Suddenly, I Became a Slime

“Ugh….” A woman lying flat on her back in the snow let out a faint sound as she stirred. Soon after, she lifted her face again, now red from the snow stuck to her skin. Fearing she might actually die at this rate, the woman forced her slowly dampening body to move.

Swish... swish.

As she dragged herself across the ground, the pure white snowfield was marked with trails that resembled those of a giant worm.

The woman, who left these long trails, finally reached a large tree and used it to struggle onto her feet.

Leaning against the tree, she exhaled white breaths as she lamented. “How did it come to this…?” As the white breath faded, a youthful face appeared, younger than one might expect. It was a face closer to a girl’s than a woman’s.

Her appearance gave off the impression of someone just entering society. Although it was marred by snow and the traces of hardship, her face was rather pretty.

Kicking her legs in the snow as if trying to summon an angel to save her, the woman recalled the reason she had come here.

‘…Did I go too far?’

The reason for her journey to this godforsaken place was simple.

A strangely shaped girl, formed entirely of blue, wriggling movements.

The last time she saw it, the figure wore what looked like a stainless steel bowl on its head, a memory that brought a faint smile to her lips despite her dire circumstances.

To be honest, the woman had no certainty that she would see the blue figure by coming here.

She had merely followed the afterimage of a dream, wandering aimlessly.

When she came to her senses, she had already arrived here.

‘…Maybe I’ve been under too much stress.’

The woman exhaled a sigh from her blue lips. She tried to recall older memories.

None of them were particularly pleasant.

Memories of writing resumes and going to interviews to find a job—and tasting bitter rejection.

‘Would things have been different if I had succeeded in getting a job? If I had, maybe I wouldn’t have come this far. Maybe I wasn’t chasing the blue figure after all…. Maybe I just wanted to take a break. If not that, then….’

Sigh…

The woman shook her head vigorously. Instead of dwelling on such grim thoughts, she decided to think more positively.

Yes, I just needed a break. Now… It's time to end this trip and return to everyday life.

Forget about the blue figure. It’s just stress making me dream about strange things.

‘But… What was that compulsion, anyway?’

Shivering from the cold, the woman rummaged through her belongings and pulled out a smartphone.

The phone looked quite precarious, with cracks running across its screen.

She tried to check her location on the phone, but….

“What? Why isn’t it working?”

The frozen phone, already at its limit, seemed to have succumbed to the cold.

Feeling a pang of bitterness over the demise of the device that had delivered her job rejections, she put the phone back into her pocket.

‘What do I do now? Am I screwed?’

Leaning against the tree, she scanned her surroundings.

Only now did she take in the stunning scenery she had missed earlier, caught up as she was in a blind daze.

Pristine white snow, untainted by any blemish, stretched out before her, unmarred except for the tracks she had left behind.

But…. There wasn’t a single clue to indicate where she was.

‘Does such a place even exist in our country?’

It was a ridiculous thought, considering she was the one who had come here. Still, her memory was hazy.

“This is really bad.”

Having lost her original purpose, the woman felt as if her life was draining out of her.

Like someone consumed by revenge, only to lose their target.

‘Wow, that sounds kind of… cool?’

Perhaps the cold and hardship had already driven her to the brink of madness.

Whatever the case, her life seemed to be burning its final embers.

Curled up, she felt her vision blur more and more.

I’m going to die. That sensation whispered in her ears.

‘I need to move…. But I’m so sleepy.’

‘If I take a nap, won’t I be able to move again when I wake up? They say sleep is the best remedy, right?’

‘Ah, if I fall asleep… maybe I can meet the blue figure again. The only thing that comforted me when I was struggling… what was it again?’

Her body grew colder, her vision darker.

Feeling her mind go blank, she sank into the abyss.

And then.

“Hey! If you fall asleep like that, you’ll die!”

“…?”

A voice struck her ears, and she blinked drowsily.

She saw a man approaching her.

His face, stern and sharp, carried a certain masculine charm.

‘Could he be… the grim reaper here to take me away?’

“Snap out of it!”

The man reached her and began pulling out a bunch of heat packs from his bag, thrusting them into her arms.

“Heat packs…?”

“Put them inside your clothes.”

Dazed, she followed his instructions, muttering absentmindedly.

“So… not a grim reaper?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Oh, nothing….”

Realizing her absurdity, her face turned red, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.

She scolded herself for her foolishness now that reality was setting in.

‘What was I thinking, coming here? I don’t even clearly remember how I got here. It must be all the stress from job hunting.’

“I just want to win the lottery….”

“…What?”

The man, rummaging through his bag for more supplies, gave her a baffled look.

Feeling his gaze, her face flushed even redder as she buried her face in her knees.

“So, you’re saying you came all the way here because you wanted to see something from your dreams?”

When Kim Cheonsu asked with a dumbfounded expression, the woman scratched her head sheepishly.

“Haha… maybe? Honestly, I don’t even clearly remember how I got here.”

“…You don’t remember?”

“No. Well, I do recall being vaguely aware of moving from place to place, but… it felt like I was in a trance?”

“Hmm.”

The woman seemed delighted that Kim Cheonsu was taking her words seriously, and she eagerly began sharing more of her story.

Listening to her—or rather, Yang Hana—Kim Cheonsu felt his mind growing more and more tangled.

Not only was it surprising that this woman, who seemed on the verge of death, had managed to hold herself together, but….

She was entirely different from any of the possibilities he and Han Seori had anticipated.

It would be laughable to take everything Yang Hana said at face value, but assuming it was true… she appeared to be more of a victim.

‘What was 7496-KR thinking…?’

What kind of person would come all the way here?

While it couldn’t be confirmed, it seemed highly likely.

Perhaps her mental state had been weakened by stress, making her vulnerable to such bizarre impulses.

Pondering this, Kim Cheonsu nodded slightly to himself.

Listening to Yang Hana’s rambling, he could empathize with the stress she must have endured.

After all, before he had managed to barely secure his current position, his situation hadn’t been much different from hers.

Still, setting aside his empathy for her sob story….

He was now stuck wondering what to do with her.

If she had been openly malicious, his decision might have been easier.

The problem was that she seemed harmless—an ordinary civilian, at least on the surface.

In the research facility where Han Seori and Kim Cheonsu were staying, there weren’t many “humane” options to resolve a situation like this.

Letting her go wasn’t a viable solution either.

If they sent her back without any precautions, who knew what kind of trouble might follow?

As he mulled over the complexities of the situation, he concluded that this wasn’t something he could handle on his own.

“By the way, this is my first time seeing a place like this. I didn’t know such places existed in our country!”

“…I see.”

Even so, listening to her wasn’t unpleasant.

Her boundless positive energy, like the sun, made him appreciate the vitality of youth.

‘Not that I’m old,’ he thought, clearing his throat with a quiet cough.

Standing up, he announced, “I… I need to take care of something briefly.”

“Ah! Okay, take your time! By the way, I heard that it's likely to freeze if someone stayed out in a place like this….”

“Here. Have some of this to drink while you wait.”

Pulling a water bottle from his bag, Kim Cheonsu handed it to Yang Hana, who had been chattering nonstop, before moving to a spot out of her earshot and sightline.

As if he were genuinely going to… “take care of something.”

Strictly speaking, he really was taking care of something.

Once he confirmed Yang Hana was out of earshot, he activated a communication device and spoke.

“Doctor, are you listening?”

[Yes. It seems we have a bit of a problem, don’t we?]

“Indeed.”

As Kim Cheonsu let out a sigh, white steam billowed out in the cold air. Just as his sigh dispersed into frost, Han Seori chuckled.

[So, did you enjoy chatting with the young lady?]

“What kind of nonsense are you saying? I’m young, too.”

[If you’re defensive, it means you’re an old man.]

“….”

[I was just teasing.]

With a more serious tone, Han Seori contemplated for a moment before making her decision.

Considering Yang Hana appeared to be an ordinary civilian, the options to “deal” with her were limited.

Her choice seemed unavoidable.

“Are you sure about this?”

[There’s no other option. You’ll have to endure it a bit longer.]

“Understood.”

Ending the communication, Kim Cheonsu turned to look at Yang Hana, who was still sitting in the distance.

When their eyes met, she waved at him. He let out a soft sigh and waved back faintly.

Is this really the right thing to do?

With a slightly grim expression, he slowly approached Yang Hana.

Although his mind was filled with doubts, he had no choice in the matter.

He moved to carry out Han Seori’s instructions.

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