Natsumi's eyes held a trace of nervousness as she stared at the exorcist standing before her. From time to time, she would glance furtively around, as though she feared that the malevolent spirit might suddenly appear to claim her life at any moment.
And at that very instant, the time had come.
A strange and eerie melody suddenly echoed through the filming set of the television studio. At once, everyone present looked at one another in confusion, and the crew members in the back began asking each other where the sound could be coming from. However, only Natsumi knew the truth—this was the ominous ringtone of the spirit of death.
The exorcist was instantly blown backward by an invisible force, and the surrounding crew members were no exception—they screamed and scattered in a panic. In that moment, the scene felt utterly isolated, as though Natsumi was the only one left behind.
Terrified, she let out a scream and collapsed to the floor. Her hands reached for the cellphone emitting the eerie sound of death. In that moment, her mental state seemed to completely collapse. She stumbled to the back of the studio and pulled aside a curtain—only to freeze in stunned silence.
She clearly remembered seeing this exact scene in the photo that had been displayed on the phone screen…
What should I do next? Natsumi's heart hesitated. She didn't know how to portray the kind of effect Director Edward wanted in this situation.
And to make matters more difficult, she was supposed to achieve that performance under these circumstances. Looking at the camera suspended in midair in front of her—held there by psychic power—Natsumi couldn't understand why, but the fear just wasn't surfacing.
However, just as she was racking her brain, trying to think of terrifying scenarios to draw out her emotions, she suddenly saw something—something that made her blood run cold.
A hand.
A pale, eerie hand extended out from the wall.
It rested on the wall, its ghostly fingers curled against the surface.
In that moment, Natsumi's mind went completely blank.
What the hell is going on?! she thought frantically. Didn't Director Edward say the doll had malfunctioned and had been taken for repairs? Weren't we going to do this scene using imaginary props and add the effects in post-production?
She'd even seen the doll being carried away herself.
But before she had time to process it, a terrifying, twisted woman's head emerged slowly from the wall. Her bizarre and grotesque expression stared directly at Natsumi, making her pupils dilate in utter horror.
A strange, indescribable sense of dread washed over her, and she let out a shrill scream.
"Natsumi!"
At that moment, Yumi also rushed into the scene.
Natsumi turned her head toward Yumi, only to see on the filming monitor a horrifying ghostly figure behind her—becoming more and more disturbing in appearance. Yumi and the others glanced at the screen as well, their faces revealing expressions of disbelief and terror.
"Yumi, I swear, just now there was really—" Natsumi started to speak, but before she could finish, she suddenly felt a chill run through her body. Her outstretched hand felt as though it had been seized by something unseen.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!"
"Cut!" Edward called out, watching Natsumi scream while jumping around the set, flailing her arms and slapping at her clothes. He couldn't help but smile in amusement, though he still called for a cut to give everyone a break.
Natsumi was in tears.
Yumi and the others weren't quite sure what had just happened, but they came forward to comfort her. They were puzzled, though—Natsumi wasn't exactly a top-tier actress, but she was certainly a capable one. It didn't make sense for her to break down and cry like this.
"I-I saw a ghost… There really was a ghost!" Natsumi pointed behind her, still shaking. In her line of sight, the terrifying woman had disappeared. In her place stood a man—someone familiar. Wait, wasn't he Director Edward's assistant?
"Oh! I'm so sorry, Miss Natsumi," said Zoroark with a cheerful smile. "That was just me testing the new prop. I didn't scare you too badly, did I?"
Natsumi blinked in confusion.
The other two actresses also paused in stunned silence. They exchanged puzzled looks with each other.
"Oh… it was just the new prop? I'm really sorry, I overreacted," Natsumi said, wiping away her tears as she stood up again, looking quite embarrassed.
Edward and Zoroark both laughed it off warmly, assuring her it was no big deal. Edward looked at the playback footage and smiled when he saw Natsumi's fear-stricken expression on camera.
Look at that—such a delicious display of terror.
And best of all, it was completely authentic. The shock in her wide eyes, the trembling of her lips, all those subtle micro-expressions—this footage could be used as material for a film school acting course at a Film Academy.
Of course, no judge would ever guess that it wasn't acting at all, but raw fear.
"Bring in the special effects team's Ditto," Edward clapped his hands.
Now that Natsumi's key scene was complete, they just needed to shoot a few more connecting shots and her character's arc in One Missed Call would be fully wrapped. At that point, her role would officially be complete.
The upcoming scenes, however, required the help of Ditto.
According to the script, Natsumi's character would soon be possessed by an invisible spirit. It would manipulate her joints, forcing her own hands to twist her neck unnaturally and decapitate herself—her severed head falling to the ground.
In the original version of the film, that was a CGI-heavy moment. Due to the technical limitations at the time, the effect had looked somewhat fake. But now, in a world with Pokémon, they had a new and perfect solution:
Ditto.
Ditto could transform into both humans and Pokémon, but it had one problem—its transformed forms always had those beady little eyes.
But even that could be solved easily—with special effects.
So, once Ditto stepped in, today's shoot was almost complete.
"Sister Mihara, did you see that doll just now? It was absolutely terrifying!" In the actors' resting area, Natsumi was changing clothes. She patted her chest, still visibly shaken from the earlier scene.
Mihara, the actress playing Yumi, looked at Natsumi with a strange expression.
"I… I didn't see any doll," Mihara said. "Neither did Marie. At the time, we were just acting according to the script."
Marie hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a quiet voice. "Yes… We didn't see any doll at all. During the scene in the television studio, all we saw in the camera screen was you—looking terrified and acting out your part. There was no doll, no ghost."
Both Mihara and Marie were veteran actresses. Even though they hadn't seen any actual props, they were more than capable of performing a scene with invisible elements. So, they just went along with it naturally.
Upon hearing Mihara's words, Natsumi's face turned pale.
What does that mean? Could it be that I really saw something…?
Just as Natsumi and Mihara were about to turn this bizarre incident into a paranormal rumor from the One Missed Call film crew, Zoroark knocked on the door.
He explained the situation to both Mihara and Natsumi, and even handed Natsumi an extra 2,000 Pokedollars as a "nutritional supplement" stipend.
Zoroark explained that what Natsumi had encountered earlier was actually a personalized illusion, specially crafted just for her. It was intended to evoke genuine fear and help capture the precise emotional effect Director Edward wanted.
Only then did Natsumi breathe a sigh of relief. Otherwise, she feared she wouldn't even be able to sleep once she got home that night.
Even though the fright had been real, it meant she had completed her scene. When she moved on to find work on her next project, she could even use this performance to ask for a higher appearance fee.
(End of Chapter)