Baeg Ae-young first activated the partition walls inside the dormitory. Given that the dormitory, which could accommodate 500 people, now had partitions every 50 units, she assumed the walls had come down between the 50th and 100th rooms. Before descending the middle staircase between rooms 50 and 100, she automatically measured the pressure on the walls. Just by knocking on the door, the wall displayed the pressure it was receiving. When asked why she was doing this, Baeg Ae-young smiled and said,
"Well, if I didn't do this and opened the door, we might be unlucky and the entire corridor could instantly turn into a sea of water. ...We can go down now. It's not completely flooded."
Shin Hae-ryang put the child down on the floor and took out an emergency axe from the wall. With his good looks and the axe in his hand, he looked like a serial killer from a movie. Shin Hae-ryang, holding the axe, said to Baeg Ae-young,
"Open all the dormitory doors."
"According to the system, they're all open, but I'm not sure if they're actually open. The power is out from room 61 to 120."
"Seo Ji-hyuk."
"Sure, sure."
Seo Ji-hyuk took off his cardigan and threw it on the floor. After hesitating, he even took off his shoes and socks, going barefoot. Then, he punched the wall next to him. The panel next to him rattled and fell out, revealing a flathead screwdriver, a flashlight, and some electrical tape. Do engineers hide tools in the walls?
Shin Hae-ryang was wearing something that looked like a diving suit, similar to what Baeg Ae-young was wearing. He didn't need to take it off; he just started untying the wrist bracelet.
"What's that?"
"It's a parachute cord."
What's that? Why is it on your wrist? I swallowed my pointless question. Instead, I gently placed the two backpacks I was carrying on my back onto the floor. After hesitating, I decided to take off my shoes. Seeing this, Shin Hae-ryang shook his head and said,
"Only Hae-ryang and Ji-hyuk will go. You stay here, teacher."
Of course, I wanted to stay here comfortably. But I was the one who first suggested rescuing the researchers in the main lab. I had enough conscience to not just wait while the two of them swam through the water and rescued people on their own.
"You said there are five people in that room. Will the two of you be okay?"
Hearing this, Seo Ji-hyuk looked at Shin Hae-ryang and said,
"If there are children or injured people, we might need more hands. Would it be okay if I come along?"
Shin Hae-ryang frowned and thought for a moment, then looked at the child lying on the floor and nodded. Opening the partition wall to the dormitory, Seo Ji-hyuk shone the flashlight down the stairs. The rising water was visible in the darkness.
I followed Shin Hae-ryang and Seo Ji-hyuk down the stairs into the dark water. As soon as I confidently entered the water, I regretted not staying above for just three seconds. It was too dark. The power was out, and there was not a single light. As soon as I entered the water, my body temperature dropped, and the water rose to my neck.
I'm 175 cm tall, and the water was just touching my chin. I wondered if it was the same for the others, but Shin Hae-ryang and Seo Ji-hyuk, who were taller, were walking normally with the water up to their shoulders. I regretted my decision. Seo Ji-hyuk, with a small flashlight in his mouth, led the way.
We started moving, not sure if we were walking or crawling along the wall. We kept walking, counting the doors. I pushed aside the water bottles floating next to my face and the chairs and pillows that got in my way. When Seo Ji-hyuk arrived first, he pounded on the closed door of room 77. A scream came from behind the door. But wasn't the door supposed to be open?
"Someone's here! We're trapped! Help us!"
"Move away from the door."
Shin Hae-ryang took a deep breath, took the flathead screwdriver from Seo Ji-hyuk, and entered the water. Seo Ji-hyuk quickly shone the flashlight into the water. I asked Seo Ji-hyuk while watching Shin Hae-ryang's actions,
"Why won't the door open?"
"It might not open because the power is out, or because of the pressure difference, or something might be blocking it. There are many possibilities."
"Can we help Mr. Shin Hae-ryang?"
"Team leader of the engineering team? Not helping him is helping him."
As the flashlight moved, I saw Shin Hae-ryang chopping the bottom of the door a few times with the axe and then pushing the screwdriver in. I didn't know what he was doing, but when he came out of the water, the door had a 5 cm gap.
"Grab the door and push with force!"
We pushed our fingers into the small gap. Six hands pushed the door to the left with all our might. One, two, three! Push! The door, which usually opened automatically, was so thick and heavy that I felt like cursing. As I thought about how the door was airtight, a small hand came out from the gap.
When the small, pale hand of a woman touched my fingers in the dark room, I screamed. Ah! Ahhhhh! The seawater entered my mouth, and the scream disappeared in the water.
Three men, including me, hung onto the sliding door. When the door was finally pushed into the wall, leaving enough space for one person to squeeze through, I let go, but my hands were already weak.
Seo Ji-hyuk, holding the flashlight, shone it inside the room. There was only one person. The flashlight beam swept over the face of a small-framed woman. Even though I knew someone was there, I was still surprised when the light illuminated the person. Her face was drenched in either water or tears. Recognizing her, Seo Ji-hyuk asked,
"What? Only Miss Kim Ga-young is here?"
"There were supposed to be five people."
I looked at the empty room blankly and asked. Kim Ga-young, sobbing, replied,
"Only me. I'm sorry."
"Let's go back."
Quickly. Shin Hae-ryang urged us, as if we couldn't afford to waste any more time. He then picked up Kim Ga-young, who was precariously standing on a chair, and carried her on his shoulder. The water had already risen to our chins and was lapping at our mouths. Seo Ji-hyuk, Shin Hae-ryang, and I started heading back up the stairs.
To be precise, I was falling behind more than Shin Hae-ryang, who was carrying a person. How can he walk so well in the water while carrying someone who must weigh at least 60 kg? Is he a robot? I suspected Shin Hae-ryang's identity as I desperately clung to the wall and walked.
I couldn't tell if I was swimming or jumping, but I walked in a hopping motion. I occasionally swallowed seawater because I mistimed my breathing. With the water up to my mouth, I lifted my head a bit higher, but it was excruciating.
When I get out of here, I won't go to the beach for ten years. Damn. Shin Hae-ryang shouted something, and Seo Ji-hyuk, who was leading the way, turned around and grabbed my collar, pulling me slightly. My nose, which was about to go under, barely came out of the water. I was so envious of his height, which was over 190 cm. Seo Ji-hyuk, who was the only one in the rescue team with a light, mumbled with the flashlight in his mouth,
"Why are you drinking seawater, doctor?"
"To get rid of it—Ugh!"
I tried to joke back at Seo Ji-hyuk's voice, which was mixed with laughter, but suddenly felt the urge to vomit and threw up.
"Ah! What are you doing?"
I'm really sorry, but it wasn't my intention. After drinking a bucket of seawater, everything in my stomach came out. Shin Hae-ryang, who had finally stepped onto the stairs and put down Kim Ga-young, turned his head toward me.
At that moment, Seo Ji-hyuk, who had been pulling me by the collar, stepped on something and fell forward. The flashlight light disappeared instantly. He plunged into the dark water, and I, still being held by the collar, was dragged down with him.