### Chapter 312 – Room 204, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Cinema’ (34) Fin
—
– Theater
As the screen turned off, the people in the theater couldn’t hide their surprise. Cha Jinchul looked around at his colleagues, panic etched on his face.
“What’s going on? Wasn’t Han Kain’s story still in progress?”
Kim Sanghyun also looked puzzled.
“Technically, it seems the story has come to an end… I think Doh In-ho was about to ask some questions about Han’s story, but then it ended suddenly.”
“Could it be that Han Kain got into trouble at the cafe?”
“Hasn’t anyone ever been attacked in the cafe so far?”
After a brief moment of confusion, the lights slowly came back on in the theater. Shortly after, a familiar voice rang out.
“Ding-ding-dong!”
Seeing the guide spinning around as they entered, everyone let out a sigh of relief. No matter what the situation was, the appearance of the judge meant that the horror movie was somehow over.
Now, just the final judgment remained. Kim Sanghyun felt a bit anxious as he looked around at the remaining people.
Excluding himself, only four of them were left: Cha Jinchul, Elena, and Yu Songee. Five others – Kim Mooksung, Lee Eunsol, Kim Ahri, Park Seungyub, and Han Kain – were caught in that horror movie.
Reflecting on past experiences, that last “judgment” segment had been a part where one had to push forward with logical fallacies and absurd reasoning. However, no one seemed capable of performing that task very well.
“I guess I’ll have to put in some effort.”
Sanghyun silently closed his eyes to prepare for a second round with the judge.
—
Before the three judges began their evaluation, Sanghyun shot his hand up in the air.
“Participant Kim Sanghyun, do you have a question?”
“Yes! The horror movie ‘Scary Story’ consists of four short stories. However, unlike the previous three, the fourth story lacks the process of Han Kain getting possessed into the narrative. How should it be evaluated -”
“The fourth story is accepted.”
When the guide casually stated that the fourth story was accepted, Sanghyun found himself momentarily speechless.
“Didn’t we hear it together? Han Kain’s tale happened right inside the hotel, so it’s moot to discuss its plausibility. The intricate details are also filled with unbelievable twists. The other two agree, right?”
The souvenir girl and the merchant nodded in agreement as if it were obvious.
“And finally, since everyone is alive, isn’t it at least a ‘happy’ progression up until now?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Does participant Kim Sanghyun have any differing thoughts?”
“None, actually.”
“Then let’s evaluate the other stories.”
As if waiting for this moment, the souvenir girl held up an “O” sign.
“My criteria are similar to those of writer Doh In-ho inside the story. Plausibility is the most crucial aspect; it seems like it all checks out.”
Upon hearing that, Songee nodded. The writer’s “confirmed” standards and the souvenir girl’s judgment criteria were quite similar.
On the other hand, the guide wore a complicated expression, hesitating to raise a sign. It seemed there was a particular story that did not sit well with him, and everyone instinctively knew which story it was: the 21st Century Gumiho story.
Sanghyun cautiously raised his hand.
“I see there’s a story that’s bothering you?”
“Let’s say two passed. The ‘Honeymoon Memories’… even though I like happy endings, questioning the family of a serial killer is a bit far-fetched. ‘Home Alone’ clearly has a perfect happy ending.”
Fortunately, the portrayal of the family of serial killers by Lee Eunsol, who played Park Sumi in ‘Honeymoon Memories’, wouldn’t be scrutinized. However, when it came to the 21st Century Gumiho story, there was no way to see it as a happy ending.
“As for the 21st Century Gumiho, I have no idea how to justify that one. I still think of Park Saerom’s tragic end. You all excel in twisted logic, so try to persuade me on that.”
As Sanghyun nodded, he began his defense.
“Judge, I’d like to make two points. First, the reason there’s no happy ending in the 21st Century Gumiho is not the participant’s lack of skill but rather that the script itself forbids a happy ending.”
“Is it a problem with the script itself?”
“For your second film, ‘The Guardian of the Barrier,’ didn’t you criticize Mr. Cha Jinchul for taking out the emperor, which is a method of escaping?”
“That’s true.”
“Are there ‘alternate plots’ in the 21st Century Gumiho? There aren’t, I believe. From the perspective of a protagonist who is a cannibalistic monster, one must ultimately choose between the monster and human sacrifices!”
“Hmm… Let’s put aside the human sacrifices. What about the reason behind Park Saerom being killed?”
Sanghyun found himself at a loss for words.
This part had no answer. The very reason Kim Ahri killed Park Saerom at the end was to try and meet the preferences of the merchant rather than the guide.
“… Let me offer my second point. Didn’t you say two out of three stories passed?”
“I suppose if 2/3 are satisfactory, 1/3 being unsatisfactory yields satisfaction overall?”
“That’s right.”
“Then we shall go with that.”
The guide didn’t press any further and lifted the pass sign. Seeing this, Sanghyun briefly tilted his head.
“I thought this would be much harder than it was? I thought I’d be twisting logic like a pretzel… like the result was predetermined or something.”
—
In the theater, the tension that had been thick abruptly dissipated. The souvenir girl and the guide declared their acceptance one after the other.
At this point, the evaluation by the final judge, the merchant, surely took a favorable turn. Perhaps due to this, the merchant even appeared to be in a relaxed mood.
“Phew! What a relief! Since the two ahead have already declared acceptance, I can say what I want. Honestly, except for the 21st Century Gumiho, everything else was mediocre! ‘Honeymoon Memories’? ‘Home Alone’? Both are awfully cliché endings, aren’t they? There were plenty of more interesting scenarios available!”
Feeling curious, Cha Jinchul asked, “What other interesting directions were there?”
“Good question! Let’s take ‘Honeymoon Memories’ for example. Is it logical to presume that a master raised among a family of serial killers would be perfectly normal? Obviously, there’s a chance he slides into the dark side, right? Like Park Sumi could end up hitchhiking with the killing duo or something—”
“Whoa! You find that entertaining? What about ‘Home Alone’?”
“Kevin’s parents? Quite suspicious, wouldn’t you say? That model house is clearly something his parents left behind, and they left the kid alone at home with all sorts of excuses.”
Songee tilted her head, “Once or twice, I did have my suspicions about the parents.”
“There’s even a greater secret behind that model house. Doesn’t it have a mechanism hidden inside that absorbs humans? You could use that to abduct others—”
“…”
As they listened to the merchant’s alternative possibilities, the hotel crew looked wide-eyed.
The notion of corrupting the victim once again who was kidnapped by the family of serial killers, or the storyline revolving around an unknown force using that suspicious item to abduct regular folks, was something they couldn’t even begin to fathom.
Sanghyun, displaying a look of utter confusion, asked, “Why would anyone do something like that?”
“Because it’s fun?”
“…”
“No, when such a great opportunity presents itself, ignoring it feels more unreasonable—”
“Quiet, quiet! That’s enough.”
Just then, the guide shouted for quiet and moved to the front of the screen.
“Congratulations! You all have successfully resolved all the movies prepared by Hotel Cinema. Now, let’s give a big round of applause for your hard-working companions!”
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)]
Date: Day 135
Current Location: Level 2, Room 204 – Mission Room, ‘Hotel Cinema’
Sage’s Advice: 0
—
– Han Kain
Slowly regaining my senses, I reflected on the complex conversations we’d just had in the cafe when a cheerful voice chimed in beside me.
“Yay! We did it! So who was the last one? It was Han Kain, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Wow! That tone was a bit smug, wasn’t it?”
“…”
In the moment of celebrating each other’s reunion, the guide once again made an announcement to elevate the joy.
“Alright! Therefore, we will be concluding Hotel Cinema like this!”
“…”
“…”
Everyone looked at the guide with expressions that screamed “What?!”. Seeing the guide act as if everything was normal, Ahri finally pointed out.
“Hey, what about the rewards? There are supposed to be rewards for clearing the Mission Room! Didn’t we have some sort of lottery event after clearing Room 106 on the first floor? Isn’t there something similar here?”
“Rewards? Haven’t you already received those?”
At the guide’s remark questioning whether we already received anything, the crowd looked bewildered. I felt a twinge of worry.
Could it be…?
I already knew that the tales shared with Doh In-ho and the other storytellers in the cafe were types of rewards.
But is that all there is to it? While I acknowledged that the information was indeed substantial, to think it would be the entirety of the reward was just disappointing.
“Lee Eunsol, why don’t you go to Room 105 and open the drawer?”
As Eunsol looked startled and widened her eyes, a familiar sound echoed again.
“Kugung!”
“…”
“…”
“Why do you keep making sound effects with your own mouth?”
With the old man’s final remark, the Mission Room, ‘Hotel Cinema,’ which had been wearing us thin for days, came to a close.
… Should I share what I heard in the cafe with the others?
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)]
Date: Day 135
Current Location: Level 2, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 0
—
– Han Kain
After stepping outside Room 204, everyone moved toward the snack table.
“Where’s Eunsol?”
“She went to Room 105, just as the guide directed earlier.”
“What do you think she’ll get?”
A moment later, Eunsol returned to the table. Her expression was incredibly complex as she approached us.
Our reactions also mirrored her expression when we saw the shining object in her hands. The 0.5 ticket that we had earned as a special reward from Room 202 was now complete.
Finally, the second ticket was in our hands!
As silence settled across the snack table, the doctor cautiously opened his mouth.
“Well, it seems… it’s time to bring up the conversation we’ve all been putting off.”
“…”
“About Ahri’s mom, and the resurrection of Miro. I heard you had a discussion on this before awakening me.”
“…”
“I understand there’s a method to restore Miro’s spirit, and once we obtain that ticket, we’ll use it, right? We could revert the spirit through the Mirror Room, couldn’t we? We’ve now acquired the ticket.”
“Right…?”
Ahri looked at us cautiously. In reality, we had had a similar agreement. Everyone began confidently sharing their thoughts, albeit tentatively.
Strangely enough, I felt a refreshing sensation. Was it because of the memories of the familiar girl laughing as she playfully threw snowballs at me?
“Let’s research how to use the Mirror Room. I got an idea while watching the movie… Seungyub?”
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