Chapter 27
Yerin was as quick to act as she was bold by nature.
She immediately fired a blunt shot at Kim Woong, who was just standing there blankly and staring at us without any idea what was going on.
“Wow! You caught a lot of fish?”
“Yes. I got lucky.”
“Wow... impressive. To think you caught that many fish with the spear our ‘Rills’ made for you.”
Yerin launched a full-force attack in girl-code at Kim Woong.
A lot of women must've majored in Korean literature, because they often expect you to figure out the hidden meaning behind what they're saying.
This was exactly one of those cases.
At Yerin's words, Kim Woong's gaze dropped to the spear in his hand.
Seeing several forearm-thick fish skewered on it, he smiled awkwardly.
“It's only hard at first. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy. Haha.”
He casually dodged the girl-code attack with that uniquely male skill known as cluelessness.
They were formidable opponents for each other.
Kim Woong seemed a little oblivious by nature, because he didn't understand Yerin's meaning at all.
It looked like he thought she was simply complimenting him.
If I translated Yerin's girl-code,
it would probably mean, ‘Hey. You caught those fish with the spear we made for you, so hand some over.’
Something like that.
But Yerin's attack wasn't over yet. She immediately followed up with another hit.
“So.”
“…?”
“Can you clean fish? I heard you lost your knife too...”
Only then did Kim Woong's expression stiffen a little.
“Well, I did just catch them the moment I saw them.”
He scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.
“I didn't think about how I was going to eat them.”
Kim Woong had lost his knife, so he was in no state to properly clean fish.
Of course, he could roughly scrape off the scales with a sharp rock, slit the belly, pull out the guts, and eat them.
But tearing into them raw like that would be a bit much.
Kim Woong moved his lips for a moment, then carefully spoke up.
“...Um.”
“...”
“By any chance.”
After sneaking glances at us for a moment,
he was the one who made an unexpected offer first.
“I caught more fish than I expected. If it wouldn't be an imposition, would you like to join me? I owe you a debt of gratitude too.”
The moment we heard that, Yerin and I looked at each other.
And nodded at the same time.
Our OK signal.
The corners of Yerin's lips curved like a crescent moon.
“Well, then we won't say no.”
“...”
“You caught them with the spear our ‘Rills’ made for you, after all. Doesn't that mean we basically have a share in them?”
Finally understanding the speaker's intent perfectly, Kim Woong hurriedly nodded.
“That's right. I really owe my life to my benefactor.”
Then he cautiously added,
“But...”
“…?”
“All I've got is this spear... do you happen to have anything to start a fire with? Like a lighter or a fire steel?”
I shook my head.
“Nope.”
“…Huh?”
Kim Woong looked taken aback.
He looked like he was thinking, Then how are we supposed to make a fire?
I continued calmly.
“You can start a fire without a fire steel or a lighter. It's just a little inconvenient.”
At that, Kim Woong looked startled.
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“No, I mean, no matter how much I rub wood together, it never catches fire.”
Yerin smugly chimed in from the side.
“You can't start a fire that easily without any tools. Unless you're our ‘Rills.’”
No, seriously. What's with her?
It wasn't like she was some parent bragging about her daughter, but she kept stressing ‘our Rills’ at the end of every sentence.
Before Yerin could say anything even weirder, I quickly cut in.
“It doesn't work if you just rub wood together at random.”
“…?”
“The materials and the method matter.”
Kim Woong swallowed hard like a student listening to a famous lecturer.
“...Then, Benefactor, can you start a fire without tools?”
“Yep.”
“As expected, you're no ordinary person.”
It felt strange having a man who looked three times bigger than me speak so respectfully.
I felt like I'd become the daughter of a yakuza boss.
He could just speak informally like before.
Anyway.
If we were going to eat fish, we needed to get ready first.
“Let's head somewhere less windy first.”
“Yes, Benefactor!”
“...Isn't calling me ‘Benefactor’ a little much?”
“If I can't call my benefactor ‘Benefactor,’ what else would I call you?”
“Ah... right.”
Somehow, it felt like I'd picked up another hassle.
@
Kim Woong had practically come back from the dead.
Literally. He really had been on the verge of death.
He'd slept rough without a shelter.
He'd wandered the jungle without water.
He'd gone completely hungry with nothing to eat.
On top of that, he wasn't in a good state mentally either.
Right after splitting from his group, things had truly gone dark before his eyes.
They'd even taken his knife, so he had effectively been forced to survive empty-handed.
‘Ah, should I just give up.’
He'd thought that over and over again.
Then perhaps God had taken pity on him.
And sent down someone like a ray of light.
Rills.
The cute little girl he'd met at Mister Rich headquarters.
When he first saw her, he'd thought she was just some bratty little kid.
Naturally, he'd assumed she'd fail the interview.
He happened to have a cola-flavored candy in his pocket, so he just gave it to her because she was cute.
To begin with, Kim Woong had the old-fashioned kind of personality that believed women, children, and the elderly should be looked after.
But just from Rills's appearance alone,
she was both a girl and a child.
She triggered his protective instinct twice over.
So he'd looked after her without thinking much of it.
What came back was a life-saving favor.
Kim Woong blankly watched Rills walking ahead of him in quick little steps.
Small frame, soft-looking face.
But there was nothing soft about the way she acted.
She'd quickly shaved down bamboo and made him a spear, then confidently declared that starting a fire without tools was no big deal.
And when he was so hungry he felt like he might pass out, she'd even given him yam.
This whole ordeal had nearly turned Kim Woong into a misogynist.
‘Are all women like that? I've been the idiot all this time.’
He'd been close to thinking that much.
But no.
The world wasn't full of only people like that.
There were angelic people in it too.
Though this angel did seem a little strange.
At that moment,
Rills, who had been walking steadily ahead, turned around.
“Mr. Kim Woong.”
“…Yes?”
“You want to wash up, don't you?”
“...Huh? How am I supposed to wash on a deserted isla... huh?”
Kim Woong's words trailed off. A small pool had come into view ahead of him.
Clear water was trickling out between the rocks.
The very water he'd been searching for.
“...Wow.”
As if bewitched, he walked toward the pool.
And then.
Splash!
Without a moment's hesitation, he dropped to his knees and started scooping up the water to drink.
Gulp gulp.
His throat bobbed like crazy.
“Haaah...!”
A look of being truly alive finally rose on Kim Woong's face.
He immediately splashed water onto his face too.
Splash!
His head, his neck, his arms.
He poured water all over his body.
‘Damn... this is heaven.’
How many days had it been since he'd arrived on this deserted island and washed himself properly?
It felt like all the fatigue that had built up in him was being washed away.
Scrape, scrape.
From beside him came the sound of something being cut.
When Kim Woong turned his head toward it,
Rills, wearing her usual blank expression, was smoothly scraping the scales off a fish.
Using the jungle knife, she slit open its belly,
pulled out the innards, then rinsed it in the clean water.
It should've been disgusting, but there wasn't the slightest hesitation in her movements.
Splashhh.
The fish flesh, washed clean in the water, glittered under the sunlight.
Kim Woong stared at the sight blankly.
‘...What is this.’
Why is a person glowing?
She was clearly not even half his size,
and yet somehow she looked so much bigger as a person that he couldn't even compare himself to her.
They say great figures have a certain aura about them,
and he almost felt as if a sparkling aura were radiating from around Rills.
Kim Woong swallowed hard.
‘She's seriously cool...’
The respect Kim Woong felt toward Rills rose yet another level in his heart.
Rills, who had been cleaning the fish, lifted her head.
“Mr. Kim Woong.”
“…Yes?”
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“...It's nothing, Benefactor.”
Kim Woong hurriedly turned his head away.
@
Ah, this guy is such a hassle.
“Benefactor! I'll do it. Don't get your hands wet!”
“...No, I'm just cleaning fish.”
“Absolutely not!”
With a solemn expression, Kim Woong took the fish from my hands. Then he started diligently rinsing it himself in the running water.
Splash!
I stared at him blankly.
“Yerin-nim.”
“What.”
“Why is that guy suddenly acting like that?”
“No idea. Isn't he like some new puppy you've started raising?”
“No, he isn't.”
It really did feel exactly like that.
A giant dog with fierce loyalty.
He kept it up even on the way back to our place.
When I tried to pick up a piece of firewood off the ground to start the fire,
Pitter-patter!
Kim Woong came running over at incredible speed.
“Benefactor! Don't carry something this heavy!”
“...It's just an ordinary branch.”
“I'll carry it!”
Whoosh.
He immediately gathered up an armful of firewood lying scattered on the ground.
I stared at him, a little dazed.
‘...This is incredibly convenient.’
He was kind of like one of those RPG pets that automatically loots for you.
After walking for a good while like that, we arrived at the cave.
The moment Kim Woong saw the cave entrance, his eyes went wide.
“...Wow.”
Then he saw the bamboo bed set off to one side of the cave floor and his jaw dropped.
“...This cave too.”
“…?”
“Did you discover it as well, Benefactor?”
I nodded like it was no big deal.
“Yep.”
Sincere admiration rose onto Kim Woong's face.
“You're truly amazing.”
He reverently looked around the inside of the cave, almost like a pilgrim visiting a holy site.
“And there's water nearby too.”
“...”
“And you know how to start a fire.”
“...”
“And you even made a bed...”
Kim Woong stopped in front of the bamboo bed and muttered blankly,
“...This place is practically as good as a hotel.”
Yerin said with a proud look on her face.
“Nice, right?”
“It's amazing.”
“Our ‘Rills’ made it.”
“As expected of my benefactor...! You're truly incredible.”
No. Seriously, what is wrong with these people?
One of them kept hyping me up from the side,
and the other kept listening with shining eyes.
I'm really not good with this kind of thing!!!