I truly thought I was saying goodbye to life.
—
In all fairness, I may as well have already said goodbye to life, but still, it wasn’t something that Jelly could go through without trembling.
After all, how many people wouldn’t be shocked after watching their head get cut off while they were still human?
Oddly enough, whether it was good fortune or bad, I didn’t die after my head was cut off.
If I could have made a sound, I might have blurted out something stupid like “Huh? Cough!”
Anyway.
When I finally composed myself, I could feel the taste of the “Jangseung” that had entered my body, slowly melting inside me.
The taste… it wasn’t good at all.
It tasted like I was sucking on a live tree branch covered in fine dust. No, let me correct that—it tasted even worse.
I almost felt sorry for comparing it to a tree branch I had once idly tasted out of curiosity as a child.
But then again, maybe I should count myself lucky that I didn’t even have to try too hard to find something similar to that awful taste—it was a flavor from the afterlife, unlike anything in this world.
While I furrowed my face at all the Jelly inside me,
the Jangseung, wedged into the pile of wreckage, appeared to be stuck tightly, unable to move despite wriggling around.
Watching the Jangseung struggle with its face buried in my body, I felt an odd sense of satisfaction.
Heh, serves you right.
It looked like we were even since I lost my head and he gained it—but considering the current situation, I’d say I came out on top since losing my head or an arm meant nothing to me now.
…If something small and precious were to be severed, I’m not sure what would happen—but for now, I was winning.
Just as I was basking in the joy of my victory,
BAM! WEEEEEEE!
A terrifying sound, seldom heard, echoed from all around.
“Kill it! This piece of—!”
“Whoa!? It’s really going to attack!”
“It’s cutting! It’s cutting through everything!”
And then there were the voices full of anger, belonging to a group of upset people.
Their fury sent shivers through Jelly. From what I could hear, their words didn’t seem directed at me—but still…
What exactly was happening outside right now?
CRUNCH! CRACK! GRIND!!
The sound of destruction grew closer as Jangseung’s body began tilting slowly.
Before long, the sound of thick wood splintering echoed, and the struggling inside my body stopped.
Even after, the angry voices and the sounds of destruction continued sporadically.
The moment the movement ceased, Jangseung’s head began to rapidly dissolve. I melted it away while peering outside through the crack.
And what I saw were people who reminded me of someone doing a violence experiment. They were furiously dismantling what remained of Jangseung in front of me.
I hesitated to leave. After all, the hatred in their actions made me realize that their anger could potentially extend to me.
To them, there was likely little difference between me and Jangseung…
Suddenly, Han Seori came to mind.
Only now did I remember that she must have been hurt earlier. I wondered if she was safe.
As I watched the people turn Jangseung into kindling, I heard hurried footfalls from a distance.
Without realizing it, I hid deep within the vehicle.
However,
The distant footfalls were getting closer. Though I couldn’t count them precisely, there seemed to be quite a few people.
One of the sounds stood out as different, lingering near the entry of the container.
Then, slowly, the warped door that wouldn’t open was pushed ajar.
“It’s… here!”
I saw Han Seori’s face leaning on a crutch.
When I spotted someone who had been friendly to me, my body instinctively moved in her direction.
As I moved toward Han Seori without thinking, the people beside her raised their voices anxiously.
“It’s dangerous, isn’t it?”
“Isn’t it?”
The way they looked at me, like they were watching the Jangseung outside, made Jelly tremble, and I froze. However, upon seeing my reaction, Han Seori shouted at her companions.
“Are you insane? Back off!”
When Han Seori yelled, her companions flinched and distanced themselves—both from her and from me.
After confirming that the others had moved away, Han Seori let out a breathy laugh and said,
“Now that it’s safe… come here.”
Though the voice she used to coax me was somewhat condescending—reminding me of how one might speak to a child—I didn’t like it, but the Jelly inside me bubbled slightly.
Without a word, I approached Han Seori.
Suddenly, I remembered her injury and absentmindedly touched her leg.
“Ouch…”
Her slightly pained voice made me quickly withdraw my hand, but then her soft laughter carried to my ears.
Soon, my field of vision rose sharply.
Han Seori lifted me onto her arm and grinned, saying,
“The mysterious lightness is an advantage at a time like this… I’m just relieved you’re still alive.”
After saying that, she tilted me toward her body, treating me like a child.
Although I didn’t appreciate the infantilization,
As I looked at her face and those of the others through my expanded view, I sensed something strange.
Though we were looking at the same things, their gazes were very different.
Han Seori had the expression of someone who’d just found a lost child, while her companions watched me with lingering distrust.
Particularly concerning were the individuals by her side who held axes and chainsaws—those tools that had caused the chilling sounds earlier. They still eyed me with suspicion.
Some of them were even stomping on Jangseung’s remains as a warning.
…It seemed I shouldn’t leave Han Seori’s side for now, so I wrapped my arm around her neck. Though she appeared to misinterpret my actions, it seemed beneficial to me, so I didn’t do anything to dissuade her.
Seeing that no one dared to challenge her, it appeared that Han Seori had a high status.
Her goodwill at least meant I wouldn’t end up like Jangseung, right?
As I finished calculating this in my mind, Han Seori’s voice rang out while leaning on her crutch and walking.
“Can you please gather all the scattered remains? Not a single piece should be missed.”
“Understood.”
Unlike when she’d spoken to me earlier, her tone was icy now.
…Wait a moment.
She’s asking for all of the Jangseung fragments to be collected? If they shattered him completely… it must include his head, the one I swallowed.
Concerned, I made Jelly tremble, and Han Seori, sensing my discomfort, patted my back while gripping her crutch under her arm.
As her hand touched the quivering Jelly, it stiffened slightly.
Han Seori then whispered kindly, as if forgetting her previous coldness,
“It’s okay now…”
That’s not what I meant…
…Ah, never mind.
I’ve eaten Horned Wolves before; no one’s going to lecture me about consuming a bit of tree bark now, right?
And so, embraced by the arms of authority,
I returned to the place I came from. The traces of Jangseung’s frantic movements remained starkly visible, though the corridor, unlike before, was now crowded with people.
It was hard to imagine where they all came from.
Their gazes weren’t much different from those who had destroyed Jangseung, though their intensity varied.
While I clung tighter to Han Seori’s embrace amidst the crowd,
I remembered leaving Daesik behind.
…Is he okay?
I didn’t know. Reflecting on the landscape I’d encountered so far, the probability of him being alive felt slim.
Now thinking that he might be gone made me regret all the trash I had given him.
Is this why people say it’s better to be kind when you have the chance?
You only realize the preciousness of something after it’s lost.
Daesik… I’ll miss you.
Somehow, my heart felt heavy.
—
—
Han Seori felt pity as she held the trembling Jelly Girl in her arms.
How afraid must she have been to cling to me this meekly?
Even in such a situation, someone suggested shooting her, and then others menacingly swung axes, scaring her further.
She sighed inwardly.
Their perspective wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
‘They’ve lost their colleagues, of course they’re beside themselves with anger.’
But still, shouldn’t they know the difference between public and private matters?
And wasn’t she partly responsible for minimizing further damage?
‘Ah, but many people still don’t know yet.’
Maybe things will improve once they’re better informed.
As Han Seori pondered, she entered the isolation room where the Jelly Girl had originally been kept and muttered,
“Ugh… this place is wrecked too.”
She frowned.
With all the things she had to handle regarding the Jelly Girl, it felt like mounting piles of work awaited her.
‘Is there any spare space right now…?’
Given Jangseung’s particular circumstances, there seemed to be no available space immediately.
Even if she co-isolated her with other Singularities, she foresaw opposition, so Han Seori shook her head.
‘Maybe… I should just keep carrying her around?’
As she thought about this while holding the Jelly Girl, she noticed something odd about the Jelly Girl’s behavior.
Curious as to what might be wrong, Han Seori tilted her head only to realize that the small globule of slime the Jelly Girl usually carried around wasn’t visible anywhere.
Amid the wreckage of the isolation room, only the toys she had provided for the Jelly Girl lay scattered around.
‘…Could she be grieving the loss of her friend?’
Even you, in your own way, aren’t so different from other people, are you?
Feeling a pang of sympathy, Han Seori patted the Jelly Girl.
And then her eyes caught sight of the blonde doll the Jelly Girl always carried with her.
At least this survived—it’s a relief.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Han Seori approached the doll to give it to the Jelly Girl.
Then, unexpectedly,
CRACKLE!
The sudden sound froze her in place.
Something was still in the isolation room.
If it were a hostile Singularity, it could be dangerous, so Han Seori tensed up as she scanned the room.
After a while,
Her eyes caught sight of something.
The blonde doll slowly started to rise.
