WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 26 - Goshiwon (2)

It was obvious that whatever was outside the door was pissed.

“Rent——! Rent——!"

Park Minho gritted his teeth and braced himself against the door.

"Damn it! Seriously!”

Then a new reply popped up.

ㄴ(LostHassan) Give it a coin! Slide it under the door. Hurry!

-Crack!

The door sounded like it was about to be ripped off its hinges. There was no time to hesitate.

Park Minho immediately pulled out a gold coin and shoved it through the gap under the door.

-Slide.

-Thud!

Just like that, everything outside went dead silent. Then a dry, mechanical voice echoed.

"......Payment confirmed."

Something slid back under the door.

A slip labeled ‘Check-in Certificate’ and an old key.

[Check-in Certificate - VIP Guest]

Duration: 1 month.

Payment amount: 1 Gold Coin.

[Benefits]

Access to Manager’s Office.

Manager Contact: 010-×4×4-×4×4.

(※Complaints may be submitted once per stay via text message only.)

The key was labeled Room 303. The very room they were in.

"If there are any disturbances or inconveniences, please contact us……”

The footsteps faded away after that eerie voice reached his ears.

"Phew......”

Park Minho let out a long breath. If he hadn’t had a coin, that might’ve been the end of everything.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Gave it money, got a check-in certificate, and it left. Almost died. Holy shit…

ㄴHow much did you pay?

ㄴ(Cheezza) 1 gold coin.

ㄴWhat?????? You paid that much?

ㄴ(Pitbull) If you convert it to silver coins, that’s about a month’s rent.

ㄴLMFAOOOOOOO first time seeing someone pay a whole gold coin for a goshiwon room.

ㄴLord Cheezza panicking and throwing away a gold coin through tears lololololololololololol

ㄴMan’s on a different financial level.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Wait, what the hell are silver coins??? I only had gold coins to begin with.

ㄴLord Cheezza: “Never even seen the silver coins you peasants use.”

Whatever they said, this was Park Minho’s first time hearing about silver coins.

What was he supposed to do about that?

ㄴ(Cheezza) Anyway, what’s this ‘VIP Guest’ thing? Says I can access the manager’s office and even gave me their number.

Park Minho even uploaded a proof picture. Upon seeing that, the gallery members flooded the comments in great surprise.

ㄴWhat? A VIP Guest??????? Never seen that before

ㄴAccess to the Manager’s office? You die instantly if you go in there, wtf is this?

ㄴBro really got an entity’s phone number.

ㄴThis guy’s moves are completely unpredictable every time. First one to get the Manager’s contact too.

ㄴSo this is what money does. You slip in a gold coin, and the nightmare Manager starts taking customer complaints???

ㄴ(KimChilsung) Money makes even ghosts work for you!

ㄴ(Cheezza) Wait, but phones don’t even work in the Backrooms, so what’s the point in texting?

ㄴ(Pitbull) Phones work on Floor 3 Goshiwon. Only basic stuff like calls and texts, but you can contact others on the same floor.

Apparently there were a few rare floors where phones actually worked other than this place. Of course, you wouldn’t be able to talk to someone in the real world, nor on other floors.

ㄴ(Cheezza) More importantly, anyone know what you can actually do in the manager’s office?

ㄴ(KimChilsung) You can view Check-In and Check-Out records! And you can also broadcast!

ㄴDamn, Chilsung-hyung, sounds like you’ve stayed there before.

ㄴ Wait, didn’t he say he drinks soda in the White Room too? That wasn’t cap?

ㄴ(Cheezza) Childung-hyungnim, any practical way to use the Manager’s office?

ㄴ(KimChilsung) No idea. I only checked it once and didn’t make use of it!

ㄴ(Cheezza) Got it. Thanks, thanks.

* * *

Park Minho started getting anxious. Seol Suyeon wasn’t getting better. Under her pale skin, dark veins were starting to bulge out.

He quickly described her condition to the gallery.

ㄴ(Cheezza) The barley tea seemed to have helped her a bit, but she’s still getting worse. Her breathing’s getting rough.

ㄴ(Pitbull) Sounds like she caught something.

ㄴProbably. You guys went through that floor with membranes and tentacles, right? She could’ve picked up an infection without realizing it.

ㄴ(DaeguBadass) There are tons of unknown diseases in the Backrooms. You should act fast.

ㄴ(Cheezza) What do I do? Find another drink?

ㄴ(Pitbull) No, you’re in a goshiwon. Find a vending machine first. They sell universal antibiotics. Cures most Backrooms diseases.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Where do I find one?

ㄴ(Ptibull) You’ll have to walk around to look for them. Usually one per 20-30 goshiwons.

It seemed like he had to start searching immediately. Luckily, he now had a key, so he could lock the room and leave safely.

ㄴVending machines don’t just have antibiotics. There’s other good stuff too. Since you’re rich, you could roll for ‘anomalous traits.’

ㄴ(Cheezza) Anomalous traits? What’s that? Different from awakening?

ㄴYeah, it’s different. Think passive skills in a game. Even non-awakened people can get them by taking pills from those machines.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Oh? That sounds nice.

They named a few examples. Detecting entities from afar or enhanced physical endurance. Useful abilities.

ㄴEven non-awakened can have them, but normal people cap out at 3 low-tier traits. Take more and your organs melt. So be careful.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Got it, thanks. I’ll roll some pills too when I find a vending machine.

Park Minho immediately prepared to head out.

He quickly ate, then packed his gun, ammo, and anomalous items.

One of the most important was the keycard. It was one of the three anomalous items he’d obtained earlier from the higher-tier Faceling’s stash.

[Keycard / Low-tier / Anomalous item]

[Can unlock any digital door lock up to 3 times.]

It seemed incredibly useful in a place like this.

"Suyeon, I’m heading out.”

"Uugh......"

She was still unconscious. Just in case, he left a note explaining the situation.

-Click.

He locked Room 303 from the outside, checked it several times, then finally started exploring.

"Phew..."

It felt strange being alone again. At some point, having someone by his side had become normal.

'At least they said this level’s relatively safe.'

He started by thoroughly searching the Good Stay Goshiwon. But there was no sign of a vending machine there. So he had no choice but to move on to the next one in the endless chain.

-Click.

The moment he left, a new goshiwon appeared.

<Sungil Goshiwon>

Then after that one, <Evergreen Goshiwon> and <Hanna Goshiwon> followed.

No matter where he went, most places looked the same. To avoid getting lost on the way back, Park Minho carefully memorized the layout and wrote down the order of goshiwons on his phone.

"Hmm......"

The longer the search dragged on, the more anxious he became. He still hadn’t found a single vending machine.

'This is frustrating…'

Then he noticed something.

Large graffiti written on a locker.

[Vending Machine→]

It was like a sign that appeared just when he needed it. Which also made it seriously suspicious.

"Hmm......"

He stopped and asked the gallery. However, opinions were split 50/50.

ㄴYou’re seriously debating this? Arrows like that are always traps.

ㄴNah, could be real. Survivors leave helpful signs like that sometimes.

ㄴIt’s a gamble. If you’re desperate, you might as well go, right?

ㄴIf it were me, I’d never follow that. It’s hella sus, right?

Park Minho hesitated. Thinking about Seol Suyeon’s worsening condition, he felt like he should go, but wasn’t it way too obvious?

Just as he frowned, he heard a small voice coming from below.

"Hey, Mister! Mister! Don’t go that way! Seriously, don’t!”

Startled, Park Minho looked down. There was a ventilation shaft.

He wondered why the hell there was a vent here, but, well, the Backrooms’ layouts were always wrapped like this.

-Clank.

The vent opened and a small girl crawled out.

"Don’t shoot! Please don’t shoot!”

Startled, Park Minho instinctively aimed his gun, taking a step back.

The girl was wearing a dirty school uniform. She looked about 5th or 6th grade, at most.

But she didn’t have that eerie vibe typical to entities, so he figured she was a human.

"A middle schooler?”

The girl flared up immediately.

"I’m in high school, okay?!”

"Ah, sorry…”

Honestly, he thought she was an elementary school kid. He only guessed middle school because of the uniform, but he never imagined her to actually be in high school.

"It’s fine. I hear that all the time anyway. But seriously, don’t go that way.”

She whispered urgently, trying to stop him.

"Why?"

"It’s a trap. There are raiders in this area guarding that vending machine.”

"Really?"

"Yeah. Come this way first."

She led him to a safer spot before explaining further.

"Mister, you just got here, right?”

"Yeah. Not long ago.”

“Thought so.”

The girl introduced herself as Lee Yumi. Surprisingly, she’d been surviving here for 4 months without paying.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. As long as you don't get caught, you’re fine. Of course, if you do get caught, you’re dead…"

If one ran into the Manager, one would have to pay all one's overdue rent. After 4 months that would amount to 4 gold coins. There was no way anyone could pay that. And for illegal tenants like her, the day they got caught was basically their funeral.

But Lee Yumi had managed to survive 4 months by squeezing through tight gaps and hidden paths, taking full advantage of her small size.

"I’ve even figured out some of that Manager’s patterns.”

"Wow…! You’re seriously amazing.”

Of course, not everyone could survive like Lee Yumi. If one wanted to stay safe, one had to pay rent, and everyone had their own way of managing that.

"The raiders up ahead are camping around a vending machine and survive by robbing anyone who comes through. Everyone tried to get something from the machine after all.”

"Damn. I would have been screwed if I just went in blindly. Thanks for the warning.”

"It’s nothing. Someone I knew got taken by them before, so I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.”

"Oh……”

“They won’t last much longer anyway. There used to be more than seven of them. Now there are only 3 left.”

Honestly, there was no way business would go well in the Backrooms. They were barely scraping by, robbing explorers and even their own weaker members. They were already hitting their limit.

"Then why not just move to the next level?”

Lee Yumi shook her head.

“If we go to another level, who knows what we'll run into. At least here there’s ramen and water. It’s hard to work up the courage to leave.”

Apparently, a lot of people stayed like that until the very end and died. Hearing that, Park Minho was reminded once again that he truly was in the Backrooms.

'It breaks people down. In the end, they get comfortable, and that’s what kills them, huh?'

If you had the courage to push forward, you might make it back to reality or reach Floor 7, a more stable, community-type area. But most people couldn’t bring themselves to take that step.

“Anyway, just give up on that vending machine. It’s better than picking a fight with raiders, right?”

But Park Minho shook his head.

"I need universal antibiotics. My companion is sick. Is there any way to take them down?”

Lee Yumi shook her head again at those words.

"There are traps all around the vending machine, and all three of those guys have guns. Mister, are you some sort of special forces operative?”

"No."

"Then an Awakened?”

"...No."

"Then you don’t stand a chance. Those guys are pros at killing people.”

Park Minho briefly considered texting the Manager to get rid of the raiders.

However, that probably wouldn’t really work.

'To us, they’re raiders, but to the manager, they’re just paying customers, right?’

If they were illegal tenants, maybe, but otherwise, it was unlikely that they would do something against them.

“Is there any other way? Do you know another vending machine location?”

Lee Yumi hesitated before answering.

“There is another one. And it’s even better than the one the raiders are guarding.”

"Really?”

“Yes. Way better. But do you know why the raiders don’t go there?”

"Don’t tell me…An entity?”

“Exactly. There’s one nearby. So the place is basically abandoned. Honestly…entities are way scarier, right?”

However, Park Minho knew something important.

Even though entities were terrifying, if you followed the rules, they could actually be more predictable than armed humans.

And a better vending machine?

There was no way he wouldn’t be tempted.

Lee Yumi studied Park Minho’s expression, then asked carefully.

“Don’t tell me…you’re thinking of going there, Mister?”

“Well, it’s not like I can’t go. But what exactly does that vending machine have?”

"I’ve only heard rumors, but……it’s supposed to have what you’re looking for, antibiotics, and also things like an elevator pass and even a key to the Manager’s private vault.”

The first one, he wasn’t so sure about, but the second immediately caught his attention.

"The manager’s private vault?”

“Yeah. According to rumors, it’s where all the money the manager has collected so far is stored.”

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