Only then did I realize that Lee Ji-hyun had assigned us without asking how well we could swim. If it were me, I would have asked how well everyone could swim and assigned those who were good to go far and those who were not to stay close. Carter asked Lee Ji-hyun,
"Which valve are you going to open?"
Lee Ji-hyun showed us the map and pointed to two valves. It seemed he had assigned himself to open two valves while telling us to open one.
"I'll open these two."
"What? Two?"
"Do you want to switch with me if you like opening two valves?"
Lee Ji-hyun asked Carter with an emotionless gaze, and Carter then turned to Kim Ga-young, who was standing next to him.
"Miss Kim, where are you going?"
"Here. Next to my lab on the first floor. Why? Do you want to switch with me?"
It seemed that the places Carter and the others were going to were not to his liking. Carter's eyes met mine.
"Where is the dentist going?"
"I'm going to the lab next to 120. Mr. Carter, where is 120? I've never been to the research center, so I don't know the way. If it's closer or easier for you, do you want to switch with me?"
At my question, Carter scowled and stepped back.
"Why should I switch valve locations with you?"
"Didn't you ask to switch with someone else?"
"It's unfair if only I have to go far."
Carter said this and started talking with Benjamin, holding a pad with several cracks.
Interestingly, there was no lie in what I had told Benjamin. ...I really don't know where 120 is. I memorized the location I had to go to by looking at the map, but I'm not sure if I can find it well underwater.
However, it seemed that the others knew exactly where they were going. After all, most of them worked at the underwater pollution center and seemed to know roughly where each lab was located in the corridors. Listening to their conversations, it seemed that I, who had just entered the building, was the one in the most trouble. Or perhaps it was Yoo Geum, who was pale and massaging her lower back.
"Does your back hurt a lot?"
"I've always had a bit of a bad back, but it hasn't gotten better since I hit the chair."
Could it be a herniated disc? I asked Yoo Geum again.
"Where does it hurt the most?"
"My back hurts, and my legs are numb."
"Both legs?"
"Both legs."
It must be a herniated disc! But it might not be. Would it get better if she went underwater? I carefully looked at where Yoo Geum was supposed to go. It was quite different from 120. I gently suggested to Yoo Geum,
"Talk to Ji-hyun. Ask to switch to another location or to be exempted."
Yoo Geum looked at Lee Ji-hyun and shook her head.
"I can't say it now."
Yoo Geum then looked at Carter and said,
"If I say something, Ji-hyun might exempt me specially. And that special treatment could be a weakness for others to attack Ji-hyun. They're already struggling to find any small faults, and I don't want to give them an excuse. They might say, 'Why did you exempt her but not me?' I don't want to be a burden to Ji-hyun. He's already under enough pressure. ...Even if I die from the pain, not now."
I was surprised by Yoo Geum's thoughts. ...Well, if the drainage system won't work with one person missing, there's a problem with the drainage system, or it was impossible to escape by elevator from the beginning. And even if Yoo Geum, who is in pain, doesn't have to do it, there are more than five men, excluding Kanu, who are in good condition.
If the people in good condition jump into the water twice, it should be fine. If things don't go well or we all die because of this, it won't be because of Yoo Geum's back injury but because of trivial calculations and extreme selfishness. I tried to persuade Yoo Geum a couple more times, but she stubbornly said,
"Going underwater might actually ease the back pain. As you know, the weight decreases due to buoyancy, reducing the burden on the spine."
"But it might get worse while swimming. I'm against swimming with a cramped leg."
"...You don't discriminate against the injured."
Well, everyone who comes to me is a patient. How can I do my job if I discriminate against patients? It's rare for someone with perfect teeth to come to the dentist, but it's really rare. Most people come complaining of pain or discomfort in some part of their body.
Thinking about patients and people with disabilities, there are also people in my family who have some inconvenience in daily life... No, let's stop there. I don't want to be emotional now, and I don't want to think about my family in this situation. I simply replied to Yoo Geum,
"Maybe it's because of my job."
"In this situation, the injured are a burden."
I was quite surprised when Yoo Geum, who was holding her back, said this. I shook my head and replied,
"Judging everyone here as a burden based on that would mean everyone could be a burden. Because they're injured, slow, old, ugly, or poor. Don't have such self-destructive thoughts."
Don't worry, Yoo Geum! Objectively, I'm the least useful here! What can I do without a dental clinic? Just breathe and waste oxygen?! I'm so swollen that I can barely see out of one eye! But I'm trying not to think so pessimistically. Thinking that way won't make the situation any better.
Suddenly, I thought... Does Yoo Geum think I'll abandon or neglect the injured? That would be sad. In terms of being injured, I'm also disabled. My back and eye surgeries went well, so my eyes look almost the same, and I have no problems with daily life, and I can freely get insurance, but I sometimes forget about it.
I don't know about others. Do they think they can abandon the injured as a burden? I don't have the ability to read other people's minds. I gave up trying to persuade Yoo Geum and proposed a compromise.
"Yoo Geum, let's switch. You go to 120. I heard 111 is Ga-young's lab, and since Ga-young is opening the valve near her lab, going to 120 might be more mentally stable for you. You've been to Ga-young's lab before, right?"
"Yes, many times."
I don't know how often Yoo Geum and Kim Ga-young, who bakes bread when stressed, and Yoo Geum, who loves bread, visited each other's labs, but they must have done so countless times.
"Think of it as swimming to Ga-young's lab. I'll approach the supply room and open the valve for you."
"Is that okay with you?"
"Anyway, I'm going to 120 or the supply room for the first time. But it might feel different for you. You'll know the way better."
You won't get lost, and I'll be less worried. Let's go to a place where at least one of us feels more comfortable. It would be better for work efficiency too. I started looking at the location of the supply room Yoo Geum was assigned to, checking the path to jump from the third floor to get there as quickly as possible.
While I was doing this, a few people started stretching and taking off their clothes. Sam Young and Daniel James were already exposing their upper bodies or had taken off their pants and entered the water. Sam, dipping his lower body in the water, shouted playfully,
James splashed water on Sam's face as he entered the water. While the two were splashing each other with seawater, Kanu shook his head and silently entered the water in a straight line. Logan, after dipping his feet in the water and sighing deeply, muttered a few F-related curses and splashed into the water. Carter and Benjamin were also preparing to enter the water.
Kim Ga-young, after stretching her calf and ankle muscles for a long time, walked around the third-floor corridor, waved at me and Yoo Geum, and slowly put her legs into the water. Kim Ga-young frowned, then splashed water on her body from a distance. A few seconds later, she had already disappeared below the waterline.
Yoo Geum, who was preparing at a slightly farther location from where Kim Ga-young had dived, was also slowly entering the water. Just before submerging, Yoo Geum said to me,
"The water temperature is quite low. Don't rush in."
"......Good luck."
Watching Yoo Geum enter the water, I took off my top. I had decided to keep my pants on for swimming. As soon as I put my bare upper body into the water, I thought of a curse about the human body.
Why... Why don't human bodies have as much hair as animals? Why are we so weak that we can feel the cold so acutely just by taking off a piece of cloth? Or at least have thicker skin to swim better. Is this proper evolution?