24. You're the Captain, I'm the Soldier
'Stop staring, Jin Se-ah!'
Se-ah, who had been searching the shallow waters for shells by digging through the seabed, suddenly found herself dazedly watching Junhyuk wield a harpoon in the water, shirtless. She shook her head vigorously.
Every time he moved his arms, the muscles on his shoulders and back tensed and rippled. Her eyes were glued to the water droplets sliding down the grooves formed by his sculpted muscles.
It was absurdly her type.
'Am I going to start falling in love all over again like this?'
Most survival movies revolved around people falling in love. Two people relying on each other in an unfamiliar environment, gradually growing closer, and so on.
Of course, since there were no sequels, no one knew how those couples turned out in the end.
She doubted how long a relationship fueled by a burst of dopamine could last.
In real life, when people returned to their normal routines, the likelihood of them breaking up was much higher.
The barriers of reality are much higher than they seem, and once the crisis is over, the affection they felt during the tough times tends to fade away.
Se-ah never even dreamed of reuniting with her ex-husband.
Besides, unlike her, it was clear that Do Junhyuk didn’t feel even the slightest bit of attraction towards her.
Who would ever like a pitiful island beggar?
Compared to her unkempt state back in Manila, Se-ah’s current appearance was far worse—an utter mess.
Se-ah decided to regard Junhyuk as a rock as she watched him return with five rather large fish skewered on a line.
His upper body, armored with muscles, was as solid as a stone. But when she saw his sculpted face up close, she had to revise even that assessment.
Her heart started racing wildly again.
That’s why a clear boundary was needed between them, more definite than a mere rock. Something akin to the relationship between a boss and a subordinate at work or between a military officer and a soldier—one that could never cross the line into personal familiarity.
A scene from a movie suddenly flashed through Se-ah's mind.
Not long after breakfast, she watched him weave three of the fish into a drying line under the sun and roast the remaining two. She finally opened her mouth to speak.
"Um, Junhyuk."
"What?"
"I once watched a survival movie about a group of men stranded on a boat."
"And?"
"At first, they were all over the place, but once they appointed a captain, everything became more orderly and systematic."
Junhyuk, who had been listening silently, let out a small smirk. His lips, unusually rosy for a man, curled up gracefully.
"So, do you want to be the captain?"
"Ah, no, of course not!"
Se-ah immediately jumped up, waving her hands in denial. Then, glancing at him cautiously, she added,
"You should be the captain, Junhyuk."
"That's unnecessary."
"Still, wouldn’t it be better to clarify our roles?"
"What’s there to clarify? Don’t waste your brain on useless things. What if I become the captain and make you do something weird?"
"That would never happen, Junhyuk."
Junhyuk tilted his head slightly, observing her with his deep, obsidian-like eyes that seemed to draw her in.
"You don’t know me."
"I do! No one on this island knows you better than me."
Se-ah spoke confidently, only to realize that they were the only two people on the island.
"In the morning, you were acting like a puppy, and now it's military roleplay? You're just Jin Se-ah."
Recalling something, he burst into laughter again.
"Why are you bringing that up? Oh, by the way, do you have a dog?"
"Yes."
"Since when?"
"Not long after you left."
"Then it’s been three years. Is its name Sei? I think I heard you saying 'Sei' earlier."
"...Yes."
Junhyuk hesitated before answering, and Se-ah, wanting to fill the silence, blurted out something.
"That's a nice name. Maybe because it sounds similar to mine, it sticks in my ears."
"Ahem. Similar? They’re completely different."
Junhyuk, uncharacteristically stammering, strongly denied it. His usually straight eyebrows slanted, a sign that he was quite flustered.
"It’s possible to think they’re similar. Do you dislike it that much? Enough to make such a face?"
Se-ah pouted her lips.
"That’s not it… Anyway, eat before it gets cold."
Junhyuk avoided further explanation and handed her the perfectly grilled fish.
The fish, neatly deboned, lay in a dish made from dried coconut shells. Although he seemed bothered by the name similarity, his actions were oddly considerate.
Moreover, when he turned his head sharply to the side, the tips of his ears seemed to have turned a little red.
Se-ah made a mental note to tread carefully when talking about Do Junhyuk's dog.
"Thanks for the meal."
The naturally salty fish didn't need additional seasoning. Its savory flavor perfectly matched her palate.
As she stuffed her mouth and chewed with oil smearing her lips, Junhyuk watched her with a satisfied expression.
After patting her now full stomach, Se-ah marveled at the luxury of enjoying such a meal on a deserted island. Glancing at Junhyuk, who was still eating, she thought about how hard things would have been without him. She might not just be struggling; she might have already met her ancestors.
Her ex-husband, Do Junhyuk, who had even jumped into the water to help her, became a complete savior in her eyes from that day forward.
Thank you, Do Junhyuk.
Though it was embarrassing to say aloud, she thought it to herself just as Junhyuk looked up and met her gaze.
His round lips seemed to silently ask, 'What?' Se-ah shook her head and replied, 'Nothing.'
Junhyuk shrugged slightly and continued eating. Even the sight of him using roughly made chopsticks carved from a broken branch to debone the fish appeared refined, as though it were a scene from an advertisement.
The atmosphere gave the impression of a gourmet dining alone at a five-star hotel.
Yet, contrasting with his ascetic demeanor, the wet shirt clinging to his body from fishing revealed his rippling muscles.
Se-ah, mesmerized, found herself daydreaming about diving into those waves as a fish. Alarmed by her own thoughts, she jumped to her feet.
What kind of scandalous ideas are these?!
Her cheeks flushed, and she declared loudly to the puzzled Junhyuk,
"I’ll... I’ll be the soldier!"
"What?"
"You’ll be the captain, Junhyuk. I’ll be the soldier!"
A mere soldier couldn’t dare to desire the captain. Se-ah resolved to suppress her surging dopamine by demoting herself to a subordinate role.
She even wished he would become a tyrannical boss who would push her around relentlessly.
"If you’re that eager to play captain games, why don’t you just be the captain yourself?"
Junhyuk chuckled and stood up, holding his emptied dish. He ruffled her hair and then raised his hand sharply in a mock salute.
"Well then, this soldier is off to fix the roof, Captain Jin Se-ah."
Junhyuk walked off with an amused demeanor, leaving Se-ah standing there blankly. His low, pleasant chuckle echoed in her ears.
Se-ah watched him, unaware of her own dilemma, and debated whether to abandon the 'soldier' role and settle for the sibling-like camaraderie instead. Things couldn’t go on like this.
Though, truth be told, it wasn’t she who’d be troubled by her ex-husband Jin Se-ah—it would surely be Do Junhyuk himself.
That must not happen!
Se-ah shook her head vigorously, as if trying to clear her thoughts in the spin dryer of a swimming pool changing room.
Meanwhile, Junhyuk had taken a spot under a palm tree and began hammering with a blunt stone.
Thud. Thud.
Every time he struck the wood, the grooves perfectly aligned as if glued together.
Junhyuk seemed to have grown proficient in carpentry overnight.
"Is there a lot to fix?"
"Ah, the wind yesterday damaged a few spots. I only patched it up temporarily."
Se-ah looked at the area Junhyuk pointed to and gasped. One side of the roof had been torn off, seemingly carried away by the wind, and covered with clothes and other random items.
She hadn’t even noticed the wind blowing strong enough to damage the roof while she slept soundly the night before.
If Junhyuk hadn’t gone out intermittently to make repairs, one side of the roof might have flown off entirely, and she could’ve ended up sharing the space with the insect friends stuck to the mosquito netting.
It immediately made sense why his clothes were hung out to dry.
Junhyuk was reinforcing the temporary fixes with sturdier wooden beams to prepare for the rainy season, which promised even bigger storms.
Se-ah lingered nearby, wondering if there was anything she could do to help, but Junhyuk seemed to embody the phrase 'I can manage just fine on my own.' There wasn’t a single task he appeared to need assistance with.
When Junhyuk took a break and put down his stone hammer, Se-ah plopped down onto the sandy ground near him.
Resting her chin on one hand, she gazed past the palm tree shadow where he stood, looking at the dense forest and greenery beyond.
"When do we explore the island?"
Comments
Post a Comment