Goddess Bless You From Death
Case File 11.
"Hello~ Greetings to all 284 of you watching now! After receiving news from our fans about a new haunted spot, we rushed over immediately. And now..."
The phone camera, live streaming, panned out to show the scene before the young YouTuber-a dense forest under the cover of night, so thick that even moonlight couldn't penetrate. The eerie silence hung heavy in the air, devoid of any signs of life. The yellow police tape marking off the area had been torn down and lay discarded on the ground, ignored.
"This must be the place. Look, the marking spots are still here."
The young man passing by the camera pointed to white spray marks indicating various positions at the crime scene.
"Move aside, move aside," the man holding the camera told his younger companion. "So, my dear viewers, it's said that a murder happened here just a few days ago. There were seven victims, and their condition was extremely gruesome."
"Someone's asking what the condition was like," the girl in charge of reading viewer comments spoke up. "The bodies were hanged, probably from the big tree... up there!!!"
The host suddenly raised his voice, startling his companions. In the quiet forest, their voices were the only ones daring to break the silence.
"Damn it, jump!" The man carrying another large camera to film scolded, kicking at his friend without holding back, but he missed the target.
"Jump, someone asked, if you think you'll see any ghosts."
"Maybe. The spirits of the murdered must be vengeful, right? We might see some spookies."
"Hey, bros! Come check this out. There's a doll here." All four of them stared at the same thing: a distorted clay doll. It depicted a person holding a child close, but its tiger head was twisted backwards.
"It looks like a Sia-Kaban doll. Everyone! We found a doll here, see?"
"Jump, don't touch anything recklessly," the sole woman in the group warned.
"It's fine. Everyone, normally, these cursed dolls are used for warding off bad luck. I think someone might have left it here. Or maybe it's the work of the still-free killer.. Maybe.." Jump spoke in a low, drawn-out voice before laughing and tossing the clay doll to the cameraman.
"Jump, you idiot!" The cameraman didn't catch it, merely dodging, causing the doll to fall and break its neck. "You moron! We aren't allowed to mention or touch ritual items like that!"
"We're a ghost-hunting channel! If we don't do this, how will we find any ghosts? If one appears, we'll go viral." Jump's provocative words echoed in the silent forest, suddenly interrupted by the cawing of crows.
"Jump, let's go back. Please, let's go back," the girl looked around nervously.
"Yeah, I agree with Dear. I've had goose bumps since we arrived here. Let's go back. This place isn't ordinary."
"Exactly, it's extraordinary, Song."
"What do you mean?"
"This place used to be a graveyard for unclaimed bodies. Plus, there have been dozens of accidents here. If that's not a curse, what is?"
Rustling!
"What the hell was that?" The boy named Song panicked after hearing the story from his senior, who had invited him to join this ghost-hunting channel.
"It's just bugs, Song. You're such a coward. Move! Let's keep going." The four continued exploring the crime scene, filming the surroundings. Jump's voice was the only one breaking the forest silence. He chatted comfortably with the live viewers, unlike his three nervous companions, who were trailing behind.
"Will we have trouble with the police?" Jump read a viewer's question. "Nah, no problem at all! They won't care about this place anymore. They've probably collected all the evidence by now."
Rustling! Rustling!
The sudden noise behind a bush made all four stop abruptly. The flashlight flickered before going out, leaving only the darkness and the faint glow from their phone screens.
"Holy crap! Bros, let's go back! I beg you!" Song pleaded, his hands clasped in a prayer gesture repeatedly.
"Yeah, Jump, let's go back." Dear, immediately supported the plea in fear.
"If you don't want to, just do whatever, you jerk. We're heading back to the car."
Bom turned and started walking away, with Song and Dear quickly following. Now, Jump was left alone, holding his phone camera and continuing to film.
"Such a bunch of cowards! Don't worry, my beloved viewers. I'll show you every corner of this cursed forest. We've done the hunting-now it's time for the daring. And here you go!" Jump pulled out an incense stick and then looked for a spot to set up his camera to show what he was doing. Satisfied with the angle, he held a lighter and explained to the viewers, "This single incense stick is said to be used to pray for the dead or wandering spirits. And when done like this..."
Jump lit the end of the incense, then blew it out, leaving a trail of white smoke wafting through the air. He planted the incense stick upside down in the ground, with the smouldering end buried. Pleased with the result, he approached the camera again to speak to the viewers at home.
"Planting incense upside down is said to summon spirits. If I see a ghost, I'll ask who the killer is because the cops are useless. They won't be able to solve this case-"
Rustling!
A sound like footsteps on dry leaves made Jump turn around "What the hell?" He muttered to himself before turning back to read the comments again.
: What was that shadow behind you?
: It looked like a woman.
: Did anyone else see a dark shadow just now?
: Wasn't it a man's shadow?
That's creepy.
: want more! More!
More!
: More!'
The flood of comments was overwhelming, which only boosted the young YouTuber's confidence. Usually, his tiny channel didn't get much attention, often receiving negative feedback for being unrealistic, fake, and pointless. But suddenly, someone had emailed him about this murder case and the location. The first day he posted about it on social media, interest skyrocketed because it was a fresh case, barely known to the public. He quickly gathered his team to head out right away, though preparation delays meant they didn't arrive until nearly 3 AM.
As Jump continued reading comments, he felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine. His heart raced, but he tried to keep his composure; showing fear on camera would drive away viewers.
"I'm going to find that Sia-Kaban doll again. No idea where Bom knocked it to."
Jump braced himself up and walked back to the area with the spray markings. Using his phone's flashlight, the stream now showed leaves, grass, and muddy ground. Suddenly, it captured the image of bare, pale feet, mottled with purple and green bruises, indicating it wasn't a living person.
"Holy crap!!!"
Jump fell back in shock, scrambling away from the spot while shining his phone's light forward in fear.
: What was that? Why are you so scared?
A snake?
:/ didn't see anything
: Is he just imagining things?
Are you faking it?'
Jump no longer cared about the comments. He shone his light forward, searching for what he saw, but all he found was emptiness.
'You called me, didn't you? So here I am!
A chilling female voice from behind made Jump's hands intensely tremble. Despite the viewers' complaints and insults, he no longer cared.
‘You called me.'
'You called me.'
'You called me.
'You called me.'
'You called me.'
'So come, be with me!!!"
Jump sprang to his feet and bolted, driven solely by survival instincts, unaware that he left his phone streaming behind. And what he grabbed... was the head of the Sia-Kaban doll, the untouchable.
Singha turned over again, furrowing his brows tightly. The persistent noise was irritating him, depriving him of sleep. The young inspector reluctantly got up and went downstairs. His sharp eyes scanned the area, finding Thup standing facing the kitchen counter.
"Noisy."
"Ouch!" The young man jumped, letting out a yelp
Singha moved closer and saw that Thup was cutting pork. His sudden scare had caused him to nick his own finger with the knife. "You're too jumpy, Thup."
"Did I wake you?" Thup turned to ask, his face filled with concern. He was used to getting up early and didn't realise he might have disturbed his big brother.
"Yeah." Singha handed him a tissue before sitting down at the dining table. He observed that the cut wasn't too deep. The kid should be able to handle it himself.
"Sorry."
"Stop with the pitiful face. It's annoying." Thup pressed his lips together and walked to the sink to clean his wound. "The first aid kit is in the top cupboard."
"Okay."
"When you're done, go take a shower and get dressed."
"Are you going somewhere?"
"To work."
The doorbell rang, making Singha frown. He opened the curtain at the door and saw someone he had just hung up on last night.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Singha muttered to himself before opening the door. "What do you fucking want?"
"To pick you up." King, who was leaning against a luxury sports car, switched to gripping the fence instead.
"Why?"
"just felt like coming."
"And?"
"Let's go to work together."
"Who's there, P'Singh?" Thup came to the door holding a ladle. When he saw who was outside, he froze and then bowed respectfully.
"Open the gate, Singh." Singha didn't follow the command; he just stood there, his expressionless gaze fixed.
"Thup, go take your shower first, then come back to eat."
"Okay."
"Singha, open the gate."
"You're not my father. Don't try to tell me what to do. Go back the way you came. I'll manage on my own." Singha slid the glass door shut, ignoring the shouts of protest from outside.
"Are you really not going to let him in?"
"My house, my rules." Singha gave Thup a sidelong glance, who was taking off his apron. "And why are you still holding that ladle?"
"Oh, I was waiting to serve you rice."
"Serve me rice?"
"Yeah. It's my first night staying here, so I wanted to do something for you. Quickly, please take a seat." Thup gestured toward the chair.
"You cleaned my house thoroughly. Isn't that enough?"
"That was for the house. This is for you. Do you eat a lot?"
"Just serve it already," Singha responded dismissively, but Thup eagerly served him nonetheless.
"I don't know what you like or dislike, but if you want any particular dish, just let me know." Thup scooped two spoonfuls of rice into a bowl before placing it in front of Singha.
"You're gonna cook it?"
"Yes."
"Are you planning to stay here until the case is closed?"
"Well... Until I find the Buddha amulet... is that okay?"
"What if I say no?" Singha raised an eyebrow, but Thup only responded with a puppy-like face.
"Singha!" A shout from outside made Singha sigh. He picked up his phone and called the station. After a short wait, someone answered.
[Yes, Inspector?]
"Come and get King out of here."
[What? Detective King?]
"Yeah. He's outside my house, causing a ruckus."
[He's bringing some documents for you.]
"What documents?" Singha asked while continuing to eat the stir-fried vegetables before him, savouring the balanced, mellow flavour. He glanced at Thup again. "Sit down and eat."
"Shouldn't I take a shower first?"
"Eat while it's hot." Thup smiled and sat across from him. "What documents are they?"
[Last night, four teenagers trespassed at the crime scene. We brought them to the station.]
"All four of them?"
[Yes, all four. They're waiting for you to question them. They mentioned finding a doll at the scene.]
"A doll? Was it the Sia-Kaban doll with a tiger head?"
[I'm not sure, Inspector.]
"I'll head over soon. But first, get King out of here."
[Got it, sir.]
Singha hung up and looked at King, who was sitting on the car hood smoking, clearly annoyed. His demeanour didn't intimidate Singha at all.
"Should I invite him in to eat with us?"
"No need. If he came uninvited, he can stay out there."
"So... I was invited, right?" Thup looked at Singha with hope.
"You just tagged along, little brat."
Thup chuckled softly, sensing that Singha's scolding wasn't serious. And what was even more gratifying was that it seemed the food he made was to Singha's liking, more or less.