Crunch.
Hwang Bo-yul crunched on her Calorimater while quietly staring at the Jelly Girl. Despite the dryness, sourness, and nutty flavors rising in her mouth, observing the Jelly Girl was far more important to her than savoring the snack.
…After all, she wasn’t one to enjoy the taste when she was eating it merely to replenish her calories.
As Hwang Bo-yul continued her observation of Jelly Girl,
she noticed Jelly Girl piercing her own body with the Calorimater she held in her hand.
Like a samurai committing seppuku, Jelly Girl inserted the Calorimater into her stomach, her face betraying a hint of dissatisfaction, as if the snack wasn’t to her liking.
This feeding method was undoubtedly unusual.
Recalling Jelly Girl’s reactions since their journey began, Hwang Bo-yul mulled over them again. Not the visible reactions, but rather, the vibes emanating from the carrier.
Whenever they passed something intriguing, Jelly Girl’s movements would make the carrier slightly shake, a subtle disturbance missed by everyone else in the sound of the wheels but unmistakably felt by Hwang Bo-yul, who could sense the vibrations through her hands. While she was uncertain how exactly this worked, she recognized the feeling of joy.
It was similar to the tremor she once felt when accompanying her nephew to the mart.
Ah, so that’s why.
It was clear to Hwang Bo-yul that these tremors represented joy.
This realization filled her mouth with a bitter sensation that wasn’t due to the cheese-flavored Calorimater.
The joy Jelly Girl displayed was similar to her nephew’s, suggesting that Jelly Girl and her nephew shared comparable emotional responses.
‘How should I interpret this?’
Hwang Bo-yul felt confused.
Judging from the stomach-stabbing act, Jelly Girl must belong to the Singularity realm.
But every time she recalled the tremors felt from the carrier, the thought lingered—was this really all there was to it? And then, the memories of what she’d seen earlier at the Swamp resurfaced.
The act of fetching the ID tag from the Swamp.
The careful placement of bodies in an orderly manner.
These actions—understood or not—were far from simplistic.
Hwang Bo-yul vaguely remembered encountering Singularities resembling Jelly Girl in the past. Initially, it seemed they were there to assist humanity, but as it turned out, they each harbored their own hidden objectives.
They merely pretended to cooperate.
No, they outright pretended. The records of these Singularities that she had perused mostly ended in unfortunate conclusions.
These were, after all, records written in blood.
Thus, Hwang Bo-yul found it hard to readily accept Jelly Girl’s actions. Yet, ignoring the visible was equally impossible, so she meticulously evaluated Jelly Girl’s every move.
That was why she had deliberately followed her up to this point.
What Hwang Bo-yul witnessed of Jelly Girl’s life—more accurately, her daily routine—was, candidly speaking, bewildering.
It was astonishing how Jelly Girl had initially collaborated with locals in handling segregated Jellies. Countless perfectly controlled Jellies. Just thinking about what might happen if they suddenly decided to attack made her shiver. But no such event occurred, and Jelly Girl, assumed to be controlling them…
…would daily watch TV. She’d prod objects resembling herself on the screen or play with moving dolls. When the tiny Whale would bump into her, she would push it away with a hint of annoyance, yet still, engage with it in a manner reminiscent of an older child playing with a younger one.
Recently, she even seemed to take an interest in bathing, enjoying the sensation of being submerged in a bathtub.
She didn’t seem to enjoy wearing clothes much.
When Hwang Bo-yul learned that Jelly Girl had asked for a TV after handling matters in the Swamp, she was genuinely flabbergasted.
After all, based on her knowledge of Singularities, they would usually demand something absurd in return.
The thought that Jelly Girl endured all that just to watch TV… It led to conflicting feelings. Despite classifying her as a Singularity, memories of the Swamp kept resurfacing, further confusing her.
In the midst of Hwang Bo-yul grappling with her bewildered emotions,
Plump.
Jelly Girl, having dissolved her Calorimater, leaped onto the bed.
Landing on the bed, the lightweight Jelly Girl bounced a little before flopping onto it.
“…Lying like that will hurt your back—”
Unconsciously thinking that, Hwang Bo-yul paused mid-thought, placing her palm on her forehead.
Back injuries? Jelly Girl didn’t even have bones.
After some contemplation, Hwang Bo-yul eventually conceded that she did indeed consider Jelly Girl different from other Singularities.
Thinking Jelly Girl wouldn’t notice, she exhaled gently, lightly wiped herself down, and came out.
After turning off the light, Hwang Bo-yul instinctively scanned her surroundings and then climbed onto the bed where Jelly Girl lay. Naturally, since it was a single room, there was only one bed.
Approaching Jelly Girl cautiously, like an intruder, Hwang Bo-yul turned her body towards her. She proceeded to gently prod Jelly Girl, who she presumed was asleep.
Her body, soft and yielding under Hwang Bo-yul’s fingers, was slightly cool, refreshing against her warm hand.
Mesmerized by the sensation, Hwang Bo-yul unknowingly prodded Jelly Girl a few more times before snapping back to reality and hastily withdrawing her hand.
‘…What am I doing?’
Even after accepting Jelly Girl’s uniqueness, she couldn’t let her guard down completely. Watching over Jelly Girl with the intention to observe her, Hwang Bo-yul eventually drifted off to sleep, facing her.
It was expected; she was fatigued from the long journey.
How long had she been asleep when the supposedly slumbering Jelly Girl sprang up? She eyed Hwang Bo-yul awkwardly.
Fidgeting with the antennas sticking out from her head, Jelly Girl moved to get off the bed, seemingly uncomfortable sharing it.
However, as Jelly Girl shifted, Hwang Bo-yul seemed to sense the movement and began to stir.
Having done nothing wrong but feeling guilty nonetheless, Jelly Girl froze stiff as a statue.
Eventually,
Hwang Bo-yul’s sturdy arm wrapped around Jelly Girl’s body. Before she could react, Jelly Girl found herself enveloped in a tight embrace, like a hugging pillow.
Finding the situation quite awkward, Jelly Girl squirmed, her jelly-like body trembling, but soon gave up and slumped.
Resigning herself to it, Jelly Girl closed her eyes and rhythmically jiggled her jelly form.
Silence enveloped the room.
…
…
…
…
…
“…Why am I in your arms?”
It was the first thing Hwang Bo-yul said upon waking.
Really confusing. How can she question me when it was her who clung to me first?
…Honestly, if Kim Cheon-soo had embraced me like this, I would have kicked him off the bed, but since it’s a pretty lady, I endured it. One can’t be shameless enough to let a woman sleep on the floor, can one?
Even though my body lacks male attributes now, my values remain the same as they were before I became jelly. Quite natural.
It’s not that I enjoyed it or anything…
Anyhow,
Despite these thoughts, upon waking, Hwang Bo-yul simply gazed at me for a moment before preparing to leave again. She quickly freshened up and packed her belongings. Since all I had to do was board the carrier, I had ample free time.
Eventually, with me back in the carrier, Hwang Bo-yul and I set off toward our next destination.
We had discussed the general direction, but the exact place remained unclear.
Somewhere far from the concrete jungle, but still…
Surprisingly,
The area we arrived at was outside the city but still within the confines of the concrete jungle.
How bizarre.
So there were ominous creatures lurking this close to us all this time?
Why didn’t we detect them earlier while searching?
This made me seriously consider if my transformation into this body was not part of some grand conspiracy.
The probability of encountering such beings by chance seemed close to zero.
…Though, recently, the likelihood of encountering them has increased somewhat. During my human days, such sightings were practically unheard of.
I don’t know. Since I am now part of this category, there’s no need to lament about missing the past.
Besides, concealing them was never my job but “theirs.”
Anyhow, entering a building within the concrete jungle, we spotted a rather ordinary reception desk.
Hwang Bo-yul murmured something to the attendant, who then guided her through a door behind him.
After enduring an unnecessarily thorough security check,
We eventually arrived at a white room that felt oddly familiar.
…These people really have a thing for white.
What is their obsession with this color?
Though it slightly nauseated her, Hwang Bo-yul couldn’t help feeling a bit excited. Her curiosity bug, which had transformed her into this body, was rearing its head once more.
How long had we walked?
We eventually stopped in front of a certain door.
This door, marked “No Entry,” looked like it belonged on a crime scene. It was plastered with numerous warning signs, and its sturdy lock hinted that unauthorized access was strictly prohibited.
As Hwang Bo-yul stood before the door, some sort of sound echoed, followed by nearby doors opening, from which guards quickly approached.
…It might feel odd to say this in the current situation,
but,
she was genuinely,
a bit…
nervous.
