I take back what I said about the price being decent.
Once I picked the pork stir-fry rice bowl, a fried egg, and even so side dishes to go with it, the total ca out to quite a bit.
I clicked my tongue at how things like danmuji and kimchi all had to be ordered separately.
Thinking about the hearty gukbap that ca with side dishes when I ate with Hyeon’s family made this seem like an absurd rip-off.
In the end, I just ordered the basic pork stir-fry rice bowl with an added fried egg and went online to do so research.
First, I decided to check YouTube, which I was most familiar with, and look up similar videos.
While wondering what search terms to use—
I suddenly realized I had never watched the video I fild with Hye-seong.
I had watched the ones where Hye-seong appeared alone with Hyeon, but I’d never actually seen one where I showed up on screen.
“...”
I looked around once.
After confirming there was no one nearby, I pulled my hoodie down tight.
Then, trying to recall from mory, I searched for Hye-seong’s channel.
The thumbnail on the most recent video showed a familiar figure.
‘...That’s .’
It seed like it was an edited version of the Bunshinsaba session.
When I checked the view count, it had already surpassed a hundred thousand views.
It didn’t seem like it had been up for very long...
I wasn’t sure if that was a lot, but the idea of a hundred thousand people felt kind of overwhelming.
Gulp.
I swallowed nervously and clicked the video.
—Please don’t skip this!!!
...An ad ca on.
And it was ridiculously loud.
A man’s desperate voice rang out across the whole PC bang.
I could feel the stares from people on the other side of the room.
I quickly muted the speakers and skipped the ad the second I could.
Only then did the familiar video screen appear.
I paused it there.
[Hm? You’re not going to watch it?]
“...”
To be honest... I was a little nervous.
I hadn’t really thought anything of it until I actually saw the view count and was about to watch myself on screen with my own eyes... and suddenly it felt strange.
[You seem embarrassed.]
“...That’s not it.”
I took a deep breath again and looked around.
No one else had co in while I was distracted. Still empty.
This wasn’t anything worth getting worked up over.
All I was doing was checking how I ca out on cara.
Just as I reached for the play button again—
“Did you order the pork stir-fry rice bowl with a fried egg?”
“...Yeah.”
I tugged the hood low over my face and nodded my head.
There on the table was a steaming hot pork stir-fry rice bowl.
And next to it was a perfectly fried egg, sunny-side up and mouthwatering.
‘Looks delicious...’
I waited for the staff mber to leave, but I didn’t hear any footsteps walking away.
Instead, it felt like they were hovering nearby, as if they had sothing to say.
That’s when I realized I’d left Hye-seong’s video up on the screen.
‘D-Did they recognize ?’
...Is this what it ans to be an influencer, like the kind I only ever saw in text?
What if they ask for an autograph?
A mont later, the staff mber’s hesitant voice broke the silence.
“Uh... sir?”
“...Yes?”
“You... need to pay for it first.”
“Oh.”
[Kuk.]
[Kreuh.]
These damn bastards.
I fished out a 10,000-won bill from my pocket and handed it to the staff, who looked visibly relieved and returned to the counter.
...Were they worried I might skip out on the bill?
A little later, the staff ca back, returned my change, and handed a drink.
“This is on the house. I an, that little portion’s not gonna fill you up, is it?”
“Ah... thanks.”
I accepted the drink, and the staff gave a bright smile before walking away again.
Unlike my burning-hot face from all the embarrassnt, the drink was ice cold.
I let out a long sigh and set the drink down.
My eyes turned to the still-steaming pork stir-fry rice bowl.
The at was deeply marinated in red sauce.
Bits of vegetables like carrots and onions peeked out here and there.
Beneath it was a bed of bright white rice.
So kind of powder had been generously sprinkled on top.
And off to the side was a big pile of crushed seaweed flakes.
The finishing touch: a fried egg delicately placed on top.
My mouth watered without even realizing.
Like I was in a trance, I picked up my spoon, moved the egg aside, and mixed the rest together.
The white rice and black seaweed flakes were quickly coated in the vibrant red sauce.
The once-crisp seaweed got a little soggy, but that was a necessary sacrifice.
I scooped up a generous bite of at and rice and popped it into my mouth.
“Huff!”
As I chewed the at soaked in sauce, the flavor burst out.
The spicy-sweet sauce danced on my tongue, followed by the rice’s subtle sweetness and the at’s savory depth.
It had cooled off just enough while I was talking with the staff, so eating it was easy.
The bits of seaweed added just the right amount of saltiness.
A satisfying bite.
I gulped it down, scooped up another big bite, and stuffed my mouth again.
Chew chew.
A smile spread across my face all on its own.
Then, I spotted the untouched fried egg.
I cut into the whites and took a bite.
Then I broke the yolk and took another bite.
The llow richness of the egg yolk balanced everything out nicely.
By the ti I ca to my senses, I was scraping the bottom of the bowl.
“...That was too quick.”
Still, I was full enough now to push off any regrets until next ti.
Plus, I had the drink the staff gave , which made feel even more satisfied.
I leaned back in the comfy chair and sipped on the drink. This was heaven.
The temperature and humidity were perfect too.
[Hey... you didn’t co here just to eat, right?]
“...Of course not.”
Startled by Ignis’s exasperated voice, I straightened up again.
Damn... PC bangs are dangerous places.
Learning from my earlier mistake, I grabbed the headset hanging on the wall, put it on, and resud the video.
As I watched it play, I ca to a conclusion.
“...I co off kind of rude.”
My eyes were filled with boredom, my movents lazy and sluggish.
Compared ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ to Hye-seong, who was cheerfully chatting next to , the contrast made it even worse.
‘Should I fix that?’
The thought crossed my mind.
But... the video was getting good views, so maybe it didn’t really matter.
Scrolling down, I saw the comnts.
As I read through them, I started to think... maybe it was fine.
Sure, I was worried for the future of the country, but nothing seed too outrageous.
‘Why are there so many people asking to take off the mask?’
As I kept scrolling through the flood of comnts, so replies stood out for having a lot of likes and responses.
When I clicked one, my brows furrowed.
—You can tell it’s fake just by looking at it lol
└ Are you insulting our Hunter?
└ This guy’s still doing this huh
└ Fr lol, total staged content
└ Nothing seems off to though?
└ You just want to believe, lol
...That pen really was possessed that ti, though.
So that’s why Hye-seong said showing people is important.
Whether it’s real or not doesn’t seem to be the point.
Mulling over the comnts, I checked out a bunch of other videos.
The styles differed from person to person... but one thing beca clear.
Performance matters way more than I expected.
In other videos, people used EMF detectors like the one Hyeon gave , machines that pick up movent, EVP recorders, temperature sensors—tons of gear to build trust with viewers.
Even when they didn’t have equipnt, they brought in soone who looked reliable, like a shaman.
But... I didn’t have any of that credibility.
There were creators who kept things simple, but... it was clear that using that kind of gear or having soone like that in the video did help build trust.
Those videos had fewer negative comnts too.
In the end, the people claiming our video was fake were probably doing it because we didn’t have any of that.
We didn’t even use an EMF detector in the Bunshinsaba video.
Compared to those other videos... ours was definitely more intense, but it was easy to see why people might suspect it was staged.
Regardless of whether sothing really happened or not.
If gear was the issue, I could just get so... but even though Hye-seong said he’d buy it, I couldn’t help thinking it’d be a waste of money.
‘It’s not like Hye-seong works with just .’
Even if he said that, if it cost too much, he wouldn’t be thrilled about it.
Worst case, he might stop working with altogether.
That’d be the worst possible outco...
But it’s always smart to prepare for the worst.
So going all-in with expensive gear like the others didn’t seem like the right answer.
I finished the drink the staff had given and smacked my lips. A notification popped up letting know my prepaid ti was almost up.
‘...Guess I’ll need to add more.’
I got up, recharged my ti, and sat back down.
I browsed through more videos—both Korean and foreign—and jumped between sites, mulling things over.
For the sake of my job, and for Hye-seong and Hyeon’s reputation.
I had a feeling I might end up having dinner here too.
...That’s fine, right?
I’m working, aren’t I?
—Bzzz.
My phone buzzed.
Startled, I checked it. It was a ssage from Hye-seong.
I looked around, wondering if he was sohow spying on , then quickly realized how dumb that was and opened the ssage.
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