CH 15

As Vladmir and Shin Hae-ryang were discussing their escape plans, Shin Hae-ryang spoke with a tone of dissatisfaction.

“You said you’d quit drinking.”

“Did you really believe a Russian would quit drinking?”

Shin Hae-ryang glared at him, and Vladmir looked around at the quiet surroundings before saying, “Let’s go to Hyunmu-dong.”

Hyunmu-dong was located north of the cross-shaped underwater base and was where the mining facility and the miners’ accommodation were located. I had never been there before, having to go from Baekho-dong to Jujak-dong before heading to Hyunmu-dong. Everyone who had been sitting down got up, especially the engineering team who followed behind Vladmir. Only I, Yu Geum and Carlos, and the sleeping child remained. Carlos was part of the mining team, and Yu Geum was a researcher from a different team. As for me, I didn’t belong to any team. The judgment of the engineers must be correct. I trust the opinions of experts. Nikita looked at the child and made a face.

“Who in their right mind would bring a child to an underwater base?”

No answer came back. No matter how much I stretched my imagination, I couldn’t think of a good idea. It was even worse considering that he had taken sleeping pills and was sleeping. I tried to wake the child up, but he wouldn’t budge, and we ended up taking turns carrying him. Seo Jih-hyuk mentioned that he had a cousin who was about the same age. As soon as the conversation ended, everyone started walking. They walked quickly, not as fast as running in case of danger but faster than their usual walking pace. When I asked about it, Shin Hae-ryang shook her head.

“If you walk like that, your stamina will quickly drop, and it will be difficult to respond if something suddenly happens.”

Baek Ae-young, who had been listening to the conversation, came up to me and asked,

“Is Baekho-dong completely submerged?”

“Yes, I was the last one out.”

Baek Ae-young bore a look of complication.

“Why?”

“Because of the things in my room.”

“Is there something important?”

“Well, yes.”

In the backpack I was carrying, there were two kids who didn’t belong to anyone. I asked quietly, “Are they alive?”

Baek Ae-young looked at me with strange eyes. Then, she looked at the child on Seo Jih-hyuk’s back before looking back at me, fl**tered.

“No.”

When someone tapped my shoulder, I turned my head to see a familiar face.

“Thank you for waking me up. I want to express my gratitude on behalf of the team,” he said.

Vladimir spoke, “I felt awkward with all the grand thank-yous right in front of me.”

“Oh, anyone would have done the same,” I replied, feeling embarra*sed.

“I wouldn’t have,” Vladimir cut in sharply.

“·····.”

“That’s why you should be grateful,” he said, before walking away to his team. Why are these people so cold? It’s freezing. For a few days now, all the engineers here have been robotic, as if they have no heart. I’ve always lived my life with a cold, rational mind, but I don’t think I’ve reached that level yet. Shin Hae-ryang, who was talking to her team of engineers, came up to me.

“I saw a dead body. Can Park Mu-hyun check if the body is dead?”

That was the fourth scariest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. This insane woman. And the fact that she’s making unreasonable demands made it even scarier. As a dentist, I never thought I would encounter something like this. This is truly something that dentists would never have to do in their lifetime. There are plenty of other doctors who can give a death sentence. For example, those working in the emergency room.

As soon as we got out of the escape pod, there was someone lying there. I swallowed all the curses coming out of the mouth and approached the person lying down. Looking at the face, it was someone I had never seen before. Thank goodness for that. If someone I knew was lying there, I wouldn’t want to think about it.

I checked their breathing and made sure there were no vital signs. They seemed to have died on impact, and their head was badly crushed, with a fist-sized depression in the head. In addition, their pupils were dilated. At this point, I felt like the dead person’s body temperature was higher than mine, as I was soaked in seawater and shivering. All the engineers were cold, but the dead person’s body was warmer. When I told Shin Hae-ryang the time and date of death, she took a picture and quickly wrote the location and details on the photo.

“Who is this person?” I asked.

“Kevin Wilson. He’s an engineer on the Ma team and an American. He was supposed to help the mining team repair their robots according to the schedule, but he’s here now.”

I rarely see corpses up close like this. Especially as a dentist, I work with people who are alive and well… This damn thing.

I closed the half-opened eyes and put the person’s arms straight. Even just touching the body was enough to give me goosebumps all over my body. Even from a distance, Yu Geum was trembling at the sight of the corpse and didn’t even look at it. Then she asked me if I could lend a hand.

“Shall I lend you a hand?”

She pointed to the bag behind me. Yu Geum knows that there is a cat in one of my bags. I shook my head.

“It’s okay. It’s not heavy.”

The cat weighs about 6kg and is not as light as a feather, but it would be absurd to ask Yu Geum, who weighs more than one head than me, to carry it. I was more curious about what the snake in my bag was up to than the cat.

Suddenly, someone tapped my opposite shoulder. I turned my head in surprise and saw Carlos staring at me. I was going to say my name, but I doubted whether he would remember a human name that had only been here for five days, and even if I told him my name in this situation, he probably wouldn’t remember it. I don’t even know why I’m trying to remember people’s names.

“Hey, sorry for leaving you behind earlier.”

“It’s okay.”

Whether I answered “it’s not okay” or “it’s okay” didn’t make any difference, so I replied with “it’s okay”. If I said the former, it would only make our relationship worse, which was not much more than just knowing each other’s faces. In fact, I had no expectations. There was no loyalty to stay together. I just hoped that no one was in rooms 1 through 37 of the dormitory. Or maybe they had already escaped on their own.

” I thought the escape pods would be scarce. You understand, right? I have family waiting for me at home too.”

I heard him say that and immediately thought of my mother and younger brother. Some even said, “Don’t you have anyone waiting for you at home?” But those who had no one waiting for them at home shouldn’t stay in this hellish place. I swallowed the words stuck in my throat.

“But you still didn’t get on,” I said it, almost teasingly.

There was nothing good about saying it in this situation, but emotionally exhausted, nothing good came out of my mouth. After hearing my answer, whether he didn’t listen to my grumbling words or the translation was accurate, Carlos looked uncomfortable and looked towards Shin Hae-ryang. Then he spoke, gritting his teeth. “I warned you, Team Leader. Your kindness is going to cause chaos. I’m telling you this as someone who knows. If you run out of escape pods in Hyunmu-dong, all hell will break loose.”

Yu Geum came to my side and growled after hearing Carlos’ words.

“I’ll pray to God that there will be escape pods left!”

It seemed like she was saying it after seeing the cross around Carlos’ neck, but he just shrugged at Yu Geum’s reaction.

“Of course, we’ll pray hard to God, but look at the Russians. Do you think they’ll just sit still if they can’t get on the escape pods? They stick together.”

The entire engineering team followed Vladimir’s opinion without a second thought. Even though they were in a situation where they didn’t know when they would die due to lack of sleep or alcohol, sometimes the Russians laughed loudly at each other while stumbling over their own feet and holding onto the walls.

“Anyway, we’re on the same boat now. You know that, right?”

With one eye narrowed, Carlos left for the engineering team. Yu Geum looked visibly uncomfortable.

“That person will abandon me or Park Mu-hyun immediately if the situation worsens.”

“That’s right. But anyone would do that if the situation got worse.”

“Mu-hyun didn’t do that. Don’t judge that person. Why didn’t you run away first?”

I didn’t do this because I was particularly moral. My body was already moving without time to calculate the benefits. Maybe everyone else would have done the same.

“I just wanted to sleep peacefully at night. I don’t want to regret my actions after I survive.”

If I escaped alone, I would probably have nightmares. After hearing my answer, Yu Geum asked a question.

“Oh, so are you the type to dwell on everything before falling asleep?”

“Are you not like that, Yu Geum?”

“I just lay my head on the pillow and sleep like a corpse.”

Yu Geum seemed to have a lot to say after seeing the backpack with the cat, but she looked around at the people nearby and swallowed her words.