Chapter 222: Ch 222: A ringing bell
[Oh, fascinating. That man in the footage from the 2000s, who once had no
way of leaving its confines, can now visit home offices thousands of miles
away even after closing the editing room...]
[Editors of the 21st century have unintentionally extended him an
invitation.]
My blood went cold.
Or rather, if I had a human body, that’s how I’d describe it.
I was in the crate, carried in the hands of the two Field Exploration Team
employees who were now sprinting out of the broadcasting station in panic.
One of them was already on the line with the company’s Security Team.
This wasn’t so much a rescue request as it was a report of a catastrophic,
uncontrollable incident.
The fatal spread of the ghost story.
[...What?]
The Guard Team sergeant immediately grasped the severity of the situation
as soon as they heard.
[Hold on... Stay where you are for a moment.]
Then they ended the call to contact the company in more detail.
Meanwhile, I was thinking.
How could the anomaly be contained, when it now resides in perhaps
dozens of personal storage devices, and might even be on the cloud?
But... that was not something a small group could handle.
It would require the power of a large, coordinated force.
However, remaining still and simply waiting for the company’s response is
not the duty of a contracted employee... No, rather, time is too tight to sit
idly by and wait solely for the company’s decisive action.
The ’man in the screen’ had already been provoked once during the
isolation procedure in the editing room.
At worst, the stage leading to full catastrophe had now accelerated.
First, immediate action.
Contact the client
"Yes!"
While Lee Seonghae was also reporting to the Field Exploration Team,
Kang Yihak snatched up her phone and got the PD on the line.
Hello. Sorry to call so suddenly, but I have something I need to ask you.
"...! Hello. Sorry to call so suddenly, but I have this thing I need to ask
you..."
Kang Yihak glanced at the black smoke for confirmation, reading the words
obediently.
"Right now, are there any staff members from PBS’s Variety Department
currently working from home or in their personal studios on editing
sessions? Specifically, episodes ending in 6, the ones where the ’Man in the
Screen’ would appear."
Especially around this time of the day.
"Anyone working on the episodes right now is a top priority."
– Of course there’s bound to be someone. But, uh, why do you—
Please get in touch with them.
This is an urgent matter.
– ...Ah, yes.
The PD’s voice was reluctant, but soon he seemed to realize the gravity of
the situation and what he had hired them for.
He hurriedly started messaging and calling around in a panic.
And soon.
– ...Why isn’t she answering?
...
A flustered voice, frantic typing.
– Huh? Wait. Hold on. I mean, I tried calling her but... ...Why won’t she
pick up?"
"PD-nim, please listen to me carefully."
It’s too late.
Sensing the chill in the PD’s voice, Kang Yihak quickly cut in.
"PD-nim, immediately remove every file ending in ’6’ from the shared
cloud storage your department uses. Delete them if possible."
And.
"Make absolutely sure to pass this on to everyone editing footage in the
Variety Department. From this moment on, do not touch any episodes
ending in 6. If anyone currently has them open..."
She read the words formed in smoke as if water was flowing, her voice
quick.
"Tell them to deliberately avoid looking at the ’Man in the Screen’, and not
to attempt deletion either."
– ...What exactly is going on right now—
"We’ll explain everything later. Even just talking about this puts you at risk.
Your department made a grave mistake. A severe miscalculation."
Though she’d never been instructed to, Kang Yihak smoothly shifted the
blame onto the Variety Department.
"...Huu. Still, since you hired us, we’ll try our best to contain this on our
end. First, give us the address of the person who’s gone silent."
The terrified PD immediately gave the address to the Field Exploration
Team.
It was an officetel in Seoul, 20 minutes away.
As we sped toward it in a hastily hailed taxi, Lee Seonghae whispered to me
through the carrier.
"The chances that she’s already called the police... probably high, right?"
Tap, tap.
A wisp of smoke slipped out of the case.
Difficulty in assessment
Reason : Psychological factors
Humans always want to believe stay optimistic in times like these.
Calling the police meant something far beyond mere supernatural fear. It
signified that something truly ’serious’ had happened.
Because of that, there was a high chance that whoever was involved would
wait it out, at least for a while.
And then, after a few minutes, they finally reached their first destination.
As they stepped into the elevator...
Beep.
"...!"
It was the Security Team.
The Field Exploration Team member urgently grabbed the radio, but...
[We’ve already sent a support request... but I don’t know exactly when it’ll
come through...]
A response typical of Daydream Inc. came back.
[Upper management... well, they’re delaying the decision...]
"...!"
[Hooh, seems they don’t want to spend the money it would take to clean
this up. Crass, but very on-brand for a capitalist corporation.]
Lee Seonghae’s expression stiffened slightly.
"Then... could we at least have the Security Team member assigned to ’Mr.
Employee’ accompany us?"
[The Security Team... can’t leave company grounds during the day on their
own. We’d need equipment for that.]
"..."
[However.]
The sergeant’s voice sharpened.
[...Because of my assignment, I’m wearing gear that allows me to leave
during the day. So... if the situation calls for it, if deployment is
necessary... hmm.]
"...!"
[Hey... that employee you’re carrying in the crate... isn’t he hard to
control? He seems like he would be...]
All eyes turned to me.
Affirmative
"...That’s right!"
"It’s unbelievably hard! We’re absolutely in need of help to contain him!"
The Field Exploration Team members shouted this as they held the elevator.
[...I see.]
There was a faint sound of approval, almost proud.
A soft, fleeting laugh slipped into the sergeant’s voice, then faded.
[I’ll be off, then...]
And the moment Lee Seonghae and Kang Yihak stepped into the elevator.
Beep.
From the shadow of the walkie-talkie in their hands, a black silhouette
emerged.
"...!"
The sergeant.
Unlike usual deployments, the uniform covering his body was now topped
with a heavy, intricately patterned hood.
Beep.
The elevator’s CCTV switched off. A heavy sense of pressure and
wrongness filled the confined space.
"..."
The sergeant reached out and took the carrier from them.
"I’ll keep reporting to the company through another staff member... so
don’t worry about that."
"Yessir."
Ding.
The elevator arrived at their floor. The three of them quickly made their
way to the assistant director’s apartment number that the PD had given
them...
The front door was ajar.
"..."
From inside, laughter spilled out.
The sound of a variety show.
Tension settled on the Field Exploration Team members’ shoulders.
"I’ll go in and take a look..."
The sergeant opened the door.
From inside the crate he was carrying, I could already see the scene through
the open doorway...
The assistant director lay collapsed on the floor, both eyes gouged out.
"...!!"
Blood covered the cramped living room. An overturned chair, a desk, and
on top of it...
The computer monitor.
Its screen flickered.
The editing software was open on the display, showing a man’s twisted
expression in close-up. Black eyes. A smile baring teeth. Mouth open, gaze
fixed straight at us and—
CRUNCH.
The monitor and the computer tower crumpled together in one brutal
motion.
A massive black beast’s paw withdrew back to the sergeant’s shoulder.
"...!!"
"Since he’s already been stored in the USB... then smashing everything
else like this... should do it, right?"
That was correct.
But the dead would not return.
...It was already too late.
And there was more.
"But you know... The door, it was open."
The sergeant tilted his head, sniffing through his mask as he spoke.
"Someone else was here and... ran... away."
"...!"
"Someone who was in another room..."
There had been a witness.
To what extent they had been caught up in this phenomenon, or what they
had seen, was unknown.
"..."
Bzzzzzt.
Just then, a new message came from the PD.
– 4 people aren’t answering their phones or
reading messages.
With this, it was confirmed that four of the PBS Variety Department’s
editing staff had gone completely silent.
And one of them had even left a bizarre message in the group chat.
– N: imlookkingiml ooking
imlookingpleaseiwontimtrluysor r’y
– youreallgoingtodie
Even from the screenshots, a chilling aura seeped through.
– Please, please call me back.
The PD’s desperation was evident as he begged for news about what was
happening, whether the assistant director in this apartment was okay. He
also sent over the addresses of all those they had lost contact with.
Everyone on site understood.
The situation was rapidly escalating beyond the point where individuals
could possibly contain it.
"First, I’ll report the witness situation to the company. Then we’ll head to
the home of one of the others we’ve lost contact with..."
"Come on, Assistant Manager."
Kang Yihak cut her off.
"Shouldn’t we just leave this place before the police arrive?"
"..."
Lee Seonghae looked at Kang Yihak.
She didn’t seem very interested in the corpse.
Instead, she scanned the house as if checking whether there was anything of
value, gauging its worth.
"We’ve done enough, haven’t we? There’s no guarantee we won’t be too
late if we chase down that address, and it’s not like this job comes with any
special hazard pay. Honestly, our work should be considered done back at
the editing room!"
"Oh."
"We’ve already reported everything to the company, so let them handle the
rest. You should take a break, Assistant Manager. Haha, we’ve definitely
earned what we were paid for."
"And if someone dies because it’s too late?"
Kang Yihak gave her a thumbs-up.
"Well, that’s for the company to deal with!"
"Aha."
Lee Seonghae smiled faintly and simply looked at Kang Yihak.
The sergeant, standing by, seemed detached from the scene, blank-faced
and still.
...
[Oh dear, Mr. Roe Deer. You seem impatient.]
Am I feeling impatient?
[Yes. Of course, an uninvited guest who ruins the mood of the show is an
unwelcome nuisance! Especially one with neither wit nor charm. How
dreadful. Oh, dear.]
Braun seemed to be recalling the ’man in the screen’ he had seen.
I thought back as well.
To the reaction of the late-night talk show host whose face had filled the
monitor in the editing room, alongside that man’s face.
Mockery.
Contempt.
Not the dull, hazy fear I had felt, but vivid verbal scorn.
[But listen.]
A generous offer was given.
– Look at that pitiful sight! He can’t accept that he doesn’t deserve to
appear, and so he’s desperate to be seen, even if only for a moment in some
clip of footage.
– Ah, of course. On set, he’d be thrown out in an instant. This is the only
way he can appear, I suppose. Good grief.
[If my friend here is so worried about this pathetic, third-rate, worthless
intruder’s whereabouts, I can invite him to my splendid talk show as an
audience member.]
[Even a shabby little corner seat would thrill him. In three days—no, two—
he’d burn himself out from the glory and vanish completely.]
[What do you say?]
...
No.
I cannot make that decision.
[Hm? ...Ah, I see.]
[You mean you can’t send him to a talk show because he’s company
property, correct? The employment contract that mortgages your time and
judgment must state that quite clearly.]
That’s right.
I cannot take any action that would clearly cause loss to the company.
Even more so if the task was explicitly ordered as work.
Even if I found a loophole, getting caught would only lead to harsher restrictions...
getting caught would only lead to harsher
restrictions...
...
[Oh, it’s fine, Friend! Cheer up.]
[Constraints are essential for good content, don’t you think? What matters is
that we’ve met like this and are experiencing something fun once again!]
It isn’t fun.
[Oh my! Doubting yourself again. No worries. Your mental pillar, your
companion in adventure, your soul’s entertainer is right beside you!]
...
Let’s go with that.
For now, I had to focus on the next task.
I tore my gaze from the eyeless corpse and pressed down the strange throb
in my heart.
Then, the moment I began to communicate through smoke.
Beep.
"...!"
The Security Team.
The voice came through immediately from the radio pressed by the
sergeant.
[Sergeant.]
It was Badger. Supervisor Park Minseong’s voice.
[Over there, Ro... 130666, is safe, right?]
"Yeah..."
[Huu... Thank goodness.]
His tone quickly shifted back into the professional, courteous voice typical
of the Security Team.
[The company has finalized a response plan. I’ll connect you now.]
"...!"
All eyes from the Field Exploration Team turned to the radio.
The crackling static gave way to the sound of a phone being connected
somewhere...
And then, a voice came through.
It wasn’t Kwak Jekang’s.
—Hello.
...!
—It’s been a long time since we last spoke like this, hasn’t it? Not since you
signed that contract. The news has reached all the way up here, you see.
...A woman’s calm, deep voice.
Director Cheong.
—I’ve been hearing good things about your recent work. Seems you’ve
adjusted quite well... Hm. Aside from that anomaly, this case was clean.
"Who..."
"...Director Cheong."
Gasp.
—The other employees also did their part quite well.
"Hahaha, thank you!"
Kang Yihak quickly replied politely, but Director Cheong continued
speaking as if she hadn’t heard.
—I read the report that this could lead to large-scale civilian casualties.
Seems it’s become quite a powerful Darkness.
The choice of words confirmed my suspicion.
’...’
"Mr. Employee?"
Then.
I formed words with smoke and showed them to the sergeant.
"..."
His eyes narrowed.
Perhaps because he already knew, given his position.
"...Hmm."
Tap, tap. The sergeant tapped the carrier lightly as if patting it, then read my
words to Director Cheong over the phone.
"130666 is asking..."
Question :
’The Man in the Screen’
Registration status as a Darkness in the past
"If this phenomenon wasn’t originally one the company already had in its
possession..."
"...!!"
The memories, have they returned?
The conversation I’d had with the sergeant in the Dream Incubation
Chamber of the Cheerful Research Institute.
– I mean... even if someone clears it, if Essence can’t be extracted from it
anymore... they throw it out...
The company manual was unnervingly clear.
This was a phenomenon that had abruptly vanished in the 2000s.
Yet now, it reappeared suddenly.
When a Darkness loses its supernatural presence, Dream
Essence can no longer be harvested from it.
In such cases, after the deletion procedure of its
registration number, it’s discarded, although some are
recycled through research or recharge processes.
One keyword stands out.
Recycling.
"They... deliberately released this into the civilian sector again... to
’restore its supernatural presence’. So it could start producing Dream
Essence again..."
The sergeant likely knew.
– What do you mean by disposing of Darknesses?
He would have been in the Field Exploration Team when this ghost story
was first registered as a Darkness.
And with that knowledge, the redacted portions of today’s work documents
took on new meaning.
Refer to ■■Record #C16548.
Refer to Disposal Record #C16548.
Daydream Inc. had intentionally reintroduced this disposed ghost story into
the broadcasting station.
To let it thrive until it could once again be harvested.
"..."
—You’re well-informed.
"...!"
—We merely took the phenomenon already in place, managed it for a time,
and returned it.
—No one’s lost anything. Of course, this is production know-how that must
never leave the company, so everyone who’s heard this, keep it to
yourselves.
Lee Seonghae’s tense breathing was audible.
Director Cheong’s calm voice continued.
—That will be all for now.
...
"Huh?"
—I’m telling you to return.
"Will the Security Team be dispatched?"
—Of course not.
What?
—Why should my company waste valuable manpower and resources on a
civilian disturbance?
Director Cheong spoke calmly.
—Why use a tiger-hunting blade to butcher a chicken? It’s cumbersome,
wasteful, and... I detest that.
—The cleanup will be handled by the organization meant to handle cleanup.
...Organization?
—Yes. The very one funded by taxes for that purpose. And if you pay taxes,
you should make use of what you’ve paid for.
—Being swayed by emotion and spouting personal opinions on company
matters is something only a fledgling like Director Ho would do.
Director Ho.
The agency that Director Ho held a grudge against...
—Conveniently, this works out perfectly.
—That foolish bureau will follow the report trail and resolve the
supernatural disaster. All the while unaware that our company has secured
the only original copy of the ghost story.
...
—You should hurry back.
I lifted my head.
—It’s been a while since the report was filed with the Disaster Management
Bureau... They’ll be showing up any moment.
From somewhere...
A bell began to ring.