Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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

Everything began with those words.

It was the final day of her grandfather’s funeral.

Sohee had barely managed to arrive in time, and the sudden words thrown at her made her wonder if she had heard correctly.

So...

“…Give me what?”

What exactly were they giving her?

“One of the buildings Grandpa left behind. We’re giving it to you.”

“What?”

Were they really talking about handing over an entire building as casually as if they were giving her a hundred thousand won in spending money?

Sohee frowned, unable to understand.

At some point, all her relatives had gathered around her and taken seats.

“Yes, you must be surprised. It wasn’t an easy decision for us either.”

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

“Honestly, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t disappointed. But who here has had it the hardest?”

Had it the hardest?

Hadn’t she always been more like a thorn in their side?

“Why… me?”

The innocent question slipped out before she realized it.

She simply couldn’t understand why they would suddenly hand over an entire building to someone they had always treated like an unwanted burden.

“Why? Listen to this girl.”

Her youngest aunt let out a short snort, irritation creeping into her voice.

“What? You don’t want it?”

“Enough.”

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

“No, Oppa. I’m right. We’re giving her a building, and she asks, ‘Why?’ What kind of response is that? She should just bow her head and say thank you.”

At the sharp words, Sohee awkwardly tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear again and again.

Even that small movement made her arm tremble.

She had tried to finish work early and come here, but there had been unusually many deliveries today, and she seemed to have overworked herself.

“I just meant, why would you give it to me…”

“See? You barely showed your face on the last day of the funeral, and now we even have to explain why we’re asking you to accept a building? You should’ve tried being more affectionate with us, but ever since you were little, you always had to question every single thing. That’s why people say you’re so unlikeable—”

“It was Grandpa’s will.”

The voice cutting off her youngest aunt made Sohee look toward her eldest uncle.

But the explanation that followed still came from the youngest aunt.

“Oppa, you too. He wasn’t even fully in his right mind anymore. We didn’t have to obey every word he said. And to be blunt, he said to give it to one of his grandchildren, so why are all of our children being skipped over…?!”

“Enough.”

“Why?!”

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

The atmosphere instantly turned cold.

Her eldest aunt moved closer to Sohee.

“Even if we ignore everything else, we can’t ignore the last wishes of someone who passed away, can we? Of course… he didn’t specifically point at you, but you know how much your grandfather adored you.”

“……”

Sohee didn’t know what to say.

She simply stared at them in silence.

No matter how fond Grandpa had been of her, the chances of that building actually reaching her were almost nonexistent.

Every one of her older cousins would have needed to give up their claim.

But everyone had given it up?

Why?

As Sohee sat there blankly, her relatives from her father’s side began adding their own explanations.

“What we mean is… after your father and mother passed away like that, you’ve suffered emotionally all on your own, and financially things must have been difficult too…”

Someone cautiously brought up the death of Sohee’s parents, the second son and his wife, and one by one, the others began joining in.

“That’s right. Of course you should receive it. We have at least that much conscience.”

“You should live properly now. You don’t have anyone to rely on, so owning a building will make your life much easier. That way, we’ll feel better too.”

“And you moved out the moment you graduated. Do you know how sad that made us?”

Receiving everyone’s attention like this for the first time, Sohee gave an awkward smile.

She could still vividly remember overhearing her eldest aunt on the phone, sounding relieved as she said that Sohee was an adult now and they had finally fulfilled their responsibilities.

“So we all made this decision together. For your sake.”

Her eldest aunt approached Sohee, who sat there awkwardly, and tightly held her hand.

“Our Sohee is so lucky. Isn’t she?”

Lucky?

Standing in front of the motel, Sohee let out a disbelieving snort.

She had pushed through tall, overgrown grass and climbed the mountain until she finally found the motel.

And the sight of it was almost painful to look at.

The dull gray paint on the outside had peeled away in patches.

Empty bird nests filled the window frames, with dried droppings caked all around them.

Thick spiderwebs stretched across the entrance.

The sign was completely rusted, and even the letter M in the word Motel hung crookedly, looking ready to fall off at any moment.

“Ha… haha.”

Tears gathered around Sohee’s eyes as she stood there half-dazed.

No wonder they had been in such a hurry.

They had practically been desperate to give this building away.

Before she even had time to properly mourn, the funeral procedures had ended, and inheritance papers had already been placed in front of her.

“You’ll never get another opportunity like this.”

“Save up your salary your whole life. Do you think you’d ever be able to buy a building?”

“Where else would you get a building with no debt for free?”

“To put it bluntly, if you don’t have parents to look after you, then at least you should hold tightly onto some money.”

Surrounded by relatives urging her from every direction, Sohee had barely managed to keep her head straight and answer them.

“Still, I’d like to see what kind of building it is first. Maybe because it’s in the mountains, but even the road view doesn’t show it…”

Even though she still hesitated to stamp the papers, they remained endlessly kind toward her.

“Road what? I have no idea what you’re talking about. And aren’t there plenty of unmanned motels in mountain areas these days?”

“…I suppose so.”

Seeing her eldest uncle’s expression stiffen slightly, Sohee’s voice quickly grew smaller.

Would she look ungrateful if she kept nitpicking over every little detail while everyone else was giving up the building for her?

As she shrank into herself, her eldest uncle gave her a smile with his gaunt face.

“This all happened so suddenly, so you must be confused too. Maybe you feel scared rather than happy. Even if a lump of gold suddenly dropped into your lap, you’d feel that way, let alone an entire building. You’re probably wondering whether it’s really okay to accept it, or whether something might go wrong… If only my second brother were still alive, you wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.”

His trembling voice as he looked toward the distant mountains made Sohee bite down hard on her tongue.

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

“Don’t be suspicious. Just accept it. Think of it as the responsibility we feel as your father’s siblings.”

As though she had finally made up her mind, Sohee stamped the documents.

For something she had worried about so much, the paperwork ended surprisingly easily after only a few seals.

“Thank you.”

Sohee bowed deeply.

She was grateful that they cared enough to look after their deceased brother’s daughter.

She thought she could understand how difficult it must have been for them to give something like this up.

Just as they had said, there were plenty of motels in the mountains.

Maybe the road view simply hadn’t been updated yet.

There was even an official copy of the property registration, and the building had no debt attached to it whatsoever.

So what could possibly go wrong?

But...

Had all of those expressions and words been fake?

They had spoken about their dead brother while pretending to worry about her.

Was every bit of it really an act?

—We gave you a building, so we’ve done everything we needed to do. From now on, take care of yourself.

That short message was the only response she received after calling them again and again.

Was this why they had deliberately transferred it to her instead of simply giving up the inheritance?

Because cutting ties with her empty-handed would make them feel guilty, so they dumped a useless motel onto her and convinced themselves they had fulfilled their responsibility?

Without realizing it, Sohee clenched her fist tightly.

The envelope of real estate documents in her hand crumpled with a harsh crunch.

Inside it were tax-related documents listing an amount far too large for Sohee to comfortably handle.

“You must make the payment before the deadline.”

Even while tears of frustration fell from her eyes, this was the reason she had climbed the mountain and searched for the motel until the very end.

She would sell it before it cost her even more money.

That was the solution Sohee had come up with.

But now, faced with a motel that was practically an abandoned building, even that final hope had shattered.

“…I’m screwed.”

Whoooosh—

Sohee, who had climbed the mountain with her eyes fixed only on finding the motel, finally snapped back to her senses at the eerie sound of the wind.

She instinctively glanced around.

She was deep in a mountain covered with thick trees and grass.

Not even the common sound of birds could be heard.

The old motel standing all alone in a place like this gave off an unsettling atmosphere.

W-What is this? This feels horrible.

A sudden chill made Sohee shrink into herself.

Now that she had regained her senses and properly looked at reality, goosebumps rose all across her skin.

The sun was already beginning to disappear beyond the mountain.

The motel’s dark shadow stretched long across the ground.

…For now, I should at least take some pictures. Someone might want to buy this place and completely renovate it.

Clinging to that tiny thread of hope, Sohee raised her phone.

She quickly began by photographing the outside.

Click.

Click.

Click.

After hurriedly taking pictures of the exterior, she stood in front of the motel entrance.

The place seemed so old that even the handle of the hinged door had rusted.

I’m only going to check the first floor and the front desk.

That was as far as the courage she had managed to gather would take her.

I might get lucky and actually sell this place. And I’m scared of something like this?

Just how much tax was she going to have to pay?!

Sohee gave herself a mental battle cry and straightened her shoulders.

Then she widened her eyes, glared at the motel, and forcefully pushed open the door.

Creeeeak.

The skin-crawling sound made Sohee freeze all over again.

She let out a shaky breath and finally 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 settled over the building once more.

“Phew.”

Sohee drew in another deep breath.

Just as she was about to take another step—

“So Sohee.”

“……!”

Sohee whipped her head around.

The mountain was already dark.

This motel was clearly empty.

No one should have been here.

And yet...

She had suddenly heard someone call her name.

A place where no one could possibly be.

A place where no one should be.

Cold sweat instantly poured down her back, and her vision seemed to darken.

Her entire body became so sensitive that even the faintest brush against a single strand of hair would have made her react.