CH 11.2

“How expensive do you think you are!”

It was a harsh voice. When I turned my head, I only saw the man’s back. Only after hearing the curse did I realize that my translator also translates curses. The man, who seemed to be over 180cm tall, staggered for a moment and then the small woman who was about 160cm tall stood in front of him and punched him in the chin without raising his guard. The man’s head turned at a right angle, and the woman couldn’t contain her anger and punched his empty nape. The adult male fell to the ground in an instant.

The person who punched was a small woman who looked to be wearing training pants and a short-sleeved t-shirt, with her long hair tied up like a squirrel. While I was stupidly gaping at the scene of the a*sault, the woman with slightly scabbed hands came up to me.

There were CCTV cameras in each zone at the underwater base, so there were almost no blind spots, but when I looked up, I realized that the place where the man and woman were standing was not covered by the CCTV. Maybe it was being processed as a witness. As I took a step back, the woman came up to me with a bright smile, raised both palms, and spoke with a cool air.

“Hello.”

She spoke clearly in Korean, but it seemed like she spoke like that after seeing the Korean version of the [Underwater Base Guidebook] in my hand. No matter how much I thought about it, it seemed like the man was being beaten like a dog and had pa*sed out. The woman walked briskly towards me.

“I guess you haven’t been here for long since this is the first time I’ve seen your face.”

“Um… yes. Hello, I’m Park Mu-hyun.”

I blurted out those words and only then did I think that it might have been better to just shut up and run away. I couldn’t help it. During the past few days, I had reflexively greeted people I had made eye contact with.

“I’m Baek Ae-young. Nice to meet you.”

She asked for a handshake, so I held out my hand in the cold. I pretended not to notice that her hand was scabbed. I didn’t want to let go of her hand because I was afraid a fist might come flying towards me, but it didn’t feel awkward.

Suddenly, a man’s voice came from the ground.

“Ow… who hit me?”

Baek Ae-young smiled pleasantly and extended her hand towards me.

“It was nice to meet you, Park Mu-hyun. See you later.”

She then walked away lightly. As I watched her leave, I realized that it was hard to tell what kind of person she was. However, I had a feeling that I would meet her again.

After a brief handshake, I made the most important request in this situation.

“Please try to hit him without hitting his teeth.”

There was only one dentist on this underwater base and on the entire Korean peninsula, so it was crucial to avoid any dental damage. Baek Ae-yeong shook her small hand as if she was misunderstood.

“Yes? No, I’m not the kind of person who beats someone for no reason.”

I couldn’t believe her words, given what I had seen just 20 seconds ago.

“That… man over there.”

“Women have to use their fists for various reasons in their lives.”

I almost believed her explanation and was about to let it go.

“Doesn’t he need medical help?”

As I looked at the man lying quietly on the floor, I asked Ae-yeong. She brushed her palm and shrugged her head lightly. Ae-yeong may not need help, but the man lying unconscious needed it.

“Ae-yeong, are you an engineer on the team?”

“Yes, you’re the new dentist, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The engineering team seems to solve everything with their fists. Or maybe the engineering team’s name is just “Engineer Team” of the Underwater Base Boxing Team.

“Teacher, you’re the most famous person on this base.”

“Even though I’m new here?”

“Well, there are many reasons. I never thought there would be a dentist in this cramped place, but they didn’t make it just because we asked.”

“Is that so? How do you like living in an underwater base? I’m curious.”

I pointed to the fallen man. It was an ambiguous expression, but Ae-yeong smiled and nodded.

“I’m not doing so well now.”

“Why?”

“You’ll see if you stay here for a while. I’ll go for a scaling appointment later. Please go first.”

“But there’s an injured person.”

“What he did to me was to talk nonsense and threaten me with his big muscles.”

I couldn’t just leave him there to die. As I tried to stand my ground, Ae-yeong took a long sigh. My little courage was knocked out with that breath.

“This one talked nonsense and threatened me by saying that his body was bigger than mine.”

“As Baek Ae-young suggests, it seems like that guy is completely at fault. But… will he not end up dead?”

I said, watching the back of a man who seemed to have fallen like a frog. Baek Ae-young replied icily.

“He won’t die. In fact, we handled this quite gently this time.”

It was terrifying. It felt like my nose was shattered. Did he punch me in the nose at first? I wasn’t sure about my ribs. I awkwardly nodded my head after seeing him hit the man’s throat with his fist.