What are the ways to rebuild broken trust?
Truthfully, it felt a little unfair to call it “broken trust.”
The party involved hadn’t really done anything to break that trust in the first place.
They had simply gone to work and then returned.
Only to somehow end up transformed into an extremely malevolent jelly that had killed people.
Since they had corrected this misunderstanding, one could argue the misunderstanding had been cleared up. Still, even if misunderstandings are resolved, it’s not like you can just shake hands and say, “Haha, sorry about that,” and everything is fine—otherwise, the concept of conflict wouldn’t exist in the world.
Therefore, the Jelly Girl, who was both the party involved and a victim, could feel a bit wronged.
She was a victim, yet she found herself in a position where she had to prove herself because of being an incomprehensible existence from the Singularity.
In any case.
So then, what must the Jelly Girl do to regain the trust of these regretful humans?
There are various methods one might consider, but the best option seemed to be… nothing quite compares to a firsthand experience right in front of them.
Han Seori also thought this was probably true, but she didn’t particularly want to go through such an extreme demonstration.
Because she felt sorry for Jelly Girl.
Hence, what Jelly Girl showed others first was… Han Seori inserting her hand directly into Jelly Girl’s body.
The surefire way to demonstrate Jelly Girl wouldn’t harm humans.
After completing this explanation, Han Seori looked at Jelly Girl, who appeared to understand and nodded her head.
Han Seori smiled wryly, crouched down, and plunged her hand into Jelly Girl’s body.
“Huh.”
“Is it really, uh, okay?”
Han Seori’s white hand, which had been submerged inside Jelly Girl, started to take on Jelly Girl’s color.
As she wiggled her fingers, the jelly inside rippled, but there wasn’t any noticeable change in her hand when she moved it.
However, Han Seori thought just this might not be enough, and she glanced at Hwang Bo-yul standing beside her, who pulled out snacks from her pocket and handed them to Han Seori.
Han Seori, without even bothering to unwrap the snacks she received, simply shoved them one by one into Jelly Girl’s body.
“Boil, boil, boil.”
Unlike when Han Seori had inserted her hand, the sound of boiling began emanating from inside Jelly Girl’s body.
As the people watching this let out audible gasps, Han Seori calmly observed the bubbling jelly inside Jelly Girl.
She went further, grabbing, pushing, and manipulating the snacks that were dissolving into the jelly.
…In truth, this sight was a little eerie.
Although she was somewhat translucent, Jelly Girl still had the external appearance of a small girl.
The image of someone plunging their hand into the stomach of such a small girl and poking around frankly suited the description “eerie.”
One would expect the observers to feel disturbed and perhaps criticize the one waving their hand inside.
But… it was different there.
“Wow… it really seems like the food is the only thing being dissolved.”
“If she can maintain this distinction while moving like that… truly remarkable.”
“Hey, let’s try putting this in too!”
Onlookers, rather than feeling disturbed, instead had their curiosity piqued. Someone even pulled out some jerky from their pocket and waved it around, asking for it to be fed inside.
This started a chain reaction with everyone pulling snacks from their pockets, and Jelly Girl seemed to take pleasure in this unexpected feast, her expression somehow resembling satisfaction.
She genuinely seemed to enjoy eating.
“…You really do love eating, don’t you… same as you.”
Fortunately.
Had it ended there, it would have been a very harmonious scene indeed.
But the world isn’t so simple.
Especially considering the types of individuals gathered there, referred to as “Doctors” and their assistants, the outcome seemed predetermined anyway.
Approaching the stage, they were not satisfied with merely inserting snacks into Jelly Girl.
“What if it’s only those with an attachment relationship that don’t dissolve, like Han Doctor here? Let’s assume that’s true. What if there’s a limit to the number of people who can fit into that relationship?”
“Would that be enough for proof? How about inflicting harm on someone who hasn’t formed such a bond? Perhaps try cutting her with a knife…?”
“Would it be possible to take some samples if we cut? Ah, have you tasted it already? Or could I try a bite?”
“I’d also like to insert my hand—would that be okay?”
“Just a moment, there’s something—”
The space that had earlier been filled with tension and fear was now brimming with curiosity and an odd kind of excitement.
Everyone was transparent in their desire to approach and do something with Jelly Girl, 7496 – KR.
Perhaps they had already assumed Jelly Girl was safe.
Because of this assumption.
They were eager to try things out with Jelly Girl, or maybe, they felt like today might be their only chance to feed their curiosity.
Or perhaps there were those hiding more sinister intentions, approaching to gain whatever they could.
The only ones excluded from this almost manic excitement were the people from the Laboratory that Jelly Girl and Hwang Bo-yul had been dispatched to.
“Ah, but I really feel wronged! Right?!”
“After we followed all your orders, how can you suddenly treat us as traitors?! If you genuinely don’t know, that’s unacceptable!”
They were caught up in a different kind of fervor.
After all, they had done as ordered only to suddenly be branded as traitors, not even allowed near the stage where 7496 – KR, Jelly Girl, waited.
While they were shouting and tearing into each other verbally.
The enthusiasm on stage was spiraling out of control.
A hand belonging to an unfamiliar man plunged into Jelly Girl with a “plop.”
Han Seori, who stood beside Jelly Girl, hadn’t even considered wiping her jelly-coated hand, and instead anxiously watched Jelly Girl from her side.
She had certainly asked Jelly Girl for permission before things escalated to this point.
When Han Seori asked, Jelly Girl had nodded, seeming to agree it was necessary.
“This is… quite an odd sensation. Definitely no feeling of corrosion. It’s like swishing your hands in a pool.”
“…I see.”
The man swirled his hand around inside Jelly Girl and then pulled it out. He stared silently at the jelly clinging to his hand, then reached into his pocket with his clean hand to pull out a small glass container.
“Can I take a bit of what’s on my hands?”
Rather than answering, Han Seori glanced at Jelly Girl, who, though looking somewhat discontent, nodded.
Elated by this response, the man started filling his container with jelly before retreating from the stage.
Actually, he was one of the more sensible ones.
The most common action was people sticking their hands in and taking some jelly to go, followed closely by those adding their leftover snacks along with their hands.
…Occasionally, there were those who seemed utterly mad.
“Can I put my head inside?”
“…Are you serious?”
“Looking at the report, it said someone was inside 7496 – KR… this part seemed credible to me. Isn’t that right?”
The questioner glanced at Hwang Bo-yul, who rarely made such a pensive expression but faintly nodded her head in affirmation.
Encouraged by this, the questioner grinned broadly and said,
“Then it must be fine.”
“….”
What is the man thinking, who so freely shoved his head into the Singularity?
Han Seori couldn’t help but think that she must be relatively sensible compared to this.
Then, she reconsidered—how “sensible” were the doctors she usually interacted with?
“Han Doctor!”
“…So you’re here too.”
“Obviously, I need to be here.”
A woman familiar with Han Seori approached her with a smile.
As Han Seori spoke with this other person, Jelly Girl observed them silently with what appeared to be a content look on her face.
However.
That content look had to fade.
And Han Seori had to abandon her notion that the people she associated with were sensible.
“Can we cut her in half?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Reports suggest her regenerative abilities are exceptionally remarkable, right? Don’t you think we should test that to truly confirm her safety?”
“Hm….”
Han Seori finally sighed, feeling rather disheartened to see such behavior from an associate she had interacted with.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t had any proper contact with them since transferring…
It was perhaps a little excessive to call this some whimsical revenge for forgetting her.
Yet, seeing subtle encouragement from some individuals in the back, Han Seori looked at Jelly Girl once more.
By this point, Jelly Girl seemed to have resigned herself and gave a weak nod.
Seeing this, the woman smirked and gestured dramatically.
“It’s not that I enjoy doing this—it’s all out of necessity. We just want to make sure, after all!”
“….”
Necessity, huh?
As Han Seori watched this with a skeptical expression.
The woman who made the declaration approached the armed agent and attempted to borrow a fairly long blade.
Of course, there’s nothing unusual about agents carrying knives in case anything happens.
“Let me borrow it just this one time?”
“…No.”
Though borrowing it proved to be an obstacle that wasn’t exactly a problem.
However, that didn’t really matter since the armed guard, equally curious after watching, stepped forward and volunteered.
“I’ll do it instead.”
“…Hm.”
Acknowledging her own request was a bit much, the woman stepped back willingly.
After a brief pause, the guard unsheathed the blade and swung it toward Jelly Girl.
Slice!
With this sound, Jelly Girl’s body cleanly split into an upper and lower half.
Her severed upper half fell straight to the ground with a thud, while the lower half maintained its upright posture.
After cutting her, though quite bizarre, the scene caused the observers to freeze slightly in disbelief.
“…This feels a little strange.”
“…Agreed.”
Perhaps because she looked like a little girl.
The earlier excitement and gleaming eyes of the audience faded quickly as they absorbed the grotesque sight.
It’s understandable seeing as “something shaped like a little girl” was cut in half and crawling.
Perhaps this was evidence that they were still human at heart.
Regardless.
When Han Seori, surprised at the unexpected reaction, was wondering if things had gone well, Jelly Girl stretched out her arm toward her.
Seeing the upper half of Jelly Girl waving her arm as if asking to be picked up, Han Seori hastily picked up Jelly Girl’s upper half.
Jelly Girl then indicated she wanted her upper half realigned with her lower by gesturing with her hands, and Han Seori, despite her disbelief, complied.
Once reunited, both halves of Jelly Girl seamlessly merged back together. Trying to lighten the now tense atmosphere, Jelly Girl raised her arms in a “Y” then lightly jumped.
As if she were a circus performer.
Watching Jelly Girl’s antics, the observers’ expressions began to deepen in sadness.
Even Han Seori, who had helped merge Jelly Girl back together, looked at her with an expression tinged with bitterness.
Jelly Girl, amidst the increasingly somber atmosphere, seemed baffled and merely fidgeted with her fingers.
Amidst this heavy atmosphere, someone else tried to change the subject.
“…Speaking of which, wasn’t there talk of other entities?”
“…Ah, yes.”
The once fervent atmosphere cooled slightly.
Though some eyes still gleamed with curiosity, fixated solely on Jelly Girl.
An indescribable strange feeling lingered.
Their affiliations seemed slightly different from the others.
