“Hmm…”
After retrieving Lime from Agatha and Jin (?), Han Seori sighed deeply and took a step forward.
When she sighed, she noticed the Jelly that Lime was cradling shiver.
‘You’ve confessed to your sin.’
Han Seori hugged Lime more tightly. Normally, if she hugged this way, Jelly would wiggle uncomfortably, but it remained still, seeming to understand it had done something wrong.
Seeing this, Han Seori felt her heart soften.
It wasn’t as though Lime didn’t know what it had done – since it was showing remorse, that was fine, wasn’t it?
Besides, this was partially my fault for not giving a warning before bathing and falling asleep. Based on the situation, it seemed Lime had rescued her from the bathroom.
She felt her face grow slightly red.
Just imagining what Lime might have thought upon finding her unconscious was embarrassing.
However, this was an entirely separate issue.
‘…Still, I need to say something.’
Han Seori resolved herself.
She wasn’t sure why she fell asleep in the shower, but just because of that didn’t mean it was okay to act recklessly. What if her sleeping in the bathroom had been part of some plan to do something wicked while she was unconscious? Though unlikely, it could happen – someone might try to test the waters and introduce strange anomalies in the Singularity.
‘I should have provided a warning before we left.’
Han Seori was seized by belated regret.
At first, she had intended to do exactly that. However, seeing Lime’s excited eyes upon glimpsing the airplane had made her unable to say anything. She hadn’t wanted to spoil the joyful atmosphere.
Thinking about how her lax thinking had led to this situation made her feel bitter.
Returning to her room, Han Seori placed Lime at the table and stared at it pensively.
Despite its guilty expression of checking her mood, she managed to suppress her instinct to smile as she realized there were no immediate issues. Still, she felt relieved.
She would ask questions later to be certain.
“Nothing strange happened to you, right?”
With great apprehension, Han Seori asked this. Seeing Lime nod, she patted its head and continued.
“Thank goodness. But… next time, be sure to ask for permission before leaving. I was so shocked when I woke up and found you gone.”
Lime nodded repeatedly while fidgeting with its Jelly, seemingly remorseful. Han Seori, recognizing her own fault, didn’t drag the lecture on for too long.
Having completed her informal “lesson,” Han Seori hugged Lime and asked,
“So, judging from the vibe when we parted, it seemed like you had a good time, didn’t you?”
Lime attempted to smile and nodded eagerly at Han Seori’s question but hesitated slightly under her stern gaze, moving slower.
“You did, huh? Next time, if we have some free time, we’ll explore together again.”
Lime, sensing something was off but seeing Han Seori’s usual smile, tilted its head in confusion before hugging her tightly. It was clear to Lime that Han Seori wasn’t completely over her irritation, and this was the best way to comfort her.
“Hmm? Phuhh… You really are something.”
But it wasn’t as though Han Seori didn’t catch on. Seeing the transparent act, she chuckled, which caused Lime’s Jelly to grow warm with embarrassment.
Blushing at the realization that her thin plot had failed, Lime awkwardly pulled away and pushed Han Seori.
“When did you start being so cute?”
Despite his embarrassment, Han Seori playfully laughed and hugged Lime again.
Unable to truly push her away, Lime simply pressed its Jelly against her head, which only made the Jelly wiggle.
For some time, the two rolled around together in a tight embrace before dozing off once more.
Lime fell asleep due to the warmth of Han Seori’s body.
Han Seori, on the other hand, simply succumbed to the exhaustion that returned once her panic subsided.
This time, neither woke up in the middle, allowing them to wake up refreshed. They then acted on the purpose of their visit to this distant foreign land.
…
I never thought I’d get caught.
Whenever Han Seori got mad, hugging her seemed to resolve the problem easily, so I’d been recently utilizing this tactic.
But things would be different if she knew that her forgiveness was not because of my hug but because she chose to overlook my mistakes.
The difference in subject matter is clear, isn’t it?
She was calling me adorable because of this.
Adorable? It’s more of a tactic. But I suppose this won’t work anymore.
Cough.
I thought I’d get a serious scolding, but not really. Han Seori herself admitted her fault.
However, I still wonder why she fell asleep in the bathroom. Even with warm water, it’s unusual to fall asleep to that extent.
Perhaps it’s been too long since I’ve immersed myself in water as a human.
While jet lag could be a plausible explanation, it’s not exactly common to fall asleep while bathing, is it?
Mm… if only I had taken a plane while still human. I can’t gauge it properly.
Maybe someone here drugged our food, but Han Seori and I ate the same thing.
If someone had slipped anything into our food, I should have noticed something, a hint of tiredness or discomfort.
But I didn’t feel anything unusual.
…And.
If Agatha and Jin had done anything… my Jelly would feel sour. Besides, the only people we flew with were Agatha and some unknown others. Even if they wanted to, the chances would be low that these two could pull something.
Still, they come to mind first because of yesterday’s events that increased some internal intimacy.
But given the lack of concrete evidence, I don’t want to suspect them.
Besides… nothing bad actually happened.
We just looked around the Laboratory, saw a unicorn, ate food, and that’s it. If anything bad had happened, Jin would have been the victim after quarreling with Agatha. She beat him up pretty badly.
At any rate.
Upon waking, Han Seori and I left the room with no visible signs anything unusual had occurred the previous night. Indeed, nothing noteworthy had happened.
However, Han Seori seemed to be holding on to how I’d played away with others. She hooked an arm around me as we left the room.
As if demonstrating the intimacy between us.
…Well, yes, it is true that I am closer to Han Seori… but it felt a bit embarrassing. Due to the physical difference, it felt like the embrace of a mother and child.
Especially since Agatha and Jin, who guided us yesterday, looked at me in their arms with warm, tender eyes as if I were a child. It made me so embarrassed I wanted to die.
Of course, squirming and escaping from her embrace might make it seem like I disliked or felt uncomfortable with her. Then Han Seori might feel alienated rather than disappointed. After all, yesterday, I did leave her alone and go out on my own.
A trap laid by Han Seori?
No, wouldn’t that also be possible…?! But I’m not a kid!
Confused by these thoughts, I noticed Han Seori and Agatha had begun talking in English.
In the meantime, Jin approached with his usual sly smile and raised a fist toward me.
“Lime, did you have a good night?”
As he said this, he tapped his fist with his index finger.
Ah, I know this. I’ve seen it in movies; black people greet each other like this.
Feeling a curious sense of familiarity, I hugged Han Seori. I didn’t want her to feel alienated unnecessarily.
Then, extending my Jelly-fist to tap Jin’s hand, he smiled warmly and nodded.
Looking closer, I noticed the swelling on his face where he’d been hit by Agatha the day before.
…Agatha may not be that ugly, but her punches sure are strong.
Conversations between Agatha and Han Seori went on until Han Seori interjected with a dissatisfied look.
“Is there anyone here who speaks Korean?”
“Of course. Nowadays, with Korean dishes added to the cafeteria menu, it would seem odd if no one understood it. Call me Jin.”
“…I see. Got it. Jin.”
What is this…
Yesterday, he wasn’t fluent at all. Was he lying to me?
I stared at Jin, pretending to throw up.
The guy looked puzzled and scratched his head. At this, both Agatha and Han Seori burst into soft laughter.
Han Seori whispered something they couldn’t hear.
“It’s because you got so close yesterday, hmm?”
Ah, wasn’t that matter already settled, Doctor?
She didn’t seem to have anything further to say and merely moved closer to me.
We continued down the hall, arriving at a place similar to the management room in our “house.”
A massive door opened, revealing numerous eyes fixed on me.
Unlike yesterday, this strange intensity pressing down on my Jelly made me instinctively cling tightly to Han Seori.
She, for her part, though seeming a little uneasy unlike earlier, hugged me tightly.
Mm….
It’s not that I was scared, but the collective gaze from so many people at once felt burdensome.
And… well, if this can be called racial discrimination, the sight of these people with tall noses and odd eye colors staring at me made me feel like a ghost was watching.
…Is this racist, right?
As I idly felt awkward, the tallest-looking person approached and began speaking in English.
Though I couldn’t understand the words, his obvious excitement felt familiar even without the language.
“Lime, no need to be tense.”
As Han Seori expertly conversed with him, Jin interrupted.
Like trying to soothe a child—or, perhaps as one tries to charm a woman with his sweet voice—but…
The black eye really ruins it.
…It made him look rather pathetic.
Like a sparrow caught cheating.
Regardless of such impressions…
Shortly, Han Seori and what appeared to be the director of the facility, a middle-aged man, started a serious conversation.
Now, it finally felt like I was at the facility I knew about.
