Actually, it wasn’t particularly unusual for ghosts to appear in places like this.
But…
‘Something feels strange.’
Normally, the ghosts coming from the reservoir were water ghosts.
The smell emitted by these ghosts was a watery stench, completely different from the smell he was currently sensing.
‘Has my intuition dulled in the meantime…?’
Tae Jeong also seemed to sense something similar and muttered.
“Ah… This feels eerie. Why do we have to get caught up in something like this…?”
“Hey, stop complaining and start shooting.”
“What should I film? Ghosts?”
“Can you film them? Then hurry up and shoot.”
“No, just a thought….”
Park Tae Jeong, the assistant director.
He had been a junior colleague with Seong Hyeon since the days of ‘Ghostism’
His maternal grandmother was a powerful shaman, and it seemed like he had inherited some spiritual energy as well.
While he couldn’t see or touch ghosts, he claimed to feel a strong energy when they were nearby.
With Seung Hyeon detecting ghost traces and Tae Jeong sensing energy, the success of ‘Ghostism’ was almost inevitable.
Now, the two had teamed up again.
Even though it was just a program about landscapes…
***
On the road leading to the town.
Filming near the reservoir continued for several tens of minutes.
It was unavoidable because even for a few seconds of footage, they had to shoot multiple times and change settings frequently.
Moreover, capturing time-lapse shots required much more time since it involved playing back the video much faster than the standard speed.
Thus began the time-lapse filming.
While Tae Jeong was capturing landscape footage, he noticed an elderly man driving a tractor passing by.
Seung Hyeon tapped Tae Jeong’s shoulder and rushed towards the tractor.
Tae Jeong kept the main camera rolling and grabbed a secondary camera as he approached the elderly man.
“Hello! Grandpa, may I ask you something for a moment?”
As Seung Hyeon approached, the elderly man paused the tractor, glancing between the camera, Seung Hyeon, and Tae Jeong.
“Are you residents from around here?”
“Well, yes. What brings you here?”
“We’re from RBS, the production team for ‘Scenic Views.'”
“‘Scenic Views’? Never heard of it.”
“Do you know any picturesque spots around here? Could you recommend a place?”
Seung Hyeon’s question prompted Tae Jeong to capture angles in an interview format.
“The neighborhood is quiet and nice. Anywhere you shoot will have beautiful scenery. But avoid filming around this reservoir. A few years ago, someone died here, and it’s an unlucky place. Many have reported seeing ghosts and experiencing strange phenomena.”
Seung Hyeon’s expression changed as he jotted down notes in his notebook.
“Someone died here?”
Seung Hyeon instantly recalled the peculiar smell he had detected.
“Yeah, that’s right. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but I’ve seen strange things too. Some local kids came here at night and got completely freaked out, ran away, and all that.”
“What happened when someone died?”
“Well, I don’t know exactly. It was about ten years ago. A dead body was found here. Someone died. It was a big fuss back then; the corpse was so gruesome, you can’t even imagine.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Anyway, the neighborhood is quiet and good for shooting, but don’t film around the reservoir. And at night, don’t mess around nearby. Bad luck might come your way.”
The elderly man waved his hand and restarted the tractor.
Broom, broom, broom, broom, broom.
The tractor moved forward slowly, shaking.
“Senior, I know what you’re thinking, but don’t do it.”
Tae Jeong spoke as he watched the tractor move away.
“What am I thinking, dude? Right now, we’re shooting ‘Scenic Views.’ We’re capturing a time-lapse of the village entrance scenery.”
Seung Hyeon muttered very quietly and turned back towards the cameras he had set up.
***
The shooting continued until the late afternoon when the sun had set.
To quickly showcase the changes from the reservoir scenery with the sun up to the reservoir scenery with the sunset, the time-lapse shooting took a considerable amount of time in this spot.
Meanwhile, Seung Hyeon focused his senses towards the reservoir.
A completely different smell was wafting from the reservoir compared to the fishy odor from before.
It was a strange smell reminiscent of blood but also as if burning styrofoam.
The scent of blood indicated the spirit of a sacrificed ghost attached to a talisman. The latter smell meant an evil spirit.
Clearly, both of these scents were coming from the reservoir.
Seung Hyeon went around interviewing local residents who were working in the fields to gather additional information.
– “I don’t know when the reservoir was created, but there are rumors that ghosts wander around there. Strangely, that reservoir is a bit famous among anglers, but they don’t go there at night at all. Something feels off, so we don’t go either.”
– “There’s a water ghost there. Don’t go near the reservoir at night. It’s unlucky. People who fish there sometimes end up dead. There was a fisherman who died in a traffic accident after night fishing, and they say some drowned in the water.”
The stories coming from near the reservoir were mostly about ghost stories surrounding it.
These were far from the purpose of reporting the beautiful and tranquil suburban scenery.
Seung Hyeon organized the interviews and returned to the place where he was shooting the time-lapse video.
Tae Jeong sat next to the camera, guarding it, and let out a big yawn.
“Let’s wrap up this shooting. Move inside.”
Seung Hyeon said while looking towards the now darkened reservoir.
“We’re not going near the reservoir, right?”
Tae Jeong asked.
“Why?”
Seung Hyeon inquired at the quite different atmosphere from Tae Jeong.
“Well, considering the stories from the old man earlier and the weird energy here, it feels like we’re in a place we shouldn’t be. It’s a bit strange. Even if we come back to the reservoir, I’d prefer it to be during the day.”
Tae Jeong said.
“Then let’s go in a bit.”
Seung Hyeon, grabbing the camera, replied.
“Ah, Senior. We’re shooting [Scenic Views], not capturing ghosts.”
“Yeah, the night scenery at the reservoir is beautiful.”
Seung Hyeon estured for Tae Jeong to follow as they entered.
Tae Jeong watched Seung Hyeon’s back as he headed inside, feeling a bit uneasy.
“Usually, in movies, when they say not to do this, people end up dead.”
“We’re not making a movie; we’re shooting a documentary. No one’s going to die.”
“Really, the energy feels strange. Like eating spoiled food. Senior, you’re also sniffing around for weird smells.”
“Shh, be quiet.”
“Oh, come on!”
Despite muttering under his breath, Tae Jeong followed behind Seung Hyeon, stepping into the tall grass and weeds.
Rustle… Rustle…
Surrounded by the sounds of buzzing insects and buzzing mosquitoes, they moved forward without a moment’s rest.
Considering the waterfront, it felt strangely like insects were gathering in abundance.
At that moment, a distant flicker of light appeared across the reservoir.
“Looks like that’s the fishing spot by the reservoir.”
Seung Hyeon pointed to one end of the reservoir.
“The reservoir is so big, but there seems to be only one fishing spot.”
What was unsettling was the small containers scattered like ruins around the fishing spot.
It seemed like that place might have been an establishment set up to cater to fishermen, but now it appeared abandoned.
Seung Hyeon walked further in and approached the illuminated fishing spot.
As he got closer to the reservoir, the smell became increasingly pungent.
[Taeyoung 5 Fishing]
[Taeyoung 6 Fishing]
[Taeyoung 9 Fishing]
Rusty signs hung in front of the abandoned containers.
Passing through, they finally reached the illuminated fishing spot they had seen from afar.
[Taeyoung 4 Fishing Spot]
Chairs and tables were set up by the reservoir’s edge in front of the containers, softly lit.
Sitting there was a man in his 60s wearing a straw hat, staring blankly at the reservoir.
“Hello. We’d like to ask you something,”
Seung Hyeon approached and said.
As the man stood up, he turned his head towards them.
“We want to inquire about the reservoir.”
“About the reservoir?”
As Seung Hyeon asked, Tae Jeong tried to frame the shot for the interview.
“Yes. We’re a filming crew from [Scenic Views], capturing the landscapes around this reservoir.”
In an instant, the old man’s expression turned grim as he abruptly stood up.
“I don’t want to talk about it! Leave! Get out!”
The old man stood up, clapping his hands, causing Seung Hyeon and Tae Jeong to step back in surprise.
“Oh, I- just tell us what you know briefly-”
“Get out! Don’t want to clear corpses again!”
He shouted for the reservoir to leave, flipping the chair with a loud crash.
“Corpse?!”
“Get lost! Don’t linger around for no reason!”
As Seung Hyeon and Tae Jeong retreated, he turned off the lights and went inside the container.
Seung Hyeon, after a moment of consideration, nodded as a sign to withdraw.
Until now, he hadn’t thought he’d capture something significant here. The frustrating time continued, making him think it was another futile attempt.
However, precisely a few hours later, Seung Hyeon’s skepticism flipped in an instant.
“Senior. We are currently shooting for [Scenic Views], right?”
On their way back to the parking spot, Tae Jeong asked again, seeking confirmation.
“Of course.”
Seung Hyeon replied with a sigh.
“It seems like you’re aiming for something else, Senior.”
“This is just like a side menu. Anyway, let’s go back to the lodging quickly. We need to check what we’ve captured.”
Seung Hyeon said, resting his shoulder on Tae Jeong and speaking.
“Phew. It took half a day just at the entrance.”
Tae Jeong checked to make sure they didn’t leave anything behind at the site where they filmed the timelapse.
“What can we do? It’s just the two of us. We can’t leave the camera here and go somewhere else.”
Seung Hyeon sighed.
It was true.
If they had several crew members, they could leave one person to watch the camera while others filmed elsewhere, but since there were only two of them, it wasn’t feasible.
“Shall we do some night shooting in the town?”
Tae Jeong asked.
“Let’s get a place for tonight first. We can go in, organize the sources we’ll use for the opening and inserts in the lodging, and start moving from tomorrow dawn.”
“Yes, yes. Let’s do that.”
Tae Jeong loaded the equipment into the car.
“Did you find a place to stay?”
“Yes. ‘Longevity Inn’ in the town.”
“Does it have Wi-Fi?”
“I didn’t find any accommodations with Wi-Fi.”
As they loaded all the neatly arranged equipment into the car, they chatted.
After organizing everything, they got into the car and headed to Taeyoung town.
Though it had a few run-down pubs, PC rooms, and chicken joints, it was still a rural area.
Seung Hyeon and Tae Jeong parked the car in front of Longevity Inn and went inside.
When they entered and received the key, a nauseating smell hit them.
As soon as they entered, they turned on their hotspots, took out their work laptops, and connected them.
It was to create an environment for editing and backing up the video.
“This video looks beautiful, but is there anything substantial? I’ll probably get scolded by CP again.”
“Anyway, you consistently talk about bad luck. What’s up with that?”
“Did you get scolded badly last time?”
“…It was quite a scolding last time.”
He, too, was cutting out necessary parts while reviewing the recorded video.
“Oh, this time the project has been challenging from the start. ‘Beautiful Scenery.’ The title is not great. Well, the idea wasn’t yours to begin with, senior.”
Tae Jeong said, snapping his fingers.
“What can you do? It was almost like a threat.”
Seung Hyeon squinted and looked at Tae Jeong’s monitor.
On Tae Jeong’s monitor, different videos were playing within a grid-like frame.
Night and day. Flowers and rivers. Mountains and buildings.
With a touch of color correction, beautiful landscapes flowed one after another.
“Huh?”
Seung Hyeon suddenly discovered something on Tae Jeong’s laptop screen and approached it.
“Huh? Why?”
“Footage from Camera 3. Rewind it.”
At Seung Hyeon’s words, Taejong turned the dial.
Upon this, the video on one monitor started playing in reverse.
“Start from here.”
Seung Hyeon pressed his nose against the monitor, repeatedly checking the same scene.
“Why? What’s going on?”
Tae Jeong asked.
“This… What is this? Zoom in here.”
Seung Hyeon pointed to one end of the monitor.
It was a video of a country road with blooming flowers and a distant reservoir.
It depicted a peaceful scene of flowers swaying in the wind.
“Where is this? Near the reservoir?”
Tae Jeong asked, zooming in on the reservoir on the monitor.
As the reservoir became more prominent, a woman in a dress standing there came into view.
“Just rewind for 3 seconds here.”
At Seung Hyeon’s request, Tae Jeong turned the dial again.
“Now 2 seconds.”
The request was repeated.
“Just five frames.”
Seung Hyeon muttered to himself.
“What’s going on?”
When Tae Jeong questioned, a chill ran down his spine.
Despite being continuous footage with no cuts, something was captured that should not have been recorded.
୭ Click this ‘louyve’ bellow to see other project by me˚. ᵎᵎ
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