26. Can a coconut kill you if it hits you?
Se-ah ultimately had to let go of Do Junhyuk, the big catch caught on her fishing line, and ended up catching only a few small fish, each no bigger than the palm of her hand.
Although they were small, she thought, 'If I dry them under the sun and pound them, wouldn’t they work as jerky?'
Squatting in front of a plastic container, she watched the little fish swimming inside and contemplated how to prepare them.
Still, she was thrilled that this time she didn’t return empty-handed after fishing. While she rejoiced, Junhyuk returned with several large fish strung together like dried yellow corvina, tucked under his arm.
Fish harpoon maniac.
If he kept fishing at this rate, it felt like the nearby fish population would soon be depleted. But then again, as long as she was with Junhyuk, starvation wasn’t a concern. Even if they ran out of fish, she trusted that he would find alternative food sources.
As the sun set, they had a grilled fish feast in front of their newly refurbished shelter.
Having eaten three whole fish on the spot, Se-ah couldn’t take another bite. Patting her full belly, she lay down on the sand.
“It’s a deserted island, and I should be starving, but I’m so full I feel like I’m going to burst.”
She let out a small laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
“This is all thanks to Junhyuk.”
Not only did Junhyuk catch the fish, but he also cleaned and cooked them all by himself.
Wanting to give something back to him, Se-ah searched their meager surroundings. Her eyes landed on a couple of coconuts hanging from a nearby tree.
She thought all the coconuts in the area had already been picked, but these ones were hidden behind the leaves.
Feeling that a sip of coconut juice would be a nice finish after the oily fish, Se-ah sprang up. Junhyuk gave her a puzzled look as he watched her.
Fortunately, the tree wasn’t as tall as the others, so she figured she could knock the coconuts down with a stick Junhyuk had left behind.
Scrounging around, she found a wooden stick. Standing on her tiptoes, she swung it around, but the tree was higher than she had anticipated, and even with her arm fully extended, the stick couldn’t reach the coconuts.
She tried hitting the tree repeatedly, but the coconuts, as if glued, refused to fall.
Before she realized it, Junhyuk was standing behind her.
“Need some help?”
“No, I’ll handle it.”
Since this was meant to be a gift for him, she couldn’t let him help. Shaking her head firmly, Se-ah focused on the coconuts.
Having only picked up fallen coconuts before, she was trying to harvest them directly for the first time. Realizing how stubbornly they clung to the tree, she narrowed her eyes in concentration.
She remembered how tough the leaves were, and it seemed the stem they were attached to was even stronger. She realized swinging a stick like this wouldn’t be enough.
Recalling a scene from a travel show where someone used a sickle-like tool to cut down fruit, she attached a blade to the stick with some rope.
Deciding to climb the tree, she set off to put her plan into action.
Having once enjoyed climbing, Se-ah wasn’t afraid of heights, but climbing a smooth tree barefoot turned out to be harder than expected.
After several slips, Junhyuk, watching her struggle, brought over a tool to carve footholds into the tree.
Thanks to this, climbing became much easier.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but if it gets tough, just let me know. I’ll take over.”
“Okay.”
Leaving Junhyuk watching with concern, Se-ah climbed up the tree.
Finally, she reached the coconuts.
Swinging her makeshift sickle a few times, she found the stems much tougher than expected. Hanging onto the tree with her legs, her strength began to wane.
With Do Junhyuk standing below and watching her, Se-ah felt more nervous than usual, making her movements clumsier.
Still, she managed to cut halfway through the coconut stem. Encouraged, she stretched her arm further, telling herself to push just a little more.
Finally, her efforts paid off. The fibers snapped with a sharp sound, leaving one coconut dangling precariously, ready to drop.
“I did it!”
She readjusted her grip on the stick with an ambitious expression, preparing to strike again. However, at that moment, she lost her balance and slid down the trunk of the tree.
“Ah!”
The infuriatingly tall palm tree, which had taken her so long to climb, let her fall in mere seconds, like a rollercoaster.
Though she would land on the sand, which might cushion her fall, Se-ah worried she might twist her ankle or cause other trouble. Closing her eyes tightly, she braced herself for the worst—only to feel strong arms pulling her close.
Given that they were alone on the island, there was no need to open her eyes to know who had caught her. Even after eating grilled fish together, Junhyuk didn’t smell like smoke; instead, he carried the warm, sun-dried scent of comfort.
Held securely in Junhyuk’s arms, as solid as the tree she had just climbed, Se-ah slowly opened her eyes.
“Thank you.”
Junhyuk looked down at her, his expression stern.
“Don’t ever climb a tree again. What would you have done if you got hurt?”
“You’re right. I’ll be more careful.”
Even his displeased, furrowed brow was frustratingly handsome. As she gazed up at his face, Se-ah’s eyes widened in surprise.
Her dilated pupils caught sight of something drawing nearer—not just Junhyuk’s face but also the round coconut she had just tried so hard to harvest. Judging by its color and shape, it was the exact one she had targeted.
Despite all her effort, the coconut hadn’t budged earlier. Now, as if mocking her, it was falling—aiming straight for Junhyuk, who had let his guard down while rescuing her.
“W-wait!”
She tried to push him aside, but before she could react, the coconut, slightly smaller than a soccer ball, struck Junhyuk square on the head.
A dull thud echoed across the quiet beach.
…....!
For a moment, everything went still. Then Junhyuk, still holding Se-ah in his arms, collapsed onto the sandy ground.
Se-ah, tangled with him, also fell, sinking into the sand alongside him.
With a heavy thump, she felt the weight of his body pressing against her.
“Help!”
Pinned beneath his unconscious form, Se-ah used all her strength to wriggle free from his grip.
“Huff, huff, puh!”
Covered in sand from head to toe, Se-ah hurriedly turned his head to the side to prevent sand from entering his nose or mouth. Grabbing a towel lying nearby, she propped it under his face to keep him comfortable.
“Junhyuk! Are you okay?”
No matter how many times she called his name, he didn’t respond.
A pale-faced Se-ah recalled a warning she had once heard from a guide during a trip to the Philippines.
“Be careful when walking under coconut trees. You never know when a coconut might fall.”
“If one falls, that’s lucky—you can take it home!”
The guide had shaken their head gravely.
“If it hits your head, it can cause a concussion or even a skull fracture, leading to death. This happens quite often in areas with coconut trees. So, avoid being near them, especially when the wind blows.”
At the mention of death, everyone in the group had looked up nervously.
Remembering that moment, Se-ah frantically checked the back of Junhyuk’s head. Thankfully, there was no blood—just a large bump.
Bringing her face close to his nose, Se-ah could hear his steady breathing. Using knowledge she picked up somewhere, she checked the pulse on the back of his neck and found it beating at a similar rate to hers.
“Phew… Thank goodness.”
Relieved by the sight of Junhyuk’s chest rising and falling rhythmically, Se-ah sighed deeply. Other than being unconscious, he seemed perfectly fine.
If he had been seriously injured, there would have been some signs, right?
Seeing his peaceful expression, Se-ah concluded that he had simply fainted.
However, leaving Junhyuk lying there until he woke up wasn’t an option. If he stayed there until morning, he would surely become a feast for all kinds of insects.
She spread out two deflated life jackets she had picked up earlier and, with great effort, rolled Junhyuk onto them. She then cut a net into long strips and tied it to the life jackets, preparing to drag him from the beach back to the treehouse.
Each step she took was exhausting, her feet sinking deeply into the sand under the strain. The distance to the treehouse was as far as she had dragged him, but the unconscious Junhyuk felt as heavy as a one-ton truck.
Once again, Se-ah was reminded that nothing in life comes for free.
Was feeding me so well earlier just for this?
Still, she couldn’t blame Junhyuk—it was her fault for climbing the coconut tree in the first place. There were probably coconuts lying around on the beach if she had just walked a bit farther.
Regret swept over her, and Se-ah resolved never to climb another tree again, just as Junhyuk had warned.
After what felt like an eternity, she finally reached the base of the treehouse. But hauling him up to the treehouse itself was a whole new challenge. The fish she had eaten earlier seemed to have already been digested, and her energy was drained.
Taking a moment to catch her breath, Se-ah pushed herself to move quickly before it got any darker, using all her remaining strength to drag Junhyuk inside the house.
In the process, his body got scratched here and there by the tree, but she consoled herself with the thought that it was still safer inside than outside.
The moment she got him into the treehouse, Se-ah collapsed next to him, lying on her back.
“Ouch…”
She let out a groan. Her back, drenched in sweat, felt like it had undone all the washing she had done earlier, but she didn’t have the energy to clean up again.
After checking Junhyuk’s breathing and pulse one more time, Se-ah passed out beside him, succumbing to sleep.
Dreaming of waking up the next morning to a fully recovered Junhyuk, Se-ah instead woke to an unfamiliar tension.
“Who are you?”
In the faint blue dawn seeping through the mosquito net, Se-ah found herself staring into Junhyuk’s cold, emotionless face—colder than the blade he was pressing against her neck.
Comments
Post a Comment