"At that time, the team leader suddenly called and asked for help, and I thought I was going to die from the shock. Even now, every time I think about it, my heart beats three times faster. Three people had been swept away, and because we couldn't find them, the team leader contacted all the guys who were good at swimming. We immediately gathered all the equipment and rushed to the valley. If it hadn't been for the sudden torrential rain, no one would have died. Anyway, one of them was caught on a rocky area and was found the next day, but the team leader's ex-girlfriend and the other one weren't found. I and Sang-hyun rushed there, and all the other guys we knew dropped everything and came, making a total of seven of us. Since there were seven of us, we joked that we'd find them within seven minutes. But because of the torrential rain, the water was so muddy that I couldn't even see my arm when I was in it. The parents came to the river every day, crying and searching, and the rain just wouldn't stop. It was so cold. We even talked about withdrawing the search for safety reasons."
"So what happened?"
When I asked, the quiet Shin Hae-ryang answered,
"I thought they had been swept away... but they were at the bottom of the valley. There was a light in the darkness."
"Wasn't that person wearing the necklace? When you go underwater, your clothes and everything, including the necklace, get stripped away by the current. Most drowning victims are found naked."
"But you're still wearing the necklace?"
Even though the necklace glowed with a blue light and I was told that it wasn't the same one the drowning victim had worn, I felt a more complicated emotion than before. The blue light made me feel uneasy in the darkness. I have to remember to return it to him as soon as we leave the stairs. No, I want to return it now. Shin Hae-ryang wore it for three years after that? Isn't that creepy?
"Is there a reason you keep wearing it?"
I shook the glowing blue necklace. If Shin Hae-ryang wasn't completely clueless, he would have understood what I meant. I could sense his hesitation from the darkness.
"......We made a promise."
"Did you promise to wear the necklace until you died with the deceased person?"
"Not exactly. Lapis Lazuli, in Latin, means 'blue stone.' It is considered a divine gem that guides the soul to truth, and it is said to bring love to those who lack it and luck to those who lack it. I'll skip the love story and just talk about the luck part. ......I was into freediving at that time."
"......Can you explain what freediving is?"
"It's diving into the sea without an air tank or flippers."
"How do you breathe without an air tank?"
"You go down about 100 meters on a single breath."
According to Yoo Geun's explanation, one floor was about 3 meters high. So, diving 100 meters without breathing is like diving to the 33rd floor of an apartment building and then coming back up. Why... would anyone do that? It's completely insane. 66 floors? I'm exhausted just climbing 180 floors. Diving in the sea like that? Why? No matter how I think about it, it's definitely a matter of needing luck more than love. You could die just by walking around, so why deliberately increase the risk of death? I didn't say what I was thinking. I'm a socialized human being.
"You needed luck, then."
"......Lapis Lazuli is a gem that is weak against water and pressure. The more often and longer you go into the sea, the more likely it is to break. We promised to wear it around our necks until it broke."
"Wow. ......It hasn't broken yet?"
"Yes, it hasn't broken yet."
Then Shin Hae-ryang fell silent. Seo Ji-hyuk shifted his weight towards me and spoke.
"......I've never heard this before. I thought you wore it for luck."
"You never asked."
"You never asked."
Seo Ji-hyuk scratched the back of his head fiercely and said to Shin Hae-ryang,
"You lent that necklace to me for the exam and to Jae-hee for the driving test, right?"
"You were crying and making a fuss, saying you were going to fail."
"......I did pass. I never thought it included a love story."
"Now, only luck remains with that necklace."
"......Do you have to keep that promise?"
"Is there a reason not to?"
Seo Ji-hyuk seemed frustrated, and I felt the same way. Shin Hae-ryang interpreted our silence and said to Seo Ji-hyuk,
"My counselor told me not to be obsessed with the necklace. He said I should sell it or throw it away for my mental health. But it's mine. No matter who I lend it to, it will eventually come back to me. Until it breaks. I lent it to Mu-hyun because I needed the light."
He's right. As I looked at the bright blue light on my neck, I wondered if it would be rude to take it off and give it back immediately. Shin Hae-ryang said,
"Please return it when we're out of the darkness."
"......Yes, I'll return it quickly."
Seo Ji-hyuk, who had been lost in thought, said,
"......Anyway, we dived for four days, changing air tanks frequently, and found both bodies. It was the first funeral I attended for someone my age, and it was the most depressing and quiet thing I've ever seen. We were in great shape back then. We swam for four days and stayed up all night at the funeral, but we were fine the next day. I can't do that now."
"You're still climbing the stairs well."
Of course, he wasn't climbing alone. Seo Ji-hyuk's weight was being distributed between Shin Hae-ryang and me. If we hadn't been helping, Seo Ji-hyuk wouldn't have been able to climb the stairs with one leg. Seo Ji-hyuk waved his arm, looking indignant.
"I used to fly up these stairs a few years ago."
Shin Hae-ryang brushed the back of Seo Ji-hyuk's head. It was unclear whether he was telling him to be quiet or offering some comfort.
"You'll be able to fly again after surgery."
"......"
Seo Ji-hyuk fell silent. We climbed the stairs quietly. I don't know how long it takes to fully recover from a gunshot wound to the knee. A decade ago, it was said that joint injuries were difficult to fully heal. Has medical technology advanced enough?
We panted and climbed the stairs together. If the number of stairs is exactly 4,300, we were told we had about 600 left. The water bottle that had been passed around had only a sip left. I asked if anyone had any left, drank the last of it, and threw the bottle away. We had brought about nine bottles of water and drinks, and that was the last one.
There was a bottle of alcohol in Baek Ae-young's bag that Seo Ji-hyuk had packed, but no one drank it. Even Seo Ji-hyuk, who had insisted on bringing it, refused to drink. One sip would make him completely drunk. I lay on the dusty floor, drenched in sweat, and groaned.
"......I want to go to a bathhouse."
Yoo Geun sighed and yawned at the same time.
"......I want to drink an iced Americano."
"Any carbonated drink."
"Water."
"Beer."
At Seo Ji-hyuk's last comment, Baek Ae-young frowned.
"Be grateful that I didn't throw away this bottle of whatever it is in my bag right now."
"Thank you, thank you. We'll drink it when we get out. When we get out."
I lay on my back against the dusty floor, whistling and shaking off the dust with the occasional breeze. The cold from the floor washed away the heat from my body, and the wind from somewhere dried my sweat. I looked up at the dark ceiling and asked,
"What will you do first when we get out of the stairs?"
No one answered for a while, then someone spoke from the darkness. It was Shin Hae-ryang.
"The second underwater base is 200 meters below sea level. The fastest way to get up is through the central elevator, and there are three in total, including escape pods and submarines. I think it's easiest to escape in the order of submarine, escape pod, and elevator. I want to get to the surface in any manned research vessel."
"Can't you swim up to the surface with scuba diving equipment at that depth?"
Since I had heard about freediving earlier, I asked. Everyone was silent. Even though you can dive over 100 meters without equipment, it should be much easier with equipment to go up 200 meters. Shin Hae-ryang and Yoo Geun answered together.
"It's impossible."
"-200 meters."
Since they answered at the same time, Shin Hae-ryang said to Yoo Geun,
"Please go first."
"Sure. At -200 meters, the pressure is roughly 20 atmospheres. That's like putting about 20 kilograms on a fingernail (1㎠). Imagine putting 2