[Oh, indeed! The man in the video from the 2000s, who had no way of reaching the public the moment the editing room was sealed, can now visit a home thousands of miles away….]
[To think the editors of the 21st century have unintentionally extended an invitation.]
My blood runs cold.
A situation where, if I possessed a human body, I would surely use such an expression.
I am being carried in the hands of two Field Exploration Team employees as they dash madly out of the broadcasting station, all while inside a carrier.
One of the two is already contacting the company's security team.
This wasn't something like a rescue request. It was closer to reporting an uncontrollable, catastrophic incident.
The fatal spread of the ghost story.
[…What?]
As soon as the call connected, the security chief grasped the gravity of the situation.
[Hold on…. Just a moment.]
And he cut the transmission to contact the company for details.
Meanwhile, I am thinking.
About how to quarantine the video editing files that have been shared into the data storage of at least several, or at most dozens of people, and even onto cloud storage.
But that is… not something a small number of people can handle.
It requires the power of a strong collective.
But simply waiting for the company's response is not the duty of a contract employee... no, time is too short to just wait for the company to take full-scale action.
The 'Man in the Screen' has been stimulated, having gone through a quarantine process once in the editing room.
In the worst-case scenario, the stages leading up to the worst possible outcome will have accelerated.
So, first things first.
Contact the client
"Yes!"
Next to Lee Seong-hae, who was also reporting to the Field Exploration Team, Kang Yi-hak immediately picks up his phone and connects with the PD.
Hello. I'm calling because there's something I need to ask you urgently.
"…! Hello. I'm calling because there's something I need to ask you urgently...."
Kang Yi-hak reads the black smoke with quick wit.
"Is there anyone from the PBS entertainment department working from home or a personal studio on video editing today? The episodes ending in the number 6, where the 'Man in the Screen' might appear."
Especially around this time.
"It's more urgent if they're working around now."
-Of course there would be. Um, why do you ask….
Please contact them.
It's an urgent matter.
-Ah, yes.
The PD's voice was a bit reluctant, but he soon grasped the atmosphere and the situation, remembering what he had requested.
He seemed to be frantically sending messages here and there via messenger.
And soon.
-…Why isn't this person picking up?
....
A flustered voice, the sound of typing.
-Huh? Wait a minute. No, this call isn't.... …Why aren't they answering?
"PD-nim, listen carefully."
Too late.
Kang Yi-hak speaks quickly to the PD, who has frozen with a chilling premonition.
"Take down all the files ending in 6 from the cloud storage your division uses. It would be better if you deleted them."
And.
"Please be sure to tell everyone who does video editing in this entertainment department. From now on, they are not to touch any episode ending in the number 6. …And if by any chance they have one open."
Kang Yi-hak's rapid voice can be heard, reading the letters formed of smoke as if they were flowing water.
"Tell them to absolutely not try to intentionally watch the 'Man in the Screen,' nor try to delete it."
-…What in the world is going on,
"I'll explain the details later. Just talking to you could bring you bad luck. Your side made a huge misjudgment, a grave mistake."
Though I hadn't written it, Kang Yi-hak, having naturally shifted the blame to the entertainment department, continues.
"Hoo…. Still, since we received payment, our side will try to resolve this as best we can. For now, please give us the address of the person you've lost contact with."
The frightened PD immediately gave the address to the Field Exploration Team.
An officetel in Seoul, 20 minutes away.
While riding in the taxi they had frantically hailed, Lee Seong-hae whispers to the carrier I'm in.
"The probability that they called the police, isn't it high?"
Tap, tap.
Slightly, I let some smoke out of the carrier.
Difficult to estimate
Reason: Psychological factors
In times like these, people want to believe in the best-case scenario.
Calling the police means that a truly 'serious incident' has occurred, going beyond simple supernatural horror, so there is a high probability that they will wait a certain amount of time first.
And a short while later, we finally arrived at the first destination.
The moment we board the elevator….
Beep.
"…!"
It's the security team.
The Field Exploration Team members urgently picked up their radios, but….
[For now, I've requested backup… but I don't know… exactly when it will arrive....]
News befitting Daydream Inc. comes back.
[The higher-ups… um, the decision is being delayed….]
"…!"
[Hoh, it seems they've come to regret the cost of the cleanup. How vulgar, but a very capitalist corporate response.]
Lee Seong-hae's face hardens slightly.
"Then for now, we'd like it if at least the security team members in charge of our 'Employee' could act with us."
[The security team… can't arbitrarily leave the company during the day.... We have to gear up.]
"..."
[However.]
The security chief's voice becomes sharp somehow.
[…My assigned duties require me to be in a state where I'm equipped for outings during the day. So, if a situation requires a dispatch for my assigned duties…. Hmm.]
"…!"
[Hey, that employee in the carrier... isn't it hard to control them? I feel like it would be….]
All eyes turn to me.
Affirmative
"…That's right!"
"It's so hard I could die! We are in dire need of help with control!"
The Field Exploration Team members shout as they hold the elevator heading to their destination.
[…I see.]
A faint hint of pride.
A very faint trace of a smile touches the security chief's voice and then vanishes.
[I'm dispatching....]
And the moment Lee Seong-hae and Kang Yi-hak board the elevator.
Beep.
From within the shadow of the radio held in their hands, a black figure rises.
"…!"
The security chief.
The uniform enveloping his entire body is different from his usual dispatch attire, covered with a deep hood on which strange patterns are drawn.
Click.
The elevator's CCTV turned off. A sense of pressure and unease fills the elevator.
"..."
The security chief reached out and took the carrier.
"Another employee is… still… reporting to the company, so don't worry."
"Yep."
Ding.
Soon, the elevator arrives at the floor. The three of them walk quickly to find the assistant director's unit number, which they got from the PD….
The front door was open.
"..."
From inside, the sound of laughter can be heard.
The sound of an entertainment program.
Tension settles on the shoulders of the Field Exploration Team.
"I'm going in…."
The security chief opens the door.
From inside the carrier in his hand, I saw the scene unfolding through the already open doorway….
The assistant director was collapsed on the floor, both eyes gouged out.
"…!!"
The blood-spattered, narrow living room, the chair placed upon it, the desk, and on top of it….
A computer monitor.
The screen is flickering.
On the monitor, where an editing program is open, a man with a distorted expression is in close-up. A smile revealing black eyes and teeth. A gaping mouth, his gaze turning this way….
Crunch.
The monitor and the computer tower are crushed at once.
The foot of a huge, black beast was crudely withdrawn back to the security chief's shoulder.
"…!!"
"I already… put it on a USB, so for the rest… I just have to smash them like this… right?"
That was the correct answer.
But the dead do not return.
…It was already too late.
And one more thing.
"The door… being open, I mean."
The security chief, pressing on his mask and using his sense of smell, tilts his head and says.
"I think one more person was here… and ran… away."
"…!"
"Someone… who was in the other room."
There was a witness.
It's unclear how involved they were in this supernatural phenomenon, or if they properly understood the situation.
"..."
Zzzzing.
Just then, a message also arrived from the PD.
-4 people aren't answering their phones They're not reading their texts either
He had confirmed that they had lost contact with four of the PBS entertainment department's editing staff, and that one of them had even left a strange message in a group chat.
-imwatchingi'm watchingi'm watchingpleasei won'tdo it againi'm really sorr-'y
-you're all going to die
The chilling feeling is transmitted through the screenshot alone.
-Please call me.
Fear bleeds from the PD's messages asking what happened and if the assistant director in this house is okay. And he has desperately sent the addresses of the people he's lost contact with.
Everyone at the scene feels it.
The situation is expanding in a direction that is becoming impossible for individuals to handle.
"First, I'll pass on the information about the witness to the company. And then we'll move to the house of the next person we've lost contact with…."
"Hey, Assistant Manager."
Kang Yi-hak cuts him off.
"Shouldn't we just get out of here quickly before the police arrive?"
"..."
Lee Seong-hae stares at Kang Yi-hak.
Kang Yi-hak seemed to have little interest in the corpse.
Rather, he just scans the house as if to check if there's anything valuable, or what the market price might be.
"We've done enough, haven't we? There's no guarantee we won't be too late even if we chase after those addresses, and it doesn't look like a case where we'll get a special bonus… In the first place, I think it's right to consider our job finished in the editing room!"
"Oh."
"We've reported everything to the company, so let's leave the rest to them, and you should get some rest too, Assistant Manager. Haha, we've given them their money's worth."
"What if someone else dies because we're late?"
Kang Yi-hak gave a thumbs-up.
"That's for the company to deal with!"
"Aha."
Lee Seong-hae smiles faintly, then stares at Kang Yi-hak.
And the security chief stands still with a dazed face, as if detached from the scene.
....
[My, my, Mr. Roe Deer. You seem to be in a hurry.]
Am I feeling impatient?
[Indeed, you are. Of course, an uninvited guest who ruins the mood of the show is an unwelcome bit of noise! Especially if they have neither wit nor sense, it's the worst. Oh, dear.]
Brown seems to be recalling the 'Man in the Screen' he had seen.
I recall it too.
The reaction of the late-night talk show host to the face of the 'Man in the Screen' that had covered the monitor in the editing room.
-Just look at that pathetic sight! Unable to accept that he doesn't qualify to appear, he seems to want to appeal his shabby existence for even a single cut, even if it's just in a video!
-Ah, of course. It's obvious he'd be kicked off the set. That must be the only way he can appear. How pathetic.
Ridicule.
Contempt.
Not the dull, faint fear I had felt, but a vivid verbal expression.
[But I must say.]
A generous offer is made.
[If my friend is so concerned about the whereabouts of that shabby, third-rate, low-class uninvited guest, I shall invite him to my wonderful talk show as an audience member.]
[He'll be ecstatic with even a shabby little seat in the corner. In three days, no. In two days, he'll be unable to bear the glory and will burn up and disappear….]
[What do you say?]
....
I can't.
I cannot make such a decision.
[Hmm? …Ah, I see.]
[You can't send him to the talk show because you have to deliver him to the company, is that it? Oh, it seems that's what's written in that employment contract that has mortgaged Mr. Roe Deer's time and judgment.]
That's right.
I cannot perform an act that would clearly cause a loss to the company.
Even more so if it's a matter directly ordered as part of my duties.
Even if I were to create a loophole, if that loophole were discovered, stronger restrictions would be imposed….
....
[Oh, it's alright, my friend! Let's cheer up.]
[Aren't constraints an essential element of interesting content? The important thing is that we have met like this and are having another fun experience!]
This isn't fun.
[Oh, dear! You're doubting your own heart again. It's alright. Your spiritual guide, your companion in adventure, the entertainer who soothes your soul is right here beside you!]
....
Let's just say that's true.
For now, I have to do the next thing. I tore my eyes away from the corpse with no eyes and suppressed the strange thrumming in my heart.
And the moment I tried to communicate with smoke.
Beep.
"…!"
It's the security team.
A voice comes from the radio the security chief immediately presses.
[Chief.]
It's the voice of Badger, Supervisor Park Min-seong.
[Is No…, 130666 there and well?]
"Yeah…."
[Phew… that's a relief.]
His tone soon returns to the business-like and polite voice of the security team.
[The company has just finished agreeing on a countermeasure. I'll connect you.]
"…!"
The gazes of the Field Exploration Team all turned to the radio.
The crackling radio, along with the sound of a phone connecting somewhere….
Connects to a call.
Someone other than Gwak Je-gang.
-Hello.
...!
-It's been a while since we've spoken like this, since you signed the contract. Word of this has come all the way up to me.
…A relaxed, deep female voice.
Director Cheong.
-I've been hearing good things about your recent work. It seems you've adapted quite well… hmm. This incident was also clean, aside from the irregular.
"Who…."
"…Director Cheong."
"Ugh."
-The other employees also did their parts quite well.
"Hahaha, thank you!"
Kang Yi-hak answered promptly and politely, but Director Cheong only continued with what she had to say.
-I've received the report that it could lead to mass casualties. It seems to have become quite a powerful darkness.
And her choice of words makes me certain of my guess.
'....'
"Employee-nim?"
If that's the case.
I formed letters with smoke and showed them to the security chief.
"..."
The security chief's eyes narrow.
Because, given his environment, there's a high probability he already knew this fact.
"…Hmm."
The security chief, tapping the carrier as if stroking it, reads my words to Director Cheong over the phone.
"130666 is saying…."
Question:
The 'Man in the Darkness's'
past registration status as a darkness
"This ghost story, wasn't it something the company owned from the start…."
"…!!"
Do you remember?
The conversation I had with the security chief in the dream cultivation room of the Jolly Research Lab.
-What does it mean to dispose of a darkness?
-Well… if no more solution can be extracted even after a person clears it… we throw it away….
The company manual, which was strangely clear.
The ghost story that had suddenly vanished in the 2000s.
And then suddenly, this phenomenon reoccurring now.
When a darkness loses its supernatural presence, Dream-Tear Solution can no longer be collected.
In this case, after the registration number is expunged, it is disposed of, and some of these darknesses are recycled through processes such as research and recharging.
It points to one thing.
Recycling.
"This… wasn't it intentionally released to the public again… to restore its 'supernatural presence'? So that it could produce Dream-Tears again…."
The security chief probably knew.
Because he would have been on the Field Exploration Team when this ghost story was registered as a darkness.
And if one reads it knowing this fact, the censored parts of the documents given when assigned today's task can be re-read….
For detailed information, refer to ■■Record#C16548.
For detailed information, refer to DisposalRecord#C16548.
Daydream Inc. had intentionally released this disposed ghost story back to the broadcasting station.
So that the ghost story would flourish until Dream-Tears could be extracted, until it could be recycled.
"..."
-You know well.
"...!"
-It was a ghost story that was there anyway, we just managed it well for a while and then returned it.
-It's not a loss for anyone, is it? Of course, this is product production know-how, so it's a story that shouldn't leave the company. Everyone who heard it, watch your mouths.
Lee Seong-hae's silent breath can be heard.
Director Cheong's nonchalant voice is heard again.
-Then let's leave it at that.
....
"Yes?"
-I'm telling you to return.
"Is the security team coming?"
-Of course not.
What?
-Why should my company use its precious manpower and capital on a civilian commotion?
Director Cheong says calmly.
-There's no need to use a tiger-catching knife to catch a chicken. It's cumbersome, it wastes resources… and I detest that.
-The cleanup will be handled by the agency in charge of cleanup.
...Agency?
-Yes. The place that gets paid taxes to do such things. If so, we should know how to use what we've paid for.
-Getting swayed by emotions and spouting personal opinions at the company is something only a brat like Ho Yu-won does.
Director Ho.
The agency Director Ho holds a grudge against is….
-It happens to kill two birds with one stone.
-That dull-witted agency will terminate the supernatural disaster based on the report records. Without knowing that our company has the one and only original of the ghost story in its hands.
....
-Then you'd best hurry back.
I lifted my head.
-It's been some time since the report went into the Disaster Management Bureau… they should be showing up soon.
From somewhere,
the sound of a bell began to be heard.