Seojun carried the stranger quickly into the boat's small cabin, moving with urgency. The captain followed behind with the medical kit and bandages.
They laid the young man carefully on the bed and pulled the blanket away to examine his injuries properly.
Both of them froze.
Now that they could see clearly, the wound on his lower back looked far worse than before—large, deep, and ugly.
There was another serious wound on the back of his leg, and smaller flesh cuts scattered across his body.
The captain looked at Seojun with concern.
"This is very bad. I need to call the emergency."
Seojun nodded immediately.
While the captain stepped out to make the call, Seojun rushed to bring clean water, his T-shirt, a pair of boxers, and several towels.
The stranger's skin was red from the dry air and the heat of the sun.
Thinking the salt might irritate his wounds, Seojun soaked the towels and began gently wiping his body and hair, carefully rinsing away the dried salt.
He worked slowly, passing the damp cloth over the young man's skin again and again.
The redness seemed to fade a little as the skin cooled, though Seojun didn't understand why.
He only knew it felt better than leaving him like that.
Then he carefully turned him onto his side. Pressing firmly on the deep wound on his lower back, he tried to slow the bleeding before disinfecting it.
When the disinfectant touched the deep wound, the stranger's body flinched slightly, his brows tightening in pain.
Seojun froze for a moment, watching him carefully to see if he would wake up.
But the young man only shifted weakly before falling still again.
Letting out a quiet breath, Seojun continued treating the wound on the back of the leg, cleaning it, applying ointment, and wrapping it with bandages.
One by one, he disinfected the smaller cuts across the stranger's body, covering the deeper ones with bandages.
When he finished, he dressed the unconscious stranger in his boxer shorts and T-shirt.
The clothes hung loosely over the young man's slim body.
Seojun carefully adjusted the blanket over him and turned on the heater to warm the room.
The stranger's body had felt unnaturally cold, likely from blood loss and exhaustion.
Then he left the cabin to find the captain.
"Did you call?" Seojun asked.
The captain shook his head slightly. "They can't send anyone out here. But they'll be waiting for us at the port when we arrive. They'll take him to the hospital then."
Seojun nodded, glancing back toward the cabin.
"I hope he can hold on until then," he said quietly.
The captain glanced down at Seojun's hand. "You should take care of that cut on your hand too."
Only then did Seojun notice his own hand, still untreated.
His entire body ached from the dive and the effort afterward.
He quickly took a shower, cleaned the scrapes across his skin, and applied ointment and bandaged the wound on his hand.
Once everything was in order, Seojun returned to the cabin and sat beside the young man.
The captain joined him, both of them quietly watching the unconscious stranger.
"He's finally resting," the captain said softly.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Seojun broke the silence.
"I don't understand how he ended up there from nowhere," Seojun continued, "If he was diving, he should be wearing a wetsuit and have diving equipment. But he had nothing and was completely naked."
The captain frowned. "Yes… that's strange. And I didn't see any boat approaching either. Maybe there was a small boat that threw him there and I didn't notice because I was busy."
The captain was quiet for a moment, remembering the injuries they had seen while treating him.
"Those wounds…" he said slowly. "They looked really like they were made by fishing weapons. I don't understand why someone would shoot him with something like that."
Seojun shook his head. "Maybe he was diving and someone shot him by accident… I don't know. It doesn't make sense".
The captain nodded slowly.
"He also doesn't seem to understand us," he said. "And he can't speak either. Maybe he has some kind of mental condition… or maybe he was raised somewhere isolated."
The captain added quietly. "He looks like someone who's been through a lot."
The captain studied the boy's bruised face for a moment.
"He's very young," he said quietly. "Maybe your age. Or even younger."
Seojun glanced at him and nodded.
"…Yeah."
The captain sighed. "I can't imagine what he went through."
His chest tightened, "innocent… and already hurt so much.
"Poor kid. And unfortunately, he can't tell us what happened."
Seojun knelt by the bed, placing a hand gently on the stranger's chest.
His skin was still strangely cold, but his breathing seemed steady.
He adjusted the blanket once more, then stood and left the cabin with the captain, leaving the door slightly open.
Later, Seojun stood at the railing, watching the ocean as the boat moved.
"I'll check on him," he said quietly.
The captain nodded.
Seojun walked back to the cabin and opened the door.
Sunlight poured through the window, glaring and harsh.
He had forgotten to close the curtains, and the afternoon sun fell directly across the young man's face and body.
The heater still hummed softly, adding to the stifling warmth.
The stranger looked far worse than before. His skin was deep red, almost burning to the touch, and sweat dampened his hair and neck.
His breathing was shallow and uneven, chest rising and falling with effort.
Even unconscious under the sedative, it was clear he was suffering.
"Damn…" Seojun muttered, pressing a hand to the boy's forehead.
It was burning. The fever had gotten worse — far worse than he expected.
He moved quickly around the room, closing the curtains completely and opening the small cabin window just a crack to let in a gentle breeze.
He returned with fresh water and wet towels, carefully passing the cool cloth over the boy's skin.
He changed the sweat-soaked clothes and replaced the blanket with a fresh one.
Hours passed slowly as the boat rocked gently.
Finally, the fever began to subside.
The deep redness faded, his breathing steadied, and the bleeding seemed to have stopped.
The cabin fell silent again.
Outside, the waves rolled gently against the boat, a soft, rhythmic lullaby.
Exhausted, Seojun and the captain eventually lay down as well, heads resting near the bed.
The gentle rocking and the sound of the waves soon carried them into sleep.
Late at night, the captain stirred, half-awake.
He heard a deep vibration, followed by a low, cavernous groan from the ocean, as if it were exhaling.
He nudged Seojun. "Did you… hear that? Sounds like… huge whales."
Seojun mumbled into his pillow, barely conscious. "Hear what? Just the waves… go back to sleep."
On the bed, the stranger remained motionless…
… But his fingers twitched faintly beneath the blanket, as if reaching for something only he could sense.