Han Seori gazed at the glistening jellies.
At first, there was only one, but now there were so many.
At a glance, they seemed similar, but each had such a strong personality that it wasn’t difficult to distinguish between them.
The largest was the Jelly Girl made of 7496 – KR and the main body.
– One entity always tries to stay inside a doll.
– Another entity resembles Jelly Girl but is small and very lazy, spending most of its time lying down.
– The third entity was the most recently created and its origin was relatively clear.
…It was a smaller version of Sky Whale. There was no mistaking it.
The other notable point about it… it was incredibly reckless.
Like the Sky Whale, it floated around docilely under Jelly’s touch but didn’t seem to like human touch very much.
Considering that the other jellies were relatively friendly towards humans, this was slightly perplexing.
If…
“…It was said to not have a heart.”
If this entity was created after 7496 – KR consumed the heart of the Sky Whale, its attitude started to make sense.
Apart from the heart, which recently disappeared along with death, there were quite a few things already missing from inside the Sky Whale.
Judging by the timeline… this was definitely the work of ‘Call of Twilight.’
“…What is it after?”
Through the recent events, Han Seori realized clearly that they weren’t aiming for the ‘liberation’ of the Singularity.
Would people who want such a thing do this to the Singularity?
…Maybe they didn’t know.
Perhaps they might try to package it as some noble sacrifice.
But no matter what they said, Han Seori didn’t care.
She didn’t want to hand over the Singularity, especially 7496 – KR, to those kinds of people.
For that reason, first…
“Ramen.”
Plop.
Han Seori pointed at something on the screen and simultaneously at a word card.
The screen showed orange-colored ramen boiling vigorously.
In her other hand, she had a word card that read “Ramen.”
And beside her… stood 7496 – KR, the Jelly Girl with a rather impassive expression.
“…Does she understand?”
Since she couldn’t speak, it was hard to know, but based on what Han Seori had seen so far, she believed it was definitely possible.
Therefore, to communicate with Jelly Girl, Han Seori decided to start teaching her simple words first.
To proceed with what Han Seori had in mind, it was crucial to have solid evidence that communication with Jelly Girl was possible.
To show that some form of communication was happening.
Given Jelly Girl’s physiology, speaking seemed difficult, so writing seemed to be the best option.
Somewhere within the facility, she had heard there was a singularity capable of conversing with animals, but it was uncertain if that would work for a singularity like Jelly Girl, especially since it was primarily intended for animals.
Besides…
“The procedure is complicated, and…”
Recently, with the small singularities increasing little by little across the regions, borrowing it seemed difficult.
If Han Seori hadn’t been in charge of 7496 – KR, she might have been reassigned elsewhere.
Therefore, she needed to produce some results.
She had to protect 7496 – KR from the ‘Call of Twilight,’ whose intentions were unclear.
Because of that…
“Banana.”
Han Seori diligently taught 7496 – KR letters and words focused on writing.
On a night after teaching a few words, Han Seori entered the quarantine room where 7496 – KR was, carrying a chart that she thought was a little too early to use.
Behind her stood Kim Cheon-soo, looking somewhat awkward.
Han Seori stood in front of Jelly Girl and showed her what she had brought with a smile.
Written on it were…
The words she had been teaching Jelly Girl intensively.
Most of them were food-related.
Naturally, it was because Jelly Girl showed the most enthusiasm towards these.
[Today’s dinner]
[Ramen]
[Banana]
[Strawberry]
[Boiled pork belly]
[Black bean noodles]
“Seems like you understand the words…”
Han Seori mulled over Jelly Girl’s behavior and asked cautiously while looking at her.
“What would you like to eat for dinner tonight? I’ll let you choose.”
There were no pictures, only words, so if Jelly Girl didn’t understand the words, she wouldn’t be able to choose the menu.
After a moment of consideration, the Jelly Girl bubbled around her mouth and picked up a pen that lay on the floor.
Han Seori wondered if she should have given her gloves, but to her surprise, Jelly Girl managed to grip the pen rather skillfully.
Shhh… tick… shhh.
She started writing on the floor.
“Huh?”
“Wha—!?”
In astonishment, Han Seori and Kim Cheon-soo exclaimed, and the written word was…
[Black bean noodles]
Han Seori dropped the card she was holding, picked up Jelly Girl, and shouted,
“Of course, our girl is a genius!”
“J, just calm down, Doctor.”
“Not really, she learned the letters today and she wrote them so neatly! She’s a genius, right?”
“Di… didn’t we make a mistake?”
“It’s correct in terms of spelling!?”
“…I’m going crazy.”
How on earth did she contain her excitement?
No, wait… does she like children?
Seems rather domestic, doesn’t she?
Smiling contentedly with a strange expression, Kim Cheon-soo snapped out of a slightly sweet dream when instructed to quickly fetch the black bean noodles and left the quarantine room.
That day, Kim Cheon-soo dreamed of a blue jelly enjoying the black bean noodles and being happy.
This is… more embarrassing than I thought.
Just because she wrote one word, ‘black bean noodles,’ I didn’t expect her to be praised like this.
Still, it wasn’t unpleasant.
If only my previous supervisor praised me this generously, it might have been more enjoyable to work at the company.
…No, my supervisor wasn’t as pretty as Han Seori, so I doubt I’d feel as good.
It is an appearance-centric thought, but I’ll admit it if asked.
Anyway.
Understanding and writing words… It wasn’t really surprising since I could do it from the start.
The only concern was… wouldn’t I get more bothersome?
There were several reasons for writing the words in order to communicate.
One of them was…
Han Seori’s expression when teaching me words was so… desperate.
I’m not sure what she aims to achieve by teaching me words, but it feels like there’s something I need to be able to do once I understand them.
She looks like a graduate student waiting anxiously for her thesis to be accepted.
So, I decided to show some understanding, even if not fluently.
…Writing ‘black bean noodles’ was a mistake.
Anyway, things went well, so let’s not worry about petty details.
Simple… at least enough communication for a kindergarten level should do.
Separately, it has been a while since I’ve eaten black bean noodles, and they really taste good.
I’m sure the others would also like them.
If you’re upset, write it yourself.
And another reason…
…was that I suddenly remembered the whale flying in the sky.
Recalling the memory, the state of the Sky Whale was very strange.
Not only was I swallowed by it, but it also had many strange things dangling from its body.
Especially at the end, … something felt missing, as if an organ was gone.
It felt as if there was something that should’ve been there.
Looking at the way the Sky Whale’s anger, and the emotions it was made of, didn’t like humans much.
…Do these guys have something to do with it?
Probably not, they just dislike humans…
For a moment, an unsettling speculation came to mind, but recalling Han Seori’s attitude thus far, I put a lid on the restless jelly within myself.
Anyway.
That’s why I wanted to know the truth of the Sky Whale’s death.
Who made it like that?
When recalling the Sky Whale’s final moments, even though it expelled that ’emotion,’ I could feel a faint anger in the jelly.
Did the whale want revenge on me?
I don’t know.
But I thought it wouldn’t hurt to figure it out first.
Wouldn’t understanding what’s what help make decisions?
…Honestly, I’m not sure if such a day will come.
I doubt I can express everything with kindergarten-level words.
I would know if I’ve taken care of a child.
Even if I remember my kindergarten days, would I remember all the words I used?
The difference between the time I grew up and kindergarten-level now is quite significant.
It’s possible that the benchmark of ‘kindergarten-level’ itself might be a bit… ambiguous.
Back in the day, copywriting was done after entering elementary school, but now there are English kindergartens.
…Since I’ve been called a genius, why don’t I try a little more?
Anyway.
Conceptualizing that I can write a few words led me to choosing what I wanted to eat.
Han Seori’s education focused on me, so the menu choice depended entirely on me.
Even though the jellies eat everything given to them, it seems they do have preferences.
That authority was quite pleasant.
In the midst of Han Seori’s ongoing education…
A sheet similar to a test paper was placed in front of me.
It seems to be a test of everything I’ve learned so far, with blanks to fill in the words I remember.
This is easy. Very easy.
Without much thought, I started filling in the blanks.
Unaware of what this would lead to.
I was giddy with happiness.
