Episode 2: Nightmare of the Blender

Episode 2: The tragedy of brown spots 3 degrees Celsius. Humidity 45 percent. A cold, dry wind blows ceaselessly through the gaps in the plastic drawers. This was a space called ‘Fresh Vegetable Compartment’ in human language.

For 'Bana', a banana that grew under the hot sun and moist squalls of the South Pacific, it was like a cruel concentration camp in the Siberian frozen soil where it was difficult to survive even a minute and a second. “Ugh… It’s cold… It feels like every joint in my body is frozen stiff…”

Bana curled her round waist and trembled slightly. A bone-chilling cold was sticking like frost on his clear, shiny yellow skin. Bananas were originally the highest quality Cavendish variety of bananas grown in the fertile volcanic ash soil of Mindanao Island in the Philippines. There was a time when I was a child, growing green dreams with my brothers under the huge green leaves of a tall banana tree, feeling the breeze. At that time, the old banana tree elder always admonished the young bananas like this.

‘Guys, listen carefully. The fate of our banana family is nobler and more dynamic than any other fruit in the world. When we hang on a tree, we are astringent and hard, but when we are harvested and set off on a long voyage, we use our own power to increase starlight-like sugars and are reborn as the softest, sweetest golden color. Our life is not long. The brilliant golden time when it ripens yellow and exudes fragrance is only five days at the most, or three days at the shortest. But in that brief moment, it melts like snow on the tongues of tired and hungry humans, breathing joy and vitality into their souls!

That is the greatest mission on earth that our fruit warriors must sacrifice their lives to complete!' Banana, who engraved the elder's words deeply into her heart, grew into a banana that was more desirable than anyone else's, was firmer, and had perfect curves. From crossing the cold ship's cargo hold to arriving at the Port of Busan, passing through the fruit and vegetable wholesale market, and climbing onto the friendly fruit stand in Mangwon-dong, Seoul,

Bana never once doubted his mission. I always had a spark of hope in my heart. 'Who will choose me? Are you a student tired of studying? Is he a tired father who returns from work? Or is he a warm artist who loves singing? Whoever it is, I will give that person the sweetest and most perfect piece of heaven in the world!' And four days ago, a miraculous encounter came. Han Chae-won, a 28-year-old composer, was wearing a hooded zip-up and pacing in front of a fruit shop with tired eyes. When she carefully picked up a yellow banana from among the many fruit baskets on the stand,

Bana felt a thrill of electric shock throughout her body from the warmth coming from her slender fingertips. ‘This is him! 'This weary artist, who torments every night and creates beautiful melodies, was the master of my fate!'

However, that overwhelming emotion and excitement was shattered that very evening when we arrived at Chaewon's one-room kitchen. Chaewon took off the sturdy, large bananas from the banana bunch one by one every day and ate them hungrily.

The youngest, Bana, who boasted the most perfect size and flawless smooth curves, could not bear to eat it and just held it in her hand and looked at it with admiring eyes for a long time. “Oh, the shape of this really is so pretty. It’s like the mysterious golden banana from a storybook or romance comic. Wouldn’t it be such a waste to just gobble up such a luxury banana on a tired day after eating ramen? I should eat it sparingly when I have a very special and perfect moment to toast my music project on a really happy day, a huge success!”

With sweet self-justification, Chaewon carefully wrapped him in a white kitchen towel and pushed him into the deep corner of the cold, dark vegetable compartment of the refrigerator! Clang - At the very moment when the heavy door closed and black darkness came, Bana screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Oh, no, girl! Not in there! Please open the door! If we go into the refrigerator, we won’t be able to breathe and we’ll freeze to death!”

However, beyond the thick refrigerator steel plate and rubber packing that acted as a soundproof wall, there was no way the small banana's desperate scream could reach human ears. As her eyes slowly became accustomed to the darkness, Bana felt the cold gaze of her colleagues staring at her from a shaded corner of the vegetable compartment. There, the unfortunate remnants of ingredients that Chaewon had bought with great determination a few weeks or even months ago but had completely forgotten about, were curled up like ghosts. Half of a lemon left in a corner, with all its moisture drained and shriveled like leather,

A piece of carrot with its green leaves rotting and turning black and dry and soggy on the plastic floor.

And it was an unidentified jar of pickled garlic that had a loose lid and was giving off a musty smell. An old lemon with deep wrinkles all over his body laughed hoarsely and laughed at Bana. “Tsk, tsk, tsk… Another poor victim has crawled into the grave on his own feet. Judging by the shiny yellow skin, it appears to be a new banana who has just joined the company.”

Bana asked cautiously in a trembling voice. “Elder… what kind of place is this? The lady cherishes me so much that she brought me here to eat on the most special and perfect day of happiness…” Lemon twitched the peel and burst into laughter.

"Special day? Hahahaha! You naive tropical fruit kid who doesn't know anything about this world! Do you still not know what humans call 'special day'? It means 'the day when you put off until tomorrow what you should do today,' 'the day when you hide behind laziness and perfectionism and forget,' and 'the day when you end up with mold and throw it in the trash can.' I once heard that girl say, 'I live a healthy life by drinking lemon detox water every morning.' It was a special grade lemon that I ambitiously picked up at the supermarket, saying, 'I'm going to buy it,' but on the first day, he only cut half of it into thin slices to post a picture on Instagram, and left the rest of it like that.

And it's already been three months! For three months, I have been slowly becoming a mummy. Look at the carrot lying over there. I bought nutritious curry rice to eat on the weekend, but then I ended up only ordering tteokbokki and frozen dumplings because it was too much of a hassle, and it got to that point. He shook his mud-covered butt and coughed dryly, and then let out a deep lament in a hoarse voice.

“That’s right, rookie… Human perfectionism is the most terrible and cruel mental prison in the world. Happiness cannot be enjoyed in the present moment, but is always postponed to the mirage of an uncertain future that is just out of reach. ‘If I make more money’, ‘If I finish the deadline’, ‘If I succeed in dieting’, ‘If I become a better person’…

“But when tomorrow comes, humans make another excuse and postpone that happiness until the day after tomorrow or next month. In the end, all that remains are our poor corpses, slowly suffocating and rotting in the cold cold. In just a few days, your brilliant yellow skin will turn black and be thrown into the sewer.” Bana fought back fiercely and never wanted to believe the cruel truth.

“No! Don’t lie! My lady is not such a heartless and irresponsible person! Yesterday, in the middle of the night, she opened the refrigerator door, looked at me, and whispered sweetly to me! It’s just that… I was so busy and tired of finishing the game music I’m making right now that I put it off for a while. When the deadline is over, she will definitely take me out with both hands and eat me with the brightest and most dazzling smile in the world!” Lemon shook his head bitterly with sympathetic eyes.

"If you want to believe it, believe it. But listen carefully to the alarm sound of your biological clock, kid. Your bananas are different from our thick-skinned citrus fruits. When exposed to a cold environment below 10 degrees Celsius, their cell membranes freeze and they stop breathing. As the cell walls burst, the tannins and phenolics trapped in the flesh meet oxygen and oxidize uncontrollably. Do you know what that is? Scholars call it 'cold temperature'. They call it ‘Chilling Injury’, and our fruits are called ‘Black Curse’.

“By the time the human lady finishes the deadline and comes to pick you up, your bones will have already melted and you will have turned into an ugly lump of black charcoal that gives off a bad smell.” Bana's delicate heart plummeted to the floor at that cold and cruel sentence. Bana carefully looked down at her lower abdomen and waist with her trembling body. Sure enough. On top of the lemon yellow-colored epidermis that was so transparent and clear,

Goosebumps-like light brown spots, shaped like tiny pinholes, were starting to appear. It is not a sign of sweet ripeness that naturally blooms in the shade at room temperature;

It was a death spot, like a bruise, where cells suffocate and explode in the harsh cold near freezing. Sugar Spot. The brown spots that appear like freckles on the yellow skin of a banana are the most brilliant blessing and at the same time the most dangerous blade in the world of fruits. The sugar spot, which was created naturally in the mild room temperature wind, was the 'best signal of honey taste', indicating that the complex carbohydrates and starch in the banana were completely converted to fructose and glucose, and the sugar content soared to a whopping 20 Brix or more.

It is the most dazzling and glorious moment in a banana's life, that is, the golden time of destiny that can instantly melt away human fatigue and provide happiness on earth. But the spots that were now growing on Bana's body were not the fruit of peaceful maturity. In the cold plastic prison at 3 degrees Celsius, the unsaturated fatty acids in the cell membrane harden and chlorophyll is rapidly destroyed.

It was the beginning of ‘tragic necrosis’ in which the polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme burst out of the cytoplasm and violently combined with oxygen. “No…! Not yet…! Please stop, my body! You haven’t come yet!”

Bana desperately tried to prevent the collapse of cells by strengthening the muscles and fibers of her entire body. Squeezing out the last moisture and minerals remaining in the flesh, I used my whole body to block the rush of oxidizing enzymes rushing towards the skin. It was like the desperate and tearful struggle of a young boy under a huge dam on the verge of collapse, holding back thousands of tons of rushing water with his small hands.

'Let's hold on just a little longer... Just a little more... ! The lady said she would finish the day at 12 noon today. Until then, we must protect this dazzling yellow shell at all costs! I can't greet you with my ugly, black face. When she opens the drawer, you should be held in her weary arms with a dazzling golden smile!' Bana scratched the cold plastic drawer bottom and took a deep breath. As each minute and second passed, the fructose in my body overfermented abnormally, and the sour heat of alcohol bubbled up inside me.

The pain of a bizarre and terrible contradiction where the outside of the body is as cold as ice, but the inside is boiling like lava. Brown spots began to spread mercilessly over the smooth skin of the banana, from grain size to coin size to palm size. As if a drop of ink falls on a pure white paper and spreads in all directions,

Black bruises were covering Bana's entire body like blood. At that time, Chaewon's sharp scream and the sound of her hitting the desk were heard from inside the room beyond the refrigerator door. “What?! You want me to overturn the entire arrangement?! Until 12 o’clock?!”

Chaewon's despairing voice resonated through the thin steel plate of the refrigerator's outer wall and into the vegetable compartment. Bana suddenly raised her head. 'miss… ! 'What happened?!'

Lemon clicked his tongue and said. “Look, rookie. The human world is always like that. Unexpected crises arise, plans go awry, and leisure evaporates in the blink of an eye. That girl won’t even have the nerve to look back at you anymore. Give up. Your yellow days are over.” “No…! I’m not giving up!”

Bana screamed as if she was coughing up blood. ‘I can’t give up when the lady is in such pain! What she needs most right now is my sweet energy! 'I am the only one who can lift up that soul that is tired and about to collapse!' Bana used the last of her strength to roll towards the refrigerator door. Rattling-

The small banana's body made a small sound as it hit the front wall of the plastic drawer. 'miss! Look here! Open the door! There is no such thing as a perfect day! now… Eat me right in this moment of despair! I will be your strength! Please take me out!' Bana pounded the plastic wall with her whole body. However, in the room, the only sounds coming from the rough keyboard, mouse clicking, and Chaewon's heavy breathing were hitting the wall. There was no way the small gestures of the fruit could reach human ears. Bana's shell became weaker every time it was hit, and it burst.

With a clattering sound, the fine fibers of the peel were torn and sticky juice began to seep out. It was around 10 a.m. and approaching 11 a.m. Bana's struggle finally reached its limit. There was no tissue left to hold on any longer. More than 90 percent of Bana's body was now covered in dark brown and pitch black. The only trace of the dazzling lemon yellow color was a fingernail-sized piece barely hanging around the edge. It was like a brightly burning candle dying out with the last flame flickering on the wick.

The flesh began to completely liquefy inside. The hard and chewy fibrous network collapsed, and the starch turned into sticky brown syrup, filling the inside of the shell. Bana lay limp on the cold plastic floor and slowly closed her eyes in fading consciousness.

'I've held on too long...

I put it off too long...

I thought I was strong, but... Time never increases... ' A sad melody lingered in my head. I held back too long, now it’s all gone wrong…

Thought I was strong, but time’s never been long…

Regret’s a heavy weight I carry all along…

Should’ve known better, now it’s my swan song… Bana shed tears. Those tears became sticky, sour juice drops that flowed out of the banana peel and wet the cold bottom of the drawer. regret. The enormous weight of regret weighing down Bana's entire body. It would have been better if it had worked four days ago, when Chaewon first opened the refrigerator door. No, at 5 a.m. today, when Chaewon hesitated and stretched out her hand, I wish I had hung on to her finger and forcibly jumped into her mouth! If so, at least wash away her fatigue in the freshest and sweetest way possible,

He would have been able to become a proud hero of the Banana family beautifully. I cherished and treasured. Hesitating and hesitating. In the end, in the corner of this cold and cramped plastic prison, rotting away like ugly filth, unloved by anyone! This was the worst curse and tragedy that all fruits born on earth feared the most. Finally, after 12 o'clock sharp, Chaewon's email notification sound could be faintly heard from inside the room. And after a while. Trudging… Trudging…

I heard Chaewon's heavy footsteps approaching the kitchen. Clap-

The refrigerator door opened, and the pale fluorescent light once again illuminated the vegetable compartment. Bana faintly opened her closed eyes. Suddenly, the plastic drawer opened, and Chaewon’s face appeared. Chaewon's face was haggard but filled with relief. However, the moment he saw Bana's appearance, his face was distorted with shock, fear, and an indescribable sense of self-destruction. “…Uh…? What… is this…?”

Chaewon's trembling hands froze in the air. Bana looked up at Chaewon with sad eyes. 'miss… It's me. This is the last banana you cherished so much...

sorry… I tried to hold on until the end... I couldn't stand this harsh cold... ' Chaewon's cold fingers picked up Bana's torso. The feel of the soft flesh that melts away as soon as your fingers touch it. Bana's shell had already lost its vitality and withered away, unable to withstand the strength of Chaewon's grip, and was torn apart. And through the gap, a lump of brown, melted flesh fell helplessly onto the cold kitchen floor. Clap. The sound was like a heart-rending scream for both Bana and Chaewon. Chaewon, who was sitting on the floor, looked at the rotten remains of the banana in her hand and mumbled as if she were lost.

“I held a rotten banana in my hand… It didn’t have the sweetness I had hoped for… I said to myself, wondering if it was my fault…” Hot teardrops fell from Chaewon’s eyes. The teardrops seeped onto Bana's black, bruised shell. Tears of extreme regret and self-reproach that burst from the deepest part of the human heart. It was the exact moment when that pure, hot body temperature touched Bana's frozen soul. Cheeeeeek-! A strange chemical reaction occurred in Bana's wound, which had seeped into her tears. The cold alcohol smell evaporates instantly,

The aroma of brilliant, sweet tropical fruits, as if imbued with the heat of the sun, exploded out. It was not the smell of corruption. It was a magical caramel scent emitted from extreme sugar content that had been concentrated by burning all of one's cells! At the same time, dazzlingly brilliant sapphire and emerald aurora began to bloom from the surface of the rotten banana. Bana's blurred consciousness suddenly awakened. '… What is this scent?! What on earth is this light?! I… Am I being reborn?!'

Blue sparks flew across the surface of Bana's crushed shell, and the shock waves flowed through Chaewon's palm and throughout her body. Chaewon's entire narrow single room shook violently as if there had been a huge earthquake. The porcelain dishes in the sink were floating in the air, and the refrigerator's compressor motor was screaming and sending out blue sparks. The hands of the old cuckoo clock hanging on the wall were spinning backwards like crazy, unwinding.

The kitchen floor where Chaewon was kneeling down cracked as crisply as a glass window. And from the cracks, searing-hot, red desert sand grains gushed like a fountain! "Kyaaaah—!"

Chaewon let out a piercing scream and flew into the air, holding a rotten banana in her chest. The gray walls of the narrow rooftop room that filled all four directions melted away, layer by layer, in the strong sand wind and disappeared. What was revealed when the ceiling of the studio was torn away was not the murky gray sky of Seoul. It was a strange twilight sky with swirls of purple and crimson,

Stretching out far below my feet was the bleak and fantastic ‘Red Desert of Oblivion’, with red sand dunes rolling like huge waves all the way to the horizon! Shhh Iik- Shoot aaaaa-

The desert wind carried more than just ordinary sand dust. Every time the wind blew, the bitter smell of spicy cinnamon powder, roasted sugar, and dried fruit peel swirled around. It was the sighing smell of food that was forgotten and thrown away in every kitchen in the world, thought to be 'eaten later' and saved. The sand dunes of the red desert were constantly changing positions and making a low, muttering sound.

Fragments of memories floated like transparent water droplets in the air and flickered in the haze. thud-! Chaewon slid and landed on a pile of soft red sand. Surprisingly, there were no scratches on his entire body, but the weight of the rotten banana he was holding in his hand was completely different. The banana peel, which had been squishy and crushed, had changed into a hard, shiny, harmonious golden and brown armor.

Inside, the small but powerful sound of the pulse was echoing, ‘pounding, pounding, pounding.’ “…This is ridiculous… What the hell is going on? This… Where is this?!”

Chaewon raised her head, mesmerized. In the middle of that endless red desert. Chaewon's small silver refrigerator stood tall like a stone pillar in a temple. The refrigerator door was wide open, and pure white steam was mysteriously coming out of the cold hole inside. As if that refrigerator was the only portal connecting the two worlds. A surreal world where the causality of reality and merciless time have completely collapsed. Chaewon, a 28-year-old human carrying regrets,

The extraordinary adventure of salvation of 'Bana', an ill-fated banana that was deprived of its sweetness and froze to rot.

Finally, a brilliant dawn was unfolding on the horizon of this red desert.