Chapter 1194: Extremes (5)

"Hyung."

"Junghyun."

"Yes."

He looked as though he was waiting to hear what I had to say.

I forced myself to speak.

"I'm sorry. It turns out I really was the one who invited them."

"Hmm. I'll accept your apology."

"But... hasn't the show become more entertaining thanks to me?"

"...."

"I'm sorry."

As I bowed my head and cautiously watched his reaction, Jiho chimed in.

"Back when I was in high school, you told me this, remember? I was trying to apologize to Ri Hyuk hyung for doing something wrong, and you said, 'Jiho, when you've done something wrong, don't add excuses. Just apologize.'"

"...."

"I guess it's a universal rule that nobody follows their own advice. Hahahaha! Ow!"

I got my revenge by poking the cheeky youngest in the side, then gave Junghyun an awkward look.

Thankfully, our main vocalist broke the silence.

"Hmm."

Ri Hyuk spun his pen between his fingers.

"I ran the numbers, and I think we have enough ingredients. We packed while accounting for several possible situations, remember? Even after serving the foreign guests, we should still have enough left to prepare a separate meal for our station personnel."

"And we'll still have more after that?"

"Yes. We brought a lot."

"Okay."

I clapped my hands and gathered my younger members around.

"Then let's start our strategy meeting."

While Producer Gu Jaeyoung watched from behind the camera, I first turned to Biju.

"Did you receive the guest list from the other stations?"

"Yes. Their names are listed here, along with their allergies and whether they're vegetarian."

Since the group included a large number of people from Europe and the United States, their individual preferences varied widely.

We planned the menu while looking over a list that identified people with shrimp or peanut allergies and even specified the degree of each vegetarian's dietary restrictions.

"For tomorrow's lunch, I think we should prepare dishes everyone can eat together. Since we need to conserve water, the main course should use a mild sauce rather than anything spicy."

"Should we reuse the menu from Goblin Restaurant?"

"Yes."

We agreed on a safe Western-style menu for lunch with the international guests.

Junghyun said,

"Then we can serve Korean food for dinner. Everyone will probably feel heavy after eating Western food."

We nodded.

Only the Koreans would be present for dinner, so we decided on dishes that would be less rich.

Producer Gu Jaeyoung asked,

"What should we do about filming?"

"I think we can move the mini-games we planned to dinner. For lunch, we can keep it simple and just perform."

We were deep in discussion when the penguin—no, Dr. Paeng Gwiin—approached with a jaunty bounce, waving his hand.

"Are you in a meeting?"

"Yes. We're almost done."

"Thanks to you, I enjoyed today's meal. Hahaha."

We smiled and said we were glad to hear it, and the doctor asked,

"Once you're finished, would you like to take a short walk? A lot of gentoo penguins live around here."

Jiho gasped.

"...Combat penguins!"

"No. Gentoo penguins. Jiho, please be careful with the name."

"Okay."

While Jiho answered meekly after the doctor's frosty correction, Dr. Paeng asked with an expression that made it clear he was itching to go.

"So, would you like to take a walk? The penguins are waiting for you."

At the thought of sparkling, adorable penguins, we all sprang to our feet.

Penguins!

How cute will they be?!

We bundled ourselves in thick clothing and headed outside.

The sea breeze blew cold around King Sejong Station, perhaps because it was so close to the shore.

"There's a place nearby that our researchers call Penguin Village. You have to go around the mountain behind the station rather than this way, so we'll visit it tomorrow."

"I see."

"Today, we'll simply take a light walk around this area. There are usually plenty of seals and penguins here at this time of year."

Dr. Paeng Gwiin's plump cheeks flushed with excitement.

"Has everyone seen a penguin in person before?!"

"No."

Except for Jiho, who said he'd seen them at a zoo, none of us had ever seen a penguin.

I smiled.

"We've actually had a lot of connections with penguins over the years, but we've never seen them in person."

Penguins were animals with deep ties to us.

They had been our symbolic animals during the mascot costume event we held in Myeong-dong early in our debut, and fans often compared the five of us huddled together to a colony of penguins in MyTube compilation videos.

As I spoke over the sound of beach gravel crunching beneath our insulated boots, Dr. Paeng nodded.

"Excellent. This will probably be your first time seeing penguins from such a close distance."

He then explained the precautions.

"First, this isn't quite the same as the ASPA you'll be visiting tomorrow, but...."

"ASPA?"

Ri Hyuk explained while pulling his hat down securely.

"It stands for Antarctic Specially Protected Area. Entry is difficult unless it's for research purposes, and vehicles such as snowmobiles aren't allowed inside."

"Exactly!"

From the doctor's explanation, it sounded as though a protected area had been established near King Sejong Station under Korean leadership in 2009.

Apparently, a huge number of penguins lived there.

"You don't have to be quite as cautious as you would inside the ASPA, but contact with Antarctic wildlife is still prohibited. Please refrain from approaching them first or initiating contact."

"Okay."

"This should go without saying, but threatening the animals as a joke is forbidden as well."

In other words, it was essentially a sign saying, [Please enjoy with your eyes only^^].

We were walking along the shore as the waves rolled in when Junghyun, who had the best eyesight among us, raised a hand to his brow.

"Hmm."

"There are penguins over there."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Just as he said, when we moved a little closer, there really were penguins.

There were also seals nearby, though they were some distance away.

When I widened my field of view, I saw that unlike the small number of penguins, there were quite a lot of seals.

The large colony glanced at us before losing interest.

"Wow. Penguins are really cute."

"Ohhh."

Perhaps it was because such large humans had approached.

The adorable little penguins, which didn't even reach our waists, sprang upright and regarded us warily.

-Who goes there?! Identify yourselves!

...That was the sort of mood they gave off.

Biju whispered,

"Should we greet them?"

"As if the penguins would understand us, hyung."

I turned toward the doctor.

"Doctor, how do penguins greet—"

"Hahh."

The penguin fanatic had both hands pressed to his cheeks, wearing a dazed expression.

When we blinked at him, Dr. Paeng cleared his throat awkwardly and tried to hide his embarrassment.

"What did you say, Wooju?"

"How do penguins greet each other? Do they bow their heads like this?"

"Ah. That...."

As we prepared to bow toward the gentoo penguins, the doctor said,

"That's a mating signal."

"...."

At the explanation that it was an intimate greeting between penguin couples, we could only stare into the distance.

Meanwhile, the penguins that had been watching us intently began inching closer.

Their eyes were filled with curiosity despite their caution.

We whispered excitedly.

"Ooh."

"They're coming! They're coming closer!"

"W-what do we do? I'm afraid of birds...!"

While Ri Hyuk hid behind my back, the penguins approached one careful step at a time.

As Dr. Paeng breathed the hot, ragged breaths of an obsessed fan, a smell began drifting toward our noses.

A foul, musty odor.

"Huh?"

"Where is that fertilizer-like smell coming from...?"

The moment we said that....

A gust of sea wind blew from behind the adorable penguins.

"Ugh...."

"Urgh...."

While our weak-stomached main vocalist gagged, we rubbed our eyes and stared toward the source of the smell.

Dr. Paeng Gwiin explained with a warm smile.

"When I first smelled it, I nearly stopped being a fan."

"...."

"Emperor penguins don't smell too bad because of the nature of their habitat, but these fellows have quite a strong odor. They walk around with feces on their bodies. Hahaha."

My younger members and I stared at the penguins in shock.

The smell did not match their adorable faces at all.

Dr. Paeng seemed uninterested in our horror, however. He merely watched the penguins that had approached within a few meters with fascination.

"How unusual."

"What is?"

"They don't usually come this close. Perhaps they're especially curious, or...."

He glanced at us and tilted his head.

"Or what?"

"Or perhaps... they find the predators insignificant...."

"...."

"Of course, I'm not saying that all of you are insignificant. Perhaps you simply appear that friendly~ Something like that."

The doctor had elegantly rephrased the fact that the penguins apparently saw us as giant pushovers.

Our gazes met those of the penguins.

Waddle, waddle.

But once they came within five meters, the penguins stopped approaching and simply stared at us.

"D-do something."

Ri Hyuk, holding his nose because of the smell, poked me from behind.

"Do what?"

"Anything."

"...."

After thinking for a moment, I slowly closed my eyes.

There was something that still remained in my body's muscle memory, even though it had been a very long time.

I spread my arms like wings.

Waddle—

The doctor's eyes widened.

Waddle—

"An emperor penguin...!"

I demonstrated a penguin walk in front of the penguins.

How would the original creators react?

Dr. Paeng watched with ragged breaths and a deeply fascinated expression.

"...."

"...."

The penguins silently stared up at me.

Then they turned around and began walking away.

"?"

"??"

But they didn't keep going.

After walking a short distance, they looked back at us.

As though telling us to follow.

"Are they telling us to follow them, Doctor?"

"Yes, yes. Wooju, you absolutely must follow them. Stay with them until they enter the water."

And so, we began the strange journey alongside the penguins.

Eventually, we reached the area near a colony of resting seals.

A seal much larger than the gentoo penguins watched us warily.

Waddle-waddle-waddle-waddle!

The gentoo penguins charged toward the seals with rapid, bobbing steps.

Startled, one of the seals leaped into the water and fled.

Splash!

The gentoo penguins flapped their wings on the shore as they watched the seal disappear gracefully.

I felt their gazes turn toward me.

I didn't know why, but it felt as though they were giving me a thumbs-up with their eyes.

My underlings and I blinked.

What was that?

Did we become comrades?

We watched in confusion as the penguins immediately began charging toward the kingdom of seals.

"Wooju! Please! Tell me your secret!"

"No, there isn't any secret...."

"What in the world did you do to make the penguins approach you so affectionately?! May I ask what scent of fabric softener you use? Or perhaps you could tell me which perfume you wear...."

"Doctor, please...."

Wooju could be seen looking troubled in the distance.

Producer Gu Jaeyoung, who had been discussing the shoot with the camera director, audio director, and writer Yang Mihyun, turned his head.

"What's happening over there?"

"Dr. Paeng is incredibly excited. He looks ready to peck him with his beak."

Producer Gu turned toward the assistant director who had returned from filming NewBlack and was about to ask—no, throw a question at him.

"Urgh."

"Ugh. Hey, why do you smell like that?"

The assistant director smelled as though he'd fallen into a pit latrine and climbed back out.

No.

It wasn't quite that bad. It was more as though someone had picked him up with chopsticks, lightly dipped him into a pit latrine like a sauce, then pulled him back out.

"I was filming the penguins up close."

"Penguins? Aren't you forbidden from touching them?"

"The penguins approached us first, so it was fine."

"?"

The assistant director stared into the air.

He looked as though he was spending a long time trying to figure out how to explain it.

As his seniors watched him, the assistant director finally said,

"I think Wooju and the penguins became comrades."

"Uh...?"

"I... think that's the only way to describe it. They formed an alliance with the penguins, defeated the seals, and seized the territory surrounding King Sejong Station."

"...."

The more he spoke, the deeper he sank.

In the staff members' minds, a scene unfolded of Wooju shaking hands with the king of the penguins before waging war against the seals.

"No, no. You'll understand when you see the footage. Wooju imitated a penguin in front of them. Then the penguins led Wooju away and charged at the seal colony."

"Just... leave the camera here. Go wash yourself first."

"Yes."

Still, they understood the general situation.

Weren't these the oddballs who had gone to film a travel reality show and caught seagulls with their bare hands?

They must have used some sort of trick to lure the penguins.

"Wooju...!"

"I'm sorry, Doctor. I'll tell you later. We don't have much time if we're going to prepare the restaurant for tomorrow."

The penguin doctor's desperate cry rang out.

Anyone would have softened upon seeing his plump, penguin-like face, but it had no effect on NewBlack's leader.

He had too many younger members who were even cuter.

Dr. Paeng Gwiin said,

"Th-then I'll help you."

"Excuse me?"

"I'll help you prepare the restaurant."

"...."

Wooju's gaze wavered for an instant.

But Producer Gu Jaeyoung and the others did not miss it.

He's tempted.

Wooju hesitated, then spoke with an embarrassed expression.

"Oh, Doctor. We're supposed to be treating all of you. How could we possibly ask you to help?"

Translation: It would be embarrassing to accept immediately, so please ask again.

As someone who had established himself in the intrigue-ridden world of academia, Dr. Paeng Gwiin immediately understood.

"Guests are coming from overseas, aren't they? As a fellow Korean, I should lend a hand."

Translation: Deal?

"Oh, I feel bad accepting...."

Translation: Hehe.

Wooju covered his mouth with one hand and glanced around.

"But we also have to decorate, and there's quite a lot to do...."

Translation: How many servants do you command?

"Everyone should help. Hahaha!"

Translation: How many were you hoping for?

Dr. Paeng Gwiin and Wooju clasped hands and began laughing together.

Even the underlings beside them applauded with pleased smiles.

Writer Yang Mihyun said,

"They were like this in Alaska too. I guess they're destined to gather people under their command wherever they go."

Wooju immediately taught Dr. Paeng his penguin movements, while Dr. Paeng mobilized his colleagues' labor through an astonishing method.

He quietly began working and sweating by himself.

When the others saw him, they rushed over in alarm like hungry ghosts drawn to a lantern.

"Senior, why are you...."

"Whoa, whoa! Team Leader, why are you working? What? Preparing for the guests?"

"Dr. Paeng? Why...?"

Dr. Paeng Gwiin waved them off with a hearty laugh.

"I'm helping because I want to. We're welcoming foreign guests, so I should at least lend a hand."

"...."

"Everyone else can rest~ Since you're here, have a cup of coffee."

"...."

The New Universe production staff whispered among themselves.

"Apparently, Dr. Paeng is the most senior researcher here. The highest-ranking one."

"Ah."

The newly recruited servants immediately began hammering and working through tears, filling King Sejong Station with lively energy.

The audio director said,

"This already feels ominous. Foreign guests, penguins... Judging by the atmosphere, it feels like they're about to open a full restaurant."

"Seriously."

With gleeful laughter drifting from somewhere, the production staff's hearts raced at the thought of what might happen tomorrow.

The following morning.

Researchers from countries around the world arrived on King George Island by snow vehicle, boat, plane, and various other means.

"It's been a while since I visited King Sejong Station."

The researchers saying this blinked.

"But... is... is this the right place?"

"I think so."

At a glance, the interior of King Sejong Station appeared to have changed.

There was even an ominous black flag fluttering outside.

"Is that... a pirate ship?"

"No. I think it's a Souffle flag."

If not for the smiling loaf of bread on it, the flag could easily have been mistaken for a pirate banner.

The researchers, their arms full of gifts, were about to enter when they stopped.

"Eric? What's wrong?"

"No...."

An ecologist specializing in penguins pointed toward the shore.

"Were there always this many penguins around this station?"

"Hm?"

"Look over there."

"...."

A colony of penguins was sunbathing on the beach.

Unaware that the penguins had claimed the seals' territory with the aid of a foreign power, the researchers merely tilted their heads.

What is going on?

Everything was deeply confusing.