Seoul Object Story

Inside a laboratory filled with state of the art tools, a large tank filled with viscous black slime sat menacingly. The heavy and unpleasant smell of the black slime seeped into the air, creating an ominous atmosphere.

Inside that horrible liquid, the director of the third Trinity Research Institute stood still. His body was full of torn and pierced wounds, while his inside was full of black and rotten organs.

The wounds, which made it easy to see inside the director, were gradually being filled by the black liquid in the tank which was voraciously sucked into him. Once all his wounds were healed and he climbed up from the tank, his face was plastered with an expression full of solemn determination.

“With this much preparation, I should be able to deal with the Gray Reaper without difficulty.”

It was a self-talk full of determination, as if reinforcing his own resolve.

Once the director started to move, he left a trail of black slime on his wake.

Step-! Step-! Step-!

Footprints were trailing behind him, as if it was following him.

However, the shape of the footprint was anything but ordinary. Instead of footprints in the shape of human feet, the footprints looked as if a mass of twisted tentacles had stepped on the floor.

Every time the director took a step, a creepy pattern was imprinted on the floor, giving an eerie atmosphere that was a mix of reality and fantasy.

Before long, the director left the room filled with the smell of petroleum.

Inside the room the director left behind, lots of bizarre marks scarred the floor and walls. It was traces that seem to have twisted around as if it had lived of their own.

A trace of something which had deteriorated even though it was fundamentally human being.

The traces seemed to indicate that the forbidden threshold between humans and Objects as well as reality and fantasy had been crossed.

*******Wow, it was more crowded than expected!

When I visited the sinkhole in Songpa-gu, a place where entry used to be strictly regulated, it was crowded with people.

The area near the sinkhole in Songpa-gu used to be a boring place with only a lot of soldiers walking around, but now, it had turned into a fun place.

After hearing news about lots of people who were interested in me gathering in the sinkhole in Songpa-gu through the TV in my containment room, I secretly leave Sehee Research Institute to collect some firewood and have fun before visiting the Trinity Research Institute.

Perhaps the Sehee Research Institute was currently looking for me?

Hihihi!

Although it was said that the area was dangerous because Objects crawl out from the sinkhole from time to time, the number of soldiers standing on guard was dwarfed by the numbers of tourists.

Because of the gathered crowd, the area was so full of emotions.

There was a lot of positive energy like goodwill and awe around.

The place where the tourists were heading was the only facility near the sinkhole where civilians could enter.

It was < Songpa-gu Gray Reaper Memorial Hall >

According to the TV in my containment room, the establishment of the memorial hall was said to have faced tremendous opposition. But the government had choice but to establish it in the end.

The TV said that there were so many people getting into accidents while sneaking into the sinkhole where the ‘Gray Reaper’ fought which was heavily guarded by soldiers. But is that really true?

I slowly walked forward while having a few questions in my mind.

Plop-! Plop-!

I passed the long line of tourists with my ghost form and entered the memorial hall.

The moment I entered the lobby of the Gray Reaper Memorial Hall, I was impressed by the fountain that welcomed me.

After all, It was rare for a person or an Object to be able to see their own image carved into a stone and have a stream of water gently falling along the outline.

The sound of splashing water and a soft melody filled the space with tranquility.

As I stood there in a daze, as if I had become a statue for some reason, I heard a high pitch sound of a coin hitting the concrete.

Clink-!

When I turned my head to the direction where the sound came from, I saw a man standing in front of the fountain. His eyes were closed and his expression was serious and full with reverence, as if he was praying.

Was this statue being treated like some kind of lucky fountain?

That was usually the case with fountains that had coins thrown into it by people.

At that time, emotions began to flood to me from the person who was praying.

Worship.

It was a mixture of a weak worship and a longing for a saviour who would relieve his frustration and reality of life.

At that time, I heard a conversation that did not fit the atmosphere from the corner of the memorial hall. It came from the quiet chatter of two soldiers who were standing guard with their guns held upright.

“Seriously. The world has gone crazy.”

It was a voice so small that it was difficult for humans to hear it because of the sound of water from the fountain and surrounding noise.

“Even now, Objects continue to appear from that sinkhole at least once a week. To think this memorial hall is praising an Object…”

“Well, isn’t it more convenient to have a memorial hall like this? Before, we saw at least one guy die every month after lots of people crossed the blockade. But these days, there aren’t any.”

To the grumbling soldier, another soldier added an opposing opinion from a practical perspective.

“Haaaa, that’s good and all. But, there’s something unusual about the atmosphere these days. The entrance fee of this place is over 100,000 won, I don’t understand why there are so many people coming. Just like Yangcheon-gu Lake, perhaps the Gray Reaper is capable of corrupting minds?”

“Wouldn’t that be revealed soon? I heard that Trinity is going to analyze the ‘Gray Reaper.’ Trinity is trustworthy.”

“I hoped they would find something.”

With that, the conversation between the two soldiers ended.

Trinity's name suddenly popped out and really piqued my interest.

The news that I was going to Trinity had spread wider than I thought.

Trinity was famous, and I, as a special grader Object, was also famous, so it seemed like a synergy had occurred.

Perhaps that's why people were even more looking forward to my visit to Trinity Research Institute.

As I passed the gentle sound of water in the fountain and went deeper into the memorial hall, I saw an exhibit with a lot of people gathered around it.

The exhibit was displaying something that looked as if part of the ground had been cut out and solidified.

At first glance, it looked like the fossil footprint of a dinosaur. However, when I got closer and read the sign, what was written was something which was completely unexpected and absurd.

< footprints="" of="" the="" gray="" reaper="">

It was an exhibit that displayed a hardened mud that had my footprints on it.

While I was puzzled by the small footprints, I could hear part of the audience's conversation.

“Could it be that is… The footprint when the Gray Reaper clapped its hands and stepped on the ground with its feet?”

“Looking at the sign, I guess that’s really the one?”

Numerous visitors were posing for pictures with my footprints, which were forcibly made into fossils, in the background.

Noisy conversations and camera shutter sounds from people who enjoy looking at my footprints.

It's nice to have a lot of firewood, but I couldn’t help but feel strange.

With that in mind, I left the Gray Reaper Memorial Hall.

*******On Cookie Island floating on the sea of hot chocolate deep inside the Mini Reaper Garden, a secret exchange of information was taking place between the Golden Reapers and the Blue Reapers.

Even though they couldn’t explain it with words, the way they explained with hand and foot gestures was somewhat clumsy and cute, like kindergarteners doing a school art show.

In fact, the short-thinking Golden Reaper's body language alone was not enough, but the ability to feel the emotions that they inherited from Gray Reaper made up for it.

The Golden Reapers, shining like the morning sun, played the role of storytellers. Their gestures and vivid emotions depicted a mysterious adventure.

The Blue Reapers' eyes were wide open with curiosity, it shone brightly behind their shabby hats.

With both of their hands outstretched, the Golden Reapers describe a fight they had with a large Object.

They were teaching the youngest, the Blue Reapers, many things while describing how they danced happily while jumping up and down.

The movements of the Golden Reapers expressed their experiences in a fascinating way as they moved as if they were dancing.

The Golden Reapers then looked around. After that, they told one important story in a more cautious manner.

It was a story about their creator, the Gray Reaper.

A story about the evil pranks it pulled against them using a black slime full of malice towards humanity.

They send a feeling of warning that even the youngest Blue Reaper should heed.

However, the Blue Reapers couldn't erase their suspicion at first.

It was like the stubborn expression of a child saying, Mom will not do that!

However, the feeling that the Golden Reapers sent was filled with truth. Therefore, the Blue Reaper’s feelings gradually began to change, and eventually the Blue Reapers came to completely believe it.

At that time, a spark of inspiration burned among the mini reapers.

The mini reapers began to plan and coordinate a fun prank.

There was a sense of playful intrigue as the mini reapers discussed their thoughts together.

*******The atmosphere in front of the main gate of Sehee Research Institute early in the morning, when the afterglow of the night had not yet subsided, was quite tense, perhaps because of the tense Trinity employees.

The people from Sehee Research Institute were lined up with slightly anxious expressions on their faces.

On the other side, Trinity Research Institute personnel that were wearing heavily armed protective suits were standing with stony expressions.

The contrast between the atmosphere of the two groups and their attire reminded me of the time when I was transferred to the Central Research Institute.

However, unlike the protective clothing of guys from the central research institute, the strong odor of black slime could be felt from the protective clothing that personnel from Trinity were wearing.

As expected, Trinity Research Institute seemed to be the producer of those black smelly liquid.

Black slime, huh?

For some reason, I get the feeling that there will come a moment when I ‘mistakenly’ summoned the Golden Reaper into it.

Hihihi.

The corner of my mouth curled up as I walked toward the Trinity Research Institute vehicle.