Seoul Object Story

Chapter 20: Black Butterfly (1)

The beautiful sound of the piano continued to resonate in the newly prepared isolation room for the lizard.

It was always fun to watch the small lizard enthusiastically clapping and playing the piano.

I applauded the lizard's wonderful performance.

The lizard's performance had a charm that naturally made one want to clap, So, if we rent a square somewhere and have a lizard perform, wouldn't it instantly satisfy the lizard's condition of [receiving a standing ovation from ten thousand people simultaneously]?

As the lizard came out of the isolated room and entered my isolation room, the faint sound of the TV and a sleeping kitten snoring softly greeted me.

In that incident, I was able to obtain 2 Object friends.

I was glad it was not just 1.

It would have been a little sad if the lizard had not been revived here, considering how hard I had found it.

The TV was currently reporting on the latest hot issue.

[The head of the National Object Management Association, Oh Mu-ryong, who was accused of bribery, has not been attending the summons due to his age and illness...]

A small ball shot by the detective had caused quite a commotion.

The corruption scandal at the Central Research Institute and the National Object Management Association.

I didn't really care much, but I was checking the news with interest because I heard something intriguing.

The terrorist incident a year ago.

It was revealed that the mastermind behind the Seoul Research Institute terror incident was this 'Object Management Association'.

At the time, the 'cute puppy' was an Object that was 'profitable' enough for anyone to want to have.

The director of the Seoul Research Institute at the time stubbornly refused to pay bribes, and ended up falling out of favor with the Association, leading to the terror attack, public backlash, and his own disappearance, ultimately resulting in the 'cute puppy' being managed by the Association side.

And the Association made a lot of money by exploiting that puppy.

In a way, you could say they were the enemies of my human self.

But they were collapsing on their own without me needing to take revenge.

Privatization of the Central Research Institute.

Intentional proliferation of private Research Institutes.

Selling Objects for money.

Embezzling support funds for high-risk Object isolation.

So much corruption was uncovered that it was a foregone conclusion that the Association would collapse.

Would such a big case just drag on in court and fizzle out, even in a country that's falling apart?

Unlikely.

***

As I opened my eyes at the poking sensation on my cheek, Yerin greeted me brightly, "Hello, Reaper!"

I couldn't help but return the greeting with a frown.

Seeing my frown, Yerin cupped my cheek and said, "What's wrong?"

Something was wrong. A big thing.

There was a small black butterfly on Yerin's shoulder - It was the same scary butterfly from the Central Research Institute.

As I tapped the butterfly on her shoulder with my palm, it fluttered away.

"What? What's really going on?"

As I lightly touched Yerin's shoulder, she smiled and patted my back.

I had to destroy the dangerous creature, but the condition for destruction still seemed difficult to resolve immediately.

[Destroy the black mirror.]

It didn't seem like a coincidence that Yerin was carrying the black butterfly from the Central Research Institute.

Ignoring Yerin's invitation to watch TV together, I went outside the isolation room, and the scene I had expected greeted me.

Fluttering black butterflies were swarming the corridors of the Research Institute.

***

The atmosphere at the Research Institute has been good lately.

Why, you ask? It's because Reaper has been cheering on the people every morning.

Standing at the front gate with a stern and solemn expression, the Reaper would pat the people passing through the gate to encourage them.

It was like a source of energy for the commute.

Some people got one pat, many got up to five, but the criteria were still unclear.

"I'm bored."

But once the morning hours passed, the gray Reaper would disappear somewhere.

As a result, I couldn't even watch TV with Reaper, just continuous work...

Of course, it's better than the security team searching for Reaper every time it disappears.

Where on earth did it go?

"..."

"If you're that bored, there will be a visitor coming for a tour in a little bit, so go and give them a tour."

As I was struggling with boredom, Senior Kim Jungroo threw me a task. If I had known, I would have taken my time with the work.

While waiting for the visitor who was supposed to come for the tour, I was standing in the lobby of the Research Institute, killing time, when I started to hear strange sounds.

The sound of a whip being swung? The sound of the wind being sliced without a break came from the entrance of the Research Institute.

"Hey, is that a crazy person?"

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"I feel like I've seen that person before? Who was it again?"

Along with the murmuring voices, people's gazes turned towards the entrance.

And the sound of cutting through the wind kept getting louder.

'What is that person doing?'

Once the person through the front door came into view, all the sounds and commotion made sense.

A madman has appeared!

A man dressed in a neat yellow suit was holding a whip-like double-edged sword and continuously hitting himself.

"Researcher Oh-Yerin? Are you here?"

The man with a calm expression started looking for Yerin.

Absolutely not, absolutely not! I didn't want to acknowledge him, but since it's work, I had no choice but to respond.

As I stepped forward and said 'I'm Oh-Yerin,' the man returned a polite greeting, saying 'Hello.' It was a very polite greeting, not at all burdensome.

If only the annoying fly swatter wasn't there.

"Uh... Well..."

"Haha. You don't have to worry about the fly swatter."

No matter how hard I tried to divert my thoughts, I couldn't help but be nervous, but I stubbornly ignored it and continued the conversation.

"... You said you made a tour reservation?"

"Actually, I did make a tour reservation, but that's not my real purpose."

"Huh?"

"I've sent several cooperation requests regarding the incident, but no matter how many I sent, there was no response, so I had to come here and excuse myself."

The man who bowed his head said with a serious expression,

"The gray Reaper is necessary to solve the case. Can you cooperate with me?"

I was so distracted by the fly swatter that I didn't realize, but now I see, this person is a celebrity.

He was the famous 'Yellow Detective.'

Why did I ignore the cooperation request of such a famous person? Was it sister Sehee? Or did she not check the email again?

As I was thinking that I should take the detective to the director's office since this cooperation request should be handled by Sehee unnie, a loud thud suddenly echoed.

Something had struck the detective's back, knocking him down.

Behind the fallen detective was the gray Reaper, mercilessly kicking the fallen detective.

***

The situation was serious.

There were plenty of black butterflies from the Songpa sinkhole to the research complex.

Unlike the man who died at the Central Research Institute, I didn't see anyone with butterflies swarming them, but as an Object without clairvoyance, there were surely victims somewhere.

No matter how much I looked from high up, there was no place where the butterflies were particularly abundant or where they seemed to be flowing out from.

After doing the morning disinfection activities at the Sehee Research Institute, I wandered around until evening, trying to find the source of the butterflies, but I couldn't find the source at all.

'Maybe it's there?'

In fact, there was a place I suspected.

The deep sinkhole that Lophiomus was sucked into.

I felt the cause of the butterflies might be there.

The problem was that searching that vast area was not something that could be done in a day or two.

Moreover, I was not even certain that I could find it.

I couldn't find it even when I was at the Central Research Institute, so how could I find it now? It's an unrealistic move.

When I returned to the Sehee Research Institute early today to rest, it had become a mess.

The swarm of black butterflies that I had gradually driven away had gathered here in droves.

The Sehee Research Institute was supposed to be a butterfly-free zone, with me chasing away the black butterflies that had attached themselves to people whenever I saw them. But now, there were more butterflies swarming around than anywhere else.

Upon investigation, the source of the problem was in the lobby of the Research Institute. There was a person there, covered in just as many butterflies as the person who had died at the Central Research Institute.

There were so many butterflies that you could barely see the person or the lobby.

I decided to save the person and gave them a dropkick, along with all the endless resentment that had spread the butterflies to the Sehee Research Institute.

The sight of the black butterflies scattering in all directions was quite a spectacle.

***

I was startled and rushed to Reaper.

"Reaper, stop!"

I pulled Reaper off the detective, who had been receiving the emotion-filled kicks, and the detective stood up, looking around.

"Huh?"

"It's gone! It's disappeared! The Object that was swarming all over me!"

The detective, who had been searching for something, suddenly let out a loud roar.

"Ooooooh!"

"He's alive!"

The detective, who had been mercilessly kicked by Reaper, did not complain, but instead seemed greatly relieved.

Seeing him throw away the fly swatter and roar, he seemed to have lost his mind.

Did Reaper kick him too hard, causing him to lose his sanity?