CH 1

The wind, carrying a faint hint of salt, brushed through my hair as it passed by. It was a tranquil afternoon. I swayed the long fishing line while listening to the seagulls’ cries. Perhaps it was because of the storm that raged yesterday, almost turning the sea upside down, that today, the water seemed remarkably calm and peaceful. Even the fishing bait seemed unusually cooperative. If it were any other day, I would just return home, but today, I woke up unusually early and finished my work, so I had nothing else to do other than fishing.

In a pleasant languor, I stretched my body while leaving the fishing rod untouched. My hand, which had reached high into the sky, naturally lowered itself toward my backpack, taking some wild strawberries I plucked from the bushes on the way. As I savored a bite, tilting my head back, I saw the cloudless sky. The rainbow that had briefly appeared in the morning had vanished entirely.

“Nice weather.”

I always felt a tinge of regret that spring, my favorite season, lasted for just a month. Yes, only a month. On this mysterious and fascinating island, where spring, summer, autumn, and winter repeated in cycles based on a 30-day period, I had already lived here for five years. Well, in terms of actual time, it hadn’t even reached 500 days, so should I say it had been barely over a year and a half?

Well, in truth, time has no real meaning anymore here. Anyway, I particularly enjoyed this time in mid-spring before summer arrived. It was warm, making me feel drowsy, and it let me have good afternoon naps. The crops grew abundantly, and the fruits grew well. If I let the cows, sheep, and chickens out, they would grow up healthy and robust on their own.

This island, where I could explore and see everything in about two hours, had always been my sole dwelling place. Before I was transported here, I was a patient in a hospital for a staggering six years. I was certain that I had died, but when I opened my eyes, I found myself in a pitch-black space, with what seemed like a game system window right in front of me.

[Please give a name to your island. Once chosen, it cannot be changed. Please decide carefully.]

No matter how much I thought about it, it was truly mysterious. However, I considered it to be something like a dream or a miracle. Speaking of which, there was a game I played with my siblings, where we peacefully lived on an island, thinking back on it.

As I was naming the island, I briefly recalled the commotion that had occurred. I simply named it ‘Trapped Island’ however, my two siblings got fired up naming it that they ended up coming up with extravagant names. My older sister, who loves martial arts novels, named it ‘Resonance, Hellblade!*’ while my older brother named it ‘Young, Rich, and Handsome*’ which left me dumbfounded. It was understandable if my sister likes that kind of name, but what’s up with my brother? Does he think being young, rich, and handsome was the ultimate goal for men?

*TL/N: Part of a meme (지옥참마도) of a grandma holding a sword. I also don’t understand the meme, so I translated it literally, haha.

*TL/N: It was purposely spelt with hangul. Island is 섬(Seom) in Korean, so it was literally written as Young, Rich and HandSeom (All in hangul).

Even after several years, those memories still come to mind as if they happened yesterday. When suddenly, unfamiliar voice interrupted my thoughts.

[The name of the island has been decided as ‘Trapped Island.’ Traveler, let’s begin your second life.]

Whether it was influenced by my thoughts or not, the name was decided by the system without giving me any say in it. And in an instant, the pitch-black space transformed into a vibrant scene. As I opened my eyes, I found myself on the island. More precisely, in a small house with the scent of wood, with my body lying down on a small bed. That was exactly one and a half years ago, or in terms of time here, five years ago.

At first, it was weird and hard to believe, however, I quickly got used to this mysterious island. It was peaceful and cozy. Though it could have been lonely, the system window appeared incessantly, offering quests like a real game. Engaging in those quests made my life on the island truly enjoyable.

Before coming to this island, I was trapped inside the hospital, so my second life was incredibly delightful and fulfilling. It felt as if this island had been prepared specifically for me.

However, after four years and the completion of the tutorial message in spring, no more quests occurred, and my days flowed peacefully as always. At first, it was fine. I farmed, took care of animals, went fishing, and explored the caves. Time flew by so quickly that a day felt too short.

But as they say, human greed knows no bounds. In the midst of my fifth year on the deserted island, I began to feel that my daily life was too monotonous. The tutorial had ended, so something more substantial should have started. Yet, my recipe book was still filled with question marks, and I couldn’t understand why nothing significant had happened even after a year had passed.

“….”

A silent sigh escaped my lips. With my chin in my hands, I sat there for a while before grabbing the remaining wild strawberries and stuffing them all in my mouth. Then, I roughly wiped my red-stained hands on my clothes, stood up, and stretched once again.

“Well, if there’s nothing to do, I’ll create something. Should I start completing the recipe book from scratch? I may not know much, but I want to add three stars to cooking.”

In times like these, I need to go back to the basics. Mumbling my habitual self-talk that had become ingrained since I arrived on the island, I folded my arms together.

First, I’ll fill the book and diligently tend to farming. I’ll fix the fences and paths, and while I’m at it, I’ll explore the cave I hadn’t visited in a while. Time will pass quickly once again. Compared to the time when I lost both legs in a sudden accident and couldn’t do anything, my current situation was a fortunate struggle.

With that determination in mind, I decided to live industriously from this day forward and as I was about to put away my fishing rod…

Splash.

The fishing rod that I had loosely fixed shook vigorously with the sound of a splashing. Judging by the reaction, it was a big one. A really, really big one.

As always, my body reacted before my mind did. I quickly reached out and pulled the fishing rod, feeling a strong tug in my hands. Back when I first arrived on the island, if a fish thrashed this violently, the line would often snap or I would lack the strength to reel it in. But now, I had become much stronger, so I could catch just about anything.

Come to think of it, fresh sashimi was still only one star. In the early days, when my cooking skills were low due to my lack of preference for raw food, I had made it once and left it like that. I still didn’t particularly enjoy it, but since I had caught such a big one, I decided to make sashimi today and achieve three stars.

I skillfully wound the taut fishing line and exerted force. Soon, the locked float popped up, revealing a massive shadow.

It was huge.

Excited, I watched as the splashing subsided, and the fish fully revealed itself before my eyes. However… it wasn’t a fish. It was a person instead, a man. And not just any man, but a remarkably handsome one with a well-built physique, even with his eyes closed.

“…”

As the man’s body rose completely onto the shore along with the fishing line, the system window that I hadn’t seen in a long time appeared before me.

[Caught ‘?’ Fish. ‘?’ will be newly registered in your catalog.]

[A new quest, ‘Stranded Stranger,’ has been triggered.

If you accept the quest and succeed, the Trapped Island and your time will flow normally.

If you refuse the quest, release ‘?’ into the water, and the island will be closed off again.

Will you proceed?]

I couldn’t even react; I just blinked dumbfoundedly. They said if you talk ominous things, it will come, and as soon as I thought it was getting boring, a new event occurred. My cheeks grew warm, and excitement started to build. I wasn’t exactly sure what it meant for the island and my time to flow normally, but regardless, I had no intention of refusing.

Releasing the man into the water felt morally wrong, and above all, I couldn’t help but feel glad at meeting someone for the first time after such a long time.

I was worried that the man might be swept away by the waves, so I hurriedly ran toward him. And as I cautiously reached out my hand to help him, a transparent window appeared in the air. It was the familiar information window that I had become accustomed to on the island.

[?]

– Caught on the fifth year, spring, day 8.

-Length: 183cm, weight: 74kg.

Silver hair, incredibly handsome… using the term ‘caught’ and mentioning his height and weight, could it be that he was treated as an actual fish? Thinking of the fish catalogue, I cautiously removed the needle caught on the man’s clothes.

He was wearing a dark, thick fur coat. Even though the season on the island was spring, he seemed like he came from a winter country.

“With this weight, it seems like his body would sink…”

Of course, the needle was securely attached thanks to the thick coat. As I discreetly removed the needle, a new window appeared as if the quest had been automatically accepted.

[Starting main quest ‘Stranded Stranger’.]

◇ Take ‘?’ home and care for him.

Success: ‘?’ regains consciousness.

Failure: ‘?’ dies.

I froze in place as I reached out my arm to support the man. Wait, he could die? Why?!

“Umm, excuse me?”

Feeling uneasy, I spoke to him while examining his complexion. His face was incredibly pale, and his lips had a purplish hue. I couldn’t help but think that if I left him alone, he might really die. Should I perform CPR or give him a cardiac massage? But all I knew about those were from movies and TV shows!

Anxiously, I glanced at the system window, then checked the quest details again and decided to follow the instructions. Taking him home to care for him didn’t necessarily mean immediate medical treatment was required.

I steeled myself and lowered my head to examine the man. He was about 20cm taller than me, so if I lifted him, his legs would drag on the ground. First, I removed his cumbersome coat and placed it on his stomach before lifting him up in one go.

Normally, 74kg was not a light weight, but during my time on the island, I knew that my body had changed significantly. I could actually bend my fingers backward and do a handstand. I could even carry a log much larger than my own body on my shoulders without difficulty. However, this was a living person, so I had to be cautious.

I decided to retrieve the rest of his belongings later and immediately ran toward my home.