HM — Chapter 32

At Guwon’s retort, Seo sighed and brought over a towel. Even if he couldn’t remove the wooden splinters, he at least wanted him to stop the bleeding. Guwon, who had been back-talking just moments before, quietly accepted Seo’s kindness.

“…But I do like it when you take care of me. It makes me feel a little more special to you.”

“It’s natural to care when a teammate is injured.”

Seo took a step back, drawing a clear line. But Guwon, as he pressed the towel to his hand to stop the bleeding, wore a visibly pleased expression.

‘This is awkward.’

Every time he acted like this, Seo had no idea how to respond. Should he start another never-ending argument with Guwon and risk upsetting him again? Or should he just pretend not to notice and act like he accepted Guwon’s affection? Neither choice sat well with him.

He sighed and rolled the creature’s smashed head and body into a corner of the room. As he pushed it with his foot, the fluids smeared into dark, blood-like streaks across the floor. Guwon helped him as well.

After moving the corpse out of sight, they tore down the curtains and covered it. No matter how used they’d become to gruesome scenes, spending an entire day with a disgusting corpse in sight would test even the strongest stomach.

“I think that wraps up today’s tasks.”

Guwon stretched with a sense of satisfaction. Seo also let out a deep breath of relief, murmuring quietly.

“How long are we going to have to keep doing this?”

“Until the day we figure out how to escape the hotel?”

Not a wrong answer, but vague to the point of hopelessness.

“Will that day really come?”

Seo, feeling a little skeptical, sank into the couch. It had already been thirty-two days since he woke up in this hotel.

‘It’s been almost a month.’

One might say it had only been a month. But for Seo, that month had felt like thirty years. Every day was a fight for survival against unknown monsters, constantly haunted by the fear of whether he’d make it to the next day.

What tormented Seo most was the fact that this life had no end in sight. Even Guwon, right in front of him, had already been living this way for well over 700 days. More than two years had passed, and he still hadn’t found a way out.

“Someday, that day will come. Believe in it. Let’s get out of here together.”

Yet Guwon still encouraged him with a voice full of certainty. He was a man with an incredibly strong heart.

“You really are something…”

Just as Seo was about to say something to him—

Click!

The sound of a doorknob turning rang sharply in the room. A soft creak followed as the door opened.

It wasn’t a creature. That meant the one opening the door was a person.

Seo and Guwon jumped up from their seats and hurried toward the entrance. The room was small—just a few steps brought them right to the front.

“Who is—?”

And when they saw the unexpected face beyond the door, their eyes widened.

“1301?”

Guwon murmured his name. At the same time, the door gently closed behind the newcomer, and he recognized them too.

“…Mr. Guwon and Mr. Seo, was it?”

It was 1301, whom they had parted with about ten days ago. Judging by the state of his blood-soaked clothes, he must have gone through hell. And on 1301’s back was someone being carried.

The stumps where limbs should have been made it obvious—yet again, it was someone who had lost all four limbs. The person’s face was so mangled it was difficult to recognize who they were.

“How did this happen…?”

Seo trailed off, at a loss for words as he took in the horrific sight of 1301 and his companion. 1301, unaffected by the gaze, calmly explained the situation.

“We were fleeing from a creature.”

“Again?”

“That’s a fairly common occurrence in this hotel. Either you lose your life or barely survive.”

That was true. In this hotel, horrific injuries or death were nothing unusual. Seo glanced at the mangled figure slumped over 1301’s back. The face was a mess, but oddly familiar.

“This is 610. Unlucky again, this time.”

1301 said it with deep regret as he adjusted the limp 610 on his back. 610, wracked with pain, let out guttural, animal-like groans. Seo glanced at him again.

“…Come in. Spend the night with us.”

He stepped aside to let 1301 enter the room. But 1301 shook his head.

“No, the room seems small. We’ll move elsewhere.”

It was a life-or-death matter, but he said it as casually as one might decline offered food. Seo insisted again.

“You can’t leave like this, not with someone so injured.”

“Just the kindness you showed last time is more than enough. Anything beyond that is too much.”

1301 repeatedly shook his head and rejected Seo’s offer. Then, as if to end the discussion, he tried to open the door and leave.

Bang!

But at that moment, the door slammed shut with force. 1301 turned his head sharply in shock.

“What was that…?”

Seo had reached out and grabbed the doorknob, shutting the door with force. Caught off guard, 1301 stumbled back and let go of the handle. With that, 1301 had used up both of his chances to open the room door.

“I wouldn’t feel right letting you leave like this.”

1301 stared wide-eyed at Seo’s uncharacteristically rough action. Seo simply shook his head at him, as if to say this outcome was unavoidable.

“You’ll have to spend the night with us. That’s the only way I’ll feel at ease.”

Seo’s firm tone left 1301 unable to refuse any further. More accurately, until 3:33 a.m. came, there was no clear way for him to leave this room.

Unless Seo or Guwon opened the door, 1301 was stuck in the room. And at least for now, Seo didn’t look like he had any intention of opening it. Guwon didn’t seem too pleased with 1301’s presence, but since he didn’t object, it appeared he’d go along with Seo’s decision.

“…Then, I’ll accept your hospitality for the night.”

Only after things had gone this far did 1301 finally step into the room. Seo directed him to place the wounded 610 on the bed.

“Khhhhh… khh, khhh…”

610 groaned in pain, as if even the slightest touch caused agony. Seo frowned at the sight.

“Guwon. Do we have any painkillers among the meds?”

Helping 1301 lay 610 down, Seo looked back and asked. Guwon nodded.

“We do, but they’re not very strong. Probably not much use.”

His tone was skeptical. He seemed reluctant to waste their precious few pills. But Seo insisted, his tone more firm than usual.

“It’s better than nothing. Can you spare a few?”

“Well… if you insist. I guess it’s fine.”

Guwon searched his bag with a somewhat reluctant expression. Seo came over to help him find the medicine. As they whispered together and occasionally glanced at 610, it was clear they genuinely felt sorry for him.

“I really appreciate it, but… like Mr. Guwon said, I’m afraid we’re using up valuable emergency supplies.”

1301 waved his hands awkwardly. But Seo picked out the painkillers and stepped closer to the bed.

“I’ll give them to him myself.”

1301 quickly took the pills from him, saying he couldn’t let him do something like that.

“Will he be able to swallow them?”

At Seo’s question, 1301 placed the pills in his palm and hesitated for a moment. Then he looked around for a small piece of paper. He crushed the pills into a fine powder.

“This should do.”

He alternated pouring the powder and water into 610’s mouth. 610 coughed a bit, but soon quietly accepted the mixture.

Maybe it was the medication kicking in—or maybe the effort of taking it had worn him out—but 610 began to doze off, breathing heavily. Seo looked down at the now-calmer figure and let out a quiet sigh.

“At least he looks a little more comfortable now. That’s a relief.”

“Yes. Thank you, Mr. Seo.”

1301 wiped the sweat from his brow. He must have been extremely focused, worried that not a single grain of the precious medicine would go to waste.

“Please, have a seat.”

Seo offered him a chair. There were only two chairs in the room. Since he gave one to 1301, someone else would have to either stand or sit on the floor.

“Guwon, you take the chair. I’ll sit on the nightstand.”

Seo gave up the chairs to Guwon and 1301 and leaned against the nightstand beside the bed. The furniture was sturdy enough to hold his weight.

For a moment, silence filled the room. Last time, it had been Two Moles who led the conversation, but he wasn’t here now. Only 1301, 610, Guwon, and Seo were present.

This time, it was Seo who broke the silence. He asked the question that had been on his mind the most.

“Where is Mr. Two Moles?”

As soon as Seo asked, 1301’s face darkened, and he let out a long, heavy sigh.

“He… was lost.”

“Lost? What do you mean by that?”

It was an odd expression. Not ‘he died,’ but ‘was lost’? 1301 read Seo’s puzzled expression and continued explaining.

“You understand that we had a hard time dealing with a difficult creature today.”

1301 gestured to his own blood-soaked appearance and to 610, who was barely breathing on the bed. They clearly had fled after a brutal encounter. But Seo still asked in a tone of disbelief.

“What does that have to do with Mr. Two Moles?”

“Even 610 ended up like this. The situation was beyond what we could handle. So we pulled him out of the room and ran for quite a while. When I finally came to my senses, it was just me and 610 on my back. We were the only two left.”

“You mean…?”

“I don’t know. Maybe in the chaos, we got separated without realizing it. Or… maybe he abandoned us and ran ahead alone. I’d like to believe it wasn’t the latter.”

“Ghh… gghh…”

Amid 610’s muffled groans, 1301 murmured in a gloomy voice. There was a hint of betrayal in his tone. Seo couldn’t help but recall Mr. Two Moles’ past behavior.

‘If his life was at stake, that’s exactly the kind of person he might be.’

He knew just how much Mr. Two Moles valued his own survival. He’d tried to use Seo as bait, then latched onto Guwon in a pitiful attempt to survive. Even when he left Seo and Guwon to seek out other allies, it was all part of his survival instinct.

‘But still…’

Despite that, Seo remembered how Mr. Two Moles had behaved during the time they spent together. It felt like a stretch to call him a coward—he was more human than that.

Guwon, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke.

“When your life’s on the line, quickly assessing the situation and bolting isn’t the worst strategy.”

It sounded almost like he was defending Mr. Two Moles. 1301 looked slightly upset by the remark but said nothing.

“Let’s stop this conversation here.”

Seo stepped in to mediate, trying to ease the suddenly tense mood. He changed the subject—perhaps too abruptly.

“Mr. 1301, have you ever heard of a way to escape this place?”

It was a topic that anyone trapped in this hellish hotel would be interested in.

“If I knew that, do you think I’d still be stuck here like this?”