Chapter 655 – Room 301, The Cursed Room – ‘Origin of Species’ (2)
—
– Yu Songee
“Where are you off to, Songee?”
“I have plans with a friend!”
“Oh? Why are you bringing Pero—Songee!”
As soon as breakfast wrapped up, I dashed out with Pero.
Of course, it was initially to move the scenario along, but…
It’s also because facing Mom is super uncomfortable.
“…”
Uncomfortable.
Awkward.
Embarrassing.
I never imagined I’d reunite with my real parents after understanding the truths of this world.
I thought they had long vanished in the never-ending loop of time.
What in the world is happening now?
Is this place really the loop I lived in before coming to the hotel?
If so, could the concept of the third floor be time travel?
Returning to ‘that loop’ we once lived in to resolve an impending doom?
Questions just kept piling up.
I wasn’t the only one who entered Room 301—Eunsol Unni has the same verdict too.
Does this world also belong to the loop Eunsol Unni lived in?
Have we both been living in the same loop all along?
But that seems impossible, as our memories of the world weren’t identical at all.
I don’t know.
Questions kept swirling around in my mind, but none of them unraveled easily.
In the end, I had to resolve to stop this chaotic train of thought.
“Songee, this isn’t the time! We can sort out questions with the others outside!”
Right now, I need to focus on solving the cursed room.
That’s the way for everyone to survive!
*
The first thought that popped into my mind was how to contact Eunsol Unni.
If I’d known I’d be returning to a past loop, I should’ve exchanged phone numbers before coming to the hotel!
Since I never anticipated this, that task never happened.
Now, we don’t know each other’s numbers or emails.
— Beep! Beep!
“Shh! I’m busy.”
Fortunately, unlike me, Eunsol Unni is the famous daughter of a chaebol, so I could find plenty of info online.
“Home address? Nope, that won’t do.”
Visiting her might be difficult, right?
I also don’t want her family to know about my existence.
“Secretary’s email? That sounds better.”
— Beep!
The parrot replied as if it approved the idea.
I felt grateful for its companionship, but it also made me talk to myself more often.
While I was about to send the email, I thought the secretary might ignore my message.
So, I included something they couldn’t possibly overlook in the message.
— Ding ding!
“Got it!”
Now that I’ve reached out, it’s time to uncover more about Room 301.
*
I found myself standing in front of an animal hospital boasting a lavish interior right in the middle of Gangnam.
“Yu Happy Happy Animal Hospital”
Do people realize that the ‘Yu’ in Happy Happy is a play on words for the clients (You), but it also comes from the vet, Mr. Yoo Jeong-ho, using his surname?
In other words, it conveys that both the clients (You) and the doctor (Yoo Jeong-ho) should be happy-happy!
I never thought much of it as a kid, but looking back now, the hospital’s name is a bit odd!
Is this my dad’s grand naming sense?
“…”
— Ding-dong!
As I opened the front door and took a few steps inside, I was met by the counter staff.
“Hello! Do you have an appointment?”
“Wow! Songee!”
One elderly staff member recognized me, and I had a vague recollection of visiting my dad’s workplace a couple of times.
This person treated me warmly, but I, with all my hotel experiences, had no clue who they were.
It felt a bit bittersweet in this moment.
“Is Dad here?”
“If it’s the director, he’s seeing patients right now—oh my!”
Without a second thought, I barged straight into the consultation room.
I knew it wasn’t proper etiquette, but this was the world I lived in, as well as the hotel’s official ‘Cursed Room.’
In short, we’re in a world nearing its end.
There’s no time to consider hospital schedules.
Some staff tried to grab my arm in surprise, but…
If I’m stopped this easily, wouldn’t all the experience I gained at the hotel be wasted?
No need to use my inheritance here.
— Bang!
I suddenly flung open the door, and a middle-aged man sitting in front of the computer looked startled.
“Who—oh?”
“Dad.”
“S-Songee? What’s going on—did something happen at home?”
From my dad’s perspective, it must’ve been quite the shock for his daughter to show up at his work unannounced.
Considering how unexpected it was, he seemed more worried about something serious happening than being mad at me.
“Can you keep the staff away?”
“… Sure.”
Curiously, Dad readily agreed to my request.
He must’ve interpreted the situation in his own way, and it was 100% wrong, but I didn’t bother correcting him.
“Sigh… Songee, seems like you’ve come across some shocking facts—”
“Shut it! Just answer my question.”
“Hmm?”
“Have there been any noticeable increases in clients lately?”
“Why do you ask—”
“Just answer! Quickly!”
Dad couldn’t hide his flustered expression but answered as if overwhelmed.
“Well, there’s been a slight increase.”
“Any strange animals? Sick from either body or mind!”
“Songee, this is a hospital, so obviously sick animals come in.”
“What I mean is… any special patients that are different from usual?”
This was the reason I came to my dad’s hospital.
My only knowledge of Room 301 was ‘a golden retriever who could talk in my childhood.’
A veterinarian would likely be the first to notice any unusual phenomena involving animals, right?
“Could you elaborate?”
“Like, it talked?”
“Are you talking about a parrot?”
“It could be a dog or a cat.”
“If there was such an animal, it would probably be reported to the Administration Bureau rather than brought here.”
That’s a fair point.
No one in their right mind would bring their pet if it could talk; they’d report it to the Administration Bureau without question.
And then what?
“An animal taken by the Bureau would likely be put down, wouldn’t it?”
“Uh? Well, given the context, it’s safe to say they wouldn’t be a normal animal, so culling is unavoidable, right?”
Dad casually discussing culling is common knowledge.
Realizing this made me think.
Even if there’s an animal that gained human intelligence for some reason, most likely, they’d try to hide it!
The moment it reveals itself, the Admin Bureau would snatch it up and throw it through all sorts of experiments before killing it.
Endless despair and more of the same pain.
In such a situation, the logical conclusion many intelligent beings would arrive at is…
“… suicide.”
That cat is attempting suicide.
It wanted to die, which is why it jumped into the road, but when it saw an oncoming car, instinctual fear pulled it back.
Then, with gritted teeth, it jumps back into the road again.
Once I realized that, I gave Pero a command.
“Bring it here.”
In a flash, Pero dove and snagged the gray cat by the scruff as it was about to jump back into the street.
The cat went into serious panic mode, trying to make a run for it – and in that instant, our gazes crossed.
I felt the ‘telepathy’ activate!
*
Every night, wrestling with a hungry belly as I rummaged through garbage cans for food.
The memory of biting into maggot-ridden meat and feeling disgusted.
During the day, the sun’s heat bears down brutally, and at night, the cold is unforgiving.
Under the sky, no one is on my side, and people treat me like a bug.
Living a life more miserable than the most wretched human.
How did it come to this?
If I’ve sinned in a past life to end up in this state…
Please, just give me one chance.
In this prison, there’s only one escape route—death.
*
I heard a voice filled with despair.
Simultaneously, a completely different voice echoed.
A delightful existence.
An angel descended from the heavens.
A savior and goddess, the lifeline from a miserable fate.
The only being that could understand me.
“… Found you. Come here.”
The voice rang out.
The intense affection the other felt for me.
Affinity and telepathy were in play!
That ‘entity’ was the very one I had been searching for.
I embraced the miserable creature shaking as if struck by lightning.
In that moment, I was someone’s goddess and savior.
“Let’s go. We have so many stories to share.”
*
– Lee Eunsol
While I was busy rummaging through documents, collecting information, there was a knock, and the door swung open.
“What’s going on?”
“Ah, Sir!”
“Don’t disturb me—”
“It’s an odd email, I couldn’t ignore it!”
“An odd email?”
“At first, I thought it was just a crop advertisement, but…”
“A crop? What about the content?”
“… There were a few lines of confidential information regarding the chairman’s slush fund.”
“Is it blackmail?”
“You’ll know once you read it, but it explicitly says to deliver it to ‘Sister Eunsol.’ If you don’t, they’ll send it to the ETS reporter…”
The moment I heard the term ‘Sister Eunsol’, I could sense what was coming.
But when I checked the email contents, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Pfft!”
“What? Sir!”
“No need to worry; it’s not the blackmail you think.”
010 – xxx – xxxx
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