The conference room was equipped with a laptop and a projector, and the footage Tae-woo had recorded began to play.
At the same time, another part of the screen displayed CCTV footage, apparently from cameras installed in the abandoned school's corridors and classrooms.
“Huh? Wasn't that an abandoned school? Why are there CCTV cameras...?”
Tae-woo pointed at the screen as he asked.
“It is abandoned. We bought it and installed cameras so we could use it for new recruits' orientation,” Assistant Manager Yoon Ye-rim explained.
Tae-woo felt as though someone had struck him on the back of the head.
The thought that someone had been watching him go through that entire ordeal was embarrassing.
“Hmm.”
Meanwhile, Department Head Cha Jun-ho and Manager Bang Ji-seok watched Tae-woo's footage with serious expressions.
What surprised them was that he had managed to record the ghosts themselves.
The ghosts did not appear in the footage from the CCTV cameras they had installed at the school.
In the CCTV recordings, Tae-woo looked as though he were putting on some ridiculous performance, swinging his sword and rolling around by himself. But in his own footage, the action unfolded like a scene straight out of a horror game.
“How did you manage that? It's difficult to capture ghosts on camera.”
Manager Bang Ji-seok looked at Tae-woo as he asked.
Department Head Cha Jun-ho joined in.
“That's right. Sometimes clients want to see what kind of ghost we dealt with, but we have trouble recording them. Telling recruits to film the place was really just a routine part of the exercise. I never expected you to get footage of actual ghosts. How did you do it?”
Tae-woo scratched his cheek before answering.
“I'm not entirely sure myself. But it seems that the ghosts start appearing on camera as soon as they notice me.”
“Really?”
“Yes. If you look over here, at the horizontal bars, there's nothing visible at first, and then a ghost suddenly appears. I could already see it with my own eyes, but it hadn't noticed me. The camera only started capturing it after our eyes met.”
Tae-woo pointed to the scene where he had fought with his sword in the schoolyard.
“Don't ghosts usually stay invisible to our cameras even in situations like that?”
“Yes. Most of the time, they don't show up. Occasionally they do, but only occasionally.”
“Well, that's fascinating.”
The other three each made a remark of surprise.
Apparently, even when they brought cameras along, they rarely managed to record ghosts.
“Did you make those smart glasses yourself?”
“No. They're commercially available, but I customized them.”
Tae-woo answered Department Head Cha Jun-ho's question.
“Customized them? How?”
“I synchronized them with my swords, my flashlight, and a few other things so their information appears on the user interface. They can also record continuously.”
“You can do that? You know how to make something like that?”
“Yes. That much isn't too difficult.”
Tae-woo spread his hands as he answered.
A pleased smile appeared on Cha Jun-ho's face.
“What features does it have, exactly?” Manager Bang Ji-seok asked.
“Let's see. It shows me where my weapons are... and how much battery power my flashlight has left... After I came back from the school, I also built and added a Bluetooth radar.”
“A Bluetooth radar? What's that supposed to be?”
“I noticed that electronic devices sometimes malfunction briefly when ghosts appear. I used that effect in reverse, with Bluetooth, to locate ghosts around me. If a ghost interferes with the radio signal, I've set it up to display a blue dot at the location of the interference.”
“So you can tell where ghosts are, even if they're behind a door?”
“Yes. It's still in the testing stage, though. I added the feature in a hurry over the last couple of days, so it needs more work.”
Tae-woo shrugged as he replied.
Bang Ji-seok tilted his head with an unreadable expression, while Cha Jun-ho and Yoon Ye-rim silently concentrated on the screen.
“Hmm. I suppose someone with strong spiritual perception wouldn't really need that radar,” Cha Jun-ho murmured.
The video continued to play.
The footage Tae-woo had recorded did not include the user interface displayed by his smart glasses.
That was because the interface appeared on the glasses' lenses, while the footage was captured by a separate camera built into the frames.
After watching all the footage Tae-woo had recorded, the staff nodded and looked at one another.
“I've seen enough. If nothing else, a camera that actually records ghosts is something we'll need to discuss with the technical department later.”
Department Head Cha Jun-ho nodded, then turned to Manager Bang.
“What do you think, Manager Bang? How did the new recruit do on his first field orientation?”
“Well, I give him credit for not running away and for finishing the recording, but I think smashing the glass and breaking through a door should count heavily against him. Who goes hunting ghosts by destroying doors? That makes it easier for ghosts inside to escape and for ghosts outside to get in.”
“You're not wrong. Ghosts can pass through walls freely, but because of the habits they had while alive, they often travel through doors and windows. So keeping those shut can help block their escape routes. But Senior Associate Kim smashed a glass door, didn't you?”
Department Head Cha Jun-ho looked at Tae-woo as he spoke.
Tae-woo avoided his gaze without answering.
“Sometimes a bold move like that is necessary, depending on the situation. But doing it without even knowing what kind of ghost was inside was very dangerous,” Cha Jun-ho added.
“Yes. I understand.”
Tae-woo nodded.
“That's enough about that. Be more careful next time.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
“Good. Any questions?”
Cha Jun-ho paused the video as he asked.
Tae-woo stared at the frozen image for a moment before turning toward him.
“Yes. I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Does the Cleanup Team actually hunt ghosts like that, or does it just record them, the way I did?”
“We hunt ghosts. If we tell new recruits that their first assignment is to hunt ghosts, plenty of them turn around and run on the spot. That's why we tell them to film the place instead. Anyone with strong Spirit Sight will see plenty of ghosts while walking around with a camera.”
“Then were all the ghosts at that school fake? You said the abandoned school was used for new recruits' orientation.”
“Every ghost there was real. Passing ghosts are always stopping by abandoned schools. Even if another batch of recruits goes there, they'll probably encounter a whole new set of ghosts.”
“Ah.”
After hearing the answer, Tae-woo looked as though he had even more questions than before.
“You'll learn about ghosts in the field from now on. There'll be plenty of them to meet, and plenty of things for you to experience.”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
Tae-woo nodded at Cha Jun-ho's words.
“If there are no more questions, we'll move on to the next item.”
“Yes, sir.”
At that, Ji-seok and Ye-rim opened their notebooks.
Tae-woo followed their example and opened his own.
“We've received a new request. It's been assigned to Team Four, so tell me what your schedules look like.”
“I'm scheduled to meet a client near Guro Ace Tower who's being tormented by a Death-Calling Ghost.”
Ji-seok answered Jun-ho immediately.
“Is it serious?”
“Yes. Apparently, the client has already attempted suicide three times because of the Death-Calling Ghost. They went to a shaman, had a ritual performed, and even tried talismans, but the shaman ended up being struck by a curse himself.”
“How much is the job worth?”
“They've offered twenty million won.”
“Twenty million? If a Death-Calling Ghost is driving someone to attempt suicide, shouldn't we be charging around thirty million?”
“The client's mother used our services before, so I think the sales team accepted the job for twenty million. Apparently, the family is struggling financially and pleaded with them.”
“Hmm. Is that so? All right, understood. We have to save lives. But don't forget that we still need to watch our revenue. We can't get a reputation for doing charity work.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
Jun-ho turned toward Ye-rim.
“What about you, Assistant Manager Yoon?”
“Ah, yes. I'm heading to a commercial building near Yeonan Pier in Incheon. They've reported ghosts appearing there. We received a two-million-won deposit under the local merchants' association's name, and they've agreed to pay the remaining eight million after the work is done.”
“Just a ten-million-won job?”
“Yes. It's a ten-million-won assignment.”
Listening to the conversation, Tae-woo finally understood the secret behind the company's annual revenue of 750 billion won.
They drove away ghosts and charged people for doing it.
In other words, they sold exorcism services.
“Is it a Mountain Ghost?”
“From what I've heard, it seems to be. It isn't causing people any serious harm, but it keeps appearing and frightening them. Apparently, the building has been unable to attract tenants because of it.”
“Hmm. I see.”
Jun-ho stroked his chin and nodded.
“What's the new request?” Ji-seok asked.
“It's a supermarket in Ilsan. Apparently, the mannequins have started moving on their own. The CCTV cameras have even caught them moving without anyone touching them. At one point, a child was walking past when a mannequin suddenly toppled over and fell on the child. The supermarket had to pay a settlement to the child's parents, and the whole thing caused quite an uproar.”
“Possession. There's a ghost possessing a mannequin.”
Ji-seok spoke as soon as he heard Jun-ho's explanation.
“They don't want anything like that happening again, so they're asking us to come as soon as possible and deal with it. It's a forty-million-won job.”
“Hmm. This is an actual field assignment. We can't send Senior Associate Kim out on his own right away, can we?” Ji-seok asked.
“That's what I'm trying to work out.”
“Why don't you go yourself, Department Head?”
“Do you think I sit around doing nothing, you idiot? I've been even busier since I became department head. Damn it.”
Jun-ho folded his arms and thought for a moment before continuing.
“Assistant Manager Yoon. Take Senior Associate Kim with you to Incheon, then handle the Ilsan job together.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
Ye-rim answered immediately, without asking twice.
“Yes, sir!”
Tae-woo answered as well, then promptly wrote down the assignments he had just received in his notebook.