Seoul Object Story

In a large apartment complex located in Songpa District.

Early in the morning, the Ash-gray Girl was sleeping soundly on the large bed in her room.

It wasn’t time to wake up yet, but the Ash-gray Girl suddenly woke up due to a musty smell.

“Cough, cough.”

Perhaps because of the smell that felt as if it was full of dust, the girl coughed severely as soon as she got up.

When the Ash-gray Girl opened her eyes and looked around the room, she saw warm sunlight coming in from one side of the room.

On the windowsill where the sunlight was entering, there was a small flower vase, spreading a faint floral scent throughout the room.

The room was clean without a speck of dust, filled with a pleasant fragrance.

It was the same room as always.

Why had there been a musty smell?

And why had she coughed?

Maybe it was just an illusion from waking up?

The girl slowly caught her breath and smelled the air in the room, but there was only a faint floral scent.

The girl got up from the bed and, as always, looked down at the window while basking in the morning sunlight.

As she looked out the window, all the buildings and trees appeared to be covered in black ash.

It looked like mold, or perhaps ash.

‘!!!’

When she blinked, the world regained its color.

It had returned to the scenery she had loved most since moving into this house.

The green of the street trees that filled the area around the apartment.

And the unique smell of trees.

But perhaps because of seeing the ash-covered scenery, the view she had loved most no longer felt the same.

As if an old photograph had faded.

‘Am I just too tired?’

Yesterday, clear water had looked red, and now a normal landscape appeared completely different.

Maybe she had caught some kind of illness.

‘Should I tell Mom and Dad?’

As the girl was lost in thought, staring blankly out the window, she heard her parents calling her, along with the warm scent of toast.

Hearing that sound, her anxious heart calmed down a bit.

It’s just like always after all.

Yes, it must be just her mood.

The girl pushed the unsettling feelings to the back of her mind, trying not to worry her parents, and went about her morning as usual.

It was a harmonious family table, if not abundant.

After breakfast, while preparing to go to school, the Ash-gray Girl’s brother whispered in her ear.

“Want some candy?”

What her brother pulled out was one large candy.

“We shouldn’t eat candy after brushing our teeth…”

The girl muttered with a slightly worried expression, looking towards her parents.

“That’s why. It’s our secret.”

Her brother smiled mischievously and popped the candy into the girl’s mouth.

As the sweetness of the candy spread in her mouth, a smile naturally formed on the girl’s face.

“…?”

But her brother was looking down at her with a playful expression, grinning.

Just as she thought something was suspicious, an unbearable sourness hit her mouth.

The sourness was so intense that it made her eyes scrunch up involuntarily, and she reflexively opened her mouth to spit out the candy.

“Cough, cough.”

The girl closed her eyes and bent over on the floor, coughing repeatedly.

“Was that too much? I’m sorry.”

Feeling her brother patting her back, the girl opened her eyes.

Then, in front of her eyes was a crushed cockroach, wriggling.

The cockroach, oozing red blood, was rolled up like a rice cake, covered in saliva and squirming.

“Eek!”

The Ash-gray Girl looked up at her brother in shock, but her brother wasn’t there.

Instead, there was an unidentifiable monster made of haphazardly woven wire, covered in soot.

Thud.

The Ash-gray Girl was startled by the sight and rolled on the floor.

“Is something wrong?”

Her parents, noticing the commotion, began to approach.

It was the same kind voice as always, but for some reason, she felt that if she raised her head, even her parents might look like monsters.

Suddenly afraid of everything in this world, the girl tightly closed her eyes.

At that moment, she heard a voice that seemed to come from very far away.

The sound of her parents scolding her brother.

As time passed and the fear gradually subsided, the girl cautiously opened her eyes.

Then she saw her parents and brother ‘as usual’.

And looking down at the floor, there was a ruby-red, transparent candy covered in saliva lying on the ground.

Had it all been an illusion?

The horrific sights had only lasted for a moment, but the Ash-gray Girl suddenly felt nauseous and began to vomit violently.

“Are you okay?”

It was a warm voice full of concern, but strangely, the Ash-gray Girl felt an endless chill.