Bring It On! - Chapter 34

Chapter 34.

“You didn’t listen to your teachers back in school, did you?”

When I turned around, Jay was squinting at me against the glare of the sunlight.

“If you decided to rest, then rest.”

“I rested this morning.”

“Maybe my brain’s broken, but I don’t get it. Since when does doing laundry count as resting?”

“Anyway, I didn’t pick up the axe.”

“Yup, I knew it. You definitely didn’t listen to your teachers.”

“I’m not going to ask you for help, so just go inside.”

“Who said I was going to help?”

For some reason, Jay found my refusal to rest so unacceptable that he kept tossing in little jabs from the side. His gaze burned into the side of my face, but not enough for me to be truly bothered. 

If he wanted to rest, he could rest alone. It’s not like I was telling him not to relax, yet he showed no sign of leaving my side.

The sunlight wasn’t just hot. It was scorching. Even so, Jay just kept pacing back and forth on either side of me, left and right. I could hear the crunch of dirt behind me as he moved. 

From time to time, he’d lightly tap my shoulder or forearm. When the knife blade began to dull on the wooden board, he would wordlessly hand me a fresh one as if he’d been waiting for that exact moment.

I ignored him and focused entirely on the board. I marked the spot where the three traitors had taken the lifeboat and left. If they kept their promise and returned, there was a high chance they would come looking for us here, the most familiar place to them. 

Even if we moved somewhere farther away, we’d still have to return here periodically to check for any signs of a rescue party.

I also carved in the locations where we’d placed fish traps. Where no fish had been caught, and where we’d found an octopus. I was sketching out the details of the map when, tap, something soft brushed my temple. 

I’d been off guard, so I startled and glanced to the side, only to see Jay looking even more startled than I was.

“You were sweating,” he said.

He held up a palm frond, who knows when he’d picked it up, and began fanning me. So much for complaining about me not resting. 

Now he was the one going out of his way to fuss over me. Still, the breeze on my face washed away some of the sweat, taking the heat along with it, and I couldn’t say I disliked it.

Even as he fanned me, Jay was sweating heavily himself, drops rolling down from under his chin. He had a lot more muscle mass than I did, so he probably felt the heat even more.

I closed my eyes, and the palm frond’s flapping quickened. Then, over the hand holding the knife, a large hand overlapped mine. 

Slowly, his fingers threaded between mine, squeezing tightly enough that the knife slipped from my grasp and clattered onto the table.

“You’re hopeless. I can’t even watch this.”

“What are you picking a fight for all of a sudden?”

I’d thought, for once, he was doing something sweet and then he had to go and ruin it with that. If he just kept his mouth shut, I might actually think he was being nice. He didn’t seem like a bad guy deep down… but his tongue was definitely rotten.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him. His damp bangs were swept back from his forehead, giving me a clear view of his face. His thick, neatly shaped brows slanted upward, and a shadow pooled beside the sharp bridge of his nose.

The look in his eyes as he gazed down at me was anything but pure. And yet, he didn’t let go of my hand or stop fanning.

“Standing still under this blazing sun is the perfect way to get heatstroke. You’re basically staging a protest because you want to collapse, right? If you get sick, you’ll be out for a week at least. Oh, I get it. This isn’t about resting for a day, you want a full vacation.”

“As if. I’ve worked in the sun before, you know.”

“Working with breaks and water is not the same as this. You don’t even know your own condition. Your lips are pale right now. You keep adjusting your grip because you’ve got no strength left in your hands.”

It was only after his comment that I noticed my head felt a bit light and my breathing was becoming labored. Honestly, I might already be on the verge of heatstroke.

“Give it to me. I’ll do it.”

Jay released my hand and took the knife.

“Where should I start?”

“I’m done. Give me the knife.”

“If you’re done, why do you want the knife?”

I gathered up the board and moved into the shade of a tree. From a bag tied to a branch, I took some of the stored water and drank. When I handed the rest to Jay, he just jerked his chin as if to say, finish it. So I did, down to the last drop.

Jay took the empty bag, shook it out, and stuffed it into his pocket. I retied my loosened hair into a tight ponytail and said to him.

“I’m going to look around nearby. You stay here.”

“I’ll come with you.”

This guy. Why is he following me without even knowing where I’m going? At this rate, if some stranger offered him candy, he’d probably hop right into their van.

“Then who’s going to watch Suho? He’ll be startled if we’re both gone when he wakes up. He might seem mature, but he’s still just a kid. So don’t follow me.”

“When will you be back?”

“I’ll be back before sunset. I won’t go too far. Just take a quick look beyond the pumpkin field to see what’s there.”

“If it’s something like that, let’s wait until Lee Suho wakes up and we go together. You never know what might happen if you go alone. It’s not urgent anyway.”

“Since it’s not urgent, I’m checking it out while I have time. Besides, it’s faster and easier alone.”

“Then I’ll go instead.”

“Between you and me, who’s more thorough?”

“…I know I’m not really in a position to say this, but… can’t you just trust me this once?”

I let out a small laugh and lightly tapped his chest with my palm. Then I grabbed a few more new knives and walked toward the pumpkin field.

When I turned around, Jay was still standing in the same spot, just staring blankly at me. I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted, “Go back inside!” But no reply came from him.

***

When I was little, one of my few talents was writing like an adult.

Amid the blunt, crooked handwriting of elementary school kids, my letters sat proudly like the signature of a 48-year-old Mr. Kim Byung-ok.

Because of this trivial skill, friends who forgot to get their parents’ signatures for field trip consent forms would come find me every morning to do it for them.

The reason I got so good at mimicking adult handwriting wasn’t talent or curiosity. It was thanks to my parents’ indifference.

These days, field trip notices get sent to parents’ phones, but when I was a kid, we were given paper notices one by one. We had to get our parents’ signatures to be allowed to go.

Often, even if I showed my parents the notice, they wouldn’t glance at it. Sometimes they’d take it, but it would hit the floor before I could even count to five.

If I went to school without the signed form, the teacher would naturally call my parents. And my parents, so concerned with their outward image, would scold me for “not bringing the notice properly,” rather than for skipping the signature.

So I chose to forge their signatures. I practiced over and over, filling entire notebook pages until the paper turned black with graphite.

In the end, I could imitate adult handwriting so well that even the teacher was completely fooled.

Maybe because of this childhood, where I had to solve everything alone, I never got used to relying on anyone.

Some people say just having someone by their side makes them feel at ease, but that was a feeling I could live my whole life without ever knowing.

“Ah! Ow!”

A protruding tree branch scratched my arm. It wasn’t a deep cut, just enough to draw a thin line of blood, so I simply blew on it to brush away the dust and called it “first aid.”

Past the pumpkin field, the trees and grass grew so thick it was hard to see ahead. Pushing aside branches with my hands, I stepped forward.

I knew it was about time to head back, but my feet wouldn’t stop. Unlike the pumpkin patch Jay had found, there wasn’t anything here that I could clearly mark on a map.

I didn’t want to go back empty-handed and waste my time. That stubborn thought, that I had to find something, took root in my mind.

Then it happened.

Beyond the wall of trees and grass, I heard the sound of water.

A river?

I walked faster, following the sound.

When I pushed aside grass that had grown as tall as me, sweat dripped from my chin. And there it was.

A wide, open view.

A waterfall pouring out in a strong stream.

And a natural cave.

I couldn’t hide my surprise and delight. For a moment, I stood still, mesmerized by the overwhelming beauty of nature.

I could have turned back right then, but the cave’s entrance was far too tempting.

I stepped forward, telling myself I’d just take a quick look at the entrance.

“Oh!”