I Returned, and Now I See Strange Things-Chapter 23: Give an Explanation
Lately, there was one streamer setting fire to the related online communities.
Maybe it was because they had originally had nothing to do with horror or the occult—the attention only seemed to grow stronger.
As proof of that, the video that first became a hot topic was laughably clumsy in the eyes of genre enthusiasts.
An abandoned hospital—so well-worn, so often entered, it might as well have been called threadbare.
A production so cliché, it was practically textbook.
An object falling over—because that’s the easiest kind of manipulation to pull off.
There was no verification that no string was attached. And there were even companions present—making it all the more suspicious.
In fact, the moment people heard they were heading to a haunted location, most of the new viewers assumed it had to be staged.
But something strange happened afterward.
Streamer Hyeseong, who had been filming, began acting strangely.
As if they’d seen something, they suddenly started shouting and bolting around, crashing into things.
Even through the screen, Hyeseong’s fear felt raw and unmistakable—too intense to be acting.
The camera shook wildly, as if they’d forgotten they were broadcasting at all.
They kept shouting that something was there, but because of the shaking, nothing was visible.
Then, as if the smartphone had been dropped, the screen suddenly tilted to show an empty ceiling.
Only the occasional sound of someone running far off in the distance could be heard... until silence.
And then, a woman’s face suddenly leaned into the frame.
Her eyes were out of focus. But just as quickly, the feed shifted again, this time to someone walking—so quickly that few people noticed the change.
The phone kept moving as if someone was walking with it.
And then, it stopped—as if whoever was holding it had arrived somewhere.
Soon, the camera panned to the floor, and Japanese music began to play.
The screen kept swaying slightly with the motion of the body, showing nothing in particular... but giving off a deeply chilling atmosphere.
Not long after, the screen cut to what looked like the phone’s owner being attacked—and the broadcast ended.
People who normally had no interest in such content read Hyeseong’s follow-up post confirming they were safe, and felt satisfied with the chills they'd gotten on an otherwise hot day.
But in the related communities, the overwhelming consensus was: staged.
And yet... there was nothing specific that could be called out as fake.
There simply wasn’t enough information to say for sure.
"Is this supposed to be some kind of possession act? Gotta admit, the acting's decent lol"
"Messing with that stuff’s just asking for hate."
"It’s just content for fun anyway—why get so worked up?"
"Still, the tension was off the charts lmao"
They figured that was the end of it. But nope.
This time, it looked like Hyeseong was setting it up as a full-fledged recurring series, preparing something in earnest. So the skeptics made up their minds to keep a close eye on things—
With just a hint of hope.
That’s how the Hide-and-Seek Alone content began.
When a girl showed up, calling herself a beautiful ghost hunter, the viewers couldn’t help but let out dry laughs.
"If I trust the hunter, should I smash that like? I’ll start us off lol"
└ "Big like lmao"
...A few users were clearly smitten by her looks, but most figured this unfamiliar face would expose the act for what it was soon enough.
Thus began the first round of hide-and-seek.
And, of course, absolutely nothing happened.
A video so dull it bordered on tedious.
The viewers, watching with eyes peeled for any hint of fakery, were left bored and disappointed.
But then came the twist.
The girl who had claimed to be a ghost hunter suddenly appeared again—biting her own hand and doing something to a doll?
"What the hell is she doing?"
"This feels seriously dangerous?"
"Ate a whole bowl of rice just watching"
└ "This bitch is insane"
Was this finally the climax?
The viewers thought so—until they had to question their own ears.
Because immediately afterward, strange phenomena started to occur.
"What the hell? Doesn’t it usually just shut off or something?"
"Lmao they’re really going all in now"
"If you trusted the hunter, big like time lmao"
[Found the hidden meaning in the noise lol]
[Did you catch the sounds in the background? They’re super clear—replayed a few times and this is what I found lol]
“I prepared this for you. Please accept my proposal—
With this alone, I can succeed. Male vitality guaranteed—
At this rate, we’re all going to die—
More treatment will only bring pain.”
“You must die in agony.”
In short, there’s a hidden message saying “I’ll make sure you die in agony.”
"lol what kind of crap edit is this? If you’re gonna fake it, at least make it good. This is straight-up childish."
They figured it was just another overproduced fake.
But then the banging began—like someone trying to smash down a closet door—and strange clattering noises started to mess with the broadcast.
A flickering, grainy screen. The sound of wood being shattered. And someone screaming.
Chaotic noise filled the air, and soon, two disheveled people appeared on-screen.
The girl, flailing a wildly beeping EMF detector, vanished from the screen in seconds—leaving only a battered Hyeseong behind.
Sweating and visibly shaken, Hyeseong showed the ruined room, confirming there were no devices connected to the TV.
And finally, revealed burn marks.
“Please, do not try this at home.”
And with that, the broadcast ended.
The community, which had been holding its breath, erupted with a variety of reactions.
Some insisted it was fake.
Others said it wasn’t.
Some demanded a clearer explanation.
Others were adamant it was 100% staged.
And some... were just thrilled.
With the communities in a constant uproar, some members—exhausted from the back-and-forth—called for Hyeseong to offer a proper explanation.
But Hyeseong remained silent.
Maybe it was because they hadn’t originally done this kind of content, and the people satisfied with the spooky atmosphere were now treating the skeptics like trolls.
Still, eyes stayed fixed on the next stream.
And then, the next broadcast began.
Viewers gave kudos for the effort of traveling all the way to the countryside in search of a white tiger.
But then—out of nowhere—they started playing Bunshinsaba.
Watching paper burn, the viewers thought:
"Hunter-nim is slaying again today. Still not taking off the mask?"
└ "Just leave, dude."
"They’re not even hiding the theatrics anymore lol"
"Yeah, this one’s kinda obvious ngl"
Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.
And those who had been waiting just for this moment flooded the chat.
"FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE"
"Explain yourself~ So sloppy. No gear, what is this?"
"Are you two dating? Looks cozy. I’m disappointed..."
They took advantage of the looser moderation on content nights to sway public opinion.
Even though missions were being attempted and the broadcast progressed, the number of skeptical viewers only grew.
Nothing happened afterward, after all.
Eventually, when the rain started, everything kind of fell apart. The viewers got what they wanted—an opening to question everything—and more began demanding answers.
But for some reason, Hyeseong didn’t respond.
Just when it seemed the whole thing would fizzle out, a post appeared on Hyeseong’s YouTube community tab.
[A clarification and proof stream will be held soon. Thank you for your patience.]
└ "Is this going to be a stream clarifying the fakery and proving the fakery?"
└ "What’s your relationship with that hunter girl?"
└ "Still shitposting here too, huh?"
└ (This comment has been deleted)
As if deciding that clearing things up took priority, Hyeseong began taking proactive steps, delaying other scheduled broadcasts.
[What if it turns out to be real?]
"Then what? We say thank you and enjoy it, right? Not like there’s anything else to watch these days lol"
└ "Log in before posting"
"So now we’re just doing ‘lol true’ huh?"
"Just deleted my post"
"But does anyone here actually have the sight? What are they even going to show in this ‘clarification’? lol"
└ "lol true"
└ "lol true"
└ "Boss, you here?"
[But seriously—how are they planning to explain any of this?]
With that question hanging in the air—
Hyeseong’s explanation stream was scheduled.
***
After returning home, I fell into thought for a while.
What should I do to make something invisible appear as if it’s real?
The easiest method would be to have that person experience it firsthand, but...
Well, for the one I’m about to summon this time, that might be fine.
But having an unspecified number of people experience it themselves was practically impossible.
“Isn’t there some good method?”
[Not sure?]
[It’s not a problem I’ve ever had to think about.]
...Yeah, as if asking these guys would get me anywhere.
After thinking it over for a long time, I decided to first look up what other people had done.
Searching with a smartphone was inconvenient in a lot of ways... so I’d have to go out.
I pulled on the hoodie Hye-yeon had picked out for me and unlocked the door.
“Ghosts... huh.”
Just as I was about to head down the stairs, I saw the guy from next door coming up.
He brushed past me with a vaguely strange look on his face.
I wondered what that was about, but maybe I’d just been the only one building a sense of familiarity.
I let it go.
I left the building and headed for a PC bang.
Since I didn’t have a personal computer at home, it was the obvious choice.
If I hadn’t met Hye-seong and Hye-yeon, I probably wouldn’t have even thought of coming.
For their sake too, I needed to find something.
But the PC bang I was visiting for the first time in ages... was really different from how I remembered.
More than the price, it practically felt more like a restaurant than a PC bang.
The smell of food...
It made me hungry.
I shook my head, paid for just two hours, and sat down at a station.
When I turned on the PC, a button labeled “Order Food” popped up.
Without thinking, I clicked it.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen.
Growl.
My stomach let out a loud grumble.
“...Guess I’ll just eat something first and then start searching.”
Before I do any digging—
Having # Nоvеlight # a bowl of spicy pork over rice should be fine, right?
The price was decent too.
