Seoul Object Story
Chapter 72: Gyeyangsan Relief Camp: Epilogue (2)

Sigh… I was completely surrounded by the Golden Reapers, with the Ghost Cat sprawled on my stomach.

Meow!

Huh? When will we go back to the research institute? Don’t you think it’ll be fine to return after we see the director dragged into the containment room?

Pow-!

Ouch! But the cat punched me in the stomach, grumbling that it would be too late if we waited that long.

Well, it looks like the detective is calling someone, so it’ll happen soon anyway.

As I lazed there, chatting with the cat, the detective and his junior reappeared in the clearing. Hmm, where were they till now?

The detective headed straight towards the Object they called their ‘client’, while his junior made a beeline for where I was lazing.

“Reeeeeeaaaapeeeerrrr, I’m back~! Did you miss me? Of course, you did, right? You’re so cute!”

All of a sudden she lifted me up from under my armpits and squeezed me in a hug.

Ugh! So annoying! She’s even nuzzling my cheeks!

I let my body go completely limp as she lifted me even higher.

“Woah, Reaper! You are as flexible as a cat, huh?” She laughed, saying, “Hehe~! The reaper has gotten really long!”

Hmph! Well, if she’s having fun, then it’s all good. Plus, it’s quite comfy being held like this, and the flame in my heart grew quite a bit thanks to her, so it’s a win-win for me.

***

When I got back to the clearing, it had quieted down quite a bit.

The client’s little brother was asleep, and the Gray Reaper, caught by my junior, was sprawled out, looking thoroughly worn out.

The Golden Reapers, who had made the place so lively before, were now huddled together in a sleepy pile. To my surprise, even in their sleepy state, they seemed to keeping an eye on the director.

A bunch of them were scattered around, rubbing their eyes and watching the director’s corpse as if they couldn’t decide whether to keep their vigilance or finally get some rest.

What’s with these little guys and their deep-seated grudge towards the director?

While thinking about such things, I strolled over to the client, who was standing by her brother after laying him down. Without a word, I handed her the golden heart I had found.

“Ah… as expected.”

I didn’t even need to explain anything. She looked at the heart inside the glass bottle and seemed to get it immediately.

“I always thought something was off. Even though I remembered the scenes and moments in the camp, it always felt like I was an outsider in my own memories. It was like I was living through them but not really a part of them. Everything with my younger brother felt so real yet so fragile, like it could crumble at any moment.”

She gently stroked the bottle, lost in thought.

“Before I started feeling this way, the camp was a really happy place, even if it was just a fake, an illusion created by the whims of an Object. Although I was poor, I had my brother. We ate together and slept together, and all the residents were kind too. It was like living in a dream. But at some point, I sensed something was off.”

She let out a long sigh.

“It would’ve been easier if I’d never noticed… I was so comfortable, so happy, that it felt strange. While I struggled with this feeling, my brother came to me asking for a favor. It seemed simple, but it took a long time to fulfill. He knew… probably. I think he knew that both the camp and he were fake.”

She handed the golden heart back to me.

“After that, I reached out to you. And even though I’m a fake, you helped me find my real brother. Please keep the heart, Mr. Detective. It just feels right. And I think I’ll be able to pay your fee soon enough, so please wait for a bit, okay?”

With that off her chest, she turned back to her brother, looking like a weight had been lifted.

I glanced at the heart still beating inside the bottle. It seemed almost… alive. Tucking the bottle away I took a deep breath.

With this, it felt like this case was finally wrapped up.

I guess, in a way, this could count as a happy ending, at least for an incident involving Objects.

***

The phone rang loudly in the office of the Sehee Research Institute, jolting me from my daydream.

“Hello, you are speaking to the Sehee Research Institute. How may we help you today?”

Kim Jungrwi, my reliable sunbae, answered in his ever-professional tone. He’s always so calm and collected…

Hmm, did he mention the Incheon Gyeyangan Relief Camp?

My ears perked up immediately.

What’s going on there? I mean, what could Incheon possibly have to do with us?

As I watched him, I noticed his eyes narrowing as the conversation went on.

Uh-oh, this definitely wasn’t a routine call. The only thing that had been causing us trouble lately…

The missing Gray Reaper!

My heart started racing with excitement. The Reaper must have been found!

Just like Pavlov’s dog hearing the bell, the moment I connected the dots, I was filled with anticipation.

I quietly got up and sneaked closer to hear more. Sunbae gave me a look that said, “Stay put!” Did I listen? Of course not.

I hovered around him like a curious cat, trying to catch any hint of what was going on. He motioned for me to go back to my seat, but I just kept peeking over his shoulder.

Finally, the call ended, and the second he stood up, I darted over. “Senior! It’s the Gray Reaper, right? Right? Was it found at the Incheon Gyeyangsan camp? Hmm? Hmm?”

“Sigh… Yes, that’s right. We need to head out, so get ready.”

“YEEEEEESSS!!”

I practically screamed, throwing my hands up in victory.

Finally! I get to see Reaper again!

I dashed to my desk and started getting ready as quickly as I could.

***

A few hours after Junior No. 2 made that call, people started arriving at the Incheon Gyeyangsan temporary camp in droves.

Naturally, it wasn’t the police. The cops were still turning a blind eye to anything related to Gyeyangsan. Typical.

The first ones to show up were soldiers, giving off a strict, organized air. Since they were sent by Agent Black, they were probably soldiers from the Association.

It was a smart move on my part to give Junior No. 2 Agent Black’s number, just in case the police pulled their usual stunt.

And, sure enough, they did. So, Junior No. 2 reached out to Agent Black, explained the situation, and got us the help we needed.

These soldiers, clearly specialists in handling Objects, arrived with a fancy metal contraption. It must be a portable containment device to contain and secure the director.

They worked like clockwork and carried out their duties in pin-drop silence. So professional~!

They entered the clearing in perfect formation and meticulously cleaned up the director’s remains. They scraped the floor clean, packing every piece of flesh with surgical precision.

Once they had everything packed away, they made their exit just as swiftly as they had arrived. Not a single word was exchanged.

“Wow, now that is what I call professionalism. It’s totally different from amateurs like us!” Junior No. 2 said, clearly impressed.

“Well, in my experience, soldiers like that don’t stick around for too long.”

“Eyyy~? No way!”

She looked like she couldn’t believe it. But trust me, I’ve seen it happen. The sharper and more rigid they are, the more likely they are to fall into an Object’s trap.

The Associations’s teams of “experts” go through intensive training, sure, but their turnover rate is something else. They churn out these specialized teams faster than companies release new models of smartphones. And well there’s a simple reason for that. They just need to be “replaced” that often.

As soon as the director’s body was carted off, the Golden Reapers that had been populating the clearing began to vanish too.

They had been sleeping, curled up like little balls, but the moment the soldiers touched the corpse, they woke up as if on cue.

They watched intently as the body was carried off, then melted away into thin air like they were never there in the first place.

Right on their heels, an ambulance pulled up. The medics wasted no time scooping up Lee Taehoon, the client’s younger brother and the sole survivor of the camp, and took him to a nearby hospital.

Naturally, the client stuck to her brother like glue, and rode along with them, with absolutely no intention of letting him out of her sight.

After that, the association’s employees started arriving in waves, each one tasked with sorting out the grim mess left behind at the camp.

And among them, the folks from the Sehee Research Institute also showed up to pick the Gray Reaper up.

***

The Incheon Gyeyangsan Temporary Camp looked super eerie through the car window. I mean, seriously creepy.

It was totally empty, not a person in sight.

It was supposed to be a place where people lived, but it had more of a “Welcome to Creepyville” vibe, like some old, abandoned concentration camp.

Huh, wait are those? …So, yeah, the alleys were scattered with corpses. Yup, not your typical cozy village scene.

“Sunbae… The Reaper is not the one who did this, right?”

“No. From what I heard, the Gray Reaper is not involved. Rather, this current tragedy seems to have been committed by some pseudo-religious group that came over from China. But since it’s difficult to obtain information from overseas, it was unclear.”

Phew, that was a relief. The Reaper might be notorious, but it usually had its reasons. Knowing that the Reaper’s growing notoriety didn’t increase through this incident was a silver lining.

We kept driving until we reached this enormous entrance to an underground waterway. It was big enough for a truck to enter, and there were a bunch of vehicles parked in front of it.

Kim Jungrwii sunbae told me that we’d have to walk from here on, so we got out and started walking down the waterway.

The water was red. And it wasn’t just red, but like… dark, blood-red.

The smell of blood was everywhere, proving that it wasn’t just dirty water. Gross. It was actual blood. But despite the horror movie setting, it didn’t feel all that scary. Maybe because the place was buzzing with people.

Association employees were everywhere, lugging blood-soaked chairs, tools, and even bodybags with corpses inside them.

We trudged along until we reached a huge open space. It was packed with people, but I only had eyes for one thing.

Reaper!

There, in the middle of the chaos, was the Gray Reaper, snoozing on the floor, surrounded by the Golden Reapers.

“Reaper!”

Hearing my voice, the Reaper blinked awake and looked at me with the cutest, sleepiest expression. It rubbed its eyes like a little kid waking up from a nap.

So cuuute~! The Reaper’s shoooo cute!!