Chapter 20

In the newly prepared isolation room for the lizard, beautiful piano sounds played on and on without pause.

The sight of the tiny lizard enthusiastically clapping while playing the piano was amusing no matter how many times I saw it.

I gave the lizard’s splendid performance a round of applause.

The lizard’s performance had an irresistible charm that made me want to clap. If we rented out a square and let it perform, wouldn’t it easily satisfy the lizard’s condition of “[receiving simultaneous standing applause from ten thousand people]?”

As the lizard left its separate isolation room and entered mine, the soft sound of the TV and a little kitten purring softly while sleeping greeted me.

From this incident, I gained two Object friends, which was fortunate.

It was really tough finding them, so I would’ve been a little sad if the lizard hadn’t resurrected here.

The TV was in the middle of reporting on the hottest story these days.

[National Object Management Association President Oh Muryong, accused of bribery and other charges, is absent citing his age and chronic illness…]

A detective’s small thrown ball caused quite a commotion.

Central Research Institute, National Object Management Association corruption case.

Though I wasn’t particularly interested at first, a captivating sound caught my attention, making me pay closer attention to the news.

A terrorist attack that happened over a year ago.

It was revealed that the mastermind behind the Seoul Research Institute terror attack was that ‘Object Management Association.’

Back then, ‘Cute Puppy’ was an Object everyone wanted because it was lucrative.

At the time, the director of Seoul Research Institute refused bribes and stood firm, only to end up alienated by the association. This led to terrorism, public backlash, and his own disappearance, ultimately resulting in ‘Cute Puppy’ being managed by the association instead.

And the association profited heavily from that puppy.

You could say it was an old grudge from my human days, couldn’t you?

But even without seeking revenge, the association was collapsing on its own.

Privatization of the Central Research Institute.

Intentional proliferation of private research institutes.

Selling Objects for money.

Embezzlement of high-risk Object quarantine support funds.

So many scandals were uncovered that it seemed easier to find what they didn’t do wrong.

Would such a big case drag on in court until it fizzles out?

Even in a crumbling country, something like that probably wouldn’t happen, right?

***

When I opened my eyes to the sensation of someone poking my cheek, Yerin greeted me with a bright smile saying “Hello!”

“Hello, Reaper.”

However, I could only respond to her greeting with a frown.

Seeing my grimace, Yerin started kneading my cheeks while asking,

“What’s wrong?”

Something was indeed wrong.

It was a huge problem.

On Yerin’s shoulder sat a small black butterfly.

That terrifying butterfly from the Central Research Institute was there.

When I tapped the butterfly on her shoulder with my palm, it flapped its wings and flew away.

“What? Is something really wrong?”

When I slightly nudged her shoulder, Yerin smiled and patted my back.

Since it was dangerous, it needed to be destroyed, but the destruction condition seemed difficult to achieve immediately.

[Break the black mirror.]

No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t seem like a coincidence that Yerin brought the black butterfly from the Central Research Institute.

Ignoring Yerin’s invitation to watch TV together, I went outside the isolation room. Sure enough, the scene I expected greeted me.

Black butterflies fluttered around the research institute corridors.

***

Recently, the atmosphere at the research institute had been good.

Why? Because the Reaper encouraged people every morning.

Standing at the main gate with a strict, solemn, and serious expression, he patted those passing through on the back with his hand as encouragement.

He was a source of vitality for starting the day.

Some people got patted once, others five times—still unclear why.

“I’m bored.”

But after morning hours, the Gray Reaper disappeared somewhere.

Because of this, I couldn’t watch TV with the Reaper and had nothing but work…

Of course, it was better than the security team who constantly searched for him.

Where did he go?

“…”

“If you’re that bored, there’s going to be a visitor coming down to the 1st floor soon. Why don’t you show them around?”

While wrestling with boredom, Senior Jungloe tossed me some work and left. If I’d known this would happen, I’d have worked more slowly.

As I waited for the visitor in the lobby, strange noises began to reach my ears.

The sound of a ruler swinging? The continuous sound of wind cutting through the air came from the institute entrance.

“Hey, isn’t that guy crazy or something?”

“That person looks familiar… Who was he again?”

Amid the murmurs, everyone’s gaze turned toward the entrance.

And the sound of splitting wind grew louder.

‘What is he doing?’

When the figure came into view, everything became clear.

A madman had arrived!

A neatly dressed man in a yellow suit wielded a double-section staff made from a flyswatter and relentlessly beat himself.

“Researcher Yerin Oh? Are you here?”

With a calm expression, the man began searching for Yerin.

Absolutely, absolutely not! But since it was work, I had no choice but to respond.

Stepping forward and declaring “I’m Yerin Oh,” the man replied with a polite bow, giving an extremely courteous yet unburdensome greeting.

If only it weren’t for the unsettling flyswatter.

“Uh…”

“Haha. Please don’t worry about the flyswatter.”

No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, I couldn’t, but I forced myself to continue the conversation.

“…Did you apply for a tour?”

“In fact, I did apply for a tour, but that’s not my real purpose.”

“Huh?”

“After sending multiple requests for cooperation regarding a case and receiving no reply, I’ve taken the liberty of visiting in person.”

With a deep bow, the man spoke earnestly.

“The Gray Reaper is needed to solve a case. Would you please cooperate?”

Distracted by the flyswatter, I only just noticed now—but this person was famous.

The renowned Yellow Detective.

Why did we ignore such an important request from such a famous person? Was it Unnie Sehee? Did she not check the emails again?

Thinking this should be handled by Unnie Sehee, I decided to take him to the director’s office when a loud thud echoed.

Something struck the detective’s back, knocking him over.

Behind the fallen detective stood the Gray Reaper, mercilessly kicking him.

***

The situation was dire.

There were countless black butterflies from the Songpa District sinkhole to the research complex.

Although no one appeared covered in butterflies like the dead man at Central Research Institute, I wasn’t equipped with千里眼 (thousand-mile vision), so victims must surely exist somewhere.

No matter how high I climbed and looked around, there was no particular place where the butterflies gathered or flowed from.

After conducting pest control at Sehee Research Institute every morning and spending all day searching for the source of the butterflies, I still couldn’t locate it.

‘Probably there, right?’

Actually, I had a suspicious location in mind.

The deep sinkhole where hungry ghosts were sucked in.

It seemed like the cause of the butterflies might be there.

The issue was that thoroughly searching such a vast area couldn’t be done in a day or two.

Moreover, whether I could even find anything was uncertain.

I couldn’t find it when I was at Central Research Institute, so finding it now would be a reckless move.

Deciding to return early to rest, I found Sehee Research Institute in chaos.

The large swarm of black butterflies I had carefully driven out had returned in droves.

Sehee Research Institute had been a butterfly-free zone, with me chasing them away whenever they appeared. Now, it was swarming with more butterflies than anywhere else.

Upon investigation, the source of the problem was in the lobby.

A person covered in as many butterflies as the man who died at Central Research Institute was in the lobby.

There were so many butterflies that the number of people in the lobby couldn’t be seen.

I kicked him to save him—or maybe to vent endless resentment for spreading butterflies in Sehee Research Institute.

The shock sent the black butterflies scattering in all directions—a grand spectacle.

***

I was startled and rushed to the Gray Reaper.

“Reaper, stop!”

For reasons unknown, the Reaper was delivering emotion-filled kicks. When I pulled him off, the detective got up and looked around.

“Huh?”

“Gone! Gone! All the attached Objects are gone!”

The detective, seemingly searching for something, suddenly roared loudly.

“OOOOOOH!”

“I’m saved!”

Instead of complaining about the severe beating from the Reaper, the detective was incredibly delighted.

Discarding the flyswatter while roaring, he looked completely unhinged.

Did the Reaper kick him too hard, causing him to lose his mind?