Seoul Object Story

Through my blurry vision, a completely unfamiliar scene was happening. I instinctively realized that I was in a dream, but it was a bit too strange to be a dream.

In the dream world, the time was a complete mess with no distinction between forward and backward, and it flowed at a speed which was 1,000 times faster than normal. Moreover, I couldn’t tell where I was and whether I was lying down or standing.

I felt like I was drifting along in the wind with a faint consciousness.

The world I saw in my dream felt like an ocean filled with wishes, hopes, and cherished dreams. In this chaotic world, only the sky was always the same.

In my dream, I was looking up at the sky.

I want to fly.

I could do anything, but I couldn’t fly.

Even though I wanted to fly, too many things were holding me to the ground. Resentment, desire, hope, and despair.

To me who was in such a state, a wish came.

[ A god who grants all wishes is like a disaster. ]

[ I wish there were no gods. ]

In my dream, I had a faint consciousness, but somehow that wish remained in my memory.

*********I woke up from a strange dream and saw the containment room I always saw whenever I opened my eyes. It was a dark and cozy containment room that I liked.

I took the mini-reapers that were stuck to my face and put them on the bed before I sat up. Near the ceiling of the containment room, I could see Orange Reapers floating around.

The reason I had that strange dream must have been because of those kids.

Since I felt a little upset I grabbed one of the Orange Reapers and tickled it.

The Orange Reapers were sensitive as it always hid itself in something which looked like a cotton ball, so it twisted much more than the Golden Reaper while being tickled.

I wasn’t this jealous of the Blue Reapers who flew around on a broom, but I was strangely jealous of the Orange Reapers.

Was it because it could fly without the help of anything?

As I kept tickling the Orange Reaper, I felt something strange.

It seemed much softer than the Golden Reaper…

Don’t tell me…

As I dug around the cotton ball around the Orange Reaper which was still ticklish, the Orange Reaper laughed but kept trying to hide its body with its hair.

Even though I was met by many obstacles, such as items from the containment room which was constantly falling over perhaps due to the Orange Reaper’s ability, eventually I was able to pull the Orange Reaper’s body out of its hair.

The body of the Orange Reaper that was revealed looked a little different from the other mini reapers.

It was a little taller than the Golden Reaper.

And it had a better body.

Except for a small difference that make it looked lie a fairy, it had much curvier body than me, its mother.

Why do you only have things that I don’t have?!

I kept tickling the annoying Orange Reaper until the morning sun rose.

*********Numerous Trinity vehicles were parked in a certain village located in Odae mountain.

The Director of Trinity Second Research Institute was standing at the highest point in the village, looking down at the entire village.

He had come to the village to check it himself after finding out that the Director of the first Trinity Research Institute Director was messing around somewhere.

He had come to the village because he was worried that there might be something dangerous left behind by the Director of the First Trinity Research Institute, but the village didn’t seem to have any problems except for the fact that it was completely destroyed here and there.

“Whew, it’s really fortunate. If the Director of the Trinity First Research Institute had left something in the village and it caused an incident, it would have been a headache.”

In fact, he gained something from coming to the village. There were piles of expensive alloy bulkheads built to contain all the Objects near the village.

When he checked the ledger, he found that they were equipment taken out from the Trinity First Research Institute.

“By the way, how did this village survive this long? They didn’t have any communication with the outside world, and they didn’t even farm.”

The man who seemed to be the secretary answered while handing over the report to the director.

“We only received absurd testimonies until now, so the exact cause is still being investigated.”

“Absurd testimonies? What kind of testimonies were they?”

After clearing his throat, the secretary answered.

“They say that there was plenty of food in the forest. They say that wild animals would suddenly collapse while they were there.”

“That’s definitely an absurd testimony. But, it only makes it more credible. Is it the doing of an Object?”

The secretary answered while turning over a few more pages of the report.

“The residents say it’s the ‘protection of the Orange Roon.’ They say that good things always happen and that they never go hungry.”

The director took the report from the secretary and began to read it.

“It’s similar.”

After looking over the report, the director thought that the ‘protection of the Orange Moon’ was quite similar to the abilities of the Gray Reaper.

Under the protection, fruits would fall on their way, and animals would suddenly die by tripping on rocks. It was very similar to how the Gray Reaper caused sinkholes and guided animals to their death.

The Gray Reaper only guided something to its destruction or death, but the orange moon seemed to have twisted the odds in a more favorable direction.

The village where the Cloud Fishes lived.

The Cloud Fishes that appeared in Sehee Research Institute.

And the Orange Moon with abilities similar to the Gray Reaper.

The director of Trinity Second Research Institute somehow felt that it wasn’t a coincidence.

“Anyway, we should move the old people in this village to Seoul. Since the Orange Moon is gone, they’ll probably die a horrible death from an Object if they continue to live here.”

The director said so, handed the report to his secretary, and walked to his car.

*********While Kim Jungrwi sunbae left, I quickly ran away to Reaper’s containment room.

In the containment room that always had a comfortable atmosphere, Reaper was stuck to the bed, looking somewhat gloomy.

I held Reaper, who seemed to have lost its enthusiasm and became one with the bed, in my arms and fed it some pudding little by little.

Om nom nom-!

Reaper was eating the pudding, while I ate Reaper’s antennae, forming a symbiotic relationship.

After disappearing with the Cloud Whale, it came back and looked a bit sullen. Is something wrong with it?

On the TV, news about  the cult that had been gaining popularity recently kept playing.

No matter how much I listened to it, I found it really absurd. So, how can so many people believe in it?

It’s not just in our country, it’s spreading in countries all over the world, so it was really strange since travelling overseas was simply difficult.

“I guess it’s related to Object?”

Even though Reaper was just eating the pudding as if he wasn’t interested, judging from the direction of its antennae inside my mouth, it definitely seemed interested.

The story about that cult was quite famous. After all, it was first introduced by saying that it could make those who couldn’t walk walk, and those who couldn’t see see.

I thought it was absurd, but since there were so many Objects in this world, a part of my mind thought it might be possible.

Is that why it’s so popular?

Well, it’s better than a cult that said everyone should commit suicide together because the end is coming, but I was not sure how long that cult would last.

Judging from the interest that Reaper showed, it would probably disappear sooner than later.

While I was spending a peaceful afternoon by watchin the Tv with the Reaper, the door to the containment room opened and Sehee unnie came running in.

Sehee looked like she had run away from something.

“Sehee Unnie? What’s going on?”

Following Sehee Unnie, Seoah unnie also entered the room.

“Director Lee Sehee! Just what is this!?”

Seoah unnie was angry. Angrier than normal

With that level of anger, could it be that Sehee unnie embezzled the funds again?

I glanced at the paper that Seoah unnie was waving, and for a split second, I could see the contents.

It seemed to be a document related to land purchase, so it seemed to be about moving or expanding the Sehee Research Institute.

“Who would buy land for several times the market price just to build a Gray Reaper theme park? It would take 20 years to finish the construction with our research institute’s revenue!”

“We can just take out a loan and build it! The Gray Reaper is popular, so we’ll be able to pay it off quickly!”

Seoah Unnie sighed at Sehee unnie’s answer, rubbing her temples.

If this continues, wouldn’t the research institute get a red card?

I felt uneasy for some reason.

*********The paper the association employee handed over had the symbol of a popular cult on it. And underneath the symbol were a bunch of cautions and its promotion methods.

When Rachel received the paper, she felt her tension melt away.

So they are not here to catch the Golden Reaper, huh?

The association employee, who looked very tired, put the leaflet in Rachel’s hand and said.

“There have been a lot of missing people around here recently, so we’re distributing the list of missing people and cautionary notes.”

The association employee checked something while handing over the report, and then said in a stern tone.

“There are often people who go out to find cults themselves, saying they’ll bring back missing people, but please don’t do that, because it’s extremely dangerous.”

The association employee added quietly that most of the people who went out to find them ended up missing.

“Then, thank you for your cooperation, Miss Rachel.”

The association employee gave a brief goodbye and slowly left.

Creak-!

As the front door closed, Rachel suddenly felt anxious.

Mom and dad haven’t fallen prey to the cult, right?

Rachel held her cell phone in her hand, thinking of her parents who lived in a city not too far away. She thought that it would never happen, but her anxious expression did not change.

The Golden Reaper, who had disappeared, suddenly appeared on Rachel’s shoulder and patted her cheek. Then, it spread its small palm wide and made a sad expression.

Don’t be anxious, I’m here!

The Golden Reaper didn’t say a word, not even letting a sound out, but Rachel felt as if the Golden Reaper had just said something like that.

Rachel waited for her parents to answer the phone while petting the Golden Reaper, saying, ‘Thank you.’

However, no matter how many times she called, it kept going to the answering machine.