Chapter 100 |
In the sudden pursuit, Lee Yeon-woo was dumbfounded.
'What is this?'
He'd suspected an ulterior motive. He'd felt the wrongness in her behavior. But he hadn't anticipated this kind of urgent atmosphere being manufactured.
'She can't be trying to sever ties with me.'
The 'Drenched One' as Lee Yeon-woo understood her was a coward.
An egoist driven mad by loneliness. Someone like that wouldn't cross the line now. If she were going to, she'd have done it long ago. And it wouldn't have been now, of all times.
Just as two pitiable lost souls were about to reach the elevator.
'So this is....'
Lee Yeon-woo understood The Drenched One's game.
Insane.
"Yeon-woo, Mr. Yeon-woo...!"
"I'm listening."
"You said there was a sort of rule the Dokkaebi had to follow, didn't you?!"
"Yes. She broke it."
But Lee Yeon-woo knew.
'It was the same with The Guest Without Taste.'
Now that the game had become reality, the rules governing Monster Guests were a form of etiquette.
Similar to how, under normal circumstances, you shouldn't get drunk and cause a scene in a hotel lobby. It would make things uncomfortable for everyone, but that didn't mean it was impossible.
"Do not draw your weapon."
But precisely because of that, he could state it with confidence.
"Just keep your eyes forward and run. Don't look back."
"Wait—you're not planning to stay behind alone...!"
"I told you."
CRASH—!!!
She wouldn't actually harm them.
"Don't look back."
SPLAT-SPLAT-SPLAT!!
Excluding the psychological damage, that is.
"Ugh...!!"
"It seems you need more time."
"No, no...!!"
"Then what are you doing?"
Still maintaining defense, he spoke.
"Run."
"...Thank you."
'Don't mention it.'
With Rawi's dazed voice—practically being carried—as the last thing he heard, the dry-faced Lee Yeon-woo thought.
'I was trying to pop them out of sight, but I miscalculated.'
He'd been trying to make up for the jellyfish incident, but instead he'd shown them this ugly spectacle again. Frozen mid-attack in the air, Lee Yeon-woo continued analyzing the situation.
'...It's not that this place's Monster Guests break the rules because they don't think. Even when it looks like they've lost their minds and acted out, they only ever pull stunts they believe they can get away with....'
But conversely, that made it hard to prevent. Because he'd realized that this situation was the result of The Drenched One showing considerable restraint.
'If I crack down on even this, it'll lead to worse damage.'
The 'bond' between Lee Yeon-woo and The Drenched One wasn't valuable enough to prevent that much. Well, objectively speaking, it certainly held sufficient value, but....
'She wouldn't even consider a prank of this scale a serious issue.'
His opponent was unmistakably a Water Wraith. The baseline for common sense was fundamentally different. If he blocked even this 'prank' on top of her already simmering irritation, he couldn't begin to fathom how 'hurt' she'd be.
"......"
Lee Yeon-woo chose the option with the least collateral among the visible choices.
'Focus on getting them up as fast as possible.'
Whatever The Drenched One had done to this place, the monsters here weren't entirely outside the administrator Lee Yeon-woo's influence—but they were conspicuously answering to her.
Had they started to perceive her as a sort of middle manager?
'So, for the sake of future relations, if I factor in what the Water Wraith wants, then....'
Lee Yeon-woo rolled his eyes.
"......"
...I'm not exactly a decent person either.
He knew his current 'choice' wasn't the best one, but the prank was convincing enough that he couldn't afford to extend his consideration to the lost souls' mental state as well. As he'd said time and again, these Monster Guests' pranks—
—exceeded human common sense.
SQUELCH—!!
'What taste.'
It was truly, certifiably insane.
***
"So...."
Returning to the present, having released The Drenched One's head. Lee Yeon-woo continued in his characteristically dry voice.
"You judged that harm to the human psyche doesn't count as real damage, and therefore concluded I'd laugh this prank off... is that a fair summary?"
The Drenched One, still bent at the waist, simply grinned.
"I see."
Lee Yeon-woo didn't bother seeking understanding.
"I acknowledge and am grateful that you read my face, avoided direct killing, and adjusted the difficulty. Thanks to that, I didn't have to witness innocent people dying. But something seems off."
"......"
"Who was it?"
"......"
"Who orchestrated today's situation?"
[External Observation Level: 4 → 5]
"Ah."
Unpleasant.
"So it wasn't something you pulled off alone after all. Am I right?"
"You're saying it was?"
The Water Wraith's 'voice' reached him even above the water.
"So cold, as always...."
"I'm sorry you feel that way."
"If you're too clean, your guests won't like it."
She twisted up the corner of her mouth and covered his still-bleeding neck with a large hand. Despite the revulsion at the contact, Lee Yeon-woo merely looked down at it with indifference.
"You'll have to wring 'Nightmares' out of them somehow if you want to send them home. You know that."
"I'm aware."
"As the administrator of a place that lets them in but won't let them leave, you'll become an accomplice in deceiving them."
"I know that too."
"Since you're getting dirty anyway, drop everything and play with me."
It was a provocation that struck a nerve.
"Hm? Come on, friend...."
"......"
To send the Human Guests out alive, paradoxically, they had to be tormented. If it had to be done in a way that didn't endanger their lives or minds, then Lee Yeon-woo would have to take a more active role.
A rotting dilemma.
"...It is dirty water."
Lee Yeon-woo made no excuses.
He removed the Water Wraith's hand from his neck and used his own to wipe the blood caked on his neck and face. Following his touch, the blood was cleanly reabsorbed.
"But just because I've stepped into the mire doesn't mean I intend to leave this hotel in disarray. I have that much control."
"Won't you be tired?"
"I draw the lines."
"It will hurt."
"If I do my part well, it's a solvable problem."
"The living are selfish and self-righteous."
The Water Wraith spoke with hatred.
"You're going to lie to them in the end."
"Someday, probably."
"Hypocrite."
"If that's my share of responsibility, I'll bear it gladly."
Lee Yeon-woo turned away without lingering.
It was too late for self-reproach—he had no luxury for such indulgence—and too much lay ahead to afford being shaken. He had to take responsibility for his actions and his position.
"I should head up first. Your brutal prank must have given them quite a scare—the least I can do is show them, belatedly, that I'm still in one piece."
"Come with me."
"I still prefer dry land."
Unlike her, he still preferred people.
"If there's a reason to do it, and if it can be done... there's no reason not to."
Personal innocence could never compare to a human life.
"Stay away from my guests for the time being, friend."
"So cold."
"Being seen with you is bad for my reputation."
"Quite the favoritism."
The Water Wraith whispered.
"You'll regret it."
"Until next time."
Doing what could be done.
That was what Lee Yeon-woo did best.
***
"......"
"Lucy?"
"Oh."
Chin-length hair in a round bob swayed gently.
"Something the matter?"
"I'm feeling good."
The girl drew a dreamy, soft, youthful smile.
Skin the color of white with pearl dust stirred into warm milk. Irises of a pale, violet-tinged ash lavender gray. Hair of silver-white, like dandelion seeds or moonlight....
With features akin to an angel's, a singer murmured.
"I'm going to see him."
"Wait—suddenly? See who?"
"I need to reconcile with..."
My Dear Doctor.
"...my respected teacher."
He would gladly accept.
Not for himself, nor for The Tongueless Hymn.
But for the many lives that would be saved.
***
"......"
When the elevator doors opened.
A lavish scene lay before them.
A somewhat classical aesthetic. The lobby floor stretching wide before them was marble. It reflected the candlelight-like glow, shimmering softly.
'The walls....'
Deep crimson and gold ornamentation.
'The ceiling.'
A magnificent chandelier hung above. Each time its countless crystals swayed, innumerable shards of light scattered, filling the space.
'The pillars, too.'
Delicately and intricately carved—like works of art. But was it his imagination? On closer inspection, unknowable shapes entwined with the shadows, lending a sense of unease.
Fine furniture and sofas gleaming like silk. Even the heavy, draping curtains. They boasted traditional elegance, yet simultaneously harbored an ineffable discomfort.
"......"
...A labyrinth was said to be like a play.
'A record of history and a reenactment of legend, they said.'
Rawi's eyes took in the full panorama of the hotel lobby.
The splendor remained intact. But beneath that surface, something unfamiliar crouched. He could see it. It wasn't a trace of humanity. A lukewarm, alien energy.
It seemed to have seeped deep into the roots of this beauty.
"......"
"Junior."
"Oh."
Only then could he register the gazes directed at them.
"Uh, um."
"Stay calm."
"What do we do now?"
"I don't know."
All Lee Yeon-woo had told them was 'go up.'
"Well...."
Rawi tugged the corners of his mouth upward. But his facial muscles trembled, and the smile didn't hold. His heartbeat was irregular enough to feel against the back of his neck.
Into his buzzing ears came Seome's murmur.
"This is terrifying."
The staff's eyes were outwardly polite and smooth.
But beneath, restrained discomfort was visible. A gaze as sharp as if verifying something. It was suppressed hostility. And it was seeping from the edges of their expressions and postures.
"......"
"......"
Rawi fidgeted with an equipment strap.
"......"
"...Excuse me."
It was Seome who spoke up.
"We've come here on Mr. Lee Yeon-woo's recommendation."
"......"
"Would it be possible for us to stay here briefly?"
Rawi felt it. The moment the name 'Lee Yeon-woo' was uttered, the air shifted subtly.
As if in response, a 'person' who had been watching from the lobby approached them. A woman in a flowing white dress.
Her footsteps were quiet yet resonated heavily.
"......"
It was, when he thought about it, quite a strange thing.
There were quite a few guests in this place, yet not the slightest murmur could be heard.
Even though the woman before him was moving her lips.
"Junior."
"...Yes."
The message to not act rashly—he understood it well.
The white-haired woman's gaze, long enough to brush her thighs, was deep and lingering. Top to bottom, as if dissecting. The tension of a predator observing its prey without swallowing—biding its time.
When pale, thin fingers reached slowly toward them—
"......"
"Ah...."
A staff member blocked the way, and the woman exhaled a faint sigh.
A moment later, she withdrew. She turned her head away from Rawi and Seome, returned to her seat, and sat down. The lobby's air settled back to stillness.
Yet the afterimage of that gaze still lingered on their skin.
"......"
"...Thank you."
A staff member guided the two, standing there awkwardly. To a sofa placed somewhat apart from the lobby guests.
Even as they sat down safely, the tension of being 'evaluated' refused to leave.
"Sunbae-nim."
"What?"
"I think I'm going to throw up."
"Me too."
"Ah...."
The feeling of being a foreign body in an alien world. They'd visited many labyrinths, but they'd never felt this dizzy before.
"Do you think he's dead?"
Seome didn't need to be told the subject was 'Lee Yeon-woo.' He answered.
"No way."
"Really? After being hurt that badly?"
"This is a labyrinth."
"That...."
What did that mean in the face of injuries like those?
"......"
It was all so confusing.