༺ Seoul Forest Story (2) ༻
Savemesavemesavemesavemesavemesavemesaveme.
My mind was in a mess.
I couldn’t think properly.
The director of a research institute had to be composed at all times and calmly analyze the situation. Even though I needed to do so!
I’mscaredI’mscaredI’mscaredI’mscared.
Right in front of my eyes, the old man dragged one of the people he had kidnapped, as if he was picking out meat at a butcher’s shop.
The unfortunate victim was a woman who played the violin. She was the most frightened woman among the captives.
I forced a smile and tried to gather my thoughts.
The old man forcefully put the woman inside the steel pig statue. As he did, the pile of charred bones cracked and scattered across the floor. As a result, the identity of the unidentified pile of bones was revealed.
Soon after, the pig statue burst into flames filling the basement with horrifying screams. However, this time, the voice belonged to the woman from earlier. Thanks to that, the cause of the screaming that filled the basement was also revealed.
With trembling, stiff hands, I noted down the information about the Object. I didn’t know what kind of expression I was making.
Was I smiling confidently, as a director of a research institute should? I don’t think so.
***
“Hey! Install a camera here too. But be careful not to cross the Seoul Forest border since it will be destroyed!”
The technicians installed the cameras with great care.
It was a natural course of action, as all electronic devices that crossed the border of Seoul Forest would be shattered to pieces, as if struck by a hammer.
Interestingly, the entrance of the Seoul Forest, which usually stays quiet before, was now bustling with people.
A camp had been set up to support the team that was going into the forest to investigate. Numerous cameras were also installed to observe any Objects that might come out of the forest.
The combined allure of the mass death incident in Seoul Forest and the traces of the ‘Gray Reaper’ found at the entrance to Seoul Forest had attracted a multitude of people.
It was especially so, as humans, with their obsession over first place, couldn’t resist the story of ‘Korea’s most dangerous Object escaping from the Research Institute.’ Naturally, it was bound to cause an uproar.
In my case, I didn’t even cause any real damage, but before I knew it, I was ranked first in the risk index. Well, it wasn’t a bad title to have if it meant living comfortably, so I gratefully accepted it.
Actually, isn’t it a rather cool title? The most dangerous Object in Korea, the Gray Reaper!
In fact, if it became even more famous, sayings like ‘If you are a naughty child, the Gray Reaper will come and take you away!’ might become common, hehehehe.
Moreover, this kind of reputation was especially useful when I wanted to draw people’s attention, just like this.
By the way, Sehee Research Institute had also set up a camp at the entrance of Seoul Forest. And right now, reporters were swarming their camp, bombarding them with a never-ending barrage of questions.
“It has been confirmed that the Gray Reaper has escaped from your research center. What do you think about this situation?”
“Your mismanagement has put people in danger. What kind of compensation do you plan to offer?”
“It appears that this death incident was also caused by the Gray Reaper. Is this the first time the Gray Reaper has escaped?”
Kim Jungrwi, struggling to provide an answer, grew visibly pale as he dealt with the reporters.
Oh Yerin, who was supposed to help him, was nowhere to be found. I wondered if she knew something like this would happen and decided to work somewhere else.
With the seemingly never-ending procession of people entering the Seoul Forest, I thought it wouldn’t be too difficult to find Director Lee Sehee amidst such a large-scale search.
Well, I called these people to increase the chances of finding Sehee, so I hoped it helped, even if just a little.
I quietly joined the procession making its way towards Seoul Forest, wondering how much Seoul Forest had changed over the course of a year.
***
The view of Seoul Forest Village still looked the same, even after a year. It still had wooden buildings, roads made of cobblestone, and streets without electric poles. It was a landscape straight out of the Middle Ages.
Seoul Forest Village was the only known settlement that existed inside Seoul Forest.
The residents of the village lived a life reminiscent of the Middle Ages, mostly because of reasons such as being unable to use electronic devices or internal combustion engines.
Perhaps because of such inconveniences, it was rumored that half of the village’s residents were criminals.
As a result, the public order was so poor that it was hard to believe the village was located near Seoul.
What would happen if you used electronic devices in the Seoul Forest area, you ask? Well, they would just fall apart. For no reason at all. All the high-rise buildings and roads that previously existed had also disappeared in a similar manner.
In my personal opinion, Seoul Forest Village felt like a great folk village that was built well and was bursting with life.
It felt even more so because there was no rubber, plastic, or asphalt all around the village.
Even when I had returned a year later, the feeling was still the same.
The most interesting part in particular was the shopping district. After all, every transaction within the area was conducted in gold or silver, as even banknotes were rendered obsolete due to the nature of the Steel Tower.
It was a place where one would weigh the gold coins on a scale, buy and sell goods with the gold coins, and experience medieval-style transactions full of bargaining and fraud.
Snacks and food items were also packaged in either glass, metal cans, or leather.
Just strolling through the market which was full of amazing things would make one feel like you were in a tourist destination with an entirely different culture.
Of course, that was only the case from the perspective of an Object.
Uncomfortable beds, lackluster facilities, subpar food, unstable security, and the absence of electronic devices. Even though it was a comfortable place for Objects, it was not the case for humans, who had to eat and sleep in every tourist spot they visited.
Nevertheless, there was a reason why society managed to thrive even in such a place. It was because of the existence of the ruler who managed this place.
He was a person who took care of this place—an abandoned land where no modern technology could be used—and made a society of his own.
His name was Han Kangcheol.
The King of Seoul Forest.
Although he was called the ‘King of the Seoul Forest,’ in reality, he was nothing more than the leader of the gang that ruled this place. He was a fitting ruler for this lawless land, devoid of firearms and electronic devices.
If something had truly happened, I needed to visit Han Kangcheol at least once. Unless it was a one-time accident, it was obvious that Han Kangcheol’s organization would have some kind of information about it.
Han Kancheol’s whereabouts? He must be in the biggest and best building in town, right?
The place I went to find Han Kangcheol was a magnificent building that reminded me of a medieval mansion.
As I entered the mansion, it was obvious that something had definitely happened.
The air hung heavy with tension and the mansion was scattered with injured people. However, I was not sure whether it had anything to do with Sehee’s disappearance or not.
While it would have been easy to simply throw an ‘Is something happening?’ to someone in the mansion, the fact that I had no lungs and couldn’t speak made it an impractical solution for me.
It was possible to write the question down, but since the concept of ‘Gray Reaper’ was to not understand human speech, that option was also NG.
Why did I choose that concept? It was a concept that I made in order to have a happy Object life. If I could talk, I would end up negotiating with the humans. I made this rule because I didn’t really want to do that.
As I slowly looked around every room of the mansion by moving through the walls and ceiling like a ghost, a meaningful conversation entered my ears.
“Isn’t this something we need to ask for help from the outside?”
“You want us to ask for help?”
In a room in the corner of the mansion, Han Kangcheol and several others were talking. Numerous photos lay scattered on the table before them.
“More than ten of our people have been injured with broken arms and legs. Moreover, there are well over thirty people who are missing. Even if we go in groups of 5, we still can’t catch it, so I don’t think it is something we can catch.”
“What difference do you think it will make if we ask for help from the outside? They can’t even use guns. There’s no point in trying to increase the number of people by asking for help from the outside. Rather, the government will solve the problem by emptying Seoul Forest. Which means we will have to close our business.”
The missing person case!
It seemed like a case with a high probability of Sehee being involved.
“With so many outsiders suddenly flooding in, that guy who avoids everyone’s eyes will have a hard time getting around. Let’s try for one last time tonight. There are so many outsiders anyway, so it will be difficult for us to control information anymore.”
***
The night in the Seoul forest was particularly dark. In the eerie darkness of a village without electricity, the sound of something breaking echoed throughout the area.
“Get it!”
“Corner it!”
Holding a blade, thugs chased after a being, running in all sorts of directions.
The being was a monster man about three meters tall, who looked like a skinny man with grotesquely long limbs. At first glance, it looked more like a water strider or a huntsman spider than a human being.
Its physical abilities were also as bizarre as its appearances. It was fast to the point it was hard to see it in the dark. Moreover, its strikes were powerful enough to instantly break the bones of anyone hit by the monster.
Were these gangsters right in their heads to even think of dealing with something like that internally, rather than informing the outside world?
Surely, if an outsider saw such a monster wandering around, the secret could no longer be kept hidden. The fact that it had remained hidden until now was astonishing in itself.
However, It spoke volumes about Han Kangcheol’s control over the Seoul Forest, which was enough to make him call himself a king.
While the gangsters were busy trying to catch the monster, I decided to investigate the house where the monster had come from.
Those with poor eyesight wouldn’t have been able to see it, especially considering the darkness of the night. The monster seemed to have jumped out of a small house which was on the outskirts of the village.
It was a typical, affordable residence in the village, with nothing special about it.
‘Hmm.’
As I sneaked into the house, I was greeted by the sprawled figures of other monster men.
