11. 26 Degrees
After dinner, additional filming took place in the auditorium where the participants were gathered.
PD Seok showed some of the footage from today on the screen.
In the partner selection draw, Baek Gi-yeom hid inside a turtle shell-shaped tube. Someone had hung a wet beach towel over it to dry, covering the shell pattern.
PD Seok stopped the video and continued to play the scene where Baek Gi-yeom was flustered after being left behind.
"Baek Yu-ri, who was the last candidate for the Signal Song Center. The fairy tale related to the 'rabbit headband' that the participant chose was 'The Turtle and the Rabbit'. Baek Yu-ri's partner in the mission was Baek Gi-yeom."
The participants who were sitting in a row watching the video stirred.
Baek Yu-ri, who was the most excited, stared blankly at the video without saying anything.
While PD Seok explained the news of the addition of the new contestant, Neoul, following the fifteen local contestants, and the detailed situation, Baek Yuri just listened quietly without asking or questioning anything.
PD Seok declared Baek Yuri's mission a failure.
"Therefore, contestants Park Da-han and Logan, who succeeded in the mission in 6th place, have moved up to 5th place and are now candidates for the Signal Song Center."
".....!"
[Busking Mission Rankings]
1st place - Ha On Ha/Gye Tae Seok
2nd place - Myeong I Dam/Seo Chi Um
3rd place - Woo Cheong/Kim Ji Rok
4th place - Lee Gal Chae/Go Woon Goo
5th place - Park Da Han/Logan
The changed rankings appeared on the screen.
Baek Yu Ri's eyes naturally turned to Park Da Han and Logan as the result of the center candidate elimination that was shown visually.
"Logan! Our center candidate! Center candidate!"
"Yes, I heard. That's great."
Park Da Han opened his eyes wide in surprise and hugged Logan's shoulder, unable to hide his joy. Logan also smiled and patted Park Da Han's back.
Baek Yu Ri quietly looked down at his feet. He didn't feel good.
After the presentations, the participants moved to their assigned accommodations. As expected, they were paired up and shared a room, but there were four of them in a room.
On the bed of the accommodation, there was a welcome gift along with a practice uniform. It was a pretty package of snacks that were widely available in Jeju Island souvenir shops.
It was a simple gift, but the participants responded enthusiastically.
"Wow! There are snacks too!"
"Thank you! I'll enjoy it!"
The participants greeted the camera with excited expressions and shared snacks and had fun.
On the other hand, there was a room where they could not enjoy this atmosphere. It was the room of Baek Yu-ri, Baek Gi-yeom, Woo Cheong, and Kim Ji-rok. Here, Neoul was added.
A first-floor bed was quickly brought into the room that only had two second-floor beds. Neoul looked around curiously, looking at the room and the scenery outside the window.
Neoul, who did not know how serious the exclusion from the Signal Song Center candidate was, read the strangely depressed atmosphere, but did not understand why.
"Can I use the second floor?"
Woo Cheong spoke first, as if trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
"Yeah. Of course."
"Of course."
Baek Yu-ri and Baek Gi-yeom answered at the same time. Baek Yu-ri decided to use the remaining second-floor seat, and Baek Gi-yeom, Kim Ji-rok, and Neoul, who were relatively large, ended up using the first floor.
Neoul placed the sharks he was holding on the bed.
Kim Ji-rok, whose eyebrows were blank, went into the bathroom to wash up, and Woo Cheong and Neoul ate snacks. Neoul now realized that humans have a habit of wrapping all food in inedible shells.
Woo Cheong ate a snack, and when it didn't suit his taste, he pushed it all back to Neoul, then barraged Baek Gi-yeom with questions.
"Hyung-nim, hyung-nim! Wasn't it hot in the turtle tube? Were you really there the whole time?"
Baek Yuri was sitting on the ladder leading up to the second floor bed, quietly fiddling with his practice uniform. Neoul stared at him, his mouth full of snacks.
Two questions came to mind. One was....
'Did I mess something up?'
The second was....
'Is he really a rabbit?'
Baek Yuri clearly said that he was a rabbit and that he knew Byeoljubujeon.
However, the rabbit that had its ears cut off looked no different from a human. The other animals that had their ears cut off earlier were the same.
'Why do they cut off their own ears and give them to others?'
While pondering, Neoul thought of Abamama and the Sea Priestess.
'Do rabbits also disguise themselves as humans?'
Thinking like that, it made sense. If they were spirits that had lived for over 1,400 years, then that could happen.
'Where do rabbits put their livers and take them out? With their mouth?'
The mouth and throat of a human seemed too small for that. Does the true form of a rabbit have a very large throat?
"..."
Neoul stared at the abdomen of Sir rabbit. Should I cut open the stomach like the sea priestess said?
The sea priestess took the bag, but did not take the sword that Neoul had brought from the dragon palace. The small blade was still tied to Neoul's waist.
"....."
Neoul hesitated, clutching and releasing the handle.
'No matter how critical Abamama's condition is, harming another animal is...'
Neoul was deeply lost in thought, continuing to observe the rabbit.
Baek Yuri felt his gaze and raised his head, then met his eyes. Baek Yuri mistook Neoul's gaze that continued to stare at him as guilt or self-reproach.
'There's no need for that.'
It was entirely his own fault for not properly checking whether he was a program participant or just a regular person who liked skits.
Baek Yuri's failure was predicted from the moment he failed to find the hidden Baek Gi-yeom. If it weren't for Neoul, he wouldn't have been a candidate for the center, and it would have been difficult to gain attention in that chaotic situation.
"I thought about it...."
When he opened his mouth, Baek Gi-yeom and Woo Cheong, who had been talking, became quiet. Baek Yuri smiled as if telling not to be like that because of him.
"I don't think it's something to be so upset about."
The voice that was whispering was neither heavy nor gloomy.
"It was a little embarrassing because it was an unexpected situation, but... I think I'll get a nickname and a good amount of screen time thanks to you, Neoul ssi. I think I'll be remembered by the viewers as much as the center."
The round, crescent-shaped eyes folded nicely.
"It's my fault, I'm sorry for making the mood worse. I'm sorry for Cheong and Gi-yeom too."
Baek Yu-ri apologized to his temporary roommates in a bright voice. It was hard to tell if he was trying to make it up or if it was genuine.
"Hey! Hey! What are you sorry about! If it were me, I would have done a handstand and run around the yard to protest to the PD!"
Woo Cheong regained his energy as the mood improved and he immediately became happy and squeaked.
"That's right. You can cry if you're upset. Gi-yeom understands too. Ppu-eung."
"I told you I'm not upset? When did I cry?"
Baek Gi-yeom teased Baek Yu-ri by pretending to cry. Baek Yu-ri told him not to make up stories and pushed Baek Gi-yeom away by tapping his shoulder. It seemed like they knew each other.
Neoul had already eaten most of the snacks and was opening the packaging for the only snack left.
"Anyway, I should have thanked you, Neoul ssi, but I'm only saying it now. Thank you."
Neoul blinked at Baek Yu-ri's thanks.
The other humans who were chatting cheerfully also turned their gazes to Neoul. No one said anything, but it seemed like they had said something.
Neoul blinked quietly and took his hand off the knife handle. Then he looked down at the snack in his other hand.
'There's only one left…!'
He furrowed his eyebrows and thought about it before handing it to Baek Yu-ri. Baek Yu-ri smiled and took the snack coolly.
***
After a while, Neoul, who had been given the go-ahead to wash first by Baek Gi-yeom, opened the bag given to him by the sea priestess and took out his toiletries. She explained to him how to use it, but it was his first time using it, so he was embarrassed.
He went into the bathroom, opened the toothpaste cap, squeezed it on his toothbrush, and made a mistake in adjusting the pressure. With a squeaking sound, the sink and mirror were covered in toothpaste.
He somehow got it on his toothbrush and brushed his teeth, but he swallowed the toothpaste.
'She told me to rinse it with water!'
The toothpaste tasted sweet, but stop!
The toothpaste given by the sea priestess was strawberry-flavored toothpaste for babies that is harmless to the human body even if swallowed, but Neoul, who didn't know the truth, was a little embarrassed.
'This is for rubbing on the hair.....'
Next, he went into the shower and poured shampoo on his hair. It was amazing how bubbles bubbled when he rubbed it with his hand. There were too many bubbles, but Neoul didn't know what was wrong.
He poured some body wash and washed his body, but the shampoo foam ran down his face and stung his eyes.
He wiped his eyes with his hands that had body wash on them. His eyes stung even more.
'Why do humans torture themselves every day?'
Tears flowed from his stinging eyes. In an instant, the mermaid, who was soaked in chemicals, succeeded in turning on the shower head in agony.
"Aak!"
Hot!
He quickly turned the faucet the other way and cold water poured down.
'A familiar temperature...!'
Neoul finally rinsed off the bubbles in relief. It seemed that he only returned to his original state when he was immersed in deep water, and his legs did not disappear even when he was hit by the pouring water.
After finishing the shower, he awkwardly dried his wet body with a towel and put on his underwear and summer pajamas. His hair and body, which had been heavily scented by the sea, gave off an unfamiliar and artificial scent.
When he opened the bathroom door and came out, everyone was quietly resting under the blankets. Only Baek Gi-yeom, who had not yet washed up, used the gap time to do a plank on the floor under the bed and got up.
"Neoul ssi. Are you okay? You screamed earlier. Are you okay?"
"Yes…."
Neoul, exhausted from self-torture, collapsed onto the bed without the strength to dry his hair.
Baek Gi-yeom, who was about to enter the bathroom, stopped and asked.
"Did they film a disaster movie in the bathroom?"
What should I say, it was a total mess.
Neoul mumbled while curled up on his stomach. He asked what the disaster movie was, but Baek Gi-yeom couldn't hear because Neoul had buried his face in the blanket.
"Oh, right. Thermometer."
Neoul was halfway to falling asleep when Baek Yu-ri mumbled and stuck his head out from the bunk bed.
"Neoul ssi. How are you feeling? Do you think you don't need to go to the hospital?"
Ugh. Neoul, who had turned his head, opened his eyes with difficulty. He washed them with water, so they didn't hurt anymore, but the whites of his eyes were completely red.
"Aahh! Look at you eyes!"
"I'll go and tell the PD and bring someone over."
Baek Gi-yeom went into the bathroom to wash up, but stopped and went outside.
"Raccoon, your eyes are red!"
Woo Cheong, who had stuck his head out because he was bored, was shocked.
He didn't know why or when 'Neoul' had become 'Raccoon.'
They're not similar at all!
***
The youngest writer and assistant director who were working overtime came running and checked on Neoul's condition.
"If there's no pain in his eyes, they'll probably get better soon, right? He said he rinsed them right away. The problem is…."
The non-contact thermometer showed an abnormal reading of '26 degrees.'
"The kid is as cold as ice. Let's go to the hospital first."
"Isn't the thermometer broken...?"
The youngest writer tilted his head and tried measuring the temperature of others. This time, the number was right around 36.5 degrees. However, Neoul couldn't get out of the 26 degrees, which was 10 degrees lower, no matter how many times he measured it.
"I think the thermometer is crazy..."
"Shouldn't we call 119 at this point?"
They packed up Neoul and headed to the hospital without a plan. On the way to the hospital, the assistant director called the business card he had received from Neoul's aunt, but she didn't answer.
After arriving at the emergency room and waiting for a while, the doctor came and examined Neoul, took his temperature and blood pressure, and tilted his head. Then, he quickly performed several tests.
After the test results came out, he checked again to see if the thermometer was broken and brought a few more to take his temperature.
"Are my eyes broken?"
He muttered and pressed his eyes hard.
"Huh, how are you alive...?"
The doctor asked with a question mark on his face, then closed his mouth. Everyone around him looked at him as if they were saying, "Is that what a doctor should be saying?"
The doctor felt wronged.
"Ahem. Aside from the low temperature and slow pulse, everything else is normal."
"Isn't that the most important thing...? What if you leave that out?"
The assistant director and the youngest writer were shocked, and the doctor was sweating profusely. I've never seen a case like this before, so what should I do?
Neoul, who had been obediently following orders and getting tested, kept looking around the hospital, and now he was yawning as if he was fine.
—