The treeline came very close to the beach at the northeast side of the island. The man in the forest could be perched on a thick low-hanging branch to watch the obviously shipwrecked figure who had washed ashore hours ago when the sun had just peeked over the horizon. Myungsoo figured the unconsious man must have one hell of a sunburn by now, but he didn't want to travel the 100-meter distance in bright sunlight to offer him any protection. Myungsoo shook his head hard. He shouldn't be thinking about getting close enough to help the man. However frustrating it was to have a stranger wash up on the island, Myungsoo would just have to try his best to stay away from him.

On the beach, waves washing over his feet, Howon stirred. The first thing he could feel was the sun beating harshly on his face, skin turned bright red in the long hours he was exposed. He slowly sat up and shook the sand out of his hair. He stood and pulled his arms out of his long overcoat. Although he was slowly being baked inside the stifling fabric, he was grateful that it had protected his arms from sunburn.

After lightly touching his face and realizing how painful it was, Howon knew he had been lying there for some time. He remembered raiding farther south than they had ever gone. They were hit by a storm with no warning. The sky had been blue one day, gray with frequent white flashes the next. By his internal map he knew the storm took them into the deep sea, far from any coast. Guessing he was on a deserted island, he draped his overcoat around his shoulders like a cape, picked up his rapier, and headed straight to the forest.

Myungsoo climbed higher into the tree until the branches swayed beneath him, threatening to crack and drop him. Howon passed underneath without glancing up, focused on finding food. Myungsoo breathed a sigh of relief. He waited until Howon was out of sight before dropping to the ground and walking deeper into the forest, making sure to skirt a wide distance around Howon.

By the time sun set, Howon was hungry out of his mind. It was already dark in the forest during daytime, but now it was pitch black. In retrospect he probably should have picked out a campsite first before tramping through the forest looking for food and drinking water, but at least now he knew the scarcity of both. Howon ended up wrapping himself in his overcoat and curling up beneath a large tree with a dry mouth and empty stomach. He'd see if he could fix that later, but now he couldn't see a thing. He might as well sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Howon woke to birds chirping and filtered splashes of golden sunlight across his face. He groaned and his stomach growled in response. Now that he was awake, the sound of birds wouldn't leave his ears.

Birds! So this island wasn't complete devoid of life. It wasn't like he could slash one out of the air midflight with his rapier, but there had to be more animals here, maybe a wild pig or two. He got up hopefully and started searching through the forest again, keeping an eye out for water, his top priority.

He had no idea how to fish, which was definitely something he should have learned seeing as he had access to the ocean on all sides. But then again they'd gotten everything they needed by raiding, so there never really was a point in fishing, nevermind the fact that they were constantly on the move. He remembered a few years ago when Dongwoo taught him how to dive for abalones, but he'd never really picked it up since he couldn't swim well.

It took a short while for Howon to keep in a straight line and walk through the forest to the other side of the small island. The trees thinned and gave way to a sudden 3-meter drop into the waves. He was surprised to see a fishing pole propped up against a boulder and rushed over.

It was a simply made fishing pole, with a wooden shaft and twine tied off at the tip. And the line was twitching.

Howon drew up the line and the weight at the end manifested into a plump silver fish the size of his hand. He had no tools to build a fire but no qualms about eating the fish raw. He'd done it before and it wasn't that bad. He rebaited the fish hook with part of the fish he had finished and left it by the boulder in the same place. Now there was just the problem of finding fresh water.

He went back into the trees, perhaps there was a small freshwater pool or brook in there somewhere. It was dim in the forest, and as the sun set the light simply faded until Howon could barely see his hand before his face. He tripped on what seemed to be nothing at all and flung his right hand in front of him to catch his fall. Too late he realized that there was a jagged rock there where his hand was about to hit. There was an ugly crack as his wrist snapped and pain shot up his arm from the broken bone and gashes on his palm.

He left out a sharp gasp and clutched his right arm close to his chest. As he leaned against the offending rock to catch his breath and his eyes adjusted more to the darkness, he noticed a soft orange glow beside him from a large crack between two large rocks. Curious, Howon stuck his head through the crack and found a twisting corridor. The passage was a tight fit that jostled his hurt arm a few times, but he made it through.

He came out into a large cavern. The underground room was lit brightly by evenly spaced fires around the perimeter, all centered around a deep pool of crystal clear water not two meters from the entrance. Howon dropped to his knees beside the pool and scooped the water into his mouth with his uninjured hand.

With his hunger and thirst taken care of, Howon tore a strip from the bottom of his shirt and tightly wrapped his right wrist. He lay down in the soft sand on the opposite side of the cavern and unbuckled his sheath, placing it next to him. No doubt there was someone else on this island, and he didn't want to take his chances against friend or foe. Even though he could draw his rapier with his left hand as fast as his right hand, he definitely couldn't fight with it. But there was no way the person would know that. He liked the extra security as it was.

It was still dark when Myungsoo went to check his fishing pole, but the silver light from the crescent moon was enough for him to see that the line was still. Sure enough, he pulled up the string with no effort at all and observed an empty hook. He pressed his lips together. His bait had never failed him before. The man on the beach must've taken the catch sometime during the day while he was cooped up underground. He had always consumed one fish a day. He hoped for the stranger's sake that yesterday's was enough to quell his hunger for now.

Myungsoo carefully rebaited the hook and moved the pole a few meters to the side, leaning it against a large boulder out of immediate sight.

Soon the night ended and Myungsoo watched the sunrise, as he did everyday. He leaned against a tree trunk and watched the sky's melancholy gray give way to fluffy pink clouds and the brilliance of the sun cast a soft orange glow over the waves. But before the slightest sliver of sun peaked over the horizon, he had ducked into the forest under the cover of foliage.

When he came into the cavern that had been his home for the past couple of months, the scent was what hit him first. The nostalgic aroma wafted through the air and brought him back to one of his haziest memories in the beginning of this chapter of his life. Myungsoo shook his head. He couldn't get caught up in memories. Not when he could lose control with a stranger a mere five meters from him.

Myungsoo crossed the distance between him and the man from the beach in a few long strides. The man was sleeping soundly on his back, one hand that seemed to be injured resting on his chest, the other with fingers lightly curled around a thin sword. Myungsoo soundlessly took the rapier and pointed it at the man, nudging him awake with a toe.

Howon blinked drowsily as he was roused from his rest, squinting around him. The torches along the cavern had died out a while ago. Even with some glowing embers left, it was almost pitch black. Howon could barely make out the vague shape of a figure looming over him. There was a glint of light that reflected off a long silver object pointed towards him - his own rapier. When he realized that, his eyes opened fully with a start. He scrabbled frantically at his belt for the short dagger he always carried with his rapier. He found it and unsheathed it, awkwardly holding it in front of him in his left hand as he propped himself up on his right.

Myungsoo could see perfectly well with the absence of light. He stood unmoving and resisted the urge to laugh at the man's pathetic attempts to defend himself. He had no clue how to use the man's sword, but the man was blind here in the dark cavern, and Myungsoo was willing to bet by the fearful look the man tried in vain to disguise in his eyes that the man's dominant hand was the one lying limply on the ground, not the one clutching the small dagger.

"Who are you?" Myungsoo asked. "How did you get here?" He lowered the point of the man's sword to the ground. The sword was less for the man's sake than his own. He knew he would never hurt someone. When he lost control, though, it was an entirely different story.

"Lee Howon," Howon answered hesitatingly. "I was shipwrecked."

"You're from the mainland then?" Myungsoo asked.

Myungsoo saw Howon nod, then reply verbally, thinking that Myungsoo, like himself, would be unable to see in the darkness. "I don't know who you are or how you got here," Howon continued, "but all I want is to get off this island and go back." He paused. "And I'd like my rapier back."

"Kim Myungsoo," Myungsoo said. "And I suppose I can help you with that."