Chapter 304
Chapter 304
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 304. Video
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What am I supposed to do?
Park Ye-eun couldn't comprehend the situation she was in.
"Ready... action...!"
People were snapping their fingers and doing something, and the man in the suit up front was shouting something.
His suit was disheveled, so it looked like he'd probably just done a scene where he got hit or something.
Then, he turned around and looked at the three of them.
"No, enemies here too...!"
So we were the enemies.
Park Ye-eun blinked, lost in vague thoughts, then looked at Jang Chaeyeon.
Jang Chaeyeon wore a troubled expression.
"Ah."
Come to think of it, there was no way she could use telekinesis on ordinary people.
The man charged toward the three of them.
What do I do?
Worry surged up in an instant, and at the same time, the man raised his fist.
"Hya...!"
What the hell, all of a sudden. Is he really going to hit me?
If only her brother were here...!
Park Ye-eun squeezed her eyes shut and huddled up,
and at the same time, Yoo Daon leaped forward, dodging the man's fist,
"Guh...!"
then struck the man's throat with the edge of her hand, sending him clutching his neck, coughing and collapsing.
-Thud!
The man sprawled across the concrete floor,
...
...
...
and the silence of the crowd filled the atmosphere.
"...S-sorry. I instinctively struck out and..."
Yoo Daon covered her mouth with one hand and looked at the other two.
It felt less like she was sorry for hitting the guy and more like she was sorry to them.
And,
...
That unnecessarily cute reaction left Park Ye-eun speechless.
The others stared blankly at Yoo Daon, who looked flustered.
As time dragged on like that,
"Okay!"
the cameraman called out in a hearty voice.
"O-okay?"
Before they could even respond,
-Fwoosh!
lights flooded over the three of them.
"Next shot!"
"Y-yes...?"
Park Ye-eun stammered in confusion, and at the same time, the man sprawled on the floor got up.
He writhed as he rose, still with his eyes rolled back.
"...He's still passed out, though?"
Yoo Daon muttered in bewilderment, but no one answered her.
Instead, the man staggered toward her, and Jang Chaeyeon murmured,
"Something's off."
...
Only then did Yoo Daon's face turn expressionless as she stared at the man and assumed a stance.
Park Ye-eun looked around.
Cameras still whirring, bright lights shining down, cameramen still pointing lenses at her.
But the scene was so eerily quiet...
...
She swallowed hard and scanned her surroundings.
"What do we do...?"
She turned to look at Jang Chaeyeon and Yoo Daon.
This was an emergency. Something was happening.
But the two of them didn't look much different from before.
-Bam!
Yoo Daon spun and drove a clean roundhouse kick into the man's jaw again, sending him tumbling back down.
"Should we force our way through?"
"Let's do it."
Jang Chaeyeon nodded at Yoo Daon's words.
Was this the adaptability from HR Team that people talked about?
Staying calm no matter the incident, assessing their situation—
"If we smash everything, a path should open up, right?"
"No idea."
"Well, even if not, Jaeheon'll handle it!"
"That's true."
Park Ye-eun closed her eyes as she listened to them.
Was this really okay?
But before she could even think that,
-Boom!
Jang Chaeyeon swung her arm, and a massive roar echoed out.
*
"Nicely done."
"Field agents are different, huh. Guess he wasn't just a former Security Team guy for show."
...
That was Team Leader, then Song Arin, in order.
When the punch flew, I'd instinctively flailed around wondering if I should do something, but after seeing the guy drop from Yoo Daon's single hand strike, Team Leader and I just nodded.
Song Arin, though, was just staring at the screen with a dissatisfied look.
"What's up, Arin?"
"No time. If we don't find it quick, we're screwed."
Fair point.
But the situation didn't seem over yet.
The three of them were still on screen, with the red [On Air] light glowing.
And in the center, a close-up of the guy lying there.
...
...
...
We watched to see what happened next, but it was like the footage had frozen—the three of them didn't move anymore.
Was that it?
As we stared, Song Arin muttered in a prickly tone.
"Those idiots were told to sneak in as janitors, but they disguised themselves as actors? They can't even do that right?"
"Arin, they probably had their reasons."
"Hey, even with reasons, I would've handled it right away."
Yeah, because you'd have brainwashed them.
I didn't say that out loud and kept thinking about the situation.
Even if the three of them weren't great talkers, they weren't the type to get swept up like this.
...Probably not.
At least one big issue was resolved, and if not... we'd have to hope Ye-eun did something.
Neither Yoo Daon nor Jang Chaeyeon were great with words anyway.
"Anyway, let's leave it to the three of them. There's nothing we can do right now."
We couldn't go down there anyway.
No way we could break a window and jump, and even if we did, none of us would survive the fall.
Yoo Daon or Jang Chaeyeon might.
"You're thinking of someone else again."
"No."
I shook my head at Song Arin, who glared at me with axe-like eyes.
Good luck to whoever she likes.
So suspicious.
"For now, let's watch the situation and search for the video."
"How?"
"Team Leader,"
Team Leader shook his head like he was fed up when I looked at him.
"Hey. Like I said again, how am I supposed to find it when everything looks dangerous? If it was that easy, I'd be bald by now."
"Sorry."
"Let's check one by one."
In the end, we decided to search one by one.
"I'll take this side, Arin, you take that."
"Then I'll handle here."
Team Leader and Song Arin split off, and I started searching the videos too.
The method was simple.
Team Leader searched for videos that felt off, and I just grabbed whatever and watched until something caught my eye.
In a way, this was the most efficient.
...
In the middle of diligently searching, a sudden thought made me pause.
Come to think of it, what exactly was in the video?
It was kinda weird searching without even knowing what we were looking for.
...
While squinting and searching, a translucent window popped up, and I hurriedly turned to look.
[Name: Forbidden Footage]
[Age: Created 10 years ago]
[Features: Playback]
[Talents: None]
[Background: This video, played out of curiosity by countless people, now seeks out victims on its own to suit the times.]
[Weakness: Don't play it, or burn it.]
Videos evolve now too? Soon they'll be on USBs.
Still, the solution wasn't hard.
Just burn it.
I slowly pulled out the video.
Good, then—
"Found it!"
"Found it!"
"Got it!"
Our three voices rang out simultaneously as we searched.
"...What?"
Did that make sense?
I rushed out and looked at Song Arin and Team Leader.
"What."
"It's..."
"They're the same."
All three of us held identical videos.
But no translucent window appeared over theirs.
So mine must be the right one.
"From what I see, yours look a bit different."
"What're you talking about."
No sooner had I spoken than Team Leader broke into a cold sweat and stared at me.
"My instincts are screaming that this video is seriously dangerous, Jaeheon."
...
I looked at Song Arin, and she rolled her eyes around before continuing.
"I-I'm also picking up... lingering thoughts? Or human minds from it..."
Her voice sounded a bit unsure.
It had to be.
Team Leader and I had an almost supernatural knack for this stuff.
"...Let's sort this out first."
Three identical-looking videos. And each of our claims was backed by our abilities, so believable.
But...
"Let's burn all three."
"Sounds good."
Song Arin nodded at my words.
I turned to Team Leader, who looked baffled.
"Really?"
"What's wrong, Team Leader?"
Just in case, I checked above Team Leader's head, but nothing unusual.
Then Song Arin's head too.
Nothing unusual there either.
...
Song Arin furrowed her brow slightly, but didn't say much else.
"...Nah, must be my imagination. Let's burn 'em."
Team Leader handed me a lighter.
We stacked the three videos and lit the lighter.
With a hiss, the flame caught, slowly scorching the videos.
"That'll take forever like this."
"Pour some oil?"
"Yeah."
Team Leader shrugged at my words and steadily burned them.
Soon, the plastic melted, filling the screening room with a foul smell.
"...Ugh..."
Song Arin wrinkled her brow, and the videos melted away, seemingly ruined.
"...Wasn't hard after all."
"Yeah."
Song Arin and I murmured to each other as we stood,
"...Kids."
Team Leader called us quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Look."
He tapped our shoulders.
I slowly looked where Team Leader was staring.
On the spot marked with red [On Air], footage showed the three of us staring at the screen.
And at the same time,
-Flicker!
The manual unfolded.
[Office Manual - World Inside the Footage]
1. In the world inside the footage, you are a character.
2. Act fitting to your character. Never forget your role.
3. If you act out of role, kneel and say: 'Sorry. Let's take it again.'
-Flash!
A flash burst in front of our eyes.