Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 687
Only Krnovel
EP.687 ??Episode 687 – The First Wish, Eunsol Lee (1)
Episode 687 – The First Wish, Eunsol Lee (1)
– Lee Eun-sol
The evening hours when a cool breeze begins to blow.
“Hoo…”
“I’m starting to get tired.”
While I was climbing Seoraksan Mountain without any rest, I remembered a story that Jinwook oppa told me a while ago.
‘We traveled a lot when we were young, didn’t we?’
‘It seems like you’ve had a lot of unique trips.’
“… It was an unusual trip.”
“what?”
“No, now that I think about it, this seems quite unusual too.”
“What’s so special?”
“Isn’t it funny that two grown siblings in their thirties are hiking together?”
“Hey, hey! If you hadn’t screwed up the Shanghai project, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“That noise again! You’ve been blown away so many times -”
While I was arguing with Jinwook oppa and grumbling, I suddenly felt something was wrong and looked around.
“uh?”
Although I clearly followed the regular hiking trail and continued climbing, the scenery changed completely.
A wide plain suddenly appeared halfway up Seoraksan Mountain.
“What is this -”
As I was about to back away, feeling quite nervous, Jinwook suddenly reached out his hand.
“Do you see that house over there?”
“… There is a mansion on the hillside of Seorak Mountain, as if the plains were not enough.”
I thought I could laugh off some pretty absurd things thanks to the hotel, but it still absurd every time it happens.
Surprisingly, my brother was calm.
“Let’s rest there and go. Hiking at night is dangerous.”
“No, why are you so calm? A mansion suddenly appeared in the middle of the mountain!”
Then, my brother slightly raised the corners of his mouth. It was as if he had something that only he knew about!
You look like you’re desperate to show off.
“Eunsol, you don’t know?”
“…”
“Haha! Didn’t your father tell you? This is where your father’s old friend lives – eww!”
— Bam!
Unable to hold it in any longer, I summoned my flute and hit my brother on the back of the head.
“Lee Eun-sol! Are you crazy!”
“Stop showing off and explain. What does this have to do with my father’s friend and the ridiculous thing where a mansion pops up in the middle of the mountain?”
My brother’s next words were surprisingly able to explain the current situation in one breath.
“He’s a former agent. I heard he’s retired now?”
Retired Bureau agent.
If there was such a being, it would be possible even if he had hidden a spaceship instead of a mansion in the middle of the mountain.
“Come to think of it, you came here when you were young too, right? Did you forget? You’re so stupid that you ruined your business -”
— Bam!
*
— Ding dong! Ding dong!
Soon, a pale-faced man appeared in the mansion.
On the outside, he looks like he’s in his early 30s and has a rather thin build?
There didn’t seem to be anything particularly unusual.
However, perhaps because he was a retired agent, he looked much older than his actual age.
“Ahem, it’s been a while.”
“Jinwook and Eunsol. It’s been a while.”
The way she immediately recognized me and my brother.
It felt like we knew each other, but I had no memory of it.
Because of the density of things I experienced at the hotel, my memories before coming to the hotel have become hazy…
Even so, if you met a ‘former agent of the management agency’, shouldn’t you have at least some memories?
The moment I tilted my head like that.
“…!”
— Paaaaat!
A vague illusion flashed through my mind along with the feeling of doing something.
I remember coming to the mansion with my father in the past when I was much younger than I am now.
*
‘Hello?’
‘Mr. Chairman, it’s been a while. Are those next to you your children?’
‘Yes. Now, you too, say hello. This person is an agent of the Administration -‘
‘Not anymore.’
‘- Let’s say he’s a former agent. He’s an old friend of mine. So, what are you guys doing?’
‘Oh, hello! My name is Lee Jeong-ho.’
‘I, I am Lee Jin-wook.’
‘I’m Eunsol Lee. Nice to meet you.’
‘This is Lee Hee-yoon!’
‘Please call me S.’
*
“… It was true.”
“what?”
As Jinwook oppa said, I came to this mansion with my father when I was young.
The reason I forgot the memories of that time.
Why are forgotten memories now appearing again through illusions?
“What are you doing? You haven’t said hello? Haha! Agent, this kid’s been having a hard time with his business lately.”
“it’s okay.”
When I came to this mansion in the past…
I made my first wish.
Like his other companions, he also lost his memories of coming to the mansion in the process of forgetting his memories related to his first wish.
On the other hand, my brother has never experienced anything like that, so he seems to remember it clearly.
“Excuse me. Are you Agent S?”
“Please come in.”
While following S, who suddenly disappeared, I suddenly felt a sense of discomfort.
“Brother.”
“hmm?”
“I’m saying this because I’m thinking back to the past. I think we all came together before, including my father.”
“I guess so?”
“now…”
“huh?”
“Why are it just the two of us here now?”
“what?”
“Aren’t there more people besides us? Shouldn’t there be?”
My brother shrugged his shoulders and said incredulously.
“Let’s stop talking nonsense and rest for a bit. My legs are starting to shake after hiking since morning.”
*
I unpacked in my empty room, took a quick shower, and went out to relax my tense muscles.
My brother was talking to a former agent, looking humble yet energetic.
It looks like he wants to somehow connect his friendship with the former agent, who is his ‘father’s network’, to his ‘own network’.
It’s understandable that anyone in business would want to have a good relationship with their government.
Then, I heard an interesting story.
“Haha! I heard from my father before that you often receive ‘delicate care’ from the agent.”
“I’ve helped you out a few times. I’m on a long-term leave, but the skills I learned at the Administration are still with me.”
“Could you tell me what kind of help it was?”
“…”
S paused for a moment, drank a couple of cups of tea, and muttered quietly.
“…there may be forgetting of painful memories, etc.”
“Huh? What, what oblivion?”
“Mr. Jinwook, doesn’t the Chairman have privacy too?”
Even though he is my son, I find it difficult to tell him this much.
My brother smiled awkwardly and stepped back later.
“Haha, I’m just naturally curious… Excuse me.”
Who knew that person would be so humble and cautious!
In my brother’s eyes, I’m just a younger brother, and S is a mysterious agent, so his actions are different…
On the one hand, it was absurd.
Let’s get this straight. Right now, I’m 1,000 times more mysterious than that ‘agent’!
At that time, S, who was drinking tea in a quiet atmosphere, asked her brother.
“The road is rough, how did you and your younger sibling come here together?”
“Haha! This is another funny story. Eunsol-”
The next story is about the Shanghai project.
A ridiculous story came out about how his ugly younger sister had failed in business and he, the older brother, planned a two-day, one-night trip to console her.
It was a time when I was too lazy to refute each and every one of them, so I just rested and felt the cool breeze.
— Bam!
S cut off her brother’s words by putting down her teacup forcefully.
My brother couldn’t hide his embarrassment because of the agent’s attitude.
Shaking hands.
A pale, tired expression.
Cold sweat running down my cheeks.
Agent S was extremely nervous, to the point that even a layperson could tell.
“Uh, uh, agent. If I did something wrong, I apologize -”
“no.”
After a moment of silence, S spoke as if to sort out the situation.
“… Since we have guests, I’ll bring a simple dinner. I hope you both get some rest.”
After S suddenly left, Jinwook asked me with a puzzled look.
“What? Eunsol, did I just do something wrong?”
“…”
“It was just a joke…”
“I guess it wasn’t for that person.”
*
Despite his promise to bring dinner, S didn’t show up until the sun went down.
Of course, my brother and I weren’t the kind of people who would search an agent’s house and yell, “Give me food!”
I just took a break and ate the energy bars I brought with me when I went hiking.
It was around 11pm when S reappeared.
“Both of you, come this way.”
S had a pale, bloodless expression on his face.
Thanks to that, neither my brother nor I had the courage to ask why things were like this, and we just followed the agent’s lead without any destination in mind.
The agent took us to a strange room hidden in the back of the mansion.
An empty room with no furniture and no clear purpose.
Only one black stone standing out in the center catches the eye.
Finally, my brother couldn’t hold it in any longer and opened his mouth.
“Agent, what has been going on since a while ago?”
“… Both of you, please place your hands on the Stone of Purification.”
“The Stone of Purification? You mean this black stone?”
“Please upload it.”
My brother followed the instructions obediently, although he showed a slightly fearful expression…
A thousand thoughts crossed my mind in an instant.
Why should I follow the orders of this human who calls himself a ‘former agent’?
Wouldn’t it be better to use the Butterfly Dream and escape from this strange mansion right now?
“Miss Eunsol, please place your hand on the stone of purification.”
I considered two things.
First, what I am doing now is recreating my ‘past life’ and realizing my first wish.
That is, you must act like a normal person before coming to the hotel, not as a participant.
Would I, back then, have refused the orders of someone who was a former agent who was close to my father?
There’s a 99.9% chance that he followed along obediently.
So, it’s right to follow this time too.
Second, if something was really strange, my colleagues at the observatory would have warned me that it was a poltergeist, but nothing happened.
“All right.”
When I carefully reached out and placed my hand on the stone of purification.
— Saaaaa…!
I felt a hazy wave that seemed to wash my body and mind.
At that moment, I realized what this black stone was.
“They say it’s a stone of purification, but it really does have the power of ‘purification.’ It’s something that can correct distortions in the mind and body, right?”
“Yes.”
Strictly speaking, it is a similar type of instrument to the flute of peace. Although the flute is of a much higher class!
“So, what are you trying to say?”
Soon, S opened his mouth with a determined expression, as if he had made up his mind.
“I have dedicated four lives to humanity.”
“yes?”
My brother who expressed doubts from the beginning because he didn’t understand what was being said.
On the other hand, I know very well what this means.
The agent in front of you is someone who has been through four loops.
“I suffered countless unbearable pains in the process. I… did not seem to be equipped to endure eternal service. In the end, I could not endure it and gave up my noble duty. The administration also tolerated my deviation.”
“…”
“However, I still have a sense of duty in my heart. It may not be loyalty to humanity, but at least I want to protect those I can reach.”
What on earth are you trying to say that you’re rushing to say something so grandiose?
Of course, my brother and I also started to look increasingly anxious.
“You guys, you have to take my word for it. Your lives have been distorted by an unknown demon.”
“yes?”
“…”
“It’s all a lie from start to finish, a huge fraud. It’s nothing more than a puppet show created with an evil intention that has no end in sight.”
“No, what are you talking about all of a sudden -”
“The Chairman was aware of this fact, but he couldn’t handle the truth and forgot everything. But… you mustn’t. You mustn’t forget!”
At this point, my brother tried to leave the room as if he was dumbfounded, but S grabbed his shoulder with a firm hand.
“Once you leave here, you will never come to your senses. You must realize the truth while the Stone of Purification protects you!”
Is it because of the power of the purification stone?
I began to vaguely realize the true nature of the strange sense of discomfort I had been feeling for some time.
“Brother.”
“Eunsol, I think you should get out of this strange mansion -”
“We forgot someone.”
As soon as those words came out, S showed a strong reaction.
“That’s right! You are forgetting ‘someone’.”
My brother said with great embarrassment.
“Who, who are you forgetting?”
The moment S was about to speak, my mouth opened first.
“… mom.”
“what?”
“Mom! What is it? What is it? You were the reason my brother and I came on this trip in the first place!”
“…”
“Where did you go? Weren’t you together until the middle of the way? Why only me and my brother -”
The moment when my brother and I, who realized the truth too late, looked at each other with our eyes wide open.
S said with a very embarrassed expression.
“Huh? What I’m talking about is someone else.”
Someone else?
“Someone else -”
“You guys are originally four siblings, right? Aren’t you?”
“Right, right -”
“Where are the other two? Where are Jin-wook’s older brother and younger sister?”
“Well, both of them are at the company -”
“Company, company! Please, please, you must come to your senses! Jin-wook, do you know what business your big brother is in right now? What is your little sister doing?”
In the pale silence, S confessed the fearful truth.
“Gentlemen, have you seen the other two brothers even once in the past few months – no, years?”