A white cat was waiting at the entrance of the hotel. As it saw Chan-sung, she hurried towards him, its tail high, and a vocal meow escaped its throat.
"Hello, cat." He greeted his new guest. Its owner seemed to have taken good care of her as her fur was smooth like velvet and clean. She looked fat as she sat on the threshold, but her body was flexible and young. She managed a triple salt as she jumped in the pursuit of a colourful butterfly that kept flowing right over her nose.
"I didn't know cats could come here, too." The cat started to play with his hand as he tried to pat it. "You want company, don't you?" He lifted her in his arms, but the cat bit his hand gently so her fangs shouldn't pierce his flash, but hard enough to make herself understood. She didn't want to be held.
"How did you end here?" He continued. The cat watched him with her yellowish eyes. "Do you miss your owners?" The cat meowed. "I'm sorry. I hope you'll like the hotel."
The cat entered as he opened the door and she kept following him along the hall and up in the lift. She seemed to be a bright cat.
She had some tiny dark spots, Chan-sung noticed then as he scratched her back.
"I'm glad you came. Aera will love you." He hardly finished his sentence when Aera appeared in a summer-long dress.
"What's that?" She asked as she saw the cat. "Where did you find it? Is it…dead?" Aera bombarded him with lots of questions.
"Yes. Unfortunately, she died. I don't know how but she seemed to have been loved by her owners. She seemed to miss them. They must miss her, too." The cat watched him with a pang of sadness in her eyes. "But it's a sociable creature. I'm sure she will find lots of love here."
"Poor thing." She muttered, but the cat grabbed her hand in her claws, stopping her from taking her in her arms.
"She doesn't like it " Chan-sung warned her.
"Alright, Cat. Let's see if you like some milk."
Before dusk, another guest came to the hotel. He was a successful businessman. His only regret was the suffering he'd cause his daughter because of his ambitions.
"I wanted the best for her." He started. "I pushed her to go beyond her limits. I just wanted her to be successful. I've never told her I made mistakes too, or how hard it had been for me to become a successful businessman. I've never told her I was called names in school because I wasn't sociable and I was permanently studying. I haven't told her about all the times I was rejected for a post at a company or about the exams I failed. So, she never dared to speak with me about her failures because she felt she wouldn't be loved anymore. She didn't tell me she was bullied in school or that she didn't like the subjects she was studying. She never spoke with me about her passions and just did what I wanted her to do." The man continued.
"What happened?" Chan-sung interrupted her. "Is she alright?"
"She is one of the best lawyers in town, but she's miserable. She hates her life. I haven't realized it before and now it's…too late."
"Maybe it's not too late. You still can tell her all these. We have a special service. I can speak with her if you want." Chan-sung offered.
"Would you do that?"
"Of course." He promised.
"I will never forget it. It's more than I can ask for."
"But first you should talk with her. You can appear in her dreams."
"I've never known that such a service exists. When can I?...Sorry." He apologized as he realized he'd acted like an excited child. "I'm so happy and… you understand me, don't you?"
"Do not worry. We are here to help you." Chan-sung answered smiling.
The day was only about to begin. Lots of spirits came that day. Each with their own problems.
The businessman left content in his hotel room after his conversation with his daughter. Chan-sung promised to bring her a letter from her father and tell her about the hotel. He had the slightest idea how he was going to cram it into his schedule, but it was his job now.
The cat seemed to love the place and Aera was so happy she could have a pet. She kept taking the cat everywhere and the cat seemed to understand her.
The doctor started to give them a hand, too. As they didn't need a physician there, he had to adapt and he was made responsible for the special service. He had to check the people wouldn't try to curse or blame or do any harm to those they spoke with. If they disobeyed the rules, the call would be interrupted instantly.
Mr. Lee was as indifferent toward everything that happened in the hotel as he was before Chan-sung's arrival. He only cared about cars, fine drinks, and expensive clothes.
He'd designated Chan-sung to deal with everything which was a lot for the manager. Employing the doctor proved a good idea, but the hotel needed more and more people.
A family: a mother, a daughter, and a father looked at the lonely toys which hadn't been moved for days since the cat had died.
They had checked all the photos they had, hoping to find some of that white furball, but there were hardly any pictures. She was a troublemaker who couldn't stay still for a moment. And so, it had been almost impossible to take a decent picture.
The potted plants were undisturbed. No one was sleeping there any longer. The garden was lonely. The dog lost his partner in crime and watched his family with big eyes.
"Let's go." The father called the dog. "Let's have a little walk, shall we?" The dog jumped happily. They threw a second look towards the place where, for years, the cat had used to come from. "Let's go." He repeated.