Chapter 368
A precious break after the LA concert.
We decided to go to Dana Point at Heo Yu-bin's strong recommendation.
"This is the representative California port, the port!"
"If it's a port, it's pretty?"
"There are pretty things, but it's the port of taste."
Passionate guide Heo Yu-bin's advance explanation continued on the way to Dana Point.
"They say there's an abundance of seafood resources, so there's a lot of delicious food, and more than anything! There's another reason to go to Dana Point!"
"There's another reason?"
"Ta-da!"
We stared at the cell phone screen that Heo Yu-bin held up.
I sat in the back row with Ji Yoon-chul, so I couldn't see it properly, but I vaguely caught the word 'dolphin'.
The other members also focused on the same word.
"Dolphin?"
"Can we see dolphins?"
"Yes!"
Heo Yoo-bin smiled brightly and nodded excitedly.
Usually, Yoo Min-ha is in charge of explaining travel destinations and places to visit.
This time, for some reason, Yoo Min-ha was quiet and Heo Yoo-bin took over his will.
"This is a place famous for seeing dolphins often. You can see them swimming in groups, not just one or two here and there! And even!"
"Even?"
"If you're lucky, you can even see whales. Whales!"
When Heo Yoo-bin shouted whale while spreading both hands wide, Song Hyung-bin suddenly laughed.
"Yoo-bin seems to really like marine life. Why didn't I know?"
"Wow, I wasn't really interested in them at first, but after watching the video of the whales on YouTube, I really wanted to see them. Not the ones in the aquarium, but the ones that live in the wild."
"What on earth was that video? I should watch it too."
"Wait a minute!"
While Heo Yu-bin quickly looked for the video after hearing Song Hyung-bin's request. I, with my playful side, spoke in the most calm voice I could.
"Hey, let's be considerate of the people sitting behind. I haven't been able to see anything since a while ago."
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry! If I do it like this, can you see it at the back?"
"......... I still can't see anything. Yubin hyung's arms are too short."
Ji Yoon-chul, who had joined in on my prank, teased Heo Yu-bin in a voice that was no different from usual.
Heo Yu-bin would have been flustered by the unexpected attack in the past, but now he seemed to have gotten used to the members and didn't react at all and just searched through his bag.
Then he calmly took out his selfie stick.
"If I do this, you can see everything, right?"
"....I can see it."
"But bro, but if we do that, we'll have to turn our heads 90 degrees to see it."
"Aaah, then what do you want me to do!"
"Just kidding, just kidding, just kidding— Ah, why did you suddenly hit me!"
"Just like that."
Kang Si-yoon, who tried to play pranks on Heo Yu-bin one after another, was brutally punished.
Ji Yoon-chul and I got hit a little but got away with it, but....
In my opinion, it seems like he got hit because he was Kang Si-yoon.
The crazy conversation died down, and we watched the video that Heo Yu-bin showed us for a few minutes.
A beautiful blue sea. And a school of dolphins swimming leisurely in it.
Dozens, no, hundreds of dolphins were moving across the water at a very close distance from the boat.
The probability of seeing wild dolphins in one's life is low, but to see hundreds of them moving together like that.
The other members all looked at the dolphins in awe.
"It's spectacular."
"Do they really go around that much? I thought I'd see four or five dolphins when you said we'd really go see them."
"If we're lucky, we can see a thousand. I think the average is a few dozen."
"Wow........... A thousand? That's ridiculous."
Kang Si-yoon turned his gaze back and glanced at me.
"We can see a thousand dolphins today, right? We have a few people with extraordinary auras. Like Karis."
"That's not it. Si-yoon. Did you forget what happened just a few weeks ago?"
"Hey, the New Year's money fight was just a happening, a happening, maybe it was a curse."
I see.
Well, when something important happens and misfortune strikes, people say that it was a curse in advance.
But no matter how positively you think about it, seeing a thousand dolphins is an incredibly high probability.
"Siyoon hyung, if we're really lucky, we can see whales as well as dolphins. And not just whales, but humpback whales and orcas."
"Orcas? What, what, what is that? I saw it on YouTube. Oh, right! You mean those guys who hunt seals while playing around?"
"That's right, those vicious bastards."
Chae Eun-gyu shivered slightly as he recalled the video he had seen before.
"Orcas are a bit scary."
"Hey, what's there to be scared of? It's not like we're going to go into the ocean and swim."
"Yu-bin. Don't set up weird flags for no reason."
"No matter how much I set up flags, there's no way you'd fall into the ocean, hyung. That's too much."
"People always have to be careful."
While the members were chattering away like that, the car carrying us drove hard down California's beautiful national highway and entered Dana Point.
The blue ocean stretching far into the distance.
Countless ships and yachts were gently rocking along the waves.
White seagulls and pelicans that we'd never see in Korea were flying over the wooden deck.
There are various restaurants lined up right in front of the port, so I understood why Heo Yu-bin called this place a two-meaning port of beauty and taste.
Yoo Min-ha got out of the car and ran straight towards the port, then took a deep breath.
"Phew! The air is really clear!"
"Min-ha, just pick one."
"Suddenly?"
Kang Si-yoon grabbed Yoo Min-ha's shoulder tightly and asked a question that was extremely difficult to answer.
"The air here is better, or the air in Estonia is better. You can't choose both, just one."
"You want me to choose one of those two? Suddenly? Really?"
"Yeah!"
Yoo Min-ha was momentarily flustered.
That's understandable, because he said something similar when he visited Tallinn, Estonia last time.
Even his reaction was the same. He took a deep breath and smiled happily.
Yoo Min-ha was caught in a dilemma of choice and had a hard time answering right away.
He made eye contact with the other members as if asking for help.
'Hmm?
When our eyes met, I felt like he was strangely watching me.
Aha.
Is it because I'm from Estonia that he's watching me?
I raised the corners of my mouth and smiled cynically.
Since I visited Estonia, I've had a strong sense of patriotism toward Estonia.
If Yoo Min-ha, one of my most trusted younger siblings, betrays me, I'll be quite disappointed.
My implicit threat must have worked, as Yoo Min-ha answered with a nervous laugh.
"Ha, haha! Of course it's Estonia!"
"Really?"
Kang Si-yoon furrowed his eyebrows and secretly glanced at Yoo Min-ha.
"Judging from your reaction earlier, I think you like this place better."
"Oh, no!"
"Did you feel any pressure from outside?".
"There wasn't any!"
Kang Si-yoon's pressure interrogation was cut short because of our boarding time.
"But is it really necessary to come out this early in the morning?"
"People who sleep a lot will have a hard time seeing dolphins."
"There's someone here who has overcome his limits."
At Kang Si-yoon's words, Song Hyung-bin pointed to Chae Eun-gyu.
Thanks to my hard training since last year, Chae Eun-gyu's wake-up time was much earlier than before.
However, it was still painful to wake up at this early hour.
"Huh. I'm tired, but I can handle it."
"Hyung, you're mouth is gonna tear if you yawn."
"At least I can say I can handle it after I finish yawning."
Chae Eun-gyu fought against his sleepiness and forced a smile.
Still, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he's made great strides.
If it were like before, it would have taken a long time just to get him up from his bed, and we wouldn't have been able to board the ship on time.
"Welcome aboard, everyone. We're just about to set full throttle to join our beautiful dolphin friends..."
The captain's low, low voice came through the speakers.
As difficult words came out one after another, everyone instinctively turned their heads toward me.
Now, it seemed natural to look for me when a foreign language was mentioned.
"They say we're about to set sail. It feels familiar to see them calling the dolphins 'friend'."
"I can't help but feel like they're real friends to them. They'll see each other every day."
"I can't wait!"
As the ship gradually gained speed and headed toward deeper water, Heo Yu-bin grabbed the railing with excitement.
It must have been his behavior to see far away, but there was one thing he didn't catch.
"Oh, there's a seagull sitting right next to Yu-bin."
"Whaaaaah!"
Since we first arrived at Dana Point, seagulls were flying freely over the ship.
Maybe because there were so many tourists, these guys didn't seem to be afraid of people.
So a fearless seagull came down to the ship and leisurely sat down right next to the railing that Heo Yu-bin was holding onto.
It had a different appearance than the seagulls I'd seen in Korea.
Heo Yu-bin, surprised by the sudden appearance of the seagull, screamed in his signature high-pitched voice.
Despite the loudness that would startle even most humans, the seagull just fluttered its feathers and acted as if nothing had happened.
"These guys are a bit like pigeons in Korea! They don't even run away."
"If I were a bird, I would have quickly fled after hearing Heo Yu-bin scream."
"Wow.......... I was really surprised."
Heo Yu-bin brushed away his surprised chest.
"No, I turned my head to the side and suddenly I saw a beak......…."
"It must have been surprising. They're so big."
"Oh. They're flying away now!"
Yoo Min-ha waved at the seagulls that spread their wings and soared into the sky, as if they had lost interest in Heo Yu-bin.
Then, as if a thought suddenly occurred to him, he said.
"Would they eat shrimp like the Korean seagulls?"
"They'd definitely eat them, right?"
"Oh, but it's scary to think that such a big seagull could just barely touch my hand."
After the seagull commotion passed, we stood on the deck of the ship that was powerfully cutting through the waves and felt the cool sea breeze.
The air was so clean and the wind was refreshing, so my mood naturally improved, but it was still early February.
"Ugh, it's cold! Hyungs, I'll go in first!"
"Wait a minute, come with me, Min-ha! I can't do it either. My mouth's about to go numb."
"Come quickly, Hyung! We're closing the door!"
Yoo Min-ha, Chae Eun-gyu, and Kang Si-yoon, who had succumbed to the cold, left the deck shivering.
On the other hand, the rest of the members, including me, enjoyed the moment of leisure while looking at the breathtaking scenery.
"Yoon-chul, aren't you cold?"
"......... It was cold when we first set off, but I'm used to it now."
"I think I'm okay!"
"Yu-bin, you have a runny nose."
"Ah!"
I smiled slightly as I watched Song Hyung-bin take out a tissue and wipe Heo Yoo-bin's nose.
Heo Yu-bin sniffled while laughing.
Right then.
"We're getting closer to our first dolphins of the day. Everyone, take a look to your right-!"
An announcement came from the onboard speaker that we would soon meet the first group of dolphins of the day.
Something caught Heo Yu-bin's eyes as he turned his head toward the sea.
His eyes brightened like a child receiving a toy for the first time.
"Dolphin! It's a dolphin!"
"Already? Hey, Yubin, wait, I haven't cleaned your nose yet!"
"Wow!"
I turned my body toward the sea, following Heo Yubin's gaze. Then, a truly spectacular sight unfolded before my eyes.
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