WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 295: Room 204, Mission Room - ‘Hotel Cinema’ (17)
──────
- Kim Mook-seong
When I came to in the movie, I was standing in a bustling city that reminded me of a university district. As I watched the citizens crowding the streets, brief information about my current situation was injected into my head.
“Black Cafe 25:00?”
That was the name of the coffee shop I needed to go to.
As I slowly sorted through the information filling my head, I let out a hollow laugh. If this were a Curse Room, simply not going to that damned coffee shop would be an option.
But I couldn't do that. Considering the judges' evaluation afterward, I had to go wherever the scenario required.
A sign saying Closed Today hung at the entrance to the coffee shop. Of course, it had nothing to do with me. When I opened the door and went in, four people were already gathered inside.
“Ahem. Seems I'm a little late. The name's Kim Mook-seong.”
“Not at all. Everyone else only arrived a moment ago. Sir, please take a seat here.”
Do In-ho, the drama writer who had arranged the gathering, smiled and gestured. Once I sat down, I looked over the others besides Do In-ho.
Park Su-mi, an elegant middle-aged woman in her early forties.
Han Yu-ri, a stunningly beautiful young woman in her early twenties.
Cha Eun-pyo, a fairly handsome young man in his late twenties.
And Kim Mook-seong, an intellectual old man in his late sixties.
The four of us were storytellers. While I quietly looked around, Do In-ho began explaining the situation.
“As you know, ‘Scary Story’ is a gathering for sharing frightening experiences you've had in your lives.”
Han Yu-ri asked with a faint smile.
“Are you collecting the stories we tell, Writer Do? Could they become the plots of films or dramas later?”
Do In-ho nodded.
“Of course. I told you that beforehand, didn't I? Anyone who dislikes that may leave even now.”
No one left. Do In-ho resumed leading the conversation.
“All four of you gathered here have experienced uncommon things in your lives. We've gone through procedures to verify their truth, in our own way. Still, as is often the case with stories like these, listeners may find themselves wondering whether they could possibly be true.”
Cha Eun-pyo nodded.
“Are you saying we shouldn't argue over whether the others' stories are true or false?”
“Eun-pyo, exactly. Now... shall we begin? Let's go clockwise. Ms. Park Su-mi, would you like to start?”
“Sure.”
The first storyteller, Park Su-mi, looked like a wealthy lady from her fine clothes and the bag placed on her chair. After dwelling on an old memory for a moment, she began.
“This is a story from my newlywed days. My husband ran a small business, and the economy was good at the time, so the business did very well. Our marriage was wonderful too. Then one day, my husband spoke to me with a serious expression.”
The space shook.
...
What the hell is this? What's happening all of a sudden?
* * *
- First Story, Newlywed Memories
The world shook all around me, making me feel sick, but I barely managed to regain my senses. The instant I recognized this ridiculous situation, a curse slipped out.
“Ah, this is fucking bullshit!”
“S-Su-mi?”
Seeing the young Park Sang-ho staring at me with wide eyes, I let out a sigh. I should smooth this over for now.
“Ah, oh my! I'm sorry. Something sharp suddenly stabbed my foot...”
“Sharp? A thorn? Want me to take a look?”
A deep sigh escaped me at Park Sang-ho's openly affectionate demeanor. I waved my hand and went into the bathroom for a moment to reassess the situation. Reflected in the mirror was an elegant young woman who looked to be in her early twenties.
And that was me now. Ah, for fuck's sake!
* * *
Just two minutes after the movie began, this shocking development made the theater grow noisy.
“W-What is that? Did Grandfather just turn into that woman?”
Looking at Ga-in, whose mouth hung open, Elena muttered.
“This feels like a movie within a movie. It seems the film ‘Scary Story’ is made up of four short stories. I think we become a different person in each one.”
Seung-yeop spoke in confusion.
“So, in Ms. Park Su-mi's story, we become that woman? Does that happen in the other stories too?”
A-ri nodded.
“I think so. We're entering the past memories the storytellers recall, so it seems we become who they were back then.”
As she spoke, A-ri poked Ga-in a few times.
“You'd be good at this. You've been in lots of other people's bodies.”
“...”
“This time, don't touch your breasts-”
“W-What are you even talking about? More importantly, what about the fourth story? It seems like we're storytellers too. Do we have to make up the last story ourselves?”
“Who knows...”
* * *
“Isn't this seriously fucking awful?”
“S-Su-mi? Are you okay?”
I couldn't help sighing when I heard my concerned husband's voice outside. There was no way I could hold back the swearing. I'd suddenly become a powerless young woman in her twenties. How was I supposed to not swear?
There were two reasons I held back worse curses. First, my husband was outside. Second, the young woman reflected in the mirror was far too elegant and refined.
Park Su-mi: This fucking sucks.
I checked in case it had disappeared since I'd entered a memory in the movie, but the Chat Window was still working fine. It was annoying that even my name had changed to that of the character, though. The problem was that I was the only one who could see it, but thankfully, my blessing seemed to work even within the movie's memory. I could probably use my Inheritance too.
Crash!
The Arm of an Abras Warrior worked just fine as well.
Ridiculously enough, my right hand looked like the slender, beautiful arm of a woman in her twenties. Yet when I lightly clenched it, the bathtub burst apart.
After going outside and reassuring the worried Park Sang-ho, I began talking with him.
“Su-mi, your husband hasn't told you much about his parents until now, has he?”
The moment I heard him refer to himself as my husband, goosebumps ran all over my body, and I nearly hit him. After desperately forcing myself to be patient, I managed to avoid starting this story by smashing Park Sang-ho's head apart with the furious fist of an Abras Warrior.
Let's focus on this damn story.
Park Sang-ho had left his hometown as a child and settled in Seoul. He said he'd forgotten his hometown for many years and devoted himself to life in the city. Fortunately, he had a decent head for business and amassed considerable wealth. He'd even met a beautiful wife like Park Su-mi.
... Was this the moment when I was supposed to blush and say something like, “Oh, you!”? I stayed silent and listened, and Park Sang-ho continued with a somewhat disappointed expression.
“But... as time passed, the blood flowing through my body kept telling me to return to my hometown. People are strange, aren't they?”
“...”
“Su-mi?”
“Young punk, listen to you acting like some philosopher!”
“S-Su-mi?”
“... M-My foot stung, so I slipped up. Please continue.”
One day, Park Sang-ho suddenly began thinking of the hometown he had left as a child.
Of course, he hadn't completely cut off contact with his family there over the past ten or so years. He said he'd sent letters a couple of times after settling in Seoul. But how could letters compare to seeing them in person?
“So I planned a vacation this time.”
“To visit your parents in your hometown?”
“That's right. B-But...”
Oh, come on! This guy was so frustrating!
“Just say it already. Go on.”
“S-Su-mi, I think you'll be surprised when you see my parents. I sometimes remembered my childhood, and my parents and relatives are a little... unusual. You know, they're elderly country folk.”
Sang-ho, I'm probably older than your parents, so cut the nonsense.
Young people always go on about how old people are strange, but the strange ones were usually bastards even when they were young. They didn't become strange because they got old. Strange people simply grew old, and these people can't tell the difference...
Ahem! Focus on the movie. That ended my conversation with my husband. I never thought I'd have a husband in my life!
A lot of thoughts crossed my mind. Since the Guide had personally called this a horror movie, bizarre and brutal events were bound to happen. Park Sang-ho's family had to be twisted in some way.
I considered many possibilities based on my experience with the Management Bureau, but too many came to mind for me to settle on any single one. I'd have to go there and see.
...
Nothing happened for quite a while afterward. Losing the benefit of skipping meaningless scenes was truly regrettable. Three days later, we took a train to Park Sang-ho's old hometown.
The journey there was more difficult than I'd imagined. We took a train to Gangwon Province, then took a taxi into the countryside. When I thought we'd arrived, we boarded a bus that only came once every three days and headed even deeper into the mountains.
The location itself was threatening. There was no way to walk to any populated area. It would be even more impossible with the stamina of this woman in her twenties.
My husband hadn't brought a car from the start, and the bus came once every three days. With transportation like this, it was practically an island. If anything happened, no one from outside could come help. Naturally, there was no mobile reception, and apparently, even the electricity went out regularly.
At this point, I honestly let out a hollow laugh. It looked like the setting was the 1990s, but did such an absurdly remote village still exist in Korea at the time?
It was the perfect place for a horror movie.
* * *
“Hello, Mother.”
“Dear! Sang-ho told us so much about you.”
“Oh, Sang-ho, you rascal! How did you find such a lovely, proper young lady? This old man's eyes are blessed in his old age!”
“Father...”
The first meeting with my in-laws was more moving than expected.
Contrary to my husband's claim that they were unusual people, both of them were incredibly kind the moment they met me. My mother-in-law sniffled, saying that a city girl must have suffered coming all the way to such a harsh mountain village. My father-in-law was busy praising me as soon as he saw me.
The strange things began when my husband's siblings appeared. Near the livestock shed, a disheveled young man stared at me intently. When I looked his way, he jumped in surprise and ran off.
Click!
“Hmm? That person is-”
“D-Don't mind him. Myeong-jin has always been very shy.”
“Who is he?”
My husband quietly took my hand and whispered, seriously giving me goosebumps.
“That's my younger brother. He's acted a little strangely since childhood, and he's still like that now. It's nothing to worry about. I'll talk to him later.”
Park Sang-ho's younger brother wasn't the only strange person.
“... Hello, young lady.”
Park Hye-yeong, a middle-aged woman with a dark, cold air about her, was Park Sang-ho's older sister by six years. At least she was better than her younger brother. She hadn't run away the moment she saw me.
Unlike me, who carefully watched my surroundings, Park Sang-ho seemed moved to be back in his hometown after so long. Watching him excitedly compare places around the house, like the livestock shed and storage building, with his memories, I found myself smiling a little. Park Sang-ho's family seemed rather happy too.
Toward evening, I gradually began to sense the strange things Park Sang-ho had mentioned.
For example, there was this.
“Mother, I'll prepare it-”
“Oh, dear! A city girl shouldn't get dirt on her hands! Don't worry about it and go rest in your room. Hye-yeong, you worthless thing! You came late, so the city girl had to come out herself!”
My mother-in-law practically screamed and stopped me when I tried to help in the kitchen.
Even if she thought her daughter-in-law was lovely, was this a normal reaction? If every mother-in-law treated their daughters-in-law this way, there wouldn't even be a word for mistreatment by in-laws.
“I'm sorry, young lady. Don't worry and please go inside.”
My husband's older sister wasn't much better. She treated me less like her younger brother's wife and more like a servant treating the young lady of a noble household.
... Let's check a little more.
“Oh my, it's really fine. Should I at least chop some green onions?”
Thwack! Clang!
“...”
“...”
“... Dear, you must have been startled. I was afraid you would drop the knife, so I panicked.”
“Y-Young lady, the blade flashed, so Mother must have been startled. You really should go inside. I'll prepare dinner properly.”
What just happened?
The instant my hand touched the kitchen knife, both my mother-in-law and sister-in-law froze like statues. My mother-in-law, who had been treating me like a princess until moments ago, moved like lightning, knocked my hand away, and took the knife.
Something was wrong with this house.
Footnotes:
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