The Moonflower Hotel
Chapter 3
The next day, Bum woke up early in the morning. He found Eunji in front of his room, with his clothes. That wasn't helping much since he wore a suit on the night of the accident but he decided to wear it anyway.
He had enough time to wander around because no one woke up yet and no one was at the reception either. The guest walked inside the restaurant and met Youngmin who glared at him before he walked in the kitchen. Bum couldn't understand why Youngmin was so annoyed all the time; he didn't do anything. Was it because they took care of him for a year? But he didn't ask them to do it.
Bum sat at a nearer table with less chairs. Yeonsuk was the next person to enter, noticing Bum right away and sitting with him.
"How was your night, Bum?"
The younger man chuckled,"Not as eventful as yours."
Yeonsuk laughed loudly, "Let's do something today. Let's go to the lake."
Bum leaned over the table with a glint of excitement in his eyes.
"There is a lake nearby?" He asked, just like a child.
Yeonsuk chuckled,"After lunch. We can skip dinner since the twilight at the lake is something you have to see."
Bum nodded eagerly,"Deal."
Yeonsuk smiled before he glanced around, "Now, where is that famous coffee of Youngmin?"
Right when he's been called, Youngmin walked out of the kitchen with a trail of fresh fruits, tea and coffee.
Yeonsuk smiled and sighed happily, "Ah, I love this hotel,"
Bum stared down at his napkin. Everything he could think was: that hotel was indeed special.
Throughout the period of time he spent with Yeonsuk at breakfast, Bum learned a few important details about that hotel. Only special people were guests because it was pretty expensive; it was a hotel that had everything for everyone; not many children entered because it was seen as a place to escape the tumultuous family or business life. Overall, it was a place to escape reality.
Bum learned that some women would come for affairs. It was a place that didn't grab attention and it was placed on a hill; besides, the domain was large and it was covered in mist on winter.
He learned that the only staff members he ever saw were the brothers, Eunji and the receptionist, Jaejin. The manager of the hotel was a young woman who inherited it from her father.
"I don't know what her name is. I only saw her once. She's always busy doing whatever she does but I heard she is a true beauty and she manages the hotel very well. Everyone calls her Mistress,"
Bum’s curiosity increased. That woman saved him and he wanted to meet her and thank her properly.
After breakfast, Bum continued wandering around, starting with the first floor. When he passed the big mirror in front of the L shaped stairs, he couldn't help but take a glance at it. His reflection was the same yet different; he couldn't quite point out why he was getting that feeling.
Once he got on the first floor, he couldn't help but go for the grand piano. It was an amazing piece and someone sung at it the night before. The carpet was different but not by much and the walls near the stairs were empty but as he was getting deeper down the corridor, he could remark more and more paintings; portraits to be exact. They were all drawn in a way that would make the viewer feel watched.
Once he got in the corridor that was separating three halls, he smiled at the sight of the piano; no one was there but he did notice a lamp on it. The guest looked above when he heard music; it was coming from the second floor.
On the way back to the stairs, Bum passed an important portrait but he didn't even glance at it; he didn't notice the resemblance to someone he knew.
As he was getting closer to the second floor, the music became louder. He smiled and ventured down the hall. Unlike the first floor, the second had sculptures as well, created by someone very talented. Bum saw miniature versions of some great pieces from all over the world, made carefully, to the smallest detail.
Bum was ready to enter the living area when someone collided into him. It was Kwangmin. He bowed his head as apology and ran away but Bum got dizzy from that friction. Kwangmin wasn't a big guy but he was a man nonetheless and the collision wasn't exactly light.
Anyway, Bum had a mission; he only got the chance to take a step forward when someone else interrupted.
"Hey, Kim Bum! Let's go see the lake!"
Bum frowned. The music stopped and he was forced to abort his mission.
When he got down, he couldn’t help but give Yeonsuk the mean eye.
The man chuckled while putting on the coat, “Did I interrupt something?” Victor’s gaze only intensified, amusing the older man, “Alright, so I did. Was it something interesting?”
“Yes. It was,”
Yeonsuk shrugged and waited for his new friend to get a coat.
Much like before, the receptionist told Bum to take one from the back room. The special guest smiled at Jaejin and thanked him before he hurried after his new friend.
“He has no idea,” Jaejin heard Youngmin comment from the side.
The young receptionist blinked and turned back to his business, “No one does until she shows up,” He mumbled as he moved a few files from one side to the other.
Youngmin nodded and walked back into the restaurant.
“That’s amazing!”
They weren’t even close to the lake when Bum said that. He could finally see how the hotel looked like and what was so special about that domain.
“It’s so large and beautiful!” He exclaimed in awe.
Yeonsuk chuckled and put his hands in his pockets, “And it’s in the middle of nowhere.” The older man added but Bum brushed that comment aside.
“I can’t believe I never noticed it. I did research on almost every hotel in Jeju and around it,” The guest started.
Yeonsuk stopped and watched him closely: Bum was just like a child. He was going everywhere he could see, to take either every detail in or simply gasp at the beauty of the building.
“No one does. You pass it without a thought and when you finally see it, you know,” The older man mumbled, shivering when the wind picked up.
Bum walked closer to his new friend and shuddered as well, “What do you know?”
Yeonsuk’s expression changed. It wasn’t very obvious –or maybe Bum was dense- but his whole figure became ghostly.
“It attracts you slowly with the biggest temptations. There’s nothing this hotel can’t get for you and the comfort is high quality. You return once, twice and at some point you find it difficult to leave. In no time, you find yourself engulfed in the magic of it.”
Bum listened closely but he only extracted the things he liked. He didn’t read between the lines.
Yeonsuk raised his head and stared at the hotel; it looked brand new, like it didn’t even have a few decades behind. He noticed a woman watching them from the window. She was behind the curtain but he could see her eyes; those haunting eyes.
They walked through the forest, on a fresh path. At some point, it forked in four more paths but Yeonsuk seemed to know the way very well.
“You come here often, don’t you?”
Yeonsuk chuckled, “I don’t have a choice. This place holds my soul,”
Bum nodded and patted his friend before walking a little bit faster and leaving Yeonsuk a few feet behind.
The older man wasn’t joking when he said that. It was the truth; it wasn’t only him either. That was the reality he was living in.
The forest was old and it was mainly formed of old trees. It looked really calming and nice by day but Bum was sure it was the opposite at night; if anything, it looked like one of the old forests in ancient books. Bum couldn’t help but remember his mother’s fairy tales.
“My mother used to tell me stories when I was young,”
Yeonsuk raised an eyebrow and walked next to his friend, listening curiously.
“She used to tell me about Greek gods and their adventures and wars,” Bum continued,“She told me once the story of Pan.”
Yeonsuk was curious where that was going, “Pan?” He asked uncertain.
Bum nodded, “Pan was the god of the wild, hunting and companion of the nymphs. He was depicted as being half human, while having the legs and horns of a goat, just like a faun,” He continued.
Bum could still hear his mother’s voice if he closed his eyes.
“Tonight, I will tell you about Pan,” Little Bum stared at his mother in confusion.
“Peter Pan?”
The older woman chuckled and shook her head, “No. This is another Pan. One who loved nature; whose home was a forest.”
Little Bum frowned, “Isn’t that unhygienic?”
The woman raised an eyebrow in surprise,“Where did you learn such a big word?” He only blinked innocently as her eyes narrowed playfully, “Did you enter my library again?”
He bit his lips and kept the puppy eyes, hoping it would help him.
The woman chuckled and decided to brush it off, “According to a myth, one day he came across a beautiful nymph called Syrinx. He tried to seduce her, but she managed to run away. Followed by the god, she sought refuge among her sisters, who transformed her into a reed. When the wind started blowing, a melody was produced. Pan, not knowing which reed Syrinx was transformed into, took seven or nine of them and joined them side by side in decreasing length, thus creating his musical instrument that bore the name of the nymph.”
She changed the subject and told him the story instead of making him feel guilty. That was probably what made her such an amazing mother; she was using stories not punishments.
“So he didn’t end up with the girl?”
The woman stared incredibly at her son, “Who knows?”
Little Bum got on his feet on the bed and bloated with pride, “I will find my girl, mom. And I will fight for her. I will get her in the end!” He said proudly.
The woman watched her son with love and amusement, “I’m sure you will.”
Yeonsuk stared at his friend as he smiled to himself remembering something from his childhood, something that made him happy. Yeonsuk wanted that too; he’s been in the hotel for so long that he couldn’t even remember how his mother looked. He missed her, though; he really missed having a life.
While Bum was still reminiscing old times, Yeonsuk heard a branch crack; he narrowed his eyes warily and scanned the surroundings. The older man heard another branch crack and a few crows flying over them, feeling eyes watching him but not dangerously so. Yeonsuk glanced behind at a certain tree; in that white cover of snow, he saw two black eyes. They were being watched by one of her slaves.
When they finally got to the lake, Bum couldn’t help but gasp again, Yeonsuk laughing at his childish reaction; besides, the lake was frozen. What was indeed beautiful was the landscape. Bum swore he saw it before.
“It’s a little bit early. It gives us enough time to bond, don’t you think?” Yeonsuk’s easy going tone and attitude was making Bum feel like he was teenager all over again.
“Manly bonding, eh?”
Yeonsuk winked and leaned against a tree, lighting up a cigarette.
“What are they doing?”
Kwangmin and Youngmin glanced at each other before they turned to the chair. It was one of those high back chairs made from expensive red tapestry. The woman was hiding behind it and they could only see her hand, swaying with the music.
“Nothing. They’re going to the lake,” Youngmin responded.
They heard her hum along the music before she continued to speak in that elegant voice, “Did Yeonsuk say something unnecessary?”
Youngmin looked at his brother and urged him to tell her something so they could leave.
“No. He didn’t say anything. They’re talking about some stupid stories about Greek gods.”
She chuckled and put her hand down before she got up and stopped the gramophone. The
woman turned towards them with those big eyes of hers, the twins freezing as soon as they looked into them.
“Good. Keep an eye on our special guest and don’t let him walk away.” They bowed and walked to their duties. She sighed sat down, smiling to herself, “No one walks away from the Moonflower Hotel.”
