LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 258
Chapter 258
What’s this?
“What’s wrong?”
I heard Seo Moon-gyeol, who was behind me, say something as I stood blankly at the entrance without even taking off my shoes.
There was no time to respond.
I had to figure out who or what was watching me and from where.
Watching.
Watching…?
It was a hunch from my intuition, but I had an inkling of what kind of feeling this unsettling sensation was.
‘Something, a bit…’
Yes.
Part of the eerie sensation was similar to the feeling I got when I found a camera filming me on my way to work or at a fan signing event.
Only this time, it felt much more sinister and unpleasant, as if there were no good intentions behind it.
‘No way…’
I kicked off my shoes carelessly and followed the closest presence I felt, walking in a daze.
When had he returned to the dorm? Kang Ji-woo, still in his outdoor clothes without changing, came out of the bedroom.
“Guys, have you seen Ban Yo-han’s notebook? The black one…”
Kang Ji-woo, looking around frantically, spotted me and stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening as he approached.
“You look like you’re sweating. Did something happen? Are you feeling unwell?”
The members had learned that I preferred they ignore my troubles if possible, so they usually overlooked most things. But this time, it seemed my expression was too alarming to ignore.
I looked in the nearby mirror and saw that my face was indeed stiff and hard.
“No. I was fine until just a moment ago.”
Seo Moon-gyeol answered in my place, as I was too focused on sensing the sharp, prickly presences to respond.
“Hyung, I think three of my dolls are missing.”
Then, Gyun Seong-ha came out of his room, speaking in a voice mixed with confusion, anger, and fear.
“And one of my outfits is missing, though I’m not sure. It might be at the company…”
Gyun Seong-ha didn’t even seem to have the mental space to greet Seo Moon-gyeol, who had just arrived at the dorm.
“Really? Let’s search one more time thoroughly. It might still be in the house.”
Kang Ji-woo, trying to calm Gyun Seong-ha, turned to us with a slightly tired face to explain the situation.
“As you can see, some things seem to be missing from the dorm. It’s not confirmed yet, but check to see if any of your clothes or personal items are gone.”
“Got it.”
Then, Kang Ji-woo looked at me again.
“And you, are you really not sick? Even if you think you’re fine, stress can build up and affect your body. If anything feels off, tell me right away.”
Having composed my expression, I nodded and then examined the large potted plant near the entrance that had been bothering me.
The closer I got and the more I scrutinized the dark soil, the clearer the sense of incongruity became.
“…!”
Startled as if I had touched something hot without knowing it, I pulled my hand away from the smooth, glass-like surface.
Pushing aside the thick leaves, I saw a tiny camera lens on the soil of the pot.
“What’s that?”
“A camera?”
Gwak Sang-hyun, who had arrived a bit later due to parking and had been briefed by Kang Ji-woo, turned pale when he saw the dirt-covered camera I found.
“Ji-woo, contact the company and gather everyone to explain the situation.”
* * *
While Gwak Sang-hyun urgently contacted the higher-ups to report the matter serious enough to call the police.
I used 《Camera Finder》 to search the dorm thoroughly, finding more hidden mini-cameras like the one in the pot.
At first, the members joked that I was like a drug-sniffing dog, amazed at how I found cameras in the most unexpected places.
“Hah…”
“Wow…”
But as the number of cameras I found exceeded ten, they were too shocked to say anything, merely gasping in disbelief.
In total, I found 17 cameras.
“Any more?”
“No. I don’t think so. But it’s better to have the police check properly. I just guessed where they might be.”
With my significantly improved intuition stats and the fact that my 《Camera Finder》 skill was over 90% proficient, it was almost certain there were no more cameras. But you never knew.
“No, you did well.”
“I never imagined they’d even install cameras in our dorm…”
“This is insane…”
No one had spoken directly, but everyone seemed to suspect it was the work of a stalker fan.
I thought the same.
Items disappearing and illegal filming…
There had been similar incidents involving celebrities in the past.
Holding a cup of warm water with trembling hands to calm his nerves, Gyun Seong-ha spoke in a shaky voice.
“Isn’t this something we can actually get punished for?”
Simply following private spaces was hard to penalize due to loose laws concerning stalker fans. But this time, it involved breaking and entering, as well as illegal filming, so it didn’t seem impossible to catch and imprison the culprit.
This incident might be the catalyst for the company to take stronger action against stalker fans.
But why did I still feel something was off…?
To shake off the lingering unease, I took one of the cameras and examined it closely, using the plastic gloves Kang Ji-woo used for cooking.
For reference, I had also worn similar gloves when removing the cameras from their original locations, having seen it done somewhere before.
“Look here. The memory card.”
“You’re right.”
“This doesn’t seem to be the kind that transmits footage in real-time.”
Ban Yo-han, who had found a camera similar to the one we had, showed me a site on his phone, confirming my guess.
“We’re not picking up any strange Wi-Fi signals right now, so it looks like, as Raon said, our footage isn’t being transmitted in real-time.”
Everyone sighed in relief at those comforting words.
“They must have planned to retrieve it later when we weren’t here.”
“This is really awful.”
“They found one in the bathroom too, right?”
“Yeah, over there. Did anyone take a shower since coming to the dorm?”
The three who had arrived first all shook their heads.
“No. We just washed our faces, monitored today’s broadcast and radio, and were about to rest when Ban Yo-han noticed things were missing and started looking for them until you guys arrived.”
No wonder they hadn’t changed clothes.
It was a relief.
Even though we found the cameras before any footage was leaked, just knowing they recorded could cause trauma for a while.
Gyun Seong-ha, who was mentally fragile, still looked pale.
Gwak Sang-hyun, who had been making calls, finally put down his phone and looked at us.
“Guys, I called the police and informed the CEO. They’ll be here soon. I know it’s scary and unsettling, but hang in there a bit longer.”
“Okay.”
Gwak Sang-hyun grimaced at the small cameras scattered on the living room floor.
“Did you find all of these?”
“Yes. Knowing they were there made us uncomfortable, so we had to remove them…”
“But we took pictures and videos before removing them. Raon wore gloves while handling the cameras.”
“We also made a list of missing items. Here.”
Gwak Sang-hyun accepted the neatly written list from Ban Yo-han, looking at us with amazement.
I could tell what he was thinking.
He must be wondering how we had the guts to do all this.
[Accurate deduction. Instinct +1]
“Yeah… Well done. You must have been really shocked. Are you okay?”
“Rather than scared, I’m more annoyed.”
“Me too.”
“Sang-hyun hyung, please make sure they’re punished this time.”
“Seong-ha is scared.”
Normally, Gyun Seong-ha would have snapped at me to be quiet, but seeing him so subdued, I realized how truly scared he was.
Though tired, we couldn’t sleep and had to wait a bit longer. Finally, the police arrived with CEO Ban Ga-eul, knocking on the dorm door.
Gwak Sang-hyun explained the situation to the police and CEO Ban Ga-eul once more.
Seeing the cameras lined up in the living room, both the CEO and the police looked surprised.
“We’ll search the place thoroughly to see if there are any more cameras.”
“Yes, please do.”
The police used a detector to ensure there were no more cameras left in the dorm.
Fortunately, no 18th camera was found, meaning I had done a thorough job.
“Next, we’ll check the building’s entrance and elevator CCTV.”
Despite the late hour, the apartment manager appeared, looking very sleepy.
[The apartment manager ??? doubts reality upon seeing your face, wondering if he’s still dreaming. ??? Affection +2 Current affection +2]
The now wide-awake apartment manager agreed to let the police check the CCTV under their supervision.
“Just a moment…”
Meanwhile, I pondered.
Installing 17 cameras and expecting none to be discovered before they could retrieve them… Did they really think that would work?
Knowing we’d search the whole house to find the stolen items?
* * *
Unfortunately for them, the Saturday night was long.
In a way, it was just the beginning.
A photo of On Raon’s past depression diagnosis was uploaded to an internet community.