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The communication blackout from the space station had lasted for several days.

A woman left alone in the space station was trembling in fear, hiding her body between communication consoles.

The research on mental pollution from space had concluded, and she was supposed to be returning to Earth soon…

By now, she should have already arrived on Earth and been preparing to move to James Tower in Korea.

‘Why did I come to a place like this?’

The woman lifted the communication system microphone in her arms again and spoke softly.

“This is JamesSS, please respond, Object Center. An unusual situation has occurred at the space station, priority code red.”

However, no matter how much she shouted, only static emitted from the console.

Creeeek.

At that moment, a chilling sound began to echo within the station.

It was the sound of green plants that had already filled the station growing wildly and the structure twisting uncontrollably.

It felt like a countdown to death, moving toward the end of life.

The entire station was trembling as if it would tear apart at any moment.

Tap.

With the microphone held tightly, the woman closed her eyes, and suddenly, she heard something drop in front of her.

When she opened her eyes in response to the sound, a familiar object came into view.

It was a small photo album sent by her friend who worked at James Tower in Korea.

Opening the album and looking inside, she saw a picture taken by her friend—a friend’s bright smile alongside a little golden object.

The golden reaper, blissfully unaware of what a camera was, was cheering with a bright expression.

“I wanted to see the Golden Reaper too…”

Strangely choked up, the woman couldn’t voice any further as her vision blurred over the photo.

After staring at the photo for a while, she lifted the microphone again and spoke in a small voice.

“Object Center, this is JamesSS. Unusual plant growth and animal activity detected within the station. The safety of the crew is threatened. I request emergency rescue. Repeat, emergency rescue request.”

But no response came, even to her dampened voice.

When the woman lifted her head from where it had been hung low, she began to see a control room scene she hadn’t seen before.

Through the twisted and torn outer walls of the station, space was visible.

“Ha, hahaha.”

But she couldn’t see the natural changes of air flow.

‘Is it the object after all?’

The woman muttered self-deprecatingly.

Eventually, the sun disappeared beyond the Earth, and the shadow of the Earth engulfed the station.

A biting cold seized her, and ominous darkness consumed the station.

And from that darkness, she began to hear something scuttling around.

Something was getting closer.

Filled with fear, the woman curled up and lifted the microphone.

“Please, help me… This is the space station… Please respond… I request emergency escape assistance… Repeat, emergency escape assistance.”

“Anyone, please. Help me. Please…”

But the radio waves from the space station merely drifted through space, never to be answered.

*

In the courtyard of Sehee Research Institute, basking in warm sunlight, I was lying on a squishy marshmallow with my eyes closed.

The warmth felt pleasantly cozy, almost making me feel sleepy.

And the sound from a small TV came to me like soothing white noise.

[Breaking news: The American Object Association has reported a loss of communication with its affiliated space station.]

[Currently, distant observation results indicate that no unusual phenomena have been detected at the space station. Domestic space development experts believe it is likely just a communication error.]

As I relaxed, mini reapers flocked onto my belly and began bouncing around.

“Mommy pig!”

“It’s so squishy!”

They bounced as if my belly was a trampoline.

Hmm.

Honestly, I didn’t care about gaining weight yet their constant remarks about getting chubby felt a little strange.

Honestly, I used to be too skinny, and now I felt fine without any flab.

“Waaang!”

Suddenly, I sat up and startled the golden reaper that had been jumping on my belly.

“!”

“Oh no! Mom is mad!”

I quickly grabbed the fleeing golden reaper and began to blow firewood onto it.

This was my so-called “Golden Reaper Pig Making!”

The golden reaper, startled, struggled to escape my grasp, but it was futile.

Hehe.

Before getting caught, it might have been a little different, but once in my hands, ghosting didn’t work, and it couldn’t escape my superior strength!

“Noooo!”

The golden reaper thrashed around, trying to get free.

However, even pouring half of the firewood I had in my heart, the golden reaper showed no change.

How could this be?

Then, how much firewood must Yerin typically produce?

While I wore a blank expression, the golden reaper carefully slipped away from my grip and fled to the mini reaper garden.

Kyuung. Kkuekk.

Kyu kyu. Kyuwu kkuung. Kkeukkkeuk.

To my ears, sounds similar to a hungry ghost’s wailing echoed.

Turning my attention, I saw a white hungry ghost on the roof of Sehee Research Institute, covering its mouth and laughing.

“!”

Seeming to realize I locked eyes with it, the white hungry ghost hurriedly fled out of my sight.

‘?????’

Is it because the red reapers have been burning things recently?

Or has the white hungry ghost gone mad since I’ve been bothering it less these days?

I rose from my seat and slowly began to chase after the fleeing hungry ghost.

*

In the quiet parking lot of the Object Research Institute complex, a taxi drove in.

The ones getting out of the taxi were Cheong and the Italian siblings.

“Finally arrived!”

The younger sister stretched while shouting at Sehee Research Institute.

“I also applied for a visit. An attendant will come out at the entrance of Sehee Research Institute.”

Cheong said while looking at his cellphone.

With an orange reaper perched on his head, he slowly started walking toward Sehee Research Institute.

The golden reapers, who were wandering around Sehee Research Institute, now shifted their gaze toward Cheong.

“!”

With surprised expressions, the golden reapers began to swarm towards Cheong like ants drawn to candy.

“Ah!”

“You’re still loved by the mini reapers.”

Cheong said in a fluster, while his Italian sister spoke with a hint of envy.

“It wasn’t always like this; I wonder why it changed?”

As the mini reapers clung near his legs, making it hard to move, a researcher from Sehee Research Institute dashed out.

The mini reapers started to disperse accordingly.

“You must be here for a visit, right? I’m Researcher Yerin Oh, and I’ll guide you.”

As they followed Yerin inside the research institute, they were welcomed by a corridor that felt quite different from its outward appearance.

From the outside, it looked like an ordinary research institute, but inside it had more of an amusement park vibe.

Researchers wandered around with mini reapers atop their heads, candy baskets scattered around, and mini reaper cutouts everywhere.

It made one question if they were indeed in a research institute.

“Is it normal for mini reapers to swarm like this?”

Cheong asked Yerin, who was leading the way, what he had been wondering.

“Well, if there’s no attached reaper, the mini reapers tend to stick around. Moreover, they cling even more to people they haven’t seen before.”

Yerin glanced at the orange reaper resting on Cheong’s head before continuing.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen mini reapers cling so much even with an attached reaper present.”

As they progressed toward a courtyard swarming with mini reapers, Cheong noticed something else odd.

TVs were placed in every corner of the research institute’s corridor.

Moreover, every TV was broadcasting a news channel.

[30 tigers have been spotted gathered around Gwanaksan in Gwanak-gu.]

[Residents in the vicinity have been engulfed in shock and fear due to this sudden incident.]

[The Object Safety Management Council has begun investigating whether the sudden appearance of tigers is related to any object.]

Cheong’s group caught a glance at the news about the tigers before turning their attention to the courtyard of Sehee Research Institute.

“Wow!”

An exclamation slipped from Cheong’s lips.

The courtyard was filled with golden reapers, creating a beautiful and mystical atmosphere resembling a world straight out of a fairy tale.

*

In the dimly lit room inside James Tower on the outskirts of Songpa District, an online video conference was underway regarding the space station overtaken by the green moon.

[Isn’t it okay to just leave it be until a proper solution comes up since there’s no immediate problem?]

The director of the American Object Association expressed a negative opinion.

[With the object in space, just attempting anything would be costly, and I have no confidence it can be dealt with.]

The federal government’s object department staff again provided a negative viewpoint.

However, James adamantly disagreed.

“No, we need to deal with it now! We can’t leave it like this.”

But the meeting dragged on.

While there was consensus that the seven-colored moon must be destroyed by the gray reaper, most participants believed, like the indigo moon in James City, it could be handled later after some time passed.

[So, to deal with the green moon, we would need to send the gray reaper into space, but is there any way to do that?]

[It seems unlikely for humans to handle it. Tackling an object is already tough, and in space, it’s impossible.]

[Is there any way to lure the gray reaper to the space station?]

[Do you think the gray reaper would take interest in the empty void of space? That might not be easy.]

The meeting continued, but no sharp solutions emerged, and time dragged on without any resolutions.

It seemed like the green moon in space needed to cause actual problems, or a groundbreaking plan to send the gray reaper to the space station had to be conceived.

“Damn it.”

Feeling hopeless, James shut his eyes in the dim remote conference room.

The golden reaper clung to James with a worried expression, gently patting his head.

 

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