Chapter 722 – Who is Seungyub’s Partner? Entering Room 302
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User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 29
Current Location: Tier 1, Lobby
Sage’s Advice: 1
—
— Han Kain
“I’m sorry, but that sounds like a misunderstanding.”
“Ah, no! You definitely promised you’d believe me—”
As Ahri teased Seungyub playfully — was it really just teasing? — I found myself caught up in one burning question.
“If you said you were the son of a god, I’d believe it.”
So who in the world could Seungyub’s partner be?
Let’s summarize Seungyub’s few precious memories.
Chaos disasters? Only seen on the news.
City wildlife mutating into chaotic forms like pigeons and cats? That’s a bizarre disaster.
Having Administration Bureau employees casually strolling by on the street? That’s an outright perplexing situation.
From that, it’s clear he grew up in quite a peaceful world.
“I, I really did hang out with some girl—”
“You’ve been deceived. The chances are high she’s an adversary, so tell us more.”
“… Sister.”
At this point, I jumped in.
“Wait a sec, Seungyub. Have you ever seen the moon before coming to the hotel?”
“Huh?”
Seeing his confusion made it seem like a torrent of memories from countless worlds experienced in the hotel suddenly overwhelmed him.
“I think I have.”
“Be sure. This is pretty crucial.”
“I- I definitely saw it! It was a full moon!”
At this point, even Ahri began to feel something odd.
“You’re sure you saw the moon in the night sky? If so, it might be from a truly long-ago loop.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. You definitely can’t compare with Mooksung and me, and it’s much earlier than Eunsol or Songee…”
Ahri’s gaze shifted across Cha Jinchul, Elena, and Miro sequentially.
Shortly after, a look of shock flashed across Ahri’s face.
“Wait?”
“…”
“What’s up? Don’t tell me Seungyub has no one to partner with?”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s not just that; if my memory serves me right, it’s really true! Raise your hand if you’ve come from that incredibly peaceful world with the moon just floating around.”
Cha Jinchul immediately shook his head.
“Honestly, I think I only saw the moon in history books. That world was definitely not peaceful.”
Elena mirrored the sentiment.
“Well, I think I only saw the moon in astronomy photos. My old memories are hazy, so don’t put too much faith in them. But definitely was not a peaceful world.”
Miro was candid in her response.
“I have no clue! You know? I just came from Ice Hell!”
“True, you definitely wouldn’t have any memories from just before the hotel.”
“I don’t remember much even from hell.”
Ahri, intently listening, checked on each one of them.
“Excluding Eunsol and Songee, obviously not me and Mooksung, Han Kain resolved their wishes outside, so it’s not him either… It seems Jinchul and Elena aren’t it. So could it be that Miro is Seungyub’s partner? Given that the memories are fuzzy, it could be possible—”
Before Ahri finished her statement, there were vehement reactions from Seungyub and Miro.
“Absolutely not.”
“Ahri, stop with the nonsense!”
“Pfft!”
The two kids — I’d consider them kids based on their mental age — made Ahri laugh, but she didn’t back down from her point.
“I’m not joking! You two are the only candidates here!”
“Th- that’s—”
Right then, a long-forgotten memory flickered back to me.
“There’s one more candidate.”
“Who? Nobody—oh, I guess I did skip someone who isn’t here. Sanghyun?”
“If my memory serves me right, didn’t Sanghyun mention he saw the moon too?”
“Really?”
“But…”
“But what?”
An old conversation memory suddenly resurfaced in my mind.
“From my memory, the moon has been a source of fear for a long time. On nights when the full moon rises, everyone was scared to step outside their homes.”
“For a long time, the moon has been a source of fear. Surely on nights of the full moon, people feared going outside… that was what I heard.”
Ahri looked at Seungyub for confirmation, and he wore a bewildered expression.
“I, I have no idea. A source of fear? Afraid to go outside?”
“Not at all?”
“Not at all.”
“Hmmm… so it really must be Miro.”
“It’s not!”
Just then, as if summoned by the mention of his name, Sanghyun walked in from a distance.
“Are you all in a meeting?”
Several colleagues shot concerned glances at Sanghyun.
It looked like while I was glued to the telescope, his details had worsened.
“Sanghyun, are you… alright? Didn’t you say your head felt like it was going to explode?”
“Teacher, it’s okay to take a break if you feel tired.”
Sanghyun shook his head, as if to assure us.
“It’s fine. Sorry to have worried everyone. I suppose it’s an excuse, but the auditory, visual, and hallucinatory experiences have worsened gradually.”
His statement brought forth some concern and a touch of curiosity.
The other colleagues, like Seungyub, were also experiencing auditory hallucinations, but nothing compared to Sanghyun’s severity.
I cautiously asked.
“Why does it seem like your symptoms stand out so much?”
As if he had thought about this issue himself, the response followed promptly.
“It wasn’t this intense at first. However, trying to forcefully focus on understanding the meaning behind the hallucinations…”
“Aha, so as you delved deeper, the pain intensified?”
“… Yes. It was definitely a mistake.”
At that moment, Eunsol summoned her flute softly.
“Should I help?”
“… No, it’s fine.”
“Well, then it can’t be helped.”
Declining the offer might come off as stubborn to an outsider, but having spent enough time in the hotel, everyone could read between the lines of his intentions.
In many instances, the healing of mental trauma came down to forgetting.
The Elysian Flute was an exception—and the best item in that field.
They had endured immense pain to dig through those memories, and erasing those memories to suppress the pain would be counterproductive, right?
Just then, Sanghyun spoke up.
“I overheard your conversation on the way here. I’d say, well, it doesn’t seem like I’ll be in the same room as Seungyub.”
“Oh?”
“Just looking at our memories of the moon being different proves that. But more pressing, the world from my memories was truly filled with chaos.”
Sanghyun’s memories filled with chaos.
Ahri’s expression suddenly grew serious.
“Filled with chaos, you say…? Is that like obtaining additional memories while delving into your hallucinations?”
“Precisely. My headaches are terrible, but I suppose there was some gain.”
“What’s it like?”
In that instant, a grim expression contorted Sanghyun’s face.
“… A world devoid of hope. Full of strife and conflict.”
“Ugh…”
“A destiny steeped in despair, a world where we couldn’t do anything to change it.”
Grandpa calmly stated.
“Doctor, when you first arrived on the third floor, weren’t you wandering through an alien land in a spacesuit?”
“Agent, that’s correct.”
“Did that memory not come to you? Alien world?”
“It’s vague. It’s more of an abstract feeling than any clear image or sound…”
At that point, Ahri wrapped up the conversation.
“Let’s start from the beginning. It seems Sanghyun isn’t Seungyub’s partner either. If that’s the case, it leaves just two possibilities.”
“Two?”
“First, Seungyub’s partner is Miro.”
“Gaaah!”
“Hey! Why do you keep screaming?”
“Ha! If you say you have to work with someone like that, everyone’s gonna scream!”
“Not like you’re any different?”
As Seungyub launched a counterattack, Miro leaned against Ahri with a proud look on her face.
“Yeah~ Ahri’s definitely gonna team up with me!”
At this juncture, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Is that really true?” and Ahri, just as she did with Seungyub, showed genuine emotion toward Miro.
“…”
“Looking at your sister’s expression says otherwise.”
“… Y- yeah! She will!”
“…Not really?”
“Hey, Ahri? Why aren’t you answering?”
“… Let’s move on to the next topic.”
“Hey!”
“Let’s talk about who will enter for the first attempt now—”
“Hey! Why are you ignoring me!”
It’s evident Miro and Seungyub were different.
While Seungyub appeared defeated by Ahri’s sharp jabs, Miro, outraged, retaliated against Ahri.
— Slap!
Ahri, late to act, chose to take a hit instead of telling a lie.
“- So let’s discuss who will go in for the first attempt.”
“Hey~! Answer me!”
“As we all know, unlike last time, we can’t randomly choose members this time. One of the two main axes in Room 302 is Seungyub, so we’ll need a random selection within the room.”
“Kim Ahri!”
…
As the pre-meeting for Room 302 drew to a close, Ahri’s hair was a tangled mess, barely letting her beauty shine through.
Surprisingly, even after being pinched countless times by an infuriated Miro, she didn’t say, ‘I want to go in with you.’
What on earth are they doing?
*
The next day, after a breakfast, everyone gathered before the door to Room 302.
“I’m opening it.”
— Click!
…
A familiar lavish chamber greeted us.
In the center stood a table with the entry register laid out.
In that instant, before anyone could say a word, Seungyub and Miro dashed over.
“No way, those two—”
Grandpa voiced a mix of astonishment and disbelief.
“Hey, hey! Seems they’re really hoping they won’t end up in the same room. So who is it? Seungyub’s partner?”
— Flap!
As the entry register unfurled, both displayed horrified expressions.
From the looks of it, it seemed Seungyub and Miro were not entering the same room.
If their names were written alongside each other, they would likely be furious instead of shocked.
“Who is it? Seungyub!”
“Uh, uh…”
“Who is it?”
Miro cautiously extended her hand to point at one of us.
The doctor, Kim Sanghyun.
“I- It’s the doctor.”
Right after, a moment of bewilderment surged through the room.
Grandpa and several others looked at the entry register with disbelief.
1. Kim Sanghyun
2. Park Seungyub
It’s confirmed.
Ahri’s eyes round with surprise.
“What?! According to yesterday’s memory comparison, they were quite different! How come—”
At that moment, a calm voice echoed.
“Thank goodness.”
“Thank goodness?”
“Truly. For the past few days, I’ve been suffering with memories of the past, and it appears that pain is finally coming to an end.”
“… That’s true.”
“Why was I the only one having intense hallucinations? I initially thought it was just due to my quest for information… but it appears there was another reason.”
“Is Room 302 your room?”
“Exactly. The hotel showed me kindness.”
After a short silence, Miro queried almost absentmindedly.
“Then, who else is going in?”
With the essential members shifting from what was expected, she wondered if the additional members would change?
In my view, it wasn’t necessary.
“Same as before. Miro, write your name beneath Seungyub’s.”
“… Got it.”
As soon as decisions were made, Sanghyun, as if he almost forgot, turned towards me.
“Oh, Han Kain. I almost overlooked something. What’s the name of the room?”
I naturally directed my gaze toward the status window.
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 30
Current Location: Room 302, Cursed Room – ‘Brave New World’
Sage’s Advice: 3
I declared it aloud for everyone to hear.
“Brave New World. That is the title of Room 302.”
Soon, a mysterious burst of light enveloped the three of us as the trial began.
*
…
Rejoice.
For I have quelled all your fears, and you are freed from the terror of the end.
Rejoice.
For I have consumed all your vices, and you are now among the sinless.
Rejoice.
For I have released you from all your shackles, and you have gained true freedom.
Now, I shall grant you a singular command.
Do what you desire.
There are no other laws.
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