### Chapter 385 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1)
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 224
Current Location: Second Floor, Central Hall
Sage’s Advice: 0]
—
– Han Kain
I woke up on the second floor.
… Am I awake?
As I tried to calm my churning stomach, I recalled last night’s events.
Looks like I drank till I blacked out.
Walking near the large table in the center of the second floor, I spotted Jinchul.
“Hyung!”
“…”
He seemed lost in deep thought.
Not wanting to disturb him, I headed down to the first floor.
“Ari?”
“…”
“Eunsol?”
“…”
I wandered around, calling out to my comrades, but no one responded.
Like Jinchul on the second floor, they all seemed caught up in their own troubles.
More than that, I was feeling a bit dazed myself.
At first, I thought it was just the hangover from last night, but I could manage my body just fine.
This was different from a hangover.
I felt like I had experienced something similar before….
At that moment, a voice whispered in my ear.
“Do what you desire.”
—
– Yu Songee
What is going on?
The moment I saw the sponsor’s reaction, I figured something strange was happening outside.
But what is this situation?
It’s not like my comrades have disappeared.
I briefly ran into Kain, Jinchul, and Elena, so they were still here.
What’s weird is their condition.
None of them respond when spoken to, muttering strange things while lost in their own worlds.
They looked like they had been hit by some mental attack, but two things seemed off about that.
First, it’s not a cursed room; it’s party time! Who could have put my comrades in this state?
Second, there are plenty of powers to fend off mental attacks, so why is everyone in this condition?
What about Kain’s Status Window?
Where’s Elena’s clarity?
Did everything break down?
“Kain!”
“I want to fly.”
“Get a grip!”
“Why don’t I have wings?”
— Thud!
“Hey, Han Kain! Snap out of it!”
“Aah… right. I need to bring Pero.”
Pero?
Just as I was about to grab my brother who was drifting away, someone hugged me from behind.
“Ahhhh!”
“Songee….”
It was Ari.
No kidding; it’s the first time I’ve seen her act like this!
“Are you in this state too?!”
“Songee, you’re in second year of high school, right?”
“Uh—”
“Is it fun?”
“What? No, let me go!”
“I don’t like going to school anymore. I’ve done it too many times.”
“Seriously, let me go! Why do you have to be so strong? Don’t use your lineage for stuff like this!”
“A long time ago… when I first entered school. I wanted to make friends and get close to people.”
“Did you?”
“It doesn’t matter. Ordinary people forget everything anyway.”
“What? Forget what?”
“You guys won’t forget me, right? So that’s a relief.”
In that moment, I was so shocked I even forgot that Ari was hugging me.
Forget Ari?
What about those beautiful crimson eyes like a ruby?
You wouldn’t easily forget that, even if you just saw it once while walking down the street!
“… This isn’t normal forgetfulness. They’re erasing their memories about you, right?”
“Administration Bureau? Hahaha! What nonsense. It’s not that— ugh!”
Suddenly, Ari staggered and sat down.
“What’s wrong?”
“… Hypnosis therapy.”
“What?”
“You’re not a field agent yet, so I can’t tell you….”
If I didn’t catch on by now, I’d be a complete moron.
This was a story about the Administration Bureau and also the secret of the world we live in.
Words that I normally wouldn’t let slip were coming out now.
Should I even be forcing myself to listen to this?
Just as I was flustered about what to do, Ari suddenly dashed off somewhere.
“Where are you going? Finish your sentence!”
Nearby the first-floor terrace, by a small fountain, Miro was sitting.
Ari leaned against Miro, resting her head on Miro’s lap.
It looked like a child seeking affection from her mother.
And….
I had never seen this side of Miro either, not once since she awakened.
“Miro.”
“…”
“Miro.”
“…”
“Why aren’t you answering? Do you dislike me?”
The next moment, Ari began to choke Miro!
What the hell is this sudden outburst?
“Wha—! Are you insane? Let go! Why are you so strong?!”
Should I use the bracelet?
They’re comrades!
But that comrade is about to kill another comrade?!
Will the bracelet even work?
Suddenly, Ari let go and murmured.
“Who are you?”
“…”
“When my mother was alive, she was like a madwoman. She couldn’t stand it when someone crossed her, and would immediately punish them with force if they came close.”
“…”
“As a comrade, you score a zero. I didn’t even consider you for resurrection.”
“…”
“And then you woke up. You were a child. Naive but surprisingly cunning, brave… yet scared. Not a madwoman, just a normal person.”
Miro’s head slowly turned towards Ari.
“So… I realized! You’re not the Miro I know. You’re not my mother.”
“…”
“You were resurrected like this, the only Miro who’ll live in the future. The ‘Adult Miro’ the Administration Bureau knows is gone, but her complete disappearance hasn’t happened.”
The traces of Adult Miro still exist in this time frame.
Also, that Miro was the future version of Miro who grew normally.
If she returns to reality and spends enough time as an agent in the Administration Bureau, a similar Miro will show up again someday.
In that sense, Junior Miro and Adult Miro have not truly disappeared.
The only Miro that has vanished is the one that has completely ceased to exist.
“I just realized a terrifying fact. I didn’t bring my mother back….”
Ari’s thoughts, usually hidden, made me choke up.
“Is it possible that I have permanently annihilated her so she can never come back?”
It felt like everything in the world had stopped.
Both Ari, who looked vacant, hoping for some response from Miro, and I watched on in silence.
And….
Miro, with a dazed expression, finally spoke.
“I found something I want to do!”
Seeing Miro run off with a childlike smile, I belatedly understood.
Just like the others, Miro too was wrapped up in ‘her own thoughts.’
This long conversation turned out to be essentially Ari’s monologue.
… Truly, this is so like the hotel.
I was thankful that I could hear this conversation alone.
So if I forget just this—
“Kain! I like you!”
“Eeeek! That girl is for real!”
—
Sudden love confession!
Are you serious?
“Kain! I’ve liked you since school!”
I nearly fainted seeing her blurt out a confession like a headbutting dinosaur without any buildup or teasing.
“Why aren’t you answering? Do you not like me? Ugh!”
“Why are you suddenly hitting me?!”
“If I hit you a few more times, will you like me?”
She was even throwing punches at Kain, making it look less like a confession and more like a threat.
At that moment, Kain, who had been blankly staring outside from the front door, finally spoke.
“Miro, let’s jump!”
“What are you talking about, Han Kain, you crazy freak!”
Miro’s eyes widened.
“Jump? Why?”
“What is love? It’s the hottest feeling between people, unmatched passion. Therefore, love is like a flame.”
“Flame?”
“The biggest fireball in the world is the sun in the sky. So those who fall in love need to get closer to the sun.”
“What movie line is this? Why are you trying to jump from the front door all of a sudden?”
“I want to see outside.”
“Out of the blue—”
“Don’t you ever want to go out, Songee? We have two escape options now.”
I was left speechless.
It would be a lie to say I hadn’t considered this at least once.
“I want to go out. I miss my parents.”
“… Hyung. Putting that aside, why do we have two escape options? The wing boots we haven’t even gotten yet—”
“I can already fly.”
Kain smiled slyly, raising his hand.
— Squeak!
In his hand, a cute parrot sat, looking woeful.
“Pero!”
“I can fly now. I just have to jump first and then possess Pero.”
“Uh, have you gotten Pero’s permission for this plan?”
— Squeak!
Lights flashed from my wrist one after another.
I had already tried to stop Kain with the bracelet countless times, but nothing worked.
What’s even happening right now?
It wasn’t just my bracelet that had become useless.
What’s Ari’s old blood doing?
Has Miro’s stability malfunctioned?
Where the heck is Kain’s Status Window?
All our means to resist this mental contamination have left us incapacitated!
“Well then, I guess you should try flying now.”
I was about to turn and ask who else was talking nonsense, but it was Elena.
“I’ve always wondered. Why did I fall for you….”
Long before Miro, Elena had developed feelings for Kain.
None of us were unaware of this.
Spending days at the hotel, dealing with the cursed room made it impossible not to notice.
“I’ve pondered it alone at times. What could have been the trigger? Looking back, there was indeed a specific moment.”
The exact moment Elena fell in love with Kain.
“It was when you first activated the Descent. When the starlight descended and transformed you into an angel of the sky.”
“…”
“Realizing that made me a bit scared. Is this love? Or…”
Or what?
“Could it be that the overwhelming charisma radiated by the Descent turned my heart inside out? What a terrifying thought.”
Kain responded calmly.
“Is that so?”
“So, I want to see it once more.”
“What do you want to see?”
“Jump. If you’re an angel, you should be able to fly. Show me that light again.”
“Oh! That sounds great.”
Looks like Elena’s clarity has also gone haywire.
At this moment, I decided to lay everything down and just watch the situation unfold.
With the bracelet out of commission, there was nothing I could do.
Kain started spinning around, clasping Pero tightly, and opened the main door on the first floor of the hotel.
“Wow!”
“What’s the matter?”
“The scenery is great! Shall we go?”
Miro smiled widely and shouted.
“Go Kain! I’ll be cheering from here!”
Elena also clapped, happily.
“You can do it, Kain! Make sure you fly!”
“Goodbye, everyone! I’m throwing off all the constraints and restrictions of this world to find my happiness! You all be happy too~~!”
His expression as he leaped out of the hotel was brighter than ever.
His hidden desire had finally come to fruition.
At long last, the first escapee from the hotel emerged.
—
– Kim Mooksung
“P-Professor! Sanghyun! Please calm down! Get a grip!”
“I’m as clear-headed as ever.”
“Hey! Then why can’t you even take off that protective suit you’re wearing?!”
“I received this from Ari.”
“Why in the world did she give you a protective suit? What is—?”
“Did you know that you can escape through the elevator, agent?”
“Sanghyun….”
“By the way, Kain told me the number. 87439124. Right?”
That’s correct.
I felt a chill creep over me.
What on earth was Han Kain thinking, giving out that number?
What in the world was Ari thinking when she gave him that suit?
Everyone already knows!
Kim Sanghyun’s ‘desire to escape’ is on a whole different level from ours.
He’s someone who has lived through the hell of this hotel!
He is even different from Miro.
Miro had already been freed from the agony of hell through her ‘Prayer of Rest’ prior to her resurrection.
“Haha, Agent! What’s with that expression? Anyone would think something serious is happening.”
“Please, this is crazy Sanghyun….”
“I’ve always been the pride of my family since childhood; my elite special forces background, my career as a doctor, an astronaut. Honestly, isn’t that impressive even for you?”
“I get it! I get it! But please take off that protective suit—”
“I’ve never properly fulfilled my filial duty. This is my lifelong regret. If I’m alive, I should at least do my duty somehow, and if not, pour one last drink on their grave!”
“What are you talking about? Do you think you’re going on a picnic somewhere?”
I can’t stop him!
Since coming out of Room 203, there has been no way to match his strength, and now he’s wearing protective gear!
“I’ll just rest for a few days. It’s like taking a vacation at the hotel.”
“Hey, come on!”
“Bye bye! See you later!”
Moments later, a massive noise and heat erupted from the elevator.
When the doors opened again, Kim Sanghyun was nowhere to be found.
—
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