Min-jae needed surgery for his injured eyes.
Min-ju hurriedly scraped together every bit of money she had, but she was still 500,000 won short.
Just 500,000 won.
Min-ju went to the owner of the restaurant where she'd worked diligently for two years and explained her situation.
"Boss, could you advance me just 500,000 won? I'm short on my brother's surgery fee."
But.
"Why should I trust you enough to give you an advance?"
All she got in return was a cold refusal.
The siblings had no friends or family they could borrow money from.
All they had was each other.
The world was cold to them.
"Sorry, Sis."
Unfortunately, even after the surgery, Min-jae didn't regain his sight.
But a bad surgical outcome didn't make the bill any smaller.
'Should I just tell Min-jae we should run away?'
The ugly thought suddenly surfaced, but Min-ju's conscience wouldn't allow it.
In the hospital restroom.
Min-ju forced herself to hold back her tears.
"I can't cry. Min-jae will notice...."
As Min-ju stood there with red-rimmed eyes, fighting back tears,
something caught her attention.
<Quick Cash. No Collateral. Same-Day Loan>
It was a sticker on the restroom door, blue lettering printed over a yellow background.
"......!"
Min-ju knew too.
She knew she should never touch loan-shark money.
But it was only 500,000 won.
'I'll only use it for one week and pay it back when I get my paycheck.'
And just like that, Min-ju stepped into hell.
It took only one week for her to realize it.
***
A wooded hill somewhere in Chungcheong Province.
"Where's that bitch? Find her now!"
Flashlight beams whipped wildly through the forest.
"Sis. Go on without me...!"
Min-jae's face, still not properly recovered after the surgery, turned pale.
The siblings had worked without rest, but their debt only kept growing.
Five hundred thousand won came back as ten million in just two months.
'What kind of calculation even produces that?'
She wanted to burst into tears and scream in anger, but the world wasn't on the siblings' side.
Even the police had shown little interest in their situation.
The loan sharks were trying to sell Min-ju, who was only twenty-one years old.
When Min-jae found out, he secretly got her out, and the two of them were now fleeing together.
But reality wasn't a movie.
Min-jae injured his ankle while they were running.
Drenched in sweat, Min-ju tugged on her younger brother's arm.
"Min-jae, just a little farther...!"
"Sis, just go. You can't let those bastards catch you...!"
"Min-jae, no. We're going together. Just a little farther and... we'll find a road."
Even when Min-ju stumbled and rolled across the ground, she never let go of Min-jae.
Her fingernails cracked and her knees were scraped raw, but she kept walking.
"Huff... huff...."
The siblings' legs were gradually giving out.
They prayed desperately in their hearts.
'Please, save our Min-jae.'
'Someone, please save my sister...!'
They kept stumbling blindly forward, trying to escape the loan sharks' shouts.
Before long, a pale fog began to spread around them.
"That's good. Min-jae, with this fog, it'll be harder for them to find us."
"......"
But Min-jae's eyes had already gone unfocused.
"Min-jae, no...! Stay awake, Min-jae!"
Barely conscious, Min-jae gave no answer and only limped forward on reflex.
"Sniff...!"
Min-ju bit her lip and forced back her tears.
Then she saw a brightly lit building ahead.
Min-ju pounded on its iron gate as if she meant to break it down.
BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!
"Please save us! Please, open the gate!"
Anyone.
Please.
Save us.
***
BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!
The sound shattered the quiet dawn.
I spoke to Song-i with a stiff expression.
"Song-i, go into the room."
Sensing that something was wrong, Song-i went inside.
When I reached the iron gate, I heard a woman sobbing on the other side.
"Sniff...! Min-jae. Please wake up."
What in the world had happened for someone to be crying in a deserted mountain this early in the morning?
I unlocked the gate and asked,
"What's going on?"
At that moment, words appeared before my eyes.
【 Guest in need of rescue. 】
【 Condition: Exhaustion 】
【 Allow lodging? 】
【 Lodging Fee: 12,000 won 】
'Does this mean they can only enter if I allow it?'
The woman crying outside the gate raised her head.
"Huh...! Wh-what...? It was a house just a moment ago...!"
The woman looked behind her, then whipped her head back toward me and asked,
"Wh-who are you?"
'You pounded on someone else's gate first, and now you're asking who I am?'
Well.
Judging by the state she was in, she didn't seem to be in her right mind, so I could understand.
"I'm the owner of this hotel. We haven't opened for business yet, though."
The woman asked blankly,
"A hotel...?"
"That man doesn't look well. Are you going to keep him outside?"
"Ah...! Please save my brother."
At some point, Hwanggeum had come outside and was licking the collapsed man's hand.
'So he's her younger brother.'
They both looked young.
What had happened to them?
Curiosity welled up, but I decided to deal with the urgent matter first.
"Come inside."
I supported the man and moved him to a sofa in the lobby.
The notification I'd seen a moment ago had said his condition was exhaustion.
His face was pale, and he wouldn't wake even when we called him.
I scooped out a spoonful of the Tree-Hollow Honey I'd been saving and mixed it into water.
'I can't believe I'm already using this.'
I swallowed a sigh and slowly dribbled the honey water into the man's mouth.
"...Mmm."
As soon as the Tree-Hollow Honey went down, color returned to his pale face and he opened his eyes.
"Sis...? Sis, are you okay? What about those bastards?"
"Min-jae! You're awake?"
The woman burst into tears and hugged her brother.
'It's touching and all.'
But there was something more important right now.
I held out the bowl containing the Tree-Hollow Honey water toward the man.
"Finish this. You'll feel better. The two of you can share it if you want."
"Who... are you?"
These siblings came into someone else's house and kept asking who I was.
They really were alike.
I chuckled inwardly and said,
"I'm the owner of this hotel."
A little later.
After sharing the Tree-Hollow Honey water and recovering their senses, the siblings finally introduced themselves.
"Thank you for helping us."
"Thank you."
Their bodies were covered in dirt, leaves, and weeds.
"May I ask how you ended up looking like that? Anyone would think you'd crossed the Military Demarcation Line or something—"
I narrowed my eyes and looked them over.
"...Hmm."
'How much was the reward for reporting a spy again...?'
Flinch.
The siblings hurriedly waved their hands.
"N-no! Loan sharks were chasing us...!"
"This is Chungcheong Province. We're nowhere near the Military Demarcation Line!"
That had only been a casual jab, but their reaction was priceless.
Still.
'Loan sharks? Chungcheong Province?'
"This isn't Chungcheong Province."
"......!"
"......?"
"This is northern Gyeonggi Province."
At my words, both their faces turned white as sheets.
I'd revived them with precious Tree-Hollow Honey, and now they looked ready to keel over again.
"...That's impossible!"
"You're joking... right? You're lying, right?"
I silently shook my head.
Their eyes trembled violently.
"We were on a wooded hill in Chungcheong Province. How...."
From their reaction, it really seemed they'd been in Chungcheong Province.
In that case... the hotel must have done something.
Or maybe the goblin had.
The woman's hands trembled faintly.
"I wasn't seeing things. I definitely saw a house and knocked on the door... then suddenly it had turned into a hotel."
The woman looked as if she might faint.
CLAP—!
I clapped my hands to break the mood.
"Guests...? So, are you going to stay the night?"
At my words, the two searched their pockets and pulled out crumpled bills.
One ten-thousand-won bill and two one-thousand-won bills.
'So that's what the 12,000-won lodging fee in the notification meant.'
I looked at the crumpled bills as if they were nothing and said,
"I don't take money. I haven't registered the hotel as open for business yet. Taking payment would be illegal."
"Ah... then what should we...."
"I need extra hands while I prepare to open. If you're willing to work, I'll give you a room. How does that sound?"
The siblings' faces brightened.
"Thank you."
"We'll work hard!"
【 Employee Recruitment: 2 】
【 Employee Quarters: Unlocked 】
RUMBLE—
A loud noise rang out, and a space I'd never seen before appeared.
In front of the manager's room.
Across the hallway, a new room had appeared.
"...This is a dream, right?"
Their eyes went unfocused again.
I scratched my head and answered,
"It feels like a dream, but it isn't."
The notification earlier had clearly labeled them guests with a 12,000-won lodging fee.
But this time, instead of guests, it had changed to employee recruitment.
'So it changes depending on my choice.'
My third day at the Goblin Hotel.
There was still plenty I didn't know.
Song-i had opened the door quite a while ago and was peeking out.
"Dad... can I come out now?"
"Sure."
As soon as I gave permission, Song-i ran into the lobby.
"Song-i, say hello. These two will be helping out at our hotel for a while."
Song-i placed both hands over her stomach, bent at the waist, and greeted them politely.
"Hello! I'm Kim Song-i!"
The two smiled and returned her greeting.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Min-ju."
"Hi, I'm Kim Min-jae."
"Can I call you Big Sis Min-ju and Big Bro Min-jae?"
Even while introducing themselves, the two were straightening their filthy clothes.
They seemed well aware of what they looked like.
I pointed toward the newly appeared employee quarters.
"Go wash up. Then let's eat together."
***
A pale fog appeared before the loan sharks searching for the siblings.
"Why is there so much fog?"
"If we lose them now, it'll be hard to catch them."
The deposit on the siblings' home had already fallen into the loan sharks' hands.
If they lost them here, it would be difficult to find the now-homeless siblings again.
SMACK—!
A burly loan shark slapped the back of the subordinate's head beside him.
"Damn it. That is why you should have watched them properly!"
They followed the siblings' trail down the mountainside.
Those two had clearly entered the fog too.
"They must've run that way. Let's go."
"Boss! There they are!"
They saw the siblings entering a lit building.
It wasn't far away.
But the fog kept growing thicker.
Soon, it became so dense that they couldn't even see the person beside them.
"Hey, stay close. One wrong move and we'll get lost."
"Boss, where are you?"
"Bastard, I'm right next to you."
"Stay there. I'll come closer."
"Hey. Why aren't you here yet?"
"Where the hell are you?"
"Hey, you bastards! Hurry up!"
"I can hear your voice, but I can't tell which direction it's coming from, Boss."
Twelve hours later.
The loan sharks finally managed to find one another.
But their luck ended there.
They couldn't find a way out.
"Huff... huff... huff.... Boss. This place is seriously strange."
"Fuck. How can fog last this long?"
"The house those two went into was definitely nearby.... But no matter how far we walk, it never shows up."
"My phone doesn't even have a signal."
The loan sharks walked while gripping one another's clothes.
Grrrrr—
They were hungry and thirsty.
Two days passed like that.
The loan sharks' minds gradually began to unravel, and infighting broke out.
"Aaaagh!"
"This is your fault!"
"Get a grip, bastard."
"If you hadn't dragged that bitch in!"
"Waaaaah—! We're going to die because of this bastard...!"
"How is that my fault? If you'd just watched them properly!"
They grabbed each other by the collars, tangled together, and rolled across the dirt.
Eventually, they no longer had the strength to fight and collapsed, panting.
Then the fog that had been obscuring their vision began to clear.
"Huh? The fog...! The fog is disappearing."
The loan sharks sprang to their feet.
The fog lifted.
They threw both hands into the air.
"Don't move!"
Soldiers surrounded them, rifle barrels aimed straight at them.
The front-line soldiers' eyes gleamed sharply as they stared at the men.
"Please spare us!"
The burly boss was the first to drop to his knees and beg.
After wandering through the fog, the soldiers who had appeared before him felt like salvation.
But that was a misunderstanding.
What awaited the ex-convicts who had trespassed into the Civilian Control Zone was not salvation.