Han Seori opened the bathroom door and felt a sense of confusion.
When the Jelly Girl said she would use the bathroom for the first time, Han Seori found it somewhat surprising.
“Suddenly?”
It wasn’t an unusual thought to have. After all, Han Seori, who had always carried the Jelly Girl, had never smelled any unpleasant odor from her.
It wasn’t completely odorless. There were occasional smells, but these were not unpleasant smells, rather the scent of the food the Jelly Girl consumed that day. The smell quickly faded and didn’t bother at all.
Because of this, when the Jelly Girl expressed her wish to bathe, it gave Han Seori plenty to think about.
How had she learned about bathing? Was it from the TV they had installed recently? But… were such scenes even on TV nowadays? She hadn’t watched in a long time, so she didn’t know…
Separate from that, what bothered her was that the Jelly Girl seemed to desire what humans did. What made her want to bathe?
Was it simply mimicking what she had seen on TV, or did she understand human lifestyle enough to want to bathe?
Though she smiled and helped with various preparations, Han Seori’s mind was more troubled than anyone else’s. She could have dismissed it as cute and moved on, but the words spoken by Hwang Bo-yul at a recent drinking party stuck in her throat like a thorn.
But since Hwang Bo-yul’s words weren’t wrong, she couldn’t argue with them. Intellectually, Han Seori understood her words. If she had been in her previous state, she probably would have said the same thing.
However, the existence of K… no, the Jelly Girl was too alien.
A singularity, yet not quite like one… and at the same time, something paradoxically singularity-like.
Just the scene before her was evidence.
The bathroom was speckled with white foam, bathing supplies scattered everywhere, and an unused shower turned on in an empty space.
And there.
The Jelly Girl and her jellies in the bathtub.
The disarray of the bathroom made Han Seori sigh, yet the sight of the jellies huddled in the tub made her smile.
Of course, if one didn’t know about the Jelly Girl, it might have been a frightening sight.
A floating doll and something wriggling underneath the surface could easily look eerie.
But seeing the Jelly Girl submerged like a human couldn’t help but bring a smile.
Han Seori was smiling on the outside, but deep inside, her mind was in turmoil. Her rational mind whispered that the singularity and humans couldn’t coexist, yet her heart beat saying otherwise.
“Could it be some form of mental contamination?”
Han Seori did consider that possibility, but it didn’t seem likely. Especially since she, unlike Kim Cheon-soo and Yang Ha-na, hadn’t consumed large amounts of “Retort.”
Since she showed no signs in tests either, it wasn’t mental contamination.
That meant the cause of her feelings lay elsewhere. After pondering it, Han Seori faintly understood why.
Perhaps—
Splash.
Lost in thought, Han Seori snapped out of it at the sound of water rippling.
Blinking her eyes, she saw the Jelly Girl staring at her, her tentacles swaying in the water.
Suppressing the urge to join the Jelly Girl in the bathtub, Han Seori carefully approached the tub. The slippery floor seemed ready to knock her flat on her back.
Upon closer inspection, the scene was stranger than she had imagined. Objects submerged in the water were visible, particularly a miniature version of the Jelly Girl at the bottom of the tub, which made her heart sink.
Clearing her throat, Han Seori touched the Jelly Girl’s tentacles and spoke.
“Did you enjoy the bath?”
In response to her question, the Jelly Girl nodded shyly while her jelly swirled around. Han Seori couldn’t help but chuckle and lifted the Jelly Girl out of the tub. She felt the warm, squishy texture of the Jelly Girl, heated from the water, which strangely reminded her of touching human flesh.
With that sensation, Han Seori stiffened, overwhelmed by indescribable emotion. She only snapped out of it when she noticed the Jelly Girl’s tentacles fidgeting in confusion.
Thus, realizing her face and body were splashed with warm water and a bit of jelly, she came to her senses.
“Ah, um… sorry. Since we’re done, should we go? Are you okay?”
The damp Jelly Girl nodded. After confirming this, Han Seori turned with a faint smile.
With the Jelly Girl in tow, Han Seori left the bathroom. The water dripping from her companion left a trail behind them, evidence of how absent-minded she had been.
As soon as they left, the jellies, including Daesik, followed them from the bathroom. Water pooled on the floor where they had been, except for little Sosik, who remained peacefully submerged on the bathroom floor.
—
“Ahahaha… look at me.”
“Doctor, what exactly were you thinking about…?”
“Well, I was a bit tired, I guess… sorry.”
“…No, it’s alright.”
It was truly a rare sight.
Kim Cheon-soo, who always got reprimanded… or rather, scolded, was addressing Han Seori this way. It wasn’t the first time—she did get nagged when Han Seori tried cooking—but still, such moments were few.
Though that was a personal issue, this—him not drying me off after soaking me completely and bringing me to the control room—was something even Han Seori couldn’t excuse.
After apologizing to her, Kim Cheon-soo’s next target… for whatever reason, ended up being me. He stared at me for a while, pinched my cheek, and said,
“You need to be more careful next time…”
While he was talking to me, he glanced over Han Seori’s shoulder. Curious why he was reprimanding me, I stood up on her shoulder to take a look. It seemed the soaked Daesik, Jung-sik, and small jellies had followed us into the control room, leaving puddles behind.
Ah. So that’s why he reprimanded me.
Sheesh, kids can be a bit clumsy, can’t they? Isn’t the water something you can just wipe up?
As I grumbled inwardly, Yang Ha-na panicked and rushed to Daesik, making a sorrowful face.
“This is not how you dry him off…”
Hmm.
This made me feel a bit sorry.
I scrubbed him with shampoo and body wash pretty thoroughly…
Embarrassed, I climbed back into Han Seori’s arms. When I did, noticing her damp clothes confirmed she had lost her mind somewhere.
Even smart people can act no different from ordinary people when they lose focus, I thought.
Anyway.
After grumbling, Kim Cheon-soo draped a large towel over Han Seori and me, then exited the control room to clean up. Yang Ha-na left with Daesik, looking mournful.
I lazily told the jellies to return to their quarters, then wrapped myself in the towel.
After doing so, the control room was left with me, Han Seori, and Hwang Bo-yul, who wore an expression of bewilderment.
The room was so quiet it could have been mistaken for a grave until my body was dried of all moisture.
Han Seori, with a towel draped over her shoulders, looked at me and brought up the reason she’d pulled me out of the tub.
“Well, it’s kind of awkward to say, but I think you’ll have to make another trip.”
Ah.
That explains why the bathwater was warm.
Why did you bother to bring the bathwater if you weren’t going to use it?
I was somewhat disappointed, but it was something I’d anticipated, so I wasn’t surprised. After all, before I even went to the swamp, I had multiple options, didn’t I?
If it had come to me, it was highly likely it hadn’t been resolved yet, naturally leading to another task.
The fact that I had even been given some downtime was somewhat reassuring; I wasn’t being treated like a slave.
Whether it was due to Han Seori or some higher orders, I wasn’t sure.
But the sour feeling in my jelly was undeniable. Especially seeing Hwang Bo-yul seated a little away, wearing an emotionless expression, intensified it.
It reminded me of the ID tag I had felt jiggling inside me when I looked at her.
It’s strange.
I just wanted to enjoy a peaceful life here, but the scenes from the swamp kept flashing in my mind, making me question whether I could even rest.
An odd sense of responsibility I’d never felt before, not even from the ideological training in the military, stirred within me.
The obligation-like sensation kept creeping up on me in waves.
The guilt that people would die if I didn’t go…
…I don’t know.
Nevertheless, the fact remained that I had to return to ‘work.’ I straightened my posture and nodded.
Han Seori smiled faintly, as if expecting this reaction, while Hwang Bo-yul silently stared at me with a complex gaze.
I understood Han Seori’s attitude.
But why does that person keep looking at me like that?
It felt a bit unsettling.
Maybe because she finds me attractive.
