In a meeting with Seung Hyeon, Tae Jeong, and CP Lee Yeolsang.
The office door opened, and Director Kim Baekchun entered, sitting at the head of the table.
“Was it you who leaked the ghost from the 9th episode onto the internet?”
Director Kim Baekchun looked at Seung Hyeon and Tae Jeong as he asked.
“No.”
“It wasn’t us.”
They both answered simultaneously.
“What about the one from the 8th episode?”
“Th-that, well…”
Seung Hyeon stammered, causing Director Kim Baekchun to scratch his forehead.
“Well, it doesn’t seem like your posts have been caught yet. Anyway, the grave incident from the 9th episode is becoming quite an issue, isn’t it?”
“Isn’t that right?”
Seung Hyeon replied, barely hiding a smirk.
“So, I thought about this for a bit. What if we use ghosts to solve cases? Yeolsang, what do you think?”
Director Kim Baekchun turned to CP Lee Yeolsang.
“I think Producer Choi is quite skilled at handling ghost stories, but solving cases might be a bit challenging. There are already popular YouTube content creators doing things like ‘Exorcist Detectives,’ and it seems hard to surpass that.”
“Really? What do you think, Producer Choi?”
“I think it might be better to focus on capturing ghosts rather than making case-solving the main objective.”
Seung Hyeon responded.
“But looking at it this time, just showing ghosts seems to be nothing more than a niche interest among enthusiasts. When a case is involved, it becomes a massive hit.”
Director Kim Baekchun interlocked his fingers and spoke seriously.
This time, CP Lee Yeolsang replied.
“Ghosts are an abstract concept, but when connected to a case, they become a tangible and realistic one, which definitely captures more interest. However, using ghosts to stir up criminal cases might not be viewed favorably.”
It wasn’t a baseless statement.
Solving cases using ghosts could easily be dismissed as absurd by many.
Listening to the conversation, Seung Hyeon added his perspective.
“In that case, why not make the act of finding the ghost itself the main content? We could structure it as uncovering hidden stories or finding missing people.”
“Hmm.”
“You went there to film ghosts again and even found the gravestone? If you’re lucky, you might stumble upon the ‘case’ the director mentioned.”
“What? You went there to film ghosts?”
Director Kim Baekchun raised his triangular eyes and asked again.
In that instant, Seung Hyeon realized his slip of the tongue and closed his mouth.
The fact that they had selected filming locations based on community rumors about ghost sightings for both episodes 8 and 9 had been kept a secret from their superiors.
Regardless, Seung Hyeon was the PD for Beautiful Landscapes.
If he had been filming beautiful landscapes for the program and happened to capture ghosts accidentally, it wouldn’t have been an issue. However, if he had chosen the locations specifically to film ghosts and landscapes were secondary, it could cause a significant problem as the PD in charge.
“Ah, that stubbornness of yours.”
Director Kim Baekchun scratched his forehead and sighed deeply.
Even CP Lee Yeolsang mouthed silent curses at Seung Hyeon.
A brief silence ensued.
“How about pitching this as a pilot?”
Director Kim Baekchun’s words brightened Seung Hyeon’s expression.
On the other hand, CP Lee Yeolsang looked surprised.
“I’m a bit concerned because you’ve already ruined several pilot programs. But Ghostism, the one you worked on with Park Tae Jeong, was a massive hit.”
“Y-yes! That’s true.”
“Strike while the iron is hot. I’ll give you another chance.”
Adjusting his posture, Director Kim Baekchun continued.
“Produce a documentary about finding ghosts, like in this video where it seems like you’ve caught a ghost on film. If the scores are good, I’ll approve it for regular programming.”
“Yes! I’ll do my best!”
Seung Hyeon stood up and bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle as he responded energetically.
“But, Director, if we do that, Beautiful Landscapes will…”
“It’s not a program that requires advanced skills, so assign another PD to it.”
Director Kim Baekchun replied curtly.
After hesitating briefly, CP Lee Yeolsang nodded.
“Understood.”
Hearing his response, the director gestured for them to leave.
Seung Hyeon, Tae Jeong, and CP Lee Yeolsang exited the meeting room.
“So, you weren’t actually choosing filming locations for beautiful landscapes, but specifically to film ghosts?”
The moment they stepped out, Lee Yeolsang questioned Seung Hyeon.
However, Seung Hyeon deflected with an unrelated answer.
“I’ll work hard!”
With an impassive face, Seung Hyeon made a fist-pumping gesture and ran off as if escaping.
CP Lee Yeolsang sighed as he watched Seung Hyeon’s retreating figure.
Seung Hyeon had a somewhat indifferent and gloomy demeanor, mixed with a slacker-like attitude.
However, it was clear that he had potential as a director.
Lee Yeolsang had known Seung Hyeon even before he joined RBS.
They had met during a meeting at a film production company.
At the time, Seung Hyeon was a fourth-year university student working part-time identifying continuity errors in videos.
From the moment he saw Seung Hyeon, Lee Yeolsang thought he would be a great addition to RBS.
So, he brought him to RBS and developed a program using Seung Hyeon’s interest in ghost stories, which turned into a massive hit.
It was a moment when Lee Yeolsang’s instincts shone.
Of course, it wasn’t until later that he learned about Seung Hyeon’s uncanny ability to source mysterious ghost stories.
However, Seung Hyeon’s subsequent string of failures made Lee Yeolsang doubt him again.
Yet, as Director Kim Baekchun had said, another opportunity had presented itself.
And this time, it was a chance Seung Hyeon had created himself.
“He’s not an ordinary guy.”
Lee Yeolsang smiled faintly and shook his head.
***
RBS Broadcasting Station Rooftop Smoking Area
Tae Jeong exhaled a puff of smoke and asked,
“Senior, so where should we shoot next?”
“Hmm. Based on what the director said, it seems like he wants us to chase ghosts while connecting it to cases—that sort of thing.”
“Yes, but he also warned us to be cautious about any issues. Isn’t that why you suggested just focusing on chasing ghosts?”
“That’s true, but…”
Seung Hyeon crossed his arms and fell into thought.
He recalled the scene where a ghost was captured during the Beautiful Landscapes shoot.
If they only filmed such scenes, there wouldn’t be enough material for an episode.
They needed something more dynamic, with a beginning, middle, and end.
As he pondered, Seung Hyeon remembered the bloody smell and metallic odor from the Taeyoung Reservoir shoot.
It was a place tied to the murder victim and the presence of an evil spirit.
“Remember the Taeyoung Reservoir from the 7th episode?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Didn’t they say a corpse was found there at one point?”
“Yes.”
“How about we properly investigate that case?”
Seung Hyeon proposed.
“Wouldn’t that overlap with Beautiful Landscapes episode 7?”
“Not at all. The format is entirely different.”
“Hmm. It does seem like the material would be solid. Plus, since it was the first broadcast to gain traction, it could serve as a good teaser.”
While Tae Jeong answered, Seung Hyeon reviewed his notes from that time.
They included the death of a daycare director and the ghost captured in five frames of footage.
There were also oddly ambiguous reactions from the fishing shop owner and the local residents.
Many things seemed suspicious.
“Alright, let’s do it this way then.”
Seung Hyeon snapped his fingers.
“Let’s write up the proposal right away.”
***
The Next Day
At the RBS Culture Department’s small meeting room.
Seung Hyeon and Tae Jeong sat across from each other at a small table, sipping vending machine coffee.
Seung Hyeon was busy checking something on his phone while Tae Jeong quietly observed him.
“Anyway, you managed to get approval for another pilot. What’s the title?”
“I submitted it as Mystery Investigators. I’ve already sent the rough proposal.”
“Already?”
“I had it all planned out in my head.”
Seung Hyeon put his phone down as he replied.
“So, what’s the plan?”
Tae Jeong asked.
“First, we need to make the ghost photo we captured during Beautiful Landscapes more widely known.”
“You mean opening with that scene as the introduction?”
“Exactly. What we uploaded online was a 60-frame video edited down to 30 frames for the broadcast. But now that it’s an official airing, we should use the full 60-frame footage.”
“Oh!”
“That way, we can show it to the audience more clearly.”
“And then?”
“We’ll need to bring in an expert.”
“What kind of expert?”
Tae Jeong asked.
In response, Seung Hyeon slid the smartphone he had placed in front of him over to Tae Jeong.
Tup
Tae Jeong picked up the phone and looked at the screen.
[Handside]
The app of a major community platform, Handside, was open.
“This is the community where we uploaded our video, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Search for the username ‘Phosgrapher’ on it.”
“Postgrapher?”
Using Seung Hyeon’s phone, Tae Jeong searched the username on the platform.
Soon, several ghost photos uploaded by the user ‘Postgrapher’ appeared.
“That person is a user who uploads ghost photos, and during the controversy over our footage being fake, they supported us.”
“Ah, right.”
“According to public information on the community, they run a photo studio in Ilsan. It looks like they specialize in video editing and photo printing.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Take a look at the ghost photos they’ve taken themselves.”
Seung Hyeon pointed at the phone screen.
“Wow, I see them.”
Tae Jeong squinted as he zoomed in on one of the photos.
It depicted a ghostly woman standing under a tree in a dark forest.
A ghost of a young child sitting on a swing at the playground.
A faceless ghost standing still near a graveyard.
However, there were some ambiguous parts.
When looking at the title and then the photo, it seemed plausible, but just from the photo alone, it could be mistaken for fog or smoke.
The shape was faint and barely discernible.
“I’m not sure, but it really looks like a genuine ghost photo,”
Tae Jeong remarked.
“Right?”
Seung Hyeon replied.
Tae Jeong shrugged after a moment of thought.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll handle it well. I’m in.”
“Great.”
Seung Hyeon clenched his fist in excitement and continued.
“First, we’ll show the ghost scene from Beautiful Landscapes, then add narration, and transition straight into meeting the expert.”
“Sounds good. But who’ll do the narration? Should we hire a voice actor?”
“I’ll do it.”
Seung Hyeon answered nonchalantly in response to Tae Jeong’s question.
“What? Wouldn’t it be better to hire a professional voice actor or some broadcaster?”
“I think we might need regular guests as we keep shooting. Let’s save some of the production budget for now.”
Seung Hyeon stood up and left the room.
“Ugh. His voice isn’t that great, though.”
Tae Jeong grumbled to himself as he tidied up the space.
