Chapter 30
Human beings naturally get lazy once they're full and warm.
After giving Kim Woong a ton of pointers, I headed back to the cave,
only to find Yerin sprawled across the bamboo bed like a corpse.
Baby was sprawled out right beside her too.
The two of them really were a match made in hell.
When had they gotten that close, anyway?
With their arms and legs hanging limp, they looked so completely melted they were basically slimes.
“Yerin-nim.”
“......Mm?”
Did I just talk to an actual corpse?
The reply I got back sounded utterly soulless.
I stared at her pitiful state and said,
“You look like a sloth.”
“...What's that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
“....”
“This won't do.”
The instant I said that, Yerin's expression—mushy and melted just a moment ago—changed in a flash.
Maximum alert.
She looked like a cat with all its fur standing on end.
With a face that plainly said, 'What are you trying to do to me now?' Yerin quickly curled up on the bed.
“...Reels said resting is part of survival too.”
“That only applies after you've finished what you need to do.”
“What is there left to do? Isn't everything done now?”
“There's still a mountain of it left.”
“Liar. You just hate seeing me lying around!”
She really does catch on fast.
How did she know I hated the sight of it?
Women's intuition really is terrifying.
Yerin clutched the bamboo bed tightly with both arms.
Like a little kid refusing to give up a game console.
Looking at her like that, I spoke seriously.
“Yerin-nim.”
“...What.”
“At this rate, you might become the first streamer to gain weight on a deserted island.”
“....”
Yerin snorted like the idea was absurd.
“Hmph.”
“....”
“I gave up on dieting anyway.”
Wow.
Just a few days ago, she was talking about weight management while eating salad.
“Where did your conscience go?”
“I lost it when I came to the deserted island.”
“If you keep this up, I'll put you to work building shelters like Kim Woong.”
The moment she heard that,
Yerin jolted in shock and sprang upright.
“Not that!”
Then she immediately stretched both arms out.
Crack.
“See? People really shouldn't get lazy.”
When she came at me that shamelessly, I couldn't even be annoyed.
I let out a small laugh, picked up one of the bamboo spears leaning against the cave wall, and held it out to Yerin.
“Here.”
“...Huh?”
“We're really catching fish today.”
Yerin took the spear and frowned a little. She was probably remembering yesterday's miserable results.
Two fish barely the size of a palm.
And we'd only caught even those by using a cheat code.
Staring at the spear tip, Yerin spoke in an unconfident voice.
“...We can catch some today, right?”
“We've got experience now.”
“Let's catch a big one today.”
“Yup.”
This time, it'll be different.
After failing a few times yesterday, I'd started to get a feel for it.
The refraction of light and the flow of the water.
The fish's quick, nimble movements.
I had a rough sense of where I needed to aim.
I slung the spear over my shoulder and curled my lips into a grin.
“We're having sashimi for lunch today.”
“Oh.”
At the mention of sashimi, Yerin's eyes lit right up.
“It'd be perfect if we had some soju.”
“You sound like an old man.”
“I'm still a fresh young lady, you know.”
@
Under the blazing sun,
the grains of sand on the beach glittered brightly.
They'd heated up enough to feel hot even under bare feet.
As if used to it, Baby scampered over to the beach and started digging at the sand with its front paws.
Scratch scratch.
Then it tucked its body right inside.
Only its tail stuck out.
Is a sand bath really that nice?
It's not like it's some kind of sunbather.
Yerin snickered as she looked at Baby buried in the sand.
“I'm telling you, that thing is not a lizard.”
“Compared to other lizards, Baby is a little smart.”
I checked the bamboo tube tied around my waist.
Inside were the earthworms we'd caught ahead of time.
We had plenty of bait today, so I was confident we'd succeed. Then, all of a sudden, I thought of the man who'd given us the knife.
“By the way, I don't see that guy around.”
The fishing streamer who looked like a beggar.
Was it Putty? Potty?
Anyway, that man was nowhere in sight.
He'd originally been fishing over by those tidal rocks.
Yerin looked around too and said,
“Yeah. Where'd he go?”
“Looks like he found a party and moved on.”
“Makes sense. It's way easier than surviving alone.”
Well, losing one easy mark is a little disappointing, I guess.
But honestly, it doesn't matter that much.
On a deserted island, staying alive by myself already keeps me busy enough.
I gripped the spear in my hand and walked toward the sea.
“Let's take care of our meal first.”
“Okay.”
Splash.
Cool seawater wrapped around my calves,
and beneath the clear surface, schools of small fish swam by leisurely.
I slowly steadied my breathing and lowered my stance.
This time, it really was different.
As the saying goes, failure is the mother of success.
I'd gotten the hang of it to some extent.
It even felt like I could see the fish's movements way better than yesterday.
Right then, one decently sized fish drifted toward the shallow water near where I was standing.
I held my breath and thrust out the spear.
Stab!
“...Ah!”
The spear tip grazed the fish's body,
and barely missed it by a hair.
Startled, the fish whipped around and fled at once, and Yerin giggled behind me.
“I thought you said you had the hang of it?”
“...That one was really close.”
“Ah~ sure, sure.”
I took my stance again.
This time, I'm definitely getting it.
A little lower than where it looked to my eyes.
I was finally starting to feel the subtle difference caused by the refraction of light.
A silver fish like the one we'd eaten yesterday swam by at ease.
I quickly drove the spear forward.
Stab!
A solid weight traveled to my fingertips,
Flop!
and a decent-sized fish thrashed wildly on the tip of the spear.
“Got it!”
After getting the feel for it and spearing a few more fish, I heard Yerin cheer from farther off.
“I got one too!”
“Nice.”
Looking at the fish we'd gathered, it seemed like there was enough for at least three servings of sashimi.
@
[This screencap is fucking wild lol]
Posted by: (113.41)
(Screencap of Kim Woong getting scolded by Reels while building a shelter)
Is it normal for this to give me military PTSD?
Could our streamer actually be a high school girl who's done military service?
ㄴMilitary-veteran high school girls do not exist IRL
ㄴWait, they don't?
ㄴDon't lower the IQ average of the streamer board
ㄴKim Woong looked exactly like a clueless fresh recruit
ㄴ"Why are you slouching again?" < scary as hell lol
ㄴReels's calm tone makes it even scarier
ㄴfr lol she's like a drill sergeant
ㄴKim Woong sweating buckets is funny as hell
ㄴBut Kim Woong's mental is strong. I'd be crushed if a tiny girl chewed me out like that
ㄴHe's already been fully trained
ㄴHow are you gonna mouth off to our streamer when she's obviously the one in charge
ㄴReels: drill sergeant
ㄴKim Woong: fresh recruit
ㄴYerin: useless senior just watching
ㄴBaby: mascot
[Even the useless senior got chewed out lol]
Posted by: Nongnongnongnongnong
She was lying on the bamboo bed acting like some short-timer sergeant, then Reels caught her and started the discipline session
ㄴYerin shooting up and stretching right away is funny as hell lol
ㄴ"People really shouldn't get lazy," my ass lol
ㄴThat attitude switch was on another level
ㄴBaby pausing its nap to read the room is cute as hell lol
ㄴBaby is actually rank #1 in Reels's party
ㄴThe second Reels said she'd make her build a shelter, she moved lol
ㄴThat's rule by fear, yep
ㄴWill our streamer finally succeed at catching fish this time?
ㄴVeteran move: you don't fail twice
[Reels's party is gradually turning into a bunch of veterans]
Posted by: YerinCute
Fuck;; didn't think even Yerin would manage to catch a fish
Our streamer < she could seriously teach problem kids
ㄴNot Reels, Teacher
ㄴfr lol
ㄴReels: Yerin-nim, you can't stab it like that
ㄴReels: Kim Woong-nim, that's not how you build a shelter
ㄴShe's seriously the GOAT at keeping people in line lol
ㄴReels party growth is crazy fast
ㄴOnly our party is out here leveling up
ㄴProblem-child growth party lol
ㄴIf this makes you want to kill a bottle of soju with sashimi, upvote lol
ㄴupvote
[I can't take this anymore, anyone in Busan?]
Posted by: BusanSeagull
Anyone down for a round at the waterfront park?
ㄴMe
ㄴDon't come
ㄴ(BusanSeagull): Why?
ㄴFuck, it's packed with people
ㄴlol fuck, now I'm craving sashimi
ㄴI ordered some on a delivery app
ㄴDummy, who eats sashimi by delivery?
ㄴYou're not supposed to eat delivery sashimi?
ㄴSashimi tastes best fresh off the catch, dipped in chojang
ㄴNow that's someone who knows food
@
Yerin and I hurried toward the spring.
Freshness is everything when it comes to sashimi.
Since the fish had just been caught, the odds of getting sick from eating them raw were probably low,
but in this heat, you never know.
We moved at almost a run.
We covered what should've been a forty-minute trek in thirty, then immediately rinsed the fish we'd caught in the flowing water.
Clear streams ran over the silver scales,
and then we ran into one big problem.
“Yerin-nim.”
“Yeah?”
“Uh, I've never filleted fish for sashimi before. Do you know how?”
Yerin pretended to think for a moment, then answered calmly.
“I've barely even held a knife before.”
“Ugh.”
“Hey!”
Yerin glared at me when she heard me sigh.
Lightly ignoring that stinging look, I turned my eyes to the fish we'd caught.
I more or less knew how sashimi was supposed to be prepared.
Fish-cleaning scenes showed up in documentaries all the time, after all.
I set the fish on a clean rock and pulled out the jungle knife, and Yerin asked in concern,
“Reels. You've never done this before—are you sure? Let's just grill it.”
“We should at least try first.”
Scrape scrape.
'They said the scales come off clean if you scrape against the direction of the tail.'
Hmm.
As expected, it was harder than I'd thought.
Yesterday we'd grilled it, so I only did a rough cleaning job.
But sashimi was different.
The cleaner the prep, the better the sashimi tastes.
My clumsy hands sent scales flying everywhere, and one ended up stuck to Yerin's cheek.
“Eek!”
“....”
“Reels. Are you sure this is really how you do it?”
Looking thoroughly put off, Yerin peeled the scale off her cheek.
“...Scales are supposed to fly when you're making sashimi.”
That was a lie.
It was my first time too, so I didn't know either.
I was basically just winging it with a this-should-work-probably mindset.
Anyway, the scales were off. More or less.
I had to be careful when cutting open the belly too.
If I pushed the blade in too deep and burst the innards, the bitterness would ruin it for sashimi.
I moved the blade as carefully as possible and took the guts out.
“Is this the liver?”
“....”
“This one looks like the stomach.”
“...Reels. Why are you naming them one by one? That's gross.”
It had looked incredibly easy in documentaries.
As expected, watching and doing it yourself were two different things.
After removing the gills, I scraped out the bloodline near the spine with the tip of the blade and rinsed it with water. That finished the cleaning.
“...Now all that's left is filleting it.”
This was where the difference between a beginner and a master showed.
Experts had such delicate control that they left almost no flesh on the bones.
Hmm... could I really do this?
I took one deep breath.
Hoo.
I slowly set the jungle knife against the fish's back,
shhk.
and the blade slipped into the flesh as though it were gliding.
Carefully, I moved the edge along the fish's spine.
Scrrk.
The bones and flesh separated.
It actually felt pretty good.
Was I secretly a natural at Japanese cuisine?
Should I change career paths and go into cooking?
As she watched me from right beside me, Yerin subtly craned her head over.
“Reels.”
“Yup.”
“Looks like you threw away half the meat.”
“......”