Chapter 132
Chapter 132
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: Taro Roast and Coconut Harvest
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Crackle, crackle.
At least the fire was going, so that was something. As I thinly sliced the taro and grilled it between the grates over the flames, a wave of harsh reality hit me.
'What the hell am I doing right now...?'
This wasn't what I'd planned at all.
'I saw the other teams eating wild boar and catfish.'
That's why I'd packed all those cooking tools. Charcoal grilling is the best for outdoor vibes and flavor. I wanted to catch some big hunk of meat and roast it whole if possible.
...Until we came up empty-handed every time.
'This grate was originally for fish.'
Now here I was, grilling taro like some kind of peasant.
No, seriously—what kind of cooking trip is this? Even on [Wilderness Solo], they at least gave us rotten ingredients to work with.
As the taro turned golden brown, the starving cast members licked their lips, eyeing it hungrily for any chance to snag a piece.
"It's gotta be ready now, right? Looks delicious..."
At Oh Jun-hee's words, Do Kyung and Han Dong-woo nodded beside her.
"No."
I cut them off firmly.
"Taro has to be fully cooked. That's the most important thing."
"But it's cousin to potato!"
"If it's undercooked, it's bitter, and it can burn your tongue and stomach like fire."
"Gasp."
Han Dong-woo flinched at my words. He clearly had no idea about side effects like that.
"W-well, no helping it then..."
He trailed off, sweat beading on his forehead.
I watched the taro browning nicely in the flames a bit longer, then pulled it out at the perfect moment.
Alright. This should be fully cooked.
"Here, everyone. Eat up and recharge. We need a proper dinner tonight."
I flipped open the grate with a clank, and they all snapped off twigs to use as chopsticks, grabbing the taro skewers one by one.
"Wonder what it tastes like."
"Looks just like a potato."
As they tilted their heads curiously, Kim Hyung-man popped a taro skewer into his mouth first.
"Mmm, as expected of the chief~."
"Bro, how's the taste?!"
Chomp, chomp.
Kim Hyung-man chewed a few times, then grinned.
"Not bad at all? Tastes like yam."
"Oh, really?"
With Kim Hyung-man's thumbs-up, Han Dong-woo shoved one in greedily. The others started cautiously trying them one by one.
Such scaredy-cats.
I grabbed a taro skewer and chewed it up too.
'Well, the only seasoning is salt, so it's not exactly gourmet...'
Still, it was decent emergency rations in the jungle. Better than starving and wasting away.
"It's good~."
"Yep. Nice and plain, but tasty."
"Feeling alive again now that I've eaten."
Seemed like they all agreed. The mood, which had been deflated from failed hunts earlier, picked up a bit.
"Ah, this makes me thirsty."
"There's those coconuts over there, but we can't reach 'em. Total pie in the sky!"
That's when tribe chief Kim Hyung-man stepped up.
He silently took off his outer shirt and hooked it over the tree trunk. Then...
Whoosh, whoosh, clank!
?!
He used the leverage from yanking down on the shirt to start climbing the palm tree!
We all gaped at the surreal sight. Kim Hyung-man spun the coconuts around like a pro and dropped them to the ground with soft thuds.
"Whoa~!"
"Song Chef! Knife! Where's the knife!"
I grabbed the cleaver at the call. They all jumped at the sight of the massive blade, but only for a second.
Crack!
I lopped off the tops, and coconut water sloshed out, drawing cheers of "Ooh~!" from everyone.
"Sweet!"
"Me too, me too!"
"It's natural spring water?!"
Suddenly, three or four coconuts piled up in front of me. No one else wanted to wrangle the tricky cleaver. I picked it up without thinking.
Throb.
'...Oops.'
I'd forgotten about my injured arm.
Pain surged like a protest for ignoring it, making me freeze. I couldn't keep using it like this...
But ignoring the expectant faces staring at me felt wrong too.
Right then, as I hesitated—
"I'll do it."
Andrik had sidled up and whispered to me.
Perfect timing. Did he notice my injury? I scanned his face, but no sign of it.
'Maybe he felt bad being the only one sitting out?'
Andrik wasn't the type to chat up the others anyway. He hadn't said a word earlier.
Yeah. We're already suffering out here in the jungle—might as well give him some screen time. Definitely not because my arm hurt.
I handed the cleaver to Andrik.
"Here you go."
Andrik silently started cracking open the coconuts.
"Try some."
Do Kyung offered me a sip. Mmm, delicious. I got why everyone was so excited about getting them open.
"Tasty, right?"
"Yeah."
I nodded slowly and glanced around. Unlike before, everyone looked energized, passing around the coconuts with cheerful faces.
Good.
That takes care of the immediate hunger.
With full bellies, their motivation seemed revived.
"Let's make sure dinner's something delicious tonight!"
"Yeah!"
With that resolve, Kim Hyung-man took charge again and split us into teams.
"Half land team, half sea team! Land team comes with me—we'll set traps and chase down some chickens. Sea team, forget fish; hunt for crabs and shellfish!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Got it, chief!"
"Land team needs to be fast runners, so..."
Kim Hyung-man scanned us and pointed at Do Kyung and Han Dong-woo.
"You three."
"Ugh, that's gonna suck. Anyone can see our Song Chef's the toughest?!"
Han Dong-woo grumbled, but Kim Hyung-man just shook his head.
"You're tall."
True. Tall people do catch more wind resistance... Han Dong-woo protested, "You're killing me twice here!", but got ignored.
"With two chefs for once, it'd be a shame not to eat well for lack of ingredients! Let's hunt successfully, everyone!"
"Yesss~!"
Land team set: me, Andrik, and Oh Jun-hee naturally became the sea team.
"Ugh, I drank so much water earlier."
Oh Jun-hee grimaced and trudged toward the beach.
She and Andrik seemed to remember the way from before. I followed, racking my brain.
'What to do...'
Seawater's gotta be crawling with bacteria. No way I should submerge an open wound.
Switching to land team? But crashing through brush at full speed wouldn't be great for it either.
'Tell them now that I'm hurt?'
I didn't want the cast knowing if possible. As I fretted and glanced around—
Whoosh.
We pushed through the brush, and the vast, wave-crashing ocean stretched out before us.
"Whoa..."
Stunning view. The sun dipped toward the horizon, painting the sky and sea in red hues.
"Pretty~!"
Oh Jun-hee gasped in admiration. I was thinking the same.
I stared blankly for a moment, then snapped to and surveyed the area. No sandy beach—just rocks.
We waded in carefully.
"Let's check that cave over there. Probably lots of shellfish stuck around."
Andrik pointed, and sure enough—a natural fortress, really. Wave-eroded cave.
Not deep, just enough for six people to shelter from rain?
Plenty good. We could find crabs and clams poking around the rocks.
'And the water's not too deep, so if I use just one arm, seawater won't touch the wound.'
No hesitation now. I nodded.
"Sounds good. Let's go."
"But."
Oh Jun-hee piped up slyly.
"You two still using formal speech?"
"..."
"..."
Huh. True.
"Aw, c'mon—we sorted honorifics at the start, remember? Jun-hee's the maknae, so everyone uses casual!"
Right, we did.
Guess I'd been in formal mode so long from [Wilderness Solo] that I didn't even notice.
I spoke to Andrik first.
"Talk casually. I'm way younger."
About ten years. He should be the one going informal.
Andrik paused, then nodded.
"Cool. Let's check that cave quick before it gets dark."
He strode ahead as he said it.
Clasp.
Andrik grabbed my arm.
'Ack!'
My injured one!
Not hard, but it startled me anyway. I whipped around, eyes wide, and saw Andrik looking a bit flustered too.
What?
He quickly reverted to his usual blank face and let go smoothly. Finally, I could breathe.
Then he said:
"I'll check it. You two rest here."
"Huh?"
What nonsense. But Andrik calmly explained.
"Sun's setting, and the tide's coming in—water's higher than before. Could be risky, so why not search the shallows? There'll be shellfish there too."
...Not wrong. But I blurted out my thought.
"If it's dangerous, you shouldn't go either, Chef Ahn."
"I'm fine."
"Huh?"
"I'm tall."
"Ah..."
Fair.
Taller than me and Oh Jun-hee, Andrik could keep his head above water longer at high tide. Not wrong.
But why did it piss me off so much?
"I've got lifeguard certification too."
"Oh."
Yeah, no argument then. Risky for us, but not for him.
As I stood awkwardly, Oh Jun-hee linked arms with me and grinned.
"Then we'll dig for clams over there. Come back if it looks dicey, okay?"
Andrik nodded. Oh Jun-hee looked thrilled—she'd been dreading the water anyway.
"Let's go, let's go~!"
She dragged me toward the shallows.
'Something's off.'
I tilted my head when she wasn't looking.
'He keeps helping right when I need it... Just coincidence?'