Seoul Object Story

The investigation team from the association was slowly approaching the huge hole under the memorial statue. No matter how much light shone to the hole from the outside, it was a huge hole where all light seemed to be consumed by something once it reached a certain depth.

The hole which was filled with thick darkness due to light could not spread out stimulated instinctive fear on the team members. They, who would normally be noisy, were keeping their mouths shut with tense expressions.

“Whew.”

The leader of the investigation team from the association headed towards the hole and let out a long sigh. Normally, the association would not act this quickly, but the reason they went against their own habit was what was found at the entrance to the hole.

A huge lump of gold.

A part of a huge pillar made of gold was found.

At first glance, it looked like a part of a huge temple or building, and if the building was made entirely of gold, it would have unimaginable value.

That stimulated the greed of the association.

Of course, the association still sent a drone before the investigation team went in, but all the drones that entered the hole lost their signals. Because of that, the investigation team was ordered to rush in immediately.

Even though their pay as a member of the investigation team was bad and they didn’t really have much work, they always ended up getting involved in something that seemed dangerous.

The leader of the investigation team thought it was not worth it and wanted to decline, but the association made an attractive offer that he couldn’t reduce.

We will tolerate the gold you collect during the investigation.

The team leader and team members who heard that offer could not refuse it and came to the place of the incident. At the entrance to the hole stood some unpleasantly muscular stone statues. The stone that made up the statues was ominously  white, and while their bodies were muscular, their faces were so hard to distinct that it made them uncomfortable.

However, those ominous stone statues did not stop them from entering the hole. The team leader carefully examined the statues and gave orders to his subordinates.

“Just stay alert and do not attack. It does not seem to be an Object that attacks people indiscriminately.”

They had been giving an order to enter even if it meant breaking the stone statues, so it was fortunate that they didn’t have to fight it.

Every Object was different. So, they always had to be careful, but there was no need to preemptively attack non-hostile Objects.

“Let’s enter.”

They firmly fixed the stake near the hole, and slowly stepped out into the mud-like darkness along the rope. The darkness rippled as if it had a physical form, engulfing the team members and the team leader.

In the meantime, the white stone statues stared blankly at the people entering, and when everyone disappeared into the darkness, it laughed so loudly that their mouths were split.

Their mouths were filled with human teeth that didn’t match their indistinct faces at all.

*********A peaceful containment room with mini-reapers eating pudding like baby birds and Reaper watching TV in my arms. However, the peace started to be shattered before long.

It started with the breaking news from the TV. There was a story about Objects appearing in the park where a terrorist incident related to a ‘Cute Puppy’ had occurred.

The death row inmate and her sister hurriedly went back after watching the news. The sister didn’t seem to want to go back, but she had no choice but to go back due to her sister’s strong insistence.

Because of that, the mini-reapers who had been waiting for pudding with their mouths wide open like baby birds were abandoned. The mini-reapers who couldn’t eat the homemade pudding collapsed on the floor with expressions as if they had failed to save the whole world.

In the meantime, just like the siblings who had suddenly left, Reaper seemed very interested in the news. Its face was expressionless as if it wasn’t interested, but its antennae were moving quite rapidly, making it obvious that it was very interested.

Were the muscular stone statues with the head of Hungry Ghost really that interesting?

It even had ears, so it’s creepy…

Reaper, who had been looking up at the sky as if thinking deeply, sudden;y disappeared.

Sigh…

Reaper ran away again.

While I was sitting on the bed feeling depressed, the Golden Reapers swarmed towards me and started patting my back and cheeks.

They climbed onto my lap and looked up at my face, clenching their fists and smiling as if telling me to cheer up.

“Thank you.”

I held the wonderful Golden Reapers in my arms and stroked them one by one. Then, I slowly tickled the chin of the smiling Golden Reapers and made a small wish.

I hope you come back soon this time.

*********I was lying on top of a giant Cloud Whale which was flying across the sky, basking in the warm sunlight.

The Cloud Whale was slowly flying toward the park that was on the news. It was much more comfortable to ride the whale instead of walking. In fact, I was curious, but it was a bit too much of a hassle to go right away. However, I decided to put my laziness aside for a moment because it seemed to have something to do with me.

First of all, the faces of the stone statues looked so much like white Hungry Ghost that I thought they might be related. Thinking about the meaningful vision I had when I got the white Hungry Ghost, I thought it might have something to do with my body. In addition, since the place where the incident occurred was where I died, I thought there might be something.

The cloud whale was fluffy and the sunlight was warm, so it felt really good. I thought it would be nice to have some kids here with me, so I called out a bunch of mini reapers from the garden.

The Golden Reapers appeared on top of the whale with both hands outstretched and looked at the sun and cheered. For some reason, the Golden Reapers liked the sunlight. They were so different from the other reapers which prefer moonlight more.

The light from a certain Golden Reaper’s body, which was exposed to sunlight, gradually grew stronger. Before long, it began to emit a light so intense that it would be difficult for ordinary people to open their eyes and look directly at it.

And just when it seemed that the light had reached its limit, the Golden Reaper shot a golden beam forward. The beam that shot out from the Golden Reaper’s chest, or precisely from its firewood, pierced the atmosphere in an instant and disappeared somewhere.

Huh?

I was so surprised and looked at the Golden reaper in my hand.

As if nothing had happened, the Golden Reaper was just smiling happily, like it thought it was nothing special.

Didn’t the Golden Reapers inherit my abilities?

Why was it able to do something that I can’t do?

How did you do that?

?

The Golden Reaper didn’t really understand what I was saying. It seemed like it was saying something like, ‘I did it because I could.’

As I was pondering with my hand on my chin, the Golden Reaper followed suit, making a serious expression.

Could I do it too?

Come to think of it, the beam the Golden Reaper just shot resembled the white fire the cult leader had shot.

I then stepped on the back of the fluffy cloud whale.. The Golden Reapers cheered with excited expressions upon seeing me do that.

As the Golden Reaper cheered as if they were having fun, the other mini Reapers followed suit. They huddled together on top of the giant whale swimming in the sky and cheered as a group.

However… I can’t shoot a beam.

Ugh…

I wanted to shoot a beam too…

*********As the investigation team went through the darkness that felt like mud, they saw an ordinary-looking tunnel. On the ground, they could see the  drones sent by the association.

“The radio isn’t working.”

The leader of the Object investigation team from the association tried to give instructions to the team members through the radio, but when it didn’t work, he gave instructions loudly.

“SInce it might be a troublesome environment like a steel tower, check your equipment thoroughly.”

After everyone finished checking, the investigation team was able to figure out that the radio was the only one that wasn’t working.

“I’ll take the lead, we’ll slowly go down in the designated formation.”

The stairs were carved out of the solid ground, and the air was more pleasant than expected.

The passage was also longer than expected. Because of that, the leader of the investigation team thought that the investigation would take longer than expected. After passing through the passage that seemed like it would never end, what appeared was a cliff where the ground couldn’t be seen anymore as if it had been cut off.

And below, they could see an exotic city.

Since nothing had happened on the way, the team members who had relaxed began to become a little noisy. As the noisy and sloppy atmosphere returned, the team leader finally felt something familiar. The investigation team belonging to the association should be like this.

“Team leader, that’s gold, isn’t it?”

When he looked at the place where his team member pointed to, he saw a house made of brick-shaped gold. He had to be closer to check the details, but from where he stood, it looked like gold.

Thank goodness. We can finish the investigation by recovering the gold there.

“Everyone, be quiet. Let’s hurry and recover the sample and go back.”

As the team members who were excited by the sight of the gold became increasingly noisy, the team leader made them quiet and slowly started to go down the stairs. As they went down the stairs along the cliff, the strangeness of the city became more noticeable.

“Woah. That is a store that disappeared a year ago. So, it’s here, huh?”

No way?

Sensing something meaningful in the information contained in the team member’s words, the team leader asked a question.

“Have you seen this street before?”

“Yes, it’s not exactly the same, but it seems to be a copy of the Yongsan-gu street from a year ago. It looks like an area near the ‘Seoul Research Institute’.”

As they went further, they saw a road sign written in Korean.

< Welcome to Yongsan-gu. >

Countless buildings that looked like modern buildings cut and pasted together, with a lot of life left behind. And among those buildings, there were buildings that didn’t fit with the modern era at all. They were houses made of white stone that gave off an old-fashioned vibe.

It was a city where fantasy buildings and modern buildings were haphazardly mixed together. Whether it was buildings from Yongsan-gu or fantasy buildings, the sense of life was deeply embedded in them, giving off an eerie feeling. It was as if the people who had been living there had evaporated in an instant.

“This is an unpleasant Object. We should retrieve the gold as quickly as possible and go back.”

The investigation team started to run towards their destination as fast as they could, keeping a close eye on all sides.

“Team Leader! There’s something.”

“Stop!”

At the team members’ surprised words, the team leader stopped moving forward while the team members gathered in a circle to slowly look around. When the sound of the investigation team’s footsteps stopped, the city fell into a quiet silence again.

There were no humans, no animals, no insects.

And then, something white could be seen behind a small building that could be found anywhere in Seoul.

A stone statue with an insignificant face poked its head out and stared at the investigation team.

“Sigh…”

Upon seeing the face, the investigation team all let out a sigh.

“I thought my heart was going to drop.”

“I was scared for nothing.”

In the midst of the commotion, the team leader felt strangely uncomfortable with the stone statue. Not only it looked threatening because of its muscle, the unpleasant-inducing face was even worse.

Step-! Step-!

In the end, after a long walk, the investigation team was able to arrive in front of the golden building.

“Team leader. Can we just leave that alone?”

The white stone statue with a faint smile was hiding behind the building, sticking its head out, where the team member pointed.

“It’s better not to touch any Object rashly.”

The team leader thought that coming into a place like this was tantamount to disturbing it, but since he had accepted the association’s offer, there was nothing he could do.

“Let’s just collect a sample and go back.”

At the team leader’s order, the team member who had brought a backpack for collecting samples took a picture, cut off a portion of the gold with a special tool, and put it in the backpack.

“Team leader, can we also collect the gold?”

“Don’t forget to take the rope when you go back.”

Everyone was hoping to make a fortune, and since they had accepted this dangerous mission, it was natural that they thought about the reward.

The team leader also collected a lot of gold bricks and looked around.

It’s gone.

The stone statue that had been staring at the investigation team had disappeared.

When that persistent gaze disappeared, he felt a little better.

“Let’s go back now.”

The moment the team leader said that, something white suddenly came down from the golden house and ripped off the head of one of the team members.

“Waaaaaaah!”

However, unlike the other stone statues, what attacked them was a white stone statue with its short neck stretched out.

The white stone statue was looking down at the investigation team with its teeth exposed into a bloody and bright smile.

The startled investigation team fired their rifles at the stone statue, but the bullets bounced off without leaving a single scratch.

Tak-! Tak-! Tak-!

The white stone statue looked down, its large teeth clicking as if it was laughing.

“Everyone, run!”

At the team leader’s command, everyone scattered and started running.

While running, the team leader hid behind the wall to catch his breath.

We can’t just run away. We have to wait for an opening.

They simply had no way to run away from a monster who had no sound of movement and was capable of climbing to the roof in the blink of an eye. Since it was gentle normally, it was possible that it would lose its aggression after enough time.

The gold that seemed to be the trigger for its aggression had already been abandoned long ago. In the city that was normally quiet, the sound of busy footsteps and screams could be heard.

After the ninth screaming, the team leader slowly stood up from his seat.

All the team members were dead.

Now, he just needed to move slowly.

The team leader, who closed his eyes and tried to calm his mind by taking small breaths as much as possible, opened his eyes. However, what he saw startled him.

The monster he never wanted to see was right in front of him.

The monster, dripping blood from its mouth like saliva, smiled brightly as if it was happy.

I should have quit the investigation team a long time ago…

The investigation team leader tightly closed his eyes again.