The pilot program [Mystery Investigators] officially began filming.
Seung Hyeon frequently recorded narration on the spot.
To convey the on-site experience authentically, he made ‘voice memos’ of his immediate impressions.
If the sound quality was poor or the narration didn’t fit well, he planned to revise the script and record it again later.
Meanwhile, Tae Jeong was in charge of filming and location scouting.
To capture the real atmosphere, he decided to mainly use handheld techniques.
Another task involved.
He sent a message to a ‘Postgrapher’ active in the community, requesting an interview.
The Postgrapher readily agreed to the interview and provided the address of the studio where they worked in Ilsan.
Once the preparations were complete, they headed straight to Ilsan.
In the meantime, Seung Hyeon watched a video of a reservoir landscape where a ghost had been captured and recorded the narration while syncing it with the footage.
“[Beautiful Landscapes] In episode 7 at Taeyoung Town, we noticed an unidentified figure. Judging by the hairstyle and clothing, it seemed to be a woman. As you can see in this frame, she briefly appeared and disappeared in a field near the reservoir, where wildflowers are swaying.”
The screen momentarily froze, accompanied by severe noise.
Simultaneously, a woman’s voice, which had not been audible during Seung Hyeon’s recording, was heard.
Huuuuu… Hehssssssssss..
‘Was that sound always there?’
Seung Hyeon felt puzzled but decided to include the sound in the final broadcast and continued his narration.
“It’s hard to estimate the exact distance to where the figure appeared, but it seems to be directly in front of the reservoir. We decided to investigate whether this video is authentic…
Sob….. Hsssssssssss.
…or if someone might have tampered with it.”
Listening to the recording while driving, Tae Jeong felt a chill run down his spine.
“Wait, what was that crying sound? Did you record it yourself, senior?”
“No way, man. How could I produce a sound like that?”
“Ah. Whatever it is, it feels eerie. Ugh, this might be harder than the [Ghostism] series.”
“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”
Seung Hyeon replied nonchalantly, but even he couldn’t help the racing of his heart.
He listened to the sound repeatedly.
The strange voice was still in the recording.
He couldn’t shake off the feeling that broadcasting this as-is would create a sensation.
***
The car sped up as they entered downtown Ilsan.
At that moment, Seung Hyeon pulled out his phone and made a call.
[Hello, this is Force Studio.]
A deep male voice answered.
“Hello, this is PD Choi Seung Hyeon from RBS. Is the owner of Force Studio available?”
[Ah, yes. That would be me. Are you the one who sent the message?]
“Yes, that’s correct.”
[I’m currently at the studio. Feel free to come over anytime.]
“Understood,”
Seung Hyeon ended the call.
Within minutes, their vehicle entered a dimly lit alley.
Amidst the urban environment, an old and shabby alley appeared.
In the middle of it stood a small commercial building.
[Force Studio]
The studio’s signboard was visible on the second floor.
Seung Hyeon and Tae Jeong got out of the car, gathered their equipment, and went straight upstairs.
***
Upon entering the studio, they saw large lighting setups, a small set, various camera equipment, and video editing devices.
Tae Jeong, stepping into the space, felt uneasy.
A chilling and ominous cold draft swept over his neck.
“Hello? Is anyone here?”
Seung Hyeon cautiously called out, and a middle-aged man with a bushy beard emerged from the ‘darkroom.’
His long hair fell past his shoulders.
“Ah, you must be the RBS PD?”
The man greeted them with a nod, and Seung Hyeon handed him a business card.
“Hello, I’m PD Choi Seung Hyeon.”
“I’m Force Studio’s Jang Philip,”
The man, introducing himself as Philip, handed Seung Hyeon his own card.
Seung Hyeon slipped the card into his pocket and spoke.
“Yes, alright. Please, have a seat. Would you like a drink?”
Philip pointed to a table in the corner of the studio.
The table was cluttered with cameras, filming contracts, and other items, suggesting he wasn’t a particularly organized person.
“No, I’m fine,”
Seung Hyeon replied, though Philip still fetched canned coffee from a small fridge and placed it in front of Seung Hyeon and Tae Jeong.
“Since we’re filming a documentary, is it alright if we start recording now?”
“Yes, of course. Go ahead,”
Philip responded, taking a seat.
Tae Jeong pulled out a microphone receiver and a camera to record the two.
Seung Hyeon also readied his microphone and recorder.
“As we mentioned during our contact, we came here because of the ghost captured in the [Beautiful Landscapes] episode in Taeyoung Town.”
“Ah, yes, I saw that too.”
“Is it common for ghosts to be captured in photos or videos?”
“Yes, absolutely. It happens quite often.”
“Ah. Couldn’t it be caused by light reflections, lens flares, or even dust?”
“Most of the so-called ‘spirit photos’ are indeed caused by such phenomena. When something strange appears in a photo without intentional manipulation, it can often be attributed to camera mechanisms.”
“Then what qualifies as a ‘spirit photo’?”
“If it’s not due to light flares, reflective effects, or dust, and shows something that wasn’t visible when the photo was taken, it’s referred to as a ‘spirit photo.’”
“What do you think about the ghost video from [Beautiful Landscapes]?”
“Since I haven’t seen the original footage, I can’t make a definitive judgment. However, it seemed quite intriguing. It could be edited to look that way, but it’s not an easy feat.”
“That’s why we brought the original video file of the Taeyoung reservoir footage. Shall we take a look together?”
Seung Hyeon suggested.
“Sure, let’s check it out. Follow me,”
Philip said, rising from his seat and leading them to a workstation with a large monitor, console, and computers.
Seung Hyeon handed over the original footage for them to review together.
Philip examined the original video, shot at 60 frames per second, slowly.
He provided an explanation in an interview format as they reviewed the footage.
“In the video, you can see a woman’s figure appear and disappear over exactly five frames. The key point here is the surrounding landscape. Look closely; you can see the flowers, leaves, and grass swaying in the wind.”
The screen zoomed in on the area he was pointing to.
“All 60 frames are naturally connected, yet only the woman’s figure appears and vanishes. If you zoom in on her figure, you’ll notice the edges around her are slightly blurred. If this were edited, it wouldn’t appear this blurry—”
At that moment.
– Thud!!
A loud noise was heard.
Seung Hyeon, Tae Jeong, and Philip turned around in shock.
A perfectly stable lighting stand had toppled over.
Seung Hyeon and Tae Jeong froze on the spot.
At the same time, Seung Hyeon caught a whiff of a metallic, bloody smell—the same scent he’d noticed at the reservoir.
Philip tilted his head in confusion, stood up, and set the stand upright, tidying the cables.
Watching him, Tae Jeong felt an even stronger chill creep over him.
Philip returned to his seat and resumed the interview.
“Editing involves cutting and pasting specific parts of a video or photo, which can make the addition stand out as overly sharp. Smoothing it out is part of editing skills, requiring meticulous work on each pixel. However, even with such efforts, achieving this level of naturalness is nearly impossible.”
He zoomed in and out of the footage, explaining various points throughout the interview.
Tae Jeong frequently recorded the monitor screen to capture the exact scenes Philip was referencing.
These would be critical for showing viewers later during the final broadcast edit.
Even amidst the discussion, beads of cold sweat trickled down the backs of Seung Hyeon and Tae Jeong.
“So, in conclusion, you believe it wasn’t edited or tampered with?”
“Of course, there are experts far more skilled than I am, so I can’t say for certain, but in my opinion, that seems to be the case.”
Philip responded.
“You seem to have taken quite a few spirit photos. Are there specific circumstances under which ghosts are captured?”
Seung Hyeon asked.
“Well, there doesn’t seem to be a fixed environment, but they are often captured in humid or dark places.”
“Do you happen to have other results where ghostly figures have been directly captured? Perhaps some that you’ve kept?”
Seung Hyeon inquired.
Tae Jeong adjusted the camera angle to focus on Philip for a close-up shot.
“Yes, follow me,”
Philip nodded and led them further inside the studio.
Seung Hyeon gestured to the camera to follow.
***
Click!
Philip entered a small room in the corner of the studio and flipped on a switch.
A yellow incandescent bulb illuminated the space, revealing countless photographs.
The walls were decorated with large and small spirit photos, creating a gallery-like display.
“This is my small collection. It started as a hobby, collecting one or two, and now it’s grown to this,”
Philip explained, pointing to the photos.
Tae Jeong took close-up shots of several photos on the walls and used perspective techniques to capture the entire display in a long shot.
“Wow, so what you’ve posted on the community is just a small portion,”
“Yes, I didn’t upload anything that might stir too much controversy,”
“Ah, I see,”
Seung Hyeon studied the spirit photos closely.
At the same time, an extremely peculiar smell suddenly hit him.
Seung Hyeon closed his eyes, trying to identify the scent.
It reminded him of his school days, the strange smell of old cafeteria food mixed with a damp, musty odor.
It also had hints of burning wood and, faintly, a moldy stench.
Then, amidst it all, a strong smell of burning tires became distinct.
Instinctively, Seung Hyeon turned his head.
There, in a photo taken from what seemed to be a moving car, stood a woman in a white dress.
She was in the bushes, her red eyes glowing ominously.
It was a picture that sent chills down his spine just by looking at it.
