NOVEL NEXT Chapter 117
Value (2)
by BlossomTL
Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea
At that time, Henry, Yoo Geum-yi, and Tumanako were gathered where Vladimir had pointed. I was a bit confused, so I asked Kang Soojung again.
“Abandon them? Does he mean the Engineer A Team should act separately?”
“Our team leader refused, but yes.”
Kang Soojung shrugged. I could see how Vladimir had judged one sleeping child and two women who seemed to have no combat experience. Did he think they were baggage?
I struggled to keep up with Kang Soojung, who was quickly moving forward. Seo Jihyuk and Kang Soojung were striding ahead with their tall stature and long legs, while I was already feeling out of breath. Feeling winded, I spoke to Kang Soojung’s back:
“If we abandon those three and only the Engineer A Team goes separately, do you think we can escape from here successfully?”
I had never been to the North District where the Engineer B Team had gone. So I had no idea what had happened to them.
“Well, I guess that’s how that guy judged it. What do you think, doctor?”
“If I thought that way, I wouldn’t be heading to the South District now.”
“Doesn’t Ga-young have very important information for escape, or provide an opportunity for escape?”
I’m not sure what Kang Soojung is thinking, asking like this. The Kim Ga-young I saw was a tired office worker who frequented the research center. She was a modern person with worn-out shoulders and back that couldn’t be used without stretching, who occasionally tried to fill her dried-up sense of humanity by making carbohydrates she wouldn’t eat herself for a change of mood.
·····Now that I think about it, I don’t think I could ever act like Kim Ga-young. How could she be so fearless to make sarcastic remarks in front of someone who had just shot a person? It was also Kim Ga-young who took down the serial killer approaching in the darkness, throwing or opportunity for escape? I’m not sure. But the thought of such a brave person now being trapped in a single room, frightened by rising water, makes my heart ache. If it weren’t for Kim Ga-young, forget about escaping through the South District cargo elevator. I would have already died several times.
“I’m not sure. Ask Ga-young directly when you meet her. ······What do you think, Deputy Team Leader Kang?”
“About Ga-young?”
“No, I mean the opinion about leaving those three behind and going separately.”
“Hmm. I······.”
As we approached the Central Zone, we slowed our pace in the corridor, and Seo Jihyuk took the lead. Only then did I feel relieved that the moving speed had slowed down a bit, and I gasped for air. The two of them didn’t even show signs of heavy breathing. Kang Soojung turned to me, who was barely keeping up behind her, and said sympathetically:
“You really need to do cardio regularly.”
“Huff! Huff! I guess so!”
As my breathing started to return to normal, Kang Soojung spoke to me while keeping her gaze fixed forward:
“To be honest, I somewhat agree with the opinion of the Engineer B Team leader. We’re in a disaster situation now, and people you can trust are more precious than gold. I think focusing only on valuable people might be advantageous for escaping this place.”
“······Valuable people?”
“Is that too cold-hearted? In this situation, I don’t want to move around with people who could be potential risks or who aren’t beneficial.”
If it were my usual personality, I would have blurted out something like, “How can you and those Engineer B Team guys talk like that about a 7-year-old sleeping child?” But I held back. It was because I still didn’t know much about what was happening in the underwater base, and I didn’t know what kind of person Kang Soojung was.
When I met her before, Kang Soojung didn’t hesitate at all to take care of Henry and bring him along. She wouldn’t be saying these things without reason.
Moreover, just a short while ago, I saw someone I never expected use their body as a shield for the remaining people when they realized their own survival was impossible.
Kang Soojung spoke as we passed by a drink vending machine:
“You might not know since you haven’t been here long, but people from other countries, especially men, don’t know how to be grateful even if you help them. Most of them think it’s natural for an Asian person to help their superior white selves, and that’s not the end of it – you never know how it might come back to bite you later.”
“Even just helping?”
“Yes. Even just helping with something out of kindness, without expecting anything in return. This is a place overflowing with people who would demand your belongings after you’ve saved them from drowning. To give an extreme example, it’s like giving your water bottle to someone who says they’re dying of thirst, only for them to sue you for food poisoning after drinking it.”
That must be an extreme example, right? ······Or not. I know there are people with malicious intent staying here. And I’ve seen ungrateful people in society many times before.
Kang Soojung hesitated a bit before saying:
“About Tumanako, that New Zealander. I haven’t known her for long either, so I can’t say exactly what kind of person she is, but… Among the 8 countries gathered in the North Pacific, South Korea and New Zealand are practically the only ones without Good Samaritan laws. Legally, she has no obligation to help you even if you’re dying right in front of her.”
Seo Jihyuk, who was walking beside us listening, sighed lightly and shook his head.
“I find that a bit funny too. Even Russia and China have it. Even North Korea had Good Samaritan laws before South Korea unified.”
New Zealand doesn’t have it? This is news to me too. Korea only has it for emergency medical situations, but there’s no way to legally punish someone for not helping when they see a person dying. So I guess both countries are similarly messed up in terms of human rights. Kang Soojung furrowed her brow and frowned.
“And that Leonard guy, Henry’s father. He’s a crazy alcoholic. It’s better not to create even the slightest possibility of being associated with him. In fact, among the American engineers, besides the newly arrived Team Leader Jennifer, there aren’t many decent guys you’ve met. Henry? That kid is pitiful and unfortunate. But all responsibility for that child’s survival falls on the parents. In this dangerous situation, where are all the guardians who should be responsible for that minor’s life? Why should Asian people, who were previously ignored, take care of him when everyone is busy trying to save themselves?”
Ah. I vaguely understood what Kang Soojung was saying. I see. Previously, Kang Soojung had no idea who Henry’s parents were. That’s why she could help without hesitation. Kang Soojung retied her loosened hair as she spoke:
“Vladimir refused the risk of suddenly adding external members to an already well-formed team. He rather accepted the loss of a few members. I can bet all the comic books in my room that they’ll pretend not to see Henry and escape, and as time goes by, they’ll care less and less about moral condemnation or guilt over lost team members. They’ll try to maximize the benefits for their own team. Oh, and even though they’re not reckless enough to attack us now because they’re drunk, we don’t know what might happen when they sober up.”
“I see. ······How wide is the range of valuable people Deputy Team Leader Kang is referring to?”
“The Engineer A Team, Yoo Geum-yi, Ga-young, and you, Moohyun.”
All Koreans, huh. It seems Kang Soojung wants to stick together based on nationality. I understand what she means.
This is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
Seo Jihyuk, walking ahead, listened quietly to most of what Kang Soojung was saying. More precisely, he seemed busy being vigilant of the surroundings. As we were about to pass the [Red Coral] cafe, Seo Jihyuk approached the empty counter. He stuck his upper body almost entirely in, rummaging around the kitchen with a clatter, and soon brought out one kitchen knife and two pairs of scissors.
“There’s not much to use as weapons. I don’t know where Fumiko keeps the kitchen knives.”
Then Seo Jihyuk held out his hand to Kang Soojung as if telling her to choose, and after frowning and thinking for a while, Kang Soojung grabbed the kitchen knife.
Seo Jihyuk offered me one pair of scissors. My heart rate suddenly skyrocketed. Thoughts of scissors embedded up to the handle in the neck of a crazed person flooded my mind. I shook my head and refused. ······Damn. Just seeing scissors doubles my stress.
Kang Soojung’s fist was bigger than the blade of the kitchen knife. Moreover, as Kang Soojung held the knife like an amateur robber, Seo Jihyuk thought for a few seconds, then took the knife from Kang Soojung and gave her his scissors instead.
“If you hold it like that, the knife will slip and cut your fingers. Deputy Team Leader, I think it might be better for you to punch like you’re hitting a punching bag.”
“How could a small and weak person like me do that?”
Seo Jihyuk looked up at Kang Soojung and said incredulously:
“Deputy Team Leader. You’re······even more shameless than our team leader.”
The three of us started walking again. Kang Soojung swung the scissors forward a few times as if practicing, but almost slashed Seo Jihyuk’s chest when he turned around at a bad moment, so she had the scissors taken away too. Kang Soojung was startled by her own swing, but Seo Jihyuk, who had turned to look back at the sound of the wind, jumped in place and maintained a distance of over 3 meters from Kang Soojung. Then he made a fuss about almost having a hole in his chest.
Ignoring Seo Jihyuk, Kang Soojung picked up the thread of the interrupted conversation. Then she said to me awkwardly:
“What I wanted to say is, I’d like to ask you to focus on helping the Koreans, including the Engineer A Team, escape this underwater base as much as possible.”
“Does Team Leader Shin share the same thoughts as Deputy Team Leader Kang?”
From what I’ve seen, it seems like his opinion differs somewhat from Deputy Team Leader Kang’s. So how does that work? Kang Soojung lightly denied it.
“I’m not saying I’m going to go to Orphion and issue an eviction order to Tumanako and Henry. As I said, this is just my opinion. I’ll continue to follow Team Leader Shin’s decisions. The reason I’m bringing this up is······.”
Kang Soojung looked at me intently and said:
“I tend to have good intuition, and I feel like the biggest variable in escaping this place will depend on what decisions you make.”ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Well. If my decisions had been excellent, I would have already escaped the underwater base.
“I’ve already spilled all the information I had through the broadcast. I think it’s more important for the engineers to judge where to go based on that information.”
It seems that everyone who heard the broadcast cherry-picked the information they liked. Kang Soojung, who suggests only Koreans should escape together, is rather honest.