Chapter 46
* * *
Day 15 stranded on the deserted island, 09:08
"Ms. Lin Wei. This settlement has rules and order. You know you can't do something like that, right?"
As soon as morning came, Seoyun confronted Lin Wei and went through everything that had happened the night before, point by point.
Kim Woojin, embroiled in controversy over his passionate night of sex... It almost became a scandal, but the Assistant Manager wasn't so careless.
Only Lin Wei's sleeping spot had changed, and too many things didn't add up for me to have done it.
I was cleared of suspicion immediately. No, I hadn't even been accused in the first place.
"Your man pounced on me. Why are you blaming me?"
"Mr. Kim Woojin isn't the kind of person who'd do that."
"That's right! Big Sis is right, no matter what!"
"Exactly. Our Woojin is so dependable."
The Manager and even Luka spoke up to defend me.
Guh, I'm touched.
Kim Woojin, were you really this trusted?
The women in the settlement supported me with one heart and one voice, and condemned Lin Wei.
But the Madam wasn't so easily cowed, either.
As if to say, 'So what if you caught me?' she crossed her arms and snorted. She didn't even blink at Seoyun's condemnation.
"Are you going to call me promiscuous? That's no different from you all clinging to him, is it?"
"We're helping each other get by. Our relationship isn't dirty like you think it is."
"It's obvious what men want from women. You know it, too, and you're using that to your advantage, aren't you?"
Flight attendant Nari was caught between the two heated women, unsure what to do.
More precisely, Nari was apologizing on Lin Wei's behalf for her selfish behavior.
"Ms. Seoyun, I'm sorry. And I'm really sorry, Mr. Woojin."
Poor Nari. She's the only one suffering here.
"Why are you apologizing, Ms. Nari? You only helped us out. You didn't do anything wrong."
Maybe Seoyun's glare frightened her, because Nari hunched her shoulders and lowered her head.
I'm scared, too. I can't butt in!
When Seoyun is really angry, even her eyes look different. You'd only know if you'd experienced it yourself.
"We're not using Mr. Woojin. We're grateful to him, and we're helping each other get by.
Ms. Lin Wei nearly ruined that for us."
"What I'm doing isn't fundamentally any different from what you all are doing."
"It is different. Even though you slept with him, you still haven't even bothered to call Mr. Woojin by his name properly."
Luka clung to me as if she were scared.
"Big Sis and the Madam are arguing fiercely in Chinese..."
"I thought you understood what they were saying."
"Nope! I was just going along with the mood. Besides, Big Sis is on our side anyway."
So she hadn't understood the conversation at all?
Lin Wei snorted and fired back at Seoyun.
"His name? Is whispering his name supposed to matter? I can do that right now."
"It was an act without love. You didn't even try to understand who he was."
"Love? Ask whether that's really necessary. In the end, the decision is his, not yours, isn't it?"
Huh?
Why was the decision suddenly in my hands...?
No.
I'm not someone who can make decisions like this!
"Mr. Woojin."
Don't hand me the reins, Assistant Manager!
"...Are you going to let her stay here?"
Aaargh.
I sighed and rubbed my face with both hands.
Everyone focused on what I was going to say.
I'd had a feeling of it yesterday, when the Assistant Manager made me the head of the settlement, but when did I become its leader?
I'm not cut out for that kind of thing~~
If I had to pick, the Assistant Manager was the leader.
She's the one who sets our direction and leads us forward. Anyone could see that.
If I do that kind of thing, I'll end up not wanting to do anything at all afterward!
And now I had to decide whether or not to kick someone out.
The Assistant Manager probably wanted me to be cold-hearted and send those people away—or at least let the flight attendant stay while sending Lin Wei packing.
She wanted Lin Wei to pay for betraying basic decency.
The longer everyone stayed silent, the drier my mouth became.
Meanwhile, only Luka called out softly from my arms, clenching her little fist.
"Oppa, you can do it!"
Haa... You're the only one I can count on at times like this.
I finally caught my breath and gathered my thoughts...
"Well..."
For now, I dodged the question.
"You liked it inside me."
Ngh...
Lin Wei said it as if she were trying to tempt me.
"Mr. Woojin. Don't fall for it."
Aah! Don't both of you put me in the middle like this.
"Um, well... Ms. Lin Wei?"
I spoke up quietly. I hadn't quite sorted out my thoughts, but the atmosphere demanded that I say something.
First of all, yeah...
"As the Assistant Manager said, my name is Kim Woojin, not that man or this man."
"All right. Kim Woojin. I'll call you by your name properly from now on."
"I don't think you needed to pay me back with your body last night, Ms. Lin Wei..."
"But you enjoyed it, didn't you?"
"I did, but..."
The Assistant Manager's eyes narrowed.
I felt like my life expectancy was shrinking.
"It takes two to clap. I'm responsible for what happened last night, too."
Even after I realized it was Lin Wei, I didn't stop. She encouraged me, but I wanted it, too.
I didn't want to condemn her unilaterally.
The Assistant Manager wanted to handle this thoroughly, but I wasn't the sort of person who could do that.
"Couldn't we just leave it at that? We were both in the wrong, so let's make peace..."
Nari let out a relieved sigh.
Somehow, I'd ended up with the power to punish someone, and all it did was make me uncomfortable.
I wasn't going to hold some witch trial on a deserted island.
That's just how easygoing Kim Woojin is.
"You heard him. I hope you won't have any complaints about me staying here from now on. That's what he decided."
The Assistant Manager seemed at a loss for words.
Ah.
That wasn't what I meant, though.
I raised an arm to block Lin Wei as she headed toward the platform.
"You can't do that."
"What?"
"Ms. Lin Wei, I told you yesterday. We're only treating you as a guest until tonight..."
I felt bad about turning her down, since she hated being rejected, but...
"If you want to live here, all that matters is whether everyone agrees."
As the mood shifted, the Assistant Manager crossed her arms and smiled triumphantly.
Cute, Assistant Manager.
"So my permission was never important in the first place."
你明明有这种权力, 为什么偏要装得这么清高？只要你开口, 她们不都只能闭嘴听你的？
(You have this kind of power, so why pretend to be so noble? If you say the word, won't those women have no choice but to shut up and do as you say?)
"Well, I don't know. I've never lived that way..."
The Assistant Manager wasn't the sort of person who'd go along with that kind of dictatorship, either...
And I found that kind of thing far too much trouble.
Lin Wei had made a huge misjudgment.
I'm not the kind of person she imagined me to be.
And this wasn't that kind of camp...
"So this is how you're going to play it?"
"Anyway, I think sexual stuff feels good. I don't think it's dirty or anything like that."
It's just that unhappiness begins when people start expecting too much from each other.
I can't save anyone.
Ever since the raft, Lin Wei had been asking me to save her.
What I could do might seem impressive right now. Magic really was a mysterious power.
But while it could help us survive, it couldn't, by itself, truly save anyone.
I couldn't even change the fact that we'd been stranded on a deserted island.
In short, I didn't want anyone treating me like some great hero.
"Even now, I hope we can get along, Ms. Lin Wei."
"Mr. Woojin!?"
Seoyun seemed surprised by what I'd said.
Saying that I'd continue to welcome her warmly meant I wasn't going to punish her.
"If you need help, you're welcome to come to us."
"Ugh... Honestly."
My already underperforming left brain had to work hard today, so I wouldn't get any work done this morning.
Still... the Assistant Manager seemed satisfied with my answer.
"That's so like you, Mr. Woojin. If that's what you want, then all right."
Nari's expression brightened.
"You two, come back if you need help again."
"Yes."
"..."
Nari answered Seoyun's farewell with a bright smile, while Lin Wei looked unconvinced.
"Next time, I'll make sure to find something that might be useful. Mr. Woojin, Ms. Seoyun."
A kind, innocent face, and a character so upright it practically shone.
So not just anyone can be a flight attendant...
As if relieved that things had ended peacefully, Nari smoothed over the mood with a gentle smile.
Seoyun didn't speak aggressively anymore, either.
Nari seemed even kinder next to Lin Wei.
The settlement had plenty of food and water, a place to wash, a place to sleep, and the magic I could use.
Those must have looked like one tempting thing after another to people who'd been stranded.
"Hmph."
Lin Wei crossed her arms and gave us a sullen, contemptuous look, but that was all.
"Oh, take these. I'll give you some drinking water."
Now it was my turn to be generous to my heart's content.
"Oh! Thank you!"
I filled empty water bottles and handed them over. Let's see, six should be plenty...
Then I handed the Madam another bottle, too.
This was a bonus to help her remember how good last night had been.
"Ms. Lin Wei. I enjoyed last night."
"..."
"How about you, Ms. Lin Wei?"
Maybe she hadn't expected me to throw her words right back at her, because Lin Wei's cheeks turned slightly red.
She crossed her arms and glared at me to show her displeasure, but I could tell she was flustered inside, swallowing her embarrassment as she searched for a response.
That expression was kind of cute to me.
"Last night, you said it was your first time, but I remember you seemed pretty happy..."
"S-shut up!"
Lin Wei's anger flared at failing to become the deserted island's femme fatale.
Oof.
The Madam had a twisted personality, but I knew this much.
Lin Wei's scowling face was quite lovely.
Even though our relationship had begun with her crossing the line in a big way, we might still be able to take it in a good direction.
Besides, if Lin Wei hadn't done that, I might never have imagined having sex with her.
"That was all an act. Obviously... I just humored you a little because I thought you might be useful."
"Oh~ Is that so?"
You've got to save some face for your pride. Mm-hm.
"Next time, I want to see the real you, Ms. Lin Wei."
"I'll be back soon."
Lin Wei made it clear she was determined to try again with our settlement.
I'm glad that stubbornness of hers was pointed toward survival.
"To give us this much precious drinking water... How can I ever repay you?"
Nari was delighted to receive the bottled water.
"If you happen to find these in the jungle, could you bring some back?"
As I spoke, I showed her the yellow fruit we used.
It wasn't edible, but it was the natural soapberry that played an important role in our settlement's <Hygiene>.
"This fruit... I think I've seen a place where a lot of it grows! I passed it by because it didn't look edible..."
Fortunately, Nari seemed to have seen it before.
"If you bring some back, Ms. Seoyun will give you a suitable amount of food or bottled water in return."
"Really?"
"Yes. We need it, too."
"Understood! If I find anything useful, I'll bring it over."
Nari had a lovely smile...
"You're such a good person, Mr. Woojin. I think I understand why everyone trusts you so much."
Jeez, I could count on one hand the number of times I'd been praised like that in my life...
After coming to this deserted island, I'd gotten enough compliments to last a lifetime.
Feeling awkward and embarrassed, I scratched my head.
"See you again, Mr. Woojin!"
"Yes. Take care, Ms. Nari... And see you again, Ms. Lin Wei."
"───"
The big-assed, auburn-haired Madam I'd had hot unprotected sex with last night turned away, her icy gaze saying, 「Die」.
Hmm. Death by her would be delicious.
When Nari had visited our settlement yesterday, she'd looked so haggard. Now she left with a smile.
After the two of them left, the Assistant Manager came to see me.
"How can you give her so much leeway?"
"Oh, Ms. Nari's just... someone I want to help. She's a good person."
"Not Ms. Nari. I mean that VIP with the weird personality."
Assistant Manager, you really must hate Lin Wei.
You had reason to.
"Since you won, I should let you have this one."
"Hmph. You should've scolded her more. So she wouldn't do something like that again."
"Haha..."
Pretending to be someone else and slipping it in without consent was pretty bad.
Without mutual consent, it was a serious crime.
Come to think of it, I hadn't mentioned that.
"From my perspective, what happened last night was unavoidable."
"What was? Because that Madam had a big ass? Because her face was your type?"
"She pretended to be you, so I thought I was having sex with you."
"What?"
Seoyun started to say something, stopped herself, and repeated that two or three times. Her ears gradually turned red.
"Assistant Manager?"
"She pretended to be me? That woman?"
"Exactly."
"So you did it?"
"Yes."
"W-what are you talking about...? How could we do something like that? It'd be so embarrassing...!"
Even as she continued, Seoyun's voice grew less and less confident.
What's stopping us?
At first, I'd never imagined it, but now it seemed possible.
"...With you, Mr. Woojin... How could we...?"
Was the Assistant Manager imagining the same thing I was? Her face was getting redder, too.
Since we'd known each other in society, it might actually have been easier for a VIP we'd never met to do something like that.
It'd be easier to forget it as a dream from one night.
But if I did something I'd never imagined doing in society with the Manager, or with the Assistant Manager...
The impact on our relationship would be enormous.
"I'm kidding."
"Of course you are...!! Even if we did... what about the baby? What would we do with each other when we got back?"
Wow, she had a better imagination than I did. She was already thinking that far ahead?
I hadn't even considered making a baby...
If we kept having sex without protection, of course we'd have a child... Was the Assistant Manager imagining that far ahead?
Now I was embarrassed, too.
A blushing Assistant Manager was fun to tease.
"Why do you go around getting so attached to one woman after another? You're lewd, Mr. Woojin."
"It's a deserted island."
If I could have a harem and died without doing it, that'd be a waste!
I was all for polygamy.
"Still... let's not get too carried away, okay? You know what I mean, Mr. Woojin?"
"I'll try."
"You're going to try, Mr. Woojin~?"
The Assistant Manager knew from experience that I couldn't be expected to have that much self-control.
When I said I'd try, I was just saying it.
We both knew that.
"...Then, Assistant Manager, would you put your bra back on, too?"
"Guh. That...!! I can't do that."
"You can't go back to how things were when you still wore one, can you? It's the same thing."
"Why are you so good with words at times like this...?"
Once again, I spent the morning lazing around, getting an unobstructed view of my coworkers' bra-less breasts as they went about their work.