Surviving the Uninhabited Island (3)
Inside the control room, the professors kept their eyes glued to the various displays. Cheongha’s gaze in particular had been fixed on one spot for a while now.
“He’s certainly capable, that Kim Mugong cadet.”
Pung Jihae, the Wolf Fang Fist instructor with the chilly demeanor, spoke while staring in the same direction as Cheongha. A former hunter who had risen all the way to an academy professorship, Pung Jihae had already been deeply impressed by Kim Mugong from the few classes he had observed. Most cadets, despite having learned survival skills, failed to apply them properly. The moment they were dropped onto the uninhabited island’s beach, they floundered like children left beside a river. Raised like nobles in comfort, their basic life skills were severely lacking.
Kim Mugong, however, was different. The instant he landed on the beach, he grabbed the map and compass, located a water source, and secured a temporary shelter in no time. Watching him build a house using the surrounding bamboo had been genuinely impressive.
Two cadets stood in stark contrast to him. First, Han Yeoreum. She had sat under a tree fiddling with the map, compass, and ruler for ages before suddenly charging forward like a berserker possessed. The professors had debated whether she was suffering from some psychological issue, but thanks to Cheongha suggesting they observe a little longer, they eventually understood her intent. She had been heading straight toward Kim Mugong’s location. There was no communication device between them, and Han Yeoreum had shown no sign of knowing his position. Yet she had still managed to find him.
Then there was Cheon Hayeon.
“That Cheon Hayeon cadet… no matter how many times I see it, I can’t believe my eyes.”
“Even I wouldn’t be confident of victory against him,” Cheongha said, her expression stiff as she parted her lips.
The moment he dropped, Cheon Hayeon had discarded his parachute entirely. Before the professors could even gasp, he adjusted his descent speed and glided toward some unknown destination using the Heavenly Demon Step. With his hands clasped behind his back, strolling leisurely through the air, he already radiated the aura of an absolute being.
The place Cheon Hayeon landed was atop a tree not far from Han Yeoreum. The dense jungle trees often exceeded dozens of meters in height. Concealing his presence, Han Yeoreum never noticed him. Cheon Hayeon followed her path by stepping across the treetops with his transcendent movement technique. While Han Yeoreum looked ready to collapse from exhaustion, Cheon Hayeon hadn’t broken a single sweat.
After confirming that Han Yeoreum and Kim Mugong had met, Cheon Hayeon suddenly glanced at the academy-owned drones hovering in the distance. He raised a finger to his lips and mouthed, “Shh.” Then he destroyed every surveillance drone near Kim Mugong and Han Yeoreum with finger winds, as if warning them not to interfere.
“What should we do? Shall we send more reserve drones?” the staff member operating the drones asked the professors in a flustered tone.
“…Originally, once cadets establish a shelter, we’re only supposed to maintain minimal surveillance in that area. They have privacy, after all. That’s probably what Cheon Hayeon cadet meant. Watching too closely would be unpleasant. We shouldn’t observe their private moments so closely.”
Cheongha spoke while staring at the static-filled screen.
“Hmm… The reserve drones are fine. We can still detect them if their lives are in danger. Considering Cheon Hayeon cadet’s actions, sending more wouldn’t make a difference anyway. That was a declaration to us. If we enter that range, he’ll destroy them all. This year’s cadets are certainly entertaining.”
After stroking his chin in thought, the head supervisor, Go Seungbin, reached his conclusion. He had no idea what methods they were using, but even he, who had overseen this evaluation multiple times, found the current scene quite intriguing.
***
Thud, thud.
Han Yeoreum trudged along behind me. She looked like she had run through hell to get here—there wasn’t a single clean spot left on her. Checking the time, it seemed she had recklessly bulldozed straight through the harsh tropical jungle.
“…This wasn’t already here, was it?”
Staring at the temporary shelter I had built, Han Yeoreum’s mouth hung open in a daze.
“Of course not. I built it one brick at a time. The mud hasn’t fully hardened yet, though.”
Of course, I hadn’t just waited for it to dry. After shaping the frame, I used my Extreme Yang Qi to rapidly evaporate the moisture, so it now looked properly like a house. If this counted as a thatched hut, then it was one—aside from some mud, the roof and walls were mostly palm leaves.
“You’re pretty amazing, huh?”
“You’re the amazing one. How desperate were you to cover that distance in a single day?”
“I just hate the jungle. And I can’t sleep outside.”
Grumble—
Suddenly, a loud sound echoed from Han Yeoreum’s stomach.
“Th-this is just a physiological phenomenon, okay?”
“Yeah. Before we eat, we should probably wash up first.”
When I glanced over her from head to toe, Han Yeoreum quickly covered her chest with her hands.
“Don’t look.”
“We’ve already seen everything there is to see. What’s the point?”
“Still, it’s dirty.”
“Fair enough.”
“…You won’t even deny it as a white lie, huh.”
Han Yeoreum let out a deep sigh, her shoulders slumping.
“But at least my words have sincerity. So when I say you’re pretty, it’s not a lie either, right?”
“Hehe, I like that.”
Han Yeoreum broke into a wide smile again, grinning ear to ear. She really was simple-minded.
“Follow me. There’s a stream nearby.”
Han Yeoreum rummaged through her backpack and pulled out some hygiene supplies. Bringing cosmetics had been impossible, but at least basic hygiene items had been provided.
“It’s deeper than I thought. And clear, too.”
Han Yeoreum let out an admiring remark as she looked at the stream.
“We got lucky.”
That was the only way I could put it. I never imagined there would be a clear stream instead of muddy jungle water on this uninhabited island.
“The streams I saw on the way here were disgusting. I didn’t even want to step in them, so I just jumped over every single one. Ugh…”
Han Yeoreum narrowed her eyes and shuddered. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of path she had taken.
“You worked hard.”
“Yeah. I’m gonna wash up now.”
“Go ahead.”
“…Huh?”
Han Yeoreum tilted her head.
“Something wrong?”
“No, why are you just standing there staring?”
“It’s night. You never know what might happen. Plus, someone has to guard your backpack.”
I was holding Han Yeoreum’s survival kit backpack.
“Just say you want to look at my body. So dishonest.”
“We’ve already seen everything there is to see. Hurry up and wash. Looking at you now, even a sewer rat would want to be friends.”
“Aren’t you going to wash?”
“I will. You first.”
Han Yeoreum glanced around before staring straight at me.
“Got something to say?”
“Let’s wash together.”
“You didn’t get hit in the head by a coconut on the way here, did you?”
“That’s mean.”
Han Yeoreum put on a gloomy expression. I had messed up. The way she stuck out her lips and pouted—that was real. She was genuinely sulking.
“It was a joke. I was just checking if there were any surveillance drones nearby.”
“Oh, right.”
Han Yeoreum nodded and relaxed her face. I expanded my senses and poured inner energy into my eyes to maximize my vision, scanning the surroundings, but strangely, there were no surveillance drones in sight. Only the loud chirping of insects reached my ears. I couldn’t detect any drone flight sounds either.
Still, just to be safe, I found a spot with dense tree cover and set the backpack down on a nearby rock. Truthfully, I was just as soaked in sweat, so I had been wanting to wash up for a while now.
Han Yeoreum carefully removed her tattered clothes and stepped into the water. The sun was slowly setting, leaving only faint moonlight to illuminate us.
“Wait a second.”
I took out a lamp from Han Yeoreum’s backpack and turned it on.
“Oh, we had something like that?”
Han Yeoreum approached me with a curious expression.
“Your chest is showing.”
“Want a better look?”
Han Yeoreum spread her shoulders wide and thrust her chest forward. Under the lamp’s yellow glow, her pale skin and swaying breasts emerged from the water.
“You really have no shame, do you?”
“I do, though?”
“Yeah, right.”
I stripped off my clothes as well and slowly dipped my feet into the water. We washed our faces and brushed our teeth, finishing our basic cleansing together.
“Holding a toothbrush like this reminds me of the old days.”
Han Yeoreum gazed at her toothbrush with a somewhat wistful expression.
“Yeah. We used to stay up all night gaming back then.”
Though we hadn’t been completely naked like now, we had still brushed our teeth together after pulling all-nighters.
“But how come you never pounced on me even once?”
“Pounce on you? Have I gone crazy?”
“No, I mean, you know how it is.”
“What?”
“We were playing together in the same house. It wouldn’t have been weird if something happened.”
“Would I really pounce on a kid who was always wearing a school uniform?”
There was a strict law in Korea called the Juvenile Protection Act. If I had touched a minor and gotten reported for rape, my life wouldn’t just be “ruined”—it would be utterly destroyed to the point where starting over in this life would be preferable.
“That’s what’s weirder. Most guys go crazy for high school girls, especially ones in uniform.”
“Who says that? Did the person who said that get arrested by the police? Sounds like something a criminal would say. Was his last name Go or something?”
“Dunno?”
“Anyway, I’m a sensible person.”
“If you had pounced back then, we could’ve had school uniform sex.”
Pfft. I spat out the water I was rinsing my mouth with.
“You crazy girl.”
“Tch, gross.”
Splash—
Han Yeoreum flung a bunch of stream water at me.
“What if someone hears you?”
“Who’s going to hear at this distance? If we were going to have sex anyway, I should’ve just pounced on you first back then.”
“Yeah, that wouldn’t have worked. I was stronger than you back then.”
“Damn it. I should’ve transmigrated a year earlier.”
“Why are you so obsessed with school uniform sex anyway?”
“Because I want to try it. It’s human instinct to want to break taboos. Especially when you’re young and fresh. Wouldn’t it be great?”
“Still, it’s not happening.”
It might not be bad, but it absolutely couldn’t happen. In Korea, it could cause all sorts of problems. It was better to avoid dangerous things as much as possible.
“If you really want to, just wear the academy uniform.”
“That feels different. I’m going to wash my hair now.”
“Yeah, here’s the soap.”
“Thanks.”
Luxuries like shampoo were obviously out of the question. Soap itself was already a luxury item, but while the survival kit contained no food or drinking water, the hygiene and medical supplies had been surprisingly thorough.
“This is going to pollute the environment big time.”
Soap bubbles floated on the clear stream water.
“It’s eco-friendly, probably. My back.”
Han Yeoreum turned around and offered her back to me.
“Sigh…”
Naturally, I lathered up and scrubbed her back. I diligently rubbed her smooth, flawless skin with my palms.
“Yah.”
Once I finished soaping her up, Han Yeoreum suddenly leaned her body toward my chest. I naturally wrapped both arms around her waist to support her. As a result, it looked like I was embracing her from behind.
“What are you doing?”
The soft scent from her wet hair tickled my nose, and the smooth sensation of her skin pressed against my body.
“You like it though.”
“....”
I couldn’t deny it. But if the academy was monitoring this, it would be a disaster. Even as I thought that, I couldn’t bring myself to push her away.