Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

“People should live kindly. That son of a bitch has always been… He wasn’t my junior or senior in the lab, so I didn’t give him much shit, but… Ah… I don’t really want to talk about it. Anyways, kind people are charming just by being kind. They give off a vibe of being a complete human being. Just watching them makes you feel like they have the answer to how people should live. I like people like that. Even if you’re not kind, you should at least try to live that way. I don’t think anyone will help him after the way that bastard lived his life, but well, if someone saves him and he survives, I guess that’s his luck.”

I couldn’t tell if the disinfection was done well or not. Ouch! It stings! The alcohol-soaked gauze Kim Ga-young rubbed around my mouth burned fiercely and violently. I endured the pain, holding back my breath whenever a part of my face stung. After Ga-young finished applying ointment to the wounds with her fingertips, she declared the treatment over and I was finally able to escape the brief torture.

… I’ll have to treat Yoo Geum-yi and Jihyun’s injuries myself. To somewhat fortify my soft, frightened, and utterly unraveled mental state, I sighed and asked Ga-young a question.

“One last thing… do you have any tips on how to have a tough mindset like yours? Like a way to arm your mind?”

“A lotus flower remains unstained by dirty water? When terrible and difficult things happen, try not to take it too much to heart. Think that no one can hurt you without your permission.”

In the distance, Yoo Geum-yi was slowly walking over, clutching her waist. She reeked of pain relief patches all over her body.

“But isn’t the situation we’re in right now just too awful? Unnie, I want to live without getting hurt.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Ga-young then smiled gently at Yoo Geum-yi. I took a quick glance over Yoo Geum-yi’s whole body and asked,

“Yoo Geum-yi, how’s your back?”

“Right now, I want to go to an orthopedic clinic for manual therapy, soak in a hot bath at the sauna, and then sleep for about 10 hours.”

I thought to myself that she seemed fine, but then I realized this manner of speaking belonged to someone, though I couldn’t remember who right away. With so many things happening all at once in such a short time, it was hard to remember everything. I lightly treated Yoo Geum-yi’s wounds. She said she didn’t want to show her back and waist, so I didn’t touch those areas.

Jihyun, who had gone down to the 2nd floor, was panting, soaking wet. Entering the room barefoot, she asked me,

“Moohyun-ssi, have you ever escaped using an elevator in your dreams?”

“… Oh, when I took the elevator from East District to the 3rd Undersea Base. But it stopped several times on the way up due to power outages. Why?”

“I’m going to try operating the freight elevator here to escape. If it works well, everyone here will be able to reach the Basic Area (ground floor). We’ll go out and see the sunlight.”

I heard the freight elevator moves the entire Daehan Island artificial island, not just the 4th Undersea Base like the central elevator. When Jihyun expressed such a positive opinion, I was happy in my mind, but I also started preparing myself mentally and kept track of time.

“And if it doesn’t work well?”

“Then we’ll all go to be with the Lord at once.”

I see. Simple enough… Jihyun might go to be with the Lord, but as a non-believer, it was hammered into my head that I’d be heading straight to becoming a corpse. Some holiday this turned out to be. Once I get out of this undersea base, I’m never looking at the ocean again. I won’t take the stairs or the elevator, I’ll just hole myself up in my room.

I unzipped my bag and took out a towel that had been under the cat. The cat, now used to it, avoided my touch. I handed the towel to Yoo Geum-yi who was next to me, and she immediately passed it to Jihyun. Wiping her seawater-soaked face with the towel and drinking some water Ga-young gave her, Jihyun shook her head when I said we should treat her wounds.

“There’s no time.”

“Jihyun, you know that treating wounds is something you need to make time for.”

“If time passes, the elevators and everything else will all break down. We need to drain the water right now.”

Then Jihyun, with the towel covering her head, left the room and shouted loudly to gather the remaining people. The 8 men and the 3 of us timidly walked out. Jihyun’s voice drew the attention of a few people from the upper floors as well. Jihyun spoke loudly.

“I am Lee Jihyun from the engineer team. I just swam from the 2nd floor to the elevator stopped on the 1st floor.”

So that’s why Jihyun was soaked from head to toe. Panting as if exhausted, Jihyun coughed a few times and spoke.

“The elevator has no major issues. I can operate it. The problem is the water. The elevator won’t be able to ascend due to the weight of the water filling the open elevator. We need to drain the water to escape!”

Hearing that, James glanced over the railing at the rising water and answered glumly.

“Drain the water how? Seems like the water will rise faster than we can drain it.”

When we first arrived, the 2nd floor was being submerged, but now looking at it, more than half of the 2nd floor was filled with water. Sam Young, who was standing next to him, said with concern,

“Look, the 2nd floor is already submerged. The water will probably reach the 3rd floor soon.”

Jihyun rubbed her short hair with the towel and replied.

“We need to activate the automatic drainage system and turn the manual drain valves on the 1st floor to let the water out. It won’t drain a remarkably large amount of water. As James said, I’m not sure where it’s leaking in from, but the water will likely fill faster than it drains. We just need enough water drained for the elevator to operate.”

Wiping her hands and fingertips with the towel on her head, Jihyun continued.

“The elevators here are resistant to seawater and designed to withstand being submerged, under the premise that drainage is possible. Normally, cleaning robots roam the floors here, so there’s not a single water stain or speck of dirt, but in the early days of construction, this place was completely filled with water and mud. It should be fine.”

A man who had been quietly listening to the story smirked at Jihyun and said,

“We just need to drain the water? But isn’t that your job as the engineer?”

“… What do you mean?”

“You can do it yourself, so why are you telling others to do it?”

Hearing those words, Jihyun frowned and raised her voice.

“What I want is for the water to drain enough so that more than half of the 1st floor is exposed. Whether it’s running the drainage system to drain water, having people manually turn the drain valves embedded in every corner of the 1st floor, scooping it out with buckets by hand, or you personally drinking it like a whale! That water needs to be drained. If draining the entire research center was something I could do alone, why would I gather people here and say all this? I would just do it all myself and escape alone!”

“Yeah, you can do it all yourself, can’t you?!”

The other man, who had been smirking and provoking her, was glared at by Jihyun who asked,

“You’re not going to leave?”

“No, I’ll ride the elevator once you get it working.”

The tone and atmosphere were strange, so I noticed that the attitudes of some men were slightly different from those like James Danel, Sam Young, and Enjadi Canu. Some men had their arms crossed with weird smiles on their faces, watching Jihyun as if an adorable monkey was performing tricks.

I didn’t understand this situation. Why are they acting like this? And what the hell is that person talking about? Shouldn’t we all help Jihyun with the drainage treatment of the deep sea pollution center?

She said the elevator can’t go up because of the water weight. Just like the East District elevator, it seemed the elevator doors were open and filled with water. The freight elevator must have been stopped on the 1st floor, as it couldn’t be seen over the 3rd floor railing, submerged in water. Since it was a transparent elevator, it was presumed to be stuck somewhere in the water, out of sight from the 3rd to 7th floors.

According to Jihyun, the water level would rise quickly, so drainage or whatever needs to be started as soon as possible. Even I, who know next to nothing about engineering work, understood that, so there’s no way the people working at the research center couldn’t grasp it. Am I the only one who doesn’t get why these people are acting this way?

Up until now, Yoo Geum-yi had been rubbing her waist with both hands, but now she took one hand off her waist and rubbed her forehead as if her head hurt. Ga-young leaned against the wall, standing crookedly, and stared at the men with no expression. The blond-haired man next to the one who had been snarky earlier said to Jihyun,

“Why should we get soaked and do what you tell us to do? If, as you said, the water fills up faster than it drains, even if we work our asses off, the water might rise even quicker. If we try and fail to drain enough water to operate the elevator, it’s just a waste of energy! And if that freight elevator’s been submerged for over 30 minutes, what if it doesn’t work properly? If we get hurt or die in the process of doing what you say, will you take full responsibility?!”

The man, moving closer, shouted near Jihyun’s face. Jihyun took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Then she took two or three steps back. Bumping into my arm and stopping, Jihyun clenched her left fist and muttered softly. Lord, I am having another difficult day today. Please help your little lamb avoid committing murder, even if it can’t be a peaceful day. The brutal prayer brushed past my ear very quietly. Another man next to him looked Jihyun, who was completely drenched, up and down and said,

“Isn’t it your engineers’ job to fix things that break down here? Why are you telling us to do it and making a fuss? You guys should do it. That’s your job. And if you’re going to ask someone for a favor, shouldn’t you ask nicely?”

Jihyun stared at him blankly, unable to close her mouth. I was also staring at the man similarly. … Is my translator malfunctioning a bit? Or did I wash my brain along with my face? Momentarily at a loss for words, I answered the man in place of Jihyun beside me.

“Why are you acting like this? You all know that everything Jihyun said is correct. Of course, even if everyone here tries to dive down to the 1st floor to drain the water, the elevator might not work, or the water might fill up faster than expected, and we could fail. Even if the elevator moves, there could be issues with the electrical system or unexpected malfunctions, and it might end up being a futile effort. But we can at least try. If we’re lucky, we might be able to get out of here. Why are you refusing to even attempt it?”