Min-ju had looked weak when she first came to the hotel, but that had been an illusion created by the situation.
"Why does the debt keep getting bigger when I'm paying it back?!"
The chopsticks in Min-ju's hand bent into an L-shape as she ground her teeth.
The reason Min-ju had endured everything until now was because she was afraid Min-jae, who was frail, might get hurt because of her.
'So she'd been holding it all in this whole time.'
The loan sharks, even the police officers who had refused to help her.
Min-ju said she had steadily gathered evidence to expose them all.
"Those bastards took my phone with all the evidence on it."
Min-ju spoke as she straightened the bent chopsticks again.
What a shame.
To have the evidence that could deal with that trash taken away.
I cautiously asked Min-ju,
"Then you don't have any evidence left now?"
But one corner of Min-ju's mouth stretched upward.
'That's the kind of expression I'd be afraid to see in my dreams.'
"No. I still have all the evidence. It backs up automatically."
"Then what are you going to do with it? Post it on e-People...?"
"Something more effective than that."
"There's a better way?"
"YouTube. I'm going to toss it to the cyber wreckers who are starving for stories. And spread it on social media too."
I'd thought of e-People.
Young people these days really did things differently.
Was I a little old-fashioned...?
I shook my head and cleared away the thought that had flashed through my mind.
No.
I'm not old.
My thinking is young too, which is why I get along so well with our Song-i!
***
The siblings quickly adjusted to the hotel.
Min-ju, who had taken charge of the kitchen, called out loudly.
"Come eat!"
She had experience working as a kitchen assistant at a restaurant, so in a way, I'd hired someone with experience.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
Hwanggeum barked as its tail spun rapidly.
Min-ju smiled and filled Hwanggeum's dish with premium dog food.
"You have to eat your dog food first before you can have the special meal. Otherwise, the boss will scold you."
Hwanggeum crunched through the kibble.
Song-i watched Hwanggeum with a pleased smile.
"Our Hwanggeum eats so well. You're so pretty!"
She said it to Hwanggeum in exactly the same tone I usually used.
They say you have to be careful even when drinking cold water in front of children.
I tasted the warm beef-and-radish soup and said,
"Let's all go out later."
"Outside?"
"We need to buy clothes for Min-ju and Min-jae, and get whatever else we need."
During the day, the two wore employee uniforms. In the evenings, they changed back into the torn clothes they'd been wearing when they arrived here.
"But we don't have enough money."
"I'll take it out of your pay."
"We get paid?"
"Of course. Did you think you were going to work here without getting paid?"
"I thought the work was in place of the lodging fee...."
"Don't make me out to be some exploitative employer, will you?"
"Hehe...."
"On that note, I'm thinking of officially hiring you two. What do you think?"
"We'd love that!"
"We'll work hard."
Thanks to the gold coin Hwanggeum had brought me and the Gold Bead the Goblin had given me, both my mind and my bank account had some breathing room.
'And if I give it Buckwheat Jelly, I might get another Gold Bead.'
"Min-ju, do you know how to make buckwheat jelly?"
"Buckwheat jelly?"
"I told you there's a Goblin in our hotel. The Goblin likes Buckwheat Jelly."
Curiosity gleamed in Min-jae's eyes.
"But is there really a Goblin?"
"I've never seen it either. But last time, it completely cleaned out the Buckwheat Jelly I left in the lobby."
"Wow...!"
Min-ju nodded.
"I've never made buckwheat jelly before.... But I'll give it a try. I need to repay the Goblin too."
"Repay it?"
"I think the Goblin helped us get to this hotel."
"Woof!"
Hwanggeum, which had polished off all its kibble, barked at Min-ju.
Min-ju put boiled chicken in Hwanggeum's dish.
Min-jae watched Hwanggeum wolf down the chicken and muttered,
"Hwanggeum's food expenses are going to be high."
"Ah, Hwanggeum already paid for its meals. It's a VIP guest, so treat it well."
At my words, the siblings tilted their heads.
It was the third day since Min-ju and Min-jae had come to our hotel.
There were probably still many things they couldn't understand.
Because there were many things about our hotel you could only understand after experiencing them firsthand.
***
Ding—
I opened the door and stepped into the gold exchange.
The first thing that caught my eye was an electronic board displaying gold trading prices.
While I was distracted by the board, an employee spoke in a gentle voice.
"Is there something you are looking for?"
I took out the Gold Beads and said,
"I would like to sell these."
The employee took the Gold Beads and examined them.
"There are no hallmarks?"
"No. I am certain they are gold, but there are no hallmarks."
"Please wait a moment. Items like these can only be traded after being checked by a professional appraiser."
"Of course. Please take your time."
An appraiser came out, tested them with a reagent, then put them into a machine and finished the analysis.
"They are all pure gold."
The employee weighed the Gold Beads and tapped on a calculator.
"If you sell all of them, the total is 4.88 million won. Would you like to proceed with the transaction?"
That was 80,000 won more than I'd expected.
Gold prices must have gone up in the meantime.
"Yes. I'll sell them."
"May I see your identification, please?"
"Oh, you need ID too?"
"Police inspections have become stricter lately. If that makes you uncomfortable, you may visit another shop."
"No, that is fine."
It was probably just a routine measure in case the gold was stolen property.
There was no way the Goblin had given me gold it had stolen from somewhere, so I had nothing to worry about.
After selling the gold, we went to a phone shop, where they had just finished activating the new phones.
"You suspended your old number, right?"
"Yes. There haven't been any small mobile-payment charges so far."
"Really? That's a relief."
There was no telling how a phone that had fallen into the loan sharks' hands might be used.
It was best to get everything taken care of cleanly.
Min-jae couldn't stop smiling.
"Min-jae, what's with that expression you've had this whole time?"
"I've never used a phone this new before. Hehe... Boss, thank you."
"I told you I'm taking it out of your pay. Work harder, got it?"
"Yes!"
Min-jae was still beaming as he answered.
Seeing him, Song-i smiled too.
A little later.
At the supermarket, we piled goods into the carts.
"Fill them up."
"Yes!"
This time, we had a full three carts.
We loaded the three carts with this and that, tossing in anything that looked necessary without a second thought.
"Daddy! Song-i wants those snacks."
"Sure. We need snacks for our Song-i too. Put them in."
"What about that?"
"Put it in."
"And that?"
"Put that in too!"
We crammed three carts' worth of goods into the car.
After loading everything, I handed Min-jae and Min-ju an envelope containing cash.
"There's exactly 100,000 won each in there. If there's anything else you personally need, go buy it. Think of it as an advance on your pay."
"An advance...."
Min-jae and Min-ju looked bewildered.
"Song-i and I will be at the cafe right over there. Be back within an hour. If you're late, I'm leaving without you."
I sent the two of them back into the supermarket.
Song-i tilted her head.
"Are Big Sis and Big Bro going back to the supermarket?"
"Daddy sent them away because he wants to go on a date with just our Song-i. Don't you like that?"
"I do! I like dates."
"Then should we go eat the strawberry cake you like?"
"Yes!"
***
Min-ju tightly clutched the envelope the boss had given her.
An advance the owner of the restaurant where she'd worked for two years had refused her.
Yet the boss she'd known for only three days had casually handed her 100,000 won.
"Min-jae. About our boss... do you think he's really human?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"What if our boss is actually a Goblin? There's no way someone can be this kind."
Min-jae nodded.
"I guess you have a point. That honey water the boss gave us was strange too."
"Ah, that honey water. We felt better as soon as we drank it, right?"
"Sis, I don't care even if the boss isn't human. I love how things are right now."
Min-ju smiled softly.
"Me too."
Min-jae and Min-ju looked at each other and smiled.
It had been a very long time since they'd been able to smile without any worries like this.
The boss, who seemed nonchalant yet was kind, and even the adorable Song-i and Hwanggeum.
The siblings loved the Goblin Hotel.
***
That evening.
Song-i was folding origami with colored paper while I watched TV with the siblings.
Then Min-jae, who had been watching the news, covered his mouth with his hand and muttered,
"No way."
— Several ex-convicts have illegally entered the Civilian Control Zone near the front line.
Our military is conducting a joint investigation with the police to determine the purpose of their infiltration.
[Ex-Convicts Illegally Enter Front-Line Civilian Control Zone; Counterintelligence Suspicions Under Investigation]
The ex-convicts on the screen shouted.
— That's not true! We just got lost!
Min-ju's hand, which had been reaching for a snack, stopped too.
Their reactions were unusual.
"What's wrong with both of you? What happened?"
Min-jae pointed at the screen.
"Those people. I think they're the loan sharks."
"Really?"
"Yes. Those clothes. They were wearing them the last time I saw them."
The hulking man in a flashy leopard-print shirt and the beanpole in a camouflage T-shirt immediately stood out.
It was not exactly a common sense of fashion.
'What is this, Animal Kingdom?'
Min-ju glanced at me.
"What? You have something to say?"
"Do you think the Goblin did that?"
"You mean it sent them there?"
"Yes. They were following us."
"Maybe it did."
'Or it could've been the power of the hotel itself.'
Maybe, just as it had pulled Min-ju and Min-jae in, it had bounced trash like those bastards away.
Min-ju nodded and muttered quietly,
"I knew it... Boss really is a Goblin."
The look Min-ju gave me was extremely suspicious.
***
Making Buckwheat Jelly for the Goblin.
I'd done plenty of internet research for this moment.
"Min-ju, let's make buckwheat jelly."
I measured cold water into a pot, then poured the measured buckwheat flour over it.
"You have to mix it well."
"Okay."
Two years of experience as a restaurant assistant had not gone to waste.
Min-ju mixed the buckwheat flour thoroughly into the water.
Only after stirring until there were no lumps left did we turn on the burner beneath the pot.
"You have to keep stirring in one direction."
"I've never seen buckwheat jelly being made before."
"Neither have I."
When my arm started to feel heavy, I switched with Min-ju.
Bubble, bubble.
Small bubbles slowly rose, and the rich aroma of buckwheat filled the kitchen.
The contents of the pot gradually grew thicker and stickier.
"I'll take over now."
I stirred the jelly while judging its consistency.
Would this be about right?
Or should it be a little stickier?
I put my heart into making Buckwheat Jelly that would satisfy the Goblin.
"Min-ju, bring me a container."
I poured the sticky jelly into a square container.
"Done. Now it just needs to set properly like this."
Song-i and Hwanggeum ran into the kitchen.
"Daddy! Did you make the Buckwheat Jelly for the Goblin?"
"Woof! Woof!"
"Yeah. The Goblin will like it, right?"
"I wrote a letter for the Goblin!"
Song-i held out a picture letter she'd made for the Goblin.
A Goblin wearing a red hat was drawn in the sketchbook.
<Eat the buckwheat jelly Daddy and Big Sis made delishusly!>
Looks like that spelling had been a little difficult for her.
"You wrote it well. Should we go put the letter out first?"
Song-i ran to the lobby holding the letter, her twin ponytails fluttering.
Then she propped the letter up beside the fireplace.
"Hehehe. I want to see the Goblin."
That night.
As I set the cooled Buckwheat Jelly beside the fireplace, I thought,
Goblin. I don't ask for much.
Hand over the gold.
'More gold!'
If you pay well, I'll serve you Buckwheat Jelly again.