THE SKY BEGAN TO BRIGHTEN. I had no idea what time it was or how long I had slept—the only thing I knew was that I felt much better compared to yesterday. My muscles still ached, but I had more energy.
“Are you awake?” a sleepy voice asked from behind me. I felt Kinn rustling around as he held me in his arms. “Did you sleep well?”
“Mmm,” I hummed in reply. I didn’t want to admit it, but Kinn’s body was warming me up nicely.
“Get up, then! You’re giving me cramps,” Kinn said.
“Let go of me,” I scoffed. I managed to pry his hands off, and quickly pushed myself away from him.
Kinn chuckled and sat up. After stretching for a couple of moments, he got up to retrieve his shirt and tossed mine to me. I quickly put it on even though it was still slightly damp.
Kinn turned as if to leave the cave.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“It’s still cloudy, but I’m going to look around,” he replied. “You wait here. I’ll be right back.”
I remained silent, my eyes lingering on his broad back as he vanished from my sight. Kinn had held me the entire night as we slept, and it felt like lying on a soft bed with a warm blanket wrapped around me. It was a comforting feeling; I couldn’t deny that Kinn might be the reason why my fever broke.
The fire pit had completely burned down, so I began looking for dried leaves to cover it. We needed to find a way out of this forest today. I didn’t know where we were or how deep into the trees we had run. I was afraid we might be trapped. What should I do?
The thought should have freaked me out, but I wasn’t too worried. I had Kinn with me—at least I wasn’t alone.
After emerging from the cave, I tried looking for Kinn, but he was nowhere in sight. I wondered if he had run away and left me stranded in the middle of the forest. That evil bastard must’ve thought I was a burden because I was sick and ditched me to save his own ass. I started looking for a way out, my eyes darting left and right as I went.
Scrape, scrape.
I paused, scrunching my brow. I thought I heard the faint sound of wood scraping and water running nearby. I was reluctant to rush toward the sound, but I wanted to check if it was Kinn. Maybe he’d run into our pursuer while looking for a way out and got hurt. That man could be so damned stupid sometimes. I needed to go check on him. If he hadn’t been killed already, I could at least put an end to his misery.
I found Kinn preoccupied with a tree branch. He appeared to be sharpening the end of it using a rock. Weird.
I stopped in front of him. “What the hell are you doing?”
Kinn ignored me, his attention still fixed on whittling the stick. “Hungry?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“All right, give me a minute,” he said. “There’s a stream over there—why don’t you go clean up?”
I nodded and proceeded in the direction he’d indicated. Although his actions still baffled me, I stopped myself from questioning him further. He seemed deeply concentrated on whatever he was doing, and I didn’t want to interrupt.
Not only was Kinn sharpening the tip of the branch, he was also lifting and scrutinizing the stick at a variety of angles. He repeated this awkward maneuver again and again. What on earth was he doing?
Kneeling at the bank of the small stream, I splashed cold water on my face. Despite the chill, the water was refreshing.
Splash, splash!
I looked up toward the sound. Kinn was staring intently into the stream, clutching his sharpened branch as he repeatedly jabbed his makeshift spear into the water. I glared at him, my brows knitting tightly together in bewilderment.
I couldn’t ignore his strange behavior any longer. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Catching fish,” Kinn replied without looking at me. He kept his gaze fixed on the stream and stabbed his spear into the water.
“Huh?! Why do you want to catch fish?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“Because we’re stranded in a forest. What will we eat if we don’t catch fish? Haven’t you played a survival game before?”
Kinn’s answer surprised me. I bit back my laughter at how awkward he looked, coming to the realization that Kinn was just as crazy as Tankhun—only better at hiding it. I was speechless. Did their parents raise them in a glass dome or something? How did he expect to catch anything by vigorously stabbing the water like that? The fish would have to be idiots to get caught.
“At first I wanted to catch a chicken, but I searched for a while and I didn’t see any. So fish will have to do. Just wait a bit.”
I almost spat out the water I was drinking from the stream. Was Angkor1 the last TV drama he watched? Damn, he’s testing my patience!
I left the stream and headed to a nearby banana tree. I picked one and peeled it, observing Kinn as I ate. I had to say that I admired his dedication, but I couldn’t stop laughing at his serious expression. I never expected Kinn, a meticulously dressed snob, to reveal such a crazy side to himself.
When it became apparent that Kinn would persist for quite a while, I decided to sit on a nearby rock, enjoying my banana and watching as if I were at a comedy show.
“Argh! I can’t see any fish!” Kinn grumbled in frustration.
“What are you jabbing at, then?” I asked with a chuckle. Kinn looked so ridiculous. I suppressed my laughter as much as I could, but some inevitably slipped out.
“I saw some ripples in the water and thought it was a fish. Damn it!” Kinn cursed, throwing the branch into the water and giving up. He turned toward me with a sour face and asked, “What the hell are you eating?”
I sighed and pointed at the banana tree.
“Why didn’t you tell me there was a banana tree?” Kinn groaned and headed in my direction.
“You said you wanted to eat fish, and I didn’t want to discourage you,” I said, taking another bite of my banana.
Kinn plucked a fruit from the tree and started eating it. “Why is it so easy to catch fish in games?” he mumbled.
I almost choked. Kinn, you are absolutely Tankhun’s brother!
“Unbelievable,” I muttered.
“Let’s finish eating! We still need to find a way out of here. The sky is overcast. If it rains again, we’re fucked,” Kinn said, tossing away his banana peel. The peel nearly hit me in the head. Jerk!
“Do you remember the way we came?” I asked.
“Hmm…” Kinn seemed deep in thought. He looked around and counted on his fingers before finally replying, “I think?”