As Han Seori stood by, Lime’s nose grew larger and larger while listening to what wasn’t quite a report from Kim Cheon-soo’s group.
So… what this meant was that with her head tilted upward in an adorable manner, she was stretching her jelly-made nose physically as if to say, “I did well, now praise me.”
“Puh, okay, okay. You did well.”
At such overt behavior, Han Seori gave a sigh-like smile and reached out her hand toward Lime’s head, then changed direction and patted her shoulder.
Since there was a helmet on her head, it couldn’t be helped.
Lime, seemingly drunk with self-satisfaction, even placed her hands on her hips, which made Han Seori feel somewhat strange as she watched.
Was this how she used to be?
It felt like her childish behavior had increased suddenly, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
‘Hmm… now that she’s been interacting with more people lately…’
She wondered if Lime had learned how to gain more attention.
Still, thinking this made her feel a little odd.
It was a good thing that others were recognizing Jelly’s cuteness, but it felt like Jelly was gradually seeping into the hearts of people.
To put it simply.
‘I was the one who found her cute first.’
That’s how it was.
But leaving a good impression on people was necessary and positive, so there wasn’t much she could do about feeling a bit wistful.
Her own small Jelly was becoming famous, which was a bit bitter-sweet, but since it was something the girl had planned herself, it felt awkward to complain to anyone.
Perhaps this was what parents felt like watching their fully grown child.
After all, wasn’t it Han Seori herself who had named the small, ignorant Lime, instilled basic knowledge in her, and prepared her for her debut?
“Hey, Lime, call me mom—oh, that’s right, you can’t talk.”
Han Seori muttered this while gazing at Lime’s awkwardly charming face and felt her cheeks grow hot.
What was I even saying?
She got even more embarrassed and massaged Jelly’s soft shoulder to suppress her own blush.
Soon enough.
A familiar noise sounded, and the ceiling opened, revealing the steel snake port.
A rather large port creaked open loudly.
“Whoa….”
“Hoo.”
Buried in the earth, along with them came Kim Cheon-soo, Hwang Bo-yul, and… the jelly that had torn apart Kim Cheon-soo’s pants and was sharing them fell out en masse.
Kim Cheon-soo hastily stepped out and, looking abashed, said,
“Uh, can, can I go change my clothes?”
“Just hurry back.”
“Yes….”
With swift permission, Kim Cheon-soo, clad in only his underwear, dashed off to the control room.
Of course, Han Seori and even Lime gazed at him with a sympathetic eye.
The pitiful youth.
However, Lime didn’t have time to feel sorry for Kim Cheon-soo.
Because the jellies that had satisfied their desires with Kim Cheon-soo’s pants were approaching her.
The little jellies from the quarantine room squirmed over and clung to Lime, gripping and stretching around her body.
“Wow.”
Caught off guard by this sudden approach, Lime looked up at Han Seori with confusion, but she simply smiled warmly while observing the adorable sight from above.
In truth, Lime wasn’t being attacked, just insistently clinging like she was throwing tantrums for attention, much like earlier when Lime had stood with her nose in the air, hands on her hips.
It felt as if the jellies were saying, “We’ve worked hard outside following your orders, now praise us,” just like Lime had done moments ago.
While Lime was occupied playing with the jellies, Kim Cheon-soo returned in a rush, now changed, and with the others, started pulling unconscious people out of the port.
The unconscious people who had once longed to enter here could be said to have fulfilled a dream of sorts, no matter how tragic their current state.
Of course.
To prevent a repetition of past incidents, they were thoroughly searched, their mouths and eyes covered, and separated by gender.
Kim Cheon-soo, most actively involved, conducted the body search in a precise and meticulous manner, as if he bore some grudge against them.
Not that Hwang Bo-yul was lazy in her search, but Kim Cheon-soo’s actions were especially harsh.
Anyway.
With the confirmation that they had nothing, the group bound the unconscious people tightly and distributed them among the empty quarantine rooms.
They couldn’t let them all be together or they’d conspire, so they were separated as much as possible.
There were plenty of empty quarantine rooms, anyway.
And with many jellies to monitor them, there was no issue.
One man who had regained consciousness just before his eyes were covered looked at the jellies and, foaming at the mouth, fainted again, suggesting they likely wouldn’t dare try to escape, even if they could see.
Even if they couldn’t.
They’d have to decide what to do with these people after observing them for a bit longer, but with no lack of resources, it wasn’t much of a problem.
After distributing them, Kim Cheon-soo returned to see Lime still buried in the jellies. He approached.
As he watched her struggle, a feeling of long-repressed indigestion seemed to disappear, but somehow, if he didn’t help her now, he felt he might end up suffering the consequences himself.
He reached out to Lime, grabbing her arm and pulling her up.
Lime’s arm stretched unnaturally long like a prize in a claw machine as she was pulled upwards.
Zzzziiip.
Due to jellies clinging to her clothes, her outfit tore.
Had it only been the quarantine room jellies hanging on, her outfit might have survived, but the collective efforts of the other jellies watching from behind caused the rip.
When Lime’s clothes tore, the jellies clinging to her stiffened momentarily.
This little twitch of the jellies also caused Kim Cheon-soo to shiver as a chill ran down his spine.
Though he didn’t feel any direct sense of malice, the fact that the jellies had hesitated gave him an odd feeling.
And probably… the cause of this was likely Lime, wasn’t it?
‘C-Could she be mad that her clothes were torn?’
D-Didn’t she really like them? I mean, she wore them every day…
The previously bustling control room fell silent. Without the others present to break the tension, Kim Cheon-soo and the jellies, who had moments ago been squabbling, trembled as their attention turned toward Lime.
Lime, now partially exposed due to her torn clothing, revealed a hint of her blue jelly body and remained silent.
Since no one present remembered that Lime couldn’t talk, the silence grew sharp and cutting.
“Glug.”
Kim Cheon-soo, who had never witnessed Lime angry, unconsciously swallowed hard.
Though she had indeed expressed anger before, it was generally during missions, so it wasn’t shocking that Kim Cheon-soo was unfamiliar.
‘They say people who don’t usually get angry are pretty terrifying when they do…’
A calm before the storm.
Though there was no ominous sign, fear is contagious.
With the jelly mass murmuring restlessly around her, Kim Cheon-soo couldn’t help but be affected as well.
Of course, their unease was fueled more by the memory of the time the isolation unit jellies had their clothes taken, but still.
The silent Lime soon began to bubble, then neatly folded her ragged clothes.
Surveying the scene, Lime thought,
‘Why are they being like this?’
Lime only considered how much work this would cause Yang Ha-na.
Yet, she was pleased to see the jellies behaving far more obediently. Originally, she had planned to provide more spiritual education if necessary, but now she felt generous enough to smile contentedly.
Only then did the jellies stop trembling and bubbled with relief.
Kim Cheon-soo, still uncertain about what exactly had happened, sighed in relief, realizing his initial fears wouldn’t materialize.
If someone were aware of these details, they’d probably consider it all rather cute, but none of those people were there.
With the awkward confrontation resolved, Lime’s group left the control room pleasantly.
Their first act?
“Uh? Why, why is my… torn… hik, hik….”
“Oh, is, is Miss Ha-na okay?”
“No, I’m not.”
It was to hand over the torn clothes to Yang Ha-na. While she was there, they casually decided to redistribute clothes to the quarantine jelly, improving the group’s atmosphere even more.
Yang Ha-na, who had looked crestfallen, couldn’t help but smile as she watched the jellies take turns putting on clothes.
Han Seori questioned Lime, “Lime, do you want to change clothes? No? Understood… But isn’t it kind of weird if you wear clothes just to take them off? Like… you’re just strolling around naked, Lime?”
There was a minor concern, but the group, now properly dressed, decided to continue on with Yang Ha-na.
Naturally, their destination was, of course:
…The kitchen.
Awarding the hardworking jellies with pudding was “common sense.”
Though Kim Cheon-soo felt as if he were turning into a zombie, both Lime and the jellies were all in agreement.
Lime, who wasn’t the one making the pudding anyway, felt almost indifferent.
Kim Cheon-soo shuffled toward the pudding stock, pulled out a spare batch, and began preparing it. After all, all the jellies in the lab needed pudding, not just the ones gathered there.
As Kim Cheon-soo prepared to cook, he lifted Lime, who had been bobbing about in the mixture of jellies with her blue body, and set her higher.
Lime, who had her view suddenly elevated while enjoying a mouthful of pudding, tilted her head. Kim Cheon-soo, remembering the earlier events and realizing they were trivial, said,
“…You should help make it, too.”
He placed her on a counter.
Being intelligent, she’d probably handle it well.
Thinking about it, this kid had plenty of limbs after all.
Kim Cheon-soo nodded, rationalizing his own decision.
Though it wasn’t something Lime particularly wanted to do, she agreed, feeling that revisiting the cooking experience once in a while wasn’t a bad idea.
However,
When she extended her jelly-like tentacles into the pudding, she noticed that the other jellies weren’t touching the pudding she made, causing her spirits to dampen significantly.
To the point that even Kim Cheon-soo, who had tasked her with making pudding, felt apologetic.
Then,
The lab began to shake slowly, as if an earthquake had struck.
