Shin Hae-ryang, who was looking at the submarine base's blueprint on a pad, said, "There are escape pods in the Third Submarine Base, but given the current situation, it might be better to take the elevator. Most of the personnel working at the Third Submarine Base probably escaped using the escape pods. There are a total of three elevators connecting to the Second Submarine Base, so let's try to find a working one and go up as far as possible. The elevator closest to the Green Dragon elevator we took is called Arkelon, located to the left when you exit the elevator."
Arkelon? That's an unusual name. Is there nothing in this submarine base without a name?
"Even the elevators have names, it seems."
"......There's a huge turtle picture inside the elevator, so it's probably named after a turtle. Let's aim for this one, and if we can't board it, we'll go to the second or first elevator. There are escape pods around, so we can use those if needed."
"Phone!"
Yujin shouted from beside my face, startling both Nana and Shin Hae-ryang.
"The phone doesn't work."
In response to my words, Yujin shook her head and quickly said, "No, no. It's a landline in the bakery! There's an external connection phone! I saw the first-floor operations team call to check if all the bread was sold! They tried to install landlines throughout the submarine base, but due to budget issues and the company going bankrupt, only the phone line in the bakery remained. Originally, that wasn't supposed to be a bakery! It was supposed to be the office for the team managing the entire submarine base, but it became too large, so they took over a ward on the island!"
"Who did you hear this from?"
Pant, pant, pant, pant. Yujin caught her breath and said, "From Olivier Martin at the bakery. The short Frenchman who makes great croissants! (Shin Hae-ryang had a look of confusion) He can't make macarons or fruit cakes, but he's great at making fermented bread!"
Seo Ji-hyuk, lying down, asked if he understood, "Ah, the mustachioed, gray-haired man obsessed with wine?"
"That's him!"
"Through him, I got to taste some Prounc wine. He was causing a fuss with the operations team, asking why they wouldn't let him sell wine in the submarine base."
Listening to Yujin and Seo Ji-hyuk's conversation, Shin Hae-ryang suddenly seemed tired, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips and nodding.
"Let's prioritize escape over rescue requests. If the people who escaped using the escape pods made it out safely, they would have automatically sent a rescue request. To get to the bakery, we need to pass through the central elevator area, but I'd rather not go that way if possible."
"The American team leader and Kim Gayoung also said they would take the central elevator,"
"Let's try to avoid contact with other people and move to the 0th floor of Dahan."
I unconsciously looked at where Ha-yoon was, then nodded. Shin Hae-ryang knelt down and grabbed Seo Ji-hyuk's arm and shoulder. I immediately grabbed the other side of Seo Ji-hyuk's arm and lifted him. Seo Ji-hyuk, putting his weight on his right leg, stood up, holding onto the elevator handle and grimacing as he stood on one foot.
Yujin took one of my bags and went to a corner. She covered a cat, whose position was unclear, with the bag and put it back. I put on the snake bag, which had become much lighter after drinking water. Baek Ae-young, who had already stood up, looked at us as if nothing had happened and said, "We'll arrive in 5 seconds. 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!"
The door opened with a ding. Shin Hae-ryang, who was next to the door, did something outside, and then Baek Ae-young went out. Hearing the call to come out, Yujin and I supported Seo Ji-hyuk. Not long after we exited the elevator, I asked Seo Ji-hyuk to lean against the wall for a moment and went back into the elevator. The door opening time was long, so the elevator didn't close. Yujin was shocked to see me go back in.
"What did you forget?!"
"Ha-yoon."
I tried to grab Ha-yoon's shoulder, but I was afraid the towel would come off and reveal her face, so I grabbed her ankles and dragged her. Seo Ji-hyuk, seeing what I was doing, had a lot to say but, leaning against the wall, remained silent.
Yujin ran over, put the cat bag on her back, and grabbed Ha-yoon's arms, which were sprawled out like a victory sign. She shivered from the cold, then, gripping Ha-yoon's wrists tightly, dragged the body out of the elevator. She laid Ha-yoon straight next to the elevator and straightened her arms. When she returned to Seo Ji-hyuk, Shin Hae-ryang and Baek Ae-young, who had gone ahead, were already coming back. I told them, "I thought if we left her here, she wouldn't appear in my dreams."
What if the elevator suddenly dropped with her inside? They didn't say anything, even though time was tight. They just nodded, and Shin Hae-ryang said he had checked the convenience store and found no one, then supported Seo Ji-hyuk. I also supported the other side of Seo Ji-hyuk's arm. After walking about 2 meters, Shin Hae-ryang said to me, "I think it would be faster if I carry him."
"You've been carrying Seo Ji-hyuk for a long time. Wouldn't it be better if I carry him?"
"Well......I'm grateful that neither of you is suggesting we leave him behind, but if I have to give an opinion, I don't want to be carried by Shin Team Leader. The dentist's back looks more comfortable."
"You're full."
Shin Hae-ryang laughed lightly, and Seo Ji-hyuk chuckled. I felt relieved by Seo Ji-hyuk's laughter, which was better than hearing a string of curses. Seo Ji-hyuk, frowning, said, "I'm actually hungry. I'd be happy with a bowl of ramen."
I put Seo Ji-hyuk's arm over my shoulder and replied, "Me too. I've been thinking about it since I came out of the seawater. ...There's a cup of ramen in the room that Jung gave me!"
Oh......Supporting Seo Ji-hyuk, who was injured in the knee, was awkward. His knee was wrapped in clothes, but the blood had soaked through, making the original color almost invisible. When we arrived at the convenience store, Baek Ae-young and Yujin were already searching inside.
Baek Ae-young and Yujin made long ropes by tearing a few blankets with scissors and their hands. Shin Hae-ryang used the scissors to cut off the unnecessary parts of the clothes wrapped around Seo Ji-hyuk's knee. It looked like a woman's cardigan had been wrapped around it, and the buttons had fallen off.
When I asked if we needed to remove all the clothes from his knee, Shin Hae-ryang shook his head, saying it could worsen the bleeding. I could see that the fabric had stuck to his skin in several places. I tore open a few sanitary pads, and Shin Hae-ryang carefully applied them to his knee and wrapped it with a towel and the torn blanket.
The only medicines in the convenience store were a few painkillers, a cold medicine, a fever patch, antiseptics, and finger bandages. There were no bandages or gauze. What would we do if we got hurt here? ...We'd go to the hospital. The first floor is a hospital with free treatment. It's a relief that there are such items in the convenience store.
Not seeing anything suitable for a splint, I looked around and found two dusty umbrellas, probably due to low sales. Do people here not use umbrellas when it rains? I quickly dusted them off and shook them. When Baek Ae-young tied the torn blanket strips around Seo Ji-hyuk's thigh, he groaned.
"Stop whining."
"Try getting shot yourself."
"Or get hit by a stray bullet. Ugh. It's embarrassing. If you thought someone would shoot you in the knee, you should have lifted your leg!"
Seo Ji-hyuk covered his mouth and trembled, apparently in pain from laughing. I just laughed, and Yujin, holding water and a few convenience store breads, also giggled. Shin Hae-ryang, who had been searching the drink section, looked at us and took out a few electrolyte drinks. Seo Ji-hyuk, who had been trying not to laugh, felt wronged.
"Laughing hurts my whole body."
Yujin tore open a few bread bags from the convenience store and handed them out. When she tried to give one to Seo Ji-hyuk, Shin Hae-ryang took it and shook his head.
"Ji-hyuk, you need to fast and get the water out."
Even if the world were to end, Seo Ji-hyuk wouldn't make that face. I chimed in with Shin Hae-ryang.
"He needs surgery. There's no other way."
When I packed the fever patches and painkillers, Yujin asked why I was taking the fever patches.
"Are you running a fever?"
"No, it's for Seo Ji-hyuk."
"Why?"
"Because he was shot in the knee."
"If a bone is broken, it can cause a fever, right?"
"Yes."
Yujin, who studies marine biology, apparently doesn't know that broken bones can cause a fever, or maybe she has never broken a bone. Shin Hae-ryang urged us to move. With the splints on his leg, supporting Seo Ji-hyuk was much easier than before. Shin Hae-ryang and I almost carried him as we moved.
Following Baek Ae-young's lead, we passed by the sandwich shop and cafe in the Third Submarine Base. Good layout. If I were here, I'd buy a sandwich and a drink from the cafe next to it. We saw one of the elevators in the Third Submarine Base. Baek Ae-young made a hand signal. It was a stop signal. Now I can clearly tell the difference between the stop and lie-down signals.
When we stopped near the cafe, Baek Ae-young took out a flathead screwdriver from the gap between her ankle and shoe, probably from the convenience store. Oh my. When did she get that? She checked the area around the elevator and came back.
"The elevator is stopped at the Second Submarine Base. Should we call it up or go somewhere else?"
If we press the button to call the elevator, we'll have to wait more than 3 minutes. With an injured person, it might be better to take this elevator. Hearing my suggestion, Shin Hae-ryang looked at Seo Ji-hyuk's leg, thought for a moment, then looked at Yujin and me and suggested we take the one here after 3 seconds. Too honest? ...It seems Shin Hae-ryang thinks that, compared to Seo Ji-hyuk, who can't move due to his knee injury, my and Yujin's presence are more of a hindrance to movement.