The place Bora led me to was the usual research lab I often saw. It was a place I went to for health check-ups, so it was very familiar. So familiar, in fact, that I rummaged through the lab desk like it was my own home and ate the candy in the drawer.
Yum yum.
As the sweet taste spread in my mouth, I smiled happily. Sweet things always made me feel good, no matter where or when I ate them. I wanted to eat it instead of rice, but I restrained myself, remembering Bora’s warning that too much would rot my teeth.
“Huh?”
While I was lost in the taste of the candy, an apple that had been on my head suddenly fell off. Luckily, I caught it with my hand just in time. If it had fallen to the floor, it would have been damaged. What a relief.
“Bora! An apple fell from my head.”
“Yeah. I saw it.”
I handed the apple that fell from my head to Bora. Since it came from my body, it must have some incredible effect, right? I was confident it was a heavenly apple that could even bring the dead back to life.
Of course, I didn’t know if that was true or not. But since it came from my body, it must be good, right?
“Bora, try eating it!”
I tried to feed Bora the first apple that came from my body. As I handed it to her, Bora gave an awkward smile and accepted the apple.
“Haru… wait a second…”
Saying that, she went somewhere without eating the apple. I had hoped she would eat it, but it seemed Bora had other plans.
Bora went and gave the apple to someone, then came back empty-handed. Then, she led me somewhere. It was the machine that had scanned my body last time.
The apple had fallen, but there was still a branch left on my head. I wanted to pull it out with my hand, but if the roots of this branch were deep in my head, it could have been a pretty gross scene.
So, after safely getting an MRI, I decided not to pull it out recklessly. If it really came down to it, I could just cut the branch with a saw. But now, when I scratched my head, the branch on my head was a bit annoying.
While sitting in the waiting room chair and passing time on my phone, the results of the scan came out. I went to see them with Bora.
The photo of the inside of my head was quite fascinating. The branch in the photo had taken root in my head. If I tried to pull it out, my brain would surely be a mess. Maybe it would disappear on its own over time?
It wasn’t worth forcing it out. Since it appeared naturally, it would probably disappear naturally too. Without much gain, I had no choice but to return to my room. Having spent the whole day in the lab, the sun had already set by the time I got back.
Maybe because it was winter, the sun set quickly. I had a simple dinner and then fell asleep. I wanted to play games, but I wasn’t in the mood today.
Luckily, the branch on my head was gone without a trace when I woke up the next day. There was no need to cut it with a saw.
—
The lab was bustling for the first time in a while. It was because of the apple that came from Haru’s head.
The apple, with its good color and glossy sheen, seemed to tempt everyone to eat it. It was like seeing a flashy poisonous mushroom in the wild.
But no one dared to eat it. Well, they lined up to eat it, but they were cautious. It was the lab’s rule to follow safe procedures before eating.
Bora, wearing white gloves, began to peel the apple. Normally, the peel would be discarded, but this was a research material. Nothing could be wasted.
After carefully storing the peel, she cut the apple into eight equal pieces. Unfortunately, there were no seeds inside. If there had been seeds, they might have tried to grow them…
The neatly peeled apple was fed to the animals in the lab. They needed to test whether it was harmful to humans. If it came from Haru’s body, it should be good for health, but…
Bora really wanted to just eat it like the last time with the hair. After several experiments, only half of the apple remained. Bora couldn’t help but feel depressed seeing the apple shrink.
After several hours of testing, it was concluded that the apple from Haru’s head was not harmful. There was no fatal poison in it.
Just looking at Haru’s appearance was healing, so it was safe to say that the byproducts from Haru’s body only had positive effects.
From Haru…
It seemed special because it was an apple. It’s common knowledge that apples turn brown after being left in the air for a few hours. But this apple seemed to defy that common sense, staying the same as when it was first cut. It shone dazzlingly, reflecting the lab lights, as if urging someone to eat it quickly.
“Wouldn’t it be okay to try at least one?”
Among the researchers, opinions arose to try eating it. The apple’s appearance was irresistibly tempting. However, perhaps because it was a byproduct of Hana, mainly the younger researchers ate the apple. The more experienced researchers were a bit hesitant.
Fortunately, Bora was also among the younger researchers, so she could eat the apple. The unfortunate part was that she could only eat one slice, but this wasn’t the end. Once it started, wouldn’t apples keep coming from Hana’s head?
As she chewed the slice of apple, Bora’s eyes widened. No apple on Earth could taste better than this one. With each chew, the apple’s juice gushed out.
Feeling her mouth fill with the apple’s aroma, Bora wished this apple would last forever. But with each chew, the apple in her mouth gradually disappeared.
Thinking she wouldn’t be able to eat this apple for a while, Bora felt like crying. The other researchers who ate it seemed to feel the same. One researcher was actually crying while chewing the apple. Seeing this, Bora also shed a few tears.
—
“Ugh…”
Bora woke up a bit late today. She had worked late yesterday, so it was okay to go to work a bit late today. This was the advantage of the flexible work system at Bora’s company.
But today, something felt off when she woke up. There was an indescribably foul smell, and something sticky was felt on her body. It’s winter, so there’s no way she could be sweating this much…
And the blanket was unusually damp. Feeling something was wrong, Bora quickly got out of bed.
“It’s so sticky and smelly…”
A stench, unlike anything she had ever smelled, was emanating from her body. Bora saw a black, sticky liquid oozing from her body, something that couldn’t be sweat.
“Ahhh!”
Bora hurried to the bathroom. She threw off her pajamas, soaked in the black, sticky liquid, and turned on the shower to wash herself. Even with body wash, the smell didn’t go away easily.
It was like washing after falling into sewage. She had to scrub her entire body with a towel to barely get rid of the smell. She also washed her hair. The oiliness was unbelievable. It was as if she hadn’t washed her hair for a month, but it had only been a day.
Bora spent an hour in the bathroom, struggling without understanding why.
“Sigh…”
Finally returning to her normal state, Bora sighed as she left the bathroom. It took three times longer than usual to wash. The smell from the liquid that came out of her body was that bad and hard to wash off.
But after washing, Bora noticed her face and body had changed. Before, Bora’s appearance, being in her late 20s, had wrinkles and a protruding belly. But now, none of that was visible.
It was as if she had returned to her early 20s.
“Huh?”
It was like the rejuvenation seen in martial arts novels. But among the monsters, there were no byproducts that could restore youth.
Aging is an inevitable flow for living beings, and astronomical amounts of money are spent researching to reverse it.
But a sample that could help in anti-aging research had been born.
The researchers who ate the apple with Bora, though varying individually, appeared 3 to 5 years younger.
