Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

The warmth and softness on my back felt comfortable. Whether it was because it was tame, or if cats were naturally like this, I was surprised that the first one I met didn’t try to bite or scratch me. I had forgotten to let the cat go, but someone must have taken care of it. Don’t animals also need water? What do cats eat? Do they eat rats?

What about snakes? Don’t they eat rats as well? Do they both lap up water to swallow it? Since I’ve never raised an animal before, I’m uncertain. My only experience with snakes eating is from watching animal channels on TV, where they hunt rats in the wild.

Do we even have rats in this underwater base? Could I even catch one for them in this situation? I don’t even know if it’s venomous. What should I do once we escape? Who keeps cats and snakes? I got them on the spur of the moment, but now I realize there are more than one or two things to consider. But I couldn’t just leave them to die in that seawater.

Baek Ae-young shined the flashlight around before it landed on the cat sitting on my stomach. She then changed the direction of the light. It looked like she had been the one carrying the cat around all this time.

“Does anyone in East District own a cat?”

There was silence in response to this question as well. I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal if I asked again, given that everyone already knew about the cat and a snake wouldn’t make things any worse.

“Or does anyone own a snake?”

“A snake? Isn’t it… poisonous?”

Seo Jihyuk seemed exhausted, lying down without moving. It was difficult to answer. I couldn’t ask the snake whether it was poisonous.

“I don’t know. I picked it up from a cage while escaping from the East District’s dormitory.”

“Where is that snake now?”

At Shin Haeryang’s voice, I pointed to my bag beside me, then realizing it was too dark for anyone to see, I yawned and then finally said, “It’s in a small pouch in my bag.”

“Have you been bitten?”

“No… Actually, I’m not sure. If I were bitten, wouldn’t I be dead by now?”

“The venom might not be neurotoxic. Hemotoxic venom can cause death in as quickly as 20 minutes, or usually takes around 2 hours.”

Shin Haeryang had a knack for making hearts skip a beat with just a single sentence. I couldn’t believe how anxious I became in just a few seconds. I might have put my hand in and out of the bag after I found the snake. Had I felt pain? I couldn’t remember. I was too preoccupied. Climbing the stairs had made me so tired, I felt like I’d be okay even if I died from snake venom right now. A voice sounded in the darkness. It was Yoo Geum-yi’s.

“What happened to the other people?”

“Which other people?”

“The ones who took the central elevator. Like Henry, Jennifer, or Gayoung unni, or the Russians. Those who escaped using the escape pod or those who took the submarine. Also the people at our research center.”

“They could be dead or alive. Escaping, or captured by a cult. Or caught and killed. We can’t really afford to think about others right now.”

At the sound of Seo Jihyuk’s sluggish voice, Baek Ae-young stood up, stretched her back like a cat, and let out a caustic laugh.

“We don’t have that luxury either, injured.”

“… Geum-yi-ssi, I take back my previous statement. I beg of you to keep an eye out. No, think hard about others as well. Life is precious. Everyone is someone’s precious family, friend, or lover. Helping someone can change the future for them.”

Listening to Seo Jihyuk talk like a public service announcement made me chuckle. I heard Yoo Geum-yi’s laughter in my ear.

I dragged the bag with the snake across the floor, and three pieces of candy fell out. I handed one each to the two women, and approached where the men were sitting on the floor. I asked who among the two would eat the remaining candy.

Looking bothered, Shin Haeryang shook his head and said, “Please gag Jihyuk’s mouth. I’m fine.”

“You know you can still talk with candy in your mouth, right?!”

The last bit of food went to the injured one. Since Baek Ae-young first took out cups of fruit from her bag during our initial rest and declared, “You must eat to be able to go up! No refusal. If it’s given, you have to eat!”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Since then, everyone ate whatever was shared immediately.

I realized why we were fed as we climbed. We wouldn’t have been able to climb all these stairs on an empty stomach. We had become stair-climbing experts.

We should be arriving at the second underwater base soon. I was hopeful that Shin Haeryang might give even a brief speech. Something like, “We’ve climbed well so far. We will soon arrive at the second underwater base. This is the result of everyone’s actions. We’ve climbed more than half the way.” However, he only uttered a low word in the darkness,

“Let’s go.”

A glimmer of hope wrapped around me as I realized there were only a few stairs left. Soon, it would be the second underwater base. Let’s muster up some strength. Seo Jihyuk scratched his head from a corner and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

…I’ll be the first to shower once we get out. Gotta get rid of these clothes too. Am I the only one sensitive about hygiene? My hope for the future was valid until the 30th step. Beyond that, my heavy legs didn’t want to climb any further.

After letting out dozens of sighs, I stared into the darkness and asked.

“How could they even build a structure like this underwater? This can’t be easy.”

“Nothing’s impossible when you throw money at it. We’re even sending people to Mars.”

Shin Haeryang added in the darkness after hearing Seo Jihyuk’s straightforward words.

“This base is said to be a combination of impossible designs and the most cutting-edge technologies humanity has. When they first started building the North Pacific underwater base, all kinds of people whose jobs had the word ‘ocean’ in them gathered: naval architects, civil engineers, drillers, and so on. They’ve probably moved to the Atlantic underwater base by now. It was said that all the concrete and rebar produced over decades in North Pacific countries were used for these four military bases.”

I heard through the news that shipbuilding and construction industries had revived due to the underwater base. There were also quite a few people who chose marine engineering over aerospace engineering. As for me, I chose dentistry, looking for a stable income—only to find myself in this collapsing underwater base. Life is strange. Just a week ago, I never thought I’d be climbing these unknown, dark stairs to avoid cultists and armed thugs.

“Let’s have faith in cutting-edge technology. Experts must have considered safety as a top priority. If I were a boss, I’d make all the safety experts in marine structures live in the fourth underwater base. Since you declared it safe, you live here,” or something like that.

“What do you think would happen if the underwater base collapses?”

Seo Jihyuk waited for Shin Haeryang to speak but finally broke the silence.

“We would die. Not sure if they’d even find our bodies. The fish would probably eat us.”

He was right. The moment Seo Jihyuk finished speaking, I remembered a story about diving for three days to retrieve a body. Just as I was about to agree with his shortsighted view, we climbed a few more steps and heard Shin Haeryang’s voice.

“…The impact would be enormous. It was a project started by putting Mars programs and Frontier projects on hold. Even though the first Atlantic underwater base is expected to complete by the end of next year, it would still be affected. North Sea underwater base construction might not even start. …But I’m more concerned about the pollution in the North Pacific after the collapse. The experts would know better.”

Ah. A long-term perspective. I’d like to watch TV and think of all the experts’ talk about the underwater base as someone else’s problem. I reflected a little on my anxiety about the collapsing fourth underwater base.

“Aren’t you worried about unemployment?”

A soft chuckle sounded. I couldn’t tell whether it was Seo Jihyuk or Shin Haeryang. I don’t get why they’re laughing.

“Don’t you, Moohyun-ssi, have a job that’s far from related to the collapse of the underwater base?”

“I do, but I don’t have the money to start my own practice. If I could, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Is that so.”

“That’s right. How do we make a living if we get out of here alive? I’ll have to think about whether to continue as an engineer. What about you, Team Leader?”

“I’ll take a three-month break and think about it.”

And then we climbed the stairs. Seo Jihyuk vented about all the complaints he had about his job. He must not have enjoyed life in the underwater base. He then started listing all the jobs he could switch to, as he majored in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. I nodded. As for me, I’m still a dentist. Judging by what Seo Jihyuk said, we wouldn’t starve to death. It took me a while to realize that Seo Jihyuk was venting his anxieties through chatter.

By the time Seo Jihyuk was tired of talking, the three-man party had gone silent. I looked at the two adults, recalling a question I used to ask children who came to the dental clinic.

“Do you know which creature has the most teeth? I used to ask this question to kids at the dental clinic. If they got it right, I would give them a toothbrush. Of course, I’d give them one even if they got it wrong.”

“A shark?”

“Wrong, Seo Jihyuk-ssi. If you open a shark’s mouth, you’ll only find around 300 teeth. What about you, Shin Haeryang?”

“I have no idea. I was also thinking about sharks. Or maybe a whale.”

“The correct answer is… a snail! It has over 10,000 teeth. They’re on its tongue and are used to lick fruits and leaves. Since we don’t lick fruits and leaves, we have to brush our teeth diligently.”

“Applause.”

Seo Jihyuk had entrusted both of his arms to Shin Haeryang, making it impossible for him to clap, so he spoke as if clapping with his mouth.

“Alright, next question. What is an animal with no teeth?”

“Are there animals without teeth?”

At Seo Jihyuk’s question, I nodded my head. How childlike. His question was identical to what elementary school students often asked. Speaking of which, how old is Seo Jihyuk?

“Yes. There are three. Teeth and claws may be their primary weapons, but these animals can live without teeth.”

“Is it an anteater?”

I was so surprised that I almost stopped climbing the stairs for a moment. I had thrown a lot of questions, but this was the first time an answer had come back. Normally, I pose the question and tell the patient to think about it while administering treatment. When I ask for the answer after the treatment, most either forgot the question due to pain or screaming, or they answered incorrectly.

“Ding-dong-daeng-dong. Yes. One is an anteater.”

“Anteaters don’t have teeth, Team Leader?”

Shin Haeryang replied with a sigh.

“Given the name, it sounds like they’d only have a tongue.”

“Yes, that’s correct. They don’t have teeth, just a tongue. What about the other two?”

“Koala!”

“Wrong!”

“Elephant?”

“Wrong!”

My voice must have been loud, as Yoo Geum-yi, who was standing on the tall stairs, asked.

“What are you three doing?”

“We were discussing animals without teeth. Do you happen to know any?”

“Armadillo.”

Yoo Geum-yi said without hesitation. It’s such a privilege to be able to gather with people more knowledgeable than me, especially in challenging situations like this.

“Ding-dong-daeng-dong. Correct! Armadillos don’t have teeth. Only one more left!”

Seo Jihyuk began to list all sorts of animals in frustration.

“I have no idea. Camel?”

“Wrong.”

“Giraffe?”

“Wrong.”

“Panda!”

“Nope.”

“Sloth?”

“Yes, correct! It’s a sloth!”

The blue light on the necklace illuminated Seo Jihyuk’s face, which looked as pleased as a child. At least he got one right. Makes me want to give him a toothbrush or dental floss as a gift.