Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

Baek Ae-young and Yoo Geum-yi came out of the women’s restroom. Their faces were now free of the dust and grime that had previously been stuck to them.

“You look much cleaner now.”

“You too, Moohyun-ssi.”

As we walked under the light, it almost felt as if their previous journey through the dark stairways had been a dream. The desire to lie down and take a deep breath was overwhelming. Just as we were about to leave the restroom, supporting Seo Jihyuk, Baek Ae-young, who had already left the restroom and was in the hallway, gestured at us. It seemed like she was signaling for us to go back in.

Almost dragging Seo Jihyuk, I re-entered the men’s restroom. Right after, Yoo Geum-yi and Baek Ae-young followed us in. Peeking outside, I saw Shin Haeryang, who had been tasked with watching Seo Jihyuk, hiding in the disabled men’s restroom next to ours.

Through the gap in the door, a man approached the restrooms. Although he wore a black hat, it lacked the shark brooch. Seo Jihyuk and Baek Ae-young were ready, gripping weapons that seemed to appear out of nowhere. The tension was palpable. The man hesitated for a few seconds looking at the gender signs, and then entered the women’s restroom. Wait, why?

“?”

“?”

“Why did he go there?”

“That perverted bastard.”

It seemed like if the man had entered the men’s restroom, Shin Haeryang, hiding in the disabled men’s restroom, would have ambushed him from behind while Baek Ae-young and Seo Jihyuk confronted him up front. Flabbergasted, Shin Haeryang came out of his hiding spot and entered the women’s restroom, followed by Baek Ae-young. Seo Jihyuk stayed with me. The man was easily captured—caught in the act at the sink. Why was he using the sink for that? My head was about to explode from trying to comprehend what was happening. 

“Don’t try to understand people like that. It’s beyond the understanding of normal people.”

“Yes.”

Nodding at Seo Jihyuk’s comment, I went to look at the captured man. He wore a black cap but lacked a brooch. Had the cap been slightly softer at the end, it wouldn’t have reminded anyone of a shark. The man had raised his hands willingly and knelt down. He looked to be in his early to mid-20s. The cult member we had seen earlier seemed to be in his 40s.

Only after taking a second look did I realize that he was a patient I had treated before. The man, kneeling with his head bowed, hadn’t recognized me yet. I motioned to Baek Ae-young, pointing from my eyes to the man with my index and middle fingers, and then rubbed my face. Her expression became ambiguous.

“You want us to gouge out his eyes and skin his face?”

Both the captured man and Yoo Geum-yi looked at Baek Ae-young and me with alarm, prompting me to clarify hurriedly.

“…I know him.”

“Ah, I see. That’s another way to interpret it.”

Why was she interpreting it so ominously…never mind.

“His name is Tyler Jones, and he’s an engineer.”

Tyler suddenly lifted his head and scanned the faces of everyone around him. When his eyes finally met mine, he recognized me. It seemed like we both already knew each other because we were both engineers. It’s just that neither of us wanted to admit it.

“You’re the dentist!”

“Hello, Tyler. I have a few questions. “Just answer the questions well, and there won’t be any trouble,” I almost said but swallowed the words. I couldn’t assure Tyler’s safety at all. While I had no intention of harming Tyler, I wasn’t sure about the others around me. Violence was seldom absent when encountering strangers. Beside me, Baek Ae-young looked as if she could shoot bullets with her eyes, and Shin Haeryang shared a similar expression.

“Ah, are you flossing well?”

At the question, Yoo Geum-yi and Seo Jihyuk’s faces contorted strangely and they took about three steps back from me.

I don’t know what you’re all misunderstanding, but you’re completely wrong.

I sat down on the bathroom floor to make eye contact with the opponent who was kneeling and covering his head with his hands. 

The cleaning robot should clean it up well. This clothing is ruined anyway. 

Despite sitting face to face with Tyler, neither Shin Haeryang nor Baek Ae-young tried to stop me. They would probably stop me if I were to go out… right?

“I haven’t used it yet! I still have it as it was given to me.”

“Flossing is a must. But are you a believer of the Infinity Church?”

Tyler looked around nervously and then nodded.

“Yes.”

“Since when did you join?”

“About half a year ago.”

“How many members are there?”

“As far as I have seen… around 60.”

“Are there about that many armed people in the underwater base?”

“Yes. There are also a few on the surface.”

He answered my questions rather candidly. At his words, Shin Haeryang, who was aiming a gun, and Yoo Geum-yi in the corner frowned. Seo Jihyuk sighed deeply. The information is different from what I got at the third underwater base. That person said there were about 20. Who’s right, who’s wrong? Only Baek Ae-young kept aiming her gun at the man’s head as if a dog was barking.

“Why today?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why did you seize the underwater base today? Is there a reason?”

Above all, this was what I was most curious about. Why. Why? Why?! Why did it have to be today! It would have been nice if they fought and squabbled a week before I came. Why did this happen just five days after I arrived! Why!

“Uh… today was said to be the best day. It’s Ocean Day, so the chance of obtaining eternal life increases.”

Upon hearing this, Yoo Geum-yi scratched her cheek and said, “World Oceans Day is on June 8th, you know. Are you sure it’s today? Not 8 days later?”

Today is May 31st. Could they have brought the event forward by 8 days?

“Yes. Our leader said we had to take action today.”

“I see. What’s the difference between people who have the shark brooch and those who don’t?”

Pointing to my empty chest, Tyler looked at my fingertip and then said, “Ah! That. It shows whether you have dentures or not.”

At that comment, chills ran down my spine. Dentures?

“Dentures? You mean, implanting false teeth?”

“Yeah, if you make dentures with shark teeth, you can receive a brooch. But it’s not forced; only those who want to do it participate. I didn’t want to do it, so I didn’t. They even offer to do it for free, but I didn’t like the idea of pulling out perfectly good teeth.”

At those words, I felt people’s eyes lock onto the back of my head. Wow… Please don’t suspect me.

“Have you heard where the previous people got their dental treatments?”

“They said they went to Hawaii for it. But I heard the doctor’s skills there aren’t good, so it hurts a lot when it’s removed.”

If Tyler had exclaimed right here, in this underwater base, ‘You did the treatment!’ then Baek Ae-young might have aimed her gun at me. Whether Tyler is that thoughtless or just speaks without thinking, I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Now I understand why the cult investigated me. Going all the way to Hawaii for dental treatment must’ve been inconvenient. Now that there’s a dental office inside the underwater base and the treatment is free, they seemed to want to recruit me to make dentures out of shark teeth.

My spine shivered. What if I were a devout Christian? Or believed in Buddhism, or was a Muslim? Suddenly, I remembered Baek Ae-young saying ‘Their way of thinking is extreme.’ And Seo Jihyuk’s words that it would take over two hours for the police to arrive. Would I have quietly disappeared if I had a religion?

I pondered Tyler’s words and then asked, “Are there any benefits if I join this organization? I mean, there has to be something good about joining.”

“It varies from person to person. They gave me a lot of money.”

Oh, that’s an attractive benefit. Who doesn’t like money?

“How much?”

“Enough to not regret joining.”

“I have a substantial amount of student loans; does the cult pay it off for you?”

When I asked with a smile, Tyler surprisingly nodded seriously.

“Plus, they also provide money for housing and medical expenses.”

I closed my mouth. This religious group must be extremely wealthy. Who did they squeeze dry to gather so much money? Clearly, they didn’t earn it through sweat, blood, and paying taxes like everyone else; someone must have been squeezed dry.

“Are there any conditions to abide by when joining?”

“Uh… all I’ve sworn is to help on the Day of Infinity. I also joined just for the money without thinking the Day of Infinity would actually come. I never imagined I’d have to run around shooting people with a gun! There are things like embedding shark teeth or piercings with jewels. But it’s not a must. Praying to the God of the Sea once a month. Ah! And not littering in the sea, helping our friends the sharks, opposing shark fishing, opposing shark finning, opposing radioactive waste dumping in the sea, opposing underwater base construction, things like that? I joined because it’s like a Greenpeace organization and they said they pay a lot of money.”

Tyler looked the youngest among us but seemed to be around the same age as Baek Ae-young. From his faltering voice, he didn’t seem to have joined out of strong conviction or unwavering will. The deeds of this heavily armed organization killing people seemed okay considering its themes? Yoo Geum-yi, who was next to him, sighed deeply as if deflated after hearing Tyler’s words.

“Geum-yi-ssi?”

“Greenpeace began as an organization hoisting a green flag on their boat to protest against nuclear tests in the sea and islands. Well, the Church of Infinity seems to be fooling people into confusing them with organizations like Greenpeace on the surface. They are doing things like opposing whaling, wildlife habitat conservation, and opposing nuclear development, after all.”

Hearing that, Tyler spoke as if defending his organization.

“Ah. They are indeed similar. We have even sunk fishing boats that were shark fishing before. We are definitely protecting nature!”

Geum-yi’s mouth gaped open. Baek Ae-young shook her head as if disgusted by Tyler’s stupidity, and Seo Jihyuk narrowed his eyes before speaking.

“Sinking fishing boats? Greenpeace is a non-violent organization. What nonsense are you confidently spouting?”

“……Uh.”

I also lost my words. Did the people on the fishing boat all die? Although fishing was banned…