The Identity of the Ghost

"Ah! I hate this! Why is it suddenly a horror special?"

"I... I really can't do this. I actually believe in this stuff!"

"Sigh... this is going to last a whole week. I'll be dreaming about this place for a week."

"No, writer-nim. This isn't right. I only joined a month ago. If I knew this would happen, I would've waited another month to join."

The cast of 2 Days & 3 Nights were professionals.

They played up their reactions according to their respective characters, naturally generating footage.

Even though dozens of police officers were arresting the cyber wreckers right in front of them, they focused on their work as if they saw nothing.

Watching this from the fourth floor, Do-hee let out an exclamation of admiration.

"Wow... so that's what makes them pros. If that were happening right in front of my eyes, I wouldn't be able to do anything, filming or not."

"It is... rather impressive."

Seung-wan nodded at Do-hee's words.

In truth, she was even more shocked than Do-hee.

"A broadcast network really is different."

With the rapid growth of personal broadcasting, the status of traditional networks wasn't what it used to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be.

Some major BJs or streamers were more famous than average celebrities, and their broadcasts even influenced television ratings.

Because of this, many internet broadcasters looked down on network staff.

It wasn't for no reason that the cyber wreckers had clashed with the outsourced crew.

But just now, Seung-wan felt a clear difference between the two groups.

"If it were an internet broadcast, they wouldn't be able to stay calm in that situation. From the camera crew to the host, everyone would have been swept up in the atmosphere and frozen."

But the 2 Days & 3 Nights team was different.

Although a few staff members were sent to check on the commotion, the others continued filming as if nothing had happened.

It was clear the cast also trusted the crew.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Did you know this would happen, Do-jin?"

Seung-wan, who had been looking back and forth between the main gate and the filming site, asked Do-jin.

"Huh? Seung-wan, what do you mean by that?"

"It's just strange. You suddenly sponsoring the location, and how everything got cleaned up all at once, just like you said it would."

Even while talking to Do-hee, Seung-wan's eyes were fixed on Do-jin.

She was already convinced that all of this was unfolding according to Do-jin's intentions.

The only thing she still didn't understand was how on earth Do-jin could have engineered such a situation.

All Do-jin did was accept the location request, though.

When he first accepted the request, she had been puzzled.

When he said things would be resolved once the filming crew arrived, she thought he meant the crew would block the cyber wreckers during filming, giving them a temporary break.

But once things actually got underway, the situation took a bizarre turn.

Even before filming began, the site management staff had aggressively cleared the area, eventually clashing with the cyber wreckers.

What was even funnier was that Do-jin had called the police twenty minutes prior, as if he had anticipated this exact outcome.

"Yes, this is the Three Meals House. Yes, yes, we have another issue. Ah, but we'll need quite a few officers. The situation here is rather serious. A big fight has broken out with the filming crew."

How flustered she had been by Do-jin's sudden report!

Though the atmosphere had been tense, nothing had actually happened yet.

Do-hee had even worried that he was making a false report.

But then the incident occurred.

And it happened as if on cue.

With things playing out like this, it was only natural to think Do-jin had plotted something.

Yet, surprisingly, Do-jin had done absolutely nothing.

"I didn't expect them to fight that violently either."

Do-jin shrugged as he spoke, and Seung-wan stared at him, dumbfounded.

But what could she do? It was the truth.

Is it because there were so many cyber wreckers? The scale of the incident got bigger than what was in the news.

Just as Seung-wan suspected, the reason Do-jin accepted the request was to use them to clean up the cyber wreckers.

To be precise, by using the outsourced production crew of 2 Days & 3 Nights—specifically, a few select staff members.

The power-tripping incidents of the staff from '2 Days & 3 Nights' and 'Jumping Man' were famous, after all.

Perhaps because the programs were so successful, some of the staff members frequently abused their power.

Right now, it was only known to insiders, so they remained on the crew, but by next year, they would eventually be ousted from the industry.

A few months from now...

They would power-trip against a major idol group's fandom.

The enraged fandom would bring it to light, and the broadcast network and the outsourced production company would fire the staff in question due to the public outcry.

I heard their personalities were trash, but they're even worse than I thought.

There were many security cameras in front of the main gate, and some of them supported audio recording.

Thus, Do-jin had heard exactly how the staff provoked the wreckers.

Even to Do-jin, a third party, the words they casually spat out were incredibly grating.

There was no way the cyber wreckers, who already looked down on the network, would tolerate it.

In the end, from Do-jin's perspective, the people causing a ruckus out front were all birds of a feather.

"This should keep them away for a while, right?"

When Do-jin asked, Eun-seob, who had been watching the situation beside him, nodded.

Usually expressionless, he now wore a satisfied smile.

"Yes. Since they caused trouble in front of private property and even trespassed, we can apply for a restraining order."

"What are the chances of it being approved?"

"The evidence is clear, and they caused such a massive scene, so it will be approved immediately."

At Eun-seob's words, Do-jin nodded in satisfaction.

Once the restraining order was issued, the rest was simple.

If they ignored the order and came within a certain distance, they could just subdue them and hand them over to the police.

From then on, Do-jin's side would hold all the cards.

"Now that we've cleared out the cancer cells, don't you think we'll have a great appetite today?"

"Yeah. Let's eat meat today."

"I bought some beef. Shall I grill that?"

At Do-jin's words, the two women smiled and nodded.

The three of them naturally left the main building and headed toward the staff quarters.

Since they had provided not only the schoolyard but also the main building as a filming location, they had decided to stay in the staff quarters today.

With four rooms and two bathrooms, the quarters were more than spacious enough for the three of them.

The filming of 2 Days & 3 Nights proceeded rapidly.

The morning's incident had already faded from everyone's minds.

As afternoon turned to dusk, the show's signature game of chance began.

"Today's losers are Park Jong-min, Lee Se-yoon, and Dan-dan!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"I can't film this! Manager! Come here quick!"

At the PD's shout, the fates of the six men diverged.

Three rejoiced, while the other three cried out in despair, frustration, and terror.

"..."

Normally, the staff would laugh at the cast's exaggerated reactions.

But today, even they were serious.

"Sigh..."

"Ah, seriously! Why did he have to..."

"Change my assignment. I'm going crazy."

Among the personal staff of the celebrities, the faces of those assigned to the losing cast members darkened rapidly.

Their gazes naturally drifted toward the main building.

Though they had traveled to countless filming locations, for some reason, they did not want to enter the building before them.

Especially after hearing that strange, ghostly wail right after they started filming.

But the cameras were rolling, and they were professionals.

"W-we're going in."

"..."

"Jeong-bae, why do you keep stepping backward? You have to follow me properly once I go in."

Before entering the main building, Lee Se-yoon picked a fight with his designated cameraman for no reason.

He was trying to ease his own tension.

Since they usually worked well together, the cameraman would normally have laughed and fired back.

But because the cameraman was even more nervous than Lee Se-yoon, the atmosphere only grew stranger.

"I-I know. Let's just go in quickly."

"Huh? Uh... yeah..."

Seeing the cameraman's pale face, Lee Se-yoon's face also lost its color.

With his long career in broadcasting, he could tell how bad the situation was just by the staff's reactions.

Don't tell me... the staff really didn't set this up?

After that ghostly wail right after filming began, strange sounds had been heard all over the set throughout the shoot.

The staff denied setting it up, but the cast, including Lee Se-yoon, hadn't believed them.

Looking at their reactions now, it seemed they were telling the truth.

Shiver.

His body, usually drenched in sweat due to his heavy build, felt completely dry.

He was so tense that even his sweat glands had dried up.

"W-we're going in, okay?"

"Y-yes."

At Se-yoon's words, the cameraman swallowed hard.

The other two celebrities were in a similar state.

Since the main building had three entrances, they entered from three different directions, none of them looking happy.

The moment they stepped foot inside the main building...

Screeeeeeech!

A bizarre shriek erupted from deep within the building.

"Do you see anything?"

"Well, the building is so large and all the lights are off, so..."

At the main PD's question, the drone camera director shook his head.

While the broadcast was important, the PD had to prioritize the safety of the cast.

That was why they had sent the drone into the building before the cast entered.

But just as the drone director said, nothing could be clearly seen.

We definitely heard a strange sound.

The cast had only heard it a few times, but the staff had heard the shrieks echoing around the set multiple times.

Especially the audio director.

Listening to the surrounding sounds through microphones installed all over the location, he had been startled every ten minutes, to the point of suggesting they stop filming.

Even so, the PD couldn't stop.

The fall programming reshuffle is coming up.

The time of year broadcast workers hated most.

The guillotine, where a bloodbath occurred twice a year, was right before them.

As a long-running program, the ratings for 2 Days & 3 Nights were mediocre.

Since almost all possible scenarios had been exhausted in previous seasons, it was hard to expect anything new.

The viewers watched out of loyalty; not many actually anticipated the live broadcast.

Thus, the PD had no choice but to take a gamble.

If her neck was on the line during the reshuffle, the necks of the numerous staff members she led would also be cut.

Her gamble seemed to be succeeding.

The atmosphere of the shoot was eerie, but the cast's reactions were just as real.

At this rate, they could expect a legendary episode for this season.

Unfortunately, circumstances did not favor her.

"Ah!"

"What is it? What happened?"

The director controlling the drone right next to the PD screamed.

"What's wrong?"

"The drone... the connection cut out."

"What? What do you mean?"

"The controls suddenly stopped working. It was like someone grabbed the drone. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠And then, snap..."

"..."

The drone director's face was now as pale with fear as the audio director's.

The surrounding staff fell silent.

Fortunately, the drone director wasn't in as much of a panic as the audio director.

Quickly rewinding the footage sent by the drone, he showed it to the PD.

"W-what is this?"

"...I don't know. But it looks like that, doesn't it?"

A ghost.

Though no one said the word, it was the thought that flashed through everyone's minds.

In the footage, a white object reflected in the window could be seen wrapping around the drone.

Anyone could see that was what cut the connection.

"Aaaaack!"

"This is crazy! Crazy! Crazy!"

"Everyone run!"

Just then, the cast members and cameramen who had entered the main building came running out, screaming.

At that sight, before anyone could say a word, the staff grabbed their gear and ran outside.

The concept of "filming" was no longer in their minds.

Even the main PD was running without looking back, so who would care about the broadcast?

In the end, that day's shoot ended just like that.

"So they asked us to retrieve it?"

"Yeah. They said they're too scared to go back in."

The day after the filming crew fled.

Do-jin and the others began collecting the cameras left behind by the crew.

A few staff members had come to retrieve their gear, but they couldn't bring themselves to enter the main building.

Thanks to that, Do-jin and his group were the ones recovering the network's equipment.

While gathering the gear, Do-jin found the drone lying in a corner of the fourth floor.

Its wings were broken, as if it had crashed hard.

"You found the drone? They said the connection cut out midway."

"Really? But it looks like it kept recording."

At Do-jin's words, Do-hee and Seung-wan approached.

Just as Do-jin said, though the external link indicator light was off, the camera's internal recording signal was still active.

"That's good. Since they packed up early yesterday, they probably don't have much footage. I hope there's something useful here."

Since the crew had helped sweep away the cyber wreckers, Do-jin wanted to be of some help.

And just as Do-jin hoped, the footage proved to be a massive help to the production team.

After the cast and crew fled in terror...

The remaining fifteen minutes of the broadcast consisted entirely of the footage captured by the drone.

Fortunately, the camera had been facing up the hallway, and the footage recorded throughout the night showed a white object frequently and rapidly passing by.

In the edited, sped-up video, the white object was captured 23 times over eight hours.

Naturally, the internet exploded.

The Three Meals House was already drawing attention for its ghost videos.

With people flocking to see the news, the view count of the Three Meals House channel literally exploded.

But Do-jin wasn't happy about this phenomenon at all.

"...So this is how it turns out? Now they're calling me a shaman."

"They barely had any footage. It couldn't be helped."

"But is there really something like that in our building?"

Unlike the calm Do-jin and Do-hee, Seung-wan kept looking upward anxiously.

She seemed worried that a ghost might come down.

"Right? Nothing happened when we went up to the fourth floor, did it?"

"Hmm, maybe we've been recognized as the owners? So the ghost doesn't do anything to us?"

"D-don't say things like that! Ghosts know when you talk about them!"

At Do-hee's words, Seung-wan jumped and covered Do-hee's mouth.

At the same time, she glared at Do-jin, as if warning him never to utter the word "ghost."

Shrugging.

Sending a signal not to worry, Do-jin packed his action cam.

He planned to take another look around the fourth floor.

Since everyone was making such a fuss, he wanted to see for himself.

And Do-jin was able to find out what the white object was.

Screeech!

"Are you the ghost everyone's talking about?"

An unfamiliar white presence was sitting on top of the "6-5" classroom sign.

A sharp beak and sharp talons.

Pure white feathers without a single blemish—it brought to mind the snowy owl kept by the British wizard boy.

However, unlike the one in the movie, it was sleek and agile, sharing no resemblance other than being a bird.

"...Why is a bird here?"

As he spoke, Do-jin pulled out his phone and took a photo.

He wanted to search for the bird using image search.

Fortunately, because its features were so distinct, the search results came up quickly.

"A hawk? So this is what a hawk looks like."

Confirming the bird's identity, Do-jin examined it curiously.

He had seen them often in novels and cartoons, but this was his first time seeing one up close in real life.

"But is it safe? The internet says they're birds of prey."

Some hawks were said to attack humans who invaded their territory.

"Is this your territory?"

Seeing it repeatedly found on the fourth floor, he wondered if it considered this place its home.

Looking down, he saw the carcass of a mouse, likely hunted by the creature.

But locking eyes with the hawk, Do-jin somehow felt it wouldn't attack him.

He couldn't explain it, but it was a similar feeling to when he met Samsaek-i and the others, or Ttorang-i.

"Hmm. Can I pass by?"

Screeech.

At Do-jin's words, the hawk cried once and shifted its body to the side.

It pressed itself closer to the wall.

Seeing that, Do-jin felt certain.

This creature had no intention of attacking him.

"Well... nice to meet you. I live here too. Let's say hello next time we meet, okay?"

Screeech.

At Do-jin's words, the hawk cried once more and tilted its head.

Relieved, Do-jin went back down and told the two women what he had experienced.

"A hawk? A hawk lives here?"

"I don't know if it lives here, but it was definitely there. I have the video here, so please edit and upload this first. I don't want this place to become famous as a haunted closed school."

"Yes! Leave it to me!"

Even though Do-jin used the word "ghost," Seung-wan no longer reacted.

She had regained her confidence upon learning it was a real animal, not a ghost.

The video uploaded to Peaceful Three Meals Life spread rapidly.

Thanks to this, YouTubers who specialized in debunking paranormal phenomena were deeply disappointed.

The Three Meals House had been a hot topic for them, but now they had no reason to visit.

Instead, others reacted to the video.

The academic community was in an uproar over the appearance of a hawk—a rare sight in Korea lately—especially one with pure white feathers instead of the usual black-and-white pattern.

Some people even went so far as to report the Three Meals House, claiming they had captured an endangered wild animal.

Receiving the report, officials came to return the hawk to the wild.

However, they repeatedly failed to capture it.

As if proving its excellent eyesight, the hawk never returned to the Three Meals House whenever people came looking for it.

Furthermore, it easily destroyed the traps set by the rescue team, seemingly mocking them.

While the authorities were visiting the Three Meals House to capture the hawk, someone else was watching the channel's videos.

Specifically, it was the video taken by the YouTubers who had illegally trespassed into the Three Meals House in the past.

Though it was only a fleeting moment and too dark to see clearly, the man recognized the woman in the video at a single glance.

It was only natural.

She was his one and only younger sister.

"Look at this bitch. So she's been living here?"

A large man, who had done nothing but play games in a PC bang for days, smiled slyly and began searching for the Three Meals House on the internet.

It was only natural to size up the target before shaking them down.