When Hwang Bo-yul and the Jelly Girl reached the outskirts of the Laboratory.
Han Seori, who was yet unaware of their arrival, was sighing and pressing her temples hard.
Her face was filled with confusion and exhaustion.
The way she pressed her temples was excessively rough, and the dark circles under her eyes suggested that she hadn’t slept properly.
Next to her, surrounded by stacks of coffee and energy drinks on her desk, Kim Cheon-soo waited restlessly, while some distance away, Yang Ha-na fidgeted anxiously.
Yang Ha-na appeared to be in better condition compared to Han Seori, but she clearly looked flustered by the current situation and seemed uneasy.
Han Seori’s companion, Kim Cheon-soo, looked strikingly similar to her.
Since he had been assisting her, it wasn’t odd that he appeared to be as troubled as she.
Tap, tap.
Han Seori eventually removed her hands from her temples and began tapping her desk, an irregular rhythm that conveyed her anxiety.
“Hmm… What exactly…”
With another deep sigh, Han Seori glanced at the screen.
There, she found an overwhelming number of messages and documents that had been sent to her, the contents truly astonishing from her perspective.
[Concerns Over the Stability of 7496 – KR]
[Is 7496 – KR Truly Safe?]
[Incident Report]
[Request for Clarification on the Hostility of 7496 – KR]
[Reevaluation of Stability: Presumed Death of Agent Due to 7496 – KR]
[Request to Severely Isolate 7496 – KR]
Having already reviewed these titles, Han Seori felt an intense headache coming on.
What was all this nonsense about?
She had waited for 7496 – KR to return and resolve the issue, but instead, neither 7496 – KR nor Hwang Bo-yul had made contact, and strange documents began arriving from the lab they had been sent to.
Though the messages varied greatly, the gist of their claims boiled down to one thing: 7496 – KR was dangerous and should not be left unchecked.
The primary evidence cited was the death of someone—Hwang Bo-yul—the companion of 7496 – KR.
This absurd news brought an incredulous smile to Han Seori’s face before she carefully reviewed the documents they sent.
Right off the bat, the claim that the deceased was Hwang Bo-yul didn’t hold water.
Han Seori thought back to the behaviors of the Jelly Girl that she had observed so far.
If the Jelly Girl had intended harm, there would have been prior opportunities; Han Seori was aware of this.
Yet, the Jelly Girl had not. Instead, she had shown a willingness to cooperate and even attempted communication.
Had the Jelly Girl truly intended harm, it would have been more logical to act during their previous mission to the Swamp, not now while handling urban issues.
Moreover, the Jelly Girl slipping away unnoticed would have left them completely clueless while trying to track her down.
It was also possible that some other concerns were tied to the other Jellies kept in the lab, but that argument contradicted their claims. If they cared earlier, why not now?
What in the world was happening?
Han Seori couldn’t fathom the Jelly Girl causing such trouble, yet the lack of contact from Hwang Bo-yul unsettled her.
As a result, she carefully analyzed every single character of the messages sent to her.
Eventually, what she concluded was—there was no basis for such claims against the Jelly Girl.
Confusing documents full of charts and graphs were tossed around, but ultimately, only one death was reported, and that person was Hwang Bo-yul. No other conclusive evidence was presented.
The Jelly Girl had successfully resolved the issue and even displayed a high level of affinity by enjoying board games with humans.
If under normal circumstances, Han Seori might have joked about why the Jelly Girl hadn’t played games with her, but she remained gravely serious.
Despite analyzing everything meticulously, something unsettling lingered—a detail unrecorded in the documents.
Moreover, the fact that Hwang Bo-yul had not made contact continued to gnaw at her like a thorn in her throat.
“Mr. Cheon-soo.”
“Y-yes!”
“Could you bring me a cup of coffee?”
“Um… Doctor, shouldn’t you rest a bit? I feel like you’ve already examined everything carefully…”
Han Seori weakly shook her head in response to Kim Cheon-soo’s worry.
“No… There’s definitely something I’ve missed. That—7496 – KR—couldn’t have done this,” she said confidently.
“I agree. But one can’t find something that isn’t there. Why not just wait? They’re sure to return.”
At his earnest plea, Han Seori momentarily wore a vacant expression, then offered a faint smile.
“Yes… If it isn’t true, they’ll come back. But if they do, I trust them, so I feel the need to look even more carefully.”
“…I understand.”
Kim Cheon-soo ultimately couldn’t argue with her determination.
He could forcibly make her sleep now if he wanted, but then he’d have to bear the consequences later.
…Still.
If she insists on holding on…
Even if she’s alive, shouldn’t a living person live on?
And if she collapses, who’ll take responsibility?
While Kim Cheon-soo resolved in his mind and returned from the kitchen,
“…Huh?”
When he returned from the kitchen to the control room, he saw something rather peculiar.
There stood Hwang Bo-yul, walking in alive and well.
Although they had trusted her to return, it was still an eerie scene to see someone presumed dead walk back in.
…She was alive.
Now that they had arrived, Hwang Bo-yul casually wondered how they should contact them.
After all, she had casually mentioned that their means of communication had been lost during the mission.
It felt somewhat inappropriate to have sneaked out so secretly and now return in such an ordinary manner.
But as it turned out, those concerns were unnecessary.
When they reached the designated spot where they had arrived earlier, the ground subtly trembled before a chunk of steel emerged from the earth.
The structure rose invitingly, its entrance wide open as if beckoning them to board swiftly. A slightly weary Hwang Bo-yul promptly climbed inside.
I, clinging to her, also entered automatically.
Soon enough, a familiar landscape greeted us.
Though not much time had passed, the tension-filled mission with Hwang Bo-yul felt as though we had been gone for ages.
The tension visibly eased from Hwang Bo-yul as well; her previously stiff muscles relaxed.
Apparently, she considered this place a haven—a place to rest.
This sensation caused a subtle stir in the Jelly Girl inside me, who began to bubble in response.
At last,
“We’re back—well, never mind the—ah, I see what happened…”
“…It seems like something indeed occurred, judging by what you’re saying.”
A hint of fatigue was evident in Hwang Bo-yul’s voice, followed by Han Seori’s equally exhausted tone.
…Hm?
Why is our doctor’s voice like that?
Oh.
It must be because we couldn’t keep in touch, so she worried.
Hehe… It’s not my fault, but still, it feels strange.
Anyway, as we reached the control room, I wiggled my body and peeked out from Hwang Bo-yul’s shoulder.
“Hnnng…”
A curious sound escaped Hwang Bo-yul’s now relaxed lips as I appeared from her clothes, meeting the wide-eyed gaze of Han Seori.
“You said you couldn’t be seen… Why are you coming out from there?”
“Hmm… Maybe we’ve gotten closer. She came into contact with my body like this.”
“Ah…”
Han Seori then gazed at me with a tired but somewhat reproachful look.
It felt like she was wondering why I acted this way with Hwang Bo-yul but not with her.
…Was our doctor always like this?
Though she’s always enjoyed hugging me, she hasn’t expressed herself like this before.
Had something huge happened while we lost contact?
Honestly, we didn’t do anything wrong.
Whatever the purpose of those who approached us during our mission, neither I nor Hwang Bo-yul harmed anyone or even attacked them—at least not in any real sense.
I merely spat out some jelly.
If you had to compare it, it was like spitting.
…And that’s not murder, right?
They might have felt insulted, perhaps.
Because of that, I’d thought everything would be fine.
Meanwhile, Yang Ha-na approached, scooped me up in a tight embrace, and eyed Hwang Bo-yul with teary eyes, as if witnessing someone returning from the dead.
…What is this?
Then Kim Cheon-soo entered, dropping the drink he was holding, soaking his pants.
Amidst this scene that felt like everyone had lost a screw, I started sensing uneasiness and anxiety.
Something was definitely wrong.
And what I feared was far worse than I could have imagined.
