Chapter 108
I hadn't meant to provoke them, but that's how it ended up looking.
Of course, Ppuhong and Producer Jang were delighted to see the three of them riled up.
"No, this isn't provocation. It's just that something could go wrong if we went there for no reason..."
"Teacher Kang. Do I really look that weak to you? I'm Lee Bin. Lee Bin."
The ten-million-view actor, Lee Bin, showed off his forearm.
It was thick.
He was middle-aged, but possessed a sturdy physique.
"I'm stronger than most young guys."
"I see."
"Teacher Kang. Did you know I'm a dan-holder in kendo and hapkido?"
Kim Hyun-woo came out holding a stick.
He looked ready to smash anything that came out, ghosts or otherwise.
That was the resolve he was displaying.
"Don't worry! I don't believe in ghosts or anything like that!!"
Kang So-ra was no different.
Along with her confident expression, she looked around at the other actors.
Hmm...
I could see the future, but should I tell them or not?
Anyway, once everyone agreed to go, the staff gathered.
Meanwhile, I got the mansion's floor plan from a staff member.
The mansion had three floors in total, counting the basement.
Starting from the basement, we would offer the sacrifice at the altar on the second floor and return to finish.
Naturally, there were points set up along the way to scare us.
I placed the floor plan on the wooden floor and held out cards to the actors.
"Why are you suddenly doing this...?"
"Turn them over."
Starting with Lee Bin, then Kim Hyun-woo and Kang So-ra.
The three reluctantly turned over their cards.
I subtly pointed toward Ppuhong and Producer Jang.
"You all probably expected this, but the staff have prepared things at that mansion."
"Yes. Of course they have."
"It's a variety show, after all."
"They'll want to film us being scared."
Maybe because all of them had plenty of broadcast experience, they seemed to have a rough idea of what would happen.
"I'm not planning to object to the broadcast itself. But we should prevent anyone from getting hurt or having an accident, right?"
"Oh..."
"That should be enough!"
"As expected of you, Teacher Kang!!"
I told the three actors about the parts that could be dangerous.
When entering the mansion, a light bulb would burst, and the shattered glass would graze the VJ's arm.
It wouldn't be a serious wound, but it was better to avoid it since there would be blood.
"It would be best to avoid moving along the hallway."
"Or perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to protect ourselves with something like an umbrella...?"
In that instant, the future changed.
The future in which the VJ injured their arm while protecting Lee Bin became one in which they suffered no harm.
"And there's a staff member hiding near these stairs."
A scare scene would happen.
I saw a future in which Kim Hyun-woo and Kang So-ra, startled here, collided and were both left in pain.
"It won't be a serious injury, but they'll still be in pain for about three days. If we can avoid it, shouldn't we?"
"Hmm."
"You're right."
"And there's a mission on the first floor. I'll take care of that one."
"What kind of mission is it?"
How should I put this?
It was a mission that would leave Kim Hyun-woo trembling after being extremely frightened, but there would be no problem if I went.
But if I told them the truth while they were standing on their pride, they wouldn't listen...
Let's just gloss over it.
"Well, it's nothing special. Anyway, it would be a little inconsiderate to be too unafraid after all the effort the staff put into preparing this, so let's put on a decent show."
"Even if that's true for us, I don't think you'd be afraid in the slightest, Teacher..."
I smiled at Lee Bin, who spoke in a dispirited voice.
There was no reason to be afraid of something I already knew everything about.
"When I was in first grade, I went to the outdoor restroom."
"Oh..."
"After realizing then that ghosts didn't exist, the only thing I've been afraid of is something I know about but can't stop."
"What on earth happened...?"
"Something you know about but can't stop? Is there such a thing?"
"Like a comet that would bring about the end of the world, or a nuclear war...?"
"...We'd be afraid of those too."
.
.
.
Once preparations were roughly complete, we immediately headed for the abandoned mansion said to be at the center of the island.
"But what were they thinking, building a mansion here? I could understand it if it were on the coast."
"I heard that building a mansion on the coast makes it difficult to maintain because of the sea breeze."
I'd seen it in a documentary before.
I lifted my head as I recalled the scene of a caretaker passionately explaining the difficulties of maintaining a coastal mansion.
The abandoned mansion was gradually coming into view.
"Wow..."
"It's bigger than I expected..."
"Indeed."
The actors, who had assumed it was just a two-story detached house, seemed to have grown a little tense.
Seeing the mansion also reminded me of a horror game I'd played before at the viewers' recommendation.
Its setting had been an abandoned mansion, too...
"All right. Let's go."
As a man who didn't particularly feel afraid of such things, I had cleared it without much difficulty.
The viewers had found it boring, but I had no reason to complain since I'd pocketed a generous mission fee.
"We can't enter through the first-floor entrance."
The entrance was blocked by large luggage and boxes.
We could get in if we tried, but it would take a long time.
It wasn't even the way in to begin with.
And, naturally, that door was locked.
Even if we moved everything, we couldn't get inside.
While those looking for an entrance glanced around, I pointed somewhere.
"We have to go that way."
"That... isn't that the way to the basement?"
"Yes."
I headed for the stairs with the actors. Footprints marked the dust scattered across the floor.
...Hngh...!!
Then I felt a hand grab my arm.
What?
It was Kang So-ra and Kim Hyun-woo.
They'd acted so tough earlier...
"If you're scared, shall we turn back now?"
"I-I'm not scared?!"
"They're just footprints!!"
I looked at Lee Bin.
Unlike the other two, Lee Bin merely looked bored as well.
"Aren't they the staff's footprints?"
"I suppose so."
"Then there's nothing to worry about. Let's go."
And so, I led the way, with Lee Bin at the very back.
With Kim Hyun-woo and Kang So-ra between us, we headed for the basement entrance.
When I grabbed the entrance's handle and pushed, the basement came into view.
-Beep!
I used a flashlight to survey the dim basement.
Fortunately, there was a nearby switch for the lights. I pressed it, and the room lit up.
"To get out of here, we have to open this door..."
The problem was that the door was locked.
"This is kind of like an escape room. Teacher Kang, have you ever tried one?"
"No."
Han Yu-na had wanted to go, so I'd promised we'd go later.
"First, we need to find the key to open this padlock."
Lee Bin folded his arms and looked around with a serious expression.
Kim Hyun-woo and Kang So-ra did the same.
While they seriously searched the surroundings, I grabbed the chest of drawers.
"What are you doing?"
"Mr. Lee Bin, give me a hand."
When I pushed the chest of drawers aside, there was a small box behind it.
A box secured with a combination lock.
While Lee Bin, Kim Hyun-woo, and Kang So-ra fell silent, I figured out the combination.
3194.
-Click.
The box opened.
When I used the key inside to unlock the room's padlock, the three looked at me with dubious expressions.
"Are we allowed to do this?"
"The important thing is opening the door, isn't it? And..."
I looked at the camera.
If they intended to drag me into this, they should have been prepared for things to go this way.
.
.
.
I simply skipped the puzzles and dangerous sections on the basement level.
They were complicated, boring, and pretentious, so I decided there was no point in them and moved on.
Of course, there were sections designed to startle us along the way, and Kim Hyun-woo and Kang So-ra put on an outstanding performance there.
"Eeeeeek!!"
"Aaaahhh!!"
What incredibly vivid reactions.
I suppose actors really are actors.
"That was incredible acting...!!"
"It doesn't look like acting..."
Lee Bin, who was beside me, muttered quietly, but I pretended not to hear him.
In any case, weren't those two actors from my company?
After they'd been badly frightened, shouldn't I humor them as they strutted around pretending they hadn't been scared?
"Now we can enter the first floor. Ah. Everyone, get ready."
"Get ready for what...?"
"That light bulb is going to burst."
I opened the thick umbrella I'd brought along.
Then I pressed the switch...
-Bang!!
The light bulb burst, scattering glass everywhere.
If I hadn't had the umbrella, I wouldn't have been able to block it.
The VJ beside Lee Bin went pale.
"I-I'm sorry. It was definitely fine when we checked it...!!"
"It's all right. That's why I blocked it."
Perhaps because I'd prevented what could easily have become a major disaster, the VJ's expression filled with trust and delight.
"All right. Now we're on the first floor... Ah. There's a mission on the first floor."
To reach the second floor, we needed to obtain three keys.
The first key had to be retrieved from the study on the first floor.
"...W-We have to go in there...?"
Kim Hyun-woo's voice trembled.
Kang So-ra simply sat down on the floor.
"Huh. They certainly prepared this well."
The hallway leading to the study.
And the inside of the study, whose door was slightly ajar.
What filled it wall to wall was mannequins.
Dozens of mannequins in a dark, terrifying place, enough to inspire fear.
We had to enter where they were, retrieve the key, and come back out.
That fact was filling them with dread.
"I'll go."
"T-Teacher?!"
"Will you be all right?!"
"Yes. Don't worry. Ah, and the second key is in the kitchen, so go get that one."
"Okaaay..."
The three actors headed for the kitchen.
The VJ who had come along didn't know what to do, so I told them to follow the others.
The cameras attached to the walls and ceiling over there should be enough to film me.
I walked leisurely.
I passed between the mannequins, entered the study, and picked up the key inside a small box.
And then...
-Thud.
"Eek?!"
I grabbed a staff member hiding among the mannequins in costume.
The staff member who was supposed to scare me was even more startled and started to sink to the floor, so I caught them.
How could someone who was supposed to scare me get scared themself?