Chapter 72
Chapter 72: Surviving in the Jungle (13)
After easily succeeding in harvesting the wild beehive, Baek Seungchan came down and tasted the honey on his hand.
“Oh! It’s good?”
The name of a beehive differed depending on where it was built.
A hive built between rocks was called “seokcheong,” while one built on trees like this was called “mokcheong.”
And these hives didn’t just differ in name—they also had slightly different characteristics.
In the case of mokcheong, the aroma and taste were richer, and the honey he just tasted had an especially deep flavor and scent.
“Whoa!”
From climbing the tree to harvesting the hive, Baek Seungchan’s outstanding performance left the Lauri tribesmen stunned.
As they snapped out of it, they gave him thumbs up and said something.
“They’re saying you’re amazing. They’ve never seen anyone climb trees this well.”
The translator, who had been just as surprised, spoke from the side.
After that, the Lauri tribesmen continued to show interest, asking questions and expressing admiration.
“Can we try that?”
At that moment, Kim Gahee licked her lips and spoke.
Her gaze was fixed on the hive Baek Seungchan had gathered.
“Let’s try it. It’s really good.”
Baek Seungchan used a dagger to cut small pieces of the hive and handed them out.
“Wow!”
Everyone who tasted the honeycomb widened their eyes.
“This is so good!”
“I agree! The flavor and aroma are super rich!”
“I think it even tastes a bit like chocolate?”
Not only the honey, but even the honeycomb itself tasted different from what they were used to in Korea.
Thus, their first hunt with the Lauri tribe ended successfully.
The next day.
After having a simple breakfast prepared by the Lauri tribe, the cast left the village for hunting.
Today’s task was hunting birds using various hunting tools.
“I’ll do it properly today.”
“I’ll be different today too.”
Lee Byungman and Bearman from Kang Donghyun’s team showed strong confidence.
This time, they were allowed to use hunting tools.
Lee Byungman was skilled with a blowgun, and Bearman handled a slingshot quite well.
They believed this was their chance to outperform Baek Seungchan.
Of course, they knew Baek Seungchan had already caught many wild chickens, but with tools, they thought they could compete.
“Oppa, don’t you need any hunting tools?”
Kim Gahee asked curiously.
“Me?”
“Yeah, you’re not carrying anything.”
Baek Seungchan wasn’t holding any tools.
“I’m fine. Throwing stones is the easiest for me.”
His main specialty was hidden weapons.
So rather than using unfamiliar tools, throwing stones was more comfortable.
After a while, the Lauri tribesman walking ahead stopped.
He had spotted a bird perched on a tree.
“They’ll show a demonstration.”
The tribesman drew his bow and released it.
Whoosh—
The arrow cut through the air.
Thud—
It struck the bird precisely near its neck, and the bird fell.
“Wow, he hit that in one shot.”
“Even hitting a target in archery is hard, that’s impressive.”
The cast marveled at his skill.
Anyone who had tried archery knew how difficult it was.
Hunting with it was even harder.
“There’s another bird.”
Soon, they spotted another bird perched on a fallen branch.
The Lauri tribesman looked at the cast, asking who would try.
“I’ll do it.”
Bearman stepped forward.
“Ha…”
Unlike his earlier confidence, he was now tense.
Hunting birds was much harder than hunting wild chickens.
If you got too close or missed, they would fly away.
And tracking them wasn’t easy.
“This will be difficult.”
The Lauri tribesman watching thought Bearman would fail.
“He’s too tense.”
In such cases, hunts usually failed.
Moreover, this particular bird was especially sensitive.
Without skill, it was hard to catch.
“Ha…”
Bearman steadied his breathing and pulled the slingshot.
Thwack—
The elastic snapped through the air.
Whoosh—
The metal pellet shot toward the bird.
Thud—
But it narrowly missed and hit the tree.
Flap—
Startled, the bird flapped its wings to escape.
“As expected.”
The tribesman nodded at the expected failure.
But then—
Thud!
A stone suddenly flew in and struck the bird’s head midair.
Thump—
The bird fell lifelessly to the ground.
Everyone’s gaze turned to one place.
Baek Seungchan.
“Did you just throw that?”
“Yes. I thought it would get away, so without thinking…”
“Wow, so that’s how you caught the wild chickens…”
“I thought you fired a gun, not threw a stone.”
“That’s incredible…”
The cast now looked at him differently.
They fully acknowledged him.
Especially Lee Byungman and Bearman, who had been confident before, were even more impressed.
And they weren’t the only ones.
“….”
The Lauri tribesmen’s eyes sparkled at Baek Seungchan’s extraordinary hunting skills.
From harvesting wild beehives to hunting birds, and then hunting at sea and catching snakes in burrows, each day brought a different method of hunting.
The “Surviving in the Jungle” cast learned their techniques one by one.
“Wow, is there anything Seungchan can’t do?”
In every hunt, Baek Seungchan excelled.
Those who once wanted to beat him now accepted that they couldn’t.
And within the Lauri tribe, his popularity only grew.
At some point, they began treating him like one of their warriors.
But as rumors of his hunting skills spread, a slightly troublesome situation arose.
“Huh? Oppa, there’s fruit here.”
“There’s meat too.”
From one day on, food began appearing in front of their hut.
It turned out to be gifts from the Lauri maidens.
And that wasn’t all.
“Our daughter cooks very well.”
“She’s still young, but she’s pretty.”
“She listens well and is healthy.”
Some even openly tried to make him their son-in-law.
It put Baek Seungchan in a slightly awkward position.
But not everyone minded.
“Anki oppa, I guess we’re lucky with food.”
“Yeah, honestly, I thought we’d be starving here.”
The two members of Baek Seungchan’s group were simply happy to have food piling up without effort.
And there was someone else enjoying the situation.
“An actor being confessed to by locals? This is fun.”
Producer Lee Jeonghun was delighted by the unexpected and refreshing scene.
The last day on the Lauri tribe’s island.
Just as the tribe had welcomed them with a banquet on the first day, the “Surviving in the Jungle” team prepared a farewell banquet.
The menu included seafood-packed jjamppong made by Bae Jiseon, and fried and seasoned chicken made by Baek Seungchan using chickens provided by the production team.
Though Baek Seungchan had suggested catching wild chickens, the staff insisted on bringing them to avoid harming the ecosystem.
“….”
At first, the Lauri tribe was wary of the unfamiliar food.
But after tasting it—
“Oh!”
Their eyes widened in amazement.
It was a completely new taste, yet so delicious they wanted more.
They quickly let their guard down and began eating in earnest.
“Whoa!”
The tribe cheered as they devoured the food.
“I’m glad they like it.”
“Yeah, I was worried it might not suit their taste.”
Seeing them enjoy the meal, the cast smiled warmly.
When the meal had progressed somewhat, Lee Byungman, Bearman, and Kang Donghyun stepped into the center of the village.
The tribe’s attention shifted toward them.
The gift wasn’t just food—there was also a performance.
“Oh!”
When introduced as a famous performance from Korea, the tribe showed interest.
The performance began.
Led by Lee Byungman, they performed the once wildly popular slapstick comedy “Master.”
Even without dialogue, his exaggerated expressions carried the act.
“Hahaha.”
The tribe laughed, fully immersed.
Next was Go Changmo.
As a singer, he prepared a song.
“I’m so tired now…”
Though originally a ballad singer, he chose trot to liven the atmosphere.
Despite his gym-trainer-like appearance, his vocal skill shone through.
Fortunately, the tribe loved it.
They stood up, dancing along.
“Ttaengppol! Ttaengppol!”
Some even tried to sing along, creating amusing moments with their pronunciation.
Afterward, Kim Gahee surprised everyone by performing a few magic tricks.
As the banquet reached its peak, it was time for the final performance.
Baek Seungchan stepped forward.
“Whoa!”
The entire tribe erupted in cheers.
At first, it had only been the women, but now everyone cheered.
It showed just how much they liked him.
“The music I will play now is a traditional song from my country, Korea.”
He addressed them.
“!!!”
Not only the tribe, but also the cast watching were shocked.
“Wait, did I hear that right?”
“Yeah, he spoke in their language without a translator.”
“How much more is he going to surprise us?”
“He’s like an onion… so many layers…”
He hadn’t fully learned the language, but had memorized those lines with the translator’s help.
“I hope you enjoy it.”
At the staff’s request, he took out the gayageum he had brought.
Ting—
Soon, the traditional Korean folk song “Arirang” echoed through the Lauri village.