—LMAOOOOOOO!!!
—Bro needs to puke! Hahaha!
—He’s already scared lol
—What sort of guest did you bring on?
The chat immediately exploded the moment they heard Seth’s words. How could it not? His words were a complete mismatch with his appearance.
For a moment, right before he spoke, everyone tensed.
His appearance looked rather eerie in the dark environment. But such thought faded the moment those words left his mouth.
“You need to puke?”
“…More or less.”
Jamie smiled after hearing Seth’s words. Perhaps… things were going to be a lot easier than expected.
In fact, he could use this opportunity to truly scare the hell out of him and farm some clips.
This might not exactly be in line with his usual stream, but this was necessary in order for him to keep the channel relevant.
● Live
Viewers: 597
Shifting his attention towards the viewer count, he quietly pursed his lips.
…This was quite a bit less than he originally expected.
‘As expected, I have to do this.’
This was a clear decline from his usual viewership count. It was mainly due to the location of the place, but he could see that his viewers were starting to get bored with his usual content.
He had to spice things up, and Seth was his perfect target.
“….Is there no bathroom?”
“Unfortunately, there isn’t.”
Jamie shook his head while shifting his attention back to the live stream. The number of viewers had gone up a little.
‘I guess the little gag at the start gained a few viewers.’
The viewer count was now at 633.
Still not that good.
“I’m sure many of you are aware of the Velora Art Museum. This is a rather famous spot for some similar streams.”
—No, shit lol.
—…Since you know, why are you here?
—Lame type shit.
Jamie ignored the chat and stepped forward, the beam of his flashlight slicing through the darkness as the soft crunch of grass echoed beneath his feet. He kept talking as he walked, occasionally glancing back at Seth to make sure he was still following.
“The museum shut down exactly seven years ago. Officially, they blamed it on a gas leak—but we all know that’s the furthest thing from the truth. The real reason? It was because of the painting that was stolen from the museum.”
Jamie didn’t really feel the need to explain the history behind the building, since many were already aware.
However, there were still those who didn’t know.
As a result, he still decided to explain. This in itself would help add psychological tension to those watching.
“…The painting is called the Lady of the White Umbrella. Rumors have it that the painting was created in commemoration of the museum’s sponsor’s daughter in order to commemorate her beauty. The reason why her face isn’t revealed in the painting is to make the viewer imagine her beaut—”
“That’s wrong.”
A soft voice suddenly broke through Jamie’s words as he frowned and panned the camera in Seth’s direction.
Still holding onto his stomach, Seth looked at the camera with his naturally dead eyes. He paused, and looked at Jamie who started speaking.
“Wrong? What do you mean wrong? This is universally acknowledged information. The rea—”
“The reason why the umbrella was used to cover her face wasn’t an artistic choice.”
Seth cut Jamie once again.
This time, Jamie didn’t answer back but quietly swallowed. For some reason, a strange tension was starting to build up.
He wasn’t the only one who felt it.
The chat also felt it as it momentarily paused.
That was until—
—Fucking creepy. This guy is creepy as shit.
—I almost believed it for a second wtf
—Nah man’s possessed 💀
Indeed, Seth’s quiet, low voice, paired with the lifeless emptiness in his eyes, cast an eerie tension over the stream.
But of course, it was almost for a brief moment.
The stream soon returned to how it was within moments.
‘Fucking hell, that almost got me too.’
Jamie sighed in relief while staring at the chat. For a moment, he had also gotten a little tense. And this, to him, was strange.
Especially after all he’d been through, and all the far more terrifying things he’d seen.
For him to get unsettled by a few words…
Jamie’s eyes narrowed as he glanced in Seth’s direction.
‘He really does give me the creeps.’
Still, he kept those thoughts to himself and put on a smile for the camera.
“Haha, I guess we’ve got an expert on the matter. That’s good. Wouldn’t that make this entire event much smoother for all of us? I’m already starting to feel safer!”
He laughed it off with the chat as they neared the building. Once at the door, Jamie reached out and pushed it open. It creaked.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Creaak—
Too much for comfort, as a thick scent of dust and mold drifted out from the dark.
“Let’s go…”
Inside, the museum was swallowed by shadows. Jamie raised his flashlight and swept it across the vast entrance hall. The cracked marble floor alternated between black and white, like a weathered chessboard. Up ahead, a grand wooden staircase stretched into darkness, disappearing into the second floor.
“The place looks just like I last remember.”
Jamie took a step forward, the sound of his step amplified by the echo around.
He soon began to speak again.
“As I was saying, the museum closed seven years ago after the painting went missing. No one’s found it since. Some say it was stolen to blackmail the sponsors. Others say…” he lowered his voice, “it vanished the day the girl it was modeled after died. As if the painting were linked to her life, it suddenly vanished. Poof. Just like that.”
Jamie did a fading motion with his hand as he walked deeper into the hall. He was exaggerating a story a little, but this was all for the stream.
What was the truth and what was not? Nobody knew.
The mystery of the painting had yet to be solved, even after seven years had passed.
“And so, the reason why we find ourselves here is to figure out the truth behind the painting and the young lady in white! Was she truly as beautiful as the rumors suggested, or was it just an exaggeration?”
Taking another step forward, Jamie secretly glanced at his phone.
That was when he saw a message appear.
[We are on the second floor. We are ready to start any given second.]
Jamie fought back a smirk as he continued narrating the scene to his viewers. The current live score sat at a disappointing 801, sinking his heart a little, but he pushed on, diving into the museum’s history and everything behind it.
‘Just get through it. Nail the scare. The shoutout will cover the rest.’
Old frames lined the wall as they passed, empty now, with only discolored outlines left behind.
Eventually, they stopped before a certain room, covered by frames on all sides, as a chandelier stood above.
Jamie stopped and pointed the camera around.
“This right here is where the main paintings were stored. For obvious reasons, there are no more paintings, but if we—Eh?”
In the midst of his explanation, Jamie suddenly stopped.
That was because he suddenly noticed his chat exploding.
—LMAOOOOOOO!!!
—Bahahahaha!
—WTF is he doing!? Hahahaha!
—I bet he’s doing it because he’s so scared and doesn’t want to see shit! LOL!!!
“Wha… what?”
Jamie leaned in, checking the comments. Then, slowly, he turned his head—
And saw Seth.
Standing dead still. A pair of sunglasses perched on his face.
In the dark.
Expressionless. Posture perfect. Just… standing still, looking towards the empty doorway.
“…Oh god.”
Sunglasses in a dark place? Jamie trembled as he stared at the sight. He almost had the urge to smack himself in the face.
First the puking, and now this?
Just what sort of idiot had Zoey recommended him?
While Jamie groaned and the chat continued, losing it, no one noticed the subtle change in Seth’s face.
His blank stare had stiffened ever so slightly.
Not because of the stream.
But because of the small figure standing just beyond the doorway in front—
A little girl, quietly peeking from behind the very same door.