The Morning of the Second Day
The next morning. Had everything from last night been nothing but a dream? Would I wake up back in the barracks like none of it had happened? Those thoughts had crossed my mind before falling asleep. But no. When I opened my eyes, I was still inside a cave somewhere on this deserted island, and sleeping right beside me was my half-naked mother.
“Zzz… Zzz…”
Even after nearly ten years of living together, this felt like the first time I’d ever seen her sleeping face. She wore an expression of pure, carefree peace, her arm draped across my chest as she slept.
“Uh…”
Mother was still in that bikini. She couldn’t take it off even to sleep—bugs might suddenly appear if she did. During intimate moments, she still had to keep something on her body. And though it was called a bikini, it was practically no different from underwear. Right now, her breasts were pressed tightly against my side as she hugged me. They held every ounce of softness the world had to offer. All my nerves converged on that single point of contact, and the pulse there throbbed so fiercely it felt like my heart had relocated to my ribcage.
Thanks to that, my lower body was already proudly asserting its vigorous presence from the moment I woke. Even after releasing three loads yesterday, it still wasn’t satisfied. Inside the cheap training clothes I’d bought in place of pajamas, I was pitching a massive tent.
“…Mother. Mother?”
My internal clock, calibrated by military standards, told me it was time to get up. I gently shook her shoulder, trying to wake her.
“Mmm…”
But she only mumbled in her sleep and hugged my torso even tighter. Then she casually slung one leg over my body with a heavy thump.
“Ugh!”
That leg happened to slam directly into the tent I’d pitched below. It was sturdy enough not to break, but the impact still stung.
“M-Mother…?”
“Mmmnya mmmnya…”
…She probably hadn’t done it on purpose. Mother was still sleeping soundly with a blissful smile on her face.
Anyway…
…I really didn’t want to get up.
This moment—lying here lazily in bed—felt too perfect. The bed was nothing but a flimsy mattress without even a proper pillow, and we were surrounded by the bleak walls of a cave. Yet right now, I was happier than I could ever remember being. Drunk on this languid drowsiness, there was no need to force myself awake. My sleeping mother lay skin-to-skin beside me. What greater happiness could there possibly be? Why not just stay like this and sleep a little longer? This wasn’t the military; I didn’t have to wake up on schedule. I could sleep the entire day away if I wanted. Then, after waking up much later, I could spend the day indulging in all the naughty games with Mother like we had yesterday.
Yeah. That would be far more efficient than struggling to hunt wild animals just to scrape together coins.
Right. Let’s do that.
Capturing a Tyrannosaurus for seven thousand coins versus spending an entire week doing dirty things with Mother to earn seven thousand coins. Even Seungpil would know which option was easier and safer.
And…
“Zzz… Zzz…”
…Would touching or undressing a sleeping partner also earn coins? It was impossible to know without testing it. So I had no choice but to check. I reached my hand toward my sleeping mother—
“Ahem. Ahem.”
“Ugh.”
A deliberate cough reached my ears. When I turned my head, I saw Seunghee staring straight at me from her mattress across the cave. Her eyes clearly asked what exactly I thought I was about to do to a sleeping woman.
“…Sleep well, Seunghee?”
I greeted her awkwardly.
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
Her reply was curt. She didn’t sound like she’d slept well at all.
“…I haven’t done anything yet.”
“I haven’t said anything yet either.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Those eyes were unmistakably judging me. Honestly, it wasn’t something I could feel proud about—doing those things with Mother. But shrinking back out of shame would only put everyone in danger. I had to remember Simon and Pero from Rubens.
“Didn’t I tell you yesterday? If we want to survive here, you have to do it with your partner.”
“Who said anything?”
“You need to do it with Seungpil too, Seunghee.”
“Ew~!”
Seunghee wrinkled her nose like she’d seen something filthy. That was probably the normal reaction between siblings. They say siblings often get along even worse than strangers. In that sense, Mother and I might actually be at an advantage. Unlike the Seungpil siblings, who still couldn’t make up their minds after a full day, we had accepted it from the very first day and started earning coins.
Any other survivors here would probably react like the Seungpil siblings. So in a way, we were already a day ahead, weren’t we?
“I told you to decide by today.”
“I heard you the first time.”
Seunghee yanked the blanket over her head in clear irritation. That blanket and pillow she was using were things I’d bought for her last night. She’d said she couldn’t sleep without them. They hadn’t been that expensive, so it wasn’t a big deal. But we couldn’t keep supporting them with our coins forever. In the long run, it would endanger both Mother and me, as well as the Seungpil siblings. For everyone’s sake, Seunghee needed to make up her mind soon—
“—Kyaaak!”
A sharp scream cut off my thoughts. It had come from Seunghee.
Slap—!
And that was the sound of Seunghee smacking her sleeping brother across the cheek.
…It looked like Seungpil had groped her in his sleep.
“Huh? Uh? What was that sound? What happened?”
“It’s nothing, Mother. Go back to sleep.”
“Mmm…?”
I soothed the groggy Mother and eased her back to sleep.
Sigh. Seungpil still had a long way to go.
*
“Good morning, Corporal Kang Changjae, sir.”
“…Yeah.”
Seungpil woke up sporting a bright red palm print on his cheek. It was obviously Seunghee’s handiwork. Should I pretend not to notice? Yeah, I probably should.
“Seungpil. You went to sleep without washing yesterday, right? Go clean up first.”
“Yes, sir. Oh, did you buy a new shower room?”
“Yeah. I earned the coins while you were sleeping. There’s a bathroom next to it too.”
“As expected of Corporal Kang Changjae! You’re incredible, sir!”
“Why does that sound sarcastic?”
“No way. Haha.”
“And take these too.”
I handed him the leftover shower supplies from yesterday. I’d also bought him underwear and a change of clothes from the shop.
“Whoa! Thank you so much, Corporal Kang Changjae, sir!”
“Buy whatever Seunghee needs with your own coins.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And Seungpil. I don’t like repeating myself.”
“Yes. I understand. I’ll convince Seunghee by the end of today.”
“Good. That’s a relief.”
“If she won’t listen, I’ll just do it by force if I have to.”
“No. That’s not acceptable.”
“What? Are you insane?!”
Seunghee jumped into the conversation at the very end. Haah… Seungpil, Han Seungpil… are you actually stupid? No matter what, who says something like that right in front of the person it concerns? You’ve only made her even more guarded.
“Sigh… I don’t care anymore. You two figure it out between yourselves.”
“Yes, sir.”
These two really had a long road ahead. Forcing it would be the worst possible outcome. Mother would hate it, and honestly, I didn’t think I could stomach that kind of atmosphere either. The ones who had brought us to this island had probably counted on exactly that. Cases like mine with Mother were relatively fortunate. If agreement couldn’t be reached, one side would inevitably end up forcing the other. If not, they’d have to risk their lives hunting. And if one of them died… that would be its own catastrophe.
[So at first they endure without doing it, then after one family member dies they regret everything. Thinking, ‘If only I’d done it back then.’]
I finally understood what Mother had told me yesterday. Seunghee shouldn’t have to live with that kind of regret after losing Seungpil. But she didn’t seem like the type to listen to reason, which only made me more worried.
“Mother. You picked up some seeds yesterday, right?”
“Yes. These?”
These are random vegetable seeds. I wonder what will grow?
There were about ten seeds inside the small packet, resembling watermelon seeds. I had no idea what would sprout, but planting them couldn’t hurt.
“Yes. I want to try planting them. Food ingredients are surprisingly expensive.”
The shop on the terminal sold every kind of ingredient imaginable—fresh produce, snacks, vegetables, meat, instant meals, frozen foods. It was basically a large supermarket. The problem was the absurd prices. Ten kilograms of rice cost 100 coins. Twenty lettuce leaves were 20 coins. Ten eggs ran 30 coins. The three-kilogram pork belly we’d eaten yesterday had cost 70 coins. Compared to tools or facilities, food was ridiculously overpriced. Was this the island’s way of making food feel precious? Either way, relying on the shop for every meal was unsustainable.
“We can get meat from hunting, but vegetables and rice don’t drop like that. Buying everything from the shop would drain us dry. If we plant these seeds and manage to grow something, it’ll help a lot.”
“You’re doing it now?”
“Yes. I think it’s better to do it before the sun gets too high.”
“Then shouldn’t you wait for Seungpil so you can go together? It might be dangerous alone.”
“Hmm…”
Mother had a point. If a hyena attacked me while I was digging, it could turn ugly. As I hesitated, she added another reason.
“Actually, when I was alone with Seunghee yesterday, we heard strange noises from outside.”
“Strange noises?”
This was the first I was hearing about it. Why hadn’t she mentioned it yesterday? …She must have been too occupied with everything else to find the right moment.
“Yes. It sounded like someone knocking on a door. ‘Bang bang bang!’ like that.”
“Knocking… you think it was a person?”
“Probably?”
Seunghee, who had been listening from the side, chimed in.
“It had to be a person. An animal wouldn’t knock with such a steady, rhythmic pattern.”
Other people were nearby. The very thing I had feared was now becoming reality.