The parachute got caught on a tree.
As I ran through the forest following the parachute, I increased my speed.
Before long, I could spot a wooden crate dangling in mid-air.
“Did I arrive first?”
I expanded my sensory range, scanning the surroundings.
There was no sign of anyone nearby.
It seemed I had arrived first.
As someone who had been expecting the gathering of the test-takers, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
Still, I could always wait.
Before that…
“Should I check what’s inside?”
I cut the parachute cord attached to the wooden crate.
The crate dropped with a thud to the ground.
Opening it up, the supplies inside greeted me.
“Everything’s here.”
Chocolate bars, pound cakes, cup noodles, combat rations, medical supplies, a compass, feminine products, and men’s and women’s undergarments and socks.
Everything necessary for survival on the island was present.
I pulled out a water bottle from the crate.
“Ah, refreshing.”
I had been thirsty for a while.
Though I had a water bottle at my waist, the water was lukewarm.
In contrast, the water bottle I pulled from the crate had condensation on it, and a cool sensation spread through my hand.
I opened the cap and took a drink.
It was a refreshing feeling.
“Found it! It’s over there!”
“No way, we got here first…!”
“Ah…”
“….”
It was then that three test-takers emerged from the bushes.
Seeing me sitting by the crate, drinking water, they were taken aback.
“First prey has arrived.”
I closed the cap of the water bottle.
From the moment I sensed the presence of the test-takers approaching, I calmly stared at them.
“….”
Each of the test-takers held a weapon and was on guard.
They seemed to recognise me.
Despite that, they didn’t run away, likely because of the crate I was sitting on.
They were reluctant to leave without the supplies.
“It seems they’re hesitant to attack recklessly…”
I didn’t want this standoff to continue unproductively.
It seemed like Lee Ga-hyun wasn’t among them, but that didn’t mean I would let them go easily.
I decided to confront the test-takers.
However, there was one more person coming.
“Is the person approaching from behind one of you too?”
“….”
Someone else was approaching from behind the test-takers.
Though they didn’t respond to my question, they were probably with them.
I planned to take their test papers once the test-taker arrived.
“Hey guys! Did you find any supplies? Huh?”
“…Go Eun-bi?”
“Yeon Woo! You’re here too!”
The test-taker who emerged from the bushes was none other than Go Eun-bi.
Her brown hair was covered in leaves, and as soon as she saw me, she smiled brightly.
If she had a puppy tail, it would have been wagging with excitement.
Seeing this, I sheathed my sword.
The thought of taking her test paper disappeared.
“What, Eun-bi, is that you? Are these your teammates?”
“Yeah! That one’s from my middle school, the other we became friends during the second exam, and that one I met at the banquet yesterday…”
Go Eun-bi nodded affirmatively.
She turned around and awkwardly introduced the other test-takers one by one.
It was clear that she had a high level of sociability.
I couldn’t help but smile.
“You really have a lot of friends.”
“Eh, what do you mean by that? This is pretty average for me.”
“I don’t have any friends.”
“Hah! How can you say you don’t have friends when I’m here? And why aren’t you counting Haneul?”
“Then I only have two friends. Probably not more than you.”
“Wow, you’re definitely teasing me now, right? By the way, Yeon Woo, how many points have you scored? I’m at 180 now… And is that a black test paper? Who did you get it from?”
“From Nam Yu-ri.”
“Ah, from that person from the Yeonseong Namga?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow… I knew you were strong, but you even beat that person.”
Go Eun-bi marvelled at the test paper I was wearing.
Yet, throughout the conversation, her gaze kept drifting elsewhere.
It was toward the supplies behind me.
She clasped her hands and spoke to me in a playful tone.
“So, Yeon Woo?”
“What?”
I could see right through her.
I had a feeling I knew what proposal she would make.
Still, I pretended not to notice and decided not to propose anything myself.
I had to think of a playful way to handle the situation.
“…Not a bad idea.”
An amusing idea came to me.
I smiled slightly.
“We’re friends, right? We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Well, for now, yeah.”
“Aha, you’re trying to joke around again. Do you forget how well we clicked during the third exam?”
“That time we really did work well together. So?”
“I see a lot of supplies behind you, so could you share some with a friend? Huh? The kind and cool Yeon Woo?”
“Well, there’s so much that it’s hard for me to carry alone… So I guess I can share some with you, Eun-bi.”
“Really!? You’re the best, Yeon Woo! I’ll treat you to a meal next time!”
“But, Eun-bi, those behind you are your friends, not mine.”
“…So, you’re saying you’ll only give me my share?”
“I’ll give you your share.”
“Yeon Woo, don’t be like that…”
“Don’t shake my arm, don’t cling to me. Just letting those guys go without taking their test papers is already quite a favour from me. Let it go.”
“Isn’t there any way around this? Huh?”
“Well, it’s not like there’s no way…”
“What should I do? Just tell me! I’ll do anything as long as it’s not weird!”
“Really?”
“…”
“Don’t regret it.”
“…Why do you look like you’re waiting for something?”
“You said you’d do anything as long as it’s not weird, right?”
“I see. It was a joke from the start!”
“You already agreed, so it’s too late to back out now.”
“Am I being tricked right now!?”
“Yep!”
“You’re such a bad person! What’s it gonna be!?”
“It’s not anything big.”
“It doesn’t seem like it’s nothing…”
“Go ahead, write your name on your backside. Slowly. There are three of them, so just write it three times.”
“…Yeon Woo, I’m a middle schooler. I’m going to high school this year.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I’m not a little kid, and you want me to write my name with my backside?”
“Is there something you can’t do? Eun-bi, every time you move your backside, you can feed one of those three people.”
“…”
“Twice, and you can save two; three times, and you can save three. All you have to do is put your shame aside for a moment, and you can save three people.”
“But my backside is precious…”
“Weren’t you trying to become a Hunter?”
“…”
“What’s the Hunter’s job?”
“To kill monsters.”
“And?”
“…To save people?”
“And you’re trying to ignore the responsibility of saving those people.”
“That’s… sophistry.”
“And you’re feeling guilty too, aren’t you?”
“Ugh…”
“Choose, Eun-bi.”
“…”
“Will you live alone, or will you live with them?”
“I…”
Go Eun-bi hesitated.
Then, as if she had made up her mind, she took a deep breath.
She turned away from me.
“Guys… can you go somewhere out of sight for a while?”
“Ugh, Eun-bi…”
“It’ll be over soon, really.”
“Ugh… Eun-bi, I feel so bad for you…”
“Don’t worry about me. Still… Yeon Woo is kind, so he won’t be too harsh.”
“Ugh…”
“Guys, I had fun being with you. See you later. And, please… don’t watch. I don’t want to show you how ugly I am shaking my backside.”
“…What’s with the sudden atmosphere?”
“I’m just giving in to food…”
“And there are even feminine products inside.”
“…I don’t want to show you me giving in to feminine products…”
Go Eun-bi wiped her eyes with a handkerchief she had pulled out of nowhere.
The test-takers around us were sobbing as they disappeared into the forest.
Now, there were only the two of us left.
She had a stern look on her face.
“Is your farewell finished?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then, go ahead.”
I sat back down on the wooden crate.
Go Eun-bi nodded gently, sticking her backside out.
“Okay, go.”
“Go-o.”
“Un.”
“Un.”
“Bi.”
“Bi-i.”
“Okay, two more times.”
“I’ve never even done this for my dad three times…”
“Hurry up, before more test-takers show up. We don’t have time.”
“Goo…”
Shudder, shudder.
Go Eun-bi shakes her hips and writes her name in the air.
She does it clearly and deliberately, three times, very loudly.
If she had a dog’s tail, it would’ve been much more amusing to tease her, but sadly, she didn’t have one.
I also couldn’t see her face, which was likely blushing in embarrassment, as she had her head down close to the ground.
‘Maybe I should make Yeon-ha-neul try it next time. But then, with a bunny tail, there wouldn’t even be anything to shake…’
Still, it would probably be amusing to watch.
The chances of mentioning it would lead to me being hit with a steel hammer swung by Yeon-ha-neul, and my head probably bursting, but…
Anyway, I decided to be content with this for now.
I clapped my hands lightly to signal Go Eun-bi to stop.
“Good job. If we had smartphones right now, I would’ve filmed that.”
“Wait, you were actually thinking of filming that? Wow, really… sniff… I’m already married now… Mom, what should I do…?”
Go Eun-bi lets out a loud sniffing sound.
Still crouched where she wrote her name with her hips, she buries her face into her knees, unable to look up in shame.
I felt sorry for her, so I decided to comfort her.
“It’s okay, Eun-bi. I’m the only one who’ll remember this today. If I don’t say anything, no one will know. I’ll keep it a secret from you.”
“Really?”
“And when you get married, I’ll go to your wedding and tell everyone. I’ll tell them, ‘My classmate, Go Eun-bi, once wrote her name with her hips. It was so funny, but it’s a shame I couldn’t see it with all of you, especially with her husband.”
“Ah, don’t do that! I won’t send you an invitation to the wedding!”
“I’ll show up uninvited. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a generous gift.”
“A wedding gift? Oh… right. You were the rich young master, weren’t you?”
“Well, at that time, there was something like that, and we’d all laugh about it, haha-haha.”
“Hey, Gyeon-woo, I don’t want to be a laughing stock like that!”
“Oh, for your husband, I should say this: ‘Have you seen your husband yet? I have, though.’”
“Nooo! Forget about it, punch!”
Go Eun-bi suddenly jumps up from her spot and throws a punch at me.
Her fist is as light as a cotton ball.
I don’t dodge and let her punch land on me.
We couldn’t gather all the supplies alone, and it was already time for lunch.
Go Eun-bi, her friend, and I decided to have lunch together.
We took down the test-takers who were here for supplies and found a suitable spot.
“Ah! There’s a valley over there, how about eating there?”
“I needed water to boil anyway, so I can get it from there.”
“I really need to wash up before lunch! I’ve been feeling so gross, I almost thought I’d die from it.”
“…You haven’t washed?”
“Did you wash? Oh right, Gyeon-woo, you probably wash with the water you drink…”
“How can I waste water on washing? There’s Clean Magic, I’ll just use that.”
“Using Clean Magic doesn’t even feel like washing! You need to wipe yourself clean for it to count! You should wash up too!”
Go Eun-bi seemed just like Yeon-ha-neul, with the same persistent nature.
She found the valley and insisted that I go wash up immediately.
Reluctantly, I took off my top, rolled up my pants, and waded into the valley.
The water was deep.
We washed ourselves lightly with our backs to each other.
“There are some test-takers here, too.”
“Yeah. It seems like they came here to rest because there’s water, or maybe they came to eat.”
Meanwhile, other test-takers, aside from us, were spotted around the valley.
They noticed us as well.
“…”
But they turned their backs on us without saying anything.
Silently, we agreed not to interfere with each other while eating and ignored each other.
I, who had no plans to start trouble, decided to focus on filling my stomach first.
We returned to the water’s edge and began preparing for lunch.
There were enough supplies, so food was not a concern.
“Three-minute curry and rice? We’ve also got this mess tin. We can make rice with this!”
“We’ve got meatballs too, so let’s eat those… I’m also having cup ramen, and you all are going to eat one too, right?”
“Ramen sounds good! Let’s eat! Let’s eat everything!”
We each took on different roles and started preparing lunch.
Go Eun-bi cooked the rice, while I boiled the water.
The test-takers’ jobs were to pour water for the ramen, heat up the curry and meatballs, and keep track of time.
Soon, we were eating lunch.
“Ah, this is so good. I love meatballs.”
Go Eun-bi expressed her joy with her body as she put a meatball in her mouth.
I slurped down my cup of ramen.
Indeed, ramen eaten inside the Gate tasted much better than usual.
Under Go Eun-bi’s lead, we decided to introduce ourselves.
“Once you’ve shared a meal, you’re friends! We’ll be seeing each other at the Academy soon, so let’s at least introduce ourselves! You all probably already know me, but Gyeon-woo and you…”
“Hi, my name is…”
“I am…”
“…Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Do Gyeon-woo. Nice to meet you. Let’s get along from now on.”
I briefly introduced myself to the three test-takers.
Since Go Eun-bi confidently said they were her friends, they must be good people.
I made a note to remember their names.
Having eased our wariness toward each other, we decided to exchange information gathered from around the island.
During that time, I heard the information I’d been hoping for slip from Go Eun-bi’s mouth.
“By the way, there was someone like that. She acted like she was some kind of examiner and would challenge test-takers to fights as if she were grading them. If they lost, she’d take their admission tickets. If they won, she didn’t take their ticket and left. I don’t think her skills were ordinary, so we watched from a distance and ran away…”
It was definitely talking about Lee Ga-hyun.
I paid close attention to her words.
“What did she look like?”
“Hmm? Well… She was a woman. Her admission ticket was yellow. It’s funny though, with her skills, I thought it was strange to see yellow. Was she unlucky and messed up her qualification exam or something? Ah, I’m straying off-topic. She seemed to handle dual swords, and she was pretty good with hand-to-hand combat…”
“Do you know where she is now?”
“No, I don’t. We ran away in the middle. Even if I knew, she’s probably already gone to another place by now. But from her actions, it looked like she was searching for people who had a lot of admission tickets.”
“Eun-bi.”
“Yeah?”
When Go Eun-bi said this, I suddenly thought of a way to track Lee Ga-hyun down.
No, it was more like how to draw her in.
‘If I can’t find her, I’ll just make sure Lee Ga-hyun comes looking for me, right?’
I had all the necessary materials.
I had collected plenty of admission tickets, and Go Eun-bi was an expert at spreading rumours.
It should be enough to lure Lee Ga-hyun, who was probably somewhere on the island.
“Want to make a deal with me?”
“A deal? What kind of deal?”
“I’ll help you get lots of admission tickets.”
I grinned.
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