Chapter 133: Kim's Drifting Story
We decided to prepare lunch with the fish caught from the sea.
Normally, I would take charge of cooking, but today, I decided to yield the chef’s role to Minami.
Unlike me, who learned cooking over my father’s shoulder, Minami was a master with various cooking certifications.
My one or two years of experience were no match for her expertise.
As expected, Minami showcased her incredible cooking skills and led the small kitchen inside the boat.
This led to a quickly prepared, magnificent spread of dishes.
Starting with sashimi, a delicacy of sea fishing, followed by fried horse mackerel, and finely chopped horse mackerel mixed with miso, green onions, and ginger.
Despite the challenging conditions of cooking on board, the variety of dishes was more than sufficient.
We spread a table on the deck and sat around it to eat.
While we were eating, the President took something out from under the table.
It was a small container filled with side dishes.
“President, what’s that?”
The President then blushed slightly and said,
“It’s kimchi I made myself. I heard Koreans feel something is missing if they don’t have kimchi with their meal. I didn’t know, but Minami secretly brought it.”
…It felt like a strange misconception about Koreans.
While it was true that a table without kimchi felt incomplete, I valued the pairing of food, so I didn’t seek kimchi everywhere.
However, considering the effort of the person who made it, I couldn’t resist tasting it.
I picked up a piece of kimchi with chopsticks from the shyly offered dish by the President and tasted it.
Crunch!
The texture of the kimchi, made with regular cabbage instead of pickled cabbage, felt like a fresh salad.
The subtle sweetness, spicy chili powder, and slight saltiness from the anchovy sauce made it a perfect Korean-style kimchi.
“Where did you learn to make this? It’s perfectly made.”
“I’m glad it suits your taste. I just followed Minami’s instructions.”
Then Minami, standing nearby, proudly raised her nose.
“I have a Korean cuisine chef certification. Korean cooking is really popular among high school girls these days.”
No wonder the flavor was so accurate; it had Minami’s expertise.
Anyway, the kimchi was delicious, so I honestly complimented it.
“It’s delicious. You’d make a good wife.”
The President gasped, “Wife?!” and startled.
Minami, standing nearby, said incredulously,
“People still make such cliché compliments these days?”
“Really? I was just being sincere.”
She might have seemed like a villainess usually, but considering her qualities, she was definitely top-tier bride material.
It was intriguing why such a person didn’t even make it into the popularity ranks in the original work.
Well, typically, characters like the President in love comedies were often used as comic relief, so it couldn’t be helped.
“Th-thank you, Yu-seong. I didn’t expect such high praise.”
“You made it just for me, so of course, I’m grateful.”
I said that and took another bite of the kimchi.
Eating it with the slightly greasy fried horse mackerel was a perfect combination.
After the late lunch, we spread out sunbeds on the yacht’s deck and enjoyed sunbathing.
I applied sunscreen, but to avoid getting too tanned and misunderstood as a delinquent, I only lay there for about an hour.
After fully enjoying our vacation on the yacht, we decided to head back to the island before it got too late.
That’s when the problem arose.
“…Miss, we have a big problem.”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“We’re running low on fuel for the boat.”
Minami, who came onto the deck, pointed this out, indicating the gauge inside the wheelhouse.
The red needle was almost pointing to the bottom.
However, it hadn’t completely run out yet.
I quickly asked,
“What about the reserve fuel? There should be some prepared, right?”
Minami shook her head with a stern expression.
“It seems the people who used the boat before us used it and didn’t refill it.”
“That can’t be…”
The Vice President, who was listening from the side, said,
“What about the radio? Shouldn’t there be an emergency radio prepared?”
“That too. It seems we’re too far out at sea for the radio signals to catch.”
If we couldn’t move the boat closer to land, we probably wouldn’t be able to send a distress signal.
“Hmm…”
The Vice President sighed deeply at Minami’s explanation.
The President, who had been quietly listening, asked calmly,
“So, Minami, how far can we go with the remaining fuel?”
“At most, about 50 kilometers. It could run out before that.”
“Is there an island nearby?”
Then Minami, lost in thought for a moment, suddenly seemed to remember something and clapped her hands.
“Now that I think of it, I remember seeing an uninhabited island on the way here.”
“Then, can we reach that island with the fuel we have left?”
“Yes, it should be enough.”
Then the President, crossing her arms, said,
“Let’s do this. We’ll move to that island and wait for rescue. If we don’t return by evening, Mr. Meguro and the people at the mansion will surely send for our rescue, won’t they?”
Then, the Vice President agreed with the President’s opinion.
“I think that’s a good decision, Miss. Rather than idly spending time at sea, it’s faster to land on the island and send a distress signal. We have emergency rations, but it’s better to be prepared for any eventuality.”
“Then it’s decided. Let’s turn the boat around and head to the nearby uninhabited island.”
“Yes!”
Perhaps due to her mistake, Minami, looking more disciplined than usual, answered and then entered the wheelhouse.
Afterwards, the white yacht we were on started to speed along the route we had come from.
Finally, the yacht, cutting through the sea, anchored at what seemed to be an uninhabited island with rich vegetation.
And around the island, palm trees were spread as if we were in a tropical region.
At least, it seemed we wouldn’t have to worry about drinking water.
Good grief!
“Ugh!”
“Miss, be careful; the water is cold.”
“Tell me that earlier, Shinji!”
“You jumped in before I could tell you, Miss.”
Since we couldn’t dock close to the shore, we had no choice but to disembark in deeper water.
For me, the water reached up to my waist, but for the President and Minami, it almost submerged their upper bodies.
As a result, I ended up carrying the backpack with emergency rations and a portable radio.
The Vice President offered to help if it was too heavy, but I wasn’t going to complain about carrying just this much.
If I don’t use my well-developed muscles now, when would I?
After landing on the uninhabited island, we stood on the sandy beach and looked around.
Dense undergrowth, wide beaches, and low mountainous areas spread before us.
It was a scene that would have naturally elicited admiration if not for our situation.
“There’s no one here.”
“It’s an uninhabited island, after all.”
Responding to the President’s obvious statement with another obvious one, the Vice President took off his sandals to shake off the water and then looked at Minami.
“We’re the only ones who can protect you here, Miss. So, stay alert, Minami.”
“Yes!”
Both of them, looking more tense than usual, seemed as if they were in a real-life situation.
Immediately, the first thing we did was check if the radio frequency was working.
Crackle! Static!
However, the radio was still not working, and Minami, with a frustrated expression, put it down and explained to us…
“It seems we need to go to a higher place to try again. We’re too low here for the signal to catch.”
“If it’s the highest place around here…”
Looking around, the Vice President pointed to a small mountain in the center of the island.
“It must be over there.”
“So, what should we do?”
After a moment of silence, Minami, responding to the President’s question, finally spoke.
“For now, my brother and I will take the radio and transmitter and go up that mountain. In the meantime, Miss, why don’t you prepare a place to stay overnight in case of any unforeseen situations?”
“Additionally, we need someone to keep watch over the sea. In our absence, there might be another passing boat that we can signal.”
Their opinions were flawless, leaving no room for logical rebuttal.
Except for one thing.
“Wouldn’t it be better if I went instead of Minami?”
Then Minami shook her head.
“It’s my fault this happened. If it’s a tough task like climbing a mountain, I should be the one to do it.”
“Besides, Minami has been raised as a ninja since she was young. She’s physically stronger than most adult men.”
With the Vice President’s support, Minami showed a serious expression, indicating her capability to handle the task.
With such determination, it was impossible to dissuade her further.
“Alright. In that case, the President and I will stay here and keep watch.”
Then, the Vice President pushed up his glasses with his middle finger and said,
“Please take good care of the Miss, Yu-seong.”
“Don’t worry. If any danger arises, I’ll protect her with my life.”
I said this to reassure them, striking a pose to emphasize the muscles in my right arm.
Then, with a relieved expression, the Vice President nodded, took the transmitter bag I handed to him, and set off with Minami towards the small mountain in the center of the uninhabited island.