‘Is this a dream? Right now…?’
Mark Miller sat blankly for a while after waking up. He had discovered a child lying down next to him, having made a spot for himself.
Why is he here?
A boy, curled up in his sleep.
It was the same Asian boy he had seen on the plane.
‘There’s another survivor besides me? But…’
This wasn’t a place close to the beach. So, it didn’t seem plausible that, like himself, this boy had been swept ashore by the waves.
‘Then did he come looking for me?’
But how would that even make sense? It’s not like he had a GPS attached to my body.
“...”
As Mark Miller fumbled through his pockets for no reason, he only confirmed what he already knew—that he didn’t have a GPS.
Nothing that had happened since the plane crash made any sense. In fact, it felt like only bizarre things were happening. It was enough to make one think ghosts were at work—or that he was possessed by one.
Even as Mark Miller was deep in thought, the boy continued to breathe steadily in his sleep.
“Phew.”
In any case, it was something to be thankful for. The mere fact that there was another survivor was a relief.
Moreover, a plane crash is a major event.
But he and this boy survived? Then it’s reasonable to think there might be other survivors, too.
A major accident.
Many survivors.
It would receive more attention than an ordinary accident, and corresponding large-scale rescue operations would unfold.
‘Well... anyway...’
Meeting this child seemed like a good thing.
Mark Miller, feeling the dawn approaching, thought he should wake the child.
That was as far as the positive thoughts went. From now on, he had to prepare for every other situation.
The most urgent issue was water. Judging by how his thirst was intensifying, it could become dangerous if they didn’t find water by the end of the day.
Miller tapped the child’s shoulder.
The child, who had been tossing and turning, rubbed his eyes and looked around as if he had just woken up. Then, upon seeing Mark Miller, he jumped up in surprise.
The child’s wide, startled eyes were quite impressive.
As the child blinked several times while looking at him, Miller gave a bright smile to convey that he should calm down.
“Hello. Are you feeling okay?”
“...”
And then.
He realized there were a few more hurdles to overcome in order to communicate with the child.
“@#$%^. *#$@.”
“...”
“&%. $@@! ^*&? #$@!”
“Uh...”
The language the child was speaking was not English.
* * *
The moment of confusion didn’t last long.
Mark Miller tried to speak as calmly as possible with the child.
“/We need to find water. Have you ever seen any? Also, I’m not sure if this is an island or a coastline. Do you happen to know?/” (T/N: ‘//’ - this meant that they were trying to converse in English.)
“/What?/”
“/Um... Water. Water./”
“/Oh! *Mul*? Water./” (T/N: ‘**’ - this emphasized that they said the words in Korean.)
“/Yes. Water is very important./”
“/Very *joong yo*. I understand./”
“/So, we need to go find water./”
“/Yes, sir./”
The child nodded innocently.
Fortunately, it seemed like the child understood basic English.
Mark Miller continued talking with the child for quite some time afterward.
The child’s name was Han Seojin.
A student from South Korea.
The child was either 12 or 13 years old. Given the brief hesitation in answering, Miller guessed their birthday might have been recent.
Seojin was a rather clever child.
As they talked, Seojin suddenly seemed to realize he had forgotten something important and started showing Miller the belongings he had.
A flashlight, a notebook, a pen, a handkerchief, a torn button, a plane ticket. Seojin made a face, as if disappointed that there weren’t many tools that would be useful for survival.
At the same time, Seojin seemed curious about what Miller had and asked a lot of questions.
With a bitter expression, Mark Miller had to show his pockets to indicate that he didn’t have much, either. A crumpled plane ticket and a handkerchief—that was all. As expected, Seojin looked disappointed.
Just small, insignificant actions.
However, he was a child who knew that such actions were important to survive in this place.
Despite his limited English skills, Seojin clearly expressed himself using only the English words he knew and body language.
On the other hand, Mark Miller couldn’t speak a word of Korean, so he often found himself being dragged along in conversations led by Seojin.
Seojin shared quite a few stories, but the most impressive one was about how he found Mark Miller yesterday.
Seojin, too, seemed to have been swept away by the waves and landed on this sandy beach after the plane crash. However, unlike Miller, Seojin said that as soon as he came to his senses, he climbed to the highest point he could find.
It seemed he thought it was essential to survey the surrounding terrain and figure out what needed to be done to call for help.
‘Yesterday, I was too disoriented to do anything…’
According to Seojin, this was a fairly large island. But, he hadn’t seen any signs of human presence.
While surveying the island from a high point until the sun set, Seojin discovered something.
“That was me?”
Seojin nodded.
“Then why didn’t you wake me up yesterday?”
“Well…”
It was because he looked like he was in pain. Apparently, he had been groaning for a while, clutching his ribs. Sigh… Who exactly was worrying about whom here?
It seemed Seojin had a hard time finding the place where Mark Miller was. The unfamiliar terrain made him almost lose his way several times.
But…
‘What matters is that he found me in the end.’
When in trouble, you seek out an adult for help.
Seojin had put that into practice.
‘If I were his age, could I have done the same?’
Well, it must have been difficult.
Although Seojin wasn’t asked for the full details, it seemed like the place he climbed up to was quite high.
The child barely managed to climb up there and watched the island for several hours.
And in the end, he found a person and even guided the way in the right direction.
‘Just doing that is amazing in itself.’
But that wasn’t all.
Seojin said he heard the sound of water flowing on the way back and offered to lead the way to that spot.
“/Trust me!/”
Just like that.
In a situation where only the two of them were stranded on a deserted island.
In this uncertain situation, not even knowing whether survival was possible.
The fact that a 12-year-old boy was acting so bravely seemed truly remarkable.
‘It’s really unbelievable.’
Mark Miller threw a light joke at the admirable child.
“Have you been to this island a few times before, by any chance?”
“What?”
“You’re almost like Tom Hanks.”
“...?”
“You don’t know Tom Hanks? *Cast Away*. Wilson?”
“/I’m not Wilson. I’m Seojin./”
“...”
“/Sir. I’m.../”
“Yes, you’re Seojin. Seojin.”
Seojin nodded confidently, satisfied with the answer he had received.
“Doesn’t he know *Cast Away*?”
Mark Miller was reminded once again that there was almost a 30-year age gap between him and Seojin.
“/Sir?/“
“Nothing. Let’s keep going.”
Mark Miller continued walking alongside Seojin. As Seojin had said, after walking further into the island, a small stream appeared.
Miller, overwhelmed by thirst, drank from the stream without a second thought. Seojin followed suit, mimicking Miller’s actions.
Once the thirst was quenched, he felt significantly better. His body felt lighter, and the surroundings came into clearer focus.
With improved condition as their strength, they walked further along the stream.
And then, it happened.
“Wow!”
“Yeah, amazement is universal. I’m surprised too. I didn’t expect a place like this.”
A waterfall they never imagined finding appeared.
Hidden quietly within the dense jungle, the waterfall cascaded with a refreshing sound, and the transparent pool of water beneath it displayed the sheer wonder of nature.
If not for the fact that they were in a “survival” situation, it would have easily felt like they were on vacation at a natural retreat.
‘Maybe we can afford a little break.’
They had already left an SOS signal before coming here. It wasn’t just a makeshift message scratched into the sand. They had used branches and rocks to make it as clear as possible. The signal was large enough to be visible even from a helicopter.
If someone spotted the signal, they surely wouldn’t just pass it by.
‘In that case...’
Perhaps they could afford to catch their breath for just a little while.
“Seojin, don’t you feel really gross?”
“Huh?”
“We both fell into the sea, right? But we haven’t even bathed yet. I feel so filthy, I think I might die.”
Before Seojin could respond, Mark Miller had already taken off his shirt. He quickly stripped off his pants as well. Without a second thought, he dove into the waterfall pond.
The sound of the gurgling water echoed in their ears. Small fish, about the size of fingers, darted away as soon as they noticed his presence. Even the pebbles deep down at the bottom were clearly visible.
“Phew!”
As he surfaced, Seojin came into view. His eyes were wide, just like that rabbit-in-the-headlights look from earlier that morning, surprised that Mark had jumped in so boldly.
“Come on! Boy!”
Mark called out to Seojin in simple English. Seojin hesitated for a moment, then quickly took off his shirt. After all, he was still a man, even with his reservations.
And then.
He made a surprisingly elegant dive, as if trying to shake something off, even more daringly than Mark Miller.
Seojin, who had dived deep underwater, soon resurfaced.
“Wow!”
“Feels good, right?”
“So much!”
With a childlike smile, he looked like a carefree kid.
They swam, drank water whenever they were thirsty, and when they got tired, they climbed onto land to dry off.
It’s been just one day since they arrived on the deserted island.
They survived.
