The Island of Dangsado and the First Fire

Finally, my turn arrived. There was nothing that seemed problematic, but the staff member inspecting my bag found a medicine bottle and shook it, tilting their head. After opening the lid and confirming its contents, they seemed to ponder for a moment.

“Yohan, what is this?”

‘Ah, that.’ Before I could open my mouth to offer the excuse I had prepared, Choi Seung-beom quickly interjected.

“It’s cold medicine. He’s still sick.”

“Ah, I see.”

Nodding indifferently, the staff member tossed the medicine bottle into the carrier. “Please submit your phone here as well.”

Five mobile phones were neatly placed inside a large zip-lock bag. Yoon Jihyuk obediently complied with the production crew’s request, but he voiced a passing concern. “Wouldn’t it be a problem if we had no way to contact anyone in case something happened?”

The PD replied as if it were an unnecessary worry. “It’s not like only the members are going in; all the staff will be with us. What could possibly be a problem? If push comes to shove, you can just borrow one or get yours back for a moment.”

“That’s true.”

Even the formidable Yoon Jihyuk seemed to feel a touch of embarrassment at being rejected, clearing his throat and unnecessarily tightening his coat. Soon, the boat heading to the small island arrived at the dock.

The sea breeze in May was pleasantly cool. We boarded the boat feeling a little nervous.

Our group comprised the only passengers. The island’s population, perhaps fifty people in total, consisted mostly of elderly residents, and apart from occasional tourists who came for fishing, outsiders didn’t frequent it often. Choi Seung-beom, who was usually quiet, kept his mouth firmly shut due to seasickness.

“For someone so big, he gets seasick easily.”

I’d recently realized that Han Doyoung was a ‘critic-all doll,’ grumbling at anyone and everyone. Yet, it was quite amusing that even as he spoke, he kindly brought Choi Seung-beom cold water to help settle his stomach.

“Hyung, you ate something before boarding, but you’re fine, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, well. I’m perfectly fine right now.”

As I gazed at the carefree man’s face, licking his lips as if lamenting the wasted leftover fish cakes, the boat was already nearing our destination.

Lee Seon, who had been sleeping with his hat pulled low, only stirred sluggishly when it was time to disembark. His warmly flushed face exuded a charmingly human touch.

“Alright, the island we’ll be spending time on, Dangsado, originally had the name Jajido. However, because the pronunciation wasn’t pleasant, its name was changed to Dangsado in the 1980s. During the Unified Silla period, when Maritime King Jang Bogo established Cheonghaejin in Wando, he named it Dangsado to pray for the safe passage of ships traveling to and from Tang China.”

As soon as we disembarked, the PD rattled off an explanation as if she had memorized it. She even made a point of saying that she had originally prepared cue cards for the Leader to read, but since there were some words unsuitable for an idol to say, she was specially reading it herself.

“I hope these four days and three nights will be a delightful time for you all to forge stronger bonds with your members, enjoy the charm of an island far from the city, and sweat for your survival.”

Lee Seon grumbled, asking if they really had to sweat when they had just finished promotions and came to rest. The PD paid him no mind, extending her arm to point at an empty path where no one was walking.

“Now, shall we head to the accommodation where we’ll be staying?”

It felt like an ominous start.

****

‘Of course. Those broadcasting people.’

‘Since it’s the first day, we’ll specially provide food, but starting tomorrow, you’ll have to find and prepare your own meals.’

Having traveled continuously since early morning, we naturally hadn’t eaten breakfast. While Lee Seon had filled his stomach with snacks and Han Doyoung had eaten fish cake soup, the rest of us, myself included, were absolutely starving.

The staff handed us an icebox filled with ingredients. Some then left to rest, while others filmed from a distance with their cameras rolling.

In the house, which had been vacant for a long time, there was no gas stove. When we asked how we were supposed to cook, they told us to chop wood and make a fire. They did, however, offer to provide a torch.

The ingredients we received were all things that couldn’t be eaten without cooking. Choi Seung-beom, whose complexion had improved now that his nausea from the walk had subsided, frowned and stared into the icebox for a long time. After a while, as if a menu had formed in his mind, he asked calmly, “Do you want to eat ramen now, or at night?”

“If we eat ramen at night, our faces will get puffy the next day!” Lee Seon exclaimed, then added, “I want to eat it at night.”

His words made no sense.

“…What?”

“It’ll be cold at night, so we’ll need some warm soup.”

Listening to him, it made sense. Choi Seung-beom then declared he would make simple *bibim-guksu* and *doenjang-jjigae*, and began taking out and preparing the ingredients. Lee Seon, taking the hint, stepped forward to help. Naturally, the task of chopping wood and making a fire fell to the remaining members.

At that moment, Yoon Jihyuk entered the accommodation and gestured to me with his eyes. “Yohan, come in here for a moment.”

Han Doyoung, who had belatedly grasped the situation, let out an annoyed yell, but it was short-lived. In the ensuing quiet, Yoon Jihyuk pointed to a pile of blankets in one corner. “Since it looks like we’ll be eating outside, could you make up the beds in advance? Once you’re done, you can rest inside until it’s time to come out.”

“Won’t you be short-handed for preparing dinner?”

“Seung-beom and Seon can finish it quickly together. I’m not sure how making a fire will go, since it’s my first time… Oh, and this.”

Yoon Jihyuk poured something out of his pocket with a clatter. It was a whole load of instant coffee mixes, energy bars, and individually packaged nuts. ‘What is this, Doraemon’s pocket? Did all that fit in there?’

“Hide these in the blankets. Eat one energy bar. You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

Taken aback, I could only manage a dazed ‘thank you.’ Yoon Jihyuk quickly tossed some nuts into his mouth, chewed crunchily, and went back outside.

‘Why is he taking care of me like this? Didn’t he dislike Kwon Yohan? My previously overturned thoughts threatened to flip back again.’

Of course, there were cameras inside the accommodation too, excluding the bathroom. This scene would surely be well-edited and broadcast, and Yoon Jihyuk would gain the image of a kind leader who takes care of his younger members. ‘Should I just accept it as an action done purely for that reason?’

If so, there was no reason to refuse. I completed the task he assigned, slowly ate an energy bar, took a short break, and then went back outside.

The outside was quite chaotic.

“Ugh, aaaaaack!”

Han Doyoung let out a wild scream, waving a wooden board he’d found from who knows where in front of the fire pit. The faint embers hadn’t died out completely, but they weren’t flaring up either, merely peeking their heads out.

Han Doyoung swung his arms harder and harder, tirelessly, but eventually, the embers died. The wind, too strong, had ironically had an adverse effect.

“We *are* going to get this fire lit before we leave today, right?”

When I casually blurted out the question that had immediately come to mind, Han Doyoung glared at me with fiery eyes. It seemed I had provoked his stubbornness.

“I’ll do it.”

Choi Seung-beom and Lee Seon, having finished preparing the ingredients, hovered nearby with astonished expressions. Lee Seon asked sympathetically, “Need help?”

“I said I’ll do it.”

Han Doyoung replied, annoyance lacing his voice.

Yoon Jihyuk, who had been chopping wood with gloved hands some distance away, merely glanced at me with an expression that asked why I had come out so soon, without interfering with them. ‘No, why is he so good at that? Is he a human ox?’

“Is this the only size fire pit we have?”

Eventually, Choi Seung-beom, unable to watch any longer, stepped forward. He found a smaller fire pit that had been left untouched, without even wood in it, and offered it to Han Doyoung, telling him to try with this one. Han Doyoung looked skeptical but filled it with wood. Feeling like I should contribute something, I added, “Instead of just wood, why don’t you try putting in some newspaper?”

Conveniently, old newspapers were piled up near the storage area where rice was kept. I worried about encountering some unwanted creature if I rummaged through them, but they would catch fire much more easily than wood.

Han Doyoung, accepting the suggestion, tucked newspapers between the logs and relit the fire with the torch. As expected, before the flames from the newspaper died down, he swung the wooden board as if his arm would fall off.

“Oh! It’s going to work! Almost there, hyung!”

Seeing the fire properly catching onto the logs, Lee Seon grabbed an empty frying pan and flapped it, helping to fan the flames from the side.

Soon, the successfully growing flames surged upwards.

“It worked! It worked!”

It had taken quite a long time, and perhaps because everyone was starving, we exchanged glances of triumph. Yoon Jihyuk, who hadn’t been paying attention to us, finished his task at just the right moment and approached, wiping the sweat from his brow with his arm.

“…What? Is this a ‘first humans discover fire’ concept?”

He asked with genuine bewilderment. Laughter spread among the waiting staff.

****

Fortunately, we managed to finish preparing lunch around noon. The combination of fluffy rice cooked in a pot and freshly boiled stew was fantastic. Perhaps it was just because we were hungry, but the rice tasted incredibly sweet. Even after finishing the spicy *bibim-guksu*, Han Doyoung still wasn’t satisfied, scraping the rice stuck to the bottom of the pot and eating it directly with the spatula.

Everyone’s expressions had relaxed, but Choi Seung-beom alone remained serious. He glared at the root vegetables, which occupied the largest volume in the icebox, with eyes burning as if they were his sworn enemies.

Then he spoke. “Should we make side dishes with those, or roast them tonight?”

Han Doyoung’s eyes sparkled as he asked, “What kind of side dishes?”

“Potatoes can be boiled or made into curry… sweet potatoes into *mat-tang*?”

Even without access to recipes, he seemed to know a lot. Han Doyoung, mirroring his serious expression, groaned for a moment before coming up with a miraculous answer.

“First, let’s make *mat-tang*, and then later, we’ll raid the staff’s accommodation.”

He said it with such brazen confidence that the production crew looked at him with dumbfounded expressions, a beat too late. Honestly, I thought it was a pretty good idea.

[No stealing!] Someone’s shout was heard. Everyone pretended not to hear, looking away.

Just then, a younger-looking staff member approached, carrying a bundle. It was all fishing equipment.

“Alright, HEX members. You filled out a survey before you came, right?”

The PD, confirming that lunch was mostly finished, asked with a mischievous look. We nodded with reluctant expressions.

“‘One item you’d want to bring if you were stranded on a deserted island!’ Do you all remember what you wrote?”

*Clang, clang.* She said, hitting a metal bucket with a wooden stick. “Mr. Seung-beom wrote ‘fishing rod’ on there. Thanks to that, you all have tools.”

She smiled warmly, adding that they received the torch because Han Doyoung had written ‘lighter,’ and without it, they would have truly had to start a fire like primitives, using friction from wood. ‘Was I supposed to consider this fortunate?’

“Does that mean we have to catch fish ourselves to eat?”

When Yoon Jihyuk asked, the PD nodded, saying, “Exactly!”

“Huh…”

He seemed dumbfounded as well, letting out a hollow laugh and staring vacantly into the air.