Chapter 18

***

I don’t know how Kayden got such a wound, but he still didn’t wake up the next day.

It looked like an animal’s claw marks, but was it as poisonous as the claws of the monster that attacked Enoch?

I sighed when I saw that the piece of cloth I was using as a towel was tattered.

I guess I’ll have to rip my dress more. My dress was torn, revealing my bare legs up to half my calf.

At first, I wondered what I could do with a dress in this wild, but now I think that wearing a dress is a good thing.

I should find the hut soon. There must be modern clothing there, and I wanted to pick up some pants.

We decided to leave Kayden and scout the area around the cave again. It was to find the river. There is a valley nearby, but it is not easy to get food from the valley.

Of course, it would be nice to find clues about the bunker and hut in the meantime.

As far as I can remember, both the bunker and the hut were located at the foot of a huge mountain, close to a cliff.

The last time I went up to the top of the mountain, there were only three such huge mountains on this island.

If I look around the mountain I climbed with Enoch and still do not find a bunker or a hut, I have to find the area around the next two mountains.

“It’s hot.”

As I was walking in the grass with Enoch, I let out a sigh, wiping away my sweat in the sweltering heat.

“There is a place to wash up here. Let’s be patient.”

It was too hot for Enoch, too, so he loosened the cufflinks on his sleeves and folded it to reveal his forearms.

I looked at his thick forearms with strong veins and then met his eyes. As he rolled up his sleeves, his brows furrowed.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“No— ouch!”

I tried to answer that I had nothing to say, but I stumbled upon a stone beak. There was no strength in my body because of the heat.

Fortunately, Enoch wrapped his arm around my waist and prevented me from falling down.

In fact, after waking up on this island, I have overworked my body excessively so far. It’s amazing that I didn’t get sick. But now my immune system is weakened, maybe because of the heat.

I grabbed Enoch’s strong forearm and took a deep breath. Enoch’s forearm had many wounds. They must all be wounds from the battlefield.

“Margaret.”

Enoch, who was walking before, called me. I looked up at him blankly. I kept thinking useless thoughts that did not fit the situation.

He stopped walking and looked back at me.

“Are you okay?”

“It’s because it’s hot.”

Oh, I think I’m going to die.

As I was thinking, my view changed. It is because Enoch suddenly hugged me.

I didn’t have the energy to say anything, so I just let my body be in Enoch’s arms. I think I’m tired.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before I saw a waterfall flowing through the valley water. Enoch put me down when we reached the shore.

“I’ll be standing guard over there, so enjoy your time as long as you want.”

Saying so, Enoch turned around and walked away.

At Enoch’s consideration, I smiled lightly and dipped my hand in the water of the valley. I just dipped my hand, but I felt like the heat had gone away.

I tried to take off my dress, but I couldn’t reach the button on the back. I had no strength because of the heat. And I eventually called Enoch.

“Enoch, I can’t reach my back. Please help me.”

I turned my back to him and pointed my finger at the button on my back.

“Please unbutton my dress.”

Instead of answering, Enoch came closer. Then I felt a large hand touching my back.

Perhaps because it was a hot day, the heat seemed to radiate from the back of his hand. He unbuttoned the buttons very slowly, which made my back feel very tickled.

I felt a strange sensation, so I bit my lower lip.

“Enoch?”

I called him to quickly finish it.

“Margaret, you……”

Instead of answering, Enoch kept on talking.

“What do you want to do the most when you get off the island?”

It was a random question.

I couldn’t see his expression because he was behind me. So I had no idea what he meant by asking such a question.

“I want to wash my body with soap first.”

“What else?”

Enoch continued to unbutton my dress slowly, with no sign of haste.

I pondered his question for a moment, then chose the answer the real Margaret would give.

“Hmm, I want to eat a proper meal. The last meal I had at the Floné mansion was absolutely amazing.”

Of course, it was not me, but Margaret who ate it, but her memory is mine now.

Actually, I missed Korea more. There was no one to welcome me—because I came from an orphanage, but it is still the place where I was born and raised.

But in Korea, I was hit in my head by a fallen sign and died, so maybe I will have to live as Margaret for the rest of my life.

As I was thinking about it, I noticed that Enoch was somehow silent.

He moved so slowly that I couldn’t tell if he was re-buttoning or unbuttoning my dress.

“Enoch?”

There was no answer.

After thinking about it, I asked him the same question,

“Then, what do you want to do the most when you get off this island?”

“……I don’t know.”

“Yes? Think carefully. I answered honestly, you should too.”

He laughed a little at my question.

“Margaret, but…….”

He seemed to be lowering his head, it was because his breath touched my ear.

“If I say it honestly, you will be in trouble.”

He whispered as he ran my hair behind my ear. A warm breath touched the nape of my neck.

I’ll be in trouble? What the hell do you mean?

At that moment, he pressed his finger on the back of my neck to make sure he had unbuttoned all the buttons. I was so startled that I looked back at him.

“I finished unbuttoning it a while ago, but you’re just standing still.”

“Then you have to tell me!”

I was so startled that I put my hand on my chest and raised my voice towards him. Then he smiled and apologized again.

No, why are you smiling like this?

I took off my dress only after confirming that Enoch was standing behind. After that, I took off the chemise that I was wearing under the dress, and then I dipped my feet in the water of the valley.

“Whoa……”

It was so cold and refreshing that I was amazed. Then I heard Enoch laughing as if he had heard my exclamation.

“Don’t look back.”

When I said it one more time, Enoch replied with an insincere voice.

I went deep into the water, diving, swimming, and playing in the water excitedly.

“You’re so excited.”

I could hear Enoch’s murmur, but I ignored it.

Next time Enoch washes, I’ll tease him a lot.

I felt so good that I wanted to be in the water all the time, but I had to finish it before the sun went down and return to the cave.

I tried to go out in the direction where I took off my dress, but I couldn’t see my dress anywhere.

Only my chemise was left on the ground. It’s very embarrassing.

“Enoch? Where did you put my dress?”

“I don’t know why you ask me the whereabouts of the dress you took off yourself.”

Enoch was still standing with his back to me. It was as if he hadn’t moved even a single step from the place he was before.

Yes, Enoch is right. He couldn’t possibly have been joking around……

“Damn it.”

No matter how much I look around, my dress is nowhere to be seen. Inevitably, I called Enoch again

“Enoch, I think I lost my dress.”

“What?”

Surprised, he turned around, but when our eyes met, he hurriedly turned around again. I was still in the water and I don’t know why he was more embarrassed than I was.

“Can you find my dress? Please.”

Enoch then looked back at me again. I immersed my body in the water until the end of my neck and looked at Enoch.

I don’t know who the hell took that ragged dress.

“I didn’t even hear anyone coming. What’s going on? Was there someone else?”

“Someone else……?”

Enoch looked around with a serious face.

“I’ll look around, so wait here for a moment.”

“Yes? You have to come back quickly!”

I said that because I was anxious. What should I do if a beast comes while I’m still naked? Enoch looked at me for a moment, then furrowed his brows as if he was sorry.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Leaving such words, Enoch disappeared.

I waited for Enoch patiently in the water. But Enoch, who said he would be back soon, did not come.

I couldn’t help but put on the chemise once I got out of the water.

My body shuddered coldly.

I looked up at the sky. I’m in trouble. The sun seemed to be setting soon, but Enoch had not yet returned.

Did something happen?

***

Enoch moved as far as possible from where Margaret was.

A man was dragged along with him.

Enoch tossed the man on the ground.

“There are a lot of faces I haven’t seen in a long time on this island.”

A sharp harpoon was aimed at the man’s neck. Enoch, holding the harpoon, looked down at the man with an eerie look on his face.