110 – Dongmin Lee (45)
Min Lee (45)
“… It doesn’t have to be a nice place like this.”
PD Ban’s car stopped at a motel parking lot in Yeoksam-dong, and I muttered awkwardly as I got off.
From the front, I could see the building of the Burette Hotel surrounded by brick-shaped outer walls and a square entrance.
“Because I’m going to sleep for a day anyway.”
There is no money in hand right now.
But it only takes one day.
That is enough to investigate Haerin’s whereabouts, understand her intentions, and prove the mystery surrounding the laptop.
I had a plan.
I just needed time and space to do that.
That’s why I asked for the accommodation fee.
Thankfully, PD-nim readily agreed to lend me money, and even took me to the store.
“…A hotel.”
I said scratching my head.
While reading the English written in white on the pitch-black signboard, I noticed PD-nim.
“Wouldn’t it be expensive if it were a hotel?”
I definitely said ‘motel’ would be enough.
Ban PD-nim, wearing coffee-colored stockings, a black skirt suit, and low heels, got out of the driver’s seat and put his feet on the ground.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s good, but you have to take it. By the way… It’s called a hotel, but it’s not that big… Isn’t it?”
“……”
Her gaze, like mine, was directed toward the sign.
Her gaze soon fell to the entrance of the motel, which looked like a monster’s mouth, and she immediately swallowed her saliva.
“So, then… Shall we go?”
The PD-nim spoke loudly, which didn’t suit him, and he vigorously led the way, but ended up with a twist.
“Hassuk.”
“…Are you okay?”
“… Gwa, it’s okay. Let’s go… Author.”
I followed her.
Definitely using the name ‘hotel’, but it was not the kind of hotel you would find in the city.
And the price wasn’t that expensive either.
“… Uh, which room… Would you like to use?”
The PD at the counter asked me.
I was a little nervous because of the dim lighting, but I felt that she was more anxious and trembling than before.
I didn’t think that this person who was probably older than me and had a lot of social life hadn’t been to a lodging establishment, but I had a disrespectful suspicion.
… If you are visiting for the first time.
I read the coated paper on the counter that said .
“I think the standard will suffice.”
I said.
I heard that motels are used for such and such purposes, but I didn’t come here specifically for that purpose, and I’m not obsessed with moods.
Today’s purpose was only to stay.
Clean up your mind while resting.
“Joe, please use a nice room.”
“… It’s okay. Please make it standard.”
After accepting the PD’s grateful offer several times, I chose the cheapest room.
Ban PD-nim paid with a credit card.
I never thought I’d come to a place like this, but I had too many worries to think about such a thing.
“Would you like to go?”
I turned my head at the sudden voice.
Ban PD-nim said to me holding the key with a face that was a little different from usual.
I was about to hand it over, but she jerked around like a robot and walked forward.
“… PD?”
Looks like he didn’t hear me.
“Kheung.”
I heard the counter staff laugh.
“……”
I chased after PD-nim at a fast pace.
“PD? You can give me the key.”
“Yes?”
“…Give me the key. You don’t have to follow me to the room. You must be busy.”
“Oh?”
The PD stopped right in the middle of the hallway and put on a bewildered expression as if he finally understood something after hearing my words.
“Ah… that’s right.”
Then, for some reason, her face turned red in an instant, and she handed her the key and walked away.
“Joe, have a good night-!”
“Yes, persimmon…”
But she’s already gone from my sight.
I felt kind of tired.
I went up the carpeted stone steps.
It’s neat, but not that big.
Certainly, there aren’t many staff to call it a ‘hotel’, and it’s like what comes to mind when you think of a motel.
Suddenly, I had a reasonable suspicion that this place was a hotel in name only, but in fact it was a motel.
Looking back at PD-nim’s reaction, she didn’t know if this place was a hotel or a motel, and she didn’t even have the time to think about it.
“………”
I opened the door to the room.
I saw two sofas with inclined backs and a round table, and when I looked to the right, there was a large bed.
When I went inside, there was another bed.
The size was different.
The overall interior of the room was achromatic.
A plain gray wall and a brick wall.
The floor looked like marble, but it didn’t look like real marble, and the lighting wasn’t very bright.
A full-length mirror and desk were side by side in front.
I sighed as I placed my red wine-colored laptop on the small white and black desk.
It’s quiet.
Now is the time to reveal the truth.
Looking at my phone, it’s still far from midnight.
From noble mtl dot com
‘If my hunch is right…’
I wiped my face.
First I need to take a shower.
Because I have to spend the day here anyway.
There was a text message from Haerin.
[I’ll explain everything.]
“……”
I left a message for my older sister while trying to cover my phone.
[Sister, talk to me. I’m out of Harin’s house right now. If you see this, please reply.]
I have been conflicted between Haerin and my sister.
The two are confronting each other.
That meant that if one person was ‘evil’, the other would be ‘good’.
Until now, I thought that Haerin was trying to protect me, and that her sister had her nefarious intentions and was trying to keep her away from me-
If this is the case, you should give your sister a chance.
Her intention is to protect me anyway.
She has known me for a long time.
Aren’t you at least worth listening to?
Anyway, Haerin had a plan I didn’t know about, and she tried to limit my actions.
It was my misunderstanding.
If you follow the contents of the novel I wrote, Harin’s obsession reaches its peak right before she kills me, so she confines me underground and uses force.
‘Honey, do you like me?’
Her eyes shine ominously.
If you neglect it-
The space connected to the underground torture chamber.
It doesn’t look much different from a normal family home, but underneath it is a place where terrible screams resonate.
There, I will be writing for the rest of my life.
I was almost fooled when I saw that Haerin didn’t seem to be attached to me on the outside and let go of me, and that even after she knew ‘the whole truth’, she was devoted.
But it was only in a different way, she was still strangling me little by little.
Not only controlling sleep patterns, but also looking at the obsession with shared schedules.
Didn’t she casually put a wiretapping device and CCTV on me at the hospital?
Scared to know the identity of the tea I drink every day before bed, she called me.
Is that really a coincidence?
I don’t know why I didn’t doubt that.
Maybe she was watching me.
‘Tell them to come home.’
That must have been the reason why I insisted on having the meeting with the class PD at my house instead of at another cafe.
She wasn’t obsessive.
Trying to tame me in a different way.
As time progresses little by little in this way, I will become her property without realizing it.
I was appalled and checked my belongings.
Yes, I only had the laptop I brought with me.
I looked at it nervously.
There are still a few hours until midnight.
What if Haerin came here?
What if there is even a GPS attached to it?
I called the counter and told them not to let anyone in, then took off my clothes.
I looked everywhere, but there were no mechanical devices in my thick coat, underwear, or inner pockets.
I went to the shower room.
The elongated and wide structure gave off a modern atmosphere, and the lighting was white from top to bottom.
However, unable to afford any more sentimentality, I washed my hair and went into the bathtub to lie down.
I dried my hair and took water from the refrigerator.
I lay down on the bed.
There was a reply from my sister.
[Are you sure?]
“………”
[If you’re sure, my sister will come find you. Need help?]
At times like this, you reply quickly.
Even though I was annoyed, I thought it was fortunate.
If I could share this situation with someone other than myself and hear an explanation, it would be my sister.
The problem is that Haerin also received a text message.
[Idami-san, aren’t you meeting?]
[Remember. Third strike condition.]
“……”
A chill ran through his body.
Although there was an air conditioner attached to my head, it is not working as it is in the middle of winter.
“… Let’s not meet now.”
The alarm system inside me activated.
I don’t think it’s going to be a big deal just by meeting my older sister, but the risk is still high.
Considering Haerin’s transcendent ability and influence on this worldview, now that 『Journal』 Is gnawing at reality is the worst situation for me.
The end of a character who defies the main character.
Isn’t that obvious?
But that doesn’t mean you have to give in.
After thinking about it, I texted my sister.
[Not yet. See you in two or three days.]
[Why? Don’t you need help?!]
My sister’s reply arrived almost seconds later.
[Not yet.]
I replied.
At least until he confirmed Haerin’s malice and found out that the ‘premise’ of all of this was wrong.
I called Ban PD.
The first thing is to find out the original file.
But she didn’t answer the phone.
“………”
Aren’t you back at work yet?
I felt uneasy.
Several hours have passed since I came here, so it’s still time for the PD to return.
… There must be another meeting.
She didn’t seem to be pressing for anything, so I left a text message for her and then replied to my sister.
[By the way, can you lend me some money?]
I think I’ll have to hold out for a few more days here.
At least two days.
Today’s midnight was the most important day.
My sister readily remitted 200,000 won.
I should be able to last two or three days at the motel now.
I lay down on the bed.
You have to wake up exactly at midnight.
No, 10 minutes ago would have been better.
I set the alarm and closed my eyes.
#
There is no Debussy, no Vivaldi, no Bach.
It’s not even 8 am.
11:50 P.M.
I stood in front of a wine-red laptop.
It was quiet.