Bring It On! - Chapter 3

Chapter 3. 

I inhaled sharply, annoyed at the squishy lumps soaking my palm. My lips, on the verge of cursing, pressed together in restraint. But no amount of willpower could stop my tightly shut eyelids from twitching with frustration.

There’s no way garbage from land could have floated all the way through the sea into the depths of this forest. Unless the sperm left inside a condom had fused with the rubber and mutated into a new form of life, this wasn’t something that just drifted here. 

It should’ve been lying somewhere along the beach. If it was here, someone had to have brought it.

Lee Suho. That brat went down to the shoreline every morning and evening and came back carrying armfuls of junk. Wouldn’t it be nice if he only brought back useful things like scrap metal pots or rope? 

But no, he collected medieval-looking iron shoes, holey tennis rackets, even chocolate bar wrappers with the same care.

The shelter I’d built with my own sweat and blood was gradually filling up with trash. At first, I let it slide. He said it was his only joy on this bleak, hopeless island… and I was impressed that a kid was surviving so well on his own. 

But like nutria destroying ecosystems with their incredible reproductive powers, the trash kept multiplying, and I couldn’t stand it any longer.

Our shelter now resembled the house of a hoarder from one of those old TV shows. This couldn’t go on. By the time I truly felt the urgency, it was already too late. Not just the inside of the shelter, now even the outside was overflowing with the junk Suho had brought back.

In the end, I grabbed both of Suho’s shoulders and said firmly,

“Things that wash up from the ocean aren’t collectibles. They’re all garbage.”

“But isn’t this one kind of pretty?”

“Even if it’s pretty, it’s still trash. We need somewhere to sleep, Suho. Throw it all away.”

We rolled up our sleeves and did a deep clean. But as they say, old habits die hard. 

Suffering from withdrawal, Suho was soon back at the beach. He no longer picked up everything like before, but still, new stuff kept showing up every day. When I secretly threw things away, he started hiding his “treasures” around the forest like a dog stashing snacks in its territory.

The reason I couldn’t be harsher with him, even though he kept breaking our “No More Trash” rule…

Was because of that smile. That face, darkened by the sun but beaming with straight, white teeth like a freshly laminated celebrity, grinning and calling out, “Noona!”

But this was my limit.

The sun above blazed down with a sizzling heat, and the humidity from the sea clung not only to my skin but to every breath I took, thick and sticky. Even just breathing was enough to make my irritation boil over.

With a faint squelch, warm seawater leaked from the open end of the condom I was holding. That single drop pushed my rage past the breaking point.

“Lee Suho!”

I shouted with such irritation that the birds in the trees scattered in perfect unison. I wanted to hurl the thing in my hand with all my might but shoved it into my pocket instead. I couldn’t risk either of us stepping on it again.

Just then, Suho came running from afar, yelling, “Noona…!”

Gotcha. Today, you’re going to cry your eyes out. Up until now, I’d held back, feeling sorry for a kid who’d lost his brother overnight and ended up stranded on a deserted island. But to keep our survival safe and somewhat comfortable, harsh truths were needed.

What if I’d tripped again today and fractured a bone? Who would expand the shelter if I couldn’t move?

I stood up and brushed off my butt. Suho, now right in front of me, was gasping for breath, his thick, black hair damp with sweat.

“Haah, haah, Noona… haah… over there…!”

He looked frantic, even stamping his feet in urgency.

“Okay, Lee Suho. Deep breaths first. Three times. Go.”

One, two, three. He followed my cue, taking deep breaths. Then he looked up at me with hopeful eyes, asking silently if he could speak. I nodded.

“At the beach—”

“No. Don’t pick up any more trash.”

I didn’t even let him finish. My cold, firm response made Suho’s face crumple in disappointment. But who was Lee Suho? He had the proud blood of Korea running through his veins. A… Korean elementary schooler. 

The more you told him not to do something, the more he wanted to do it. A little tyrant with a rebellious frog mindset.

“No, Noona, this time’s different.”

“No, it’s the same. It’s trash.”

“This one’s a really big deal. Just trust me. Please?”

Lee Suho’s eyes were glazed over. He looked like someone bewitched, like a person mesmerized by a gambling machine. When I kept acting indifferent, Suho began to cling to my pant leg and whine. Hey, don’t pull, it’ll fall off.

“Noona, just this once. Please? Please? Pleeease…!”

Pulling my pants back up from where they’d slipped down to my hips, I replied coldly.

“I’ll come see it, but we’re not bringing it back.”

Suho flinched like he hadn’t expected that. But maybe just getting me to follow him down to the beach was enough for now. His face lit up with a wide grin.

“Okay! Just come! Hurry, hurry!”

He dashed ahead, urgently waving at me. Through the flapping hem of his T-shirt, I could see his arms, blotched with red marks. With his body temperature surging and crashing like heated metal, there wasn’t a day his skin wasn’t a mess.

Thinking about how he used to lie there, too weak to even open his eyes, I almost felt grateful he was back to scavenging junk like this. The thought softened my heart again.

Grumbling and nursing my sore backside, I followed Suho.

The sea was unusually rough. Waves rose high and crashed into the rocks, exploding into white foam. As I walked, watching the horizon, Suho suddenly shouted, “Over here!”

Far ahead, something black was sprawled out, facedown on the sand.

“…….”

Even as the waves came in, soaking it, then receded, the thing didn’t budge.

“Noona, hurry!”

Suho waved frantically. I had been dragging my feet, clearly annoyed, but now I quickened my pace. Before I knew it, I was sprinting, kicking up sand.

“That’s… That’s a person!”

“Yeah. Human trash.”

“No, I mean, that’s actually a person, Suho!”

“But you said everything that washes up from the sea is trash.”

This kid. A future model citizen in the making. He took everything I said way too literally. His innocent lack of flexibility made the back of my neck tighten.

“You should’ve told me it was human trash from the start!”

The man in black loungewear lay there, face planted in the sand, as if the beach were his own living room. Was he already dead? If so, we had to return his body to the sea, or to Mother Nature’s embrace, before it started to rot.

I summoned all my strength and tried to roll him over. My temples throbbed with effort, but he wouldn’t budge. Crack. My clenched jaw made a worrying sound under the strain.

“Suho, his shoulders. Use your feet to push his shoulders.”

Only with both our strength combined did we manage to get him lying face-up. The first thing I needed to do was check if he was alive, but the moment I saw his face, my mind short-circuited.

“That’s… some good-looking trash.”

Suho mumbled in awe, completely mesmerized. He looked like a sculpture, painstakingly carved. Symmetrical features, sharp masculine angles, even the fine hairs of his eyebrows were flawless.

His thin, soaked loungewear clung to his body, revealing every contour of his muscles. But now wasn’t the time to admire him.

I pressed down on his chest, lining up with the visible nipples as my guide.

Using the full weight of my body, I began compressions. Sweat dripped from my chin as I pushed with all I had. Suddenly, the man’s body jerked up like a freshly caught fish. I quickly patted his shoulder.

“Hey! Are you awake?!”

His eyelids, crusted with sand, fluttered faintly.

“Suho! Bring water!”

“Okay!”

Suho ran back toward the shelter. Meanwhile, I kept calling to the man, trying to keep him from losing consciousness again. His long lashes shimmered silver in the sunlight. Tiny grains of sand clung in a curve along his soft lashes.

Then, his lips moved.

“Huh? What was that?!”

He kept repeating the same thing, like he desperately needed to tell me something. But his voice was so faint, broken up by ragged breaths, that I could barely make it out.

I leaned in close, bringing my ear to his mouth, shutting my eyes to focus.

“Say it again.”

“Haa… Give…, me…”

“What?”

“…Give… me food.”

With the last of his strength, he forced the words out.

Then, like a final breath, his head lolled to the side.