Seoul Object Story
Chapter 64: Gyeyangsan Relief Camp (4)

In an open area where darkness had settled, a large campfire crackled under a starry sky.

Even from a distance, the heat from the campfire still reached me, warming my face and making my yellow suit shine in the firelight.

This campfire was far too festive to be just a small welcoming ceremony.

The warm golden glow from the burning logs created swaying shadows, adding to the picnic-like atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Junior No. 1 was happily munching on chicken skewers, her carefree expression a stark contrast to the eerie setting. Satisfied gasps and murmurs of delight accompanied every bite she took.

The unique smoky scent of the charcoal fire mingled with the crunchy sound of grilled chicken skewers—Junior No. 1 was clearly enjoying the campfire to the fullest.

“Hmm, Sunbae? Oh! Do you want one?”

“…No, just have your fill.”

As I silently watched her, Junior No. 1, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster, offered me a chicken skewer.

Unlike her, who was busy stuffing herself, No. 2 was actually doing her job, staying next to the client and providing mental support. Just in case, I’d handed my revolver over to Junior No. 2.

Junior No. 1, still mindlessly devouring skewers, suddenly asked me as if a thought had just come to her. “Ah, that’s right! Sunbae, why did you hand your revolver to Hyejin?”

“Sigh… I’m gonna go take a look around. And you’re coming with me, so stop eating and get ready.”

She eyed me up and down with a disrespectful smirk. “Pft-! Sunbae… pft-! this is too funny… do you really think you can sneak around in that suit? You know that the suit is bright yellow right?”

“Hmm? Why would we sneak around? We will just go confidently.”

Using the camp’s darkness to our advantage, I quietly left the clearing with junior No. 1, who was still clutching her chicken skewers. We trudged up the steep stairs and looked around the inner areas of the camp. The camp was quiet, with almost no streetlights, and the campfire glowing in the distance felt particularly foreign.

“Hello!”

“Are you tourists? Did you come here to sightsee?”

“Ah yes, there’s even a party over there.”

“I see. Have a good time.”

As we walked around, we met quite a lot of the residents of the camp. But when we asked them questions, their attitude was a bit weird? Hmm, to be exact, it was more so that their attitudes were too serious?

“Hoobae, did you notice anything strange?”

“Eh? Uh, not really…?”

“Well, maybe I’m just being paranoid. Let’s walk around a bit more.”

Junior No. 1, who was still carrying around a bag of chicken skewers for some reason and continuously munching on them, didn’t seem to notice anything odd.

“Ahjussi~ Are you a tourist~?”

“Oh my, young man, are you perhaps a tourist?”

“Are you a tourist?”

Tourist! Tourist!! Tourist!!!

Other than the small differences, everyone’s first greeting ended the same way. Every single damn time! Those same three words, over and over!

Everyone one of them just seemed to want to know whether we were tourists or not!

At this point, even Junior No. 1 noticed something was off.

“This is getting weirder and weirder.”

“Is it such a big deal for us to be tourists?”

“Well, this place is quite a tourist attraction, so it’s certainly not strange to ask that. But, It’s really strange that they are all asking the same question.”

Just then, a strange sound came from a secluded part of the camp. It sounded like the moans of a dying puppy.

“Shh.”

Lowering my body, I slowly crept towards the source of the sound. In a large vacant lot, a group of children was gathered.

Stab-! Stab-! Stab-!

The children were mercilessly stabbing a stray puppy with forks. The puppy screamed in pain, wriggled, and then fell limp. It was dead. Then, as if on cue, the children tore the corpse apart with their forks and brought it to their mouths.

“Hick-!” Junior No. 1 gasped, clearly shocked.

The adults, presumably the children’s parents, didn’t react at all.

This was definitely weird.

However, as strange as it might be, my monocle still hadn’t picked up anything.

“W-What the hell was that? Huh? N-No, that couldn’t be real, right?”

Junior No. 1, seemed to be still processing just what she saw. Well, it was an incomprehensible scene.

“On the bright side, we finally found it. The evidence, albeit circumstantial, that the camp is indeed strange, just as the client said. Now we just need to head back.”

As we were sneaking out of the clearing to return to the client, a loud bang rang out.

Bang-!

A gunshot rang out from the direction of the campfire.

What the hell was going on Junior No. 2’s side?

“Hoobae! Run!”

We needed to get there before things got worse.

***

It was a shabby, single-story supermarket.

Just like the exterior of the building that showed traces of the passage of time, the interior was decorated with faded advertisements for products that had long since been discontinued.

A squeaky glass door.

Various types of junk food from my childhood.

Om nom nom-!

And in the middle of all that, there I was, sitting on the countertop, for some reason.

I ate the junk food I used to eat when I was young, feeling a wave of nostalgia wash over me.

But… it’s not very tasty.

In my memories, it was really tasty though…

I couldn’t tell if it was because my sense of taste had changed since I had become an Object, or if it was all just ‘Mr. Nostalgia’ making my memories all sparkly and beautiful.

The Ghost Cat? It was also curled up on the counter, having the time of its life, snoring and lazing around, deep asleep.

Meanwhile, I watched people passing by through the supermarket window.

Hmm, the people who ran the supermarket? Oh, them! Well, as soon as I entered the supermarket, all the fake humans in the supermarket ran away.

I wasn’t even trying to do anything! I just felt a little strange when I saw them running around like that. If I meet them again, I’ll definitely play a prank on them!

Snore-!

The kitty was still asleep.

It slept all day long.

I would ask it to return to the research institute with me as soon as it woke up, but the stupid kitty still hadn’t opened its eyes.

But if I left it here alone, those fake humans would try to stab the kitty with a fork, wouldn’t they? Sigh.

As I watched TV and munched on all kinds of nostalgic snacks, night had fallen before I knew it.

Bang-!

A loud gunshot rang out from somewhere.

As if on cue, the cat opened its eyes instantly.

Meow!

Huh? “An adventure has arrived!?” you say. This ungrateful cat, Sigh…

Meow!

What?! You don’t want me to follow you? It seems very dangerous, though.

The cat, ungrateful as ever, told me not to follow it.

It seemed to have its own reasons, something about how adventures needed to be overcome by the protagonist and thus it had to overcome it alone.

I waved at the cat as it left with a confident step.

Then of course…

I slipped into my phantom form and secretly followed the cat.

Heeheehee!.

***

An incident seemed to have suddenly broken out right after the gunshot echoed through the camp.

When we dashed towards the open area where Junior No. 2 was, camp residents slowly surrounded us. Perhaps because of the gunshots, but the camp, which had been eerily empty, was now teeming with people.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” a man asked as he approached me slowly.

It looked like he was trying to have a normal conversation with me, but I knew better.

“Run!”

I grabbed Junior No. 1’s hand and ran straight into the alley.

As soon as we hit the alley, the residents of the camp showed their true colors.

“Uuuuuuu!”

They rushed towards us like zombies, completely losing their senses.

“Ugh?! Why are these people acting like that all of a sudden?”

Relying on the winding alleys, we tried to escape, but the number of zombies chasing us was overwhelming. Moreover, the alley was too winding and complicated, and the number of residents who were chasing us was far too many.

“Sunbae, sunbae, sunbae! What should we do?”

Junior No. 1 asked while we were running to avoid people who had turned into zombies.

There were so far many people in this small camp that it was becoming difficult to escape.

“Ugh, what should we do? What should we do? What should we do?!”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I swung Watson like a club and knocked down the man who came out of the alley. “Just attack them!”

“Okay!”

With my permission, Junior No. 1 swung her sledgehammer at a zombie(person) running towards her.

Pang-!

As the person and the hammer clashed against each other, a popping sound rang out. The impact sent the person flying like a bowling pin.

Woah… who knew people could get sent flying like that huh? The more you know~

We continued running through the maze-like alleys. The alleys were as confusing as a spider’s web, and the shadows cast by the sparse streetlights made everything seem even narrower and more complicated.

Junior No. 1’s strength was enough to take down one or two zombies, but there were too many of them. So we had no choice but to keep moving.

Relying on the sounds, we navigated the alleys, trying to avoid as many zombies as possible. We needed to get to where Junior No. 2 was as soon as possible!

However, I couldn’t find the right path.

Sharp curves, dead ends, and misleading shadows everywhere!

Bang-! Bang-!

Two more gunshots rang out.

Only three bullets left. Tch, should I have given her more?

Just then, a cute white cat suddenly appeared on top of the wall.

My monocle identified it as an Object with the ability < Phantom Form >.

Meow-!

The cat’s eyes seemed to glint with intelligence. Looking down at me once more it meowed again and ran on the fence.

Out of instinct more than reason, I followed the cat.

“Hoobae! Follow me.”

The route was twisty and hard to predict. However, the cat led us through the maze-like alleys with ease, as if it already knew the locations where all the zombies were.

Amazingly, as if our struggles were nothing but a lie, the cat brought us to our destination without meeting a single resident.

Meow-!

The cat stretched out its head high, its expression confident.

“Woah, did the kitty guide us? Thank you!”

But before he could finish his thought, Junior No. 1 scooped up the white cat and petted it.

The once-festive open area now looked desolate. The previous festive appearance had completely disappeared.

The campfire had been destroyed, its logs strewn about the field. The grill, which he used to cook all kinds of meat, lay on the ground.

In front of a small three-story building, zombies(previously camp residents) were trying to open a closed door.

I looked up and saw Junior No. 2 sticking out her head from the roof.

Ha… we weren’t too late.