Yerin woke up in the early hours of dawn, preparing to head to Sehee Research Institute under the soft blue light filtering through her window.
“Hmm, what should I bring today?”
With a small smile on her lips, she was selecting her “toy” for the day with the enthusiasm of a child heading to an amusement park, alongside the Gray Reaper.
The window, opened for ventilation, let in the sounds of the city waking up.
The hurried footsteps of employees heading to work echoed outside, and cars passed by with gentle engine hums.
Still, the street retained its unique quiet and cold atmosphere of the early morning.
From the shared entrance came a low voice saying, “Have a good day.”
That voice reached Yerin’s ears more clearly than any other sound of the morning.
It didn’t sound human. It was slightly mechanical and alien.
It was the voice of the manager-type Association Doll placed by the building owner to handle various tasks.
Dressed in sharp blue uniform, it moved with precision, revealing its non-human nature with a nutcracker-like mouth.
This was different from the common household dolls designed for emotional interaction with humans.
“More and more every day,” muttered Yerin, unable to hide her uneasy feeling.
Was it because the Mini Reapers disliked them, or was there another reason?
Yerin found these dolls unsettling, especially the high-end models that resembled humans too closely.
Though they didn’t seem like other Objects that might attack humans…
It was something more unsettling.
Just thinking about them made her stomach churn slightly.
Lost in thought, Yerin snapped back to reality when a golden face popped out near the door.
Hehe.
The Golden Reaper greeted her with a beaming smile, having come to escort her as part of the Gray Reaper’s service offered to all researchers.
“Tubang tubang.”
Following the lively steps of the Golden Reaper, Yerin turned back to say goodbye.
“I’ll be back.”
To whom she said this, there were a White Hungry Ghost and a Lead Doll.
Provided for night watch, the White Hungry Ghost replaced the Golden Reaper who fell asleep at 10 PM.
The White Hungry Ghost rested quietly on the knee of the sleeping Lead Doll.
Yerin took a step into the blue-tinged dawn.
Mini Reaper Garden, Marshmallow Plains.
Here, the White Hungry Ghosts pardoned due to the Association Doll crisis played around.
Since the Golden Reaper easily dozes off unless close by, the White Hungry Ghosts were pardoned to replace them.
While not as powerful as the Golden Reaper, the White Hungry Ghosts were excellent guards—numerous, small, and quite capable.
Of course, the childlike Golden Reaper dozed off by 10 PM, making them unsuitable for overnight guarding.
Well, if their combat power was lacking, we could always call upon the Mini Reapers!
Enter the Emergency Security Bell of the White Hungry Ghost!
Sure, it might be easier to unleash the Mini Reapers across Seoul to destroy all Association Dolls, but there’s some ambiguity I’m letting slide.
See, they don’t seem harmful to me.
Even though the Mini Reapers detest them, no ominous scent wafted down from the Color Universe.
Still, since the Mini Reapers hate them so much, I assigned guard duties to the White Hungry Ghosts for Sehee Research Institute staff.
And there’s an event I’m waiting for, so destruction is on hold.
Holding a flyer I’ve read countless times, I looked it over again.
<Republic of Korea’s First! Korean Object Association Presents the Doll Fair!>
<Object Fair = Failure? NO!>
<Discover new possibilities at the Korean Object Association’s distinctive doll fair!>
<Exhibit Items>
<Various housekeeping helper dolls for home use>
<Giant dolls that can replace heavy machinery at construction sites>
<Advanced medical assistant dolls for healthcare settings>
<Educational dolls revolutionizing the education field>
<Laboratory assistant dolls boosting research and development>
<And many more dolls prepared!>
<For more information, visit the Korean Object Association official website!>
<A challenge towards the future of the Republic of Korea, together with the Korean Object Association!>
<Inquiry: Korean Object Association (Phone: ■■-■■■■-■■■■ / Email: info@■■■■.■■■)>
An Object Fair!
Though focused only on ‘dolls’ among Objects, it was still exciting.
Could this time pass without incident?
I held a small hope.
Wishing for a future where enjoyable object fairs would regularly occur in Seoul.
If the dolls truly turn out to be harmful and need destruction, it’ll have to wait until after the event.
Hehe.
Re-reading the flyer filled with various dolls, I neatly folded it and slipped it into the mouth of a nearby White Hungry Ghost.
Looking around, numerous White Hungry Ghosts lingered nearby.
Is it because they received amnesty?
Or because they haven’t been tormented since <Hell of Devious White Hungry Ghost>?
Observing them closely, the White Hungry Ghosts divided into two groups.
One group busily searched for something, while the other loitered around me.
Geehee.
Seeing the sinister smiles on the searching ghosts gave me a clue.
These guys are waiting for the Orange Reaper.
Expecting the downfall of the treacherous Orange Reaper, they seemed to be looking for it.
Unfortunately for the White Hungry Ghosts, the Orange Reaper had long been pardoned via a judicial deal with me.
Hehe.
Turning my head toward the inner courtyard, a large golden statue caught my eye.
It was a sculpture made from golden horns stolen by the Orange Reapers from the Free City Alliance—a sculpture of the Triceratops, my second favorite dinosaur after Tyrannosaurus.
Finding satisfaction in the Triceratops sculpture instead of creating one myself pleased me.
Proudly gazing at the golden statue, I smiled contentedly.
Near James Tower in Songpa District, Seoul.
The place was bustling with food, materials, and fuel continuously arriving.
Yet, amidst the hustle and bustle, there was no trace of human life.
Instead, something eerie occupied the spaces meant for humans.
Association Dolls.
James tried to refuse entry to the Dolls’ location but now all construction sites and tough jobs were handled by the dolls, leaving him no choice.
Still, James ensured that no dolls entered the tower interior.
Thus, moving supplies from the parking lot into the tower was done personally by James and his American staff.
It was unavoidable.
“Hmm.”
James murmured softly while checking the CCTV.
On the screen, a doll slowly walked forward, grabbing and turning the handle of a tightly closed door.
It seemed like it was searching for a way inside the tower.
James felt a chill run down his spine.
The problem wasn’t just one or two dolls.
Different dolls checked different entrances, each once, as if coordinated by something unseen.
If this was the doing of the “Korean Object Association,” it’d be somewhat reassuring—dismissable as clumsy industrial espionage.
But if it was unrelated to the association?
Seoul would face unimaginable danger.
James tore his eyes away from the monitor and looked out the window.
There, the dolls moved in perfect order, carrying cargo.
Was it because of the suspicious points on the CCTV that he noticed it?
Their lifeless eyes seemed to carry a piercing, chilling gleam.
Exactly what and for whom do these things move?
*
Clunk clunk.
A blue-uniformed doll slowly patrolled the empty corridor of the building Yerin had left.
As if on patrol, it moved back and forth along the deserted hallway but strangely paused every time it passed the entrance.
Creak.
Making a poorly oiled machine-like noise, the blue doll turned its head and stared at Yerin’s door for a long moment.
Then, it resumed its clunky steps.
The White Hungry Ghost resting on the Lead Doll’s knee listened intently to the sound.
Even to the ghost, the dolls’ actions seemed suspicious.
As the doll’s footsteps faded away, the ghost sighed in relief.
At that moment, the room’s darkness suddenly dissipated, and warm golden light enveloped the ghost.
Feeling familiar warmth, the ghost turned toward the light.
“!”
Lifting its head to meet the light, the ghost flailed in surprise.
Curiosity led the ghost to look up, only to meet the narrow gaze of the Lead Doll staring down at it.
Deep and warm, yet sleepy-looking eyes of the Lead Doll.
Terrified by the gaze of an entity that should never move, the White Hungry Ghost panicked.
