Chapter 120

CLICK.

The old-fashioned television switches on.

The black screen fills my entire field of vision and appears inside my head.

I cannot look away.

I have to watch.

Stay tuned!

An advertisement

just for you

is now

playing.

Lively, old-fashioned orchestral music plays in the background.

Then black-and-white footage appears.

Starring: Kim Soleum

A weary young man in his mid-to-late twenties, just starting his career, dressed in a black suit.

Sometimes he fills out paperwork at the office with his face uncovered. Sometimes he wears a strange antlered mask, narrowly escaping death as the dangers within ghost stories pursue him...

Me.

Feeling depressed?

Exhausted?

Are you plagued by tedious work, verbal abuse, and office politics?

Does your daily life make you anxious, knowing you can trust no one and might die at any moment?

At times like these, you should sit down in front of the TV and watch something new and entertaining!

Having returned to my company-provided apartment, I sit in front of the TV, staring blankly at the screen.

Children's cartoons I watched to soothe my fear.

But, being meant for children, the videos are short and soon end.

I sat there blankly for a while, my eyes hollow, before going into my bedroom.

And I try to sleep, though sleep will not come.

Were you afraid of the show you were watching coming to an end?

Were you scared of tomorrow arriving?

Did you dread returning to a workplace that torments you, doesn't suit you, and makes every day painful and nerve-racking?

Does thinking too deeply leave you distressed and frightened, with no other options available?

Are you simply enduring the horror, telling yourself this path has to be the right one?

...

I, I...

Just for you!

Wait, don't be alarmed. Take a deep breath.

The perfect alternative,

a new path, has arrived!

TA-DA!

On the screen, a bright spotlight falls on my bedroom door. Someone opens it and makes a stylish entrance.

A dapper silhouette in a brown suit, with an old-fashioned TV in place of a head.

... The Host.

The answer you've been looking for!

Startled, I get out of bed and warmly shake the Host's hand. Then, smiling with relief, I throw my mask and briefcase out the window.

The Host snaps his fingers, and the company apartment magically turns to ash, revealing a brilliantly lit studio.

Beaming, I stand onstage beside the Host.

These things clearly never happened, yet they mingle with scenes from my past, piercing my mind in a cunning, dizzying blend.

As if they were real.

The host of this new talk show brims with wit, cleverness, and humor, and listens sympathetically to all your concerns!

Accept this perfect proposal from the very person you invited, and everything will get better.

An appealing workplace no one would want to turn down.

Get ready for your new life!

No.

No, I,

I mean, I have to go home...

Oh dear!

Are you suffering from that tiresome homesickness?

The picture shifts.

It shows me again, but this time it isn't me in the past.

Now.

... Me, looking into the TV screen.

Head-on.

Staring right back at me.

Starring: You

It reflects me like a mirror.

But the me on TV has a strangely contorted expression, on the verge of tears.

No, that isn't me. I'm not making any expression right... Am I? Do I look like I'm about to cry? Enough! I'm dizzy. Confused and doubtful, I pressed both hands against my face.

My vision vanished.

But I can still see the TV.

Captions appear beneath my face.

Why do you always long for home?

Do you crave the happiness of escaping an uncomfortable, burdensome environment? Do you cry every night, wishing you could sleep without anxiety or nightmares?

Don't worry.

The Great Talk Show awaits you!

No.

Special information visible only to you, the viewer of this advertisement:

The crew of the Great Talk Show have no faces.

A dream workplace without the discomfort and pressure of facing unfamiliar faces.

Join us now!

That's insane.

Faceless coworkers? Who would want that? Absolutely not...

At this workplace, no one agonizes over concealing who they are.

You watching this advertisement needn't worry, either.

Feel free to reveal yourself!

The one and only workplace

that will let your abundant talent and ideas flourish.

This legendary host has reportedly returned countless applications and kept this position open just for you!

...

An appealing workplace no one would want to turn down.

It's your new home now!

No, it isn't!

He's deliberately using the word home. He knows I want to go home. That's it.

But I don't want a new home. I've never wanted that.

What I want...

Is to return to the familiar world... where I used to live.

A place where, at the very least, I don't have to worry about being eaten by a monster while walking down the street. Where ghost stories are entertaining fiction. My friends and family are all there, too.

And let's not forget!

I have the silver ring on my hand right now.

I can resist all of this. Resist, I can resist.

That person on TV isn't me.

I'm not smiling.

You will be happy.

In your new home.

I won't confuse the two.

I'm going back to my original home. That isn't home. I'm working so I can go home, and I will never reverse that purpose.

In your home.

This insane talk show is not my home.

This insane talk show is not my home.

This insane talk show is not my home!!

...

...

["Hmm."]

Please stand by.

Adjusting the picture...

The TV screen drew away.

"Hah!"

I let out a breath and sank to the floor.

The moment my hand touched the cold tile of the cramped train restroom, my sense of reality returned.

No, it definitely had, but...

["I understand, Mr. Soleum."]

The next moment,

I was standing in a cozy studio.

No, this place had been a studio all along.

There simply wasn't an audience in this small, cozy space yet, only two comfortable armchairs facing each other.

And the TV-headed Host, solemnly holding out a hand to me.

["Oh dear, you're terribly tense... Shall we sit down first? Straighten your clothes and wipe off the blood. Then let's have a more relaxed conversation..."]

["The advertisement seems to have been too stimulating for my friend, giving you quite a shock to body and mind."]

...

Soft piano music plays.

["You don't have any media experience yet, Mr. Soleum. I went too far. Let's take a little time..."]

At the Host's gesture, a steaming cup appears on the table between the chairs.

... It's hot chocolate.

["Ah, do you remember? The drink I recommended whenever you were exhausted, Mr. Roe Deer. Chocolate! Surely a tired body needs something warm and comforting..."]

A smiling emoticon appears on his TV face, and his antenna rises slightly.

As if he's a little excited.

Then he busily adds marshmallows to the cup and stirs it.

["Still, this is my first time serving it myself. With a body full of stuffing, I always had to rely on others for this sort of thing."]

"..."

["There were so many things I couldn't do for you in that state. Now, now, let's rest a little first..."]

Following his kind guidance, I naturally found myself sitting in the chair.

... Because I had no other choice.

Surprisingly, though, the Host quietly waited without doing anything else unexpected while I refused all other forms of "help" and stopped the bleeding and treated the wound on my arm myself.

He didn't even urge me to drink.

He simply waited, like a considerate interviewer.

... In the process, my head clears a little, and I grow calmer.

["Feeling a little calmer, Mr. Roe Deer? Take a deep breath. That's right... Let's talk."]

The Host sat in the chair opposite me and interlaced his fingers.

Then he speaks politely.

["You say you absolutely do not want to quit your current job, Mr. Roe Deer. Is that correct?"]

"..."

Breaking into a cold sweat, I slowly nodded.

The antenna on his TV head tilts sideways in apparent puzzlement.

["How very strange. Strange indeed... I was sure you hated that job, Mr. Roe Deer!"]

"...!"

["We've talked about so many things. I've often heard you complain about how much you hate this work, and how you never want to do it again once you've achieved your goal."]

But that also meant I had to keep working there until I achieved my goal, no matter what.

If I wanted to get a Wish Coupon and go home...

["Just a moment."]

["Yes, Mr. Roe Deer. That's precisely the part I wanted to focus on!"]

["My friend, you're saying you desperately want to go home. And..."]

The Host murmurs conspiratorially.

["In fact, I know why you say you want to go home, Mr. Roe Deer."]

What reason did a person need to say they wanted to go home?

Wondering what sophistry he was about to spout, I felt my shoulders begin to tense.

I had to let it go in one ear and out the other.

["Oh, this will be shocking, but please brace yourself!"]

But the Host's voice grows lower, quieter, becoming a whisper.

His delivery naturally draws my attention to what comes next.

["It's because..."]

I find myself listening closely.

["You don't actually want to go."]

...

What?

["You know it yourself, don't you?"]

["That two powerful emotions have caused you to misunderstand your situation, jump to conclusions, and develop prejudices."]

["Fear and desire."]

What are you saying...

["Oh, Mr. Roe Deer... It isn't that you miss home or love it. You're simply frightened of your current work and hate doing it."]

"...!"

["Now, Mr. Roe Deer. Did you truly feel nothing but dislike when the stories you enjoyed became reality?"]

["Wasn't witnessing how the things you'd imagined took shape in reality even a little thrilling or exciting? Do you truly, sincerely mean that you only hated it?"]

Hate...

Rather than hating it, it was just too dangerous.

["Danger! Ah, a traditionally convincing justification. But let's think about this, Mr. Roe Deer."]

The old-fashioned television in place of the Host's head crackles with static.

["Is the 'home' you're returning to truly safe?"]

Images flash across his TV head.

Brutal news footage in black and white.

["War, poverty, the climate crisis, terrorism, epidemics... And all the other small, terrible tragedies. Hell can come for anyone, and you are no exception."]

["In any reality, we cannot choose what tragedies we encounter. Unless it's a show, of course!"]

That's.

["Oh yes, you knew it deep down, too. This place and the place you call 'home' aren't actually all that different..."]

["Does it matter whether a monster from a story manifests in reality, or a real monster lives in it? What matters is your suffering!"]

Braun spreads his fingers, folding them down as he counts off disasters.

["Death striking without warning? Oh dear, where does death ever announce its arrival? It would be just as frightening anywhere."]

["Your peace there is equally fragile and futile, something a mad dictator could shatter with the push of a single button..."]

["Ultimately, isn't all of this merely a matter of your subjective perception, Mr. Roe Deer?"]

I stared blankly at the TV.

["And subjective perception is not truth. It's merely a highly distorted experience felt by you alone."]

["Let's set aside our prejudices, my friend."]

That's, that's...

...

...

Is that... how it is?

I felt that something didn't add up, but couldn't find the words to argue back.

It sounded plausible.

But surely this couldn't really be... just a matter of how I felt.

["It's all right. Acceptance always takes time. I, Braun, can keep talking with you... Just as I always have!"]

["So, shall we take the discussion a little further for now? Get a little closer to the heart of things..."]

Braun asks gently.

["What is it you truly want, Mr. Soleum?"]

["Let's think about it without going home as an option."]

...

What I want... No, hold on.

... He understood my situation this deeply?

He's reading my thoughts completely.

How much does he know? Just how far into my innermost thoughts has he seen?

And if he already knows everything I'm thinking, is there any point arguing, no matter what objections I make? Is there any way to escape?

Wait, is he reading this thought, too? How much of my mind can the Host read? Surely not the Records of Dark Exploration I'm thinking of...

["Mr. Soleum."]

I feel like I'm going insane.

I was so scared I felt like I was going insane. I wanted to get out of this situa—

["That's it!"]

Huh?

["You've finally realized it, Mr. Soleum. What you truly want deep down!"]

The Host snaps his fingers with a sharp click.

["To escape fear."]

"...!!"

The TV draws closer.

["And here we have a very quick, certain method..."]

How to

escape fear:

Make a talk show

with Braun

["You will be comfortable and happy in my studio."]

["A passionate show creator. Your dazzling creativity and ingenuity will shine all the brighter without fear. I, Braun, guarantee it wholeheartedly."]

["A workplace where all you need to do is make a good show, without complicated thoughts... The studio of this legendary host, free from all other dangers."]

The same words sound different now.

I don't find myself thinking... that it's absurd.

That frightens me.

["Shh, shh, there's no need to be afraid. Listen to what Braun has to say..."]

["Now, my friend. Would you look down at your hand? That's right... What do you see?"]

... The silver ring on my index finger.

["Correct! What does wearing it mean?"]

...

'That I'm not contaminated.'

It meant my judgment hadn't been consumed by supernatural phenomena, and I possessed powerful mental resistance that allowed me to make decisions with sound, human reason.

["Correct! Ah, what a shame. If this were a quiz show, I'd have given you a prize..."]

["In any event, that means the choice you're making now isn't wrong. You can catch your breath and relax now."]

["How do you feel?"]

I,

["Let me guess. ...' Braun's words make sense. Wouldn't it be all right to give it a try, just once?'"]

...

...

But...!

["Correct!"]

["Now, let's seize our opportunity, my friend."]

Across from me, Braun straightens his suit and politely rises.

As though showing due respect to a business partner.

["All it takes is a handshake."]

["We don't need a complicated signing process. We shake hands, and we work together."]

...

["Don't you want to spend a peaceful day without fear or pain? All you need to do is try a more comfortable, enjoyable job with your now even more dependable friend!"]

["And if you don't enjoy it at all... You can go straight back to your original workplace."]

...

"Really?"

["Really."]

...

["Seize the opportunity, my friend."]

["It's now or never."]

I raised my trembling hand.

And.

Held it out.

To him.

["That's right."]

His grip closed tight.

The Host's enormous hand completely envelops mine in a handshake.

["You won't regret this, my friend."]

Everything around us grows dazzlingly bright.

Spotlights shine down from every direction, and the cramped studio expands, gradually revealing itself out of the darkness...

["Now. Introducing Mr. Soleum's new workplace! New coworkers! New life!"]

A neatly arranged set, a stage sparkling with light bulbs, and above it, the lettering of a classic golden sign shining brightly...

["The pleasure of witnessing, the joy of communication, the thrill of unpredictable developments, the anticipation. This humble place that seeks only... the audience's applause."]

Braun's Late-Night Talk Show

I,

["Congratulations on becoming part of it, Mr. Soleum."]

Had successfully changed jobs.