༺ Black Butterfly (1) ༻
The melodious notes of a piano rang ceaselessly inside the lizard’s containment room.
It was always fun to see the small lizard clapping excitedly and playing the piano.
As a result, I always applauded the lizard’s wonderful performance.
The Lizard’s performance had a charm that made people applaud, so wouldn’t it be easy to meet the killing condition of the Lizard which was [Receiving a standing ovation from 10,000 people at the same time] if we rent a square somewhere and have it perform there?
As I left the containment room of the lizard and entered my own, I was greeted by white noise of the TV and the soft purring of a sleeping kitten.
From the recent case, I was able to get two Object friends.
I was glad it wasn’t just one.
I had a really hard time finding it, so I would have been a little sad if the lizard hadn’t been resurrected here.
By the way, there was a lot of talk about recent high-profile incidents on TV these days.
[The Chairman of the Association, Oh Mu-ryong, who faced allegations of bribery at the National Object Management Association, was unable to attend due to his age and chronic illness… ]
A certain detective’s small actions had snowballed into quite an uproar.
The exposure of corruption within the Central Research Institute and National Object Management Association.
To be honest, I wasn’t particularly interested in these cases. But something had caught my attention, prompting me to pay close attention to the case. So I was always checking the news with interest.
It was related to a terrorist attack that had happened about a year ago.
It was revealed that the ‘National Object Management Association’ was behind the Seoul Research Institute terrorist attack.
At that time, the ‘Cute Puppy’ was a highly sought-after ‘Profitable’ Object that everyone wanted to own.
Despite possessing such a valuable Object, the director of the Seoul Research Institute never paid bribes. As a result, the Seoul Research Institute fell out of favor, facing public backlash due to the terrorism and the director’s mysterious disappearance. It was concluded that the association would be the ones responsible for managing the ‘Cute Puppy’.
The association then used ‘Cute Puppy’ to collect a lot of kickbacks.
In a way, couldn’t the association be considered my enemy from my days as a human?
However, even without me seeking any revenge, it was collapsing under the weight of its own transgressions.
The privatization of Central Research Institutes.
The deliberate inducement of proliferation of private research institutes.
The sale of Objects for monetary gain.
The misappropriation and embezzling of support funds for containing Objects with a high grade of danger.
All these instances of corruption had come to light, tarnishing the association’s reputation. It had become common knowledge that the association’s downfall was inevitable, given the sheer number of corruption cases uncovered. It was to such an extent that it was easier to count the sectors in which corruption was not discovered.
Is there any chance that a case this big would drag on endlessly in the judicial system, eventually fading into obscurity?
No matter how ruined a country may be, something like that would never happen.
***
I opened my eyes to the feeling of being poked in the cheek, only to find Yerin greeting me with a bright smile.
“Hello, Reaper!”
However, I couldn’t help but frown in response to her greeting.
Seeing my expression, Yerin massaged my cheek and asked.
“Did something happen?”
Yes, something indeed happened.
And it was very, very bad.
Perched on Yerin’s shoulder, was a small black butterfly.
The very same scary butterfly that I saw in the Central Research Institute.
With a gentle tap, I made it flutter away.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
When I gently touched her shoulder, Yerin smiled and patted my back.
That dangerous butterfly needed to be dealt with, but finding a way to fulfill its death conditions proved difficult.
[Break the black mirror.]
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that Yerin’s arrival with the black butterfly from the Central Research Institute was not a mere coincidence.
Ignoring her invitation to watch TV together, I left the containment room and was met with an expected sight—
Numerous black butterflies were fluttering through the corridors of the institute.
***
These days, the atmosphere in the institute was positive.
The reason? It was because Reaper was cheering people up every morning.
It stood in front of the main gate with a strict, solemn, and serious expression, as it encouraged those who passed through the main gate by patting them with its palm.
It served as an energizer for everyone who came to work.
Some received a single pat, while others were blessed with up to five, though the criteria behind the number was still unknown.
“I’m bored.”
However, as soon as morning passed, the Gray Reaper would disappear without a trace.
As a result, I couldn’t watch TV with Reaper and had to continue working…
Still, my situation was way better than that of the security team, who had to search for the Reaper every time it disappeared.
Just where on earth does it go?
“…”
“There will be a visitor coming to the first floor for a tour later. If you’re that bored, go there and give them a tour.”
As I was struggling with boredom, Kim Jungrwi sunbae gave me a job to do. If only I had known, I would have taken my time with my work.
As I stood in the lobby of the research institute waiting for the visitor, I heard a strange noise.
It resembled the crack of a whip? The sound of the constant whistling of the wind emanated from the main gate of the institute.
“Hey, is that guy crazy?”
“I think I have seen that person somewhere… Who is he again?”
Whispers filled the air as people’s eyes turned towards the front door.
And amidst the murmurs, the sound of the wind being slashed grew louder.
‘What is he doing?’
Upon catching sight of the person who had entered through the front door, I understood the reason behind all the sounds and the commotion.
A madman had appeared!
Dressed in a neat yellow suit, the man constantly hit himself with nunchucks made from flyswatters.
“Is researcher Oh Yerin here?”
The man began searching for Yerin with a calm expression.
I wanted nothing but to pretend I wasn’t Oh Yerin, but since it was work, I had to step forward and answer.
“I am Oh Yerin”
I stepped forward, as the man politely greeted her with a ‘Hello.’ Even though it was polite, I didn’t feel burdened by it.
If only it weren’t for the bothersome fly swatter…
“Ex…cuse me…”
“Haha. Please pay no attention to the fly swatter.”
I tried to distract myself, but try as I might, I couldn’t ignore it. Nevertheless, I still continued the conversation.
“…I heard you were here for a tour.”
“Yes. But that’s not my real purpose.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve sent several requests for cooperation regarding a certain incident, but no matter how many times I sent them, I never received a reply. So, I decided to come and see you in person.”
The man lowered his head and spoke with a serious expression.
“The Gray Reaper is needed to solve the case. Could you please cooperate with me?”
I didn’t realize it at first because I was too focused on the fly swatter, but now, I finally realized that the person in front of me was someone famous—
He was the yellow detective.
Why did we ignore a cooperation request from such a famous person? Was it perhaps Sehee Unnie’s doing? Could it be that she hadn’t been checking her emails again?
Since Sehee Unnie was responsible for handling cooperation requests like this, I decided to take him to the director’s office. However, before I could do so, a loud thud echoed through the lobby.
Something had hit the detective on the back, causing him to fall.
And there, behind the fallen detective, stood the Gray Reaper, kicking the detective mercilessly.
***
The situation was serious.
A lot of black butterflies could be seen swarming the area between the sinkhole in Songpa-gu and the research complex.
I didn’t see anyone covered in butterflies like the man who died in the central research institute, but since I was not an Object with a clairvoyance ability, there must be a victim somewhere.
No matter how high I went and how far I looked, there were no specific places with an abundance of butterflies or places that felt like they could be the source of the butterflies.
After implementing preventive measures at the Sehee Research Center in the morning, I wandered around until evening looking for the origin of the butterflies. However, my efforts proved futile.
‘The source is probably there, right?’
In fact, there was one place that I found suspicious.
It was the sinkhole that had swallowed the Hungry Ghost.
It seemed like the source of the butterflies might be there.
The problem was that searching such an enormous area couldn’t be done in a day or two.
Furthermore, I wasn’t even sure if I could find it there in the first place.
I failed to find it even when I was at the Central Research institute, so expecting success now was just unreasonable.
Today, I decided to go back early and take some rest. But I arrived, only to see the Sehee Research Institute in an absolute mess.
The black butterflies that I had painstakingly driven away had returned, swarming the institute with great numbers.
Aside from the butterflies that clung to people, Sehee Research Institute had been a butterfly-free zone, thanks to my efforts in chasing them away whenever I saw them. But now, there were more butterflies roaming around in the institute than anywhere else.
When I checked to see what was going on, I found that the cause of the problem was in the institute’s lobby.
There, a person stood amidst a swarm of butterflies, just like the person who had died in the Central Research Institute
There were so many butterflies that it was hard to even see how many people were in the lobby.
Without hesitation, I gave him a dropkick in the name of saving someone’s life.
Of course, it also contained my resentment for bringing those butterflies to the Sehee Research Institute.
It was quite the spectacle to see the black butterflies scattering and flying in all directions due to the impact.
***
I was startled and instantly ran toward the Reaper.
“Reaper, stop!”
As soon as I pulled the Reaper, who was busy showering the guy with kicks full of emotion,, away from him, the detective rose to his feet and looked around.
“Huh?”
“It’s gone! It’s gone! The swarm of Objects that were stuck together are gone!”
The detective, who was looking around in disbelief, roared loudly.
“Oooooh!”
“I survived!”
Despite the merciless beating he had received from the Reaper, the detective showed no signs of complaint. On the contrary, he seemed extremely happy.
He looked out of his mind, as he threw the fly swatter and roared.
Did the Reaper kick him so hard that he lost his mind?
