Chapter 310

A massive apartment complex located in the Songpa District.

In the early morning, the Ashen Girl was sound asleep on her large bed in her room.

Though it wasn’t time to wake up yet, the Ashen Girl suddenly awoke due to an odd, musty smell.

“Cough, cough.”

Because of that smell, which felt like being surrounded by dust, the girl started hacking violently as soon as she sat up.

When the Ashen Girl opened her eyes and looked around the room, she saw warm sunlight streaming in from one corner.

By the window where the sunlight came through, there was a small flower vase spreading a soft floral fragrance throughout the room.

The room was spotlessly clean, without a speck of dust, and filled with pleasant scents.

It was exactly the same as always.

Why had there been such a musty smell?

And why did she cough?

Maybe it was just a hallucination after waking up?

As the girl slowly took deep breaths and sniffed the air in the room, all she could detect was the gentle scent of flowers.

She got out of bed and, as usual, enjoyed the morning sunlight while looking down from the window.

But when she glanced outside, all the buildings and trees appeared covered in black ash.

It looked like mold or ash.

‘!!!’

When she blinked, the world returned to its normal colors.

It was back to the view she loved most since moving into this house: the lush greenery of the roadside trees surrounding the apartments and their unique woody aroma.

But because she’d seen the ash-covered scene, the once-beloved view no longer felt the same.

Like an old photograph faded by light.

“Am I too tired?”

Yesterday, clear water had appeared red, and now a perfectly normal landscape seemed completely different.

Maybe I’m sick or something.

“I should probably tell Mom and Dad.”

As she was lost in thought, staring blankly out the window, the warm scent of toast and her parents’ voices calling her reached her ears.

Hearing that voice calmed her anxious heart.

Everything’s fine as always.

Yeah, it must’ve been my imagination.

Trying not to worry her parents, the girl pushed the strange sensations to the back of her mind and went about her usual morning routine.

A modest but harmonious family breakfast.

After finishing breakfast and getting ready for school, the Ashen Girl’s older brother leaned in close to whisper something in her ear.

“Want some candy?”

Her brother held up a big piece of candy.

“But if I don’t brush my teeth and eat candy… shouldn’t I?”

The girl glanced worriedly toward her parents and muttered under her breath.

“So what? It’ll be our little secret.”

With a playful grin, her brother shoved the candy into her mouth.

As the sweetness spread across her tongue, a smile naturally formed on her face.

“…?”

But her brother was grinning mischievously down at her.

Just as she thought something was off, an unbearable sourness hit her mouth.

That sourness made her squint and instinctively open her mouth to spit out the candy.

“Cough, cough.”

Still coughing, the girl closed her eyes and collapsed onto the floor.

“Did I go too far? Sorry.”

As her brother patted her back, the girl opened her eyes.

There, right in front of her, lay a squashed cockroach twitching.

The red-bloodied cockroach was curled up like a rice cake ball, soaked in saliva, still wriggling.

“EEEK!”

The Ashen Girl jumped in shock and looked up at her brother—but he wasn’t there.

Instead, only a mysterious monster made of tangled wires, covered in soot, remained.

Clang!

The Ashen Girl rolled on the floor in fright at the sight.

“What’s wrong?”

Her parents approached, having noticed the commotion.

Their voices were as kind as ever, but somehow, she feared lifting her head, fearing they might also look like monsters.

Suddenly, everything in the world seemed terrifying, so the girl tightly shut her eyes.

At that moment, a distant voice reached her ears.

Her parents scolding her brother.

As time passed and the fear subsided, the girl cautiously opened her eyes.

There stood her parents and brother, just as they always were.

Looking down at the floor, she saw a single crimson, saliva-drenched candy lying there like a ruby.

Was it all just a hallucination?

Even though the horrifying vision lasted only a brief moment, the Ashen Girl began vomiting uncontrollably from the overwhelming nausea.

“Are you okay?”

Despite the warm, concerned tone, the Ashin Girl inexplicably felt an endless chill.

***

Under the warm sunshine, small animals and Mini Reapers frolicked in the Courtyard of Sehee Research Institute.

I ordered the Green Reaper to create the “most special Tyrannosaurus” and waited for its completion.

It took longer than expected, likely because it was so special.

During the break, instead of rabbit skewers, I was slowly roasting Mini White Hungry Ghost skewers.

“Hoohoo.”

These high-end skewers were crafted from specially selected mini white hungry ghosts, tiny even compared to rabbits.

But despite eating them, I couldn’t feel fully satisfied since they weren’t rabbits.

So I kept waiting for a chance to catch a mini rabbit, but nearby, Golden Reapers always watched me with wary eyes.

“Hoohoo.”

While I was doing this, a plump-bellied Black Reaper lounging next to me caught my eye.

I immediately pulled out a ruby-red, transparent candy from the Mini Reaper Garden.

“Want to try this?”

Sending this intention telepathically, the Black Reaper curiously rose from its spot.

Its tempting red color.

Its gem-like transparency and luster.

From the outside, it looked incredibly delicious.

But this was one of those extremely sour candies popular in Korea these days!

Even knowing how sour it was, I couldn’t resist taking a bite myself—it looked that good. The Black Reaper stared at me with sparkling eyes.

“Ah~”

As I dramatically opened my mouth wide and sent the signal, the Black Reaper mimicked me, opening its mouth wide.

For a second before opening its mouth, it hesitated—probably recalling the Golden Reaper’s adage: “Don’t eat things strangers give you!”

But such warnings meant nothing in the face of such a shiny candy.

Peeep!

The Black Reaper started making sounds like a baby bird waiting for food.

I promptly popped the candy into the Black Reaper’s mouth.

“Doesn’t it taste great?”

As I asked, the Black Reaper, holding its swollen cheeks, nodded happily with a smile.

Hehe

A few seconds later…

The Black Reaper’s face began rapidly contracting as it experienced the sourness.

Click.

At that moment, Yerin quickly pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the Black Reaper.

Seeing the bizarre faceless form of the Black Reaper, Yerin smiled contentedly.

As I telepathically teased the faceless, flailing Black Reaper, it let out a sharp squeak and started pounding on my head.

Compared to the Golden Reaper’s “tut-tutting,” this attack was much heavier.

“I’m sorry. I’ll try not to do it again, so please calm down.”

As I said this, I picked up the Black Reaper and placed it in my palm, gently stroking it. Soon, it started smiling again.

The Black Reaper really does have a similar personality to the Golden Reaper.

Hehe.

While poking the contracted holes in the Black Reaper’s face, I played around until the Green Reaper arrived to announce the completion of the Tyrannosaurus.

Exhausted, the Green Reaper struck a pose: “Hem!”

“Finally!”

But what appeared before my eyes was despair.

A hippo-like face.

Thick lips.

A protruding belly.

Feathers covering the entire body.

An even uglier T-Rex than the one I saw at the station emerged.

Enraged, I stuffed the Green Reaper into my mouth.

“Meow!”

***

The Yellow Reaper and the Hideout of the Ashen Girl.

The Yellow Reaper waited for the Ashen Girl to return, holding two large candies and comparing them.

One was a sour candy from Sehee Research Institute.

The other was a sour candy from the Ashen Girl’s apartment.

To human eyes, the candies would look identical, but to the Yellow Reaper, they were entirely different.

One was a ruby-red candy.

The other was a squished mass of red cockroaches.

“Such powerful Mental Pollution…”

The Yellow Reaper worried about its Attached Human?

Or perhaps its Attached Object?

It carefully crafted a doll.

A doll with ash-gray hair, dressed in the same worn-out clothes as the girl.

Shuffle shuffle, the sound of footsteps dragging through dirt.

The Ashen Girl’s footsteps echoed as the Yellow Reaper tossed the candies aside.

The candies rolled to either side, stopping in the corners.

Following the candies with its gaze, strangely enough, everything in this hideout existed in two types.

Items from outside and items within the apartment complex.

Normal objects and twisted, rusted ones.

In this cluttered hideout, the Yellow Reaper smiled at the returning Ashen Girl.

Wishing for the Ashen Girl’s happiness.

[!– Slider main container –]