“Are you really sure about this?”
“…Probably.”
“It seems like you’re aware that this is a bit strange, Doctor.”
“To some extent… I acknowledge it.”
After mumbling this, Han Seori stretched.
Kim Cheon-soo, watching her, let out a soft sigh.
Of course… he too had the thought that 7496 – KR might be able to handle it.
Upon further reflection, it seemed like there wasn’t much to back this up, but for some reason, he had the feeling it would work out.
“…Eh?”
Something felt off…
“Agent Kim?”
“Yes. Yes.”
Regaining his composure at Han Seori’s voice, Kim Cheon-soo pressed his eyes as if trying to wake up an exhausted man.
Indeed, there was no mistaking the fatigue visible on Kim Cheon-soo’s face.
After all, it had been him driving back and forth around the clock, so it might have been strange if he weren’t tired.
With a somewhat vacant expression, he scratched his head.
He felt uneasy about something, unable to identify exactly what it was, giving him the sensation of being mid-sneeze.
Ultimately, Han Seori’s concerned voice reached his ears.
“If you’re tired, you should rest. There’s not much we can do for now, anyway.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. In fact, once you’re awake, we’ll be busy, so this would be a good time to sleep.”
“…Then I won’t turn it down.”
“Exactly. Oh, could you turn up the heater?”
“Yes, sir.”
Though feeling uneasy, Kim Cheon-soo decided it didn’t matter and adjusted the heater’s temperature.
At least on paper, they were on official business, but the current situation… wasn’t particularly pleasant.
To the point he almost felt thankful for the earlier concerns regarding 7496 – KR.
‘Well… we’ll get back safely.’
“Just not too quickly; it’d be better if they returned somewhat late.”
Kim Cheon-soo, smirking inwardly, drifted off to sleep almost instantly thanks to the soothing warmth.
Once he was sure Kim Cheon-soo was asleep, Han Seori turned to the monitor screen.
There, in less time than expected, 7496 – KR had arrived at the entrance of the lab.
Han Seori remotely opened the lab’s doors and before they closed, she sent a message to the Jelly Girl.
The message was concise.
Han Seori was confident the Jelly Girl would understand it.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to complete the test Han Seori had given her.
“…Could it be…”
What if she wasn’t a genius but had been hiding something?
Han Seori briefly entertained this possibility before dismissing it from her mind.
While it wasn’t entirely implausible, why would it matter?
Whatever the case, this was a gesture indicating that the Jelly Girl wished to communicate in her own way. Han Seori decided to take the positive perspective.
…Besides,
Didn’t it seem more likely that she was simply a genius?
So,
“She’ll handle it.”
Han Seori watched the screen as it grew increasingly dark.
Once this light faded, the connection would be cut off.
In truth, it wasn’t unreasonable for Kim Cheon-soo to feel anxious.
In contrast, considering Han Seori’s faith in the situation might actually seem strange.
After all,
Securing this isolated lab now depended on this small Jelly Girl.
It was certainly a radical decision that skirted madness, for which she could be grateful she hadn’t been reprimanded.
But it had to work.
As Han Seori reflected on this, she felt a tinge of bitterness.
This approval had come not just from her efforts…
…but perhaps somewhat due to the chaos caused by “that organization.”
She didn’t feel particularly grateful.
In fact, her reason for going to this extent was because of “that organization.”
Watching the screen grow progressively dimmer and noisy, Han Seori felt as if…
…she were witnessing the future.
Given the surrounding circumstances, something seemed off.
Despite her careful control up until now, a peculiar sensation indicated that something was about to happen.
…Perhaps then,
It was best to prepare.
Han Seori felt this was necessary and closed the screen when the connection cut off entirely.
It was now entirely in the hands of that small Jelly Girl.
—-
A bit unsettled, I first assessed the situation.
Given that none of us, including myself, had burst apart, I could say things were relatively relaxed.
Of course, my body did feel a bit… swollen and light, but this was nothing out of the ordinary for someone in such a situation.
In any case.
It seemed I had lost contact with Han Seori.
The necklace that had been vigorously emitting light moments ago no longer responded.
No matter how much I poked it with a bit of jelly, there was nothing. It wasn’t broken—it must be malfunctioning or there’s another reason.
Though the swelling around my neck was mildly uncomfortable, I resisted the urge to remove it, not wanting to face any inconvenient situations.
Next,
Let’s figure out what happened to me and the “sizes” siblings.
Among them, Daesik looked the worst off.
He wasn’t bloated enough to burst or anything, but due to his state inside Alice, his expanding form resembled a monster from a horror movie.
Thankfully, since he’s a doll, the situation wasn’t as horrifying as it would have been with a human—considering this place isn’t meant for humans anyway.
The others were more or less in the same boat.
Their bodies were swollen, giving them a bouncy feel, as if we were underwater.
Looking now, it wasn’t so much a boil but rather a failure in achieving balance.
And as if my hunch was right,
After the initial bubbling, my body—and those of Daesik, Jung-sik, and Sosik—had stabilized, returning to normal.
Whatever it was, it seemed to have resolved itself, so together with the others, I ventured inside.
Since the exit was closed, there wasn’t much else to do but go in.
But.
…Our connection has been cut off.
What if I want to give up?
Surely they aren’t going to leave it locked forever… right?
As I walked forward while entertaining these scary thoughts, my vision kept bobbing up and down.
Wondering if my body was still swelling, I realized it wasn’t—it was me bouncing forward, like I was made of jelly.
Jung-sik, who was already floating, didn’t seem affected, but Sosik, unable to stabilize himself, eventually clung to me again.
Oddly, Daesik was walking steadily, making me ponder his situation.
As I bounced like I was walking on a trampoline, it struck me that I must resemble those folks landing on the moon.
So does that mean this space is in a zero-gravity state?
But something felt off.
Isn’t it strange that this place is inaccessible because of zero gravity? Couldn’t they just use space suits?
Though puzzled, I entered deeper in.
In a zero-gravity environment, water droplets usually float around spherical and objects do the same, right?
However, oddly enough, everything here remained grounded.
Like Alice’s feet touching the floor.
All the few objects were firmly on the ground.
What exactly is going on here?
Frankly,
I have no idea.
While I instinctively understood that I wasn’t in danger, I couldn’t logically explain what was happening here.
On one hand, I felt a bit proud they’d entrusted this task to me.
But…
…wasn’t I perhaps being overestimated? This thought briefly crossed my mind.
I’m neither a master’s nor a doctorate.
Hmm.
Anyway,
A very faint sound had been playing for some time now, so I followed it further in.
Though it was my first visit, the structural resemblance was striking.
Do those who manage Singularities find comfort in similar architectures?
This thought crossed my mind because the layout was so strikingly alike.
What do I know, being just a jelly?
Still,
It gave me chills, imagining my old place might end up like this if it went down.
Embarrassed, I held Sosik, who was hanging on my back, closer to my front.
There was no way I’d hold the walking Daesik.
Meanwhile,
The sound, initially faint, was now loud and clear.
Reflecting on it, even that was strange.
Regardless of what that noise was…
Isn’t it odd for anything to be making noise in an unoccupied facility?
Unknowingly, I had reached the source.
Wait a moment.
I looked up.
There it was, my knowledge pouch, noticing me now and responding.
…Why didn’t I just follow it from the start?
Given that this defied normal logic, it was likely the doing of some singularity phenomenon.
And given that my knowledge pouch serves as quite an efficient radar…
Suddenly, I felt a newfound confidence that trusting me with this task wasn’t such a bad choice.
Thus, I proceeded in the direction indicated by my knowledge pouch, accompanied by the siblings.
Soon,
A massive door appeared.
The knowledge pouch pointed beyond this door, where the noise I had been following was coming from.
My journey ended rather anticlimactically. Shrugging my shoulders as I stood before the door,
I remembered the necklace’s lack of response.
Realizing my mistake, I tapped my head and tried to push the door open—but, as expected,
…the door didn’t budge.
I could feel strange stares from Daesik, Jung-sik, and Sosik.
Hey,
You can’t open it either.
It’s absurd.
…What should we do now?
It won’t open.
I already miss Han Seori.
