The Producer Who Captures Ghosts

TPDWCG 07

 

 

 

“You scoundrel! You scoundrel! Even with ‘that ability,’ you don’t help the poor souls! Huh?!”

 

Even though the show had never once mentioned any special abilities, she spoke to Seung Hyeon with the nuance that he had ‘a certain ability.’ At the same time, the musty smell that had accompanied her appearance came to mind.

 

‘It feels like everything started to go wrong after I met that old woman.’

 

Seung Hyeon picked up the photo the old woman had handed him from the drawer.

 

This time, instead of a musty smell, a distinct ‘plastic-like burning smell’ suddenly filled the air.

 

‘Could it be that my luck turned bad because I didn’t follow up on this tip at the time?’

 

After pondering for a moment, Seung Hyeon handed the photo to Tae Jeong.

 

“Hey, this place is one of the locations we got a tip about back when we were filming [Ghostism]. What do you think about it?”

 

“Do I look like a shaman to you? I already said it gives me the creeps.”

 

Tae Jeong grumbled in frustration.

 

“Do you want the program to be canceled and both of us to end up unemployed? Trust me on this, and let’s push forward.”

 

Seung Hyeon spoke with a grin.

 

Tae Jeong scratched his head before taking the photo to have a look.

 

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary rice paddy field.

 

As he stared at the photo, Tae Jeong tilted his head in confusion.

 

“Hey, something about this feels a little off.”

 

“What do you see?”

 

“…No, it’s not that I see anything. It just feels weird, like a queasy feeling. Kind of like eating butter and cheese rolled in cooking oil.”

 

“Really?”

 

Seung Hyeon took the photo back and looked at the back of it.

 

Miho County, Iksan

 

A location name was written in small red pen letters on the back.

 

Other than that, there was no further information to be found.

 

‘I think she mentioned something about her son.’

 

Seung Hyeon searched the internet to see if there were any urban legends or ghost stories about ‘Miho County.’

 

He found an old photograph that seemed to have been taken a long time ago.

 

It was a photo of a rice field taken at night.

 

In the middle of the rice field stood a strange old man.

 

The photo was taken with a wide-angle lens, capturing the vast scenery in one shot. In the middle of it, an elderly man with white hair and dressed in white stood still, facing away from the camera.

 

‘Is this rice field the same one as in the old woman’s tip? Why did she report this place? Is that old man supposed to be her son?’

 

Everything was still a mystery.

 

Regardless, the fact that there was a bad smell emanating from the photo suggested that it was worth checking out.

 

***

 

The filming location for episode 9 of [Beautiful Landscapes] was Miho County, Iksan City, North Jeolla Province.

 

While arranging the filming schedule, Seung Hyeon made sure to include Mural Town on the list.

 

This was because he thought that if they filmed the peaceful and calm rice field landscape using a time-lapse, they might be able to capture the ‘Grandfather Mangtae of Mural Town.’

 

Even if it turned out to be a groundless rumor or they failed to capture any ghosts, the show, which focused on filming Beautiful Landscapes, wouldn’t face any major issues.

 

As always, the two of them formed a team and sped down the highway with intense focus.

 

After driving for several hours straight, they finally arrived at Miho County, Iksan.

 

The place was even more rural than it had looked in the photographs.

 

There wasn’t a single properly established franchise chicken restaurant in town.

 

“Ugh. I wonder if we’ll even be able to find a place to stay tonight.”

 

Tae Jeong said while driving.

 

“You’re worried about the silliest things. If we can’t find a place, we can just sleep in the car.”

 

“Sleeping in the car makes my back hurt now.”

 

Hearing Tae Jeong’s grumbling, Seung Hyeon pouted his lips.

 

“Alright, let’s start by checking out the places marked as having ‘nice scenery.’ After that, around sunset, we’ll head to Mural Town.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Got it.”

 

Tae Jeong responded to Seung Hyeon’s instructions.

 

The filming proceeded in a manner not too different from usual.

 

They captured shots of farmers singing work songs as they toiled in the fields, along with scenes of the blazing sun and the swaying rice plants under the gentle breeze.

 

As expected, the scenery filming was nothing out of the ordinary.

 

After capturing various natural landscapes, Seung Hyeon got out of the car at Mural Town and looked at the rice field from the photo.

 

“Are there any other ghost stories around here?”

 

Tae Jeong asked.

 

“Hmm. They say a ghost known as the ‘Grandfather Mangtae’ roams this area. If you see his face while he’s wandering around at night, you’ll die within a week. There’s even a story about someone who saw his face and died in a car accident four days later.”

 

Seung Hyeon replied.

 

“Sounds like a baseless rumor.”

 

Tae Jeong shrugged his shoulders.

 

Seung Hyeon closed his eyes and focused on his surroundings.

 

The faint smell of fishy water mixed with the gentle sound of the wind.

 

Then, something strange slipped into his ears.

 

– Let me out. Let me out. Let me out. Let me out.

 

It was the voice of an old man.

 

“Huh?”

 

Seung Hyeon opened his eyes wide and looked around.

 

“What is it?”

 

Tae Jeong, who seemed to hear nothing, looked at him with a puzzled expression.

 

Other than Tae Jeong, there was no one else around Seung Hyeon.

 

There was definitely something here.

 

He had come here half-skeptical, but now he was feeling a presence. Feeling an eerie presence, Seung Hyeon became excited.

 

“Alright, this is a good feeling. Let’s do some interviews around here.”

 

Seung Hyeon immediately started going around interviewing the locals he met.

 

 

– Resident Park (64), Mural Town: “A ghost that appears in the rice field? Oh, I haven’t seen it myself, but I’ve heard plenty of stories. They say that if you walk along the path through the rice field at night, you might see someone standing in the middle of the field. But most people don’t think much of it. Usually, in the dark, grass or rice stalks swaying in the wind can look like a person moving.”

 

 

They also recorded an interview with another local resident.

 

 

– Resident Seo (78), Mural Town: “The owner of that rice field used to be a good guy, but after his father passed away, he changed. I don’t know how to explain it. He used to care for his neighbors and respect his elders, but then he suddenly became selfish. It didn’t make any sense. I just felt sorry for his father.”

 

 

After filming several interviews, Tae Jeong frowned and asked,

 

“Senior, this isn’t about Mural Town’s scenery anymore; it’s entirely about ghosts.”

 

It seemed that Seung Hyeon had firmly decided to pursue the ghost story and film it.

 

Despite Tae Jeong’s question, Seung Hyeon didn’t respond and continued jotting down notes in his notepad.

 

“Senior?”

 

“Oh. The director gave us the green light, didn’t he?”

 

“Well, yeah, but shouldn’t we at least shoot the ‘Beautiful Landscapes’ shots properly first?”

 

“Don’t worry, man. Who do you think I am?”

 

Seung Hyeon snapped his notepad shut with a grin.

 

“If you keep this up, the pilot show will get canned—”

 

“—Do you want to die?”

 

Seung Hyeon threw Tae Jeong a playful glare before walking off.

 

Despite their bickering, the two were clearly close friends.

 

“Ah, jeez.”

 

Tae Jeong scratched his head roughly and followed after him.

 

Around sunset, they pulled out their tripods and cameras.

 

They used the paranormal photo they had received as a tip to estimate the filming location.

 

“This looks like the spot, right around here.”

 

When Seung Hyeon spoke, Tae Jeong set up the tripod.

 

“Place the ghost’s spot in the bottom-right corner and frame the rice fields with a wide-angle shot to capture them all at once.”

 

“Got it, got it.”

 

Tae Jeong replied while setting up the camera.

 

They deliberately positioned the supposed ghost spot on the side of the frame to make it look like it was captured by chance.

 

They started recording again, this time with the intention of editing it into a time-lapse later.

 

In the meantime, Seung Hyeon compared the paranormal photo with the scene in front of him.

 

Apart from a lone concrete building with ‘Mural Town Farmers Cooperative’ painted on it, nothing seemed to have changed.

 

He let out a deep sigh and waited until sunset.

 

This was their third session of staking out one spot for hours just to capture a ghost on film.

 

By now, both Tae Jeong and Seung Hyeon had grown accustomed to it. They sat side by side, leaning their heads against each other, and dozed off in the square camera case.

 

Half-asleep, Seung Hyeon wiped the drool from his mouth and checked the time on his watch.

 

“Alright. I think that’s enough.”

 

He stood up and moved toward the camera.

 

At that moment, Tae Jeong, who had also just woken up, spoke.

 

“Senior, instead of recording the sunset as a time-lapse, why don’t we just shoot short clips of the night and speed them up later? This method is way too draining.”

 

“Complaining again, huh? The basics of a time-lapse are to have a dynamic subject. But we’re not shooting cities or roads, are we? Since we’re filming nature, the only dynamic subject is the sun. What else do you want me to do?”

 

“Ugh, alright.”

 

Tae Jeong sighed as he got up from his seat.

 

“Go grab my laptop from the car. Let’s check it right away.”

 

Seung Hyeon instructed.

 

Tae Jeong swatted a mosquito off his arm before heading to the vehicle to retrieve the laptop.

 

After returning, he connected the camera to the laptop.

 

Seung Hyeon skillfully fast-forwarded through the recorded footage.

 

“I’m gonna go have a smoke.”

 

Tae Jeong, looking annoyed, walked toward the car and pulled out a cigarette.

 

Meanwhile, Seung Hyeon kept his eyes glued to the rapidly playing footage of the landscape.

 

The trees, grass, and rice stalks swayed back and forth rapidly on the screen as the time-lapse played.

 

At the same time, the sun slowly moved westward.

 

It was at that moment.

 

Amid the smell of Tae Jeong’s cigarette, there was a subtle, distinct smell of burning plastic.

 

A sense of unease crept in.

 

At the same time, the old man’s voice could be heard again.

 

The voice was sharp and piercing, like it was being torn apart.

 

Thump.

 

 

“Le-let me outoutoutoutoutoutoutoutoutoutoutoutoutoutoutout…” 

 

 

Seung Hyeon immediately stopped the camera.

 

He rewound the footage frame by frame, and once again, the ghost had been captured.

 

“Look at this! It’s there again! Again!”

 

Seung Hyeon waved his hand excitedly, calling Tae Jeong over.

 

The two of them leaned in and enlarged the image of the ghost.

 

Unlike the previous shots, this one was much clearer. They could see its clothing and even its facial features.

 

However, the appearance itself wasn’t particularly eerie or terrifying.

 

It was simply an old man, standing still with an old-fashioned look about him.

 

“…Wait. Didn’t they say that if you see this old man’s face, you’ll die?”

 

Tae Jeong asked with a troubled expression.

 

“Oh, right. We got a shot of him from the front.”

 

Seung Hyeon replied, pursing his lips.

 

“But it’s just a photo, so it should be fine, right?”

 

He answered nonchalantly and turned his head toward the rice field where the ghost had appeared.

 

At that moment, the old man, the same one from the screen, was standing right in front of Seung Hyeon’s face.

 

 

 

 

🍓; *Mangtae Halabeoji (망태 할아버지), or Grandfather Mangtae, is a traditional figure in Korean folklore, often associated with the Seollal (Lunar New Year) celebrations. His character is somewhat similar to the Western ‘Santa Claus’ in that he is linked to rewarding children for their good behavior, but with a distinct cultural twist. In essence, Mangtae Halabeoji is a character from Korean folklore who embodies the values of discipline and moral conduct, with a unique connection to the Lunar New Year traditions. His character emphasizes the idea of being ‘good’ to receive rewards, while also incorporating a slightly darker element of fear to encourage good behavior in children.

 

 

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