“Hmm… what would be good?”
After much thought, I eventually ended up going into the bathroom.
It wasn’t that I absentmindedly rushed in while Jelly was wobbling around; it was a decision made after careful deliberation.
First of all, Han Seori and I are currently in America, a strange land far from where we originally lived.
Even stranger, we seem to be the only ones here. Whether the others weren’t permitted to join us or this was an unavoidable choice, we don’t know, but it’s just the two of us.
In such a situation, how could I ignore Han Seori’s subtle gaze, hoping that I would join her?
It meant that in this distant foreign land, she could only rely on me!
Shouldn’t I avoid doing anything that might make her feel uneasy?
There wouldn’t be any awkwardness between Han Seori and me because of this, but small disappointments tend to linger.
Han Seori must have been tired, which is why she wanted to heal with me! She usually clung to me a lot.
And now… well, it’s not like a person… no, this is a bit embarrassing since I’m not exactly an adult male. It should be fine, right?
At this point, there really isn’t any part of me that gets stiff from seeing her, and seeing ourselves reflected in the mirror wouldn’t create any discomfort.
Besides, I’m not even human!
After pondering over 51 reasons why I should go in while Han Seori was bathing, I finally stepped inside.
It was absolutely not because of my sinister desires. And hadn’t I already done something similar with Hwang Bo-yul?
Doing it once may be difficult, but twice…
…No, that’s not it.
Anyway, once I went inside, Han Seori was standing there as if she had been waiting, happily smiling under the cascading water.
As I carefully watched her illuminated by the clear liquid flowing down, she grinned gently, came closer, and took my hand, pulling me toward her.
Then, looking at several jars on the rack, she seemed lost in thought.
She was probably trying to decide between shampoo and body wash for cleaning me.
…Hmm. We could use anything, really. I’m clean, but if I had to choose something, maybe something with a nice scent and taste would be good. I accidentally tasted it when I ended up inside the Jelly-like substance once. That might be pretty important.
Ah, so this is why experience is valuable.
However,
What are all those for?
I could understand Han Seori’s confusion when looking at the overwhelming number of jars on display.
Do people in this country take bathing so seriously? But even thinking about it… there were just too many. Separate items for your head, face, neck, arms, elbows, and on and on.
If they were all being used differently, I could sort of understand, but the sheer variety was hard to grasp.
There were labels in English: “shampoo,” “conditioner,” “body wash”… I understood those basics but had no idea what the rest meant.
While pondering under the falling water, Han Seori squeezed a familiar-looking shampoo into her palm and began creating foam that she then applied to my hair-like jelly, increasing the lather.
“Shouldn’t you not swallow this? I don’t know how it affects health, but it’s better to be safe.”
She nodded silently, though I had already tasted it before.
The liquid taste—whether it was shampoo or body wash—was honestly… hmm, a little strange. The overwhelming synthetic fragrance made it feel like I had stuffed a mouthful of flowers.
Though the taste was a bit heavy and unpleasant, it was mostly masked by the scent.
…Though, this isn’t the time to critique shampoo flavors.
While I was thinking this, Han Seori began carefully rubbing my jelly with her foam-covered hands.
“Wow, it’s such a strange sensation.”
What does it feel like for someone to touch and create foam on your jelly with their hands?
Now that I’ve experienced it, I somewhat envy Han Seori.
Could it be because of that envy?
“Mmm?”
Han Seori, who was applying what I presumed to be body wash to my body, let out a curious sound.
Before I even registered it, a jelly tentacle emerged from my body and started squeezing out massive amounts of what looked like shampoo and body wash.
…And then began applying it generously to Han Seori’s body.
“I-I, well, it’s nice of you to help, uh… but… hic…” Han Seori laughed nervously, as my jelly movements tickled her, making her squirm awkwardly.
While this might technically be my fault since my jelly was moving, I wasn’t intentionally teasing her.
Honestly, considering she washed me, isn’t it fair that I wash her back? If you receive kindness, you should return it in kind.
Plus, the fact that I was using my jelly tentacles rather than my hands lessened any guilt. Sure, I can’t say that I don’t feel her skin, but at least I wasn’t harboring any lewd intentions, right?
Han Seori seemed a little off… probably just because the jelly was unfamiliar.
When I thought about it, we hugged frequently, but I don’t recall ever touching her in this manner.
Or to exaggerate a bit, while I was often hugged by Han Seori, I rarely hugged her.
Though her hugging me was to relieve her stress, I never pushed her away because her warmth was comforting.
Now, since I no longer have a beating heart or the ability to naturally generate warmth…
…It wasn’t like I was staying still due to any lewd reasons.
That’s how I cleaned Han Seori’s body with my jelly tentacles.
Her cheeks were thoroughly flushed. She seemed like she wanted to say something, glanced at me, sighed deeply, but didn’t utter a word.
Hmm.
Why was she like that?
Had I unknowingly harbored any lewd thoughts?
Anyway, it looked like I hadn’t, so after washing her off using water from the showerhead, Han Seori began spraying me.
The sound of the shower hitting my body washed away all the foam.
As I instinctively wiggled my jelly, it made a sound similar to syrup. Han Seori gasped.
“Jelly! Don’t eat that!”
…No, of course I knew that much!
I wasn’t trying to eat it; I was just wiggling my jelly.
If I were human, I guess it’d be like licking my tongue playfully.
Thinking about it, it makes sense she would worry, though it made me feel a bit childish.
After rinsing our bodies, both Han Seori and I entered the bathtub, which had been making gurgling sounds.
With a loud splash, the water drained and we submerged ourselves.
Naturally, Han Seori clung to me.
“Hum…”
She exhaled a contented sigh.
…I don’t know when the bath started filling up.
Nevertheless, it felt great to actually bathe after such a long time.
Even when I was human, I rarely had a bathtub in my one-room apartment.
It felt like maybe I was living a more luxurious life than when I was human, but at the same time, it also felt like I wasn’t.
Han Seori closed her eyes and held on to me like this.
Not even realizing that part of my face was submerged.
…Of course, I don’t really need to breathe anyway.
“It feels good just like this…”
Han Seori murmured and then drooped her head against my shoulder.
I blinked and noticed her body slipping into the tub as if gliding down.
I poked her cheeks gently, worried she might’ve fallen asleep, but she just mumbled some more and didn’t stir.
It seems she really fell asleep.
It’s common knowledge that humans can drown.
She might wake up gasping for air, but what if she doesn’t?
I thus lifted her out of the water using my jelly, worried about the worst.
Of course, I did it with my tentacles.
After opening the rack, I carefully dried her body with several towels.
Everything was fine except her hair, which showed no sign of drying anytime soon, which was troublesome.
Women must have it tough. It takes more time to dry their hair than to dry their entire body.
Anyway, we managed to rinse her off and come out, but it was somewhat awkward.
I had no idea what to dress her in, and leaving her as is seemed to risk catching a cold, which worried me.
Therefore, what I chose was to wrap her up snugly in blankets.
This should prevent her from catching a cold, and I wouldn’t need to dress her separately.
Thus, I wrapped her body tightly in blankets using my tentacles.
I wrapped her too tightly at first, highlighting a specific area in an embarrassing manner, so I loosened it.
Once Han Seori had a satisfactory appearance, I carefully placed her on the bed, and my jelly sighed.
She must have been really tired from sleeping the whole time on the plane.
…Even if it was comfortable, sleeping through a flight probably isn’t all that pleasant, I imagine.
I, on the other hand, don’t let my environment bother me much, but the sleep I got was less from fatigue and more from the need to pass the time.
Still, falling asleep while bathing seems a bit… odd.
…Could it be because I washed her? Her efforts trying to suppress laughter seemed a bit painful—no, difficult to endure.
Ahem.
…I don’t know.
Since I didn’t know what to do, I just lazily sprawled out on the bed.
Now that Han Seori was asleep, if I lay next to her, isn’t that enough?
We could sync our sleep rhythms and all. I’ve heard we need to overcome jet lag anyway; it’s perfect.
Just as I was about to doze off, stirring my jelly…
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking on the door startled me.
Suddenly, I felt a surge of anxiety.
It was my foreign language phobia.
Hey, wake up, Han Seori!
No reaction.
Knock, knock, knock.
The knocking was loud and insistent.
What should I do?
I briefly contemplated throwing Han Seori on the floor to wake her up when I heard murmured English from outside. The tone suggested they thought something serious had happened to us.
If I left things as they were, people would likely walk in on us with Han Seori completely undressed.
For the sake of her dignity, I cautiously approached the door and opened it slightly.
“?”
“?”
Before the foreigners, I now had to explain the situation using gestures and body language.
…I should have studied some foreign languages.
Ah, this inability to speak makes me feel awkward.
I’m embarrassed.
