Chapter 3
Episode 3
With a massive splash, Doyoung plunged into the sea.
The moment he hit the water, he realized he wouldn't have survived if the plane hadn't nosedived at the last second. Though he'd done plenty of parachute training with his team - even pulling mid-air somersaults for fun - the impact of hitting water unprotected felt like taking a full-body punch.
Endless black water yawned beneath him. Doyoung gathered his wits and kicked toward the surface. The discarded handcuffs sank alone into the depths.
Splash!
He burst above the waves.
"Putain! [Damn!]"
The curse erupted the instant he tasted air.
"That nearly killed me!"
No amount of jump training could prepare him for the terror of leaping from a malfunctioning plane. The visceral fear etched itself into his ribs.
After wiping saltwater from his eyes, Doyoung found only endless ocean surrounding him. Not that he'd expected otherwise - he'd truly fallen in the middle of nowhere. Treading water, he scanned the horizon until spotting a faint island silhouette.
'Too far to swim unaided.'
But staying put meant certain death.
Fortunately, physical challenges never intimidated Doyoung. Swimming had always been his strongest skill - he'd survived Hell Week through sheer aquatic endurance. He began cutting through the waves.
Doyoung staggered ashore, limbs ablaze, lungs scorched.
Even his trained body had limits. The island proved farther than it appeared, nearly breaking him mid-swim multiple times. Yet his Special Forces reputation held true - he'd conquered a distance that would drain most vampires.
"Putain de merde... [Goddamn it...]"
He collapsed on the sand, stretching beneath the blistering sun while gulping ragged breaths.
Swish... swoosh...
Rhythmic waves caressed his exhausted frame. Though every muscle screamed for rest, throbbing pain kept him grounded. With monumental effort, Doyoung sat up.
Turquoise waters met white sand where beach transitioned to dense jungle. Beyond loomed layered stone mountains resembling a slumbering giant's vertebrae. The island's scale surprised him.
'Can't be uninhabited... right?'
As unease prickled his neck, Doyoung suddenly patted his pockets... and produced his wristband.
The same one Legion had confiscated.
He'd snatched it back from that bear-like Spetsnaz agent - though "snatched" felt unfair when reclaiming his own property. Before joining MCTC, he'd learned pickpocketing from a legendary thief-turned-soldier, just in case.
The wristband remained lifeless.
"Dammit."
No amount of shaking revived it. Legion had clearly sabotaged the device. Doyoung glared at the impassive sky.
Without the tracker, MCTC couldn't locate him. Who'd think to search the Pacific's heart for someone missing from Tripoli?
He sighed at the indifferent sun.
"Nothing but layered mountains."
Yet the Korean proverb held true: Even trapped in a tiger's den, keeping your wits reveals escape routes. Time to explore.
Doyoung fastened the dead wristband and rose.
Denial helped no one. Harsh truths demanded swift acceptance to plan countermeasures.
'Uninhabited island.'
No human traces anywhere.
A civilian might've panicked, but Doyoung thrived in wilderness thanks to childhood survival trips with his Special Forces father and MCTC training that made Navy SEAL BUD/S look tame - where 80% candidates washed out. Jungle drills with just a knife and minimal rations had been routine.
Not that he had even those basics now.
Pushing through man-sized leaves, Doyoung froze when an astonishing vista unfolded:
"Whoa..."
A hundred-meter-wide lake centered a thunderous waterfall, its mist veiling moss-crowned boulders. Emerald waters - like liquefied gemstones - cradled monumental sunken trees in silent grandeur. Earthy scents of water, soil, and vegetation saturated the air.
Flap-flap!
An unidentified bird soared through ink-black foliage. When Doyoung lowered his gaze, pristine wilderness enveloped him - nature's symphony untouched by human interference. This was true virgin land; even parts of Amazon felt commercialized by comparison.
"Dad would've loved this."
Doyoung muttered casually as he approached the water's edge. He bent his knees and sat down, taking off his T-shirt. The shirt, soaked in seawater then dried and sweated through, looked ready to shed salt crystals if shaken.
He rinsed the T-shirt in water, wrung it out, and carefully dabbed at the wounds on his face. The stinging pain forced an involuntary groan from his lips.
“What a brute,” he cursed.
Still, it was fortunate nothing was broken. In this uncertain situation where rescue might never come, any fracture would’ve jeopardized his survival.
Doyoung briefly watched the waterfall cascading downward. The violent spray where it struck the lake created a white mist that lingered around the area.
Suddenly, he stood and unbuckled his pants. After stripping them off, he waded into the water. Approaching the waterfall’s center, he dove headfirst beneath the torrent with a splash.
Time passed. One minute, two…
Then feet appeared where Doyoung had stood—pale, bare feet that turned restlessly, scanning the area. But no trace of him remained.
The owner knew humans couldn’t hold their breath this long.
The feet walked toward the waterfall.
Whoosh!
The waterfall’s roar dominated all sound as it collided with the ledge before plunging into the lake below.
The feet waded through shallow water toward the falls. Transparent currents swirled around the ankles before releasing their grip.
Water erased scents; its noise masked presence. Even sharp ears detected nothing.
Then—Doyoung erupted through the waterfall! In one motion, he lashed his coiled T-shirt around her neck with both hands and yanked.
“...!”
The woman reflexively clawed at the fabric strangling her throat, barely keeping her balance.
“What are you?” Doyoung roared. Though drowned by the falls, his blazing eyes and shouting lips radiated fury.
The woman suddenly twisted, seizing him with inhuman strength to shove him backward. Powerless, Doyoung was thrust through the waterfall into a shallow ㄷ-shaped hollow. His back smashed against the wall with enough force to rattle his bones.
Thud!
The impact echoed—yet Doyoung felt no pain. Because pinning him was… a woman. Beautiful beyond earthly measure.
Time froze at her impossible perfection:
Skin shimmering with unearthly luminescence;
Long black hair plastered chaotically to her body;
Vivid crimson eyes locked onto his.
But this strength belonged to a vampire.
Doyoung kicked with full force. The woman staggered, lost her footing, and crashed into the water with flailing limbs.
The waterfall’s roar swallowed her splash. Doyoung dove instantly after her. Through churning bubbles, he glimpsed her already swimming away with powerful strokes.
She sprang ashore and fled. He pursued.
The vampire’s superhuman physique and terrain knowledge let her outpace him effortlessly. Closing the gap seemed hopeless.
Then—she halted mid-stride and whirled around. Doyoung had vanished from sight and presence alike.
“...?”
She hesitated, scanning her backtracked path—
Crash!
Doyoung exploded from nearby brushwood, tackling her! They tumbled together in a tangled heap.
“What. Are. You?” he snarled, pressing a knife to her throat. “Why are you here? What do you want?”
He’d noticed the surveillance earlier—this woman had been tailing him. Pretending ignorance was his only defense against her attacking preemptively.
She wore a shredded I ♡ NY shirt. Absurd, yet proof she came from beyond these lands.
In that instant—the woman pivoted on one arm, using leg strength alone to flip their positions! Doyoung’s spine screamed as his back hit the ground, but he twisted free just as—
CRACK!!
Her foot cratered the earth where he’d lain.
Doyoung scrambled backward. So this was a vampire’s true power—no, his instincts screamed: She’s strong. She’d been holding back because he was human.
The vampire stared in genuine shock.
“<...Did you dodge?>” she murmured in an alien tongue.
