HHH | Chapter 001

Episode 1

There was no trigger, no reason, no warning signs. It was, quite literally, a bolt from the blue. In a single morning, my world turned upside down.

Today was the day I finally received the university acceptance letter I had fought so hard for, clawing my way out of a hellish year of retaking exams.

My family erupted in cheers, danced, and shed a few tears. We hurriedly bought a cake and cracked open a bottle of wine that had been a holiday gift. Of course, my younger sibling, who hasn’t even started high school yet, was left out—only Mom and I indulged.

Everything was perfect. For dinner, we had my favorite spicy braised pork ribs. Tomorrow, I planned to meet my friends and celebrate even more extravagantly. For the first time in a long while, I went to bed with a heart full of positivity and peace.

Yes. That’s how it was supposed to be.

“…….”

So why the hell did I wake up in a place like this?

“What… is this…?”

It was a space that looked like a luxurious greenhouse, the kind you’d expect to find in a grand mansion.

Sunlight poured through expansive glass windows, illuminating a riot of blooming white, red, and yellow flowers. Hidden among them were colorful rabbit dolls, eerily chirping like birds.

And in front of me, reflected in an ornate mirror, stood a girl. Long blonde hair cascaded past her chest, sharp eyes concealing vivid red pupils. She was slightly shorter than average, with a petite frame, dressed in a black dress adorned with a white frilled apron.

The girl, both unfamiliar and strangely familiar, stared back at me with an expression like the world had collapsed. Every time I blinked, she blinked in perfect sync.

And then it hit me.

That’s… me.

I woke up and somehow became a cat-like, ethereal beauty!

‘Is this a dream? It’s got to be a dream, right?’

But the warmth of the sunlight streaming down on me was undeniably real, mocking my desperate attempts to cling to optimism.

Suddenly, a conversation I’d had with my younger sibling before bed flashed through my mind.

“Be careful, sis. You’re in the perfect state to get possessed right now.”

“Oh, please. After all the effort to raise you, now you’re cursing your own sister?”

“It’s not a curse! Look, in possession stories, it’s always the same kind of people who get possessed. Overworked office workers, students cramming for college entrance exams, or people like you who just escaped a year of retaking exams…”

My sibling had recently been obsessed with web novels. Drunk on a pleasant buzz and basking in the bliss of a perfectly cozy sleeping position, I mumbled back.

“I’ve read stories where kids like you get possessed too…”

“You read romance fantasy? What did you read?”

“A drunk sister who pinches her little sibling’s butt for talking nonsense. Let’s call it DrunkButtPinch. Want me to possess you right now? Show me that butt.”

“Ugh, pervert!”

My sibling squealed dramatically and stomped out of the room. I shouted, “Hey, turn off the light! Turn it off!” before drifting into sleep…

And then I opened my eyes here.

‘This is insane.’

Recalling that moment sent a cold sweat trickling down my spine.

No way. For real?

‘Did I actually get possessed…?’

Why? How did this happen?

Don’t you need some kind of specific condition to get possessed?

I haven’t read a ton of possession stories, but I know the basics from what I’ve picked up. Usually, people get possessed after drowning or getting hit by a car.

But I was just sleeping peacefully! There’s no way a car crashed into our seventh-floor apartment, right?

“No, more importantly…”

If this is really possession, where am I possessed into? And how do I get back to my real body?

I stared into the mirror. Blonde hair, red eyes. It does feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before.

‘But this color combo is so common in characters, it’s hard to pin down.’

To figure out what’s going on, I need to gather more clues. Maybe I should start by looking around.

Just as I took a step to do so—

“Alright, that’s enough. Come sit down, Miss Alice. Daydreaming during an interview? That takes some guts.”

A low, smooth voice came from behind me.

‘There’s… someone else here?’

I turned around with a creak. There, at a small, elegant tea table, sat a man with long silver hair tied neatly into a single braid.

“Even if you danced and sang, well, I don’t exactly have other options.”

The man set down the stack of papers he’d been flipping through and looked up. A white half-mask, so detailed it could pass for real rabbit fur, covered more than half his face.

The only visible part of his face—his lower jaw—curved into a playful smile.

“Finally looking at me, huh? So, are you coming to your senses?”

Instead of answering, I lowered my gaze to his chin.

A white suit dotted with tiny red heart patterns, paired with a red tie adorned with white hearts. Beneath it, a black mesh shirt.

Add to that the downright creepy rabbit mask…

‘Pervert.’

He’s a pervert. That rabbit-masked guy is, without a doubt, a perfect pervert.

My God, my cute little sibling reads novels with freaks like this in them? And it feels oddly familiar, like it’s from a story they recommended to me because it left such a strong impression…

“Come over here, Alice.”

The man beckoned to me. I had zero desire to interact with him, but a quick glance around confirmed he was the only other person in this greenhouse.

And since he called me “Alice” without hesitation, he must know this body. If I want information in this situation…

‘Damn it.’

Reluctantly, I dragged my feet toward him.

“Um.”

“Hm, yes, good. That’s it.”

Despite calling me over, the man didn’t even glance at me. He just kept scribbling furiously on the paper he was studying.

“Hmm.”

He let out a short groan, then suddenly crumpled the paper and hid it in his hand. The gesture reminded me of a student who’d been studying for twenty hours straight and finally snapped.

‘I’ve been there…’

I looked at him with a hint of pity. Then he blew on his fist with a puff.

When he opened his hand, instead of the crumpled paper, a plain pocket watch dropped out.

‘Magic?!’

Is this a world with magic?

My eyes widened involuntarily. While I was still in a daze, the man stood up and pressed the watch into my hand.

“Alright. Take this, Miss Alice. You’re hired.”

His smooth jaw broke into a bright smile.

“It’ll be a bit tough, but hey, trials and tribulations make things fun, don’t they? I’ve tweaked the watch a little to make things easier for you.”

“…What?”

My mind, still reeling from the magic, snapped back to reality. What did he just say?

“Hired? For what?”

The man responded casually, as if I’d asked something trivial.

“Oh, for our hotel, of course.”

Hotel?

A hotel? A novel with that kind of setting…

‘Wait.’

I looked up at the man again. A bizarre rabbit mask, yet somehow familiar.

Add to that me, transformed into a cat-like blonde beauty with red eyes, referred to as Alice.

And finally, a hotel. Hiring staff.

It hit me like a blow to the back of my head. The memory was fuzzy—it was so long ago—but could this be…?

“Good luck, Alice. I hope you can weave a story with no regrets.”

The man pointed a straight finger at me. With a light flick, he tapped my forehead.

“See you again someday.”

Before I could resist properly, my body tipped backward. The man was still smiling at me, just like that “character” I saw back in middle school.

“Wait…!”

I didn’t even have time to grab him. When I blinked, I was no longer in the sunlit greenhouse but rolling on soft grass.

“Hah!”

I hurriedly straightened up and looked around. Immediately, my eyes caught sight of white flower buds as big as my face.

No, not real flowers. They were flower-shaped lights. I panted softly and scanned my surroundings.

If I had to describe this place in one phrase, it would be an artificial forest meticulously crafted indoors.

Several tall, leafless tree-like pillars supported an impossibly high ceiling. The floor was covered in lush green grass, and the vibrant flowers decorating the area were all lights.

But I didn’t feel awe or wonder. Most of the facilities were in ruins, like an abandoned battlefield.

The lights were all broken, leaving the place dim. The once-carefully tended lawn was scorched black in patches. The tree pillars supporting the ceiling had gaping holes, looking like they could collapse at any moment.

I glanced to the side. Amid the trampled flower lights, tables, sofas, someone’s shoes, and broken belongings were scattered about.

My throat tightened with a dry swallow.

‘This place… it’s definitely…’

There was no denying it anymore.

I knew exactly what this place was.

This was the main lobby of a hotel.

And knowing what this place was meant I had figured out the genre I’d been possessed into.

‘This is insane.’

It wasn’t a novel or a webtoon.

I had, without a doubt, been possessed into the hotel management simulation game HelloHappyHotel.

‘I’m screwed.’

Some might think being possessed into a simple hotel management game isn’t so bad.

Most management simulations are considered healing games, right? So it’s got to be better than being stuck in a grim romance sim or a horror game.

But that’s only because they don’t know. HelloHappyHotel is not your average management simulation game.

Back when HelloHappyHotel was at the height of its popularity, users gave it a nickname: the “Neapolitan Horror Healing Game.”

This game was, in every way, an anomaly.

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Note:

The original text reads <헬로해피헬> “HelloHappyHotel” and it’s not a mistake. It seems that the writer deliberately didn’t leave spaces between the words.