This city was completely unfamiliar to him. Ji-ho didn't know anyone here — no relatives, no friends. Since the day he arrived, he had only been moving between his small room and the hotel kitchen. This was the first time he hadn't even thought about going back home overnight.
The chef's heart grew heavier with worry."What if something has happened to him?"
Without wasting any more time, he quickly got ready, changed his clothes, and headed straight toward the hotel.
The grand lobby shimmered with luxury, but beneath that dazzling surface today, a shadow of suspicion lurked. The chef briskly crossed the reception and went directly into the manager's office.
"Excuse me, Manager sir… where is Ji-ho?""He hasn't come back since last night... I'm worried."
The manager gave him a cold, indifferent glance."He quit the job.""Or rather, we had to let him go."
Hearing this, the ground seemed to slip beneath the head chef's feet."What...? Suddenly? Without any notice? How is that possible? He was..."
The manager cut him off, his tone harsh and unforgiving, with no trace of sympathy:"Look, you only handle the kitchen. You have no authority over hiring or firing in this hotel. Do your job and don't overthink things."
The chef understood clearly — in this system, he had no power. But he was not someone who would remain silent.
"If the direct path is blocked... then I'll have to find another way."
He took a leave from the hotel and returned straight to his room. The moment he stepped inside, he opened his laptop.
Sitting in front of the screen, he began to scour every corner of the internet — every file, every website, every profile that might be connected to the hotel.
His thoughts were clear:"I want to reach the real owners of this hotel. Maybe they can do something."
But he knew deep down, the task was not going to be easy.
The hotel was part of a vast billionaire corporate empire.Names, records, investments — everything was anonymous. Everything carefully hidden behind layers of secrecy.
For two long hours, the chef stared at nothing but "Access Denied" and "Not Found" messages on his screen. But he was not someone who would give up easily.
Finally, on a little-known real estate page, an email address caught his eye.The chef's heart skipped a beat.
"This must be the Min-jae whose name appeared in those backdoor reports."
Without wasting a moment, he started typing an email:
Subject: Confidential – Information Regarding Hidden Activities Inside Your Hotel
Dear Mr. Min-jae,
You do not know me, but I am a chef working at your hotel.I want to share information with you — information connected to your hotel that you cannot afford to ignore.There are dark secrets hidden within the hotel's walls — secrets I am a witness to.If you are interested in learning the truth, please contact me.I will tell you where to meet.
Confidentially,– The Chef
He sent the email and waited anxiously.
As soon as Min-jae saw the chef's email on his laptop, at first he thought it might be fake. But then he noticed the mention of the hotel and thought maybe this could be a clue that would make their work easier. With that hope in mind, he replied to the chef.
Reply from: Min-jae"Tell me where to meet."
A heavy weight lifted from the chef's chest. Hope was alive.
Under the cover of night, in the heart of the city's old, deserted industrial zone, Min-jae stopped his black SUV in a lonely spot.
Silence surrounded him.No lights, no sounds — only the dry wind, whispering of something ominous about to unfold.
He stepped out, cautiously looking around, his senses alert.
Then... a faint sound of footsteps came from behind him. Min-jae turned around. A young man, about his age, was standing there wearing a mask.
"Is it you? The one who emailed me?" Min-jae asked.
The young man slowly lowered his head. "Yes, sir. It's me. I have some important things to tell you."
Min-jae looked suspicious. "And why should I trust you? Do you even know what's really going on in my hotels?"
The young man took off his mask. Min-jae froze for a moment.
"You… you're the hotel chef! The one who cooked dinner that night!"
"Yes, sir," the young man replied quietly. "That's me. And I know all of this… because I work among those people."
Min-jae met his gaze. "What do you know? What do you want to tell me?"
The chef took a deep breath. There was a truth in his eyes — one that was hard to accept.
"For months now, people have been disappearing from your hotel. Staff members, one by one. Management says they resigned. But that's not the truth. I know something is wrong there."
He hesitated, then continued in a low voice, "And I suspect… Ji-ho is also caught up in some trouble with them. Before, people would just disappear, and we never got any information. The management would tell us what they wanted, and we believed it."
"We always thought those missing were just villagers — people who never really understood this city, with weak skills. Maybe that's why the manager 'fired' them."
For the first time, a hollow laugh escaped the chef's lips — a laugh meant to hide guilt.
"To be honest, Min-jae sir… the hotel staff themselves are so rude and indifferent. No one cares about anyone else."
The air around them was thick with unspoken fear and distrust, as the chef's words hung heavy between them. This wasn't just about missing employees — it was about something much darker lurking behind the hotel's polished facade.