The Red Room Curse—A well-known Japanese urban legend states that a mysterious pop-up ad with a red background appears on people's computers. A message that says, "Do you like the red room?" pops up on the computer screen. It's said that those who see it are cursed to die in gruesome ways shortly after.
I commonly hear my classmates discussing urban legends in the classroom. I wasn't very fond of these horror stories until one of my friends stopped coming to class one day.
"Aki! Did you see the news this morning?" Kiyotaka rushed towards my seat as soon as he entered the classroom.
"Sorry, Kiyo...I was too busy...If it wasn't something important, tell me la-"
"Akira, it IS important!"
Gazing at Kiyotaka's serious eyes, I realized it was something complicated.
His gaze softened and his face turned into a sad expression, "Chihiro was found dead by his parents in his room last night...and it is a...suicide..."
"Chihiro? Suicide? That's impossible! He's such a cheerful boy and also his music show is on this Tuesday!" I couldn't believe what I had just heard.
Yet Kiyotaka's face told me that this wasn't a joke.
"So...why did Chihiro commit suicide?"
"According to what his parents told me, he didn't leave a suicide note..." sighed he, " What is even worse is that he chose the most brutal way to die...by cutting his carotid arteries wide open."
"When his parents opened the door, it was a completely red room covered with blood..."
Red room? I paused and the Red Room Curse urban legend immediately came into my mind. My eyes were wide-opened and I thought to myself—Was Chihiro involved in this?
No, no! That couldn't be right! It was just an urban legend, wasn't it?
"Kiyo, is there anything else suspicious about his death?"
"Well...I don't remember much but...the police mentioned that his computer screen turned completely red. They've asked a technician to look into it but there is nothing he can do about it."
I nodded slowly and all the signs were pointed to the Red Room Curse. There must be more behind his death.
"Aki, are you going to Chihiro's funeral? His parents would like to see us..."
"I will and send me the date after class." Kiyo gave me an OK sign and returned to his seat when our teacher entered the classroom.
I murmured to myself, "And there is something I must do first..."
"I'm home!"
As soon as I returned home, I sat in front of my computer and looked up random things on the internet.
This continued for around 30 minutes and I was getting bored. There wasn't any red pop-up message and I started to believe the urban legend was fake.
"Perhaps Chihiro committed suicide out of pressure..." I murmured as I remembered how much expectation he received from his parents, teachers, and peers.
Just when I was about to get up from my chair to grab some water, a popup came up on my screen.
At first, I thought it was just another normal ad, but I frowned at the moment I saw the popup.
"Do you like..." The text was in black and the background was a bright red. There was nothing else in the ad.
"Is this the mysterious red pop-up ad my classmates mentioned before..." My heart started to pound fast and I froze on the spot.
The next thing I did was immediately close the popup window and run to the kitchen to grab some water.
I thought to myself, "Perhaps it was just some virus and a computer scan will do..."
However, when I returned, the popup was still there.
"Do you like..."
I swiftly closed it again and did a computer scan. Yet, the popup appeared again, and this time, a voice followed it.
"Do you like..." It was a high-pitched little boy's voice. The voice seemed to echo as if someone was talking in the tunnel. I found it very annoying so I turned the volume off.
"Do you like..." "Do you like..." "Do you like..." "Do you like..." "Do you like..."
The voice kept coming back and yet, my computer was muted.
I felt goosebumps travel up my spine. I closed the popup out of fear again but it simply popped up right again.
"Do you like..." "Do you like..." "Do you like..." "Do you like..." "Do you like..."
The voice was getting louder and louder, and much more frequent.
"Do you like..." "Do you like..." "Do you like..." "Do you like..." "Do you like..."
I tried to turn off my computer by clicking the power button, but it didn't work. So I knelt down and immediately plugged off the computer but the screen was still on.
Seeing my opportunity to turn off the computer was futile, I decided to leave my room. Strangely, my door wouldn't open. I frantically pulled on the knob and the scariest part was that there wasn't any lock on the door.
"Ping!" There was a pinging noise behind me and I jumped.
When I turned to see the computer, a new popup was on my computer.
"Do you like the..." There was a new word in the message but it didn't bother me. All I wanted now was to leave my room and call my parents.
I again frantically pulled on the knob and kicked the door but it was no use. I tried to escape via the windows but they wouldn't bulge.
"Do you like the..." "Do you like the..." "Do you like the..." "Do you like the..."
The voice kept repeating and it was driving me crazy. I tried to shut my ears but the voice was echoing in my ears. I kept banging on the window, hoping someone would notice me. Yet, the street was strangely quiet and sparse.
The voice was getting even louder and the question was now in an endless loop.
"Do you like the..." "Do you like the..." "Do you like the..." "Do you like the..."
"Do you like the..." "Do you like the..." "Do you like the..." "Do you like the..."
"Do you like the red..." "Do you like the red..." "Do you like the red..." "Do you like the red..."
"Do you like the red..." "Do you like the red..." "Do you like the red..." "Do you like the red..."
The question was slowly changing, revealing its words one by one each time. Tears of frustration ran down my cheeks, and it was difficult to hear my thoughts.
I picked up my chair and smashed it onto the window, hoping to escape. I slowly noticed my room was getting darker despite a cloudless blue sky outside the window.
I kept banging on the window.
I have to escape! I have to escape! I have to—
"Do you like the red room..." "Do you like the red room..." "Do you like the red room..." "Do you like the red room..."
"Do you like the red room..." "Do you like the red room..." "Do you like the red room..." "Do you like the red room..."
"Do you like the red room..."
Red room? Yes! I love a red room! I always wanted a red room since I was a child. Yet, my room was not red and I had to make it red.
I HAVE TO FIX THAT!
I put down the chair and took a box cutter from my drawer.
Perfect.
I sliced my left-hand radial artery without hesitation. Blood spurted out from my wrist rapidly like a water fountain.
Not enough! NOT ENOUGH! I aimed the box cutter at my neck. I could feel the coldness of the metal blade.
I want more...I WANT MORE! THIS ROOM IS NOT RED ENOUGH!
Splash!
"Yesterday night, 8 Jan, a 21-year-old woman was found dead in her room. The woman cut her neck and wrist, causing excess blood loss. The police did not find any suicide notes. An investigation will be—"
Kiyotaka turned off the television. He clenched his fists, struggling with the pain and sorrow of losing two of his best friends.
"Aki...why... You would never do such a thing..."
He sighed deeply and now he had to attend two funerals in a row. He slowly went back to his room.
Kiyotaka opened his laptop and saw a strange popup on his screen.
"What is this..."
"Do you like..."
"Do you like the red room..."
"What..."
A screen full of different people's names appeared. When Kiyotaka scrolled down to the bottom, he saw two familiar names.
Chihiro Tachibana
Akira Atori
"This is—"
He then saw a very familiar name appear behind the two names.
Kiyotaka Hasegawa
His screen turned bright red and a sentence appeared.
"Do you like the red room..."
ns 15.158.61.51da2
