Chapter 2

“Morally speaking, we should leave the building to the youngest.”

Everything began with those words.

It was the final day of the funeral, when So-hee had barely managed to arrive in time after hearing the news of her grandfather’s death.

The unexpected words thrown at her made her wonder if she had heard correctly.

In other words…

“…Leave what to me?”

What exactly were they giving her?

“The building your grandfather left behind. We’re giving it to you.”

“What?”

Were they seriously talking about giving her a building as casually as someone handing over 100,000 won in pocket money?

So-hee frowned, unable to understand.

Meanwhile, somehow, all her relatives had gathered around her and taken their seats.

“Yes, you must be surprised. It was a difficult decision for us as well.”

“It’s a five-story motel. It’s a little deep in the countryside, but still, it’s a building.”

“To be honest, it would be a lie to say we aren’t a little disappointed ourselves. But who among us could be more deserving of some consideration than you?”

Deserving of consideration?

Wasn’t I the unwanted burden instead?

“Why…?”

The innocent question slipped out before she could stop herself.

She simply couldn’t understand why they were suddenly handing over an entire building to her when she had always been treated like an unwanted appendage.

“Why, you ask? Look at her.”

There was a hint of irritation in the youngest aunt’s voice as she snorted.

“What? You don’t want it?”

“Hey, now.”

The eldest uncle grabbed her arm as though trying to restrain her, but the youngest aunt casually shook him off.

“No, come on, Brother. Think about it. We’re giving her a building, and she asks, ‘Why?’ What kind of response is that? She should gratefully accept it instead of questioning us.”

At the sharp words, So-hee repeatedly brushed back the stray hairs sticking out from her head.

Her arm was trembling just from doing that.

She had wanted to finish work quickly and come here, but there had been an unusually large number of deliveries today, and apparently she had pushed herself too hard.

“So, why are you giving it to me…?”

“Look at this girl. She barely showed her face on the final day of the funeral, and now we’re supposed to explain to her why we’re asking her to accept a building? You’ve got to be affectionate with people for that kind of thing to be appropriate, but ever since she was little, she’s always had to question everything and pick at every little detail. No wonder people call you—”

“It was Grandfather’s dying wish.”

So-hee looked toward her eldest uncle when he interrupted the youngest aunt.

But the rest of the story still came from the youngest aunt’s mouth.

“Brother, you’re the same. He was barely in his right mind. We didn’t have to fulfill every single thing he said. I mean, seriously, he said to give it to one of his grandchildren, but why skip all of our children and—!”

“Enough.”

“Why?!”

Perhaps hurt by her brother’s intervention, the youngest aunt glared at him for a long moment before abruptly turning away and leaving.

The atmosphere instantly became icy.

The eldest aunt moved closer to So-hee and gently pressed herself against her.

“Regardless of anything else, we can’t exactly ignore the dying wishes of someone who has passed away, can we? Of course… he didn’t specifically name you, but your grandfather loved you so much.”

“……”

So-hee had no idea what she was supposed to say.

She simply stared at them in silence.

No matter how much her grandfather had loved her, there was almost no chance that an entire building would actually end up in her hands.

All of her older cousins would have had to give up their claims.

And yet they had all given up?

Why?

As So-hee stood there dazed, her relatives from her father’s side each added a few words.

“What we’re saying is, after losing your father and mother, you’ve had a hard time all by yourself. And financially, things must be difficult too…”

Someone finally brought up the death of So-hee’s parents, the second son and his wife, and the relatives gradually joined in.

“Exactly. Naturally, you should be the one to receive it. We have that much conscience.”

“You should live properly from now on. You don’t have anyone to rely on, so having a building, at least, will make things much easier. That way, we’ll feel better too.”

“I still remember how sad I was when you moved out immediately after graduating.”

So-hee gave an awkward smile at the unfamiliar attention of everyone gathered around her.

She could still vividly remember hearing her eldest aunt on the phone, saying how relieved she was that So-hee was finally an adult and had done everything she needed to do.

“So that’s what we all decided. For your sake.”

Her eldest aunt approached the awkwardly seated So-hee and took her hand firmly.

“Our So-hee is blessed, isn’t she?”

Blessed?

Standing in front of the motel, So-hee let out a disbelieving snort.

The motel she had finally managed to find after pushing through overgrown grass and climbing up the mountain was almost impossible to look at.

The gloomy gray paint had peeled off in patches all over the exterior.

Every window frame had an empty bird’s nest covered in droppings, and thick spiderwebs stretched across the entrance.

The rusty sign was bad enough, but even the letter M in the motel’s name had tilted sideways and looked ready to fall off at any moment.

“Ha… haha.”

Tears welled up in So-hee’s eyes as she stood there half dazed.

No wonder they were in such a hurry.

The moment the funeral proceedings ended, before her grief had even faded, inheritance documents had been prepared and placed in front of her.

“This is an opportunity that will never come twice.”

“Save your salary for as long as you want. How could you ever afford to buy a building?”

“Where else are you going to get a debt-free building for free?”

“Look, if you don’t have parents to take care of you, you need to have some money in your hands at least.”

Amid their relentless persuasion, So-hee had barely managed to collect her thoughts and answer.

“Still, I’d like to see what the building is actually like first. Maybe because it’s in the mountains, but it doesn’t even show up on Street View…”

Even though So-hee couldn’t bring herself to stamp the documents immediately, they had continued treating her with endless kindness.

“Street what? I have no idea what you’re talking about. And aren’t there lots of unmanned motels in the mountains these days?”

“…I suppose there are.”

At the slight stiffening of her eldest uncle’s expression, So-hee immediately lowered her voice.

Perhaps she looked ungrateful for nitpicking when everyone else had willingly given up the building for her.

Seeing her shrink back, her eldest uncle smiled with a pale, exhausted face.

“You must be overwhelmed by this situation too. You might even be more frightened than happy. Even if someone dropped a lump of gold in your lap, it would be overwhelming. And this is an entire building. You must be wondering whether you should really accept it and whether there might be some hidden problem. …If your second uncle were still alive, you wouldn’t have had to go through all this.”

At the trembling voice of her eldest uncle as he gazed toward the distant mountains, So-hee bit down hard on her tongue.

In the end, it was his final, sincere words that shook her heart.

“Don’t doubt it. You can accept it. Think of it as your father’s brothers fulfilling their responsibility toward you.”

As though she had made up her mind, So-hee stamped the documents.

Despite all the worrying she had done, the inheritance procedure ended surprisingly quickly after just a few stamps.

“Thank you.”

So-hee bowed deeply.

She was grateful that they cared enough to look after their brother’s child, and she could tell that giving up their claims had not been easy for them.

As they had said, there were quite a few motels in the mountains these days.

Maybe Street View simply hadn’t been updated yet.

There was also a copy of the building’s registry, and it had no debts whatsoever.

What could possibly go wrong?

But all those expressions and words had been fabricated?

Everything they had said while worrying about her—even bringing up their deceased brother?

Was all of it a lie?

We gave you a building, so we’ve done everything we can.

You’re on your own now. Take care of yourself.

That was all she received in response to the numerous calls she made.

A short message.

Was this why they had refused to give up the inheritance and instead transferred it to her?

Perhaps they thought cutting ties with her completely would make them look cruel, so they gave her a worthless motel and convinced themselves they had done their duty.

Without realizing it, So-hee clenched her fists.

The real-estate document envelope in her hand crumpled loudly.

Inside were even tax documents requiring her to pay an enormous amount of money—far more than she could afford.

“You must make the payment before the deadline.”

Even while tears of bitterness rolled down her cheeks, this was precisely why she had climbed the mountain to find the motel.

She would sell it as quickly as possible before it cost her any more money.

That was the solution So-hee had come up with.

But now, standing face-to-face with a motel that was practically a condemned building, even that final thread of hope had been destroyed.

“…I’m screwed.”

Whoosh—

So-hee had climbed the mountain while focusing solely on the motel.

Only when she heard the eerie sound of the wind did she finally snap back to reality.

She glanced around uneasily.

The mountain was thick with trees and weeds, yet she couldn’t even hear the ordinary chirping of birds.

The dilapidated motel standing all alone in such a place gave off an almost bizarre feeling.

What… what is this? This feels creepy.

So-hee hunched her shoulders at the sudden chill.

Now that she had come to her senses and was facing reality, goosebumps spread across her skin.

The sun had already begun to disappear beyond the mountain, and the motel’s dark shadow stretched long across the ground.

…I should at least take some pictures.

Someone might be willing to completely renovate this motel and use it.

Clinging to that faint thread of hope, So-hee took out her phone.

She quickly began photographing the exterior.

Click. Click. Click.

After hurriedly taking pictures of the outside, she stood at the motel entrance.

The building was clearly ancient. Even the handle of the double doors was covered in rust.

I’ll only look at the first floor and the counter.

That was as far as she could force herself to go.

Maybe I’ll get lucky and manage to sell it.

But am I really going to let myself be scared by this?

Do you know how much tax I’ll have to pay from now on?!

So-hee mentally steeled herself and straightened her shoulders.

Then she opened her eyes wide, glared at the motel, and pushed the door with all her strength.

Creeeeeeak.

So-hee froze again at the spine-chilling sound.

She let out a shaky breath and barely managed to take one step inside.

The thin layer of dirt and sand covering the floor scraped unpleasantly against the soles of her shoes.

Then silence descended once more.

“Phew.”

She took another deep breath.

Just as she was about to take another step—

“So So-hee.”

“……!”

So-hee whipped her head around.

Her name had suddenly been called from somewhere inside the motel.

The mountain was already dark.

There was clearly no one around.

This was a place where no one could possibly be—

and where no one should be.

Cold sweat instantly ran down her spine, and her vision went dark.

Her entire body had become extremely sensitive, reacting to even the slightest brush against a single hair.