Seoul Object Story
Chapter 194: A Full Moon (3)

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The police looked a little relieved when the researcher who wore a helmet said he would report to the Object Association. No matter how slow the Association, the police thought they wouldn’t be able to dilly dally when the case had become such a hot topic like this one.

“We’ll stay here, you can investigate the scene as much as you want.”

The police waved their arms around the scene, leaving behind the murder scene with no evidence, and walked toward a chair in the corner. The researchers bowed as if to say thank you and began to examine the scene again. Aside from the body and bloodstains, there was not a single clue, not even a single footprint.

As the researcher moved the mind corruption measuring device around the scene, he came to know that the mind corruption level around the place fluctuated wildly. The needle on the device slowly pointed to the high value as they approached the direction where the body had been.

The scene where the murder had occurred had strong traces of mind corruption that distorted people’s perceptions. Now it seemed almost certain that there was an Object that caused mind corruption in Mapo-gu.

Of course, it wasn’t as severe as the meter showed. The needle on the meter pointed to the red area which was marked as a Danger level, but this value was something that came out because of the Object that kept chasing the researcher.

When he glanced back, he could see the Golden Reaper hiding in the corner of the alley, only its face sticking out from the alley. It had an excited expression, as if it was playing a prank.

When the Golden Reaper and the researcher made eye contact, the Golden Reaper was startled and hid in the alley. It seemed too kind to be an Object that caused serious mind corruption. In truth, it was a good kid. That kid was so kind that he couldn’t see it as an Object that naturally had ill intentions toward humans.

One piece of evidence was the subtle distance between the Golden Reaper and the researcher. They were close, but the Golden Reaper was maintaining a distance that wouldn’t damage his helmet.

Except for the first time, he met the Golden Reaper and the moment the researcher jumped off the building, the distance was always like this. It was as if it was expressing with its whole body that it would never do anything the researcher disliked.

The Golden Reaper slowly peeked out from the alley with an expression that said, ‘He must have turned his gaze elsewhere by now, right?’ Then, when it found the researcher still looking at it, it flinched. It covered its eyes with both hands and hid back in the alley.

“Haha.”

The researcher laughed softly inside his helmet at the childlike appearance that was truly full of affection. Even though the helmet was functioning normally, it was an action that made him think, ‘Isn’t the Golden Reaper harmless?’

Still, the researcher had no intention of getting close to the Golden Reaper. There weren’t many, but there were quite a few cruel Objects in this world that were friendly to humans but actually made those around them miserable.

He had never heard of an Object that was friendly to humans and that too beneficial to humans. If he kept ignoring them like this, the Golden Reaper would give up and go back.

While thinking so, the researcher continued his on-site investigation.

*********

The area in front of the school gate was crowded and noisy because of the students trying to pass by. It was full of the sound of students greeting their friends, laughing, and talking for no reason.

It was the daily school life that seemed peaceful and ordinary.

In the midst of it, a student who looked tired started to trudge through the middle of that routine and noisy atmosphere. The moment he walked like that and crossed the school gate, his head started to hurt even more.

Ughhh, my head hurts.

The student had been suffering from a very bad headache recently. The headache which had been getting worse since he started having nightmares had one peculiar feature. It got worse the moment he crossed the school gate. That’s why the student couldn’t concentrate on class at all.

It was a very strange phenomenon, but the student just thought, ‘How much do I have to hate class to have a headache?’ and just brushed it off.

The student pressed the top of his head to relieve his headache, but it didn’t really work.

“Do you still have a headache?”

A female student tapped the student on the shoulder and spoke to him. She was a female student from the next class who had been on duty at the school library for a month. Р𝘼Ɲȫ₿ƐŞ

He didn’t really have much contact with her, but they had become a little more familiar with each other while working together. She talked about various things like telling him to take some headache medicine if he had a headache before running away to her classroom first.

As soon as the tired student arrived at his classroom, he collapsed on his seat. When his headache was this bad, he couldn’t help it because he just wanted to lie down without thinking.

“There’s another murder case.”

“Oh, that. They put up a barrier in front of the school.”

As expected, the classroom was chaotic because of the murder case. It was noisy because the Mapo-gu serial murders that they talked about every day were happening right in front of their eyes.

The tired student tried to ignore the noisy classroom and fell asleep.

*********

Pleasantly warm water as well as sweet and refreshing fruit punch.

Just soaking in the bubbling bath and eating the fruit punch floating on the water felt as comfortable as lying on a bed in my containment room.

The background music that I liked was also pleasant to the ears.

“Kyuhinghing.”

However, amidst such a good atmosphere, there was a voice that was full of pity. It was the voice of a white Hungry Ghost that had become a fruit punch bowl. It was a bowl made by digging out its inside and eating its limbs, turning it into something like a sailboat.

I really liked the harmony of the colorful fruit punch and the white Hungry Ghost’s face that looked wronged. The White Hungry Ghost Reaper followed me into the bath and stuck to me, but it had a somewhat dissatisfied expression. It seemed to be envious of the white Hungry Ghost that had turned into a fruit punch bowl.

As it observed the white Hungry Ghost, it turned its hand into a sword and cut its own belly. Then, it put the fruit punch in its stomach and started floating in the bathtub before looking at me with its bright eyes as if it was shouting ‘Please eat me!’

I reluctantly picked up some of the fruit punch and ate it, making the Hungry Ghost Reaper smile happily. Then, the white Hungry Ghost looked at the Hungry Ghost Reaper with an expression like it was looking at a strange being.

Since it was a look that seemed as if it looked down on the kind and admirable Hungry Ghost Reaper, I bit off its remaining tail.

“Kyuhinghing.”

The white Hungry Ghost cried again with a resentful expression. As expected, the white Hungry Ghost’s reaction was the funniest.

Hihihihi!

As I played around by teasing the White Hungry Ghost, before I knew it, the Mini Reapers had started swarming around the bathtub.

The Orang Reaper closed its eyes and enjoyed the bath.

The Bud Reaper was lying on top of the Orange Reaper and laughing happily.

The Red Reaper, who dived into the hot spring where I was, turned the bathhouse into a boiling cauldron.

In addition to the Mini Reapers who enjoyed being submerged in water like this, many Mini Reapers were enjoying the bathhouse in their own ways. It seemed to be a place larger than Sehee Institute itself, but with so many employees walking around in swimsuits as well as Mini Reapers happily walking around among them, it seemed the size was a little lacking.

Some baths had Mini Reapers’ heads sticking out of the bath like cereal with a little milk, which looked a little funny. The most popular place was the soaping area, where countless Golden Reapers could be seen.

It was a place where the employees would soap the Golden Reapers with small, soft brushes, as if they were bathing their pet dogs. In fact, the Golden Reapers had physical immunity and could even turn into phantom form, so they didn’t need soaping. However, the Golden Reapers seemed to be happy that their precious human was paying close attention to them.

As I was watching the Golden Reapers being buried in soap bubbles, Yerin came over and grabbed my arm.

“Reaper. Let’s do it too!”

With a smile, Yerin took me to a facility to wash the Golden Reapers with soap which seemed to be built in big size deliberately.

“Here, lie down here!”

As I lay down, Yerin started rubbing my arms and legs with washing soap.

The warm and pleasant sensation made me feel sleepy.

So, I just lay down and surrender myself to sleepiness and Yerin.

ZZZ.

*********

After the tired-looking student finished organizing the library and went outside, the sky was already turning orange.

“Oh, it’s already late.”

A female student who was leaving the school gate with me checked the time on her phone and said in surprise.

“It’s already 5 o’clock.”

After saying that briefly, the female student started walking ahead, slightly quickening her pace.

Did she have some kind of appointment?

“It’s dangerous these days because of the serial murders. They say that murders happen after 6 o’clock.”

“Oh, it was because of that?”

The female student who was speaking with a slight smile heard the student’s answer, who didn’t seem to be particularly interested, and then said with a serious expression.

“You should be careful too. It’s dangerous, so you have to return home by 6 o’clock!”

Then she ran down the deserted street at a fast pace.

It seemed to emphasize, ‘I have to return on time!’

Of course, even without her saying that, the student who had been planning to get in quickly started to hurriedly go back the way he came in the morning. Passing the familiar route, he arrived at the scene of the crime which was crowded with people this morning.

A tall staircase with a great view.

And the scene of the crime which was surrounded by a barrier.

However, perhaps because it was approaching 6 p.m., the streets were deserted. At that moment, the student who was running around busily felt a strange gaze. Golden eyes hidden in the darkness were looking at him. They were similar to the eyes he had seen in the morning.

Strangely, the headache got worse when he tried to ignore it.

< 5:45 p.m. >

He checked the time, and there was still some time left.

I’m just checking the alley for a moment, in case my headache gets better.

The student who was sick of the headache crossed the barrier and entered a deep, dark alley. He walked around the alley, chasing the faintly delicious scent, but in the end, he found nothing.

< 5:55 p.m. >

The clock was already close to 6 p.m.

He tried to hurry back, but something was strange. No matter how many times he turned, no matter how much he walked, the end of the alley did not appear. It did not seem like an ordinary alley.

Thinking, ‘Is it an Object?’, the student threw away his school bag and started running like crazy in a straight line to escape.

The fear that he might be possessed by an Object.

And the fear that a serial killer was wandering around nearby.

Because of those two reasons, the student ran so hard that he forgot that he was out of breath and kept running.

Ha, I survived.

As he exited the alley, he saw a familiar barrier and stairs. When he looked back, all he could see was an ordinary alley with a street corner on the other side.

I thought I was going to die. I have to come pick up my bag tomorrow morning.

He just couldn’t muster up the courage to go pick up his bag again.

< 6:01 p.m. >

When he checked his watch, it was already past 6 o’clock.

As he confirmed that 6 o’clock had already passed and was about to hurry, he heard a familiar voice.

“I told you to return quickly…”

It was a voice that he had heard just a moment ago, but somehow it felt unfamiliar. The voice made the student look up, and at the top of the stairs, he could see a familiar silhouette standing against the backdrop of a yellow full moon which was shining like the sun.

She was wearing the same uniform as when they had parted ways, yet she felt different. The female student’s figure was as dark as the bright moonlight, and she cast a long shadow over the stairs.

“You should have gone back quickly.”

The ominous shadow flowing down the stairs was like the blood flowing he saw in his dream.

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