These days, whether rich or poor,

people eat almost the same things and live similarly.

Even ordinary folks eat fried chicken at least once a month,

and even wealthy individuals rarely go without instant noodles.

 

While it's probably no big deal for the wealthy,

it's fascinating to me how well the average person eats and lives.

I'm not sure if it's because everyone's living well,

due to social media's influence on vanity,

or if it's just me being poor. 

 

Thanks to this, the food delivery industry is thriving,

as both the rich and the ordinary use QuickEats apps.

Just looking at this situation alone makes it clear.

Ordering a salad for delivery from a 5-star hotel,

and even from a penthouse suite!

The person who ordered this must have been a truly unpretentious individual.

Or maybe not even a person, but a goat.

 

"Shoot... "

The rain continued to fall.

I was still wearing damp clothes and a raincoat, making my way to AAB1 Hotel.

"Peekaboo!"

"Huh?"

A message had arrived on the QuickEats app.

"Hello Bedal, QuickEats Customer Service here. For this delivery, please do not climb the wall with it. Kindly enter through the main entrance of the hotel and place the order in front of the penthouse door. The customer is a very important guest visiting Chungdong City. Please handle with extra care."

"Seriously..."

My temperature shot up.

I had never received a message like this before, and they were telling me to go through the main entrance!

Important guest or not, why should I care?

This delivery is going to take a long while, it seems.

 

I arrived at the main entrance of AAB1 Hotel.

A valet parking attendant in a red vest was staring at me intently by the entrance.

Well, it was quite amusing even to me – wearing a raincoat with raindrops dripping off it and holding a salad in one hand.

The valet attendant asked me, "Did you come for a delivery?"

"Yes, it’s the order from the penthouse upstairs."

"The penthouse? There's no reason to have a delivery up there. Just a moment."

The attendant took out his phone and made a call somewhere.

"Hello, sir? Yes... yes. It seems that person did order a delivery. I will wait."

After hanging up, the attendant spoke to me.

"Yes, please take off your raincoat. Inside, you can take the large elevator on the left and go up to the top floor. There's only one suite on the top floor, so you'll know right away. Just place the order in front of the door and come back."

"Or you can deliver it for me. Right, Mr. Attendant?"

"..."

"...I'm kidding, just kidding."

 

After taking off my raincoat, I went indoors.

It was my first time entering a 5-star hotel.

The lobby on the first floor was so spacious that it felt breathtaking.

A large chandelier emitting a golden light hung in the center.

On the left was a well-known franchise café, on the right a large food court, and in front of that, one by one, stood statues made of black granite.

There were young parents with their sons and daughters, middle-aged women in floral dresses chatting, and men dressed in black suits shaking hands with each other.

They seemed entirely focused on their own affairs, paying no attention to me.

Due to the heavy rain, it seemed like people were enjoying their time inside the hotel rather than going outside.

 

Although I didn't feel overwhelmed in front of people who were much wealthier than me, I couldn't help but think they were living lives completely different from mine.

The reason I wanted to save money wasn't to lead a lavish life like theirs, but simply to live without caring about others' opinions.

I thought I wouldn't ever become like them.

 

I entered the elevator with a tall man wearing a black suit.

"Hey, the elevator floor is a mess. Don't they clean it?"

The man was muttering to himself with a slight annoyance.

Everyone was getting in with wet shoes due to the rain, so it's not like the floor could stay clean.

'But this guy isn't Inertia, right?'

Slightly cautious, I pressed the floor buttons.

The man was going to the 5th floor, while I was heading to the top floor.

At that moment, I sensed a slight perplexity in the man's expression.

"Could this kid be going to the penthouse on the top floor?" he might have been thinking.

Finally realizing that this man was just an idiot, I felt relieved.

 

"Ding!"

The doors opened on the 5th floor, and the man got off.

Now I was alone in the elevator.

"Uuung..."

The sound of the air conditioning breeze in the elevator.

Other than that, there was nothing to hear.

"Haah, if I had climbed up the wall, I would've arrived much sooner."

 

"Aaahh!!"

"Huh?"

It was an unexpected scream.

The sound that reached from outside the elevator was a scream that only a person facing truly terrible agony could produce.

"This isn't the kind of sound you'd hear in a hotel. What could have happened?"

After a brief scream, the elevator fell silent again.

"Ding!"

The elevator doors opened.

I had arrived at the top floor.

Just as the valet attendant had said, there was only one suite.

But the door was slightly opened.

"Could it be that a scream came from here...?"

I placed the salad in front of the door.

And I peered into the room through the crack in the door.

The neat interior didn't seem unusual in any way.

There was just a pair of shoes placed neatly in the shoe rack.

"It's probably my imagination, I must have heard wrong... Wait, wait a minute!"

There was a faint mark on the floor.

Clearly, it was the shape of a shoe print.

"A shoe print... Where does it lead from and to?"

I looked behind me.

The print started right from the elevator I had taken and was leading into the room.

 

"Ugh..."

I cautiously opened the door.

Despite knowing I shouldn't, I found myself gingerly stepping into the penthouse.

The penthouse was split into two levels.

Bright lights illuminated the entire room, and beyond the massive glass wall, I could see the entire cityscape.

But most of all, it was quiet.

Nowhere in the city could you find such tranquility as in this penthouse.

In this day and age, even peace and quiet were luxuries reserved for the wealthy.

However, right now, that tranquility felt more eerie than ever.

The footprints had disappeared.

Without realizing it, I held my breath.

Silently, I searched the first floor, tiptoeing around.

I checked the kitchen, the living room, and even the terrace, but I couldn't find anything.

"I shouldn't be doing this, I should go back. I'm the most suspicious thing here!"

Yet, I couldn't shake the desire to check the second floor.

 

I stealthily climbed the stairs leading from the living room to the second floor.

On the second floor was the bedroom.

"There they are, footprints."

The footprints appeared again in front of the bedroom.

The bedroom door was closed.

And from inside, I could hear a rustling sound.

I could tell that the noise was intentionally minimal, probably to avoid being detected.

"Darn it!"

Having come this far, even if it was a misunderstanding, I couldn't hesitate any longer.

"Wham!"

I forcefully swung the door open and burst into the bedroom!

 

"I was right."

A man in a white short-sleeved t-shirt was lying on the bedroom floor with a wound on his waist.

The room was in disarray, cluttered with clothes and odds and ends.

And then I saw another man.

Wearing a familiar black suit and a mask, he held a knife in his hand.

He deliberately ransacked the bedroom, disturbing any traces.

 

"Hey!!!"

I screamed.

I didn't even know how I could do it.

The man was truly surprised and turned around.

It seemed like he hadn't expected anyone else to be here.

He looked around and then spotted an open window, rushing towards it.

And then he leapt over the window ledge.

"This is insane…!"

I also tried to chase after him and jump out of the window.

But behind me, I heard a groaning sound.

"Ugh... hey...!"

It was the man who had been stabbed by the knife.

He was still alive.

I rushed to him to assess his condition.

His wounds were deep enough that he could die at any moment.

 

"Oh my...! Just wait a bit! I'll call an ambulance..."

Then he muttered something in a delirious tone.

"The ambulance... is too late. My friend..."

"Friend?"

"Room 708... my friend... bring here!"

He lost consciousness.

 

"Darn it!!"

I jumped over the window ledge.

It was still raining outside.

I hung onto the wall with my claws.

"Why is he looking for a friend out of nowhere, a friend!!"

And then I began searching for the window of Room 708.

"9th floor, 8th floor, 7th floor... there, Room 708!"

"Thud!"

I pounded on the wall and plummeted straight down.

"Swoosh!"

And when I was right next to the window of Room 708,

I twisted my body and lunged towards the window!

"Crash!!"

The window shattered into pieces, and I entered the room immediately.

Although I felt a bit regretful about the window compensation, I shouted urgently.

"Is anyone here!?"

"Thump..."

The raindrops grew heavier, and I heard thunder behind me.

"Somebody has collapsed! It's a murder case!! Call an ambulance quickly..."

"Thud, thud..."

From inside Room 708, I heard the sound of slippers sliding on the floor.

"Quite a memorable entrance compared to earlier."

It was a voice I heard before.

Soon, he revealed himself.

A boy with flowing white hair, fair skin, and distinctive sharp eyes.

"Would you like a cup of hot cocoa, friend?"

The boy raised a white mug with a slight smile.

 

"Kid, it's not the time to be drinking hot cocoa!! It's a murder case!"

The boy and I were riding the elevator, heading back to the penthouse.

The boy took a sip from the mug of hot cocoa and said with a casual tone, "Sip... You know the term 'optimistic nihilism,' my friend? It means that no matter the good or bad things a friend does, they'll eventually be forgotten after a pitch-black period."

"What are you talking about!?"

"So, let's enjoy the present. This hot cocoa is really delicious."

 

"Ding!"

The elevator reached the top floor.

As soon as the doors opened, we were greeted by numerous police officers and medical staff inside the penthouse.

And truly, the number of medical staff was staggering.

They formed a line from the first floor to the second-floor bedroom.

"No way, did the rescue team really gather to this extent!?"

I blurted out in surprise without even realizing it.

It felt like every medical professional in the city had gathered, as if the entire city's medical team for emergencies had shown up.

 

"Excuse me for a moment... Ah, move!!"

I pushed through the crowd of medical staff and reached the bedroom.

My efforts were in vain, as the boy effortlessly walked into the bedroom without colliding with anyone.

The medical staff in the bedroom were using a defibrillator on the collapsed man.

"Clear!"

"Thunk!"

Next to the medical team, hotel staff had also gathered to observe the situation.

I could hear them whispering amongst themselves.

"What should we do? Of all times, why did something like this happen when this guy came... Could our hotel be shut down?"

"It would be a relief if it's just a shutdown. I'm not sure if they'll hold us responsible too."

"No way! Why did this accident have to happen on the day I'm working!?"

No one seemed to be concerned about the man's well-being.

They were solely preoccupied with worrying about their own job security and the potential consequences for them.

Good grief.

However, someone among them suddenly exclaimed.

"That... that guy! That delivery driver is the culprit!"

Huh? What did they just say?

The valet attendant was pointing at me among the staff, shouting.

"That delivery driver went into the penthouse, and then we heard screams! I'm certain that driver is the culprit!!"

Wait, what!?