Ch.123Kind Hotel (2)

The dark room.

Sunlight barely seeps through the gap in the curtains.

Click.

The moment I insert the card key, the lights come on in the room.

I feel strangely anxious.

Could there be something here?

“Oppa. This place is really nice, isn’t it?”

“…Huh? What?”

Before I can even respond, Daju throws herself onto the bed.

Nothing happens.

Nothing at all.

Why is there nothing?

“Dabin. What’s wrong?”

“There’s nothing here.”

“What?”

“Shouldn’t there be something around here?”

Like a corpse lying around. Or a red moon visible outside the window.

A black, sticky mass could be crawling up the wall.

Yoon Daju might suddenly start babbling nonsense and bash her head against the bed.

So, I can’t let my guard down.

Never.

I must never lose focus and keep checking my surroundings.

“Dabin.”

I was startled by a moist touch on my hand and looked up.

Yebin was holding my hand tightly.

Like a child worried about their parent.

Only then did I regain sensation in my body.

The sticky, cool feeling on my palm. It was sweat from my own hand.

“You’ve used your ability too much.”

“Can’t you see anything?”

“No. We’re still safe. You’re just anxious right now.”

I sighed and sat down on a chair.

I continued observing with my insight, but couldn’t see anything dangerous.

Was it really just my imagination?

“I miss you.”

“…”

Even when I turn around, there’s no one there.

Only the white wall facing me.

“Wow. Oppa, there are even condoms here.”

“You crazy girl.”

After calming my anxiety a bit, I turned my attention back to Yebin.

“Yebin. Can you check my condition right now?”

“Okay.”

Yebin closes her eyes briefly and concentrates.

[Library Administrator Function: Librarian Management]

– Checking for abnormalities in the Librarian.

A simple function to check a Librarian’s status.

It has the weakness that you have to deal with any problems on your own, but its detection capability is reliable.

“How is it? Are you done?”

“There’s nothing wrong with Dabin.”

“Really nothing?”

“Yes.”

But I can’t be at ease.

The standards of reality might have changed.

If that’s the case, even anomaly detection that identifies characteristics contrary to reality would be useless.

What is safe?

How can I be safe?

“Alright. Let’s go now.”

“Let’s stay a little longer.”

“We need to check the other rooms too.”

I dragged Daju, who had already become one with the bed, out of the room.

“Yebin, you come out too.”

“Okay.”

Click.

After confirming everyone had left, I finally pulled out the card key.

“…What?”

Drip, drip.

A sudden chill in the air.

Something is falling off my back.

Before I can even recognize what it is, my legs have already given out.

Thud.

“Oppa?”

“Dabin.”

“…”

I took off the top I was wearing and placed it on my knees.

The hood that had been hanging from the back of my hoodie was cleanly cut off.

The wind blowing through the corridor.

The cool air touches my body, now in just my underwear.

Looking back at the room, it’s exactly as it was when we first entered.

Sunlight seeps through the slit between the closed curtains.

Dust floats in the dry air, and the bedding is neatly arranged.

“This is driving me crazy. Really.”

As I shake my head, fragments of hair that remained fall off.

Everything that had newly entered the room was deleted, based on a point 1 centimeter behind my back, which was the last part of me still in the room.

“I’m seriously going to lose my mind.”

The card key was the trigger.

The moment the card key is pulled out, the room returns to its initial state.

Then what about the cut-off hood and hair?

Where did they go?

“Really.”

Hair doesn’t kill you when it’s cut off.

The same goes for clothes.

Even though I’m in the ridiculous state of wearing just underwear, I can’t pull myself together.

“Please stop…”

It’s regrettable.

If only I had let my guard down a little more, I could have been at ease.

No.

I still have a chance in my hands. I can do it anytime if I just insert the card key again.

If I can muster a little more courage.

Oh, God. What have I done?

I was crying.

Without sadness or fear.

Without any emotion.

It’s because I’ve used my ability too much, making me vulnerable not just physically but mentally as well.

“Oppa. I’m here. I’ll call the others.”

“…I’m fine.”

“No. You definitely don’t look fine.”

“I can move. Let’s go together.”

I wiped my tears and got up.

“Then at least wear this.”

Daju took off her cardigan and handed it to me, which I carefully accepted.

“Thanks.”

It feels warm, probably because someone was wearing it until just now.

I hate to admit it’s Yoon Daju’s, but the warmth being transferred makes me feel much more stable.

Since Daju is slightly taller than me, the size is also quite generous.

“Let’s go now.”

We went back through the corridor to where the others were.

I briefly received concern from the others and found new clothes among the luggage we had left in the corridor.

After putting on a long-sleeved shirt underneath, I buttoned up the cardigan I received from Daju.

“Huh? Aren’t you going to give my clothes back?”

“You wear this.”

I handed Daju another cardigan I had just taken out.

“It’s comfortable now that I’ve tried it on.”

“Ah. My clothes.”

“Want to switch back?”

“No, you can keep it, Oppa.”

I then shared what I had discovered with everyone.

The fact that I created a ‘card key’ using the Librarian’s ability to open doors.

The fact that the moment the card key is pulled out, everything in the room resets to its initial state.

And the fact that if you’re not careful, people could completely disappear.

“Then we need to be especially careful with the card keys. But since there are no other special characteristics, it seems like we could stay here comfortably if we’re just a bit cautious.”

Starting with Robin’s words, a discussion about our future plans begins.

The main participants are just two people: Robin and Choi Serim.

Heo Yoon is still in shock from the previous floor.

I’m clearly mentally unstable as well.

Plus, Seok Hyunmin is busy taking care of Heo Yoon. And Yoon Daju doesn’t know much about these things.

Choi Serim is the only one who can make proper judgments.

“I’m against it. What if someone accidentally pulls out the card key? It’s too dangerous.”

“Safety is a relative concept, Ms. Serim.”

“Still…”

“It would be hard to find a floor safer than this place.”

“Robin.”

Choi Serim calls the other person’s name.

But at the same time, she turns her gaze elsewhere.

“There’s one more thing.”

The end of the corridor.

Where there’s a window with a clear view outside.

It’s also the highest point of the corridor, which has a slight slope.

I reflexively looked in that direction again.

“We still don’t know about that slope. Doesn’t that mean there’s still danger left?”

“Perfect safety doesn’t exist. There’s always a possibility of accidents. It’s the same in reality, isn’t it? You could have a heart attack while walking normally, or die crushed by a collapsing ceiling while sleeping. But people don’t constantly worry about that.”

Robin eloquently presents her opinion.

“Besides, we don’t have much time. As Riko said, we only have ten days left until the Professor executes his plan. We need to regroup and plan our next steps as quickly as possible. In my opinion, staying here is the best option. I don’t intend to force anyone, but that’s my conclusion.”

“…”

Choi Serim paused for a moment and bit her nail.

It reminded me of how she used to stare at her laptop.

“Then what about the other rooms?”

“The other rooms?”

“It’s most reliable if Dabin checks them. But right now,”

“I’m fine.”

I hurriedly stepped forward to block Choi Serim.

I don’t want to be worried about.

After all, it was none other than me who brought everyone here.

“Since we’re on the same floor, all the rooms should be similar. I can check them quickly.”

“Dabin. Are you really okay?”

“Yes.”

Wiping away the remaining tears, I nodded.

“And I’ll check the slope later too. If necessary, I can handle it myself.”

Everyone’s reaction is that I’m pushing myself too hard.

Not just people I’ve known for a long time like Choi Serim, Yoon Daju, and Jung Haewon, but even Dan and Riko, whom I’ve only recently met, are worried.

Still, I can do it.

“I’ll be fine if Noona stays by my side.”

“Huh?”

“For mental care.”

“…”

When I said it jokingly, Serim Noona laughed as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Hey!”

“What?”

“Alright. I got it.”

“The more I use my ability, the more backlash I get. Not just physically, but mentally too. I know you know that… But I’m asking you anyway.”

“Yeah. I know.”

Choi Serim comes closer and places her hand on me.

It feels like a slight electric current flowing in.

This is Choi Serim’s ability to manipulate thoughts.

Until now, she’s used it to erase or suppress memories, but she can also create a comfortable feeling like this.

Of course, it doesn’t have much effect.

My anomaly resistance has strengthened significantly over the past few days, and now I’m hardly affected by most abilities.

In other words, I don’t feel much pain, but it’s also not easy to heal.

But that doesn’t mean nothing is happening.

Serim Noona is using her ability beside me.

Just knowing that makes my mind surprisingly calm.

After all, it’s not an external problem, but a problem within my mind.

Just a little more.

I just need to hold on a little longer.

I know well about your kind.

After checking all the rooms, I couldn’t find any special dangers.

Of course, the characteristic related to the card key was the same.

Each hotel room doesn’t have any anomalies before the card key is inserted.

The anomaly occurs when you open the door with the card key and then insert it into the holder.

The lights come on in the dark room, and electricity becomes available.

Up to this point, it’s like a normal hotel room.

But the moment you pull out the card key, the room is neatly reset. Exactly like its initial state.

I don’t know where the trash that was in the room went.

“The card keys can be copied. And they can open different people’s rooms.”

“Wow. Does this mean we can finally have our own rooms again?”

Jung Haewon’s face brightens.

“Yes.”

Everyone else feels the same way.

From sleeping in the elevator or taking short naps in Heo Yoon’s cramped studio apartment to now living in a hotel.

How could they not be happy?

“Yebin. Can you copy the card keys for us?”

“Yes, Dabin.”

Yebin, who inherited the Library Administrator system, can use some of the Librarian’s authorities.

She’s not a Memetic Kill Agent, but simple information replication is quite easy for her.

“…I’ll rest for a while.”

Fatigue suddenly washes over me.

It’s not surprising since I’ve been continuously using my ability while checking the rooms.

Thud.

Something touched my foot.

Grease. And hair soaked in blood.

It’s tangled with torn pieces of cloth from the hoodie.

“…”

I bent down to carefully examine the mass.

Inside the messed-up hood part of the hoodie, a white piece is faintly visible.

Rustle.

Crinkle.

A hastily torn note page comes out, dripping with grease.

I hid the paper without anyone noticing.

The group, who had been unaware, belatedly looks in my direction.

“What is this…?”

“It’s my hair that was cut off earlier. It must have fallen in the corridor.”

“So what disappeared from the room has reappeared?”

“Yes.”

“Hah…”

I tried to reassure everyone.

I still don’t plan to leave this place.

“Let’s rest for now. As long as we’re careful with the card keys, there’s nothing dangerous yet.”

“Right. Even if we die, we should die after resting.”

After worrying briefly, everyone, starting with Dan, heads to their rooms.

It’s because they’re finding it hard to endure the fatigue.

“Dabin. Will you be okay alone?”

“Yes. I want to wash up first.”

“By the way, I need to trim your hair later.”

“Yeah. It got cut in a weird way…”

I brushed my hair unnecessarily and moved away from Choi Serim.

After separating from Choi Serim, I examined the paper alone in my room.

On it were hastily scribbled words.

Just two phrases.

But it was enough to figure something out.

[Under the corridor.]

[Let me out.]

Under the corridor’s slope.

There’s something supporting the slope.