I wondered how much different this whole situation was from a dream. The escape pod control panels in the West District were damaged from the shock and didnt display anything on the screens or respond when buttons were pressed, but when I went to the South District, I discovered the escape pods were functioning normally. It was possible that the people who escaped through them hadnt died. And maybe the shootout hadnt happened in the East District either.
As I watched Kang Soojung walking ahead, I called out to her in an unknown anxiety.
Be careful! More prohibited items could have been brought into the underwater base. Who knows what else they snuck in other than the kid!
Kang Soojung looked at with an odd expression, then waved her hand largely and caught up to Jung Sanghyun ahead.
Yoo Geum-yi, Lee Jihyun, and I started heading towards the South District. Yoo Geum-yi occasionally glanced at the people now the size of a pinky finger. Seeing that, Lee Jihyun asked her.
Does it bother you?
YesIm not sure about the others, but Im worried about the kid that went with them. What if he gets hurt? Team Leader Kang doesnt like taking kids when escaping, right? Wouldnt it have been safer if we took the sleeping kid instead of leaving him to soone like that?
Itll be fine. On a moral level, the Deputy Team Leader has at least so basic line she doesnt cross. And no matter how much Sanghyun acts out, he cant ignore the Deputy Team Leaders orders.
In pure curiosity, I asked the obvious question to her.
Why cant he ignore them?
At that, Lee Jihyun lightly laughed. As we passed the Central District Theater 1 heading towards the South District, Lee Jihyun spoke slowly.
Deputy Team Leader Kang was a heavyweight boxing champion. There was one ti in the past when Sanghyun openly ignored work orders from the Deputy Team Leader. And also one big incident when Team Leader Shin was away on vacation that really blew up.
Ah. So thats why his teeth To ordinary people, Kang Soo-jungs teeth would look perfectly healthy, but I could see several teeth crowned from fractures. Deep Blue Underwater Dental had no policies related to mouth guards.
Id never made any here, but in regular dentistry we could custom make mouth guards for patients every so often there would be boxers or taekwondo athletes coming in to get fitted for them. Of course, more often there were people coming in because they hadnt worn mouth guards and had cracked teeth, lost teeth, or hairline fractures in their jaw bone.
Did she beat him up?
According to Sanghyun, after exchanging a few words with the Deputy Team Leader, they peacefully resolved their misunderstandings.
HuhI see.
The Deputy Team Leader isnt the type to see soone intentionally ruining work or not doing it properly and think Ah, that kind of person, I should give them less work, no work at all. He tries to make them do it anyway, even forcing them. Because if that person doesnt do their job right, the coworkers around them have to take on that burden instead.
Thats only natural for a superior to coordinate, but once you actually go out into the workforce, there are tons of people who arent like that. Ive seen it many tis an employee slacking off, a boss buddy-buddy with that employee, and the increased, unfair workload dumped onto the employees who then have to pick up their slack.
After my father passed and my family fell upon hard tis, I worked all sorts of part-ti jobs. More than once, just because I worked diligently, the slackers jobs got thrown to with everyone saying Thats just how he is, and the boss giving their work. Without paying any extra, either.
So shes fair?
Shes the best to work with. Along with Team Leader Shin. Ive worked at a few other places too, but more often than the intensity of the workload, it was awful bosses and colleagues that made quit. At least here, the work may be hard but theres less external stressors.
I recalled the story of Shin Haeryang punching soone for Baek Ae-young. It seed Team Leader Shin kept that kind of stress from reaching the employees. Upon hearing Jihyuns words, Yoo Geum-yi sighed in relief.
Thats good to hear then.
Right now, Sanghyun is desperate to get away from the Deputy Team Leader sohow.
Why?
He probably wants freedom.
Is he not very free right now?
Lee Jihyun smiled awkwardly and opened her mouth to reply but quickly crouched down. Kkeuddeugeugeugeugeuk! From far away ca an enormous sound, and the floor shook. Woowoowoowoong! The entire ceiling and walls were vibrating.
I shook back and forth with the building, and afraid the kids in my backpack would get crushed under if I fell backwards, I tumbled forwards onto the floor. Ow, Im gonna die . Glancing to the side, Yoo Geum-yi had already safely fallen to the floor. Lee Jihyun was the only one still standing among us. It was about 2-3 minutes before the shaking finally lessened sowhat. Lee Jihyun looked around before helping Yoo Geum-yi up first, then grabbed and pulled up while saying:
Lets hurry. The shock could have sealed off the South District living quarters.
When Yoo Geum-yi asked if it was an earthquake, Lee Jihyun shook her head and said:
I dont think so. Probably not.
Lee Jihyun grimaced as she looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds before speaking.
If it were an earthquake, it would have been magnitude 8 or higher. If that were the case, us still being alive would be a miracle in itself.
Our pace quickened. Being trapped in a place with the water level rising, I didnt want to experience that again not a second, third, no, adding that damn cable car, it would be the fourth ti. I was scared every ti I had to go into the water.
We walked briskly until we arrived at the connecting passage between Jungang-dong and the South District. After a long period of silent walking, Lee Jihyun asked :
Dr. Moohyun. When you said more prohibited items could have been brought in, what sort of things did you an?
HmI shouldnt talk about the animals.
With the passed out drunk Russians and people hiding sowhere smoking cigarettes pretending not to and the kid hidden in an empty room, I wouldnt be surprised if guns or drugs appeared too.
Co to think of it, no drugs appeared. Never show up, ever. Guns are troubleso enough already. My words indirectly inford Kang Soojung that clashes with people could occur, but not sure if she understood. Lee Jihyun seed to be deep in thought. Then she asked :
Doctor, does Jihyuk smoke?
Ah! Caught off guard by the sudden probing question, I contemplated for a few seconds how to respond before answering. Didnt she say Seo Jihyuk liked Lee Jihyun?
I cannot disclose patients dical information to others.
He said he quit. Okay, got it.
Just where did she make that deductive leap from what I said? As I was flustered, Lee Jihyun naturally glanced at , and afraid confirming anything more would be damning, I hurriedly shut my mouth. Lee Jihyun went on:
Lets head to the escape pod bay first, then the living quarters.
Why not go to the living quarters first?
I have several reasons, but in our current situation, if any functional escape pods are left, itd be best to send people off in them as quickly as possible. No need to struggle in this ocean any longer than necessary.
As she walked ahead of Yoo Geum-yi, Lee Jihyun gazed at her back and said that. Then she turned to .
And my going to the South District has the goal of rescuing the 5 trapped people in the living quarters, but more importantly securing any remaining escape pods. That takes priority over rescue.
As we walked through the passageway connected to the South District, I noticed Lee Jihyun muttering sothing small. When I asked what she was saying, Lee Jihyun spoke a bit shyly.
Umsince Im Christian, I was praying to God asking Him to save us.
Is it effective?
Well, we havent died yet.
Yoo Geum-yi, listening to my conversation with Jihyun, softly laughed. Without stopping, we briskly walked down the passageway and at the entrance to the South District, were t with a large sculpture of a tiger. the West District also had a quadruped animal statue when entering, but it didnt resemble a tiger at all.
Right at the corner of the South District, Yoo Geum-yi headed straight for the research center. Then she stopped in front of what looked to be a gigantic mass that was blocking the way a door-like thing that seed to completely obstruct the path leading to the research center. I dont think that was there before. Yoo Geum-yi frowned at the door-shaped blockade before raising her hand to the panel beside it.
[Beep. the South District Research Center is closed.]
As Yoo Geum-yi pressed the panel multiple tis unsuccessfully, Lee Jihyun approached and tried pressing it with her own hand. But it didnt open even for an engineer. What about ? When I placed my palm on it, still nothing. As Lee Jihyun fiddled with the panel, she told Yoo Geum-yi:
Theyve got it locked so that only Director-level or higher can enter.
Under what circumstances would it be closed off?
At my question, Yoo Geum-yi chewed her lip for a bit before replying:
There are many reasons. Could be a fire, or gas leak. Closing off the research center is for lab safety. Since the lab closest to here is the Deep Sea Bio Center, Director Angela Malone probably closed it off. Lab safety managent responsibility lies completely with each Centers director.
Upon hearing that na, I imdiately envisioned long blonde hair swimming through the ocean. It was my first ti seeing sothing like that outside the base. Could Center Director Angela Malone have been on her way to close off access to the research center? Lee Jihyun swiftly concluded:
Now that we know we cant enter, lets go check out the escape pods.
Yoo Geum-yi gazed at the door regretfully before turning away. She said her advisor and labmates were all at the research center. As soone who never went through grad school, I cant fully understand her feelings, but from the rants Ive heard from acquaintances in Masters/PhD programs, Yoo Geum-yis career that spanned several years was now left up in the air. Plus with acquaintances you saw daily suddenly gone missing
In my dream, I knew Yoo Geum-yi had given up on heading to the research center to rescue Kim Ga-young. But the current her doesnt know who shes waiting to rescue. Should I tell her? But the present doesnt know who Kim Ga-young is either. As we walked, I opened up my tablet to check the posts on the underwater base ssage boards.
Title: People are on their way to the South District living quarters
Content: Provide accurate info on the number trapped and identities to aid rescue efforts.
Comnts
HELP: Actually only 1 person is trapped in Room 77, not 5.
I could feel how much deliberation it took for Kim Ga-young to post that comnt. I inford the people ahead of walking about the content of the post.
It says only 1 person is trapped in the South District living quarters, not 5.
Did they leave a na?
No.
Wise. Nodding, Lee Jihyun lightly replied:
I figured thats how it would be.
Huh?
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