49. Rabbit Alliance (2)
'This is why you called me and tied me up.'
This atmosphere was extremely dangerous. If he stayed still, it felt like they would cut open his stomach and cut out his liver while he was still alive.
Baek Yuri hurriedly defended himself.
"I'm not. I have no memories of my past life. I'm not the type of person to steal or do anything like that. I've never done anything that's legally or morally wrong. I don't even want to do it."
"..."
"If you look closely at my face, it looks more like something else than a rabbit... People say that if you look closely, it's not a rabbit, but a swan."
"..."
"And I look healthy on the outside, but I've actually caught a summer cold and had a lot of minor illnesses."
After talking for a while, Baek Yuri bit his lips and glared at the sea priestess, adding.
"And I have an identical twin. If I were the reincarnation of that rabbit and had the power of the elixir, wouldn't the power be split in half? Then my brother should have been healthy and alive."
After saying that, Baek Yuri thought that it would have been better if he had been that rabbit. If he had, wouldn't Baek Namoo still be alive today?
'If we were the reincarnation of rabbits.... and Baek Namoo was healthy without leukemia. Then Baek Namoo would have cherished his life a little more.'
Rather than suffering from illness and dying, would he have risked his life by jumping into the street to save others?
Even if you take a little bit of your liver, you won't die. You'll probably experience some side effects, but with the help of modern medicine, you'll be able to recover safely.
Liver transplant donors remove 60-70% of their liver and leave only 30%, but in a week, it doubles, and in 4 months, it regenerates to over 80%.
Baek Yuri would gladly give up 70% of his liver if he could save his brother.
If 70% of his own liver is not enough, why don't they take about 30% of Baek Namoo's liver and combine it into one, and then work hard to recover and live happily together?
Baek Namoo, 12 years old, said.
—Baek Yuri. I'm going to go up on every stage in the world someday. I'm going to tour the world and hold concerts all year long.
—Holding concerts for a year...? That must be incredibly hard.
—Why is it hard? It's thrilling just thinking about it. Imagine the whole world going crazy over you.
—I think I'd be a little scared.
—Huh? What's scary?
—So many people are all looking at me. Of course I'd be scared. Um, but... I'm curious. What would it feel like to have so many people love me and come see my performances?
—Then let's go together. If we stand on stage together, everyone will only look at me, so you won't be scared at all.
However, the boy's dream was quickly shattered. The acute myeloid leukemia that he had when he was 14 seemed to have disappeared after a two-year battle, but it relapsed when he was 17. Baek Namoo died in an accident at the age of 17, just before a bone marrow transplant.
'If Baek Namoo were alive.'
He would have flown higher than anyone else and dominated all stages.
Since he was young, Baek Namoo seemed like someone born to be an idol.
Baek Yuri could only do things that he had to do with all his might, but Baek Namoo enjoyed it and did it easily. No, he showed a higher level.
Baek Yuri envied and hated his twin brother, but he was secretly proud of him.
Baek Yuri's eyes grew hot.
"If I were a real reincarnated rabbit, I would schedule a surgery right away and cut out my liver. But I really can't."
He stared straight at the Sea Priestess, Won Hashin, Dongdong, and Neoul in that order, and insisted that there was not a single lie in what he said.
Neoul, who had been listening to the story, blocked the Sea Priestess.
"Now, let go of Sir Baek Yuri. Sir Baek Yuri is not a rabbit."
"Well, is that really so? How would the prince know that?"
"Sir Baek Yuri brought me a rabbit liver. If Sir Baek Yuri was a rabbit, how could he have so easily given me the organs of his own kind?"
The sea priestess raised one eyebrow. She thought he would naively believe Baek Yuri's words since he looked so kind.
A pretty reasonable reason came out.
"What if he still haven't recovered his memories from his past life?"
"I'll watch over that."
"Okay, do whatever you want."
Your father is sick, right? Am I sick?
The sea priestess turned to Won Hashin and gestured with her chin to the scissors.
There was no particular reason why she had Won Hashin do it even though Neoul was closer. She was worried that Neoul, who was not yet accustomed to using human tools, might cut off Baek Yuri's fingers.
Won Hashin approached Baek Yuri with a sorry expression, holding the scissors, and tried to cut the tape.
"Huh? You…!"
However, Baek Yuri had already untied himself. While they were talking, he had secretly removed the tape wrapped around his wrist.
"How…?"
Baek Yuri smiled awkwardly and got up from his chair. Since it was summer and he was wearing short sleeves, the skin on his wrists was chapped and stinging.
"My father was a police officer. I learned it when I was young."
Baek Yuri shrugged and walked away from them. He spoke in a clear voice, so that he could run down the stairs at any time.
"I won't report today's work. But I hope you won't do this again next time."
Baek Yuri's words were spoken, and the sea priestess smiled in admiration. Then she spoke to Neoul.
"The Dragon King has been sealed for now."
"Sealed?"
"Yes, that means we've bought more time. It won't be easy to find the reincarnated rabbit. About... five years? More than that is impossible for me."
Neoul's eyes widened in surprise, and the sea priestess gestured for him to leave.
"That's all I can tell you. I've told you everything I know. It's your father's business, so from now on, you take care of it."
"But..."
"I don't really care whether the Dragon King dies or not. Your younger brother is still young and weak, so once that old man passes away, I can put the Dragon Palace in my hands. Why would I bother to do that?"
She always added things that she didn't need to.
Uselessly.
But Neoul knew that she had no interest in the Dragon Palace.
"I'm really grateful for your help up to this point."
"I won't be able to contact you for a while. If you need anything, just tell whoever you want here."
"Yes."
Neoul bowed and nodded to Baek Yuri before going downstairs.
The sea priestess turned to Dongdong.
"Baby octopus, you too, go. You should follow the prince. You belong to the dragon palace, right?"
"Sea priestess nim! Are you aiming for the dragon palace?"
Dongdong gnashed her teeth and glared at the sea priestess fiercely.
"Huh. Well."
"Don't even dream! Even if the Dragon King passes away, I, the guards, and all the soldiers will protect the princes and the dragon palace until the end!"
Hmmph!
Dongdong grumbled and disappeared.
***
As the sound of footsteps running down the stairs grew distant,
"It's fortunate that the children are strong."
The sea priestess muttered and lost her balance and fell down.
"Sea priestess!?"
Won Hashin was startled and grabbed the sea priestess.
"Sea priestess! Why are you doing this! Are you sick?"
"It's so annoying, so be quiet. Let's go outside. I'm going to my house. Don't make a fuss."
Won Ha-shin supported her and headed to the garage. He put the swaying sea priestess in the back seat and drove to Incheon. The sea priestess didn't say anything as she was asleep on the way to her house in Eulwang-ri.
"We've arrived, Priestess nim."
Won Hashin opened the back seat door after parking and woke her up.
Sea Priestess got up with a jerk and took off the white hood that was covering half of her face. Her complexion was not good.
"Haha, was 5 years too long...? I should have made it 1 or 2 years. How foolish."
Won Hashin realized.
She had been sealing the Dragon King so that he wouldn't die for 5 years, but she had neglected her own body and had acted fine in front of the children.
Won Hashin couldn't say anything and just supported her politely.
Sea Priestess, who went into the house and lay down in the bedroom, looked at the ceiling and groaned.
"Oh. I think the god is a little angry with me."
"Huh?"
"I've told them too much. A priestess should keep her mouth shut."
But I'm a bit self-centered.
The truth about the rabbit that the sea god told her alone. She committed a sin by carelessly revealing it. It felt like the angry god's scolding was coming from the distant sea.
Won Hashin, who was standing next to her, frowned and lightly placed the back of his hand on her forehead. Her fever was boiling.
'She can't go to the hospital because she's not human. What should I do?'
Grandfather was going to scold him. He will ask what is he doing instead of helping the priestess properly.
He was in a bad mood, but the sea priestess was laughing as if she was having fun despite her pain.
'Has this witch gone crazy?'
Won Hashin asked him as if he was angry for some reason.
"Why are you doing this?"
What did she say to Gal Neoul?
She said that it had nothing to do with her, like the Dragon King, and he couldn't understand why she was suffering from a fever for the sake of a child.
"Well.... My love?"
The sea priestess closed her eyes with a meaningless laugh.
"I can endure my body hurting a hundred times, but it's hard to endure my child's heart hurting even once."
"You're not really their grandmother, are you?"
The sea priestess obediently agreed.
"Sure~ the prince's blood relatives died a long time ago."
"Die...die?"
"Yeah. Why would Neoul-i grow up in the Dragon Palace? Since all the mermaids died and there was no one to take care of him, the Dragon King took him in."
"...."
"Be nice. Humans like that kind of thing. When they have them, they slaughter them as they please, but when their population drops drastically, they say they are an endangered species and need to be protected, and only then do they spare them. Well... it seems like those who kill and exhibit them are different from those who cherish them..."
"...."
"Neoul-i is the last mermaid left in the world. So we have to protect and cherish him."
Won Ha-shin was speechless and kept his mouth shut.
"I'm going to sleep, so go now. I'll have to sleep for quite some time to recover my strength."
The sea priestess also gave a farewell order and closed her eyes, saying nothing more.
Won Ha-shin noticed the salty smell on the sea priestess' white butterfly-like clothes. She must have come here right after performing a ritual at the Dragon Palace and not had time to change her clothes.
There was also seaweed hanging on the socks sticking out from under her skirt.
Won Ha-shin carefully removed the seaweed, took off the socks, and placed them next to her. Then he soaked a towel, squeezed it, placed it on her forehead, and covered her with a blanket before leaving the room.
"Should I call Grandpa?"
If the priestess was sick, he would definitely call a doctor, a veterinarian, or a marine animal expert. Of course, they would have to sign a confidentiality agreement.
But it seemed like the woman would not like to call in a bunch of doctors and make a fuss. God was angry, and it didn't seem like they could solve it.
Won Ha-shin sighed and left her house and came up to Seoul.
—