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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 6: Room 101, The Cursed Room - 'The Strange Family'

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[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 2

Current Location: Level 1, Outside Room 101 (???)

Sage’s Advice: 3]

Once everyone gathered before Room 101, a tense atmosphere somehow settled over us.

What kind of monster was waiting inside? It couldn't be something even Jin-cheol couldn't beat, right?

Honestly, if whatever was inside was a monster Jin-cheol couldn't handle, we'd all be slaughtered on the spot.

I'd brought a Dagger too, but...

I didn't think holding a Dagger suddenly made me a fighter.

Everyone must have been thinking the same thing, because they kept glancing at Jin-cheol.

Anyone could see it. He was our strength, our fist, the person we trusted most.

Not only was he dependable, but he also seemed like a good person. If he hadn't been with us, how much scarier would this have been?

Perhaps aware of everyone's eyes on him, Jin-cheol cleared his throat and stepped forward to Room 101's door.

"Well, let's go in. I'll take the lead. Don't worry too much. This is just a thought, but... if this hotel was determined to kill us all, it wouldn't need to make things this complicated. It could just stop feeding us, and we'd starve to death. Or it could put poison in our food, and we'd all die without being able to do anything, wouldn't we?"

As everyone looked at him, he gave an awkward smile and continued.

"Look at how it's treated us so far. It gives us decent meals and big beds so we can rest well. That's not all. It gave Ga-in warning notifications in case he ran into danger, gave Eun-sol a fake Coupang app in case we lacked equipment, and made me a little stronger."

"So maybe, in its own way, it sincerely wants us to overcome the dangers and obtain treasure?"

"Exactly. Why it's doing this, I don't know. Still, at the very least, it isn't trying to kill us for no reason. That's my conclusion. All that talk about 'dear customers' isn't complete nonsense. Even if there's a monster inside, I don't think some absurd thing will jump out and kill us all in a second."

If it wanted an ending like that, it could've simply poisoned our food instead of making things so complicated.

That made sense. I hadn't noticed before, but Jin-cheol was unexpectedly thoughtful.

Right. This hotel wasn't a place made to kill us.

There had to be dangers here that we could overcome somehow!

With that thought, my tension eased.

[I understand the hotel a little better.]

Then, the moment we opened the door and entered the room, I instinctively realized something.

The order in which we entered this room didn't matter.

* * *

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 2

Current Location: Level 1, Room 101 (Curse Room - Strange Family)

Sage’s Advice: 3]

I'd had a strange dream.

It seemed like a nightmare, but I couldn't remember it well.

There was nothing strange about that. Dreams were usually hard to remember once you woke up.

I shook my head and forgot about it.

I felt my consciousness sink back into the world of dreams...

--- Bang!

"Han Ga-in, are you seriously not getting up?! The sun's already high in the sky! Keep this up and you'll turn into a cow. A cow!!!"

I jolted awake at the shout, loud enough to make my ears ring.

"Ah! Mom, seriously, stop yelling!"

"Try waking up on time for once. Then would I need to yell? How old are you that your mother still has to wake you up? Come eat breakfast already! Everyone else has finished eating!"

Still dazed, I washed up, changed clothes, and headed toward the dining table.

* * *

As I walked toward the table, I looked at my family and spoke to them.

Something distant washed over my mind.

The plans I'd made, my companions, my current situation.

All that knowledge faded away like sand slipping through my fingers.

...

My consciousness rose into the air and slowly evaporated.

...

Just before 'I' faded away, I thought:

'Was talking to my family itself a mistake?'

Then I lost 'myself.'

* * *

It felt like I'd met someone I missed terribly.

Was it because of the nightmare I'd had yesterday? What a strange thought.

Naturally, far from having finished their meal, my family hadn't even lifted their spoons yet.

Mom always woke me by saying everyone had already eaten, even when she hadn't opened the rice cooker yet. I had no idea why.

"Yawn! Because of you, I thought my ears were going to fall off too. You should get up right away instead of waiting until Mom calls you five times."

"Hey, I had a weird dream yesterday. My head hurts like crazy. But why aren't you at school? Is it okay for a second-year high schooler to be waking up with me?"

"Oppa. They say people who live lazy as hell lose track of the days, and you're proof of it. It's Sunday, and tomorrow's a holiday. Did you forget we're going on a trip today?"

"Seriously? Why can't I remember any of that?"

"You live like a bear, so what could you possibly know? It's a good thing a university accepted you, really! Hurry up, eat, and finish packing!"

I kept up the chaotic conversation while eating as quickly as I could.

We were traveling today?

Even if I'd been lazy since finishing the college entrance exam, had I really not known until the day of the family trip?

I reflected on myself a little.

But what was my little sister eating right now?

"Hie-yeon? That... what is that? Are you actually eating it?"

"What are you talking about? Silkworms are a health food these days, so Mom always puts them in the rice. Why are you saying something so stupid now?"

Silkworm rice.

Come to think of it, that had become popular recently as a wellness food, hadn't it? I'd forgotten again.

Looking down, I saw fresh silkworm larvae wriggling in my rice too.

For some reason, though, I wasn't hungry.

"Mom! I'm going to pack now."

"You're not eating? How old are you, and you're still a picky eater?"

"It's not that. I haven't packed anything, so I've got a lot to pack."

"Honestly, I told you to pack ahead of time last night... Go get it done!"

I was heading to my room to pack when I froze again.

Where were we going? It was amazing how I had no memory at all. Had I developed dementia at twenty?

Feeling dumbfounded, I returned to the living room. At some point, Dad had finished eating and was sitting on the sofa, chewing something that squirmed.

A grub.

That was another wellness food these days, probably.

"Dad! Where are we going on our trip today?"

"Your mom's been yelling since morning, so there was a reason. You don't know anything, do you?"

"I'm asking where we're going. Seriously, Dad, you nag as naturally as breathing."

"We'll go to the arboretum this morning and get some forest bathing in. For lunch, we'll have grilled duck nearby, then go to a resort in the evening. We'll ski tomorrow morning. Pack properly. It's cold these days."

"Okay."

I went to my room and started packing.

As I crammed in workout clothes for the arboretum, underwear, and a down parka for the ski resort, thirty minutes passed before I knew it.

When I stepped out to catch my breath, my sister handed me a pair of scissors as big as my forearm.

"What's this?"

"We're going to the arboretum. What are you going to do without scissors? Did you forget again?"

Ah, right. Scissors were essential at an arboretum!

Once we'd packed and set off, we arrived at the arboretum.

I remembered it taking at least three hours by car when I was little.

We arrived at the arboretum three seconds after opening the door?

The highways must have gotten really fast these days.

A cheerful mood hung over the arboretum.

Lush fields, beautiful flowers, even birdsong!

Many families wandered around, happily enjoying themselves.

Scissors. Right, scissors. People began happily cutting up plants with their scissors. I'd forgotten again.

Wasn't an arboretum a place where you came to enjoy the forest air and cut up plants?

Why did people raise livestock?

To eat it.

People raised everything to 'consume' it.

Naturally, the reason they grew plants was to cut them up.

For the first time in a while, I returned to my childhood and snipped away wildly with the scissors.

Across from me, Hie-yeon laughed as she shredded lily-of-the-valley flowers.

What a peaceful moment! How wonderful it would be if moments like this could last forever.

Across from me, Mom was pulling earthworms out of the ground.

Thinking she was being ridiculous, I walked over and gave her a piece of my mind.

"Mom! You're not a beggar, so why are you picking things out of the dirt to eat? Just buy them at the supermarket."

"Exactly. You're so ridiculous sometimes. We already have two more sacks of earthworms from the supermarket at home, so why are you picking up things like that to eat?"

"Ugh... Why don't you spit out that beetle you're chewing first? And the only reason you say such pathetic things is that none of you manage the household. If we gather a little at a time like this, we only need to buy two bags at the supermarket instead of three. If we save the money from one bag and keep it up for ten years..."

"Aah, Mom's starting another lecture. This is all because of Oppa. Come on, Oppa. Let's go cut trees together."

It was my mistake. I'd said something unnecessary and given Mom an opening to nag!

I ran away and spent a pleasant morning cutting trees with my sister.

When it was time for lunch, we went to a famous duck restaurant nearby.

Again, something strange happened. The moment the family gathered and said, "Let's all go have lunch!" we arrived at the duck restaurant three seconds later.

The world really had improved these days!

As we entered the duck restaurant, the fragrant smell of blood filled the air, and ducks screamed in the charming atmosphere.

Feathers drifted everywhere.

What a lovely atmosphere.

Since the place had such a nice atmosphere, our family came here once or twice a year without fail.

When we sat down, an employee brought us two live ducks, as always.

I flinched and hesitated for a moment.

Did people usually eat duck meat while it was alive?

"Hie-yeon? This... doesn't it seem a little underprepared? This isn't duck meat, it's just a duck."

"Seriously, stop making yourself sound so ignorant. Who roasts only the meat off a duck these days? Fresh duck is all the rage. You tear into it while it's fresh."

Ah, I'd said something ignorant again.

My family had been nagging me a lot today. The world had really advanced during the short time I'd spent lazing around after the college entrance exam.

Still, how was I supposed to eat a live duck?

I was worried they'd call me ignorant if I asked, so I looked around instead.

A happy-looking couple was holding a duck by its legs and biting into its head first.

Wasn't that dangerous? The duck's beak kept pecking at the woman's mouth.

As I watched in alarm, Dad chimed in.

"That, that kind of thing, biting into the head first without warning, is dangerous and ugly to watch. Kids these days... Well, that's how people their age play around, I suppose."

"Were you ever a gentleman when you were single?"

"Of course, I was a very passionate man when I was single. Whenever I grabbed Mrs. Yu-jeong's arm..."

"Oh my! Is there anything you won't say in front of the children?"

"Hahaha, what's there that I can't say? The kids are all grown up. Anyway, Ga-in. The proper way to eat duck is to slit its throat with a fork, pierce it, and suck the blood first. Even celebrities on television eat it politely like this these days."

For some reason, I didn't feel like having lunch either. I only stared the duck down before getting up.

Was that fortunate? Everyone was too busy struggling with their ducks to say much to me.

We finished lunch and got up from the table.

We were supposed to play freely at the resort until dinner, then eat a buffet meal that evening.

And tomorrow was the skiing I'd been looking forward to.

Suddenly, I felt as if I'd forgotten something.

Something vague seemed to flicker at the edge of my vision.

It was probably nothing. I must have been a little tired.

* * *

[Mental contamination has reached dangerous levels. Immediately stop all contact and communication with your family.]

Footnotes:

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