Chapter 38

An unidentified human man suddenly annihilated Seok Sang-i, who had been sleeping peacefully.

Honestly speaking, the first emotion I felt was joy.

[Seok Sang-i is too mischievous. He took my eye. He’s bad.]

But I couldn’t just stay happy forever.

I knew I would be next.

I thought the man must be an exorcist who came to purify our mansion.

Exorcists hate yokai more than anyone.

Even if I begged for my life, he wouldn’t spare me.

So, I hid in a safe place.

A perfect place where no one could find me.

And I was sure that if I stayed hidden like this, I’d be safe.

No matter how strong that exorcist was,

he couldn’t defeat the ruler of this mansion.

At the end of the hallway, in the red room,

the true ruler of this mansion resides.

A yokai far stronger than Seok Sang-i.

If that door were to open, the exorcist would be turned into minced meat in an instant.

So, all I had to do was stay hidden until then.

***

But I was caught.

As if he had some tracking ability, the man found me with ease.

When our eyes met, I fainted on the spot.

And I thought I’d never wake up again.

While I was unconscious,

I thought I’d be annihilated by the exorcist.

But my prediction was wrong.

The man didn’t kill me.

Moreover, he didn’t seem to be an exorcist.

According to Seok Sang-i, exorcists annihilate yokai on sight.

But this man spared me and even gave me one of his eyes.

An exorcist would never show such kindness to a yokai.

[He’s not an exorcist. He’s not a bad human. He’s handsome.]

My fear disappeared.

The way I looked at him changed.

He was the first being to treat me so kindly.

[I want to be friends. He’s handsome.]

I liked the human man.

I wanted to play with him.

But as soon as his business was done, he left me behind.

[I want to follow him.]

I really wanted to follow him.

I was sick of this place.

Especially since I don’t hate humans.

If I had the chance, I wanted to befriend them.

But…

[…If I follow him, he might hate me.]

I can’t chase after him.

I’m a yokai.

The natural enemy of humans, who devour their souls and flesh.

Of course, I’ve never eaten a human.

[I don’t eat humans. I don’t really want to get stronger.]

But the fact that I’m a yokai remains unchanged.

[But in the end, I’m still a yokai…]

So, it’s better not to chase him.

It’s clear that humans would hate me.

Just as I was feeling down,

a forgotten fact quickly flashed through my mind.

[…Oh no! The human is in danger!]

I was pretending to be a doll, so I couldn’t warn him.

[Don’t open the red door!]

If he carelessly enters that room,

he’ll be devoured by the master of this mansion.

[The human isn’t an exorcist! He’s kind! He shouldn’t die!]

Or, since he’s a male human, he might be turned into a seed dispenser.

I didn’t want such a horrifying future.

[I have to save him!]

Hop.

After jumping off the table,

I quickly chased after the man.

***

Suddenly, a teddy bear appeared with a frightened expression and warned me never to enter the red room.

Of course, even if the teddy bear hadn’t stopped me, I had no intention of entering the room.

It just felt off.

The red door opened on its own, but I just closed it again. It didn’t open after that.

Afterward,

I returned to the room with the vanity, carrying the teddy bear.

And I placed the teddy bear on the table.

“Teddy, wait a moment.”

[…]

I checked my smartphone for a moment.

[Gyeongsaeng Guburi]—Damn, the broadcast is finally working.

[Handsome Licker]—What? Why did it suddenly cut off?

[Drifting AI]—I’ll explain. I took measures to ensure the broadcast wouldn’t end.

The chat became lively again after moving away from the red door.

It seemed the internet connection had been briefly cut.

[Yoho]—Room Master, did something happen?

[Se-hoon Defense Team]—Phew. I thought we got sucked into a no-signal zone.

[Maehwa Tree]—Are you okay? Did a yokai appear?

[Jujijoa]—Se-hoon, are you okay?

[Qkrnfl892]—Seriously, I was scared.

“Don’t worry. Nothing happened.”

[Balloon Gum Collector]—Wow… Why did the broadcast cut off?

“I don’t know. When I stood in front of the red door at the end of the hallway, your chats suddenly stopped coming through.”

[Maehwa Tree]—? The signal was blocked??

[Handsome Licker]—Blocked, for real?

[Gyeongsaeng Guburi]—Damn, the red room?

[Big Girl]—There’s a room like that?

“Yeah. And there was a foul smell like Maehwa mentioned. I also got chills.”

[Yoho]—Gasp…

[Qkrnfl892]—Damn, this mansion really feels haunted.

[Maehwa Tree]—??? Really? Are you okay?

“I’m fine. How many times are you going to ask?”

[Maehwa Tree]—More importantly, where are you now? You didn’t open that door, did you?

“Do I look like I’d do that? It clearly felt bad. What kind of idiot would open it?”

[Maehwa Tree]—That’s a relief. Don’t even think about opening it, and leave the mansion before it gets dark. I think I was too careless in saying it was okay. From what you’ve said, it seems like a dangerous place for ordinary people.

[Balloon Gum Collector]—Wow. So, the abandoned house exploration is over?

[Qkrnfl892]—It’s better to leave since it’s dangerous.

[Min Ji]—I also think it’s better to leave.

[Reverse Rape Mania]—But honestly, I’m curious about that red room.

[Yoho]—If you’re curious, go check it out yourself. ^^

[Gyeongsaeng Guburi]—Yeah, you bastard. If Gye Se-hoon gets in danger, will you take responsibility? You wanna die? -_-

[Reverse Rape Mania]—Uh…

The viewers were surprisingly concerned.

I thought they’d tease me for being scared and tell me to go back and open it.

“Anyway, I have something to talk about with the teddy bear, so I’ll mute the broadcast for a bit. He seems uncomfortable, so he won’t talk if the camera is on.”

[Handsome Licker]—Hmm. Se-hoon. Are you really okay?

[Balloon Gum Collector]—Wow. Did you really go crazy?

[Gyeongsaeng Guburi]—I also want to talk to the teddy bear!

Ignoring the chat,

I lowered the broadcast volume to 0.

And adjusted the camera angle to face the room’s entrance.

To have a slow conversation with the teddy bear.

***

[You should remove the camera. It’s dangerous if it’s exposed. Exorcists will come.]

“Your appearance and voice won’t be heard, so don’t worry and speak.”

[Okay. I trust you because you’re a kind human. You’re handsome.]

“……”

The teddy bear began explaining why he stopped me.

He wasn’t very articulate, so I had to listen two or three times before I could understand.

To summarize,

beyond the red door is the ruler of the mansion.

That ruler is called the Great Yokai.

The Great Yokai is strong. Scary. Deadly…

‘Ugh, his way of speaking is annoying.’

In short, he was telling me not to enter because there’s a dangerous yokai.

By the way, the stone statue I destroyed earlier was also a yokai.

He said it was the second strongest?

I didn’t believe it, but since it was a fellow yokai speaking, I decided to trust him.

[The Great Yokai is incomparable to Seok Sang-i! He’s super strong!]

“So, the Great Yokai’s name is ‘Great Yokai’?”

[Yes!]

“Hmm… Well, more importantly, are you okay? If you think about it, you interfered with the Great Yokai’s meal.”

[…Ah!]

The teddy bear seemed kind but a bit slow.

Well, as long as he’s kind.

“But Teddy, you said it’s fine as long as the red door isn’t opened, right?”

[Yes! The Great Yokai’s body is fixed there, so he can’t move! But at night, he can stretch his body, so it’s dangerous to be on the 3rd floor!]

“Then we should head down soon. It’s going to get dark.”

As I said that, I quickly picked up the teddy bear.

The teddy bear looked at me with a surprised expression.

“Let’s go together. It’s dangerous for you to stay here too.”

[…]

I decided to take the teddy bear home.

Since he helped me, the Great Yokai might harm him.

I wouldn’t feel right if the teddy bear died because of me.

“What? Don’t want to? You don’t look too happy.”

[No, no! I’ll go! No, I want to go! I was lonely in the mansion anyway! The other doll yokais ignored me!]

“Huh? Were you bullied?”

[No!]

The teddy bear got defensive.

I must’ve hit a nerve.

“I was just joking… But you said there are other doll yokais? I didn’t see any while walking around.”

[They’re all sleeping! I’m the only one active during the day!]

“Really? No wonder I didn’t see a single one. Anyway, let’s go. To my house.”

[Okay! Great! I like men more! You’re handsome!]

“Are you a girl?”

[I don’t have a gender! But I like men more!]

“…Okay.”

And just like that, I unexpectedly gained a new family member.

‘I was thinking of hiring someone, but this works out better. Strangers feel awkward anyway. A yokai is better.’

When we get back,

I’ll have him do cleaning, laundry, cooking, and even be my broadcast manager.

[I’m excited! I’ll play a lot when we get there!]

“Play? You’ll have to work.”

[Work?]

“No, let’s just hurry up and go.”

[Okay!]

***

On the 1st floor, I coincidentally ran into Ji Mun-hyuk and his group.

‘Thinking about it, that Ji Mun-hyuk guy might’ve been lying…’

Just in case, I asked again.

If they really went up to the 3rd floor.

But they insisted they went up last night and today.

It definitely felt like a lie.

They asked about the teddy bear I was carrying.

If they had gone up to the 3rd floor,

they would’ve seen the teddy bear, who’s active during the day.

Moreover, yokais are more active at night, so it didn’t make sense that they didn’t encounter any.

‘Why are these guys lying? I don’t get it.’

I thought about saying something, but since we’re not going to see each other again, I decided to let it go.

They probably aren’t trash sent here knowing there are yokais.

Even if they were, there’s no way to prove it.

“Well, take care.”

“Yeah, you too!”

After a brief exchange,

I warned them to be careful on the 3rd floor since there are yokais, and we parted ways.

Though they didn’t seem to believe me.

***

Ji Mun-hyuk and his group went up to the 3rd floor.

They were encouraged after seeing Gye Se-hoon return safely.

“See? There’s no such thing as ghosts. That guy just walked around fine. I thought the shaman might’ve been onto something, but nope.”

“But he said there are yokais or something, so we should be careful, right?”

“He’s just messing with us. If there were such things, how did he return safely? Do ghosts selectively attack people?”

“That’s true.”

“Mun-hyuk’s right…”

“Enough of this nonsense! Let’s set up some ghost dolls on the 3rd floor. The viewers might ask why we’re only exploring the 2nd floor in a 3-story building.”

Ji Mun-hyuk and his group started setting up various devices for their staged content while exploring the 3rd floor.

About 20 minutes later…

“Hey! Guys!”

Ji Mun-hyuk shouted after discovering the red door at the end of the hallway.

“Come here for a second!”

At his call, the Golden Sun Women quickly gathered around him.

Like dogs responding to their owner’s call.

“Wow. What’s this?”

The Golden Sun Women marveled at the red door.

Ji Mun-hyuk, looking as if he’d discovered something amazing, spoke proudly.

“How about it? The atmosphere is insane, right? Shouldn’t we film the highlight in this room?”

“Hmm… I don’t feel good about this… There’s a weird smell too… Can’t we just skip this place?”

“What’s with the bad feeling? The smell is just because it’s an old mansion. It smelled on the 1st floor too.”

“The smell here is different from the 1st floor…”

“I also feel a bit uneasy. That guy told us to be careful, so maybe…”

“Oh, come on! You believe him? Are you idiots?”

Seeing the Golden Sun Women’s reluctance, Ji Mun-hyuk got annoyed.

“Why are women so scared? If you’re scared, just leave! I’ll open it!”

In the end, Ji Mun-hyuk ignored Gye Se-hoon’s warning and opened the red door.

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