Chapter 38

He didn’t stop the afterglow until her body had cooled down. The sensation of her hips being grabbed and the nape of her neck being bitten gently lingered, keeping the afterglow alive.

With a satisfied expression, he pulled away and used a blanket to wipe away the semen flowing down from her narrow, intimate folds.

Just as her body heat was starting to drop, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. Lying on her side, Isu watched the setting sun fade through the window.

The feeling was enigmatic. While she felt an absolute sense of protection from him, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being tormented. It seemed to stem from his method of teasing her until she grew desperate, then pouncing the moment she reached her limit.

She figured that, too, was a form of expressing affection, but in some ways, it didn’t feel like it at all. Unable to shake the lingering sense that she was disliked, she called out to him.

“Hayden.”

Clinging tightly to Isu’s back, he lightly nipped at her shoulder as if in response.

Biting something with one’s teeth was an aggressive act. Yet the reason an adult would bite a partner was as a self-defensive measure to restrain an overwhelming love.

If even the teasing was a way to restrain his love, Hayden was faithfully defending himself. If so, why was he trying to defend himself? Was his love really that immense? Isu wanted to know what he was afraid of.

“A little while ago, you called me by the name Eila. Even though you said the name Isu was prettier… It felt like you just did that all of a sudden to throw me off.”

“……”

“Do you just like teasing or tormenting people? Or is there another reason? I’m curious.”

Bringing Isu’s wrist to his lips, he swept his mouth across the back of her hand. This time, it wasn’t a bite, but a deep, affectionate kiss akin to a caress. A low counter-question followed.

“If you were going to die tomorrow, what would you want to do?”

Isu raised an eyebrow. Sensing it wasn’t an idle question, she thought about it carefully.

If she were going to die tomorrow… Wouldn’t everyone just do whatever they had been desperately longing for? A workaholic worn out by fatigue would sleep soundly, and someone suffering from a one-sided crush would confess to the object of their affection… After deep thought, she replied.

“I’d want to get my memories back. I’d write down the names of the people I love and wish them luck.”

She also thought she’d want to confront Graham, but if she did, she’d probably spend her final moments trembling in terror. She wanted to spend the end thinking only of the people she loved.

Yet, if he were going to die tomorrow, what kind of day would Hayden spend? Turning her head to look at him, a dry, low baritone rang out.

“I’d kiss you. Until my lips were chawed raw.”

The face of the man speaking those words rippled gloomily. His pupils were a shade darker than before. As if he couldn’t bear the gulf between himself and a woman who loved so many people.

As she gazed quietly into those pupils, those same pupils gazed back at her. His eyes flickered strangely, as if confirming his own size reflected within her eyes.

At that moment, his blue eyes held a bizarre intensity. They felt like hot ice, she thought. Following that irrational train of thought, Isu stroked his cheek.

His face, which usually carried the cold image of a cold-blooded man, was warm enough to melt her hands. Hot ice. He might genuinely be just that. Isu asked lazily,

“Should we kiss now, then?”

With that, she glanced down at Hayden’s lips. The pleasantly curved lips parted lazily.

“Alright, do it.”

Isu planted a chaste kiss on his lips, then pulled back slightly. The body heat that had seeped into her lips in that fleeting moment slipped away.

Feeling a twinge of regret, she stroked her lips and gazed at him once more. For some reason, his eyes in that moment seemed to be asking if she wanted to be happy.

Anyone asked a question like that would answer yes. Thinking that she, too, wanted to be happy, Isu captured his lips once again.

Wrapping his hands around the back of Isu’s head, he twisted her chin at an angle. It felt as though he were answering with his entire body. Then love me, his expression seemed to say.

She had no idea how much time had passed. A night with a bright moon. Far away in a space filled only with the sound of the wind, a strange noise echoed.

It was the sound of machinery running at a steady pace. Machinery? Waking from the haze of sleep, Isu focused on the sound.

She wondered for a second if an earthquake had occurred, but that wasn’t it. The source of the sound was high up in the sky, very far away.

The sound, vibrating at a steady rhythm in the upper atmosphere, was growing closer. Thump-thump-thump-thump… Thump-thump-thump-thump… Isu suddenly thought of a helicopter.

Perhaps thinking the same thing, Hayden bolted upright and stared out the window. But unable to gauge the direction or distance, he bolted outside.

She scrambled after Hayden in a breathless rush. Hurriedly looking up at the sky, she saw only stars filling the indigo sky—no trace of a helicopter. Still, she refused to let go of her hope.

“It might be a rescue team. We’d better head down first!”

Crying out for rescue from the cliff would be a waste of breath. It would be better to hurry down and light a fire on the beach.

Sweeping his tousled hair to one side, Hayden scanned the sky once more. Then, grabbing Isu’s hand, he descended the rocky mountain.

Fortunately, thanks to the bright moonlight, they were able to make it down without getting hurt. Running almost the entire way to the foot of the rocky mountain, they stopped by the place Declan had previously used as quarters.

People were already outside, likely having heard the helicopter sound here, too. Manuel, Nate, Dehart, and Jan. Scanning the crowd for Jenna and Declan, Isu asked,

“Did you hear the sound?”

Nate rubbed his sleep-heavy eyes and asked,

“Was that really a helicopter?”

Isu nodded.

“It sounded like it.”

Manuel thumped the back of Nate’s head, asking if he wasn’t right. Uninterested in them, Hayden pulled her hand and headed toward the beach.

“Let’s go start a fire.”

The football players followed behind them. They debated whether the roaring sound in the sky had really been a helicopter, and if so, why it couldn’t be heard anymore.

Glancing back over her shoulder, Isu asked Nate just as the discussion was winding down.

“Hasn’t Declan come back yet?”

Nate replied, scratching his forearm.

“He’s not back. Unless he’s hiding on purpose, something must have gone wrong somewhere in the forest.”

Jan nudged Nate in the ribs with his elbow and said,

“Don’t say ominous things like that.”

Rubbing his bruised ribs with a wince, Nate didn’t stop.

“My guess is that either he and Jenna ran off together, or that crazy bastard Declan came back to the quarters and targeted Jenna this time. The laptop and food are completely gone.”

Dragged along almost like a leash by Hayden, Isu raised an eyebrow.

“Jenna, the laptop, and even the food are gone?”

An ominous feeling washed over her. Could Declan have returned to the quarters, seen Jenna, and done something to her? Isu’s expression grew steadily more serious.

“When was the last time you saw Jenna?”

Manuel, too, retraced his memories with a serious look before replying.

“Before you went fishing.”

Dehart threw an arm around Jan and Nate’s shoulders and answered,

“We saw her around then, too. After that, she left the quarters and went to play golf.”

That meant Jenna had been all alone during that timeframe. Scratching his eyebrow, Nate glanced sideways at Hayden.

“Hey, mister, have you ever seen Jenna?”

Seemingly too annoyed to even bother responding, Hayden glanced briefly at Nate before walking straight ahead, facing forward. Guarding her expression, Isu answered in his place.

“Hayden was sleeping in the quarters, so he probably didn’t see her.”

As they chatted, they arrived at the beachside quarters. Manuel first carried the oil basins he had brought for making torches down to the beach.

Releasing Hayden’s hand, Isu said,

“Let’s go fetch some firewood.”

Everyone knew that unless the helicopter crossed directly over this island, lighting a fire was pointless. Yet no one voiced that reality aloud. One by one, they picked up pieces of firewood and headed toward the beach.

Thanks to the fine weather continuing lately, the ocean was calm. Well, that was probably why the helicopter was flying in the first place. Sticking pieces of firewood firmly into the sand to secure them, Isu spoke to the others.

“If a helicopter appeared at this hour of the dawn, it has to be for an important reason. They might have found a crashed plane or discovered survivors on another island.”

Hayden gathered the firewood the others had brought into a single pile. Soaking some straw in oil, he wedged it between the pieces of firewood, then used a gum wrapper and a battery to spark a fire.

The fire, which would have required painstaking effort to start without oil, crackled and grew instantly. The football players could only blink and stare at the fire in silence. Ten minutes later, it was Manuel who broke the silence.

“By the way, do you think a small bonfire like this will even be visible from the sky?”

Nate pondered it with a serious expression.

“True… In the movies, don’t they set off flare guns and do all sorts of stuff?”

Dehart stroked his stubble-covered chin, which had grown overnight, and replied,

“Even so, this much firelight should be visible, at least as a tiny speck. As long as it’s not blocked by clouds.”

Manuel asked worriedly,

“What happens if it gets blocked by clouds?”

“We’re fucked.”

Listening to their conversation, Isu quietly called out to Hayden. She had an idea she wanted to share with him.

“Hayden, would burning down that pine forest over there be a stupid idea?”

Hayden, who was about to go fetch more firewood, paused and asked back,

“The pine forest?”

Isu stared intensely at the pine forest that blanketed the area from the center of the beach all the way around to the far edge in a wide arc.

“Yeah. If we set fire to a wide area, the people in the helicopter will definitely spot it. I figured they’d notice even just the smoke billowing upward… If the rescue team doesn’t see it, though, we’re really going to be in deep trouble.”

If the sole goal was to catch the attention of a rescue team, it was the most effective method. It was a bold and smart idea, but on the off chance they weren’t rescued today, that fire could put the survivors themselves in danger. Knowing that, Hayden still liked her idea.

“Do you want to get off this island and live a cozy life with me that badly?”

Asking with a sly grin, he stroked the nape of Isu’s neck and added his own thoughts.

“If a rescue team is conducting operations somewhere around here, they won’t be able to resist coming to this island. It’s a bold idea.”

“Really…?”

“I’ll talk to the others. They might push back because the risks are too high.”

She had been worried precisely because she’d have to persuade people one by one. As Isu nodded, Hayden walked over to stand beside the football players sitting in a circle around the bonfire and said,

“I’m thinking of calling in the rescue team by setting fire to the pine forest—anyone opposed?”

Chewing over his words, Nate turned to Manuel beside him and said,

“That mister is saying the craziest thing I’ve ever heard on this island.”