23. My Ex-Husband Looks Too Handsome, and It's a Problem
Buzz, buzz.
The sound of crickets, not an alarm, gradually woke her up.
She had hoped it was a dream, but another morning had dawned on the deserted island.
As soon as Se-ah opened her eyes, she barely managed to suppress a scream.
From beneath the roof's mosquito net, all sorts of insects were staring down at her.
Although she couldn't interpret the looks of the bugs, one thing was certain—they didn't seem particularly fond of her.
The thought of Junhyuk's words about insects being true made Se-ah shudder.
Had she slept outside instead of in this treehouse, she would have been completely devoured by bugs.
But then, why was her neck so comfortable?
There was no pillow, and she had been sleeping on the floor, yet her neck and shoulders felt perfectly fine.
“Could I secretly be suited for island life?”
Or perhaps Junhyuk had made a pillow for her while she was asleep?
As Se-ah turned her body to the other side, her face landed directly on Junhyuk’s solid chest.
On his bare skin, no less.
“Eek!”
More startled than when she saw the bugs, Se-ah jerked her head back, letting out a strange sound.
Her heart began to pound uncontrollably.
It turned out the reason her neck was comfortable was that she had used Junhyuk’s outstretched arm as a pillow.
But why on earth was Do Junhyuk letting her use his arm as a pillow?
Could he have approached her during the night with some ulterior motive?
Se-ah, narrowing her eyes in suspicion, was about to wake him up, but then she noticed that her body had crossed the center of the treehouse into his space.
In fact, Junhyuk was pressed against the wall.
“…..........”
Realizing this, Se-ah covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from making any noise that might wake him.
Of course. If she had slept against the wall, there was no way she’d be able to see the window.
Stupid body.
Before Junhyuk noticed, she had to roll back to her side of the space.
But Junhyuk’s embrace was like a Venus flytrap.
Though it was just an arm wrapped around her, there seemed to be no way to escape.
She felt suffocated!
He looked like someone who’d hate physical contact and lived a stoic life, but in his sleep, why was he clinging so much? His sleeping habits were worse than she had imagined.
Se-ah clicked her tongue in frustration
.
There was no way she could stay in this position indefinitely.
After much deliberation, Se-ah finally made a bold decision.
Clearing her throat, she carefully made the sound she used to imitate a dog at home, hoping he was a dog owner.
“Whimper... Woof! Woof!”
Se-ah thought mimicking an uncomfortable dog sound might make him let her go.
Whenever someone loitered in front of her house late at night, she would purposely mimic dog noises or even stage fake conversations, acting as two people.
With the houses tightly packed, people were bound to wake up from such sounds, and petty thieves hated dogs.
So she was confident in her dog impersonation skills. But there was no reaction.
When the arm holding her didn't loosen, Se-ah barked again.
“Woof... Woof?”
She even considered switching to a cat sound when—
“Pfft. Hahaha.”
Suddenly, his eyes shot open, and he looked down at her, bursting into uncontrollable laughter.
He laughed so hard that his broad shoulders trembled as if a massage chair had been placed on them.
“What’s so funny? If you’re awake, you should’ve said so earlier!”
Se-ah grumbled, her face flushed with embarrassment.
“I was asleep, but then I heard something strange and woke up. Were you seriously imitating a dog now?”
“Stop laughing and let go of your arm!”
“Why should I?”
“What do you mean, why?”
As she stared at him wide-eyed in disbelief, he leaned toward her and whispered lowly.
“You crossed the line first, Jin Se-ah.”
His gaze sparkled uncomfortably brightly, even in the morning light.
“C-crossed the line?”
“This isn’t just crossing the line; this is far beyond it, don’t you think?”
“There are no lines in this house! People can roll around in their sleep. Maybe the house is slanted, making it easy to roll around. Who knows? The architect’s intent is suspicious.”
Se-ah shamelessly shifted the blame to the house.
“Well then, let’s sleep on opposite sides tonight, to see whether it’s the slanted house or someone crossing the line.”
With a smirk, he finally loosened the arm that had been restraining her.
“By the way, aren’t you a little too trusting?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You slept just fine last night.”
“Of course I slept well. There was no reason not to. The house is sturdy.”
And it wasn’t an exaggeration. She had slept soundly, without waking even once. Sharing the same space with Do Junhyuk didn’t feel like something she needed to dwell on.
“That makes sense. You even used someone else’s arm as a pillow and snored.”
“What? Me? I snored? No way.”
“No way, huh? You even talked in your sleep. Is ‘Director Kim’ someone you need to catch?”
“What? Did I really say that?”
Junhyuk nodded as he watched her widen her eyes in surprise.
“I was kidding about the snoring, but the sleep-talking is true. Is that person the reason you ended up here?”
“That’s none of your business, Do Junhyuk.”
Se-ah curtly cut him off, shutting down his curiosity.
She had no intention of sharing her family matters with him. It wasn’t something he could solve anyway.
While the boundary she crossed in her sleep was unavoidable, there was a need to firmly establish limits when it came to personal matters.
“Well, if that’s the case.”
Contrary to her expectations, he coolly accepted it and even added something unexpected.
“Still, if you ever need my help, just let me know.”
Though she ultimately ended up stranded on a deserted island, she had to admit that his help had gotten her close to Zamboanga. So, this time, she nodded lightly.
That didn’t mean she had any intention of relying on him.
Born as the eldest daughter, she had never been the type to depend on others. From a young age, she had made a habit of solving everything by herself, whether big or small.
It was why she had managed to survive alone in the Philippines so far.
Seeing her face turn serious, Junhyuk stared at her for a moment before suddenly getting up. Only then did Se-ah notice that his upper body was still bare.
She quickly covered her eyes.
“P-put on some clothes.”
“I’m getting up to do just that.”
“Why did you take them off in the first place?”
“They got wet.”
Why had his clothes, which had been fine when she fell asleep, gotten wet?
“I went out for a bit last night. It rained for a while then.”
“You told me the night was dangerous, yet you went out alone? Why?”
“…I had my reasons.”
Junhyuk briefly cast her a resentful look before turning away.
“Wait, I’m coming with you!”
Se-ah hastily tidied her disheveled hair and followed him outside.
She didn’t know his reasons, but it seemed he had collected water during his trip out last night, as they now had enough to use as drinking water.
Since they hadn’t yet found a stream, water was an essential survival resource.
Following Junhyuk’s guidance, Se-ah boiled the water to sterilize bottles, then boiled the rainwater once more before storing it in their water container. Just that process had taken up most of the morning, and she was starting to feel hungry.
She tried not to show it, but as she passed by him, her stomach growled loudly.
Grrrroooowl.
Though she quickly wrapped her arms around her stomach, Junhyuk heard the sound like a hawk and stopped what he was doing. Dusting off his hands, he stood up.
“You’re hungry? Why didn’t you say so?”
“I-it’s fine. I can still hold out.”
It was hard to expect the luxury of three square meals a day on a deserted island. She thought it would be better to save their energy for exploring the island.
But Junhyuk ended up transferring the embers to prepare a portion of their remaining food. He then handed her the cooked meal as she sat awkwardly.
“Eat. And don’t hesitate to tell me if you’re uncomfortable with anything in the future.”
“But we need to conserve our supplies…”
“Who told you to worry about that?”
He looked noticeably less pleased now, his perfectly arched brows forming sharper angles.
He gestured toward the area where he had been working earlier.
“Once I finish that, it’ll be easier to secure food. On a deserted island, setting traps or foraging is much more effective than hunting directly. It also helps conserve energy.”
What Junhyuk was making was a fish trap constructed partially from netting.
“Is there anything you can’t do?”
Se-h gawked in amazement.
At this rate, calling him a 'perfect genius' didn’t seem enough—he might even deserve the title of an AI. It felt like Do Junhyuk could outsmart artificial intelligence in a competition.
Maybe that’s why…
Her ex-husband, Do Junhyuk, seemed excessively impressive.
“Until the fish trap is done, we’ll need to use spears for a while. How about we go fishing after you finish eating?”
As he asked, it seemed as though a radiant halo glowed behind him.
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