After wandering around the central district for 10 minutes, I found a place that seed most similar to a dental clinic.
[Deep Blue]
Next to the English words, a great white shark’s skull was displayed in front of the dental clinic. The teeth and head alone seed to be about 3 ters long. Moreover, a single great white shark tooth was as big as a thumb. When I entered, I saw a few pictures of what appeared to be great white sharks hanging on the walls.
I stared back at the shark’s eyes, which glared at with their pure white color, for a few seconds before turning away. The interior design seed to effectively push people further away from an already uninviting dental clinic. Not knowing who had set it up, I was determined to cautiously remove a few pictures when my eyes were drawn to the dental unit chair first.
Wow. This is the latest model. It’s the one that can take X-rays directly from the chair. All the instrunts are new.
I frantically began searching for basic equipnt. New scaler, probe, forceps, suction, spoon, high-speed handpiece, low-speed handpiece, and checking whether the unit chair was working.
Then a blonde woman knocked on the wall twice. As she did, the wall opened automatically, revealing a storage space. There were trays, injectors, and clamps.
After thanking her, I knocked on every wall, finding mouth gags, forceps and tissue forceps, and blades with so bruises. On another wall, there were bands, pin cutters, wires, bone files, crown grippers, needles, etc. Clearly new, but haphazardly shoved in without any thought for workflow, or left unopened in boxes placed directly in the storage cabinet. I was in a frenzy, opening box after box after box.
“Lidocaine (local anesthetic) is to be picked up from the hospital on the first floor,” she said.
I ca to my senses, realizing I had been frantically tearing open boxes and searching for syringes while she watched. Maybe the stress of opening tomorrow had gotten to .
“Hello, I’m the dentist who arrived today, Park Muhyun.”
“Hello, I’m Elliot Brown. Please call Elliot. You seem very busy.”
“They say we’re opening tomorrow,” I replied, worried that a patient was arriving soon.
Then, Elliot handed a coffee. I put down the forceps in my hand – I couldn’t find the scissors, so I was scratching the boxes open with forceps – and held the coffee. The sll of coffee made feel reborn.
“Thank you.”
Seeing nervously trying to share warmth with the hot coffee with my trembling hands, Elliot reassured , “Calm down. You have one patient scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.”
“One? …One? I heard there are 1,000 people working here? One patient for my first opening? And then I’m free?”
I had imagined that the people at the underwater base would rush into the dental clinic like angry wild boars, fighting with their feet and fists to get treatnt first and refusing to line up.
I couldn’t see the details, but it couldn’t be that urgent. It’s the first appointnt when the dental clinic opens. That person must be one of the bravest people at the underwater base. Hmm. There are about 500 people in the 4th Underwater Base, about 100 in the 3rd, 100 in the 2nd, and 100 in the 1st. With about 150 people on the artificial island, it’s approximately 1,000 people.
“I expected at least 20 to 30 people to co every day.”
“Well, today is Sunday, so there are only 20 people with appointnts for next week. Don’t worry too much.”
At those words, I collapsed to the floor, feeling all the energy and passion drain from my body. By simple calculation, there should be about four people per day. As the imdiate pressure lifted a little, I sipped the coffee Elliot had given .
“Everyone at the underwater base knows that you’re not ready. That’s why people will start making appointnts when they know the early goers have visited the dental clinic and survived. By now, people might think we’re yanking out teeth in droves, treating patients without anesthesia, or punching cheeks to extract wisdom teeth.”
“Luckily, I can cater to those expectations.”
Elliot laughed for the first ti at my joke. She was beautiful when she laughed. Her exposed teeth were white and well-aligned.
“I’m conducting psychological counseling here. First-ti visitors must undergo counseling. But now… it seems like you don’t have ti,” Elliot trailed off as she looked at the unopened boxes and scattered dical equipnt.
Worried she might suggest starting right away, I quickly scheduled a ti.
“Is it okay if I contact you around Wednesday? I should have so free ti by then.”
“Stay strong.”
With those words, Elliot disappeared like the wind. I quickly gathered and organized the essential items. Searching through the drawers, I found a small shark skull to put on the counseling desk. I wished I could et the person who decorated this place. As the underwater ambiance was dim and cheerless, I removed all the depictions of white-eyed sharks against a murky water backdrop from the walls.
By the ti I finished drinking the coffee Elliot had given , I had barely managed to set up a dental clinic that wouldn’t be criticized for its cleanliness. Dust was flying around.
But you can’t exactly open a window at -3,000 ters underwater, can you?
As I sat in the underwater base, I prayed that the ventilation would work flawlessly, though I imagined my dental professor would faint if he saw where I was. Having been there for five hours, I realized I hadn’t eaten anything aside from a piece of bread given to as a gesture of kindness upon arrival via helicopter. Feeling hunger pangs, I left the dental clinic and made my way to the central dining hall.
To my surprise, the dining hall was a buffet-style arrangent with a wide variety of tasty food options. From rice and kimchi to flatfish, dumplings, sushi, lamb ribs, and an assortnt of sandwiches, there was sothing for everyone. I even discovered several different soups to choose from. Despite being aware that people from eight different countries worked there, I never would have guessed the food would be so delicious, especially considering it was an underwater base.
I hastily filled my plate and introduced myself as the new dentist to everyone I t. I t so many people that I hardly rembered any of them. After asking nurous questions, I arrived at my room in Section 38, where my luggage was waiting for . The fact that my suitcase had found its way back to was a silent comfort.
I should buy so snacks later to thank Ms. Kang Sujeong. Ah, and so bread for Ms. Yoo Geum-yi and coffee for Ms. Elliot.
I grabbed my shower supplies and toothbrush and headed to the shower room I had spotted before coming to the lodging. There were quite a few stalls in the shower room, each a private room where you could lock the door from the inside. The doors were semi-transparent, so it was easy to tell whether soone was inside or not. I tasted the water a bit; it was smooth but not seawater.
How many tons of water were being produced within the underwater base through desalination?
I couldn’t rember since I had just skimd through the base’s description. After washing up and drying my hair, I returned to my room.
I opened the electronic pad that Priya had given and accessed the underwater base program. The dental clinic was called [Deep Blue]. Selecting Deep Blue, I found descriptions that even I, a dentist, was not familiar with. Deep Blue at the 4th underwater base was a dental clinic nad after a famous great white shark.
····As far as I know, most shark attacks on humans were by great white sharks. I’m curious if the clinic is planning to invite patients with a na like that.
Their teeth are about 3cm to 6cm in length, and they are known to swim up vertically from below to tear off their prey. From the description, it almost sounded like they were flying out of the water to pounce on their target. They are highly intelligent and can bite a human body into two pieces with one bite.
As I read through the description, the idea of encountering one seed like a death sentence. I resigned from the ntal battle simulation between myself and the great white shark and continued reading.
With approximately 3,000 teeth, the great white shark possesses triangular-shaped, serrated teeth that are arranged in three rows, constantly being replaced as they fall out or break during their hunting pursuits. The underwater base’s clinic, which prioritized the dental hygiene of its inhabitants, was aptly nad after Deep Blue – the great white shark known for its colossal size, formidable jaws, and impressive hunting abilities. I found myself re-reading this passage multiple tis.
After committing almost the entire sentence to mory, I realized that I could at least flash a smile when patients asked like, “Why is this dental clinic called Deep Blue? What is that shark skull placed in front of the clinic?”
If it were up to , I would have nad it sothing simple like White Shark Dental Clinic or Shark Dental Clinic.
Maybe it’s because foreigners nad it.
Deep Blue – evokes a sense of sinking into a dark and somber ocean, which might not be the most inviting atmosphere for a dental clinic. If it were up to , I would have nad it Light Blue to make it more welcoming for those who co to the dental clinic. But then again, maybe the locals here are fond of the great white sharks.
As I entered the reservation page, there was indeed only one patient coming tomorrow, as Elliott had said. Yoo Geum-yi. Reason for visit: molar cavity. I now understood why Yoo Geum-yi seed to behave as if there was no need to worry about a dentist who didn’t even know where the dental clinic was. The patient seed generous to a new dentist who didn’t even know where their treatnt room was.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
The program allowed to move reservation tis to other days, and if I pressed the confirmation button on a reserved patient’s na, it would send an alarm to them. I sent Yoo Geum-yi an alarm confirming the reservation request.
I’m curious about how the alarm I sent appears on the patients’ electronic pads.
There were two to three reservations per day on other dates as well, but I turned off the pad after looking at a few characters of the people’s nas. I’d see them plenty later anyway.
As I took out my clothes from the carrier and carefully organized them, I took out a family photo that was deeply wrapped inside the clothes. Nowadays, people mostly take digital photos, but if you leave them in the photo gallery, you won’t see them often. By printing them out and placing them next to in so way, I can at least glance at them once or twice a day. In the past, I didn’t understand why adults printed out family photos and put them on their desks, next to their beds, on the walls, and in their wallets. I wished I could continue not understanding.
The underwater base shook slightly. I fell asleep in an instant in my new bed.
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