Pet King

Sihwa didn’t watch Korean dramas for no reason. At the very least, she was able to recognize some Korean characters. Even if she didn’t know the word, she was able to understand that the word was Korean. After all, Korean characters were very distinctive; they were easily recognizable, just like the characters from both the Chinese and Japanese language.

In the past, Zhang Zian had told her that the area in Northeast Asia that was mainly doing the whaling was South Korea and Japan. The only difference was that South Korea had been doing it secretly, claiming that the whales were caught by mistake, while Japan had been blatantly killing them under the claims of it being for scientific research. Both countries had a tradition of eating whale meat. Whale meat was more expensive in its domestic market, and many people were willing to pay for the experience.

After listening to him, Sihwa refused to believe him because she had watched many Korean dramas. In all those dramas, the actors in each Korean drama were both beautiful, elegant, and living in the thriving streets of Seoul. It was a completely different image from them putting a piece of whale meat into their mouth and chewing vigorously. She suspected that Zhang Zian was lying to her because Fina had told her that Zhang Zian liked to bluff.

If it was about eating fish, then Sihwa would not be as bothered, but whales meant more to her. Perhaps it was because she was half-fish, half-mammal––compared to humans, she was actually closer to whales.

Whales and dolphins had the highest IQ in the ocean and compared to fishes, whales and dolphins had intelligence, feelings, and their own languages. They were able to cooperate with society, have a natural friendliness to human beings, and were natural allies of mankind in the ocean.

She would never be able to understand––especially since there were so many things that human beings could eat. With the birds flying in the sky, mammals running on the ground, and things swimming in the sea… was whale meat really necessary?

The most important thing was that although humans couldn’t hear anything, her ears were filled with the songs and whispers of the whales all day and night. The sounds came from thousands of miles away from where the whales communicated with each other through low-frequency sound waves. She could hear them expressing their love for one another, sending out messages to protect their family and people, and warning each other about attacks from ferocious beasts and whaling ships. She could also hear a mother calling out to her child, a husband calling out to his wife, the deep bellows of a male, and hear the soft whispers of a female… All this made her feel like she was there in the crowd of whales; sometimes, she would even dream that she was also a whale, and she could swim in the sea without tiring.

To her, whales were special.

The white whale who accompanied her for a long time in the cold Baltic Sea––the one who used its body to warm her up when she was a newborn––was all alone and helpless. Would it also be put on the table one day to be eaten?

Zhang Zian noticed the look on her face was getting uglier. It seemed like she would vomit at any time, so he quickly handed her a washbasin.

“Hey, are you okay?” Zian asked.

She pressed her lips together and shook her head. She didn’t dare to speak a word because she was afraid that she would vomit just from opening her mouth.

Zhang Zian waited by her side, and after waiting for about ten minutes, her face slowly eased. It looked much better, but it still wasn’t back to normal yet.

“So, is it really the Korean fishermen who injured the minke whale?” Sihwa asked with a glimmer of hope.

Zian did not answer her question; it was like a silent acknowledgment.

The evidence was right in front of them and it wasn’t possible to fake it. The harpoon was not new, and the handle was smooth from long periods of use––plus, the barbs were also rusted. It had to have been used for at least ten years. The unique smell of whale blood was emitted from the wooden handle and continued to linger around.

Who would write their surname on the harpoon? Only a fishing family would do that with ostentation.

Zhang Zian picked up the harpoon and rewrapped it with plastic sheeting because he felt that Sihwa would definitely feel unwell if she continued to look at it.

Sihwa said with difficulty, “The giant whale you recorded… was it also injured by a harpoon?”

“I don’t know. I’m can’t confirm that. I have to look at it from a close distance to determine if it’s hurt or if it’s sick. This type of harpoon is not fatal to it, but if it’s bigger, like the harpoons meant for hunting giant whales… I’m afraid that if we continue to drag this on, it’s not going to be great for it,” Zhang Zian replied truthfully.

“Okay… I understand.” Sihwa swallowed her saliva, as if to suppress the feeling of nausea that rushed up through her chest. “Then let’s start recording.”

“There’s no need to rush. We can start the recording after you take a short moment of rest.” Zhang Zian saw that she really didn’t look too well. Even her crisp and sweet voice was a little hoarse, so he tried to persuade her to wait.

“I want to do the recording.” She looked up at him. Her voice was not loud, but she was very determined. Her eyes were filled with a resoluteness that was extremely rare in her case; it was like two blue flames burning.

“This is the only thing I can do for it,” she added.

Zhang Zian seemed to have been infected by her emotions. There was an inexplicable impulse within his chest.

“Okay, then. Let’s start the recording.”

He brought up his phone, but before he started the recording function, he bought the most expensive electric motor-powered assault boat in his shopping cart, and then paid for the life jacket and lifebuoy, too. He felt a little pain at the cost of it all.

However, he clearly felt that if he retreated now, he would be looked down upon by the mermaid who had always been an idiot. If even Sihwa was able to do the recording, why should he hesitate?

“The content of the song will be, ‘Are you hurt? This person can be trusted. He will not hurt you. Is that okay?'” She confirmed.

“Yes, that’s fine.” He nodded. Zhang Zian was afraid of disturbing her song, but just as he was about to turn and head out of the bathroom, he suddenly remembered a problem. He stopped and asked, “Right, about your song… Can all whales understand it?”

“Why such a question?” She asked him back after a momentary pause.

“Because I was too far away, so I couldn’t really see what kind of whale it was,” Zhang Zian explained. “So I would like to confirm if your voice is generally understood, or if it will only target a few different species?”

Sihwa was really stumped. She thought for a while before she replied, “About that… I’m also not too sure. When I appeared in this world, the whale’s voices were already lingering in my ears, so I naturally learned them… But, there’s a difference between kinds of whale songs. Some have a higher frequency, some have a lower frequency, and some have accents, just like human dialects. Rest assured, I can basically sing all the different kinds of whale songs… All I have to do is to repeat the same meaning several times with each of them.”

She was filled with confidence, and Zhang Zian couldn’t find any reason for rebuttal. With no other problems, he left the bathroom and closed the door.

After a short while, an unclear voice could be heard coming from the bathroom, appearing and disappearing from time to time. The tone lingered on the edge of the frequency that the human ear could hear, until almost half an hour later, the song disappeared completely.

Sihwa was done with her recording.