God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 131

"Wow!"

I gaped in awe.

Though I knew it intellectually, seeing it in person was truly... an incredible jungle. It was so authentic, you could believe Tarzan lived here.

This season's destination for <Survival Law of the Jungle> was 'Palau'.

The name might sound unfamiliar, but it's one of the Oceanian island nations near Guam and Saipan.

Even after disembarking from the plane, we had to drive for quite a while. It seemed they had chosen a remote location rarely visited even by locals.

'Though we have medical staff and an expert team, so there shouldn't be any major dangers...'

Despite having traveled to many countries, I had rarely ventured into such deep forests. The tough underbrush constantly pricking my calves felt unfamiliar.

"Eek! A bug!"

The male idol, what was his name... Do-kyung? Probably a stage name.

From our pre-departure conversation, I gathered he was about my age. He seemed to dislike insects.

But where were we? This is the jungle. That means enduring swarms of insects is part of the deal.

"Hmm. This spot should do for our shelter."

The veteran Kim Byung-man surveyed the area and chose a location. He took out his pre-packed MacGyver knife and asked,

"Did anyone bring a knife?"

"Ah, I did."

I raised my hand high.

"It's a kitchen knife, but will that work?"

"That's fine. We'll be cutting bamboo to build the shelter."

By the way, before departing, it was settled that Do-kyung and I would be addressed as the youngest. Tch. I might be older in mental age.

Well, I'm in no position to argue about that. We've just been dropped in the jungle, after all.

It's a shame to damage the kitchen knife's edge, but now wasn't the time to be picky.

"Shall I do it?"

Han Dong-woo, the entertainer who had been watching, chimed in. He reached out as if asking for the knife, but I shook my head.

"It's alright. The knife is quite large, so it's better if I handle it."

"Huh? How big could a knife be to... Whoa!"

As I pulled out a large cleaver knife from my bag, everyone's eyes widened. The broad blade, reminiscent of a Chinese chef's knife, displayed its imposing presence.

I smiled awkwardly and said,

"I wasn't sure what kind of meat we'd encounter. This can cut through bone."

It's usually used for cutting meat for stock, but I was so accustomed to it that I could use it for various purposes.

That's why I brought it, but it could easily cause a major accident if used by an unskilled person.

"W-we'd better not mess with Chef Song."

"The youngest is on top."

"Wow..."

Everyone muttered a few words of admiration. It's not that big a deal.

"Perfect. Then let's have three of us build the shelter, and the other three look around for berries or anything edible. How's that sound?"

"Yes, Chief~!"

"We three will go. Jun-hee-nuna, me, and Derek-hyung."

"Alright. Let's do that."

Naturally, the team was split in half.

Shelter-building team: Kim Byung-man, me, and Han Dong-woo.

Food-gathering team: Do-kyung, Oh Jun-hee, and An Derek.

'I wonder if they'll manage?'

Do-kyung had been terrified at the mere sight of a bug earlier, and Oh Jun-hee, the actress who had approached me saying she loved snow flower bingsu, didn't seem to be on good terms with insects either.

That left An Derek as the only reliable one.

'I hope there are some animals around. Preferably ones we can catch.'

As if reading my thoughts, Kim Byung-man whispered to me.

"When I came for the preliminary survey, I saw some chickens living nearby. We'll go hunting for them at night when they're sleeping. Hehehe."

Kim Byung-man was salivating at the thought of cooking chicken for breakfast tomorrow. That's exactly what I was hoping for.

"Alright, let's organize these things, build the shelter, and then we'll look around too."

"Yes~"

"Yes, sir!"

"If Woo-yeon could do this much, the rest of us will..."

Swish swish!

Before Kim Byung-man could finish his sentence, I started working on the nearby bamboo.

Perhaps because it was almost like an extension of my hand, I quickly gained speed. In the blink of an eye, one bamboo stalk became smooth and shiny, almost like a manufactured pipe.

"Huh? What were you saying?"

"...No, nothing."

"?"

Strange. I could have sworn he was saying something to me. While tilting my head in confusion, my hands continued to work tirelessly.

Sha-sha-sha!

Another bamboo stalk became smooth in an instant.

"Wow... Chef is something else, isn't she, hyung?"

Han Dong-woo kept exclaiming in admiration. Kim Byung-man, who had been standing dazed, seemed to come to his senses and cleared his throat.

With the three of us working together, building the shelter was quickly completed. We made the frame and wove leaves for the roof, and it looked decent enough.

"Now. If we're done preparing the bamboo, next we need to make a fire. We need to cook and stay warm at night. Also, it gets pitch dark here when the sun sets, you can't see anything. We'll gather dry firewood, and I'll start the fire with this firesteel I brought."

"I'll do it!"

Han Dong-woo confidently stepped forward.

He gathered dry leaves as if imitating something he'd seen somewhere and started striking the firesteel. He even blew on it, but only sparks flew occasionally.

"Ugh. This isn't as easy as it looks."

Han Dong-woo declared surrender, sweating profusely.

"Woo-yeon, why don't you give it a try? This, this isn't as easy as it looks, you know?"

"Is that so?"

Hmm. Is it?

I took the firesteel from Han Dong-woo.

"Yeah. This doesn't work as well as you'd think..."

Scrape scrape scrape!

As I vigorously worked the firesteel among the dry leaves, smoke began to rise.

Hoo hoo. As I blew on it, the embers turned into flames and caught on the firewood.

Whoosh!

"Oh, it worked."

"......"

"......"

Feeling the gaze of the two people looking at me, I shrugged.

"...Have you lived in the jungle before?"

"Of course not."

Haha. As I laughed softly, Han Dong-woo's face seemed to say, 'Then what is it?' What else could it be?

"I just like charcoal grilling."

Before my regression, I used to go camping often. That's when I learned how to use a firesteel.

Watching the camera zoom in on my face, I roughly imagined how this scene might be edited for the broadcast.

'Perfect adaptability, a new chief candidate... Something like that, maybe.'

Not bad. I grinned and made a V sign at the camera.

Throb!

'Oops.'

I quickly lowered my hand, worried that the not-yet-healed wound might be visible.

'Oh no. Did I overdo it with the firesteel?'

Avoiding others' eyes, I discreetly checked inside my sleeve. A reddish tinge was slowly spreading, suggesting the wound had opened slightly.

'...This much should be fine, right?'

I'll get it disinfected in the evening. Yeah. It's just a small tear.

Only the production staff knew about my injury, and I hadn't told the other cast members yet. Worried that they might act unnaturally if they were conscious of my injury, I had asked them not to mention it.

'They're not people I know well. It would be awkward to answer if they asked how I got injured.'

I planned to explain if an unavoidable situation arose.

I unnecessarily pulled down my sleeve, making sure the tightly wrapped bandage wasn't visible.

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"What?"

I couldn't help but ask with a face like a raccoon washed with cotton candy.

"There's nothing? At all?"

At my question, those who had gone out to find food all nodded with equally gloomy faces.

"...Not a single ingredient?"

"W-well. There are palm trees growing here, so we thought about getting coconuts~ but they're too high... We tried fishing but came up empty-handed."

Do-kyung spoke hesitantly, looking embarrassed. Judging by their completely soaked appearance, it seemed they had tried their best but without success.

An Derek and Oh Jun-hee, nodding behind him, were similarly drenched.

"Come over here and dry yourselves by the fire first. You'll catch a cold."

"Y-yeah. Thanks."

After seating the shivering three in front of the fire, a growling sound came from Do-kyung's stomach.

"Oops."

"You're hungry, right? That's understandable. We've come all this way and haven't eaten anything, just wasted energy."

Han Dong-woo grumbled complainingly. The sun was already high in the sky.

We've built a shelter and made a fire since coming here, but there's nothing to eat.

"What should we do? Everyone's exhausted but there's nothing to eat. Aren't there even any edible berries around here?"

"No. We searched everywhere but found nothing."

"There were quite a few during the preliminary survey..."

"I don't know. Maybe animals ate them all by now. Or they fell to the ground..."

"......"

A desperate situation. Kim Byung-man's face hardened, and the cameramen focused on capturing that moment.

Can't be helped.

I had something in mind on the way here.

"We need to fill our stomachs right away, so let's eat this for now."

"Huh? Eat what?"

"That."

The place I was pointing to was a thicket. A cluster of broad leaves, similar to lotus leaves, was growing there.

Han Dong-woo, spotting the dense vegetation, looked perplexed.

"Are you suggesting we make grass porridge? Even so, that's a bit... It's not like we're in a war, it'll probably taste awful."

"Pardon?"

"I mean, of course our Chef Song would make it tasty, but..."

Misunderstanding my question, Han Dong-woo hastily added. No, would I have reacted to comments about it tasting bad?

"No, that's not what I meant. I suggested eating what's under those leaves, not the leaves themselves."

"O-oh? The roots?"

Seeing is believing.

I stood up abruptly. Firmly grasping below the broad leaves, I pulled with force and...!

"Whoa?"

"What's this?"

Quite substantial ones came out in clusters. Hmm, they've ripened more than I expected.

"It's taro."

"Taro?"

At my words, everyone tilted their heads. It seemed no one knew what it was.

"The taro used in taro bubble tea... Um. Simply put, it's like a cousin of colocasia."

"Ah! Colocasia!"

At the familiar name, Han Dong-woo's eyes sparkled.

"It's edible when roasted."

"Wow~ So these are all colocasia? Amazing. We could fill our stomachs with just this! To think this was right under our noses and we didn't know?"

"It's natural not to recognize it since it's a variety rarely encountered in our country."

"Oh, really?"

Han Dong-woo, who had been responding casually to my words, looked at me with a curious gaze.

"...But how do you know about it?"

"Haha. Hahaha."

I laughed awkwardly.

Well... I decided not to mention that before my regression, I had chewed, torn, tasted, and enjoyed this taro while trying to find ways to utilize it.

"I just know these things."

Some things are better left unknown.