HHH | Chapter 005

Episode 5

‘Are you kidding me?!’

I didn’t just wake up after passing out—I’ve been sent back to the moment I first arrived in the main lobby? Talk about zero sense!

There’s no way I’m going through that again. I hurriedly scanned my surroundings.

‘In the game, there was definitely something around here…’

Right! There was a big sofa perfect for hiding behind.

I practically flew toward it, diving behind it. I gathered my dress to keep it from sticking out and barely managed to stifle my trembling breaths. Just then—

Creak—

“!”

The door to the outside opened.

“…….”

Creak. Creak. Creak.

The sound of the Black Security Bunny slowly entering the main lobby echoed through the space.

I tried to calm my racing heart, curling up as tightly as I could. I didn’t dare peek over the sofa.

Creak. Creak. Creak.

Creak. Creak. Creak.

Creak. Creak… Creak.

‘……!’

The rhythmic mechanical sound suddenly stopped. Why?

‘Did it notice I’m hiding?’

No way. If you hide in time, you can avoid encountering the Security Bunny without issue.

At least, in the game.

“…….”

The eerie silence made my hair stand on end. My perfectly fine left eye throbbed as if haunted by phantom pain.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘It’s okay.’

It has to be okay. If the bug-avoidance tactics I know don’t work here… I’m done for.

The next few minutes felt like a century. Every second dragged on like an eternity.

And then—

Creak. Creak. Creak—

Finally, the Security Bunny started moving again. The mechanical sounds grew fainter…

‘…….’

I stayed crumpled behind the sofa for a while longer, clutching the pocket watch like a lifeline until it grew warm in my hands.

Only after the pain in my left eye completely subsided did I cautiously crawl out.

‘Never again… I’m never challenging a bug.’

If I go through that twice, I won’t stay sane.

Still, hiding gave me time to collect my thoughts. At the very least, enough to move forward for the future.

‘Thanks to facing that bug, I unlocked the save function.’

It still pisses me off that I had to endure that insane pain, but let’s say it gave me a wake-up call.

…For now.

What’s important is that a new function has “unlocked.” That means more game functions could open up as I progress.

‘If this keeps up, activating the quit function isn’t just a pipe dream.’

Given that escaping via bugs is impossible, this was an incredibly positive sign.

‘Alright.’

First, I opened the pocket watch and saved my progress. Just in case I run into another bug. Facing the Black Security Bunny again is absolutely not an option.

After saving, I tucked the watch back into my dress pocket and decided on my next move. My destination was clear.

The reception desk, directly across from the three doors.

【Title: Hard Mode Early Game Guide】

【I’m putting this together in order. Comment if I missed anything.

(1) When you enter hard mode, you must register as an employee first. If you wander the hotel without registering, the Security Bunny will catch you and kill you.

Getting caught by the Security Bunny is actually the better outcome. If a regular NPC catches you, your game data just gets wiped.

Anyway, so far, we’ve only found one way to register as an employee.

Head to the reception desk in the main lobby. Behind it, you’ll see something like a hill.】

Recalling the early hard mode tips from the gaming community, I moved toward the reception desk shrouded in darkness.

Soon, just as the guide described, a large hill-like structure came into view behind the desk.

“…….”

It was… a graveyard of dolls.

In HelloHappyHotel, aside from the human-like NPCs you can interact with, there are white bunny dolls called “BunnyBunny” that act as staff. You hire and assign these BunnyBunnys to automate hotel operations.

The Black Security Bunny that attacked me earlier was a bugged version of a BunnyBunny. Normally, BunnyBunnys are white, but in hard mode, you get the black ones.

And now, those white BunnyBunnys were piled up behind the reception desk like a mountain.

Unidentified blood dripped from the mangled dolls.

“Ugh…”

Behind the desk, a beautifully crafted artificial waterfall flowed along the wall, making the blood-soaked doll graveyard look even more grotesque.

‘When I played the game, I just brushed it off.’

In pixel graphics, it just looked like a white and red hill. I never imagined it’d be this gruesome in reality.

Why are the BunnyBunnys bleeding in the first place? They’re dolls! Is this just to set a horror vibe?

Thanks to that, I’m in big trouble.

【Clicking the hill will trigger a dialogue about finding a uniform.

It’ll list things like security department uniforms or front desk uniforms, but ignore all that. You must get the housekeeping department uniform.

Once you’ve got it, change into it.】

Right. In the game, a few clicks would’ve handled this easily.

But possessed in the game, I have to dig through a blood-drenched doll graveyard to find the housekeeping uniform myself!

‘Crazy, crazy, crazy! Studio Wonderland, you insane perverts!’

This is absolutely the developers’ fault. If they’d made hard mode an actual happy, lovely hotel, I wouldn’t have to do this horrifying task! Studio Wonderland, you perverted psychos!

My mind was bursting with curses like popping candy, but my body dutifully climbed over the reception desk. No choice. I can’t move to the next step without the housekeeping uniform!

“Ugh.”

A sickening metallic stench hit me. I couldn’t help but gag.

‘Damn bastards. You sons of—’

I forced my reluctant hand forward and touched a BunnyBunny. It was slimy and sticky. Of course it was—red liquid oozed from its split torso.

The worst part? Every BunnyBunny had its eyes open. Those empty, black glass-marble eyes seemed to stare right at me…

“Sorry… sorry…”

I fixed my gaze on their torsos as much as possible and started rummaging through the doll graveyard. The housekeeping uniform was a wine-colored three-piece suit with a black shirt, right?

By the time my arms were soaked in blood up to my elbows, I finally found it.

“Found… it…”

A BunnyBunny wearing the housekeeping uniform. I’d actually found a few earlier, but their clothes were too torn to use.

But a new problem arose.

“How do I get this out?”

The BunnyBunny in the intact uniform was buried deep in the pile. If I yanked it out, the whole mound would collapse.

‘That’d be… bad.’

Causing a commotion would be troublesome.

‘Should I look for another one higher up?’

Frowning, I stood up. At that moment—

“Did you hear a noise coming from the main lobby?”

A unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out.

‘Who’s that?’

Judging by the coherent speech, it wasn’t a BunnyBunny. A human NPC, then? But from what I remember, no NPCs should appear at this point.

Could it be a bug I don’t know about? I quit the game earlier than most, so it’s possible.

“What kind of noise would come from the main lobby? You sure you heard right?”

As I pondered, an irritated voice grew closer. They’re coming this way.

‘Screw it.’

Bug or NPC, I can’t afford to run into anyone right now. Before registering as an employee, I have to avoid not just the Security Bunny but other NPCs too.

‘Where can I hide…?’

Within three steps, the only option was under the reception desk. Damn it. It’s the most obvious hiding spot. If someone’s looking, this is the first place they’d check.

The sound of footsteps was now right at my doorstep. No time to think. With no other choice, I crawled under the desk.

“See? No one’s here. You’re wasting my time, jerk.”

As I wedged my shoulder into the corner of the desk, a young man’s sharp curse rang out. I held my breath and listened closely.

“Secuuurity. B-B-B-BunnyBunny.”

A glitching, robotic voice followed. A broken BunnyBunny, maybe?

‘I want to check what’s going on.’

Frustrated, I shifted slightly. That’s when I noticed a small gap in the corner of the desk’s wall.

‘Oh? This might work.’

I quietly pressed my eye to the gap. To my surprise, I could see outside clearly. An unexpected find.

Moments later, two men in black suits identical to the Security Bunny’s entered my view.