Now, Seo Ji-hyuk seemed more interested in the sweaty men who were distributing their weight with their arms and shoulders rather than the two women who were leading the way up the stairs with their lights. The problem was that there were only two people he could talk to, and I seemed more convenient than Shin Hae-ryang, who just walked silently. After all, no subordinate ever feels comfortable with their superior. Seo Ji-hyuk asked me,
"Teacher, do you have a younger brother?"
I flinched, knowing where this information came from, but since there was nothing to hide, I answered,
"Yes. He's a college student now."
"I have one younger sister and one younger brother. Both are in college and high school, respectively, but neither of them listens to me at all."
"Brothers and sisters are usually like that. What about Shin Hae-ryang?"
"......I have one older sibling."
"An older brother?"
"An older sister."
I imagined Shin Hae-ryang's older sister, who must come from a family of handsome and beautiful people, and couldn't help but ask out of curiosity,
"Is your sister married?"
Seo Ji-hyuk's laughter echoed beside my ear. Hahaha! They're all the same.
"I asked Team Leader the same thing before."
Shin Hae-ryang didn't ask why I was inquiring about his sister's marital status. He just said, with a tone of exasperation,
"She's already married and has two kids."
"Ah, I see. When we get out of here, please show me a picture of your niece and tell me how cute she is."
"Does Team Leader have a nephew's picture?"
"I don't know."
For a few seconds, the only sound in the darkness was the creaking of the stairs. Seo Ji-hyuk then said,
"......A while ago, that guy knew all about our personal information. He said that neither I nor Team Leader Shin are suitable for conversion. We were eliminated or something like that."
"I see."
"Didn't anything about religion come to mind just now?"
The Infinite Church, which claims to be with the immortal shark. I had no idea what he was talking about. I don't even eat shark meat.
"......Our family believes in religion freely. My mother is a Buddhist, but she only goes to the temple once a year on Buddha's Birthday. I don't have a religion, and neither does my younger brother."
Seo Ji-hyuk repeated, "I see," and then asked,
"Do you remember the skull in front of the dental clinic?"
"The great white shark skull?"
"Suddenly, I wonder if it might be a Greenland shark skull."
As soon as he said that, I exclaimed, "Ah!" I had completely forgotten.
"The description said it was a great white shark skull, but it could be a Greenland shark. I don't have the ability to tell them apart, though."
"......What's a great white shark skull?"
Shin Hae-ryang had never visited the dental clinic. Seo Ji-hyuk and I started to explain. In front of the dental clinic Deep Blue, there is a large shark skull labeled as a great white shark. Given the appearance of the cult members, it's probably a Greenland shark.
"Who would know what kind of shark it is just by looking at a skull?"
Seo Ji-hyuk shook his head.
"These researchers here are perverts. They study whether deep-sea jellyfish use their right or left foot more, what they eat, and when they defecate. But there must be people who can distinguish shark skulls by their shape. Damn it!"
Seo Ji-hyuk threw the name of the pervert into the darkness, and the darkness screamed back,
"I was startled!"
"Sorry. ......Do you have any questions? Could you mistake a Greenland shark skull for a great white shark skull? When marine biologists pass by the dental clinic, they might think, 'This is a Greenland shark, so why is it labeled as a great white shark?'"
"Of course, if you're interested in sharks, you'd be able to tell. They look different! As different as horses and cows."
That might only be true to marine biologists. If someone gave me the bones of a horse and a cow and asked me to distinguish them, I'm not sure I could do it right away. I'm not an osteologist. I doubt I could even tell the difference between a cat's skull and a dog's skull.
"Then what about the shark skull in front of the dental clinic where I work? It's labeled as a great white shark."
A voice came from the darkness.
"Of course, it's a great white shark. Didn't you see how wide its mouth was? If it were a Greenland shark, the mouth would be narrower."
Oh! I let out a sigh of relief.
"That's a relief. I took down all the pictures of sharks with parasites in their eyes on the walls because they made me feel bad. Hearing that makes me feel better."
"Indeed, that's a relief."
As we felt relieved that the cult's influence hadn't reached the dental clinic, Seo Ji-hyuk patted my shoulder. We heard footsteps coming down the stairs from a distance. When Baek Ae-young noticed Yoo Geum, she shone her flashlight around Yoo Geum's feet to prevent her from tripping.
"Parasites, you say?"
Yoo Geum, with her sweat-soaked hair pushed back from her forehead, asked. With the flashlight shining from above, Yoo Geum looked like she had a halo, like Jesus or Buddha.
"Yes. ......Why?"
"Greenland sharks can't see well. They are blind. Parasites eat their eye tissue, causing blindness. In return, the parasites emit light, and when prey is attracted to the light, the Greenland shark eats it. They chose to eat in exchange for their eyes."
Sharks are really crazy, aren't they?
"......What about great white sharks? No parasites?"
"Of course, great white sharks also have plenty of parasites. But who would put up with someone eating their eyes?!"
Yoo Geum growled like a great white shark. Now that I think about it, the mouths of the sharks in the pictures on the wall didn't seem as big as the great white shark's mouth outside. Shin Hae-ryang's voice came from the darkness.
"Have you noticed anyone over the past five days who has shown you kindness without expecting anything in return, or who has approached you to build a relationship with specific individuals?"
As soon as I heard Shin Hae-ryang's question, my mind became a tangled mess of threads. I mean, I'm a new employee here. If someone shows me kindness or friendliness, isn't it natural for me to reciprocate as part of integrating into a new social environment? That's how humans live, right?
But I was already listing people in my head. First, Kang Soo-jung and Elliot. Yoo Geum, the cheerful Wang Wei who watched me unpack in the next room? Zhiyan and Lily. Who else? The barista Emily who gave me a free coffee when I first arrived? Baek Ae-young, who had coffee with me? Or should I include everyone who has been treated by me?
As I thought about all these people, I almost missed my step and nearly caused Seo Ji-hyuk and Shin Hae-ryang to fall. I was climbing a staircase in complete darkness, and now I had to suspect everyone I had met in the light. I managed to say,
"......I'm not sure."
I felt like I was caught in a trap that would sever my ankle. I had a sudden urge to vomit out all the candies, chocolate bars, and water I had consumed. I didn't know if it was because climbing the stairs was difficult or because of the creeping discomfort. Clenching my teeth, I reviewed the past five days.
Was one of them a cult member who approached me with the intention of converting me to their religion? One person stood out as someone who could easily find others' weaknesses. I marked him as a suspect and placed everyone else on the list of suspects.
I was starting to investigate every suspicious person who had shown me even the slightest kindness. But could I trust the people here with me?
Seo Ji-hyuk strongly suggested taking the elevator, which he claimed was guarded by the Infinite Church members. Baek Ae-young was on Shin Hae-ryang's side, hiding her opinions but ready to kill me if things went wrong. Yoo Geum was a first-time visitor to the dental clinic. Shin Hae-ryang avoided using the elevator. He opposed Jennifer's and Seo Ji-hyuk's suggestions to use the central elevator. Could he already know where the Infinite Church members are?
Could the cult members be waiting for me at the end of these stairs? With each step, I suspected more people. By the time we reached the second resting point, I was already suspicious of everyone I had met at the underwater base. Even a cat moving like a feather or a snake in a bag seemed less suspicious.
I even suspected Henry, who was sleeping in Baek Hodong's room, and Kim Gayoung, whom I had rescued. Then, with a headache, I lay on the landing and panted, saying to Shin Hae-ryang,
"Elliot Brown! Now that I think about it, he seems the most suspicious!"
I couldn't bring myself to mention Kang Soo-jung, who I met for the first time and was on the same team, in front of Shin Hae-ryang, Seo Ji-hyuk, and Baek Ae-young. In the darkness, I heard Shin Hae-ryang drinking water. Seo Ji-hyuk, lying on the floor, said,
"The psychologist? I thought he was more of a fraud than a cult member."
"A fraud?"
"......He probably doesn't have a license or anything. You know, when I heard him consult, he said my mental state was like having a full-body fracture and being in the hospital."
From a distance, Baek Ae-young chuckled.
"Wow......Mr. Elliot. That's a total hit. Accurate, right? But it wasn't him. My counselor was Ivan Something-ski."
"I didn't see him either. Maybe the researchers have separate counselors?"
"It wasn't me either."
With that, I began to interrogate Kang Soo-jung, the second person, in my mind. Why did you carry my luggage? Why did you have coffee with me? Was it because you believe in a cult? Or because of your kind heart? I see. I'm sorry. Please understand. Cult members are like that. They are very good at manipulating people's emotions. They are like tumors that can't survive without taking something from people. They are crazy for money or labor.
"Do-on!"
"Ah, you scared me!"
When I suddenly shouted in the darkness, Seo Ji-hyuk, who was closest to me, jumped up in surprise. Shin Hae-ryang also reacted similarly but lay back down on the floor after realizing it was me.