episode_0100

That was the night Lee Hyung-sik was murdered.

At that time, Sarah and I were not at Seongwoon High School but at the police station in Gwangjin-gu.

Why were we called to the police station?

I wasn’t summoned because I had committed any particular crime. We caught Yuki’s sasaeng fan who broke into the filming set. The police asked for our cooperation to accurately understand the situation at the time. So both were being investigated at the police station.

However, while we were away, a murder occurred at Seongwoon High School. It was an incident where a staff member named Lee Hyung-sik was murdered by a minor actor who played a zombie.

‘Lee Hyung-sik’

Was the murdered person the youngest son of the CEO of a film company?

It certainly will.

A buffalo-like guy who flirted with Yuki every chance he got was brutally murdered. A minor actor went crazy and killed Hyungsik by biting his neck off. For some reason, the minor actor also died after killing Hyeong-sik.

We received this news late from the staff.

Just looking at it, it was an incredibly bizarre incident. The whole thing didn’t end with catching the idol’s sasaeng fan. Now two people have died.

The day after the murder occurred.

Sarah and I visited Nebula High School. The moment we entered the school through the main gate, we witnessed a sad scene.

“Jinwoo. I guess everyone is withdrawing now?”

“I guess so.”

“We haven’t taken a commemorative photo yet… .”

Movie props were installed at Seongwoon High School. With the atmosphere calming down, the staff were in the process of dismantling the installed props.

Two people died here yesterday.

It was an incident that could have delayed or, in the worst case, halted filming.

Coach Hong was at the school playground.

We approached Director Hong and spoke to him.

“Director Hong.”

“Yes. What’s going on?”

Director Hong, who was sitting in a chair, looked at us with a gloomy expression. The last time I met him, the director was full of passion, but after a day, he completely lost his energy. Director Hong has the greatest responsibility on this set.

What happens to the movie now?

I asked Director Hong something I was curious about.

“What happens with the movie shooting now? It’s not like production has been halted, right?”

“This is not an interruption. No matter how much money was invested, filming will not stop at all.”

“Really?”

“We decided to have a period of mourning for those who passed away. Filming will resume in 15 days. It looks like the movie’s release date will also be postponed.”

“It’s a shame.”

All filming schedules were postponed until 15 days later. It’s something that can’t be helped.

It’s impossible to continue filming when someone dies.

Director Hong let out a deep sigh as he watched the large props being dismantled from the high school.

“Ha… . I don’t know what the hell is going on, but my luck is so bad. Why do people die on set?”

“Who is the culprit who killed Hyungsik Lee? They say they didn’t stab him with a knife, but bit him like an animal.”

“When the police investigated, they found out that he had taken drugs. They say there was a drug reaction in the body… I secretly took medicine on set and went crazy.”

“Drugs… ?”

“Yes.”

We were able to hear detailed information about the incident from Director Hong. The person who killed Hyeong-sik was a minor actor hired as a part-time worker, and he had traces of drug use on his body.

The cause of the minor actor’s death was ultimately due to drugs.

“That minor actor. He died from a cerebral hemorrhage while biting Hyeongsik. I got so excited because of the drugs that a blood vessel in my brain burst.”

“It’s terrible.”

The minor actor went crazy and died from a cerebral hemorrhage. Although it was very strange, it was an incident whose cause-and-effect relationship could be fully explained through common sense. Our country was not safe from drugs either.

Director Hong spoke to us while sighing.

“You both worked hard so far. There aren’t any ghosts on set, so they can’t keep you there forever. The compensation will be deposited into your account.”

Starting today, filming has been postponed for 15 days.

This was the end of our exorcism request. Director Hong seemed to have decided that the incident that occurred on set should be left to the police. Clearly, on the surface, there was no occult element to this incident.

He could just accept money from Director Hong and step down.

But we had no intention of completing the request yet.

Because it’s our job to exorcise evil, whether we get paid or not.

I opened my mouth to Director Hong.

“It’s nice to get paid, but our work isn’t done yet.”

“Yes?”

“There may be a separate real culprit who manipulated minor actors into killing people.”

“Well, is that possible?”

Director Hong was very embarrassed after hearing what I said. However, it was also true that there were too many suspicious aspects to just ignore it.

“That is quite possible. There are many people who are controlled by ghosts or curses.”

A crazy minor actor attacked Hyungsik and killed him. After all, isn’t the timing so exquisite? It’s as if Hyungsik targeted a time when he was alone in the parking lot and went crazy right then and there. Moreover, after killing Hyeongsik, he died as if he had done his job.

What if someone controlled a minor actor with magic?

If witchcraft had been involved, traces would have been left somewhere in the school.

We wanted to check that.

In fact, I almost never mentioned these occult stories to anyone.

Even if I told you, I would just be treated like a crazy person.

However, Director Hong had made three occult films. It would not be impossible to truly believe in things like ghosts and curses.

“Um… .”

Director Hong thought for a moment, then looked at us and nodded.

“Okay. Bodhisattva and assistant, please continue the investigation. If you need anything from me, I will help you.”

“I’ll take a look around the school first.”

We began wandering around Nebula High School looking for signs of witchcraft.

*

In conclusion, traces of witchcraft clearly remained at Nebula High School.

We searched the school for six hours and eventually found traces that could be clues.

There was an empty room in the basement of Seongwoon High School’s annex. Although there was a sign saying it was a student counseling room, it was actually an unused space. This was because the counseling office was moved to another building last year.

Old student counseling center.

That was when we opened the door and entered.

━━Drurling

“Wow. I’m suffocating.”

“Every time I come here, my health seems to be getting worse.”

The counseling room had been abandoned for a long time and was covered in dust. Actually, it wasn’t our first time coming here. Before we caught the boy, we had patrolled the entire school with an EMF meter.

Since I had already been to this place on patrol, the appearance of the room looked familiar.

This is a room with a round table and a soft sofa.

“Jinwoo. Is it really true that there is another culprit? Wouldn’t it just end with a drug addict biting someone?”

“Well… .”

Sarah looked at me, gurgling because of the dust. After wandering around the school for six hours already, we were both slowly getting tired.

It was right then.

As I turned on the light and looked around the consulting room, I felt a sense of discomfort.

It felt like the arrangement of the sofa had changed slightly since the last time I went on patrol.

“Wait a minute, Sarah. Let’s just check the sofa over there and go somewhere else.”

I checked the back of the large sofa with Sarah.

At that moment, we couldn’t help but be surprised.

Because the traces of witchcraft were right there.

There was definitely a space, but it was a place that was not easily seen by people.

There was an altar that looked suspicious.

There were objects placed on the altar.

Crosses, animal skulls and skins, candles with burnt wicks, and strange patterns drawn with flour.

“Oh.”

The moment she checked the altar, Sera made an interesting expression.

“It really happened? As expected, it’s Jinwoo Kim.”

“You said there was. Anyway, do you know what this is?”

Sarah nodded. As expected of a woman well-versed in magic, she seemed to have figured out what the altar was as soon as she saw it. Sarah’s finger pointed to the flour scattered on the altar.

“You can tell just by looking at it. That’s a voodoo altar.”

“Voodoo?”

“The pattern drawn with flour over there symbolizes the spirit of voodoo. It is a spirit called Baron Samdi, and it presides over death and resurrection in Voodoo.”

The pattern painted on the altar was unique.

There was a pattern floating around the cross that looked like a coffin. Because it had a cross drawn on it, if you didn’t know it, you would have mistaken it for a Christian symbol.

It was a pattern symbolizing the voodoo spirit called Baron Samdi.

“Ah, it’s a voodoo symbol.”

I was convinced after listening to Sarah’s explanation. You may be wondering why it uses a cross as a symbol in Voodoo, but considering the history of Voodoo, there is nothing strange about it.

Voodoo was originally a native religion practiced by black people in Africa. However, there was a time when these black people were captured as slaves and ruled by Europeans.

Slaves who were taken to the West Indies mixed various religions, including Catholicism, with voodoo.

As if Korean shamanism was fused with Buddhism.

Voodoo became a mixture of Christianity.

So the cross was also used in voodoo.

In voodoo, it was a cross that symbolized the crossroads where one meets the soul.

“Animal bones and skin are also items that voodoo priests often use. The fact that the candles are burning probably means that a voodoo ritual has already been performed here.”

Voodoo ritual.

As soon as I heard Sarah’s words, a chill ran down my spine. I had heard about voodoo rituals that manipulate people from my father.

Aren’t there things that appear regularly in horror movies?

Zombies.

Voodoo actually has a ritual that creates zombies. In the first place, the monster called zombie originated from voodoo. It is a ritual that extracts human souls and turns them into zombies.

“So, a ritual to create zombies was carried out here?”

“Yes. Someone turned a minor actor into a zombie and ordered it to attack people. Then everything will be explained. When making zombies, voodoo priests use hallucinogenic drugs. It’s something called zombie powder.”

Zombie Powder.

It was a hallucinogenic drug used by voodoo priests to create zombies. Someone had given a minor actor a hallucinogenic drug and performed a voodoo ritual to turn him into a zombie.

“This is absurd.”

I’m speechless because it’s so absurd.

Real zombies appeared on the set of a zombie movie?

Among the people working on set yesterday was a witch doctor.