As Kim Gayoung's voice grew lower with anger, Yoo Geum comforted her by patting her back gently.
"Don’t worry too much. You’re already out of there. You don’t have to go back to that terrible dormitory. From now on, just think about getting out of here."
"I hope that bastard trips and breaks his nose."
We all laughed at Lee Ji-hyun’s gesture of crossing herself. I thought for a moment about what to say to Kim Gayoung and then replied, "Maybe it was a stroke of luck that you didn’t board the escape pod then."
When Kim Gayoung looked at me, I smiled and said, "You met us, after all."
Kim Gayoung looked at us, closed her eyes tightly, and shook her head, saying, "Ah, I’m not the type to be moved by such things. I’m a person who thinks logically, scientifically. Why are all the people here so emotional?"
"I’m also a science major. I’m very cold."
"I’m a science major too. I’m completely cold."
"Engineers are naturally science majors. They’re very tough."
We teased Kim Gayoung as we slowly walked to the escape pod port. Occasionally, we could hear Kim Gayoung sniffle. The posts on the bulletin board were about how they typed their messages while crying, how no one replied, and how they thought everyone had escaped, leaving them alone in the entire Fourth Submarine Base. They sang songs out of fear, but it only made them more scared. They watched horror movies with the researchers and couldn’t turn around because they were afraid someone was behind them.
It must have been terrifying in the darkness. I was scared every time I went down too. I rummaged through my bag and took out a sugar-free candy. We all sucked on the candies as we walked, and the sweetness brought a sense of calm. The conversation made us feel even more at ease.
We slowly made our way to the Zhuque Dormitory escape pod port. Yoo Geum and Kim Gayoung were left at the entrance while Lee Ji-hyun and I decided to go into the escape pod port first. Yoo Geum shook her head.
"Let’s go together."
"Why?"
"Being alone in this corridor is even scarier!"
Yoo Geum looked around the empty corridor and nodded vigorously. ······Yoo Geum is quite timid. Wow, it must have been tough for her to wait alone when we went down to the Zhuque Dormitory. Kim Gayoung, looking around the eerie surroundings, shivered and said, "We survive by sticking together and die by scattering."
I chuckled at her words, remembering a joke a friend once told me.
"You have to scatter when a bomb explodes to survive."
"If things are exploding around us, shouldn’t we just die?"
When Yoo Geum said this, Lee Ji-hyun made an awkward expression and instructed Kim Gayoung and Yoo Geum to walk behind us. As we entered the escape pod port, two engineers were standing in front of the escape pod mechanism. They were surprised to see us and, holding monkey wrenches, took a stance as if they were about to throw them.
"Stay back and talk from there."
"Why didn’t you escape? ... Marcus?"
When Lee Ji-hyun asked, one of them recognized her and a person with black hair waved from behind. The one holding the monkey wrench scanned us and said, "We didn’t escape because the monitors showed the escape pods were malfunctioning. What about you?"
"We just arrived to use the escape pods."
Lee Ji-hyun didn’t mention rescue or anything. Knowing they weren’t about to attack with the monkey wrenches, she turned her head to look at the large monitor. All the escape pods were returning to the sea.
They couldn’t escape the central seabed (-1000m) and were slowly descending, as if they thought that was the peak. I was less shocked because I had seen this before, but Yoo Geum couldn’t take her eyes off the monitor, almost in a daze, watching the parabolic paths being formed.
Kim Gayoung’s reaction was even more intense. She watched the positions of the escape pods and how they were being pushed back into the sea at certain intervals, and laughed a few times, sounding defeated. When she felt my gaze, she covered her mouth. After a while, she lowered her hand, and a smile remained on her face. She looked at me with eyes full of anger and said, "Isn’t it funny? They scratched the doors until their nails bled, screamed for help until their throats were raw, and tried so hard to escape to save themselves. Now they’re coming back to the seabed."
She mumbled to herself, and I pretended not to hear. She must have felt very wronged and aggrieved. Lee Ji-hyun’s expression was a mess. She made a small cross and muttered something, but it was too low to hear. Yoo Geum, who had been staring at the monitor in shock, finally asked the two engineers, "What do you plan to do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Escape from here."
"It’s our choice what we do here."
The black-haired man, Marcus, said indifferently to Yoo Geum. Lee Ji-hyun frowned and said, "Marcus. If you’re thinking of fixing the remaining escape pods, you should give up."
"Why?"
"Really? Do you think you have the time to fix them when the water could start flooding at any moment?"
"Miss Lee. Mind your own business. If we fix them before the water comes, we’ll escape. If not, we’ll drown."
The man with the messy beard and the monkey wrench, standing next to Marcus, said to us, "These two escape pods are ours. If you have no more business here, leave the port."
"Take the broken escape pods with you."
Kim Gayoung said reluctantly and stepped back. Then the man with the monkey wrench asked me, "Doctor. Did everyone in the Baekho Dormitory escape?"
"Excuse me? I confirmed that everyone in rooms 38 and above had left."
"You didn’t see room 20?"
"Excuse me? No, I didn’t. ... Do you know them?"
"I saw you at the dentist."
"Oh, right!"
A dentist sees many patients. How could I remember all their faces? It’s easier to remember their dental conditions. The man holding the monkey wrench had light brown hair that reached his chin. Now I noticed his previously red skin was now pale, and he had a messy beard that he didn’t have before. No wonder I didn’t recognize him.
"Mr. Harry Woods?"
"You remember me."
Right, he was from New Zealand. Is Marcus also from New Zealand? Suddenly, patient information started flooding my mind. He lived in Queenstown and complained at the dentist about not being able to drink alcohol here. He had multiple cavities, diabetes, and high blood pressure, and his teeth clearly showed he was an alcoholic. He smelled of alcohol when he opened his mouth, and he was very annoyed when I told him to quit drinking.
His face was completely red back then. His last memory of me was when he left the dentist after cursing the indigenous woman living across the street. Harry asked me, "Is the Baekho Dormitory flooded?"
"Excuse me? Yes."
"Then no one should be there now."
Of course, no one would be there if it’s flooded. I had a sudden thought and asked Harry, "······What’s in room 20?"
"It doesn’t matter."
He didn’t answer. Marcus then asked Lee Ji-hyun, "What do you plan to do? How will you escape?"
Lee Ji-hyun coldly replied, "It’s our choice."
She was giving them the same answer they gave Yoo Geum. It was clear they had no intention of sharing any information about escaping. They weren’t being cooperative at all. Lee Ji-hyun waved her arm to signal us to step back. As we slowly moved away, Marcus mocked, "Don’t be scared. We won’t attack you. There’s nothing to gain."
Harry laughed and pretended to lunge at us. I flinched, but Lee Ji-hyun showed no reaction and kept her eyes on the others until they all left the escape pod port. She then stepped out of the port entrance.
"Everyone who escaped in the pods must be dead."
Yoo Geum shivered, and Kim Gayoung grabbed her shoulder tightly. Lee Ji-hyun made a cross and sighed deeply. She then quickly said to Kim Gayoung, "Sister Gayoung. Write on the bulletin board that the Zhuque escape pods are unusable, all deliberately broken, and to be cautious when using them."
Kim Gayoung fumbled through her wet bag, pulled out a plastic-wrapped electronic pad, and started typing furiously. Lee Ji-hyun, keeping an eye on the back, asked me as we walked down the corridor, "What do we do now?"
"Excuse me?"
"What will happen?"
"When gunshots were heard from the Hyeonmu Dormitory, the people there fled to the Central Dormitory. Armed people then shot and killed people in the Central Dormitory. In the dream, I fled to the Cheongryong Dormitory."
Yoo Geum looked around the corridor, clearly scared. Lee Ji-hyun looked down the corridor towards the Central Dormitory, seemingly considering whether it was a good idea to enter.
"Hmm. If what Mr. Wu said is true, we might encounter armed people if we enter the Central Dormitory."
"If we don’t go to the Central Dormitory now, what should we do?"