Chapter 304
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 304
Chapter Title: The Hero of Maidman Beach
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Sea Save moved quickly.
"Time is of the essence! We have to move it while it's still holding on!"
"Right!"
Kate quickly checked the whale's condition.
The boat ride over had taken time. It might not have been long for a large adult, but for a baby humpback whale, it was an eternity. Thankfully, the people here had helped buy them some time.
'Even so, its breathing doesn't seem too labored.'
It was a stroke of luck.
"I think there's a wound on its belly."
"Its belly?"
Kate turned at the sudden voice. A boy in a black hat, his clothes soaking wet, continued speaking with a worried yet relieved expression.
"The whale was moving a little strangely earlier."
"I see."
'That's not something you can tell just by looking...'
Especially for an animal like a whale, which ordinary people rarely see, it couldn't be easy to discern its movements with such detail. Despite her thoughts, Kate Ohas nodded.
"Understood. We'll be careful when we move it."
"Yes. Please save it."
After saying that, the boy disappeared into the crowd. He left a strangely deep impression.
Meanwhile, the team members returned the towels covering the whale to the people. A few brought out a large, special tarp from the boat and draped it over the whale. Finally, they poured water over it. One of the team members asked the crowd for help.
"Could you all help lift the tail?"
"Yes."
The people nodded.
The documentary director, seeing an unexpectedly great scene unfold, kept filming. It was perfect footage—good enough to be sent straight to ABS Broadcasting for the news, and excellent for the documentary itself.
"One, two!"
While the people lifted the whale's tail, a Sea Save team member wrapped a band around the part closest to its body. A sturdy hook was attached to the end of the band.
With the crowd's help, Sea Save wrapped bands around the tail, both flippers, and the head. Then, they connected a new line to the metal hooks on the four bands.
While busily checking on the whale and giving orders, Kate took a moment to explain the process to the people who had worked so hard to save it.
"The plan is to attach a line to the hooks on the bands, connect it to that boat over there, and pull the whale toward the water. It shouldn't put too much strain on it."
At Sea Save's flawless procedure, the crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief. Kate smiled faintly at the sight and raised her radio.
"Jess! Get ready to pull as soon as the line is connected!"
-Roger!
"Everyone, please step back!"
Following Sea Save's instructions, no one stood in the direct path between the whale and the sea.
But the surrounding area began to fill with people. People who had seen it on N-tube, people who had heard the story through word of mouth. A crowd gathered to watch the whale return to the sea.
As the crowd grew, Seojun and Jack exchanged a look.
Some people were now looking at Seojun with a peculiar expression. It seemed he had left quite an impression while sending his energy to the whale.
Seojun spoke to Susan, the woman who had lent them the beach mat, whose face had become familiar in the short time. Jack also said his goodbyes to the people he had carried buckets with.
"Thanks for the mat."
"You're leaving without seeing it to the end?"
At Seojun's words, the people who had been helping from the beginning looked at him and Jack. Seojun smiled and said.
"Yeah. It's getting late."
"I see. You two worked really hard."
"Everyone did."
While they were shaking hands with the people they'd seemingly befriended in that short time, the boat started to move. The slack line between the boat and the whale pulled taut.
"Ooh. It's moving!"
The tarp-covered whale began to move slowly toward the sea. The attention of the people Seojun had spoken to also turned to the whale.
In that moment, Seojun and Jack started to walk away.
"It's slower than I thought."
Jack said, walking backward while watching the sea. Seojun also glanced back from time to time. It seemed the Sea Save team leader hadn't forgotten his words about the wound on the whale's belly, as its movement wasn't very fast.
"Where did you park the car?"
"In the parking lot over there. Oh. It's entering the water."
Once they left the sandy beach and went up to the roadside, they could still see the whale.
Along with a few other onlookers, Seojun and Jack watched the scene. The whale slowly began to enter the water. Kate, the Sea Save team, and the crowd all moved toward the sea as well.
"Goodbye, whale!"
"Be careful!"
The cheerful voices of children could be heard here and there. Some adults were also bidding farewell and taking one last commemorative photo.
And finally, the whale's body was completely submerged.
Woooah!!
A cheer filled with joy erupted from the crowd, but it soon died down.
Once in the water, the whale showed no movement. It was simply being pulled along by the line. Everyone held their breath, watching with worried eyes. A few children had tears welling up.
"Is it going to be okay?"
Jack asked while drying his hair with a dry towel he hadn't used earlier. Seojun, who was wringing out his T-shirt with all his might, smiled.
"It's probably starting to come to its senses now."
As if it had heard Seojun's words, the still whale's body stirred.
"Whoa...!"
Its tail, which had been fully submerged and wasn't covered by the tarp, rose gracefully above the surface. It was still small, but a whale was a whale.
Splash!
The tail slapped the water's surface with a loud noise.
The spray created by the whale's tail caught the sunlight, glittering in the air.
Woooaaah!!
At the sight of the splash, which felt like a thank you, everyone—adults and children alike—erupted in cheers. Watching from the roadside, Jack and Seojun looked at each other and broke into wide smiles.
* * *
"Alright, we're heading out now."
-Okay! You're heading to the center, right?
"Yeah. It's still a baby, so we need to let it build up some strength before releasing it. There was a report of a wound on its belly, so we need to check that out too."
Putting down the radio, Kate Ohas turned around. The crowd was applauding for Sea Save. Kate smiled and said.
"More than us, it's thanks to all of you who took care of the whale until we arrived. Without your help, we wouldn't have been able to save that baby humpback."
"So it was a humpback whale."
"Come to think of it, I didn't even know what kind of whale it was."
At the words of Tom and his friend, everyone nodded with smiling faces.
The documentary camera captured the moment perfectly. Their exhausted appearances didn't fit the usual vibe of a vacation beach, but that very sight was all the more moving.
"What will happen to the whale now?"
"Since it's still a baby, it will rest at the Sea Save center for a few days to regain its strength. If there's a wound, we'll treat that too. After that, it will return to the sea. We'll find the most suitable place for a humpback whale."
"The Sea Save center... Can the general public go there?"
At someone's question, Kate nodded. The Sea Save center was wide open to the public to encourage marine animal conservation.
"Yes. The Sea Save center is open for tours, so you can see it if you come during visiting hours."
"Mom! Let's go!"
"Should we?"
The chance to see the whale they had saved with their own hands was too good to pass up. As the crowd chattered excitedly, Tom's friend spoke up.
"Huh? Where did those kids go?"
Hearing that, Susan, who was untying the string that bound the branches and beach mat, smiled and said.
"Oh, they left a little while ago. They said it was getting late and they had to go home."
"Really? They worked the hardest... That's a shame. We should have told them about the tour."
At his friend's words, most of the people nodded in agreement.
"Those kids?"
The director and Kate tilted their heads at the crowd's reaction. Susan, having neatly folded the beach mat, said with a proud expression.
"They were the first ones to act to save the whale. They were the ones who suggested making the shade and pouring water on it. If it weren't for them taking the lead, everyone would have been in a panic."
"And their stamina was incredible. They were moving constantly from the moment it was found until the rescue team arrived."
"They're good kids. They were like total heroes."
The director's eyes sparkled.
The kids who were the first to move to save the whale.
The fact that they were kids, not adults, would make people even more interested. An interview with them would make a great scene for the documentary.
"Do you know who those kids are—"
"Aaaaaah!"
Someone screamed.
The gazes of the Sea Save team, the director, and the crowd, all preparing to pack up, turned toward the scream. It was Tom, who had been carrying buckets. The friend standing next to him stared at Tom in surprise.
Unaware of the eyes on him, Tom yelled at his friend. He looked as if he'd seen a ghost in broad daylight.
"Seojun Lee! It was Seojun Lee!"
"...What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"You said 'hero' and it hit me! That kid from before! The one in the black hat!"
Tom was practically out of his mind, almost grabbing his friend by the collar.
That shimmering aura he had dismissed as a trick of the eye, moved by the boy's actions.
That handsome face he thought he'd seen somewhere before, and that familiar, gentle voice.
The superstar he had never dreamed would be right beside him, saving a whale with him—not in Hollywood, but right here—especially when he was so focused on the rescue.
"It was Seojun Lee! Jin Natra! Gray Vainie! Go Joowon!"
Tom's booming voice echoed across Maidman Beach.
Maidman Beach seemed to freeze for a moment.
Even if some didn't know the name Seojun Lee, they couldn't possibly not know the names that followed.
Jin Natra, Gray Vainie, Go Joowon.
......!!
A silent shock descended upon Maidman Beach.
From Susan who had lent the beach mat, to the people who had worked right beside the two boys to save the whale. The jaws of everyone who had seen and spoken to the boy in the black hat dropped so wide they couldn't open any further.
After a moment of silence, screams erupted from all over.
"Oh my god...!"
"How did I not recognize him!?"
How could I not have recognized the face under that hat!
"Seojun Lee...! I'm a huge fan...!"
"I mean, I knew he was in LA, but to just show up like this?!"
"Wow! To think I saved a whale with Jun!"
From fans lamenting that they hadn't recognized the star they'd longed to see right in front of them, to people genuinely shocked by the superstar's surprise appearance, to those immediately pulling out their phones to tell their family and friends they had met Seojun Lee.
Maidman Beach became a frenzy of excitement.
Meanwhile, there were others who seemed to be in a different world. Completely unable to comprehend the situation, the Sea Save and documentary crews could only blink.
"...Seojun Lee, that's the actor, right?"
"I think so. Why is his name suddenly coming up?"
And Tom's voice hadn't just echoed across Maidman Beach. It had been broadcast to the entire world through the N-tube streams that were live from the scene.
-Lee Seojun appeared!!
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