As soon as we entered the guesthouse, we were directed by the young employee to a large room on the first floor, which she called the 'grand salon', where a dark brown parquet floor was covered in places by thick rugs in red and black tones with classic floral and foliage patterns.
Two large black velvet sofas, accompanied by wide, imposing armchairs with scroll-shaped arms, occupied the right side of the room; a large dining table surrounded by several chairs situated on the left side.
The wall behind the sofas was covered by a bookcase filled with books to die for, and the opposite wall was pierced to open onto a wooden counter and a kitchen with a shiny gray stone countertop.
Gold-colored metal wall lights - perhaps made of chrome or pewter - provided warm, reassuring light through round, open-topped glass lamps - like jars with a light bulb in them, but more refined.
In front of us was a huge bay window that took up the entire front, with wooden panels topped by large panes of glass that could be slid to the right or left to open the room to the outside at one's convenience.
The very wide viewing area thus created provided a breathtaking view of the ornamental garden, whose pond intermittently reflected with its surface twisted and undulating lines of light on the wood and glass of the building; a sign that the weather seemed to be getting cloudy.
Beyond the garden, behind a large maple and a ginkgo tree still very green, the surrounding forest was timidly regaining its rights; the hill on which we were standing dropping steeply to the Midori lake located below.
Not much could be seen on the first floor, the attention being entirely taken up by the garden and its miniature landscape; but I was sure that the rooms on both floors allowed an absolutely clear view of the jade-colored lake and its rich green setting, each color more refreshing than the other.
However, a man quickly pulled a long curtain across the room, blocking the long bay window to the outside. No more forest, garden or pond: just a pattern of red, yellow and gray ferns matching the carpets, printed on a rather thick fabric.
This interruption of my field of vision as well as of my thoughts made me realize that several people were already present in the room.
"Well, we're going to start the first production meeting," said a man in jeans, a sports team t-shirt, and a black cap on his head.
There is no doubt that he was Mr. Sakai Jirou, the producer of the show.
And already, his stern look was pointed at Mr. Nakatsuki and myself.
"We haven't even started filming yet and there' s already trouble," complained Mr. Sakai.
I didn't know how - perhaps someone had informed him quickly before we arrived - but he was obviously aware that one of his important guests was not present.
"Our apologies," bowed Mr. Nakatsuki. "Osagawa-sensei had a problem on his way there, and we're going to..."
"Ah, never mind!" The producer swept his hand away in annoyance. "Why am I still bothering with this stuff..."
A member of the production team then asked us to settle down while Mr. Sakai was busy plugging in an overhead projector on the dining table; hence Mr. Nakatsuki and I took seats on extra chairs brought from another room, while several people had already sat on the two sofas and four armchairs available.
On one of the sofas was a young man with medium-length black hair and a look emphasized by a very discreet make-up; his rather casual posture associated with urban style clothes from big brands revealed a person who followed the fashions and took care of his appearance daily. I suspected that it was this singer among the guests.
Beside him stood a woman dressed in a thin light blue sweater and a pair of black pants that fit her like a glove, and her posture was equally relaxed; her long hair styled on the side falling over her left shoulder. She glided her manicured fingers with brightly colored nails over the screen of her cell phone, oblivious to what might be going on around her.
On the other couch was a rather elderly man, his hair slightly gray on his temples and neck. He was dressed in a thick yellow kimono with cart and wave patterns, the bottom of which disappeared into black hakama pants. He wore a dark gray haori over it, the jacket's discreet patterns appearing in a reflection of silk fibers with every movement he made.
The young employee who had come to meet us earlier sat down beside him, and I realized that he was probably the owner of the guesthouse.
I heard a distant rumbling sound that must have come from outside, which made me think that the weather was getting worse. Thunderstorms and rain were becoming more frequent in late summer. I just didn't expect to be in bad weather one more time, and once again on a business trip. It was a bit disappointing, this bad weather, in such a nice place.
As if to call me to order, someone turned off the lights in the room, which made it impossible for me to discern the other people sitting in the armchairs or standing just behind them. I could tell from the phone screen that was still on in the dark that the young social network influencer was very close to us, sitting in one of the big chairs and getting very restless.
"Well, I'm going to take a quick tour of the project, just to refresh your memory," began Mr. Sakai.
He pressed a button on a small remote control in his hand, and a slide appeared in a square of light, projected against the wall.
It showed a picture of the boarding house we were in.
"Our show is a special edition of 'Survive the night', where our guests spend a whole night in an unusual place, while trying to stay as long as possible," the producer explained. "Of course, what the audience doesn't see is that the footage is filmed over several days, and some of your reactions are scripted, some are not."
This... Wasn't at all the kind of show I watched on television. I hardly ever paid attention to what my screen was showing when I turned it on...
He pressed the remote again, images of the garden and the interior of the building appearing on the wall.
"Basically, the audience is interested in the atmosphere of the place, and the possible gossip that the guests will let out on this occasion," he continued, pointing his remote control at the pictures. "Each guest will have their own room on the floors, as well as some of the production team. Each room, as well as the hallways and stairwells, will be equipped with night vision video cameras to capture multiple angles simultaneously. We'll set them up tomorrow morning, to begin night filming tomorrow night, for a total of five days."
"So we're going to be filmed non-stop starting tomorrow morning?" Asked a man.
The voice came from my left, and I knew it was the young man in the casual outfit.
"Only on the upper floors," Mr. Sakai quickly corrected. "Today and the following days, we'll be filming some daytime footage in the garden and in the large living room where we are. We'll be talking about the topics that your agents have told us to promote, but also about your feelings about the place we're in. Which brings me to my next point."
He pressed the small remote again, and this time screenshots appeared.
They were various, from online articles, social media posts, or even strange websites with an all-black background where the text was white and red.
"For those of you unfamiliar with the show, the premise is that the guests are for one night - in the eyes of the viewers - in an unusual and eerie place. And knowing that we're coming up on our 100th issue, we've specially chosen this location, as well as you, our guests."
Once again, I had trouble understanding why Master Osagawa could be chosen for such a program. I also wondered what connection there could be between this place and the other guests.
Mr. Sakai then approached the image projected on the wall, the pictures sliding on his body as he passed in front of this improvised screen. Then, putting his hand on the screenshot of the completely black website, he added:
"You will spend the next few nights in this guesthouse that is supposedly haunted." He said calmly.
Ah, so that was what Mr. Nakatsuki had told me about. The famous 'paranormal' element of this show.
I didn't believe in ghosts. However, I was still curious to know what was supposed to haunt the place. I was about to find out.
"The owner, Yazawa-san here, doesn't believe in this story at all," explained Mr. Sakai, pointing to the sofas in the semi-darkness. "But as you can see, many people on the net have testified to seeing something terrifying, and that was every time they were in the bedrooms overlooking the garden."
Did the owner really agree to a filming in his establishment, despite the fact that he didn't believe in it? It was probably too good an advertisement from the TV station for him to refuse.
I was also puzzled. Wasn't all this 'testimony' the producer was showing us just a bad joke or a fad?
After all, people could see what they wanted. If they were expecting to see something, they were more than likely to end up seeing what they were looking for, even if it was just an illusion.
I wasn't really convinced by this story. Even though I had met the person called Hiraoka Misato.
The image projected on the wall changed one last time, to show a single picture.
Mr. Sakai was smiling like a devil, and while looking at the picture, he said:
"Now I'll introduce you to our last guest," he announced without giving us a single glance.
The last guest?
All I could see was a poorly framed photo taken in the dark.
The wooden frame of a large window was visible, as well as the darkened forest outside. It looked like it was taken from a high place, judging by the angle of the shot.
I didn't really see what was going on in there, until the woman in the blue sweater sitting on the couch quickly said something that caught the attention of many in the room.
"So, he really showed up..."
Mr. Sakai smiled with all his teeth as he turned fully towards us; part of the image sliding across his face.
"I knew you' d be the first one to figure it out, Noel-san," he said mischievously.
Figure out what?
I was a little frustrated that I didn't know what to look for. What exactly were we supposed to see?
To show anyone who hadn't yet grasped the meaning of the photo, Mr. Sakai then put his index finger on a very specific point on the photo.
Just at the edge of the window frame, there was an area even darker than the others and that I had not noticed until now. And the more I looked at it, the more it seemed to outline a sinister human silhouette.
I heard a nervous hiccup coming from the young employee of the boarding house. And I understood her, deep down. This picture didn't make sense.
It had obviously been taken on one of the floors, and someone was standing outside, even though there was no balcony. This strange smudge was floating in the air.
However, I would not be swayed to see things that did not exist. To me, it was just a stain, and nothing else.
This disbelief, Mr. Sakai was fully aware of it. And to complete his little presentation, he said one last thing.
"I present to you the ghost of the Onyu guesthouse."