Chapter 77: Desert Island Survival (2)
Chapter 77: Desert Island Survival (2)
Rubbing sticks together to start a fire was, in reality, an incredibly difficult skill.
It wasn't something achieved through brute force alone; it required significant technique.
Of course, Seo-yeon was well aware of that.
It was just that she had applied a little too much strength.
“…….”
Seo-yeon discarded the branch in her hand, which had been shredded along the grain.
The cameraman watching her was bewildered.
I mean...
‘Can a branch really be smashed that easily?’
Was it just a very dry stick?
No, even for a dry branch, the way it had shattered as if a piece of bamboo were being split was simply a sight to behold.
‘I made the same mistake as I did with the gamepad.’
Seo-yeon reflected on her actions.
But back then, she had only done it because she was a bit startled.
This time was different.
“Gently...”
She began to spin the branch again, very carefully.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
‘Is the screen frozen?’
The cameraman suddenly had that thought.
How could a human being move so consistently in the exact same posture for ten minutes?
Moreover, rubbing a stick like that for so long was bound to make one's palms ache and be physically exhausting.
‘Isn't she hot? She hasn't dropped a single bead of sweat.’
At the very least, her stamina was extraordinary. That much was certain.
“See? It’s not working, is it?”
Park Jung-woo had already returned, having gathered several branches of appropriate thickness. Even though he was just wearing a simple white t-shirt, his striking visuals proved why he was a top-tier actor.
‘The shot definitely looks great.’
The cameraman filled the frame with Seo-yeon and Jung-woo.
These were the two actors who had become a hot topic for their roles as Princess Yeonhwa and Yoon Seo-il. Producer Shin had emphasized this, telling the crew to capture their chemistry well.
“I’m almost there.”
“Let me see.”
Jung-woo set down the branches he’d brought for the shelter and leaned in.
‘...Why is there so much sawdust?’
Was she trying to start a fire, or was she trying to delicately sand the wood down?
It was a sight that invited such questions.
“I’ll—”
Jung-woo was about to say, “I’ll do it,” but he stopped when Seo-yeon looked up at him.
She was narrowing her eyes at him as if she suspected him of trying to steal the "last hit."
“Don’t just rub it like that. Rub it inside that groove.”
“Huh?”
As Seo-yeon continued to watch him with a sharp, cat-like gaze, he added:
“Just give me the stick for a second. Seriously, I’m not going to take over!”
Park Jung-woo took the branch from Seo-yeon and examined the tip.
It was ground perfectly smooth.
Had she used a grinder on this?
“Try spinning this one in here instead. Keep your strength steady.”
“...Alright.”
Jung-woo handed Seo-yeon a slightly thinner branch with a pointed tip from his pile.
She placed it into the groove she had been carving into the log.
‘Well, even so, it won’t catch fire that easily.’
The method Seo-yeon was attempting was likely the "Fire Flow" technique—generally pushing or rubbing wood to generate heat. Jung-woo knew it well because the protagonist of the movie Cast Away had tried to start a fire that way.
Though in the movie, it was more of a carving motion than spinning.
‘Still, her posture is remarkably straight.’
Jung-woo watched Seo-yeon as she worked the wood. Her black hair flowed over her shoulders, and her intense focus on something as simple as rubbing sticks was, ironically, quite picturesque.
“There!”
‘Wait, what?’
An exclamation escaped Seo-yeon’s lips.
‘Already?’
Black smoke was actually rising from the wood.
Could it really be this easy just by giving her one tip?
Park Jung-woo’s jaw dropped as he watched the wood crackle and emit dark smoke.
“Impressive, right?”
Seo-yeon spoke triumphantly toward Jung-woo.
Since it was true that Park Jung-woo had helped a little, she added:
“I guess you’ve read the Survival Series too.”
“?”
Jung-woo had no idea what the Survival Series was, but he nodded anyway.
Regardless, Seo-yeon watched the embers for a moment and nodded to herself.
‘So rubbing it in the groove was the key.’
Now that she knew, that was all that mattered.
As she was thinking that...
“Wow, you actually started a fire?”
Bang Ha-yoon, a regular member of Desert Island Survival who had stayed behind with Seo-yeon, spoke with wide eyes. Like Park Jung-woo, she had just returned from gathering branches for the shelter.
‘I guess she’s not just a pretty face.’
Based on her physique and looks, Seo-yeon didn't seem like the type for grueling labor. Ha-yoon had assumed she’d have to pick up Seo-yeon’s slack, but the girl had already started a fire.
She clearly remembered Seo-yeon refusing Park Jung-woo’s help to try it on her own.
‘I heard she’s just playing a convenience store clerk in The Chaser, but I can see why they’re pushing her.’
To be honest, Bang Ha-yoon had been puzzled as to why Seo-yeon was included in the promotions. After all, wasn't she just a minor character? She’d wondered why the agency was backing her so hard, but seeing her work so diligently made her seem alright.
‘As long as she keeps it up, that is.’
While Bang Ha-yoon was observing Seo-yeon, the exploration team returned.
“What? You already got a fire going?”
The exploration team arrived, led by the expedition captain, Jung Dae-hyun.
*
Building the shelter didn't take long.
After all, Jung Dae-hyun hadn't filmed Desert Island Survival just once or twice. By now, building a shelter was the most basic of basics.
“First, the tools we found: a saw, a knife, and finally, salt.”
It might not seem like much, but these were essentials directly linked to survival. Since they had found three saws, the shelter was finished in no time.
“Man, this reminds me of camping back in the military,” Actor Park Hee-jun, who played Detective Seo Gwang-il in The Chaser, remarked.
“Hee-jun, you were in the special forces, right?”
The conversation flowed naturally from there. This was likely a part included in the rough script. While the show was mostly unscripted, there were certain parts that had to be covered—for example, promoting The Chaser or introducing Park Hee-jun and Seo-yeon.
“Our Actor Park, you haven’t served yet, have you?”
Producer Shin suddenly asked Park Jung-woo, who was poking at the embers.
“Pardon?”
“When are you going? Oh, don’t tell me...?”
“Ah, I’m going! I’m going. Of course I have to go. Why bring that up so suddenly...?”
Military service was a sensitive issue in the entertainment industry. Park Jung-woo sighed at Producer Shin’s mischievous prodding.
“My father says you’re not a man if you don’t go to the army.”
“…….”
Seo-yeon flinched at Jung-woo’s words. She looked like someone with a guilty conscience.
“...Well, it’s only natural that you don’t have to go.”
“R-right. Of course.”
Seo-yeon replied while whittling a branch with the knife they’d found.
‘I didn’t go in my past life, either.’
In her previous life, Seo-yeon hadn't been able to serve due to illness. Coincidentally, someone with a similar condition had been conscripted and involved in a shooting accident, which had led to her exemption.
‘Not a man, huh...’
Seo-yeon glared at Jung-woo. Even though she was a woman now, it felt like her past self had just been insulted.
Of course, from Park Jung-woo’s perspective, it was just baffling. Why was she suddenly glaring at him?
“...More importantly, what have you been making this whole time?”
“Oh, this?”
Seo-yeon held up the branch. It had been whittled into a very sharp point.
“It’s a spear.”
“…….”
Wait, why a spear?
He’d wondered since she insisted on starting the fire, but just how much had she been looking forward to Desert Island Survival?
“Hunting... we do have to hunt. But there’s an order to these things.”
They had a shelter and a fire, so looking for food was the next logical step. Now, while they still had energy, was the best time.
“For now, the survival team will stay behind and gather some fruit. See those over there? Those are coconuts.”
Jung Dae-hyun pointed toward the trees. They were filled with yellow fruit.
“Those are useful in many ways, so let’s make gathering them our goal.”
Jung Dae-hyun looked at the survival team as he spoke. Honestly, they didn't look very reliable for hunting. "Hunting" sounded grand, but just getting to the location was a major hurdle. Especially someone like Seo-yeon—hunting?
“…….”
Seo-yeon understood Jung Dae-hyun’s concerns to some extent. It wouldn't be good to be overly aggressive here. This was a variety show, after all, and if she acted out, she might just come across as an immature kid overstepping.
“The survival team doesn’t have much to do anyway, so let’s all go together,” Jung-woo said, having noticed the look on Seo-yeon’s face.
“What?”
“Gathering coconuts is actually quite dangerous, from what I know. I think it’s better if we do it together and then go hunting afterward.”
In fact, harvesting coconuts did involve significant risk. A single coconut can weigh over 1.5kg. Considering the palm trees were about 6 meters high, it was essentially like a 1.5kg rock falling from that height.
“Hmm, true.”
Jung Dae-hyun had thought it would be fine since Bang Ha-yoon was there, but he interpreted Park Jung-woo’s suggestion differently.
‘Does he want to make sure she gets some screen time?’
Due to the nature of variety shows, the exploration team naturally received more focus than the survival team.
‘But...’
Trekking through a tropical rainforest was harder than it looked. There was a high chance of being caught in an unflattering light. Moreover, if Seo-yeon, who was still a high schooler, did something dangerous, it could cause a backlash.
“Well, we’ll need a long pole to get the coconuts down.”
As Jung Dae-hyun spoke, Seo-yeon raised her wooden spear.
“...That’s too short. It won’t reach.”
Generally, when harvesting coconuts, one used a long pole to hook the cluster and lower it gently. Bang Ha-yoon was quite good at this, which was why she’d been placed on the survival team.
“Even if you throw it, it won’t have enough power to knock them down from that height.”
He was right. And as Bang Ha-yoon demonstrated the proper technique, it became even more apparent.
‘So you use the pole to pry the cluster loose.’
Seo-yeon watched the others work hard at gathering coconuts for a moment before turning her gaze away. She looked toward an empty tree.
Naturally, Jung-woo noticed her strange behavior.
“What are you up to now?”
The cameraman followed her as well. He had learned from Seo-yeon’s odd behavior during the fire-making earlier.
“If I hit it just right with a stone, wouldn’t they all come tumbling down at once?”
“As if.”
He told her to be realistic. If it were that easy, everyone would do it.
“Even if you throw a stone, it’ll just bounce off because the fruits are all bunched together. You don’t know how hard a coconut shell is—”
CRACK!!!
THUD!!
A whole cluster of coconuts crashed to the ground.
Jung-woo looked at Seo-yeon, who had thrown the stone, then back at the palm tree.
“…….”
Jung-woo walked over to where the fruit had fallen and saw a coconut that had partially burst open.
‘What the...?’
He rubbed his eyes.
Did she just throw a stone and pierce a coconut? And then sever the stem behind it?
“Wow, I guess you shook the cluster loose by throwing a stone!”
Jung Dae-hyun, having noticed the fallen coconuts late, approached them. Well, that was the common-sense reaction.
“Ah, yeah. I guess so.”
Jung-woo replied and looked at Seo-yeon.
Seo-yeon shrugged. Her face practically said, “Did you see that?”
“That was... impressive.”
“Right? This way is much faster.”
“No, don’t do any more.”
“Why?”
Jung-woo felt absurd as Seo-yeon frowned, wondering what the problem was. He pointed at the coconuts.
“Half of them are smashed!”
“Oh. I see.”
Seo-yeon accepted the point. She decided to leave the coconut gathering to the experts.
“Here.”
Seo-yeon poked her finger into one of the fallen coconuts and handed it to Jung-woo.
Jung-woo took it naturally, but then...
“?”
He belatedly noticed the hole clean through the coconut.