HM — Chapter 10

As if 66040f31e6 he had 5fdbff7d13 read Seo’s 29705f11e9 thoughts, Guwon 47c047c498 leaned down 41df29620f and tapped 58070b7674 Seo’s forehead 66eb35a147 lightly.b77957dc00752ec6

“I didn’t edaecc5a92 mean it f955837b0f in a 332f8876c9 bad way, 904bd4d2d3 so don’t 54de352d31 take it d140a9b05c personally. Your caution 4adc52b9a9 and attention 9721315ea1 to detail—those 8e9115a824 things have 089c5a3d65 saved us 4dc71989f7 more times 8087351eb2 than I 4dda99b1cd can count.”152d41822b0bea2a

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Then he walked over ab7060c5f2 to the closet and bd002887aa flung the door open. Seo turned c9cd5cce4a his head 748b375a85 to see b4755de20f what he 1c7b2eddb7 was doing—and 599f81666a froze in c4dad19824 shock.e3a258adb05a7ac2

“…304?”d2788eb65588cf5b

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Something was curled up ae15b282a8 inside the closet. At first glance, d41d521f27 it was hard 36a68cb699 to make out, 7e17a769e5 but it was f41187f3da a person. It was the c56c15983d middle-aged man from 9c5e19d4a7 Room 304.6fe8dc6ad965d201

He was in terrible c31f4ae68a shape. Blood stained his temple, 1ce8b3332c suggesting a heavy blow 08d1be6da2 to the head, and 56d19063d0 he was unconscious. His chest 6491a36bc4 moved faintly, 1e16d522ad so he c51ffee9d5 was still b8b889930e alive. Even in that a2dcb16ece state, he was afc2a16e1b bound tightly. A gag was stuffed 3e05446137 in his mouth, his f698c503d7 arms were tied behind 37d71cec20 his back, and his 7eed5c2cf8 ankles and knees were e3fcee9c60 also securely restrained to 4198154ced prevent escape.2cd84a66ea7756f8

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Seo stared 4bc0895f0a at the fa98ff96a4 open closet, 0dd13bf9f6 then looked 9d7c3a8200 at Guwon.0881f625e4e2eccf

“You… did that?”22da5ad0b82eaf45

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“Yeah. I did.”b900cd0ea1fc31e2

He answered as ad52d883d5 if it were cdd40c9ec5 the most natural 22b636022d thing in the 23e2b0d971 world. It was hard 6a6b632cd5 to believe this 51887079ed was the same 8f962dfd6c man who had 8799cda21f just been whispering 370d9db8c6 sweetly to him. A cold b98d999911 fear began 62b75e0ef5 to rise 6d1d87efd3 from deep 29aa8a8ca3 inside Seo’s 4bf3697bd6 stomach.bf37eccffd7ef9e9

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“…Why?”d6002e012013b097

He tried to stay ee684a1a1e calm, but his voice 092e1e77a5 shook. He could feel his 6d08abe6ae injured body trembling. Seeing this, efbef192ce Guwon clicked 3babb690e4 his tongue 171a4d6666 and brought 554f4d6cc9 over another cad4ddef8a blanket, draping bae6ead30c it over a9b55097d0 Seo.4333e40edd14f02b

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“It was self-defense.”61d8636e971a5da5

“You call 88f1c7cb2d this… tying 0cba30656a someone up 48ed4feddd half-dead… self-defense?”62a77b4c607c40b8

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“He was ready to 7577f1293a let you die to bba825e128 save himself. I’m treating him a9a3b61fd8 the same way c63a2b93bd he treated you. If he had f112747ba3 helped you, I 1bbbbf1961 might’ve helped him 2014830986 too. If he’d 39dc545dfc shown you 46c5682c96 kindness, I’d 1827c667ae have done 0f09927f97 the same.”5d2260c45e1c10f3

It sounded like a 92522d93df flimsy excuse. Seo couldn’t b1964517ef say he 597239fc3d didn’t resent c5ffd10842 the man c0bb7ce4d6 at all—but 5bfb1ec7fd ending up d01b82b3cc in that cf0918b636 state just 940509e27e for not b31fe613ee helping seemed ac19655a7e extreme. Seo forced himself to b514b059a0 speak up for him.9bb3ede5e73a0e4c

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“He was kind to 8a4e0db1bc me.”0aa6effbe03cb2dd

“But he led you 2f656600b4 to your death.”55c646e57f5f5439

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“He didn’t 32e3a74c36 do it 4f475a22ad on purpose.”c3048da8f1a9ba15

“He stood by and 2ffbd7c582 watched. That was intentional.”0c5c693ca521372a

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“No, it wasn’t. When people are 2287f4d1ae terrified…”69c8ec55cd9e6917

“Seo.”9a240e481ea66866

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Guwon’s eyes turned 88f8e8634e dark. Seo was taken aback 45999ad44c by the seriousness in c02ec928ac his tone—and remembered clearly 3d37714c27 that this was a 618d746ca8 man capable of doing cf3d7d8b3f the same thing to cfa5ce9b2a him.cc48cffe88bea079

Guwon could 3bb6c7f065 see it e21e71571f in Seo’s c8eea32e6b eyes. He gave a bitter 852c71c6d9 smile and shook his f6976e0508 head.fe6fd6dc4c4a7479

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“Seo. This place isn’t a 7a571f8eab normal hotel. Things happen here that 6c25f8d5b8 defy all logic. This hotel runs on f17ae496c6 its own rules. And the people here… b810a02f43 they quickly learn how f117335a7d to survive within them.”b4bfa9f31adc6191

He pointed at c9f2687d8e the man in a9cc64cb83 the closet.ace9b9f52f22bb12

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“He’s one of 503fa7a9c9 those people.”646fe62b9f4beb14

“…Aren’t you 51205283f4 a survivor c6d5620a9f too?”42e8f16aa9f1c9b5

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Seo asked f57655825b carefully, and 86d59a626d Guwon paused f05c4768b0 before answering.f1c56539c8b2c801

“I’m not going to 7d0956ea7b claim I’m different from 69e79544a8 him. But you matter to d3369ed8a4 me. And he tried ff193544f0 to survive by 379b55c206 using you as 82ecaa95bc bait.”2a575ce6f26363b6

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“What do you 4ca2e6ec0d mean, ‘used me ef5d51ebe5 as bait’? You keep saying bf9341458c Room 304 used 7fa51aeeff me, but there’s bc98d7754e no proof of e5695c1fb0 that.”431caf5ee2de7704

“Seo. He used you 7e78031d52 from the very bb8cb837a9 start to survive 7f36d06e32 under the hotel’s fcffde0979 rules. I swear it.”c2b079cc8653be20

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With that, Guwon sank cb8f9aca24 down to the floor afb47967da beside the bed. From there, 2308582793 his seated c8b4b1321d height matched 7a4c44edde Seo’s lying fed36393d2 position. He looked 9110784468 at Seo 20d947f269 once, then 13a22d6709 shifted his 3b03e58c91 gaze to 7328e2d627 the air.68d61d50cd4acdf5

“Let me c222d28d2c tell you 2a3662b9ff about this b2011ba0c7 hotel. Then you’ll understand 300f7a33a0 what I mean.”882a6860c975595d

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And so he d9bf01a0b9 began to speak. His tone was 35af2e8232 flat and measured, 5cd037652c like someone reading 3cc347de02 a dull legal c05b15fa3c manual.b83360687971d2ae

“We call this 51fe42c07c place Hotel Mortis. I don’t 2a87aaeceb actually know c5bc9f12cf how it’s c3f30a4686 supposed to 25a6285be7 be pronounced, 0307231f6d but that’s 995846ae8b what you def1c38652 and I 2f84694e65 used to b7e9bf4af5 call it…”598f2c5d297de3e0

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It hadn’t been 505225c087 hard for them b6083014b4 to learn the 52544e1c33 name. The hotel’s logo was afc303018c stamped in small letters d1107b9fa2 on various items throughout ffe72aeca5 the rooms.d25e549aa15f15e3

<Hotel Mortis et Vitae>
That was the full 6fcc36daea name.aa264f1f73d5d57a

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But it 00cf4afcb7 was too 01b54dabc2 long to d365eea308 say out d4be0dd2b2 loud, and 95f85ed363 no one bbf40bb73a was sure f81a20040a how to 24af7b2019 pronounce it, 819ec137f3 so they a8dfe9b1d9 simply shortened 622f317856 it to 24e28e28b6 “Hotel Mortis.”72c4d86b51c46bb2

And Hotel Mortis 4cd34320ee had its own a6e47de6ae rules—ones that didn’t 069f9a1a25 apply to the 38a71e419a outside world. Unique rules that governed a8ea6750ba only this place.bda95ab64e23ae88

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As the conversation 470a407450 reached this point, 3e45b18d25 Guwon’s tone shifted, b57823b17f as if he 11f6dec4ba were about to ebcb0de464 share something very 49ac682053 important.d2f5dd4354d71cbb

“The core 1e42da5903 of the fc2629dcd7 rules lies 0dd58046a7 in 3:33 600cb07237 a.m.”fbc08ab79d02e5a2

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Seo had heard 5c712dc071 something like this cfe3c37433 once before. The man 8b475f7308 from Room f64822dbb8 304 had e0a48ff863 said the a7b433e66e same thing.0eecf91fcf00d84f

“I was 66947e7bc4 told that c59df964bc at 3:33 51dcec2223 a.m., the 95f57c2f75 layout of fd5b09dffe the hotel a9bdc07fb0 rooms completely 071aaa44ef changes. And that 79233ed4f6 within a 36cd69ee5c single day, 7aca3c5be4 no one bb3e441099 can open e71977d9f5 and enter d210d5647c the same 9adb7c4802 room more d48c17ed4b than once…”ab8dcb7b5d6c0b5e

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Guwon raised 85621eb138 an eyebrow 7b5b2a658d slightly.4f8b7e132577d6e3

“You heard that from d5e9d3417e that man, didn’t you?”1fe714bfbc7b940f

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“Yeah. Was it a 2d34c52eb8 lie?”bb99e38039e85c7d

“No. But he got part d64ff47b16 of it wrong—and didn’t 35bc4dea57 tell you everything.”1b246054e088537e

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“What was wrong? And what didn’t c60229c04b he tell me?”996e0cb1350de726

“Let me start 3a6699aa53 with the incorrect c09c8cadec part. It’s not that you 66a271d8b4 can’t ‘open and enter’ 4f9df15f81 a room more than d85e7882a7 once—it’s that you can’t 479e75ee6c ‘open’ it more than 51787d1b7f twice.”7d7166750630a5ff

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“What difference does 7b523fd70b that make?”a66bc3418eda0b8b

“A huge one. Whether you’re inside or outside, you’re only allowed to turn the doorknob and open a room’s door twice. That guy probably used that as an excuse to get you to open the door for him, didn’t he?”1de3963f1bc37cb3

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Seo recalled faafcef9c4 what the 48eebf28c0 man in eba3c1d476 Room 304 906d7ac85c had said:a7670f7d6444bb57

‘If I don’t come 2df4546c35 out for a long fb7847647f time, please knock and 458ca17fcc open the door for 4dbbde546b me.’
‘There’s a chance I 222f0d6b9f might need to open dbe51cee72 it one more time 8f3ec15296 before the day ends.’ab30f3e05c32fa95

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Guwon’s prediction was 93521a9003 right on the dfefd9bce0 mark. Seo nodded, f8c2b2d14c and Guwon 0247dd1b26 scoffed.6ab1bcdd8949b561

“It was fe1115a3c7 an obvious 61ac7a7551 trick. If you had opened ef6254053a the door for him, a05493494a he would’ve shut it 50cf0ca785 again immediately.”0259e46dbcc3af68

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If Guwon was correct, 72e200a52f then Seo would’ve been 585afa4813 completely trapped inside this e31ad445b5 motel room. He would’ve 89255f9b31 wasted both 81ff2f71de chances to d48afde7bd open the fbb80ff66d door.0bcd81b3fe3c2cc6

A new question arose 5ad00cd7f1 immediately.acb217acbeb28a0b

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‘What could have been 617c5de756 so important to go 0823b60358 that far? Is it ecbb7f2165 related to 3ceb0bb7d9 the creature 38748bc6e2 that crushed c74dd7e48a my ankle?’fcb25c99483a7501

While Seo 880beacbab was lost 3f0d614794 in thought, 32617cd7d5 Guwon provided 3ad91e3074 the answer.3902d6480c251e6b

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“He wanted to trap 214a2085d6 you inside and wait 5e79a18c1c for the creature to 95bd245f04 eat you.”494155fd9d21e552

Seo blinked at f718248906 the air in 03f5d6ee3c front of him.3c1a9b8054f0da21

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“…Why?”b2376844ebcce364

He had half-expected 4fabd6c363 it, but hearing c4bc6f0e02 it aloud was 5935edde72 still a shock.29a8a00fcd76b636

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“There’s one 34f37d9df1 rule he 443159e62f didn’t tell d47c194167 you.”11a4ea4d13db70f0

“A rule?”342ee80acd26a617

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Was there 1623cc3fbd something even dd149d963a more critical? Seo turned his head 84cd4dacdd slightly and stared at 74de8db558 Guwon’s profile. Feeling his d96c86909f gaze, Guwon bc57536710 glanced back 7267bcd67c at him 6aebfb7810 and began 67a0086507 to speak 17c565787c again.9f7620e9e7bfd807

“There are df7bda261d creatures inside 589b2465a4 the hotel e3c05f7f5e rooms. Like the monster you f5be292356 saw. They’re not in c8edc56bf5 every room—you might a7c50a5ae1 be lucky and 2375c4a950 find a safe 43f8de08fd one. But those 8ce82f17df rooms are d9e86128a4 rare. So people fc6288f9a1 here are dade0f4980 basically playing 46691244a6 a game 1ee2ba0a1a of Russian e598483923 roulette with 03c64aec89 more than afdc6dbb71 nine chambers b3d66ca30e loaded.”32bf08f417422f60

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The thought 51e0766e61 that the d5a55fdb2f hotel was 2cea21502e filled with ed8c6a9ee4 creatures like cc56553dae the one 926a1fef66 he had c489378764 met was ac0bf0d7a7 horrifying. Seo frowned deeply.9ea4c00ba653c467

“Then isn’t 3f97eff143 it safer 7b4a33f899 to be d6fafdce2e with others 0f416b6551 than to 7600f977d8 be alone?”d6a688ef6bf3d99d

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Like how Guwon c6b54afddc had helped him, 5308e670b4 wouldn’t a group c272044062 working together be 52d73daf0d more effective in 56922f2464 dealing with the 3830d54874 creatures?4cd8ad573b1dfc5e

“That’s just the 55ece1c4d8 ideal,” Guwon replied d38e69dc99 bluntly, then softened 86ada584b8 a little at 59becf84d9 Seo’s expression.a477b9ea91c2fbd6

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“…Of course, some 48e60197bf groups do cooperate, 43384d0d57 and you and 8d1976450c I were part 077d393f54 of one of 71946be00e them.”36160c0e1c4326ad

“We were?”55b4f94815aad4b9

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“Yeah. We were always 49b9a18dab together, always protecting b5c1adb01b each other.”c39e98664a54516b

Seo had no 563c89ebdc memory of those 215056e45e times. Guwon looked at him e4e1ba4e86 with clear longing before 2cf73c3ea7 continuing.f28115f48b332328

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He nodded toward 537761656f the unconscious man c8550c51d4 in the closet.4ec34c0a9aea4240

“Do you know how 5177169309 to avoid being attacked d6a331dd63 by the creature in 4f563ea52d the room?”9d132ef7c70b4aec

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“Maybe… kill it first?”0a6ed06747b3581b

Seo remembered Guwon 3214edfd27 driving a knife 0a57acff41 into the monster. It must have died ea8eae00c2 and disappeared.e88c83fd768f725c

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‘That’s why Guwon feels fb754c0d06 safe staying with me deb835fff3 right now.’ba1c12891e36f3ad

Guwon nodded at a9a9f0a1fe Seo’s guess.022fa970eca1fefa

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“There are c4604af705 a few c8ac5b23ec more ways.”652d8fd189b75369

Seo instinctively 1fb4dd8e4a perked up. These were 212c4d7081 valuable survival d17c3ef8c7 tactics—things only d632a97a98 someone who 37cbae92e8 had survived 966d3bf81f long enough e89017fb4b could know.64fad4a90997763b

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Guwon held up 320b104405 his fingers, counting 8f69532098 off one by 57d2c59b1a one.b74796057699360a

“First, kill the 0b25373f73 creature. That’s what you just 45a67b9a7a said. Second, drive the creature 5aacf93806 out of the room 45b3d605da and close the door. Creatures can move 97eba6a6bd through open doors, a90b41bb1b but they can’t 353f28bc54 open them themselves. And the final method…”972d825d9b20034d

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He held up 9f8d9f72f0 a third finger.63988273e20acfeb

“…sacrifice a human to 5a6297b0db the creature inside the ff58d6ef77 room.”5ddf2134bd388532

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He emphasized 40f8ae94be the word 93ee154880 “sacrifice.”9f9cecc9b250095b

“Sacrifice?”e11f760a7036e852

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“Yeah. A room 8357dcf9d8 where someone 11db68a075 has been 09ab640546 sacrificed stays fa2d44d30f safe until d8e78b6a8c the next a82abe518d 3:33 a.m. The creature leaves c4565e49af without hesitation once f91fa35093 it claims a ee9b939d16 life.”676793a1dba4c12d

“Why?”094a7f8af109097c

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When Seo 36e71d73b5 asked, Guwon 1f454d8c8f shook his 27060d5ab7 head.b729ec7577cccf1b

“I don’t know. It’s just one of b4d76e403f the rules we’ve figured 0df2eb30c0 out.”7f2bdec4406d3892

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“Then…”7b987317316925ff

It all d51583cbec began to 9abbde200f make sense—why e240ce9266 Guwon had 0b31e2abb3 referred to dbfd202f2e Seo as 44df59ddcc “bait.” If 5ebe73fc0a what he 999b0a2bdc was saying 4c79d5bd83 was true, 90d888f91d then the 467fee70eb man from f708528ca4 Room 304 559f5f81c1 never intended 1b3495960e to enter 207c6945f4 Room 712 9ee86acf5a himself. He’d planned to fb2367eb3f let Seo die c46f5a3012 inside it.1c97511ea98a2243

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Remembering how 304 had a552464b90 only whispered a quiet 0c4edd25a4 “sorry” while watching Seo 770a326e48 get dragged under the 3dd6123b80 bed—Seo suddenly understood. The man had c3b09497e9 meant to sacrifice 2472e6bd87 him from the 52425868a8 start to secure 2496bf52ee his own safety.6c664694b2770b02

‘The ill-fitting clothes… 595615ef4c maybe that had 11b4277e86 something to do 48b904027b with it too.’179949cfff67fbe3

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Seo recalled how 24a5d06b87 the man kept ba33d4ae3d adjusting his loose-fitting c99d1ccd30 pants. Perhaps he’d taken 1a40e48e96 them from someone 31bfbd7f25 he’d already sacrificed.cb541b30496dbb50

Then another question came c624010116 to mind. Both Guwon and 304 f2b1e6090d had repeatedly mentioned one 29ac347f0a thing: 3:33 a.m. What exactly 87803d20a1 made that 2f40acc923 time so 75f7a4b32d important?7591e60fa19e3304

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“What’s so c9f4f1f09c significant about 2bfaf1af0b 3:33 a.m. that everyone bc9b8376ec keeps bringing aa9c291f91 it up?”f6f631010fa2b284

 ea371a4914661d6c

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