Bring It On! - Chapter 4

Chapter 4. 

Sunlight streamed through the roof made of intertwined branches and leaves. A long, vertical shaft of light fell directly over the man’s right eye.

His sharp brow furrowed repeatedly, seemingly bothered by the brightness. Even as Suho fanned him with a palm leaf he’d picked up, sweat trickled down the man’s thick neck and jaw.

The man kept drifting in and out of consciousness. When I slowly dribbled water and coconut juice into his mouth, his Adam’s apple bobbed vigorously, taking it all in even while unconscious.

What the hell is this guy? I watched him closely, arms crossed.

“I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere.”

I tried to retrace my memories, but I had never once been involved with such a strikingly handsome man. Maybe he’s a celebrity? That seemed like a plausible explanation. Maybe I’d seen his face in passing, in an ad or somewhere, and it lodged into my subconscious.

Just then, a chubby fly buzzed past Suho’s face. The boy’s shiny black eyes slowly followed the insect’s path.

The moment the fly landed squarely on the man’s prominent nose—

Smack!

Suho slapped the fly with all his might.

The man, who had been at death’s door, suddenly jolted upright, his eyes snapping open from the shock.

“Ack!”

He grabbed his nose and sat up with a start. After writhing for a moment, he lifted his gaze and stared at us.

His pain must have been intense. His eyes were rimmed red and glistening with a watery film.

Startled by the result, Suho held up his palm like a kid trying to prove his innocence.

“There was a fly.”

“What the hell are you… cough, cough!”

The man started to yell, only to be overtaken by a heavy fit of coughing.

Then, seemingly dizzy, he collapsed back into a lying position. However, his eyes were still full of suspicion and annoyance.

What the hell is with this guy?

“Where… is this place?”

Suho picked up the palm leaf again. The gentle flapping of the fan filled the shelter with a faint breeze.

“What do you want? What are you trying to… cough, do to me…?”

He cautiously crossed his arms over his chest as if to protect himself.

Turning his lifesaver into a creep in the blink of an eye. He was smooth, I’ll give him that.

“We saved you.”

“What…?”

“This is a deserted island.”

“……”

“You washed up here.”

***

This guy, seriously, what’s his deal?

It had been over an hour, and he was still in denial. I placed his wristwatch on top of a cut tree stump.

“A deserted island? Ha! What is this, some kind of hidden camera prank? People are too smart for this kind of cliché setup nowadays. This won’t get any views. Not funny, so just take me home—”

He cried, laughed, and suffered all on his own, putting on a one-man dramatic act.

Then suddenly, he froze.

The flurry of expressions on his face slowly faded, and his demeanor changed, like a crack appearing in a perfectly sculpted marble statue.

He looked at me with eyes that had lost their composure.

“What’s wrong?”

“…But where… where’s my home?”

His voice trembled with confusion.

“Huh?”

It didn’t seem normal that he was suddenly asking me where his home was. I furrowed my brow and asked again, only for the man to grab my forearms in desperation.

“My home! Where is it?!”

He brought his face so close to mine that our noses almost touched. It was way too close for comfort.

“How the hell would I know?!”

“Why don’t you?!”

“Back off! Your breath stinks!”

His eyes wavered in confusion. He let out a breath soaked in frustration and shook his head.

“I… I don’t remember.”

“……”

“I don’t remember anything.”

Thunk.

His face slumped onto my shoulder.

I scrunched my face as if I were smelling rotting fish and turned my head as far away as I could.

His sea-drenched hair kept tickling my cheek.

“Uh… that’s unfortunate.”

I nudged his shoulder gently with a single index finger. But his body, solid as a rock, showed no sign of budging. He seemed too consumed by despair to care.

Fine, I get that you’re in shock, but could you be, like, two steps back in shock instead?

“I don’t even know who I am… where I came from…”

The man suddenly fell into a deep, philosophical line of questioning. Sure, I get it. His head must be a mess. But did he really have to cling to me while searching for answers to “Who am I”? I stared up at the ceiling, already exhausted.

Just sitting still felt suffocating in this sweltering heat. There was no air conditioning, not even a fan. Being pressed up against this human furnace was unbearable. Hot, heavy, and stifling. I was about to silently recite my third round of self-control when—

Growl.

A thunderous stomach growl echoed. I felt the man flinch beside me.

“…Let’s calm down, okay? If you rest, maybe your memory will come back.” 

I said, gesturing at Suho. Suho brought over a container of water we’d prepared in advance.

“Here, hyung. Drink this,” Suho said, handing it to him.

The man accepted the cup with a gloomy face. He must’ve been thirsty, because he tilted his head back and took a big gulp—

Pffft!

—and spat it out all over me.

Fuck… I shut my eyes tight as the water dripped down my chin, wiping it with the back of my hand.

“What the hell is this? You gave me spoiled water!”

“…It’s not. We boiled it just last night,” Suho muttered.

I wiped my eyes with my shirt shoulder, then opened them to see the man raising one hand in a lazy, half-hearted apology.

“Oh, sorry.”

“…….”

“It was just so rotten, it shocked me.”

I yanked the cup from his hand.

“That’s the cleanest water we can get here. You’ll have to get used to the taste.”

He scrunched up his face like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I have to drink that every day?”

“That water’s the reason we’ve survived this long.”

“Then what about food? What do you even eat here?”

Suho brought over a palm fruit. When the man opened the halved shell, inside was a thoroughly steamed fish. His face turned pale just from the sight. Then, all of a sudden, he let out a dry chuckle.

“You’re kidding me.”

“What part, exactly, do you think is a joke?”

“You’re expecting me to eat this?”

He jabbed a long finger toward the steamed fish. I could feel a headache coming on from his ungrateful behavior. When I first saw him washed ashore, I’d been reminded of when I’d first drifted here myself. 

I sympathized, thinking he must be feeling the same fear and confusion I once did. So I tried to help. But this guy is something else.

He acted like he was used to ordering people around. Like it came naturally. Arrogant, entitled. My face went cold. I snatched the fish away. His empty hands twitched slightly, but that was it.

“Don’t eat, then.”

His eyebrows twitched at my sudden change in attitude. He ran a big hand down the back of his neck.

“Wasn’t planning to.”

“Good. Don’t eat.”

“Even if you offered me 10 billion won, I wouldn’t.”

“I wouldn’t give it to you even if I were paid 10.1 billion.”

He snorted mockingly.

“You think acting all tough is gonna make me beg or something?”

“I don’t need to get into a pride match with you.”

“…….”

“You might have something to gain from getting on my good side. But I have nothing to gain from you.”

His cheek twitched ever so slightly. He was finally starting to realize where he stood.

He didn’t even know who he was. Had nothing. Meanwhile, I’d gone through hell here and learned how to survive. Just how spoiled had this guy been, to be so clueless and try to act like a king even now?

His sharp, arrogant aura gradually dulled. Tch. If only he’d said “thank you” and accepted things from the start, we wouldn’t have gotten to this point. I picked up the fish from where I’d set it aside.

“What are you doing?”

The man suddenly stood up. He was so tall that when he did, the shelter felt like it shrank. His long legs carried him out in a single step. Ugh, what a pain. I set the fish down with a sigh and followed him.

“Where are you going!”

He didn’t answer and just kept walking. I wanted to just leave him to his fate, but if I did, he’d be dead in a week. Dehydrated, starved, or both. He’d say goodbye to this world, permanently.

People are strange like that. We’d barely exchanged a few words, but if he died, it’d leave a weird, heavy feeling in my chest. If he’d just been a corpse when I first found him, I probably wouldn’t have felt this way.

I grabbed the edge of his shirt.

“What do you think you’re doing on your own?”

He grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand away.

“I’m getting off this island. You stay here and keep drinking your rotten water.”