Chapter 4
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 4Object Head (3)
March 1st.
It’s a camera.
At first, I thought I saw it wrong.
Standing there blatantly flashing its lens, it was indeed a camera, even when I looked again.
'It wasn't here originally.'
It's not that I just missed it yesterday. I clearly remember it being completely empty even at night.
A small clearing in front of the building.
Set up to face the direction of the house, the camera is left abandoned on a tripod, seemingly without even the consideration of hiding it.
'Is it meant to monitor me?'
I can't really tell just by looking at it like this.
Upon closer inspection, other than a dummy battery being connected to it, there is nothing else attached.
As you can see, it's just a simple recording.
That is simply all it is.
'I can't figure out the reason.'
I detached the camera from the tripod and turned off the recording.
Then, I checked the saved video.
'It's been recording since the night?'
From the dark early morning until now.
A video recorded continuously for a little over 10 hours remained.
Checking it in fast-forward, nothing particular was caught, but my figure walking out of the building was recorded exactly as is.
'So this is what I looked like.'
Only then was it possible to see my appearance from an external perspective.
Dressed in a suit.
A skinny and elongated physique. In reality, my legs are also extremely long and large.
Up to there, I was just a tall man, but the alien part was indeed my head.
Above the cleanly severed cross-section of my neck, a single blue flame floats alone.
Object Head.
It is exactly the typical appearance of an Object Head shown in media.
It was a flame rather than an object, but ultimately it's the same context, so I shouldn't nitpick.
'Does it also show who the owner of the camera is?'
I rewound the video to the beginning.
I can see the people setting up the camera, but they covered their faces with masks, so it's impossible to check their features.
Still, what I can see right now are three men and women.
The woman even posed prettily and waved her hand at the camera.
'These people look endlessly frivolous.'
It means this isn't a camera with an important purpose.
They set it up and were recording for a trivial reason.
'Are there any other videos?'
There are.
Similarly, it's a video from a different date recorded continuously for a dozen hours.
Upon checking, I could figure out it was a similar type of filming in a completely different location.
A screen filming an isolated ruin like a CCTV.
There were no special scenes other than the scenery.
'This... I get it.'
I understand the true nature of the video, and the reason for recording.
This was a recording by occult followers trying to catch a ghost on camera at a haunted spot.
The owner of the camera is probably a YouTuber or a documentary producer.
Now, what I need to suspect is what this camera was aiming for when they set it up.
Were they aiming for me?
Or were they only aiming for a haunted spot, and I just happened to be caught by coincidence?
'They wouldn't have bad intentions, right?'
Among people whose actions precede conversation, there are many dangerous individuals.
I can't check their impressions because of the masks, but for now, the fact that they are just blindly recording doesn't leave a very good impression.
'I should delete the video.'
I deleted the video that was just saved.
I only want conversation with a person; I don't desire being secretly filmed.
If they are truly curious about my existence, I hope they come directly and talk.
Although the flaw is that even if they come directly, I can't explain who I am or what kind of existence I am.
I set the camera back up and then moved locations.
The YouTube channel name is 'Hunting Ghost'.
They possess about 70,000 subscribers, and considering the topic, their average views easily hit 100,000, making it a decent channel.
The main content is exploring haunted spots.
When they receive a tip from a viewer, they go to the spot and record.
If a ghost appears, or something looking like a ghost is discovered, they make a video and upload it to YouTube—that was their content.
Because of the topic, there had been a lot of trial and error and difficulties while filming so far, but cases where they themselves made a mistake weren't that common.
"It didn't record."
Jin-ho, with a devastated expression, muttered while looking at the memory card that was empty except for the video they shot last time.
Perhaps terrified, his pupils trembled as he looked back.
Oh Hyeong-tae, crossing his arms and getting angry with a lion-like expression.
He is the face of the Hunting Ghost channel and the boss who hired Jin-ho as the PD.
"Fuck, are you kidding me?"
Rough curses immediately popped out.
Oh Hyeong-tae is not a gangster.
Even though one of his arms is covered in tattoos and he has a large build from working out, making him an intimidating person, Jin-ho has never done anything illegal while working with him.
It's just that he's a bit scary.
"You're the one responsible for recording. But why! Why didn't it record!"
"I'm not making excuses, I really did record it."
"Shut your mouth!"
Perhaps his temperature was rising, Oh Hyeong-tae fanned his neck with his hand and nervously kicked a nearby tree.
Rustle, a small commotion occurred as branches and leaves fell.
"Ah, shit, we wasted a whole day. As a bastard who knows that every single day is money and gold to a YouTuber, are you messing with me?"
"I, I really checked that it was recording."
"Stop making excuses. It's really annoying."
Jin-ho, who felt genuinely wronged, eventually sniffled and wiped his tears.
It's because he is usually on the soft-hearted side and is the type of friend who tears up first when feeling wronged.
On the other hand, Oh Hyeong-tae absolutely hated men who cried.
"Don't blubber! What did you do so well to be crying?"
"Oppa! Your shouting can be heard all the way out there."
It was So-yeon, who had briefly gone to the car citing the restroom as an excuse.
On YouTube, she is known as a regular cast member, but in reality, she is the younger girlfriend dating Oh Hyeong-tae.
With many piercings, heavy makeup, and a few tattoos, she has a bit of a delinquent image.
"Hey, So-yeon. We're screwed. This bastard Jin-ho didn't record."
"Huh? Really?"
"……."
"But I checked that the recording light was on yesterday too?"
So-yeon struck her signature pretty pose in front of the camera.
"That's why I even posed like this."
"What are you saying. He's saying there's no recorded video right now."
"I'm serious. A red light comes on when it's recording. I saw it."
Even though Oh Hyeong-tae would normally crush Jin-ho's spirit by yelling at him first if he argued, he seemed to believe it since his own girlfriend said it.
Glaring suspiciously at Jin-ho, Oh Hyeong-tae asked in a sullen voice.
"Hey. Did you really record it?"
"I, I did. There's no way I'd make a mistake."
"But why isn't there a recorded video?"
"……."
Not knowing even that much was the problem. Jin-ho grabbed his head and agonized.
Only a little later did Jin-ho speak in a creeping voice without confidence.
"The recording was off from the moment I checked. It's just my guess, but someone might have intentionally turned off the recording and deleted it."
"Who? Fuck, who would delete our recording?"
"I wouldn't know that."
While Oh Hyeong-tae was having a headache holding the back of his neck, So-yeon, who had been watching innocently, raised her index finger and spoke cheerfully.
"A ghost must have deleted it!"
"What are you talking about."
"There's no way someone would come that night, turn off the recording, delete only the video, and run away. A ghost did it! The ghost didn't want its appearance filmed, so it intentionally deleted the video."
"Ugh, just stay quiet. Where in the world are there ghosts?"
It was not something a person running the Hunting Ghost channel should say.
He makes videos themed around ghosts, yet he himself doesn't believe in ghosts?
In the videos, he has always shown himself believing in ghosts, he has memorized haunted spots, and his knowledge about spirits is extensive.
It might not be a controversy, but it would be very disappointing for the subscribers watching the channel to hear.
"All the ghost contents on the internet are fake, so don't say weird things."
"Eh? You showed evidence that ghosts exist in the last video."
"Of course it's fabricated, do you think it's real? Every piece of evidence that ghosts exist while making videos so far was made by me. Right, Jin-ho."
Jin-ho, who was still checking the memory card as if feeling regretful, looked back from the corner of his eye.
Pouting his lips as if he was displeased with something, he turned his head away as if sulking.
"Yeah."
"What's with the attitude? Is it because I got mad? Fine, I'm sorry I didn't believe you."
"I'm not mad because of that. It's because you said you don't believe in ghosts."
This time, genuinely annoyed, Oh Hyeong-tae's atmosphere turned cold.
As he kept his mouth firmly shut and glared fiercely, Jin-ho stiffened right up, feeling the gaze.
"What about it? If I do occult YouTube but don't actually believe in ghosts, what, am I deceiving the viewers?"
"I-if you nitpick, it could be deception."
"This bastard, for a coward, you sure are fucking good at talking back word for word."
Smack.
Oh Hyeong-tae, who smacked Jin-ho's head in a fit of anger, briefly looked at the edge of the city beyond the dense trees.
Jin-ho asked.
"What should we do about the recording? Do it again?"
"It's not really scary when it's bright. Let's come back later when it gets dark."
"Okay……."
"Anyway, Jin-ho really likes ghosts."
As if intending to lighten the heavy atmosphere, So-yeon cut in with a bright voice.
Perhaps feeling a bit better at So-yeon's question, Jin-ho's complexion improved slightly.
"Y-yeah. But it's not that I like ghosts, I like urban legends."
"What urban legends? Aren't ghosts urban legends too?"
"G-ghosts are urban legends too. But urban legends have a bit more story and rumor to them. For example, Object Heads, or the Afterlife Hotel. But more than those, I like the Bureau of Management urban legends……."
"Phew, you urban legend otaku punk."
"Ugh……."
"What's an Object Head? Tell me! I like that kind of stuff too."
"Y-yeah. Object Head refers to a non-human that has an object instead of a head……."
It was the moment his face brightened and he was about to start chattering excitedly.
Oh Hyeong-tae, who spotted someone coming up the mountain path, informed the two.
"Hey. Someone's coming?"
"Huh? Who? Is it a viewer?"
"You said this was a spot people don't really come to."
The three people stood side by side and waited for the person coming up.
It wouldn't be a problem even if they were caught. It's not like they were doing something dangerous or illegal.
However, seeing that the people coming up were police officers, they felt like they had committed a crime even though they hadn't.
"Excuse me. You there."
As soon as the two police officers spotted the three people, they abruptly shouted, just in case they might run away.
Oh Hyeong-tae read the room for no reason, then stepped forward and adopted a polite attitude.
"Hello. Officers."
"Yes, hello. The van down below, is that your car?"
"Yes, yes, that's right. We came up here for a YouTube shoot. My channel name is Hunting Ghost, and my name is Oh Hyeong-tae. We have 70,000 subscribers, and……."
Not wanting it to turn into an interrogation atmosphere, Oh Hyeong-tae poured out answers before the police even asked.
The junior police officer nodded with a troubled expression.
"Ah, is that so? Senior. He says he's a YouTuber."
"Ugh, this is exhausting. What did he say the name was?"
"He says it's Ghost Hunting."
"It's Hunting Ghost. The order is reversed."
"He says it's Hunting Ghost."
"Hunting? Is it a channel where you hunt for ghosts to get their numbers?"
So-yeon and Jin-ho chuckled, but Oh Hyeong-tae's expression was dark, as if he was offended.
The senior police officer, who didn't particularly care about other people's feelings, unbuttoned his collar and asked Oh Hyeong-tae.
"More importantly, did you get permission to film?"
"…No."
"This is troublesome. This place, even though it looks like this, is quite a dangerous area, you know?"
The senior police officer pointed not at the house, but at the mountain further back, and continued.
"There are a lot of rumors about ghosts appearing, and also, many people come here and die. It's been abandoned for quite a long time, so there are a lot of wild animals. The path is rough, and snakes come out."
"That is the kind of place we are filming."
"Ah, really? Then what did you film?"
Having filmed nothing, Oh Hyeong-tae glared at Jin-ho for no reason.
Jin-ho pouted his lips and cast a sidelong glance as if to say it really wasn't his mistake.
The senior police officer, having roughly grasped the atmosphere, asked casually.
"I guess you didn't film anything. You didn't happen to see that ghost with a burning head, did you?"
"Pardon? What did you say?"
The one who reacted violently was Jin-ho.
Startled, the senior police officer looked at Jin-ho and answered.
"The ghost with a burning head. A blue flame."
"A head is burning? Is that real?"
"Yes, yes. Recently, a report came in that such a man was discovered here. That's why we came on patrol."
Then, narrowing his eyes suspiciously, he asked.
"Did you all happen to play a prank? That is very dangerous."
"That's an Object Head!"
However, Jin-ho fell into a completely different topic and started chattering excitedly.
"A head of blue flames! That's a somewhat famous urban legend! A beneficial non-human that devours other urban legends with the flame on its head."
"…Huh? What are you saying?"
"But this is my first time hearing that an Object Head is here. Did someone report it? What did they say it looked like? What about its clothes or physique?"
Oh Hyeong-tae pressing his forehead as if he had a headache, and So-yeon holding back her giggles just because it looked fun.
At Jin-ho's active offensive, the senior police officer gave a fed-up expression and said to the junior police officer.
"There's another person just like you here."
"I'm not to this extent."
"Anyway, we just came for a patrol, so. It wasn't you guys, right?"
Oh Hyeong-tae, pushing the still-excited Jin-ho aside, quickly bowed his head and smiled sheepishly.
"Yes, yes, of course. We also just came yesterday and only set up the camera, so we don't really know about such things. And we are people who shoot videos, not people who play pranks."
"Then I understand for now. Don't stay too long."
"If it's alright, could we film one more time at night? We failed our shoot today."
It was late, but he belatedly requested permission to film.
The police wouldn't officially grant permission, but it didn't matter since it was an abandoned mountain anyway.
They had even revealed their channel name, so they wouldn't cause any nuisance either.
"Yes, well, do as you please. If you happen to see a suspicious person, please report it immediately."
"Yes, understood."
The two police officers went back down the road, and Oh Hyeong-tae let out a small sigh of relief as if thankful.
"Still, we secured 2 subscribers."
"Did they say they would subscribe?"
"No. But if you meet a YouTuber in person, people tend to subscribe just out of fascination. Let's head back, eat, and come back later when it gets dark. Hey, Jin-ho. Pack up the equipment."
The three people also followed down the mountain.
Evening, after eating dinner and the sun having set.
It was when they came back up the mountain and were setting up the camera.
"What if someone turns it off again?"
So-yeon's question aroused the worry of Jin-ho and Oh Hyeong-tae, who were setting it up properly.
"Ay, if they come and do it again, they better be prepared to get seriously beaten. If they have a brain, they won't."
Oh Hyeong-tae was bluffing, but he was also extremely curious about who really did it.
So, while he wished for the shoot to proceed smoothly, at the same time, he kind of hoped the culprit would come back and turn it off again.
If he actually catches them, he wants to teach them a proper lesson.
"…Then should we camp out?"
"Eh?"
"H-huh? Hyeong-tae. What?"
At the unexpected answer, So-yeon and Jin-ho freak out.
However, Oh Hyeong-tae, who would do anything for the sake of video content, seemed to have come up with a new idea.
"No, I mean, someone could come and turn it off again. Time is money for a YouTuber, we can't blow another day."
"Oppa! I don't want to! It's still cold, and it's dirty here."
"Then you go sleep in the car. I'll stay here with Jin-ho."
"Ehh?"
Jin-ho, who was horrified, vigorously shook his head as if he genuinely hated the idea.
"What. You hate it?"
"I-I hate it. Can't I just go sleep in the car too?"
"Huh? Are you fucking declaring that you're going to sleep with my girlfriend?"
"N-no. That's not what I meant……."
"If you spout nonsense again, I'll leave you here alone and we'll go sleep in the car, got it?"
In the end, So-yeon returned to the car, and only Jin-ho and Oh Hyeong-tae found a spot where the wind didn't blow much and crouched down.
It is quiet.
Because it's winter, there are no sounds of bugs, but occasionally the sound of a dog barking can be heard.
In this place where the sound of the wind was heard eerily, the two men, being so cold they pressed their shoulders tightly together, monitored the camera filming the abandoned house.
A little later, Jin-ho muttered.
"Th-this is my first time spending the night outside since cold-weather training."
"We camped outside during our last shoot, you know."
"Didn't we have a tent then? Can't we use a tent too?"
"If we were going to do that, we would've just slept in the car. Why did we stay here? We're hiding to catch the culprit."
Jin-ho, who was shivering violently, suddenly asked.
"The wind is blowing more here too. Can I go to the car for a bit?"
"You've gotten shameless lately, huh? Spouting openly about escaping to the car."
"No, it's not that, I remember leaving hand warmers in the car last time. I'll go bring those."
"……."
That was a fairly decent idea, so he was tempted.
When Oh Hyeong-tae stood up from his spot, Jin-ho, whose face brightened, also stood up and brushed the fallen leaves off his butt.
"Then I'll go."
"…You don't even know where they are."
"They must be in the car! Then do you want me to guard this place all by myself in the dead of night?"
"Th-then what about me?"
"Be quiet!"
Oh Hyeong-tae, who was about to push him with momentum again, suddenly felt worried when he saw Jin-ho looking like he was going to cry.
He had been harassed by Oh Hyeong-tae all day today, so if he didn't even concede this, he wondered if Jin-ho would quit his PD job.
He didn't really like him, but his ability to plan content was outstanding.
If it weren't for Jin-ho, their current YouTube channel wouldn't have grown this much either.
"Rock-paper-scissors then."
"O-okay."
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
"Paper! Yes!"
"Ah, shit……. Fine. Go."
"I'll be right back!"
Leaving fetching the hand warmers to Jin-ho, Oh Hyeong-tae crouched back down in that spot for a moment and waited.
Is it because he's scared, or is the dinner he ate earlier finally giving a signal?
He needed to pee.
"Damn it……. I bluffed for no reason and am only suffering."
Even after doing this, if the culprit doesn't show up, it's just a waste of time anyway.
Oh Hyeong-tae, looking around, stealthily climbed the mountain.
After getting a certain distance away, he fumbled to unbuckle his pants.
It was so cold his hands wouldn't move well, and his gloves were thick, so he couldn't even grab the zipper.
Oh Hyeong-tae, who had been wrestling with it for a long time, had no choice but to bite his glove with his mouth to take it off, when it happened.
Rustle.
Startled, he looked up the mountain.
It must be an animal, right? They said there were a lot of wild animals.
However, it was dark straight ahead, so he couldn't see anything.
"Fuck, this is a bit scary."
Oh Hyeong-tae didn't believe in ghosts, but he was also someone who got scared easily.
It was while he was blankly glaring into the darkness.
"Is that a light?"
It was hard to see because it was between the gaps of the trees, but there was an exceptionally bright spot.
It is absolutely uncommon for people to wander around the mountains at this hour. If so, that must be the culprit who turned off the camera yesterday.
Oh Hyeong-tae, filled with malice, licked his lips out of a desire for revenge.
"You came to interfere with the shoot again, didn't you? I caught you red-handed."
Deciding to hold his pee for a moment, he hid behind a tree and waited for it to get closer.
Seeing the light getting brighter, it was definitely coming this way.
But it didn't seem like a flashlight.
Could it be something like a lantern? The movement of the light and the range of brightness were exactly like that.
"In this day and age, who would use a lantern……."
Muttering, Oh Hyeong-tae was left speechless the moment the opponent's figure came into view.
The thing approaching.
It was a flame.
"Ahhh……."
It wasn't that someone was holding a torch either.
It was floating above a person's neck, blazing brightly.
Only then did the police officer's words come to mind.
The ghost with a burning head. A blue flame.
It was exactly as they said. It was truly that ghost the report had come in about.
Even the description of its appearance was exactly as he had heard.
"F-fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."
Oh Hyeong-tae, who had lived his whole life believing there was no such thing as a ghost.
Right now, along with the despair that his beliefs had been betrayed, he was seized by the primal terror felt when witnessing an unknown entity.
Just from witnessing it, cold sweat poured down, and let alone speaking, his body wouldn't even move.
Extreme terror shattered Oh Hyeong-tae's mental fortitude and clouded his judgment with severe stress.
"…Jin-ho? J-Jin-ho. Jin-ho."
So he looked for the person closest to him.
Oh Hyeong-tae looked for Jin-ho while shedding tears like a child, but there was no way Jin-ho, who had gone down the mountain, could hear his voice.
Ssssss…….
Furthermore, having seemingly failed to control his bladder strength, his pants grew hot.
Before the thought of embarrassment, fear came first.
Fwoosh.
The flaming head suddenly began to burn fiercely.
Making his hiding pointless, the flame man was staring intently at Oh Hyeong-tae's location.
Just the fact that that entity was watching him sent a dizzying fear washing over his feet, as if he would sink into the ground.
It really existed.
Urban legends, ghosts, aberrations.
The absurd superstitions he hadn't believed a single bit even when Jin-ho chattered so much about them.
It was the truth, and it appeared as reality right before his eyes.
Cosmic horror.
The oldest emotion of mankind is fear.
And the deepest, oldest existence of fear.
Fear of the unknown.