Eun Haje almost spat out the ice cream she was eating.
A formal and cheerful voice on TV hosts a matchmaking program.
[Viewers. Tonight, the most intense fruit of love will find you.]
[Let's meet these wonderful Groom Candidates on the verge of marriage!]
On screen, with low-quality orchestra band sound that seems to have been processed with lo-fi, images of young men dressed in white suits pass by within heart-shaped effects.
[Indeed, who among them will capture the bride's heart?]
Their tall and dapper appearances indeed looked suitable for appearing on a dating TV show.
If only my boss wasn't among them...
He's even smiling handsomely at the screen.
"Fuck."
The curse came out reflexively, but it was more of a crazy bewilderment than displeasure.
'That guy...'
Is he contaminated?
A chilling feeling began to rise in the place where intense absurdity had passed.
Eun Haje, holding back a string of curses, threw aside her ice cream and started packing her gear.
All the while keeping her eyes fixed on the screen.
[The wedding is tomorrow! But among the seven candidates, only one can become the White Bride's Groom.]
[Among those willing to give their lives for love, who will bear the fruit?]
The more she focused on the screen, the more peculiar things she noticed.
Like the program's participant profiles, introduced fleetingly at a brisk tempo.
Name: ■■■■ ■■■
Height: 37cm
Weight: 4kg
Hobbies: Cello, Reading, Suffocation
A word of resolve: I'm sorry, please stop. The groom who will kiss the bride is me!
The strange numbers in the height and weight fields, the numerous apologies and pleas in the remarks section, the unfocused faces in the profile photos.
Yes.
It's easy to overlook, but if you focus, you can notice it. It's as if a dead body has been dressed up for a photo...
[We can't forget the support from the preliminary round losers either!]
The people who flashed by, like acquaintances of the audience or participants cheering them on, were also not in good shape.
They cheered with painted smiles, as if their disfigurements, torture marks, and signs of modification were hidden by makeup.
But all of this passed by smoothly in a bright and cheerful atmosphere, and the program introduction was now nearing its end.
The standard for entertainment programs.
Introduction of the professional celebrity host.
[And we proudly introduce! Our program's host!]
A shot of the Groom Candidates entering the venue, a handsome man following at the very back turns around and winks at the camera.
It's Lee Jaheon.
"Kuhuk! Kukh!"
[He apparently infiltrated as a Groom Candidate and experienced all the training with the participants. That's right. It's me!]
[With insights gained from experience, I've put together a very stimulating, dangerous, and heart-pounding love survival course today!]
As Eun Haje desperately cleared her choked throat.
[Let's begin!]
On screen, the grooms finish the opening with their respective cool poses...
And Lee Jaheon, in a white suit, is seen in the center, raising both arms and giving a stylish greeting.
"This is insane."
Contamination.
Eun Haje immediately grabbed her smartphone.
Her hands moved quickly and accurately as she dialed the direct number given by the Disaster Management Bureau agents.
Kim Soleum, while contacting the Space Shopping Mall and becoming defenseless in an unconscious state, had made excuses to the Bureau and, at the same time, requested monitoring from two agents just in case.
The call connected after two rings, and Eun Haje blurted out.
"Is Soleum alright?"
·Yes?
"You need to check. Immediately."
From the other side, there was a brief sound of movement, as if checking the protected space where Kim Soleum was staying at the Disaster Management Bureau.
And then.
·His heart rate, respiration, and body temperature are normal. Why are you asking?
"..."
No, that...
Eun Haje tried to explain, but her eyes met with one of the Groom Candidates on TV.
Unnamed Candidate #3 was playing the violin, holding a flower in his mouth, and acting pitifully...
"..."
·Citizen?
"As long as he's alright, that's fine."
Eun Haje hung up after telling them to call if anything happened.
...It's a ghost story, but.
It's not as extreme or serious as I thought... or maybe it isn't.
'Is this... perhaps Soleum pulling some outlandish stunt to escape again?'
She couldn't tell if the situation was dangerous or if Soleum had twisted it strangely.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje picked up her ice cream again and watched TV with a troubled expression.
For now, Section Chief Lee Ja-heon's well-being seemed to be... well, completely fine.
[The first challenge is poetry recitation.]
[Candidates who combine the poems written on bookmarks hidden throughout the venue to recite one elegant poem will win!]
The program was stimulating.
It highlighted each candidate, making viewers mock or cheer for them.
Candidates who created absurdly funny poems received warm reactions with cute and amusing background music, while those who, despite finding only a few bookmarks, completed a magnificent poem with a brilliant idea received cheers.
And finally... for the two candidates who failed to create a proper poem.
They were hung side-by-side from the window of the highest tower in the boarding school.
[We will take viewer votes.]
[Who should be eliminated? And who will remain to continue this competition?]
Eliminated by the decision of the 'viewers'.
[Please press the numbers on your remote to decide! For 60 seconds only, the fate of these Groom Candidates will change.]
"..."
Eun Haje picked up the remote and looked at the screen.
[Eliminated Candidate Selection: #1]
[Eliminated Candidate Selection: #5]
Every time she placed her hand on the remote's number buttons, the profile picture of the corresponding person on the TV screen would enlarge.
'Sigh...'
Physically impossible situations.
Even the viewer vote percentages were reflected on the screen in real-time, then...
[Eliminated Candidate Selection: #1] 37%
[Eliminated Candidate Selection: #5] 63%
They disappeared in the last 10 seconds of voting.
And the countdown.
10, 9, 8, 7...
[Ah, the results are in!]
With applause and disappointed sound effects, the eliminated candidate's profile was zoomed in on, and the eliminated person was pushed off from the top of the boarding school, hit on the head with a book, and fell in a comical pose.
[Eliminated!]
With a cymbal sound, exaggerated effects, and laughter were inserted.
And some of the 'Experience Trainees' sitting in the guest seats were also ejected from their seats, and the lights on their seats disappeared.
The sound of them being thrown out the window echoed loudly.
[The Experience Trainees who chose the wrong answer also share their fate. How unfortunate!]
And this time, the remaining Groom Candidates were shown, creating an atmosphere full of encouragement and relief.
[There are 6 Groom Candidates remaining.]
[Congratulations. Everyone. You are one step closer to the bride!]
The most chilling part was,
That it was all entertaining.
[They say he who captures the ship captures the heart! This is a fitting expression for the second round.]
[It's mealtime! We will compete on how to prepare a nutritious and warm lunch table for the bride. Two people will be selected for elimination... Oh, my!]
It was interesting.
Even cruel punishments, when combined with cheerful sound effects and comical effects, were no longer interpreted as tragedy.
The elimination scenes on TV, which became pure comedy due to the distance from the viewers, only provided thrilling immersion or hollow laughter.
Added emotions, like seasoning.
The regret when a subtly likable participant is eliminated, the relief when a participant who was unremarkable but luckily survived is finally eliminated.
The pleasure of judgment.
The hollow laughter and amusement from the absurd elimination methods.
The sensation of dopamine numbing the sensors of ethics and morals in the mind, preventing them from functioning naturally.
"..."
Eun Haje felt a brief shiver as she looked at the empty ice cream container in her hand.
She had unconsciously picked up the ice cream again, as if watching a truly entertaining TV program.
A thrilling sense of crisis echoed at the back of her neck.
'This is high-level.'
However, nothing went wrong. The program flowed like water, and it didn't suddenly jump into reality or have Lee Ja-heon brutally killed.
Eventually, five Groom Candidates were 'eliminated' in various ways, and the Experience Trainees who supported them also gradually disappeared from the guest seats...
And so, it reached its finale.
[Only two candidates remain!]
[It's #2 and #6.]
The final match.
The screen showed the two Groom Candidates actively waving at the camera, as if they were already immersed in the program.
[This is the final round.]
[The winner will have the honor of walking down the wedding aisle to meet the bride!]
All preparations for the wedding were complete in the venue, and soft lighting and piano music flowed gently through the hall...
And the round item befitting a final showdown.
[It's the Bride's Choice.]
Eun Haje leaned forward unconsciously to watch the TV.
The camera panned.
From the end of the white velvet wedding aisle where the Groom Candidates stood, towards the altar ahead.
No one was there yet.
[Now, the bride will personally come out and greet the groom, and the wedding will begin.]
[Indeed, who will the bride choose?]
The camera panned again, showing the full bodies of the Groom Candidates mixed with joy, anticipation, tension, and worry, then the angle changed.
It was an angle that showed the wedding aisle lengthwise from the side.
A camera capturing the overall scene of the venue, with the side profiles of the Groom Candidates standing side-by-side on the right edge of the screen.
It was a mise-en-scène that made everyone anticipate that the bride would make her first appearance and approach down the wedding aisle.
And.
[Let's begin.]
With a cheerful sound, a drumroll echoed.
Viewers watched the screen with anticipation, imagining the bride.
But...
"..."
Nothing happened.
'What is it?'
Eun Haje tilted her head slightly towards the TV. Nothing appeared on the screen yet, but she seemed to hear a noise. And something appeared from the far end of the wedding aisle...
A white hand
This is a white flesh with five joints attached to the fingertips
The flesh is bent, the skin peeled off, shaking like a leaf
The shining quartz-like protein structure at the tip of the flesh
Is it something large? Something moving? It moved along the wedding aisle with its index and middle fingers, and its ring finger bumped into the guest seats. Trembling violently, the fingerprints crushed the flowers, and into the gaps between the joints...
Went the offering
It was an alien, vivid, giant hand, like a real human hand appearing in a puppet show, that grabbed
the
groom
and
pulled
him
away
The sound of the screen cutting out, crackling, screams, black and white, magenta noise popping up, strange noises, shrieks, chewing sounds, blood, giant hand, cut, white fingers, blinking black screen, scene, scene, between the fingers, the sound of the groom being pressed and rubbed on the floor, movement, stopped screen, connection, emerging from the left end...
An arm
Disappeared
The End
Eun Haje sat up.
Red dots fell drop by drop onto the floor.
A nosebleed.
"•••••."
She raised her head. [Congratulations!] An empty screen. A stopped camera showing only the empty wedding aisle. Strange marks left on the velvet. [The White Bride is satisfied. It seems she had a happy time with the groom.] Bright band music burst out. Applause and cheers were inserted. [However, many will be curious about the aftermath.] [It's also fun to hear the thoughts of our final candidate who was eliminated at the last moment.] The end credits rolled. Your Perfect Groom: Receive the Bride's Choice Sponsored by / Brown's Late-Night Talk Show [We will be back next week with a special segment on the Late-Night Talk Show.] .....! The memory flashed like lightning in Eun Haje's mind. The ghost story related to Kim Soleum, the black and white broadcast, and... The host's tone. "…Hwa-yo Quiz Show." She shot up. Eun Haje stood up and went back to the phone, calling the agents again. This time with a clearer purpose. - Citizen? Agent Grape still has no unusual... "Excuse me," Eun Haje licked her dry lips. "Do you know the talk show?" - Yes? "No, a quiz show. I mean, an old-fashioned program that appears on black and white TV. Did Soleum say anything like an allusion or a hint related to something like that? Like, Brown..." - Brown? The agent reacted. 'Does he know Brown's Late-Night Talk Show?' However. - Are you referring to the doll Agent Grape carries? "Yes?" - The rabbit doll. Eun Haje instinctively recalled. • From some point on, Kim Soleum carried a pink rabbit doll in his front pocket. She thought it was an item for emotional stability. And she had seen him carrying a similar doll even now. - Isn't the name of that doll Brown. ...•••. "...!!" *** [Hmm. Considering it was a hastily arranged live broadcast, it was quite good. The ratings aren't bad!] [Mr. Roe Deer, what do you think?] I looked around the wedding venue. The few remaining Experience Trainees, the bloodstains on the floor, the broken joints, the marks of those who struggled not to be dragged away. Brown really... made a mess... 'Ha...'