Boil, boil.
I boiled jelly and gazed at what appeared in my line of sight.
I couldn’t help but tilt my head in puzzlement at the strange scene.
What could this be?
What I saw was a sculpture carved with great beauty.
I’m not quite sure if I can even call it a sculpture, though, since I couldn’t identify the smooth material it was made from.
It sparkled too much to be stone, and yet it felt too stony to be metal.
Leaving aside what the material is, I was still perplexed as to why such an object would be here.
I had once seen a photograph of a sculpture said to have been carved by Michelangelo, and even that might pale in comparison to the beauty of this sculpture.
Of course, those sculptures have values beyond mere beauty, so it’s difficult to say which is superior.
Nevertheless.
It was a sculpture beautiful enough to just stare at vacantly, even in this situation.
What made it particularly unique was how the delicate wings sprouting from the sculpted shoulder blades felt so rich in detail that they almost seemed plush.
Perhaps it was an angel, but the wings felt so life-like that they seemed ready to flap and fly away.
Just staring at it gave me a strange feeling of arrogance, as if I too could become something amazing like this.
…Hmm, I must be going insane.
Ahem.
Shaking off that feeling, I boiled some jelly again, then focused my vision using the knowledge pouch dangling above my head.
The blunt end of the knowledge pouch was aimed directly at the beautiful sculpture.
?
Why was it doing this?
I gave it a little wiggle out of curiosity, but the knowledge pouch remained immovably fixed on the sculpture.
Out of some frustration, I even grabbed it with my hand and tried to turn it, but it snapped back with a swift swing, like a child lying down in a department store demanding a toy.
Of course, I had no way to take it, so that was quite the predicament.
But it was still annoying and felt wasteful to just leave it alone.
So… my accursed curiosity that made me this way bubbled up.
I thought this moment might haunt me forever, so for a brief moment, I decided to observe the sculpture up close.
I thought perhaps the knowledge pouch would be satisfied with just a brief touch.
Yet there was something in the room akin to a surveillance camera, unlike in my room.
Though curiosity might overflow in me, I’m not stupid enough not to recognize danger.
If I had been warned that being here might turn me into this, I would have been more careful elsewhere as well.
Though I felt sorry for the knowledge pouch, I was about to give up then…
What if I spat out some slime to cover it?
The idea came to me.
I thought it would be like one of those units in an old game that could shoot slime with a wet squirt sound.
Of course, that unit shot its backbone rather than saliva, but what could I do if it all looked like saliva to me?
Anyway.
I planned to spit some slime to buy some time, take a look, and then flee without looking back.
Even though I didn’t think observing it up close would make much difference, it still seemed better than simply passing by.
They say curiosity killed the cat, but I’m jelly, so I should be fine, right?
With my jelly bubbling in preparation, I imagined spitting out a watermelon seed.
The moment had come to use the mouth-like structure that exists somehow for formality.
Alright, ready.
Pthoo!
It worked perfectly on the first try.
Just as I imagined, my jelly squirted out like that unit in the game.
But… it didn’t need to have the same power as well.
I had only imagined it would stick to the lens and drip off gradually, but when the camera got hit with my jelly, it completely spun around.
The camera covered in dripping jelly felt… strange.
Sigh, when has anything I’ve done ever gone according to plan?
If it had, I wouldn’t even be here.
Given that, it might be better to check quickly and then go back.
Daesik didn’t seem to show much interest, so I quickly descended and approached the sculpture.
On closer inspection, it was even more beautiful.
It had a vivid energy that made it feel like it could come to life and move.
It was a sculpture that any collector would gladly spend a fortune on.
But I didn’t forget my situation, so I quickly checked the knowledge pouch.
It was still merely pointing its blunt end at the sculpture.
It didn’t show any particular reaction.
…What am I supposed to do with this?
Fine.
I think I’ve done enough for the sake of my curiosity… I mean, the knowledge pouch. Just thinking about those greedy eyes made me shiver.
With that, I crawled back into the vent, sticking to the wall.
I noticed faint wire-like lines on the sculpture, but with no time to waste, Daesik and I quickly moved through the dark vent.
Before long, thoughts about the sculpture faded from my mind.
A man and a woman sat in a dim room.
The man seemed tired, rubbing his temples with his eyes closed, while the woman stared at the monitor with slightly reddened eyes from dryness.
On the monitor was a very beautiful sculpture that seemed modeled after an angel.
The woman, who had been staring at the sculpture intently, said while dabbing around her eyes with a wet tissue, her gaze still fixed on the monitor.
“Isn’t it about time for our shift change…?”
Her whining voice prompted a low reply from the man.
“The alarm hasn’t gone off yet.”
“Ah, how about changing the time a bit? Don’t you know what consideration is? Consideration?”
“Since when did you start caring about gender equality?”
“Harrmph….”
The woman let out a heavy sigh.
Why did this object have to appear during her shift? Out of all the days, why today?
She was already worried about her skin cracking from fatigue, as she sat there grumbling in discontent.
“Just when is that thing going to sell?”
“If you don’t know, how would I?”
“And who would even buy such a thing? Maintaining it like this requires people to be worked to the bone, doesn’t it?”
The man muttered to himself while the woman chuckled.
“Are those people who buy such things even worried about these things? And besides, just because you don’t watch it doesn’t mean it doesn’t move, right?”
“…That’s true. Who’s worried about whom, anyway?”
‘If only the selling price didn’t drop even by a fraction, we wouldn’t be thinking about these things.’”
While the man grumbled internally, an alarm from his smartphone in his pocket sounded.
“Hand it over and go quick.”
“Alright, stop complaining already.”
The man who had his eyes closed blinked a few times to adjust them. Still feeling a soreness, but knowing a full handoff would take some time, he sighed.
As he was about to switch roles with the woman,
“Huh?”
He felt a sudden uneasiness from the woman’s high-pitched voice.
Looking quickly at the monitor, the man noticed something strange about the screen, which was supposed to be showing the sculpture.
“What is this? Why’s it like this?”
“I, I don’t know. It suddenly started behaving this way.”
“Damn…”
The screen that was supposed to show the sculpture was now filled with noise, as if it had been damaged somehow. It seemed to be quite broken.
“Let’s just go see it.”
“Harrmph…”
Though the man had a bad feeling about it, they couldn’t avoid going to check, so he urged his colleague to hurry.
Walking down a dimly lit corridor, he thought to himself.
‘I always get this feeling…’
This place is bound to have an accident someday.
But what good would it do for someone in his lowly position to say anything? There was nothing to do but hold his tongue and take the guaranteed pay he received, so the man grimaced.
At the sound of the woman’s voice from beside him, he chuckled.
“Still, it’s better coming out here, right?”
“…You’re way too calm about everything.”
“What about?”
“Never mind.”
I wonder how she even ended up working here.
In contrast to himself, who could not find a proper job, the man felt a faint bitterness, thinking that this wasn’t a place where someone like her should end up.
Anyway… I’m alright.
While he was lost in thought, the two arrived at the door of the room they were monitoring until a moment ago.
Pausing by the door, they swallowed nervously in anticipation.
The man worriedly said to the woman.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“If you’re going to blink, let me know.”
“You focus on doing your job.”
“Kekeke… alright.”
She doesn’t even know I’m just concerned for her.
As the man grabbed the doorknob, preparing to blink a few times to moisten his eyes, he unlocked the door carefully and opened it bit by bit.
Creeeeak
The hinges squeaked, likely from a lack of oil.
As the door opened fully,
Before the man stood a sculpture of immense beauty.
Rather than admire its purifying grace, he felt a cold sweat break out on his back as he feared the worst.
Given its current position—near the door—it was natural.
‘If I had known it would get this tense…’
I should’ve called someone else.
Although he regretted it a bit since he didn’t want to cut into his time with the woman, the man collected himself and cleared his throat.
“Hey.”
As he called out to her behind him,
“Jeong, Jeong-hee?”
The woman didn’t respond.
A chill spread down the man’s spine as he reached for the lock with the intention of closing the door.
Just as he began to move it, his eyes open wide with tension,
The lights flickered.
The man noticed in that instant that the sculpture had edged a little closer.
The sculpture was blocking the door from closing as it stood in its way.
‘Damn it, what about my pay?’
Stay calm.
The man slowly retreated while staring at the sculpture.
The beautiful sculpture continued to gaze down on him with a benevolent expression.
He felt goosebumps run down his spine as his eyes remained fixed on the sculpture while he backed away slowly… ever so slowly.
When he had created some distance, with his eye still on the sculpture, he fumbled for his waist.
His companion had vanished, and the sealed artifact from before was now walking outside the confines of its room.
He needed to inform someone.
With trembling hands, he activated his radio at his waist.
“H-Hey, it’s me…”
The lights flickered again.
“H, Huh!?”
In that fleeting moment,
The sculpture was advancing toward the man at an unnatural speed.
The harsh breaths of the man were interrupted by a voice filled with static.
– What is it? Why call and then not speak?
…Alright.
I just need to hang on a little longer.
The man retreated as he continued to watch the sculpture with bloodshot eyes.
Then he spoke into the radio.
“It’s… the thing we locked away. It is… outside the room. I need backup.”
– Ah, damn it. You couldn’t even handle this simple task? I’ll be there, so hang on.
…Feels like waiting for porridge to boil.
But at least help is on the way.
If this darkness doesn’t fade soon while I’m retreating–
Crackling
A small sizzling sound, then,
“Huh?”
A pitch-black darkness enveloped everything.
Crunch, crunch, crack!
Crunch!
From within the darkness came the sound of something being crushed.
