Chapter 306
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 306
Chapter Title: The Sea Save Center
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The day before the shoot.
The world was still buzzing about Seojun Lee's whale rescue.
ABS, in particular, perhaps because of their connection to the documentary, was broadcasting old clips of Seojun and also reported on his fans' donations to Sea Save.
"ABS's parent company is Marine Company."
"Really?"
At Nara Kim's words, Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun looked at the television with surprised faces. On the screen, a video edited to focus on Seojun in his black hat was playing.
"Is that why they're airing it so much? Because he's an actor who was in one of their company's movies?"
"Well, I'd say it probably has some influence. It's not bad news, it's good news, after all."
I see.
Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun nodded.
Meanwhile, a new video was playing on the ABS channel. It was a whale rescue video shot from a different angle than the one from afar shown earlier, this one filmed much closer to the whale.
"Wow, so many people filmed it."
Seo Eunhye said in admiration.
Besides this one, tons of videos with titles like 'Mydman Whale Rescue (Feat. Seojun Lee)' had been uploaded to N-tube. Each broadcast station was collecting and editing these clips for their reports.
"I guess seeing a whale on the beach is a rare sight. Oh, you can see Seojun clearly in this one."
"Huh? Did you call me?"
Seojun, who had been buried in the sofa tapping on his phone, turned his head at Lee Minjun's voice. The couple and Nara laughed at the sight.
"No, we didn't call you."
"Seojun, what were you doing?"
"I was talking to Daho hyung. He said he just boarded his flight."
"Oh? If he's leaving now... he'll arrive at dawn, won't he?"
Seojun nodded at Seo Eunhye's words.
"The shoot is early in the morning, so I don't think Daho hyung will be able to come with me."
A crowd had gathered at the Sea Save Center today.
Surprised by the unusual number of people, the production crew had no choice but to change the filming schedule. It seemed likely that a crowd of this size would gather tomorrow and the day after as well. The time they settled on was early morning.
*Daho hyung has to adjust to the time difference, too.*
An Daho was disappointed, but he decided not to accompany him for the first day. You never knew what might happen even in perfect condition, and being tired would only make it easier to make a mistake.
"Then how about you go with Dad for a change?"
Seojun beamed at Lee Minjun's suggestion.
"Okay!"
* * *
The day of the documentary shoot.
Seojun and Lee Minjun, having left home at the crack of dawn, arrived at the Sea Save Center.
[SEA SAVE CENTER]
The three-story building with the Sea Save Center sign had two parking lots: a large one for the general public visiting for tours, and a restricted one for staff and emergency vehicles.
As the car carrying Seojun and Lee Minjun entered the restricted parking lot, a camera that had been waiting for them started filming the vehicle.
A staff member informed the producer inside the building of Seojun Lee's arrival.
Soon, several cameras and a group of people emerged.
"Welcome. I'm the producer in charge of the documentary."
"Hello. I'm Seojun Lee."
The producer and Seojun exchanged greetings, and Lee Minjun did as well. Seojun's gaze shifted to the person standing next to the producer. They had only seen each other briefly, but it was an unforgettable face.
Kate smiled and extended her hand.
"It's good to see you. We meet again. My name is Kate Ohas, head of the Sea Save rescue team."
"I'm Seojun Lee. Please call me Jun."
Seojun smiled as they shook hands lightly.
The camera captured the moment. The two indispensable heroes of the whale rescue were reunited.
"Please call me Kate, too. I'll be with you during the filming."
"Okay. I look forward to working with you."
"The pleasure's all mine."
With a small smile, Kate led Seojun and Lee Minjun into the Sea Save Center.
After the initial greetings, the producer stepped out of the camera's frame.
* * *
Kate first took Seojun to an office near the staff entrance. Then, she placed a card on a lanyard and an article of clothing in front of him.
It was an ID card that read [SEOJUN LEE] and a sea-blue T-shirt with the Sea Save logo—a white circle representing the Earth and a whale's tail—on the right side.
"From today until the end of the shoot, you're a member of the Sea Save team, Jun. You'll be in charge of caring for the animals at the center. Here's your ID and uniform. The changing room is this way."
"Okay. I'll go change and be right back."
After changing his shirt in the locker room, Seojun put the team ID card Kate gave him around his neck.
Kate continued.
"It suits you. Now, I'll give you a tour of the center and introduce you to the team members. They're all scattered around working. We'll run into all of them as we walk around."
"Okay, I understand."
As they walked toward the center's entrance, Kate looked at Seojun and asked.
"Are you aware that your fans have been donating to our center?"
"Yes. That's one of the reasons I was happy to accept the offer for this documentary. It's a chance for my fans to see the place they've been donating to, even if it's just through video."
Kate stopped walking. Seojun, who was walking beside her, also stopped and tilted his head. Kate spoke with a serious expression.
"I really wanted to tell both you and your fans this. The donations you've sent so far have been a tremendous help to us at Sea Save. Thank you so much."
Seojun smiled, feeling both shy and proud at Kate's heartfelt gratitude.
My fans really are the best.
* * *
Seojun and Kate arrived at the center's entrance.
This was the starting point for public tours, so there were various pamphlets on display.
"Let me introduce you to the Sea Save Center."
Kate picked up a pamphlet and handed it to Seojun.
Seojun listened to Kate's explanation while reading the pamphlet.
It detailed the story of how Sea Save was founded, the construction of the Sea Save Center, and its subsequent activities. He couldn't help but be impressed by the number of marine animals Sea Save had rescued.
"The Sea Save Center is a marine animal sanctuary created by enclosing a bay. We've blocked it off with nets so it can be restored at any time."
A bay.
It refers to a place where the coastline curves inward like a crescent moon. The advantage was that by connecting the two ends, they could utilize a large area of the ocean.
"Since we treat, care for, and release marine animals, the ocean section is naturally much larger than the building on land."
I see.
Seojun nodded after looking at the map in the pamphlet.
"The building we're in now is called the Center, and the ocean area is called the Sea Pavilion."
The Sea Save Center consisted of one basement level and three floors above ground.
"The basement and first floor of the Center house Sea Save's offices and the marine animals that have recovered considerably. The second and third floors are for hospitalized marine animals with more severe injuries. Since they can get stressed by even small noises when their injuries are serious, only the first floor, the basement, and the Sea Pavilion are open to the public."
Kate continued her explanation as she walked on. Seojun and the camera followed her. On the first floor of the Center, smaller marine animals were swimming inside tanks.
"Do only injured animals come to the center?"
Kate shook her head at Seojun's question.
"No. Animals from zoos and aquariums come here too. They're sent from places that have gone bankrupt due to financial reasons or can no longer care for them. This one here is one of them."
Kate pointed to a dolphin swimming leisurely beyond the glass wall.
"Her name is Molly. She came to the center from a zoo."
The dolphin, Molly, spotted Kate and Seojun and came to the front of the glass wall.
She seemed to be smiling brightly. It must have been the effect of reading the Advanced Book of Life. Molly spun in circles in front of the glass, showing her delight with her whole body.
The cute sight brought a smile to Seojun, Kate, and the production crew.
"She's cute. When will Molly return to the ocean?"
The one who answered Seojun's question was a Sea Save team member who had come to check on Molly's condition.
"Molly will be going back to the ocean after she puts on a bit more weight."
"Weight?"
Seojun tilted his head and looked at Molly again.
Now that he looked, she did seem more slender than the dolphin in the next tank.
"Molly is too light right now. My goal is to have her double the weight she was when she first came to the center."
Seojun couldn't help but laugh at the crazed glint in the eyes of Molly's caretaker.
A dolphin-plumping enthusiast was right here.
* * *
[Molly/Dolphin]
[Max/Seal]
[Cooper/Turtle]
As he peered into each of the tanks on the first floor and listened to the stories of the animals inside, Seojun asked Kate a question.
"Do you always give the animals names?"
Kate smiled and nodded.
"Yes. Other people ask that too. Why give them names when you'll never see them again once they're released back into the ocean."
Kate looked at Toby, a young sea lion rescued from a beach in California. Toby's wounds had already healed with new skin, but they still looked painful just to look at.
When Kate placed her hand on the glass wall, the sea lion Toby pressed his head against it.
The silent communion quieted the surroundings.
"Giving them a name helps us recognize them as an individual life. Instead of just thinking of them as one dolphin, one sea lion, we call them by names like Molly and Toby, and we grow closer to them."
Kate smiled gently and continued.
"Of course, some of them get healthy and return to the sea before we even get used to their names. That's a really good thing."
Passing team members nodded in agreement. The camera captured their reactions.
Seojun watched the Sea Save team members with a smile.
*This is a good place.*
He could feel that Sea Save genuinely loved and cared for the animals.
"Shall we go see that one now?"
"That one...? Ah..."
Seojun, who was about to ask who she meant, realized he already knew without needing an answer.
Kate smiled at his reaction.
"I heard you were coming, so we haven't named it yet. The baby humpback whale you rescued wasn't seriously injured, so it's in the Sea Pavilion."
Kate and Seojun started walking toward the Sea Pavilion.
"So that whale was a humpback."
"Yes. They're a species that usually goes to colder, high-latitude regions in the summer, so I'm not sure why a calf was left behind here. It might have been separated while migrating."
"I heard that many whales have been found on beaches lately. What do you think is the cause, Kate?"
With the news of Seojun Lee's whale rescue becoming a hot topic, the news began reporting on previous incidents. Two weeks ago, two dolphins had died on a beach, and before that, over a hundred dolphins had appeared on another.
The number of stranded animals, from large whales to small seals, was steadily increasing, regardless of species.
Kate sighed at Seojun's question.
"There could be many reasons. A whale that fell behind got lost, or it accidentally followed the water and couldn't get back out. These days, though... I think it's because of the weather."
"The weather?"
"It's been unusually hot this year, hasn't it?"
Seojun nodded.
"Yes. Winter ended early, and spring and summer started early."
That was why the filming for 'Spring Has Returned' in February and March had gone smoothly due to the unexpectedly warm weather, while everyone was worried about the summer shoot, which was predicted to be a record-breaking scorcher.
"I suspect it will continue to be like this in the future. When the Earth's temperature rises, the ocean's temperature rises too, and when the ocean's temperature rises, the direction of the currents inevitably changes."
Kate gave a bitter smile.
"Ocean currents are very important for marine animals. For creatures that have to swim their entire lives, getting lost is a huge problem. What do you think happens if they follow a warm current north when they're supposed to be heading south?"
After a moment of thought, Seojun spoke.
"Um. They can't adapt?"
"Exactly. Just because the weather was warm for a bit doesn't mean the north will stay warm. It might be hot for a few days, but if the rest of the time is cold, the animals won't be able to adapt and will end up dying."
Everyone nodded gravely at Kate's serious words. The changes in weather they had thought little of were having a huge impact in unseen ways.
*The weather...*
Lost in thought for a moment, Seojun was brought back to his senses by Kate's bright voice.
"Alright. Now, I'll show you the pride of the Sea Save Center, the Sea Pavilion."
Kate smiled as she opened the door to the Sea Pavilion entrance.