Chapter 28: I’m sensitive

“What are those gummy bears…? Why are they hugging each other so tightly?” Sia tilted her head, looking at the gummy bears gathered under the sign.

I also stared at them, bewildered. Their squishy bodies were softly swaying, and the sight of them hugging each other looked peaceful.

The way they occasionally waddled to find another gummy bear was even cute.

“They just look like teddy bears… but they’re moving, so maybe they’re living creatures?”

“No, they look closer to jelly than teddy bears…” Sia narrowed her eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

“What should we do? Should we examine those gummy bears a bit? Or should we wander around this love village and look for something else?”

She looked at me and asked.

I nodded and looked around. The village was quiet and had a somewhat surreal atmosphere.

But apart from the gummy bears, there didn’t seem to be any other particularly visible life forms.

“Well, considering the name of this village is Love Village, and the sign says [Free Hug], I think… the exit is related to those bears. But I don’t know what it is.”

“Free hug… then, shouldn’t we just try hugging them?”

Sia looked at me with a confused expression.

I thought for a moment, then said, “Well, that might be right, or it might not be. I honestly don’t know if doing what the sign says is the right thing to do.”

“…That’s true. Even if we hug them, something might happen, like a strange effect like the fountain, or something.” Sia asked anxiously.

I shrugged and replied, “That’s right. Considering the situations we’ve experienced so far, this whole village probably feels like some kind of test. Doing nothing and staying still won’t be the answer either.”

We were lost in thought, exchanging our opinions for a moment. But at some point, I felt a strange energy and turned my head.

“Wait… huh?”

Sia also followed my gaze and turned her head. And we were both shocked at the same time.

Right next to me, a gummy bear had quietly approached. It was looking at me with big eyes and gently opened its arms.

Then, without hesitation, it hugged me tightly.

“What. How did it get so close?!” I exclaimed in surprise.

The gummy bear’s body was soft and warm. But at the same time, a strange sensation wrapped around my body.

It was a soft and cozy feeling, but within that coziness, an unknown power was felt.

“Hey, are you okay?!” Sia shouted, approaching me.

I tried to speak, trembling, but the gummy bear’s hugging force grew stronger, making it difficult for me to speak easily.

“Ugh… this… it’s strange…”

The gummy bear’s soft and warm embrace was wrapping around me.

But that sensation didn’t end with just warmth. A tingling sensation, as if my whole body was being electrocuted, began to spread.

“Oof… what is this…”

I muttered in a trembling voice, held by the gummy bear. The surface of their squishy bodies that touched my skin was soft, but strangely, I felt an irresistible force.

A tremor that started from deep within my body traveled up my nerves and engulfed my whole being.

‘This, what is this…?’

I was confused. I couldn’t tell if this tingling sensation was due to the gummy bear’s ability, or if the fountain water had made my body sensitive, and the gummy bear’s touch maximized that effect.

The sure thing was that their embrace didn’t end with just a gentle or cozy feeling.

“Hngh…!”

The more my body tingled, the weaker I became. The strange sensation the gummy bear gave was like a shackle that made me powerless while keeping me from letting go of the jelly.

“Hey, are you okay?!” Sia urgently shouted at me.

I barely managed to raise my head and look at her. My vision was blurry and my focus was hazy.

“Th-This… isn’t good… Something’s strange.”

The gummy bear hugged my body even tighter, strongly conveying its unique warm sensation.

It was like being hugged by slime; a moist yet cozy feeling spread all over my body, and at the same time, every time the gummy bear’s warm body touched my skin, a pleasant yet eerie sensation engulfed my whole body.

My mind began to turn white.

Sia was looking around, bewildered. She saw the gummy bear completely wrapping around me, her hands trembling.

“What do I do…”

She tried to get close to me, but she flinched and stopped at the unknown energy emanating from the gummy bear’s body.

“Damn… How on earth do I get this thing off?”

I struggled in the gummy bear’s embrace and barely managed to speak.

“Sia… anything… quickly… do something.”

Sia narrowed her eyes and carefully observed the gummy bear’s movements.

And suddenly, she realized that although the gummy bear seemed to be holding me tightly, my arms were completely unrestricted.

“Wait… something’s strange. Your arms are free!” Sia said, tilting her head.

I paused for a moment at her words and looked down at my arms. It was true.

The gummy bear was hugging me tightly, but my arms were completely unrestrained. That is, I could move them freely.

Sia said, with a serious face as if she had realized something, “Usually, a hug is when two people embrace each other.

This one-sided embrace, maybe the gummy bear is making a request.”

Her words echoed in my head.

‘Two people embracing each other…’

I chewed on those words and slowly raised my arms. After a moment of hesitation, I gently wrapped my arms around the gummy bear’s squishy body.

“I-Is this how it’s done?”

I muttered in a trembling voice, embracing the gummy bear. Then, the gummy bear’s movements suddenly stopped.

It slightly trembled, as if satisfied. And then, it slowly separated from my body.

“What… is this really working?”

I panted and looked at the gummy bear. The gummy bear had a happy expression, and it slightly shook its body and returned to under the sign. It felt like a happy child after being praised by their parents.

At that moment.

All the gummy bears gathered under the sign, and suddenly they all raised their heads and said in small voices.

“Thank you for the hug!”

“Thank you! Thank you! Go there next!”

I was surprised and looked at them. The gummy bears were softly shaking their squishy bodies and began to point somewhere.

“What was that just now? Did the gummy bears speak?” Sia said in a bewildered voice beside me.

“Yeah… It seems like they can talk.” I turned my head to follow where the gummy bears were pointing.

There was a small, humble hut.

The gummy bears jumped up and down with their small bodies like excited children, even doing somersaults.

“Right, right! Go there!”

“That’s it, that’s the next area!”

Their voices were thin and high-pitched, but they felt pure like a child’s.

“They’re telling us to go to that hut.”

I muttered, looking at the gummy bears. Sia was still tense, but nodded.

“But… should we trust that?”

Whether or not Sia’s doubt had hurt them, one of the Gummy Bears jumped and spoke.

“You can trust us! We don’t lie! Really!”

“Really!”

I looked at the gummy bears for a moment, then turned my head towards Sia.

“We can’t just keep worrying here. We have to try.”

Sia sighed and replied.

“Alright… but let’s be careful, we don’t know what might happen. And your body… um, it still doesn’t look good.”

“Yeah.”

We started to walk slowly in the direction the gummy bears were pointing.

The hut they guided us to wasn’t large, but a faint light was seeping out from above the door.

I stared at the door, trying to shake off the tension.

“What could be waiting here…”

Sia quietly muttered and grabbed the doorknob. I looked at her with a tense expression.

“Open it slowly. Just in case.”

She nodded and slowly pushed the door.

Creak…

As the door opened, the interior came into view.

I was momentarily speechless at the unexpected sight.

The inside of the hut was a completely different landscape from what we had expected.

Overturning the expectation that it would be small and shabby, the interior was cozy and splendidly decorated.

Various dishes were set on a long table in the center, and small lights cast a soft glow, warmly illuminating the space.

“What is this?”

I muttered, looking at the food that filled the table.

Small fruits, small fish dishes, bread, and other foods that were easy to pick up with your hands were neatly arranged.

At the end of the table, a sign with the words [Finger food] in large letters was stuck.

Still, a day in Love Village.

While talking with Sia, I must have been careless for a moment.

I allowed the gummy bear to approach me.

It hugged me, and I was engulfed in a strange sensation.

Their warm, squishy embrace was comforting, but at the same time, a strange tingling sensation ran through my whole body.

Luckily, the solution was easy.

When I hugged the gummy bear back, the guy thanked me and told me to go to the hut.

I was skeptical about whether I could trust it, but I had no choice but to go.

Inside the hut, there were plenty of fancy foods.

The food arranged neatly on the table was labeled ‘finger food’ on a small sign.

It looked so beautiful and appetizing, but there was no guarantee that the food was safe.

But seeing the food, the hunger that had been buried in tension gradually emerged.

What should I do in this situation?

The thought of not eating and the desire to taste are clashing in my head.