Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea - Chapter 91

I was now standing on the 3rd floor in my usual form. Only one of the wet towels that had been covering my head was sinking next to the flailing Benjamin instead of me. I first checked on Kim Ga-young, who was sitting on the floor.

“I saw you fall while coming over. Are you okay where you fell?”

“…… It’s starting to hurt now.”

Kim Ga-young, who had been panting and exhaling, groaned softly. Kim Ga-young, who had tumbled on the floor due to the water while running over, was vigorously rubbing her hip and waist with her hands. Sounds of “ouch, ouch” escaped from Kim Ga-young’s mouth.

Yoo Geum-yi, sitting on the floor, was looking up at the ceiling with a dazed expression. It seemed like Yoo Geum-yi’s soul was also escaping through her slightly open mouth. Yoo Geum-yi very slowly mumbled to me with her chapped lips.

“Today is really tough. I never thought I lacked stamina in my life until now.”

It’s not easy to pull up a 75kg adult male entirely with your strength. Moreover, we’ve experienced too many things all at once so far. The thought that even if the two had let me go while I was holding the cat securely, I could have landed on the water without much trouble crossed my mind, but I couldn’t say that in front of these two people who had worked hard. I felt like saying things like “it would have been fine even if you hadn’t” would be disparaging their efforts and hard work.

Thanks to these two, I didn’t have to enter the water again, and the cat could stay dry. The former is one thing, but doesn’t the latter hold quite a big value? I can just dry myself, but animals would extremely hate getting wet. And in the first place, it’s not our three’s fault that we had to go through this hardship. Looking at Kim Ga-young and Yoo Geum-yi, I slowly spoke.

“Thank you both. I’m heavy, so you must have had a hard time pulling me up. …… I never thought that guy would throw the cat.”

Things I couldn’t even imagine were happening continuously. And in this situation, I also didn’t think that someone would want my backpack. I had never lived in a world where people were desperate to steal the bag carried by someone. Wasn’t it normal to throw your bag on a cafe chair and go to the bathroom without it getting stolen? I wonder if Korea’s public security is good or this place is exceptionally bad.

The two were half-leaning on the railing, exhausted. In the distance, Logan and Kanu were smoking again as if none of this was their business, James was jeering at the 2nd floor, and Sam was shouting, “You’re a fucking asshole.”

Looking down, I saw Benjamin swimming hard and entering the 2nd floor through the railing. Until now, the 2nd floor had been completely filled with water, but now the water was draining to the level of people’s calves.

Benjamin’s eyes met mine as I looked down at the 2nd floor from the 3rd floor. He raised his middle finger at me like a 9-year-old kid and curled up the rest of his fingers. Oh my. …… Hey. Do you want to act like that at your age? Even Henry, who was suddenly abandoned without his parents in a leaking undersea base and was terrified, didn’t behave like that. I thought about flipping him off in return, but I gave up because it was too childish and unproductive. We’re not kids.

Yoo Geum-yi turned her head towards the railing, saw that scene, and sighed deeply.

“Why do they live like that?”

“I guess he wants to take out his stress on the weak. A guy like that probably lived like that even normally.”

Kim Ga-young frowned and answered Yoo Geum-yi’s question while rubbing her waist and hips. An adult male usually takes out his stress on weaker creatures? Where did that kind of life go wrong in the first place? …… Even imagining it twice, it was nearly impossible for me to comprehend. Just come to the dentist after eating a lot of sweets.

I put one of Kim Ga-young’s arms, who was staggering and unable to stand properly, over my shoulder. That alone seemed very unstable for her to get up. I said excuse me for a moment and held Kim Ga-young’s hip area with my hand. When I lifted her up with strength to make her stand on two feet, Kim Ga-young was barely able to walk with her arm over my shoulder.

Yoo Geum-yi, who had been mumbling that she was fine, slowly grabbed the railing, got up by herself, took a deep breath, and walked over slowly. Even Jihyun, who was sprawled on a chair in the distance, seemed to lack stamina. We need to let them sleep or eat something. Or just rest without doing anything.

But there’s no time to rest. When the water drains to a certain level, we have to go down to the 1st floor elevator in time with the water drainage. We don’t know when and how much water will flood in again.

Will the elevator operate normally? What about the Infinity Church guys who might be above? I only noticed a moment later that Carter had approached me on my left. When I stopped walking, he stammered and said to me.

“I didn’t know that guy would throw your cat. I didn’t even know there was a cat in there.”

You bastard. Is that an apology? I held back the urge to punch him. The biggest reason was that if I let go, Kim Ga-young, whom I was supporting, seemed like she would collapse on the floor. I stared at Carter and asked.

“What did you think was in the backpack?”

“Dollars. Or …… drugs.”

Among the prohibited items in the undersea base, are any of them actually enforced? I had roughly guessed it since I saw this person’s dental condition. I don’t know what kind of drugs. Judging by the severe tooth decay, it must be acidic drugs. Due to the side effects of drugs, digestion doesn’t work properly, and with loss of appetite, they only seek out sweet things like soda or chocolate, accelerating tooth decay.

…… Wait a minute. Where do I look like a drug dealer? It felt like Carter was adding fuel to my annoyance every time he opened his mouth. Did he come to apologize? Or did he come to pick a fight? Making assumptions, I asked Carter.

“Are you sorry to me?”

“……”

I don’t know if I’m interpreting the situation positively or being unnecessarily optimistic. Seeing him coming here to shed his guilt like this, if Carter had known there was a cat in the backpack, he probably wouldn’t have tried so hard to take it.

Is this thought too positive and delusional? But what do I gain from thinking negatively in this situation? Unfounded despair? Doubts about humans’ instinctive selfishness? A desire for revenge, thinking I’ll pay them back the same way someday? Benjamin…… I don’t know. For now, let’s just look at Carter in front of me.

We are just people who happened to gather in a disaster where the undersea base is leaking. From the moment the water started leaking until now, I judged that building hostility towards each other would not be helpful at all, whether then or now. It’s an environment where it’s questionable whether we can survive even if we help each other with all our might.

People in the 20th century could live well as long as they and their families and acquaintances were safe. However, the 21st century has completely changed. Situations where you can’t survive just because you’re happy and safe alone have been continuously created. Our generation knows too well how the results of the 20th centuries, who tried to eat well and live well for themselves, came back in the form of indiscriminate overfishing, habitat destruction, water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, climate change, and various types of widespread epidemics. We also know that abandoning selfishness and protecting others eventually comes back to protect ourselves.

If possible, I hope people will care for and help each other through good deeds.

Like Yoo Geum-yi, Jihyun, and I saving Kim Ga-young trapped in the dormitory, Yoo Geum-yi, Jihyun, Kim Ga-young, and I helping Yoo Geum-yi who wants to release marine life, Kim Ga-young helping the three of us in crisis, us actively agreeing and trying to fulfill what Jihyun wants, and these people saving me.

In the current situation, money or violence cannot offer any salvation. If it were someone with a lot of money, could they have gotten out of here quickly? Then what about the person in my dream who was shot to death by me while wearing jewelry all over their body? If those familiar with violence could get out of here, Shin Hae-ryang or Baek Ae-young would have escaped first in my dream. Or that man named Goodman.

Capital and coercion. The reason I, who have neither, am still alive in this messed up undersea base is because of the care and unconditional help from the people around me. Pointing to Kim Ga-young next to me and Yoo Geum-yi walking behind me, I said to Carter.

“If you’re sorry to me, be nice to Kim Ga-young here and Yoo Geum-yi over there. They came to help me even while falling.”

I want a cycle of goodwill. And if you want to apologize to the cat, do it to the cat, not me, while buying it something to eat.

Carter hesitated, looked at Kim Ga-young and Yoo Geum-yi, then passed by us and went downstairs. After walking in silence for a few seconds, Kim Ga-young said.

“Somehow… When I talk with Geum, I feel like my eroded humanity is being restored a bit, but Moohyun, you seem to have that effect too.”

“What effect is that? …… Why is Ga-young’s humanity gone?”

“Living life, it just dries up like that. It’s become a complete desert. I’m filling it up by looking at good people.”

“Don’t worry. These days, even flowers can bloom in the desert.”

Interestingly, the 21st century is a world where desertification and sea level rise are occurring simultaneously. In some places, people are dying and the environment is being destroyed due to lack of water, while in others, habitats are being destroyed due to overflowing water.

I saw James approach Jihyun, who was sprawled on a chair, and they talked to each other. After exchanging a few more words, James carried Jihyun on his back. Jihyun, who was being carried, pointed to the pads with her hand, and Sam, who was next to them, gathered the pads and shouted at us.

“Anything to take?”

What should I take? I can’t think of anything right now. I don’t know. Is there anything I need to bring from the 3rd floor? I turned my head this way and that, and the closed center director’s office and the offices next to it caught my eye. I only wanted to disappear to the lower floor right away. I asked Kim Ga-young and Yoo Geum-yi, who was walking behind.

“Do we have anything to take?”

“Well… Courage?”

Yoo Geum-yi, who had walked closer, laughed at Kim Ga-young’s words and loudly shouted to Sam, “No!” Sam also started descending the nearby stairs with James.

When we went down the stairs and arrived on the 2nd floor, most of the water on the entire 2nd floor had drained. Trash was strewn about haphazardly, and furniture was pushed here and there. The water level now only lapped at the ankles of the people standing on the 2nd floor.