Chapter 002: Big Star
877 Words
Though Su Ya had just berated me, I wasn't angry at all. I even felt like laughing. After all, she was so beautiful that even her anger was laced with a certain charm.
"Look around, sweetheart! It's just you and me. Aren't you afraid of offending me?" I grinned, stepping closer.
"D-Don't do anything reckless," Su Ya stammered, retreating with fear in her eyes. She was clearly terrified. A delicate woman like her could only imagine the law as a threat. "I'll report you if we're rescued. You won't escape justice!"
"Report me? Hahaha!" I laughed triumphantly, though I was only trying to scare her. Who told her to give me attitude? "Sweetheart, you don't seem to grasp the situation. We're on a deserted island. There's no law here."
"Besides," I continued with a cruel smirk, "so many people died on the plane. One more wouldn't make a difference." While my words were meant to intimidate, I wouldn't actually kill anyone. Deep down, I'm a good person.
"J-Just don't hurt me, and I won't report you," Su Ya pleaded, trembling. Her large, beautiful eyes welled up with tears. She was clearly terrified. "I... I won't even say anything if you stare at me again!"
So she wouldn't say anything if I stared? Interesting...
I scoffed, glancing at her delicate frame, and decided to ignore her. Survival was paramount on this island. We needed to find a way to stay alive until rescue arrived.
While I wasn't immune to Su Ya's beauty, a more pressing issue demanded my attention: I was starving. I didn't know how long I'd been unconscious, but I was famished.
My eyes fell on the spot where I'd been lying. A crab was scuttling sideways towards the ocean. I rushed over, grabbed it by a leg, and lifted it up. "Sorry," I said, feeling a pang of guilt, "I kicked you earlier. But I'm hungry, so you'll have to be my meal."
One crab wouldn't be enough. I continued searching the beach, quickly catching several more.
Su Ya hovered nearby, afraid to approach yet unwilling to leave my side. The beach was only a few hundred meters long, bordered by fifty-meter-high cliffs. Beyond the cliffs lay a dense, tropical rainforest, with mountains rising in the distance.
I'd seen plenty of island scenery in movies, but never anything this strange. I had no idea what lurked within that lush rainforest, but unarmed as I was, I wouldn't dare venture in. If I wouldn't go, Su Ya certainly wouldn't. That's why she stayed close, maintaining a safe distance.
I didn't have a lighter, but that didn't faze me. Country folk might be looked down upon in the city, but they had their advantages. City slickers, CEOs, and rich kids would be lost without a lighter, but I could make fire.
Reaching the edge of the forest, I snapped a small branch, sharpening the broken end. I found a half-rotten log and scraped off a thin layer of wood shavings with my fingernail, piling them on the log.
Then, taking the sharpened stick, I began rubbing it back and forth against the shavings. I worked diligently, but there was no sign of fire. Still, I persisted. Making fire this way required patience and skill.
Finally, smoke began to rise from the wood shavings, followed by a tiny flame, the size of a lighter's spark. I quickly added dry twigs and branches, coaxing the fire to grow.
As the flames grew stronger, I wiped the sweat from my brow, relieved. My efforts hadn't been in vain.
I turned to head back to the beach to search for a flat stone to use as a cooking surface, but stopped short. Su Ya was hesitantly approaching. Catching my gaze, her pale face flushed crimson under the firelight.
"What do you want?" I asked, feigning annoyance. "You're right, you're a big star. Plenty of men would love to marry you, but I don't see you berating them. At least I don't have such lofty aspirations."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you," Su Ya said, her voice small. "But I'm so hungry. Could I have some crab? I... I can pay you. I'll give you the money as soon as we're rescued."
My arrogant attitude made her grit her teeth. She was used to being pampered and adored, not treated like this. But even the most stubborn woman is no match for hunger.
"Oh? How much?" I asked casually, though I knew money was useless here. Rescue? Who knew if we'd ever be rescued. The plane had been flying over the Pacific, somewhere in the middle. We could be anywhere. By the time anyone found us, we might already be dead. And that was the best-case scenario. The forest could be teeming with dangerous animals that might wander onto the beach, leaving nothing but bones behind.
"Two thousand dollars per crab," Su Ya blurted out, her pretty face flushed. She'd started with one thousand, but seeing my lack of reaction, quickly doubled the offer.
"Heh," I scoffed, ignoring her.
Su Ya pouted, frustrated. This man was infuriating. Two thousand dollars could buy a luxurious meal at a fancy restaurant, yet here it couldn't even buy one of his measly crabs!
- Writer
