As I climbed the stairs, took a break, climbed again, and took another break, I thought about Kang Soo-jung and Yoo Geum. Whether I looked at them objectively or subjectively, they were good people. I couldn't live my life suspecting everyone around me. Of course, there are people who do live like that. But I couldn't be that kind of person. I wasn't mentally strong enough to live well while enduring such constant mental stress.
I should believe that their kindness to me back then was genuine and be grateful. I didn't want to flounder in a swamp of distrust whose depth I couldn't fathom. Seo Ji-hyuk's opinion was quite helpful. But if Seo Ji-hyuk... Let's stop there.
"Geum-ssi!"
"......Yes."
A weak voice came from a distance. As I climbed the stairs, I saw Yoo Geum's dark silhouette swaying like a zombie and stopping. From this distance, it must be about 20 steps away. Now, she doesn't go down the stairs no matter who calls her from below or above. She just waits for the people below to catch up, and when someone above calls her, she climbs with a sigh. Quite efficient. Watching her swaying movement in the wind, I tried to catch my breath and asked.
"How many steps have you climbed?"
"......I'm standing on the 3025th step. There might be an error of about plus or minus 10 steps."
She had taken five breaks so far, and if Yoo Geum and Baek Ae-young had climbed about 450 steps each before taking a break, it seemed they actually climbed 500 to 600 steps each before resting. No wonder it felt like I was about to die. In the darkness, there was nothing to see, so it was easy to be deceived. It would have been better if she had lied and said we were at 4000 steps. ...Humans can be so deceitful. Or rather, I can be so deceitful.
"You've come a lot further than I thought. I thought we had only just passed 2000 steps."
"There are still over 1300 steps left."
"At least we've come more than halfway."
Seo Ji-hyuk, panting, said:
"I'll never take the stairs again. Just wait and see. I'll live in an elevator and put a bed in it. Really."
"That's great. I don't want to leave the lab either. I'm tired of these stairs."
Shin Hae-ryang, who had been listening to Yoo Geum, checked his watch and said:
"It hasn't taken as long as I thought."
"How long did it take?"
"It took about 40 minutes."
"Is that fast? Or slow?"
"......With this many people, we're doing well."
In the darkness, I nodded. This silent man is in trouble. If he doesn't say something like 'We're all dead,' it's probably okay. Seo Ji-hyuk let out a string of curses, like a rap. The content was about how his knees were very painful and he wanted to make the person who shot him three times as painful. While listening to the part where he said he wanted to make the person ten times as painful but was restraining himself because he was an excellent person, I laughed and stumbled. Precisely, I stepped into the air.
"Huh?"
At that moment, Seo Ji-hyuk was leaning on my shoulder, and he was also being supported by Shin Hae-ryang, so the two of them grabbed me at once. One of my feet was completely off the ground, and they pulled my shoulder and arm with incredible speed, barely preventing me from falling into the darkness.
Shin Hae-ryang told us to stick to the wall and then looked at the floor with the light from his pad. Upon inspecting the stairs, I noticed that the width of the stairs I was walking on was 2-3 cm narrower than the previous ones. Since Baek Ae-young and Yoo Geum were walking in the center of the stairs, and it was hard to notice a few centimeters in the darkness, they probably didn't realize it.
"Teacher, you almost fell."
"It's dangerous. ...Thank you both."
Shin Hae-ryang frowned as he looked at the stairs.
"Wouldn't it be better to walk on the outer side? It would be safer."
It would be more tiring and exhausting to walk the outer side because it's longer, but I moved without a word. Better than falling.
Shin Hae-ryang touched his neck and took something out. In the darkness, a small object was shining from Shin Hae-ryang's neck. I realized it was a necklace when he came very close. I didn't know Shin Hae-ryang was wearing a necklace under his special suit that came up to his neck. Feeling uneasy, I pulled back and frowned.
"You don't have to go this far."
"I'm lending it to you. Return it when we're out of the darkness."
Shin Hae-ryang's necklace was soon put around my neck. I don't know what material it is, but it glowed like a fingernail in the darkness. With my limited knowledge of mineralogy, I hadn't heard of a gemstone that glows without a light source in the dark. Looking at the glowing blue stone around my neck, I asked with a worried voice.
"What is this made of?"
I hope it's not radioactive. If a gemstone glows, isn't it usually because of... radiation?
"It's lapis lazuli coated with a fluorescent substance."
I sighed in relief. However, I'm not the only one walking in the darkness. I looked at some point in the darkness and asked.
"Wouldn't it be better for Yoo Geum-ssi to wear the necklace?"
She's going alone, while we're going as a set of three. How scared must she be in the darkness?
"Yoo Geum-ssi hasn't fallen once in 3000 steps."
"How do you know?"
"By the sound."
I couldn't refuse after hearing Shin Hae-ryang's words and closed my mouth. My calves and knees were already aching. They must be bruised and battered. The stairs weren't of uniform height in the darkness, and it was difficult to walk while supporting someone. According to Shin Hae-ryang's judgment, I had fallen too many times. After all, if one person falls, all three of us could fall. The stone hanging from my neck glowed blue in the darkness. The light was the size of a thumbnail, but it was reassuring.
Looking at the necklace that glowed blue, I asked Shin Hae-ryang.
"I've never seen a necklace coated with a fluorescent substance before."
Shin Hae-ryang replied with a "Yes." I realized Seo Ji-hyuk had already closed his mouth and was climbing. I thought he would tease me for stumbling on the stairs and wearing Shin Hae-ryang's necklace, but he was unusually quiet.
We climbed the stairs in silence for a long time. Shin Hae-ryang seemed to be a quiet person, and I wasn't particularly sociable, so just climbing the stairs was enough to keep me busy. Seo Ji-hyuk usually brought up topics of conversation, but it seemed he had run out of ideas and was quiet. Seo Ji-hyuk made a snorting sound in the darkness and said:
"I remember when the team leader made the necklace."
Feeling the smooth surface of the gemstone with my fingertips, it was lapis lazuli. If my memory serves, it would probably look like a deep sea blue in the light.
"Did you make it yourself?"
"No."
"Team leader, can you explain it in more detail? Since I'm wearing it, I should know what it is."
I heard Seo Ji-hyuk laugh. I learned that when Shin Hae-ryang's team members asked for a detailed explanation, he would give one. Was there a reason for this?
"......It's a rule because the team leader talks too little. If we ask for a long and detailed explanation, he has to provide one. The team members get frustrated."
"......I found lapis lazuli in Afghanistan. It was small, so they said it would be possible to make two necklaces. After receiving the finished gemstones, I applied a non-toxic dye several times, dried it, and repeated the process. Once I confirmed that the fluorescence was working properly, I applied a coating and dried it completely before giving one as a gift."
"Then this is part of a set?"
"Yes. Originally, there were two."
I felt a chill down my spine. Could it be that I'm wearing a necklace that was part of a set worn by lovers? No, right?
"Is the other one worn by your current lover or something?"
An ambiguous voice came from the darkness.
"......No. It's mine."
This was the first time Shin Hae-ryang had answered so ambiguously. Damn.
"I'll return it right away. Good heavens. Why would I wear this and get scolded by your lover?"
"......She passed away, so it's fine."
His calm voice made my neck, where the necklace was, feel cold. I don't think Seo Ji-hyuk, who was leaning on me, wanted such an explanation either. Seo Ji-hyuk withdrew his hand from my shoulder, scratched the back of his head, and said:
"No, I thought you would give a short explanation about why you made it visible in the dark."
"......You asked for a detailed explanation."
"I'm wide awake now."
"Ji-hyuk-ssi, were you sleeping?"
"Keep climbing the stairs in the dark. You won't fall asleep."
With those legs, how can you talk so much and still fall asleep in this situation?
"I can't fall asleep."
"Then you and I must have different constitutions."
Silence ensued. I felt the weightless necklace become heavier. I also felt a creepy sensation, as if a woman in the darkness was glaring at me. After imagining all sorts of things, I asked Shin Hae-ryang. I... I never realized I was such a coward until I came here. I never knew it before.
"Putting this around my neck feels like a huge burden."
"Yes."
"Can I ask how she passed away, if it's not too much trouble? I can't see anything in the dark, and I might fall at any step, so I just want to return it. If it's a difficult question, just ignore it."
"Three years ago, we went on a trip with friends and were swept away by the rising water in a valley."
"......Rest in peace."
"Yes. I feel the same way."
Shin Hae-ryang quietly climbed the stairs, and I felt uneasy. It seemed Seo Ji-hyuk felt the same way. He had been quietly climbing the stairs, but then he slapped Shin Hae-ryang's back and said:
"No, I want a longer explanation. Team leader, there's a serious communication problem here."
"......I suddenly feel a strong sense of empathy with what you're saying, Ji-hyuk-ssi."