This shouldn’t be possible.
The Jelly Girl received shocking test results and was struck with disbelief.
Unable to believe the results, the Jelly Girl blankly looked around.
There, the jellies that had separated from her were bouncing around, boasting and showing off with a “We’re this many!”
In front of Hwang Bo-yul and the other two individuals, quite a few jellies were bouncing around, but in front of the Jelly Girl, not a single jelly remained.
…Of course, since the Jelly Girl was a jelly herself, if you thought about it in terms of the money from selling the Jelly Girl, it might not have been bankruptcy yet.
After all, it would be the currency with the highest value in circulation.
A value so great that if it were released into the market, it would immediately trigger inflation.
But that couldn’t be.
Initially, it wasn’t as if there was a plan to treat the jellies as currency for trading.
If it had been a real gambling den, the story might have been different, but at the moment, it was merely a light board game for fostering camaraderie.
The jellies weren’t used as stakes in the game but as substitutes for Seed Bank notes.
Thus, the Jelly Girl had to accept the miserable defeat.
Unbelievable as it was, that was the reality.
The jelly had been bested by a human.
Frustrated, the Jelly Girl quivered her jelly and noticed that the humans were looking at her with awkward eyes.
What could it be? That gaze mixed with sympathy.
Do they feel sorry for me now because I look like a child?
Hmph.
Even if that were the case, before becoming jelly, the Jelly Girl had been a rather robust man.
That sympathy wasn’t welcome.
And come to think of it, if they were going to feel sorry, shouldn’t they have taken it easy on her from the start? Now that they’ve won everything, feeling sorry just makes things unpleasant!
The Jelly Girl wanted to stick out her lips in a pout but realized, too late, she had none to do so.
So what, it’s just a game.
Besides, the Jelly Girl had a fail-safe excuse.
Since becoming jelly, she had avoided anything remotely recreational, making her naturally vulnerable to such diversions.
The Jelly Girl thought it was the perfect excuse.
It was a theory that, just as unused things gradually degenerate into vestigial organs, not indulging in entertainment causes one’s ability to enjoy it to degenerate.
That said, it seemed heavily dependent on luck, but the Jelly Girl convinced herself of this logic nonetheless, securing a moral victory.
It was an idea quite fitting to her appearance.
…Though she couldn’t articulate it to the humans, when they saw her expression go from glum to smug, they felt they understood what she was thinking.
“She’s upset.”
“How adorable.”
“But the world of competition is always harsh.”
As these various thoughts crossed their minds and they observed the Jelly Girl, she reached out and gathered the bouncing jellies back to her.
“Hey!”
“But that’s my jelly!”
“…”
Shouts erupted on the game board.
It was only natural since her entire fortune was being taken away.
The Jelly Girl went further.
She gathered all the jellies used as currency, then withdrew tentacles from her body to tidily clean up the game board.
The humans watched her with tense expressions.
The two except Hwang Bo-yul seemed worried they might get caught up in those tentacles.
Regardless.
The Jelly Girl had one purpose.
To erase the traces of defeat from the game board and start a new game.
That’s right.
After all, Koreans are known for their three-time comebacks, aren’t they?
Having sat stiffly and licked jelly off the hard floor, it’s now time to return the favor.
Now that recovery is complete, it won’t be easy, will it?
I’ll wring every tear and sniffle out of them.
With a sense of humiliation overcome and renewed determination, the Jelly Girl’s jelly appeared almost fiery.
Mute with envy, the onlookers chuckled and accepted the Jelly Girl’s challenge.
What a laughable sight, trying to make a comeback after being completely wiped out.
Should I try to acquire the right to stroke her as a prize this time? Now that I recall, she mentioned she could write. If I can secure such rights for a few jellies at the end, that wouldn’t be bad at all…
With someone’s sinister plan in mind, a new game began.
Squish Squash.
The first turn was the Jelly Girl’s.
The dice rolled from her hand and stopped at a fairly good spot.
It was the same place where her jelly had been mercilessly stripped in the previous game, so without hesitation, the Jelly Girl bought it.
Good luck right from the start.
Let’s keep this momentum going.
Just as the Jelly Girl was imagining a rosy future…
The firmly closed door suddenly burst open, and some of the people who had been watching her from the conference room walked in.
They glanced at the group that had just restarted the game, then cautiously approached the Jelly Girl.
Having been in high spirits, the Jelly Girl felt irritated at the sudden interruption.
But then, sensing that they were looking for her, her entire body trembled.
Surely not.
It couldn’t be…
I was just getting into a groove here. If I continue this way, it’s certain victory!
But, as always, ominous premonitions never miss.
The intruders didn’t interfere with the game but instead suggested a move to another location, claiming they had something they wanted to ask the Jelly Girl.
Without realizing it, the Jelly Girl almost shook her head at the proposal.
How could it not be frustrating to lose this golden opportunity for revenge?
But the Jelly Girl understood social obligations.
Understanding that this was necessary, she slouched her shoulders and stood up.
Seeing her slouched posture, the ones who suggested moving were the ones that felt disconcerted.
Seeing the Jelly Girl so disheartened was clearly not going to be conducive to achieving their purpose.
The man who made the suggestion signaled to the agents seated at the game board.
It was an unspoken command to lift the Jelly Girl’s spirits.
Though the two caught on immediately, they found the situation absurd.
How could they restore her cheer when you were the one who ruined it?
…Why not try a trick or two?
Though they couldn’t say that out loud, the two thought for a moment before cautiously speaking up.
“Hey, we’ll leave everything as it is and continue when you get back.”
“Yeah, the game isn’t going anywhere while you’re gone.”
Was this the best they could do?
Annoyed by their lack of effort, the man who gave the sign glared at them sharply, but to his surprise, the Jelly Girl’s reaction wasn’t negative.
The man, feeling somewhat embarrassed again, shook his head.
…Of course, she looks exactly like it, so maybe it’s appropriate.
Then I see why it could work.
The man extended his hand toward the Jelly Girl, intending to leave.
Just as the Jelly Girl hesitated, Hwang Bo-yul stood up naturally, positioning herself behind the Jelly Girl.
Like a bodyguard.
Noticing this natural movement, the man who had extended his hand spoke in a soft voice.
“I wish to have a private meeting with 7496 – KR. I’d appreciate it if you would wait.”
“That’s impossible.”
“…You’re not the guardian, are you?”
The man’s too-obvious counter-argument made Hwang Bo-yul maintain a cold expression as she glanced at those who had been playing the game with the Jelly Girl.
Seeing others shrink their necks like turtles under her gaze turned her suspicion into certainty.
Hmph.
Who would have thought this would happen?
Or rather, is it really so unexpected?
Thinking about it, the Jelly Girl was certainly a desirable singularity.
Her hostility toward humans was almost non-existent, and her ability to counter singularities was outstanding.
Perhaps a large-scale organization like this one would be better suited to handling 7496 – KR than a personal research lab run by someone like Han Seori.
Still.
Hwang Bo-yul didn’t like the idea.
The way this group had approached the singularity made her uneasy.
Even if the Jelly Girl seemed to be hiding behind her, detecting the overall flow of the situation, Hwang Bo-yul didn’t trust them.
If the Jelly Girl were affiliated with a place like this… The result seemed all too predictable.
The Jelly Girl, who liked humans so much, would keep complying with their requests, regardless of whether they were harmful to her.
The best-case scenario she could predict was one of gradual decline.
In the worst case, the Jelly Girl, exhausted from endlessly complying, could lose control.
Therefore…
Even though she seemed to have been slightly corrupted in judgment, being under Han Seori’s research lab seemed preferable.
It seemed that, according to Hwang Bo-yul, the people there genuinely cared for the Jelly Girl.
She was undoubtedly a special singularity unlike any they’d encountered so far.
In that case, wouldn’t she require a different “management method”?
Gently stroking the Jelly Girl’s head hidden behind her back, Hwang Bo-yul responded.
“Guardian. And 7496 – KR doesn’t seem to wish it either.”
“Hey! You need to understand, what’s behind you isn’t some kid to be protected but a singularity! A singularity!”
“I understand.”
Immediately after, the two began a dialogue running along parallel lines.
On one side, the man was insistent on an urgent private meeting; on the other, Hwang Bo-yul firmly resisted.
The person who could resolve this peculiar standoff was the Jelly Girl, but her loyalty already lay with Hwang Bo-yul, rendering the confrontation meaningless from the start.
When the man’s patience finally reached its limit, he clenched his teeth.
To the others watching anxiously from behind Hwang Bo-yul, this wouldn’t be an issue, but the man before him wasn’t just any ordinary agent, so he couldn’t simply lay a hand on him.
The parallel conversation ultimately ended on unpleasant terms, and the Jelly Girl’s long-awaited revenge was thwarted.
The man, for his part, had to be satisfied with the knowledge that where the hole in the floor was, a creature had emerged from it.
While discovering this was quite a significant gain, his team clearly didn’t plan to stop there.
Having handed over the information, Hwang Bo-yul prepared to return with the Jelly Girl.
The others who had been playing the game together were summoned out of the quarantine room and never returned.
The Jelly Girl hurriedly climbed into the waiting carrier, whose window was broken.
Carrying the carrier, Hwang Bo-yul looked at the pursuing camera lenses and thought,
The way back might not be peaceful.
