51. Two Rabbits
Baek Yuri went down the long hallway first and headed to the living room, while Neoul and Dongdong were left down the stairs.
"Prince, is there a need to make a promise like that, like giving the highest award?"
Dongdong, who had been listening silently from behind, said.
"Just catch all the healthy rabbit merchants and torture them to make them confess."
"Yes…?!"
Neoul's eyes widened.
What kind of scary thing is that?
"Officer Dongdong. How can you say such cruel words......."
"Think of one thing. What could be easier and more efficient than this?"
Neoul frowned at Dongdong's nonchalant words. Then he called her in a calm voice.
"Officer."
"Yes, Prince."
"Torture is not right, and interrogation is only done to criminals. But what sin did the rabbit-faced humans commit? They were just born with a striking resemblance to rabbits."
"But rabbits...... !"
"The reincarnated rabbit is a thief who stole the mountain god's elixir, but the mountain god is the one who has the authority to punish him, not us."
"...."
"So torture or interrogation is not appropriate. Also, if you do that, they might be forced to confess lies because they can't stand the pain. If everyone confesses to being a rabbit, it will only make things more confusing."
Neoul firmly stated that it was not possible.
Dongdong, who had been listening silently, lowered her head and bowed her waist. Her hair, which was tied up tightly and gathered into a bundle, fell forward along with her lowered head and slapped Neoul's face.
"Ah! My thoughts were short-sighted! I didn't know the will of the wise king! I'm so embarrassed that I don't know where to put myself, aah~!"
"..."
"..."
On purpose... is that so?
Judging from the way she was talking to the person Won Hashin, she seemed a bit angry. 'Yeah, you're great. Huh. Eat my hair.' Is that what she meant?
Neoul took a step back, no, two steps, in embarrassment, and said.
"Raise your head. Officer Dongdong."
He had already avoided getting hit by her hair again, but this time Dongdong raised her head very slowly.
But her expression was very crooked. Her sharp eyes were extremely arrogant.
"Your face looks full of complaints."
"It's just your imagination? It's nothing~"
"With your eyes open like that...?"
It's not nothing, is it? It looks really weird right now?
"What is it that you don't like? Tell me."
When Neoul tried to stop her, Dongdong stood with her arms crossed at her sides and expressed her dissatisfaction.
"Why should we debate right and wrong? In a situation where the Dragon King might pass away, we must fight for the rabbit's liver by any means necessary!"
"..."
"If everyone confesses that they are rabbits, can't we give all their livers to the Dragon King? If he eat a thousand livers, one of them will be a rabbit liver!"
Oh......…. A genius?
Instead of having to search for rabbits, just give all the rabbits and human livers.
It was a method that Neoul had never thought of.
But Neoul shook his head as he imagined the image of a line of rabbit-shaped people, each one tied up with rope, being dragged into the sea.
He was captivated by the sight of the humans, each emitting their own light, and stayed on land. He promised himself that he would follow the path to the end to see what would be at the end.
If it is my destiny to extinguish their light.
"That can't be."
I'd rather go against it.
I will definitely find another way.
Noul spoke clearly.
"I don't think that the only right answer is the rough way. I will find the rabbit in my own way, persuade it, and save Abamama. Didn't Sir Baek Yuri say he would help me? I can do it."
"However...!" [*Joseon way of speaking]
Dongdong looked unconvinced.
Her eyes were filled with resentment as to how he could possibly save the Dragon King and the future of the Dragon Palace with such a weak heart.
Instead of scolding Dongdong for her rudeness, Neoul spoke to her gently.
"Trust me. Officer Dongdong."
"...."
"How can I not know the loyalty of the Officer toward Abamama? However, my filial piety toward Abamama is also second to none. I will definitely cure Abamama's illness."
"..."
"I understand that you are impatient. However, there is a saying that the more impatient you are, the more you have to turn back. Please think of it as choosing the safest path with the least amount of trouble, rather than taking the fast path and going slowly."
These were carefully chosen words.
Because he did not want to harm humans, and he also wanted to save Abamama.
The Grim Reaper Baek Namoo said that this was 'catching two rabbits.'
—Hey, Mermaid Prince. Listen. There's a saying that goes, "If you try to catch two rabbits, you'll miss them both." It's like you're missing out on all the expressions and actions right now.
—But I can't accept that. I don't understand it. Why do humans have two hands? They're supposed to catch two. And try using tools! What's two? You can catch ten!
—Huh? What does that mean? Since you're my disciple, you have to catch ten rabbits! Do you understand?!
—Ahem. For a moment, I remember the special training that felt like hell....
Anyway, Dongdong's sharp eyes softened as if she sensed his sincerity.
"...Even if you say that, I can't completely believe you."
Dongdong thought that Neoul felt pity for humans and acted softly.
She didn't understand why he felt pity. They are bad people who often pollute the sea and sweep away her favorite prey with their nets.
"However...."
But there was an inexplicable power in his calm, gentle voice and his black eyes filled with firm determination.
He made her believe that he would not make false promises. And that he might actually be able to do what he said.
In the end, Dongdong gave up both hands and feet.
"You must have a better plan than me, who only used poison and swung a spear. You are much better at dictation than me.... Good! I will follow your will, Prince. Whenever you need my power, just give me the order."
"Thank you."
Neoul expressed his gratitude.
It was impossible to be completely silent while searching for the rabbit, so he needed a contact with the Dragon Palace. Officer Dongdong's cooperation would be useful.
It was fortunate that she was persuaded.
"I'll go to the living room now. Officer Dongdong, you should go back to your room for now. After the guests leave tomorrow, it would be good to talk to CEO Won Hashin."
Neoul passed Dongdong, who was going into the room, and returned to the living room through the hallway.
[Gal Neoul: I prepared a baby octopus.]
At that moment, the TV was showing a ratings scene.
[Look at me! I'm a baby octopus! (Octopus!)
In the shallow mud of the sea
A cute baby octopus! (Octopus!)]
"Pfftt!"
"Euhahahaha! Raccoon hyung-nim! Ahahahaha!"
"Phewhahaha! You really look like an octopus! You're good!"
"It's still funny even when I watch it again! Ugh!"
They are groaning, hitting the floor, hitting the sofa, clutching their stomach, and making gurgling sounds while eating. It was chaos.
"..."
Neoul is doing his best to dance the octopus on screen.
He was speechless when he first saw himself dancing. There were even subtitles in bold, cute letters saying things like 'Kkomul Kkomul' and 'Hoit! Hoit!' all over the place.
'I don't think it felt like this back then...... ?'
The sight of him waving his arms cutely was incredibly shocking. It gave him goosebumps.
"Huh? The baby octopus is here?"
"Octopus, octopus~!"
The people who laughed and cried joined together to make fun of him.
Baek Yuri, who had returned a little earlier, was hanging out with an expression on his face as if nothing had happened. A little while later, a text message arrived on Neoul's smartphone.
[When the kids asked me where I had been, I said I had met Neoul's aunt by chance and just went to say hello. Please be seated.]
After replying that he understood, he sat down on the sofa and turned on his smartphone, completely ignoring the TV screen.
Ha On-ha poked the octopus and muttered, "Hey, octopus! Did you want to go to the deep sea?"
"Go away, Ha On-ha. I'm busy."
Then, this time, Woo Cheong stood up with a bang and followed the octopus dance so that it could be seen well by the camera. The dance line was so beautiful that it made you wonder if it was the same dance.
Noul danced the octopus dance perfectly enough to be a little embarrassed, but after seeing Woocheong's dance, she felt doubtful.
'It wasn't that kind of dance, was it?'
Neoul's thoughts were right. Woo Cheong upgraded the choreography and created his own octopus dance. Woo Cheong, who was dancing while laughing, took a fancy finishing pose and looked back at Neoul.
"Hyung-nim, hyung-nim! Now that you're done with being a raccoon hyung-nim, should I call you Octopus hyung-nim?"
"Your speech is weird. Just speak politely or informally, just one thing."
Neoul nitpicked Woo Cheong's speech.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Baek Gi-yeom, who had never said anything funny, but couldn't hold back his laughter while watching Neoul's grade evaluation, clapped his hands even louder and laughed.
"I'm going to sing you a song hahahahahahaha! Just one thing! Ahahaha!"
The laughter barrier was very low. Everyone was happy because Baek Gi-yeom's laughter was contagious.
Why are they like that?
Neoul laughed in disbelief and told Woo Cheong to call him whatever he wanted. Then he stared at his smartphone again. He searched [Rabbit like] on the Internet using the eagle typing method.
A lot of celebrities famous for their rabbit like appearances came up.
'Wow....... How can there be so many rabbits in the world?'
Anyway, Baek Yu-ri is just one of the rabbit candidates. Since it wasn't certain, he had to search in advance.
Most of them had fair and bright skin, bright eyes, and their overall impression was soft and round rather than sharp. Sometimes, there were people whose front teeth stood out cutely, making them look even more like rabbits.
There were people with innocent impressions similar to Baek Yuri, and there were people who looked more lively.
Neoul thought of the conditions of the reincarnated rabbit that the sea priestess told him.
An outstanding appearance of a rabbit.
Clean and strong skin and a sturdy body.
First of all, all the rabbit-like celebrities that came up when you searched the Internet had outstanding appearances and clean skin. It was impossible to tell their health from just pictures.
'Is there any way to naturally meet them and secretly find out if they're rabbits or not...? ........'
He needed a way to find out their identity without arousing suspicion.
***
After the reaction filming was over, the humans cleaned up the trash from the delivery food and went into the guest room.
Neoul went back up to the second floor alone, and when the sea priestess and Won Hashin were gone, he came back down. Then he just opened the front door and encountered Won Hashin who came in.
"Where have you been?"
"I brought the priestess home."
Neoul grabbed Won Hashin and showed the search screen on his smartphone and asked.
"How do I meet these rabbit-shaped celebrities?"
"Hmm? Ah."
Won Ha-shin answered, knowing that it was an extension of the conversation they had on the second floor earlier.
"If you want to meet famous celebrities, you have to become famous too. You have to debut first."
"Can I meet them after I debut?"
"Sure. There's a way if you become a company employee, but since your face is already sold out, that'll be difficult."
"Then what should I do......."
"First, debut first, and then go on music shows, film variety shows, and do various activities, so your paths will overlap, so you'll naturally meet each other?"
Paths overlap... That's right.
Neoul thought about the fact that most rabbit-shaped celebrities' jobs were idols or actors. People who do the same job are bound to meet each other somehow.
"I could make a few people meet, but that wouldn't be natural. It wouldn't be natural to openly say, 'Are you a rabbit?' And you can't ask. It would be suspicious to anyone."
"That's true."
"Yeah, then the rabbit might notice and run away. If that's okay, I'll make room."
"No."
Neoul said thank you for telling him and went into the room.
'In order to meet other rabbit candidates, I have to debut first. In order to see if Baek Yuri can remember being a rabbit before he turns 25, it would be advantageous to debut in the same group as Baek Yuri.'
Realizing what he had to do, it was a great stroke of luck that he happened to get involved in
He left the rabbit liver delivery to the sea priestess and didn't stop and continued filming.
Suddenly, Neoul thought of himself dancing and singing
Neoul was pretty shameless in everything, but that scene was embarrassing enough to be seen twice. He didn't know it at the time, but when he saw it through the screen as if he was watching it with a third party's eyes, it was a little... a little.
If the viewers saw all of that....
'Wouldn't I be unable to debut?'
For the first time, a sense of foreboding came over him.
—