Bring It On! - Chapter 20

Chapter 20.

A cool breeze, tinged with the salty scent of the sea, blew gently past.

The first thing I did upon opening my eyes was check the weather for the day. As soon as I stepped outside the shelter, I stood there quietly, taking in the breeze. The soft rustling of the grass brushing against itself sounded soothing. It was the perfect weather for working.

“I wish every day could be like today.”

A drowsy voice came from behind. Jay stumbled out, yawning widely. Half-asleep Suho was still slumped against his side.

“Hurry up and wash up.”

“Are you heading to the sea?”

“Gotta check the fish traps.”

Jay nodded with his hair a complete mess, like a bird’s nest.

“I’ll get the fire going after I wash.”

“Oh, right. Yesterday, you—”

“…”

The moment I said “yesterday,” Jay’s relaxed muscles twitched and tensed up. Even though it was cooler than usual, the rims of his ears turned noticeably red. What’s up with him?

“Uh, what about yesterday?”

He stammered.

“You said you could tell exactly what I’m thinking just by looking into my eyes.”

“Oh.”

He let out a vague noise. Maybe it was relief, maybe not.

“Don’t tell me you forgot already after just one night?”

Last night, Jay had suddenly run off into the woods. And judging by how long it took for him to return, long enough for me to check every pumpkin and count them all, maybe he had gone off to do his business.

“…I was wondering why you took so long. Did you fall in the water? You should’ve at least yelled.”

“It was hot. I just splashed my face a bit.”

“Your shirt was completely soaked.”

“I… dipped in a little deeper.”

“A little deeper and you’d have drowned.”

Jay had returned soaked to the bone and mumbling nonsense before suddenly hoisting me over his shoulder, saying he was tired. He seemed unusually urgent to get back to the shelter. 

I had felt his dampness soaking into my stomach, but didn’t say anything. Honestly, I was starting to worry about Suho. Riding on Jay was way faster than running on my own.

“What, did you really forget?”

I glanced at him. His lips were tightly sealed, and his eyes blinked in a daze of confusion. I had expected him to launch into more nonsense, but seeing him so flustered made me feel awkward. I had only brought it up jokingly. I wasn’t looking for a serious answer.

“…You closed your eyes.”

“What?”

“So I couldn’t read them. You weren’t supposed to close them.”

He made an excuse, almost defensively.

“Hey! What do you expect me to do? Keep my eyes open for minutes like I’m trying to break a world record?”

“…”

“Whatever. Point is, you couldn’t read them. So stop saying weird crap like you can read people’s thoughts through their eyes.”

I gave Jay a pat on the shoulder and headed for the beach.

Up until just yesterday, checking the fish traps had filled me with dread. But now that we’d found the pumpkin patch, I felt so much more at ease. I waded through the clear water and lifted the trap. Huh? It was heavier than I expected. My heart started racing with hope as I hurried back to shore.

The moment I opened the trap, something shot straight up into my face. Completely caught off guard, I was doused in a thick spray of ink.

“An octopus!”

I wiped my eyes roughly and shouted with joy. Had the heavens finally taken pity on us? First the pumpkin patch, and now this octopus? I didn’t know why, but the fortune that had landed in front of us felt sweeter than ever in the midst of our ongoing struggle to survive.

I splashed some seawater on my face to clean up, then rushed back to the shelter.

Like a dad coming home from work carrying fried chicken, I imagined the faces of the two who would be thrilled to see the octopus. Smoke from the campfire was curling white into the air near the shelter.

“Whoa, an octopus!”

When I opened the trap to show them, Jay and Suho jumped up and down holding hands in delight. It was a full-on celebration.

***

After we cleaned the octopus, we hung it on the drying rack. Then we started hauling the other food source, pumpkins, to the shelter.

The distance between the shelter and the pumpkin patch was not short. Jay had to carry me and run quite a long way just to reach it. The pumpkins were heavy too, and carrying multiple back and forth wasn’t easy. Sure, Jay could just bring one back each day, but wasting that much time daily felt inefficient.

Especially now that we were in the final stages of finishing the shelter, his strength was absolutely essential. I couldn’t lift the heavy logs up to the higher sections on my own. In the end, I had to make a decision to solve the problem.

“We’re going to build a sled.”

As I said it, both Jay and Suho gave me confused looks. They didn’t seem sure whether I was joking.

“I’m not kidding. We’re really going to make one.”

“There’s no snow though? Oh, wait, is this one of those mental health things? Like, reclaiming your inner child or whatever?”

Jay was clearly trying his best to understand what I meant. I appreciated the effort, but unfortunately, he was wrong.

“We’re going to make a small cart. But since we don’t have anything to use as wheels, we’ll make the bottom flat so we can drag it like a sled. Luckily, there’s a slope from the pumpkin patch to here, so pulling it back shouldn’t be too hard.”

After I added that explanation, Jay finally nodded.

“What should we do first?”

“Start by cutting those planks smooth over there. I’ll make the handle out of some branches.”

“What about me?”

Suho raised one hand straight up as he asked. I thought for a moment. Jay and I could handle building the sled ourselves, and working on the shelter was still too dangerous and difficult for Suho.

“Just tidy up the area a bit. Don’t touch anything heavy or sharp. Once you’re done, you can go play as much as you want.”

“Yes!”

Suho, clearly excited, ran toward the shelter. On the way, he gave Jay a solid punch in the ribs. What’s with this kid always picking fights? Even when Jay shouted, “Hey!” Suho just giggled and kept running, never once stopping.

“Let’s get started.”

Jay stared blankly after Suho. I rubbed the side of his ribs where Suho had hit him, then went off to gather strong branches.

***

After a few trial and error attempts, the sled was finally complete. We tested it by dragging it back and forth and even sitting on it. Thanks to the care we put in, it was nice and sturdy.

Jay set off to the pumpkin patch with the sled. We agreed he’d bring back just four pumpkins this time. I resumed work on the shelter. I stepped into the new structure, now fully enclosed with wooden walls. 

The roof was still open, which wasn’t a problem now, but once we sealed it off, wouldn’t it feel too stuffy? Maybe adding a small window wouldn’t be a bad idea. 

It’d help with ventilation and also let us keep an eye on the outside. I figured we could use waterproof cloth from the old shelter and patch it over an opening.

When Jay returned from the pumpkin patch, he stacked the pumpkins next to the drying rack. Then he brought over some logs on the sled and passed them to me. Having the sled really made things easier. I couldn’t believe we hadn’t thought of it earlier. 

Even though we’d started work late, this one simple tool drastically increased our productivity. If we kept this pace, we might be able to spend our first night in the new shelter within three days.

We were lost in mindless chatter and focused on our work when I suddenly noticed how quiet it had gotten around us.

“Here, drink.”

Jay handed me a cup. I took it and drank all the water inside over a few sips.

“Hey, don’t you think the kid’s being way too quiet?”

I’d been thinking the same. Suho was like any other kid his age, loud and curious. Even when he brought weird things back from the beach, knowing I’d scold him, he could never stop himself from babbling about it.

“Think he’s in the shelter?”

“I’ll go check.”

“I’ll come too.”

We’d already finished our tasks for the day. The sun was beginning to set, and my back, neck, and shoulders were aching. Maybe today we could finish up a bit early and rest.

“Is your shoulder hurting a lot?”

Jay noticed me rolling one shoulder repeatedly.

“It’s just stiff.”

“I’m actually really good with my hands, you know.”

“So?”

“Trust me. I’ll loosen it all up.”

“And if you break my shoulder instead?”

“I won’t, I promise.”

Jay, who had been walking beside me, moved behind and placed his hands on my shoulders. I ignored him and lifted the shelter flap.

“…What the? He’s sleeping.”

No wonder it had been so quiet. Suho was inside, shirt pulled up, fast asleep. He wasn’t the type to nap often… Was something wrong?

“Did he go swimming or something?”

He was completely soaked. And not just him, the floor was damp and salty, and random junk Suho had picked up was scattered everywhere. Ever since we found Jay at the beach, something inside Suho seemed to settle for a while. 

But today, it was like he’d turned into a wild colt, bringing back everything he could get his hands on.

“He should’ve bathed first. And who’s supposed to clean all this up?”

Jay let out a long sigh, sounding like a tired mom.

“Lee Suho, get up. If you sleep now, you won’t be able to at ni—…”

Just before waking him, something caught my eye. I slowly turned toward the object I’d barely glimpsed a moment ago. I thought maybe I’d imagined it, but no.

“…What is this.”

Jay must’ve seen it too, because he picked it up.

“…”

It was a nude magazine. A photo book of naked men and women in steamy, suggestive poses, clinging to each other.