Chapter 5

Sunday night, 10 PM.

Mugyeong arrived at the filming location for 108 Ghost Stories a full thirty minutes early.

Even if it was technically just an internet broadcast, it had been a long time since he’d done variety filming, so he was genuinely excited.

The filming location was an amusement park in Gangneung called Q-Land.

Right in the middle of a commercial district filled with five-story buildings stood a Ferris wheel, a Viking ride, a carousel, and a haunted house.

Since an amusement park seemed wildly out of place in the middle of the city, rumors constantly circulated about it— that local gangsters built it, or that some rich man constructed it to avoid inheritance taxes.

But in reality, the amusement park looked far too old and outdated to belong to either gangsters or the wealthy.

Passing beneath the rusty sign reading Q-Land, Mugyeong stepped inside.

Everyone had probably already gone home for work the next day, because the area around the park was quiet and deserted.

The sun had long since set, but the summer night still held onto the day’s heat.

For a moment, Mugyeong worried his makeup might melt from the sweat, but then figured it probably wouldn’t even show properly on camera during a night shoot anyway.

“Dan Mugyeong-nim?”

“AAAH!”

Mugyeong screamed instinctively.

A young woman with short hair and a tall man suddenly appeared from outside his field of vision.

“P-PD-nim… Unho…”

He clutched his chest in relief.

The area was so dark, and both Park Nayeon PD and Unho had been standing in his blind spot, so he genuinely hadn’t noticed them.

PD Park looked at him worriedly.

“You seem really startled. Are you okay?”

“Y-yes…”

“Still, your reactions are excellent. Viewers love stuff like this.”

“Th-thank you.”

Instead of teasing him, she’d complimented him.

What a kind person.

Mugyeong felt strangely emotional.

It was the warmest treatment he’d received in the entertainment industry in years.

Meanwhile, Unho simply stared at him like he was pathetic.

What an asshole.

Maybe he was fine because he saw ghosts every day, but Mugyeong got scared just imagining them.

Mugyeong narrowed his eyes at him.

“As I mentioned before, today’s filming will take place inside the haunted house at this amusement park. But before we go in, we’ll interview the owner first. Since you arrived early, would you like to come meet him?”

“Yes.”

“Oh right. First let me attach your mic.”

PD Park skillfully clipped a microphone onto Mugyeong’s outfit and checked the audio levels.

Once everything was ready, the three headed toward the park management office for the interview.

When PD Park knocked on the office door, a short man in his fifties with thinning hair answered.

He didn’t look remotely like a gangster or rich businessman.

Just an ordinary middle-aged man crushed down by life.

Awkwardly smiling, the man introduced himself as President Kim and led them inside.

Mugyeong found the man’s sparse hair and worn-down appearance oddly pitiful.

Soon, PD Park turned on the camera and began asking questions.

President Kim’s problem was simple:

There were supposedly real ghosts appearing inside the haunted house he operated.

“President Kim, have you personally ever seen a ghost inside the haunted house?”

“No. I haven’t seen one myself yet.”

“Then only the part-timers saw them?”

“Yeah.”

“How many?”

“All the workers in the haunted house saw something. Probably seven or eight people by now.”

“What kind of ghosts did they describe?”

“It’s different every time. Some said they saw a virgin ghost, some saw old men, others said they saw babies.”

PD Park asked sharply,

“The age and gender all differ. Couldn’t they have mistaken park visitors for ghosts?”

“That’s not it.”

“Why not?”

“Our amusement park doesn’t get much business. Some days no customers come at all. But even on those days, the workers in the haunted house keep saying things like, ‘Three customers came today,’ or ‘Four people came in.’”

“……”

“At first, I thought nearby high school students were sneaking in over the fences. So we all checked the CCTV together to catch them.”

He swallowed.

“But there wasn’t a single person entering all day besides the employees.”

Goosebumps rose along Mugyeong’s arms.

If not for the threat of divine punishment, he would’ve run away immediately.

Sneaking a glance at Unho, Mugyeong saw that instead of being scared, he looked deeply thoughtful.

“I’m seriously going crazy here. Business is already bad, and now the workers keep quitting. These days, rumors spread that ghosts appear here, so I can’t even hire anyone for the haunted house anymore.”

President Kim wiped sweat from his face using a checkered handkerchief.

The office felt stuffy without air conditioning.

“So the haunted house isn’t operating right now?”

“I need at least two workers, but nobody even applies anymore. So it’s closed. Such a waste too. You youngsters probably don’t know how expensive the rent is here. Honestly, why did I ever build that thing? If I had the money, I’d bulldoze it immediately and build an arcade instead.”

He grumbled irritably before his face crumpled.

“I seriously must’ve been possessed by something. I used all my retirement money from the bank and even took out loans to invest in this place. Now I’m about to lose everything because of ghosts or whatever this is.”

“That must be really difficult.”

“I can’t even afford to run the AC in this office because electricity bills are too expensive. Sorry about the heat.”

“That’s alright. We’ll be heading out soon anyway.”

PD Park answered kindly.

President Kim wiped away more sweat before cautiously glancing toward Unho.

“So… the tall gentleman here is the shaman, right?”

“…Yes.”

Unho answered stiffly, clearly displeased.

But President Kim ignored the mood entirely and smiled eagerly at him.

“Oh wow, Mr. Shaman, I heard you’re extremely gifted. If there really are ghosts here, couldn’t you perform a quick ritual for us?”

Compared to how casually rude he’d been toward PD Park earlier, his attitude now bordered on servile.

Unho’s expression immediately hardened.

Sensing the tension, PD Park quickly intervened.

“Our Teacher Cheongun’s schedule is already fully booked through next year. It’s amazing enough that he came to help us film this for free.”

“No, I just mean— since he came all this way anyway, couldn’t he do something simple while he’s here? I’ll somehow get makgeolli and a pig’s head ready.”

Mugyeong no longer felt sorry for President Kim.

The man had absolutely no respect for other people’s professions and clearly just wanted free services because his life was difficult.

PD Park smoothly cut the conversation off.

“Oh my, it’s already 10:40. The livestream starts at 11, so we really need to move now.”

Still looking regretful, President Kim reluctantly nodded.

“Alright. Ah, I need to use the bathroom first. You all go ahead.”

“Okay.”

“The haunted house is past the carousel on the right after leaving the office. It’s locked right now, but I’ll open it as soon as I come back.”

The three left the office while President Kim headed for the restroom.

Just as he said, after walking right, they found the carousel first, and behind it stood the haunted house— shaped like a circus tent.

While waiting for President Kim, the group prepared the livestream in the empty area outside the haunted house.

PD Park turned on body cams for both Mugyeong and Unho before grabbing the main camera herself.

“I’ll enter first once we go inside. You two follow behind me. I’ll stream everything live. The body cam footage you’re wearing now will be inserted later during editing.”

She strapped a smartphone securely onto Mugyeong’s wrist.

“And once the stream starts at 11, live comments will appear on this phone screen. Since I’ll be busy filming, Mugyeong-nim, please read and react to comments appropriately.”

“Okay.”

“You’re an idol, so you probably know this better than me already, but ignore the weird trolls. If you give them attention, they only get worse.”

Mugyeong smiled faintly and nodded.

The few livestreams he’d done before usually had only around twenty fans watching. There weren’t even enough viewers for trolls.

Still, there was nothing to do except face it head-on.

“Once we’re inside, Unho-nim will determine whether ghosts are actually there, and Mugyeong-nim will use this equipment to measure paranormal activity. I sent the instructions through KakaoTalk earlier, but if you get confused, I’ll help.”

“Thank you.”

Mugyeong accepted the bag full of electronic equipment from PD Park.

“Then once President Kim arrives, we’ll start immediately. One minute left, so I’ll begin the stream now. From this point onward, both video and audio are live, so be careful.”

Mugyeong looked down at the smartphone strapped to his wrist.

There weren’t many viewers since it was their first day, but thanks to the clickbait haunted-house tags, around forty or fifty people had already entered the stream.

He even recognized several familiar usernames from Pentatonic livestreams.

Apparently his earlier announcement on the group’s SNS had worked.

[Pentatonic55: Mugyeong oppa is so cute!]

[MugyeongMugyeong: Mugyeong-ah be carefulㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[RealTonic: Isn’t that shaman beside Mugyeong oppa the guy named Cheongun?]

Even though there weren’t many viewers, seeing familiar fans eased the nervousness of starting a new program in such an unfamiliar place.

Mugyeong proudly waved at the camera, giving fanservice.

Now that he relaxed slightly, he finally noticed something else.

Unho had been unusually quiet.

Was he still annoyed because of President Kim’s rude behavior earlier?

Deliberately playful, Mugyeong nudged him.

“Je Unho, are you scared right now?”

Unho looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

The expression practically screamed Are you insane?

“Me?”

“Yeah, you. Why’ve you been so quiet?”

“I was thinking.”

“About what?”

“Earlier, the workers here said they all saw different ghosts, right? If it were a territorial spirit tied to this location, they all should’ve seen the same ghost.”

“…And if that’s not the case?”

“There are several possibilities. Maybe they weren’t ghosts at all and people were simply hallucinating. Or another possibility is…”

At that moment, President Kim finally returned from the bathroom and unlocked the haunted house entrance.

He repeatedly gestured for Mugyeong to come over.

Mugyeong glanced sideways at PD Park and Unho.

PD Park was filming the two of them with the haunted house behind her, and although Unho faced the same direction as Mugyeong, he seemed too focused on talking to notice.

“PD-nim, the owner just opened the haunted house. Let’s head in first. Come on, Unho.”

Mugyeong confidently hurried toward the haunted house with Unho and PD Park following behind.

Earlier he’d been scared.

But now he felt secure.

Surely nothing could happen.

There was a real shaman here, the whole thing was livestreamed, and his fans were watching.

Then new comments suddenly flooded the screen.

[MugyeongMugyeong: ?? Mugyeong-ah? What do you mean the owner? There’s nobody standing in front of the haunted house right now.]

[Anonymous#410122: holy shit]

[channel3108: I don’t think he realizes he’s seeing ghosts himself]