Chapter 309
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 309
Chapter Title: A Whale in the Sky
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The last day of the documentary filming.
Seojun and An Daho left the house in the early dawn.
“Isn’t it too early to go?”
Seojun smiled faintly at An Daho's question and said.
“This might be the last day we see Woori and Rocky. I thought if we went early, we could see them a little longer.”
After saying that, Seojun looked up at the pitch-black pre-dawn sky. He seemed to have a lot on his mind.
*True.*
Even after feeding a stray cat once, you sometimes wonder if it's doing well. And this was a whale whose life he had saved and even given a name.
If a stray cat was safe, he might run into it again on the same street, but for Seojun, who lived on land, meeting a whale roaming the vast ocean again would not be easy.
“I heard some of the Sea Save staff come even earlier than this.”
“They’re probably changing shifts with the night crew.”
The dark night sky seemed to reflect Seojun's heart. He felt restless for some reason.
“Daho hyung. Will Woori be okay?”
It was still a calf, with no adult humpback whales to look after it. Could it survive alone in this harsh ocean?
*...But we can't keep it forever.*
Should they release it into the sea, or continue to protect it?
Sea Save had said this was a constant dilemma for them.
“The Sea Save team said they'd take it to an area frequented by humpback whales. If the timing is right, it should be able to join a pod.”
“I really hope so.”
Seojun nodded at An Daho's words.
* * *
Arriving at the Sea Save center, Seojun greeted the team members and immediately grabbed a bucket of fish, heading for the oceanarium.
“Hello, Woori. Rocky.”
Woori, the baby humpback whale, and Rocky, the dolphin, who were returning to the sea today, were at the very end of a white path. This area, closest to the ocean, was where animals about to be released were kept. They had been moved after Seojun left yesterday.
Rocky's handler, who had followed Seojun, said.
“There's only one net separating them from the ocean, so I thought Rocky might just leave on his own, but he's still here.”
At those words, both Seojun and the production crew couldn't help but laugh.
Honestly, Seojun had also been a little worried that the free-spirited Rocky might have left for the sea without a word.
“I guess Rocky knew today was the last day.”
Rocky's handler nodded repeatedly at Seojun's words.
“Rocky is a smart one.”
The handler's proud expression looked like a parent boasting about their child, making Seojun and the others burst into laughter. Woori and Rocky seemed to laugh along with them. That's how it felt.
As Rocky's handler and Seojun tossed fish, Woori, who had been lingering in front of Seojun, cried out, “Woooooong!” and caught one. Rocky, as always, leaped spectacularly out of the water to catch his fish.
“You won't find another dolphin this talented.”
The handler's voice was a little choked up by the approaching farewell.
“We go through this all the time, but these goodbyes are always both happy and sad.”
They gave them their last meal and performed a final health check.
The handler tried to check Rocky's fin, but Rocky seemed to take it as a game, teasingly showing and hiding it while letting out a "Ppiiii" laugh.
“Woori.”
When he called, Woori focused on Seojun. As Seojun turned his palm over, Woori followed suit, flipping its body to show its white belly.
“Woori is super smart too, isn't it?”
Everyone stifled their laughter at the superstar's doting display.
Feeling a little embarrassed but proud, Seojun looked at the remaining scar on Woori's belly. Thanks to the ability he had imbued in the center, the wound had healed quickly, now only a faint mark remained.
“They say a humpback whale's belly pattern is like a human's fingerprint.”
Seojun said, patting Woori's back.
“Will I be able to recognize you if we meet again?”
Woooong!
Woori cried out. Seojun smiled faintly, feeling as if he understood what it meant.
* * *
The sky, which had been dark when they arrived at the center, was beginning to brighten.
As the sky gradually turned blue, the handler, who had finally managed to check Rocky's wound, stood up and spoke. He was soaked from being splashed, but he still had a look of serene resignation.
“Jun. Let's head in now.”
“Mm. I'll stay a little longer.”
Seeing Seojun unable to take his eyes off Woori and Rocky, the handler nodded and left first. It seemed Seojun needed a little more time, as this was likely his first farewell of this kind.
“Wear this.”
“Thanks, Daho hyung.”
Expecting Seojun to stay for a while, An Daho handed him the jacket he had brought.
After putting on the jacket, Seojun sat on the edge of the white path. Figuring he was saying his final goodbyes, An Daho and the camera crew stepped back a little.
Woori and Rocky swam around playfully, looking at Seojun, and the sight of his profile watching them was like a painting. The brightening dawn sky and the twinkling stars made the scene even more picturesque.
* * *
Seojun wanted to give a gift to Woori, who had to survive alone until it met other humpback whales, and to Rocky, who was returning to the sea with Woori.
Seojun looked down at his palms. A massive, sea-colored whale pattern filled both of them, coming into his view. It was an ability he had brought from the Library of Life last night.
*'When I absorbed this ability, all my other ones were pushed out.'*
He had been a little surprised when the abilities were repelled in all directions, just like when he first accepted Magi. It was probably because this was a high-grade ability.
*'It'll probably be like this when I use other high-grade abilities, too.'*
If he used a high-grade ability, he could only use one at a time, so he would have to think carefully before using them.
Seojun slowly channeled the Seongi from his core into the giant whale pattern.
The book of a life that was as long as an epic, for it had lived for so, so long.
An immense being that swam through the planet's sky, allowing all sorts of species to live on its vast back.
It was after reading this book of life that Seojun had become interested in whales.
Woooong.
Most of the Seongi in Seojun's core flowed into the giant whale pattern. It seemed this single activation would use up most of the Seongi in his core.
*'Even the mid-high grade abilities, just below high-grade, weren't like this...'*
It seemed there was a significant difference in class between mid-high and high-grade abilities.
The whale pattern, which had been continuously absorbing Seongi, finally began to shine.
[Continental Whale's Swim - High Grade is activating.]
A vast natural energy emerged from the shining whale pattern and enveloped Seojun.
The Continental Whale's planet was made of scorching fire. To venture off the Continental Whale's back was to fall directly into the planet's core, a blazing ball of fire. It was a world where no one could survive unless they were on the Continental Whale's back.
Furthermore, the Continental Whale would inhale the hot flames flowing from the planet's core and exhale them as clean air through the blowhole on its back.
Providing land to stand on and a supply of clean air, the Continental Whale was a god-like being.
It was the ground upon which all beings lived, and if the Continental Whale were to die, the beings living on it would lose their home. For this reason, most species performed rituals and offered prayers, hoping the Continental Whale would live a long, long life.
[Continental Whale's Swim - High Grade]
Returns a polluted environment to its most suitable state.
Bestows a blessing upon cetaceans.
*'A blessing upon the nearest cetaceans.'*
Seojun looked at Woori and Rocky.
In the world of the Continental Whale, cetaceans blessed by it grew to the size of islands and became strong. If they received more blessings over a longer time, they could even become another giant Continental Whale.
*'It probably won't be to that extent in this world, though.'*
Seojun prayed that Woori and Rocky would grow up strong and healthy in a clean and good environment.
* * *
The camera director, An Daho, and a few staff members, who were filming the picturesque scene of the superstar and the two cetaceans, unconsciously held their breath.
From a certain moment, Lee Seojun's atmosphere began to change.
It was an aura so powerful that even An Daho, who had been with Seojun for a long time, was startled.
The camera director gulped.
An intense presence emanated from Lee Seojun.
It was like the overwhelming feeling, the awe that made you just stare blankly, that he had felt when they encountered the giant whale passing under the Sea Saver on the first day of filming the documentary.
An aura, slightly different from the superstar aura he had felt during the filming, seemed to be flowing from him.
*'Somehow... he looks divine.'*
Seojun's movement as he reached for Woori and Rocky felt heavy and slow.
It was as if a colossal being was moving with extreme slowness to touch a creature far weaker than itself. Woori and Rocky also seemed to be staring blankly at Seojun, unlike their usual selves.
Just as that overwhelming atmosphere, which seemed to have halted the world's movements and all its sounds, was about to continue,
a wind blew.
The wind, carrying the condensed power of the Continental Whale that had surrounded Seojun, spread out in all directions.
A staff member's hat was blown off by the wind. Startled, the staffer went to pick it up, and as they stood up, they looked at the sky.
“Uh, huh?”
An Daho and the camera director, who had been staring blankly at Seojun, snapped out of it at the voice and turned their gazes. Following the staff member's stare at the sky, An Daho's and the others' heads tilted upward.
An Daho's and the others' eyes widened, and their jaws dropped.
It was a whale.
A giant whale made of pure white clouds was floating in the sky.
It was enormous even at a glance. If it looked this big from afar, how big would it be up close? As everyone stared, entranced, at the whale cloud in the sky,
Woooong-
it seemed as if the earth-shaking cry of a giant whale could be heard from somewhere.
* * *
LA.
Maidman Beach, which had become a famous spot due to the appearance of the Hollywood star, was crowded with tourists. The area where the baby humpback whale had been was already bustling with people taking pictures.
Just then, someone looked up at the sky with a dazed expression.
“...What is that?”
At the shocked voice, others looked up, wondering if a UFO had appeared. And then, everyone's eyes went wide as they pulled out their phones and started snapping photos and recording videos.
* * *
Korea.
“Ugh! It's so hot!”
Director Kim Soohan, who was filming an independent movie, gulped down water. His friends, who were acting in the film, were slumped over on a park bench, their faces exhausted.
“Wow... it's morning, why is it so hot?”
Even with a mini-fan on, the air was so sticky that it didn't feel cool at all. Still, it was better than nothing.
“The humidity is 90%. They said the weather's been crazy lately, and I guess it really is.”
“Hey, Director. Let's change the filming date.”
“We can't...”
Director Kim Soohan replied to his friend with a gloomy face.
“We have to submit it to the film festival...”
His two friends sighed.
“We're going to be steamed to death before we finish filming.”
In the park where Director Kim Soohan was filming, there were also people out for a morning walk. They seemed to have expected cooler weather since it was morning, but the way they were shaking their heads suggested the walk was less than pleasant.
Only a few small children ran around, oblivious to the heat. One child, who had been playing and laughing with friends, suddenly shouted.
“Mom! A whale!”
A whale in the middle of the city?
Moreover, the child's finger was pointing to the sky.
The people who had been thinking of going home due to the hotter-than-expected weather, and even the children who had been running around sweating profusely, followed the child's finger and looked up.
“Whoa... what is that?”
From its head to its pectoral fins and tail.
It was a distinct whale-shaped cloud, perfect in every detail.
The giant cloud whale was flying through the vast sky as if it were a real whale.
At the wondrous and overwhelming sight, everyone stared blankly at the sky with astonished eyes.
“Woooow...”
People on their way to work, people on buses, people who just happened to glance up. Everyone stared, captivated, at the whale cloud swimming through the blue sky.
And then, a wind blew.
Somehow, the sweltering weather seemed to have cooled down a little.
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