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In a corner of the park, lush with evenly spread green grass, a puppy was scampering about, its small paws making soft sounds.

The puppy let out a quiet woof, drawing laughter from the people nearby, and passersby beamed with joy at the sight.

It was as if the park had been painted with a picturesque landscape.

Above, the warm sunlight cast a gentle glow on the leaves, while I lounged comfortably in the shade of a tree, listening to the refreshing sound of cicadas.

As I gazed at the park, if I felt thirsty, I would sip from the thermos filled with iced water. However, despite my relaxed appearance, my back was drenched in cold sweat.

On the surface, it seemed like a slice of everyday happiness, but my face was contorted into a forced smile, to the point of cramping.

In reality, this resting place was all a facade. A set decorated inside a building. The passersby wandering through this fake park were all actors, performing.

Everyone was wholeheartedly acting, and of course, that was only natural.

Because a mistake could be fatal.

The puppy frolicked merrily in the field, while its owner dutifully chased after it, and onlookers marveled at the adorable scene, which soon came to an abrupt end.

Having played enough, the puppy jumped into its owner’s arms.

Then, with a look of contentment, it closed its eyes.

“Oh dear, are you already tired? Shall we go in and rest?”

The middle-aged woman, looking genuinely disappointed, scooped up the puppy and walked toward the exit nestled in a corner of the park.

As the middle-aged woman exited and the door closed behind her, the interior of the park became frozen, as if everything had come to a halt.

The happy slice of daily life that had been visible just moments before vanished, and the faces of the passersby turned into that of weary laborers.

Beep!

As the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of all activities, everyone collapsed onto their spots, letting out a sigh.

The lights that had illuminated the field like the sun were mostly turned off, leaving only the bare minimum of light to fill the familiar darkness of the park.

“Ugh, I’m really going to die.”

As I worked on loosening the stiff muscles in my face from forcing a smile too hard, someone plopped down beside me, grumbling.

Some employee whose name I didn’t even know. I consciously tried not to remember the names of my coworkers, but judging by the unfamiliar face, they seemed to be a newbie.

Just glancing at someone talking carelessly in a section of the research institute where speech should be limited was a clear giveaway of their newness.

“I grabbed this job just because they said they paid well, but now that I’m doing this, is the pay just way too low for what we’re doing? Why are there so many rules to follow when taking care of that grotesque little furball?”

The moment I heard that, chills ran down my spine.

Considering the puppy’s keen hearing, that was way too close. Crazy! They really need to give proper training to the newbies!

Before I knew it, a bright light began to shine down on the park, as intense as the sunlight. The sound of cicadas resumed. It had transformed back into the happy park of noon.

I quickly rose from my spot, distancing myself from the bewildered newbie, and plastered back on the business smile I had erased.

Not just me, but all the employees smiled broadly and moved apart, and the foolish newbie, realizing the situation at last, turned pale.

“Ah… no way?”

But contrary to the newbie’s hopes, the puppy reappeared in front of them.

Despite being small enough to hold with one hand, it crashed through the wall, now grown to a size the height of a house.

“Wow!”

The staff, wearing bright smiles, gaped in admiration at the cute puppy.

And they watched as the puppy slowly dismantled and devoured the newbie, mixed with their gasps of awe.

It was an unexpected overtime caused by the newbie’s blunder.

SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1ZkVPckFIOUQvazgrbU1xLzZlZGttVkV5aS9TZ0xHSWQ2UzRBQlNEcC9ZWg

As the object, having torn apart the newbie, seemed to have calmed down, it shrunk back to puppy size, leaving behind the cheers of the staff to return to its lavish doghouse.

In the spot where the newbie had been, only a pool of what was once human and a single report on the object soaked in blood remained.

The human had been ripped to shreds, but the robust report made of objects was intact.

#This report is the property of the Seoul Research Institute. Please do not move it outside.

#The contents of this report are likely to be distorted if read outside the institute.

Object Name – Cute Puppy.

Object Danger Level: 3

Manageability – Difficulty of Management (Low)

Management Method – Simply treating it like a pet, praising it, and repeatedly calling it cute is enough for management.

Additionally, food suitable for pets, walks, and environmental arrangements using staff are necessary.

Physical affection through petting or similar contact is critical.

Caution – If you deny the cuteness of the target, it will attempt to kill you.

When speaking about a cute puppy, weigh your life carefully and think it over.

Removal Possibility – Not attempted.

It is expected to be possible to remove.

However, since the benefits of management vastly outweigh the costs, attempts at removal are prohibited.

Isolation Possibility – Not possible.

The longer it is neglected, the larger it becomes.

It cannot be restrained with existing materials.

It can even break through thick iron plates, and other methods of isolation are likely to lead to the target’s death.

Exile Possibility – Not attempted.

It seems likely to yield similar results to isolation experiments.

If the enlarged target seeks out an owner, the damage could be unpredictable.

*

On the TV, stories about objects that humans cannot eliminate were playing.

Giant flying jellyfish unyielding to nuclear blasts. The unbreakable steel tower. Objects like ghosts that cannot be physically touched, and so on.

“Seeing this, it seems like Earth’s masters are no longer humans.”

Muttering while having a bite of chicken in front of a friend at the National Research Institute, I noticed the pub in front of my old school still had a lot of people.

With background noise bustling around, I took a swig of beer.

“That’s true. If we don’t solve the object issue, even if our generation is fine, there won’t be enough safe land for the next generation, making it pretty tough, right?”

It was a world where the apocalypse of objects was being raised.

There were countless objects that harmed humans, many of which humans could not eliminate.

If they cannot be destroyed, exiled, or isolated by human hands, we have no choice but to treat them like natural disasters.

Every year, the number of people who die due to objects constantly increases.

“Another newbie died during the latest management job rotation. Newbies die, and experienced ones leave out of exhaustion, and this place is a mess.”

“Still, didn’t you say you were in charge of a relatively safe object? If the countermeasures are clear, it should be a pretty safe job.”

“At least the little furball I’m in charge of has clear likes and dislikes.

I just have to adore it, smile, and marvel at it, but maybe because there’s a chance of dying? The stress is insane.”

“Fuhuh, it was that cute puppy, right? Despite the clear countermeasures, it seems like there are a lot of accidents.”

A little furball, all skin and muscle missing, just with veins and entrails dangling out, was referred to as a ‘cute puppy.’ It was the type of creature that made you curse involuntarily every time you stroked its pulsing skin.

“When I first saw that pup, all I could do was curse, but these days I find myself a bit envious. A comfy home. Delicious meals. It seems to enjoy leisure time more than I do.”

The ‘cute puppy’ that generates massive profits for the Seoul Research Institute is receiving tremendous budget support.

A multitude of staff is employed to take care of that dog, and whatever that puppy wants is always fulfilled. The hired staff had to do well in caring for it, or they’d be risking their lives.

“I hear there’s a lot of talk about how you treat that ‘cute puppy.’ They say it makes people feel relatively deprived, but that’s just a glutton’s complaint.”

“Oh, that’s all media play from competing research institutes. Although we should be sharing some profits, the director of the Seoul Research Institute is hogging it all, so now they’re being targeted. They say they don’t even know what they’re aiming for with the media play.”

“Well, anyway, it seems like the atmosphere is tense, so be careful.”

The drinking party wrapped up with this kind of worthless chatter. In retrospect, it was indeed an important conversation.

*

In the middle of a sunny, beautiful real park that resembled an artificial park, the acrid smell of gunpowder lingered, utterly out of place.

“We are!”

“We are not!”

“We are not slaves of objects!”

The madmen shouted their slogans with gleaming eyes as they gathered.

Was it the rare, dust-free sunny weather that was the cause?

Or was it that today, for some reason, the little furball desperately wanted to see the real sun?

Or was it that today I was the one tasked with carrying that little furball that was the issue?

If I had sensed in advance that the aimless media play would culminate in such a terrorist act, would things have turned out differently?

Those who, amid cries of relative deprivation and fueled by someone’s support, had ignited hatred within their community executed this act of terror.

No matter how much our little furball eats meals worth millions a day and sleeps in a golden doghouse, isn’t this all just too much?

It’s funny because the actual target, the little furball, sidestepped the bombs, while I, lacking the same sense and agility, was dying with my body split in half.

“Oh my, oh my. Our cutie isn’t frightened, are you?”

Even as a terrorist act erupted before my eyes and a coworker was split in half, our research institute staff maintained their professionalism.

I closed my eyes, listening to the employee reassessing the frightened little furball with all their might.

Praying that in my next life, I would be reborn as an object that could relax and enjoy life again.

 

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