Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Daeun's Massive Stone Perch
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Flap flap!
A massive stone perch, boasting an enormous size as it emerged onto the deck, was thrashing around nonstop.
Painter Oh, who had come sprinting from afar upon hearing the commotion, hurriedly removed the hook from the stone perch's mouth and placed it into a separate bucket of water.
"A st-stone perch!"
Seeing Painter Oh's reaction like that, I chuckled as I spoke.
"It's a bigger one than expected, right?"
I don't know much about fish, after all.
I only knew that the fish we'd just caught was a stone perch because it's such a famously prized catch.
But Painter Oh's reaction was something else entirely.
"It's not just big."
"Yeah?"
"At this size, it looks over 30 centimeters—no, actually, I've never seen one this big caught around here before. And not from the deep ocean either, but right here so close to shore..."
Painter Oh just let out a hollow laugh.
There were plenty of other rods, but the fact that a fish this size came from Daeun's rod was astonishing to me too.
At that moment, Daeun came over to me with an incredibly happy expression.
"Daddy! Daeun caught a big one!"
"Yeah! Jackpot! Daeun just caught an awesome fish."
"Really really really!"
"Yeah, for real. Daeun was the best."
"Wooow!"
She was thrilled, but I wondered if the others were just as shocked.
Especially Painter Oh's face—it was a sight to behold.
Just then, the director came over from behind with a fish measuring board.
"Let's measure the size first."
"Haha, does it even matter?"
"You still don't know. We have to check."
With that, the director took the wild stone perch out of the bucket and checked its size.
And then.
"......"
She silently put the fish she'd taken out back into the bucket.
Curious about her actions, I asked.
"Why put it back like that?"
"No point."
"Yeah?"
Then the director slowly stroked the head of Daeun, who was looking up at her with sparkling eyes.
"Daeun takes first place."
"Wooow! Daeun is number one!"
"Yeah, no need to even look at the others—this one's first."
"Really?"
She'd said we had to check, so why was there no point now? Just as the question crossed my mind.
"See? I told you it wouldn't matter."
"Yeah, you were right. Totally pointless."
Was it because Daeun had caught such a big, expensive, and significant fish?
The size was impressive, but was there anything more important than the type of fish?
It was a stone perch, after all.
One of the few fish that gets charged by market price when you order wild ones at a sashimi restaurant.
But that was just my assumption.
"38.2."
"Yeah?"
"The stone perch Daeun caught. 38.2 cm."
"Yeah!"
Exactly. It wasn't just because the fish was expensive.
"I told you it wouldn't matter. First place in this tournament is Daeun's for sure. Daeun."
It was because Daeun had truly caught the biggest fish.
Someone like Painter Oh could probably gauge the size without even measuring.
So the conclusion was clear.
"Daeun wins!"
"Woooaaah!"
Daeun's overwhelming victory in this director's boat fishing contest.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"So in the end, Daeun's the only one who gets prize money."
"Yay! Daddy, Daeun won! Daeun did it!"
The final results: Painter Oh and the director tied with 34.5 cm fish, while Jungeun and Erina each only caught their first one.
And Daeun clinched the win with her 38.2 cm stone perch from earlier.
As for me last...
"Ah, so close. Still, it was really fun!"
"For real. Honestly, running around covering stories, I met so many people with fishing hobbies, and now I get why."
"By the way... what about you, Painter Lee? Aren't you bummed?"
"Yeah, me."
"Yeah, you didn't catch a single fish."
Just as Erina said, unfortunately, I hadn't caught even one fish.
Whether it was bad luck or I just had no talent for fishing, I wasn't sure.
'Ah! Could it be my wish came true?'
I'd prayed that it was okay if I didn't catch any, as long as Daeun caught at least one.
Thinking of it that way made me not regret it at all.
"Nah, I'm fine. Instead, Daeun caught a huge one. That's enough for me."
Hearing that, Daeun came over and said to me.
"No, Daddy caught one too! Way bigger than Daeun's! The best!"
"You caught one? Did you sneak off and catch something without us knowing? Hmm, weird. I thought you didn't catch any. When did you?"
"Yeah, did you catch a fish? Why didn't you say anything?"
Haha, how do I even explain this?
Seeing their reactions, I waved my hand dismissively in the air.
"No, I didn't catch it, um, well..."
Ah, how do I explain this?
"You didn't catch it?"
"Yeah, it wasn't on purpose—it was already hooked."
It had been there when I tossed the rod aside and walked away.
By that logic, it wasn't caught—it caught itself.
"No, but you still ended up with it. What'd you catch? The fish is in the bucket."
Why are they so persistent?
Were they worried because I hadn't caught any?
"Haha, what are you looking at?"
"Why? Did you catch something amazing by any chance?"
Why is even Erina doing this?
As I scratched the back of my head awkwardly at their questions, Daeun piped up indignantly.
"Daddy caught a super pretty one! For real, Uncle! Way prettier than Daeun's!"
"Really? What'd you catch, Dad?"
At Jungeun's question, Daeun thought for a moment and said.
"A super pretty one!"
"A super pretty one?"
"Yeah! When Daeun wants to see stars, a super pretty one! So Daddy caught the best one!"
Daeun, I really appreciate the thought, but you don't have to dress it up like that.
I was thrilled that Daeun took first place, and not too disappointed about not catching anything, but her earnest fib made me feel oddly guilty.
If I'd known, maybe I should've tried harder and caught one... Just then.
"Ah, what is it? Let me see!"
"Me too!"
The two of them, super curious, rushed to the bucket and peered inside.
Then came their bewildered voices.
"St-starfish?"
"A st-starfish?"
At that, Daeun shouted.
"It's star-shaped and super pretty, right? Thank you, Daddy!"
All I could do was smile awkwardly at Daeun's touching cover-up for the starfish I'd "caught."
"Th-thanks, Daeun."
As everyone laughed and chattered about my starfish catch, the two who'd stepped away briefly returned.
They spoke with slightly regretful expressions.
"Ah, what do we do about this."
"Yeah?"
Their faces were dark, so it seemed some problem had arisen.
"We talked to the hotel staff, but there's no suitable place to prepare and eat it."
"If they just had a kitchen and knives, we could slice sashimi from the catch and boil up some spicy stew afterward—perfect."
Oh! It sounded delicious just thinking about it.
But the reason they were saying this was probably because no such space existed.
"Is there no other way?"
I asked just in case, but Painter Oh shook his head.
"Well, nothing here. We'll have to drive out a bit and borrow a restaurant kitchen or something. Not sure if they'll lend it, but for now, that's the only option."
Man, catching such good fish and no way to eat it sashimi-style.
Was there a more regrettable situation than this?
But what could we do? No other choice.
Right then.
Rustle.
An unexpected variable appeared.
It was Jungeun.
"Um, would a regular kitchen be enough?"
Yeah?
Did he know somewhere we could borrow a kitchen...?
"I checked my room, and there's a basic kitchen for cooking. If it's okay, should I ask the owner?"
"Wait, Jungeun, didn't you book a hotel?"
At the director's question, Jungeun's face crumpled.
"I'm not that rich. With the expensive flight here, where would I get money for a hotel? There was a minbak next door, so I rented there."
"A minbak!"
Painter Oh got excited at the word minbak.
"You really booked a minbak?"
"Ah, yeah. It was cheap, so..."
"Nice, Jungeun knows what's up. Travel's all about the minbak vibe!"
"Yeah."
"Could you ask the owner if we can use the kitchen? And if possible, mention borrowing the yard too?"
Both the director and Painter Oh's expressions changed.
They'd been disappointed and at a loss before, but now they looked like kids thrilled at the prospect.
"I'll ask. When I booked the room, the owner seemed super nice, so probably yes. The yard looked pretty big too. But one thing worries me..."
Jungeun continued with a slightly concerned look, something on his mind.
"I booked it for solo use, but with all these people..."
The director solved that issue.
"Jungeun, I'll cover your room fee. Any extra charges too. And round-trip Seoul-Jeju flights. In exchange, make sure we can use the minbak kitchen and yard, no matter what. Deal?"
At that, Jungeun corrected the director.
"Director, at a time like this, it's not 'deal?'—it's 'do it.' I'll beg on my knees if I have to."
In that instant, the constant bickering between the two sorted out their hierarchy.
And fortunately, our perfect dinner was coming together.
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Rustle.
Erina and Jungeun returned from the mart with side dishes, ingredients, and other necessities.
"We got everything! Let me know if you need anything else!"
At the sound, the director came out from inside, apron on, and checked the ingredients they'd bought.
Seeing her like that.
"......"
The two looked up at the director in shock.
"What, first time seeing someone in an apron?"
"Ah, no, it's not that."
"If you're gonna stare like that and make me self-conscious, get inside and prep the ingredients."
"Ah! I'll do that!"
Erina hurried inside with a smile.
The director, watching her go, kept her relaxed expression and said.
"You, go help Painter Oh in the yard. Wash those veggies you bought."
"Yes! Got it!"
Overwhelmed by the director's initiative, the two moved briskly, and Jungeun came over to me where I was helping Painter Oh, carrying the veggies.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"Shh."
"Yeah?"
As he approached and looked at Painter Oh, the painter had a handkerchief tied tightly around his head like a bandana and was sharpening a knife on the whetstone borrowed from the owner.
Scrape scrape!
Sharpening the knife with utmost reverence, Painter Oh glanced at me and asked.
"Where's Daeun?"
I cautiously scanned the surroundings before replying.
"Not here."
"About how long?"
"Ten minutes or so."
"Plenty of time. Shall we start before Daeun gets back?"
"Let's hurry."
Jungeun, with a utterly baffled look, asked.
"Wait, what the heck are you..."
But at Painter Oh's next action, Jungeun finally nodded in understanding.
Ten-minute time limit.
In that ten minutes while Daeun was away.
Shing.
"Then, let the stone perch sashimi slicing begin."
We had to slice the sashimi.
Before Daeun returned.