Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea-Chapter 167

Seo Jihyuk stood guarding the escape pod boarding area like a sentry. Would he issue the same cold dismissal to Tumanako as he did to Carlos? I was curious if I’d be rejected like Carlos or Tumanako if I asked Seo Jihyuk the same question about the escape pods, or if I’d be treated differently for being Korean.

But what good would it do to confirm that I’m treated differently in this disaster situation? If Seo Jihyuk were to chase Tumanako away and tell me to take the escape pod, it would be perfect for negatively impacting my mental state when I look back on this incident later. Even now, guilt is rising like a cumulus cloud.

And who am I to observe someone in difficulty with malicious curiosity and judge their actions? I intervened before Seo Jihyuk could answer Tumanako.

“The escape pods here are all damaged, so we shouldn’t board them.”

Tumanako was startled and asked me back.

“Really? Doesn’t having 4 pods left mean that others have left and these 4 remain?”

“Yes. Everyone who’s left in these escape pods will die.”

I felt all the gazes around me turn towards me. Especially Carlos’s eyes seemed ready to shoot lasers. The stares piercing my back and the back of my head made my skin tingle. I wonder why gazes feel heavy. Is it because of the instincts left from when we used to hunt and run across fields?

The hair designer, who didn’t seem to grasp the significance of not being able to escape immediately from West District, asked in a carefree voice.

“What’s wrong with them? Poor maintenance? Age?”

“Engineer Team N intentionally damaged them. Apparently, they didn’t like Engineer Teams A and D.”

Seo Jihyuk, who had his arms crossed, asked me with a hardened face.

“Where did you get this information?”

“A Japanese person came to the dental clinic and reported it. I thought it was a joke since I didn’t think I’d ever need to use an escape pod, but I didn’t expect things to turn out like this.”

“Can you disclose the identity of the informant?”

It was awkward to call it a report since Sumire didn’t voluntarily provide the information out of a sense of justice, but rather it came from questioning that was close to torture. Wouldn’t it be better if there was at least one imaginary conscientious person in Engineer Team N?

“…No.”

Seo Jihyuk smiled lightly at my tense response and said,

“I feel like punching those Engineer Team N bastards every time I see their faces, so that’s probably to avoid hitting that guy less.”

Carlos was more furious than Kim Jae-hee, who had been officially designated as the first priority user of the escape pod. He was jumping up and down in anger. “Those crazy bastards! They’re out of their minds!”

Jesus Christ! If you want to kill someone, just take a gun and go to their room, and other such curses poured out. Seo Jihyuk, who had dismissed Carlos earlier, changed his stance and enthusiastically agreed. They spat out words like “I knew those bastards were up to no good” and “I suspected as much” to each other.

Others seemed half-skeptical after hearing my story. Nikolai even came up and asked about my nationality. As soon as he heard I was Korean, his gaze changed, as if he thought this was a scam cooked up to use the escape pods among ourselves.

…Well. I wish that were true. I wish the escape pods were fine and that those escape pods now swimming up through the lunch halocline (1000m-3000m) would reach the sea surface safely.

Tumanako looked around at the people nearby and awkwardly stood between Baek Ae-young and me. She seemed to know she couldn’t take the West District escape pod and needed to go elsewhere, but with all the engineers waiting here, she didn’t seem to have the courage to move right away. Baek Ae-young didn’t seem very agitated even after hearing that taking the escape pod would turn you into a water ghost. She just stretched her wrists and ankles more thoroughly, loosening up.

As Baek Ae-young started loosening her knees, Seo Jihyuk approached Kim Jae-hee awkwardly, put his arm on his shoulder, and said,

“Hey. You know how I feel, right? I wasn’t trying to get rid of you by putting you on the escape pod.”

Kim Jae-hee burst into laughter upon hearing this and chuckled softly before answering,

“I know. But next time, let’s send Sanghyun first as he wants. Well.”

Hearing this, Jeong Sanghyun tilted his head up to look at the two of them and started jumping up and down on the spot.

“Ah! Hyung! Are you saying you’ll send me as a test subject and only take the escape pod if I don’t die?”

“How could that be, Sanghyun? Since you wanted to go first, I’m saying I’ll let you. …He’s too quick to catch on for us to deal with.”

Kim Jae-hee put the back of his hand to his mouth and whispered to Seo Jihyuk. Seo Jihyuk chuckled at Kim Jae-hee’s action. Jeong Sanghyun looked at the two and muttered,

“Wow. I’m disappointed. Disappointed. Both of you are a double disappointment.”

“It’s a joke, Sanghyun.”

Baek Ae-young, who was now loosening her shoulder and arm muscles after rotating her waist, looked at Kim Jae-hee and said,

“You almost died, and that’s all you have to say?”

Kim Jae-hee stretched both arms wide, shrugged his shoulders, and said with a grin,

“You saw that? I cheated death again today! I won! The Grim Reaper lost again!”

The people around laughed dryly at Kim Jae-hee’s confident tone. Wow, how cheerful. I guess you could think about it that way. If it were me, I’d probably be terrified, thinking I almost died by taking a damaged escape pod as the first priority.

Jeong Sanghyun frowned and said,

“If we had gotten along well with the Japanese guys from the beginning, this wouldn’t have happened. Isn’t this all because of the team leader? It’s because the team leader beat up the Japanese guys, right?”

Baek Ae-young, who had moved all her joints once, raised the corners of her mouth and said,

“Are you going to tattle to the team leader when he comes?”

“Wow, Baek Ae-young. Look at that. See how disloyal she is.”

“Was there ever any loyalty between you and me?”

At those words, Jeong Sanghyun shut his mouth. I could only hear Seo Jihyuk’s quiet voice talking with Kim Jae-hee.

“He’s late.”

“The team leader? Yeah. He always scares me because he’s so punctual, always on the dot… He’s late.”

“It’s been more than 10 minutes. Could it be because Engineer Team D’s leader went with him?”

“The Russians? Expect them to be 20 minutes late as a rule. (Hey, are you talking about us?! Nikolai shouted) We’re not talking about you! …They have good ears too. How can they hear gossip about themselves so well when they can’t hear requests for work cooperation?”

Tumanako, who had been listening to this pathetic conversation that had nothing to do with escape, sighed and asked me,

“You said your name was Park Moohyun, right? What are you going to do now?”

“I have no thoughts at all.”

What thoughts could I have after coming back to my room after taking the escape pod, then waking up submerged in water? I’m trying to think as little as possible because I don’t want to wonder if I can’t get out of here. Realizing that my words might sound like I’ve completely given up, I added,

“I’ve only been here for five days, so I barely know the way to the cafeteria and the dental clinic.”

I did end up wandering around unwillingly, but I had to tiptoe quietly to avoid making footsteps, run, or lie down and hide on almost all the paths. …I’m exploring the underwater base almost like a wild animal.

“Sounds similar to me. Then do you want to come with me to the Third Underwater Base and escape using the escape pod there? My hair salon is there too.”

Tumanako seemed to have looked around and realized that she was in a floating position here, like Carlos or me. And it seemed she had decided that rather than waiting here with unfamiliar engineers for the engineering team leader who might never come, she would quickly move to another location to take an escape pod.

I nodded, wanting to help Tumanako escape somehow. I might not be able to escape, but Tumanako might be able to get out this time.

Nikolai from Engineer Team D, crouching down, asked his colleague who seemed less drunk,

“But we didn’t have any reason to be on bad terms with them… Oh, we did. We do. A lot. But wasn’t that almost a year ago?”

He seemed to be reminiscing about how harmonious Engineer Team N and Engineer Team D were in the past.

“There was something recently too.”

Viktor answered briefly. However, Nikolai, seemingly unaware of this, started to probe.

“When? Did we fight? Does the team leader know?”

Viktor raised his eyebrows and said,

“Ask the team leader.”

Viktor was looking at the escape pod port, and after a while, the escape pod port door opened. The two team leaders were entering with someone on their backs. Someone’s piercing scream was heard.

Everyone was startled and looked over to see Nikita, who had been staggering out of the bathroom, screaming from far away. “Mitya!”

Vladimir laid the person on his back horizontally on a long waiting chair. Then, with a hand gesture, Shin Haeryang also laid the woman he had been carrying on his back on the chair. Nikita, who had been running frantically, rolled on the floor once but got up and ran again as if unaware that she had fallen.

I and the people near the escape pod unknowingly moved towards the escape pod port entrance. For some unknown reason, an ominous feeling swept over me that the people laid on those chairs were already dead.

I felt this way despite being too far away to see the condition of the people lying down. It felt even more so because neither Shin Haeryang nor Vladimir took any first aid measures, just laying the two people on the chairs. More precisely, it might be because Vladimir’s back and the person lying down were covered in blood.

Nikita ran across half of the escape pod port with only one shoe on and stopped as if grabbed by a giant. Then she looked at the person lying on the chair. Seo Jihyuk and Baek Ae-young, who had been standing next to me, were also running towards the escape pod port entrance as if they were about to fly. Are they human or leopards?

Few people were walking – just me, Viktor, and Kim Jae-hee. I had no strength left to run after all the running in the dormitory, even if someone grabbed me by the collar right now, and Kim Jae-hee seemed like he wouldn’t want to run even if a bomb exploded next to him.

“What is it? Who is it? Who is it?”

Carlos, unable to see well due to Viktor’s bulk in front of him, asked me or Tumanako irritably. We seem to be the ones who know the least in this underwater base.

Seo Jihyuk looked at the face of the woman laid on the chair, then exhaled the breath he had been holding and stepped back. Only after seeing their faces did he realize that the two were not Korean.

Vladimir approached Nikita’s side, but Nikita didn’t seem to recognize even when a hand was placed on her shoulder. Nikita asked Vladimir, moving only her lips,

“Is he dead?”

“He’s dead.”

Up close, the cause of death was clearly visible. I could see that he had been shot multiple times in the chest. It was the same for the woman, but she had been shot in the head. Shin Haeryang, who had been talking with Seo Jihyuk, approached me when our eyes met.

“I’m Shin Haeryang, the leader of Engineer Team A. I heard you’re a dentist.”

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“Yes, I’m Park Moohyun, a dentist.”

I can guess what he’s going to request. Until a death declaration is made, this person is biologically dead but legally alive. Until a doctor declares them dead, we must do our best to try to save the person.

“We need you to make a death declaration.”

…It’s my first time going through the death declaration procedure with family members present. I’ve done it several times, but I can never get used to it.

At Shin Haeryang’s words, Vladimir’s gaze rested on me. Wasn’t Dmitri said to be Nikita’s younger brother? Nikita was standing there, looking at the man presumed to be Dmitri, as if soulless.

“What’s his name?”

“Dmitri Andreyevich Muratov.”

I memorized that name. Without anything like a penlight, I used the light from Shin Haeryang’s pad, which I had been holding all along, to lift the eyelids and check if the pupils were dilated and unresponsive. I checked for breathing by placing a finger near the nose, then placed fingers on the carotid artery. It’s the standard checking procedure.

With all my watch, pad, phone, and everything else in the water, I looked at the time on Shin Haeryang’s pad I had been holding, stated the date and current time, and made the death declaration.

“Mr. Dmitri Andreyevich Muratov has passed away.”

I still can’t get used to saying someone has died after their name. I took a photo of his face and wrote the time over it.

I performed the same procedure for the woman next to him. The woman’s name was Irina Vyacheslavovna Murakhtayeva, and she had died with her eyes half-open. I was about to close her eyes with my palm but noticed the burn on my left palm and used my right hand instead. Sophia, who had approached belatedly, looked at Irina’s face, sniffled, and then started crying.

“It’s because the alcohol hasn’t worn off yet. There’s no way you could be dead.”

That’s not it. Jeong Sanghyun muttered like that, and Kim Jae-hee, who heard it, dragged him off to a corner. Baek Ae-young approached Sophia and hugged her from behind. Nikita stood still, looking at his younger brother, and after a long while, asked Vladimir in a toneless voice,

“Do you know who did this?”

“I don’t know.”

“It was the Japanese guys!”

Carlos shouted enthusiastically but then closed his mouth at people’s stares.

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