the day would come when he'd hold Director Lee Seon-hae's personal business card.
'I'd thought they were people with no connection to me.'
Staying too long in an isolated place changes a person. Much of "daily life" gets severed. Not just one's life—oneself, too.
This single palm-sized slip of paper made reality feel even hazier.
'Wasn't the team leader next to me, Kang, an avid fan of Director Lee Seon-hae?'
A director whose name had come up for the Nobel Prize. That her network was wide was no idle claim. The joke went that she had connections even in the White House. A person famous and capable across many fields.
'More than I deserve.'
And it sat uncomfortably.
'It's come out looking like I extorted them through self-harm.'
Of course he knew. From his perspective it resembled a game, but for them it was a reality with no bottom and no end.
'They'll think their meddling put some innocent young man through hardship. My ruined reputation is beyond salvage, but setting aside personal grudges… compensation at this level is perfectly reasonable.'
It was only Lee Yeon-woo who didn't feel entirely right about it.
"…I'll gratefully accept the gift."
"Oh, I was so worried you'd refuse."
"One should never refuse a gift given with such heart."
Lee Yeon-woo smiled with gentle eyes and tucked the card into his breast pocket.
He wasn't a fan of theirs, but he'd personally been rooting for them. Whether someone confined to a hotel could ever make use of such "help" was doubtful, but at least it felt like collecting a celebrity's autograph.
Right, so—he felt like saying something uncalled for.
"Would it be all right if I said something personal?"
"Something personal?"
"Something I'd like to say has come to mind, but it feels too personal to share with guests I'm supposed to attend to."
"By all means—say whatever you'd like."
"I wonder how it'll sound coming from me, but—"
A modest impression.
"This time, the circumstances were not in your favor."
"Sorry?"
"Haha, which makes me all the more apologetic."
Not every human endeavor must yield meaning and results for the world to keep turning.
"The circumstances, the timing, the place—all of it was against you. But you are good and righteous, and it was simply that here, those qualities became poison. Whatever reflection you've done, whatever anguish you've felt, there is no reason beyond that. So, with my personal feelings added—"
As one does when watching a film—merely an impression.
"Thank you."
"……."
Lee Yeon-woo liked this kind of drama.
"…I don't think we did much worth thanking."
"Does Director Lee Seon-hae judge only by outcomes? The thought of such stinginess makes me laugh, yet—well, I didn't see it that way."
"I didn't realize, Mr. Yeon-woo, but you're really quite the speaker. Still, if good intentions become a nuisance, both sides would have plenty to say about the 'outcome.' That's only natural."
"I agree with that view."
As if he didn't know.
"There are those who set out with the best intentions and ruin everything, and no shortage of those who join hands in collaboration only to fail even their own share."
"True."
"Therefore, I won't deny the tangible harm the world has witnessed through your 'good intentions.' Whether large or small, how could I deny the plain fact that losses were incurred?"
"You really do…."
"But let me add this. How remarkable. Of all the words Director Lee Seon-hae could have chosen, it was… 'nuisance.'"
A laugh escaped.
"Could there be a sharper word for driving oneself into a corner?"
"……."
"Who said that to you? The General Manager before you? These silent staff? This troublesome hotel? Or did the people in those many fields where you carried your camera and threw yourself in say it?"
"…Er…."
"'You're a documentary director—stop being a nuisance.' Is that it?"
At length, Director Lee Seon-hae murmured.
"…How on earth are you this good with words…?"
"Ah, such undeserved praise. I'll take it to mean you've been left speechless."
"More like I'm just… at a loss for words… you might be better at this than me."
"An honor to my family."
That way of speaking. She was older than him, yet what an evergreen spirit.
"If, as Director Lee Seon-hae says, good intentions became a nuisance, then the fault lies in the caliber of the situation. To think it couldn't absorb a single invisible act of goodwill—how dull and wretched."
"Hah."
"It would be a mistake to assume every component of the outcome is solely your own. God declares that all before Him are sinners, and the ancient sage taught that existence and non-existence give birth to one another."
Positive or negative, every outcome contains two or more coexisting processes. Thus the world has neither true heroes nor true villains, but at the very least, love existed.
If so, what a lovable talent this was.
"Judgment can be sharpened, but the heart that wishes to be good and the will to walk the right path—those, I believe, are a talent. I assure you: anywhere but here, your goodwill would have shone far more brightly."
How often does a horror hotel management simulation game manifest in reality?
"Far more people than I are desperately waiting for the attentive eye and the gentle hand you showed in this place. So please, do not change. What's strange is this hotel, not you."
"……."
"I'm not someone who resents those who wished to be good and tried to be right."
He had watched their documentaries. He had heard the stories behind them. They gave water to a young person caught in the current of selfishness, and willingly captured their lowered voice on film.
Some called them foolish and selfish. Judged them self-righteous. A documentary director captures reality, not changes it. So they were condemned.
'But so what.'
In the end, someone was saved by them, and grateful for it.
It was an individual act of goodwill, carried by personal conviction and will. Lee Yeon-woo was not distinguished enough to lecture anyone on how to live. Most people probably weren't.
Whatever it was, so long as it didn't block his path, Lee Yeon-woo respected every person's way of surviving. And if that way happened to benefit the betterment of humanity—why would he condemn it?
"Why wouldn't I, too, have been comforted by you?"
The goodwill of others was precious, and conversation with people was a joy.
"I won't tell you not to feel uncomfortable. That discomfort will make you more careful. But I wanted to say, at the very least, that I didn't view your actions all that badly."
"…Even though you were hurt?"
"It wasn't a serious injury."
He knew they wouldn't believe him.
'Hard to imagine that the person in front of you is a game character, after all.'
So Lee Yeon-woo didn't press the point and changed the subject.
"That was presumptuous of me. My apologies. I subjected you to a very personal impression."
"…I don't even know where to start or what to say…."
Lee Seon-hae's gaze grew unfocused. Not avoiding Lee Yeon-woo's eyes—she simply looked deeply exhausted. A face straining to bear the weight of the words she'd just heard.
Then she spoke, slowly.
"Someone… told me. That the fact we're alive and in one piece right now is a miracle. That this hotel's owner was remarkably considerate to us, and that such a thing is rare."
"……?"
…Who?
"I still don't understand how this hotel was built, why, or how it's maintained. But I do know one thing. Mr. Yeon-woo, you're a… truly special person."
"……."
Wait—who said that?
"Part of me wishes you were a little less special, but then we wouldn't have come out in one piece, would we. I'm sorry, and I'm grateful."
"…Excuse me…."
"I won't bother you any further."
"……."
Excuse me, what did you just say?
'Who knows about this hotel?'
What person? How?
'Why does this person know what even I don't?'
It could simply be someone's misunderstanding. Another facility like this one, perhaps. Or merely a guess that it was that dangerous. Even so, the other party's view was worth being curious about.
But Director Lee Seon-hae smoothly wrapped up the conversation.
"I'm planning to check out at dawn tomorrow. I know yesterday and this conversation must have worn you out—sorry for keeping you. I'll see you tomorrow."
"……."
Occupational disease must have already set in—the reply came automatically.
"…Have a good night."
Lee Yeon-woo was, truly, bewildered.
So who knows what, how, and why about this hotel…?
Could they possibly know… more than I do?
***
"…Hmm…."
A sturdy old man stroked his chin.
"…It seems Seon-hae has wandered into a labyrinth."
He could not guess at the being his niece had encountered.
'The master of the labyrinth showed consideration, she says.'
A person?
Or perhaps a dokkaebi.
Either way, a rare occurrence.
"……."
I ought to pay my respects.
***
And the hotel.
All of this.
Was not to its liking.
"……."
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Was not to its liking.
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"……."
"……."
"…No…."