A Mermaid’s Bloodline (2)
Neoul could not quite grasp which part of that conversation had dealt a fatal blow to Myeong I-dam’s cracked vessel, or why Myeong I-dam had become angry and sunk into despair.
Still, Neoul answered him with logic.
“Why is it uncool?”
“……”
“You said you even served as Chief Royal Secretary. Do you think that is a position just anyone can hold?”
It was an exalted post, after all.
Do-seungji, the venerable leatherback turtle, had said it had taken a very long time and an enormous amount of effort for him to rise to that office.
How much stress must he have endured for his shell to become so smooth and polished? And perhaps that stress had seeped into his bloodline, too, because his son, Gyeomsa-bokjang, had a head and carapace that shone just as brightly.
As Neoul stared in disbelief, Myeong I-dam blinked as if he had never really considered that angle.
“Uh... well...”
“And what is the difference between mermaid blood and human blood? Do you think human blood is blue or something? It would still be red, smelling just as fishy. I cannot fathom how that somehow becomes a matter of being uncool.”
Myeong I-dam’s expression twisted. After a brief, awkward pause, he said, “...It’s not special.”
“......?”
“I thought I was... special. But I’m not particularly outstanding at anything, nothing about me stands out, I didn’t even make the debut line, and all I’ve done is churn out trash songs and end up making a copy of Wildweed...”
What was he going on about, fifth place?
Neoul looked at Myeong I-dam, dumbfounded. If the trainees who had been eliminated while crying heard this, they would probably curse him for saying such a spoiled thing.
And the fans who had supported Myeong I-dam and voted for him diligently would be just as incredulous. If he were not talented, could he have climbed all the way to fifth place?
Even though he had already reached a very high ranking and was securely within debut range, Myeong I-dam still seemed to be suffering. Rather than holding onto the good results he had achieved himself, he appeared to let other people’s negative feedback settle deeper in his mind.
Had hearing those remarks earlier hit him that hard?
“But if I say I’m not even a descendant of a mermaid... then it really does feel like I’m ordinary.”
So he seemed to be obsessed with being special. And perhaps trapped in some strange misunderstanding.
Neoul asked, sounding unconvinced, “Then would you rather become an endangered species or something?”
“Uh...?”
“Who, exactly, defines this thing called special? If being a mermaid’s descendant is what makes someone special, then by that same logic, if humans all died out and mermaids ruled the land, would human descendants become the special ones from then on?”
“......”
“Singularity and specialness are not the same thing. And no matter how many humans or mermaids there are in this world, I would still be the only me in existence.”
Myeong I-dam, who had listened in silence, let out a dry laugh. Then he gripped the brim of his green baseball cap and pulled it low over his eyes.
“Ha. Don’t tell me... you’re going to say that I’m already special just by existing. Unique. Some stupid thing like that?”
A twisted smile was faintly visible beneath the brim of the cap.
“That kind of thing doesn’t exist. The more scarce something is, the more valuable it becomes. That’s just a long-standing fact. There are plenty of people in this field who are as good as me, or better, so someone like me can be replaced at any time. I’ll be forgotten in no time and disappear. The reality is that if you’re not special, you can’t survive.”
“......”
“So someone like you is really... uncomfortable to be around.”
“......”
“You seem so accomplished and extraordinary that you probably never once felt inferior. Unlike me.”
Myeong I-dam spoke in a subdued voice, then walked ahead of Neoul and left him behind.
* * *
When they returned to the filming set, a random play dance was being prepared. The first team, which had just won the quiz, had succeeded in keeping the number one song without changing tracks, so this round was not a game where a song itself was at stake. Instead, something else had been put up as the prize.
Jeong Ondo added an explanation in a bright voice.
“All right! The team that keeps the most members standing will win a wonderful prize! And that prize is... a dessert set for reverse tribute, five kinds!”
“Waaah?”
“The dessert reverse tribute set means that on the day of the third round performance, we’ll be able to hand out gifts to the fans who came to watch! Each team member will receive fifty sets of five different desserts to share with the fans!”
“Waaah!”
The reaction was explosive. Before the music even started, the contestants were warming up, stretching, and stoking their competitive fire.
Neoul asked Baek Yuri, “What is reverse tribute?”
“It means the opposite of tribute,” Baek Yuri said.
“Tribute?”
“When fans prepare gifts for us, we call that tribute. So when idols give gifts to their fans, we call it reverse tribute.”
Ah. So it was something like an offering or a bestowed gift.
Neoul stretched along with the others to loosen his body. Other contestants’ fans would receive dessert sets, but his own fan would get nothing?
I cannot stand for that. Certainly not.
Neoul solemnly rolled his ankles and arms. After the contestants widened the spacing between themselves and took their positions so no one would collide while dancing, the music began.
He failed spectacularly on the very first song.
I do not know this song...!
Of course, he did not know the dance either. The only songs Neoul knew were the ones that had appeared in the survival rounds, and every one of them had been excluded in favor of something new. Even if he had known the song, without any practice he would have botched everything from the start.
Neoul resolved that once he got his smartphone back, he would ask Won Hasin about his sister, then study idol songs and choreography diligently on MTube and practice them thoroughly.
Seated among the eliminated contestants, Neoul watched his teammates dance with intense concentration.
Woo Cheong flew about like a kingfisher, while Ha On-ha and Baek Yuri were doing well without missing a step. Logan struggled on with teeth clenched until he finally got eliminated and came to sit beside Neoul.
“I burn it up.”
Myeong I-dam was still alive in the game, sweating as he danced.
You seem so accomplished and extraordinary that you probably never once felt inferior. Unlike me.
Inferiority.
Neoul knew nothing of the land, nothing of human dancing or singing, nothing of their culture, spelling, or any other human matter. He was learning diligently, but he still lacked common sense and was missing a great deal.
So if anything, Myeong I-dam had the advantage over him, not the other way around.
The lesser student was Neoul. But Neoul found that amusing. Every time he learned something new, it felt strange and delightful and exciting.
He liked receiving the fans’ cheers and liked reading the comments. Everyone praised him and said he was good, and that made him even more eager to try harder...
Just then, Myeong I-dam misstepped and was eliminated. He ran a hand through his hair, then sank down onto the floor.
He let out a deep sigh, came over to the corner where the eliminated contestants sat, and took a seat. Then he quickly set his expression and looked toward the remaining contestants still dancing.
Neoul remembered how Myeong I-dam had once shot back at the people who insulted him in the restroom with bitter self-mockery. It seemed he had been hearing cruel things from this human named Wildweed over and over again.
Wow, this is really uncool. Me.
If a person keeps getting negative feedback, it is only natural for their thoughts to grow negative as well.
Hmm...
Neoul thought of the blue-ringed octopus, who had looked at Myeong I-dam with sparkling eyes while praising him.
- I-dam’s singing and dancing are truly...! Beautiful beyond words! Your Highness saw I-dam’s stage in person, did you not? I am so envious! If I could see I-dam’s singing and dancing with my own eyes just once, I would have no regrets when I die!
- Dongdong Gyeomsa-bokjang. Look at this. I did rather well, did I not?
- Ah! How can a human be so cute and cool and yet talented too? I hate humans, truly...! But I-dam is the sort of person who would not hurt even if one put him in one’s eye!
- Dongdong Gyeomsa-bokjang. Are you even listening to me?
- Oh, right! An autograph! Could Your Highness perhaps get an autograph from I-dam for me?
- ...I do not want to.
- W-why not...!
- Hmph.
So he was trying to use the beloved of his own lord as an autograph errand boy. He did not even listen to other people and was obnoxious to an unforgivable degree.
To that extent, Dongdong was completely enamored with Myeong I-dam.
And Dongdong was not the only one. Neoul had often seen comments praising Myeong I-dam on MTube as well. He had not gone looking for them on purpose; they simply surfaced whenever he monitored reactions to himself.
Neoul rose from his seat, went over to Myeong I-dam, and plopped down beside him. Then he recited the comments he remembered.
“Myeong I-dam is cute.”
“...What?”
“An absolute genius genius genius. Soft and moist frog.”
“W-what are you doing? Have you lost your mind?”
Myeong I-dam recoiled in horror and backed away from Neoul. He rubbed his arms as if disgusted by a chill and glared at Neoul with obvious contempt.
Whether Myeong I-dam looked down on him or not, Neoul continued reciting them with the serenity of someone reading from a primer.
“Your dance line is blessed. The way not to like Myeong I-dam, how do you do that? I was so happy I hit my forehead and my turtle neck got fixed. What can’t Myeong I-dam do?”
“Are you seriously insane? What is wrong with you? What are you even doing?”
“These are comments I saw on MTube.”
“Comments...?”
The flustered Myeong I-dam froze. And then Neoul began his second round.
“Sob, sob. I-dam, sir. How can your tone be so lovely and your dance line so beautiful? You must debut. I will support you. I vote every single day without fail. Please take the whole world. Sob, sob, sob.”
His voice was flat, but the content was anything but, and Myeong I-dam’s face twisted even further.
“This is what someone I know said while watching the broadcast and bursting into tears,” Neoul said.
“...Someone you know? A snowman?”
Myeong I-dam furrowed his brow as though he had just heard nonsense.
“No. Just an acquaintance.”
“So... you’re saying your acquaintance is my fan?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
Neoul nodded immediately.
“So please get me one autograph later.”
“And what’s this I-dam sir thing now? Does your acquaintance work at a folk village? Or are they a historical drama actor or something?”
“No.”
“Then why does everyone around you talk like that...?”
Myeong I-dam phrased it mildly, but his face clearly said, Why on earth are the people around you speaking as if they swallowed a period drama script?
Even while maintaining a wary expression, he seemed to be feeling something odd, because his reaction was not entirely negative.
“Not all of them do.”
Neoul thought of Won Hasin and the Sea Witch as he answered. Myeong I-dam kept his guard up, thinking for a moment with a faintly complicated expression, and then said, “An autograph... I’ll do it. Come get it later.”
“Yes.”
Having finished what he wanted to say, Neoul stood up with satisfaction and returned to his original seat. He had covered over a layer of accumulated negative feedback with positive feedback.
That would not restore Myeong I-dam’s confidence completely, but it should help a little.
In truth, Neoul had no particular reason to step in for Myeong I-dam. Still, Dongdong Gyeomsa-bokjang liked the contestant, and it was not especially difficult to say a few words. He had simply been a little meddlesome, if one counted it as the price of an autograph.
By then, the random play dance had claimed contestant after contestant. Yeo Do-bin, who had held on far longer than expected, was eventually eliminated too and came to sit beside Neoul. He must have been exhausted, because he panted for breath and even coughed.
“I, I wanted to, huff, stay to the end, but, huff, I messed up...”
“You did more than enough, Yeo Do-bin.”
Neoul handed him a bottle of water as Yeo Do-bin sweated like a downpour.
Soon, the winner was decided.
“Wooow! Our team, crazy men! You’re totally insane people.”
When Neoul looked forward, only three people were still dancing: Baek Yuri, Ha On-ha, and Woo Cheong. Everyone else on the other teams had already dropped out.
The song cut off on the latest viral dance challenge track by a female idol group. MC Jeong Ondo lifted the microphone.
“And the winner of random play dance is... Team One! Team One receives the prize, a five-kind dessert reverse tribute set!”
“Waaah~”
Ha On-ha and Baek Yuri collapsed onto the floor at the same time.
Ha On-ha, breathing hard, flung himself flat onto his back. He was completely spent from dancing while worrying the whole time that he might miss even one move.
“Yes! We won! The reverse tribute is mine!”
Woo Cheong, the only one who had remained at ease the entire time because there was no dance he did not know, bounced up and down with excitement, rushed toward the camera, shoved his face close, and shouted, “Everyone! See you at the third round performance!”
Woo Cheong let out a cackling laugh that exposed his mouth like a cave, then returned to his spot and flopped down among the others.