Bring It On! - Chapter 33

Chapter 33.

“That guy’s name was Jaden, right? I think your name came from his… You’re named after Jaden.”

“What?!”

Jay, who had been lost in thought, suddenly straightened his bent back and shouted sharply. His wounded eyes flew straight to me. It seemed like he didn’t even hear Suho’s comment, “Well, you’re much better looking than him anyway.” 

His pride, so noble and proud, had been completely shredded. Under the weight of his piercing gaze, I instinctively waved both hands in denial.

“Sun Woori, is it true?!”

His voice had an unmistakable undercurrent. It was a plea for me to say it wasn’t true.

“I mean… it’s not exactly like that, but…”

“‘Not exactly’ just means it is, right?”

Suho, apparently deciding to enjoy the spectacle, kept gleefully adding fuel to the fire.

“…I guess it’s not entirely untrue.”

“So I was a stand-in for that guy? Every time we kissed, were you thinking about him?!”

“What? What are you saying…. Shut up.”

“Shit. So I was just being used. And I didn’t even know…”

Jay looked like a heartbroken movie protagonist. He was pitiful and tragic.

“No! I never used you like that. I really only liked Jaden briefly. It was just a phase.”

But my explanation only made Jay’s tearful eyes turn razor-sharp.

“So you did like him.”

I flinched at the sharpness of the question, and yet… Why did I feel like I was the one who had to justify my past feelings? The situation made no logical sense, but for some reason, I still felt cornered, like I was the one in the wrong.

“I’m human too. Isn’t it normal to have a brief crush on someone? What’s it got to do with you anyway?”

“….”

Jay, overwhelmed by emotion just moments ago, seemed to come to his senses. His eyes narrowed slightly. Then, without a word, he suddenly grabbed Suho, who’d been watching everything with delight, into a tight hug.

“Of course it matters. We’re survival partners, thicker than blood. It’s only natural that I’d feel betrayed if you used your comrade for some petty emotional reason. What do you think, Lee Suho?”

Suho’s playful eyes widened in horror.

“So, you didn’t hug him because you liked him, but because you were using him…?”

“No! I like him.”

I quickly cut Suho off before things got worse.

“I really do. That’s why it happened. Sorry for not telling you earlier. I didn’t want you to find out like this.”

If the choice was between being someone who gave in to lust without reason and being someone who lied about love, I’d rather fake a confession. But I had foolishly believed that this would neatly fix everything.

“…You like him? Really? Why?”

Suho looked like he couldn’t accept this reality, and Jay… Jay had gone quiet. The sharp, frantic energy he’d been exuding had dropped dramatically, like a broken string. His grip on Suho’s shoulders loosened, and then he slowly, almost awkwardly, walked over to me.

Jay tilted his head far to the side and rested it on my shoulder. The angle looked painfully stiff. It made me ache just watching it, but he didn’t seem to care.

“You heard her. She’s totally into me now.”

“…Why? Why, why, why? I seriously don’t get it. Is it just his face? Are you okay with literally everything else being a mess as long as the face is pretty?”

Suho kept pressing, and I started feeling faint. Still, at least I had managed to avoid the label of some lust-crazed older girl with no self-control.

Satisfied the crisis had passed, I slipped away from the chaos and out from under the pile of blankets. I felt Jay’s body sway from where he had been leaning on me, but I didn’t look back. I had only said those things to dodge a bullet, but for some reason, my heart felt unsettled and both cheeks were burning hot.

The moment I moved, those two followed like ducklings chasing their mother. Suho begged me to reconsider, while Jay warned him off with smug threats not to interfere. Caught between their constant noise, I said nothing at all.

***

After a day that felt more like a war than doing laundry, Suho collapsed into sleep. He wasn’t a piece of laundry, but he was sprawled over a rock like one, completely limp. Jay ended up carrying him back to the shelter in his arms.

Suho must’ve been exhausted. For once, he was even snoring. A deep, steady krrrhhh that sounded nothing like his usual self.

Jay, with a serious expression like a spy about to steal state secrets, rolled up a tiny piece of leaf and stuffed it gently into one of Suho’s nostrils. His face had changed completely. He was calm, focused, effortlessly handsome. The kind of face you’d see on the cover of a magazine.

Yet there he was, poking a leaf into the nostril of a sleeping nine-year-old.

It was ridiculous.

“Puh-ah-choo!”

Suho, unable to bear it anymore, let out a loud sneeze, and Jay quickly pulled his hand away. Then, like a teenage girl who bursts out laughing just at the sight of a rolling leaf, he genuinely found it hilarious. 

Suho subconsciously rubbed his hand with the back of his other hand and soon fell back into a deep sleep.

Sensing my gaze, Jay slowly turned his head. When our eyes met, his well-shaped brows twisted in disapproval.

“You’re looking at me like I’m some kind of idiot again…”

“Then stop doing idiotic things.”

“Ah, why do you always say things that hurt me? Even if it’s true, you could at least soften the blow a little for the idiot’s sake.”

“Don’t act like that.”

“So annoying. I’m seriously hurt. Kiss me.”

Jay pouted, looking absurdly sulky, then instantly moved next to me and stuck out his cheek. Sure, we did sometimes end up messily tangling tongues whenever we had the chance, but we weren’t the kind of cute, affectionate couple that exchanged cheek kisses. 

I lightly flicked the side of his left cheek with my finger and stood up. Jay reflexively grabbed my hand.

“Where are you going?”

I nodded toward the outside of the shelter, and Jay got up to follow me.

Once outside, we saw the sun had already begun its descent toward the west from its high perch in the sky. It was just past noon. That meant we still had to kill at least five more hours before our special day of rest was over. 

But relaxation is a luxury only for those used to relaxing. For someone like me, who lived every moment with tension and intensity, the current stillness was unbearable. My body ached, and it felt like such a waste for time to pass meaninglessly.

Eventually, I couldn’t suppress the restlessness that came from sheer boredom. I picked up the axe, something I’d promised myself I wouldn’t touch today. Jay called out with a warning tone.

“Hey.”

But I ignored him. I grabbed one of the neatly stacked firewood logs and split it cleanly in half. 

Crack. The wood split into two with a satisfying sound. Then I tapped the dull backside of the axe blade against the log until it formed a flat wooden board.

“What are you doing?”

Jay approached with a puzzled look and stood beside me.

“Can you bring me a knife?”

I could feel his disapproval in his gaze, but he still did as I asked and brought me the knife. It was hastily made by cutting a steel plate, but it had proven useful in all kinds of tasks. Things like opening palm fruits, smoothing out furniture edges, cleaning fish, and now, even as a substitute for a pen.

Using the blade, I marked the wooden board with North and South, based on the position of the North Star. Then I drew an X at the location of our shelter.

“What are you doing? Making a map?”

His grumbling voice came from right beside my face. His large frame blocked the sunlight, casting a shadow over the board. I pushed him away with my elbow and replied.

“Yeah. I’ve been meaning to make one, but kept putting it off because of other stuff.”

We had no idea how long we’d end up staying on this island. The protagonist of one movie had been stranded on a deserted island for four years. The main character of a certain novel had been stuck for a staggering twenty-eight years. 

Thanks to discovering the nearby pumpkin patch, we’d solved our immediate food crisis, but we couldn’t just settle here and hope for the best. A sudden natural disaster or a swarm of disease-spreading insects could wipe out the patch in no time, and we also had to prepare for winter. The brutal cold would freeze the creek, even the ground itself.

If we wanted to survive here long-term without incident, we had to secure abundant resources ahead of time. After all, Jay had discovered the pumpkin field like a miracle. 

There was a chance more such lucky finds were hidden around the island, like surprise supply drops just waiting to be uncovered.