I Returned, and Now I See Strange Things-Chapter 24: …In a Bind

I take back what I said about the price being decent.

Once I picked the pork stir-fry rice bowl, a fried egg, and even some side dishes to go with it, the total came out to quite a bit.

I clicked my tongue at how things like danmuji and kimchi all had to be ordered separately.

Thinking about the hearty gukbap that came with side dishes when I ate with Hyeon’s family made this seem like an absurd rip-off.

In the end, I just ordered the basic pork stir-fry rice bowl with an added fried egg and went online to do some research.

First, I decided to check YouTube, which I was most familiar with, and look up similar videos.

While wondering what search terms to use—

I suddenly realized I had never watched the video I filmed with Hye-seong.

I had watched the ones where Hye-seong appeared alone with Hyeon, but I’d never actually seen one where I showed up on screen.

“...”

I looked around once.

After confirming there was no one nearby, I pulled my hoodie down tight.

Then, trying to recall from memory, I searched for Hye-seong’s channel.

The thumbnail on the most recent video showed a familiar figure.

‘...That’s me.’

It seemed like it was an edited version of the Bunshinsaba session.

When I checked the view count, it had already surpassed a hundred thousand views.

It didn’t seem like it had been up for very long...

I wasn’t sure if that was a lot, but the idea of a hundred thousand people felt kind of overwhelming.

Gulp.

I swallowed nervously and clicked the video.

—Please don’t skip this!!!

...An ad came on.

And it was ridiculously loud.

A man’s desperate voice rang out across the whole PC bang.

I could feel the stares from people on the other side of the room.

I quickly muted the speakers and skipped the ad the second I could.

Only then did the familiar video screen appear.

I paused it there.

[Hm? You’re not going to watch it?]

“...”

To be honest... I was a little nervous.

I hadn’t really thought anything of it until I actually saw the view count and was about to watch myself on screen with my own eyes... and suddenly it felt strange.

[You seem embarrassed.]

“...That’s not it.”

I took a deep breath again and looked around.

No one else had come in while I was distracted. Still empty.

This wasn’t anything worth getting worked up over.

All I was doing was checking how I came out on camera.

Just as I reached for the play button again—

“Did you order the pork stir-fry rice bowl with a fried egg?”

“...Yeah.”

I tugged the hood low over my face and nodded my head.

There on the table was a steaming hot pork stir-fry rice bowl.

And next to it was a perfectly fried egg, sunny-side up and mouthwatering.

‘Looks delicious...’

I waited for the staff member to leave, but I didn’t hear any footsteps walking away.

Instead, it felt like they were hovering nearby, as if they had something to say.

That’s when I realized I’d left Hye-seong’s video up on the screen.

‘D-Did they recognize me?’

...Is this what it means to be an influencer, like the kind I only ever saw in text?

What if they ask me for an autograph?

A moment later, the staff member’s hesitant voice broke the silence.

“Uh... sir?”

“...Yes?”

“You... need to pay for it first.”

“Oh.”

[Kuk.]

[Kreuh.]

These damn bastards.

I fished out a 10,000-won bill from my pocket and handed it to the staff, who looked visibly relieved and returned to the counter.

...Were they worried I might skip out on the bill?

A little later, the staff came back, returned my change, and handed me a drink.

“This is on the house. I mean, that little portion’s not gonna fill you up, is it?”

“Ah... thanks.”

I accepted the drink, and the staff gave me a bright smile before walking away again.

Unlike my burning-hot face from all the embarrassment, the drink was ice cold.

I let out a long sigh and set the drink down.

My eyes turned to the still-steaming pork stir-fry rice bowl.

The meat was deeply marinated in red sauce.

Bits of vegetables like carrots and onions peeked out here and there.

Beneath it was a bed of bright white rice.

Some kind of powder had been generously sprinkled on top.

And off to the side was a big pile of crushed seaweed flakes.

The finishing touch: a fried egg delicately placed on top.

My mouth watered without me even realizing.

Like I was in a trance, I picked up my spoon, moved the egg aside, and mixed the rest together.

The white rice and black seaweed flakes were quickly coated in the vibrant red sauce.

The once-crisp seaweed got a little soggy, but that was a necessary sacrifice.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

I scooped up a generous bite of meat and rice and popped it into my mouth.

“Huff!”

As I chewed the meat soaked in sauce, the flavor burst out.

The spicy-sweet sauce danced on my tongue, followed by the rice’s subtle sweetness and the meat’s savory depth.

It had cooled off just enough while I was talking with the staff, so eating it was easy.

The bits of seaweed added just the right amount of saltiness.

A satisfying bite.

I gulped it down, scooped up another big bite, and stuffed my mouth again.

Chew chew.

A smile spread across my face all on its own.

Then, I spotted the untouched fried egg.

I cut into the whites and took a bite.

Then I broke the yolk and took another bite.

The mellow richness of the egg yolk balanced everything out nicely.

By the time I came to my senses, I was scraping the bottom of the bowl.

“...That was too quick.”

Still, I was full enough now to push off any regrets until next time.

Plus, I had the drink the staff gave me, which made me feel even more satisfied.

I leaned back in the comfy chair and sipped on the drink. This was heaven.

The temperature and humidity were perfect too.

[Hey... you didn’t come here just to eat, right?]

“...Of course not.”

Startled by Ignis’s exasperated voice, I straightened up again.

Damn... PC bangs are dangerous places.

Learning from my earlier mistake, I grabbed the headset hanging on the wall, put it on, and resumed the video.

As I watched it play, I came to a conclusion.

“...I come off kind of rude.”

My eyes were filled with boredom, my movements lazy and sluggish.

Compared ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ to Hye-seong, who was cheerfully chatting next to me, the contrast made it even worse.

‘Should I fix that?’

The thought crossed my mind.

But... the video was getting good views, so maybe it didn’t really matter.

Scrolling down, I saw the comments.

As I read through them, I started to think... maybe it was fine.

Sure, I was worried for the future of the country, but nothing seemed too outrageous.

‘Why are there so many people asking me to take off the mask?’

As I kept scrolling through the flood of comments, some replies stood out for having a lot of likes and responses.

When I clicked one, my brows furrowed.

—You can tell it’s fake just by looking at it lol

└ Are you insulting our Hunter?

└ This guy’s still doing this huh

└ Fr lol, total staged content

└ Nothing seems off to me though?

└ You just want to believe, lol

...That pen really was possessed that time, though.

So that’s why Hye-seong said showing people is important.

Whether it’s real or not doesn’t seem to be the point.

Mulling over the comments, I checked out a bunch of other videos.

The styles differed from person to person... but one thing became clear.

Performance matters way more than I expected.

In other videos, people used EMF detectors like the one Hyeon gave me, machines that pick up movement, EVP recorders, temperature sensors—tons of gear to build trust with viewers.

Even when they didn’t have equipment, they brought in someone who looked reliable, like a shaman.

But... I didn’t have any of that credibility.

There were creators who kept things simple, but... it was clear that using that kind of gear or having someone like that in the video did help build trust.

Those videos had fewer negative comments too.

In the end, the people claiming our video was fake were probably doing it because we didn’t have any of that.

We didn’t even use an EMF detector in the Bunshinsaba video.

Compared to those other videos... ours was definitely more intense, but it was easy to see why people might suspect it was staged.

Regardless of whether something really happened or not.

If gear was the issue, I could just get some... but even though Hye-seong said he’d buy it, I couldn’t help thinking it’d be a waste of money.

‘It’s not like Hye-seong works with just me.’

Even if he said that, if it cost too much, he wouldn’t be thrilled about it.

Worst case, he might stop working with me altogether.

That’d be the worst possible outcome...

But it’s always smart to prepare for the worst.

So going all-in with expensive gear like the others didn’t seem like the right answer.

I finished the drink the staff had given me and smacked my lips. A notification popped up letting me know my prepaid time was almost up.

‘...Guess I’ll need to add more.’

I got up, recharged my time, and sat back down.

I browsed through more videos—both Korean and foreign—and jumped between sites, mulling things over.

For the sake of my job, and for Hye-seong and Hyeon’s reputation.

I had a feeling I might end up having dinner here too.

...That’s fine, right?

I’m working, aren’t I?

—Bzzz.

My phone buzzed.

Startled, I checked it. It was a message from Hye-seong.

I looked around, wondering if he was somehow spying on me, then quickly realized how dumb that was and opened the message.