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A tattooed woman was seen reading a map at the entrance of the ticket booth.

Just by looking at her outfit and the language she used, it was clear she came from an entirely different cultural background.

A guest appeared in a garden that hadn’t seen any visitors for nearly hundreds of years.

The garden had changed its composition into unfamiliar forms.

The newcomers had completely different cultures and languages, but those differences were all trivial.

Not important at all.

What mattered was the treatment of the “object.”

The issue was how the newly arrived guests treated what they referred to as “objects.”

Soft.

Their handling was endlessly soft.

Their understanding was incredibly lacking.

“Hey, mannequin!”

The tattooed guest turned her head and called out to me.

“Yes, what can I do for you? Guest.”

I erased my thoughts and replied in a friendly tone.

In fact, what mattered to me more than the treatment of the “object” was whether that woman would pass through the theme park or not.

*

Fireworks filled the sky.

The wide, desolate ticket booth.

The unpleasant smile statue.

Not a single person could be seen anywhere in the wide, desolate ticket booth.

I asked the mannequin following me closely.

“Surely there are others who entered here besides me, but why can’t I see anyone? No matter how much they are higher beings, they couldn’t all have failed to make it through.”

“Hmm, unfortunately, this theme park is in a soft opening phase. We are responding to guests separately. Please look forward to the full opening where the guests’ blood will boil with competition.”

So, I have to go through this theme park all alone?

Shaking off my slight disappointment, I looked up at the large map placed next to the smile statue.

Smile Carousel, Smile Shuttle Bus Stop, Smile Roller Coaster, Smile Drop Tower, Smile Viking, Smile Ferris Wheel, Smile Food Court, Smile Maze, Smile House of Horrors…

The first place I need to check is the exit.

Smile Shuttle Bus Stop.

I called the mannequin that was staring intently at me while I was examining the map.

“Hey, mannequin!”

“Yes, what can I do for you? Guest.”

“You also guide the way, right? Let’s go to where the shuttle bus is.”

“Hmm, even if we go now, you won’t be able to use it. Are you sure you want to go?”

“Yeah. I don’t care, let’s go.”

The mannequin seemed to have a mood of reluctance for some reason.

Is there something at the shuttle bus stop?

I followed behind the mannequin as it slowly walked toward the shuttle bus stop.

*

The shuttle bus stop was quite detached from the theme park.

Can the shuttle bus stop be this far from the ticket booth…?

“Is it alright for the shuttle bus stop to be this far away?”

“That’s because the opening hasn’t been completed yet. It will be correctly structured at the official opening.”

The place the mannequin brought me, supposedly the shuttle bus stop, was strange.

Sticky black mud.

The smell of oil so strong it made my head ache.

A building constructed with unfamiliar architecture, stacked with layers of marble.

And a regular shuttle bus connected to the marble building.

The parked shuttle bus was just a bus with a design I would commonly see in Seoul, except for the fact that it was connected to the building with a boarding bridge, like an airplane.

As strange as the environment of the bus stop was, the sky had completely changed as well.

It felt like I was in a completely different space from the theme park.

The fireworks filling the sky were nowhere to be seen here, and instead, something strange filled the sky.

Six moons.

There were six brightly colored moons in the sky.

“Hmm, guest. Please come this way. I will explain about the shuttle bus usage.”

As I entered the marble building, I was greeted by heads.

Heads of people hanging on a metal rack.

Like bowling balls!

‘!’

And familiar heads appeared.

The heads of the anchovy guy and the pig guy.

I thought those two fellows would never survive, but here I was confirming it…

“Oh, I see you are surprised. These heads are the coins used in Smile Theme Park. One coin per head. That’s how it works.”

The mannequin took out a head and gave it a little tap.

“For using the shuttle bus, you’ll need 10 coins when paying.”

“So, if I take those 10 displayed heads, can I ride the shuttle bus immediately?”

“Oh no, oh no. Those are display coins. They are the park’s assets. Currently, the only coin you possess is your own head. But fortunately, there is an event going on now, so if you collect all the stamps, you can use the shuttle bus even without coins.”

The head the mannequin tapped swelled and transformed into a grotesque coin.

It was confirmed to be a murderous object from the moment the invitation was given, but this was even more bizarre than expected.

10 coins.

9 stamps.

That doesn’t seem to add up, but does it matter?

*

Om nom nom.

Lying comfortably on the table, I was munching on various things.

Even sitting in a chair was uncomfortable since it was too low for me.

With no other guests at the theme park besides me, shouldn’t the chair be sized for someone like me?

Anyway, it’s the theme park’s fault.

While I was enjoying my time in the food court, I sensed a change.

The mannequins were increasing.

The mannequins seemed to be placed only in necessary spots, apart from the ones dedicated to following me, but now they were gathering around the building in droves.

“Guest, we have prepared a VIP facility just for you in the food court. Would you like to take a look?”

Following the mannequin’s guide, I entered a spacious area.

Inside were things I was familiar with.

TV. Ball pit. Bed. Snacks. Game console.

It was a space filled with all my favorite things.

“What do you think? This is the VIP room prepared by Smile Theme Park. Furthermore, if you use the kiosk here, you can order any food you desire.”

Somehow.

I felt an intention to keep me tied here.

But it didn’t matter much anyway.

If I get bored, I can think about leaving then.

That makes sense, the mannequins here look too weak.

I ordered popcorn from the kiosk and turned on the TV.

A drama I hadn’t seen in a long time welcomed me.

Come to think of it, even a TV shows up among objects?

*

I’m feeling down.

It’s already been 5 days since the Reaper has disappeared.

What used to be a pleasant commute now feels unwanted.

“Yerin, wanna go eat?”

Dori Dori.

I don’t have an appetite these days.

Just feeling weak and limping around, Unnie Seoah suddenly appeared.

She wandered around, writing something down, but what could it be?

Even when I ask her what it is, she just smiles and won’t show me.

When I was tidying up my things as it was quitting time, I suddenly sensed the Reaper’s presence.

Of course, it would be impossible to actually sense the Reaper.

I was sure it was just an illusion, but I dashed toward the direction where I felt the presence.

The place I arrived at was the “Theme Park Invitation Doll” isolation room, where the Reaper had vanished.

Now, the massive doll, nearing 7 meters tall, curled up like a ball and was weakly shaking.

Hmm, something is strange?

There was something sprouting from its head like an antenna.

That’s a huge antenna.

For some reason, I felt like the Reaper was beyond that antenna.

*

This place is ambiguous in time, so I’m not sure, but maybe about three days have passed?

Only three days have passed, yet it feels boring.

It’s as comfortable as the isolation room I was staying in, but why does it feel like this?

The firewood in my chest told me the answer.

Because there’s no one around, nothing is fun to do.

Nothing tastes good to eat.

I should probably step out soon.

Waddling over and opening the door to the VIP room, there were mannequins everywhere.

“Guest. Where are you planning to go? Currently, the theme park is not available for use as it is under preparation.”

Following the mannequin’s gestures, I turned my gaze, and aside from the food court, the amusement park had disappeared.

Instead, it was filled with mannequins like an army of ants.

When I handed over the stamped paper, the mannequin smiled wryly and said,

“Of course, you won’t be able to stamp this either. Please wait for about a month, and we will have the official opening then.”

The flames burning inside me read the hostility of the mannequins.

It was ambiguous before, but now it was clear.

If the mannequin guiding me had free will and was ambiguous about its hostility toward humanity,

Then the mannequins blocking my path in front of me had no free will and were surely hostile to humanity.

With a swing of my hand, I slice the neck of the mannequin blocking my path.

Weak mannequins can’t block my way.

The condition for destroying the mannequins was [Cut the neck.]

The body of the mannequin whose neck was cut turned to dust, scattering, leaving only the round head rolling around.

At that moment, the mannequins that had been swarming outside the food court rushed in unison.

In terms of numbers, I wouldn’t fall behind either.

From under my feet, the Golden Reapers appeared in a salute pose.

But the Golden Reapers prioritized what was clinging to my body over the rushing mannequins.

They started grabbing me from under my feet, slowly crawling up to my head.

Thus, I became a Golden Reaper cocoon.

Hey, you all fought well.

Why are you doing this?

The situation changed at the moment the mannequins attacked the Golden Reaper cocoon.

The Golden Reapers flew away, dislodged from the cocoon as they were hit by the mannequin’s punch.

They flew with a pitiful expression, like chicks that lost their nest, and crashed into the wall.

At that moment, all the Reapers lifted their heads and started looking at the mannequins.

And then began the massacre.

The tide of Golden Reapers started to crush the mannequins.