## Chapter 35 – People
“Let’s see. What are the kids up to?”
About 15 minutes away from the settlement, on top of a rock.
I picked up the binoculars and looked at the plane wreckage in the distance and the kids wandering around it.
‘Doesn’t look like anything’s changed today either.’
I turned the ring on the binoculars to zoom in a little more.
The figures of the kids came into view a little more clearly.
One kid sleeping.
One wandering around.
And a girl squatting alone on the beach, doing her business.
Kang Hye-rin’s expression, as she exposed her pure white butt and nervously did her business, was a little amusing, but anyway.
‘It’s really convenient having tools.’
It was so good to have tools. Oh, by the way, I found these binoculars buried in the sand three days ago when I was digging to make a sleeping place.
‘I really couldn’t have imagined finding something like this in the ground.’
And that wasn’t all.
Aloe vera gel also came out, biscuits came out, and even underwear of unknown ownership came out.
It was a strange thing. How could such things be in the ground?
‘Honestly, the panties were a bit of a shock.’
They were racy and luxurious panties that were completely see-through.
The condition also looked as good as new.
But giving something that had been buried in the sand to the group didn’t seem right, so I just sold it to the store.
I remembered that panties had sold for a high price last time.
However-
[ㅇㅇ Brand Panties (Condition: Dirty)]
[Value: 2,481 won]
[Cash Payment: 248 won]
‘Eh. That’s it?’
The teacher’s sweat-soaked panties had fetched a whopping 50,000 won, but this one was only worth 2,000 won.
The quality certainly looked much better.
‘I still can’t understand the store’s value judgments.’
Anyway, I watched the kids through the binoculars.
I looked at their actions and expressions, and inferred their psychology and condition.
‘I feel like there’s a crack forming in the organization.’
No matter how good an organization is, it’s difficult to unite if stress intensifies.
The same goes even if the individual members are excellent.
Organizations mostly collapse due to internal problems rather than external ones.
The reasons the kids are falling apart are simple: just two things.
No news from the rescue team.
And food.
‘If the situation gets worse than it is now, even Kim Jae-joon will have a hard time keeping the kids together.’
These are kids who have always solved their problems by taking it out on someone else.
Lee Hyun-ji is taking on that role right now, but it was only a matter of time.
Unlike the men, the women aren’t getting any relief at all.
‘They might split up.’
Those who share the same ideas.
Separately.
Of course, this is just a hypothesis. Maybe being in this remote place will paradoxically bring them closer together.
‘Well, that’s something that will naturally become apparent over time… Hmm?’
Then someone broke away from the group and started moving somewhere.
My eyes narrowed.
‘…Park Ji-min.’
Park Ji-min started walking, following the shade of the palm trees, and stopped abruptly somewhere.
It was a familiar place.
It was where I had cooked the clam soup. To be exact, it was the place where Park Ji-min and I had mingled and rolled around.
“……”
Park Ji-min would sit there once a day and then go back.
Sitting next to the things I had hidden, watching the sea.
When she was bored, she would take out a match and light it once, watching it burn.
“Hoo.”
It bothered me.
I felt like bringing her over right away.
But I couldn’t.
Kim Tae-hoon was watching Park Ji-min from a short distance away.
Almost like a sasaeng fan, he always followed Park Ji-min at a certain distance whenever she moved somewhere.
Even if I somehow managed to sneak her away, he would definitely wander around the island looking for the missing Park Ji-min.
And there was no guarantee that Park Ji-min, who saw him on the rocky mountain, would stay still.
‘Not yet.’
I let out a deep breath, exhaling something slightly knotted in my chest.
As a result, the emotions that had risen to the top of my head quickly went down, and my mind calmed down and became organized.
After shaking off those unhelpful emotions and feeling refreshed, I took my eyes off Park Ji-min and focused on the opposite shore.
‘Little by little. She’s getting closer.’
Following the shoreline, Jung Seo-hee was approaching this way. Following the traces of the watermelon we had thrown away all over the beach. Getting closer and closer.
***
Jung Seo-hee is coming.
The reason is simple.
Probably because of the twins. According to the teacher, the three of them are quite close.
‘They only treat commoners like us badly, but one way or another, they get along like friends among themselves.’
The world has developed and capital has been concentrated in the hands of a few.
Benefits, power, too.
The overgrown capital and power produced more capital power, and the gap between rich and poor widened to an unbridgeable level.
Like in the Middle Ages, the world has come to exist for the sake of the top 0.01%.
So in a way, it was only natural that they didn’t treat us like people.
I would tremble if I spent 100,000 won on a meal, but they wouldn’t understand that.
The kids who were born with everything and have been learning since they were young would therefore think like this.
‘Ah, those people are different creatures from us.’
Different creatures.
Different species that only look similar.
Livestock.
So they hang out with each other.
Someone like me can’t even qualify as a friend. Because the level isn’t right from the start.
‘Well, now the tables have turned.’
I came down from the rock and returned to the settlement.
There was a lot to do.
To get to that position, I needed a lot.
‘The most important thing is power.’
And power is not only obtained through wealth. There is something that must inevitably support it.
One of them is ‘people’.
My people who would do anything for me, who would risk their lives.
“I ate well, Woo-jin.”
“Why don’t you have more?”
“No. I’ve had enough.”
There was still a lot of the lavishly prepared fruit left.
I focused on the remains in front of the teacher. One banana and two orange peels.
‘The amount she’s eating has decreased since this morning.’
I was in charge of preparing all the food, so the amount of food I ate at each meal was always on my mind.
But the amount of food the teacher was eating had decreased.
It wasn’t just now. The amount of food I ate for breakfast this morning was also less than last night.
Just in case, I checked the condition of the other three.
‘Kim Yeon-joo doesn’t have that feeling, but the twins also left the strawberries.’
To be exact, they didn’t leave the strawberries, but they tucked them into their swimsuits.
However, it was a different reaction from the early days when they would stuff their mouths with strawberries.
Thanks to the twins, I was able to identify the problem right away.
‘They’re getting tired of the food.’
That’s the only reason.
No matter how delicious the food is, it’s natural to get tired of it if you keep repeating it three meals a day for several days.
‘I need to change the food.’
Buying the hearts of subordinates who already trust me is easier than you think.
Just take care of them at the right time.
No need to take care of them too much, just at the right time.
“Shall we grill some meat for dinner tomorrow?”
“Huh?”
“Are you serious, Master?”
The teacher’s eyes widened, and in Kim Yeon-joo’s case, she brought her face right up to mine as if she was about to headbutt me.
Snug.
Even the twins stuck to my arms on both sides and sparkled their eyes.
“Yeah. By the way, I can buy meat too. Pork, beef, chicken…”
“Th, that’s!”
“However, I couldn’t figure out how to grill the meat, so I was putting it on hold for now.”
“Hmm. That’s true.”
The women looked around and nodded.
The way they were frowning and worrying was almost like they were going to save the world.
I waved my hand in front of the serious women.
“Everyone, stop worrying about that.”
“What do you mean? We have to worry to eat meat!”
“Still, if we put our heads together, wouldn’t there be a way, Woo-jin?”
Nod, nod. The twins nodded vigorously, saying that Kim Yeon-joo was right and the teacher was right.
I laughed and said.
“I told you earlier, I was putting it on hold because I was worried. Why would I bring this up now?”
“M, Master! Then does that mean you’ve found a way!”
“That’s right?”
Kyaak! Kim Yeon-joo hugged me tightly, followed by the teacher and the twins climbing on top of me.
“Wait a minute. Yeon-joo, it’s hard to breathe because your chest is so big. Move the lump of fat on your face to the side.”
“Is breathing important now? It’s meat, meat! Youhoo!”
No, if breathing isn’t important, then what is…?
“Master, don’t do that, can’t we eat it tonight?”
“Sorry. That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“I hid a pot in a place a little away from where the kids are staying. I have to bring it back.”
“Ah ha. Then there’s no choice. I guess waiting a day is nothing.”
Then the teacher gave me a worried look.
“Woo-jin, it’s going to take a while to get there and back, how are you going to handle it? Let’s just postpone the meat until next time.”
At the words to postpone the meat until next time, Kim Yeon-joo and the twins’ eyes grew as big as they could.
Kim Yeon-joo, whose pupils briefly trembled, jumped up and raised her hand.
“Master! Then I’ll go!”
Nod, nod. The twins pointed at Kim Yeon-joo with their index fingers, saying she would go.
“You don’t even know where it is anyway, right?”
“Ugh.”
Kim Yeon-joo and the twins became gloomy.
I smiled at the sight and went to the shade and lay down on the floor.
“But are you going to sleep already? The sun is still shining, Master.”
“Yeah. I have to sleep now to move in the early morning. That way I’ll be back with the pot before sunset, right?”
The women’s faces, which had been blank for a moment, brightened up.
“And even if it’s not just the pot, there are things I left there, so I have to go there once within the next day or two. So you don’t have to feel sorry.”
The women rushed to me with moved faces.
“Master, I love you!”
Looking at the bright smiles and the emotions on their faces, I felt that their trust in me had increased even more than before.
Thanks to that, a smile also appeared on my face.
‘In the future, these four will be the founding contributors who will risk their lives for me. They will be a solid foundation and shield for my absolute power.’
For that, I was willing to make the effort to go back and forth for half a day, even if I had to go back and forth a few more times.
“Master, you know I really love you, right?”
“Woo-jin, you know I do too, right?”
Tap tap tap. Rub rub rub.
Yes, yes. I know everything.
