Seoul Object Story

Chapter 61: Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp (1)

Reaper (MC) POV:

---

Unexpectedly, the ghost cat had a strong will.

Leaving behind the words 'going on an adventure', it truly set off on its journey.

It was a romantic cat that loved adventures, but to this extent?

Well.

Since it can ghostify, there shouldn't be much danger.

However, there are Objects that can attack ghosts, so I was a bit worried.

But what's the point of worrying?

To kill some time and also watch the cat's adventure, I decided to secretly follow it.

It swiftly left Seoul and headed towards increasingly deserted areas - was it really going towards the 'Incheon Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp'?

In the late night after the sun fully set, the cat stopped and gazed at a certain place.

It was a building that dyed the sky red.

A ruined building endlessly burning with flames.

Dangerous flames that could burn even ghosts from an Object's senses.

Surely it's not going in there?

***

Cat POV?

---

It left Seoul in search of adventure, but couldn't find any thrilling adventures for a while.

Just ordinary ruins, ordinary villages, seemingly peaceful daily lives.

Even after wandering for a very long time, it couldn't obtain a satisfactory reward.

It would be nice to have one adventure before entering the camp...

In the midst of that, it discovered a ruin that caught its eye.

A building where unextinguishe smoldered across the entire structure!

The whole building was covered in red oil that burned endlessly.

The burning oil gave off an ominous bloody glow, and thick smoke made it impossible to see ahead properly.

This is it!

This ruin was the place it had been searching for.

At a glance, it seemed dangerous and brimming with an exciting adventure.

And in the very center of the ruin was a red gem emitting a mysterious light.

Treasure, the reward for adventure it always wanted!

If it had that gem, its story would become even more vivid.

Something it hadn't obtained from its previous adventures.

Lowering its body, it sneaked into the flame-filled ruin.

In the thick smoke, plump frog-like creatures could be hazily seen.

Pig-like fat frogs oozing red oil.

Using ghostification as a shield to leisurely approach the building, it felt the frogs sensing something and looking its way.

!!

Startled, it hid behind the ruin.

The frogs must have had the ability to see ghosts.

Their bulging, large eyes weren't just for decoration.

Keeping its body as low as possible, it slowly advanced while hiding in the smoke rising from the red oil.

Since the frogs had good eyesight, it moved while maximizing cover to avoid their gaze.

Circling around the gaps between the destroyed building, it gradually approached the gem emitting light in the center.

Moving slowly like that for several minutes, it finally arrived in front of the gem.

The red gem, the destination of its adventure, was located in the central clearing of the smoke-filled building!

It thought this adventure might be ending, but there was someone waiting in the clearing.

A giant frog peering from behind the hazy smoke.

It was obviously a situation where it should flee.

But it didn't want to run away with the treasure right in front of it.

So it puffed out its chest boldly and shouted,

"Come at me!"

Swallowing its fear and shouting, the ground began to tremble.

Flames and smoke flowed into the frog, and the sound of boiling oil rang out.

Dust rose from the shaking ruin, as if an earthquake had occurred.

Scary!

But it grit its teeth and endured.

They glared at each other for a few seconds.

The giant frog slowly turned around and began retreating.

It had driven away the monster with courage and willpower!

As the frog retreated with booming steps, a red necklace appeared in the central clearing.

The adventure's reward, refined in the ruined flames and smoke - it grasped the red necklace.

***

Reaper (MC) POV:

---

The cat hid better than expected.

Well, even if only 10% of the tales it boasted to me were true, it should be able to do at least this much.

Hiding here and there, throwing pebbles to divert attention, it slowly advanced towards its goal like the protagonist of an action movie.

Sitting in the ruin, I watched it like a movie.

No popcorn, but I had frog balance balls and aroma oils instead.

The cat rolled around, gathering the frog balance balls that were puffed up like spheres behind the veil of invisible flames and smoke.

Jumping on the frog with its body puffed up like a ball!

Leaning its waist against the frog's body, cheers!

Lining up the frogs and sliding over them!

The smooth, nice textured frog balance balls, the faint rose aroma from the red oil.

It was the perfect combination.

Thanks to that, it became soaked in the red oil, but it was fun in its own way.

A joyful play with the frogs that had to drive out the intruder!

Frogs that didn't want to play?

Unfortunately, they ended up bursting the balance balls, who could have done that.

Still, the cat's adventure this time seemed doomed to fail.

Would it get scared and run away from the destination?

That's understandable, with a giant frog balance ball in front of the gem.

The cat that arrived at the destination had a look of despair when it saw the giant frog.

And the cat, which I thought would flee, took an action completely different from expectations.

Meow!

It shouted with firm determination.

Enraged by the cat's provocation, the frog puffed up its belly as if about to breathe fire.

It puffed up, but....

When I stared at it, it shrank back down and fled the clearing with pathetic steps.

That's how the cat's great adventure ended in success.

The cat that drove away the giant frog happily put on the gem necklace and joyfully jumped around.

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After jumping around for a while, I saw the cat leaving the building and thought,

Ah, it's finally going back to the Research Institute now.

But it wasn't heading towards the Research Institute.

I thought it would return to the Research Institute after getting the adventure and treasure!

***

Yerin POV:

---

Nom nom nom~

The golden Reaper munches on a cake.

Even while eating the cake frantically, it reached out with one hand to grab my pinky finger.

Ah, how cute.

The Golden Reaper never tried to get away from people.

"Yerin, I have to go to work now!"

Oh, time has passed so quickly...

With a reluctant heart, I stroked the Reaper once and got up from my seat.

The golden Reaper has recently been placed in the Sehee Research Institute's lounge.

The reason is, of course, because of the Reaper's antics.

The gray Reaper has 'again' gone missing.

The failure to isolate the gray Reaper was a common occurrence, but this time was a bit different.

It left something behind where it went missing.

What it left behind was a mini golden Reaper.

As if to replace itself, it left a golden Reaper in the isolation room and took off.

Unlike the gray Reaper, the golden Reaper couldn't stand being alone in the isolation room.

So the designated isolation room for the golden Reaper became the lounge where people frequently visit.

The result was a success.

The golden Reaper enjoyed its life in the lounge with a happy expression.

However, there was the side effect of too many people staying in the lounge, so usage time was limited.

Usage time restrictions!

Sehee Research Institute, abolish the golden Reaper lounge usage time restrictions!

***

??? POV:

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Darkness deep enough to blur the boundary between sky and earth settled over the.

A night completely contrasting the day filled with people and vitality.

Strangely, this rather ominous space felt more comfortable.

At least this atmosphere wasn't creepy.

A silence that would normally feel burdensome.

Relying on that silence and the night's darkness, I slowly got up.

In fact, I should have left much earlier.

During the day, pretending to be a tourist and naturally slipping away would have been best.

But I couldn't do that.

I just couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me, so I couldn't move.

Getting up stealthily, I tiptoed away.

The night streets with no street lamps on.

In the stillness without any sounds of insects or animals, only the small footsteps I made echoed through the camp.

Breathing as lightly and slowly as possible.

It was so dark that I couldn't distinguish objects, but the paths I had grown up on were familiar.

Almost out of the camp, a light appeared in the distance within the camp.

"Sister, where are you?"

"Sister, are you mad that I played a prank?"

Flashlight beams appeared from all directions.

Murmuring voices.

Those voices remembered me.

The butcher uncle called my name and warmly invited me over.

The new landlord wanted to see my face at least once and looked for me.

My younger sister remembered me, and went around talking about memories with me.

Hearing those voices, I got goosebumps.

Those people were not people I knew.

I wondered what happened to my real younger sister?

My heart pounded.

It was a feeling of dizziness, nausea, and tightness in my heart.

I could no longer bear it and just ran out like a madman.

Even if I tripped and fell, I got up again and ran, and ran.

With only the single-minded desire to get out of the camp, I kept running out.

***

At dawn, the sky began to color in various hues.

At the start of that day, a dirt-covered girl entered an old police station.

Police officers who had just finished the night with tired expressions greeted the girl.

"I came to file a missing persons report."

The dirt-covered, injury-covered girl with blurred tear stains spoke clearly.

"I'm a child who lived in the Incheon Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp."

"Ah..."

The young officer who heard those words let out a regretful sigh.

And he handed the girl a piece of paper.

<Instructions Regarding Incheon Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp>

<Instructions:>

<Do not accept any incidents related to Incheon Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp.>

<This includes kidnapping, terrorism, and disappearances.>

"A few days ago, they declared abandoning management of that area. The situation hasn't deteriorated to the point of abandoning it, so why are they doing this..."

The police are not accepting the case.

The girl was about to shout at such a ridiculous story, but seeing the officer's expression, she had no choice but to give up.

Even that young officer felt regretful about this.

About such a ridiculous situation.

Dejected, the girl headed out of the police station with powerless steps.

"Isn't it strange? It's like they predicted missing person reports would come from near the camp, with the document coming down in advance."

"Documents from the association have always been strange. If you want to live long, don't pay attention to them."

Conversations questioning this situation could be heard from the police station.

The girl who had been walking weakly stopped in front of the police station wall, crouched down, and hung her head low.

"What should I do?"

A small, moist lament came from the girl's mouth.

Thump, thump.

Then, the sound of confident footsteps rang out.

Raising her head at that sound, a man in a yellow suit stood looking down at the girl with the sun behind him.

"Hello. Do you happen to have a request?"