I Returned, and Now I See Strange Things-Chapter 36: Suspiciously Cheap

Crunch!

The crispy fried coating shattered, and with a chomp!, hot meat filled her mouth.

It had been fried to such perfection that the flesh was so moist it felt like the juices were practically bursting out.

Tender, plump leg meat filled her mouth.

It was the pinnacle of softness—completely free of any dryness.

Just the right amount of saltiness, the savory taste of oil, and that texture of chicken that tore apart the moment you bit into it.

A bite of pure happiness.

“...Unni, is it really that good?”

“Mmh... mmf... yeah.”

“...Here, have some pickled radish too.”

“Thanksh.”

After cleansing her palate with the crisp chicken radish, she regretted not having eaten chicken ever since she returned.

‘...Why didn’t I eat it? It’s not that I didn’t eat it—it’s that I couldn’t.’

All it took was a glance at her empty bank account to understand.

While gnawing through the remaining chicken, she tried to figure out how to persuade Hyesung.

But before she knew it, she was already crunching through the cartilage at the end of the chicken drumstick.

Who has time for extra thoughts when eating chicken?

Meanwhile, Hyesung, who had been nibbling on his own piece, picked up her cup and began pouring something into it.

With a soft glug-glug, the cup filled with liquid.

Beer.

...Of course. Chicken and beer—chimaek—was the ultimate combo.

After pouring the entire can, Hyesung spoke.

“...Even if you act like that, I still have no intention of filming any more.”

Oddly enough, it was Hyeyeon beside them who had the bigger reaction to Hyesung’s words.

Her lips were smeared with chicken grease as she said:

“Huh? You’re not filming anymore?”

“...Would you still want to film after going through all that?”

“If it were me? Sure. It’s not like anyone died. We all came out fine. And besides, Ayun-unnie’s there to play safety net, isn’t she?”

Hyesung stared at her like he was fed up, then let out a long sigh.

“...Why do I even expect anything from you.”

Still, Ayun quietly reached for another piece of chicken. Because honestly, she agreed with Hyeyeon.

“So what, you're just using Unnie for views and now you’re tossing her aside? Wow... you really are trash.”

“Wh–What?! I never used her for views! And besides, most of the people who subscribed because of her won’t watch if she’s not in it!”

“So now you’re abandoning your viewers too...”

“No, god—ugh.”

Hyesung looked as if his head was going to explode. He furrowed his brows and downed the beer he’d just poured.

Watching him gulp it down, Ayun licked her lips, popped a fresh piece of chicken into her mouth—and once again, crunch!, the juices exploded.

Before the greasy flavor could even settle, she chased it down with a gulp of cold beer.

“Ahh...”

The combo with potato chips had been good too, but no doubt about it—nothing beat chicken and beer.

“...I told you, even if you keep doing that, it’s not gonna change my mind.”

Hyesung must’ve misunderstood her beer-and-chicken bliss, because he kept muttering to himself like that.

Hyeyeon scolded him, shocked he could be so heartless.

...Though, really, it seemed like she was more upset about not getting to film more ghost content than the idea of Ayun being abandoned.

Just as they were about to finish off the last of the chicken and beer, Hyesung took a swig of his remaining drink and looked at her.

“...If you're that set on it, why don’t you just start your own YouTube channel?”

“Me?”

“I’ll help you with the setup and promotion... I’m just seriously done with this.”

He said it and drank like he meant it.

There was real conviction behind it.

Conviction that he was done.

Which meant, in the end... ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) if she wanted the videos to continue, she’d have to do it herself.

‘Can I really pull this off?’

A sliver of anxiety crept in.

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If it were just fighting, that would be one thing.

Up to now, all she’d done on camera was show up in a mask and toss salt around.

Sure, she’d done a lot off camera, but still.

Running the show, engaging with the audience, preparing content...

Could she really handle all that?

Honestly, so far it just felt like she’d been piggybacking on someone else’s work... so she wasn’t so sure.

[...Our Master? Doing something like that?]

Ignis’s voice came into her head, annoying her—but she couldn’t exactly disagree.

As she slowly chewed, savoring the lingering taste of chicken, Hyesung, perhaps sensing her hesitation, spoke again.

“If doing it alone feels too hard, you could team up with someone who’s obsessed with this stuff, like my sister... or that girl we filmed with last time, Arin, was it?”

Hyeyeon blinked at the suggestion, caught off guard.

Arin, though, had frowned at being called a leech.

“I think pulling in more people without knowing how things will go is kinda risky... There’s salary to think about and all that. So, I was thinking... why don’t we just try it with me for now?”

“...Hmm.”

She seemed open to the idea of filming, at least.

Hyeyeon folded her shadowy-lined eyes gently.

“For me, just being able to go to those kinds of places is enough. I don’t need money. Well, unless I’m editing—then I’d take a little. But mostly, just take me with you every time.”

“What’s so fun about that...” Hyesung grumbled, clearly exhausted.

The two of them started bickering.

“Unlike my coward brother who ran away, I’m not scared.”

“Hey! That’s because you haven’t actually experienced it!”

Sipping the last of her beer, Ayun watched them go back and forth, then muttered softly.

They were offering to help this much... What did she have to lose?

“...I’ll do it.”

“Really?!”

“You made the right choice.”

It’s not like she had anything else going for her.

With Hyesung dead set on quitting, she didn’t have much of a choice anyway.

...Hopefully, it all worked out.

Breathing in the last faint scent of chicken,

She sat with the two of them, talking about this and that.

***

After resolving Hyesung’s situation, she returned home.

...She’d ended up spending the night, eaten a proper home-cooked meal courtesy of Hyeyeon’s mom, and even brought back a bunch of amazing side dishes.

She was sincerely grateful.

No need to worry about food for a while—but side dishes didn’t magically refill themselves, so she’d need to stretch her remaining money carefully.

Thus... she set out for a walk.

The plan was to find the cheapest grocery store nearby while the side dishes still lasted.

She was just getting ready to leave when a knock came at the door.

Creak—she opened it and found her landlady.

“You headin’ out?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Almost missed you! Here, take this.”

“Pardon?”

The old landlady handed her a Tupperware container.

“Young girls shouldn’t be walking around looking all skin and bones... How’re you gonna work like that?”

“Ha... ha.”

“Don’t go starving. I’ll fix the door on the weekend, so be home then.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

It wasn’t the time to be turning down food, so she accepted it gratefully.

The landlady gave her a contented look, then casually turned and headed upstairs.

“Get home safe!”

“You too, dear.”

Ayun watched her go with warm eyes, then packed the food into the fridge and headed out.

While Hyeyeon scouted out a filming location for their first episode, she figured she might as well take care of everything else.

‘We’re going to start with Hyeyeon’s channel anyway.’

Somehow, she’d ended up co-hosting with Hyeyeon. Not that the girl seemed to mind being on camera.

In fact, she was already giddy about exploring haunted spots together.

“Do you know how much it sucked not being able to go with you all those other times?”

...Like she’d been on that many shoots.

Still, the fact that Hyeyeon was taking care of all the annoying setup stuff was surprisingly helpful.

Thinking back, going to the abandoned hospital had been one of the most fulfilling things she’d done since returning.

If she hadn’t met the two of them, she might’ve ended up as one of the ghosts haunting that place.

...Though, if it came to that, she’d have probably eaten one of the park pigeons first.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t gotten a single scrap of bread since meeting them. It had been a while since she’d even seen a pigeon.

‘Maybe I’ll drop by on the way home.’

Just to check on her plump little livestock.

Thinking of pigeons made her remember the chicken from last night.

...She hoped she’d earn enough to afford chicken once a week.

As she left the house, she checked the flyers stuffed into the mailbox and pasted on telephone poles.

“Hmm... Eggs are a little cheaper here, but the rest is pricey.”

She studied the deals carefully, planning her shopping route by item and store.

While wandering around, she realized she’d gone a bit farther than usual.

It was because she’d followed a flyer to a store near the border of a neighboring district.

She didn’t have much else to do until Hyeyeon sent over a list of candidate spots—

Still, she was about to head back when one flyer caught her eye.

“...Why is this place so cheap?”

It wasn’t even that far away.

At those prices, it might actually be worth the trip.

Could be a scam, sure... but since she was already out here, might as well check it out.

‘It’s not like I’m short on time.’

She double-checked the address on the flyer and started heading toward the place.

The market had kind of an unusual name.