The curious scene drew the attention of those who had been sipping their drinks, focusing it on the Jelly Girl and Han Seori.
Unlike Hwang Bo-yul, whose expression seemed somewhat dissatisfied, to those who had grown accustomed to the pairing of Han Seori and the Jelly Girl, this was a rather rare sight.
Every time Han Seori would hug the Jelly Girl and party, she now stood stiffly shaking her head. The Jelly Girl, seated before her, sat cross-legged in the chair with an irritated look, fidgeting her feet in an expression of discontent.
The Jelly Girl seemed unaware that her fidgeting legs were moving at a rather dangerous angle. However, the jelly wobbling as she moved gave off a somewhat endearing vibe.
Should one describe it as resembling a jellyfish flapping about?
Gazing at the Jelly Girl’s blue legs flapping about for a while, the next thing visible was a long brown bottle entwined with her tentacles.
The bottle was wrapped so tightly that it would be difficult to figure out what was inside without seeing the bottle on the table.
And in between, one could see Han Seori’s pale white fingers preventing the Jelly Girl from taking the beer.
Though it appeared as if Han Seori was stopping the Jelly Girl from taking the beer, upon closer consideration, it was quite an odd scene.
Considering the strength that the Jelly Girl has demonstrated so far, compared to the fragile frame of Han Seori, it was clear that the difference was far greater than that between an adult and a child.
It seemed as if the Jelly Girl was deliberately allowing Han Seori her way.
Observing this, Hwang Bo-yul tilted his glass to his lips and swallowed its contents as he reflected.
‘Reflecting on what I’ve observed so far…’
It was clear that 7496 – KR was letting things slide.
If that hadn’t been the case, Han Seori’s resistance would have been meaningless, and the Jelly Girl would likely have indulged in the beer to her heart’s content.
In truth, this wasn’t just about beer.
If we go back to when she was initially encountered, as documented in the reports…
It now seemed incredibly difficult to restrain 7496 – KR.
If 7496 – KR, that is the Jelly Girl, harbored ill intentions…
It seemed possible that she could obliterate everyone here without a trace and vanish to a place where no one could find her. This was especially true after witnessing ‘Sphere’ in the lab, making such an action feel as effortless as twisting a child’s wrist.
But, despite all this, the Jelly Girl didn’t seem to have such intentions.
If she were pretending to comply while secretly gathering her strength, she’d surely have amassed enough by now, rendering such pretense unnecessary.
Yet, the Jelly Girl still seemed cautiously reluctant to go against Han Seori’s wishes.
Given the patience—or lack thereof—that the Jelly Girl had exhibited up until now—as evidenced by her falling for the chocolate on a tray—there was no question about how she behaved.
Thus, the Jelly Girl’s current conduct pointed to one fact.
There was no falsity in her goodwill towards Han Seori and the others.
If not, some sort of event would have already escalated dramatically by now. Though it was impossible to entirely rule out the possibility it was all an act…
“Perhaps I’ll let you have some when you’re a bit older. So, um… let that frown go? Okay?”
“But, shouldn’t it be… never?”
“…Ms. Yang, what exactly are you saying?”
Seeing her puffed-up cheeks due to being denied beer made one feel guilty even for having such thoughts. It felt like doubting the purity of a child, making one’s heart ache.
But this observation was why she had come here. Despite her unawareness, Hwang Bo-yul continued to watch the Jelly Girl intently with slightly glazed eyes as she kept refilling her glass with wine. Meanwhile, Yang Ha-na, noticing her glass was empty, would chime in with “Senior’s glass is empty!” and fill it up.
Even Kim Cheon-soo, who was watching from the sidelines, could only think, “Hwang Bo-yul drinks quite a bit, doesn’t she?”
How much time had passed?
As the atmosphere became gradually warmer and the Jelly Girl had moved on to eyeing the appetizers and food after abandoning the beer…
With a jolt,
“Hm…?”
“Senior?”
“?”
With drunken eyes staring blankly at the Jelly Girl, Hwang Bo-yul abruptly stood up.
This sudden movement caught everyone’s attention, and they looked at her with confusion.
Only the Jelly Girl nonchalantly reached for the food, acting as if intending to block her from drinking more alcohol.
Soon,
Hwang Bo-yul approached the Jelly Girl with unsteady steps. The Jelly Girl finally seemed to notice Hwang Bo-yul’s presence, turning her head toward her as if to confirm.
…Together with the others’ stunned voices,
“Huh?”
“Uh?”
“Wha…?”
A long brown bottle was jammed into the Jelly Girl’s head.
Gurgling.
As soon as the capless beer bottle penetrated her head, it began spewing its contents violently.
As the level in the brown bottle gradually decreased, golden liquid bubbled and spread through the Jelly Girl’s head, while the Jelly Girl’s jelly had turned rigid in surprise.
In this situation, Han Seori, sitting beside the Jelly Girl, was the first to recover.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
Her voice betrayed more curiosity than anger, her expression more perplexed than furious. With a faint smile, Hwang Bo-yul jammed another beer bottle into the Jelly Girl’s head and said,
“She seems thirsty. Anyway, she’s not really a child, so what’s the harm?”
“That… is true, but…”
“She’s not human; she’s a Singularity. Haven’t you forgotten that?”
“…”
Hwang Bo-yul, with a tipsy look, continued to speak clearly. At her words, Han Seori and Kim Cheon-soo glanced away, while only Yang Ha-na nervously surveyed the surroundings.
Meanwhile, beer continued to flow out of the bottles embedded in the Jelly Girl’s head, now submerging her in a pool of beer.
In the quiet atmosphere, Hwang Bo-yul glanced around at everyone’s faces and scratched her head.
“…I wasn’t trying to spoil the mood, but… phew.”
Having muttered this, Hwang Bo-yul hugged the bewildered Jelly Girl, still holding the beer bottle on her head.
After stating earlier that the Jelly Girl was human and not a Singularity, it was a scene that made everyone feel slightly awkward.
Regardless, the completely inebriated Hwang Bo-yul stroked Jelly Girl’s back and spoke.
“Of course… I can fully empathize with why you don’t feel that way… Ah… but it feels good because it’s cold.”
Hwang Bo-yul, hugging the bubbling beer-soaked Jelly Girl, giggled.
Realizing how inebriated she was upon seeing the pile of wine bottles at her previous seat, Han Seori turned to Kim Cheon-soo.
“Isn’t it your fault?”
“H-Hey, I didn’t do anything!”
“If not, you should have stopped her.”
Sighing, Han Seori shifted her gaze to Yang Ha-na, who twitched upon receiving the look and chuckled nervously.
“As… she kept drinking, I couldn’t just keep her glass empty, could I?”
“Let’s be more careful going forward.”
“Yes sir!”
While they were exchanging blame, Hwang Bo-yul, who was hugging the Jelly Girl, gently rubbed her cheek, pecked her, and then fell asleep on the chair still cradling the Jelly Girl.
The Jelly Girl, helplessly held in her arms, glanced at Han Seori and the others.
But Han Seori and Kim Cheon-soo didn’t seem to wear pleasant expressions upon catching the Jelly Girl’s gaze.
After all, Hwang Bo-yul’s words, even in her drunken state, weren’t entirely false, nor was it something they hadn’t occasionally considered themselves.
Attempting to suppress these thoughts that had resurfaced, Han Seori picked up her glass and drank the beer in large gulps.
Then, she slowly pulled the Jelly Girl, soaked in beer, out of Hwang Bo-yul’s arms.
Han Seori smiled faintly while looking at the Jelly Girl who was still drenched in beer.
“Anyway, since it’s already soaked in, just drink it up. Ah! If you cause any trouble… you know the drill, right?”
With Han Seori’s permission, the Jelly Girl chuckled and quickly absorbed all the beer. She then snatched some food from the table with her tentacles and stuffed it into herself.
“…”
Han Seori observed the Jelly Girl’s actions with a thoughtful look, biting her lips, and tightly embraced her.
After contemplating without reaching a conclusion, Han Seori softly sighed and addressed Yang Ha-na and Kim Cheon-soo.
“Since the protagonist is asleep, we should end the welcoming party. Can the two of you… escort Ms. Hwang Bo-yul back to her room?”
“Yes sir!”
“Yes.”
“…I will take this one to her room.”
With that declaration, Han Seori opened the door with a slightly wobbling step and disappeared.
There was an unmistakable sense of melancholy in her fading silhouette.
