Chapter 256: Ch 256: Completely Wrecked
Eun Haje nearly spat out the ice cream she was eating.
On the TV, a formal yet cheerful voice was hosting a matchmaking
program.
[Dear viewers, tonight, the ripest fruit of the most passionate love is coming
your way.]
[On the verge of their wedding, let us meet these splendid groom
candidates!]
On screen, along with an orchestral band sound that seemed lo-fi processed
and low in fidelity, the images of young men in white tuxedos passed
through heart-shaped effects.
[Which of them will capture the bride’s heart?]
Their tall, well-groomed looks certainly seemed fit for a dating TV show.
If only her boss weren’t among them...
He was even looking at the camera with a suave smile.
"Fuck."
The curse burst out reflexively, but it was more insane bewilderment than
displeasure.
’That guy...’
Is he contaminated?
After a wave of outrageous absurdity passed, a chill began to creep in.
Biting back a string of expletives, Eun Haje flung the ice cream aside and
began gathering her gear.
All the while, her eyes stayed fixed on the screen.
[The wedding is tomorrow! But of these seven candidates, only one can
become the White Bride’s groom.]
[Among those who would gladly lay down their lives for love, which one
will reap that fruit?]
The more she focused on the screen, the more oddities stood out.
Like the contestants’ profiles, introduced in a breezy tempo as if to flash by.
Name: ■■■■ ■■■
Height: 37 cm
Weight: 4 kg
Hobbies: Cello, recitation, death by asphyxiation
One word of resolve: I’m sorry please stop The groom who will kiss the
bride is me!
The bizarre figures listed for height and weight, the many lines of apology
and pleading in the notes column, the unfocused faces in the profile photos.
Right.
Easy to skim past, but if you paid attention you could notice it. It was like
they had dressed up a corpse for a photo...
[We can’t forget the cheers from those eliminated in the preliminaries!]
The quick cuts showing what might have been audience members or
acquaintances rooting for the contestants weren’t normal either.
They grinned as if the smiles were painted on, cheering through makeup
that seemed to conceal traces of loss, torture, or modification.
Yet all of this slipped by in a bright, jolly mood, and the program
introduction was drawing to a close.
The textbook move for an entertainment show was this.
Introducing the professional host.
[And now, we proudly present! The host of our program!]
In the cut of the groom candidates entering the hall, the handsome man
walking at the back turned, and winked at the camera.
It was Lee Jaheon.
"Urk—! Guh!"
[I infiltrated as a groom candidate and experienced every part of the
training course. Yes, that would be me!]
[With the insight that only experience can bring, I’ve put together tonight’s
very provocative, hair-raising, heart-pounding love survival course!]
As Eun Haje hacked furiously to clear her choking throat.
[Then let’s begin!]
On the screen, the grooms each struck a dashing pose to close out the
opening...
And at the center, raising both arms in a stylish greeting, stood Lee Jaheon
in a white suit.
"Insane."
Contamination.
Eun Haje grabbed her smartphone on the spot.
Her fingers moved fast and sure as she dialed the direct number the Disaster
Management Bureau agents had given her.
Kim Soleum had told the bureau that he would be entering an unconscious,
defenseless state to make contact with the Space Shopping Mall, and had
also asked the two agents to keep an eye on him just in case.
The call connected after two rings, and Eun Haje asked point-blank.
"Is Soleum alright?"
– Pardon?
"We need to check. Now."
On the other end there was a brief rustle, as if they were checking the
protected space where Kim Soleum was staying.
And then.
– No abnormalities in heart rate, breathing, or body temperature. What’s the
matter?
"..."
No, it’s just...
Eun Haje started to explain, then locked eyes with a groom candidate on the
TV.
Contestant No. 3, name unknown, was playing the violin with a rose in his
mouth, putting on a pitiful act like an idiot...
"..."
– Ms. Civilian?
"If he’s fine for now, that’s enough."
With a final request to call if anything happened, Eun Haje hung up.
...It was a ghost story, yes.
But maybe it wasn’t as extreme or serious as she’d thought...
’Is this... maybe that punk Soleum pulling some outlandish stunt to escape
again?’
She couldn’t tell whether the situation was dangerous, or whether Soleum
had twisted it into something bizarre.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje picked the ice cream back up and watched the
TV with a troubled expression.
To begin with, nothing seemed... well, remotely wrong with Section Chief
Lee Jaheon’s condition...
[The first round is poetry recitation.]
[The candidate who most elegantly combines the poems written on the
hidden bookmarks scattered throughout the venue, and recites a graceful,
complete poem, wins!]
The program was sensational.
It spotlighted each candidate, making viewers either mock them or cheer for
them.
Two candidates who created ridiculous, laughable poems were paired with
cute, comical background music, prompting affectionate reactions.
Conversely, someone who failed to find several bookmarks but used a
clever idea to complete a truly impressive poem received applause.
And finally... for the two candidates who failed to produce a proper poem.
They were hung outside the windows of the boarding school’s top tower
side by side.
[Let’s receive votes from our viewers.]
[Who should be eliminated? And who should remain to continue this
competition?]
The elimination was decided by the ’viewers’.
[Press the number on your remote! For only 60 seconds, the fates of these
groom candidates will change.]
"..."
Eun Haje picked up the remote and stared at the screen.
[ Candidate to Eliminate: No. 1 ]
Whenever she placed her finger on a number button, the corresponding
contestant’s profile photo on screen enlarged.
’Ha...’
A physically impossible situation.
Even the real-time voting percentages reflected on screen, and then...
[ Candidate to Eliminate: No. 5 ] 63%
During the final 10 seconds of voting, the numbers vanished.
And then the countdown.
10, 9, 8, 7...
[Ah, the results are in!]
With applause, sound effects of disappointment, and a dramatic close-up of
the losing candidate’s profile.
The eliminated candidate was shoved off the top of the boarding school
after being hit on the head with a book, falling in a ridiculous pose.
[Eliminated!]
With the crash of cymbals, exaggerated effects, and peals of laughter.
Then some of the ’experiential trainees’ seated in the guest section were
flung from their seats as the lights on their chairs blinked out.
A loud sound as they were hurled out the window echoed theatrically.
[The experiential trainees who chose incorrectly share the same fate. What a
pity!]
Then the camera shifted to the remaining groom candidates, creating an
atmosphere full of encouragement and relief.
[Six groom candidates remain.]
[Congratulations, everyone. You’ve taken one step closer to the bride!]
The most chilling thing was...
That all of it was entertaining.
[Long ago they said that whoever captures the stomach captures the heart!
A perfect expression for our second round.]
[The next competition is cooking! The candidates will compete to prepare a
warm, nutritious lunch for the bride. And the eliminations... oh my, there
will be two this time!]
It was fascinating.
Even cruel punishments, when paired with cheerful sound effects and goofy
humor, stopped feeling tragic.
The eliminations inside the TV—made safely distant from the viewer—
provided nothing more than sweaty-palmed suspense or hollow laughter.
And sprinkled throughout, the seasoning of emotion.
The pang of regret when a surprisingly likable candidate is eliminated. The
satisfaction when a useless candidate who kept surviving on luck finally
gets knocked out.
The pleasure of judging.
The absurdity and humor of the elimination methods.
The dopamine thrill that numbed the brain’s ethical and moral sensors,
preventing them from activating naturally.
"..."
Eun Haje looked at the empty ice-cream cup in her hand and felt a brief
shiver.
At some point she had naturally picked it up again, just as if she was
watching a genuinely entertaining TV show.
A sharp tingle of danger crawled up the back of her head.
’Seems high-grade.’
But nothing went wrong. The program flowed like a stream. It didn’t
suddenly erupt into reality, nor did Section Chief Lee get brutally killed.
Eventually, five groom candidates were eliminated through various
methods, the experiential trainees who supported them disappeared from
the guest seats one by one...
And then it reached the finale.
[Only two candidates remain!]
[No. 2 and No. 6.]
The final match.
The camera showed the two groom candidates waving enthusiastically
toward it, as if fully immersed in the program.
[This is the last round.]
[The winner will have the honor of walking the wedding road to meet the
bride!]
The ceremonial hall had already been fully prepared for the wedding, gentle
lighting and piano music flowing softly through the venue...
And then, a final-round challenge befitting the climax.
[The bride’s choice.]
Eun Haje unconsciously leaned forward toward the TV.
The camera turned.
The groom candidates stood at the end of the white-velvet wedding road,
facing the officiant’s altar ahead of them.
There was still no one there.
[Now, once the bride steps out herself to greet the groom, the wedding will
begin.]
[Whom will the bride choose?]
The camera once again showed the bodies of the groom candidates, full of
joy and anticipation, tension and worry all mixed together... then the angle
shifted.
A long side shot of the wedding road.
A camera angle that captured the entire venue, with the groom candidates’
profiles lined up on the right side of the frame.
A mise-en-scène[1] that made everyone feel certain they would soon see the
bride make her first entrance, walking down the wedding road toward them.
And then.
[We begin.]
With a cheerful cue, a drumroll sounded.
Viewers imagined the bride and watched the screen with eager anticipation.
But...
"..."
Nothing happened.
’What?’
Eun Haje leaned toward the TV slightly. Nothing appeared on the screen,
and yet, there was a noise. And from the far end of the wedding road,
something emer
A W h i t e H a n d
itisawhitelumpoffleshwithfivejointedbranchesattachedabentthingpeeledskin
flutteringlikeaveilatthetipofthefleshaglitteringquartzlikeproteinstructurea
giganticthingamovingthingittravelsdowntheweddingroadusingitsindexand
middlefingersanditsringfingerbumpsintotheguestseatscandlestrembleflowers
arecrushedofferingsslipbetweenfingerprintsandjoints
Alien and vivid and immense
Like the hand of a real human appearing in a puppet show, it seizes
the
g
r
o
o
m
.
.
.
the sound of the screen cutting out static screams black-and-white footage
with magenta noise bursting upward strange noises wailing chewing sounds
blood a gigantic hand a cut white fingers a blinking black screen
fragmented scenes the sound of the groom being pressed and scraped
across the floor between the fingers movement a frozen screen a connection
an arm slipping out from the left edge
gone
the end
...
...
Eun Haje stood up.
Small drops of red trickled down to the floor.
A nosebleed.
"..."
She lifted her head.
[Congratulations!]
An empty screen.
The frozen camera showed nothing but the deserted wedding road of the
ceremony hall.
Strange marks left on the velvet.
[It seems the White Bride was satisfied. Looks like she enjoyed a lovely
time with her groom.]
A bright band soundtrack burst forth.
Applause and cheers.
[But many of you must be curious about what comes next.]
[Of course, we can’t skip hearing the final impressions of our last
eliminated candidate!]
The ending credits rolled.
[We’ll see you next week, in a special corner of the Late-Night Talk Show.]
...
...!
A flash of lightning raced through Eun Haje’s mind.
A ghost story connected to Kim Soleum, a black-and-white broadcast, and
then...
The host’s manner of speech.
"...Tuesday Quiz Show."
She shot upright.
Eun Haje rushed to the phone again and called the agents.
This time with a far clearer purpose.
– Ms. Civilian? There are no unusual reports so far about Agent Grapes’s
condi—
"Do you—"
Eun Haje wet her dry lips.
"—know anything about a talk show?"
– ...Pardon?
"No, a quiz show. I mean... an old-style program on a black-and-white TV.
Did Soleum ever mention or hint at anything like that? What’s it again,
Braun..."
– Braun?
The agent reacted.
’So they do know Braun’s Late-Night Talk Show?’
But.
– Are you referring to the plush doll Agent Grapes carries around?
"...What?"
– The rabbit plushie.
Eun Haje remembered instantly.
...That pink rabbit plushie Kim Soleum had started carrying in his front
pocket at some point. She had assumed it was an item or something for
mental stabilization.
And she had even seen him carrying a similar plushie recently.
– Isn’t that doll’s name Braun?
...
"...!!"
* * *
[Hmph. Not bad for a broadcast thrown together in such a hurry. The ratings
were decent!]
– ...
[Mr. Roe Deer, what do you think?]
I looked around the wedding hall.
The few experiential trainees who survived, the blood pooled on the floor,
the snapped joints, the scraped marks left by those dragged away.
Braun really had...
’Completely... wrecked the whole place...’
Ha...
Note/s:
[1] Mise-en-scène – the arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a
play. ↵