Chapter 16: Wine Bar (1)

[16. Employees of Ellis Hotel cannot tell lies. Since we welcome our guests with sincere hearts, please enjoy our hotel’s facilities at ease.]

The unfamiliar voice came from the bar counter.

It was a lilting woman’s voice, high-pitched and faintly coquettish.

As everyone’s gaze swept the room at roughly eye level, searching for the speaker, only Su-myeon looked slightly lower.

“Hello.”

At Su-myeon’s calm greeting, the others followed his gaze downward.

“Hup....”

Startled, Ha-min clapped a hand over his mouth.

There, resting on a tray, was a severed head.

And it was speaking.

“Welcome. Is this your first visit to Ellis Hotel?”

Its tone was extraordinarily gentle and kind.

The talking head belonged to a strikingly beautiful woman with red hair twisted tightly into an elegant updo and vivid blue eyes.

Her eyes, which slowly swept across the group, were framed by heavy makeup.

The head even smiled brightly before its gaze finally settled on Su-myeon.

“You over there....”

Astonishingly, even a severed head could tilt itself to one side.

“Mm, I see.”

What exactly does she see?

Su-myeon was about to ask, since she was acting as though she knew something about him, but the head continued before he had the chance.

“Would you like to have a drink first? Do you have any vouchers remaining?”

It was an entirely appropriate suggestion for a Wine Bar.

“If not, you may also pay with something else.”

Ho ho.

The woman laughed, and from the darkness behind her head emerged a body that appeared to belong to her.

Clad in a vivid red party dress, the figure leaned forward against the bar in a deliberately seductive pose.

Unfortunately, it was difficult to find the sight alluring when its head had been cut off.

The severed neck exposed pale bone and thick blood vessels that still visibly pulsed.

The cross-section was unnaturally smooth, as though it had been sliced through with a single stroke, so vivid that it looked more like an elaborate horror-movie prop than something real.

“It is rude to stare so intently at a lady’s body, little gentleman.”

Ha-min must have been staring at the severed neck without realizing it, because the woman promptly scolded him.

Despite the sheer absurdity of the situation, the innocent high school student immediately backed away and apologized.

“Ah, yes. I’m... I’m sorry.”

“Little ones should have juice instead. This is on the house.”

The woman’s body straightened from where it had been leaning against the bar, then reached skillfully into the darkness, retrieved something, and poured it into a glass.

A fresh, familiar scent drifted through the air.

Orange juice.

......Is that really juice?

Seeing Ha-min hesitate, Su-myeon gave him a small nod to indicate that it was safe.

Only then did Ha-min raise the glass and drink.

“Are you the... owner of this bar?”

Once the atmosphere had eased slightly, Han-su carefully chose his first question.

“I am not the owner, but an employee.”

The woman’s body tapped the name tag pinned to its chest.

[Manager, Red Queen]

“And all of you? Are you not having anything to drink?”

Her continued kindness only deepened the sense of dissonance.

Su-myeon already knew that the Red Queen was the one in charge of this bar.

Having prepared himself in advance, he took over the conversation while the others remained too unsettled to speak.

“For now, one of my companions is exhausted after swimming. May we rest here for a while? We may dirty the carpet or chairs.”

“Ah, that is perfectly fine. Please do not worry and rest comfortably. Would you like some water?”

“I would appreciate that. Mr. Han-su, I think you can put Mr. Young-cheol down now.”

At Su-myeon’s words, Han-su finally lowered Young-cheol from his back.

Now that they had been explicitly given permission to dirty the place, Young-cheol seemed relieved and simply collapsed onto the floor with a pained groan.

Watching him lie there, the Red Queen smiled pleasantly.

“Our pool is cleaned with a high concentration of hydrochloric acid, so we pride ourselves on maintaining exceptionally clean water quality. Were you satisfied?”

Having finally learned the truth behind the phrase “water quality management,” the group had to work hard to keep their expressions under control.

After giving the Red Queen a polite answer, Su-myeon turned to Young-cheol.

“Do you need bandages?”

“...Yes. By any chance... could I see what you have? Of, of course, I’ll ask permission before using anything.”

Su-myeon simply handed him the entire backpack of supplies.

He had already stored every item he considered important in the Heartphone’s Inventory, after all.

Young-cheol, who had no way of knowing that, stared at Su-myeon for a moment as though deeply moved by the gesture.

Then, with tears in his eyes, he accepted the bag and began selecting what he needed from the painkillers, disinfectant, and assorted emergency supplies packed inside.

Since he was a doctor, they could safely leave his treatment to him.

While Su-myeon helped Young-cheol settle in, Ju-hee attempted to speak with the Red Queen.

“If you’re an employee... then those clowns downstairs and the other things are also... employees like you?”

“Oh my, they are a little different.”

The Red Queen, who had been recommending a drink to Han-su as well, gave Ju-hee a wink.

“I would be a little hurt if you placed me on the same level as small fry like the Trump Cards.”

Even at a glance, she did seem to possess a completely different kind of presence.

Despite her extraordinarily courteous manner, an invisible weight seemed to press down on everyone’s bodies.

When it became obvious that no one could come up with a particularly productive topic of conversation, Su-myeon eventually approached the bar again.

“I’ll pay for everything.”

He took out the voucher on his Heartphone and showed it to her.

The Red Queen smiled brightly.

“Yes, please do. If you need anything besides drinks, just tell me and I will propose a price.”

It was not some grotesque grin stretching impossibly across her face.

It was simply a genuinely pleasant smile.

Perhaps that was exactly why it was so mentally exhausting.

Still, Su-myeon intended to get as much as he could from the Wine Bar.

This was their final place to rest.

Barely keeping his expression composed, he asked calmly,

“Do you have anything that could take the edge off our hunger?”

“I will prepare club sandwiches for you. Please wait a moment. Ah, does anyone have any allergies?”

The Red Queen looked around the group once more.

Avoiding her gaze, Ha-min cautiously answered,

“No....”

“Wonderful. Then please wait just a moment.”

Still smiling kindly, the Red Queen picked up her own head and carried it into the darkness.

Everyone did their best to ignore the streak of red fluid left behind where it had been resting.

Ju-hee, who had finally managed to catch her breath, hurriedly whispered,

“This place is... safe, right?”

“Shh.”

But the entire Wine Bar was effectively the Red Queen’s domain.

Su-myeon silenced her, warning her to be careful about what she said.

Meanwhile, the Red Queen quickly prepared the food and drinks, returned, and placed her head back on the bar counter.

“The drinks are iced Americanos. That is all right, yes? Here. There is water as well.”

“Yes, ...thank you.”

For now, Su-myeon brought some water and a sandwich over to Young-cheol.

San-hyeok’s group had definitely taken plenty of food with them too.

Even if they had lost their supplies when the bag was abandoned in the Kids Club, they should have had more than enough until then.

And yet Young-cheol devoured the food as though he had not been given a single bite.

Eating next to a talking severed head would normally have been unbearable.

But he was in no condition to care about such things.

“By any chance, since you said there were many guests today, did a blond-haired guest come through as well? His name is Ki San-hyeok.”

“Oh. Of course. Is he someone you know? He paid quite a considerable price before leaving.”

The Red Queen winked as she spoke.

Su-myeon’s expression stiffened.

The rest of the group, having grown somewhat accustomed to the oppressive atmosphere and realized that the Red Queen was at least behaving amicably toward them, began murmuring among themselves.

“Paid?”

“At most, the vouchers only charge one hundred thousand won per day....”

“What on earth did he use to pay such a large price?”

Amid their confused reactions, only Su-myeon went pale and covered his mouth.

There was another way to pay.

“He allowed me to hire new employees. Ah, shall I have them greet you?”

Before anyone could stop her, the Red Queen clapped her hands.

Then figures emerged from the darkness.

Each looked exactly like the Red Queen in one horrifying respect.

They carried their own severed heads on trays.

“Sa...... save me.”

“Ta, take me too.... Me too.......”

“Ugh...... uuuuugh... hnngh....”

“WelcomeToEllisHotelWelcomeWelcomeWelcomeGoBackWelcome”

There were four grown men.

“Ho ho, oh my. Their employee training has not finished yet, so I ask for a little understanding on that point.”

As the Red Queen laughed in mild embarrassment, the four figures came closer and closer to the illuminated bar counter.

Everyone froze rigid with tension.

Then the “new employees” stepped close enough for their faces to become recognizable.

“Aaagh!”

This time, even Ju-hee could not hold back.

She screamed and stumbled away.

They were four of the men who had followed San-hyeok.

Members of his group.

***

Damn it.

Min-su cursed inwardly.

Following Ki San-hyeok and becoming one of his lackeys had been the worst decision he had ever made.

He had only realized it now, when it was already far too late.

“Hey, they said we can get out if we go up just three more floors. Stop looking like you’re about to die.”

As San-hyeok spoke, he held a revolver in one hand.

He kept spinning its cylinder.

Click.

Click.

The sound felt like a threat.

Min-su’s nerves frayed a little more with every turn.

“Isn’t it kind of a shame?”

One gun.

Twenty bullets.

And a stun gun.

To arm himself with those three things, San-hyeok had sacrificed four human lives.

Handing people over to a deranged monster without the slightest hesitation was something Min-su simply could not comprehend within the bounds of ordinary human reason.

“Ah, I wonder if those bastards following us are dead yet. That arrogant bastard....”

San-hyeok giggled as he complained that it was a shame he had not been able to watch that bastard get torn apart and die.

But was he really dead?

Wasn’t he still following them?

Min-su could not stop thinking about it.

“Tsk. I should’ve brought one more person with us. Walking around with just the two of us is no fun. Right?”

The reason Ki San-hyeok had handed as many as four people over to the Red Queen was absurd.

They had been too loud.

They had tried too hard.

And yet now, hearing him complain about being bored because too few people remained, Min-su could barely keep his expression under control.

“Answer me.”

“Uh, uh.... Yeah. You’re right.”

Even so, Min-su had no choice but to give him the answer he wanted.

Because he did not want to die.

Because somehow, no matter what it took, he wanted to survive and escape this place.

“Who’s going to believe us when we get out? Ah, right. Hey, should we make a movie out of this?”

“Y-yeah.... I think it would do well if you made one....”

No matter how humiliating it was, there was nothing else Min-su could do.

He had survived precisely because San-hyeok enjoyed watching him grovel and curry favor.

The people who had stepped forward too eagerly and acted like devoted retainers had instead been offered to the Red Queen.

“People pretend otherwise, but everyone actually has a sadistic side, don’t they?”

San-hyeok looked at Min-su, who was trembling yet still desperately trying to please him, and rambled on with a satisfied expression.

“Let’s just be honest like me. Everyone wants to watch other people suffer and crawl through the dirt. Pointlessly peaceful stuff is boring. That’s why nobody watches it.”

That was the problem with Ki San-hyeok.

At first glance, what he said could almost sound convincing.

Letting himself be taken in by that and following him this far had been, Min-su now realized, the greatest mistake of his life.

“......Everything you say is right.”

Even so, that was all he could say now.

Please.

Someone save even someone like me.

As he desperately wished to escape this damned hell as soon as possible—

“You’re right.”

Min-su hunched his shoulders.