28. I'm the captain, You're the soldier
Se-ah's eyes widened as if they would pop out.
If Junhyuk remembers himself as being 20 years old now, then that 'older sister' must have abandoned him in the jungle when he was 20 or younger.
Did she really do that to her young sibling who had just become an adult?
Se-ah thought of Do Yeonsoo, whom she had briefly encountered at the wedding venue but not at the initial meeting.
She recalled her slender and petite frame, looking nothing like Junhyuk, with venom in her eyes.
Then again, she hadn’t looked kindly at Se-ah either. There was no way she would have liked her younger half-brother.
But it wasn’t like Junhyuk's mother had an affair. Her mother had died of illness, and Junhyuk was born afterward. It didn’t seem like there was enough reason to harbor such hatred. Yet, people's hearts are truly unpredictable.
Regardless of the circumstances, treating a younger sibling this way was unthinkable.
When Se-ah thought of her younger brother, Sejun, at 20 years old, he was just a baby.
To think of him abandoned in the jungle at that age was unimaginable.
Junhyuk’s survival skills had clearly been honed in unimaginable conditions. She needed to hear the full story to know what he had gone through, but it was evident that he had suffered greatly.
No, it wasn’t just suffering—he must have faced death multiple times.
Even though it wasn’t her personal experience, Se-ah felt fury rising to the top of her head.
"Is she crazy? How could she do such a thing? Why didn’t you give me a heads-up? I would’ve grabbed Do Yeonsoo by the hair and shaken her senseless!"
Junhyuk crouched in front of her, lowering himself to her level as she ranted in genuine anger.
"Do you really not know?"
Though he asked for confirmation again, the suspicion in his eyes had softened. His sharp eyebrows seemed to have relaxed a little.
"I really don’t know. Besides, we’re stranded on a deserted island together. Who would orchestrate such a thing?"
"It’s not just any island—it’s deserted?"
Junhyuk’s eyes turned back outside in surprise. Beyond the calm waves of the beach, there was no sign of life.
"Yes. We were on a boat from the Philippines when a typhoon struck, and we drifted here. It’s been four days now. And this house? You built it."
Junhyuk surveyed the house before giving a small nod.
"That makes sense. The structure is similar to the treehouses I used to build. So, it’s not an abduction, then?"
"No. You came here for work. You were with your friends, but the typhoon scattered everyone."
"So, that makes you my ally, not an enemy?"
"Exactly. And even if I wasn’t, how could I possibly defeat you? One punch and I’d be done for."
Junhyuk nodded as he glanced at Se-ah’s soft arms.
"That’s true."
"So let me go. I promise I won’t do anything."
At that moment, the sound of a stomach growling escaped through a thin layer of skin.
When Se-ah made an even more pitiful expression, Junhyuk, after a brief hesitation, cut the rope binding her hands.
"I still don’t fully trust you, so don’t even think about doing anything reckless."
He subtly showed off the gun hanging from his waist as a warning.
"I won’t. There’s no reason to. Also, that gun? You told me not to fire it because it’s dangerous. I found it on the beach, so please be careful."
"I know that much. I assembled it myself,"
Junhyuk replied nonchalantly.
Her wrists and ankles bore red marks like stripes from how tightly they had been tied. As Se-ah rubbed her ankles to ease the marks, Junhyuk’s eyes briefly flickered with guilt.
"What was your name again?"
"Jin Se-ah."
"What should I call you from now on? If we’re allies, there must’ve been something I called you, right?"
"Well, you can just call me by my name..."
Se-ah’s lips twitched as she was about to say that. Her clear brown eyes gleamed mischievously.
This was a rare opportunity to hear something from Do Junhyuk that she’d never hear otherwise.
"Hmm. Hmm. You said you’re 20 now, right? Then since I’m 30, you obviously need to call me ‘noona’ (older sister). That’s right, call me that."
"What? Noona?"
Junhyuk frowned, as if he couldn’t believe the nonsense he was hearing.
"Of course! I’m ten years older than you, so I’m obviously your noona."
Se-ah resolved to look after him as a noona until his memories returned. However, Junhyuk’s reaction upon hearing this was firm.
"No, I can’t. No way. If it’s just the two of us on this island, I’ll be the captain, and you’ll be my soldier."
"What? Did your memories come back? Did something I said jog your memory?"
Se-ah looked up at him with hopeful eyes, thinking he might have suddenly regained his memory.
But when Junhyuk puffed out his chest and spoke as if he had a dragon on his back, her hope quickly fizzled out.
"No. But anyone can see I’m the captain here, between the two of us."
Se-ah stared at him blankly and thought to herself.
He really is just 20 years old.
Grrr..
The boat rocked violently once again.
"Are you hungry? Haven’t been eating well?"
"No."
Se-ah shook her head, her earlobes turning red.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t been eating well—it was more that she had been eating too much at every meal. She knew her growling stomach was a signal demanding breakfast.
"I’ve been eating well. Yesterday, I even filled up on fish and was about to enjoy some coconut for dessert when Junhyuk—um, the Captain—got hit on the head."
Se-ah decided to call him 'Captai' instead of using the awkward 'Mr. Junhyuk' which felt too formal for someone who believed he was 20 years old.
After all, it was the term of address she had hoped for anyway.
"That doesn’t sound like me. Was I distracted by something?"
"It wasn’t your fault, Captain. I was trying to catch something falling from the coconut tree."
"What? Do you know how slippery coconut trees are? Were you trying to climb it? Are you crazy? Don’t ever do that again."
The 20-year-old version of Junhyuk spoke with an even more raw and arrogant tone than his 33-year-old self but was still worried about her.
Something in her chest felt ticklish, as if stirred gently by a feather.
"So, you’re hungry after all? As the Captain, I can’t let my subordinate go hungry."
"Ugh, do you realize how cringeworthy that sounds?"
"I wasn’t even like this in middle school."
With a slight laugh, he stood up lightly. Towering over her, he extended his large hand.
"Follow me."
Se-ah took his hand and stood up, following Junhyuk as he pushed open the door and walked out.
"Can’t you just say it once?"
"Say what?"
"Call me ‘Noona’."
"You wish. Just because you’re older doesn’t mean I have to listen to you."
"Alright."
Se-ah quickly backed down.
As they bickered, the sun had already begun to peek over the horizon, spreading brilliant rays of light like paint across the sea and the beach.
***
Se-ah stood in a daze, marveling at the beauty of nature, while Junhyuk scanned the surroundings with hawk-like precision.
Dried fish, traces of a fire, and coconuts scattered around—all exactly as she had described.
It seemed she hadn’t lied about anything. Could they really have drifted to a deserted island?
Junhyuk sighed deeply as he thought about his mother, Min Jihee, who would be worrying about him.
How much time had passed since his disappearance, and now he was stranded on a deserted island?
The last time he went missing in South America, his mother had been so stricken with grief that she ended up hospitalized, thinking he was dead.
Though she had insisted to Chairman Do that Junhyuk was alive, she had also confessed later that she had even considered ending her life, blaming herself for pushing her son into such dangerous circumstances.
It had all begun when Junhyuk accompanied his father on a business trip to South America after receiving an acceptance letter from Korea University.
His mother had insisted that he go along as her only son, to establish himself before his stepsister, Do Yeonsoo, gained more power within the company.
Junhyuk, intrigued by the idea of visiting South America, went along without much thought. However, due to Do Yeonsoo's schemes, he became separated from the group and was suddenly left stranded in the middle of the jungle.
Although there was no evidence to prove it, Junhyuk had never doubted that Do Yeonsoo was behind it.
Her cold response when he returned home had only confirmed his suspicions.
"Well, I can’t say I’m glad you’re back,"
She had said, her disappointed expression unmistakable.
Junhyuk had been sure of it then.
'Your father has always been indifferent as a man, so you have to understand him. But you must prevent Do Yeonsoo from pulling another stunt like this.'
Min Jihee was right; his father was not the type to concern himself with the affairs of his children. If anything, he encouraged competition between them.
When Junhyuk returned alive, all his father had done was pat him on the back.
Knowing this all too well, his mother had grown fearful that Do Yeonsoo would try something again. She assigned bodyguards to him and quickly sent him abroad for further studies.
Junhyuk had agreed with his mother’s plan, recognizing the need to strengthen himself.
He prepared for interviews and polished his English in time for the September semester, and his last memory was boarding the plane with his acceptance documents in hand.
And now, he was on a deserted island.
The nightmare from back then seemed to be resurfacing.
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