Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Late Night Radio 121.5MHz (2)
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Special Late-Night Content.
The moment the words "<~Sorry I couldn't tell you~>..." echoed from beyond the speaker.
Thud-
Thud thud thud-!
'Crazy!'
I bolted.
I started sprinting down the hallway at full speed.
Because I had to find it.
The one room somewhere in this pitch-black building hallway.
The broadcasting room that was the only one with lights on.
If I didn't...
Those two would... die.
If I couldn't save them, I'd go through termination procedures.
And those termination procedures would lead straight to...
My own death.
"Where is it!"
I started running blindly, even shouting out loud.
I couldn't just die pointlessly like this.
Static crackle-
!
But right then.
As if it had heard my yell.
An unexpected response came from beyond the speaker.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[Oh dear, it seems an uninvited guest has come to our studio.]
"!!"
My feet stopped dead in their tracks.
The "uninvited guest" that had just come from the speaker sounded just like...
It was talking about me.
And that guess hit the nail on the head.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[Perfect timing! One of our visiting guests has taken ill!]
Ding-dong-dang~
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[This is truly fortunate!!]
The sound effect boomed throughout the entire hallway.
Followed by a cheerful male voice ringing out loudly once more.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[It's room 212 on the 8th floor! The listeners are waiting, so please hurry over!!]
The Late Night Radio bastard revealing its own location.
Ding-!
?
The moment its voice cut off, a sound rang out from the left wall, and I turned my head.
An elevator had appeared where there had just been a plain wall.
"...Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped me.
I might have been underestimating it a bit.
Finding those two before it from the start might have been impossible to begin with.
Step-
My feet naturally moved toward the elevator.
⑧
I pressed the button marked '8'.
- Eighth floor.
The elevator worked perfectly without a hitch.
During the short ride, a brief silence swallowed the surrounding air.
Ding-!
The moment the doors opened.
Beyond the elevator, a single room—the only one illuminating this pitch-black hallway—came into view.
'Spot on with the location.'
I stepped out, grabbed the doorknob of the 'broadcasting room' that was the only one lit up, and turned it.
Click-
The first thing to greet me was a foul stench assaulting my nose.
Inside, a man and woman were trembling like aspen leaves.
With faces drained pale, they locked eyes with me as I opened the door.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[You found us so quickly!]
"...".
A high-volume voice echoed through the room.
Standing opposite the seated man and woman.
Radio Head, the master of this ghost story, waved cheerfully at me with a hand in a white glove.
Radio Head.
The radio was waving at me right now.
No joke.
This was real.
A living radio was genuinely welcoming me.
Wearing an old-fashioned radio from a bygone era upside down on its head.
A bit of static mixed in, unlike what came through the speaker.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[Finding us this quickly means you're a fan of my broadcast too, right?!]
"...".
The radio gentleman conveying its delight at seeing me.
Swish-
I swallowed dryly at the sight of it boldly reaching out toward me.
But my eyes turned toward the source of the stench that had been bothering me.
Twitch-
●▅▇█▇▆▅▄▇
A person... was collapsed on the floor.
No movement.
Didn't seem to be breathing.
Or rather, a black bar covered the area where a head should be, obscuring the man's face.
The only trace I could confirm right away...
Was the pool of red blood splattered around the man, telling of his current state.
An amount of blood that made it impossible to think he was still alive.
"...".
The radio gentleman who had reached out to me also seemed to notice my gaze shifting downward.
Static crackle-
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[Ah! I forgot to explain!]
No need to hear more.
This guy was the culprit.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[Among those who always love me, some take it too far! Being famous comes with responsibility, after all!!]
Static crackle-
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[But no worries. I've taken care of the rowdy malicious fan.]
The static noise from shifting frequencies echoed in the room.
In sync with it, the body that had been on the floor vanished in the blink of an eye.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[Now that the unnecessary intruder is gone, please take a seat. We have limited broadcast time left.]
The radio gentleman returned to its seat.
I cautiously approached the empty seats of the two, blue with terror, and sat down.
Confirming I'd sat, the radio gentleman.
Pam-papapam-!
With upbeat sound effects.
Began the show in its usual ear-shattering voice.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[You've waited so long! Now, let's begin the special talk show!]
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap-!
'What part of this is a late-night radio show?'
It was so loud I wanted to plug my ears right then.
But the man and woman next to me seemed oblivious to any of the noise in this racket.
"Don't wanna die don't wanna die don't wanna die don't wanna die...."
The woman kept repeating "I don't want to die."
"Yoo Min-seok... Yoo Min-seok you bastard! If you're gonna die, die alone... fuck...."
The man spat curses while muttering someone's name.
Yoo Min-seok.
That must have been the name of the guy collapsed on the floor earlier.
The two with their minds completely broken.
'This isn't good....'
If I left them like this.
They'd end up dead like that Yoo Min-seok guy in an instant.
I needed a plan.
From my seat, I jabbed the side of the nearest man.
!
And I gave him the most concise response possible.
"Lies are fine. Just make it as stimulating as possible."
"...What the hell are you saying?"
I knew that.
No way he'd instantly grasp what my words meant.
'Better to show him.'
And soon, the radio gentleman reached out toward us on the opposite side and said.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[Then, the one who will be the protagonist of our first story...]
Flicker-
Before the radio gentleman finished speaking, I raised my right hand first.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[Oh my! This is the first guest to come out so enthusiastically!]
"As a loyal listener, it's only natural."
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[As expected! You really are a fan of my show!!]
The radio gentleman looked like it might jump up and hug me any second.
I hurriedly steered the conversation.
"Appearing on this radio has been my dream. And if I got to be a guest, I prepared a story to tell."
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[Oh! A prepared talent! No reason not to hear that story first!!]
The moment the radio gentleman realized I was a fan, its frequency started shifting rapidly.
Static crackle-
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[Then our first story will start with yours!]
Thud-!
The room lights went out.
All the spotlights turned to illuminate only me.
My first impression at the center of it all.
'Blinding.'
The brightness made it impossible to keep my eyes open, forcing a frown.
How many times in life does one get to experience spotlights like this?
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[.......]
"...".
"...".
All eyes in the room focused on me.
And there in my seat.
Without a flicker of expression.
I told a lie.
Just for the one being here.
"I killed a person."
Twitch-
No sooner had the first words ended.
Than the man next to me cautiously put some distance between us.
But the real content started next.
"And that person was my 'parents'."
First story.
Parricide.
Static crackle-!
This time, the radio gentleman opposite reacted.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[This is truly... a heart-pounding story.]
After that, I explained in detail the circumstances leading me to kill my parents.
Of course, all of it was fabricated from media I'd seen, including gallery posts.
The emotions I felt when killing my parents.
How I evaded the police investigation.
Thanks to the Smile Badge, my calm voice added authenticity to the tale.
Everyone in the broadcasting room listened intently to my story.
By the time I finished.
Not as much time had passed as I'd expected.
'This should satisfy it...'
My gaze naturally turned to the radio gentleman who'd been listening.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[.......]
For a while, the radio gentleman kept its head down in silence.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[...This is it!!]
Static crackle-
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[This is what I wanted!!!]
The radio gentleman shot up from its seat and shouted loudly.
!
At its outburst, the man and woman in their chairs flinched and shrank back.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[The father's indiscriminate beatings amid gambling debts! A mother cheating daily like it's a meal! And her affair partner was an organ trafficker!! What an intriguing story!]
The radio gentleman seemed more interested in my story than imagined.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[If I'd been there, I'd want to [bleep] your parents [bleep] [bleep] [bleep] [bleep] [bleep]—it was that intriguing!]
Plop-
The radio gentleman calmed its excitement a bit.
"I'm glad you found my story entertaining."
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[I'd love to make you a regular guest.]
"Thank you."
But I'll pass.
Even if it was an E-rank ghost story, after seeing that corpse, I knew this wasn't a place to linger.
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[You've left such a strong impression with the first story. Not sure if the next ones will catch my ear.]
"Listen with an open mind. The other two seem pretty tense."
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[Hm... True, the other guests do seem tense. As you say, I'll take that into account.]
The radio gentleman accepted my suggestion without much resistance.
And that was why.
I'd spoken up first.
From the next story on, the radio gentleman would lower its bar a bit.
Even if it fell short of expectations.
Just the thought of having gotten one good story would likely let it pass.
Swish-
I turned my head and repeated the same words to the man beside me in a low voice.
"Doesn't matter if it's a lie. Make up the most stimulating story you can."
"...".
The man's expression was different from before.
Now he seemed to grasp my intent.
Static crackle-
📻 RADIO BROADCAST 📻
[Alright! Let's hear the second story!!]
The second story began.