The Sea Witch, Part 2
Neoul clutched his bag to his chest and confessed, “I do not know how to read or write.”
“Huh? I thought you were Korean. Are you a foreigner?”
That was when the sound of murmuring drifted down the hallway. A knock came at the door, and then it opened, followed by the sharp click of dress shoes and the rumble of a rolling suitcase.
“You’re not supposed to bring outsiders in here. How did you get in?”
“Hello.”
A beautiful voice rang out. Neoul spotted the Sea Witch and his eyes went wide.
How was the Sea Witch here?
And where had her eight arms gone? Seeing the Sea Witch in the shape of a perfect human from head to toe was astonishing; the only thing unchanged, as always, was her ageless face.
“I came because Neoul had disappeared, and his location showed up here.”
“Oh my, are you Neoul’s guardian?”
“Yes.”
“I’m terribly sorry. We didn’t check properly...! But if I may ask, what exactly is your relationship to Neoul?”
Curious eyes turned toward the Sea Witch. Too young to be his mother, and too old to be his sister?
From her languid gaze and sharply defined features came an aura that defied explanation. If one looked at her too long, it felt as though one might be bewitched.
Her seductive red lips curved.
“I’m his aunt.”
Neoul stared at her with a look of utter disbelief.
Aunt? Auuuunt?
Did that two-thousand-year-old hag have any conscience at all?
Whether the Sea Witch had wrapped her conscience in a net and thrown it into the sea or dumped it on a mountain somewhere was beside the point. Neoul’s eyebrows drooped into a deep arc. Just as he sprang up, ready to protest,
Shh.
The Sea Witch raised one finger to her lips and smiled.
“Oh, you’re his aunt! Nice to meet you!”
Director Seok greeted the Sea Witch with excessive warmth and went straight to the point. He briefly explained that during filming he had mistaken Neoul for a trainee and brought him in, and that he had since offered Neoul a casting opportunity.
“Neoul was just accepting, and we were in the middle of filling out the application.”
“Might I help a little? Neoul was sick a great deal as a child, so he couldn’t receive a compulsory education. He’s a bit clumsy with reading and writing.”
“Oh dear, is that so? Is he all right now?”
“He had heaven on his side.”
“What a relief.”
“Though the program proposal and Neoul’s decision were both rather sudden, so I think it’s something we should think through carefully. May we speak for a moment?”
“Ah, yes. Of course. We’ll give you some privacy.”
The staff stepped away obediently, though with mildly worried expressions, as if afraid she might oppose Neoul’s appearance on the show.
Click. After the door closed and the people moved a little farther away,
the Sea Witch sat down across from Neoul, folded her arms, and crossed her legs.
“Now then. Speak, Your Highness.”
“Sea Witch! Father has collapsed...!”
Neoul began at once, his face crumpling in distress.
“I heard that if he eats the liver of a rabbit that lives on land, his illness will be cured....”
“So you came all this way with no fear in your heart? And rummaged through my cave from end to end?”
“Yes....”
“You’re impossible.”
The Sea Witch pressed a hand to her forehead.
“When I saw the future and found you tearing through my cave muttering, ‘legs, legs,’ I wondered what on earth you were up to. I never imagined you were trying to catch the rabbit yourself to feed it to the Dragon King.”
He did not know fear of the world! Hm? Where did he think he was climbing?
When she shot him a sidelong glance and seemed ready to scold him, Neoul pouted, his lips jutting out in a sulky line.
“But I have found the rabbit, so now I only need its liver. If we succeed in debuting together, he said he would give it to me.”
At Neoul’s words, the Sea Witch let out a snort and narrowed her eyes. Watching him with an unreadable expression, she finally looked away and asked,
“Are you confident? Can you fill out the application?”
The Sea Witch took a wallet from her small bag and pulled out her own driver’s license.
[Jo Geum-yeong]
The Class 1 ordinary driver’s license listed the Sea Witch’s current name, her address, a forged resident registration number, and other details. Of course, Neoul had no idea what any of it meant even if he saw it.
“On land, you need identification. You don’t have any, do you? Then you can’t debut, and you can’t do anything.”
“Identification...? Can’t do anything...? Why...?”
Neoul stared blankly at the license. The Sea Witch’s ageless face was printed on the small card.
This little thing proves who you are? But why must one prove it?
As a prince, Neoul had never needed to prove himself in his entire life. Wherever he went in Dragon Palace, someone recognized him first and bowed their head.
“Sea Witch, where does one get something like this? Where can it be found?”
As Neoul’s expression darkened further and further, the Sea Witch giggled and pulled out another card from her wallet.
“Here you go. Your identification.”
“...!”
It was a warm, freshly issued resident registration card with Neoul’s photograph on it.
[Gal Neoul]
There was a strange surname written before his name. Of course, Neoul could not read it, so the Sea Witch read it aloud for him.
“Your name is Gal Neoul now.”
“Gal Neoul? I’m just Neoul.”
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
“Is the name of this land Rome?”
“No, Jeju Island. Korea.”
“...?”
The Sea Witch dragged a tablet PC toward herself and quickly began filling out the application.
“Listen carefully and memorize this, Your Highness. Name: Gal Neoul. Age: twenty. Nationality: Korean. Place of residence: Jeju Island. Date of birth: September 15, 20XX. No schooling, no work history. Say you’ve been sick since you were little and mostly stayed home. Even recently. Then say you recovered like a miracle.”
“Why?”
“Because if you want to debut as an idol, you have to pretend to be human. Humans need clear identification. And talking around saying you’re a prince is fine since nobody would believe you anyway, but do not let them see your tail. It’ll be chaos.”
“You won’t stop me?”
“And if I do, will you listen? Will you go back to the sea even now?”
“No. I’m not leaving until I get the liver from Teacher Rabbit.”
At that stubborn answer, the Sea Witch shook her head.
Neoul took the resident registration card she had given him and stared at it with worried eyes.
“But... what if it’s too late? The physician said he might last two and a half years at most, or one year at the least, but what if his condition worsens faster than expected?”
“Really? If that’s what you’re worried about, then steal it.”
The Sea Witch narrowed her eyes and whispered,
“Did you ask whether the rabbit is keeping the liver in its belly right now, or whether it’s hidden it somewhere else?”
Neoul shook his head. He had not even considered the possibility of stealing it or taking it by force!
The Sea Witch softened the shape of her eyes and offered advice.
“If the opportunity comes, you might as well slit open its stomach.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Neoul had his bag taken from him by the Sea Witch.
The Sea Witch confiscated every last language pill he had carried off with him, including the ones for dog language and cat language.
“Honestly, you little brat.”
Then she took out the plush dolls of Sangsangi and Byeoldtongi from the bag, grabbed their tails in one hand, and smacked their bodies with brisk little pats.
“Sea Witch!”
Neoul had already been planning to show the sharks to her, so he was shocked when the one he trusted began swinging her hand so sharply.
He grabbed the Sea Witch’s arm and rushed to shield the little ones, asking why she was hitting them. But then the sharks, which had not moved at all since becoming dolls, began to flick their tails back and forth.
“Sangsangi! Byeoldtongi!”
Neoul hurriedly gathered the sharks into his arms. They rubbed their heads against him and acted spoiled.
“I was only trying to save your little beasts because they were already half-dead. To keep them alive.”
“Keep them...?”
“Yes. If I’d been even a little later, they would’ve died.”
The Sea Witch made a crooked face and drew a thumb across her throat in demonstration.
Neoul’s eyes trembled.
“Thank you, Sea Witch.”
He gently stroked the sharks turned into dolls. He felt sorry that he had not realized he might have lost them like this forever.
The Sea Witch quietly watched Neoul, whose face had gone dark, and warned him,
“Four days from now. That night, you must return them to the sea. Before midnight. By then, the potion will have worn off, and they’ll go back to normal.”
Neoul nodded.
“Yes. It would be certain if I took them back and handled it myself, but they’d probably feel better staying by your side.”
With a shrug, the Sea Witch handed Neoul the suitcase she had brought with her instead of the bag she had taken away. It was a well-packed bag containing several decent changes of clothes, underwear, pajamas, towels and toiletries, an activated smartphone, a charger, and sneakers.
She opened the suitcase and explained how to use the items in a quick, concise manner. Neoul’s eyes widened.
“What is all this? Did you prepare it in advance?”
“Just in case.”
After closing the suitcase and handing it over again, the Sea Witch rose to her feet. Neoul, holding the sharks in his arms and gripping the suitcase handle, watched her.
“Where are you going, Sea Witch?”
“I’m planning to stay on this island for a while. Might as well do some sightseeing around Jeju Island, too?”
“....”
“Do well, Your Highness. Do not take off the necklace even when you sleep, and wear it at all times. Drink plenty of water. Don’t forget on the night four days from now. Okay?”
Having finished what she came to do, she vanished just as suddenly as she had appeared.
“Oh my, goodbye, Aunt!”
From the far end of the hallway, the main writer’s voice called after the Sea Witch. A moment later the door opened, and the writer came in with a rustle. The sharks, who had been wriggling around, immediately went still at the sight of another person.
“Did you two have a good talk, Neoul? Have some gimbap. Everyone else is already eating.”
The main writer handed him the gimbap roll and water she had set aside in a bag, then noticed the dolls tucked in Neoul’s arms.
“Oh my. What are those dolls? A shark? Is one of them a whale shark? They’re cute.”
“They are my friends.”
At Neoul’s voice, Sangsangi wriggled in apparent delight. The main writer rubbed her eyes, wondering if she had just seen the doll move.
When she looked again, the doll was as still as ever, as if it had never moved at all. Thinking she must have imagined it, she let it go and checked Neoul’s application.
“Hmm. So your family name is Gal?”
Hungry, Neoul set the dolls on his knees. Then he took the gimbap wrapped in paper and shoved the whole thing straight into his mouth.
Witnessing that, the writer was horrified and snatched the gimbap away.
“Why are you eating the wrapper?! You’re supposed to unwrap it first! Is this your first time eating gimbap?”
“Ah... yes. It is.”
Denied food right in front of him, Neoul looked dejected.
“Huh? Seriously, your first time?”
When Neoul nodded, the writer’s expression turned soft with pity.
He said he’d been sick... did he only eat porridge?
If he had been too sick to receive a compulsory education and even homeschooling had not gone properly, how sick had he actually been?
She brought over another gimbap roll and unwrapped it for him herself.
“Eat a lot. A lot.”
Normally, seeing someone try to eat the paper wrapper would have made her think, Is this person insane? But with that carved, almost unreal face, all she felt was tenderness.
“Thank you.”
Neoul’s eyes brightened and he ate the gimbap with his hands. As he stuffed his mouth full and chewed, surprise spread through his gaze.
They even gave him chopsticks, so why isn’t he using them...? Still, he eats in such a satisfying way.
The main writer got so absorbed in Neoul’s eating that she forgot to keep checking the application. Only after he had polished off two rolls of gimbap in no time flat did she manage to look away.
Aha! I should have filmed that!
No, wait... it’s not even a broadcast scene. What would we have used that for?
With some regret, she finished reviewing the application and then spoke again with Director Seok and the staff. The fifteen additional participants who had been selected were also called one by one to fill out their applications.
Everything was going smoothly. The only thing left to worry about was how to tell Baek Yuri that the mission had failed.