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I wander around the research institute, which is filled with a chaotic atmosphere.

Someone is shouting, and another person dashes by, clutching a pile of documents.

When I get bored in the isolation room, I come out to observe the people, but today feels even more chaotic than usual.

The isolation room is a thoroughly sealed space, but it’s not exactly a place I can’t leave. It’s just a standard object isolation facility as defined by law, not a place that can truly hold me back.

If I set my mind to it, I could turn into a ghostly entity and wander around, which is something modern science can’t do much about.

Just a few minutes ago, I was snuggled up in Yerin’s arms, watching a movie, but I got caught by Kim Jungrwi, Yerin’s supervisor.

Watching a movie alone isn’t any fun, so I decided to sneak through the wall of the isolation room and explore the institute.

I chose the meeting room where a meeting was in progress.

Lying sprawled across the central table of the meeting room feels oddly delightful.

I enjoy the fact that no one can see me, and for some reason, the cool touch is comforting, making it one of my favorite resting spots.

“It seems a bit early to confirm that Director Lee Sehee has gone missing. Since Seoul Forest tends to disable all electronic devices, it’s common for communication to be delayed.”

Oh, Jungrwi, the voice of reason, makes a valid point.

Even if the director is a bit of a flake, it’s hard to believe they disappeared in just a few hours.

Yerin also agreed without much resistance.

Yerin, who often skips out, was furiously tapping away at her laptop during the meeting.

Is she goofing off? But then, shockingly, she was actually taking notes and sharing opinions—where did the Yerin who always goes out with me disappear to?

I had to admit, if a staff member were shirking their duties during this critical time, they would have been let go a long time ago.

It was hard to believe the conclusion would be that we should wait a bit longer since it’s still too early to judge the disappearance of the director, yet the deputy director disagreed.

“There are many locals in Seoul Forest who maintain contact since objects tend to frequently appear there. According to them, the director hasn’t entered their residence in the forest yet. There’s definitely some trouble involved.”

“Should we conduct a large-scale search then? Given the recent mass die-off incident, government and other research institute teams will likely be around, so we need to consider the possibility of a clash.”

In the end, the meeting consensus was to send an investigation team comprised of the recovery team and security team not only to find the director but also to uncover the cause of the die-off incident.

It’s an otherwise ordinary conclusion.

But I thought, wouldn’t it be fun if we suddenly set out to find the director?

While the chance of something happening to the director is low, with the die-off incident going on, there has to be something interesting happening.

Of course, there’s another significant reason.

“Do you have any idea where the Gray Reaper is right now?”

“Nope, I don’t. I guess it’s not in the isolation room.”

“We need to keep a close watch until this situation resolves. With the mass die-off capturing attention, if any issues arise, the Seoul Research Institute will take a hit. There’ll be public hearings and chaos!”

Everyone seems to think the die-off incident is my doing, and I can’t help but wonder how they would react if I just showed up there.

“Ah!”

Yerin, who spent a lot of time with me, suddenly started calling out for me, perhaps sensing something.

“Reaper, let’s come out and watch a movie! This time, let’s make popcorn and do it right!”

Heh, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Yerin flustered—almost a year, I think? Ignoring her voice calling out desperately for me, I headed outside toward Seoul Forest.

*

“What’s with the sudden movie talk during work hours?”

I heard Kim Jungrwi’s disgruntled voice.

“Ugh, I messed up because of you, senior. I should’ve been watching the movie. The Gray Reaper doesn’t usually stay in the isolation room but frequents the meeting room.”

“Sure, I know that a reaper is virtually impossible to isolate and roams around the institute freely, but is that really a problem?”

“It is a problem. If the Reaper deems a situation unsuitable, it will just disappear in a blink. If it’s been listening to this meeting, I’m sure it’s itching to leave.”

Jungrwi looked at me, baffled.

“No reaper has ever left the research institute after being confined, isn’t that a bit excessive anxiety? Besides, it’s true that the Reaper is intelligent, but jumping to conclusions that it understands language is a dangerous assumption.”

“Anyway, I can’t prove it with data, but my instinct tells me the Reaper has definitely gone to Seoul Forest. I’m heading out there too, so please process my outdoor deployment.”

He was surprised that I was going on a fieldwork trip I’ve never been on but still approved my request.

“Be careful, it’s dangerous out there in Seoul Forest.”

Even while approving my sudden outdoor request, Jungrwi’s worry didn’t fade; he truly is a good senior.

Although, had he known my real reason for wanting the outdoor trip, he would never have allowed it, but naive Jungrwi couldn’t possibly anticipate Yerin’s schemes.

*

On a cloudy day with plenty of clouds, I sat on a concrete ceiling and looked at the forest stretching out to the edge of my vision.

I swayed my legs slowly in the pleasantly blowing wind.

Sitting across from the CCTV installed on the rooftop, I savored the breeze.

A cold, square outpost built from high concrete.

Could there be another place that clearly shows the line between civilization and the wild as much as here?

The road leading into Seoul Forest showed a complete mess after crossing the forest’s boundary, highlighting the transition into the wild even more.

Seoul Forest was created due to the ‘Steel Tower,’ an indestructible object that emerged from Pyongyang.

It was known for remaining intact even after being hit by nuclear strikes, and with the appearance of the Steel Tower, a vague misconception humanity had been shattered.

“Wouldn’t firing a nuke solve most object problems?” such naive thinking.

Many more objects emerged that were immune to nuclear attacks afterward.

It turns out that ghost-like objects that aren’t physically affected are more common than one would think.

The Steel Tower was also notorious for breaking civilization, as almost all electronic devices that entered its domain were guaranteed to be damaged, and tall buildings and roads were destroyed.

Thus, that beyond was also referred to as the outside of civilization.

Inside the outpost were two soldiers with shaved heads, and they looked obviously bored.

The senior-looking outpost soldier was blankly staring at the TV installed in the outpost, while the junior soldier seemed to be lurking endlessly towards Seoul Forest.

On the TV, there was continuous coverage of the recent mass die-off incident.

Is the cause a new type of object? Or could it be the Reaper’s doing? This was a panel discussion on the TV.

[This mass die-off incident is reported to be due to the mismanagement of Sehee Research Institute, and swift action is necessary. Just like the Seoul Research Institute incident a year ago, if we entrust object management to an incapable institute, problems are bound to arise. Especially since the ‘Cute Puppy’ is not like the ‘Gray Reaper,’ which is a special level dangerous object; should a problem arise, it will lead to irreversible consequences!]

The panel pointed out that the recent die-off incident was due to the lack of management at Sehee Research Institute, referencing the Seoul Research Institute incident.

That incident where I, as a human, met my end during a terror attack.

“I suspect this mass die-off is also the work of the Reaper. If multiple entities capable of causing such bizarre phenomena appear near Seoul, it’s rather odd.”

The soldier keeping watch over Seoul Forest said without breaking his gaze from the woods.

Oh, so when it comes to the die-off incident, my story pops in too!

“Well, if there’s no evidence that the ‘Gray Reaper’ did it, I think it will likely conclude that an undiscovered new entity was responsible. Considering the number of researchers who went into the forest, it should be disclosed soon enough.”

The atmosphere seemed to suggest that public sentiment was quickly concluding that the Gray Reaper was responsible, but it seems investigations don’t wrap up like that.

Even if public opinion accused the Gray Reaper, we can’t state it was the Reaper’s doing without evidence.

On the TV, a panel spoke about how dangerous this world is and how shaky this society stands on its foundations.

The panel, who could be said to be at the forefront of object danger, seemed a bit off as they vehemently expressed their anger compared to the calm soldiers in the outpost.

“That is strange. The time to return has passed, yet they still haven’t come back.”

The junior soldier remained transfixed to the forest, wearing a worried expression as if waiting for someone.

Perhaps with all the rumors around the recent die-offs, that’s why he seems so anxious.

“On such a cloudy day, maybe they can’t come back. You know that if it rains around here, a thunderstorm can annihilate everything.”

“Nonetheless, it is strange. Normally they come out of the forest in a month, but they still haven’t returned. I really want to report the occurrence of abnormalities and at least dispatch a search team.”

“Hey, if its false reporting gets found out, it’s straight to prison. You know how those dealing with objects get treated? No tolerance. If you’re so worried, hire a private detective or something; they’ll be faster and more accurate than a search team. It’ll cost some money though.”

So there are detectives even here. I never thought about it since I never needed to hire a detective when I was human.

The junior soldier seemed quite close to the senior one, gleefully requesting a detective using the contact number he got from him.

“I don’t care how much it costs, just find them.”

“Hey?”

Just as I was seeing off the commotion about hiring a detective, the senior soldier gasped at something he saw.

Did he finally spot me? With a delighted heart, I waved my hand in front of the CCTV.

“R-Reaper!”

The two outpost soldiers were so startled they didn’t run down the stairs; instead, they jumped straight off the three-story outpost and fled in a truck.

Can’t they at least acknowledge my greeting?