37. Fish (1)
[But aren't mermaids and humans fundamentally not that different? The upper body is similar, and the lower body is different. Well, the internal organs are also a bit different.]
"I guess so."
[I've seen a theory before that humans were actually creatures that lived in the water and evolved on land. If you look at it like that, wouldn't humans and mermaids have the same ancestors?]
"I guess so."
[Then it's not like they can't be possessed by each other, right? Why, cats and animals can be possessed by ghosts! Why on earth did that ghost with glasses bounce off with such a big bang?]
"I guess so."
[... Are you too lazy to answer?]
"I guess so."
[Hey!]
Baek Namoo shouted, but Neoul curled up his long body and hid under the blanket.
"Ugh... I'm so tired."
'Do I really need to know why the ghost bounced off? Isn't it enough that it came out on its own?
My body and head felt heavy, and I shivered all over with an inexplicable chill. I felt lethargic and damp. That's why I didn't really want to worry about a problem that had already been solved.
[Ahh! You must be sick because of the ghost! You'll be fine when you wake up! Get some rest! Get some sleep! Hurry up!]
Baek Namoo clicked his tongue and thumped the blanket. Since Neoul had completely returned to his body, Baek Namoo's hand passed right through his body.
[I'm going now!]
"Oh, wait."
Neoul, who had wrapped the blanket around himself and curled up like a giant maggot, showed only his face and called Baek Namoo. After watching a great performance, even if he wasn't feeling well, he had to leave at least a word of appreciation, right?
"You said you'd show me exactly what an idol is, right?"
Baek Namoo, who was about to leave, turned around at Neoul's question and smiled arrogantly.
[Oh, well, how do you see it? Do you understand?]
"Honestly, I still don't know."
[What?]
"The word 'idol' is not translated into the language of the sea. It's probably because it's a word that doesn't exist in the sea. Ha..."
Neoul thought of the hot heat and emotions he felt at the concert hall. Baek Namoo and the grim reapers who moved people's hearts with dance and song, the enthusiastic cheers, tears, laughter.
Everything that was engraved in his eyes and heart.
"Even if I don't know it in my head, I think I vaguely understand it in my heart. I truly learned a lot."
[...You understand? Really?]
Baek Namoo looked doubtful.
[Idol is a singer who makes music, but the word literally means 'idol'.]
"What is an idol?"
[Is it an object that receives both love and worship from people?]
"Ah, it's similar to a king. Even Abamama receives love and worship from both the people and his subjects."
[No...? No, no? That seems a bit different... ...? Why is that so?]
Baek Namoo scratched his head, wondering if something was strange.
Whether it was or not, Neoul smiled in satisfaction. Unable to bear the exhaustion pouring down, he closed his eyes and whispered.
"That's good. I don't want to be a king, but I wanted to be something similar to a king."
[Huh?]
"If I keep asking and learning, there will come a day when I completely understand. I'll try my best."
[Well, okay.]
Baek Namoo answered hesitantly, then shook his head while looking at the sleeping Neoul in the same state as the bug.
***
After finishing the competition, eating chicken, watching a concert until dawn, and even having my body taken over by a ghost for a very brief moment.
The accumulated fatigue made him slept soundly until the late hours of the next day. It was around 4 PM the next day when he opened his eyes.
"Hey, Gal Neoul-i~ No matter how much I woke you up, you didn't wake up and were sleeping soundly. Someone came looking for you outside, and been waiting for you since a while ago."
"Who is it?"
"That's right...."
2 hours ago.
Baek Gi-yeom charged his smartphone while also charging Baek Yu-ri's smartphone and Neoul's smartphone, whose battery was dead.
As soon as Neoul's smartphone turned on, a call came in and the bell rang loudly. Baek Gi-yeom saw the screen that said 'Guardian' and answered the phone instead.
—Hello, Neoul's guardian. This is Neoul's friend Baek Gi-yeom. Neoul-i hasn't woken up yet, so I answered the phone instead. Should I wake him up?
—....
The other person was silent for a moment, then told him not to wake him and hung up the phone.
And 30 minutes later, the intercom rang.
—This is the person sent by Gal Neoul ssi's guardian. I'm here to pick him up!
Baek Yuri and Baek Gi-yeom were flustered by the stranger who suddenly showed up without even telling them the address, and didn't open the door.
—Is Neoul still sleeping?
Then they were told that she would wait in front of the central entrance below the apartment until he woke up.
And then she really stood there like a rock for an hour and a half, waiting.
The person standing outside was a woman with dark skin like a Latina with a slight reddish tint, wearing a neat black suit like a bodyguard, and carrying a microphone and a walkie-talkie.
Her long black hair was tied high and she looked a little short.
—She seems a little strange, shouldn't we report her to the police?
—I think it would be better to wake up Neoul ssi first.
—Neoul! Neoul! Wake up!
Baek Gi-yeom and Baek Yu-ri shook Neoul's shoulders, rang the loud alarm that started with 'pappappa pappappappappa!', sprayed water with a sprayer, pinched his cheek, and tickled the soles of his feet with feathers.
—What, Baek Gi-yeom. Where did the feathers come from all of a sudden? I've seen those white feathers somewhere...?
—It's your bookmark.
—Ah! My bookmark! Hey! Where are you running away to! Give it back!
There was a small commotion in the middle, but anyway, they worked together to keep waking up Neoul.
—What?! Oh~ He still won't wake up? He must have fainted
—We practiced all night to prepare for the stage... It's understandable to faint. I guess the tension that had built up over time was relieved and he fell into a deep sleep.
—He's even talking in his sleep? Neoul, what did you say? Orca? You're scared of orca?
In the end, they gave up on waking him up and waited for him to wake up on his own.
When Neoul heard that someone was waiting for him outside, he rubbed his dry eyes and got up, asking.
"What's the name?"
"I don't know. Your guardian sent her."
"My guardian?"
"Yuri! Ask her what her name is!"
When Baek Gi-yeom shouted from the room, Baek Yu-ri asked the other person's name through the intercom.
"It's Moon Dong-dong."
"Moon Dong-dong? Is that a name you know?"
Neoul shook his head, saying he didn't know.
Baek Yu-ri tried to dissuade Neoul, who wanted to go outside first. He turned on the intercom screen and showed it to him.
"Let's check the face first. You might not know it if you look at her face."
Neoul looked at the screen and opened his eyes wide. It seemed like he had seen her somewhere before, but it was a face he had never really paid attention to.
"I think I saw her getting scolded by the uniformed officer...."
"The uniformed officer? Did you see it in a drama? Is she a historical drama actor?"
Baek Yuri opened his mouth as if he realized something, but Baek Gi-yeom didn't know and was dumbfounded.
"I have to go out and see!"
Neoul thought that it must have been sent by the Dragon Palace, so he hurriedly went outside. He didn't know if the Sea Priestess who had arrived at the Dragon Palace might have sent the news.
Baek Yuri and Baek Gi-yeom also naturally followed Neoul.
Neoul stopped them while putting on his shoes.
"Don't come out."
If they were from the Yonggung Palace, they would definitely talk about Abamama, the Sea Priestess, and the Yonggung Palace. Baek Yuri, who already knew Neoul's true identity, said it didn't matter, but Baek Gi-yeom still didn't know anything.
It wouldn't be good if there were more people who knew the secret.
"I'll go alone!"
Neoul got into the elevator alone. Baek Yuri and Baek Gi-yeom stuck their heads out of the entrance and watched Neoul go down on his own.
"Uh.... What should I press to go down?"
Baek Yuri eventually pressed the open button, stretched out his arm, pressed the first floor, and got out.
"Be careful. If there's anyone suspicious, come back up right away. If not, call me."
"Yes!"
The door closed and the elevator went down. Baek Gi-yeom asked as he watched the numbers decrease.
"But did he take his phone down?"
They turned their heads inside the house and saw Neoul's smartphone with the charger plugged in.
"It's here?!"
"....!"
What, why are you answering so confidently when you didn't even bring your phone?
"Yuri. But come to think of it, we didn't exchange numbers yesterday. Even if he brought his phone down, he wouldn't have been able to call us anyway."
"Ah."
***
Neoul waited for the door to open while looking at the letters that changed shape on their own. Maybe because he was left alone, going down felt slower than going up.
He was trapped in a square box, his feet firmly on the ground, but his body felt like it was going to float up, and before he knew it, the door opened.
When Neoul finally went outside, the face of the woman who had been waiting brightened.
"Prince!"
She was so touched that she even shed tears.
"Is your name Moon Dong-dong?"
"I am Dong-dong, the blue-ringed octopus of the uniformed officer, who came all the way here to escort the prince on the orders of the uniformed officer! My real name is Dong-dong, and Moon Dong-dong is a fake. Do you remember me?"
"I think your face looks familiar."
"I am so touched that you remembered! I thought I would never be able to find the prince and would be trapped forever because of the evil sea priestess' interference!"
"...The 'sea priestess' 'interfered' with Dongdong?"
"Yes! I followed the prince, but I was stopped at the beach and couldn't go any further when the sea priestess kidnapped me! I lost consciousness and when I opened my eyes, I was handed over to some goby and disappeared!"
"Ah....."
You followed me. Because the uniformed officer ordered you to do so. You were on land the whole time after that.
'It wasn't the Dragon Palace that sent the message.'
Regret crossed the corners of Neoul's lips as he waited for the sea priestess to contact him.
Dongdong, the blue octopus who didn't notice the subtle changes in Neoul's expression, continued to speak.
"Well, that guy ordered me to study, protect myself, and shoot poison at animals, so what? How can a mere human be so rude to me, the one who protects the royalty of the sea!"
Dongdong let out her anger with a grumble.
At that moment, a chilling voice came through the microphone she was wearing.
—This idiot, I am listening, so stop chatting and hurry up and get the fish in the car.
"Eek! Did you hear that? How dare you call the prince a fish! How can you be so rude?"
—Hey, Moon Dongdong. If you don't talk, the fish won't hear me.
"Shut up! You idiot!"
—You arrogant Moon Dongdong?
"You're even arrogant!"
Dongdong snorted and pulled out the microphone.
Neoul asked.
"Who were you talking to? Who is the one who calls me a fish?"
"Don't listen to him. It's just the nonsense of a foolish human."
"I let it slide."
Neoul answered as if he didn't care at all. But then, thinking about it again, it was bothering him and he frowned slightly.
"But... tell him that I'm not a fish. If I'm a fish, then are humans just land fish?"
"...!"
—