Seoul Object Story
Chapter 100: The Cruise Ship (1)

Under a gloomy gray sky, a delicate drizzle fell over the victims’ camp, where temporary container houses were crammed together.

The rain embraced those fleeing the desert, its touch almost comforting, though it bought no solace.

The relief camp in Gangseo-gu was soaked by the rain that persisted for days, a silent predator devouring the fragile peace of the camp.

The light from the streetlamps, struggling against the dark shroud of clouds, gave the rain-soaked streets a mysterious, shimmering glow.

A large woman covered in tattoos and a small girl entered a dimly lit hallway.

The tall woman, clad in a raincoat far too small for her, looked at the raindrops that danced on her palm, mesmerized by their delicate existence.

She lingered, as if possessed by something.

“Unnie?”

The woman’s trance broke at her sister’s call. She threw away the raindrops, wiped her hand, and took out a leaf, chewing it before placing another in her sister’s mouth.

“Ew, it’s bitter!” her younger sister complained, frowning her brow.

“If you don’t want to be possessed, keep chewing it and don’t swallow,” the tall woman instructed.

“Did you find something?”

“Yes, as expected. There must be a reason why these things keep happening only in Seoul, but I don’t know what it is.”

The tall woman gazed at the drizzle, which softly reflected the light, creating a wonderful scenery.

The asphalt reflected the light of the street lights, glittering as if dusted with jewels.

The weather forecast, which she had meticulously checked, indicated the rain would soon stop. But what she saw through her own eyes told her otherwise. Perhaps this rain would not stop until the entire Yangcheon-gu was submerged in water.

In the distance, she saw children chasing the raindrops.

The air, wet with rain, carried a fresh scent, and the sound of laughter echoed through the humid atmosphere.

Under a tarp roof, people were talking happily. The camp remained peaceful, unbothered just from the slight but persistent drizzle.

Splish-! Splash-!

Stamping her foot to the ground, the tall woman felt a bit of water pooling on the asphalt. It seemed to be around 10mm deep.

It was just a light drizzle, yet the drainage system was already failing.

“So, umm, Unnie. What will happen to Yangcheon-gu?”

“Hmm… Maybe in another week or so, the water level will rise to a noticeable level? Well, that’ll be just the start.”

“And then?”

“After that, it will just keep raining, and the ground will soon sink.”

“Then what about the people who live here? Can’t we stop it?”

“There is no way to stop it as humans. Now now, don’t worry, let’s go back.”

The girl nodded and squeezed the tall woman’s hand tightly. They left the camp, elegantly showered by the rain.

Om nom nom-!

Watching Reaper munching on the pudding in my lap, I couldn’t help but get all teary-eyed, remembering all the trouble I had to go through to get the pudding.

From scouring through the country for the best puddings, to storming a pudding factory and defeating the Objects that had taken over!

It had only been two weeks since the Great Pudding Factory Recapture Operation™, yet it felt like forever ago now.

Thankfully, we managed to recover most of the puddings that had flown into the sky.

At first, I was super worried—what if one of the puddings crashed into a plane? Or what if a bubble burst mid-air and the pudding splatted on someone’s head? But everything turned out fine, no pudding-related accidents!

We were really lucky.

And guess what? We now had a special facility just for Reaper at our Research Institute. It was a mini kitchen that produced pudding!

Yep, it was transported from the factory and installed right in Reaper’s containment room.

So now, Reaper could sit and munch on floating pudding all day long.

The Golden Reapers, wearing adorable little cooking hats, came out of the mini kitchen. They then quietly took off their hats and passed them to the next Golden Reaper, marking the end of their shift.

Their reward for all the kitchen labor? You guessed it—pudding!

There were so many Golden Reapers lined up for pudding that the kitchen fire never went out.

Nobody told them to, but they seemed to have an unspoken rule:

The only exception was the Gray Reaper, who just lay there eating pudding like a pig. So lazy!!

Hmph, I’m so proud of the hardworking Golden Reapers!

I poked Reaper’s cheek, which was all puffy from eating so much pudding without lifting a finger.

But come to think of it, Reaper wasn’t totally lazy. After all, it was the one providing the energy that made the mini kitchen operate. Hmm, Reaper is kind of like the factory owner.

We watched TV together as I poked the side of the skinny Reaper, who never seemed to gain any weight no matter how much it ate.

Yangcheon-gu was dealing with this weird nonstop drizzle. The water level didn’t go down, even when they pumped the water out. The precipitation was only 0.1 mm per hour, but the rainwater wouldn’t just drain away and continue to flood the area.

At first, people thought it was just freaky weather, but after two weeks and the water level rising visibly, they realized it wasn’t a normal rain.

The folks who had lost their homes to desertification in Gangseo-gu now had to move again. They were really having such a tough time.

I even heard some people calling them ‘Cursed People’ from time to time. They really were pitiful in so many ways.

Lost in such thoughts I took a bite of the pudding, only to be stunned once more at the utter deliciousness of the pudding.

How can it taste this good? Is it because it’s made by an Object?

Sadly, this pudding was super high in calories, so I could only have one a day.

Hmph! If only I could eat the pudding without a care like Reaper!

Feeling a bit sulky, I poked Reaper’s cheek again.

Under the endless sky, with not a single cloud in sight, a large full moon shone brilliantly, almost as bright as the sun.

Its silvery glow bathed everything in a soft, enchanting light, casting a subtle shimmer on the lake’s surface.

The lake, reflecting the moon’s brilliance, sparkled like a mirror sprinkled with jewel powder.

It was so clear and transparent that the even bottom was visible, the shimmering moonlight creating a beautiful curtain of light that looked like an aurora deep within the water.

In front of such a wonderful and quiet lakeside, a blonde girl turned to Agent Black and spoke.

“Ahjussi, it’s really beautiful, isn’t it? Ah, I wish I could see this lake during the day.”

Her voice briefly darkened with longing for something she could no longer do.

“Don’t be worried Young miss, you will be able to see it someday,” Agent Black replied in a calm, reassuring tone.

Upon hearing his words, the gloomy expression disappeared from the blonde girl’s face, replaced by a bright smile, like the sun breaking through the clouds.

“Right? I will be able to someday! Of course!” She chuckled and turned back to gaze at the lake’s surface.

Guidance of her heart.

She had been guided to this beautiful place by her heart.

Through her red eyes, which held the power of an Object, the reflection of the glimmering silver moon appeared blue.

This lake had swallowed Yangcheon-gu and was off-limits to the general public. Standing on its shore, the girl waited for her heart to guide her to a new place, hoping for the day when she could stand under the sun again.

The sound of joyful singing echoed through the backyard of the Sehee Research Institute.

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

Even though it was quite late at night, no one had gone home. Instead, everyone had gathered together, creating an exciting festival atmosphere.

A large banner hung in the backyard, stating the purpose of the party:

It was to celebrate Sehee’s success in acquiring the license to study Objects.

Sehee, the main character of this party, was so drunk that now she could only blabber on about how tough it was to study for the exam, pouring her heart out to Seoah and Yerin.

The Golden Reapers were also in a happy mood, adding excitement to the party by showing off their dazzling dancing skills on a large table filled with food.

Sigh! I couldn’t believe they made this much of a fuss about getting a simple license. Someone would think they won the lottery.

Hmm… well, Sehee did seem to be going through a rough time lately, to the point she looked like a zombie with sunken eyes, dry skin, and messy hair.

But what really blew my mind was that this crazy party was only the ‘eve’.

How difficult was it to study for the test, that Sehee decided to hold a grand party on a cruise? That too for all of the staff and for a whole week?

“Reaper~! Save me! Please!” Yerin, who had escaped from Sehee’s drunken rambling, clung to me.

She then pulled out her phone, gushing with anticipation, as she showed me a bunch of photos of the lake she had downloaded.

“You’re excited too, right? Right? We’re going to the Yangcheon-gu Lake! It has recently become the premier tourist destination!!”

The destination of the cruise party Sehee had reserved was the Yangcheon-gu Lake, which had become a premier tourist destination lately.

It was portrayed on TV as this fantastic place that everyone wanted to visit, so most of the employees had decided to attend the party.

“I even heard that the lake is so transparent and clear that we can see the remnants of Yangcheon-gu submerged underneath! Aren’t you curious?! You are, right?”

The Yangcheon-gu Lake was a huge lake formed over the submerged remnants of Yangcheon-gu. Naturally, I was a tiny bit curious about it, only a tiny bit though.

It was said that the lake never got dirty or polluted, and the submerged city didn’t rust or become dirty.

I was sure this whole thing was 100% related to some Object. Probably one that caused harm to humans. Hah, and it’s being treated as a premier tourist destination? What a twist.

No matter how I went about it, this whole thing was a little strange. Sure, the Korean Association handled their Objects quite roughly, but taking three whole months to release the number of existing Objects to the private sector? That was something else.

“Since you will also be going with us in a small containment room, It will really be fun!”

Hmm… I don’t know why, but I got the feeling that something really fun was going to happen.