Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

If we had touched any of those gems, it would have been like announcing to everyone at the second underwater base that we were all here. I am grateful for the company I had upon entering this exhibition hall. Their rationality and self-control saved us all from getting entangled in a potential disaster, something that could have easily happened if I had been slightly greedier or if the others had insisted on taking the gems.

Despite the android’s voice, only Baek Ae-young and Shin Haeryang kept looking ahead and to the sides, not at Seo Jihyuk. Baek Ae-young muttered something under her breath that sounded to me like ‘idiot’. It was a fitting remark. Thinking of taking gems in a situation like this was absurd.

We were passing through the gem exhibition hall in silence, our pace quickening. Everything around us was indeed beautiful and dazzling, but we knew that touching or greedily taking any of these could ruin our lives in an instant.

As we passed the giant sodalite and spessartine (both of which I’d never heard of before), Baek Ae-young clenched and then relaxed her fist, signaling to Shin Haeryang and Seo Jihyuk. They stopped upon seeing her signal and then Baek Ae-young ducked behind a stone labeled ‘kyanite’, as large as a person. Yoo Geum-yi and Seo Jihyuk hid behind a bear-sized spinel. I didn’t know why we were hiding, but given what had happened so far, someone must be coming.

Soon enough, I realized people were indeed approaching. They were coming from the exit of the exhibition hall, opposite to where we had entered. If not for Baek Ae-young, we would have run into them head-on.

There were about six armed people, with three walking in the middle. One of the faces seemed familiar, but the other two were strangers to me. Baek Ae-young sighed something about ‘Michael Roaker’, and I tried to place the name, recalling the man I had met in the elevator. Who was he, what was his role?

The trio walked towards the central diamond. This was good for us; their goal was the center, ours was the exit. We just had to move in opposite directions without crossing paths. But Baek Ae-young and Shin Haeryang didn’t move, nor did Seo Jihyuk and Yoo Geum-yi, who were half-leaning against the pedestal displaying the spinel. Why weren’t we moving now?

I soon realized why our team wasn’t moving. About 2 meters away from where a blue mineral was placed, a man with an automatic rifle was standing guard. And about 10 meters from there, next to a red mineral the size of a human torso (I think it was called red beryl), two more men were looking around with their guns.

The group that had entered from the exit of the exhibition hall was leaving armed personnel at intervals, like Hansel and Gretel dropping breadcrumbs. Why not move as a single group? Why were they dropping off armed people along the way? Perhaps those at the center would regroup with them on their way to the exit.

This gem exhibition did not seem designed for visitors to easily view the jewels. As we walked down the central aisle of the rectangular exhibition hall, we could only see the gems placed along the sides of the aisle, not all the gems. The gems were scattered around like an explosion radiating from the central diamond.

If we had to act immediately to escape, I thought it wouldn’t be impossible to hide behind the variously sized gem pedestals and make our way to the exit. The key was to stay as silent as possible while hiding and reaching the exit. However, the veteran, Shin Haeryang, seemed to have a different idea. He motioned for us to stay still and quiet. He whispered this to me and gestured the same to Seo Jihyuk. Seo Jihyuk then told the android carrying him to quietly enjoy the gems, and he whispered something to Yoo Geum-yi – probably telling her to stay put too.

Hiding behind the large gems was quite uncomfortable. The space wasn’t wide enough for three people to hide. As my legs began to cramp from crouching, I tried to stretch them out, but Shin Haeryang quickly told me to tuck them back in. I complied, breathing as softly as I could. The armed men were standing about 2 meters away in the corridor, chatting among themselves and occasionally speaking into their radios. I couldn’t quite catch their conversation.

Sitting on the cold floor in an incredibly tired state made me feel as if all my senses were drifting away. The sounds of the ventilation system, the conversations of the armed personnel, and the occasional low voices of Shin Haeryang and Baek Ae-young buzzed in my ears. All I wanted was to wash up, brush my teeth, and lie down for a good sleep.

I felt utterly exhausted and drained. Hugging my thighs to my chest and gripping my calves tightly, I huddled up, making sure I was not visible from outside, while clutching the cat bag. I felt like a little child. Baek Ae-young, peering over the gems at the people, grumbled with frustration. Her voice was so low it was almost like the sound of the wind.

Suddenly, I found myself lying sideways in an overturned car. My father was holding my hand, pulling me. “Wake up! Hyun-ah! Wake up! You need to regain consciousness!”

I don’t know how much time had passed, but Shin Haeryang was shaking my shoulder and covering my mouth with his hand. Had I fallen asleep for a few seconds or passed out? When I woke up, everything was as it was when we first hid. We were still waiting. But then I heard footsteps. The nine people who had walked toward the center were now returning to this area. I covered my mouth with my hands and silently prayed they would pass us by. Baek Ae-young and Shin Haeryang didn’t even peek out, just hid their bodies in the shadows of the large kyanite pedestal and its stone, holding their breath.

Seo Jihyuk and Yoo Geum-yi were also curled up as much as possible, seemingly trusting the enormous spinel beside them for protection. Listening to the footsteps of people passing under the gems, my mind strangely entertained the thought that all this suffering could end if I just ran out to them. The impulse to lie down like Jennifer and the others, just staring at the floor, seemed much less exhausting than running and hiding like this, considering we were dealing with hostage-takers.

It wouldn’t be pleasant with them, but wouldn’t it be better than sneaking around, searching for an inoperable escape pod, observing useless elevators, or struggling to get to a dubious underwater cable car? Such thoughts briefly crossed my mind.

However, looking at the others in the same predicament, I suppressed that urge. We had made it here from the leaking fourth underwater base 3000 meters below. We were close to escaping. Just a little more perseverance was needed!

Besides, we had attacked two of the same cult members at the third underwater base, killing one for sure. There was also a cult member tied up in the bathroom at the second underwater base. Wouldn’t they just shoot us if they knew what we had done? Wouldn’t they simply decide to shoot us all? I leaned my head against the pedestal, staring blankly at where Seo Jihyuk and Yoo Geum-yi were hiding. Yoo Geum-yi and Seo Jihyuk were also waiting for them to pass by. Please. Just pass by. Just pass by.

However, a man from the group of cult members, leading the way with a gun, called out to the android. “Maris!” At this, the android sitting next to Seo Jihyuk abruptly stood up. Even just from the sound, I could tell that the man’s gun was now pointed in that direction.

Yoo Geum-yi covered her mouth with both hands, frozen in shock, while Seo Jihyuk, dazed, watched the android rise and leave his side. Observing Baek Ae-young’s knuckles whitening as she gripped her gun, I swallowed silently with tension.

Seo Jihyuk clenched his teeth while staring at his legs. Yoo Geum-yi slowly got up from where she had been sitting on the floor, crouching slightly, ready to run at any moment. I also eyed the gems displayed nearby, figuring out where to run if necessary, as cold sweat started to form on my back. Listening to Shin Haeryang’s calm breathing in this tense situation felt strangely unsettling.

The android, surrounded by gunpoints but without hesitation, walked towards the man who had called it. Stopping in front of him, the android said,

“Welcome to the exhibition of ‘The Great Birth of Life and the Passage of Time at Sea, Mr. David Knight. How may I assist you?”

“Tell me the number of people in this exhibition hall.”

The man’s request to know the number of people shocked me; my mind seemed to freeze. An android can’t lie. It would typically respond with what it knows to such a straightforward question. There were 9 cult members and 5 of us. Depending on the android’s answer, our presence could be immediately revealed.

Shin Haeryang, seeing the android’s response, gestured for me to continue crawling, but not towards the exit. Instead, we were to move towards the center of the exhibition hall, hiding among the gems. I lay flat on the ground, clenching my fists, inching away from the armed group. Baek Ae-young crawled up behind me. The android, known as Maris, paused for a few seconds before answering.

“The total number of people currently in this exhibition hall is 14.”

The man called David Knight raised his eyebrows at this response. I crawled about five meters before squeezing under the sturdy marble pedestal of a bright blue mineral called benitoite. Baek Ae-young soon joined me, biting her lip and hiding beside me. From a distance, Seo Jihyuk seemed to be mouthing curses at the android. I licked my dry lips in anxiety. What should we do? What now? How do we get out of this?

The cult members’ curses at the android’s answer reached us. Shin Haeryang suddenly touched my back with his left hand, almost making me scream. His action seemed to be signaling me to stay calm. I tried hard to quiet my loud, fear-induced breathing, my palms and back soaked in sweat.

“Where are the others hiding, besides our group of 9?”