Seoul Object Story
Chapter 42: Object Exhibition (3)

In the dark evening, the sky was painted with colorful fireworks.

It was the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

Thanks to the effort of the institute staff, the ‘Sehee Research Institute booth’, which had been empty, was now well-stocked with a variety of items.

I was also very happy to see a familiar sight—the lizard that played the piano!

It was only then that I realized that I had completely forgotten about it.

Well, as long as it was well-managed and lived happily, isn’t it fine?

The blue lizard was transported to the exhibition after a simple containment room was built in the Sehee Research Institute’s booth. This room was made of glass walls all around and a large piano at its center.

As soon as the lizard arrived at the exhibition, it started to excitedly play the piano. It was a captivating performance that touched the heart as always.

However, I couldn’t help but worry. With so many people attending the exhibition, wouldn’t the lizard die at this rate?

It’s not easy to get a standing ovation from ten thousand people at the same time, so it should be fine, right?

Meanwhile, the ‘Cute Puppy’ also appeared in the exhibition, but it didn’t receive the same level of treatment.

It was caged and chained inside the containment room.

In the past, Cute Puppy would have grown larger and gone crazy if it was treated so poorly like that,

However, seeing how well-behaved it had become made me feel proud and happy at the same time.

Well, if it couldn’t control its temper and lost control again, I could always resort to the ‘Sunny Park’ method to discipline it once more.

As the Objects contained in the Sehee Research Institute were gradually moved to the exhibition, there was one thing that bothered me—the design of my own containment room.

While having a bed and a TV was very important for my comfort… I didn’t like the rest!!

Colorful slides and ball pits!?!?

What am I? A kid!?

***

“Oh Yerin, we’re heading to the opening ceremony now. See you later.” Leaving those words behind, everyone headed to the venue where the opening ceremony was being held.

Since everyone wanted to attend, I took the initiative and volunteered to stay behind. That was why I found myself alone at the counter, guarding the entrance to the ‘Sehee Research Institute’s Booth’.

However, since the general audience was not yet permitted to enter, I wasn’t busy at all. The exhibition ground just remained deserted.

Still, I didn’t feel like I was missing out by not seeing the opening ceremony. After all, watching the Reaper was much more fun!

When I glanced back, I could clearly see the Reaper’s containment room. When it was first installed, the Reaper for some reason had a sullen expression on its face.

Perhaps it didn’t like the design?

But, as time went by, its demeanor changed, and it now looked quite excited.

The Reaper was having a blast in the containment room, playing with balls and swimming in the ball pit.

The Reaper looked so cute as it would wave its arms and legs while swimming in the transparent ball pit!

Such a sight deserves to be immortalized in the form of pictures!

Alas, the sharp-witted Reaper would definitely notice if I tried to approach or take a picture.

So, I had to be content with secretly watching it and saving the picture in my brain.

***

Late at night, after the opening ceremony ended, I watched as Sehee and Yerin argued with each other from the ball pit.

“Sehee Unnie, it will be better if we take the Reaper out from its containment. If we leave it here as is, it’ll definitely cause trouble.”

“You’re just saying that because you want to go out and play with the Reaper, aren’t you?”

The two of them were squabbling over a relatively unimportant matter—whether or not to take me around the exhibition grounds.

“I mean, even if we keep it locked up like this, I bet it’ll find a way to sneak out and explore on its own eventually.”

H-how did she know?!

I had been thinking of sneaking out to see if there were any interesting Objects at the exhibition as I was growing tired of the ball pit…

“If the Reaper goes out alone, it would be an absolute disaster. But if it is accompanied by a researcher, it won’t look like an accident. So, wouldn’t it be okay?”

Their argument continued for quite some time, ultimately ending in Sehee’s defeat due to Yerin’s unwavering persistence.

“Haa… I did warn the organizers that this would obviously happen. But since it was their order to confine the Reaper, it should be fine. Hah… you can go out with the Reaper tomorrow.”

***

In the heart of Seoul, a sprawling mansion occupied a vast plot of land.

Given the sharp decrease in available land following the outbreak of the Object crisis, such large estates in Seoul boasted extremely exorbitant prices.

In the serene courtyard of such an expensive mansion, an old man and a middle-aged man sat facing each other, enjoying a cup of tea.

“The exhibition was held as scheduled. Shall we proceed with the trial?” the middle-aged man inquired.

However, the old man remained silent, merely savoring his tea.

Perhaps accustomed to such situations, the middle-aged man just bowed to the old man before leaving the mansion.

Once outside, the middle-aged man hurriedly made a phone call.

“The trial of Elder Oh Muryong will have to wait a little longer.”

The middle-aged man gestured to his driver, giving orders as he continued the call.

On the night of the exhibition’s opening ceremony, the middle-aged man’s car drove down a serene, empty road.

***

Yerin appeared to be in high spirits from early in the morning.

“Hmm♪ hm♪” She hummed a cheerful tone as a sign hung around her neck.

The sign read:

That’s right.

Yerin was currently getting ready to take me around the exhibition ground.

Since I also preferred to walk around with Yerin in my tangible form rather than being all alone in phantom form, I patiently waited for her to finish.

“I’m done!” Yerin shouted aloud, holding up her hand-drawn sign. It had both words and drawings, looking rather convincing.

Woah. I never expected Yerin to be this good at drawing…

She then hung the sign around her neck, lifted me up, and placed me on her shoulder.

“Then, off we go!!!”

Yerin declared coolly and confidently walked out of the Sehee Research Institute’s booth.

***

At first, I wondered whether it was okay for me to wander around in the open like this.

But it went better than I expected.

Ironically, the presence of people who were afraid of me made it easier for me to look around comfortably. No one dared to come closer and just made noises from afar.

The exhibition booths Yerin and I visited were filled with interesting Objects.

Whenever I saw an Object I wanted to see, I just had to wave my foot to give Yerin a signal.

As I caught sight of a small stone that seemed to be made of shadows, I waved my foot to get Yerin’s attention.

Even though I didn’t say anything, Yerin understood my requests better than I expected, creating a really comfortable experience.

Flap-! Flap-!

(Let’s go there.)

“You want to see the Containment Room of the Busan Research Institute over there, right?”

Yerin guessed correctly as she followed my signal, letting me take a closer look.

Inside of the containment room, a large lamp illuminated a pitch-black stone.

The name of the Object was quite straightforward. It was an ominous Object that summoned a werewolf to slaughter people when exposed to light.

Is it really okay to put something like this on display?

Furthermore, even at the moment, the electric light emitted a strong beam of light towards the stone.

Yet, as I read the accompanying explanation, I began to understand the reasoning behind such a display.

So, people had to keep exposing it to light, while keeping in mind that monsters would materialize?

So, where was the werewolf then? As I became curious about the werewolf and looked around, I noticed an artificially created circular shadow inside the containment room. From within it, I could feel the presence of an Object.

Within that small shadow, a thumb-sized werewolf glared menacingly at the humans.

After looking at the rock and the werewolf for a while, I signaled to Yerin once more.

Flap-! Flap-!

(Let’s go somewhere else.)

While wandering around, I found another very interesting Object.

Inside the containment room, the only thing present was a computer. The research institute the Object belonged to seemed to be from Japan.

Although it wasn’t a dangerous Object, I couldn’t figure out how they even managed to catch it.

Fortunately, the Object’s description was thoughtfully translated into Korean, allowing me to read it without difficulty.

It was an Object that existed as computer data, so people had to be careful because it would run away if ever connected to a network.

Once it gained access, it would wander around through the internet, manipulating public opinion, and sowing chaos throughout the day.

Seriously, how did they even catch this guy?

I was really curious, but realized that the institute’s methods were likely closely guarded secrets…

As I explored the booths of various research institutes at the exhibition, I discovered something strange.

The researchers at the Bucheon Research Institute’s booth looked all gloomy and tired. Of course, it wasn’t strange at all if they just looked tired. The problem was that those researchers were not human.

Unlike their human-like appearance and behavior, they were actually Objects.

Are those researchers suffering from something like ‘Golden Horn Syndrome’?

But a Full-Body Object, huh? That’s quite interesting..

Behind the researchers, the massive golden tree stood tall.

But… is it just my imagination, or does that thing seem a bit brighter than before?