Yerin was preparing for work at Sehee Research Lab in the early dawn, under the soft blue light shining through the window. "What should I take with today?" She smiled lightly, her excitent palpable, like a child getting ready for a day at the amusent park. She was picking out toys to play with alongside the Gray Sashin. The sounds of the city waking up filtered through the open window, ant for ventilation. The hurried footsteps of workers heading to their jobs echoed, along with the gentle hum of passing cars. Despite the bustling movents, there was a stillness in the early morning air, a cool and quiet atmosphere that lingered.
From the common hallway ca a soft, low voice saying, "Have a safe trip." The words stood out clearly among the many sounds of the early morning. It didn’t sound like a human voice—more chanical and sowhat unnatural. It was the voice of the caretaker Doll, assigned by the building owner to handle various tasks. Dressed in a sharp blue uniform, the Doll moved with precision, its nutcracker-like mouth making it clear it was sothing other than human. It was quite different from the usual household Dolls designed for emotional interaction with humans.
"There are more and more of these Association Dolls," Yerin muttered quietly, unable to suppress a sense of foreboding. Maybe the Mini Sashins disliked them, or perhaps it was sothing else. Yerin couldn't shake the ominous feeling she had about the Dolls, especially the high-end ones that resembled humans more closely. It wasn’t that they seed like they would attack humans like other Objects. No, it was sothing more unsettling, like a lingering nausea that made her stomach churn just thinking about them.
Lost in thought, Yerin snapped back to attention when a golden face popped up near the entrance. Hehe. The Golden Sashin had co to see her off, grinning widely. Because of the Association Dolls, the Gray Sashin had provided all the researchers with a Golden Sashin escort service.
Thump, thump. Following the confident steps of the Golden Sashin, Yerin left her ho, turning back briefly to say goodbye. "I’ll be back."
Waiting at her ho were a White Agwi and a lead Doll. The White Agwi, there for nightti security, sat calmly on the lap of the lead Doll, as though it had fallen asleep. The Golden Sashin, which usually dozed off around 10 PM, was replaced by the White Agwi for the late-night guard duty.
Yerin smiled at the sight and took her first step into the blue dawn.
In the Mini Sashin Garden, Marshmallow Plains, the White Agwis, who had been granted special amnesty due to the Doll situation, were frolicking freely. The White Agwis had been pardoned to take over the Golden Sashin’s role of protecting the researchers. Though not as formidable as the Golden Sashins, the White Agwis were plentiful, small, and quite competent as security guards. The Golden Sashins, like children from a new nation, tended to doze off by 10 PM, making them less suitable for nightti security.
If the White Agwis lacked sufficient combat ability, the solution was simple: just call , like the Mini Sashins do. I had even nad the system: the White Agwi Ergency Security Bell!
Though it would be easier to unleash the Mini Sashins to destroy all the Association Dolls in Seoul, I had held off for several reasons. For one, the Dolls didn’t seem particularly harmful—not in the way things from the Color Universe slled dangerous. Despite the Mini Sashins' deep hatred for them, the Dolls didn't give off the usual malevolent aura. Still, because the Mini Sashins despised them so much, I assigned the White Agwi guards to Sehee Research Lab. Besides, I was looking forward to an upcoming event, so I had postponed any Doll destruction.
I looked down at the flyer I had already read several tis.
South Korea’s First! Official Object Association Doll Exhibition Confird!
Object Exhibition = Failure? NO!
Discover new possibilities at the Object Association’s groundbreaking Doll Exhibition!
Exhibition Categories:
Household helper Dolls
Massive construction Dolls to replace heavy machinery
Advanced dical assistant Dolls for healthcare settings
Educational Dolls to revolutionize learning environnts
Laboratory assistant Dolls for research and developnt
And many more Dolls on display!
Find more information on the Korea Object Association’s official website!
An Object Exhibition! Even though it was an exhibition focused solely on "Dolls," I was still excited. Could this be an event without any incidents? I was holding onto a small hope. I imagined a future where fun Object exhibitions were held regularly in Seoul.
Even if the Dolls turned out to be harmful and needed to be destroyed, I’d wait until after the event. Hehe. I folded the flyer neatly and placed it inside a nearby Agwi’s mouth. Glancing around, I noticed a large group of White Agwis lingering nearby.
Had they been granted amnesty, or was it because I hadn’t tornted them since the Treacherous White Agwi Hell incident? Observing them closely, I saw that the White Agwis were split into two groups: one busily searching for sothing and the other lingering near .
Kyuhihi. Seeing the sly smiles on the White Agwis’ faces, I could guess the reason. They were waiting for the Orange Sashin, hoping to witness the downfall of their treacherous leader. They seed to be searching for the Orange Sashin, anticipating its demise.
But unfortunately for them, the Orange Sashin had already been granted amnesty through a deal with a long ti ago. Hehe.
Turning to look at the inner courtyard, I saw a large golden statue. It was a sculpture made from the golden horn stolen by the Orange Sashins from the Free City Union—a triceratops statue, my second favorite after the T. rex. I found it amusing that they had chosen to make a triceratops, almost as if creating a T. rex was sothing I had to do myself. I smiled proudly as I gazed at the golden statue.
Near Jas Tower in Songpa District, Seoul, there was a constant influx of supplies: food, materials, and fuel. The area was bustling, but despite the activity, there was no sense of human presence. Instead, sothing eerie had taken their place—the Association Dolls.
Jas had initially resisted allowing the Dolls on-site, but now all the heavy lifting and difficult tasks were handled by them. There was no other choice. Still, Jas ensured that no Dolls entered the interior of the tower. This ant that Jas and the staff who had co from Arica were responsible for transporting the materials piled up in the parking lot into the tower themselves.
It was an unavoidable situation.
Hmm. Jas watched the CCTV footage, letting out a low hum. On the screen, a Doll was slowly approaching a locked door, grabbing the handle as if testing how to enter the tower.
A chill ran down Jas’ spine. This wasn’t just one or two Dolls; multiple Dolls were checking different doors, each only once. It felt as if sothing was coordinating and controlling all the Dolls simultaneously.
If this was the work of the Korea Object Association, then perhaps it could be dismissed as sloppy industrial espionage. But if this was happening without the Association’s involvent, Seoul could be facing an unimaginable threat.
Jas tore his gaze away from the monitor and looked out the window, where rows of Dolls were carrying supplies in perfect formation. Given the strange behavior he'd seen on the CCTV, those Dolls' lifeless eyes now seed to carry an eerie glint, as if they were peering into his very soul.
What were they really for? Who was controlling them?
Click, click.
A blue-uniford Doll walked slowly down the empty hallway of Yerin’s building. It moved back and forth as though patrolling, but it stopped in front of the entrance every ti it passed by.
Screech.
The sound of poorly oiled machinery echoed as the blue Doll turned its head and stared at Yerin’s front door for a long while. Then, with a series of clinking sounds, it began walking again.
The White Agwi, sitting on the lap of the lead Doll, was paying close attention to the sound. Even the White Agwi found the Dolls' behavior suspicious.
Once the Doll’s footsteps faded into the distance, the White Agwi let out a sigh of relief. But in that mont, the darkness surrounding the room abruptly lifted as a warm, golden light washed over the Agwi’s entire body. The familiar warmth made the Agwi instinctively turn toward the light.
Gasp!
The Agwi flailed in shock, driven by curiosity to lift its head and look. What it saw was the narrowed gaze of the lead Doll, staring down at it. The lead Doll’s eyes were deep and warm, yet they appeared sleepy, as if they could never truly move.
The Agwi was filled with terror under the unblinking stare of the lifeless figure.
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