Chapter 314
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 314
Chapter Title: Now We Are
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“Jun does a great job with narration, too.”
“I think it’s because he was on-site for the filming,” An Daho replied to the King’s Agency employee who had accompanied them to the ABS broadcast station. Today was the day Seojun was recording the narration for the documentary he had filmed.
Beyond the glass wall, inside the recording booth, Seojun’s voice, calm and clear as he read from the script, was exceptionally easy to understand.
[Humpback whales stay in the cold polar regions during the summer and migrate to tropical or subtropical seas in the winter to breed. It seems that 'Uri' was likely left behind during the migration to the polar regions.]
“You'll be returning to Korea now, right?”
“Yes. We're scheduled to return the day after tomorrow.”
Not only An Daho, whose work was now finished with this recording, but also Seojun and his parents, whose vacation was over, were scheduled to return to Korea.
‘Looks like there'll be a lot of work.’
There would be a pile of scripts he hadn't had a chance to look at during his vacation. And ever since he threw the ceremonial first pitch, offers for him to do the same at other baseball games and even ceremonial first kicks at soccer matches had been flooding in.
As An Daho thought about the mountain of work waiting for him at the office, the King’s Agency employee spoke.
“I'll send over the scripts that have come in recently right away. A lot of them are baseball-related.”
“Haha. It's the same in Korea.”
Whenever a topic became hot, scripts and synopses related to it would pour in. It was something he had experienced often, so he had developed a knack for handling it, and it wasn't too overwhelming anymore.
‘I just hope there's a good project among them that Seojun will like.’
An Daho looked at Seojun inside the recording booth.
[The lifespan of a humpback whale is 45 to 100 years...]
With a serious expression, occasionally breaking into an unconscious smile whenever Uri and Rocky appeared on the television screen, Seojun completed the narration recording.
* * *
A week after Seojun, his parents, and An Daho returned to Korea.
The broadcast date for the documentary Seojun had participated in was approaching.
[Tonight, the documentary featuring SBC actor Lee Seojun is scheduled to air!]
[SBC, Part 1 of the documentary 'Now We Are' airs today!]
[Part 2 of the documentary 'In the Sea' is scheduled to air next week!]
-SBC has been promoting this like crazy for the past 5 days. I was going to watch it anyway, lol.
=They must be so excited, haha. Rumor has it that all the ad slots sold out as soon as they acquired the documentary.
=SBC even changed its broadcast schedule, holy cow.
-Part 1 is the one Seojun is in, right?
=Yup, but Seojun also narrates Part 2... so I gotta watch both.
-When is it going to start! The commercials are so long.
-Well, it's because Lee Seojun is in it, lol.
-Oh. It's starting.
The title [ABS Documentary Part 1: Now We Are] appeared as the screen brightened.
The beginning of Part 1, 'Now We Are', was peaceful.
It showed footage taken by tourists at the serene Maidman Beach. People swimming, people lounging on mats. The blue sea and the beaming sun.
It was like a scene from a movie.
-The calm before the storm, lol.
-Disaster movies always start like this, lol.
As the viewers predicted, tense music soon began to play as a car pulled over on the side of the road. The image quality, likely from a CCTV camera, wasn't very good.
And someone got out of the car.
-Is that Seojun?
-Looks like Lee Seojun!
The boy took a hat someone handed him, pulled it down firmly, and ran out of the CCTV's frame. The scene changed, and in a tourist's video, the boy could be seen dashing across the sand. His frantic movements made it clear to the viewers just how urgent the situation was.
-...Wow. Did he spot it while driving by?
-Judging by the speed, it looks like he jumped out without a second thought.
[Mom, a whale!]
A child's voice was heard, and a gasping whale came into view. While everyone was either filming the whale with their phones or hesitating, the voices of two boys, who seemed to be friends, could be heard.
The urgency in their voices spurred others into action. The subsequent scene of people moving to save the whale was like something out of a movie.
-Everyone there is so kind ㅠ
-I watched this live, and seeing it again is making me tear up ㅠㅠ
At the center of it all was the boy in the black hat. He didn't care about his clothes or shoes getting wet as he splashed water on the whale and checked its condition. The occasional glimpses of his face showed no trace of a smile.
Viewers watching television held their breath unknowingly at the sight of Seojun's face, focused solely on saving the whale.
-...He's amazing.
Just then, a Sea Save boat appeared in the distance, and cheers erupted. A small smile finally appeared on Seojun's face at the boat's arrival.
As everyone's attention shifted to the whale and Sea Save, various video clips zoomed in on the two boys, who could be called the greatest heroes of the day, leaving the scene. Then, in the low-quality CCTV footage, the two boys were seen watching the whale return to the sea before getting into their car.
[It was Seojun Lee!]
A man's voice exclaimed, and the camera showed people's surprised reactions.
-I was so surprised then, lol.
-Seriously, lol. I was watching it live and screamed without realizing it, haha.
A brief introduction to Seojun Lee followed.
The dramas and films he had appeared in, and the awards he had won.
-Looking at it like this, it's really incredible.
-Isn't this an American ABS documentary? They're showing his Korean dramas too?
-Naeuiwonㅋㅋㅋ
The screen split in two, contrasting the image of a dapper Seojun Lee, holding an award with a bright smile, against the image of him, soaked to the bone but moving nonstop with a serious expression to save the whale.
-Serious Seojun is so cool!!
-This documentary is amazing ㅠ Being able to see the real 'Lee Seojun', not a character he's playing ㅠㅠ
-I agree! And that 'Lee Seojun' is so awesome ㅠ
-And just like that, I'm falling for him all over again ㅠㅠ
The screen slowly faded to black and then brightened again.
A boy getting out of a car appeared on screen.
[Hello. I'm Seojun Lee.]
That greeting marked the official start of the documentary.
Seojun was briefed on Sea Save, given a tour of the center, and met animals, each with their own story.
As he listened intently to Rescue Team Leader Kate's explanations, sometimes with a serious face, other times with a slightly sad one, Seojun Lee's expressions of looking through the glass walls made the viewers empathize with him.
-Eat a lot ㅠ Molly ㅠㅠ
-Ah. I just went to a dolphin show at the aquarium yesterday ㅠ I feel so bad ㅠ
Kate introduced the oceanarium.
The appearance of the dolphin, Rocky, changed the mood of the documentary.
-Rocky is so cute!
-He splashed water everywhere, lol. The handler seems used to it, haha.
-The center's official 'mischief-maker', lol.
The enclosure next to Rocky's belonged to the baby humpback whale that Seojun Lee had saved.
The baby humpback whale seemed to recognize Seojun, its gaze never leaving him. The viewers watched in wonder as the baby humpback even sang a song, as if acknowledging Seojun.
At Kate's suggestion, Seojun named the baby humpback whale.
[We were able to save it because of the people who were there. Not just me, but everyone—'we' did it together.]
[That's nice. We. Uri.]
-Huh. It was a Korean name?
-The meaning is great, too ㅠ
-Uri... So that's why the title was 'Now We Are'.
-The American title is /Now URI(We) is/ too, lol.
After touring the center, they returned to find something unusual happening with Uri and Rocky.
A camera installed in the oceanarium had captured Rocky splashing over into Uri's enclosure, and the footage was broadcast as is.
The viewers, who had been chuckling at Rocky's escape,
[I get that you want to play with Uri... but Rocky, one hit from Uri's tail and you're done for.]
burst out laughing at Seojun's serious tone.
-Seriously, in terms of size, he's no match, haha.
-It's hilarious how seriously Seojun says it, lol.
-Someone called him the escape-artist dolphin, lololol.
The second day showed Seojun feeding the young and injured animals.
The Sea Save team members looked on with astonished faces as baby turtles waddled after Seojun, a seal flipped onto its back at a single hand gesture from him, and even a sea lion that had been stubbornly refusing to move finally budged. But even in their surprise, they quickly went about treating the animals.
-Maybe Seojun's true calling was to be an animal keeper?
-Actor, baseball player, and now an animal keeper. Is there anything he can't do? lol.
-I'm confident I could be raised well too...!
-I agree! I'll be very obedient!
-It's funny how the Sea Save team members look surprised but their hands are still moving fast to treat the animals, lol.
-Pros who don't forget their duties, hahaha.
The third day.
Seojun was shown heading out to sea on the Sea Saver. Viewers had only a moment to admire the picturesque scene of Seojun looking out at the blue ocean before things on the boat became hectic.
The rescue team leader stared at the seemingly empty sea before issuing orders, leaving the viewers puzzled.
-What is it? What's happening?
-I can't see anything.
Their confusion was short-lived.
Where the Sea Save team had dived, there was a whale tangled in a net. As the dive team members successfully rescued the whale and climbed back onto the boat, the viewers couldn't help but applaud.
-This must be why they're pros;;;
-There was really no warning, was there? Can they see into the water or something?
A peaceful scene returned, making it seem like it was over, but it wasn't.
[Maidman Beach! Dozens of dolphins have been stranded!]
At the team member's words, the Sea Saver sped off again.
-I saw this live!
-Me too. Was it 56 of them? Seeing so many dolphins on the sand was terrifying, gave me goosebumps.
At Rescue Team Leader Kate's request, Seojun was seen boarding the boat.
The Sea Save boat arrived at the beach, kicking up a white wake. As the television screen filled with the sight of dozens of black dolphins gasping for air, the laughing viewers instinctively covered their mouths.
-Oh...
Sea Save, along with the people on the beach, worked to get the dolphins back into the water.
As the broadcast focused on Seojun's efforts to save the dolphins, viewers who had been at the scene posted in surprise.
-Everyone who was there is freaking out right now, lol.
-That was Jun?! I didn't see him?! x100 lol.
-That's Lee Seojun for you, lol. I saw it during Working Man, but his ability to blend in is no joke, haha.
The screen faded to black, and the words 'The Last Day' appeared.
[Today is the day we say goodbye to Uri and Rocky.]
Seojun's calm voice could be heard.
[That's why I came a little earlier. I wanted to see them for longer.]
After changing his clothes, Seojun spoke with Rocky's handler. When viewers heard that Rocky and Uri's enclosures had been moved to the area closest to the ocean, they all worried for Rocky with one mind.
-Isn't he going to escape?
-With Rocky, it's totally possible, lol.
-Is he really going to leave without saying goodbye?
-The serial escape-artist dolphin ㅠㅠ
Fortunately, the sight of Rocky playing with Uri brought a collective sigh of relief.
The viewers had become completely smitten with Uri and Rocky.
And then, that scene came.
The profile of Seojun sitting alone at the end of a white path, and Uri with its head poking out of the water.
Behind them, the sky, where the sun was beginning to rise, was a deep blue, dotted with twinkling stars.
The time of dog and wolf, when you can't tell one from the other.
It looked like Seojun, but he exuded a strange aura.
The PD, who had discovered the footage late, inserted the scene without a single edit.
The sound of the waves, the sound of the wind—nothing was touched. It was left as it was.
A hush fell.
Seojun's hand slowly reached out towards 'Uri', and the sight evoked an indescribable sense of wonder.
The viewers held their breath, watching the scene unfold.
And then,
The wind blew.
With voices saying, "Huh? Huh!", the heavy atmosphere was instantly broken.
The camera panned up. For a moment, viewers were puzzled by the sudden change of view, but then their jaws dropped.
-Whoa? This shows up here too?
-They said it was first spotted in California... was this the actual first time?
Directly above Seojun was the whale cloud that had circled the globe.
-It feels kind of familiar, haha.
-I agree. Maybe because we've seen it so much?
After showing the whale cloud for a moment, the screen changed to show Uri and Rocky being returned to the sea.
Swoooosh!
At the sight of Uri's magnificent breach and Rocky's attempt to copy it, viewers burst into laughter through their teary eyes.
-I'm laughing through my tears ㅠㅠ lol.
-I'm so glad they both got healthy ㅠㅠ
-Don't get hurt again!
Oooong!
Piiing!
Even after breaching, Uri and Rocky circled the Sea Saver for several minutes, singing, before slowly disappearing into the depths of the ocean.
Seojun was seen bidding them farewell, soaked to the bone just as he was when he first met them.
Though they were out of sight in the ocean's depths, Seojun couldn't tear his eyes away, and his dark pupils seemed to glisten with moisture.
[Humpback whales are called the guardians of the sea.]
Seojun's low voice narrated.
[With their gentle nature, they rescue people in danger and help other animals in distress. If you ever find yourself in peril at sea, a humpback whale might just come to your aid. Someday, a fully grown Uri and Rocky might be there to help you.]
[The ocean. It may feel distant, a place where we don't live. But it's home to the baby humpback whale, Uri, and the mischievous dolphin, Rocky. It's where baby turtles will live and the home Molly will return to.]
[The health of the ocean greatly impacts our own environment. In a way, we all live in the sea.]
Seojun's gentle voice continued.
[Everyone, right now, 'we' are in the sea.]
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