### Chapter 201 – Party Time – The Ninth Companion (3)
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[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 95
Current Location: Floor 2, Ice Hell – Room of Resurrection
Sage’s Advice: X]
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As soon as Kim Sanghyun recognized ‘Miro,’ everyone went into a panic. Nobody had predicted he would make that connection. Shifting his gaze to Ahri, it was clear she was just as flustered. In that moment of collective hesitation, Ahri finally spoke up.
“Mr. Kim Sanghyun, just to clarify, I’m not ‘Miro.’”
Upon hearing that, Kim Sanghyun wore a look of realization and adopted a slightly cautious demeanor.
“Is that so? Could you clarify if I’ve misunderstood something?”
Ahri briefly hinted that she was Miro’s daughter and that there might be a birth secret involved.
“Understood. I will act as cautiously as possible from now on.”
“Cautiously?”
“I mean, I will behave naturally.”
Um, that response seems a bit odd, right?
As we all pondered how offbeat that conversation was, we walked for another three minutes before Ahri suddenly halted everyone.
“Guys, seriously! Stop everything!”
Turning to Kim Sanghyun with a clearly irritated expression, Ahri said, “Get over here!”
She’s downright using informal speech! But, of course, Kim Sanghyun didn’t show any sign of displeasure.
“Yes?”
“Do you think I’m Miro in disguise right now?”
“… Your tone still sounds exactly as I remember.”
“Eh? Really?”
It clicked; it was obvious now. This man hadn’t grasped that Ahri and Miro were different people; he had just understood the situation as Miro hiding her identity for some reason.
However, I did understand Kim Sanghyun’s confusion. Having seen both of them, I could guarantee that apart from their hair colors, Ahri and Miro looked almost like identical twins! Miro had even mentioned, right after waking up in ‘Miro’s Hell,’ that not recognizing her was just a trick of the hotel. Any reasonably intelligent person might mistake them for the same person at first glance.
Realizing this, Ahri returned to her friendly demeanor and said, “Mr. Kim Sanghyun, it may be hard to persuade you through words, so please follow me for a moment. It’s freezing here, but you need to see something.”
I could take a guess at what that would be. Everyone paused as Ahri took Kim Sanghyun to show him ‘Miro’s Ice Statue’ and had us wait for their return. Shortly after, Kim Sanghyun came back, still unable to hide his astonishment.
“I apologize for my earlier behavior. From now on, I will address you as ‘Miss.’”
“Eh? ‘Miss’? That’s a bit—”
“Your mother doesn’t seem to be the kind of person to have children, yet life is full of surprises.”
What on earth does that mean? Everyone was at a loss for words, distracted by our own rapidly spinning thoughts. It sure felt like we had a ton to discuss, but first, we’d need to arrive at a warm place.
The moment we reached Room 105, the inquisition about Kim Sanghyun began. Did he realize we were eyeing him suspiciously?
Kim Sanghyun greeted the questioning with an almost excessively polite demeanor. The one leading the chat was Grandpa, who seemed quite used to this sorta thing.
“I hope you don’t find my questions too burdensome. We’re really curious about you.”
Meanwhile, Elena naturally moved closer to Kim Sanghyun.
“Of course. Given the circumstances, I understand. By the way, do you perhaps possess the ability to unravel the truth?”
Everyone fell silent for a moment. We’d never talked about Elena’s abilities! Did she catch on instantly as the questions started flying? Or had we unintentionally given her some sort of cue?
Grandpa smirked and said, “You certainly don’t seem like an ordinary person. Perhaps your previous hotel experience has trained you well? I hope there’s no deceit in this conversation.”
“Yes.”
“First question: how on earth do you know Miro? Were you part of the Administration Bureau on the outside? I don’t think that’s the case.”
“I once participated in the hotel with her. It was an underwater hotel back then.”
Underwater hotel? That sounded familiar. Ahri let out a light sigh as she lightly grabbed her head, jumping into the interrogation.
“Sorry, but I was a party member back then too! I don’t recall seeing someone like you. I guess I can imagine why, since I was born on Floor 2. So, did you die on Floor 1? I did hear two people died up there.”
“That’s correct.”
“So I don’t get it. The dead people on Floor 1, I know their names: Johnny and Muhammad. But this ‘Kim Sanghyun’ name is new to me.”
“That’s simple to explain. My original name was Johnny.”
In a brief exchange, the facts came together easily. He was a Korean-American, and his name was Johnny Kim. He hadn’t lied about his name; saying his Korean name was Kim Sanghyun made sense since he figured it would resonate better with a fellow Korean like me.
Ahri perked up at the name ‘Johnny Kim.’
“That name sounds good. So you weren’t lying in any way. But I’ve heard you had quite a flashy career?”
“Not that impressive, to be honest.”
“No, let’s drop those modesty acts. You used to be a doctor, a special forces soldier, and presently you’re an astronaut, right?”
… Could this be someone’s actual life experience? A former doctor, a special ops soldier, and a current astronaut? Who is this guy—some kind of reset character or something?
Hearing such a nagging resume, my companions looked utterly shocked. Jinchul didn’t even know how to respond. Kim Sanghyun, privy to our disbelief, spoke up.
“Some may wonder why I didn’t mention my career when I asked Han Kain to revive me. For that, I sincerely apologize. I learned the hard way that displaying too much confidence while navigating the hotel can raise others’ suspicions.”
“… So you chose to hide everything but your doctor title because of that lesson?”
“Well, I thought that keeping my abilities a mystery would convey that I might still be useful without raising any alarms.”
That strategy was truly effective. We assumed he was just a doctor and didn’t treat him as a threat but rather as a valuable ally.
Was he sensing our unease? He quickly began explaining himself again.
“My claim that my experience isn’t all that impressive isn’t a lie. This place is a hotel. A doctor? A special forces soldier? An astronaut? You said you all are progressing through Floor 2 without a single person dying; I imagine there’s at least one person among you who could probably fly to space without batting an eyelash. Compared to that, my qualifications seem insignificant.”
“Uh… surprisingly, no one can just fly up to space right now. Hah, wouldn’t Kain be able to if he ever descended?”
“If I possessed Ferro’s body via possession, it might become possible one day.”
— Woooosh!
Ferro seemingly understood my words and vanished like a ghost. Yu Songee looked astonished.
“Oppa turns into Ferro and flies to space? I doubt he’d manage even 10 meters.”
“…”
Maybe sensing the mood lightening, Kim Sanghyun continued.
“Compared to all of you right now, my experience is negligible.”
I could feel a wave of anxiety radiating from Kim Sanghyun. He seemed worried that he could inadvertently raise our suspicions about him. His humble demeanor, driven by that desperation, felt less pitiful and more rather sympathetic.
My sister joined the conversation, having shared my sentiments.
“Listen, Mr. Kim Sanghyun? No need to be so tense. We’re not at the stage of choosing our companions; we’ve already made our choice. We’ve already spent a ticket on you.”
“Once again, thank you—”
“Not looking for thanks here. Since we’ve invested quite a bit in you already, there’s no way we can easily let you go. So, let’s relax a bit.”
After a moment of silence, we all started sipping tea, drinking coffee, and munching on snacks.
“This is delicious.”
“The hotel food is always good. Was it like this back in the day too?”
“It was just as good before. Every dish was crafted by first-rate skills.”
“Your impressive background sure makes sense; you must have many talents. As a doctor, I bet you’re good with emergency care, and your marksmanship must be astounding, right? Does your astronaut experience help you here in the hotel?”
Maybe feeling more at ease, Kim Sanghyun managed a slight smile as he replied.
“Becoming an astronaut was one of my lifelong goals, but being in this hotel, I’ve found that my experience in that regard is rather meaningless. Still, who knows? Somewhere on Floor 2, we might stumble upon some outer space.”
“I’ll make sure to lean on you for help then, and…”
Suddenly, as if deploying a sneak attack, my sister fired off a penetrating question.
“What was your relationship with Miro back then? Be honest.”
At that, Elena’s eyes glimmered gold again. Kim Sanghyun’s expression fell back into tension.
“W-What part do you wish to know?”
Ahri interjected, “Simply put, were you enemies? Allies? Just basic stuff. I heard my first party split into chaos and fought fiercely. Since you’re already deceased, I’m guessing the gossip must have circulated about you.”
After a moment with words hanging in the air, Kim Sanghyun began to respond.
“I apologize, but it sounds like the information you have could be quite incomplete. Just as I don’t know what you experienced after you became the Miro, you probably have no clue what occurred on Floor 1.”
“… That makes sense. The people who shared past stories with me probably just summarized everything since it’s already done and dusted. Plus, the way you call me ‘Miss’ makes me cringe.”
“Should I call you Ara instead?”
“Just keep saying ‘Miss.’”
“The conflicts in the past party didn’t unfold so simply. To start off, we didn’t fight from the get-go. Initially, we all rallied together under Miro.”
“Under mother?”
“Her natural charisma drew us together. To put it mildly, we respected her deeply. To exaggerate, we worshipped her.”
Miro’s abilities; I already knew about them firsthand. Even back in our teens, an average person wouldn’t resist her. Just imagining how powerful she must have been after honing those abilities over the years sent chills down my spine. A normal human could probably be manipulated by just her words. If you think about it, the Management Bureau’s decision to include Miro in the hotel was the right call; I find it even stranger why this conflict ever started.
“It all began around Room 104. We spent an exceedingly long time in that room, but unfortunately, Miro fell out early on. The remaining people together managed to endure it for months to escape.”
Ahri wore a face that looked like she couldn’t believe it.
“After Miro died, did the remaining folks regain their wits?”
“That’s right. After Miro vanished for a month or two, it hit us all at once—she had controlled us with unknown powers.”
After finishing his cup, Kim Sanghyun continued cautiously.
“When faith crumbled, there was nothing but rage and betrayal left. The leader who had guided us with exceptional leadership, whom we believed was a protector from the Management Bureau, started appearing suspiciously like a wicked witch.”
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