Chapter 29: Haunted House Showdown: The Art of Fear and Pranks

“Is this the place?”

“Yes. It was originally a regular family house, but after the entire family committed suicide, it became an abandoned house.”

We arrived at the haunted house in Arin’s car.

Stepping out and planting my feet on the ground, I braced myself.

They’ve prepared thoroughly.

This won’t be easy.

How did they even find a place like this?

The building looked utterly ominous.

The exterior walls were stripped bare, with steel bars protruding from various places.

All the windows were shattered, and the door had been ripped off and lay sprawled on the yard floor.

Just looking at it made my legs tremble.

But I couldn’t let the viewers down.

I steadied myself, self-hypnotizing.

Don’t panic.

This is just a game with Arin.

The first to get scared loses. I stoked my competitive spirit.

“Um, can’t we pick another location?”

“Why? Are you scared now that we’re here?”

“No, it’s not that… I just… I made eye contact with someone in that master bedroom over there. Are you sure this place is empty?”

“Oh, yes. Stop spouting nonsense. Hehe!”

“Then… what was that?”

I began to warm up.

Arin must have scouted the location and done a preliminary inspection.

If that’s the case, introducing an unexpected twist would level the playing field.

She pretended to dismiss my words, but I clearly caught her pupils tremble momentarily.

No doubt about it—she was starting to feel uneasy.

[“Are you running after getting donations?”]

[“Where do you think you’re going, LOL?”]

[“Wait, I saw the person’s gaze on the screen too!”]

[“What? For real?”]

[“You too? Ah, this is creeping me out.”]

The chat flooded with comments about seeing a person.

See what, exactly?

The camera had only been on me the whole time.

These live stream addicts always overreact, but I had to admit, they synced well with me.

“See? I told you, there was definitely someone there. Arin, look at the chat.”

“Yes. I already checked everything during the scouting. I confirmed no one was here. Let’s go inside.”

“It’s true. Don’t regret it later.”

We stepped into the yard, which was littered with piles of trash—probably dumped by inconsiderate people.

Crunch.

“Ah! Jeez, you scared me.”

I had stepped on a garbage bag, which squished underfoot.

I let out an exaggerated scream, flailing dramatically.

Honestly, I wasn’t that startled, but I had to milk the moment for the broadcast.

“Hehe! Did that scare you, Yuseong?”

Arin burst into laughter, mocking me.

Fine, keep recording me from behind.

This footage will make excellent material for the edited video later.

Still, I can’t just be the one receiving help.

I’ll make sure to capture plenty of clips of you freaking out too.

“This must be the kitchen. You don’t see houses with this layout much these days.”

“True.”

We entered the building. It was clearly an old house. An actual furnace? That’s a rare sight nowadays. Slowly, I moved forward, examining the interior.

[“Open the cauldron lid!”]

[“Bet there’s a corpse in there.”]

[“LOL.”]

[“Yuseong, this is YouTube gold!”]

“Why do you keep asking for such scary things?! I’m already freaked out.”

But if they asked, I had to oblige.

What could possibly be in an abandoned house?

Probably just dust.

I grasped the handle and cautiously lifted the lid. Peering inside—

Crash!

“Ah, crap! What was that?!”

The sound of something breaking startled me.

Shining my phone’s flashlight, I saw shattered plates scattered on the floor.

Arin, who had been giggling moments earlier, suddenly adopted a serious expression.

“The plates just fell on their own. Should we leave? This place feels strange.”

Okay, now that genuinely startled me.

My heart nearly leaped out of my chest.

So that’s how you want to play it, huh?

Just wait—I’ll get you back.

“Same here. Ever since I stepped inside, I’ve felt like something’s trying to get inside me. Are we sure we should continue this stream?”

“Really? Hehe! Oh, hmm… isn’t that a sign of possession? Haha!”

Arin couldn’t hold back her laughter, clutching her stomach.

[“Yuseong LOL, your acting is so bad.”]

[“This is tough. Normally, I’d play along, but…”]

[“Filming an exorcism movie now?”]

[“Oh no, evil ghost, leave Yuseong’s body!”]

[“So cute, LOL.”]

The audience’s reaction was similar—mocking me outright.

I could almost hear their laughter.

Couldn’t they humor me just a little more to set the mood?

No matter.

Even this awkward acting serves as a buildup.

Let’s see how long they keep laughing.

Ah, today’s stream was a massive success.

How many scares has it been now?

Each time I’ve teased, the reactions have been priceless—practically at studio audience levels.

The stream has surpassed 120,000 viewers, and I’ve secured plenty of content for YouCube.

So much gained in such a short time.

“I can’t take this anymore. I feel like I’m no longer myself.”

“That’s serious. Just hang in there a bit longer.”

What’s with these overdramatic lines?

Did she encounter a protagonist from an NTR drama or something?

Saying, “I’m no longer myself”… It’s just adorable.

Go ahead, keep trying to set the mood. Do you think such childish antics will work? Know your limits.

At first, I admit I felt a bit uneasy when she said something eerie.

The house was so creepy that I got swept up in the atmosphere.

But not anymore.

Repeating the same line over and over makes it lose its impact.

It doesn’t work on me now.

“Stay here. I’ll check the last room.”

Yuseong stayed seated, making no move to stand.

Fine.

Let’s end the haunted house content here.

Pushing a male guest too hard might cause problems later.

Without hesitation, I opened the door.

“Whew, nothing here. See? I told you, there’s no one. Strange, though. Someone mentioned locking eyes with someone earlier, hehe!”

“Leave… leave…”

“What?”

Hah, possession successful, it seems.

Yuseong stretched his arms forward zombie-like, approaching slowly while muttering in a deepened voice, “Leave, leave.”

The act was convincing enough to look real.

Was he really throwing himself into character?

“Get out of my house!”

Ah! Startled, I screamed as Yuseong charged at me.

But what’s the plan after charging?

A weak guy like him should be easy to handle.

“Huh? Where is he getting this strength from?”

I ended up being overpowered.

No matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t break free.

Was it possible for a guy to exert such strength?

The situation defied logic.

Could it be?

He’s really possessed?

If not, how else do you explain this?

My spine tingled with dread.