"Your Highness, I apologize."
Having finished speaking, Jade cautiously reached out his hand toward Princess Genie's wet garment.
Still shivering from the cold, Genie tightly shut her eyes in embarrassment.
It was just as awkward for Jade, but seeing her purple lips, he couldn't let her continue wearing wet clothes.
After taking off her completely wet cloth, Jade placed them near the fireplace to let them dry.
Trying to hide her embarrassment, Genie spoke in a trembling voice.
"Well, well, anything can happen, haha..."
It was then.
"Your Highness, please forgive my rudeness."
Having taken off his soaked upper garment, bare-bodied, Jade stretched out his arms and embraced the Princess's shoulders and waist.
Genie was startled.
"Huh."
At the gentle but tight embrace of Jade's hands around her shoulders and waist, Genie's heart began to race.
It was truly the first time in her life that she had been embraced by a man while bare-skinned.
Moreover, the person in question was Jade, whom she had reunited with after eleven years…
Genie was too flustered by the situation.
Jade's heart, too, was pounding wildly as he embraced her with his bare skin.
Jade, worried that his wildly beating heart might be felt by Genie, kept taking deep breaths.
He could still feel her body trembling from the cold.
Gradually, the trembling of Genie's body began to settle.
Genie felt the warmth of Jade's body transmitted through his bare skin.
Although it was still cold, Genie's body slowly began to warm up thanks to Jade's embrace.
Silently, with Genie in his embrace, Jade could only hear the crackling of the firewood and Genie's irregular breathing in his ear.
How much time had passed like that?
In the quiet cave where only the crackling of the fire could be heard, the Princess's soft breathing tickled his ears.
Jade gathered his courage and lowered his head to look at the face of the Princess, who had fallen asleep in his embrace.
Her neatly shaped eyebrows and now slightly reddened lips looked even more beautiful up close.
Before long, the Princess Genie's hair, which had been soaked, had also dried considerably.
Jade gazed at her face, which had fallen into a deep sleep, for a little while longer.
He reached out his hand to gently push aside the hair that had fallen over her face, which was resting against his chest.
Feeling her body warming up against his bare skin, Jade smiled softly.
In the quiet cave, before the blazing fire, the two of them fell into a deep sleep, sharing each other's body warmth.
Their night deepened like that.
----------
A cool morning breeze blew into the cave.
Genie slowly opened her eyes.
"Ah..."
She was startled by the touch of someone else's bare skin against hers and lifted her head.
She saw Jade, who was asleep, holding her in his arms.
'Did I really fall asleep in Jade's arms until now?'
Genie was so embarrassed that she couldn't even move her body.
Carefully, she lowered Jade's arms and leaned against the cave wall.
Quickly, she got up, afraid Jade might wake up, and hurriedly picked up the clothes he had taken off the night before and put them on.
Fortunately, the clothes had dried by the fire and were no longer wet.
Finally, after putting on her outer garment, Genie felt more at ease and quietly stared at Jade, who was still asleep.
His deep and sorrowful eyes, his straight nose, and symmetrical smile looked even more handsome up close.
Even while sleeping, his face was incredibly handsome.
Genie's mind drifted back to the events of the previous night.
Last night, she and Jade had taken off their wet clothes and held each other to sleep.
Just thinking about that made Genie's face turn red.
'I can't believe I spent the night like that with Jade... This is unbelievable...'
Genie never imagined she'd be in this situation, reunited with Jade after eleven years.
'Still, I was so cold... but thanks to Jade holding me, I became much warmer. I really thought I might die from the cold...'
With a grateful heart, Genie looked at Jade, who was sleeping soundly.
It was only then that Genie realized that Jade, lying next to her without any clothes, might also be cold.
Genie hurriedly looked around the cave floor.
Jade's outer garment was lying beside him.
She picked it up carefully and gently placed it over his upper body.
'Last night must've been exhausting for him. After all, he had to swim across the vast ocean, holding me, with his stomach split in two... How tired must he have been?'
Genie turned her body and looked outside the cave.
With the morning sunlight, a wide sandy beach came into view.
When she stepped outside the cave, the sight of the emerald-colored sea under the warm sunlight spread out before her.
She marveled at the shimmering waves under the sunlight.
The world created by the Creator was so beautiful, it was beyond her ability to describe.
As Genie stood there, admiring the nature before her, Jade woke up, sensing the absence of the warmth he had been holding onto all night.
He sat up, and the garment he had placed over himself had fallen to the floor.
"Where did the Princess go?"
He instinctively turned his head to look for Genie.
He saw her back, looking out at the scenery from the cave entrance.
Jade smiled in relief.
For a brief moment, he had felt a sense of panic, wondering if she had disappeared.
Jade approached Genie, who was staring at the emerald sea.
"Your Highness, are you feeling better now?"
Jade asked in a low voice, his voice slightly hoarse from sleep.
Genie turned around and looked at Jade as he walked toward her.
"Ah... I'm fine. What about you, Jade? Are you alright?"
Genie awkwardly asked.
Thinking about how they had slept together in each other's arms the previous night made it hard to speak naturally.
Jade, too, found the memory of the previous night vividly in his mind, and it made him feel awkward as well.
"Yes, I'm fine."
As Jade finished speaking, silence fell between them.
The awkward silence was something Genie truly hated, so she quickly continued the conversation.
"We must have crashed on a deserted island, right?"
"Yes, it seems like it, Your Highness."
Genie slowly nodded and then turned back to gaze at the emerald-colored sea.
"A deserted island... I never imagined I'd experience something like this in my life."
At Genie's serious yet somehow humorous words, Jade chuckled softly.
It wasn't really the kind of situation to laugh, but it seemed like he couldn't help but smile when he was with her.
Jade walked towards the cave.
Standing side by side with Genie, looking at the vast sea glittering in the morning sun, Jade spoke. "I don't really believe this situation either."
Genie playfully looked at Jade.
"Do you think we can return to Hana Kingdom?"
Jade met her playful gaze with a smile.
She was full of youthful vigor and freshness, just 23 years old.
'Being stranded on a deserted island with the Princess... maybe it's not such a bad thing... What am I even thinking right now?'
Genie stared at Jade as if lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about?"
Jade snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Genie.
"Excuse me?"
Genie smiled awkwardly and asked again. "Do you think we can return?"
Jade answered firmly. "Yes, Your Highness. I will make sure you return safely."
'I have to make sure we get back. That's the only way I can complete the mission entrusted to me.'
Jade made a solemn vow to himself once again.
Both of them spoke at once.
"I... Jade."
"Your Highness."
Genie awkwardly gestured for Jade to speak first.
Jade, still awkward, spoke.
"You must be hungry, right? I'll go look for something to eat around here."
"I'll go look too," Genie replied.
"No, Your Highness. Please stay here and rest."
Genie shook her head energetically.
"I'll go as well. What if you bring something I don't like?"
Jade smiled faintly.
"Well, here, we might have to eat whatever we can find to survive, even if it doesn't taste good, Your Highness."
"I know that," Genie answered with a small smile.
For now, Genie just wanted to keep the conversation light and fun to ease the awkwardness between them.
She didn't want to think about the events of the previous night as much as possible.
That was what Genie desired.
----------
Jade and Genie walked side by side towards the forest beside the cave.
The forest was dense with trees.
However, the trees did not have any fruits hanging from them.
Genie looked up at the trees and asked, "Are there any trees with fruits?"
"If we go a little deeper into the forest, there should be some trees with fruits," Jade replied.
He turned his head and looked at Genie.
"Your Highness, if it's too difficult for you, I can go alone and gather something to eat."
Genie shook her head.
She didn't want to be a burden to Jade.
"No, I won't be left behind. If not now, when will I have a chance to gather food on the island? Let's think of it as an experience and give it a try."
At Genie's cheerful words, Jade smiled slightly.
'She really is a cheerful person.'
With a faint smile on his face, Jade thought to himself.
Genie and Jade kept walking deeper into the forest.
Gradually, the shape of the trees started to change.
Genie's eyes caught sight of trees heavily laden with peaches.
Jade also noticed the peaches hanging from the trees at the same time.
Genie exclaimed joyfully. "Peaches!"