Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 581
Only Krnovel
EP.581 Episode 581 – Someone’s Beginning, Someone’s End
Episode 581 – Someone’s Beginning, Someone’s End
– Han Ga-in
An image, a video – or, a memory – flashes through your mind.
Have you ever had an experience this intense since you gained insight?
This was something that was impossible even when the blessing was intact… .
It is difficult to explain without the intervention of a sponsor.
There will be a price to pay for this.
But this is information you must know, even if it means paying a price.
*
A cool breeze, but a warm spring breeze blooming within it.
This is my impression of the weather in Jeju Island in February.
I started walking along the Jeju Olle Trail after eating a hearty meal in the morning, and my mood naturally improved.
Ah, I wish I could keep traveling like this.
It’s really great that I passed the entrance exam, but now that the start of the new school year is approaching, my heart feels heavy.
“Phew… .”
“Why are you sighing?”
“Eww!”
Who, who are you?
I looked back in surprise and saw a boy with a natural, innocent expression.
“Does he live nearby?”
“Why are you sighing?”
Does this kid live here?
He looked young and suddenly started speaking informally to me, which was a bit surprising, but strangely enough, I wasn’t angry.
“I have to go to college as soon as my trip is over.”
“university?”
“You may not know, but these days, you can’t play around when you go to college. You have to get good grades starting from your first year -”
“Kick!”
“…”
“Ahahaha! Ehehe!”
The boy laughed so hard that tears welled up in his eyes.
By the way, what is it about what I said that is so funny?
“Oh, sorry. I couldn’t help it because you made me laugh so hard.”
“…was there a funny point?”
“Yeah. You’re already drinking kimchi stew and worrying about something that’s never going to happen, and you’re not going to laugh and just ignore it?”
Worrying about something that may never happen? What does that mean?
“More than that, Gain, stop for a moment.”
It stopped.
Because I was surprised when you suddenly said my name.
“How did you get my name -”
“smell.”
“what?”
“Concentrate on the smells around you.”
“…”
Hearing that, I could smell a slightly sour and burnt smell.
If I hadn’t been conscious of it, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.
The moment I tilted my head wondering what it was, the boy came up next to me.
“…”
An incomprehensible, refreshing energy surrounds the surroundings.
“Be grateful. I saved your life once.”
What does this mean?
I can’t understand.
But it also seemed like something mysterious had happened.
“In Buddhism, there is a concept called the Six Paths of Reincarnation. When a living being dies, he or she is reincarnated into hell, a hungry ghost, an animal, an asura, a human, or heaven, depending on his or her previous life.”
“…”
“Hinduism also has the concept of reincarnation. What do you think?”
Suddenly he started talking strangely and asked me a question.
Oddly enough, it was difficult to go against the boy-led atmosphere.
“You don’t believe in reincarnation? Just to fool people who are tired of the hardships of real life -”
“Stop, stop! Tell me if reincarnation is real.”
Is reincarnation real?
“Well, it’s an interesting concept, but it’s not rational.”
“why?”
“I’m going to pay for a sin I didn’t commit in the next life.”
“Does that mean that the beings who have committed sins and those who have been reincarnated in hell are different people? Why?”
Are we the same person before and after reincarnation?
I don’t think so.
“They’re different people. Their personalities and memories are different.”
“If your personality and memories are different, you’re a different person?”
“okay.”
The boy who seemed about to object suddenly smiled brightly and nodded.
“I think so too. But what if a villain reincarnates and becomes a villain again? Shouldn’t we protect the victim by sending them to hell in advance?”
“It’s like asking if you should kill Hitler if he’s young and in front of you.”
“Not similar.”
My thoughts on this are clear.
“I think the premise itself is wrong.”
“The premise is wrong?”
“Isn’t there a premise that when a villain is reincarnated, he becomes a villain again, and that Hitler as a child unconditionally becomes a murderer?”
“…”
“There may be differences in innate character, but there is no such thing as the seed of evil. Shall I give you an example?”
“…”
“If you get robbed in Korea and get everything you have stolen, the robber is a bad guy. But what if you get robbed in an African country that has been in a civil war for 30 years? Shouldn’t you be grateful since they spared your life?”
“That, that doesn’t seem right.”
“What I mean is that even good citizens of developed countries would think differently if they were born and raised in Somalia.”
No one is born with a destiny set aside for a murderer.
So, killing young Hitler in advance would be nothing more than a senseless murder.
“So which side are you on now?”
“what?”
When I turned my head in wonder, I saw that I was the only person left on the Olle Trail.
*
Which side am I on?
While I was thinking, memories flowed away like the wind.
My head is starting to hurt.
*
A peaceful 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
I walked around the Hallabong farm and enjoyed the fragrant scent.
There were baskets of Hallabong hanging here and there for tourists, which made for a pleasant time.
Ah~ I guess I should keep traveling –
“…?”
Am I mistaken?
I heard that since it is a remote farm, there are few tourists like me there… .
There are strangely more people around me.
A moment when you tilt your head wondering what this is.
“hi!”
A cheerful voice was heard from behind.
A girl with a playful expression.
A common impression that can be seen anywhere, looks similar to my age.
Are you a tourist like me in Seoul?
Or the farm owner’s daughter?
“Uh… hello?”
“It’s already the second time today.”
“what?”
“No. Are tangerines tasty?”
Is she the farm owner’s daughter?
“Oh, it’s delicious! It’s a bit hard to peel, but it’s really sweet and refreshing.”
— Ouch!
Instead of answering my question, the girl suddenly looked around and clapped her hands.
“…”
— Ouch!
“What are you doing?”
“The population density is too high, so we are lowering it.”
“what?”
“You really should be grateful to me.”
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
I think I heard something similar before, but strangely enough, I couldn’t remember what happened in the morning.
“Hallabong, give me this.”
“uh?”
The girl nonchalantly took the Hallabong from my hand, snapped off the stem, and peeled it in an instant.
“See? I’m taking it off from the top. Don’t touch the bottom part.”
“thank you.”
“One day, it started to rain from the sky.”
“uh?”
“It’s raining so much that the whole world is underwater. If things continue like this, it’s a crisis where only fish will survive.”
“…”
A sudden flood from peeling Hallabong?
It’s an unexpected change of topic.
“I built an ark to continue the world’s legacy. I put survivors from all over the world on the ark.”
“Is this the story of Noah’s Ark?”
“It’s similar, but the latter half of the story is a bit different. There were people who showed up late.”
People who showed up late after the ark was full.
The atmosphere is already tense.
“And the people who showed up late… .”
“People?”
“They killed everyone who was already on board and took the empty seats.”
“…”
It’s a tragic story.
“what do you think about it?”
“That’s a terrible story.”
“Are the people who stole the ark evil people?”
“…”
I was speechless.
So, in order to become a sage, one must quietly die in a flood?
“That’s a difficult question. If I had to answer, I’d say it’s a matter of perspective.”
“aspect?”
“To those who boarded the ark before, those who came later were no different from devils. To those who came later, they were an inevitable choice for survival.”
“If….”
“What if?”
“What if this kind of thing happens again in the future?”
“That’s a scary story.”
“There’s more. Let’s say there’s the last survivor of those who boarded earlier.”
“What’s more horrible?”
“The survivor grew up completely unaware of what happened in his childhood, and only learned of his past as an adult.”
“…”
“How should I act?”
Just thinking about it takes my breath away.
If I had to use a metaphor, it would be like finding out that my parents, who raised me my whole life, were the kidnappers who brutally murdered my real parents when I was a child.
“… It’s difficult. I don’t know.”
Interestingly, the girl sighed along with him.
“Right. I don’t know….”
“Why are you asking this question?”
Suddenly, I raised my head because I felt there was no sign of people, and I was left alone.
*
Stories that seem familiar but aren’t.
The keyword ‘ark’ appears repeatedly.
I can’t stand this headache anymore.
*
dinner.
After a long afternoon of sightseeing, I was having coffee near my hotel when someone sat down across from me.
He looked to be in his early 30s, and he had a rather cheerful appearance.
“Wow~ Are you having a fulfilling day?”
“yes?”
“You, are you planning to go to the hotel as soon as you finish drinking your coffee?”
“… But?”
“Do that.”
“yes?”
“There are still more tricks left, but don’t worry about it. Once you enter the hotel, you’ll be out of everyone’s hands.”
Are there any more modifications left?
Once you enter the hotel, you are out of everyone’s hands?
I couldn’t understand what the heck he was talking about.
The moment I got up because I felt awkward –
A strong hand grabbed my arm.
“…”
“Hey, hey, sit back down.”
“If you don’t let go, I’ll scream -”
“Ah~! Inma, it’s okay for little kids and girls, but not for adult men? This is severe discrimination!”
“What do you mean?”
“I told you to sit down. I’ll buy you some more cake and coffee, so please sit down.”
“…”
“I have something to tell you, hyung. You’ll be so grateful to me when you get there, right?”
Finally sat down.
I had a feeling he was like that, but he didn’t seem like a bad person.
“Today is an important day for you, but it’s actually a really important day for me.”
“Why?”
“Hey, Gain. What do you think is the most difficult thing in the world?”
“…”
The sudden change of topic felt familiar.
I feel like I’ve experienced this many times already.
“… world peace?”
“Oh~! That’s difficult. Say it again.”
“Space travel?”
“Admit it! Tell me something more difficult.”
“Conquer the galaxy?”
“That’s grandiose. But isn’t there something more difficult than what you’re talking about?”
“I don’t know.”
“I think the most difficult thing in the world is creating ‘heaven.’”
heaven?
“Can you imagine what heaven is like?”
“… well, full of milk and honey -”
“A liter of milk costs less than 3,000 won. Honey is similar. If I buy a lot of that, is it heaven?”
“Mom, isn’t this a place where everyone is rich?”
“A place where everyone eats well and lives well? Hey, even now most citizens of developed countries eat well and live well?”
I was speechless.
“I’ll tell you a fun fact. When people are asked to imagine hell, they come up with all sorts of bizarre and outrageous ideas. But when asked to imagine heaven, they all come up with a blank slate, just like you.”
“…”
“Even in creative works, the depiction of hell is amazing, but heaven is difficult to express. Why is that?”
“It’s hard to imagine a situation where everyone is happy.”
“That’s right. I can imagine material wealth, but it’s too hard to imagine anything beyond that.”
“…”
“People need other people’s failures to make themselves happy. For example, the happiness you get from doing well on the college entrance exam is a good example.”
The sense of accomplishment that comes from competition is inherently something that cannot be shared by ‘everyone’.
If there is a winner, it is only natural that there will be a loser.
“Mental happiness generally requires the misfortune of others. So a heaven where everyone is happy is in a realm that is difficult for people to even imagine.”
Now that I’ve heard this, I understand why creating heaven is the most difficult thing.
“Are you holding me back to say something like this?”
“Listen further. Let’s say you are God.”
“yes?”
“You’re not omnipotent, but you’re one of the top five beings in the universe. There’s nothing better than you.”
“…”
“How can we create heaven?”
“I don’t know. It’s probably a method I can’t even imagine.”
The man who heard me smiled faintly, then suddenly turned his gaze slightly.
My gaze was directed to the hotel where I would be staying tonight.
“There is someone in the world who wants to create that very heaven.”
“yes?”
“But, to create heaven, he created a million hells.”
Create a million hells to create heaven?
What does this mean?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about….”
“What do you think the reason is?”
“…”
“What’s the point of creating a million hells when you’re trying to create heaven?”
That’s a strange question.
It’s a question I’ve never thought about.
But then, the right answer suddenly occurred to me.
“At last.”
“At the end?”
“Do you believe that if you just create heaven in the end, you can erase all the previous failures?”
“…”
“Even if it means creating a million, no, ten million hells, if we somehow manage to create heaven… don’t you believe that we can even save the ten million hells of the past?”
A quiet silence.
I thought, ‘this time too’, this person would disappear somewhere.
“… you.”
Not this time.
“yes?”
“You have a sharp edge. I think I know what piece you’re going to get.”
“yes?”
“Let’s go to the hotel.”
“Did you reserve the same hotel as me?”
“The location is similar, but the destination is different.”
“What do you mean?”
The man, who had suddenly gotten up, looked at the hotel with calm eyes.
“You are just beginning, but for me, this is the end.”
*
This was the last memory Insight showed.
“Ugh… . Eww!”
“Oh, brother! Are you okay?”
“Cain!”