Chapter 800: Fishing is Life (5)

Jingle jingle.

As Thai traditional instruments played, Junhyun and I linked arms and spun in circles.

“O Spirit of the Fish!”

“Please let us catch many fish!”

Amid prayers pouring out in Thai, Junhyun and I held a full-on ceremony to pray for fish luck.

The noisy commotion must have woken everyone up, because the cast had all come outside.

Kang Manho rubbed his eyes.

“What are you guys doing right now?”

“We’re praying for fish luck, sunbae.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yes. If you’d like to join—”

Before I even finished, they all rushed over onto the mat.

Without anyone asking, Baek Sanggyo was the first to raise a drink.

“O Dragon King of Thailand!”

Oh Hyunsook, Kang Manho, and Chu Giseok bowed.

“O Spirit of the Fish of Thailand, we’re not asking for much. Even a trash fish is fine—just let us catch at least one.”

“Today, please, even if it’s not a big one... just one fish...”

“We can’t go back to Korea like this.”

The wishes were desperate.

Junhyun and I stood and made our own prayers.

“Khob khun krap! Thank you!”

We smiled and greeted the Souffle fans from Phuket who had gathered for the event.

Yesterday, I had posted on social media asking, “Looking for Souffle who want to join tomorrow’s event!”—but I didn’t expect this many to show up.

There were all kinds of people.

Souffle who played traditional Thai instruments, dancers who specialized in traditional dance and belly dancing, and more.

I once saw a joke online that if you gathered all Souffle together, you could form a small country—and looking at the people gathered here, it actually seemed possible.

“Alright, let’s take a group photo!”

After taking commemorative photos for social media, we gathered everyone and gave thanks.

It was a Thai greeting I had prepared with the help of local staff.

“Thanks to all of you...”

Gasps of admiration came from the crowd at my practiced pronunciation.

Sparkling eyes.

“I have a really good feeling about today’s fishing.”

“Oooooh!”

“It’s okay. It’s not Junhyun saying it—it’s me. So today will definitely go well. With your support here in Phuket, we’ll do our best!”

“Waaaaa!”

“Thank you! We love you!”

We responded to photo and autograph requests, checked Thai captions for social media, and chatted with fans.

“Wow.”

Baek Sanggyo looked at us in Thai traditional outfits.

“This is heartwarming. Really heartwarming.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you always look at your fans like that? There’s honey dripping from your eyes. Honey.”

Junhyun and I laughed.

Then—

A commotion nearby.

People had gathered around Chu Giseok.

At first, I thought it was because of his looks, but then I heard—

“Mister!”

Ah.

He was one of the regular cast members of PBS’s popular show Mister Producer, which was hugely popular in Southeast Asia.

I wondered what kind of conversation he was having—

“You Souffle? I’m Souffle too!”

“Waaaaa!”

Watching Chu Giseok happily bonding with fans, I smiled quietly.

Then PD Shin raised the megaphone.

“Alright, please clear the area!”

We waved goodbye to the departing Souffle and headed to the harbor again.

Fans stood beyond the police line, watching.

“....”

“....”

Two Thai men stood there with solemn expressions.

“Look at the captain’s face.”

“Oh dear, he doesn’t need to feel that sorry...”

Their tense expressions suggested pressure from yesterday’s result—zero fish.

Through the interpreter, we asked why.

The answer came quickly.

The captain and Kick looked at Junhyun and me.

“Ahem.”

The interpreter suppressed a laugh.

“They say their daughters scolded them a lot yesterday. ‘How could our oppas not catch a single fish? What were you even doing?’ And told them to fix it today.”

“Hahahaha!”

Amid laughter, the two fathers—whose daughters were Souffle—gave us a thumbs-up.

“We will do our best.”

Junhyun and I returned the gesture.

“Alright!”

Oh Hyunsook reached out her hand.

“Let’s do our best today!”

“Let’s catch something big!”

“Fighting!”

We raised our hands to the sky.

Under the clear sky, waving at the drone—

Today, we’d really catch something.

Swooooosh—

Swoooosh—

“....”

“....”

Silence filled the lounge on the boat.

Baek Sanggyo chuckled.

Kang Manho and Oh Hyunsook looked like they wanted to open a bottle of strong liquor.

Chu Giseok leaned against the wall.

And—

Junhyun and I stared blankly at the sky.

“Junhyun.”

“Yes.”

“We definitely prayed, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why...”

I pointed at the dark clouds.

“Is it raining like we held a rain ritual instead?”

“I don’t know either.”

We had clearly prayed for fish.

So why was it raining?

Not enough to stop fishing—

But enough to make you sick if you stayed outside.

Because of the older cast members, we rested inside.

“Alright, everyone!”

“Lunch time!”

Groans followed.

“What did we even do...”

“Ugh...”

“Chuja Island trauma is coming back...”

Even the weather wasn’t helping.

Then—

Junhyun sniffed.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Ramen.”

“...!”

A staff member entered with a huge pot.

The lid opened—

Boiling red broth, noodles, shrimp.

“...Ahhhh...”

“We did nothing, but the food is good.”

Warm rice and kimchi followed.

Smiles returned instantly.

People are simple.

Fishing stress vanished.

Only happiness remained.

Then—

“The weather has cleared up!”

“Woooo!”

Everyone cast again.

Plop.

Plop.

“Please...”

At this point—

Any fish would do.

“Honestly, even a small one would make me happy.”

“Same.”

Then—

Within 30 minutes—

A bite.

“Wooju, you got one?”

“I think so.”

“It’s small.”

Everything faded.

Just me and the fish.

Pull.

Release.

Then—

“Oh!”

“It’s out!”

A colorful tropical fish appeared.

Like something out of Finding Nemo.

“Finally...”

I held it.

“...Finally.”

Why do I feel like crying?

I smiled at the camera.

“I finally caught one.”

Even if it wasn’t a target fish—

It didn’t matter.

“Congrats.”

“You caught one.”

“Just a trash fish.”

Ignoring Baek Sanggyo’s teasing, I posed proudly.

“What do I do with it?”

“Release it!”

“Oh—right.”

I held it and danced.

“Under the sea—”

“Release it!”

“Ah!”

I quickly let it go.

Embarrassed, I sat down again.

“I knew. That was for entertainment.”

The cameraman’s expression twitched.

One hour passed.

“....”

“....”

Nothing.

Again.

Then—

“Got one!”

Junhyun shouted.

The rod bent violently.

“That’s not the bottom!”

“It can’t be!”

A monster.

Even Junhyun—who once crushed a watermelon barehanded—was struggling.

“Focus!”

“Got it!”

Sweat dripped.

“Underwater camera!”

The screen showed—

A sleek body.

A fin.

“A shark!”

“WHAT?!”

A massive shark burst out.

“Now we know why there were no fish...”

Of course.

Nothing else would come near.

“...Can we bring that on deck?”

“....”

“....”

The captain brought a harpoon.

Things escalated.

Junhyun squinted.

“Wait.”

The shark wasn’t resisting.

“...It’s tangled.”

Net around gills and fins.

They brought it up.

Gentle shark.

They removed the net.

Then—

The captain reached into its mouth.

And pulled something out.

“...Wait.”

It was—

My barracuda.

“IT WAS YOU!”

The shark wriggled awkwardly.

We laughed.

Then released it.

At first it floated.

Then—

It swam.

“Woooo!”

Like it was saying—

“Thank you, human!”

Everyone cheered.

“...Wait.”

A staff member spoke.

“What did we just witness?”

“...?”

“...?”

“....”

Later—

We cast again.

“....”

“....”

Something circled the boat.

Round and round.

Like a guard dog.

“Junhyun.”

“Yes.”

“What is it doing?”

The shark.

The one we saved.

Still circling.

Even after moving spots.

“I think...”

“...Yeah?”

“It’s repaying us.”

“....”

“....”

Of course—

No fish came near.

Everyone screamed.

“AAAAAAAA!”

“THIS IS INSANE!”

“WHY?!”

The shark, repaying kindness—

By ruining our fishing.

And just like that—

Everyone burst into tears again.