VWO Ch16

The island was beautiful. However, the heat made sweat pour down even when standing still, which exhausted the group. Still, thanks to everyone’s passion, the filming was proceeding smoothly.

The models, whom they had met at the stopover, wore fur coats as if they weren’t hot at all and struck stylish poses. Seeing that, Jae-eon couldn’t help but admire their professionalism.

The outdoor shoot lasted until sunset, and everyone’s faces were flushed red. The island had a fresh feeling in the bright daylight, but the strange atmosphere that emerged as the sun set made it even more beautiful.

As a result, the photographer got excited and the shoot went on longer. Just as it became clear that the models were struggling, MD cautiously approached the photographer.

“Um, sir. We still have three days of shooting left, so how about we wrap up now and start again tomorrow? It’s been a long time since the sun went down. The goddess will be angry.”

“I think so too.”

Jae-eon didn’t believe MD’s talk about the goddess, but he strongly agreed with everyone else that they should stop filming. Even Mr. Park, who had been resting in the shade, nodded in agreement, and the photographer reluctantly nodded as well.

Big Farm, who was in charge of security, was nowhere to be seen. He was wearing black tights and a scarf that looked hot, so he must have run away because he couldn’t stand the heat.

The villagers only glanced at them with curious faces as they passed by, without approaching the group or showing much interest. Jae-eon thought the village atmosphere was a bit strange as he packed up the set and returned to the lodging.

Choi, who went to the only public bathhouse in the village with Jae-eon, cooled his red skin with cold water and sighed.

“Ugh, I thought I was going to die from the heat. I felt my skin burning in real time! Look at this, Jae-eon. My skin will be peeling off tomorrow.”

“It’ll be better if you put on sunscreen.”

Mr. Choi’s face darkened at Jae-eon’s reply.

“I accidentally forgot to bring sunscreen.”

“Then I’ll lend you some.”

As the two chatted casually and finished their refreshing cold showers, they came outside to find that there were no villagers in sight and the lights in every house were already off.

They walked through the slightly eerie streets and arrived at Chief Ruse’s house, where they were staying, and a delicious smell wafted out. Jae-eon was hungry, so he thought it was perfect and went into the kitchen, where Mr. Park and MD were having a serious conversation in front of the food.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, Shin…”

Mr. Park replied with a troubled expression.

“The youngest member of the film crew seems to be missing. He was definitely there until we stopped filming… but when we got here, he was gone. Fortunately, it’s not that hot outside, but it’s dangerous at night…”

“Ah.”

The youngest member of the film crew was a man of about twenty-two years old. He was a staff member who had come along as a filming assistant after being discharged from the military. He was shorter than Jae-eon, but he was good at his job and had a pleasant personality.

He was a bit playful, but he wasn’t unpleasant, so Jae-eon remembered that the film crew staff liked him in their own way. They had never talked, but they had seen each other’s faces.

Mr. Park, who was in charge of the project, looked very worried, as if he was thinking about something bad that might happen.

“Should we go look for him outside? Maybe he’s lost.”

“The island isn’t that big, so if you just follow the road, you’ll see the village soon.”

“Then maybe he’s somewhere in the lodging? Like he’s in the bathroom and we can’t find him.”

“We thought so too. But he wasn’t anywhere. That’s why we’re worried.”

While Mr. Park was groaning, unable to do anything, Big Farm, who had finally overcome the heat, stepped forward.

“Then I’ll take responsibility and bring him back. Don’t worry. I’m a hero, so I’m confident that I won’t even blink at any dangerous situation.”

Big Farm, who had spoken confidently while pounding his chest with his fist, rushed outside before anyone could stop him. It seemed he was embarrassed that he had run away during the day because it was too hot as a hero who had been commissioned for security.

Still, Jae-eon was relieved that Big Farm, an A-class hero with abilities, had stepped forward. He finished his meal roughly and went to his assigned room. The room wasn’t small, but Jae-eon was a little worried because the window was wide open.

Since there was only one bed in the double room, Choi and Jae-eon argued for a long time about who should sleep on the floor.

“Jae-eon, you sleep on the bed.”

“No, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“It’s cooler on the floor, so it’s better. The bed seems too hot.”

After a long back-and-forth of concessions, Jae-eon reluctantly nodded, feeling like something bad would happen if they delayed any longer.

And so, one night on Ruben Island passed, and Shin Jae-eon woke up early in the morning, scratching his head. He had woken up because it was a bit noisy outside. He checked through the wide-open window and saw that the sun hadn’t even risen yet.

‘It’s still dark, so why is there a commotion outside?’

“Haaah.”

Shin Jae-eon yawned and got out of bed. Then, the bustling noise outside suddenly stopped. The silence was like turning off a TV, and Shin Jae-eon was startled and widened his eyes.

‘It’s like a ghost is haunting me, how can it suddenly be so quiet? This is scary!’

Cowardly Shin Jae-eon peeked his head out the window. The village natives were huddled together on the street, all staring intently at the room where Jae-eon and Choi were staying.

He plopped down on the bed and barely managed to calm his pounding heart, which was racing with fear.

‘What a scare! I almost peed my pants! What’s going on!’

Clutching his chest, he crawled over and urgently woke Choi, who was sleeping soundly on the floor.

“Mr. Choi!”

“Umm… what’s wrong, Jae-eon…”

“Can you get up for a second? There… there!”

“There?”

Mr. Choi rubbed his eyes, still half asleep. Jae-eon carefully peeked his head out the window again. But the islanders who had been huddled together just a moment ago were nowhere to be seen.

“…What’s there?”

Mr. Choi’s voice was listless, either because his eyes were blurry or because he was still sleepy.

‘G-Ghosts!’

Jae-eon, who had the Saintess of Ghosts as his seventh child, screamed in his heart and trembled. In contrast, Mr. Choi thought that Shin Jae-eon was tired and hot and had seen things, so he went back to his spot and fell asleep again.

It didn’t make sense that so many people had disappeared without a trace, and the Saintess of Ghosts was quiet, so it didn’t seem like it was ghosts.

As Mr. Choi said, it might have been that he was hot and it was dark, so he had seen things. Jae-eon sighed and lay down on the bed, trying to fall asleep.

‘Ugh… it’s hard to fall back asleep if I wake up in the middle…’

Besides, it was too hot even though it was early morning. He kept falling asleep and waking up again because of the hot weather. He was going to be exhausted tomorrow.

Thinking that he would have to endure the sweltering heat for a few more days, Shin Jae-eon wanted to ask his fifth child, the Witch of Cold and Suggestion, to cool down the room.

She was an ability user who could use the power of water and ice, and she was Dark Chaos’s child, whom Jae-eon had awakened the ability of fifth. She was the one Shin Jae-eon had saved from being burned alive in a witch hunt that was still taking place somewhere in the 21st century.

“Uwaaaah!”

Just as Jae-eon was trying to fall asleep, he heard a man’s scream. Startled, he raised his body and fixed his gaze on the wide-open window. This time, another scream came from the other side of the village.

This time, it wasn’t his imagination. Shin Jae-eon, with a surprised expression, rushed outside, and MD, who happened to be in the kitchen, came out with wide eyes.

“Jae-eon? What’s wrong?”

For some reason, she wasn’t wearing her glasses that covered her face. Judging from the savory smell coming from the kitchen, she must have been preparing breakfast already.

Jae-eon was about to ask her about the villagers who had filled the streets, but he stopped and muttered, looking at the forest beyond the village.

“I just heard a scream. Didn’t you hear it?”

“Huh? What…”

MD looked clueless. At that, Shin Jae-eon scratched his head and shook his head.

‘I don’t think I misheard… that’s strange.’

Jae-eon stroked his chin, lost in thought, and then realized that MD was preparing breakfast alone.

“You were preparing it alone? I’ll help you.”

“No. The villagers will be gathering soon, and they have a custom of not letting outsiders into the kitchen, so you’ll be kicked out soon.”

Jae-eon smiled awkwardly at MD’s attitude, who refused with such vehemence that he felt embarrassed for trying to help, and turned away from the kitchen.

“And if you just heard a scream… it must be that the goddess is angry and punishing someone. So be careful not to get caught up in it, Jae-eon.”

She smiled meaningfully and muttered. Shin Jae-eon didn’t ask her any more questions, just nodded and returned to his room.

An ordinary person would be terrified in this situation, but not Shin Jae-eon. He took out a small ring case from his pocket and opened the lid.

Inside, instead of a ring, there was an eyeball with a black iris rolling around.

“Fragmented Toy, go over there and find out what’s going on in detail. If it seems dangerous…”

He pondered for a while and then added, as if he had made a decision.

“Have The Fallen Cardinal go with you.”

Fragmented Toy was very useful for gathering information through small parts of his body, but he was also very weak. It was easy to heal from injuries, but it was very difficult to recover if he was burst or cut.

That’s why his siblings each took a part of his body and cherished it. It was to make it easier for him to move in case something happened to him.

The eyeball in the ring case floated up and disappeared leisurely through the window.

Not long after the sun had fully risen, MD was waking up the visitors. The smell of food, as if the meal was ready, rose to their room on the second floor.

Mr. Choi, who shared a room with Jae-eon, groaned and got up. He didn’t seem to remember Jae-eon waking him up this morning.

After simply washing his face, he went downstairs and saw the film crew staff huddled together. Seeing their faces, which were exhausted, Jae-eon couldn’t help but smile bitterly, realizing that he wasn’t the only one who had suffered from the fatigue of the previous night.

After a long flight and a night’s rest, they had been forced to work in the sweltering heat, so even Jae-eon, who was strong and in good shape, was aching all over. Everyone else must be enduring it with their willpower.

But they couldn’t take a break. They didn’t have much time to stay on the island, so they had to get through the schedule quickly. They were grateful enough to have been allowed to film on this closed-off island.