While sitting on the transport vehicle seat heading to the research institute, I slowly swung my feet back and forth.
Ching, ching.
The loud clanging sound of chains colliding with each other.
Someone might’ve pointed it out, but those timid little guys wouldn’t dare.
The transport vehicle stopped with a noisy racket in the research institute parking lot.
Around the transport vehicle were plenty of police officers with tense expressions and researchers who looked scared stiff upon seeing us.
After getting out onto the parking lot, I looked down at the leading police officer and asked,
“So, where are we supposed to go?”
The police officer could barely respond, only fumbling around.
From all directions came the snickering laughter of death row inmates mocking us.
The police officers shouted for silence and led us into an isolation room inside the research institute.
On the nameplate in front of the arrived isolation room was written <Theme Park Invitation Doll>.
Inside the isolation room, there was an object of a round-faced doll wobbling around.
That doll, which grinned like it wanted to be torn apart and killed, looked absolutely revolting.
Looking around, the expressions were clearly divided.
The carefree death row inmates, once faced with the object, now had faces pale as if they were about to die, while the researchers showed fear-stricken expressions yet couldn’t hide their curiosity.
The death row inmates, lined up in a row, were trembling violently as they were thrown into the isolation room.
Idiots, super idiots.
If you’re going to do something, you should at least do it proudly.
How did it end up being just a bunch of weaklings gathered here?
Especially that pig kid and the anchovy kid make me question how they even survived this long.
As I stood in front of the isolation room, the suffocating handcuffs that had been tightening around me were finally undone.
Phew, now I can finally breathe easy.
Rubbing my wrists, I entered the isolation room, where the doll was grinning from ear to ear.
I took the letter handed by the doll and read the postcard.
It was filled with nonsense content that wasn’t even funny.
<Enjoy the best entertainment of your life at Smile Theme Park!>
After reading the postcard, my vision began to darken gradually.
Judging from the contents of the postcard, it seems riding 9 types of murderous amusement rides leads to escape.
Whether or not escaping is possible, this will mark the farewell to the tedious prison life.
About 21 minutes after the arrival of the death row inmates, they all disappeared after reading the letters.
The police officers who transported the death row inmates also withdrew, leaving only the minimum number of personnel.
“Unnie Seoah? Did… did that person leave?”
Researcher Yerin had been hiding behind my back, frightened after seeing the large death row inmate.
Though Director Sehee is 15cm taller than me, why exactly did she hide behind me?
“Researcher Yerin. Since everyone’s gone, you can come out now.”
“Hoooa! That woman really looked terrifying, didn’t she? She had so many tattoos, and just at a glance, she seemed like someone who’s killed several people!”
While Researcher Yerin was making a fuss, I noticed something strange.
The size of the ‘Theme Park Invitation Doll’ seemed to have grown?
By approximately 5cm?
Moreover, the expression of the doll, whose mouth was split wide open in laughter, felt unpleasant.
With its stitches burst open, the doll laughed “Kekeke,” while dancing around in the isolation room.
Something was off.
Something’s happening.
I called the responsible researchers to urgently remeasure the doll’s size.
Even while having its limbs restrained by the researchers, the doll kept laughing without stopping.
Kekeke.
This was a reaction I’d never seen before.
The measurement result showed a 5cm height increase.
But the height increase didn’t stop at 5cm.
Even while re-measuring repeatedly, it continued to grow incrementally by 1cm at a time.
Was inserting the death row inmates too rash a decision?
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a completely unfamiliar place.
The lavishly decorated guest room made me feel like I hadn’t been invited.
Beautiful paintings, a pantry full of food, and an antique mirror.
Looking at the mirror, I saw myself reflected as fat as a pig.
Seeing the mirror suddenly made me irritable, so I smashed it to pieces.
Haa. Haa.
My breathing became labored.
Blood flowed from my fists, and tears streamed down my face from the sense of injustice.
Despite the beautifully adorned guest room, it felt like a gallows to me.
Something’s wrong.
Why would I be brought to such a place?
I haven’t done anything wrong.
Just because I accidentally killed a brat I kidnapped, the death penalty?!
That brat provoked me first!
“Welcome! Guest, welcome to Smile Theme Park!”
“Aaaaaaah!”
A monster suddenly thrust its face forward.
Is the monster already here?
“Wh… who are you?”
“I am the personal concierge assigned to assist you, the guest.”
“What’s a concierge?”
“To put it simply, I’m here to help you throughout your stay at this theme park.”
Though the monster’s eyes and mouth were sewn shut, its voice was calm and gentle.
What, it’s no big deal.
There’s really nothing scary about it.
Haha.
I immediately raised my palm and slapped that mannequin.
“Just because of you! I was scared because of you, huh?”
Kicking the fallen mannequin repeatedly with my foot made me feel slightly better.
As I calmed down a bit, I realized what I had done.
What have I done?
Taking out anger on an object!
While catching my breath and observing cautiously, the mannequin stood up, dusted off the dirt on its clothes.
“Shall we continue the explanation, guest?”
“Ex… explanation isn’t necessary. Don’t come back until I call you!”
“As you wish, guest.”
The mannequin bowed deeply and stepped backward out of the room.
Phew.
Once the mannequin completely left, I let out a deep sigh.
As the fear subsided, hunger started to creep in.
Probably due to the relaxation, I felt dizzy.
Looking around the hotel room, various beverages, snacks, and foods were abundantly packaged.
I think I learned something related to objects regarding situations like this, didn’t I?
Didn’t they say not to eat things carelessly?
Still, I was extremely hungry, so inspecting the foods revealed that each one had a mysterious label attached.
Blue tags, red tags, etc.
Carefully checking, the tag colors were red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
Ah! It’s a rainbow.
Most quizzes related to objects derive from folklore or famous anecdotes.
So eating them in the order of the rainbow makes sense, right?
I must be smart.
Hehe, it’s been a while since I indulged in a feast.
Since it’s inside an object, it’s probably free anyway.
I picked out a variety of delicious-looking foods from each tag category.
Even though I selected over 30 dishes, the available food showed no signs of decreasing.
I chose seven appealing dishes.
Salad with a red tag.
Bread with an orange tag.
Cream soup with a yellow tag.
Fried fish with a green tag.
Appetizing steak with a blue tag.
Cheese cake with an indigo tag.
Coffee with a violet tag.
The course meal I planned to enjoy after receiving the ransom for the brat.
Recalling that meal I couldn’t eat, I recreated it.
Finally, I get to taste it now.
Lifting the fork, I elegantly took a bite of the salad.
“Kehk.”
Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe.
Blood trickled from my mouth, staining the floor.
“Wha… what…?”
Trying to rise by holding the table, I lacked the strength and collapsed.
Dishes and food rained down on me.
I couldn’t even scream.
The mannequin opened the door and entered the room.
“My, guest, aren’t you making quite a mess of the room?”
The mannequin’s voice carried a tone of mockery.
“I thought you looked like a greedy pig when I first saw you, but I didn’t expect you to take out so much food.”
The man, coughing up blood from his mouth, glared at the mannequin despite being unable to move a finger.
Only his lips moved incessantly.
‘Save me. Save me. Save me.’
“All the food is covered in blood now. I’ll have to prepare them again.”
The mannequin started moving the food the man had taken out onto a mobile tray.
Dragging the tray out of the room, the mannequin said,
“You should’ve listened to the explanation earlier if you wanted to live.”
The mannequin dropped a piece of paper on the man’s face.
It was a paper detailing the rules of the guest room.
<Smile Theme Park Guest Room Rules.>
<Welcome to Smile Theme Park!>
<Guest room usage is free!>
<The prepared foods are crafted with the employees' dedication.>
<However, if you wish to exit the guest room, out of respect for the employees' dedication, you must eat at least one type of food.>
<The following rules apply to free users.>
<Please review carefully!>
<Delete one line from the following rules.>
<Of the seven-colored foods, at least six 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 eyes eagerly read the paper, but it was meaningless.
Nevertheless, until his last breath, the man continued reading the paper endlessly.
Om.
Sitting on the bed, I ate the cheesecake.
Delicious.
It tasted as good as the famous patisserie cake I ate in the isolation room.
It felt like all the desserts in the world were gathered here.
Is this heaven!
Actually, I had one small complaint.
If each tag on the food had different flavors, it would’ve been nice!
Expecting a surprise, I tried the orange juice with a red tag, but it was just strawberry-flavored orange juice, which was somewhat disappointing.
Rolling around on the bed, I noticed the manual the mannequin told me to read.
Well, I can read it later, right?
Stretching my arms and legs on the bed, I enjoyed a pleasant break time.
