### Chapter 297 – Room 204, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Cinema’ (19)
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 134
Current Location: Floor 2, Room 204 – Mission Room, ‘Hotel Cinema’
Sage’s Advice: 3]
—
– Han Kain
After the unexpected passing of grandfather, a meeting was convened among the remaining folks. After an extended discussion, we were able to carve out a pretty clear direction regarding Park Sumi’s ‘Memories of Newlyweds.’
Eunsol noona, who was scribbling details on a whiteboard, was the first to share her thoughts.
“Let’s start with the most crucial part. The last movie begins right when three people, excluding us, meet the screenwriter Doh In-ho. At first glance, it may seem like an inconsequential introduction, but there’s a significant hint hidden in it.”
Ahri nodded in agreement.
“All three are perfectly alive.”
“That’s right. Not only are they alive, but there also aren’t any disabled individuals among them. Based on the circumstances, all three are ordinary people, which implies that the bizarre stories in the movie must have a scenario where normal humans can escape intact.”
I chimed in.
“So, we’re saying we shouldn’t rely excessively on legacies or blessings?”
“Exactly. I think of legacies or blessings as a last resort. Grandpa used them because he was in danger from the murderous couple, right? It has that vibe, doesn’t it?”
Though I thought differently, I held my tongue since it was Eunsol noona’s time to speak. In the end, whoever enters tends to act according to their own thoughts.
“I get the gist of ‘Memories of Newlyweds.’ The parts grandpa missed and how we should proceed are starting to come to me. The problem lies in what comes next…”
As for what comes next, I honestly have no clue about ‘The Enchanting Girl.’ Given that grandpa died in a minute, the only thing we gathered was that the setting was a high school.
“Well, that’s unavoidable. I’ll dig more, then Seungyub will pick up from there. But there is something I’m uneasy about.”
“What is it?”
“My tools. They all must have made it in, right?”
I wasn’t worried about that. Grandpa managed to use the ‘Warrior’s Arm’ even after becoming a twenty-something lady. I figured noona’s tools would somehow make it inside as well.
In the first place, the hotel’s rewards are meant to be used. Saying to pick one between legacies and blessings is unrelated to the tools, so if nothing is said, they should be usable.
Noona, with a somewhat tense expression, downed three cups of cold water and then walked towards the screen. The obvious choice was the legacy, the ‘Flute of Rest.’
*
– Lee Eunsol
Phew… here we go.
The beginning unfolds just like the movie. Waking up in the bustling streets and heading to a café, I met the gathering’s host, screenwriter Doh In-ho, Lady Park Sumi, high school student Han Yoori, and the still-mysterious Cha Eun-pyo.
Before long, Doh In-ho pointed at ‘Park Sumi,’ asking her to share her story. In that instant, I recalled what grandpa said when he passed: “Let’s try that again later.”
Since grandpa didn’t break normally, did that mean the ‘next person’ should try breaking through again? If someone breaks normally? The next person passes the previously completed story and starts from the next?
Then, the space shook, and the first story began.
*
– First Story, Memories of Newlyweds
As soon as the story started, I checked the status of ‘my tools.’ The badge and brooch were firmly attached near my chest and head, while the chef’s hat was inside my handbag.
Looks like all my tools made it in. I slowly reached out, and the flute appeared and then vanished without issue.
“… Should I grab a kitchen knife as a backup?”
The early proceedings mirrored what happened when grandpa was here. Park Sang-ho expressed a desire to return home, and thinking there was no point disrupting the script, I agreed. Three days later, we arrived at the countryside house where the madcap elderly couple resided.
“Hello, Mother.”
“Oh, darling! I’ve heard so much about you from Sang-ho!”
“Goodness! Sang-ho, how did you manage to snag such a beautiful girl? It’s like this old man is seeing heaven!”
“F-father…”
Knowing the old couple were serial killers, you can’t help but chuckle at how absurd that short conversation was.
The rest unfolded similarly. The young man, claiming to be my husband’s brother, stared at Park Sumi like a love-struck fool before bolting, and the creepy sister displayed eerily strange reactions. Up to this point, everything remained the same.
Now, however, I had to diverge from grandpa’s path.
In the evening, while grandpa moved to the kitchen and observed the actions of the mother-in-law and sister-in-law that kept him from touching any tools, I found it quite peculiar. What could be their reason?
Ahri had a surprisingly simple answer.
Why would the husband’s family live in such a remote place? Obviously, to conceal their serial murders from outsiders.
But because of this geographic issue, the house didn’t have many tools, and it wasn’t that big. It’s hard to believe there would be proper facilities dedicated to torturing, killing, and disposing of bodies.
To put it simply, that ‘kitchen’ is both a storage area for murder tools and a place to dispose of bodies. In other words, to conceal their crimes, they had to prevent outsiders like me from getting in. They must have had a motive to keep the prey from obtaining weapons.
So instead of provoking the murderers in the kitchen, while they prepared for their ‘killing work’ at dawn, I decided to move to a different area.
…
As I walked, I pondered. What was the secret for a powerless twenty-something girl to escape from this hell inhabited by an elderly serial killer couple?
The answer was ‘allies.’
— Creak!
I arrived at the barn where the young man had appeared and quietly opened the door. Instead of resembling a barn, this place felt more like a holding area where someone heavily treated like livestock resided.
“Grrk!”
The young man sat atop a filthy, tattered pile of cloth, doing odd jobs. As soon as I entered, he let out a startled noise, motioning me to leave quickly.
Hmm… He didn’t seem to respond favorably. Was he brainwashed after spending so long in this hell?
If that’s the case, maybe I should stimulate his ‘male instincts’ a bit. ‘Park Sumi’ isn’t a great beauty for nothing.
“Oh dear! Young man? Whatever are you doing in this place? Are you being punished or something?”
As I closed in on the young man, he fell backward in surprise. I purposefully leaned in closer, pulled out a wet towel from my handbag, and wiped his face.
“Why is such a handsome lad so filthy? Just stay still.”
“Grrk…”
I suspected he’d lost his ability to speak. Did they cut out his tongue? I didn’t bother opening my mouth further.
Park Sumi was truly a considerable beauty and possessed an elegant aura. In other words, she embodied the very ‘city girl’ that country boys might fantasize about.
Naturally, the young man’s face flushed entirely from the unexpected attention, and he was utterly flustered. I engaged in gentle kindness for a while—heck, I was ‘tempting’ him while waiting for the right moment.
Seriously, seeing this gorgeous girl should trigger something in him, right?
… Honestly, I’m relieved this isn’t my real body.
Eventually, the moment arrived when the serial killer’s brainwashing lost to male intuition. The trembling young man pulled out a small scrap of paper from his pocket.
“This is…. a letter that Sang-ho sent home.”
With the various scenarios we devised outside now coming to light—it was certainly happening. I examined the letter with a thoughtful gaze, then glanced back at the young man.
He seemed fearfully mindful of his actions, trembling before writing on the dirt floor with his hands.
‘It’s dangerous here.’
I gets it; I know this place is perilous too.
“My dear, I don’t quite understand what you’re suddenly saying. This is quite the jest. And how could I possibly escape alone in this countryside?”
Upon hearing those words, the young man appeared wide-eyed and panicking.
“I’ll be on my way now.”
As I was about to leave the barn, the young man seemed to reach for my clothes as if wanting to say something but stopped. He probably needed a bit more time to think.
The letter’s content was straightforward.
‘I’ve rescued my wife again. This time, I truly like her.’
*
Late at night, while glancing at the sleeping Park Sang-ho, I quietly opened my handbag. Inside was the ‘kitchen knife’ I’d brought all the way from Seoul, wrapped in the letter.
It’s time to settle things. No need to wait around for the enemy to come after me. Hopefully, ‘Young Master’ has finished preparing his heart.
— Swoosh!
Now, in one go—
— Ploch! Crash!
Suddenly, Park Sang-ho, sleeping beside me, kicked me aside and jumped up! This creep was pretending to sleep all along?
“Huh! I suspected as much. You unexpectedly dropped by the barn today, which had me worried. Did the filthy bastard say something? No way, with his tongue already pulled out, he couldn’t have been blabbing…”
“Grrk…!”
“Sumi, can one knife handle this? Sigh… A woman should know her place!”
— Bang!
The wall flipped open, and the old couple entered.
“Ho ho… City girl, disappointed, huh? Why are kids today so lacking in cuteness?”
“You too, the moment I tie you up and pull out a few teeth, you’ll look cute too, right?”
“Is that so?”
As I leaned against the wall, I thought.
Their attitudes were oozing confidence. It’d be stranger if the two elderly folks, hardened by country living and one grown man, felt intimidated by a twenty-something girl.
A failure? Did my first story just crash and burn?
“Hey? Aren’t you going to speak? Are you already scared enough—Why the sudden hat?”
“Shut your mouth!”
“What the—”
“Your worthless lives should just be ground into livestock feed.”
As I unleashed a barrage of curses, all three of them froze, looking dazed! This was my moment!
“Ha!”
I lunged for the kitchen knife that had fallen to the floor and swung it toward the mother-in-law, who had come to a standstill. Thanks to the chef’s charisma, the stunned old lady couldn’t even think about putting up a fight and promptly got a large hole in her neck.
“Gkorrr! You! Suddenly babbling nonsense, and I had my suspicions—the hell—”
Wait, is it already over? I was hoping to take down at least two!
Dodging the slowly moving hands of ‘husband’ and ‘father-in-law,’ I kicked the door open and bolted outside. While racing down the dark dirt road of the countryside, bereft of even moonlight, I thought.
Surely, they wouldn’t blame the story’s downfall on just wearing a hat, right? I didn’t even wear a transparent badge or butterfly brooch! Seriously, is it overkill for them to fail just because I wore a hat?
I didn’t even smash everyone to death like grandpa with his towering strength. An elegant city girl, who’d never utter a curse word, suddenly swearing might freeze anyone in place regardless of whether or not it was the hat.
So surely they can allow for a hat or two! Got it?
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