WTRM 01

Chapter 1

“So you’re the owner of this inn?”

The white-haired man stared sharply at the woman standing before him.

Her shoulders were barely a handful wide, and her neck was so slender it looked like it might snap with the slightest force. And yet she was truly the person in charge of this enormous inn?

“Yes, that’s right, sir. My name is So So-hee, the manager.”

Even though the woman smiled pleasantly, he still seemed unable to trust her and found it difficult to speak.

Could she have just turned twenty?

She looked far too young to be handling something this important.

“How long have you been in Wicheon?”

“I cannot tell you.”

…What?

The man’s eyelids immediately tightened.

With the wide sleeves of his blue robe hanging down and a razor-sharp gaze in his eyes, Tang Je-ik, the head of the Tang Clan and one of the supporting characters in the martial-arts novel I Became the Undying Heavenly Demon, quietly looked the woman in front of him over from head to toe.

‘She’s young. But…’

His wandering gaze stopped at the name tag hanging around her chest.

「General Manager So So-hee」

Three white characters engraved against a black background.

It was proof of the identity that was officially guaranteed here in Wicheon.

That name tag meant she was the person in charge of the ‘Reincarnation Motel,’ which was responsible for handling the regression/transmigration/reincarnation of supporting characters and extras from various novels.

‘Still, you can’t judge someone’s abilities by their appearance alone.’

During his lifetime, hadn’t he encountered countless martial-arts masters, from children to elderly men?

As he raised his eyes after briefly falling into thought, he met So So-hee’s gaze. She was still smiling.

“You’re around the same age as my grandfather. You can speak comfortably.”

“…Very well.”

Tang Je-ik casually brushed down the loose hem of his robe.

“Begin.”

“Then I’ll start by checking your basic information.”

So-hee opened the life record summarizing Tang Je-ik’s life.

She had already familiarized herself with the novel in which he had appeared and what role he had played. Nevertheless, she always carried these records with her and checked them from time to time.

After all, for the customers who came here, the present might be more important than all the moments they had lived through.

“Name: Tang Je-ik. Died in battle at the age of sixty-five during the Great War. Is that correct?”

“Correct.”

“You know where this place is, I assume.”

“An inn for those beneath supporting-character status, the insignificant nobodies.”

So-hee’s brow twitched.

Wasn’t he subtly insulting not only her but also the motel itself, as though he were taking a swing at her?

Even so, So-hee quickly pulled the corners of her lips upward.

It had been so long since they’d had a customer. She couldn’t afford to upset him for no reason.

“Yes, exactly. Of course, it’s a motel now… I mean, an inn.”

Tang Je-ik’s eyebrow twitched, and So-hee hurriedly corrected herself.

Then she checked the documents she had set down and asked another question.

“This is your fifth death, correct?”

“It seems so.”

“Yes. Up until now, you’ve always appeared in martial-arts novels. In I Became the Undying Heavenly Demon, this was your first time appearing as a supporting character… Let’s see. Your previous work was The Sword God Hides His Power. And before that…”

“I have no interest in my past lives.”

So-hee lifted her eyes from the documents and looked at him.

Throughout the novels he had lived in, this man had been nothing more than an unnamed bandit, passerby, merchant, or martial artist.

‘And every time, he chose extinction.’

Just as he had said, those former versions of himself had been “insignificant nobodies.” There had been no reason for them to undergo regression, transmigration, or reincarnation after death.

There was no narrative for them to return to.

And for them, ‘extinction’—bringing a character’s life to an end—was far more beneficial.

Characters who had completed their roles simply disappeared without disrupting the work.

And the compensation for that extinction was definite.

In the next work, they would be given a character with slightly greater importance.

Tang Je-ik had done the same.

He had chosen extinction four times, and as his importance gradually increased, he had finally been given the name Tang Je-ik of a prestigious clan and promoted to the role of a supporting character in this novel.

‘Then the fact that someone like him has entered the motel at such a crucial point means…’

So-hee couldn’t help but wonder.

If he chose extinction again this time, there was a high probability that he could aim for a major supporting role—or even a protagonist role—in the next work.

“Inn manager.”

So-hee, lost in thought, suddenly met his eyes.

Tang Je-ik’s eyes, which had gone dark with the completion of his role, stared straight at her.

After contemplating for a moment, he let out a long sigh as though he had finally made up his mind.

“I want to regress.”

He was saying that he intended to defy the fate that had been written for him in the novel.

So-hee’s heart was pounding.

“I’ll just look around before I go.”

“Come to think of it, I don’t think regression is for me.”

“You mean there’s a chance I could fail? Then I won’t do it.”

Nine out of ten customers were like this.

So-hee tried to remain calm in front of Tang Je-ik, who firmly wanted to regress.

There were still much greater obstacles piled up before they could reach the final decision.

So-hee held out a document toward Tang Je-ik.

“This is the Regression/Transmigration/Reincarnation Agreement. Please read the contents and sign it.”

“An agreement?”

Tang Je-ik picked up the paper and quickly skimmed through the contents in his mind.

「I hereby express my firm intention to undergo regression/transmigration/reincarnation. I acknowledge that no one other than myself may undergo the process on my behalf. Characters below supporting-character status are granted only one opportunity to undergo regression/transmigration/reincarnation….」

He frowned.

‘How stingy.’

He had occasionally seen protagonists regress hundreds of times.

He already knew there was no way protagonists and characters below supporting-character status could possibly be given the same number of opportunities.

Wasn’t that why everyone desperately chose extinction over and over again in hopes of eventually becoming a protagonist?

But understanding something logically didn’t mean he had to feel good about it.

He continued reading.

「I acknowledge that there is a possibility that the regression/transmigration/reincarnation may fail. The fee may be paid in goods or cash….」

Fine.

This much was only natural.

But the next clause left him speechless.

“…Regardless of whether the regression succeeds or fails, I will start again as an extra in the next work?”

Tang Je-ik stared at So-hee in disbelief at the absurd condition.

In other words, whether he succeeded or failed, all the extinction he had accumulated over the years would be reset to zero.

Starting with the next novel, he would once again begin as a completely unknown extra.

It was the worst possible condition.

Tang Je-ik’s thoughts became tangled.

‘Four lives I can barely remember. Including this one, I have lived as five different characters. And now you’re saying everything I accumulated during those lives will return to nothing in an instant.’

Wasn’t this practically telling him not to even bother trying?

“Hah…”

At his sigh, So-hee swallowed nervously.

No matter how determined customers were when they arrived, they often backed out at this final hurdle.

She hid her anxiety and quietly waited for Tang Je-ik’s answer.

“Tsk.”

“……!”

With an annoyed sound, Tang Je-ik wrote his name in clear characters on the agreement.

Then he lightly placed the paper on the round table in front of him.

“Quite troublesome.”

“Thank you, sir.”

So-hee bowed her head.

She understood all too well.

It was troublesome, difficult, and even cost money. And to top it all off, regardless of whether it succeeded or failed, they had to start again as an extra.

It was an incredibly harsh condition.

So-hee quietly looked at Tang Je-ik’s straight signature.

“I will definitely…”

“Hmm?”

Her eyes burned like flames.

Despite these unfavorable conditions, Tang Je-ik had a reason to stake his entire character life on undergoing regression/transmigration/reincarnation.

“I will definitely make it succeed.”

Seeing the light shining in her eyes, Tang Je-ik gave a small laugh.

Unlike his own black eyes, which had already lost their light, hers sparkled with pure sincerity. Seeing that made the unpleasant feeling in his heart ease slightly.

“Of course you should. Still, sufficient compensation makes one’s resolve even firmer.”

From within his deep sleeve, he took out something equally dazzling and placed it on the table with a soft clink.

“……!”

“A golden turtle should be sufficient payment.”

It was the seal of the Tang Clan that he had carried throughout his entire life.

So-hee had not expected such a large payment. She steadied her trembling voice before answering.

“…Yes. It is sufficient as the fee.”

“Then I’ll be looking forward to it.”

After he finished speaking, So-hee quickly went and brought over a room key.

“Your stay here is limited to a maximum of three months. However, most guests complete preparations for regression within a week.”

“I trust you’ll handle it properly.”

“Then this way, sir.”

“Excuse me, miss.”

So-hee, who had been about to lead him to his room, stopped.

“Yes?”

“You’re human, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

“Then are you alive or dead?”

So-hee answered with a familiar smile.

“That’s a secret.”

“A secret? What secret? She just doesn’t want to bother telling him.”

The motel had an entirely pink exterior.

Inside, the baby-pink decor was mixed with a little more white. The lobby had nothing special about it—just a few small sofas and tables. It was an old-fashioned motel.

The moment one entered through the motel’s opaque glass doors, there was a small front desk.

So-hee was sitting there, busily writing something.

“You can’t call it ‘being bothered’ when there are so few customers.”

“Poor attitude. Insincere answer to customer’s question.”

“This is my strategy, in its own way.”

Done.

So-hee examined her notebook with a satisfied expression.

There weren’t many entries, but the golden turtle she had received from the Elder of the Sacheon Tang Clan was the most expensive payment she had ever received.

Of course, that was according to South Korean prices.

After meticulously recording everything, she finally leaned back in a luxurious chair that looked completely out of place with the old-fashioned interior.

“Strategy?”

“Of course. What if the motel manager and regression expert is ‘a human forcibly dragged from Korea into another world’?”

“What about it?”

“Wouldn’t that make me seem somewhat lacking in anticipation, trustworthiness, and expertise?”

“You never had expertise to begin with. You’re just good at lying.”

“That’s not true! The core is truthful… I just make the packaging more elaborate.”

So-hee’s voice became quieter, as though she felt guilty for some reason.

It was true that she had sprinkled a little flavoring onto the bland stories of supporting characters to make them more favorable for regression/transmigration/reincarnation.

‘Do you think regression just happens automatically? There needs to be a solid justification and a story behind it. And I’m the one who creates those.’

Unlike protagonists, supporting characters couldn’t easily undergo regression/transmigration/reincarnation.

For them to even attempt it, there was a basic rule: they needed a sufficiently compelling ‘public-interest story.’

‘It’s basically telling them not to even bother trying. But…’

She searched desperately, her eyes burning, trying to find even the smallest justification hidden between the lines.

Even though So-hee was a heavy reader of web novels, there was no way this process could be easy.

Even so, there was another reason she could never give up.

“And I have to return to my own world too! That’s why I’m risking my life to make them undergo regression/transmigration/reincarnation.”

So-hee spun her chair around and looked at the white porcelain object.

A moon jar—spotlessly white, smooth, and beautifully rounded—stood there.

From it came a stiff, mechanical voice.

“It’s the supporting characters who risk their lives by coming here. What use is your life?”

“…Then should I just do things half-heartedly? People don’t age here anyway. Should I try enjoying immortality?”

“…Risk your life.”

The afterlife of characters.

Wicheon.

It had been exactly three months since So-hee had arrived at the ‘Reincarnation Motel’ located there.

It had taken a truly great many things for twenty-five-year-old So So-hee to finally accept reality.

A great many things, indeed.