Ch.124Kind Hotel (3)

Whoosh-

I lay on the bed, waiting for Choi Serim who was washing up in the bathroom.

No. Thinking about it this way feels strange somehow.

Especially since I was the one who showered first.

“……”

If she were a man, would I have felt excited?

Though that situation wouldn’t have happened in the first place.

Unconsciously, my gaze drifts toward the vanity.

The mirror sparkles under the comfortable amber lighting.

A girl staring back at me from within.

Her hair is strangely cut and quite a mess, but I can’t say she’s not pretty.

Looking so innocent like she couldn’t hurt an ant.

When I raise my finger to touch my cheek, the girl in the mirror follows the exact same action.

This sensation still feels strange.

Even though quite some time has passed since I changed into this body. But compared to the time I spent as a male, it’s still woefully short.

“Dabin. Are you still there?”

“Yes.”

I raised my voice to answer Choi Serim in the bathroom.

Since something could happen while she’s washing up, someone needs to wait outside.

Soon Choi Serim opens the door and comes out.

Naturally, she’s not wearing a single piece of cloth.

Only a towel covers her body.

“Were you resting well?”

“Yes.”

Even as I answer, I find myself averting my gaze.

This happened before too. When I was forced to bathe with Daju.

Back then, I pretended to dislike it but kept sneaking glances.

Is it because they’re different people?

Yoon Daju and Serim are quite different. Of course.

Noticing that I’m avoiding eye contact, Serim casually throws out a comment with a smile.

“We’re both women anyway.”

Choi Serim is still wearing just a towel.

She’s quite close, and I can feel her warmth. Mixed with a pleasant scent.

Ugh…

“I’m definitely going back to normal.”

I shook my head and stated firmly.

“We’re both women anyway.” I still feel resistance hearing such words.

It’s not just because of my male identity.

My goal is to restore everything to normal.

When everything is over, I probably won’t hear such words again.

“I don’t think Dabin can go back.”

“What?”

My thoughts suddenly broke off.

It’s not just the content, but Choi Serim playing such pranks isn’t common.

She was always such a quiet person.

When I opened my eyes wide and met her gaze, she continued with a grin.

“You know my ability, right?”

“Y-you can’t read my thoughts anymore. And my mind is still male, you know?”

“Hmm? Is that so?”

Choi Serim left an ambiguous response and went to dry her hair.

Um…

She was just teasing me, right?

But still. Such a prank.

She’s definitely changed a lot since we first met.

When I first saw Choi Serim, she was constantly recording her thoughts, desperately trying to distinguish who she was.

Her own thoughts.

And other people’s thoughts that naturally flowed in.

Clearly distinguishing between the two was harder than expected.

But now she seems to have developed a stronger sense of self. Or maybe she’s found her own voice.

Either way, she looks much better than before.

Choi Serim takes out clothes from her bag and puts them on.

Matching the somewhat chilly hotel weather, she wears comfortable long-sleeved clothes.

“All done. Dabin, come sit here. I’ll trim your hair.”

“Ah… Yes, sis.”

Sitting in front of the mirror, I notice my hair again.

Perhaps because it was cut abruptly during the accident, my hair is a complete mess.

“The back of your head is really in bad shape.”

“Is it that bad?”

“Yes. It would have been terrible if we hadn’t fixed it today.”

Snip, snip.

Every time Choi Serim opens and closes the small scissors, clumps of hair fall onto the newspaper spread below.

It’s fascinating how hair keeps coming out no matter how much is cut.

But more distracting is the occasional touch of her hands brushing against my head.

“Hmm. This should be enough for emergency treatment.”

“Thank you.”

“No need. I’m not good at styling or anything. Just quickly fixed the shape.”

“Still, thank you.”

I got up, dusting off my seat.

While removing hair fragments stuck near my eyes, Choi Serim suddenly exclaims as if remembering something.

“Ah! I should have cut it before you washed your hair!”

“It’s fine, I can just shake it off.”

“There’ll be hair everywhere.”

“Maybe I can shake it off in the hallway?”

“I guess… Sorry.”

It doesn’t seem like something to apologize for.

Just as I was about to correct her, Choi Serim started speaking again.

“By the way, are you sleeping alone?”

“Yes. I can’t sleep well with others around.”

“You could sleep with me. Just don’t cry in your sleep again.”

“No. When did I ever cry?”

“Hmm. When we first entered the apartment? I could read your thoughts then.”

“No…”

I take back what I said about her looking better.

When Choi Serim comes at me like this, I can’t handle it.

Since her ability is mind-reading, I can’t even refute it.

“Ah, I won’t cry.”

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, I hurriedly crammed on my shoes and left the room.

The corridor I returned to is eerie.

Even with the lights brightly lit.

How long have I been alone for it to feel this way?

I turned my head to look at the stairs.

I want to go down right away and identify all the dangers on this floor.

That would be reassuring, but not yet.

My assigned room is 405.

The room at the end of the corridor. Since we left 404 empty because it felt ominous, my only neighbor is Choi Serim in 406.

Beep-

Click!

I slowly placed the key card against the lock and opened the door.

The room is still dark. When I insert the card key into the holder, the lights come on brightly.

So if this key card is removed, I’ll die instantly.

Like my cut hair, my corpse would disappear in an instant, never to be found.

I took out insulation tape from my bag and carefully wrapped it around the key card holder.

Yes. It’ll be fine.

If I’m careful, it’ll be fine.

It’ll be fine.

Though my body is tired, sleep doesn’t come.

I kept tossing and turning in bed.

It would be good to get even a little rest. The time to rest was rapidly decreasing.

Tick. Tick.

The clock in the room rotates.

The ticking sound comes like a faint auditory hallucination.

And then, midnight. The time when everyone is asleep.

I quietly got up.

Though I hadn’t properly rested for a moment, time doesn’t wait.

“Huff…”

It’s time to face the truth of this place.

I put on a simple long-sleeved outer garment and moved to the entrance.

Creeak-

Carefully opening the door, I check outside through the gap.

For now, it’s quiet outside.

Everyone is asleep.

Not just people, but even the hotel that always had lights on.

I can only see darkness.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

In darkness, sound travels better.

Since everyone focuses on sound instead of the invisible in front of them.

I carefully grabbed the doorknob to prevent the sound from echoing loudly.

Of course, the key card is still inserted inside the room.

If I go outside and close the door like this, it would be very troublesome. It’s like throwing the room key inside a locked room.

In a real hotel, I’d have to call staff to open it.

So first, I need to secure the door so the lock doesn’t activate.

After briefly checking outside, I moved back inside the room.

“Ugh.”

I carried a chair, heavier than expected, back to the entrance.

It would be easier to push it, but that would make noise, so I had to lift and move it.

“Huff…”

It’s not as easy as I thought.

The wooden chair is much heavier than it looks; even as a man, I might not have been able to move it.

Thud.

Done.

As heavy as it is, it should securely hold the door.

I panted for a while, hands on my knees.

Why am I sweating from my forehead for something not that strenuous? Anyway, it’s hard work.

One fortunate thing is that my hair is now shorter.

It’s not a bob, but not long hair either—an in-between length.

Choi Serim said it was a waste, but it’s more comfortable.

There’s much less hair sticking to my mouth or falling when I bend over.

Just as I was about to go out the door again.

“Dabin.”

“Huh!”

I reflexively inhaled.

Standing where my gaze turned was Yebin.

“Where are you going?”

“You’re awake…?”

“Last time you said you wouldn’t go anywhere without me.”

“Shh.”

I quieted Yebin and looked at the other rooms.

Fortunately, it seems no one else has woken up.

“Dabin. Where are you going?”

“Just be quiet for now.”

“Where are you going?”

It’s not like she’s a sleepy child whining.

Come to think of it, Yebin has disheveled silver hair.

Was she really sleeping until just now?

“I’m going to check what’s downstairs, so stay here. I’ll just check quickly and come back.”

“No.”

“Why not!”

“It’s dangerous to go alone. Let’s go together.”

“…”

My breath catches, and a sigh escapes.

“Do you remember when you were an AI?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you think your personality is very different now?”

“…”

Yebin falls into thought for a moment.

“I don’t know either.”

“What?”

“You made me this way, Dabin.”

A pair of red eyes looking up at me.

Seeing Yebin’s innocent gaze, regret rises again.

I shouldn’t have just focused on efficiency back then.

When creating a body for the AI, I made it as small as possible, and it seems to continuously affect her personality.

That’s why she’s gradually degrading into a child as time passes.

Wait.

Does the body affect personality…?

“Ugh.”

Suddenly, my head hurts.

“Anyway, Yebin, stay here. I’m going to check the lower floor.”

“Then I’ll scream and wake everyone up.”

“Hey.”

“What?”

“You’ve gotten better at throwing tantrums?”

“It’s not a tantrum. I’m threatening you.”

“Oh. You even know the word ‘threatening’?”

One fact is that the longer this conversation goes on, the more urgent it becomes for me.

In the end, I had to give in.

“Follow carefully. Don’t touch anything strange.”

“Yes, Dabin.”

The fewer people who know the uncomfortable truth, the better.

Especially if knowing doesn’t change anything.

That’s why I wanted to go alone somehow.

But I couldn’t shake off Yebin, who’s connected to me through the library system.

We quietly crossed the corridor, muffling our footsteps.

We’re currently at 406.

It’s on the opposite side of our destination.

The lights weren’t turned on.

There must be a reason why the hotel is asleep.

Instead, we let our eyes adjust to the darkness.

And slowly, carefully moving our steps, we were able to reach the stairs at the end of the corridor.

“Let’s go down slowly.”

“Yes.”

Even though our eyes have adjusted to the darkness, going down the stairs is difficult and dangerous.

When I instinctively placed my hand on the wall to steady myself as I staggered, it happened.

“Huh?”

An alien sensation at my fingertips.

Instead of a solid wall, it felt like pressing on something firm yet rubbery.

“Hmph…”

I swallowed the scream that was about to reflexively escape as a groan.

Looking carefully at the wall, something was protruding.

A pulsating blood vessel.

The outer appearance is still a white wall.

But underneath, blood is flowing.

Like a pulse beating beneath skin.

“…”

This could be much more horrifying than I thought.

As I belatedly tried to check Yebin’s position, I quickly rushed over.

I barely managed to catch Yebin who was about to fall.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. But the floor suddenly started shaking… I almost fell.”

“What?”

Sitting quietly on the floor, I look at the emergency exit floor.

It’s not just the walls that are moving.

The hard cement floor is rising and falling as if breathing.