A dark and narrow editing room.
Giant editing monitors.
One of them is turned on.
From the only light source, a blue desktop is visible.
And there, several video icons.
They are variety show recordings.
The two Field Exploration team employees, who had already discussed the plan in advance, moved without hesitation.
-I’ll start by checking if it’s the Darkness.
-Yes!
The verification process.
The hand holding the mouse moves, and the pointer moves across the desktop….
Click.
The clicked icon spits out a recording.
The original video that was to become MBS ‘Kind Karaoke’ Episode 26.
[Hahahaha!]
[Wow, you’re a really good singer!]
[You flatter me.]
On a bright and colorful karaoke set, two guests and an MC are seen laughing across a table.
It’s a format currently popular in broadcast content targeting W-Tube—a small-scale singing talk show featuring luxurious guests and a humorous, non-aggressive host.
The bright and cheerful interior, the laughter, and even the cheers of the production staff were refreshing.
“There.”
The video stops.
A cut of the karaoke interior passing by.
A small, dark window on the karaoke room door.
A man’s face is there.
He is looking at the camera.
“Whew.”
It’s visible even within the darkness. It’s more distorted and noticeable than the capture of Episode 36 seen in the attached materials post.
As if trying to catch someone’s eye beyond the camera.
It was a spine-chilling sight that would make anyone freeze in terror or run away screaming if they discovered it unexpectedly.
“Okay.”
However, the two from the Field Exploration team quickly closed the video and clicked on another.
Because they were used to it.
Click, click. Their hands are fast as they successively click on files of other variety shows for the rounds ending in ‘6’.
…But here, they realize.
“…….”
“…….”
In the variety show formats popular these days, there aren’t many boisterous ones with a large number of people appearing.
Especially cases that use many people for reactions or audience participation. There are… none.
Therefore, there are no crowds.
In the end, the ‘Man on the Screen’ cannot sit among people as if he were one of them.
So….
The man appears in increasingly awkward ways.
In a variety show where people sit on cushions in a rooftop room and chat, the man standing outside the veranda looks at the camera. In a variety show about fishing in a river, the man with his face pressed right next to a cast member focused on fishing looks at the camera. In a variety show where an MC and an actor guest converse, the man standing stonily behind the table where the two sit facing each other looks at the camera.
His expression becomes increasingly bizarre.
His posture too.
Sometimes even his movements, which mimic the guests or the MC.
It’s as if he’s imitating them, but the awkwardness and the sense of wrongness make goosebumps crawl up one's spine….
“…….”
By this point, even an extreme mammonist would start to feel an ominous dread.
Kang Yihak swallowed hard and closed the recording.
But she does not hesitate.
“I’m putting it in.”
“Yes.”
Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae inserted the prepared USB into the main body of the editing equipment connected to the monitor.
Execution of the simple processing method provided by the company.
Transfer the video data into a storage device where self-playback is impossible and return it to an appropriate storage location (Speculation).
Based on the patterns of the Darkness, it was a reasonable method to attempt.
If a situation occurs where someone dies while watching a video featuring the ‘Man on the Screen’ in the editing room, all those videos can simply be stored separately and the editing room closed off.
Because if the video cannot be played, the phenomenon cannot even occur.
It’s unfortunate for the production staff, but they would have to be notified that they must use the original recording data that had not entered the editing room.
-We just have to put it straight into the USB without provoking it for no reason, right!
-That’s right.
Click.
As soon as the USB was connected, Kang Yihak, who had been waiting, opened the removable disk, grabbed all the files for the rounds ending in ‘6’ that were on the desktop and even the ‘In Editing’ folder all at once, and dragged them in an instant.
It was a speed that showed no hesitation, as it was a movement she had done so often.
‘Phew.’
And then, as expected of high-capacity files, a loading pop-up appears. The process of the recordings being moved to the removable disk—if they just endure this….
Copying…
“…….”
“…….”
Huh?
“Excuse me.”
Lee Seonghae speaks up.
“Why is your hand still there?”
Kang Yihak lowered her gaze to look at her hand.
Her hand, placed reflexively on the keyboard, was pressing the Ctrl key.
…A habit.
When dragging and dropping files or folders into a USB storage, it is processed as a move.
It’s a ‘Cut’.
But if you do it while holding the Ctrl key….
It becomes a ‘Copy’.
Something that naturally develops for a senior student who has done countless extracurricular activities and assignments.
Backing up.
“…….”
Kang Yihak looked at the files that were still transferring into the USB storage.
And she looked at the files still remaining on the desktop.
Containing the ‘Man on the Screen’.
At this rate, the originals will remain in the editing room.
However, a file that is currently being copied cannot be deleted.
‘No.’
With the feeling of her blood turning cold, Kang Yihak watched the ‘Copying’ pop-up and waited for it to finish.
The numbers climb steeply. Please. 90, 92, 95, 97, 99….
Completed.
At that moment, Kang Yihak immediately hammered the delete shortcut.
Are you sure you want to permanently
delete these 6 items?
Right now!
She had to do it quickly. Her hand must not slip. No, her hand did not slip, but strangely, supernaturally, the mouse double-clicked, and instead of delete, it clicked on icon playback, and the recording was played—
Your eyes met with the Man on the Screen.
Amidst the scenes of a joyful variety show, you see eyes that have met yours, still and alone, from beyond the camera.
Dilated pupils, two eyes as dark and black as holes in a face, are watching you. He smiles, baring his teeth.
He looks at you.
His mouth hangs open, and inside, a black void and blood-red gums and tongue are writhing and fixed. The mouth slowly informs you—
D o n ’ t d e l e t e i t
Uuugh-eee-eee-uuuugh-uh-ee-uuuugh-uh-ee-eee-ku-eee-eee-uh-ku-eee-eee-aaah-uh-eee-eee-uh-ee-uuuugh-uh-ee-uuuugh-ee-ee-ee
Numerous recordings are played simultaneously on the desktop. Sounds overlap, and lag occurs as the system stutters. A bizarre sound rings out. The playback positions of the recordings change at will, turning off, turning back on, and changing again. The screen flashes. From the screen—
Something is coming out.
Uuuh-uuu-uh-uuu-uuu-uh-uh-ee-ee-ee-uuu-gu-uh-uh-ku-uh-uh-uh-uh-ee-uh-uuu-uuu-uh-uh-ee-ee-ee-uuu-ee-uh-uuu
The video flickers. Scenes from various different variety programs change every second and are zoomed in. A common existence is edited and appears on the screen, that is—
The face
of the Man on the Screen
T h e m a n i s
c o m i n g o u t o f t h e s c r e e n z o o m i n g i n m o r e a n d m o r e l a r g e r m o r e a n d m o r e
l a r g e r m o r e a n d m o r e
l a r g e r
You are looking at the man's mouth.
The shape of the man's mouth, agape in a bizarrely round fashion, moves.
Those standing in front of the editing monitor have no choice but to watch it.
Kang Yihak’s gaze was fixed.
Lee Seonghae’s gaze was fixed.
They have no choice but to watch.
They are ready to listen to his words.
He is angry.
They will die after hearing all his words.
He…….
Tuk
“…….”
A sound.
Tuk, tuk, tuk
Smoke.
Tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk
Transport Cage.
Employee-nim.
“…!”
Kang Yihak bit her tongue until it bled to snap back to her senses. Then she quickly reached out. Her hand touched the lock of the Transport Cage that was right next to her.
She releases it.
Thud.
The sound of the iron bars opening.
However, ‘Employee-nim’ did not come out.
Instead, smoke like a black mist poured out thickly…….
And blocked the vision of the Field Exploration team.
“…!”
Dozens of light sources like yellow lanterns glowed through the smoke, disrupting the light and images of the monitor. The Man on the Screen can no longer be seen.
Because only the lanterns are visible through the smoke.
“…Ha!”
The Field Exploration team members, suddenly separated from the Darkness, inhaled sharply and straightened their bodies.
…Kang Yihak realized that she had been bowing her head so close to the editing monitor that her nose was almost touching it.
The chill made her back ache.
The recordings of the six videos continued to echo through the narrow editing room like screams, stuck in a loop.
Kang Yihak looked at the black mist and yellow eyes still flowing thick and heavy from the Transport Cage…. Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae seemed almost entirely surrounded by the smoke.
“Employee-nim!”
Kang Yihak made a rational judgment for now.
“Could you please wrap up that monitor tightly and… could you suppress that thing just once? Then I’ll resume immediately!”
Isn't that exactly the role of the Security Team!
However, the Black Smoke did not touch the monitor.
No, looking at it now… on the contrary, it was avoiding direct contact with the monitor or the editing equipment.
‘…Huh?’
The smoke formed letters.
Concerns upon contact :
“……!!”
Reason : Anomaly of a Non-physical Entity. Lack of data.
Wait.
So, does that mean… that just by coming into contact with it, that editing room ghost will be ‘affected,’ and he’s refraining out of fear that some crazy variable might occur?
And even that one of those variables is the Darkness disappearing?
‘Just how powerful is he?’
A somewhat thrilling sensation passed down her spine, but her mouth spoke rational words.
“Then, in order to resume work….”
And the task ‘Employee-nim’ suggested was very simple.
Do not stare at the Darkness
“…Of course! Those are rational words.”
But accuracy and efficiency drop drastically when a person cannot use their eyes….
Especially if it's a delicate task like finding files on a desktop and permanently deleting them while constantly closing video pop-ups that are appearing like crazy!
“But I think someone needs to be watching.”
And Employee-nim kindly answered that question as well.
The one watching : Me
At that moment,
Dozens of yellow eyes that had sprouted above the black mist stared at the monitor.
“…!”
…Yellow eyes on a black background.
‘……Huh?’
It was the moment Kang Yihak was reminded of something.
“Yes.”
At the same time, Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae began to move.
Since the conversation she was having separately with the Black Smoke while crouching had just concluded.
Expected result if start is delayed :
Because she had received the signal.
Tuk.
The Elite Squad member slid into the black mist and took a position under the desk where the monitor was.
As the smoke withdrew slightly to make room, she reached out only her right hand, grabbed the mouse on the desk, and brought it down to the floor where she was sitting.
“…!”
That’s right.
‘Even if I move the mouse under the desk, it’ll work just fine…!’
It’s possible because most equipment these days uses Bluetooth mice with strong connections.
Lee Seonghae placed the mouse on the floor to level it.
Then she gripped it tight and dragged it all the way down to the bottom right.
‘…! If she does that, it’ll definitely go to the very bottom right.’
She had aligned the position of the mouse pointer on the invisible screen.
Having adjusted the alignment like this, if she moved it up slightly… that would be the bottom of the monitor screen, where the ‘Show Desktop’ button is located.
She clicks.
“…!”
“Did it work?”
Tuk.
But it was only for a split second.
Uuuh-uuu-uh-aaah-uuu-aaah-nah-uuu-aaah-neu-aaah-neu-sah-gu-nah-uuu-uuu-jah-gu-ku-uh-ee-ee-uuu-uuu-joo-uuu-uuu-ah-jeu-ah-uuu-ah-sah-aaah-jah-uuu-uuu-uuu-uh-ee-ee-ee-uuu-ee-ee-ee-uuu-aaah-aaah-aaah
“Ugh!”
The recordings popped up again, and grotesque sounds began to echo chillingly in the dark editing room.
The Man on the Screen is still there.
‘Ha.’
Feeling cold sweat trickling down the back of her neck from a rare sense of dread, Kang Yihak forced a smile.
And one of the yellow eyes in the black mist looked back at her.
Input device
Damn it.
“Yes!”
She really works as much as she’s paid!
In the end, Kang Yihak also ran over, grabbed the keyboard, brought it down, and crouched under the desk, almost lying flat.
The keyboard, which was also Bluetooth, operated naturally.
“I’ll pull up the desktop, so Dolphin, please select them for deletion!”
Kang Yihak began repeatedly pressing the Windows key and D.
And so, they repeat like crazy.
At one time, the video would pop up first and the icon click would miss; at another, they would get almost there and the delete pop-up would disappear because the desktop key
was pressed.
And the sound becomes increasingly clear.
Ee-ee-ee-uh-uh-uh-oh-oh-oh-uuu-uuu-ee-eu-sahk-jeu-uuu-uuu-ee-ee-ee-eu-hah-jee-ee-ee-ee-eu-uuu-uuu-aaah-aaah-ee-ee-ee-ah-eu-ah-eu-uuu
A situation where cold sweat was making their hands damp.
However, Lee Seonghae moves calmly. While moving the pointer relying solely on her senses, she calmly learns Employee-nim’s signals and reduces errors.
Deleting by selecting all desktop icons with the keyboard doesn’t work. Because the Recycle Bin is included in that selection.
In the end, she had to designate the appropriate files excluding the Recycle Bin using the mouse.
After that, Kang Yihak would just have to press the button for ‘Permanent Delete’.
Until the timing is right.
Before it’s too late.
They repeat.
Ee-ee-ee-delete-ee-ee-die-uh-ah-ee-ee-ee-eu-jeu-ah-ah-ee-ee-ee-ah-eu-ah-eu-uuu-uuu-hah-jee-ee-ee-ee-eu-uuu-uuu-aaah-aaah-ee-ee-ee-ah-eu-ah-eu-uuu
To accurately catch the files Kang Yihak had grabbed earlier.
To make her input the permanent delete shortcut at that exact moment.
And then, one moment.
Tuk.
“…!”
Lee Seonghae knew.
“……Ah.”
Kang Yihak’s delete key had just gone in at the exact right timing.
And she imagines.
The pop-up on the monitor that Employee-nim would be seeing, but which is invisible to her.
Are you sure you want to permanently
delete these 6 items?
Is that it?
Tuk.
It is.
Lee Seonghae immediately placed her hand on the keyboard Kang Yihak was holding and repeatedly hammered Enter.
And she smashed the mouse she was holding against the floor.
So that the video wouldn't be played by being double-clicked 'by mistake'.
She went on to smash the keyboard as well.
Crunch.
The sound of panting and silence filled the editing room.
….
…….
“Is… it done?”
But Employee-nim is still surrounding them with the black mist. The monitor is not visible. What more needs to be done….
Tuk.
At that moment, a hand wearing a black glove emerged from the black mist and slightly pointed toward the main body of the editing equipment.
Ah, the USB!
“…!”
Kang Yihak approached the main body almost by crawling and pulled out the USB.
Only then did the black mist surrounding them withdraw.
“……Phew.”
Their vision was revealed. Rising to their feet, they looked into the editing monitor… and only the blue desktop was visible again.
There were no recordings, no man, and no bizarre lag or voices.
It was over.
They had contained the ‘Man on the Screen’ phenomenon within the USB.
“Ha!”
Kang Yihak slumped onto the floor.
She survived, and she made money.
Dopamine secreted madly through her central nervous system, making her heart pound. This is what happiness is….
But the next moment, Kang Yihak jumped up and bowed her head.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasted time because I left the original files on this computer in the middle!”
In times like this, mentioning it properly allows one to move past it relatively lightly, and prevents losing more or having to spend money later.
‘Still, I handled the cleanup well.’
She rolled the small magnet still held in her left hand within her palm.
Exclusive Equipment she had made with a free opportunity gained upon being promoted to Chief. It was an item with the performance: ‘Once a day, releases a lock immediately with a 50% probability.’
It had the disadvantage that it couldn't release a lock that she herself couldn't release no matter how much time she spent, but it was still a quite satisfactory piece of equipment.
And it had played a part this time too!
‘Would I have almost died if I hadn't been able to open the Transport Cage door immediately?’
Phew! High returns really do mean high risks!
“But for it to end this quickly. It’s all thanks to working with such capable people…. It was great to earn extra profit too! I’m glad it ended well!”
It was at that moment.
Employee-nim, who had returned to the Transport Cage and remained silent, reacted.
Tuk, tuk.
Negation.
Kang Yihak swallowed hard.
“……Could it be that you didn’t like the extra profit?”
Tuk, tuk.
“…….”
“…….”
If so.
What this Security Team Special Division employee negated was….
“The task isn't over.”
…….
“We’re misunderstanding something right now, aren’t we?”
Lee Seonghae’s calm voice gave Kang Yihak the chills.
“We missed something, didn’t we?”
Tuk.
“……!”
Before they could even ask what that meant.
“……I wonder, would this have been film in the old days?”
“Pardon?”
“The variety show recordings. They used film until the mid-2000s, didn’t they?”
Suddenly, Lee Seonghae, who was peering at the USB, spoke up.
To be precise, as she looked at the data within it.
“Even if it wasn't, the video data wouldn't have had any reason to go outside the editing room, right? Because full-scale editing can't be done anywhere else but the editing room anyway.”
“Hmm. I suppose so.”
Lee Seonghae raised her head.
“But right now, it’s out.”
“…….”
Kang Yihak realized the meaning of those words.
She had just experienced it.
The ‘Man on the Screen’ had reacted to the very act of deleting him.
So, if it wasn't the space of the editing room that was the trigger, but the act of ‘editing footage’ itself.
-Editing is… for now, I’m only doing the urgent things here during the day that require the equipment, and I’m doing as much as possible outside the station at a studio or from home.
On the personal PCs of every member of the editing-related production staff in the PBS Variety Department.
The ‘Man on the Screen’ is there.
As they left the station, they frantically began calling the Security Team.
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