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I sat in the transport vehicle heading to the research institute, slowly swinging my feet back and forth.

Clank, clank.

The loud sound of iron chains clashing.

Someone could have pointed it out, but those timid guys wouldn’t dare.

The transport vehicle came to a stop with a loud noise in the research institute parking lot.

Surrounding the vehicle were police officers with tense expressions, and researchers who looked terrified as they watched us.

Getting out of the parking lot, I looked down at the police officer standing in front and asked, “So, where do we go from here?”

The officer could barely respond and just mumbled.

From all directions, the mocking laughter of death row inmates escaped.

The police shouted to quiet down and led us into an isolation room inside the institute.

The nameplate in front of the isolation room read [Theme Park Invitation Doll.]

Inside the isolation room, there was a round-faced doll object wobbling around.

It had a grin that made me want to tear it apart.

Looking around, the expressions were clearly divided.

The once relaxed death row inmates now looked like they were about to die in front of the object, while the researchers were curious, despite their fearful expressions.

The death row inmates were thrown into the isolation room, trembling in a line.

What a bunch of idiots!

If they’re going to do it anyway, they should at least do it with some dignity.

How is it that only losers ended up here?

Especially that pig and that anchovy, it’s hard to believe they’ve survived this long.

As I stood in front of the isolation room, the suffocating handcuffs that had been constraining me were removed.

Phew, I can finally breathe a little.

Rubbing my wrists, as I entered the isolation room, the doll was grinning from ear to ear.

I took the letter from the doll and read the postcard.

Inside was a rambling message that wasn’t even funny.

[Enjoy the best entertainment of your life at Smile Theme Park!]

After reading the postcard, my vision began to turn pitch black.

Looking at the postcard, it seemed that if I rode the nine deadly amusement rides, I could escape.

Whether I escape or not, at least I would be saying goodbye to this miserable prison life.

*

About 21 minutes after the death row inmates arrived, they all read their letters and disappeared.

The police who transported them left with only the minimum personnel remaining.

“Unnie Seoah? Th-that person has gone, right?”

Yerin Oh was hiding behind me, scared after seeing the huge death row inmate.

No, Chief Sehee is at least 15cm taller than me, so why would she hide behind me?

“Researcher Yerin Oh. Everyone has vanished, so you can come out now.”

“Phew! That woman looked really scary, didn’t she? So many tattoos, and she has the vibe of someone who’s killed a few people!”

While Yerin was panicking, I noticed something strange.

The ‘Theme Park Invitation Doll’ seemed to have grown in size.

About 5cm, maybe?

Moreover, the doll’s expression, with its mouth stretched wide in a grin, was unsettling.

With my suspicions raised, I called the researchers to rush them into measuring the doll’s size again.

The doll continued laughing incessantly even as the researchers grabbed its limbs.

Hehe.

This was a reaction I had never seen before.

The measurement revealed a growth of 5cm.

But the growth didn’t stop at 5cm.

Even during repeated measurements, it kept increasing by 1cm at a time.

Was throwing in the death row inmates too hasty a decision?

*

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a completely unrecognizable place.

The room was too well-decorated, making me feel like I hadn’t been invited.

Lush paintings, a cabinet full of food, and an antique mirror.

Looking in the mirror, I saw a pig-like self that had gained weight.

Seeing myself in the mirror suddenly provoked my frustration, and I smashed it to pieces.

Huff. Huff.

I was breathless.

Blood flowed from my fists, and tears of injustice filled my eyes.

Although the room was splendidly decorated, it felt like a gallows to me.

Something was off.

How did I end up dragged here?

I haven’t done anything wrong.

Just because I accidentally killed a kid I abducted?

That kid provoked me first!

“Welcome, guest! Thank you for coming to Smile Theme Park!”

“AAAH!”

A monster suddenly thrust its face forward.

Already, the monster has come?

“W-who are you?”

“I am your personal attendant assigned to assist you.”

“What does an attendant do?”

“Simply put, I help guests until the end during their stay at this theme park.”

Despite its sewn-up eyes and mouth, the monster spoke in a calm and gentle voice.

Well, that’s not so bad.

There’s not much to be scared of.

Haha.

I casually raised my palm and slapped the mannequin.

“Just because of you! You scared me. Huh?”

As I stomped on the fallen mannequin, my anger subsided a bit.

Once my anger waned, the reality of what I had done hit me.

What the hell had I done?

Taking my anger out on an object!?

As I tried to catch my breath, the mannequin got back up and brushed the dust off its clothes.

“Then, guest, may I continue with the explanation?”

“I d-don’t need an explanation. Don’t come back until I call for you!”

“Understood, guest.”

The mannequin bowed and stepped back out of the room.

Phew.

Once the mannequin left completely, I let out a deep sigh.

As the fear faded, my stomach began to growl.

Maybe it was because I relaxed, but it was making me feel a bit dizzy.

Looking around the hotel room for something to eat, I found a variety of drinks, snacks, and food all neatly packaged.

I felt like I had learned something about the circumstances related to the object, but what was it?

Did they say not to eat this recklessly?

But I was too hungry, so I inspected the food, each labeled with an unidentifiable tag.

Blue tags, red tags, and so on.

Upon closer inspection, the tag colors were red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple.

Aha! A rainbow!

Most quiz questions about objects are derived from folktales or famous anecdotes.

So does that mean I should eat them in the order of the rainbow?

I really am clever.

Hehe, I’m going to feast for the first time in a while.

After all, it’s inside the object, so it must be free.

I pulled out a bunch of appetizing foods corresponding to each tag.

I selected about 30 different dishes, but the available food showed no sign of diminishing.

I ended up picking 7 dishes that appealed to me.

A salad with a red tag.

Bread with an orange tag.

Cream soup with a yellow tag.

Fried fish with a green tag.

A delicious steak with a blue tag.

Cheesecake with an indigo tag.

Coffee with a purple tag.

The course meal I wanted to eat after getting the kid’s ransom.

Recalling that meal I couldn’t have, I tried to arrange it in my memory.

Finally, I was about to eat this!

Holding a fork, I elegantly took a bite of the salad.

“Cough!”

Suddenly, I felt breathless.

Blood dripped from my mouth, soaking the floor.

“Huh? What… what’s happening?”

I tried to push myself up from the table, but I couldn’t muster the strength and collapsed instead.

Dishes and food fell atop me.

Even though I tried to scream, no voice came out.

*

The mannequin opened the door and entered the room.

“Oh dear, guest. Aren’t you making quite a mess in here?”

The mannequin’s voice dripped with mockery.

“I thought you looked like a greedy pig from the very beginning, but look at you pulling out all this food.”

The man, pouring blood from his mouth, could only glare at the mannequin as he couldn’t move a finger.

His mouth continued to mumble, though.

‘Please save me. Please save me. Please save me.’

“All the food is covered in blood. I’ll have to prepare it again.”

The mannequin began transferring the food the man had pulled out to a mobile tray.

As it pulled the tray out of the room, it said, “If you wanted to live, you should have listened to the explanation earlier.”

The mannequin dropped a piece of paper onto the man’s face.

It was a sheet containing the room’s rules.

[Smile Theme Park Room Rules.]

[Welcome to Smile Theme Park!]

[Room use is free!]

[The prepared food is made with care by our staff.]

[However, to exit the room, you must eat at least one type of food, considering the staff's effort.]

[The following rules are for free users.]

[Please review carefully!]

[Please cross out one line from the following rules.]

[At least 6 of the 7 colored foods contain poison.]

[All red, orange, and yellow foods contain poison.]

[All red, yellow, and blue foods contain poison.]

[All orange, blue, and purple foods contain poison.]

[All green, blue, and indigo foods contain poison.]

[All orange, green, and indigo foods contain poison.]

The dying man’s pupils read the paper fervently, but it was futile.

However, until the moment he took his last breath, he continued to read the paper endlessly.

*

Omnomnom.

I sat on the bed and ate the cheesecake.

Delicious.

It tasted as good as the famous bakery cakes I had in the isolation room.

Chocolate mousse cake, strawberry whipped cream cake, pecan pie, apple pie.

It felt like all the desserts in the world were gathered here.

Is this heaven!?

Actually, there was one tiny complaint.

It would’ve been nice if each food had a different taste associated with its label!

I took a small sip of orange juice with a red tag, hoping it would be different, but unfortunately, it tasted like strawberry.

As I rolled around on the bed, I spotted the instruction manual the mannequin told me to read.

Well, I can read it later, right?

While stretching my arms and legs on the bed, I enjoyed my leisurely rest time.