Episode 8: A Grin That Tears to the Ears – Aftermath (3)
Her mouth stretched up to her ears—not a metaphor, but literally, as if it were ripping apart at the corners—the director of Sunshine Kindergarten grinned wide open. The faces of the couple staring at her were dyed in horror.
"Wh-why are you here!? How come?!"
"You're... you're dead!"
With eyes bulging wide, pointing fingers at the director, the couple instinctively staggered backward. The director abruptly cut off her laughter—lowering the corners of her mouth, her face turning expressionless.
"...It's been a while."
With an utterly serene voice, greeting them like old acquaintances, she took a step forward.
"Hiiik!!"
"G-get away! You fucking ghost!!"
In response, the couple retreated further. Perhaps driven by a surge of duty to protect his wife, the husband glanced around for anything he could use as a weapon. Finding nothing, he stepped in front of his wife, clenching both fists and glaring at the director.
"Don't you dare touch my darling! I-I won't let you get away with it! No, I'll kill you!!"
"Sniff! H-honey!"
"Why show up now and make a fuss! You tormented us back then, and now you're haunting us even after death! What did we ever do to deserve this?!"
"R-right! Butting into other people's family business without permission! If you're dead, just go quietly to the afterlife... Please, just leave us alone!"
A couple cherishing and protecting each other. What a sight. In these days, it's rare to see a married pair so devoted.
But the more they were like that... the emptier and more glaring the one missing seat between them became.
"How... shameless."
The director's entire body paled, veins bulging out.
"Caring for each other so much... so why couldn't you do the same for that child?"
"...!?"
"Th-that was!"
The couple's words caught in their throats. The traumatic memory they'd desperately tried to erase from their minds was forcibly dragged back to the surface.
"It-it was a mistake! Just a mistake!"
"We're not at fault! It was just an unfortunate accident..."
"Don't make me laugh!!"
The director's pupils began to glow blood-red. Bloody tears streamed down from both eyes.
"But why... why! Whywhy!! WHYYYYYY!!"
Resonating with the director's scream, countless hands burst out around the couple, grabbing at their legs, arms, bodies, heads—whatever they could seize.
"Kyaaack! G-get off!! Get awayyy!!"
"H-honey! Let, let gooo!!"
The hands clutching the couple slowly dragged them down into the earth. Watching this, the director let out another eerie, twisted grin.
The couple's bodies sank into the floor like quicksand.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaack!!"
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaack!!"
The couple's bodies vanished completely into the darkness.
"Gasp—!!"
The husband bolted upright in bed.
"Haa... haa... A d-dream?"
He hurriedly checked his body. Soaked in sweat from head to toe, but otherwise fine. He sighed in relief.
However.
"H-honey..."
He turned to the side. His wife, still as lovable after ten years of marriage, stared back at him with trembling eyes, drenched in sweat just like him. The moment he sensed the terror on her face, he instinctively asked,
"...You too?"
"...Yeah."
Neither could say another word.
From that day on, the couple's daily life began to crumble bit by bit.
Two days after a certain couple's path turned into a road to hell. Monday evening, two videos hit Mirinae's NewTube channel at once: a 13-minute edited clip and a 2-hour-12-minute full version.
In just one hour, the edited video hit over 60K views, and the full version over 8K. At a glance, someone might say it's nothing to get excited about. NewTube is full of 100K-view videos, and 1M-view ones pop up occasionally too. Compared to those, Mirinae's numbers might seem modest...
But anyone who knows NewTube well would realize how impressive this is. Do you know how many videos get uploaded to NewTube daily? No one does—there are too many to count. Maybe the NewTube HQ staff. And among all those, in just one hour! It grabbed 60K pairs of eyes! Truly astonishing!
Plus, considering how longer videos struggle to rack up views, hitting 8K in an hour on the full version is plenty noteworthy.
So, what sparked this massive popularity? Maybe the novelty of a gaming streamer doing an abandoned house exploration. Or just algorithmic luck—but the hype from viewers who watched the live stream and flooded the gallery is surely a big factor.
Then she brings a real-life friend 'cause solo was too scary. (Everyone knows she's a high school girl, right? Probably same school buddy.) Long glossy black hair, mysterious vibe... class prez type? Figured chit-chat between two would beat solo rambling, so I tuned in with low expectations...
Holy shit, made me curse out loud. Straight-up legendary. Still not sure if what I saw was real or fake. Fake? She's a horror editing genius. Real? ...Idk how to process. Feels like my whole worldview crumbled. One thing I know: Anyone who missed the live lost half their life lololol Counterargue and you're just a loser who skipped Mirinae's live lololol
Like this, Mirinae's abandoned house buzz kept pouring into the Streamer Gallery—like tossing noodles and seasoning into boiling water; instant ramen.
And finally, one viewer who checked the uploaded video posted this in the gallery.
And so, the explosion began.