NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11
Chapter 11
‘Experiments… How many have I been through?’
I rolled my eyes up to the right, trying to dig through my memories.
“Wow, your body is all healed already… Did you go through some special experiment on the side?”
“Um, not really sure. I’ve been like this since I was little.”
Well, I had been through some stuff. In the world of comedy at that! But ever since I got possessed by this body, I haven’t really been through anything all that experimental.
The real question was whether the original owner of this body had been experimented on before I took over. But since I couldn’t figure that out, I rubbed the back of my neck and just said I didn’t know.
“Your wounds are all healed. Hmm, then let’s make a little cut, shall we?”
She grabbed a knife from the trolley next to the experimental table and lightly sliced my palm. Ouch, that hurt a bit!
“Does it hurt?”
“Just a tiny sting?”
“…Do you feel the pain in a dull way?”
Mia murmured, messing with the bleeding wound, which somehow made the bleeding slow down instead of speed up.
“…??”
Mia’s eyes went wide as she stared at the wound like it was defying logic, watching as the blood started to calm down and the edges of the cut became visible.
“What the heck is this..”
Mia, looking flustered, leaned in close with red cheeks, getting all up in my space. The warmth of something soft and cuddly settled on my knees.
‘Whoa, what is happening…’
It was like I was some spirit being exorcised, almost melting away.
“How is this even possible?”
She quickly dropped my hand, tossed the knife onto the trolley, and yanked my shirt open as if she was trying to free me from a straightjacket. Buttons went flying, slicing through the air and dropping to the floor like confetti.
“Waaaaah!”
I shrieked and covered my chest like a high school girl who just walked in on a guy in the girls’ changing room.
“Stay still!”
She yelled and with a flick of her wrist, a round hole popped up in the experimental table, and black tentacles shot out, pinning me down.
BAM!
My upper body flopped back onto the table, and there I lay, all tied up like a delicate little girl. With her crazed eyes, Mia picked up a new knife.
In a flash, the knife sliced through my stomach. Blood sprayed out for a brief moment before stopping dead.
“Holy moly…”
She looked down at my body in horror.
‘Whoa, being this exposed… This is it for my love life.’
Tears started flowing as I thought about my ruined future. Mia finally seemed to snap back to reality and coughed lightly, probably realizing how chaotic this situation had turned.
“I got a bit too excited there.”
Mia did a surprisingly nice job stitching up my split belly. By the next day, my stomach looked good as new, but now there’s a scar.
I should’ve had the stitches taken out in time, but it healed too fast and left a mark.
‘Sure, I ended up with a few scars from the other experiments. But does it really matter?’
Lost in thought, I nodded and felt someone tugging at my clothes. I turned back to Jess.
Jess had the most watery eyes, ready to burst into tears at any moment.
“Uh, it wasn’t that painful, honestly.”
As soon as I said that, gasps echoed around. Whoops, there goes my credibility! I quickly poured on the excuses.
“Look at me! I seem super healthy, right? Unlike Odil, Mia is such a sweetheart that she’d never put me through anything too painful! Besides, the experiments are—like—really rare! It’s mostly just light work!”
But Jess’s expression didn’t change; she looked even more upset. Within moments, tears began to streak down her chubby cheeks.
“Gasp…!”
Okay, totally caught off guard by Jess’s tears, I scooped her up and planted her on my knee. I started waving my arms around like some strong man.
“See, I’m really healthy! I can even throw punches like this…!”
Whoosh.
In my exaggerated display, my sleeve slid up, revealing a long snake-like scar that coiled from my wrist to my elbow. It still had a faint red tint, like it was fresh out of the printer.
“Aaaaah..!”
“…”
“Waaah!”
“Eeeek!”
And just like that, Jess burst into tears and dove into my embrace. Soon, all the other kids around her were crying too—like a domino effect.
Quickly pulling down my sleeve to hide the scar, I tried to apologize.
“Sorry, did that gross you out? I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to prove I’m okay…”
You know what they say? In the comedy world, being labeled as ‘evil’ usually means you made a woman cry. If you make a beautiful woman or a child tear up, well buddy, enjoy your stay in jail!
So it’s naturally my instinct to scramble and calm down these kids!
“Hey kids, it’s okay. Stop that.”
“Don’t cry…”
The kids who weren’t crying took it upon themselves to comfort those who were. Luckily, it didn’t take long for the crying to settle down.
Letting out a relieved sigh, I gently patted Jess, who was snuggled up in my arms. She took some shaky breaths and her shoulders stopped heaving. Just when I thought, “Finally, she calmed down,” Jess started to fidget and touch me all over.
That ticklish sensation almost made me laugh!
“Jess, please stop that -…”
Before I could finish, Jess lifted my upper body, burying her face right into my shirt. I blinked rapidly in complete surprise.
‘Wait… Do kids like cramped spaces, like animals do?’
That thought went poof when I felt her body start to tremble again.
“Guhuhuh…!”
“Jess, what’s going on…?”
Feeling frantic, I pulled her out from my shirt. Her face was all red, and she was crying uncontrollably. I quickly wiped her face with my sleeve and hugged her tightly.
“Jess, it hurts… sniff, I hurt…”
“No, no. I’m fine! Let’s knock off the tears, okay?”
But no matter how much I tried to soothe her, Jess just wouldn’t stop crying. The more Jess sobbed, the more other kids looked at me, completely confused.
“What do we do, Noah? Jess won’t stop crying.”
“…”
Noah had been biting down on his lower lip so fiercely it turned white. He sighed and stood up to approach me. Then he said to Jess, still wailing.
“If you keep crying like that, you’re going to make him upset. Is that what you really want?”
“No need to go so hard on her -…”
“Guhuhu…”
Oh dear, Noah’s being like a little legend right now!
As soon as he finished speaking, Jess’s tears began to calm down as she sniffed. I watched Noah in awe, realizing I must be witnessing a ‘childcare genius’ in action.
“Noah, you need to finish your meal too. Time to separate now.”
Noah’s tone was somehow cooler than usual. Shouldn’t he just be a tiny bit nicer? Just as I was about to say something, Jess squirmed and finally slid off my lap.
‘Pfft…’
Her big, puffy eyes and cheeks looked like adorable little dumplings, and I almost burst into laughter. Swallowing hard, I barely managed to hold back my giggles.
“Sniff, hoo… Jess will guard… you…”
“Yeah, thanks for that.”
Her cute little voice while holding onto my clothes was endearing, and I couldn’t help but respond in a cooing tone. Finally, Jess let go and hopped off my legs.
Pitter-patter.
After watching Jess return to her spot, I turned to Noah and thanked him.
“Thanks to you, everything went well. If you want something later, just ask me.”
“Anything?”
“Just no crazy stuff, okay? As long as it’s within reason, I’m all in!”
“Really? Then… follow me after you eat.”
“…?”
What in the world? What does he want me for?
A little anxiety started creeping in, but I shook it off as nothing to worry about and finished the rest of my meal without a hitch.
That day, the kids were so hyped to wash dishes and clean up that I left the dining hall faster than usual.
Thud.
“Let’s go.”
“Huh? Right now?”
No sooner had we exited the dining hall than Noah grabbed my arm and started dragging me. I looked back, wondering if Nero was alright by himself, only to see him sorting the dining hall with other kids his age.
That scene was so peaceful it made my heart swell with warmth.
‘Thank goodness. He’s really fitting in well.’
Once Nero disappeared from sight, I focused back on Noah, who was strolling ahead without looking back at me.
Keeping pace with Noah, we zipped through the corridor and reached the dormitory. There were a bunch of rooms lined up, each set to house four kids.
Noah dragged me into the shared room with him and Nero. Since there was an odd number of kids, the three of us ended up in one room together.
Bang!
As soon as we entered, Noah slammed the door shut with exaggerated force.
BAM!
At that moment, I was pushed back into the door. Noah glared at me fiercely, gripping the hem of my shirt like he was about to unleash something wild.
“Uh, Noah?”
Ignoring my question, Noah yanked my shirt up without warning.