20. The Useful Island Prince, Do Junhyuk
“What did you just say?”
Se-ah’s ears caught Junhyuk’s response, which she had initially mistaken for a hallucination.
“I said it’s a deserted island. No one else is here.”
“A de-deserted island? Does that mean...”
Her words trailed off, but Junhyuk picked up where she left off.
“Yes. It’s just you and me on this island.”
His eyes, fixed on her, sank into a darkness akin to the midnight sky. A shiver ran down her spine despite the sweltering weather, sending a chill to the back of her neck.
It was then that she realized just how close Junhyuk was to her.
Her gaze was drawn to his deep, dark eyes, as if about to be pulled in. Snapping out of it, she shook her head to clear her mind.
She tried to stand up suddenly but was hit by a wave of dizziness, causing her to stumble. Junhyuk caught her upper body, supporting her firmly as he frowned at her, scolding.
“Don’t move so suddenly. You still have a long way to go before you recover.”
He placed a wet leaf, previously used to collect water, on her forehead and checked her temperature with the back of his hand.
“At least your fever’s gone.”
His cold hand touched her forehead, but oddly enough, it felt as if her temperature was rising instead.
Se-ah quickly shook her head and slipped away from his touch.
“My recovery isn’t what’s important right now! What are we going to do?”
“Don’t be so hasty. Rushing won’t solve anything.”
“We should at least send a distress signal...”
“I’ve already marked the sand with a signal. I’ll look for something that can spark a fire and create smoke. I’ll handle everything else step by step, so just focus on resting for now.”
Even in this situation, Junhyuk’s calm demeanor began to ease Se-ah’s frantic heart.
If it was true that they were stranded on a deserted island, then there was a high chance rescue wouldn’t come quickly. It was crucial to determine their priorities before taking any action.
But still...
What kind of life did he live to remain this calm?
Se-ah glanced cautiously at Junhyuk, who seemed as natural a part of this island as the palm trees lining the shore.
***
Junhyuk noticed Se-ah observing him and, in turn, glanced at her complexion.
Since she had collapsed as if she would never wake up again, Jin Se-ah had only regained consciousness after a full day had passed. Fortunately, her complexion looked much better than it had the day before, and a sigh of relief escaped him without him even realizing it.
When she suddenly collapsed during their conversation yesterday, he experienced for the first time what it felt like to have his heart sink into his chest.
Perhaps it was because he had always seen her as someone overflowing with bright energy, even in the shade, that seeing her unconscious like that had been even more shocking.
What on earth caused me to react so strongly to Jin Se-ah collapsing?
He questioned himself, but he decided that this wasn’t the time to analyze his feelings. He resolved to think it over properly once this isolation ordeal was over.
At that moment, a groaning sound came from Jin Se-ah.
“Ah, ouch! When did I get scratched?”
Se-ah raised her arm, looking puzzled as she noticed the red, stinging spot on her arm where it had been rubbing against the sand.
The red mark was clearly visible on her pale skin, exposed from her rolled-up sleeve.
Even Junhyuk hadn’t noticed the injury until now. His once sharp, unwavering gaze narrowed into a frown.
Before, he might not have cared. But now, seeing an injury appear on her while she was in his presence, it started to irritate him.
He had always disliked things that were out of his control, but feeling this way about Jin Se-ah—who had never been within his 'scope'—was unfamiliar to him.
"It must have happened because the tube wasn’t smooth."
Naturally, he reached out toward Se-ah and gently touched the area around the wound. Her soft skin, as delicate as it looked, seemed like it would easily bruise at the slightest pressure.
Every time his long, smooth fingers brushed against her skin, she flinched and pulled back.
“T-tube?”
Her eyes held a hint of wariness as she subtly leaned back, pulling her arm away from him. Instead of being put off, Junhyuk found himself oddly amused by her reaction.
“It was on the boat for emergency rescue use, but before that, it seemed to have been used just for decoration. The surface wasn’t smooth, but it floated well, so it wasn’t entirely useless.”
"Does that mean we floated here on a tube?"
Se-ah’s eyes grew round like a rabbit’s, and the corner of Junhyuk’s lips twitched upward in amusement.
The sharp, feisty demeanor she had displayed when they first met at the hotel was nowhere to be seen. Here on the deserted island, she looked as innocent as a gentle herbivore.
"Yes. After you lost consciousness, I needed something to float you on. Luckily, I found a tube drifting by. I propped you up on it and tried to keep your body temperature up. Anyway, I stayed on it too, but we got swept away by the waves. When I opened my eyes, we were here. Honestly, it’s a miracle we didn’t sink and made it all the way here."
Junhyuk left out the part about how hard he had worked to raise Se-ah’s dangerously low body temperature.
“We were lucky.”
“Yes, we were.”
He still couldn’t believe that, in the vast sea, he had spotted a tube tied to a rope, floating aimlessly. It felt like a miracle every time he thought about it.
If it hadn’t been for that tube, it would have been difficult for even him to survive in the freezing water.
He didn’t know where they had ended up, but being alive and regaining consciousness was enough for him.
While he was lost in thought, Se-ah glanced up at him and bowed her head.
“You might say it was luck, Mr. Do Junhyuk, but I only survived thanks to you. I wouldn’t have made it if it weren’t for you. Thank you for saving me. Are you hurt anywhere?”
"As you can see, I’m fine."
Other than the times when he left to collect rainwater, he had stayed right by her side, unwilling to leave her alone. Aside from being a bit hungry, there was nothing wrong with him.
“That’s a relief.”
Her look of sincere relief filled him with an odd thought — as if it wouldn’t have been so bad to have been a little hurt after all.
“How about you? Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Other than feeling a bit stiff, I think I’m starting to feel like myself again.”
With her small fist, she patted her waist lightly, then stood up fully.
Since it hadn’t seemed wise to move her before she woke up, he had laid her flat on the sand. As a result, her back was now covered in grains of sand.
“It looks like I was buried in sand rather than water.”
Standing under the shade of a palm tree, she brushed off the sand, her face lighting up with a playful smile. For a moment, she looked so innocent that it felt like they weren’t on a deserted island at all but had instead come to the beach for a vacation.
Her radiant smile, framed by her pale face, was as dazzling as the sunlight pouring down on them. Even the sand that cascaded from her clothes shimmered like golden dust.
Why does she seem prettier all of a sudden, even though nothing has changed?
It had become undeniably clear that his thought process changed when he was with Jin Se-ah.
Maybe it wasn’t just his body that had been stranded at sea, he thought, engraving the image of her into his memory.
***
After brushing off most of the sand that fell every time she moved, Se-ah joined Junhyuk near the water. Before the sun set, the two of them walked along the beach, searching for any useful items. They needed to collect anything that could aid in their survival.
Junhyuk kept urging her to rest, but with her condition improving, she couldn’t just lie around like a helpless patient.
It seemed that the waves had pushed everything from the sunken ship to their side of the island.
It was hard to tell if they should be grateful for their luck or despair at how strong the waves were, making it seem almost impossible to escape.
The rain had stopped, but the current flowing inward toward the island was so rough that swimming or using a small boat to leave seemed impossible.
She was reminded of all those movies where the protagonist, stranded on an island, failed to escape because of the powerful currents pulling them back.
But at least, unlike in those movies where they were left talking to a volleyball, she had Junhyuk with her. That alone made her feel incredibly fortunate.
With no one else to rely on in this unfamiliar place, Se-ah made sure never to move too far from Junhyuk. Without realizing it, she found herself glancing back at him every minute or so.
"Mr. Do Junhyuk, what do you think of this?"
She spotted the lid of a large cooler that had once been used to store food. Se-ah waved it toward him, along with a net she had picked up nearby.
“It could be useful as a float if we ever build a raft. Or it could be used for shade.”
“Right?”
She didn’t need him to explicitly say it was useful. By now, she could tell just from his expression whether something she found had any value. And this time, it seemed like she had hit the mark.
Unlike Junhyuk, who had been finding useful items left and right, she hadn’t had much luck up to this point. Feeling proud of herself for finally being helpful, she smiled brightly.
He’s really good at finding useful things for survival.
If someone saw him now, they might think he had lived on an island or in the forest for months.
But still... Should I pick this up or not?
She hesitated while looking at some damp, salty clothes that had washed ashore. Anyone could tell they belonged to Moon Sohee. After a moment’s thought, Se-ah decided to pick them up.
She felt uneasy about it, but the clothes she was currently wearing, though dry, were full of salt. She was in desperate need of fresh clothes.
Among the items she pulled from the water was a swimsuit that she couldn’t imagine ever needing to wear.
She told herself she wouldn’t wear it in front of Do Junhyuk, but just in case, she packed it. The sight of the tiny white cloth made her cheeks flush.
She thought back to the version of herself who had once freely swum in hotel pools with her friends.
It’s not just the situation that’s changed. I’ve changed too,
“Let’s head back for now. It’ll be dangerous if it gets any darker. We should also prepare a place to sleep.”
“S-sleep?”
Se-ah stammered, her eyes widening at Junhyuk’s words.
Back when she had fainted, sure, but now they had to sleep together on an island with no house, no shelter?
“Are you planning to stay awake all night?”
đŒ; Mention of 'talking to a volleyball' refers to the movie Cast Away. A survival drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks. The movie tells the story of Chuck Noland, a FedEx systems analyst who becomes stranded on a deserted island after his plane crashes in the South Pacific.
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