Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Deserted Island
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"Ugh."
"Damn it. What the hell was that just now?"
One by one, we lifted our heads and looked around.
For some reason, the sunlight was blinding, making it hard to open our eyes.
But once our eyes adjusted and we could see clearly, our mouths naturally fell open in shock.
"Wh-what is this?"
"Fuck, what the hell is this?! Did we just crash-land?!"
Crash-land.
It refers to a plane encountering a problem mid-flight and landing anywhere it can.
But "crash-land" wasn't quite right. The plane had been sliced clean in half.
Grind— Boom!
Splash!
To be precise, it was in the process of splitting in two.
The fuselage shuddered violently, and then the severed rear section of the plane drifted away with a splash. Afterward, nearly three-quarters of it tilted and sank into the water at an angle.
"Everyone, come this way! Hurry!"
Following the flight attendant's instructions, we quickly evacuated the plane and stepped down.
Splash! Splash!
Fortunately, the water wasn't deep, and solid land was right in front of us. As we got off the plane, we stared around in a daze.
"An island?"
"A deserted island?"
We stood on the shoreline of some nameless island.
It gave off a strong vibe of Oceania or Hawaii—southern island nations.
White sandy beaches. Scorching sun. Palm trees. Emerald ocean.
The salty sea air filled our noses, a massive cliff loomed in the distance on one side, and the island's center was thick with endless vegetation.
"Haa. What is this? Are we really stranded in the middle of the Pacific? For real?"
"We were heading to America and dropped right out of the sky, so theoretically, yeah, Pacific Ocean."
"This is such bullshit. How does this even happen? Ah, stress."
"I'm more worried about how hot and thirsty I already am."
When stranded, the most important thing is food. And above all, drinking water.
We all turned to look at the plane in unison.
Fortunately, it wasn't moving anymore. The severed rear was deeply submerged, but the front section still had most of its body above the waterline.
"Looks like it's beached itself pretty good, so it shouldn't sink further."
"Let's grab some water. I drank so much booze, I'm parched."
"Not because you were pounding it out in the bathroom? We all heard you from outside, dude."
"Oh, really? Sorry about that, gentlemen."
We climbed back aboard to grab what we needed.
Fortunately, there was food. If we rationed it, we could last about twenty days.
"Even if we're stranded for a while, there are sealed provisions in the rear cargo hold, so no need to worry about food."
The flight attendant with the name tag reading Kim Yeonju said.
With the captain and all the staff and bodyguards missing in this unexpected accident, and the remaining crew in disarray, she seemed remarkably calm.
She was probably the most experienced among them. Her voice alone inspired trust and reassurance.
That was when we were starting to compose ourselves from the shock.
"That's not the issue!"
A sharp voice shattered the calm.
"My carry-on is gone!"
"Hey, Park Jimin. Is that suitcase really the priority right now?"
"Of course it is! My skin's about to get fried in this sun! Hey, you. Where was my travel bag stored?"
"Ah, Jimin. With the plane in this state, it's obviously gone flying off somewhere."
"If you're not gonna help, then shut up, Taehun."
Kim Taehun retied his ponytail and scratched at a scrape on his temple as he backed off.
He knew getting involved would just provoke Park Jimin's hot temper.
While Park Jimin and Kim Taehun bickered, Kim Yeonju finished talking with the male flight attendant and responded.
"If it's not here, then it's gone. All passenger items were stored in the front of the aircraft. It must have been lost when the plane broke apart."
"Lost? You sure? It wasn't in the back?"
Park Jimin pointed at the half-submerged plane.
"The back only has emergency survival gear in case of stranding..."
"Can you swear to that? What if I go check and it's there?"
She placed her hands on her hips and lifted the corner of her eye. My body twitched involuntarily, signaling the start of full-blown entitlement abuse.
Park Jimin.
A crazy bitch with skinny limbs and ash-gray hair.
She smiles sweetly on the surface, but you never know when she'll snap—unpredictable and hot-tempered.
Her dad runs a major entertainment company, rivals and partners with Kim Taehun's family entertainment empire. Together, they're the twin pillars of K-pop.
With the Hallyu wave influencing the world, both companies were growing beyond national borders.
So, from freshman year, she'd been strutting around arrogantly, and by senior year graduation, her antics had hit peak insanity.
"Hey, I'm asking. What if it's back there?"
"Well..."
"Go find it."
"Pardon?"
"Go check with those eyes of yours. Then I'll believe you."
It was an utterly ridiculous demand.
Go into the cargo hold of a plane three-quarters submerged and search for her bag?
'After three years of watching her, this is par for the course.'
Even Kim Yeonju, who seemed highly experienced, was flustered and at a loss.
The crew glanced at the accompanying teachers, but they quietly looked away, as they always had for the past three years.
"Not going? Should I go myself?"
"I-I'll go."
"Hurry back. You all go too."
"Us too?"
"Yeah. She'll take forever alone. You're colleagues, so go together."
Grimacing, the entire crew donned water gear and headed to the rear of the plane.
And that's when I sensed that our world had changed a little.
"What? Suddenly turning back in a hurry?"
"Huh? Hey, what's that?"
"What? Where?"
"Over there. Isn't that blood right now?"
The five crew members flailed desperately toward us.
There had been six when they left, but only five were returning.
Behind them, red ink spread slowly, and a severed arm floated briefly before something snatched it away.
"Fuck, a shark?!"
"Shh."
The students watching from near the water scattered back. Only I ran to them, offering hands to pull them onto the plane's fuselage.
"Hurry up here, quick!"
But just before I could pull up the last one, a dark shadow surged close, snatching the attendant and vanishing into the depths.
Leaving only a few bubbles and a trail of red ink.
"......"
That was the first death I'd seen on this deserted island.
Maybe the first in my life.
"Fuck, that scared me. Thought it was gonna jump up here like in the movies."
"I nearly pissed myself. Heh."
"......"
The students laughed or stared blankly, while the attendants panted with pale faces.
As they caught their breath, a shadow fell over them.
"So, where's my carry-on?"
They looked at Park Jimin in disbelief. Kim Yeonju yelled, veins bulging in her neck.
"Is that really important right now?! Someone just died!"
"The dead are dead. That's separate. So, my bag?"
Kim Yeonju bit her lip hard before answering.
"It's gone."
"For real? If it is there..."
"It's gone! Go check yourself!"
Only then did Park Jimin shrug and turn away. Whatever.
A death had occurred, but there was no time to mourn.
As Park Jimin said, the dead were dead.
The survivors had work to do to stay alive.
We started by taking stock of who was left.
7 male students
13 female students
2 female teachers
2 male teachers
1 male flight attendant
3 female flight attendants
'28 survivors.'
Not a lot.
In a way, the worst-case scenario.
'Including me, only 9 able-bodied people. Unbelievable.'
I couldn't expect any help from those modern-day aristocrats.
And their current behavior was proof.
"Wow, the shade's nice. This place isn't bad. The view's Maldives-level."
"Yuna, enough oil. Got any spray? Or cream."
They lounged like they were on vacation.
No sense of crisis at all.
'And out of our 9, five are women.'
Not that I underestimate women, but they didn't look particularly fit either.
"Any luck with comms?"
"No. Nothing."
Communications were dead too.
"No choice, then. Let's scout the island first. Check if it's safe."
Good idea. If we ran into locals, we could call for rescue right away.
The PE teacher Park Jaehoon suggested it, and the other teachers and attendants nodded. He yelled at a student.
"Jaejun! We're gonna scout around!"
Kim Jaejun approached.
"We'll gather the kids and help."
"Nah, we're good. You guys rest—you must be exhausted and freaked out. It's your graduation trip, after all."
The PE teacher chuckled jokingly.
Kim Jaejun showed no expression. He never did. Hard to tell what he was thinking all day.
'Kim Jaejun.'
Heir to one of Korea's top global conglomerates.
Strongest family among the boys, effectively ruling our class.
That's why even the teachers fawned over him. After repeated refusals, he nodded.
"Got it. I'll make sure to tell your parents about today."
"Haha, no need for that. Anyway, we're off."
Kim Jaejun bowed and left. The affable PE teacher turned sharply.
"Alright, let's head out. Hot as it is, better scout as much as we can before sunset."
As they moved out under the blazing sun, I figured I'd rest in the shade...
"Jeong Woojin, what're you doing?! Hurry up and follow!"
But the PE teacher wouldn't let me off. Even the attendant's protest didn't faze him.
"Wait. He's a student too."
"Haha, it's fine. He's special."
"Pardon?"
"It's a thing. Don't worry."
Only then did the attendants catch on.
Everyone at Daehan International High knew there was one commoner among them.
They frowned at the blatant discrimination, but the teacher didn't care.
"Woojin, come on!"
He discriminated as if it were natural.
After three years of this treatment, I brushed it off and stood.
'Whatever. Gotta scout eventually. Might as well get it over with.'
The scouting team was formed, and our group of nine split into two teams, heading opposite directions along the coast.
My team: me, the PE teacher, and two female attendants.
'Was the sun always this brutal?'
Just walking made me dizzy from the heat.
As I trudged through the killer heat, someone approached.
"Thanks for earlier."
It was Kim Yeonju. She shook her ample chest, making her name tag jiggle, and quietly expressed her gratitude.
"You pulled me up when the shark was chasing. Honestly, I was too exhausted from swimming back to climb aboard."
"Just doing what anyone should."
"Doubt it. Everyone else ran off to watch."
"......"
"Hehe. Anyway, thank you. I won't forget it. Need anything, just say. I'll make it happen."
She winked and returned to her colleague, chest bouncing. My eyes followed naturally.
'Huge. Probably hurts her shoulders just to jog.'
A stir below, but the scorching sun killed even that urge.
'One hour should give us the lay of the land.'
Wrong assumption.
The island was bigger than expected.
Much bigger.
"How long we been walking?"
"One hour twenty-four minutes."
"Damn. Assuming the other team's keeping pace, we haven't even circled it after three-plus hours."
We stopped and shaded our eyes, staring at the endless beach ahead.
It stretched so vast we'd need hours more, and beyond loomed sheer cliffs.
"No cliffs like that on the opposite side from start."
Everyone shook their heads—no one had seen them.
"Haa. Cliffs or whatever, I can't walk anymore. Unnie, shade break?"
The short-haired attendant—the one from the bathroom tryst—whined.
She plopped under thick foliage and tossed her heels aside.
"Hyunji, sitting means bugs."
"Unnie, bugs? I'm melting alive. Feeling like roast chicken."
Brutal heat.
We were all drenched, exhausted wrecks pushing through on spite.
"Screw it!"
Even the PE teacher sprawled in the shade.
Right next to the attendants, eyes on thighs under skirts—less exhaustion, more ulterior motives.
Eventually Kim Yeonju sat too, and I found a spot.
Out of the sun, drowsiness hit.
'Half a day walking, and I'm drained.'
Vicious climate.
Facing raw nature without civilization showed how grueling it was.
Like regressing to primitive times.
An era without wealth or legacy to hoard.
'Truly nothing here. No connections, no backing, no interference. All equal before nature.'
A fresh start here might mean no life's unfairness.
Lost in pointless thoughts under the breezeless shade, melting slowly...
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