"People should live a good life. That bastard... usually... I didnât do much to him because he wasnât my lab senior or junior. But... I really donât want to talk about it. Anyway, good people are attractive just because they are good. They give off the vibe of being complete human beings. Just looking at them feels like theyâre giving you answers on how to live. I like such people. Even if youâre not good, you should at least try to be."
While saying this, Kim Gayoung seemed uncertain whether the disinfection was effective. Ouch! It stings! I wondered if Kim Gayoung had rubbed alcohol-soaked gauze on my face, as my mouth and cheeks were intensely and fiercely painful. I endured the burning sensation on my face by swallowing hard. When Kim Gayoung applied ointment to my fingertips and rubbed it over the wounds, declaring the treatment complete, I finally escaped the brief torture.
...I would have to treat Yugeum and Lee Ji-hyunâs injuries. To strengthen my soft, frightened, and disheveled mental state, I asked Kim Gayoung with a sigh.
"Gayoung, I have one last question. ...Is there any secret to having a strong heart like yours? Any method to mentally prepare?"
"The lotus does not get dirty in the mud? Donât let terrible and difficult things affect you too much. Think that no one can hurt you without your permission."
From a distance, Yugeum was slowly walking over, holding her waist. She smelled of liniment.
"But isnât the current situation just too terrible? Sister. I donât want to get hurt."
"Yeah, I understand that."
Kim Gayoung smiled softly at Yugeum. I looked Yugeum over and asked.
"Yugeum, howâs your back?"
"I want to go to an orthopedist for physical therapy, soak in a hot bath at a sauna, and sleep for about 10 hours right now."
I was about to think that she was fine, but then I realized it was someoneâs way of speaking. I tried to recall who it was, but it didnât come to me immediately. Too many things had happened in such a short time, making it hard to remember everything. I treated Yugeumâs injuries lightly, avoiding her back and waist as she didnât want to show them.
Lee Ji-hyun, who had gone down to the second floor, came back drenched in water, panting. She entered the room barefoot and asked me.
"Muhyeon, have you ever escaped in an elevator in a dream?"
"Uh... Yes, when I went from Cheongryong-dong to the Third Undersea Base in an elevator. But it stopped several times due to power outages on the way up. Why do you ask?"
"Iâm trying to activate the cargo elevator to escape. If it works, everyone here will reach the Basic Area (0th floor). Weâll be able to see the sunlight outside."
The cargo elevator, I heard, can move throughout the entire Daehan Island from the Fourth Undersea Base, like the central elevator. As Lee Ji-hyun expressed such a positive opinion, I felt a mix of joy and dread, preparing myself mentally.
"What if it doesnât work?"
"Then weâll all go to the Lordâs side at once."
I see. Thatâs simple. ...Lee Ji-hyun might go to the Lordâs side, but as an atheist, I know Iâll just become a corpse. This holiday is really something. Once we get out of this undersea base, Iâll never look at the undersea again. I wonât even walk up stairs or ride in elevators; Iâll just stay locked in a room.
I opened my bag and took out the towel that was under the cat. The cat, now used to my touch, avoided my hand. I gave the towel to Yugeum, who immediately passed it to Lee Ji-hyun. As Lee Ji-hyun wiped her face, which was soaked with seawater, and drank some water that Kim Gayoung handed her, she shook her head when I suggested treating her injuries.
"We donât have time."
"You know, treatment requires time."
"Once the water rises, the elevator and everything else will be damaged. We need to drain the water immediately."
Lee Ji-hyun, who had been panting, coughed a few times and continued.
"The elevator is fine. I can operate it. The problem is the water. The elevator canât rise because itâs too heavy with water in the open door. We need to drain the water to escape!"
James, who had been listening, looked over the railing at the rising water and responded skeptically.
"How do you plan to drain the water? It seems like the water is rising faster than we can drain it."
When we first arrived, the second floor was flooded, and now more than half of it was submerged. Sam Young, standing beside me, said worriedly.
"Look, the second floor is already flooded. The water will soon reach the third floor, right?"
Lee Ji-hyun rubbed her short hair with the towel and replied.
"We need to activate the automatic drainage system and manually turn the drainage valves on the first floor. The water wonât drain quickly, and as James said, itâs probably coming in faster than it can be drained. But we just need to drain enough water for the elevator to operate."
Lee Ji-hyun continued, wiping her hands and fingertips with the towel.
"These elevators are designed to be strong against seawater and to drain water when submerged. Usually, cleaning robots keep the floor spotless, but during the initial construction, the place was completely flooded and muddy. It should be fine."
One of the men, who had been listening quietly, smiled slyly at Lee Ji-hyun.
"You just need to drain the water, right? But thatâs your job as an engineer, isnât it?"
"......What do you mean?"
"If you can do it, why are you asking others to do it?"
Lee Ji-hyunâs expression darkened, and she raised her voice.
"I want the water to drain enough to expose more than half of the first floor. Whether we activate the drainage system, manually turn the valves on the first floor, scoop water out with buckets, or drink it like a whale, the water needs to be drained. If I could drain the entire research center by myself, why would I call everyone here and make such a fuss? I could just do it all myself and escape alone!"
"Why donât you just do it all yourself?!"
The man, who had been smiling and teasing, was now being glared at by Lee Ji-hyun.
"Arenât you going to leave?"
"No, Iâll leave if you can get the elevator working."
The tone and atmosphere were strange. James Danell, Sam Young, Enzadi Kanu, and the others had a different attitude. Some of the men were smiling oddly, crossing their arms, and watching Lee Ji-hyun as if she were a cute monkey putting on a show.
I didnât understand this situation. Why are they acting like this? And what is this person saying? Shouldnât everyone help Lee Ji-hyun to drain the water from the deep-sea pollution center?
Because of the waterâs weight, the elevator couldnât rise. The elevator in Cheongryong-dong had the same issue, with the doors open and filled with water. The cargo elevator, which had stopped on the first floor, was submerged and invisible from the third floor railing. Since it was a transparent elevator, we could only guess it was stuck somewhere underwater.
According to Lee Ji-hyun, the water level was rising quickly, so we needed to start draining it as soon as possible. Even I, who knew nothing about engineering, understood this, so the people working at the research center should have understood it too. Why canât I understand why these people are acting this way?
Yugeum had been rubbing her waist with both hands, but now, with a headache, she took one hand off her waist and started rubbing her forehead. Kim Gayoung leaned against the wall, standing at an angle, and watched the men expressionlessly. The man with yellow hair, standing next to the one who had been teasing Lee Ji-hyun, said to her.
"Why should we get wet and do what you tell us? If the water is rising faster than we can drain it, then even if we work hard, the water might rise even faster. If we try and fail to drain enough water to get the elevator working, weâll just waste our energy! And what if the cargo elevator, which has been submerged for over 30 minutes, doesnât work properly? And if we get hurt or die in the process, will you take responsibility?"
The man, who had been approaching, shouted in Lee Ji-hyunâs face. Lee Ji-hyun took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, then took a few steps back. When her arm brushed against mine, she clenched her left hand into a fist and whispered. Lord, today I am having a difficult day. Even if I canât have a peaceful day, please help me not to kill anyone. The chilling prayer words barely brushed past my ear. Another man, standing nearby, looked up and down at the drenched Lee Ji-hyun and said.
"Isnât fixing the broken things here your job as engineers? Why are you making a fuss and asking us to do it? You should do it. Thatâs your job. And if youâre going to ask for help, shouldnât you be a bit more polite?"
Lee Ji-hyun was speechless, staring blankly at the man. I, too, was looking at him in a similar way. ...Is my translation device broken? Or did I wash my brain along with my face? I stepped in, answering the man on behalf of the speechless Lee Ji-hyun.
"Why are you acting like this? You all know that what Ji-hyun is saying is right. Of course, even if everyone here dives to the first floor and tries to drain the water, the elevator might still not work, or the water might rise faster than expected, leading to failure. Even if the elevator moves, there might be electrical issues or unexpected malfunctions, and we might just end up wasting our efforts and getting wet. But we can at least try. We might get lucky and escape. Why arenât you willing to try?"