### Chapter 285 – Room 204, Mission’s Room – ‘Hotel Cinema’ (9) – Part One Fin
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– Han Kain
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[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 132
Current Location: Tier 2, Room 204 – Mission’s Room, ‘Hotel Cinema’
Sage’s Advice: 3]
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“…”
“…”
A different kind of silence filled the theater, contrasting with Elena’s side. I could hear my brother’s confused voice.
“Ah, Ahri! Is this really a good ending? Is this how romance movies go these days?”
“… It can’t be.”
Of course not. Seungyub mumbled, unable to close his half-open mouth.
“Didn’t the genre just suddenly shift? It’s not romance; it was a thriller!”
“W-Wasn’t it horror? Horror!”
Thriller? Horror?
“… It’s about time I heard some crap.”
“Dum-de-dum! Da-da-da-da-dum!”
Just like grandpa said, the ridiculous sound effects from the guide disrupted the scene. As the expressions of my companions warped, I suddenly realized how important this situation was. What did that guy say?
“Persuading the evaluators is also part of your skills.”
‘Hotel Cinema’ isn’t entirely a solo play. Though the movie’s progress must be done solo, the evaluation of the “ending” is open for us outside to intervene.
Songee had already crafted her own ending. Now, we just had to earn a positive evaluation!
Seeing the first evaluator, the merchant, I felt a bit at ease. With the chaotic developments in the latter half, this guy’s tastes seemed to match perfectly. As expected, he confidently raised the O.
“Pass! Amazing! Another pass! Were you all born in a hotel? After Elena, now Songhee with such a great ending! This plot is truly a hymn to humanity!”
… A hymn to humanity?
Stunned, the souvenir girl next to me asked, “Where exactly is the hymn to humanity?”
“Did I watch the movie alone? Isn’t it a form of humanity’s utopia that the diligent ones receive their rewards?”
“So, the heroine ‘diligently’ had her ex-girlfriend and mother-in-law commit suicide and as a reward got the male lead?”
“That’s right! In the 21st century, what you desire must be seized by skill, right? How long do you plan to suffer under your mother-in-law’s nagging? Just nudge her off the carriage or terrace. If she crawls back up, just poison her wine.”
“You seem to be playing a weird game these days, have you been playing Crusader or something—”
“Ahem! Let’s not talk nonsense. My evaluation is a pass! It’s so Young! So MZ!”
Do hotel staff play games too? What doesn’t this hotel have?
The souvenir girl looked extremely exhausted as she raised an X.
“Ha… I really don’t get how you guys view the word ‘romance.’ Okay, I’ll give you a minimal direction compared to Elena. You seem to understand the main elements of this genre with fiancé sabotage and a psychological war with the mother-in-law.”
This person is definitely the problem! Unlike the merchant, she preferred ‘common sense’ narratives, and hence her evaluation began piling up with complaints.
“But you kill off the conflict structure and resolve it twice in a row? Didn’t you understand the movie background? It’s not a high-power world! In a world without magic or superpowers, just killing off the undesirables with inherited powers? What in the world—”
“I object!”
My loud voice made her eyes widen.
“Go ahead.”
“Your evaluation criteria are flawed. Why do you call it ‘romance’?”
“What?”
“Who decided this movie was a romance? The hotel only told us the title!”
The guide chimed in slightly.
“To be exact, in part two, I did mention it was a ‘war movie.’ I didn’t elaborate on parts one and three, though.”
“Right! The important thing is that part one’s genre remains undecided.”
The souvenir girl asked incredulously, “Then what genre do you think it is?”
“… Thriller? Horror? Oh, it’s a movie where a wicked being appears taking advantage of the prince’s weakened heart, killing everyone around him while captivating him.”
“What the heck does that mean?”
While confused, Ahri fired support.
“Evaluator! What issue did you point out earlier? The movie’s setting is a ‘low-power world’ without supernatural powers, and it’s an error to kill all obstacles with inherited powers. Isn’t that correct?”
“… Yes.”
“As you said, that’s indeed an error in a romance film. If no one can use magic or superpowers, it’s odd if the heroine suddenly mesmerizes the male lead.”
“Uh? That might be a good development…”
Suddenly, the souvenir girl blushed. As everyone, even the merchant, looked at her in disbelief, Sister Eunsol quickly noted down,
“The souvenir girl likes hypnotic romances. Noted.”
“No, I don’t!”
Ahri hurriedly interjected.
“Wait! Just listen to me. In a romance movie, Songhee’s actions could be a ‘balance disruption.’ But if Kain is right and the genre is horror or thriller, then it’s not an issue.”
I took the next line.
“Evaluator, the victims are ordinary people with no powers, but the evil spirits wielding all kinds of supernatural abilities are standard for horror movies and thrillers, right? Many thriller movies show serial killers displaying almost terminator-level physical prowess.”
That’s right! What if the prince training angle is really horror or thriller instead of romance?
If Songhee and the prince’s relationship looked more like that of a villain and a victim rather than lead characters, Songhee wielding supernatural powers would be natural in that context.
… A ridiculous argument, but it resonated with the souvenir girl. Her eyes were spinning, and I genuinely mean her eyeballs seemed to be rolling around.
“Okay, so, it’s not a romance? Of course, no one assigned a genre to the first part, but… Agh! Are you all making weird statements? Didn’t you just say it was a romance?”
“The film started without anyone knowing, so it was a careless remark!”
“The participant who entered made a story proceed with the assumption it was a romance! If it were romance, it would naturally go that way!” she burst out, frustrated.
“Didn’t you say narration wouldn’t be reflected in the evaluation?”
“At the end, you declared yourself to the empress as a romance!”
“Must’ve been a misunderstanding.”
Keep arguing! Just keep pushing! Looking at the souvenir girl’s expression, I understood. She’s surprisingly vulnerable to such overwhelming claims!
Picking up the atmosphere, Ahri started her own clever argument.
“Don’t you get it? The movie genre is horror thriller! Did you say it was a romance just because you declared it? The ghosts and monsters in horror movies usually have twisted minds! It’s a scenario where a madman mistook it for romance and goes on to slaughter everyone around the prince! Why can’t you accept that? That’s bias!”
“I-I don’t quite know about this. No matter how I think about it, are you really not fooling me?”
“Ugh! Honestly, what does genre matter? As long as it’s fun! Hey you!”
Ahri began to speak casually now.
“Put your hand on your heart and tell me! Did you have fun or not? Admit it! It was fun, right? Should I pull out one of my famous lines again?”
Instantly rising from her seat, Ahri wore a distant look and delivered her ‘great line.’
“I’ll take care of your son in my own way! Aja!”
“Pfft!”
She laughed! She just laughed!
—
In a theater full of chaos, the souvenir girl finally burst out with a quiet flip of the X panel.
“Fine. I’ll say it’s a pass. I feel strangely completely defeated, but…”
We secured consecutive passes from two evaluators. As expected, the guide burst into laughter.
“Ha ha ha! It seems our participants have quite the skill! Excellent! As I mentioned, persuading the evaluators is part of your talents as well. Since two of the three evaluators have already declared a pass, it’s a confirmed success! But then again, checking the third evaluation wouldn’t be a bad idea either, right?”
The final evaluator, the Lego artisan, casually raised an X. Reflexively falling silent, I had no clue what to say.
I had a rough idea of what the previous two evaluators preferred. The merchant liked unique and original endings, while the souvenir girl wanted a common-sense narrative fitting the genre.
But what in the world did the Lego artisan value? Ahri leaned close and whispered in my ear.
“At first we passed all previous evaluators, but this guy feels like he might later become a troublesome addition.”
“Lego?”
“Yeah. Not knowing his standards makes it hard to persuade him.”
“Hmmm… Shouldn’t we focus on persuading the first two instead?”
*
The first movie truly ended. The screen suddenly split vertically, and out popped Songee and Elena.
Elena, momentarily taken aback, quickly recognized that Songee had resolved the situation, beaming a wide smile and hugging Songee.
“Thank you!”
Songee couldn’t hide her proud expression as she walked towards us.
“You all saw that, right? I clearly know how to handle the romance genre—”
There’s still another evaluator waiting! Ahri dashed over and replied hastily.
“That was a great horror movie!”
“Huh?”
“A story where you break the morale of everyone around the prince by killing them off! Fantastic!”
“What?”
“Ugh! Guide! The first movie just ended! Can we step outside for a moment?”
“Of course. Come back when you wish to proceed to the next part.”
“Let’s go out for now. By the way, you were the antagonist in the horror film, so realize that.”
“Wha—?”
Clearly, in the Mission Room, it seemed different from the Curse Room in many ways. If you successfully finished a movie, you could exit.
What should we do tomorrow? One more film? Or back to Room 203? Where should I use the advice again? I need to talk to my companions.
“Why the hell did you say I was the antagonist in a horror movie?”
… Songee fell into confusion alone. A vague thought crossed my mind: we were likely to warp the remaining film’s genre bizarrely.
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