It was not a short journey.
Kim Cheon-soo felt a stiffness in the nape of his neck and slowly massaged it with his hands. As he did, a cold breeze swept by, tickling his cheeks.
The rare experience of cold air chilled him to the bone, yet oddly, he didn’t mind the coolness.
Perhaps it was because it felt like he had come home.
Although he hadn’t been living here for very long, the fact that he didn’t dislike his life here was evident.
He thought about the familiar faces waiting for him inside the laboratory while pulling out a spare set of clothes from his bag and slipping them on.
Of course, feeling good didn’t mean he wasn’t cold.
“Chooo—!”
While pulling on his clothes and trying not to sneeze, Kim Cheon-soo shivered.
Then he raised an eyebrow as something peculiar caught his eye.
“Huh? Why’s that person parking over there?”
True to his observation, Hwang Bo-yul had parked the car that Jelly Girl had ridden in an unobtrusive spot, then unfurled some sort of camouflage net to hide it from view.
As soon as the camouflage was in place, the vehicle effectively disappeared.
This sight, though ordinary by now, left Kim Cheon-soo unimpressed.
However, he still had no clue why the camouflage was being set up. After all, leaving it behind was tantamount to deciding not to return.
Could it be…
that coming along meant something else entirely?
While Kim Cheon-soo was puzzling this out, Hwang Bo-yul approached, brushing snow from her body, and said,
“Why are you standing around like an idiot? Aren’t you coming in?”
“Uh… Are you coming in too?”
“Yes, but… Why do you ask?”
The expression on her face suggested she thought it was an obvious question, leaving Kim Cheon-soo flustered as he scratched his head.
He had assumed she would return with the car, but it seemed he was mistaken. Though caught off guard by the unexpected development, Kim Cheon-soo sighed inwardly.
“Still…”
When had anyone mentioned any of this?
Trivial as it was, it was enough to leave him flummoxed. On the other hand, her misunderstanding seemed to lead to a tightening of her expression as she voiced,
“Why? Is there something you wouldn’t want seen inside the lab?”
Her tone was so serious it felt like the Grim Reaper had arrived, prompting Kim Cheon-soo to frantically wave his frozen hands and protest,
“N-no, nothing like that. I was just surprised because you didn’t say anything.”
“Hmm… Didn’t I mention I’d be coming along before we left?”
–I thought you were just going out and coming back! No, who would interpret it that way?
Kim Cheon-soo held back those thoughts and instead gave a faint smile, guiding her toward the entrance of the lab where Jelly Girl had rushed in earlier.
As they approached the still slimy entrance, they moved forward.
In front of them,
“…Is this 7496 – KR?”
“…Looks like it.”
A turquoise wall of jelly appeared. It was unmistakably Jelly Girl as she wriggled inside like a snail, retaining her human upper half.
From a viewing perspective, it was a little unsettling.
Even though she didn’t resemble a human, Jelly Girl’s lower half was distinctly that of a girl. The half-transparent, roughly shaped form was undeniably feminine.
Usually, it stayed below the line of sight, so one wouldn’t notice unless consciously looking down.
But now, with time on their hands before arriving here,
Her agitated undulations felt embarrassingly obvious.
“Hem hem…”
Hwang Bo-yul gave Kim Cheon-soo a pointed look, leaving him feeling wronged but equally awkward. He quickly averted his gaze.
At that moment,
As if sensing his glance,
Jelly Girl’s body exploded.
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
Amid weak exclamations, the body of Jelly Girl burst into countless droplets of jelly.
Soon, a wave of jelly enveloped them.
“Whoa—!?”
“What the—.”
The turquoise jelly brought both Kim Cheon-soo and Hwang Bo-yul together, their bodies pressed tightly against each other, as they became surrounded by jelly.
Fortunately, the jelly seemed to lack hostile intent, sweeping them toward the lab instead.
Both briefly thought about Jelly Girl before sighing inwardly.
…She must be happy to be home.
As they speculated, they were delivered to the lab’s entrance, buried in jelly.
“Cough, cough.”
“Ugh…”
“Ah?”
“Senior!”
As Kim Cheon-soo coughed and spat out the jelly, a voice startled him into opening his eyes.
And there—
was Hwang Bo-yul wiping jelly off her face. The problem? She was sprawled beneath him. The realization left Kim Cheon-soo in a bafflingly soft position as he hastily tried to rise, only to slip back down.
Recovering, he looked up to see
“Ah… glad to see you’re fine.”
“Senior’s back!”
Han Seori observing them awkwardly and Yang Ha-na waving with apparent delight.
At the sight of Han Seori’s face, Kim Cheon-soo felt something had gone awry and wanted to say something—
but he had no idea what.
A misunderstanding?
Had anything even happened to warrant such a term?
While he stumbled over his thoughts, Hwang Bo-yul stood, brushing off jelly, then glanced alternately at Han Seori and Yang Ha-na before speaking.
“Nice to see you, Dr. Han Seori. And Agent Yang Ha-na.”
“Nice to see you too, Team Leader Hwang.”
“Hello!”
A calm exchange passed between Han Seori and Hwang Bo-yul, while Yang Ha-na performed a deep ‘folder’ bow.
Her polite greeting momentarily flustered Hwang Bo-yul too.
An odd atmosphere settled, broken by Han Seori’s smile as she cradled Jelly Girl, who had returned to her normal size.
“Let’s go inside and talk. Hmm, we should bring these guys in too?”
Looking at Jelly Girl, Han Seori smiled faintly. Jelly Girl, concentrating, placed a finger on her temple.
Suddenly,
The jelly waves that had been sloshing aimlessly began to organize, forming a circular shape and small female forms.
“Wow… it’s really…”
“Getting threatening.”
Could she really wipe out an entire village… or city, if she decided to?
Han Seori stared at Jelly Girl, a strange feeling sweeping over her.
But Jelly Girl, rather excited, looked only eager to watch the TV she’d been promised.
Han Seori couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
Unlike her own morbid thoughts, Jelly Girl seemed to care more about watching TV.
Thankfully, she remains the same.
You’re still yourself, aren’t you?
With a faint smile, Han Seori gently stroked Jelly Girl’s hair, including her feelers.
“Good to have you back.”
Boo.
At Han Seori’s murmur, Jelly Girl wiggled her feelers as if asking why it hadn’t been said earlier.
Han Seori laughed again, then led the group—Hwang Bo-yul, Yang Ha-na, and a host of jellies—into the lab.
Left at the entrance were Kim Cheon-soo, feeling oddly lonesome.
“…Huh.”
Why do I feel like crying?
As he idly stood there, about to shuffle into the lab—
“Senior!”
“Agent Yang?”
Yang Ha-na turned around like a happy dog, returning to deliver a large towel.
“Dr. Han told me to bring this! Thank you for all your hard work!”
“O-Oh? Should I be called Doctor now?”
“Yes! Since I’m working here too!”
“Ah…”
As Yang Ha-na handed him the towel, Kim Cheon-soo wiped himself off and walked inside. Answering her curious questions about what had happened was oddly pleasant.
Despite his earlier weepiness, Kim Cheon-soo now grinned as he stepped forward.
He truly was an easy man.
*
Would it work?
I wondered when it actually did.
No matter the case, splitting my body into pieces wasn’t a pleasant experience unless you were into that sort of thing.
Still, it was fortunate that the jellies were dividing well.
They remained loyal to my commands.
Comparing them to the original jelly revealed subtle differences.
The new jellies seemed to follow my orders absolutely. The fact that they didn’t attack humans even when hungry confirmed this.
It was almost like some alien race from a game about star wars.
In contrast, our jelly was more free-spirited.
Especially
…Sosik, sulking in the corner, turned away and slept.
It seemed like a protest against me.
Though, I wasn’t sure how meaningful it was.
Sleeping on the floor instead of the bed—what difference did it make? That kind of feeling.
Still,
Seeing him soaked in jelly in the corner was heart-wrenching.
Anyway,
Waking the sleeping one would only result in more anger, so I decided to put off apologizing.
Perhaps it would be a good time during the meal.
Separate from that,
Distributing the divided jellies to various places was also a chore.
How many jellies to place in each room.
What the jellies should guard and so on.
There was much to manage apart from Sosik.
Finally, as I exhaled after sorting all the jellies, I noticed a spherical one slowly approaching.
A mixture of relief and apprehension filled me.
[You’ve returned. I have something to report.]
A peculiar voice emanated from the sphere.
…What?
Had I sent this one on any errands?
