Chapter 247
Chapter 247
Day 1 of being stranded on a deserted island.
KABOOM!!
Outside the villa, the wind and rain continued to rage like madness.
‘It’s a relief the guy who built this place was so thoroughly obsessed with his own safety.’
At least the villa was holding up fine.
I stifled a sigh and sprawled out on the living room floor. Cha Yu-jin flopped down right next to me in the exact same posture.
[Think of it like this, Hyung! The outside world has been ruined by a zombie apocalypse! That’s why we’re staying together in this cozy shelter!]
“Yeah. That’s a huge comfort.”
“Hehe!”
Don’t laugh, you punk.
A hollow laugh escaped me, but my mind was a mess.
‘What about the shoot?’
If we lose several days of footage like this, we’re seriously screwed...
[Hyung, we can’t film right now anyway. Just relax~ and take it easy.]
“…!”
[There’s no point worrying about things a person can’t control.]
…He certainly put it bluntly.
I remained silent for a moment, then looked out at the driving rain and conceded.
‘Well, it’s not like I can do anything about the weather.’
It was a filler program anyway; ruining one variety show wouldn't be the end of the world. I just had to do well on the next thing.
“Yeah. You’re right.”
“Right?!”
I lay in the living room, watching the rain and idling away the time until lunch.
Then came lunchtime.
As the seven of us sat together eating preserved rations, it really did feel like we were in some disaster movie.
“Umm, should we go to the coop and see if there are any eggs?”
“Sejin-ah, you’ll get swept away.”
“Got it.”
After finishing two such uninspiring meals, time began to drag. To make matters worse, the already slow smartphone data service started lagging even more.
‘It really feels like we’re isolated now….’
Thanks to that, there was absolutely nothing to do.
Since I had been in charge of meal prep today and was exempt from cleaning up, I sat in the living room—where the weather was most visible—and got lost in thought.
We’d exhausted all the board games, and we couldn't exactly go outside to forage for food….
Zzzzt. Thud.
“…!!”
Right then.
Suddenly, everything went pitch black.
“Uh, what??”
“Is everyone okay?”
It was a blackout.
Since it was a deserted island, there were no other light sources outside at night. It was a total, ink-black darkness.
I immediately sat up. At that moment, someone grabbed my shoulder firmly.
“…!”
“Hyung!”
“Yeah.”
…It was Cha Yu-jin. He’d been bringing in the laundry to the living room.
After confirming his voice, I identified the others by theirs.
“Everyone, don’t move for a second and let your eyes adjust to the dark.”
That was Ryu Cheong-woo.
“Y-yes…!”
“Wow, if I’d been five seconds faster, I would’ve had to stop right in the middle of washing dishes.”
That was Seon A-hyun and Keun Se-jin.
Cha Yu-jin was next to me, and Kim Rae-bin was on the sofa.
That left…….
‘Where’s Bae Se-jin?’
At that moment, I heard the sound of someone tripping followed by a stifled scream.
Mmph!
“…!”
“Hyung!”
Fortunately, the voice that followed sounded fine.
“…I’m okay!”
Though it was trembling slightly. I shouted toward the direction of the sound.
“Did something happen?”
“I-I saw something strange… No, don’t come over! I’ll go to you.”
“No. Stay there.”
You’re the one who shouldn’t move.
I turned on the flashlight function on my smartphone and stood up.
“I’m coming too!”
Coming along is fine, just don’t choke me.
With Cha Yu-jin trailing behind, I joined up with the others who had run toward the light, and we moved quickly.
“Sejin Hyung, are you there?”
Bae Se-jin was sprawled on the floor in an awkward position. His face brightened the moment the smartphone light hit him; it seemed the sudden darkness had really spooked him.
“Is your leg okay?”
“…I’m fine. No problem.”
True to his word, Bae Se-jin grabbed Ryu Cheong-woo’s hand and stood up just fine, though he still looked a bit tense.
“Over there… I think I pushed something when I fell.”
Bae Se-jin swallowed hard.
“That… thing came out.”
I immediately shone the smartphone light in the direction he was pointing.
A half-pushed cabinet.
And behind it… a door?
Revealed in the light was indeed a dull-colored fire door.
“Whoa.”
“What is this?”
The reason Bae Se-jin had been able to spot it was likely due to a faint glow on the floor. It looked like they’d used some kind of luminous paint.
“Wow, is this like a secret room or something?”
“I believe it is intended for evacuation purposes!”
“That sounds plausible.”
The guys whispered among themselves before quickly reaching a very sensible conclusion: ‘It’s private property, so we shouldn’t go in recklessly.’
‘…It looks like it leads to a basement.’
Based on the layout, the area beyond that door was likely near the wildflower path.
Keun Se-jin muttered eerily from behind.
“Doesn’t this feel like one of those movies? You know, where people are isolated in a snowy mountain cabin, and then an incident occurs through a hidden door… Ack!”
“It’s not.”
Don’t say such horrible… no, ridiculous things.
I smacked Keun Se-jin on the back and returned to the living room. The others followed in a trot, each stopping by their rooms to find their smartphones.
“Phew.”
“Should we look for flashlights with these?”
“There were some in the pantry next to the entrance. I’ll go get them.”
“Ooh~”
Once we secured actual flashlights thanks to Ryu Cheong-woo’s quick thinking, things felt a bit more manageable. The problem was that we had no way to recharge our phones now.
‘I’ll have to use mine sparingly.’
Nothing could be done since the power was out. I clicked my tongue.
“Um, it might be dangerous, so should we all sleep together?”
“I’m all for it~!”
“Let’s tell scary stories!”
That night, we all gathered in the living room to sleep. I exhausted extra energy turning down Cha Yu-jin’s request to tell a scary story in English and have me translate it.
And the next morning.
The situation became even more absurd.
“T-the coop…!”
“Uh, wait? It’s drifting away??”
Because of the rain that had fallen for two days straight, water had flooded all the way into the front yard. Thanks to that, the chicks that had escaped through the coop door—which had been blown open by the gale—were bobbing in the water, on the verge of being swept away past the yard.
On top of the flowing muddy water, yellow lumps were drifting further and further away….
Cluck-cluck-cluck!!
The hens cried out piteously.
“No!!”
“W-we have to save them…!”
In the end, driven by urgency, everyone rushed out to the coop in their pajamas, without umbrellas or raincoats.
‘This is madness.’
“Catch them! Catch them!”
“Guys, be careful not to slip! Stay low!”
Fortunately, since everyone exercised regularly, no one ended up face-planted in the mud. And after much struggle, all the chicks were rescued.
I’ll just mention that Cha Yu-jin and Ryu Cheong-woo played the biggest roles.
“What a relief!”
“Phew….”
Holding the soaking wet yellow lumps in both hands, the guys waddled back to the coop and tried to restore everything to normal.
“Whew, thank goodness.”
“Since we’re here, let’s take some eggs too!”
I wondered what the point of wringing out their clothes was when they were already soaked to the bone, but regardless, the guys looked proud of themselves despite their bedraggled appearance.
And… eggs, huh.
‘Hmm.’
I shook out my hair and spoke.
“Should we eat one?”
“Pardon?”
“Huh??”
“There are five hens, so I thought we could slaughter one.”
“…!!”
There were seven grown men; surely we could handle one chicken.
Kim Rae-bin nodded.
“That is a good idea. Consuming too many preserved rations is not good for one’s health—”
“No!! No! You can’t!!”
“Oh my god, Moondae-ya! How could you say such a thing right in front of these tiny chicks we just rescued!!”
“They can’t understand us. And aren’t they raised to be eaten anyway?”
It was funny how the ones who would probably enjoy the chicken the most if we actually caught it were the ones protesting the loudest.
Cha Yu-jin was the most vehement.
“They’re not for eating!! They’re for raising!”
He passionately explained the ‘Little Prince and the Rose’ metaphor, even mixing in some English.
[Just like the Little Prince’s rose is special, these chickens are special to us, you know?!]
Fine, fine. I get it.
“Haha, alright. Let’s just take the eggs.”
As Ryu Cheong-woo wrapped things up, Kim Rae-bin whispered secretly to me.
“I strongly suggest that if we do slaughter a chicken, we do not distribute any to Cha Yu-jin.”
“…….”
Anyway, the point is that we returned indoors clutching eggs after all that chaos.
But another obstacle was waiting for us.
“…The water was cold.”
“Tell me about it.”
Whether it was because of the blackout or not, the hot water wasn't working, so we ended up taking impromptu cold showers. Bae Se-jin, who usually showers with hot water even in the height of summer, seemed to find it a traumatic experience.
‘We can’t go on like this.’
The kitchen ran on gas rather than an induction stove, so at least we could eat warm meals, but even that had its limits.
So, after a meal of white rice topped with soft-boiled eggs and red pepper tuna, I brought it up to the group.
“First, we need to do something about the electricity.”
“…True.”
“You are correct… but we lack any specialized knowledge.”
Yeah. The problem was that everyone’s career paths overlapped. An awkward silence fell among the guys who had dedicated their lives to the arts and athletics.
That’s when Bae Se-jin spoke up with a hesitant look.
“Can’t we just… flip the breaker box or something?”
“Oh.”
“Ah, that might be it!”
Right. There was a chance it was just a tripped circuit breaker in the distribution board.
I stopped my pessimistic theorizing—‘They were getting power from solar panels, but since there’s been no sun for days, the power cut out…’—for a moment.
‘If that’s the case, the solution might be simpler than I thought.’
Ryu Cheong-woo crossed his arms.
“Hmm, where would it be? I didn’t see it near the entrance or on the exterior walls.”
“S-should we ask…?”
As suggested, we tried to text the PD, but it failed repeatedly. It seemed the signal wasn't being picked up well.
“Did the equipment break because of the strong winds?”
“It’s such a remote place, that’s possible. The signal’s been spotty a few times already.”
“Hmm.”
After a brief deliberation, we reached a single conclusion.
“We have nothing else to do anyway, so why don’t we look for the breaker box?”
“Let’s do that~!”
And so, split into groups of two or three, the guys each took a flashlight and began exploring every nook and cranny of the house.
Well, surely we’d find it before the sun went down.
“Hmm, it’s not here.”
“…….”
Why can’t we find it?
I was in charge of searching the first floor along with Keun Se-jin and Kim Rae-bin. Usually, these things are tucked away in a corner of the first floor.
However, even after wandering around for quite a while, the distribution board was nowhere to be seen.
“Is it possible it’s on another floor?”
“Could be, but…”
In a house, isn't it usually on the lower floors?
Just then, Kim Rae-bin raised his hand.
“Could it perhaps be inside the secret door that Bae Se-jin Hyung discovered earlier?”
“……!”
“Oh~ that’s possible.”
I recalled the dull-colored fire door hidden behind the cabinet.
‘It’s definitely… a possibility.’
Since it seemed to lead to a basement, there might be a boiler room there, and the distribution board could be installed in it.
“Shall we go?”
“…Sure.”
I headed toward the corner of the hallway where the cabinet was with the others. The further we went in that direction, the darker it became due to the lack of windows. We had to turn on our flashlights even though it was daytime.
“Good thing we brought these~ It almost got scary!”
“Securing visibility is indeed important.”
We arrived in front of the cabinet in no time. Once we pushed the half-moved cabinet the rest of the way, a fairly large fire door revealed itself under the flashlight beams.
‘It’s a bit much for a boiler room entrance, though.’
“Should I open it?”
“…It’s fine.”
Better for the person holding the flashlight to open it.
I grabbed the handle of the fire door and turned it. The door wasn't locked.
Creeeeeak.
As if it hadn't been opened in a long time, the door let out an unsettling sound. Inside, it was pitch black and silent.
When I shone the flashlight inside, I could dimly see stairs leading down.
“…….”
“…….”
“…This is a bit creepy, isn't it?”
No, it’s just my imagination.
“Let’s go.”
“Wait!”
“H-how about we regroup with the others searching elsewhere and move together??”
“Moondae, you’re scared too~ It’s written all over your face!”
Entirely due to the two cowards’ insistent arguments, we waited a moment and joined up with the second-floor search team.
“Ah, here.”
“WOW, it’s dark!”
It was Bae Se-jin and Cha Yu-jin. I doubted if that duo had even finished searching the second floor… but anyway, now that we were together, let’s just go in.
Now a group of five, we propped the fire door open and walked down the stairs, relying on the flashlight beams. Perhaps because it was a basement, the temperature was low, and there was a faint, metallic smell of rust.
Step.
“Why on earth did they build it like this?”
“It must be the owner’s taste.”
“I guess so.”
Step.
“…I’ve been thinking.”
“Yes.”
Bae Se-jin stopped in his tracks.
“Why would someone go out of their way to build a villa like this on a deserted island…?”
“…….”
Suddenly, the atmosphere turned chilly.
“…Well, they probably liked the peace and quiet~”
“But they provided it for a variety show.”
Bae Se-jin spoke with an expression that looked like he was breaking into a cold sweat.
“If I liked peace and quiet, I wouldn't do that.”
“…….”
Silence fell over the group again, but soon desperate defenses popped up from all sides.
“They’re someone who likes variety shows!”
“They might have a very close acquaintance at the broadcasting station!”
“…Right. Sorry.”
Bae Se-jin quietly shut his mouth.
I turned my somewhat stiff neck and pointed ahead.
“I think we’ve reached the bottom.”
“Ah.”
Before we knew it, the stairs ended, and we reached the floor. The massive cavern… seemed to be filled with wooden boxes stacked everywhere.
“Oh, is it a warehouse?”
“It appears so.”
The others’ voices brightened, seemingly relieved.
‘The distribution board….’
As I continued to sweep the walls with my flashlight, I discovered something unexpected.
“…!”
“Uh?”
It was another door. Double doors, even.
There was nothing particularly strange about them. However, what was seeping out from under the door was….
Keun Se-jin spoke in a trembling voice.
“…Isn't that blood?”
Blood?
Truly, a dark red liquid was oozing thick and sticky across the floor from under the door.
“…….”
Once I recognized it, I realized what the smell I’d thought was rust actually was.
‘Iron.’
It was blood.
“…!!”
“Aaaaaah!!”
“Gah!!”
Terrified screams filled the cavern. I stumbled backward.
‘Call the police….’
Where the hell was I supposed to report this? What was this?
[Oh my god, what the hell is this?! It’s blood!!]
“I told you it was weird!! Aaaah!!”
“Go up, go up right now…!”
Right then.
Click.
Suddenly, the lights came back on.
In an instant, our vision became clear.
“…??”
“Huh?”
It was very mellow lighting. The atmosphere flipped in a heartbeat.
The place I’d thought was a grim warehouse… was a rather tastefully designed cellar.
“…?!”
The wooden boxes I’d seen earlier were also stacked purely for aesthetic purposes. It was a storage room that anyone could see had a great interior.
And the door I’d seen was…….
“…It’s a freezer?”
That’s right.
What I had mistaken for a door… was a sleek, modern gray freezer.
“…….”
I strode over and opened the freezer door. A cool breeze hit my nose, as if there was still some chill left.
Inside, I could see various sausages and meats that had thawed, their juices leaking out and flowing downward.
That was the source of the metallic smell.
“…….”
“…….”
A long, long silence followed.
“Ah, so it was here.”
“M-Moondae-ya. I found the breaker box…!”
“…Guys?”
“U-um…?”
By the time the third-floor exploration team, who had found the distribution board, made their way down here, the rest of the guys were standing there blankly, ruminating on their own stupidity.
I won’t bother denying the fact that I was included among those ‘rest of the guys’….
“Well, at least there’s plenty of meat.”
“Yeah, the problem was mistaking it for human meat.”
Be quiet.
After coming to my senses, I took out the meat from the freezer that hadn't thawed yet and was still edible. I’d have to ask the villa owner for permission later, but since it was due to a natural disaster, they’d probably be somewhat understanding.
“See! It’s a good thing we didn't slaughter them!”
“……I guess so.”
I silently agreed as I looked at the frozen native chicken Cha Yu-jin was holding up high.
“Since the fridge upstairs is running again, let’s move some food up there.”
“Got it~”
‘At least it’s a relief that our idiotic behavior wasn't recorded….’
I felt relieved inwardly, but I soon realized it was a vain hope.
…It turns out cameras these days have much longer battery lives than I thought.