I Picked Up a College Girl on a Deserted Island

* * *

If we went back to the first week after the shipwreck, Miryeong and Yuna had managed to get by, leaning on each other despite their difficult situation.

That was only possible because, during the first week, there had been plenty of modern supplies among the flotsam they found after Miryeong gave spiritual readings.

But when the survivors who'd given up on camping out on the beach headed inland to find a way to survive, the number of customers for Miryeong's readings dwindled, and the two of them soon ran into trouble.

"Let's share this today and see if we can find something else to eat."

Even so, Yuna never lost her smile. She broke a cookie about half the size of her palm in two, put one piece in Miryeong's mouth, and said,

But surviving on a deserted island wasn't easy for two ordinary Korean college students.

Their shoddy shelter, built from piled-up flotsam, was invaded by dampness, while the jungle's oppressive heat sapped their strength.

When things got so bad that they had nothing but grass to eat, Miryeong confessed,

"I'm sorry, Yuna. The truth is, I got you involved because of my spiritual reading."

"What are you talking about?"

"I was told I'd meet a benefactor if I got on the plane. I didn't know we'd get shipwrecked."

"You dummy. Was that what you'd been mumbling apologies about?"

Yuna hugged Miryeong, who was trembling with guilt.

"You know I don't believe in that stuff. You dummy."

"Yuna… Hng… Yuna."

"Besides, most of your readings have been wrong lately. You only get lucky once in a while."

"That's true, but…"

"Maybe even the spirits didn't know there'd be an accident."

To Yuna, Miryeong was both a friend and a benefactor.

Even if her spiritual powers had faded and she was now a lousy shaman, she'd been different when they were children.

「Stay away from her. They say she talks to ghosts.」

Miryeong had become an outcast at school, with rumors spreading that she was a strange girl.

"What are you looking at? Want me to curse you?!"

"Eek! Run!"

All Miryeong could do when she was hurt was act tough and push the other kids away.

But that act didn't work on Yuna, who was a little rough around the edges back then.

"Hey, try it on me, too. Curse me."

"What?"

"I don't believe in that stuff."

"Hmph. You're in for it. Stay away from me, or something terrible will happen to you."

"Really? Is that what your fortune-telling said?"

"……No."

Yuna was someone who wouldn't leave, even when Miryeong pushed her away.

Her very first friend.

Yuna liked drawing, and the two of them became close when she drew little shaman Miryeong.

"Look. It's you giving a spiritual reading."

"What's that sack of rice next to me?"

"Probably the Spirit of the Five Grains. Isn't it like your underling?"

"E-eek! Don't say scary things like that. The spirit will get mad."

"Pfft. Let it get mad. I'm not scared at all."

Yuna lost her other friends, too, for hanging out with 「that weird girl」, but she didn't care.

She thought Miryeong was the only person she could really open up to.

Yuna didn't want to go home, and Miryeong's whole world was Yuna.

At night, the two of them wandered from abandoned house to abandoned house, talking about spirits.

"Whoa, that ghost's spiritual energy is no joke. Let's go around."

"Really? I don't feel anything."

"Hehe. If you hold my hand, you'll be safe."

In the eyes of adults, exploring abandoned houses was a dangerous adventure, but the little world the two of them created as they chatted was a treasure beyond compare.

“Remember when we were kids? We used to search every abandoned house we could find.”

"Of course I remember."

"Those were fun times──."

"Yeah, they were."

"Exploring a deserted island is a lot harder than exploring abandoned houses……."

For Yuna's sake, who had grown discouraged, Miryeong put on a brave face and said,

"We just need to find a spirit we can talk to. It'll know where there's food."

"On a deserted island?"

"Ahem…! Then we can follow wherever the spirit of a kind animal points us."

"I wish we could find meat, too, instead of just grass."

They were sick of grass by now. They'd been eating nothing but grass for days, all for the sake of survival.

Some kinds were bitter, and others gave them fevers that left them laid up.

They'd been starving for three days.

What they longed for now wasn't a lavish feast or a drink.

Water.

Clean, clear water.

Yuna and Miryeong were thinking the same thing.

"…The water Big Brother gave us was delicious."

"Oh, the person you like, Miryeong?"

"Yeah."

The two of them chewed on grass and fought to stay conscious as their minds began to fade.

They were suffering from prolonged dehydration and heat exhaustion, but they didn't want to die here.

They clasped each other's hands tightly and steeled themselves to survive.

If they had been alone, they might have given up long ago.

Even so, the two of them were holding on by relying on each other.

There had to be some way to get through this────

"Hm?"

Just then, Kim Woojin peered into their camp.

It was the moment the two of them raised their heads at the sound and met his eyes.

The first thing Miryeong thought was, 'I'm saved.'

A deep, overwhelming sense of relief.

At first, Yuna felt a little wary. A man had suddenly approached them.

But she recognized him, and when she saw the bottle of water in his hand, all her tension melted away.

Yuna felt as though she'd do anything for a single sip of that water.

"Please help us, Big Brother!"

"Please save us. Please!"

* * *

Was the last time I'd seen them three days ago?

Even back then, it had seemed like they'd run out of water, and they looked like they'd been through a lot.

I made water pouches and handed them to the two of them.

"Gulp… Slurp… Gulp."

"Slurp… Slurp…"

The two of them grabbed the water pouches I'd made with both hands, pursed their lips, and eagerly sucked at them.

Mm-hm. They figured out how to use them without me even explaining it.

Seoyun smiled warmly as she soothed them.

"Take your time. Slowly…"

After they drank their fill and rested in the shade for about thirty minutes, the focus gradually returned to their bleary eyes.

It looked like they were past the point of collapsing at any moment.

Fortunately, their condition hadn't worsened so much that they couldn't drink water.

"Thank you for helping us…"

"You're Cha Yuna and Baek Miryeong, right?"

"Yes!"

"Do you know them?"

Seoyun tilted her head.

"Yes. We once got a lighter with some fuel left in it from them."

"Oh! So you'd helped us first. Thank you. I'm Kang Seoyun."

Miryeong looked shy and hid behind Yuna.

So she wasn't the type to confidently step forward and speak up.

I felt a strange sense of kinship with her.

"What have you been doing all this time? You should've asked us or someone else for help."

"Well, we didn't know where you two were, and most of the others were foreigners. We couldn't communicate with them…"

They couldn't communicate……?

I was the only one who could talk to anyone without a language barrier.

"When Miryeong gave spiritual readings, we somehow managed…"

Forget spirit services. If they couldn't manage everyday conversation, there wasn't much they could do.

We hadn't even told them where our settlement was───

And until recently, our camp hadn't had the means to help others, either.

For now, I should put their minds at ease…

"Here, take some water."

When I filled an empty water bottle and handed it over, Yuna hesitated.

"But we don't have anything we can give you in return…"

"You can worry about that later."

Yuna's eyes filled with tears at my words.

I'm glad I stopped by today.

Seoyun looked around at their crude shelter and sighed.

"Mr. Woojin."

"Yes?"

"I'd like to bring them back to our camp and let them wash up. Would that be all right?"

I did feel sorry for them.

If we left them in that grotesque excuse for a shelter, the thought would keep me up at night.

"Would you like to come with us?"

I asked Miryeong and Yuna.

"We'll go!"

"Yes!"

Yuna suddenly spoke up as if she'd thought of something.

"Oh, then at least take the things here with you. We haven't been able to use them properly.”

"Then is it all right if we take whatever we need?"

"Yes! I'll help you gather things, too."

Though she was still unsteady on her feet, Yuna answered in a bright voice.

While Seoyun and Yuna busied themselves collecting modern supplies, I naturally stepped aside with Miryeong into a quiet corner.

"Thank you for saving us."

"I just happened to be passing by."

Actually, I had come because I'd been worried about them.

I was concerned about whether the two of them were managing all right.

I'd figured they'd somehow be okay because of Miryeong's spiritual reading, but…

As soon as I saw her without the wig, I was sure.

"Have you ever been on TV before…?"

"Oh, yes…. I appeared on <The Amazing Little Shaman>."

Just as I thought. I hadn't mistaken her for someone else.

After that, silence fell again.

Hmm.

I couldn't think of anything to say.

"Aren't you going to ask me anything else…?"

"Huh? Well… it might be uncomfortable for you."

I vaguely remembered hearing that her spiritual powers had faded and she wasn't what she used to be.

I remembered hearing that somewhere, in passing.

I didn't want to pry into a painful part of someone else's past.

"I look kind of strange, don't I? Wearing these weird clothes and a white wig…"

"Those are your work clothes, Ms. Miryeong. When you think about it, they aren't particularly weird."

Her powers hadn't faded so much that she couldn't save our lives with them recently.

In many ways, I was grateful to her.

"Really??"

A bright smile blossomed on Miryeong's face.

"Yes. I hope I can get another reading from you sometime."

"Hng… Thank you, Big Brother… Thank you so much for saving me…"

"It was just a coincidence. But why do you call me Big Brother…?"

It's not like I'm some long-lost relative I didn't even know about.

"Th-then what should I call you?"

Hmm……. A matter of what to call me?

Calling me Oppa would be way too obvious, wouldn't it? Luka might get jealous, too.

"You can call me Mr. Woojin. Or Uncle, if you want."

"Th-the spirit called you Woojin's husband, you know?"

"Pardon?"

Out of nowhere?

"Husband…! Can I call you Husband♡?"

……Her dehydration wasn't worse than I'd thought, was it?

"Husband seems like a bigger step than Big Brother…"

"Please let me call you Husband! I insist! The spirit said so, too."

"Uh, well. If that's what the spirit says, then…"

It was hard to tell her not to when she was being so insistent.

How I tried to correct her from Big Brother, only to end up as her Husband….

She looked like a freshman college student at a glance. Was this really okay?

"Husband♡"

"Mr. Woojin? What are you doing?"

Eek!

For some time now, I felt like the Assistant Manager's timing when she barged in had gotten way too sharp.

"Again already……."

"What do you mean, 'again already'?"

Anyone who heard that would get the wrong idea!

"We got everything we needed! You'd be surprised if you knew what I found, Mr. Woojin."

"What is it?"

She seemed to want me to ask, so I did.

But I really was surprised.

There were quite a few little packets of rare seasonings in the bag, like salt, soy sauce, and gochujang.

"Gochujang……!"

Didn't gochujang have sugar in it, too? If we ate that while starving…

If we ate it……!!

We'd be screwed.

No matter how Korean you are, you can't just eat gochujang by the spoonful.

They were all great for bringing out the potential of ingredients, but hard to eat on their own.

"There were lots of sanitary pads and tissues, too!"

"That's great."

Women's supplies were definitely a win.

We'd found more than I expected.

"Shall we head back now? Before it gets dark."

* * *

As soon as the two of them reached the rock-shelter hideout, they let out exclamations of wonder.

The waterfall poured down with force, and the clearing stretched out before them.

The fence I'd made gave the place a semblance of somewhere people lived, too.

Luka and the Manager came out to greet us.

"Oh my, do we have guests?"

"White hair and shrine-maiden-like clothes!? Wait, hold on. Doesn't she have even more character traits than Luka?

(White hair and shrine-maiden-like clothes!? Wait, hold on. Doesn't she have even more character traits than Luka?)"

The two of them bowed their heads at the same time and greeted them.

"Hello!"

"What cute guests! Come on in."

The two stepped into the clearing and exchanged astonished looks.

"Wow!"

"The air's different beyond the fence. It's so comfortable, Husband!"

"Hehe, Mr. Woojin's magic is at work here."

It was thanks to the circulating-air barrier I'd set up with <Preservation>.

But Seoyun's explanation that 「magic was at work」 sounded more romantic.

The temperature actually felt cooler, and the humidity was just right.

Seoyun chuckled as she watched the two of them marvel at everything.

"I'll get some clothes ready for you to change into, so go wash up first. There are water pouches and soap behind that rock."

From behind the rock, the college girls' startled cries rang out as they went to shower together.

"Th-the water won't stop! I just touched it a little, and it keeps coming out! How do I turn it off?? I'm sorry!"

"Husband! Th-the water's pouring out! I didn't do it on purpose!"

"Miryeong, you can't go out looking like that~!"

Yuna wrapped her arms around Miryeong's waist to stop her from coming out naked.

"It's for showering, so just use it."

"Water for showering…"

Yuna's voice was full of shock.

For someone who'd nearly died from having no water just moments ago, hearing someone call it shower water might have been a bit much.

It had only been two weeks on the deserted island, but the gap between the magic and non-magic groups' standards of living had grown enormous.

"Oppa… Who are those two?"

Luka cautiously approached the guests.

"Oh, haven't you met them before, Luka? They're survivors about your age."

"Are they Korean?"

"Yeah. They're probably around your age, too."

"Hmm…"

Oh, Luka spoke Japanese. Maybe they wouldn't be able to understand one another.

Koreans could easily gather together because they spoke the same language, while Luka, being Japanese, might feel left out.

"Are they going to live here, too?"

"I don't know."

If they wanted to stay, there wasn't any particular reason to stop them.

In Ms. Nari's case, she hadn't asked because she thought she'd be a burden to us, but……

In a difficult situation like this, it felt natural to help one another if we could.

That was only possible because we'd managed to establish some kind of foundation. Early on after the shipwreck, it would've been out of the question.

I couldn't just rely on creating water and declare that I'd feed everyone.

"……We should make the platform bigger."

The thought suddenly occurred to me.

It'd be dark in just two more hours, and the platform was too small for six people to lie down on.

I had no choice but to get started right away.

"…Luka will help, too!"

For some reason, Luka stuck close behind me and volunteered to be my assistant.

"Then take some of the planks over there for me."

Luka should be able to carry the planks over bit by bit.

"Mm-hm!"

Let's see if I can expand the platform.

The Assistant Manager wasn't nagging or ordering me to do it. I was doing it because I'd realized it was necessary.

That it wasn't something I was doing because someone told me to mattered quite a bit to me.

It kept my deep-seated rebellious streak from kicking in.

'It'd be good to add another section and expand it into an L shape.'

As I carried planks with Luka and looked around the settlement, I thought I might as well make a counter, too.

After all, I'd been relying on the Assistant Manager and the Manager to cook for us all this time.

I set four pieces of lumber, cut to a suitable length, upright as legs, then connected them with crossbeams to make a rectangular frame.

To keep it from swaying sideways, I braced the corners with short diagonal supports and hammered wooden pegs firmly into each joint.

Then I laid the neatly cut planks side by side on top.

Before, I'd have had to take it apart and redo it several times because the heights didn't line up, but now I could get it fairly even just by eyeballing it.

I also left narrow gaps between the boards so water wouldn't pool on the surface and could drain away.

Finally, I pressed down on it a few times with my palm to check for wobbling.

It was sturdy enough to set pots and ingredients on and chop or prepare food.

"Hup."

When I carried the counter over, the Assistant Manager looked more touched than I could've imagined.

"Mr. Woojin… What is this?!"

Her voice was soft and melting, like she'd received an unexpected present.

The Assistant Manager was so happy that I felt awkward.

Was that move too unlike Kim Woojin?

Kim Woojin working on his own…… Even I found that embarrassing.

"I just made it while I was at it."

"Hehe, 'just while you were at it,' huh, Mr. Woojin~? I didn't know you could be this thoughtful."

Ghk. This is embarrassing.

Before she could tease me any more, I hurried off.

"W-well, make good use of it."

"Yes~♡ I'm looking forward to dinner."

Seoyun spread the ingredients and seasonings out on the counter, looking like she was ready to show off her skills.

Meanwhile, the two of them, freshly washed, sat on the platform and watched us work in a daze.

It must've all seemed amazing to them.

It was strange enough that we had a sense of normal life on a deserted island.

"Yuna, Yuna. Grown-ups really are different."

"Yeah, they're so reliable."

Even this shoddy carpentry I'd managed with the boost from magic had taken a lot of trial and error at first. Now I was whipping things up in no time, and my shoulders puffed up with pride.

The platform expansion was finished, too.

I found a few pieces of top-grade firewood and added them to the campfire. The pot Seoyun had hung was bubbling away above it.

Dinner was coming along nicely.

"Is there anything we can do? Please, give us anything to do."

Yuna approached, looking a little embarrassed, and asked.

"There's nothing in particular."

"But… we want to be helpful somehow."

"Whatever we do, eating comes first."

Yuna's stomach answered for her with a rumble.

Yuna's face turned red……

That's what they mean when they say the body is honest.

And honestly, I wasn't expecting college girls to be able to do anything extraordinary to help us survive.

Just eat your fill and show me your healthy smiles.

Kim Woojin, let's act like a proper adult for once.

When I looked toward the cooking area, the Assistant Manager was excited about the modern seasoning set she'd gotten.

I had a feeling tonight's dinner would be on a whole different level from plain salt-grilled meat.