Chapter 3 

"We're home!" Chaeyoung shouts when she arrives at Soothing Hill.

"Oh, you're home" Jihyo is at the dining table, reading a book.

"Jihyo-ya, we bought a halibut. Let's eat sashimi for dinner," Chaeyoung said while lifting up her groceries.

"Nice, I will also make a stew from the remaining bones then."

"Jihyo is great at cutting the sashimi, Mina-ssi"

"She's exaggerating"

Jihyo grabs the groceries and starts to cook. She cuts the fish on the dining table, making it into a cooking show.

She punches the fish in the head without any fear, makes it unconscious, and chopped the head. Mina closed her eyes when Jihyo did that. Jihyo carefully slices the flesh from the front to the back, slowly with her sharp knife. She then separated the skin from the meat. It was beautiful that now they can see the fresh white flesh from the fish.

She cuts it with the same thickness consistently, serving it at the place.

"Beautiful......." Mina said.

Jihyo brings red chili paste, perilla leaves, and soy sauce for them.

"I will cook the stew with this and cook some clams I bought today."

"Thanks, Jihyo-ya," Said Chaeyoung.

Both of them then eat the sashimi together. They are laughing because the sashimi tastes so fresh and sweet. Jihyo sees them from the kitchen. It's nice to see that Mina is smiling. Mina comes at the right time. Chaeyoung always has the power to make people comfortable with her outgoing personality.

They eat a proper dinner at night, and the table has become more lively since Chaeyoung came. Mina is slowly opening up to them.

"Wow, you explored a lot of countries then. Unlike me, I am always staying at home, behind my computer."

"But you can do your work anywhere, right? You should go explore the world then, see a different perspective." JIhyo said. 

"Yeah, only if there's a good internet connection." Mina laughed a bit. 

"Don't worry about that."

"So, what is your craziest experience that you've been into?" Mina asked.

Chaeyoung is thinking.

"Hmmm, let me think first" Chaeyoung folded her hands, "Maybe when I spent a year internship in Antarctica then."

"Antarctica as in the South pole?" Mina is amazed.

Chaeyoung nods. Jihyo is just laughing. She is never tired of hearing about her journey and exploration.

"What did you do there?"

"It was an internship program. I went there just after I graduated from my university. I wanted to continue my master's, and I decided to do research on penguins. I followed my professor there originally only for a summer internship program. There is quite a reverse situation to our seasons here, that the summer is from December to March. So, I went there to join thousands of penguins. It was just a miracle to be there. The thing about summer in the south pole is, you don't have a night for the whole 2 months. The sun is always setting. You could go outside at midnight, and the sky is just like 3 pm here. In my base, there were a thousand people who come for the summer, but only 200 people stay for the winter. Because no one would want to spend their winter at the coldest, driest, terrifying place on earth. I was supposed to stay there for summer but ended up living there for a year."

Chaeyoung sips her beer and continues, "And unlike summer, the winter is killing. There was no sun for the whole 2 months. You kept waking up, and the sun never came and greeted you. And the weather was always below -40 Celcius. When you throw boiling water outside, it becomes icicles in an instant. But the most pleasant thing about coming there and experiencing my winter there is, though it was a dark and endless night outside, just above my head, it will always be filled by the aurora for 2 months. The northern light was always dancing above my head, and the millions of stars illuminated the entire base. The sky is always so clear that we could see the sea of stars with our eyes. It was the best experience."

"And I collect all the data for my penguins' research."

"Wow, that was so cool, living closely with the cute creatures," Mina said and smiled at her.

"It's not cool at all, Mina-ssi. She's always living in a dangerous place and is crazy about her adventure. Years ago, she was stranded in a forest in Alaska. People are going crazy looking for her. Thank God that we can see her in the flesh, right this moment," Jihyo said.

"Nah, she's just worried about me," Chaeyoung laughed.

"So, what did you plan after this?" Mina curiously asked

Chaeyoung shook her head.

"I don't know actu