The Jelly Alien Will Save You! Chapter 58

Cha Haeeon slowly turned his head.

 

“A washing machine?”

 

“Mhm. I made the water heater, didn’t I? A washing machine is nothing.”

 

I opened my eyes wide and blinked cutely.

 

“Cha Haeeon, you trust Noona, right? I’m an alien with authority. Is there anything else you need besides a washing machine? Just say the word~” 

 

“….”

 

Cha Haeeon kept his mouth shut for a moment, appearing to be mulling something over in his head, before abruptly asking.

 

“What are you going to the Central Bank for, anyway?” 

 

It worked! My face brightened.

 

“Mmhmm! To buy peppers!”

 

Cha Haeeon’s face crumpled.

 

Thinking he might have misunderstood, I blinked.

 

“I’m talking about the crop.”

 

“I know that!”

 

Cha Haeeon snapped angrily.

 

Well, if you say so. Shrugging my shoulders, I flew around in circles in my spaceship.

 

* * *

 

I placed the bottle containing the collected seeds, the hamster drone, and Brother in a corner of the spaceship. Due to battery issues, the hamster drone was asleep to solar charge. 

 

The space inside the spaceship has gotten pretty cramped now, too. 

 

‘Or maybe Brother just gained weight.’

 

When I poked the plump Dumbo octopus, Brother’s tentacles wiggled. It seemed he was ticklish.

 

“You’ve gotten cute, Brother.”

 

Instead of telling him he got fat, I politely phrased it as him getting cute.

 

Then, I tied a rope to the spaceship, letting it follow me like a balloon. Since the spaceship could fly now, it was nice not to have to drag it along anymore.

 

After finishing my preparations, including putting on my fur slippers, I waited in the yard until Cha Haeeon came out, having changed his clothes.

 

Pulling the zipper of his high-neck zip-up all the way up, Cha Haeeon spoke.

 

“We’re going to walk, so follow me closely.” 

 

“Walking? Not taking the bus?”

 

“The bus doesn’t run along that route.”

 

“Oh…. You know a lot of things.”

 

When I said that, Cha Haeeon fell silent for some reason.

 

“…?”

 

I approached Cha Haeeon and held out my hand.

 

Cha Haeeon glanced down, then lowered the hand he had been using to adjust his zipper.

 

I tightly gripped Cha Haeeon’s large hand.

 

“What rules do we have to follow at the bank?”

 

“The bank is no big deal. It’s the way there that’s dangerous. So don’t let go of my hand, don’t look elsewhere, and don’t be bewitched.”

 

“Bewitched?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Ooh—”

 

I gave him an intrigued look. Cha Haeeon shook his head and stepped out of the house.

 

“We’ll be back! Wait for us, we’ll bring back lots of delicious things!”

 

As I shouted at the top of my lungs, Bora Unnie and Captain Gong Juwon waved goodbye.

 

“Be careful!”

 

“Have a safe trip!”

 

Led by Cha Haeeon’s stride, I pitter-pattered behind him.

 

“Isn’t it nice now that the house is all lively and bustling?” 

 

“It’s annoying.” 

 

“You always act cold even though you like it.”

 

Ahahaha! As I laughed heartily, Cha Haeeon glared at me with a sullen expression.

 

What, why, what. 

 

* * *

 

Before long, we entered the deserted downtown of Yongsan.

 

The streetlights were knocked over, and the traffic lights were pitch black and extinguished. Every time the cold wind blew, tilted store signboards let out a creak. 

 

I looked around my surroundings. 

 

There were no traces of people, yet I felt as if many gazes were on me. An inexplicable sensation tickled the back of my neck.

 

“From here on, be careful not to step on any stairs.”

 

“Stairs?”

 

Just as I was thinking that was a rather strange warning.

 

Something sparkled in the middle of the road. Looking closely, it was a billboard. Inside it, a woman was smiling. Brightly.

 

‘It’s Lovely Yuni!’ 

 

As I stared at the face of a star I hadn’t seen in a long time, Cha Haeeon’s grip tightened.

 

“Don’t look.”

 

His voice was firm.

 

At the exact same time, the smiling eyes of Lovely Yuni fluttered, blink, and moved. 

 

Hiiiiieek!

 

A chill ran down my spine.

 

“Did… did she just move?”

 

“She didn’t.”

 

Cha Haeeon pulled me closer to him, blocking the billboard from my view.

 

Trembling, I moved while sticking close to Cha Haeeon’s side.

 

“Is that what being bewitched is like?”

 

“Mostly. They follow you more if you look weak, so it’s better to act like you’re fine.”

 

“Mmhmm!”

 

I squeezed his hand tight, trying my best not to look at the billboard again.

 

Afterward, it felt as though crow-like shadows were diving toward Cha Haeeon’s head, but he stood calmly without blinking or flinching. At that, the diving shadows vanished like smoke.

 

‘Alright. Just be calm and casual like Cha Haeeon.’

 

Mulling over Cha Haeeon’s attitude, I moved my feet boldly.

 

“Keeeeee—” 

 

Clatter. Clatter.

 

In the coin laundry, something making a bizarre noise was spinning, and atop a toppled traffic light, someone sat murmuring, “It is a red light. It is a red light.” But!

 

‘Don’t pay attention. Don’t pay attention.’

 

It was right when I was heading forward, looking only straight ahead like that. 

 

Beneath my foot, a tactile sensation caught with a click. 

 

“Huh?”

 

Why are there stairs here?

 

When I looked up, stairs were stretched out all the way to the sky.

 

‘Then I have to go up—’

 

It was right when I was about to step onto the stairs without thinking. 

 

Brother slapped me.

 

“…?”

 

I blinked.

 

Why are you hitting me?

 

Just as I was about to grumble, something suddenly occurred to me.

 

Wait. Didn’t he just tell me not to step on stairs?

 

Goosebumps broke out, and my heart dropped.

 

“…Hey, Cha Haeeon. I can see stairs.”

 

Cha Haeeon turned to me with a startled face.

 

“Did you step on them?”

 

Terrified, I shook my head violently.

 

“N-No!”

 

Cha Haeeon let out a sigh of relief.

 

“Just get on my back and let’s go.” 

 

“Mhm!”

 

Cha Haeeon bent his body down. 

 

I tried to cling to Cha Haeeon’s back without a word of complaint.

 

However.

 

In front of me, as I moved toward Cha Haeeon’s back, two small stairs appeared like footstools.

 

I couldn’t get on his back without stepping on those stairs.

 

My foot was about to step onto the stairs before I even realized it. 

 

Smack!

 

Once again, Brother’s tentacle flew at me.

 

“…!”

 

Having nearly stepped on the stairs unconsciously again, I turned pale.

 

“I-I was trying to get on your back, but the stairs are blocking me!”

 

Cha Haeeon quickly straightened up and stepped back several paces.

 

I swallowed my saliva. 

 

As soon as Cha Haeeon moved away from me, stairs appeared in every direction around me. So that I couldn’t take a single step from where I stood.

 

“….”

 

Gulp. Swallowing hard, I slowly explained the situation to Cha Haeeon.

 

“Right now, stairs are blocking me on all sides. I don’t think I can move a single step like this….”

 

Hidden by the stairs, I couldn’t even see Cha Haeeon’s face anymore.

 

I’m scared….

 

My ears drooped. My eyes quivered.

 

“Hey, Cha Haeeon…. What happens if I go up these stairs?”

 

“You don’t need to know.”

 

Cha Haeeon spoke coldly.

 

His tone was stiff, but it was clear he was purposely not telling me so as not to scare me.

 

Whatever happened, I knew for certain I should never, ever step onto those stairs.

 

“Cha Haeeon, can you see me from there?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Then… can’t you hold me?”

 

My voice came out trembling. I raised both arms toward the empty, invisible air. 

 

As if someone had grabbed my hand, a slightly cold feeling brushed against me. 

 

“….”

 

Cha Haeeon’s silence stretched out a little.

 

“If I pick you up right now, stairs might appear under you, and you’ll end up standing on top of them.”

 

“Th-then what do we do……” 

 

Until now, I had been underestimating the contaminated zone. I had never expected something like this to happen.

 

It seemed Cha Haeeon was the same, as the panicked silence continued.

 

Then, just when I thought the grip on my hand had tightened slightly.

 

“Close your eyes and cover your ears.”