“…Why is that thing here?”
“There was no place to keep it isolated.”
Han Seori’s shameless face made Yoo Gang-jik feel a stiffness in the back of his neck as he massaged it.
In his eyes appeared the sight of 7496 – KR within the glass container.
The Jelly Girl was sprawled out on the bottom of the glass container, hugging a cute blonde doll as she looked up at him.
While Han Seori was out in the field, retrieving that lump of jelly.
He recalled checking the surveillance cameras to verify her claims, feeling a rather complicated emotion as he looked at the Jelly Girl.
Indeed, as Han Seori had said, it seemed that the Jelly Girl had clearly moved to save her.
She had rolled out of the glass container, looked at Han Seori, spat out slime to draw the Jangseung’s attention, luring it away from her.
‘Were her hand movements also part of the lure?’
No, they were simply adorable—
Or so he thought—
No, that’s not it.
Recalling the Jelly Girl’s unconscious hand waving, Yoo Gang-jik twitched the corner of his lip and shook his face.
This action drew a curious response from Han Seori.
She wondered why that gentleman was acting so strangely.
“Why are you doing that?”
“…It’s nothing.”
“Are you tired or something?”
Han Seori shrugged and sat silently. Seeing her sitting with her cane, Yoo Gang-jik also took a seat, keeping an eye on the glass container with the Jelly Girl.
Soon, a few people in the room began a meeting for post-incident processing.
The first topic at hand was related to damage recovery.
As the procedures for confining the Jangseung were already underway, the facility’s damage was not too severe.
However, because it had started before the process was fully completed, some damage was inevitable.
The one fortunate aspect was that they had prioritized the dangerous materials for relocation, so their escape didn’t lead to catastrophic disaster.
For instance, if the “Woman in the Frame” singularity had been released, there would have been torsos scattered throughout the hallways by now.
As bodies piled up, “Corpse Flowers” would bloom—
Thinking about the lesser damage, Han Seori smiled as she looked at the glass container.
She was pleased that her claim seemed to have more credence.
As they discussed the situation and recovery measures,
Han Seori noticed something odd on the large status screen and tilted her head.
“The number of singularity losses… it’s more than expected?”
Although the figure could have easily escaped scrutiny if not for meticulous checking, it was impossible to evade Han Seori’s gaze.
The man under her scrutiny awkwardly scratched his cheek and replied softly,
“Isn’t it because they were attacked and destroyed? Most of the anomalies were located in the damaged zones.”
Han Seori shook her head.
Given the extent of the assault by the Jangseung, the number was surprisingly high.
It felt more like someone had manipulated the situation.
“There are too many.”
As she said that, the faces of those present at the meeting, including Yoo Gang-jik, became tense.
“Director, do you suspect external interference?”
“Maybe. While it’s still uncertain… upon further examination, it seems undeniable that someone intervened.”
“…During the recruitment period, who would risk interference?”
“Maybe…”
The name of an organization came to Han Seori’s mind.
Probably the same one in everyone’s thoughts at this moment.
‘Call of Twilight’
The organization that had been formed by those believed to belong to various branches and laboratories around the world.
Not much was known about them, but it was understood that their radical purpose was to preserve the twilight of singularities for the sake of the dusk of humanity.
Evidently abstract from their purpose,
They argued that singularities should not be suppressed arbitrarily for the sake of humans or human survival.
Seemingly, their goal was the liberation of all singularities.
…Though, the so-called “liberation” could equally mean the extinction of humanity.
Some might say they were similar to the apocalyptic doomsday preachers of the end times.
But, if the unseen document contents were accurate, it was clear that they were far from sane.
The look of distrust from Yoo Gang-jik might even suggest a connection with them.
Regardless,
As the meeting participants considered ‘Call of Twilight,’ another person occurred to Han Seori.
‘…Director.’
Despite the rumors about him, his constant absences only heightened the suspicion.
Could he be an accomplice of the Call of Twilight?
Or,
Is it possible he caused the incident deliberately for personal gain?
At this point, Han Seori decided she could no longer sit idly by.
Up until now, things hadn’t escalated this badly, and she was so absorbed in her research that it wasn’t something she paid particular attention to.
Han Seori looked at the Jelly Girl inside the glass container, who sat listlessly holding the doll and gazing around.
This made her feel an irritating sensation in her throat, similar to having something stuck.
Dismissing this feeling, she clapped her hands to draw the murmuring gaze back to herself.
“Until we have clear evidence of their actions, let’s not act rashly. Anyway, there’s nothing we can do immediately.”
If we could, we would have eradicated them already.
“Instead, let’s focus on facility recovery and internal security.”
With Han Seori concluding the discussion, no one dared to bring up “Call of Twilight” further.
As the meeting ended, Han Seori, leaning on her cane and pushing a cart with the glass container, left the room.
Moments later, arriving at her personal space,
“Doctor.”
“Hm? Oh, Chairman.”
She turned around at the voice and saw Yoo Gang-jik standing there awkwardly, with an apparent intention to speak.
Seeing this, Han Seori smiled softly and muttered,
“If you were going to do this, you should have helped me carry it in the meeting room.”
“…I’m not that idle.”
“Ah, yes.”
Rebuffed brusquely, Han Seori touched her badge against the panel.
As the locked door opened, Yoo Gang-jik grabbed the cart with the Jelly Girl.
“…Let me help you with it.”
“Oh my, how courteous.”
“Did you really need to be so sarcastic?”
Han Seori smiled as she walked inside, with Yoo Gang-jik following closely behind with the Jelly Girl.
*
I heard a serious voice, but it wasn’t very clear.
Maybe because I was inside the glass container, I could sense the tone but not distinguish the details.
However, I did catch the name—something with “Twilight.”
It sounded like a title that a middle schooler might come up with; it oddly clashed with the grave atmosphere around me.
Feeling very stifled, I tried to open the lid, but the thought of using forceful movements didn’t seem like the bright idea.
I tried keeping watch for an opportunity while pretending to casually glance around, but the bald manager didn’t stop throwing me looks.
With him clearly monitoring me, it wasn’t wise to act funny.
In any case,
After the tumult of the Jangseung attack, life returned to boredom.
Sharing a space with Han Seori gave me slight heart palpitations, but…
That too passed after just a day.
The next day, I was back in the white room, and Han Seori appeared busy, occasionally slipping in to drop snacks.
There were no experiments conducted.
Given her apparent position near the center of power, it makes sense she’d be busy.
After all, such a major incident would naturally demand her attention.
…Although, the image I had of lofty figures didn’t make them seem very busy, Han Seori seemed different.
Strangely, one odd event happened.
Typically, it was just Han Seori entering my white room, but one day while I lay idly staring at the ceiling,
A group of people came rushing in.
Startled, I moved myself and Ellise (which now held Daesik) to a corner. They then looked at me somewhat awkwardly, placing down a large tray and said,
“Uh, you might not understand, but we heard the damages were less thanks to you.”
They went on to apologize for threatening me with axes and chainsaws before leaving the room looking relieved.
I silently listened to the story and approached the tray they left behind.
And there was… fried chicken.
I’m guessing they offered it as a special treat out of gratitude.
Heh.
The intoxicating, savory aroma which I hadn’t noticed earlier, now filled my body and made a shiver run through me.
Seeing this, Daesik (inside Ellise) emerged and reached for it.
Apparently, he only appears when eating.
…I thought he was dead at first.
But,
The moment I went back to my normal place, Ellise started moving on its own.
I was surprised as the jelly shook, but Han Seori calmly observed Ellise and murmured,
“…It seems like there’s something inside this.”
While expressing curiosity, she set me down and shook Ellise.
Then,
Splash!
From within Ellise, Daesik popped out.
“Ah. So that’s how you survived.”
Han Seori’s voice tinged with interest, Daesik shook himself, then approached my side and rubbed against my figure.
I, too, was secretly glad to see him alive and knocked gently on his body.
Seeing this interaction, Han Seori smiled and passed me Ellise.
…Though, I wasn’t particularly missing this doll.
Interestingly, as soon as Ellise was placed in my hand, Daesik stubbornly clung to me.
When I let it go in confusion, Daesik slowly crawled back into Ellise.
It’s baffling how he even managed to get in like that.
Apparently pleased, Daesik emerged in his doll form and toddled up to me for a hug.
“Dear me…”
Since then, Daesik always resides in Ellise.
The occasional emergence when there’s food does disturb my senses somewhat.
…Could he be trying to distress me on purpose for more food?
There’s no way.
Having been trained in the sewers, my stomach is far beyond the level where such things could affect me.
With the warm chicken in my belly, I could feel a smile blossoming across my jelly-like face.
The crispy texture was amazing, though it would have been perfect with beer.
After eating the meat and the breading, I gave Daesik the bone with leftover meat.
It was kind of eerie how his body swam around with the meaty bone.
Anyway,
I licked the greasy jelly off my hands, then sprawled out again.
Since no replacement toys were coming, there was nothing to do.
Speaking of which,
Back when I ate the Horned Wolf, I grew that… uh, not a fool’s hair, but a knowledge pouch. So, having eaten that terrifying creature, has anything changed?
I stood up from the drowsy state brought by the chicken.
It was to see if there were any changes.
