Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Survival on a Deserted Island Day 1: Making Fire
Splash. Splash.
The sound of waves hitting my ears felt unusually sticky.
Grains of sand rolled around inside my mouth, and the smell of seaweed rushed into my nose.
Swoooosh—
Incoming seawater repeatedly soaked my side without mercy.
“Ugh… so cold…”
A groan slipped out unconsciously.
My body felt like it weighed a ton. Pain spread through me like someone had crushed my entire body in a cement mortar.
Splash. Splash.
Another wave slapped straight into my face.
Cold seawater poured into my nostrils.
“Ughhh…”
The saltwater triggered pure survival instinct in my brain.
I snapped awake.
No one stays asleep when the cold is kicking your soul like this.
“Damn it! It’s cold!!”
I tried to spring up, but collapsed straight into the sand.
“Cough! Ptooey! Spit!”
I coughed out sand and salty water.
The world around me was still wrapped in the bluish light of dawn.
An endless horizon. A wide beach that had somehow caught my body.
A deserted island…?
No buildings in sight.
And everything was too dark to see properly.
“Ha…”
I vaguely remembered stabbing Choi Do-hoon in the roof of his mouth, grabbing Su-jeong by the ponytail, and throwing her into the sea.
Or maybe that part wasn’t real.
I remember cutting the rope after using the blade, but after that… nothing.
“God… you really did listen to me. But this place is a bit too much, don’t you think?”
I checked my body with shaking hands.
My hand met the familiar grip of a blade.
But what mattered more right now was the cold.
“Ugh… ah…!”
My lips trembled violently.
It felt like my brain was being stabbed with ice picks.
“I’m freezing…! Damn it, Choi Do-hoon, you son of a bitch!”
My scream disappeared into the wind.
Only the disgusting splash of waves answered me.
I crawled forward like a pathetic creature.
Every time I stretched my arm, my shoulder joints felt like they were tearing apart.
“Hurgh… hurggh…”
When the body hits its limit, it really stops producing words.
My tongue barely worked, rolling uselessly in my mouth.
I crawled on all fours like an animal.
Behind me, the waves kept licking my heels, trying to drag me back into the sea.
Get lost, you ocean monster bastard. I’m not dead yet.
I pushed myself further onto the drier sand.
I ripped off my wet clothes and started digging into the sand like a madman, covering my body with it.
I needed warmth. Even a little.
“Su-jeong… you damn snake…”
The moment I muttered it, I could still feel the sensation of her ponytail in my hand.
Was she dead?
No. That poisonous woman wouldn’t die so easily.
And I would be the one to kill her properly.
The blade in my hand had been washed clean by seawater, shining bare and sharp.
I clutched it tightly.
Without it, I really would be finished.
“First… damn it… fire…”
I raised my head and scanned the surroundings.
My eyes burned from the salt, but I forced myself to look.
“Fire… fire…”
I used the blade like a walking stick and tried to stand again.
My legs gave out again and again, but every time I heard Choi Do-hoon’s disgusting laugh in my head, I forced myself back up.
You better still be alive. I’m going to kill you.
My teeth chattered so hard it echoed inside my skull.
The pale dawn showed no mercy.
In the darkness, vague shapes appeared and disappeared.
“Breathe… breathe…”
Charging around blindly would be suicide.
My body was basically a soaked rag right now. If I wasted any more energy, my heart would stop before I ever lit a fire.
Think.
If I want to survive, I need to think.
The most urgent thing is body heat. Hypothermia will kill me before revenge ever does.
I examined the blade.
Strong steel. Sharp enough.
But I didn’t have a lighter.
Bow drill? No chance with this body.
So friction or impact sparks.
I dragged myself toward the edge where sand met forest.
I gathered dry branches and leaves with shaking hands.
Luckily, I found a patch of dry grass tucked between rocks untouched by seawater.
Next, I needed wind protection.
A place that could block the wind.
“Now… stone…”
I needed something hard enough to create sparks.
I searched blindly and found a heavy milky-white stone.
Quartz.
Good.
Then another stone nearby.
Different texture.
Flint.
“Lucky bastard… I’m not supposed to die, huh…”
A dry laugh escaped me.
Maybe even God wanted to watch this revenge story to the end.
I placed the dry grass in front of me.
Left hand held flint. Right hand held the blade upside down so I wouldn’t damage the edge.
Clang. Clang.
Metal struck stone.
At first, I missed.
My hands were shaking too much.
“Just… once…!”
I gritted my teeth and struck harder.
Sssst!
A spark flashed.
My eyes widened.
There it was.
Hope.
I positioned the dry grass tightly under the flint and focused everything into my wrist.
Clang. Clang. Sssst—
Finally, a larger spark jumped into the bundle.
A tiny orange glow appeared, barely visible.
I leaned in and blew carefully.
“Fuu… fuu…”
Slowly.
Like breathing life into it.
Then smoke rose.
And the fire caught.
A small flame burst into life.
Warm light touched my face.
My trembling body slowly began to stabilize.
The blade reflected the red glow.
“Burn… burn hotter…”
I wasn’t done yet.
I found dry stones and placed them near the fire to heat up.
Basic knowledge. Wet stones can explode from internal steam pressure.
After they heated enough, I buried them under shallow sand.
A natural heater.
I lay down on top of it.
Warmth rose through my back.
“Ughhh…”
I can live.
A dry laugh escaped me.
So this is me.
Maybe this survival nonsense came from my weird hobby.
Watching survival experts build fires and shelters in their videos after work.
My life in the organization wasn’t much different anyway.
I used to think of it as camping.
“What about you guys… Choi Do-hoon… Su-jeong… still alive or dead? If you’re alive, I’ll kill you. If you’re dead, I’ll use your corpses as bait.”
Dawn was coming soon.
Once I could see clearly, I would start searching.
Start killing.
The heat under my back grew stronger.
My suppressed killing intent slowly surfaced again.
Fire is done.
Body temperature secured.
Now I kill.
Rip them apart.
Stab them to death.
Slowly.
Painfully.
My eyelids grew heavy as warmth spread through my bones.
Just a short rest…
My consciousness drifted—
Then, through the crackling fire sound, something unfamiliar slipped in.
Rustle… rustle…
Rustle?
An animal?
Wait.
An animal?