Starting a fire!

Thanks to Baby's performance, the cleaning and settling into the cave was finished.

Yerin stroked Baby's head as if she was proud of her.

"Once the content is over, eonni will buy you tons of snacks."

Nalleum.

"This one's female, right?"

"Yes."

Baby's tail wagged left and right as if she was in a good mood. Then she climbed onto a rock of suitable size and flopped down on her back.

Seems like she's full and sleepy.

Lizards sure live the life.

At least we found a decent home site.

Now there's only one thing left.

Fire.

It's a core element of survival, along with water.

Maintaining body temperature and cooking food.

You can boil water to drink safely, and it also helps repel insects and animals.

It even provides mental stability.

Looking at survival cases, people often feel tremendous fear the moment the fire goes out.

Because the deep darkness in an unfamiliar environment erodes the human heart with fear.

I slowly looked around near the cave entrance.

'Too deep inside won't work. The entrance area is also iffy.'

Inside is dangerous because smoke won't escape properly.

Conversely, right at the entrance, the wind is too strong, and the embers we worked hard to make could easily go out.

I tapped the ground a few times to choose a suitable spot.

"About here should do."

Then I pushed aside the fallen leaves and twigs scattered around.

Just in case of a fire that might start.

There are often large wildfires around the world, and most of them start from a single small ember.

Like a cigarette butt. Stuff like that.

Especially places with lots of leaves and grass are more dangerous.

A single small ember could burn down the entire jungle.

And before I know it, I might end up as an arsonist.

Yerin had already crouched down beside me and was clearing away leaves too.

"But why are we clearing this?"

"Because I'm going to make a space to light a fire here."

I picked up stones from around one by one.

I arranged stones of suitable size in a circle.

A simple hearth shape.

The stacked stones retain heat for a long time and prevent embers from flying and spreading the fire.

Yerin looked at the sight with wonder.

"You really seem like an expert."

"Because it's my dream to become like My Brother."

"...."

I stretched and stood up from my spot.

"Now I need to gather materials."

"But we don't have anything."

"There's a way."

I pointed with my finger at a silvergrass leaf stuck to Yerin's outerwear.

"Please bring some of that. As dry as possible. There should be a lot scattered on the ground."

"How much?"

"A reasonable amount."

"...Got it."

Grumbling, Yerin walked toward the silvergrass field. It's quite satisfying to tame her.

I started collecting twigs that had fallen under the trees around the cave.

Fire needs to be built up step by step.

First, thin grass.

Next, twigs about the thickness of chopsticks.

Finally, firewood of a suitable thickness.

If you get the order wrong, the fire dies quickly.

A little later, Yerin returned with her arms full of silvergrass.

Leaves were tangled here and there in her blonde hair.

"Haa... I'm dying from exhaustion. And these things are super prickly."

"I told you. They're sharp enough to cut you."

I took the silvergrass she handed me and started bunching it into a circular nest shape on the ground.

Leaving the center empty.

The center is where the ember will go.

It would be nice to have an item to easily ignite the ember.

Then I suddenly remembered Yerin's pouch with the luxury brand logo.

"Yerin-nim."

"Uh?"

"You have lip balm, right?"

Yerin's eyes went wide. Then, as if surprised, she smirked.

"Oh~?"

"...?"

"As expected, Reels is a girl too? I mean, since you also got a Whale Oppang-i, it's essential to flaunt your charm."

Something. It seems she's misunderstanding something weird.

Yerin laughed and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tapped my shoulder as I was making a bewildered expression.

"I thought you had no interest in this kind of thing at all. Hehe. You're actually kinda cute."

"No, it's not that..."

"It's fine, it's fine~ I was the same when I was young. I got scolded a lot for secretly using my mom's cosmetics."

Then, with a dead serious face, she lowered her voice.

"But, Reels."

"...Yes."

"Do you know what a woman's weapon is?"

"What is it?"

"It's beauty. Men get all giddy just seeing pretty women, you know?"

Yerin scanned my face and body.

"Hmm... Reels has enough potential to have demand. There are a lot of men who go crazy for cute girls. Everyone has different preferences."

Inside a desert island cave, a female streamer's life lecture began. Yerin even raised her fingers as she spoke.

"For reference, you should never date a bad guy, okay? Of course, at a young age, you might be drawn to that type. But you'll regret it later?"

"...."

"Also be careful of guys who say they'd pluck a star from the night sky for you. I've never seen a normal guy among those who say that. Got it?"

"...."

"And about makeup, how you define your eye shape is really important..."

"Yerin-nim."

I finally sighed and cut her off.

"It's not for that purpose."

"Uh?"

"I asked because the oil content helps with catching fire."

"...."

Yerin's expression froze for a moment.

And a few seconds later.

With her face red up to her ears, she shouted.

"Well, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠why didn't you say so from the start!"

"I only asked if you had lip balm."

"Of course I'd misunderstand. Here, take it."

It was a lip balm with a logo that looked incredibly expensive.

I carefully opened the lip balm cap.

A sweet scent wafted out.

I applied a very small amount to my fingertip and thinly spread it on the outer part of the silvergrass.

Not too much.

Because I don't know exactly what ingredients are in the lip balm.

If I use too much and inhale toxic fumes, that would be bad.

Just enough to slightly extend the ember's lifespan with the oil content.

Yerin stared blankly at my hand movements and muttered.

"Does this actually help start a fire?"

"Yes. Lip balm makes your lips shine, right? That's because it contains oil."

I returned the lip balm to Yerin and stood up.

The material preparation was roughly done.

Now comes the crucial part.

Bow drill.

A method of starting a fire by rubbing with a bow.

It's much more efficient than the hand drill method of rubbing a stick directly with your hands.

I picked up a suitably curved branch.

If it's too straight, it won't bend like a bow.

If it's too weak, it breaks easily.

"...This should do."

I pulled the drawstring from my hoodie.

Jjueuk.

The hoodie string slid out to one side. I tied one end of the string tightly to the end of the branch. Then I pulled the other end to make it taut.

If the string is loose, the stick spins idly; if it's too tight, it won't wind.

Just enough to leave some elasticity.

I plucked the string with my finger.

Ting.

"...Nice."

Yerin watched with curiosity.

"It really looks like a bow."

"But it's not for shooting arrows."

Next is the spindle.

I chose a dry branch slightly thicker than my finger.

I roughly peeled off the outer bark with a sharp stone to smooth the surface, then rubbed both ends against a stone to shape them.

The bottom end: slightly blunt to create friction easily.

The top end: slightly pointed to reduce friction against the handle.

"The top and bottom are different?"

"Yes. Because the bottom needs to get hot."

"...Oh. You sounded just like a college professor just now."

Yerin genuinely admired.

What's left is the fireboard.

I chose a wide, dry piece of wood and placed it on the ground.

The inside can't be too damp.

Fortunately, there was a dried piece of tree bark near the cave entrance.

Using the sharp edge of a pebble, I started carving a small depression into it.

Seuk.

"Why are you carving that?"

"It's a socket for the spindle to sit in."

Next to the socket, I also carved a small V-shaped notch.

The black powder created by friction heat will collect here.

That powder gets hot and becomes an ember.

Yerin was watching me as if she'd forgotten how to breathe. It's satisfying to see her gradually taking interest in survival skills. I should recommend a documentary to her soon.

"So fire doesn't just light easily..."

"Starting a fire is actually incredibly hard. Anyway, preparations are done."

I wound the spindle once around the bowstring.

The string wrapped around the middle of the spindle, fixing it in place.

I set the bottom of the spindle into the socket on the fireboard.

For the top, I pressed down with a rock of suitable size to hold the spindle in place.

One hand on the rock.

The other hand on the bow.

I slowly took a deep ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠breath.

Will the fire actually catch?

To be honest, I don't really know either.

I know the method in theory, but this is my first time actually doing it.

"...I'm going to do it for real now."

"Yeah."

Yerin unconsciously lowered her voice.

In the quiet silence, only the sound of something scraping filled the cave.

As I moved the bow back and forth, the spindle started spinning little by little.

At first, slowly.

It's important that the string doesn't twist.

I applied pressure to keep the spindle from jumping out.

Skrr. Skrr.

The sound of wood rubbing against wood echoed through the cave.

Gradually, I increased the speed.

Skrrskrrskrr.

More and more strength went into my wrist.

Even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠though I'd only been doing the bow drill for a short time, my shoulders immediately started aching.

In documentaries, experts start fires so easily.

As expected, I still have a long way to go to catch up to those cool hyungs.

Black powder gradually started forming around the socket on the fireboard.

"A little, but smoke is rising..."

Yerin whispered softly.

A thin wisp of smoke was rising from the socket.

But just because smoke starts, or because my shoulders feel like they're dying, I can't stop the motion.

I gritted my teeth and moved the bow faster.

Skrrskrrskrrskrr!

Black powder piled up in the V-shaped notch.

The smoke grew thicker.

My arms were starting to tremble.

Because the heat dissipates immediately, the moment I stop, it's over.

"Just a little more...! Just a little more...! Heujyajyajya...!"

I summoned my last strength and pushed and pulled the bow rapidly.

Skrrskrrskrr!

And then.

Right in the middle of the black powder.

A tiny red dot appeared.

"...Got it!"

A small ember flickered in the socket.

Day 2 on the deserted island.

Finally, we got fire.