"If there aren't enough escape boats, there will be a fight over who gets to board them, but the Korean team doesn't have that crazy dog team leader anymore. Instead, there's Vladimir and Viktor over there. When the Russian team wins and escapes, I'll take the remaining seat."
"Do you think there will be a fistfight?"
I asked, looking bewildered, and Carlos spat out his words.
"Do you think these guys will politely let each other go first and step aside? Aren't you being too soft?"
Of course, there won't be a fistfight. If it goes as in the dream, they'll shoot at each other. Yujin shook her head in disbelief as she listened to Carlos.
"Please don't include me in 'these guys.' I'll step aside. Whatever."
"Ah. Señorita, you're a researcher living in the Peacock District, and you're Chinese, so you don't know what's going on here, but those Korean guys are completely insane. It's better to stick with the Russians. Listen to my advice."
Yujin frowned as if she had a headache and said,
"Mr. Park and I are Korean."
"Oh, really?"
Carlos seemed a bit flustered but soon put on a cheeky face, winked at us, and ran to catch up with the Russians. Yujin narrowed her eyes and shook her head. Then, as she watched Carlos's back getting farther away, she turned to me.
"What will happen to the child when you go to the Peacock District? Miss Kang is carrying the child now, but if no one takes the child when we part ways in the Central District, what will happen?"
"Then I should take the child, shouldn't I? We can't just leave the child here."
"Alright. Let's take turns carrying the child."
"Thank you."
Looking at Yujin's thin arms, I thought it would be better for me to carry the child, who weighs over 20kg, until the last moment of the escape, even if it means I'll be exhausted. But seeing Yujin's determined face, it felt rude to say such a thing, so I held my tongue. Instead, I decided to confide in her, thinking she wouldn't judge me for it.
"I have a secret. Can you keep it for me?"
Yujin looked at me and replied,
"Only what I can keep."
"I have a cat and a snake in my bag."
Yujin stared blankly at my bag and then let out a low "Ah."
"So that's why you asked."
I occasionally checked the pad as we walked. If the situation unfolds like in the dream, Kim Gayoung will post a request for rescue on the bulletin board. In the dream, I tried hard to reach the surface on the 0th floor but failed and was eaten by a shark. I wanted to tell them that I had a premonition, but the things that happened in the dream are also happening in reality. However, I remembered Shin Hae-ryang's words in the dream, where he was trapped in the cable car, thinking I was an Infinite Bridge believer.
If I tell them what I know and there's someone here related to the Infinite Bridge, what will happen?
Even if the person who bombed the Peacock District and turned the underwater base into a leaking aquarium is not related to the Infinite Bridge and is someone I don't know, what if my words about fighting with other armed engineering teams cause more chaos among the already anxious people?
What if I tell them that the escape boats from other dormitories are useless and that everyone who boarded them is dead or dying?
...No, wait. Thinking about it again, it's absurd. How could Shin Hae-ryang think I was an Infinite Bridge believer and still want to travel with me? He didn't just leave me to die; he saved my life several times. It's suspicious, but he seemed harmless enough to travel with.
I sighed deeply, reflecting on the events in the dream. My head was spinning. Too many things had happened in a short time, and it was hard to process everything. The sensation of a shark tearing into my stomach was still vivid, but there were no wounds when I touched my belly. The weight pressing on my back and the dampness of my shoes and socks made it hard to dismiss the current situation as a dream. Besides, it would be better if the dream where everyone died was just a dream and this was reality. Even after having such a significant premonition, I'm still just a dentist who knows very little about the underwater base.
...Alright. Let's handle things one by one. It won't be exactly the same as the dream, so even if things are a bit different, it shouldn't be too dangerous. I stopped and looked out the window, speaking loudly so Yujin could hear.
"It's completely dark. There's nothing out there."
Yujin, who seemed deep in thought, looked at me with a tight-lipped expression and said,
"Even so, doesn't the light from the Peacock District research center make you feel like you're looking at the night view from the mainland?"
"There's nothing out there?"
"Huh?"
Yujin quickly approached the window. "What?" She stared at the pitch-black sea, devoid of any light, and was stunned. I asked her cautiously,
"Isn't it usually like this?"
"No, no, it's always on."
Yujin pressed her face against the round window, looking as if she might pass through it. I grabbed her shoulder and pushed her gently from behind. She was muttering in a daze, "Gone." Then she started walking unsteadily. Eunji-hyeon and Jeong Sang-hyun glanced out the window and passed by, while Kang Soo-jung looked at Yujin and the dark, lightless outside, shook her head, and walked on. I took a handful of candies from my bag and offered them to Yujin, who seemed to be in a daze.
"Eating something sweet will make you feel better."
Yujin started crunching the candies with her teeth. Chewing something so hard isn't good, but Yujin didn't seem in a state to hear that. It must be hard for her to accept that the buildings where all her acquaintances are supposed to be are completely gone. I started checking the pad again. New posts were piling up over Kang Soo-jung's writing. The author's name was HELP.
Title: Trapped in Peacock District 77.
Content: The water is rising in the dorm room, and the door won't open. Please help. Five people are gathered in the room, and we can't open the door by force. The water has risen to our ankles. If you can't come, please tell us how to open the door in the comments. There are no engineers, only researchers. We need help.
The bulletin board was filled with similar posts, all from Kim Gayoung. She's trapped in the Peacock District again. Feeling a sense of familiarity, I read the posts. Then I discovered another post and pressed it, almost hypnotized.
Title: Save the kid who wrote the post below and save me too.
Content: I was trapped while repairing the Blue Dragon District submarine Mary Gilmore 2. Isn't there anyone in the submarine port now? Or are you all ignoring my request for help?
I was taken aback by the new information and realized that others might have posted rescue requests because they were trapped somewhere. Did I read all the posts carefully in the dream? I couldn't remember. Who should I save first? Shouldn't I save the people in the Peacock District whose room is flooding? I showed the posts to Kang Soo-jung, who was walking ahead.
"There are researchers trapped in the Peacock District dormitory, and someone is also trapped in the Blue Dragon District submarine."
Kang Soo-jung quickly read the contents of the pad and replied, "I see." She showed the pad to Eunji-hyeon, who read each line slowly. Jeong Sang-hyun came over to read the pad but gave up due to the height difference and turned on his own pad. After Eunji-hyeon read the pad very slowly, line by line, he handed it back to me. I showed the posts to Yujin and said firmly to Kang Soo-jung,
"We need to go rescue them."
Hmm. Kang Soo-jung frowned and looked into the distance. Then she simply replied,
"We're heading to the Blue Dragon District, so if we go to the submarine, we'll meet this person. Mr. Park and Miss Geum should go rescue the person in the Peacock District."