At the time when Han Seori and the others had gathered everything they needed and were withdrawing…
From a fair distance away, a woman observing their movements through a telescope wore an expression tinged with bittersweet nostalgia as she watched them leave.
Her face, previously shrouded in darkness, was now revealed under the moonlight.
She was the woman who had been beside the first victim taken by the Singularity. The one whose name had been desperately called out just before his consciousness was drowned in the darkness.
The instigator of all this chaos.
Lowering her telescope, the woman licked her lips with an air of wistfulness.
“Director… or rather, former director, is it? What a hassle… Still, you were always the type who valued your life above all else, weren’t you?”
“Cowardly rat.”
The moment things went awry, the one who wrongfully pinned the blame on her quickly fled, deserting everyone else.
She had left the lives of those she employed as disposable rags without a second thought.
Because the woman known as Jung-hee had never truly expected the former director to die here, she didn’t seem particularly regretful about his escape.
Still… the considerable evidence of his corruption that she had meticulously gathered would ensure his downfall, even if she didn’t personally take action against him.
She didn’t need to dirty her hands, she thought, as she removed the mask covering her face.
Underneath the mask of a rather gentle-looking face, a woman with darkened eyes was revealed.
Finally relishing the wind brushing against her skin, she stiffened at the vibration from her thigh.
Carefully pulling out her smartphone and pressing the call button, a somewhat comical voice greeted her ear.
– So, have you accomplished what you set out to do?
“Yes… Thanks to you.”
– Excellent. Then it’s time to pay the price, wouldn’t you agree?
“Of course.”
– Outstanding. I’ll send the detailed instructions separately.
With a sigh, the woman returned the call politely before slipping the phone back into her pocket.
Recalling the voice she had heard over the receiver while standing in the wind, she was lost in thought.
The organization that had enabled her, a mere researcher, to conduct such operations—quietly known as the Call of Twilight. Though its name sounded like something a middle-schooler might come up with, its capabilities were far beyond any middle-schooler’s reach.
After the shadowy group reached out to her when she was in a dire situation, burdened by the blame for everything, despite her innocence, she eventually found herself here.
If asked whether she regrets her choices, perhaps she did regret them somewhat, but now it was too late to turn back. It seemed her choices left her with no other path.
Besides, wasn’t the side that initially wronged her even more in the wrong?
The authority above her that ignored all that—it was no different.
Though she wasn’t entirely knowledgeable about their underhanded dealings, it was clear they weren’t squeaky clean.
Amidst her thoughts, a stubbornly persistent male figure came to her mind momentarily but soon disappeared.
Would her future now be a downward spiral?
Or an upward climb?
One thing was certain—her life would never be ordinary again.
Thinking about it, she recalled the strange Singularity that had come in a box.
The image of the Jelly Girl crossed her mind, and with a bittersweet smile, she left her position.
Perhaps because she had become entangled with a group of lunatics who sought the liberation of Singularities, the reason behind her current state—the Jelly Girl—seemed oddly less detestable somehow.
*
Wow, I never knew sleeping could feel so refreshing.
I was as astonished as someone from this world who learns ‘Ah… this tastes really good’ for the first time.
While the sudden wave of sleep took me and it was indeed peaceful, I admit I was secretly worried.
They say if a person—well, I guess I’m not really a person anymore—changes dramatically, it can be fatal, right?
There was this vague, nagging fear that I might just drop dead.
But it wasn’t the case.
When my blurry vision cleared, I felt a clarity that I’d never known with my human body.
Maybe all the time I stayed awake was finally catching up now.
Could it be that several days passed while I was asleep?
But then again, does it really matter?
I don’t have any work to return to. If someone cares that I slept for a few days…well, I personally don’t.
As I dazedly thought about it, my vision returned, and I saw Alice crouching beside me.
She was moving slightly, and it looked like Daesik was inside her.
Did she decide to pretend to sleep because I was asleep?
Or was she genuinely asleep?
Anyway…
I felt pleased, thinking it was worth the embarrassment I endured in front of Han Seori to get the box opened.
Daesik, with this, consider us even for helping to open the box.
While basking in that satisfaction, something strange caught my eye.
Daesik was clearly inside the doll, yet there was another Daesik in the corner.
What is this?
Suddenly, the sight of the jelly made me shudder.
Startled, I jabbed the motionless Alice a few times. Daesik finally stopped pretending to sleep, abruptly got up, and began to waddle.
So, that means the other one isn’t Daesik, then.
Who the hell are you?
As I approached cautiously, I felt uneasy and decided to extend my tentacle instead of touching him directly.
He looked no different from Daesik.
But…
The jelly he was made of was moving strangely and didn’t seem to have a good temperament.
As I observed,
He also emitted a tentacle like me.
Like squid tentacles wrapping around my own, his tentacles slithered closer cautiously.
In that split second of hesitation, his tentacle wrapped around me…
And was absorbed into my body.
With the loss of his tentacle, the intruder shrank visibly.
Such insolence.
I wasn’t sure of his origin, but it seemed clear that some hierarchical relationship existed between him and me.
To teach him some manners, I poked him with my tentacles and spun him around like a merry-go-round.
Do you feel it?
The difference in strength?
Perhaps the Deputy who longed for my power back then experienced the same kind of gratification—though this time, it’s just for you to enjoy.
Still, I can’t forgive you.
Anyway.
While I was reestablishing the hierarchy with this new addition,
I noticed another strange thing.
While organizing the hierarchy,
Han Seori had somehow entered and was looking at me with a peculiar expression.
She was watching Alice (Daesik), me, and the audacious slime before approaching me.
Awkward.
I retracted my tentacles and let the slime that had gotten a thorough beating fall pitifully to the floor.
Meanwhile, Daesik, who was approaching the fallen slime, began to comfort him as though soothing a rival he had just been rejected by.
Daesik,
Because of people like you, I feel like trash.
But… did I really do anything wrong? Honestly, this guy started it.
Crouching down, Han Seori reached my eye level, patted my head, and asked with a gentle voice,
“Why are you acting so upset with your new friend?”
As if questioning why I was giving the new kindergarten transfer student so much trouble, the question made my jelly well up with emotion.
It wasn’t because of such soft reasons. This guy attacked me first!
With no way to convey my fury, I fidgeted with my fingers, causing Han Seori to smile and pull out a handful of candies from her pocket, handing them to me.
Then, after casting a peculiar glance at me, she muttered that she’d return later and left the room.
Maybe she decided to stay out of jelly-related matters like some kind of non-interference treaty?
Though, she didn’t say anything outright, I still felt unsettled. Sitting cross-legged, I called out to the two blobs of slime—Daesik and the unnamed one.
If you see my gesture, come over immediately.
Satisfied with the proper establishment of hierarchy, I decided to move forward.
Calling the two over, I placed the candies between my legs, unwrapped them, and tossed the contents toward what seemed like their mouths.
Thinking back on it now, there wasn’t really a reason to push it forcefully to their stomachs.
It’s a bit… grotesque, isn’t it?
Anyway.
As I slowly savored the sweetness melting in my mouth, Daesik quietly left the doll, seemingly thinking it was time for a meal.
I immediately unwrapped another candy, split it in half, and ate one part while giving the other half to Daesik.
Daesik excitedly quivered with joy.
Then, I stuffed the remaining candy wrapper into the audacious blob.
He seemed dissatisfied and quaked uncomfortably.
Complain all you want, why don’t you challenge me?
I’d have given you a piece if you hadn’t defied me.
Isn’t this your own fault?
I stirred my jelly as I savored another piece of candy.
Anyway.
After being kidnapped and coming back—what was essentially more like running errands—this white room gained various new additions.
Among all the new things, the one that pleased me the most was, without a doubt,
the bed.
It seems they brought it in after seeing me sleep, and now I can sleep whenever I want, which was a great addition to my days now devoid of work.
It would have been perfect if only that guy didn’t climb on top of me while I slept.
I’m unsure whether he’s trying to attack me or throwing a tantrum.
Though, outside of the bed, everything else could be considered toys, so I may have just naturally favored the bed more.
While lounging on the bed, eating when food came, and performing various experiments with Han Seori,
for example, checking how resistant I am to cold,
or how I react to flames or electricity,
various experiments that seemed to evaluate what kind of environments I could adapt to continued.
During these intervals, many people came either on their own or were called, and they mostly did things like,
“Hello?”
“Hand!”
“Can I melt this? Oh… It works, it works!”
Their behavior suggested they believed I could generally understand speech.
Their understanding of me seemed… tragically minimal from my perspective.
Maybe they think of me like a dog?
Anyway, during these relatively happy days,
Han Seori entered with a slightly excited but melancholy look.
Somehow, it didn’t feel like a good omen.
