24. Delivery Complete
Looking back, it seems that Baek Yuri used Korean. Even though he saw Baek Yuri talking to humans without any problems, he didn't realize it either, even though he was communicating with humans in the same language.
That's because everyone on land seemed to be speaking the same language.
Neoul couldn't tell the difference between the foreign words and foreign languages mixed in between Korean.
He didn't even know which was rabbit language and which was human language. All the sounds he heard were automatically translated and entered into his head.
Furthermore, the language of the sea that he could only hear when he put his head underwater and the language of the land that he could only hear outside of the water were so different.
Neoul found it all so strange, amazing, and wonderful. It was so unfamiliar that he accepted it without any doubt.
However, while talking to Daiki, who didn't speak Korean well, he realized for the first time that the languages were different.
Then, the languages spoken by the Sea Priestess, Baek Yuri, and other cast members and production staff, as well as other humans, were combined into one in his head, and only then did Neoul realize something was strange.
He had clearly taken two pills, 'rabbit language' and 'human language'.
Is everything I've heard so far only human language?
I've never seen Baek Yuri speak any language other than human language.
'Then why doesn't Baek Yuri speak rabbit language?'
Baek Gi-yeom and Baek Yuri are cousins, so wouldn't they be able to use rabbit language when they talk?
'Disguised as a human? Just like the sea priestess told me to hide my identity, rabbits don't want to be caught as non-humans?'
But that's not the case...
Neoul recalled the moment when Baek Yuri ripped off the large, long ears on top of his head and handed them to the production team. The other animal contestants who had ripped off their round and triangular ears without a second thought.
Was that really the attitude of animals who were careful not to get caught?
It didn't seem right.
'Are they really other animals disguised as humans?'
Or the opposite?
It wasn't humans disguised as animals?
What if Sir Rabbit isn't a rabbit?
Once the thought started to bite its tail, it spread out uncontrollably and formed a new hypothesis.
'Then what Baek Yuri said until now...? Was it all a lie?'
Why?
Why are you lying to me like that?
The color gradually drained from Neoul's face. Ominous foreboding was never wrong. But Baek Yuri was definitely...
"He knew Byeoljubujeon."
Woo Cheong raised his head at Neoul's muttering.
"Huh? Byeoljubujeon?"
"Byeoljubu...'jeon'?"
Now that I think about it, Baek Yuri must have said the same thing as Woo-cheong.
—ʜᴇʏ... ʙʏᴇᴏʟᴊᴜʙᴜᴊᴇᴏɴ, ʀɪɢʜᴛ?
While Neoul was confused, Woo Cheong chattered with a bright face.
"That concept is fine too! The lyrics seem to strangely fit! In the chorus, it says that he's going to pick you up, and that you should hold his hand and follow him. Isn't it okay to interpret this as Byeoljubujeon tempting a rabbit and dragging it into the sea?"
"That's true. Since there's a story, I think the stage could be decorated a bit richer, and since it's a classic novel, it would be cool if we wore hanbok and added a little Korean dance."
Baek Giyeom responded positively. Neoul thought to himself blankly.
'Classic?'
Something from long ago? Like an old tale told by the sea priestess?
"Wow. Neoul-hyung. How did you come up with that? Hyung, aren't you a genius? I like that kind of stuff. It'll be fun!"
Middle school student Go Woon-gu praised Neoul in admiration.
Daiki asked for a translation, so Neoul copied everything the team members said. Then Daiki said something.
[Ah! There's a similar story in Japan! Ours is Chan-seong.]
Neoul blankly looked around at the team members. Everyone knew the story of Byeoljubujeon.
It wasn't that Baek Yuri knew Byeoljubujeon because he was 'Sir Rabbit' that Neoul was looking for... In fact, it was a story that everyone knew?
Neoul swallowed his saliva and said.
"I'd like to hear if the Byeoljubujeon I know and the Byeoljubujeon you know are the same, but can you tell me the story in detail?"
***
After the team meeting, Woo Cheong and Baek Gi-yeom went to convey the arrangement direction together. The production team gave the leader the food expenses and told the team members to eat dinner together.
"They gave us ten thousand won per person."
"Let's go eat pork kimchi stew!"
Neoul tried to leave the dinner.
"I have something to ask Sir Baek Yuri for a moment… ."
"I think Yuri will go to dinner too? You can ask him when you get back. But you keep calling him Sir Rabbit, so what is with Sir Baek Yuri? Why does the title seem to be getting weirder?"
Baek Gi-yeom laughed.
Since Baek Gi-yeom's words were reasonable, Neoul had no choice but to follow them.
When Neoul made the kimchi stew spicy, the team members poured the meat dumplings and egg rolls they had ordered along with the kimchi stew for Neoul. However, Neoul pretended to eat the food that was not spicy and delicious before putting down his spoon.
Baek Gi-yeom and Woo Cheong, who had been eating with Neoul for a little over ten days as roommates, were surprised.
"Why aren't you eating more?"
"Raccoon hyung-nim, what's wrong?"
Neoul was a big eater who would eat at least two lunch boxes every meal. As the production team deliberately prepared extra-large lunch boxes considering the contestants' age when they should be eating well.
Not only that, Woo Cheong, who has a short mouth, and Lee Gal-chae, who came over and was eating with him without knowing when, ate every last grain of rice that was generously given to him. Except for spicy food, he ate everything so well. He wasn't a picky eater. Even after eating that much, he was still hungry, so he coveted Baek Yu-ri's chocolate bar and protein bar.
That kind of Neoul was picking at food!
He put down his spoon before the bowl was even empty!
Neoul shook his head to his surprised teammates, saying that he just didn't have an appetite. In fact, he didn't feel like eating anything.
After returning to the dorm, Neoul found Baek Yu-ri and Kim Ji-rok's bed empty.
"Sir Baek Yu-ri? Where is Sir Baek Yu-ri?"
Baek Gi-yeom responded nonchalantly to the flustered voice of Neoul.
"Huh? Oh, he must have already moved his luggage."
"Moving his luggage? Where?"
"Huh? Didn't you know? They told us to move rooms after dinner, ah, but you didn't hear. Roommates changed. To team members. We're having a same room because of a competition."
"Where is Sir Baek Yu-ri?"
"The room over there. At the end of the right hallway."
Neoul headed straight to the room at the end of the right hallway.
"Huh? Yuri-hyung went outside?"
Baek Yu-ri's teammate opened the door and came out, scratching his head. Someone could be heard shouting inside.
"Why? Who is it? Is it Gal Neoul?"
"Huh?"
"Yuri-hyung told me to tell Gal Neoul to come to the beach when he comes!"
Neoul went outside without thinking. After circling around the dormitory and seeing that no one was watching, Neoul headed to the beach where he had released Sangsang and Stardust before.
There, he found Baek Yuri holding a white styrofoam box.
Neoul quickly approached and asked.
"Sir Baek Yuri. Is it true that you have been lying to me all this time?"
Baek Yuri sat on the stairs and blankly stared at the sea, then raised his head in surprise.
Neoul looked very anxious.
—ᴀʀᴇɴ'ᴛ ᴀʟʟ ʙʏᴇᴏʟᴊᴜʙᴜᴊᴇᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴀᴍᴇ ʙʏᴇᴏʟᴊᴜʙᴜᴊᴇᴏɴ? ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʙʏᴇᴏʟᴊᴜʙᴜᴊᴇᴏɴ? ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴇɢᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴛ ɪɴ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ʀᴇɢɪᴏɴ? ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴏᴛꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ᴘʀᴏʙᴀʙʟʏ ᴀʟʟ ꜱɪᴍɪʟᴀʀ.
Neoul heard the entire plot of Byeoljubujeon from Baek Giyeom.
In the end, he also learned that rabbits are not animals that can take out and put back their livers or detach and attach their ears.
"When you came to the Dragon Palace one thousand four hundred years ago, did you deceive Abamama and Byeoljubujeon? Did you lie and say that you left your liver on land to survive?"
"...."
"Then was it a lie that you said you'd give me your liver if we debuted together and that you left it at home?"
When Neoul saw Baek Yuri's shaking pupils, his face hardened terribly.
'It was all a lie.'
I believed those words and worked hard, even saving sleep, but it was a waste of time. I ended up wasting too much time.
The joy I felt from learning difficult dances and singing felt like a sin.
Even at this moment, Abamama's illness might be worsening.
"That could have happened a thousand and four hundred years ago. I understand. You must have felt threatened and wanted to live. But to me... You shouldn't have made a promise you couldn't keep."
On the beach where he first met Baek Yuri, Neoul didn't even know how to walk. Baek Yuri, who was fast on his feet, could have easily escaped.
It wasn't a threatening situation at all, and Neoul was just begging politely. But why?
"Why did you lie to me?"
A wave of cold resentment surged over Baek Yuri's head.
"Neoul ssi. I didn't do it on purpose..."
"Or was even the fact that you were a rabbit a lie?"
Baek Yuri's mouth, which was about to make an excuse, was shut tightly.
The desperation hidden beneath Neoul's expression, which was as hard as ice, made Baek Yuri feel guilty.
"I don't have time. Be honest with me. Was it a lie?"
"..."
Baek Yuri, who had been hesitating, moved his lips.
"That's right. I'm not a rabbit. I'm a person."
Why did I have to say something so obvious in such a voice? I had a momentary dizziness, but…
"I didn't mean to lie. I was just filming, and I misunderstood that you were acting out a situation."
Who would have imagined that a mermaid would come up and sing a rabbit song at that moment?
He thought it was the production team's plan.
"I found out later that everything you said was true. I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away. I couldn't tell if you were dangerous or not… I thought you might kill me if you found out. But I can't die."
Baek Yuri checked to see if Neoul had understood what he was saying.
Baek Yuri realized as he looked at Neoul's dark eyes that were about to overflow.
'Ah. I won't be shark food or drowned right away.'
Despite all the fear he had felt, he suddenly felt that this mermaid was not someone who could harm anyone. He just had that intuition.
'Thank goodness.'
Neoul seemed to have understood Baek Yuri's words to some extent. His stiff expression had relaxed a little bit more than before. Baek Yuri sighed in relief, internally wiping away his heart.
However, Neoul was deeply disappointed by the fact that Baek Yuri was not a rabbit and had been struggling all this time.
A deep shadow fell over his face.
"The promise is invalid, so I'll go now. Thank you for everything."
Neoul turned around as if he was about to leave. Baek Yuri was surprised and got up from his position and asked.
"Where are you going?"
"Another rabbit... no, I have to find a real rabbit."
"...!"
"If you take out the liver, it will die, so they won't give it to me readily, but if I'm lucky, I might find a rabbit that's dying."
You can't harm a living rabbit, but it wouldn't be a crime to take a dead rabbit.
Neoul, who had been walking briskly with the correct walking posture that he had learned from Baek Yuri and Baek Gi-yeom, started to run somewhere without thinking.
Baek Yuri followed him while hugging the Styrofoam box.
"You don't have to do that! Rabbit liver is here! I ordered it online!"
—