Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 220

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work Episode 220

The atmosphere of the post takes an eerily sharp nosedive.

The hastily scheduled due to the power outage that wiped out the filmed footage.

Episode 166.

Various panel and studio audience scenes captured from that episode, which was cobbled together from previous broadcasts, are attached as photos.

That is…

There’s no need to circle and enlarge them like before.

Because anyone who reads this post now remembers this man’s face.

Black eyes.

A smiling mouth.

The Man in the Screen is staring at the camera in various scenes from old talk show entertainment programs where everyone is laughing and chatting, the only one among dozens of people looking directly at the camera.

Episodes 157, 158, 160, 162, 164…

In all the episodes that were patched together and aired as episode 166.

In one corner of the cheerful entertainment show.

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Clearly, this man had never been discovered in these aired episodes before. If he had been, there wouldn’t have been talk about him only appearing in episode 6.

But when they re-edited and aired it as episode 166, he became visible.

He definitely wasn’t there before, we couldn’t find him… but now that man is there.

And compare this.

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Two photos are side by side.

An enlarged capture of the previously discovered ‘Man in the Screen’ circled in red.

And an enlarged capture from episode 166.

Comparing the two taken from the same angle…

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His expression has changed.

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Only the man in episode 166 is smiling with all his teeth showing.

And the pupils of his black eyes looking at the camera appear strangely dilated…

The eeriness felt from the low-quality photo.

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This was his expression in all the discovered highlight scenes.

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A spine-chilling phenomenon.

Eventually, sensing this wasn’t an ordinary matter, the broadcasting station internally took measures among the production staff.

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They started examining people entering the set or outdoor locations more thoroughly during filming.

Panel members and studio audience roles.

They were trying to check if there was anyone with a similar appearance to the ‘Man in the Screen’.

It was the 2000s. Until then, they hadn’t verified identities so meticulously.

Since this became quite formal and excessive, rumors spread among the celebrities filming and field staff.

The captures of the ‘Man in the Screen’ seem to have spread around that time too.

All sorts of stories circulated. He was a PD who died in a broadcast accident, the former director’s son who committed suicide, a construction worker who died during broadcasting station construction, an occult horror special that aired years ago summoned something strange…

But nothing was proven to be true.

Whether they held memorial services or shamanic rituals, the phenomenon didn’t disappear.

He kept being discovered…

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So eventually, the production staff changed their response method.

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So what did they do after that?

They just kept deleting him.

When the final edit came out, they’d keep reviewing the footage in the editing room, somehow finding and cutting out all scenes where that man appeared.

So he no longer appeared in the aired versions… and gradually this ghost story was forgotten. It probably died down since the man was no longer being discovered, right?

Occasionally captures claiming the ‘Man in the Screen’ had reappeared turned out to be different people with similar appearances, which actually served as clarification.

That’s how this commotion ended.

I had known it that way until now…

But recently I heard a chilling story from a friend who’s a broadcast writer.

This is getting too long, so I’ll continue in the next part.

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And.

“…That thing is appearing here again.”

In front of Lee Seong-hae, who had briefly finished recounting ‘Reference Material Part 1’, a PD with a pale face barely swallowed and spoke.

A terrified expression.

“You mean the ‘Man in the Screen’?”

“Yes…”

The strange and terrifying phenomenon that had appeared at the defunct broadcast station was now reappearing at the modern MBS Channel’s Entertainment Department.

“We’re doing our best to delete or avoid it… But this doesn’t seem like an ordinary matter, so we agreed to call in an expert.”

The two Field Investigation Team employees had suddenly become exorcism experts, but maintained their usual calm attitude befitting their naturally composed personalities.

It didn’t matter what it was anyway.

“Whether you perform rituals or whatever, just please make it stop appearing. Preferably if you could resolve it amicably…”

“Yes. Don’t worry!”

If they collected it for the company, it would eventually stop appearing at this broadcasting station.

Lee Seong-hae smiled slightly as he recalled.

The ‘Man in the Screen’ countermeasure.

The relevant darkness is currently estimated to be C~D grade, showing typical characteristics of supernatural phenomena appearing in video materials.

When not observed: Appears with greater frequency.

When observed: Appears in more aggressive ways.

– Manage the entity’s anomalous appearance frequency and aggression, endure for the optimal time, then place the video data in storage that cannot self-reproduce and return it to an appropriate storage location. (Estimated)

Death possible upon failure.

The expected countermeasures included in the materials were more substantial than anticipated.

It could almost be considered a clear manual. Though it kept noting that it hadn’t been proven in the current situation.

‘If things go well, the Employee might be able to rest!’

I should only call on them at the very end if possible.

“Well then, I’ll guide you there.”

“Yes!”

The PD led them to the editing room.

Entry Prohibited

Internal construction in progress.

He opens the door.

Creeeeak.

Unlike the sign that was posted, the dark editing room without anyone inside sits there in perfect condition.

All screens are turned off, equipment is in standby mode.

“The sign is there so other people won’t come in unnecessarily. For editing… we only do urgent things that absolutely need equipment here during the day, and try to do most work outside the broadcasting station at studios or from home.”

A modern solution that would have been impossible at the defunct broadcast station in the past.

Recently, editing programs and equipment specifications have become standardized and widespread, making this possible.

The inside of the editing room feels somehow cool and settled, perhaps because no one has been there…

“Hmm…”

And looking around that place carefully, Kang I-hak’s mouth opened once more.

“Well now, this… something quite nasty has attached itself here.”

“…!”

Kang I-hak clicked his tongue and spoke seriously.

“Ah, this… ha, this looks dangerous.”

“…”

“If it’s like this, we’ll need more time than originally planned, and more preliminary preparation too.”

“H-how long will it take?”

Kang I-hak looks at the PD and speaks solemnly.

“Congratulations.”

“…Excuse me?”

“You’re very lucky. What we have here is a sacred object that we went through great trouble to bring.”

Tap.

Kang I-hak lightly pointed at and touched the transport cage.

“You can skip the preparation time. This case… isn’t just additional fees, but requires a completely new estimate for the service fee.”

“Ah,”

Kang I-hak looks at him trustworthily.

“But this time we’ll just do it for you.”

“…!”

Since you’re busy people, and since you bring laughter to the citizens, we’ll endure the loss this once…

With that dazzling eloquence, the PD, whose mental state was already shaken by fatigue and fear, made a blank expression and then nodded.

“Th-thank you.”

“Haha, please continue making good broadcasts in the future. …However.”

Kang I-hak frowned.

“From now on, we need to stay in the editing room for three days. Don’t let anyone come in.”

“Yes!”

“And this extension of schedule… there’s no choice but to charge for this. We can’t help it up to this point.”

With her dazzling skills continuing to ‘As you can see, it’s a profession difficult to register as a business, so we only accept cash or goods,’ the PD eventually ended up running down to the first floor of the broadcasting station to withdraw money.

Moreover, the PD even took off the gold accessory he was wearing and handed it over, which Kang I-hak readily accepted while telling him not to worry as she saw him off.

“Now you can sleep peacefully!”

“Thank you…”

And the moment the PD disappeared from the editing room, holding additional earnings in both hands, she turned to look at her companions with glee.

“Now we can say we finished in one day what would have taken three days because of our abilities!”

It was insane skill.

“Oh.”

Lee Seong-hae, who had been watching that scene quietly, opened his mouth.

“You’re really good at deceiving people.”

“Deceiving? I just know how to create additional income in a way where no one cares and no one loses out!”

Kang I-hak quickly divided the received gold and cash into three parts.

Her hands were skillful at dividing according to market rates.

“Anyway, once we handle this for that person, he’ll save money for future use, and even if not, he’ll get reimbursed for all the money spent now from his superiors or somewhere, right?”

“…”

“Come on, take this and divide it exactly by the number of people, isn’t that nice? Right? Me, Dolphin, and… our handsome Employee too!”

Kang I-hak quickly looked around at the transport cage and extended gold toward it.

“Employee?”

“Yes! Of course. Um, if cash is a problem, wouldn’t it be fine to give you gold instead? How about it, Employee!”

There’s no way they’d accept that…

Thud.

“…”

“See!”

Saying it must be an existence that knows the greatness of gold, Kang I-hak silently threw a victory ceremony cry into the air.

Lee Seong-hae froze for a moment, then soon bowed his head toward the transport cage and asked seriously.

“Um… do you need human money?”

…Thud.

“Should I give you more?”

Thud.

“Um, by any chance, does the company not pay you a salary?”

Silence.

Silence continues from the transport cage. Somehow the Mascot seems confused. Let’s not push too hard.

‘But… it seems like they’re really not paying, right?’

Lee Seong-hae, who had been thinking, decided to put this kind Employee’s mind at ease for now.

Work talk.

“I’ll work hard!”

Tap tap.

Does that mean it’s okay not to work hard? What a kind person indeed!

“Alright, so… how about we prepare for entry from now?”

“Yes.”

After the brief capitalistic commotion ended, Kang I-hak quickly went to the editing room entrance and closed the door.

Thud.

Inside the editing room that had become a sealed room.

“…I’ll turn on the screen.”

The central equipment monitor lights up, and one variety show file that was being edited appears on the desktop.

And it automatically comes up.

The next post.

The reason why people related to the ‘Man in the Screen’ ghost story are particularly afraid of editing rooms.

The reason they are here,

[Has anyone seen this man on PBS broadcast programs? (Photo warning) -2]

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Hello. Everyone was so curious that I came to write this quickly.

In my last post, I said that the ‘Man in the Screen’ ghost story died down because they deleted everything during the editing process.

And I said I heard a creepy story from my friend who’s a broadcast writer? Well, what that was…

Actually, saying they deleted all of the ‘Man in the Screen’ was a lie.

Apparently it was possible at first. They could remove the man and create a clean final version.

But as time passed, as episodes accumulated, as they edited more… even after deleting and deleting again, cases of continuously finding him kept increasing.

And in the process, the man’s appearance gradually became strange.

Previously, when he was in crowds, you’d just pass by unless you looked carefully, but at some point, he became the kind of state where you’d press the pause button due to the strangeness even just glancing past.

I don’t know exactly what state he was in. The editing room staff couldn’t speak about it either. They just repeated one thing.

‘He seems angry’…

Then eventually the workload reached its limit.

Since he kept appearing no matter how much they deleted, the workload increased in this industry that already had many all-nighters… even senior staff who didn’t have time for such things ended up staying up all night looking for the ‘Man in the Screen’ to cut out scenes.

Then they finally devised a new method.

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Complete prevention at the source.

Not including any large crowd scenes where the ‘Man in the Screen’ might appear at all.

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They wouldn’t film the studio audience at all from the start, just adding sound. Or they’d zoom in close to capture only people reacting.

This way, there wouldn’t be many occasions for many people to be caught on camera at once, right?

It seemed like it would be more comfortable. It looked plausible.

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After suggesting this method, a post follows saying the atmosphere calmed down somewhat. As if a real solution had emerged.

The PD and assistant director who made the suggestion at the time sighed in relief and entered the editing room saying they’d try it that way.

And the next day.

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Both committed suicide in the editing room.

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“….”

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The PD who hanged himself with electrical wire was on the ceiling, the assistant director who cut his artery with broken monitor fragments was in a chair.

Right in front of the door, there was also a suicide note.

But the handwriting was so messy and they couldn’t tell what it was written with…

The PD who handled that scene had worked with my broadcast writer friend before, and according to that PD, the suicide note was originally written like a severely mentally ill patient had written it, with just strange words rambling incoherently without making sense. It was so shocking that he roughly remembered the content.

But one night, while recalling those words and trying to reconstruct them, he said he got a feeling that he roughly understood the content…

Like this.

The man in the screen doesn’t want to be deleted

He is angry

Broadcast him immediately

I conveyed it as told

I don’t want to die

I’m sorry

He couldn’t sleep that night because he was so scared.

He ended up staying at a temple for several days.

Even aside from that, most people in PBS’s variety department were so shocked or terrified that the entire variety department apparently came to a complete standstill.

People around my age remember, right? Suddenly articles came out saying two people died at PBS’s variety department, and variety shows kept getting canceled for 2-3 weeks as a tribute…

That was actually this incident.

They rebuilt the editing room, but the atmosphere never recovered after that. Variety department PDs quit en masse, and even production staff like writers were all reluctant to sign new contracts to work there.

So everyone who worked at PBS during that time knows about it.

While sociopolitical power struggles are often mentioned as the reason PBS was shut down, this incident definitely contributed to making the variety department’s atmosphere almost irreparable…

Anyway, there’s something fortunate too.

When this broadcasting station disappeared in 2008, the ‘Man in the Screen’ ghost story really ended.

.

.

.

But you know what?

This variety show aired yesterday.

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At the end of the post, a high-quality photo was attached.

‘Midnight Elegant Hearty Laughter’ Episode 36, 6 minutes 23 seconds capture.

The MC and solo guest having a warm conversation. And a camera briefly showing the production staff’s reaction.

A person sitting among the mosaicked production staff…

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Can you recognize him?

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The man in the screen is watching.

A smile showing all his teeth, dilated pupils, and eyebrows strangely contorted as if in anger.

He’s looking at you beyond the camera.

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PBS was shut down.

But there’s a broadcasting station that took over all the equipment and personnel of the shut-down station and reorganized.

Do you know where?

MBS.

And Midnight Hearty Laughter is an MBS variety show.

…

Don’t watch MBS variety show live broadcasts for a while.

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Something began to appear on the video screen in the editing room.

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Because you never know what might happen.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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