227 – Zzi #1
A wriggling motion.
Seo Ye-rim was snuggled against Haildo’s nape, wriggling about.
It was her first time being held by a man since she was treated like a princess by her dad when she was little.
‘So this is what a man’s body feels like!’
The man’s body was large and solid.
It wasn’t sculpted for beauty; rather, it was the result of many reckless endeavors that resulted in a well-built physique that even felt tautly tense.
Swoosh.
Seo Ye-rim pressed her finger against the man’s chest like she was gripping a basketball; it was so toned that his skin didn’t even yield to the pressure.
‘This guy seems to be working hard on quite a few things.’
Seo Ye-rim knew very well that on his days off, Haildo dedicated himself to training and exercising every day in order to become an S-rank player.
The fact that Haildo was trying to become an S-ranker had to do with ‘Seo Ye-rim’ herself.
Haildo was clearly striving to become a man worthy of her, and she couldn’t think of any other reason for his efforts.
‘But normally, even if you worked your ass off, Haildo, I wouldn’t be the kind of woman you could catch in your hands. I’m like an angel or fairy that everyone admires.’
Seo Ye-rim’s body was on the slender and delicate side.
Of course, she was somewhat toned, but she primarily practiced exercises that helped with meditation and self-cultivation, like Pilates or yoga.
Still, she was confident in the beauty of her figure.
After bathing and looking in the mirror, she would often be surprised, thinking, ‘Why am I so perfect?’
Beauty and talent.
Martial and literary.
Truly, a born Core.
Core Prime.
Even with someone as perfect as herself beside him, Haildo’s eyes sparkled more at animals like squirrels, honey ants, ghost spiders, or tawny owl.
Even now.
‘Can I really just fall asleep in this situation…!’
Snooze-
Haildo was sleeping soundly, with his breathing steady. In stark contrast to Seo Ye-rim, whose mind was becoming increasingly clear and whose heart was racing, he seemed very comfortable.
Suddenly angry at that fact, Seo Ye-rim opened her mouth and bit Haildo’s shoulder.
Chomp-.
“Ah! What’s going on? What is it?”
Haildo woke up, startled.
He looked at his shoulder.
“What bit me…!?”
“I don’t know! Maybe it was an ant!”
“Ants don’t bite like that… It’s obviously you, Seo Ye-rim. But that was quite a bite. I must’ve dozed off without realizing it. Sleeping defenselessly in a place like this is just asking for trouble.”
“Right! You idiot! I bit you on purpose to wake you up!”
Seo Ye-rim acted annoyed toward Haildo, who was looking at his shoulder.
Haildo soon checked her forehead.
“You don’t seem to have a fever. Your condition seems better than earlier. Your eyes have cleared, and the surrounding temperature is high. Good. Then I’ll get up first.”
As Haildo attempted to get up, Seo Ye-rim felt a bit flustered and frowned, sneezing inadvertently.
“Achoo! Hah-choo! Ugh, I’m still cold…!”
“Really? That’s a problem. An awakened fire-type can’t catch a cold. If something happens to you, it would be dangerous in many ways…”
“What? Are you worried about me right now?”
Seo Ye-rim felt a little touched.
Despite everything, it felt good to sense that he was concerned about her.
Haildo then replied.
“Of course. You’re a major part of Korea’s security. With you just lazing around on this deserted island, I’m sure there’s chaos everywhere. Economic losses and security losses—”
“…….”
“In that sense, I have an obligation to send you home safely. I’ll be responsible for you and protect you.”
Seo Ye-rim found Haildo’s declaration of ‘protecting’ her quite amusing, almost making her laugh.
How long had it been since she heard someone say something like that?
At the same time, it stirred some strange feelings within her.
While he cited economic and security losses as reasons, it was clear that Haildo wanted to protect Seo Ye-rim because he cherished her.
And one thing had become clear today.
‘Haildo, this guy is really not honest. If only he would just say, “Seo Ye-rim, you’re my precious person. I’ll protect you with my life,” it would solve everything.’
Seo Ye-rim thought Haildo was a person whose words and actions were misaligned.
What was that called again?
Tsundere?
Seo Ye-rim thought Haildo was a tsundere.
“Right, I, who have an infinitely generous heart, have to overlook and forgive you, Haildo. It’s my fate.”
Hehehehe—laughed Seo Ye-rim.
Then, she succumbed to the overwhelming fatigue and fell asleep.
Soon, Haildo frowned and carefully placed his hand on Seo Ye-rim’s forehead.
He suddenly felt worried when she made a strange sound, but was relieved to find she had no fever.
# # #
By morning, the snow that had fallen the previous night had melted.
I had been tense, thinking that an ice age had come overnight, but by morning, it was so hot that even standing still made me sweat profusely.
“Alright! Look! I made a fire! This little campfire is nothing in the hands of Seo Ye-rim!”
Seo Ye-rim placed her hands on her hips and danced, swaying her hips and waist side to side like a star in a flashy music video.
“Is it the ‘Dance of Joy’?”
Honestly, I was surprised.
“Wow, just by telling you how to do it once, you made a fire right away.”
“Yah!”
Seo Ye-rim threw a spear she’d made by sharpening a stick into the stream.
With a splash, a fish pierced the spear and floated to the surface. Not just one, but two!
“Look! I caught a ton of fish!”
“Really amazing. You’d fit right in with the locals here.”
In a single morning, Seo Ye-rim had made a campfire and caught fish. She was adapting to the wilderness of this deserted island more quickly than I expected.
Honestly, I thought Seo Ye-rim was the type of spoiled princess who was born as the daughter of a conglomerate and only relied on her S-rank abilities, but it seemed I was mistaken.
Seo Ye-rim learned quickly and grasped new skills; she seemed like she would surpass me if she put in some time.
Is this what ‘talent’ is?
How could the world be so unfair?
“How’s the fish I caught, Haildo? Is it tasty? Of course, it is! Eating fish I caught and cooked over a fire I made, so tell me it’s delicious! Just be honest!”
“Um. It’s heavenly.”
“Right? Hehe, you’re lucky. A pretty and kind person like me is catching fish and making fires for you. You’ve got it made. But why is it so hot? Did a fire start somewhere?”
Seo Ye-rim was sweating profusely from her brow.
She took off her clothes and tied them around her waist and chest, exposing her skin like someone on a vacation in a swimsuit.
Her slender belly and thighs were revealed without anything covering them, and my face burned with heat. It reminded me of the previous night.
Last night, to raise Seo Ye-rim’s body temperature, we had pressed our skins together.
It was by no means a lewd thing; it was a humanitarian act, but having skin-to-skin contact with a woman required a lot of patience, even for a strapping man like me.
I even sang the national anthem and counted to eight—it was tough.
Anyway.
I averted my eyes from Seo Ye-rim’s milk-white skin and gazed at the distant mountains.
“I’m thinking of climbing that mountain over there today.”
It looked like it would take half a day to climb.
It was quite high, and once atop, I’d be able to survey the island in its entirety.
If I made a fire at that high point and sent up smoke, perhaps other survivors might see me.
“Ari and Jin-A must be on this island too.”
I was sure that Yu Ara and Lee Jin-A had also been stranded on the island.
However, Seo Ye-rim crossed her arms and snorted dismissively.
“Those two? No way! I’ve been wandering for three days! It’s just us on this island. And to be frank, we don’t even know when we’ll be able to get out of here.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“In theory, the Telos rescue team should have arrived within two days of us drifting. But since they haven’t come yet, something must be wrong. Time on the island may flow differently from outside, or the rift may have closed.”
The rescue might not come.
We might have to stay on this island for a long time.
It seemed that was what Seo Ye-rim was hinting at.
Then she sighed heavily.
“Maybe we need to prepare ourselves mentally. We could be living here alone for the rest of our lives, like Adam and Eve in the Eden garden…”
Seo Ye-rim turned her head sharply to the side, her face flushed as if angry.
Fssss—!
At that moment, I felt the bushes rustling.
I was startled by the presence of something large.
“Someone’s here!”
Hurrying, I dashed to check the bushes, only to realize that something had run away into the distance. With a slight feeling of disappointment, I lowered my head and noticed footprints on the ground.
They looked like bird tracks.
But they were different.
“What is this? These footprints…”
Suddenly—
Pwoosh-!
Something lunged at me from above.
I saw sharp claws, quickly tilting my head back to avoid them, but a whip-like tail came from an unexpected angle and struck me.
“Ugh!”
My head spun for a moment, but I hurriedly grabbed the wooden spear.
There, slowly rising were the silhouette of a creature—
“Dinosaur!?”
It looked like a raptor.
Its front limbs had frightful hooked claws, and its tail was like a whip, about the size of an ostrich.
I was momentarily caught off guard, yet I noticed something familiar within reach.
It was a type of dagger used by awakened beings!
It had plunged into the side of the dinosaur, making it bleed profusely!
