WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 10: Room 101, The Cursed Room - 'The Strange Family' (5) Final

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A loud voice erupted first thing in the morning.

“Ah! Fuck, how many times do I have to tell you I’m not going? Are you deaf, Mom?”

“Seung-yeop. Mom isn’t telling you to suddenly stop playing games.... Mom read an article yesterday. You’ve always said you want to become a League pro gamer, right?

Apparently, a lot of League pros go abroad to make money. They pay really well in Europe and America.

But if you become a pro later, won’t it be hard to start learning English from scratch then?

Mom just wants you to learn at least a little English while you still have some free time.”

“I told you I don’t want to go to an academy like that.”

“Just listen to Mom. They say that academy is really good at engraving English words. Let’s just try it for two months.”

“Engraving English?”

“Yeah, the teacher there is famous for being so good at engraving English words into children’s skin.

You’re smart, so Mom believes you’ll learn all the basic words in just two months.”

I was hearing a lot of strange words today. Engraving English words into skin?

It seemed like an unusual way of saying they put English straight into my head.

Of course, I didn’t care whether they put it in bit by bit or shoved it in all at once.

I didn’t want to talk to Mom anymore, so I shut the door and went into my room.

I skipped lunch again today.

But I had no regrets! I was finally one step closer to Diamond, the tier of my dreams!

At this point, only two people in the Bangbae Middle School League group chat had a higher tier than me.

Around five, Dad came home. He said he’d had to work overtime late even though it was Saturday.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Seung-yeop! Open your door and come out right now!”

Dad’s angry voice rang out. I really didn’t understand why he seemed so full of rage whenever he saw me.

Still, I didn’t want to get hit in the head again, so I went out.

“What?”

“I heard everything from your mother. You’re saying you won’t even go to the Inko Language Academy your mom and I found for you?

What have you got to be so proud of that you’re skipping lunch and locking yourself in your room? I really don’t understand you!”

Ah, this was so annoying. It wasn’t like I’d asked my parents for anything expensive.

I was just practicing League on my own and working toward my dream. Why were Mom and Dad so desperate to harass me?

I didn’t get it. I couldn’t understand what these old geezers wanted me to do.

“Every time you open your mouth, it’s pro gamer, pro gamer. Every time I hear it, I feel like I can’t breathe.

Do you think Dad’s an idiot? Do you think I didn’t look into it? A famous player said it on a broadcast.

That rank? That tier? You have to reach Master at the very least before you can talk about going pro. Platinum? What does that even mean?

With a rank like that, you can’t even become a trainee anywhere.”

“I told you I’d have reached Diamond already if Mom and Dad hadn’t kept getting in my way!!!”

“You little punk, you really...!”

For a moment, we shouted at each other. Then came silence. Dad and I both knew neither of us was the type to do anything beyond shouting.

Still, I felt a little sorry for yelling at Dad, so I lowered my head without saying anything.

A minute or two passed. Then Dad continued in a gentler voice.

“Seung-yeop.... Dad isn’t trying to bully you. Study some English, get some exercise too. You’re a boy, after all.

Wouldn’t that all be good for you? You always say you want to be a pro gamer, so Dad looked into it a lot too.

Do you know how many more job opportunities pro gamers have if they’re good at English? And matches, those are all about stamina too.

Top-level players pour their whole minds into playing four or five games a day. That takes stamina.

Dad found something good. Let’s go check it out together.”

If I said no, he’d probably just yell like before. I figured I’d get some fresh air, threw on a hoodie, and went out.

It was finally the weekend, so why did only irritating things keep happening? This weekend had been perfect for reaching Diamond!

Honestly, I would’ve hit that rank weeks ago if Mom and Dad hadn’t interfered.

As Dad and I walked, he brought up boxing, something he’d mentioned before.

“There’s a decent boxing gym around here. Dad had a lot of nasty kids around when he was in school too, so Dad suffered a lot.

But what’s a man all about in the end? Stamina. Go to a boxing gym for just two or three months, and all those kids who mess with you will disappear.

And if you build up your stamina, you’ll be able to focus longer and play that game better too. There. That gym is right over there.”

I sighed and looked where Dad pointed, then froze.

Screams, wails, the sound of blood splattering. What the hell was that?

A huge man was beating children with his fists like he meant to beat them half to death.

Kids my age were crying and running away.

The blood-soaked madman chewed noisily on something I didn’t even want to imagine as he chased the children. Then he spotted Dad, split his mouth into a wide grin, and came closer.

“Ha! Even now, just seeing a gym makes me feel alive. That’s boxing. Isn’t it manly?

Kids these days need to go to places like that, get three or four teeth knocked out, have one or two limbs bent clean backward. That’s how they become men.”

“Hahaha, you really know what you’re talking about, sir. Kids these days are weak-spirited, hollow inside, things like that.

Just let them roll around in the gym for a month, and bam! They’re fixed. A healthy mind resides in a healthy body, doesn’t it?

Teeth can be replaced with implants, and young people heal quickly when their arms and legs break. What’s important is fixing their minds.”

“Ha, hearing that from you puts my mind at ease, Director. Seung-yeop, did you hear-”

I ran without looking back.

I’d thought something was strange about Mom and Dad all day, but only now was I certain. What the hell was going on? They’d always been old-fashioned, but....

Today, they were truly strange. This wasn’t just being old-fashioned. It was the madness of lunatics.

Seriously, my parents had lost their minds.

When I got home, Mom was waiting for me.

“Seung-yeop! Did you have a good look at the gym with Dad? Dad kept saying how good it was! Mom prepared dinner too. Here, something delicious -”

I listened only that far, then went into my room and locked the door, with no intention of hearing the rest.

The moment I heard grotesque sounds coming from the “dinner” Mom had prepared, I had no intention of leaving my room.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Was someone knocking on the door? No. It was my heart pounding like crazy.

What the hell was this?

I hid behind the door, trembling for about thirty minutes. Then strange thoughts suddenly came to me.

Strange people.

A ridiculously huge man, a beautiful older woman who looked like an angel, a cute older woman with a squirrel-like face, a strange older guy who was handsome but always stared blankly into space, and a scary woman who felt like a schoolteacher.

Who were they? Their faces came to mind too clearly for them to be imaginary.

I thought harder and harder.

Morning, was it yesterday morning? I woke up in a terrifying building. I ran from a monster-like monkey, and the huge man saved me. Then I followed the strange older guy....

I felt like we’d had many conversations. Had we? Or maybe I’d been immersed alone in a space filled with countless thoughts before coming back out. I was confused, scared, and everything felt strange.

Bangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbang

This time, it wasn’t my heartbeat. It was clearly someone at the door. My parents didn’t knock that brutally. Only then did I finally come to my senses.

This wasn’t home. Those people weren’t my parents.

I opened the window and tore off the screen. Third floor. Too high to jump from.

When I thought that whatever was outside might kill me if I waited any longer, my heart felt like it would stop.

Luckily, when I looked around, I saw a car. If I ran and timed it right, couldn’t I land on top of it?

“Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop Seung-yeop ”

They weren’t even trying to hide that they’d gone mad anymore!

I leaped desperately and landed on top of the car. The next moment, my whole body felt like it had shattered, and I screamed without realizing it.

Captain America fell from dozens of stories up in movies and got right back up to run, but I guess I wasn’t like that.

Tears poured down my face. I was so scared. Where was I? Who were those people?

It hurt so much. Even so, I ran and ran. Then, at some point-

Everything around me disappeared. It was as though I was the only one left in the darkness....

/You have successfully escaped!

The scariest age in the world: second year of middle school! By thoroughly cutting off all conversation and contact with your strange parents,

and focusing only on Summoner’s Rift, you suppressed the contamination and finally succeeded in noticing your parents’ abnormality.

As expected, the false madness of the Strange Family could not stand against the madness of a rebellious middle schooler.

You have escaped the curse. Yet you can feel that the source of the curse still remains.

A companion has successfully escaped! Congratulations! Since an escapee has emerged, all members will return safely./

Footnotes:

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