### Chapter 434 – Party Time (5) – Epilogue
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[Han Kain]
—
As I stepped out of the hanok, the cool air brushed against my skin.
KD, whose presence had been hidden inside the dark countryside house, was now revealed before me.
—
He had a sturdy physique and a manly face.
The vibe he emitted bore a subtle resemblance to Grandfather Mooksung.
—
Of course, that was just the atmosphere; he was a different person altogether.
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“What do you need to say?”
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Instead of answering, the man let out a small sigh and muttered.
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“Your name is Han Kain, right?”
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“Yes.”
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“It sounds strangely like a feminine name?”
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“… Then what does KD stand for?”
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“It’s nothing important.”
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“What is it then?”
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“My name is Kim Dohyun. So, I abbreviated it to KDH, but people weirdly drop the last ‘H’ when they call me.”
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What a truly trivial reason.
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“Not a big deal, I guess?”
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“Really, it isn’t.”
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“Life tends to be like that. Often, things that seem plausible turn out to be quite trivial.”
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“Isn’t the opposite also true?”
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“Right. Sometimes what seems meaningless actually has a profound reason behind it.”
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With that, a moment of silence enveloped us.
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“By the way, there’s no need to worry about the aftermath of this incident.”
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“Huh?”
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“The curse tied to the jar and the assets will be handled in a way that will leave your parents and relatives unaffected. Your younger brother will forget all about this.”
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“…”
—
Being in the Administration Bureau, it was natural for them to handle such matters efficiently, and there was no need to tell me this.
It seemed clear they had a special purpose for bringing me out here…
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What could that reason be, considering they are dragging this out?
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“If you have something to say, just say it.”
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“…”
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“If not, I’ll be leaving.”
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“Aren’t you curious?”
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“Excuse me?”
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“You and the old man didn’t explain a thing to me, right? Yet, I know everything that happened in this house.”
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That was indeed a strange thing.
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“Curious, you say? How did you figure it out?”
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“Kid, have you heard of the Administration Bureau?”
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“Kind of.”
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“Have you heard this?”
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“Um… No?”
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“The upper management of the company knows the future. Isn’t that just amazing?”
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“…”
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The higher-ups at the Administration Bureau have the ability to see the future.
I recalled a story Ari shared with me long ago.
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‘We only came in after hearing revelations.’
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‘Let’s just say there’s a prophet.’
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‘The entity that can be considered the origin and entirety of the Administration Bureau.’
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Back then, I thought it was a literal psychic who could see the future.
After all this time, I now believed that the ‘prophecy’ the Bureau spoke of meant something distinctly different from what we usually think.
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“… Prophecy.”
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“Isn’t it fascinating? I can’t claim to know everything about the Bureau, but knowing the future is really something -”
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“It’s not the same as simply knowing the future, though. It’s more the opposite.”
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Feeling the end drawing near, I gazed at Kim Dohyun.
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He too looked at me with a peculiar expression.
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“… You’re not just an ordinary kid, are you? Do you think it’s alright to say such things in front of an agent?”
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“I don’t mind. Honestly, what you said isn’t something an ordinary person should know in the first place.”
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Prophecy.
This was one of the Administration Bureau’s biggest secrets.
Ari had only clued me in when things were about to descend into chaos with everyone on the verge of dying, and we might end up trapped in the hotel.
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From the moment Kim Dohyun uttered this word, I suspected there might be something deeper at play.
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“I’m sorry.”
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“…”
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— Crack!
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A rough, strong hand seized my neck tightly.
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This guy had no intention of sparing me from the beginning!
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“Orders have come down from above regarding you.”
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“Ugh!”
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“The reason is… I’m sorry. I really don’t know. Our work is kind of like this.”
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In my fading consciousness, I looked into Kim Dohyun’s eyes.
In his gaze were unmistakable feelings of remorse and a pang of conscience.
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“I truly am sorry. But.”
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— Snap!
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“Death is just the end for an ordinary human. However, it seems you might still have a chance.”
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This was my last memory in the ‘Clan with Structure.’
—
*
[User: Han Kain (Former Wisdom)
Date: Day 379
Current Location: Basement, Art Gallery
Sage’s Advice: 3]
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[Han Kain]
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“…”
—
I regained consciousness once more.
As soon as I woke up, I checked my status window and realized that another day had passed.
Eunsol noona had closed off the upper floors for three days due to greedy hands on Day 376 morning.
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“What time is it now? Has the upper floors reopened?”
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The white-haired girl, the artist, replied with a smile.
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“The hotel time is morning. There’s about 20 minutes left until the 72-hour mark.”
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“Oh, I see…”
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Looking around, I found no one around.
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“Are you looking for your friends? Everyone went outside.”
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“Huh? Why’s that?”
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“Do you remember when you entered the body of a 90-year-old man? You kept stopping the dream, which messed things up.”
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“That makes sense.”
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“They seemed to think it was a failure since they kept interrupting each other. They were worried they would feel sorry and jump in again.”
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“…”
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Thanks to that, I alone knew the shocking conclusion.
I couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
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The artist smiled with interest and asked.
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“So, how does it feel?”
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“…”
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“Wasn’t it a shocking development?”
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“Did you want to show me this?”
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I reflexively asked, though it was an unnecessary question.
The artist’s expression, which seemed thrilled, was the answer.
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“How did you feel seeing those shocking memories from your childhood?”
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“…”
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“Doesn’t it make you itch with curiosity? Did you really die at that time? If so, then what about the memories of graduating middle and high school afterward?”
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“…”
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“Or did you survive? Since the agent broke your neck? And you had no one to save you? You survived?”
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“…”
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I fell into deep contemplation and couldn’t respond.
Soon enough, the artist spoke again.
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“Hey~ What a pity. If you had found me sooner, this scene could have been quite shocking.”
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“…”
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“You already returned from outside and seem to know quite a bit about the Bureau’s secrets, right? You can roughly guess what happened to your past self?”
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“…”
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“Say something! It’s weird when I’m just talking to myself.”
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“When I first came to the hotel, I thought this place was completely disconnected from reality.”
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“Oh? The hotel has nothing to do with reality?”
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“The place I want to return to is where my loved ones are waiting in reality. I thought this place was a hell detached from reality.”
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“And now?”
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“From some point, I started to feel that all the information I learned in the hotel, all the countless riddles, pointed towards the reality outside…”
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Mollified by my response, the artist chuckled softly.
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“Ha ha! That’s great! If you take just one more step from that realization, you’ll learn the biggest secret.”
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“The biggest secret?”
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As the white-haired girl waved her hand in the air, the shining number 7 appeared.
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“Not much left now. Once you climb the sixth big mountain, you reach the seventh. In the hotel, 7 signifies a conclusion and the answer.”
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“…”
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“Hang in there just a little longer.”
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With that, the artist clapped her hands lightly and called out loudly.
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“Everyone, come in! It’s all over now!”
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Soon, the art gallery’s door opened, and my teammates entered with an air of having just woken up from a deep sleep.
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“Yawn! Kain~ Did you solve it well?”
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“Hyung, how did you end up waking?”
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Miro, yawning, and Seungyub, curious about the outcome.
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“Didn’t you just call me an ordinary middle school student? What kind of middle schooler pulls off something like this?”
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“Seems Kain-kun forgot. The Bureau probably wiped your memory.”
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“It seems so. I lived pretty noisily, though.”
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The grandfather was flabbergasted by my past, and the teacher added a plausible interpretation.
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“So, what reward did you gain for discovering it?”
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“Since Kain mostly resolved it, the reward must be personal for him, right?”
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Ari and Eunsol were already chattering about the reward.
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“Good work! But seriously, how did you solve it? Timed a bit differently than I did, huh?”
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“Noona, think about it. Wrapping thread around those kids’ necks was perhaps a bit extreme, don’t you think?”
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“W-Well, at that time, there wasn’t really another option -”
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Eleanor and Songee were curious about how I managed to solve it.
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“Drink some water. Also, have a sandwich or something.”
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Even Jinchul hyung chimed in, recalling how thirsty and hungry I was when I woke up from the dream.
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The art gallery became a commotion right after my teammates entered.
The artist and I no longer mentioned those shocking memories from the last nightmare.
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It was as if we had made a pact to keep that part a secret from Han Kain.
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“Well, it was pretty straightforward. The key points were that my great-grandfather’s body could wield significant power and that there’s no limit to the name tag snatching game.”
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When I briefly explained how I resolved the issue, everyone started to express their admiration.
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“Oooh~! The big picture seems quite similar to what we anticipated from outside!”
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Seeing Jinchul hyung’s reaction, it looked like the teammates had also conjured up similar ideas in their relaxed chatter.
However, Ari appeared to have a somewhat different opinion.
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“I found it amusing, but don’t you think the real middle schooler Han Kain was a bit more indirect than what you described?”
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“Indirect?”
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“After all, what Han Jin-seong wanted to do is similar to what you did, right?”
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That’s essentially true.
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“So, reporting to the Bureau and calling in agents, wouldn’t that have actually been in the real history the job of Han Jin-seong once he regained his body?”
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It was a persuasive hypothesis.
Of course, since it’s resolved and I’ve seen it all, it didn’t really matter.
—
With that, we wrapped up the discussion about the ‘Clan with Structure’ and approached the artist together.
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“So! What exactly is the hotel’s fourth hidden NPC, the artist?”
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“…”
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“A secret being who appeared with the opening of the second floor of the hotel. But thanks to the vulgar tastes of the hotel party, a being found way too late!”
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The mention of ‘vulgar tastes’ earned an incredulous look from Eunsol.
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“This guy talks really recklessly.”
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“Drum roll, drum roll!”
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“…”
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“The reward is! A portrait of Han Kain!”
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…
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It was the black-and-white drawing from before.
While everyone tilted their heads, wondering what that even meant, Ari asked.
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“What is this? Does it have some special power? Does tearing it up mean Kain dies or something?”
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What kind of reward is that?
That’s practically a curse on me!
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“Nope, it’s just a drawing.”
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“…”
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A heavy silence fell over the room.
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“Why are you all acting like this? Are you looking down on a drawing made by the hotel’s best artist? Or did you actually think some kind of magic was going to be involved with just a painting?”
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“…”
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“Do you expect to watch the Mona Lisa expecting to discover some kind of magic? A painting is originally -”
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“5 seconds.”
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“Huh?”
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“4 seconds.”
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“Contestant Kim Ari, why all of a sudden -”
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“2 seconds.”
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As Ari lightly lifted off the air using her flame-spitting wing boots, I felt that she firmly intended to blow up the art gallery if I went on rambling.
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“1 second.”
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“Ahhh! You guys really are so boring!”
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The artist ended up grumbling, reaching behind his back to pull out a mysterious new painting.
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Everyone focused on the second picture, ‘The Real Reward.’
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“Is this a door?”
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“The background is purple. Is it a room?”
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“The floor kind of looks like dirt…”
—
It was a simple drawing of an ordinary wooden door in a room.
If this were an inheritance, I’d guess I would instinctively understand how to use it once I acquire it, but this was merely a drawing; there were no handy functionalities.
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“Artist, what’s this? How do I use it?”
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The artist, too, had regained his playful smile, but upon seeing that smile, Ari slightly furrowed her brows.
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“It’s a fun tool!”
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“Huh?”
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“Just use it well!”
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“So you’re saying you won’t tell me how -”
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Instead of giving an answer, the artist waved his hands good-bye.
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“Bye! Hope to see you again sometime!”
—
— Bang!
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“…”
—
Everyone stared at each other with dumbfounded expressions.
A moment ago, the artist had kicked us out of the art gallery without uttering a word about the drawing of the door!
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Suddenly, Songyi snapped.
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— Bang! Bang!
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“Hey! Open the door! Open it now!”
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The art gallery door wouldn’t budge, as if someone had locked it tight.
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“No… what sort of hotel has no staff around? Songyi, move out of the way. I’ll just smash this art gallery open!”
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“Stop it. If you try to force your way in, that artist will probably vanish from somewhere.”
—
After Jinchul hyung restrained him from summoning the stars, we fell into a moment of silence.
—
Soon, a notification from the hotel chimed in after three days.
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「Special Event: Repairs on the 1st and 2nd floors are complete. The upper floors are now accessible!」
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As always, this was a very timely notification.
—
*
As soon as we returned to the first floor, Eunsol noona remarked with a tired expression.
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“First, let’s all rest for a bit. Kain might be a bit tired, but we also haven’t had a proper break while watching this little middle schooler’s country life for days.”
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“Sounds good.”
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“Kain, what day is it today?”
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“Day 379.”
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“Since the party time started on Day 375… Oh my! Today’s the last day, right?”
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At those words, everyone looked twice as exhausted.
We had clearly held the party time quite frequently, yet I hardly remembered having a proper break.
—
“Let’s take it easy until lunch. We can talk about Room 206 after that…”
—
With that said, everyone dragged their tired bodies back to Room 105.
I made sure to grab both pictures—the black-and-white portrait and the drawing of the door—as if they were absolutely mandatory items.
Not knowing how to manage them, I simply hung them beside the bed and decided to take a nap instead.
—
…
—
…
—
— Slither!
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A strange presence.
—
An unpleasant gaze.
—
I felt a mysterious sensation, as if someone were watching me.
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Just in case.
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With that very thought, I turned my tired body towards the picture.
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“… Oh damn.”
—
Of course. The hotel is originally that kind of place.
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