Surviving on a Deserted Island (4)
The phrase ‘smart’ carried many different meanings. It could refer to memory, analytical thinking, perception, language, reasoning… and even ‘social intelligence’ was considered one branch of it. After all, humans were social creatures.
In that sense, no matter which standard you applied, Cheon Hayeon’s ‘intelligence’ could only be described as exceptional.
‘……!’
From a distance, Cheon Hayeon had been quietly observing Kim Mugong and Han Yeoreum. She barely managed to suppress the wave of emotion that nearly shattered her composure.
It was fine up to the point where they stripped off their clothes together under the excuse of washing and stepped into the stream. One could even call it a sign of their close, unreserved relationship.
But the natural conversation the two shared afterward…
In the end, it succeeded in turning Cheon Hayeon’s mind completely blank.
Her senses, which were practically superhuman, were not limited to sight alone. Naturally, her hearing was equally sharp, and the voices of the pair reached her ears with vivid clarity even from far away.
The word that instantly invaded her mind.
Sex.
True to her brilliant nature, she knew it in theory. The union between man and woman. Yin-Yang Harmony. The insertion of the male sexual organ into the female vagina… She had thoroughly studied such academic content through books.
Judging from their conversation, it seemed they had already gone all the way.
‘Didn’t he say they weren’t lovers?’
Until recently, Kim Mugong had firmly denied it. For Cheon Hayeon, who had grown up revered like nobility, the sight of the two of them acting this way without even being lovers was nothing short of a culture shock.
Even her father, the Heavenly Demon, had not only forbidden romance before marriage but had gone so far as to make her crossdress. In Cheon Hayeon’s worldview, sex was something done only between people who were about to marry or already married. That perfectly outdated notion was deeply ingrained in her mind.
At the very least, she could concede that it should only happen between lovers.
And the moment Han Yeoreum casually mentioned “school uniform sex,” she nearly lost her footing.
Students having sex…!
In the conservative mindset of Cheon Hayeon, such a thing was utterly unthinkable.
From the beginning, most daughters of the Murim clans were raised under incredibly strict standards. The Murim families were places where parents possessed both the ‘power’ and the ‘means’ to completely control their children. Moreover, because of issues like the leakage of martial arts, they maintained extreme conservatism when it came to romantic relationships.
In short, Cheon Hayeon had never received any practical sex education until now.
Witnessing a naked man and woman embracing so suddenly was far too intense a stimulus for her.
Besides, they weren’t even strangers to her. One was the man she slept skin-to-skin with every night, and the other was a woman she could now comfortably call a ‘close friend.’
Even though she only knew it in theory, this was ultimately an instinctive matter.
Little by little, lewd thoughts began to invade Cheon Hayeon’s mind.
She knew, of course, that she should respect their privacy and that she shouldn’t be watching. Normally she was endlessly cold and rational, yet for some reason, she found it impossible to tear her eyes away from the two of them this time.
‘…I’ve gone mad.’
She had lost her mind. This was wrong. She repeated it to herself countless times, but her body, already overtaken by instinct, refused to obey.
At that moment.
Cheon Hayeon’s outstanding intellect derived another possibility.
And at last, she realized it.
What her own sexual preference was.
Her sexual preference was voyeurism.
***
-Gurgle.
A sound rang out from Han Yeoreum’s stomach at the worst possible moment.
It might have been partly because I had pressed down on her belly a little, but thanks to that, my half-blown-away reason finally returned home.
“…Damn it.”
Han Yeoreum let out a deep sigh, apparently feeling something similar.
“Let’s wash up quickly and eat something.”
The sensation of holding her wet, soft, squishy body was quite nice, but this was still the middle of the outdoors. One wrong move and it could turn into a catastrophe if anyone saw.
We finished washing quickly. I circulated my inner energy to shake off the moisture from my body.
“Want me to dry your hair?”
Han Yeoreum had gone through a similar process, but her long hair didn’t seem to dry easily.
“It’s fine. It’ll dry on its own.”
She twisted her hair into a rope and shook her head.
“But is there anything to eat?”
“Hold on.”
I took out the emergency blanket from Han Yeoreum’s backpack and spread it on the ground. Then I brought over the coconut I had stashed in the corner, poured out the water separately, and split it in half.
“What’s this for?”
“Just eat the flesh inside. It’s about 300 calories per 100 grams. You learned that in survival class, didn’t you?”
“Ah, right. I remember now.”
Han Yeoreum plopped down and began diligently scooping out the coconut flesh.
‘She really eats well.’
As always, her appetite was impressive.
I gathered some wood chips and leaves, then slammed Extreme Yang Energy into them. Flames immediately roared up as the firewood caught fire.
“The Blood Demon Arts sure are convenient. Don’t even need a fire starter or anything.”
Han Yeoreum mumbled around a mouthful of coconut while staring at the crackling campfire.
It really was convenient not needing any tools to start a fire.
“But what are you going to do with that?”
“Just wait.”
I brought over the ‘thing’ I had caught earlier.
“…What the hell is that?”
Han Yeoreum looked at my hand with a suspicious gaze. I understood. The visuals were pretty off-putting at first glance. The color was weird too. And the way it was squirming made it look like a giant spider.
“Coconut crab. They tend to live near coconut trees. We got lucky.”
Coconuts really were cheat items. Of course, not every coconut tree had coconut crabs living under it, but we had been fortunate in many ways. This massive crab would make for a perfect meal.
“This is a coconut crab?”
“Yep.”
“It looks way grosser than in the pictures.”
“So you’re not eating it?”
“Nope. As long as it tastes good, I’m in.”
“You won’t regret it.”
I injected Extreme Yang Energy into the still-living coconut crab to end its life. The hundreds-of-degrees heat caused its insides to cook, and the shell turned slightly red.
“…You’re not a human stove, you know. Then why did you even light the campfire?”
“If I cook it completely myself, it won’t taste as good.”
It wasn’t impossible to finish the entire cooking process in my hands, but it was naturally different from roasting it directly over an open flame. The key to flame-grilled food was the subtle smoky aroma that seeped into it.
I wrapped the half-cooked coconut crab in coconut leaves and immediately tossed it onto the campfire.
“You pre-cooked it with your hands? At this point, aren’t you a mage instead of a martial artist?”
Han Yeoreum said as she held her palm near the fire.
“Make some ice for me.”
“…Do I look like an ice dispenser to you?”
“Can’t you do it?”
“Of course I can. Got any water?”
“Hold on.”
I handed her some of the water I had distilled little by little while building the shelter earlier. The energy of the Lesser Water Demon Arts spread out, and a thin layer of ice formed on the water’s surface.
“Is this enough?”
“Yeah. Perfect.”
I was really glad I had joined up with Han Yeoreum. To be able to enjoy this kind of luxury in the middle of a tropical deserted island.
“Here.”
Han Yeoreum passed me the canteen.
“Krr….”
It was refreshing. The sensation of cold water sliding down my throat was so refreshing it made me forget all the fatigue I had accumulated today.
It was about time for the coconut crab to finish cooking. I reached my hand straight into the campfire and pulled it out.
“Is your hand okay?”
Han Yeoreum asked in a worried tone as she watched me casually stick my hand into the flames and pull out the steaming crab.
“The Blood Demon Arts are way hotter than this. It’s just warm.”
In reality, my body was practically immune to flames. It might seem impossible for a human, but the power of ‘inner energy’ and martial arts was truly great.
“I guess that’s true. I’m pretty much immune to normal cold too.”
If I was flame-resistant, she was cold-resistant. They said that once martial artists reached a certain realm, they could achieve the state of being unaffected by heat or cold. We hadn’t reached that level yet, though. Our specialties were just a little different. Of course, we could produce similar effects if we raised our inner energy.
“It’s hot, so be careful.”
Crack—
I snapped off one of the large legs that resembled a lobster’s and held it out to Han Yeoreum. Unlike before it was cooked, the shell had turned a deep crimson, making it look quite appetizing.
“Mmm.”
Han Yeoreum carefully accepted it. I immediately grabbed the other leg and shoved the meat into my mouth.
“You didn’t put anything in this, right?”
Han Yeoreum’s eyes widened after taking a bite of the coconut crab.
“Nope.”
“It tastes seriously luxurious.”
Maybe because it lived off coconuts, it had a similar texture to king crab, yet there was a subtle, elegant sweetness in the meat. I knew it was considered a delicacy, but it exceeded my expectations. It didn’t actually taste like coconut, though.
“Eat a lot.”
I diligently picked out the meat and passed it to her. She had clearly struggled more than I had pushing through the harsh jungle, so she deserved it more. In terms of pure stamina, my Extreme Yang Body made me far more resilient anyway.
“Okay.”
Han Yeoreum stared at the crab I handed her for a moment before nodding.
***
“The island is wider than I thought.”
Han Yeoreum said as she looked around inside the shelter. It wasn’t as spacious as a real ‘house,’ but for a temporary dwelling, it was more than adequate.
“Freeze the area a little with the Lesser Water Demon Arts.”
“Like this?”
Following my instructions, Han Yeoreum obediently activated her energy. Moisture in the air condensed, and water droplets began falling to the ground. I gathered the water that had dripped onto the emergency blanket and tossed it outside.
“Even if it’s only temporary, it makes things much more comfortable.”
“True.”
The humidity and temperature inside dropped for a while. Even though it would only last a short time, that short time was important when trying to sleep.
“Sleep well. You worked hard getting here.”
I turned off the lamp and lay down first.
“You too.”
Han Yeoreum immediately lay down beside me and hugged my body tightly. A slightly cool energy swirled around her.
“Feels cool, right?”
“Yeah. Perfect. Let’s sleep now.”
“Just sleep?”
Suddenly, Han Yeoreum climbed on top of me. Even in the darkness, her slightly flushed expression made her intentions crystal clear.
“Hey, what if someone hears?”
“The sound of insects will drown everything out anyway. And no one can see us in here. Come on. It’s about time we did it.”
“…Well, that’s true, but…”
Regardless of what I said, my lower body was already reacting violently.