Seoul Object Story - 61 chapter - Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp (1)

Unexpectedly, the ghost cat was quite determined.

It left after saying it was going on an adventure, and it truly embarked on a journey.

Although it was a romantic cat who loved adventures, I didn't expect it to go this far.

Hmm.

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

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

What could I do about my worry?

I had to go.

I decided to secretly follow it, partly out of curiosity and partly to watch the cat’s adventure.

The cat seemed to be heading towards the 'Incheon Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp,' leaving Seoul behind in an instant and moving further into a deserted area.

Late at night, when the sun had fully set, the cat stopped and stared at a certain place.

It was a building that turned the sky red.

A ruined building constantly burning with flames.

The flames, according to my Object sense, were dangerous enough to burn even incorporeal beings.

Surely, it’s not planning to go in there?

Though it left Seoul in search of adventure, no adventure thrilling enough to quicken its heartbeat was in sight.

Ordinary ruins, ordinary villages, and seemingly peaceful daily life.

It wandered for a long time but couldn't find anything that caught its interest.

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

Then, it spotted some ruins that caught its eye.

A building faintly glowing with an eternal flame!

The entire building was covered in red oil, which was continuously burning.

The burning oil shone with a blood-red hue, and the acrid smoke made it hard to see properly within the ruins.

This is it!

These ruins were exactly what it had been searching for.

A place that looked dangerous at a glance, hiding an exciting adventure.

And at the center of those ruins was a red gem emitting a mysterious light.

A treasure, the reward for any adventure!

If I get that gem, my story will become even more vivid.

It was something I hadn't obtained in any of my previous adventures.

Lowering its body as much as possible, it stealthily entered the ruins filled with flames.

In the acrid smoke, fat frogs could be seen faintly.

Pigs-frogs, dripping red oil.

Using its ghostly form as a shield, it leisurely approached the building, sensing that the frogs had noticed something and were looking its way.

Startled, it hid behind the ruins.

Who would have thought those frogs could see incorporeal beings?

Their large, shiny eyes were not just for decoration.

It lowered its body as much as possible and slowly advanced, hiding itself in the smoke rising from the red oil.

Being frogs with good vision, it moved cautiously, staying out of their sight as much as possible, using whatever cover was available.

After circling the destroyed building for several minutes, it finally reached the gem that was shining in the center.

The gem was located in a clearing in the center of the building, filled with acrid smoke.

The red gem! The destination of this adventure.

It seemed like this adventure was finally coming to an end, but someone was waiting in that clearing.

A gigantic frog was looking down at it from behind the faint smoke.

It was clearly a situation where running away was the only option.

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

So, it puffed out its chest and shouted boldly.

"Bring it on!"

As it swallowed its fear and shouted, the ground began to shake.

The flames and smoke flowed into the frog, and the sound of boiling oil echoed.

Dust rose from the ruins as if an earthquake had struck.

Scary!

But it gritted its teeth and endured.

A few seconds of glaring at each other.

The giant frog slowly turned and began to retreat.

It had defeated the monster with courage and determination!

Thud, thud. As the frog retreated, the red necklace in the center of the clearing was revealed.

The treasure of adventure, a red necklace forged in the ruins of smoke and flames, was in its grasp.

The cat hid better than expected.

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

Hiding here and there, throwing stones to distract attention, it slowly advanced towards its destination, like the protagonist of an action movie.

I watched it from inside the ruins as if I were watching a film.

There was no popcorn, but instead, there were frog balance balls and aromatic oil.

The cat couldn’t see, but I was rolling around with the puffed-up frogs gathered behind the curtains of flames and smoke.

Jumping on the frogs with their bodies puffed up like balls!

Leaning against the frog’s body, cheering!

Sliding over the frogs lined up in a row!

The smooth and pleasant texture of the balance ball frogs, the subtle rose scent of the red oil.

It was a perfect combination.

Thanks to that, I became covered in sticky red oil, but it was fun in its way.

A delightful playtime with the frogs who were supposed to repel intruders!

Frogs that didn’t want to play?

Unfortunately, some became burst balance balls, but who could have done that?

Still, it seemed like the cat’s adventure would fail.

Would it run away in fear from its destination?

After all, there was a giant balance ball frog in front of the gem.

When the cat reached its destination, it looked at the giant frog with a face full of despair.

And just when I thought it would run away, it did something completely unexpected.

"Meow!"

It shouted with firm determination.

The frog, enraged by the cat’s provocation, puffed up as if it would spit fire at any moment.

It puffed up, but…

When I looked at it sternly from the side, it deflated again and retreated pitifully from the clearing.

And so, the cat’s grand adventure ended in success.

The cat, having defeated the giant frog, was happily playing with the gem necklace around its neck.

Watching the cat joyfully play and then leave the building, I thought:

Ah, now it’s finally going back to the institute.

But it wasn’t heading towards the institute.

I thought it would return to the institute after obtaining both an adventure and a treasure!

Nom, nom.

The Golden Reaper was devouring a cake.

Even while mindlessly eating the cake, it reached out with one hand to hold onto my pinky finger.

Ah, so cute.

The Golden Reaper rarely wanted to be away from people.

"Yerin, it’s time to get back to work!"

Oh no, so much time had already passed...

Reluctantly, I patted the Reaper and stood up.

Recently, the Sehee Institute's break room had been designated for the Golden Reaper.

The reason was, of course, because of what the Reaper had done.

The Gray Reaper had 'gone missing' again.

While the Gray Reaper’s containment failures were common, this time it was a little different.

It left something behind at the scene of its disappearance.

What it left was a mini Golden Reaper.

As if to replace itself, it left the Golden Reaper in the containment room and disappeared.

Unlike the Gray Reaper, the Golden Reaper couldn’t stand being alone in the containment room.

So, the designated place for the Golden Reaper’s containment became the frequently visited break room.

The result was a success.

The Golden Reaper enjoyed its life in the break room with a happy expression.

However, there was a side effect of too many people frequenting the break room, so we had to limit the usage time.

A time limit on usage!

The Sehee Institute should abolish the time limit on the Golden Reaper break room!

The darkness that blurred the boundary between sky and earth had settled over the camp.

A complete contrast to the bustling, lively atmosphere of the day.

Somehow, this space, which could even be described as eerie, felt more comfortable.

At least this atmosphere wasn’t creepy.

A silence that would normally feel burdensome.

Leaning into that silence and the night’s darkness, I quietly stood up.

In fact, I should have left a long time ago.

During the day, it would have been best to slip out naturally, pretending to be a tourist.

But I couldn’t.

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

Slowly, I stood up and carefully took a step forward.

The streetlights were off, and the night was pitch dark.

In the silence devoid of insects and animals, only the sound of my small footsteps echoed through the camp.

Breathing as quietly and long as possible.

It was so dark that I couldn’t distinguish objects, but I was familiar with the path I had grown up on since childhood.

Just as I was about to leave the camp, lights appeared in the distance.

"Sis, where are you?"

"Sis, are you mad because we played a prank?"

Flashlights appeared from all directions.

Murmuring voices.

Those voices remembered me.

The butcher called my name and told me to come over warmly.

The new landlord said he wanted to see my face at least once and was looking for me.

My brother remembered me and talked about our memories as he wandered around.

Listening to those voices gave me goosebumps.

Those people were not the ones I knew.

What had happened to my real brother?

My heart was pounding.

It felt dizzying, nauseating, a suffocating sensation.

I couldn’t stand it any longer and ran like mad.

Even when I tripped and fell, I got up and ran, and ran.

Driven only by the single thought of escaping the camp.

The sky at dawn began to be painted with various colors.

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

The tired-looking officers, who had just finished their night shift, greeted the girl.

"I’m here to report a missing person."

Covered in dirt, full of wounds, and with faint traces of tears visible, the girl spoke clearly.

"I’m a child who lived at the Incheon Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp."

"Ah..."

A young officer let out a sympathetic sigh at those words.

Then handed a piece of paper to the girl.

<Instructions.>

"A few days ago, the area around the camp was declared abandoned. It’s not even that the situation has worsened to the point of giving up, so why they’re doing this is beyond me..."

The police aren’t accepting cases.

Hearing this absurdity, the girl was about to scream but gave up when she saw the officer's expression.

That young officer was also feeling sympathetic.

About this ridiculous situation.

Dejected, the girl turned weakly and headed out of the police station.

"Doesn’t something seem strange? How come a directive like this was issued in advance, almost as if they predicted there would be missing person reports near the camp?"

"The association’s directives have always been weird. If you want to live long, don’t think about it."

From the police station came the sound of a conversation full of doubts about the situation.

The girl, who was trudging along with no energy, squatted down in front of the police station’s wall and lowered her head.

"What on earth should I do?"

A small, damp sigh escaped the girl's lips.

Step, step.

At that moment, the sound of confident footsteps echoed.

When she lifted her head at the sound, she saw a man in a yellow suit standing in front of her, looking down at her against the backdrop of the rising sun.

"Hello. Do you perhaps have something you’d like to request?"