Chapter 124

Space Shopping Mall.

Also known as the Alien Shop.

A ghost story about a bizarre website selling expensive, mysterious supernatural goods—the site that had supplied me with useful items and equipment all this time.

But...

'... Team Leader Lizard is one of its aliens?'

I tried to swallow, then jolted at the realization that I had no body. Because Section Chief Lizard seemed to be inside mine right now.

Instead, I asked a question I could hardly believe I was asking.

"... Are you the operator of Space Shopping Mall?"

And his answer was...

"No."

Oh.

'Then how is he involved?'

I was a little curious, but that wasn't what mattered right now. What mattered was that the situation was under control.

'Whew.'

I looked at my dressing room through the CCTV-like view.

The masses of dark blue water that had poured out were now pooling on the floor and dispersing. Aside from being a little messy, the room looked fine.

I didn't know exactly what had happened, but apparently my being ejected and Team Leader Lee Jaheon taking over had brought things under control. Judging by the fact that I wasn't spewing water anymore, at least.

'I'm really grateful for that...'

It was a relief that Team Leader Lee Jaheon had kept my body alive. Sighing inwardly with relief, I said,

"Thank you, at any rate. Now that things have settled down, I'd like you to leave my body."

"..."

"... Team Leader Lee Jaheon?"

"I will initiate the escape protocol through the emergency pager."

My view abruptly moved.

"...?!"

I—or rather, Section Chief Lee Jaheon—was moving, apparently sweeping up every item on the table and storing them in my tattoo.

Wait, what are you doing...?

"In three minutes, I will order a holy-fire bombard—"

What?

"S-stop, please."

What kind of insane nonsense was this? A bombardment?

"I don't know what that is, but why on earth would you use it now?"

"It is an option included with the emergency pager. Until the user is transported to safety, we mobilize every means of armed force authorized for deployment outside the Union."

"During your escape, Mr. Kim Soleum, it will be deploy—"

"What I'm asking is!"

This lizard... no, this reptilian alien!

I spoke, wishing I could grit my teeth.

"Why do I need to escape?"

The footsteps in my view stopped.

I'd simply changed jobs and was living a meaningful, enjoyable life at a talk show. I had no idea why he was suddenly talking about escape.

It had been over a month since I'd escaped Daydream Inc., after all.

"I've adjusted well to my new workplace, and I'm doing fine without any particular problems. This isn't even a dangerous situation."

Thank goodness I was on a break. If this had happened during a meeting or the talk show, who knew how much trouble it would have caused...?

"I see."

Right. So now that everything's been dealt with, just give me back my body...

"When did you last sleep?"

"..."

That was...

Before I came to this talk show. So...

A month ago.

"Animals must eat and sleep to survive."

"..."

"If you do not need to, it means you are closer to a supernatural entity than an animal of the natural world."

In other words, I had...

Become a ghost story.

"... No. I... am not contaminated. I can think properly, and my moral standards haven't changed."

"Is that so?"

"Of course."

"Why is there water pooling in the dressing room?"

"That's because I ate a churro..."

"Do you mean the snack you stated you received at Gaiety Theme Park?"

"..."

"Under normal circumstances, there is a high probability that you would not have consumed food originating from Darkness without reservations."

"Why did you press the emergency call button?"

"... Because water was pouring out, and I thought I would suffocate."

"It is unnatural to respond to suffocation by pressing a strange escape button whose origin and effects you do not know."

"When your life was in danger on Death Row, you agonized repeatedly over whether to press the button, but gave up on your superior's advice."

"But..."

"The normal response is to ask someone else for help."

"..."

Had I... started using things from ghost stories naturally, as if they were everyday household items...?

"You have become bound to this Darkness."

"...! No, that's not true!"

That, at least, I could firmly refute.

"Even now, I can leave whenever I want. I just have to ask the Host for time off."

"'The Host.'"

"Is that how you originally addressed the talk show's presenter?"

"...!"

B-but.

We might be business partners, but Braun was the one hosting this talk show.

So wasn't it only natural to address him respectfully as the Host while we were working?

I was beginning to feel strange.

Section Chief Lee Jaheon had certainly been my superior, but now that I'd quit, he was merely an acquaintance. Was it right for him to interfere in my private life like this?

Shouldn't I be offended?

"Supervisor Kim Soleum."

But Section Chief Lee Jaheon was the one using my body right now.

No!

"D-don't bombard this place. So many crew members are putting their hearts into making this talk show."

I spoke desperately.

"It's not as though the audience dies. So..."

"They do."

"..."

What did he just...?

"Those invited to attend this talk show receive a thank-you card the following day. The card is sent through the medium they used to apply for a seat."

"The card contains detailed instructions on how to meet the guest they found 'particularly memorable' on that day's show."

"..."

"Some audience members display a tendency to become completely enthralled by the talk show. Therefore..."

"They willingly enter Darkness to meet the guests."

The pounding of a heart I didn't have seemed to reverberate through my entire body.

I remembered the audience member I'd interviewed yesterday. That... sight of Happy Ending Teddy staring fixedly at the person who said they wanted to adopt it.

What I'd felt then was unmistakably...

Revulsion.

"We have confirmed at least three cases of past audience members definitively dying or disappearing."

"..."

My head churned.

My stomach roiled.

It was strange to feel nauseated when I currently had no body capable of it.

This was a psychological reaction.

In other words...

The shock of realizing something utterly inconceivable.

"..."

What had I been doing all this time?

What on earth was this talk show actually doing?

But Braun... No.

No.

Braun had never promised not to harm the audience.

He'd only assured me that he would keep me from being scared.

I couldn't interpret the situation however suited me, according to my own common sense.

'Ghost stories...'

That was how they'd always been.

"..."

"Mr. Kim Soleum, you need to escape this talk show immediately."

My head went cold.

"Team Leader."

I knew.

I hadn't been contaminated.

At least, not in that train restroom where I'd decided to come to this talk show.

But, but...

"I think... I may have been mistaken about something."

I'd overlooked something.

Even without contamination, humans could always make bad decisions.

They fell for scams, committed crimes, made mistakes, misunderstood things... and believed what they shouldn't.

Perhaps...

This was another such case.

"For now... if possible, leaving this talk show and thinking things over... might not be a bad idea."

I thought I needed a little time to think alone...

"Yes."

"But no bombardment!"

If I'd had a body, I would have rubbed my face.

"You'll never defeat the Host in this studio with something like that..."

I was certain.

'We'll be incinerated the moment we're caught.'

If he was merciful and merely billed us for the damage, I might have to work at this talk show without pay until I died. No, even afterward.

... What frightened me more was that I found myself thinking that wouldn't be so bad.

"Do you know where the studio exit is?"

"... No."

I didn't even know how large this studio was.

I knew it contained an unbelievable variety of sets and storage rooms. But I didn't know how many floors there were, or how far any particular area extended.

At some point, I'd naturally become able to navigate the crew area, but everything else was still vague.

I'd stayed around the dressing rooms, only briefly visiting other areas when accompanying the rest of the crew...

'I haven't left this place in a month.'

Understandably enough: my dressing room was perfectly comfortable, I hadn't felt any need to provide myself with food, clothing, or shelter, and I'd been busy adjusting.

"But brazenly walking out the exit without even taking leave would be foolish. It would be better to sneak..."

...

Oh.

"Were you about to suggest sneaking out?"

"No. That won't work."

Good God.

Sneaking out wasn't even an option. Because...

"... The Host knows where I am, wherever that is."

Because he'd checked the tag.

Through the Good Friend contract, he could find me—the one who'd summoned him—until I died. Forever.

So wherever I went, he could follow me now...

...

"Do you want me to persuade him to grant you leave?"

"No."

When the Host asked why I wanted leave, there was no way he wouldn't discover that Section Chief Lee Jaheon was occupying my body.

Besides, even if I did it myself... I wasn't confident.

'I think he'd persuade me instead...'

I felt I would blindly, happily agree to work on the talk show again, whether the audience died or not.

The legendary host of a ghost-story talk show wasn't merely eloquent. He was terrifying enough that his very persuasiveness felt like a supernatural phenomenon...

The only reason I'd been able to frighten my Good Friend in the past must have been the restrictions imposed by Good Friend.

My heart went cold.

"I see."

"Even if we partially destroy the studio and escape, the source of danger can immediately locate you, Mr. Kim Soleum, rendering it pointless. Is that assessment correct?"

"... Yes."

There was no way out.

No, even getting out would be meaningless.

It seemed like a perfect seal.

...

'... No.'

There was always a crack somewhere.

'The Host probably doesn't know yet that I used an item to summon Section Chief Lee Jaheon.'

In that case.

"... Section Chief, how long can you stay in that body?"

"As Section Chief Lee Jaheon, sixty hours."

"Furthermore, the caller cannot terminate use at will. The emergency pager will only deactivate once the caller is out of danger."

An odd choice of words.

But that much time would be plenty.

Enough to wait for the moment when there might at least be a crack.

"Let's prepare and wait."

Suppressing my anxiety, I began racking my brain.

"... Until just before the talk show starts."

* * *

Time passed.

Preparations for the live talk show began.

At that point, most of the crew would bustle between backstage and the stage, setting up equipment.

Normally, I would join them to check the equipment or talk to the Host. I could also attend a meeting, or sometimes poke my head into another department.

'Production crew can do that, unlike the cast.'

In particular, since I worked as a creator for the talk show rather than as a stagehand, I had no fixed duties during the live broadcast itself.

So whatever I did would look reasonably natural...

Even if, for example, I wandered all over the place as though running an errand or searching for something.

"Over there."

I was frantically searching the studio, now almost deserted by the faceless crew.

There was only one thing I was looking for.

"There should be an area with the guest dressing rooms."

I'd definitely heard about it.

'They said there was a guest entrance.'

Every guest had a place they originally belonged, and I'd heard that some sort of... 'accommodation' had been made so they could be invited comfortably into the studio.

'I have to find it.'

Of course, even finding the dressing rooms was difficult for me.

The moment I left the dressing-room and crew areas, I lost my bearings as if I'd entered a maze.

But Section Chief Lee Jaheon...

'... He's incredibly fast.'

Was he winning through sheer volume...?

With strength and speed that made it hard to believe he was using the same body I did, he sent my view whipping around, checking countless passages and signs as he moved.

'His performance is exactly the same as in his own body.'

Perhaps Section Chief Lizard could use that kind of stamina and strength in any body...

The problem, however, was...

TAP TAP.

"...!"

My view turned.

A faceless crew member gestured, apparently asking why I was here and offering to guide me if I was lost.

"... Please tell them I'm running an errand and will return as soon as I'm done."

"I'm running an errand. I'll return as soon as I'm done."

The faceless crew member didn't offer twice and seemed to disappear... only to emerge around a corner with another crew member!

"..."

Gulp.

If I'd had a body, I would have swallowed...

'No.'

If I looked suspicious here, word would reach the Host immediately. And then...

I'd be happily running the talk show again.

With all my doubts cleanly resolved, thanks to his kindly 'persuasion.'

'...'

The newly arrived crew member gestured.

"I think that crew member is offering... to run the errand for us."

"No need."

Team Leader!!

"P-please tell them it feels more meaningful to do it personally. That it's nothing major, so a newcomer like me would like to take care of it quickly and quietly."

"P-personally doing it feels more meaningful."

"..."

No, that's...

"It's nothing major, so a newcomer like me would like to take care of it quickly and quietly."

Fortunately, the crew members nodded at that and left. With the live broadcast imminent, they apparently had no more time to waste here...

'Whew...'

"Moving on."

'This feels like piloting a robot.'

A robot with about ten times my strength and stamina.

Sighing inwardly with relief over and over, I continued sharing Section Chief Lee Jaheon's view as he searched.

There were a few more palm-sweating close calls, but we got through them safely.

And before long...

"Found it."

"...!"

CLICK.

A door opened in my view.

Guest Area

The CCTV-like screen before me now showed a dim corridor with an old-fashioned air.

Countless doors lined it, still bearing the nameplates of guests who'd appeared over the past month, none replaced...

As though a new room was used for each guest.

"..."

... An eerie, ominous feeling I'd never experienced over the past month reached me even through this intervening layer...

I swallowed.

"Now please find the door marked Happy Ending Teddy."

My view moved swiftly, and he found a door in no time.

The bulb over today's guest dressing room shone brightly beside it, but I ignored that room and approached the neighboring door.

Yesterday's guest dressing room, its bulb nearly extinguished.

Happy Ending Teddy

CLICK.

... The dark dressing room hadn't been cleaned yet, and everything inside was scaled to a cloth doll's body.

Traces of the teddy's stay remained.

... As did traces of a teddy bear's making.

"..."

I tried not to look at the extremities and pieces of skin.

Fortunately, that wasn't difficult, since Section Chief Lee Jaheon was controlling my body.

Section Chief Lee Jaheon quickly swept his gaze around the dressing room and eventually found something.

"A dollhouse door."

The colorful door set into one wall was so small it barely reached my waist. It looked as though it had been made as a child's toy...

"Let's go out through there."

CREAK.

... In my view, I saw my hand open the little door, then my body lower itself and crawl toward the dark space beyond...

There was light up ahead.

And a moment later...

"...!"

My view abruptly brightened again.

A modern corridor came into view.

Finished in concrete and paint, its modern style stood in stark contrast to Braun's classical, elegant studio.

And from farther down, I heard a voice...

"Now! The item we'll be introducing today turns your hair into living snakes..."

The voice of a home-shopping presenter selling an absurd product.

Delusion Home Shopping!

'Just as I thought.'

On the last broadcast, they'd said Happy Ending Teddy had received sponsorship from this place, so I'd wondered if its door might connect here.

'We did it.'

I sighed with relief.

Hadn't I done this before on Death Row? Moving from one ghost story to another.

'Since this is another broadcasting studio, it might take the Host a little longer to notice.'

Besides, the live show was about to start, so he wouldn't have time to chase us here.

No, perhaps we could even find a useful item here that would prevent him from tracking me.

'With Section Chief Lee Jaheon's physical strength, we should be safe here.'

Let's bet on that.

My view moved out into the brightly lit corridor.

Reining in my excitement, I said,

"Section Chief, for now, let's find something helpful without drawing atten—"

["Oh dear."]

Caught.

I was dangling in midair.

Someone's hand was holding me.

["You seem to have taken a wrong turn, my friend! Leaving the studio, of all things. The passages are rather complicated, aren't they?"]

A kind, smiling emoticon appeared on the enormous... truly enormous TV before me.

["With the live broadcast about to start, I had no time, so I brought you here like this for now. Get some rest. You'll actually find it more comfortable!"]

Beneath it, the enormous gloved hand holding the scruff of my neck shifted to support my back and bottom, then carefully set me on a reddish-brown desk.

["Oh, having experienced a similar body myself, I can assure you... Seeing you like this makes me rather nostalgic."]

["'Good Friend.'"]

Now I had a body.

But I couldn't move.

Before me were the glittering lights of Braun's Late-Night Talk Show, the audience seats, and...

A space where everything was gigantic.

My reflection appeared in the black TV screen...

["Now, now... Sit comfortably here and enjoy the talk show. We're about to begin!"]

I was.

A stuffed doll.