Free Web NovelLuckily, Brown didn’t start rampaging about burying the entire station all at once.
He must have thought it would be unbecoming of a refined show host.
Whew.
Taking advantage of the moment, I quickly recalled the wiki entry.
The station where Delusion Home Shopping is located.
Afternoon Station (Blood Broadcast Station)
A subway station once connected to the Se-gwang Special City local broadcasting network.
A temporary stage was installed in the concourse here for events coordinated with the TV station, where city choirs or orchestras once performed.
All of that is in the past now. A certain home shopping ghost story that found the infrastructure of this station quite “appetizing” has since occupied it.
Let’s all enjoy shopping together!
...and when I clicked on “Home Shopping Ghost Story,” it immediately redirected to the Delusion Home Shopping page.
[Oh.]
[So you suspected there was a merchant channel here whose theme they didn’t even understand, but out of concern for Brown’s reaction, you didn’t check the page and only confirmed after stepping onto the platform... is that what you meant?]
No, it’s more like... hmm.
Brown. Aren’t you at least curious?
[Hm?]
About what Delusion Home Shopping is actually doing here.
If we go by the station description, here’s what happens:
But if you don’t want to shop, feel free to help with someone else’s shopping!
This is one of the few stations in Se-gwang Special City’s subway where food can be earned through labor. Anyone who visits this station is treated as if they came in response to the home shopping channel’s recruitment ad and is briefly employed.
Most are day laborers, but depending on the station’s situation, some may seize the unfortunate-yet-historic chance to work as a home shopping assistant or even a model.
If one works too well, they may be offered a contract position. Welcome to the paradise of eternal shopping!
If we work here as day labor, we’ll get to see exactly what Delusion Home Shopping does.
And ultimately... this is what it comes down to.
Either walk away with a real haul and get back to the train, or die quickly and escape before an irregular contamination occurs.
Preferably the former.
Given the nature of a home shopping ghost story, it’s likely tied closely to items and information—and we might even obtain an easier means of entering YuKwae Research Laboratory through the machine control room.
Besides, it’ll be easier for me.
Because I’ve worked in a similar place before.
[Similar place?]
[Oh... surely you aren’t placing this filthy fraud’s latrine on the same comparative scale as my talk show?]
...I’ve done all kinds of jobs in all kinds of places. You remember that, right?
[Ah, of course I remember! My dear friend who persevered through physically grueling occupations! With such an astonishing variety of employment histories. Truly fascinating times....]
...Whew.
Anyway, I shared what I’d learned from the wiki with the group.
“Oh. So we can get items or info from here.”
“Yes. However...”
I looked with a hint of concern at Deputy Lee Seonghae.
“Dolphin, will the contamination be okay?”
Someone contaminated enough to work as a dealer at the Body Casino—was it safe for them to seek work here?
I glanced at the clicking hairpin on Deputy Lee Seonghae’s head.
Seems like they’re suppressing it with their own equipment—but it could trigger something bad.
But Deputy Lee Seonghae nodded cheerfully.
“Oh, I’m fine! Since I died here last time, I think the Casino stopped monitoring me.”
Then they clenched and relaxed their hand, suppressing the subtle urge to shuffle, and shrugged.
“Mmm... I just have to not go back to the Casino.”
“...Yes.”
Let’s prepare the euthanasia pills to be used at a moment’s notice.
But since we’d already agreed on this, we climbed the stairs to the back door of Delusion Home Shopping’s studio.
Then, carefully, after knocking, we opened the door.
Clack.
A clean, modern broadcast station hallway stretched out before us.
And colorful posters.
“......”
At first glance, they looked like typical self-congratulatory home shopping posters.
But if you looked closely, the products being advertised felt distinctly grotesque.
The smiling show host was cutting their own arm with a kitchen knife, and the one demonstrating eye drops was crying blood, their eyeballs spilling out.
Ha...
That nauseating feeling of being in the wrong place.
And then another realization came.
These taglines...
They feel familiar.
[Oh.]
Yes.
[You’ve noticed it, Noru.]
They were blatantly copying Brown’s Late-Night Talk Show.
No—some taglines even looked lifted from Tuesday Quiz Show.
...Brown.
Even though this wasn’t spoken aloud, I asked cautiously.
Is this... why you’ve been irritated lately? Because Delusion Home Shopping has been copying you?
[Anyone in mass media aspires to imitate a legendary role model. That much is natural.]
[The issue is their attitude.]
I could almost hear impatient fingers tapping a polished wood desk.
[For some cheap merchant imitation to exploit ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) the reputation of my talk show while spouting slogans about “new-era entertainment”... Unforgivable.]
“...”
I felt eyes on me.
[So I am very eager to see how you conduct yourself here, my friend.]
Far above, far away—or right beside me.
The gaze of the media show itself.
[Though I can already imagine you recoiling at their vulgarity....]
“......”
I swallowed and walked down the hallway.
We won’t get that far.
Because we’d only be working as day laborers.
Before long, we reached a door with a posted notice.
If you came in response to the recruitment ad, enter here.
The room resembled a storage space, with no one inside—only a stack of contracts left haphazardly on a shelf.
And the contract read:
Day Labor Agreement
Whew.
At least it was within expectations.
“We just sign here?”
“Looks like it.”
“Well, it doesn’t say anything about pawning our souls.”
One by one, we signed the contract labeled “Employment Term: 1 day. Duties: various unspecified support tasks. Compensation: performance-based.”
The cautionary notes beneath were blacked out, ominously suggestive—but with death available as escape, no one hesitated.
The moment we finished signing—
—Buy now! Today’s unbelievable special price, 4,999,980 won! This configuration has never been cheaper!
The sound began.
The broadcast of Delusion Home Shopping.
“...!”
“Noru, this way.”
In the dark, information was survival.
Leaving the storage room, we moved quietly toward the sound.
Peering past the corner, we saw it at last:
A home shopping broadcast studio.
—Who could possibly achieve a perfect diet for under five million won? Impossible—until today!
Bright lights.
A voice that slid straight into your ears, dazzling graphics, quick-tempo music, flashing effects urging purchase.
Like a peak 2000s home shopping broadcast.
Except—
—Look! Incredible, isn’t it? Only the fat is being peeled away!
At the center of the stage, someone’s skin was being shed like a husk.
Their eyes were wide and smiling, unmoving.
Their skin split like dried clay as fat flowed out.
—The devil-crafted diet supplement—Fat-Eating Beauty Larva Egg Capsule!
—Just take it with water after meals! A divine gift!
The camera cut to the show host.
Meanwhile, the demonstration subject was dragged off like trash.
Thud.
And their place was filled with an identical demonstrator—hair done, stylish outfit, sculpted physique, posing again for the camera.
—A miracle supplement!
—Order now and get a free Happy-Maker! This deal will never come again!
Waaaaaah!!
Canned applause flooded in.
Off-camera, the discarded bodies leaked fat across the floor.
From the cracks in their skin, worm-like creatures moved—fangs bared like leeches.
Dozens of them.
They crawled in and out of open flesh, feeding.
Someone beside me gagged quietly.
And then—
—Shall we demonstrate again? Wonderful!
—This time, with someone else!
And—
The show host flicked their finger toward us.
“...What?”
In that moment—
Bronze Agent’s body was dragged forward into the studio.
“...!”
Section Chief Lee Jaheon and I instinctively grabbed him.
Bronze Agent strained with bulging muscle—but I understood.
Strength is meaningless.
This was an effect tied to the labor contract.
He had been “unluckily” selected as the next demonstrator.
My spine went cold.
Delusion Home Shopping products worked—but always with severe side effects.
Some were outright death traps.
And this was one of those.
Seeing the previous demonstrator’s half-liquefied corpse made that painfully clear.
The conclusion was immediate.
Better to die now.
Kill him quickly so he can escape.
Damn it.
I shoved the euthanasia pill into Bronze Agent’s mouth.
“...!”
He looked startled—but swallowed.
A moment later—
Thud.
His body dropped.
“......”
Section Chief Lee Jaheon pulled the corpse back.
I exhaled in shock.
The show host seemed to notice the anomaly—
but simply continued the broadcast.
—Model, step forward!
They would take someone else.
Damn.
I reached for another pill—but my body locked up and lurched forward.
Into the lights.
Wait—
—Now then, the area you wish to diet is...
The moment I stepped into the center of the studio—
—Oh my! You’re— this is unbelievable! frёewebnoѵēl.com
The show host grabbed my shoulder.
I looked up.
A white-faced, red-grinning show host was smiling at me.
—Everyone! The assistant host of the Late-Night Talk Show has joined us today!
“...!”
I was screwed.
Irregular scenario.
They recognized me as part of a similar broadcast ghost story.
No telling how Delusion Home Shopping would react.
Just how much attention were they paying to Brown’s show?
I wanted to say, “You’ve mistaken me,” but ghost stories didn’t respond to corrections—and Brown was surely listening.
But that wasn’t even the real problem.
—Please greet the audience!
I felt my mouth smile brightly on its own.
A pure, cheerful expression.
Like a model demonstrator for Delusion Home Shopping.
—Now please swallow the miracle diet capsule with water. So easy, isn’t it?
My hand picked up the glass.
Shit—!
Still smiling, I picked up the round parasite egg capsule and brought it toward my mouth—
Bababababa-BAM!!!
“...!”
—Everyone! We’ve just received word that all units are SOLD OUT!
My fingers went slack.
—Thank you for your support! We’ll see you next Tuesday!
My hand waved to the camera.
The show host waved with me.
The show host—
A man in a black suit.
Late 30s.
A model home shopping host’s build, with a friendly, trustworthy smile.
But when he opened his mouth, it was a red abyss.
Huge black pupils.
A chalk-white face painted too pale, smiling widely at the camera.
Cut!
The broadcast ended.
My strength nearly gave out. I barely kept the glass upright.
Damn it.
Bronze Agent’s corpse was still visible outside the studio.
The team looked like they had just been debating whether to kill me too.
I quickly looked away.
Because the show host was smiling warmly beside me, patting my shoulder.
—What a surprise! I didn’t expect a celebrity like you to apply for a one-day job!
He squeezed my shoulder.
Those huge black pupils fixed on me.
—Did you quit the Late-Night Talk Show? There are countless job seekers hoping to join Delusion Home Shopping, but for a former Late-Night crew member, I might just create a position...
“...It seems you’re very interested in Late-Night Talk Shows.”
He paused.
—Professional interest, of course! Our programs are like stars in mutual orbit.
—Though, in terms of scale... well. Compared to our channel, Brown’s show is—symbolic, but rather small, isn’t it?
[Oh.]
Cold sweat soaked the back of my neck.
The show host, humming cheerfully, walked with me down the hall.
He didn’t spare a glance at the day laborers.
I saw Deputy Lee Seonghae preventing Bronze Agent’s body from being hauled away like trash.
“...I didn’t realize Delusion Home Shopping also had a studio here.”
—Ah, this Studio 4-168 is fairly new. Reasonable price, good returns. Profit matters, you know. Though broadcast costs are higher than expected.
—To boost shopping excitement, we’ve planned a historic entertainment broadcast.
—It airs today. And to think we have a celebrity arrival on the same day! Fortuitous!
“...Historic broadcast?”
—Yes. A thrilling, provocative format.
—A Show Host Survival.
...What?
—The one who sells the most survives. Channel-sticking excitement! Shopping! Shopping! Shopping!
—Who among the hosts will live?
—Viewers won’t be able to look away. Purchases will spike. Some will buy feverishly to support the host they’re cheering for.
“...I see.”
I swallowed. Then asked, carefully:
“Then what will we day laborers be doing in that program? ...Will we be demonstrators again?”
If yes, we would all swallow our pills immediately.
But the show host neither affirmed nor denied.
—Now, listen. The winner of the survival show receives the entire host’s share of today’s sales revenue. One hundred percent.
He leaned close.
—A staggering profit, isn’t it? And this very opportunity—
—is offered to all of you who came today via the recruitment ad.
“...!”
—Yes. Today’s day laborers will all be contestants.
“...!!”
[Oh, my friend. I dislike saying “I told you so,” but there is no more perfect moment than this.]
[I told you.]
[These merchant vermin are utterly base.]
The show host’s cold breath stirred against my neck.
—Now then. Let’s begin your shift.
—Contestants of the Show Host Survival.
—New Show Hosts of Delusion Home Shopping.
—Friend of Brown.
And like that—
I became a one-day show host of Delusion Home Shopping.
Along with the entire exploration team.
