[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 him an invitation.]
My blood ran cold.
A situation where, if I possessed a human body, I would surely use such an expression.
I'm 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 Sergeant 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 in 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 Seonghae, who was also reporting to the Field Exploration Team, Kang Yihak immediately picked up her phone and connected 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 Yihak read the black smoke with quick wit.
"Is there anyone from the PBS Variety Department working from home or a personal studio on video editing today? Specifically, the episodes ending in the number 6, where the 'Man in the Screen' might appear."
>Especially around this time of day.
"It's more urgent if they're working on the episodes right 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.
And soon.
-…Why isn't she picking up?
...
A flustered voice, the sound of typing.
-Huh? Wait a minute. No, I tried calling her but... …Why isn’t she answering?
"PD-nim, please listen to me carefully."
It's too late.
Kang Yihak sputtered to the PD, who had frozen with a chilling premonition.
"Take down all the files ending in 6 from the cloud storage your department uses. It would be better if you deleted them."
"And please be sure to tell everyone who does video editing in the Variety 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 Yihak's rapid voice could be heard, reading the letters formed of smoke as if they were flowing water.
"Tell them to absolutely not try to intentionally look at the 'Man in the Screen,' nor attempt 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 Yihak, having naturally shifted the blame to the Variety 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 Seonghae whispered 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 boarded the elevator...
Beep.
"…!"
It was 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 Seonghae's face hardened slightly.
"Then for now, we'd like it if at least the security team members in charge of 'Mr. Employee' could act with us."
-The security team… can't arbitrarily leave the company during the day... We have to gear up.
"..."
-However.
The Sergeant's voice became somewhat sharp.
-…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 he hard to control? I feel like he would be...
All eyes turned to me.
>Affirmative.
"…That's right!"
"It's so hard I could die! We are in dire need of help with controlling him!"
The Field Exploration Team members shouted as they held the elevator heading to their destination.
-…I see.
A faint hint of pride.
A very faint trace of a smile touches the Sergeant's voice and then vanishes.
-I'm dispatching...
And the moment Lee Seonghae and Kang Yihak board the elevator.
Beep.
From within the shadow of the radio held in their hands, a black figure rises.
"…!"
The Sergeant.
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 filled the confined space.
"..."
The Sergeant reached out and took the carrier from them.
"I’ll keep reporting to the company through another employee…, so don't worry."
"Yep."
Ding.
Soon, the elevator arrived at the floor. The three of them walked 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 could be heard.
The sound of a variety show.
Tension settled on the shoulders of the Field Exploration Team members.
"I'm going in..."
The Sergeant opened 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 flickered.
On the monitor, where an editing program was open, a man with a distorted expression was 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 were crushed at once.
A huge paw of a black beast was crudely withdrawn back to the Sergeant'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.
"But you know… The door, it was open."
The Sergeant, pressing on his mask and using his sense of smell, tilted his head and said..
"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 Variety Department's editing staff, and that one of them had even left a strange message in a group chat.
-N: imwatchingi'm watchingi'm i'mtryingitout watchingpleasei won'tdo it againi'm really sorr-'y
-You'reallgoingtodie
The chilling feeling is transmitted through the screenshots alone.
-Please, please call me back.
Fear bled from the PD's messages asking what happened and if the assistant director in this house is okay. And he had desperately sent the addresses of the people he's lost contact with.
Everyone at the scene felt 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 Yihak cut her off.
"Shouldn't we just get out of here quickly before the police arrive?"
"..."
Lee Seonghae stared at Kang Yihak.
Kang Yihak seemed to have little interest in the corpse.
Rather, she just scanned the house as if to check if there was 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 Yihak gave a thumbs-up.
"That's for the company to deal with!"
"Aha."
Lee Seonghae smiled faintly, then simply looked at Kang Yihak.
The Sergeant stood 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.]
Braun seemed to be recalling the 'Man in the Screen' he had seen.
I recalled 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 immediately came from the radio pressed by the Sergeant.
-Sergeant.
It's the voice of Badger, Supervisor Park Minseong.
-Is Ro…, 130666 there and well?
"Yeah..."
-Phew… that's a relief.
His tone soon returned 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...
And then a voice came through.
Someone other than Kwak Jekang.
-Hello.
...!
-It's been a while since we've spoken like this, hasn’t it? Not since you signed the contract. Word of this has come all the way up here, you see.
…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 irregularity.
"Who..."
"…Director Cheong."
Gasp.
-The other employees also did their parts quite well.
"Hahaha, thank you!"
Kang Yihak answered promptly and politely, but Director Cheong only continued with what she had to say, as if she hadn’t heard.
-I've received the report that this could lead to mass civilian casualties. It seems to have become quite a powerful Darkness.
And her choice of words made me certain of my suspicions.
'...'
"Mr. Employee?"
If that's the case.
I formed letters with smoke and showed them to the Sergeant.
"..."
His eyes narrowed.
Because, given his position, there's a high probability he already knew this fact.
"…Hmm."
The Sergeant, tapping the carrier as if stroking it, read my words to Director Cheong over the phone.
"130666 is asking..."
>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 Sergeant in the Dream Incubation Chamber of the Cheerful Research Institute.
-“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 is recurring now.
When a Darkness loses its supernatural presence, Dream Essence can no longer be collected.
In such cases, after the deletion procedure of its registration number, it is disposed of, although some of these Darknesses are recycled through processes such as research and recharging.
One keyword stands out.
Recycling.
"This… wasn't it intentionally released to the public again… to restore its 'supernatural presence'? So that it could produce Dream Essence again..."
The Sergeant 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 Disposal Record #C16548.
Daydream Inc. had intentionally released this disposed ghost story back to the broadcasting station.
So that the ghost story would flourish until Dream Essence 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 Seonghae's silent breath could be heard.
Director Cheong's nonchalant voice was 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-hunting blade to butcher a chicken? It's cumbersome, it wastes resources… and I detest that.
-The cleanup will be handled by the organization meant to handle cleanup.
...Organization?
-Yes. The one that gets funded by 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 Yuwon does.
Director Ho.
The agency Director Ho holds a grudge against is...
-It happens to also kill two birds with one stone.
-That dull-witted bureau 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 was filed with the Disaster Management Bureau… they should be showing up at any moment.
From somewhere, the sound of a bell began to be heard.
TL Notes: -
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