Chapter 803: Fishing is Life (8)

The long-awaited final day of fishing.

When we arrived at the harbor, Captain Mario and fishing guide Kick were waiting for us.

But there was a new face among them.

PD Lee Junho introduced him.

“Today is the grand third day of fishing. The theme is trolling fishing. Let me introduce the captain who’ll be helping us.”

“Woooo!”

“This is Captain San!”

A muscular captain with a thick beard stepped forward, flexing his arms.

He looked like Thailand’s version of Popeye.

“Captain San is a friend of Captain Mario. He’s said to be a master of trolling.”

“Then Captain Mario isn’t coming today?”

“No.”

PD Lee Junho explained.

“Today’s third-day trolling trip will be on Captain San’s boat, not Captain Mario’s.”

“That’s a relief.”

I smiled.

“I was worried the shark might show up again like yesterday.”

At my moist-eyed expression, everyone burst out laughing.

Just then, Oh Hyunsook asked,

“Come to think of it, PD, what happened to our shark? Did it leave?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t still hanging around, was it?”

Everyone glanced toward Captain Mario’s boat in the distance.

The shark that had been the highlight of yesterday’s fishing had circled us for quite a while.

It was even still circling when we returned to the harbor, to the point someone joked, “Is it coming back tomorrow too?”

“According to Captain Mario, it circled around the boat until evening yesterday and then disappeared.”

“Guess it got tired and left.”

“Still, thanks to the shark, everyone caught something yesterday.”

Entertainer Kang Manho grinned at me.

“Everyone except Wooju.”

“Sunbae, I’d rather not remember yesterday.”

“It’s funny, that’s why! Hahaha!”

“.......”

As I stared blankly into the air, recalling the nickname “The Half Man,” PD Lee Junho spoke, holding back laughter.

“Anyway, today’s fishing is trolling. You all know what trolling is, right?”

Everyone nodded.

Trolling.

One of the fishing methods used to catch large species like marlin and tuna.

These fish are intelligent and extremely fast, making them difficult to catch with regular methods.

So you attach bait to the boat and speed across the water.

The marlin sees it and instinctively chases it, like a cat chasing a laser pointer.

“Today’s target species are marlin and tuna!”

At the PD’s gesture, Captain San stepped forward.

“He’ll now explain trolling fishing. There are safety precautions, so please listen carefully.”

Captain San began explaining in a mix of Thai and English, and the interpreter translated.

Most of it was about marlin.

They’re related to what we generally know as blue marlin and live in Phuket waters.

The visual difference is the sail-like dorsal fin on their back.

“Marlin are extremely fast. They’re called the ‘cheetahs of the sea’ and can reach speeds up to 110 kilometers per hour.”

“......In the ocean?”

“Yes. Up to 110 kilometers per hour in the ocean.”

Everyone’s jaws dropped.

“They’re usually between one and two meters, but occasionally close to three meters.”

“Wow. Catch one of those and everything so far gets overturned.”

“Let’s focus.”

“Look at Wooju’s sparkling eyes.”

As everyone laughed at my expression—

Captain San raised his thick palm as if to warn us.

There was a pale scar across it, like from a knife.

The interpreter translated seriously.

“He says you must be very careful. Even a veteran like him sometimes gets injured. If you’re pierced by a marlin’s bill, you could be seriously hurt.”

Captain Mario nodded, showing a scar on his cheek.

The production team played safety footage.

-Flap! Flap!

-“Oh my god! Oh my god!”

A clip of a blue marlin leaping into a laughing American angler’s boat, causing chaos as people jumped overboard.

Another of a marlin ramming a small boat and flipping it.

Even a news screenshot of a man overseas hospitalized after being pierced by one.

Chu Giseok muttered darkly,

“We should be careful......”

“Turn it off! You’ll give this old man a heart attack!”

PD Lee Junho said,

“There’s no need to be overly afraid! If you follow the captain and crew’s guidance, there won’t be safety issues. This is just for prevention.”

Beside me, Junhyun whispered,

“I’ll protect you, hyung.”

“Thanks, Junhyun.”

Logically, I should have said, “Do you think you can beat a two-meter marlin?”

But somehow, I feel like he could.

Though—

“First I need to hook one before you can protect me.”

“Oh. Right.”

As if hearing me, Chu Giseok raised his hand.

“Interpreter! Please tell the captain there’s someone here who hasn’t properly caught a single fish yet. Please take good care of him.”

“Ah, yes.”

Captain San’s fierce gaze turned toward me.

He thumped his chest and spoke in Thai.

“He says not to worry. Even if no one else catches one today, he’ll make sure NewBlack’s Wooju catches a fish.”

“Oooooh!”

“Is he secretly a Souffle too?”

As Junhyun and I clapped and cheered, Captain San raised his arms overhead.

At first I thought it was a “I’ll crack your skull” pose, but it turned out to be a giant heart.

His muscles twitched shyly.

“I’m Souffle. Love you.”

“Souffle!”

Junhyun and I made a combined heart, and the captain’s eyes grew moist.

The interpreter smiled.

“He says he’ll do his best today.”

Sparkling eyes.

The expression of a Souffle determined to gift his bias a fish made everyone laugh.

Today’s fishing, with a fierce battle against marlin ahead.

But—

The biggest enemy today wasn’t marlin.

“Uuuugh.”

“Ughhhh.”

“Uhhhhh......”

Everyone was clutching plastic bags, seasick.

The trolling boat was much faster, and even veteran anglers struggled.

Chu Giseok gagged.

“Junhyun, I get. But Wooju... you’re fine?”

“Yeah.”

At first I felt a bit seasick too, so I quickly copied the movements of the crew.

Once I mimicked how they balanced their center of gravity, the nausea eased.

As I thought I should’ve watched MyTube before going to Ulleungdo years ago—

“We’ve arrived at the spot!”

We had reached our destination.

In the middle of endless ocean, everyone stepped outside.

“Now please cast your prepared rods!”

With the crew’s help, we cast our trolling rods.

Captain San shyly cast mine personally.

Normally someone would protest favoritism.

But—

“Wooju deserves it.”

“Yeah. He needs at least one.”

“He has to clear the Half Man reputation.”

The cast smiled warmly.

It only made me sadder.

And so trolling began.

But for an hour, there wasn’t a single bite.

On day one I’d thought, ‘Why aren’t fish coming?’

By day three, I just munched snacks.

“Harbor, oh harbor~”

At Teacher Baek Sanggyeo’s humming, I responded,

“We are sailors~”

“Cutting through the wild waves~~”

We sang the 1939 song “Sailor’s Diary” together.

Kang Manho commented,

“How does a kid know songs like that?”

“Wooju hyung’s hobby is listening to music. Lately he’s even into traditional African music.”

“Then do you know Thai songs?”

When Oh Hyunsook asked, I sang a Thai national favorite in Thai, and the crew joined the chorus.

Everyone burst into laughter.

After getting a perfect caption-worthy moment—

“It’s really not biting.”

“Yesterday was just lucky.”

“Marlin! When are you coming!”

We waited endlessly.

Waves slapping the hull.

Seagulls crying.

The Phuket sun heating my straw hat.

Another hour passed.

Like ASMR on loop, everyone just stared at their rods.

“It’s not bad though.”

Junhyun said.

“Spacing out like this gives me time to think. It feels like meditation.”

“True.”

If there was a positive, it was having time to reflect.

When you’re busy with schedules, you rarely have space to feel your emotions.

Fishing gave me that space.

“Fishing doesn’t go the way I want.”

No matter the bait, no matter the posture, fishing is about the fish.

If the fish doesn’t bite, it’s useless.

No matter how hard I try, fish won’t bite because I try harder.

Even Teacher Baek Sanggyeo, practically semi-pro, wasn’t catching anything.

“Fishing is luck.”

“It’s all luck.”

Kang Manho said,

“It depends on who the fish wink at that day. Skill has nothing to do with it.”

I nodded.

“I feel like I’ve gained some enlightenment.”

“Enlightenment?”

“Yes. That success is ultimately luck.”

Everyone chuckled in agreement.

Fishing felt like life.

You can’t catch the fish called success just because you try hard.

Maybe results are luck.

I felt like I’d found an answer to my insomnia.

Album success isn’t just in my hands—it’s timing and luck too.

I always knew that logically, but now I felt it in my bones.

I’d prepared everything perfectly for fishing—and still caught nothing.

Effort doesn’t guarantee results.

-Success isn’t entirely in our hands.

I’d told the younger members that many times.

But maybe I hadn’t believed it myself.

That’s why I couldn’t sleep.

Studying languages or listening to music at night had nothing to do with album success.

Like carefully preparing bait before fishing doesn’t guarantee a catch.

“Hmm.”

Teacher Baek Sanggyeo laughed.

“When fishing doesn’t go well, you think all sorts of things, huh?”

“Yes.”

“But you said something right. Fishing is just like life. You never know.”

He continued,

“Some days you catch over ten. Other days you barely catch one.”

“That reminds me of yesterday.”

“Hahaha! It’s funny. Sometimes beginner guests catch way more than us. Remember Lucky Girl’s Rui? That girl group member caught a huge carp and won.”

He laughed.

“But that doesn’t mean experience is useless. You said it’s luck—but that’s not entirely true. The fish biting is luck.”

“......?”

“But if a giant fish that beginners can’t handle bites? You need skill to reel it in.”

He was telling me luck wasn’t everything.

Skill doesn’t guarantee a catch.

But when luck comes, you need skill to seize it.

I said in admiration,

“Fishing is profound.”

“It’s fun, right?”

Just then—

Junhyun suddenly reeled quickly.

“Junhyun, you got something?”

“I’m luring fish. They said if you reel like this, it tempts them.”

Captain San shouted,

“Too fast!”

“He says that’s too fast. If you reel that fast, the fish won’t be able to bite—”

Right then—

Junhyun paused.

“I think something’s hooked.”

“.......”

“.......”

After ten minutes of struggle, the fish came up.

A one-meter-class tuna.

Not extremely long, but obviously heavy.

The captain cleared his throat.

“It was too fast... so only something fast enough to keep up got caught!”

“How did you catch that?! Share the secret!”

As Junhyun and the Thai crew laughed holding the tuna—

I turned to Teacher Baek Sanggyeo.

“You said earlier that skill matters for landing big fish beginners can’t catch.”

“.......”

“So what is this situation?”

“.......”

The trot singer stared into the distance and chuckled.

Lunch was, of course, tuna.

Back at the harbor, we turned Junhyun’s tuna into sashimi and ate it wrapped in sesame oil and seaweed.

“It melts in your mouth.”

“So good.”

Fresh tuna was unbelievably delicious.

We made several dishes, and even after feeding cast, staff, and crew, there was enough for dinner.

“Currently, Junhyun, who caught a shark yesterday, is in first place!”

PD Lee Junho said, pointing at the scoreboard.

“But the game isn’t over! You still have five hours. Catch one marlin and it’s an instant comeback!”

“Right. Still five hours.”

“We’ll catch at least one.”

Everyone braced themselves and headed out again.

Trolling resumed.

Unlike the nauseating morning, everyone found their balance.

I cast again.

Rotate the waist, smoothly swing back, extend forward—line forming a perfect arc.

“Nice!”

Check the current.

Consider the wind.

Then sit calmly.

I’d prepared everything.

Now I would wait.

Thirty minutes passed.

Tick—

Titikitik—

My rod bent.

Chu Giseok jumped up.

“Oh?! Oh!”

“It’s on!”

“Wooju got one!”

I grabbed the rod.

“Whoa!”

If Junhyun hadn’t grabbed me from behind, I might have been flung overboard.

The force was immense.

Within thirty seconds, my forearms trembled.

The thick trolling rod bent alarmingly.

“Ughhh!”

“Hyung, want help?”

“No. I’m okay.”

Someone strapped a champion belt around my waist.

Cheers filled the air, but I heard nothing.

Like during extreme trainee dance practice when everything goes white.

Sweat poured.

“He’s overheating.”

Kang Manho removed my straw hat and poured water over my head.

Cold water cooled me.

My body swung back and forth like a pendulum.

I don’t know how much time passed.

When I was so breathless tuna nearly came up my throat—

“It’s coming up!”

“Bring the underwater camera!”

On the monitor—

A fish with a pointed bill thrashed.

“It’s a marlin!”

“It’s huge!”

“Forty minutes of fighting makes sense!”

...Forty minutes?

The crew finished it with a harpoon.

It was so large they needed ropes, not just a net.

“Hyung! It’s huge!”

Junhyun grabbed my shoulder.

I collapsed on my back.

Blue sky above.

“Finally.......”

I turned to look at the massive marlin.

At least 2.5 meters.

“Finally.”

Smiling at the camera, I said,

“I finally caught one.”

The camera director gave me a thumbs up.

Goodbye, Half Man.

“Two meters ninety-five! A new record!”

“Whoa.”

“Almost three meters?”

A monstrous marlin.

Captain San, Kick, and the Thai crew all stared in awe.

“Woohoohoho!”

It took Junhyun, me, and several crew members to hold it up.

In the middle, I posed with a satisfied smile.

Definitely handsome—

But the expression of a fifty-year veteran fisherman was still on my face.

Staff whispered.

“Is it just me...?”

An assistant director said,

“This reminds me of something.......”

Huge marlin.

Face aged forty minutes.

Straw hat.

Laughing grandfather expression.

A meme-in-the-making appeared on the monitor.

“...Doesn’t it look exactly like The Old Man and the Sea?”

The staff burst into laughter.

Hearing it, I waved happily.

They threw their voices quietly,

“It really does look like The Old Man and the Sea.”

“Let’s not tell Wooju. He’s so happy.”

“Agreed.”

While I proudly believed I’d created a cool scene, the staff and cast quietly swallowed their laughter.