Chapter 47
Whoosh.
As I slid down the palm tree like it was a slide, Yerin came over and blurted out.
“Rils, this is exactly your problem. Aren’t you scared when you climb up places like that? What, are you one of those people who just can’t feel fear?”
“I was scared too, y’know.”
“Then why do it?”
“In survival, if you don’t take risks, you can’t gain anything.”
“…Sigh.”
Yerin patted her chest, then looked at me with a relieved expression.
“Still, I’m glad you weren’t hurt. You aren’t scraped up anywhere, right?”
“Nope.”
Somehow, Yerin seems more worried than I am. It’s almost like a parent nagging their child.
“Benefactor.”
Kim Woong, fiddling with the coconut that had fallen to the ground, called out to me.
“Yep.”
“Climbing that palm tree was seriously awesome. To show off tree-climbing skills at that level... you’re truly amazing!”
“Heh heh. This is nothing to me.”
“As expected... you’re my benefactor.”
As expected, Kim Woong and I really do think alike.
While I was thinking that, Yerin, who had been quietly listening to us, shrieked.
“Mr. Kim Woong, why would you praise that!”
“Huh?”
“What if Rils decides to climb a tree again later? Why would you encourage him!”
“It’s fine. Even if the benefactor falls, if I catch him from below...”
Thwack.
Yerin’s fist immediately sank into Kim Woong’s arm.
“Ack!”
I thought to myself.
'Sigh. Here we go again.'
While they bickered, I looked over the coconuts scattered on the ground.
Maybe because they fell onto the sand, they were all perfectly fine. Not a single crack.
So coconuts really are tough.
Inside that hard shell, coconuts contain flesh and moisture.
My older brother said they taste sweet.
Like a slightly bland sports drink.
I’d drunk coconut-flavored drinks before. But this was my first time actually drinking real coconut water.
On a deserted island, coconuts are treated like an all-purpose food.
The water inside is drinkable, and the white flesh is edible.
The shell can also be used as tinder.
So it’s no wonder they show up so often in castaway movies.
But I hadn’t picked any coconuts yet because they weren’t a priority.
An adult needs about 2 to 3 liters of water per day.
You can’t meet your hydration needs with coconuts alone.
Just the fact that a coconut can fall from that height and still look fine tells you how hard its shell is.
Still, there is a way.
The so-called “eyes.”
At one end, there are three dot-like spots, and one of them is relatively weaker than the others.
Knowledge I got from a documentary, too.
“All right.”
I took up my machete and jabbed at one of the eyes.
Ping.
“……?”
Again.
Ping.
“……?”
Once more.
Ping.
“Huh?”
Why won’t it puncture?
Weird?
This was definitely supposed to be the weak spot.
And in the documentary, they pierced it really easily.
I gripped the machete with both hands and pressed down with all my strength.
Like it was me or it.
Just crack already.
You arrogant little coconut bastard!
Creak.
“Grrr...”
I strained my hands so hard that even my face turned red, but...
The coconut didn’t budge at all, as if it were mocking me.
I quietly handed the machete to Kim Woong beside me.
“You try it, Mr. Kim Woong.”
“Yes, Benefactor! Leave the heavy lifting to me!”
“Just stab the spot that looks like an eye.”
“Yes, sir!”
Kim Woong picked up the coconut, studied the eye carefully, then pointed at it with a finger.
“Here?”
“Yep.”
When Kim Woong casually brought the tip of the machete to the coconut and applied force...
Thunk!
“……?”
A hole was punched in the coconut I had struggled so hard with, and I stared wordlessly at the hole-punched coconut.
It really does play favorites.
@
Glug glug glug.
Each of us grabbed a big coconut shell and gulped down the water inside.
“Ahh... this is killer.”
Yerin let out a satisfied groan like some uncle chugging soju.
“Benefactor, this is tasty.”
Kim Woong kept nodding repeatedly, too.
“It actually has a sweet taste.”
I finished my last sip and smacked my lips as well.
My brother was right. It isn’t as strong as cola or cider, but it isn’t flavorless like water either.
A sports drink with a slight sweetness.
Exactly that kind of feeling.
After hydrating, I felt the heat in my body ease up a little.
But this isn’t the end.
The real value of the coconut starts now.
“Now let’s eat the flesh.”
“The flesh?”
“This is a fruit, too.”
The coconut’s white flesh is rich in fat.
It’s perfect for making up the calories you can easily fall short on if you only eat fish.
Any leftovers can be dried.
Store-bought coconut chips are basically just dried coconut flesh.
Of course they won’t be quite that crispy, but they’d be enough as a breakfast substitute or a snack.
Even if I failed to open the coconut lid, I’ll make up for it here!
I set the much-lighter coconut on the ground and started thumping the center with my machete.
If you keep tapping the middle of it, a coconut will crack open.
More precisely, the impact spreads through the whole shell and causes cracks.
I’d heard the locals use this method all the time.
'Good.'
This time I’ll pay back the humiliation from earlier.
Arrogant little coconut!
Thunk.
Then I turned it slightly to the side.
Thunk.
Then I turned it again.
Thunk.
Kim Woong, who had been watching closely, asked cautiously.
“Benefactor, if it’s hard for you, should I do it?”
“No. My pride is on the line here.”
“Understood.”
After repeating this a few more times...
Crackle.
I heard something cracking inside.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
I kept squeezing out every last bit of strength and slammed down hard on the coconut.
Crraack!
The coconut split cleanly in half, revealing the pure white flesh inside.
“Ooh.”
Yerin and Kim Woong, who had been quietly watching me, both let out gasps of admiration at the same time.
Like jelly made from solidified milk, the white flesh filled the inside of the shell with no gaps.
It even had a faint sheen, as if it had soaked up sunlight.
“Wow.”
Yerin was already completely captivated by the sweetness she hadn’t tasted in a long time.
“Rils, that really looks insanely delicious.”
“It does.”
I roughly rinsed the machete with water, then lightly scraped out the flesh inside the coconut.
It wasn’t mushy. But it wasn’t tough either.
It felt kind of like a ripe pear, maybe?
Before I knew it, Yerin had latched onto my side and asked with sparkling eyes.
“Can I eat it?”
“I picked it so we could eat it.”
I picked up a piece of the cut coconut flesh and handed it to Yerin.
Munch, munch.
“Huh?”
Her reaction after chewing the coconut flesh was odd.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s not the taste I expected.”
“Is it bad?”
“No. Just looking at it, I thought it’d be super sweet, but it’s surprisingly nutty.”
Nutty? With that look?
Hmm. I can’t even imagine what that tastes like.
I immediately tore off a piece of the flesh and put it in my mouth.
Crunch.
“Hmm.”
It’s definitely different from other fruits.
If you expect a sweet-and-tart flavor like an apple or mango, you might be disappointed.
Instead, the more you chew, the gentle sweetness and nutty flavor spread through your mouth.
A flavor somewhere between a nut and a fruit.
“The taste is interesting.”
“Right?”
“Yep.”
If you ask whether it’s bad, the answer is no.
It’s actually pretty good.
It’s just not the taste I expected.
“I do wish it were a little sweeter.”
“Yeah.”
“Still, it’s perfectly edible.”
I looked at the remaining coconut flesh.
“I think this would taste even better if dried.”
“Dried?”
“If you dry it, it’ll get crispy like a snack.”
Once the moisture is gone, the flavor will get stronger, and the sweetness will increase too.
Most importantly, it can be stored for a long time without spoiling.
“I’ll dry what’s left.”
@
[This Kim Woong bastard isn’t normal either]
Posted by: (231.44)
(Image of Kim Woong climbing down after only making it a third of the way up the palm tree)
What a total klutz, lol
If you have acrophobia, say so from the start
ㄴYou bastard lol, a disgrace to manhood
ㄴYou balloon-muscle freak;;
ㄴYou’re built like a bear but you have acrophobia lol
ㄴBut he did catch the crayfish, right?
ㄴA one-time free pass, 인정
ㄴBut it was funny lol
ㄴWhy are there no normal people in Rils’ party at all
ㄴDunno?
ㄴBut it’s crazy high, so it’s understandable to be scared
ㄴㅇㅈ The moment he falls, it’ll be a broadcast mishap
ㄴFuck, Rils is doing something weird again
ㄴ?
[The main star’s surprise antics start again]
Posted by: Nongnongnongnongnong
(Image of Mr. Rich urgently radioing the safety team)
The whole broadcast suddenly turned into UFC, damn
They radioed in, telling him not to use the drone, but the main star just said screw you lol
He just climbed the tree and picked the coconut anyway.
The chat’s moving so fast it’s lagging;;
ㄴEven the expert is flustered;;
ㄴIt’s been a while since Mr. Rich’s poker face cracked
ㄴAh shit lol
ㄴIf a participant dies, he’ll be the one to take the blame
ㄴDrone: Don’t do it
ㄴRils: Don’t order me around
ㄴBut the main star climbs trees insanely well
ㄴMaybe because he’s light?
ㄴWatching that actually made my knees weak
ㄴYerin’s trying to stop him, but Kim Woong is cheering him on lol
ㄴThat Kim Woong bastard probably really was planning to catch the main star if he fell
ㄴWhat an absolute idiot lol
ㄴStill, thanks to Rils, they hit 250,000 viewers, right?
ㄴFacts
[Is coconut tasty?]
Posted by: (131.14)
(Image of Rils’ party chugging coconut water)
Somehow it looks insanely tasty
Is that worth buying?
ㄴYou know those coconut drinks with bits in them, right?
ㄴ(Poster): yeah
ㄴThat tastes a thousand times better
ㄴAh, fuck lol
ㄴIf you go in expecting a lot, you’ll be disappointed
ㄴTrue
ㄴFeels like a bland sports drink
ㄴCoconut water has a healthy taste
ㄴHealthy taste = tasteless
ㄴNo harsh truths, please
ㄴBut it’s different when you’re drinking it on a deserted island
ㄴFor real
ㄴBe glad you can taste even a little sweetness
ㄴThe flesh looked tasty, though
ㄴHonestly, the flesh is more GOAT than the coconut water
ㄴBut where the hell did you guys even eat coconut before?
ㄴWe ate it on trips to Southeast Asia
ㄴSo I was the only shut-in, huh? I’m leaving the board because I feel betrayed by you guys, peace