After walking around Central District for 10 minutes, I found a place that seemed to be the closest to a dental clinic.
[Deep Blue]
Next to the English words, a skull labeled as a great white shark's was displayed in front of the clinic. The shark's teeth and head alone seemed to be about three meters long. Moreover, a single great white shark tooth was as big as a thumb. Inside, there were a few photos hanging that appeared to be of great white sharks.
I stared at the shark's eyes, which glared with white pupils, for a few seconds before turning away. The interior design seemed to effectively distance people from an already unwelcoming dental clinic.
I was about to decide that I needed to move a few photos discreetly when my eyes caught the unit chair, and I was amazed. Wow, this is completely the latest model. It can take X-rays right from the chair. All the dental instruments were brand new.
I started frantically looking for the basic tools. New dental mirrors, probes, forceps, suction, spoons, high-speed and low-speed drills, and whether the unit chair was working. As I was checking these, a blonde woman knocked on the wall twice. The wall then automatically opened, revealing a storage space with trays, injectors, and clamps.
After thanking her, I started pounding on the walls with my fists, and found retractors, mouth props, forceps, and blades. On another wall, I found band and pin cutters, wires, bone files, crown grippers, and needles, all clearly new but haphazardly stuffed into the storage or left in unopened boxes. I kept tearing open boxes, one after another.
"The local anesthetic, lidocaine, is supposed to be picked up from the hospital on the first floor."
As she watched me frantically tearing open boxes and looking for the sterilizer, she said this. I snapped back to reality, realizing I must have been overwhelmed by the pressure of opening tomorrow.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Park Mu-hyun, the newly arrived dentist."
"Hello, I'm Elliot Brown. Call me Elliot. You seem very busy."
"I heard we're opening tomorrow."
I wondered if she was a patient who had already arrived, and I was scared. Elliot handed me a coffee, which she had apparently brought. I put down the forceps I was using to tear open boxes—since I couldn't find scissors—and took the coffee. The smell of coffee made me feel like I was reborn.
"Thank you."
With my trembling hands, I tried to share the warmth from the hot coffee. Elliot comforted me.
"Calm down. You have one patient scheduled for tomorrow afternoon."
"One? ... One? I thought there were 1,000 people working here. It's my first day, and only one? And it's free?"
I was imagining the underwater base personnel charging into the clinic like angry wild boars, fighting each other with fists and feet to be treated first.
"I can't see the details, but it doesn't seem urgent. It's the first dental visit in the underwater base. Probably the bravest one. Hmm... There are about 500 people in the 4th Underwater Base, 100 in the 3rd, 100 in the 2nd, 100 in the 1st, and about 150 on the artificial island, so it's roughly 1,000 people."
"I expected at least 20 to 30 people per day."
"Since today is Sunday, the 20 people who have already booked for next week will be the end. Don't worry too much."
Hearing this, I slumped to the floor, feeling all my energy and passion drain out. By simple calculation, it would be about four people a day. As the immediate pressure eased, I sipped the coffee Elliot had given me.
"Everyone in the underwater base knows the clinic isn't ready. Once the early adopters visit and survive, people will start booking. Right now, they probably think you'll pull out all their teeth, treat them without anesthesia, or punch out their wisdom teeth."
"Fortunately, I can cater to those expectations."
Elliot laughed for the first time at my joke. She was a complete beauty when she smiled, with white and even teeth.
"I provide mental health counseling here. Newcomers must receive counseling. But... it doesn't seem like you have time now."
Elliot trailed off, seeing the unopened boxes and scattered medical equipment. I quickly scheduled a time, worried she might suggest it right away.
"Can I contact you around Wednesday? I should have some free time by then."
"Good luck."
With that, Elliot disappeared like the wind. I gathered the essentials and started organizing. After searching through the drawers, I found two small great white shark skulls that could be placed on the consultation desk. I wished I could meet the person who did the interior design. The place was already dark and gloomy, and the shark photos with white eyes on a dark background only added to the gloom, so I removed them all.
By the time I finished the coffee Elliot gave me, I had barely managed to set up a clinic that wouldn't be criticized. Dust was flying everywhere, but I couldn't open the windows 3,000 meters underwater. I hoped the underwater base's ventilation system was excellent. A dental professor would have fainted at the sight.
It had already been five hours since I arrived. Realizing I hadn't eaten anything except a bread roll given as a courtesy since getting off the helicopter, I left the clinic, feeling hungry.
The restaurant in Central District was a buffet, and the food was quite good. There was rice and kimchi, and surprisingly, nori, dumplings, sushi, lamb ribs, and a variety of sandwiches. There were also different types of soups. I had heard it was a place where people from eight countries gathered, but I was surprised the food wasn't lacking.
I filled my plate and introduced myself as the new dentist to everyone I met. I met so many people that I hardly remembered any of them. After asking numerous people, I found my way to Tiger District 38, where my suitcase was waiting in the room. Seeing my suitcase in its proper place was a silent comfort to me. I should thank Ms. Kang Soo-jung for the food, and also Ms. Yoo Geum-i for the bread and Elliot for the coffee.
I headed to the shower room I had seen earlier, carrying my toiletries. The shower room had many stalls, each a private room with a lockable door. The door was translucent, so you could tell if someone was inside. I tasted the water, which was slippery but not seawater. I vaguely remembered reading that the underwater base produced several tons of water through desalination, but I couldn't recall the exact amount.
After showering and drying my hair, I returned to my room. Opening the electronic pad given by Priya and entering the underwater base program, I saw the dental clinic's name was [Deep Blue]. When I selected Deep Blue, I saw explanations I didn't know as a dentist. Deep Blue in the 4th Underwater Base was named after the famous great white shark.
... As far as I knew, great white sharks were responsible for the most attacks on humans. I wondered if naming the clinic to attract patients was a good idea.
Their teeth are about 3 to 6 cm long, and they attack by swimming from below and leaping vertically to bite their prey. The description suggested they almost fly out of the water to attack. They are highly intelligent and can split a human body in one bite. ... If all the descriptions were true, I would probably die if I ever met one. I gave up on simulating a battle with a great white shark in my head and continued reading.
Great white sharks have about 3,000 teeth, and their pyramid-shaped serrated teeth are immediately replaced by healthy ones if they fall out or break during hunting. The clinic was named Deep Blue after the great white shark, known for its large size and powerful jaws, to promote dental health among the residents of the underwater base. I read this explanation three more times.
I almost memorized the entire passage, realizing I could now at least smile when patients asked, "Why is the clinic called Deep Blue? What's that shark skull in front of the clinic?" I would have simply named it the Great White Shark Clinic or Shark Clinic. Maybe the foreigners who named it thought "Deep Blue" sounded good. It gave a depressing feeling of sinking into the dark blue sea. I would have named it Light Blue for the patients' sake. ... I don't know. Maybe the people here are familiar with great white sharks.
When I checked the reservation page, there was indeed only one patient for tomorrow, as Elliot had said. Yoo Geum-i. Reason for visit: Molar cavity. ... Now I understood why Yoo Geum-i acted like there was no need to worry about a dentist who didn't even know where the clinic was. The patient seemed lenient towards a new dentist who didn't know where their own clinic was. I sighed in relief.
The program allowed me to reschedule appointments to different times, send notifications to patients by confirming their names, and more. I sent a notification to Yoo Geum-i confirming her reservation. I was curious how the notification would appear on the patients' electronic pads. There were a few more reservations for two to three people per day on other dates, but I closed the pad after glancing at a few names. I would see them all eventually.
As I unpacked my clothes from the suitcase, I found a family photo tucked deep inside. These days, most people take photos digitally, but if you keep them in a gallery, you rarely see them. Printing them and placing them somewhere you can see them daily, like on your desk or beside your bed, ensures you glance at them a couple of times a day. I used to not understand why adults kept family photos on their desks, beside their beds, on walls, and in wallets. ... I still don't want to understand.
The underwater base was slightly shaking. I fell asleep quickly in the new bed.