Chapter 70
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Stage Preparation
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Rumble.
As I finished up my business and pulled up my pants, a deafening thunderclap echoed through the air.
It was fundamentally different from any sounds we'd heard up until now.
'Is lightning striking repeatedly somewhere? But there wasn't much flashing for that.'
Puzzled by it, suddenly Seohee shouted from beside me.
"Woojin! Watch out! Grab the palm tree next to you!"
Not knowing why, but hearing her extremely urgent cry, I clung to the palm tree beside me without hesitation.
And at that moment, with a massive splash!, a gigantic wave slammed into where we stood.
'Kuh?!'
The wave was so high and fierce that if Seohee hadn't warned me beforehand, I would've been swept away for sure.
"Woojin, are you okay?!"
"Yeah. I survived thanks to you. Thanks, Seohee."
Not quite believing my words, Seohee leaped from the boat and anxiously checked me over from head to toe.
Even after I told her I was fine, she fussed over me relentlessly.
"Phew. Good thing you're unharmed."
Seohee let out a sigh of relief. I smiled at her, then turned an uneasy gaze toward where the wave had come from.
'What the hell was that just now?'
The direction it came from was right where the kids were, which made it all the more ominous.
'I need to check it out right away.'
I hurried off with Seohee toward where the kids were.
And that's when I saw it.
The plane, vanished without a trace.
The plane that might have been the kids' last shred of hope.
They'd held on without losing hope, believing rescue would come someday. But now that their symbol was gone, they all stared blankly at the spot where it had been, their faces utterly dazed.
'Did it sink like science says planes do?'
That seemed right. A few kids were frantically swimming toward us from where the plane had been.
'How many got caught up in it?'
For now, Oh Sejun, Oh Seyoung, Park Jimin's crew, and Kim Taehun were accounted for. More kids were swimming in from afar, joining one by one in real time.
The survivors gasped for air, eyes and mouths wide open, breathing raggedly as if they'd come back from the dead.
"Hah... huff... What the fuck happened...?"
"I don't know. I don't know either. What just went down?"
The kids caught in the incident were in total chaos, but those who had witnessed the whole thing from afar were frozen stiff.
Even Park Jimin looked grim-faced, so I could guess just how serious it had been.
Lee Seohyun stammered it out.
"Th-the plane just... plunged into the water like whoosh."
"What?"
"You guys were about to climb on, and suddenly it tilted and vanished into the water in an instant."
At Lee Seohyun's explanation, the kids who had been catching their breath finally realized what had happened to them, their faces draining of color.
"Y-you guys got sucked into the water after the plane too. Caught in that whirlpool."
That's how they'd managed to swim out one by one.
Most of the latecomers to the plane had been girls, so for now, all the girls had made it back to the island alive.
But—
"Wait. What about the boys?"
"Huh? Jaejun...?"
Only then did they realize the boys had been dragged deep underwater still aboard the plane.
All the girls had survived, but not a single one of the five boys had returned yet.
"Wh-what do we do? Our Jaejun..."
Yoo Hana, who usually just smiled quietly, stamped her feet anxiously while staring out at the sea.
Was it her desperate call that reached him? Someone surfaced above the water.
Splash!
It was Kim Jaejun, Lee Minhyuk, Han Dohoon, and Yoon Jihoo.
'Did Choi Youngwoo get left behind?'
Only four had emerged.
Spotting the class kids one after another as they surfaced, they frantically started swimming over.
Their urgent movements somehow felt laced with terror.
And sure enough, Yoon Jihoo, who had surfaced last, suddenly vanished beneath the waves.
Then, with another splash!, his severed leg shot high into the air.
"Eh?"
"What...?"
As it fell, three or four sharks leaped up simultaneously, tearing into it competitively.
"Kyaaah!"
The girls screamed.
We'd seen a similar sight on the first day stranded here, but back then they'd laughed it off without a care. Now, they shrieked in utter terror.
Back with the flight attendants, they'd barely seen them as human, so they'd just thought, oh, they died. But seeing Yoon Jihoo go like that drove it home.
Death was creeping close to them now.
The threat wasn't far off at all.
The kids screamed as they fled from the forest edge deeper into the woods.
Not satisfied, they kept shrieking nonstop.
'So two boys died in the end.'
I gazed at the boys.
The three who had been dragged down with the plane but survived, and the two who hadn't boarded from the start.
'Talk about lucky bastards.'
Guess they didn't become survivors just through talent.
'Well, born into those families, maybe they were just born with heavenly luck.'
But I soon shook my head.
It would've been better if they'd just died right there.
Twenty years of living cushy lives, enjoying everything their wealth offered. Dying with those sweet memories intact would've been ideal.
'But no, they survived and prolonged their suffering.'
From now on, they'd starve miserably, learning firsthand how commoners without money live, until they dropped dead somewhere on this island.
In a way, more pathetic and unlucky than the two who died first.
'Whatever, not my problem with the boys.'
Anyway, the incident had completely shattered the kids' hope.
They'd been clinging to that one hope to endure. Now their mental state was crumbling, and their physical condition was deteriorating rapidly.
They wouldn't last another few hours like this.
Timing felt perfectly ripe, so I spun on my heel.
"Where are you going, Woojin?"
"Follow me. We've got urgent work ahead."
"What are you planning?"
"Gonna buy some rubber boats."
Seohee grabbed my shoulder to stop me.
"Don't. It's a waste of money. What do you have to gain by helping those losers?"
"I don't want them to die."
"The ones who bullied you relentlessly every single day for three years straight?"
Yeah, that happened.
"Still, I don't want them dead."
I said with a bright smile.
It was sincere, straight from the heart.
'Because then I can't fuck them. Can't trample them.'
Can't ravage them wildly and impregnate them with my seed.
Can't swell up those pretty bodies with pregnancy and make them bear my kids.
So I absolutely couldn't let them die.
"...Woojin."
Seohee, unaware of my true intentions, looked at me with moved expression.
"Even after all that pain, you're still thinking of helping them."
She could've guessed why with a moment's thought, but with her infinite trust in me, she believed I was acting out of pure righteousness.
Yeah, she just interpreted it that way. What a grateful, apologetic, heartwarming moment.
"You really are... incredible. A man worthy of my recognition."
"Shall we get moving then? Time's tight, and I need your help."
" entrust anything to me. I'd stake my life on whatever you do."
With Seohee's full cooperation secured, I started walking while mentally crunching numbers.
Saving the whole class would require more spending than expected.
10m rope: 20,000 won.
Waterproof tarp vinyl 1.8×2.7m: 14,000 won.
1-2 person rubber boat: 150,000 won.
'184,000 won per fully equipped boat?'
Class had 14 kids total, so pairing two per boat meant seven boats needed.
In cash terms, that was 1.288 million won—a hefty sum.
I checked my available cash.
[Cash: 1,364,651 won]
This would pretty much wipe out my cash. But I purchased without hesitation.
[1,288,000 cash deducted.]
[Daily purchase amount exceeds 1,000,000 won.]
[Gift granted.]
[Acquired 'Customer Appreciation Discount Coupon (50%)'.]
Now I had two discount coupons total.
I'd briefly considered using one on the boats, but decided to save it.
Might come in handy for something pricier later.
[Cash: 76,651 won]
[Remaining Points: 887]
Now my remaining cash was about 70,000 won.
But points were still plentiful. If needed, I could convert points to cash.
After buying several rubber boats, Seohee and I set them up in various spots around the forest.
By the time we finished, the typhoon was already into its third day and moving on.
"Phew. Good work, Seohee. And sorry for making you go through all this."
"No need. I respect you as a man, and I treasure walking and working alongside you. If there's ever another chance like this, please call on me."
Her smiling face held not a trace of falsehood.
I smiled softly and pulled Seohee into a side hug.
"Thanks."
With that, preparations were fully complete.
Everything I could do was done.
'Time to check if the kids are holding up okay.'
The class kids were huddled—girls with girls, boys with boys—heads bowed, shivering uncontrollably.
No joke; even from a distance, I could see their bodies trembling visibly.
Even athlete Lee Minhyuk was shaking, so no need to check the others.
'Hmm. Their conditions look about right. But just in case, maybe give it a little push. Resistance might be stronger than it seems.'
I picked up the whistle and blew softly into the wind.
Tweeeet—
The sound echoed through the forest. Lee Seohyun snapped her head up upon hearing it.
She glanced around, spotted me, and pretended to head off to do her business as she approached.
The freezing kids had no attention to spare for strange forest noises or Lee Seohyun slipping away.
"Master, I'm here."
She scurried over, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Seemed she'd gotten hungry again.
Like a puppy begging to play for treats. Thinking she looked just like that, I showed Lee Seohyun a roster.
"Got it memorized?"
"Yes, memorized it."
Reciting it perfectly after one go. Scary genes indeed.
"When I give the signal, move then. You five decide who handles who."
"Yes."
"Do a good job, and there's more tasty stuff."
"Yes!"
With her special mission, Lee Seohyun scurried back and whispered to Park Jimin.
Park Jimin grinned with interest, then gathered her crew and murmured instructions.
Once their discussion wrapped and they rejoined the girls, I headed over with Seohee in tow.
Returning to the class after nearly a month felt oddly bittersweet.
Or maybe it was the thrill of the big hunt ahead.
'Phew. Hope it all goes smoothly without a hitch.'