Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

Before they knew it, Shin Haeryang had come to a stop. He opened what seemed to be a fire hydrant embedded in the wall, but contrary to what it appeared, it was not a hydrant. It was dark inside, carrying the scent of mold and sea water. Pointing to the inky void within, Shin Haeryang spoke.

“Each of you may enter one at a time.”

It seemed as if he was addressing us all and Yoo Geum-yi included, but neither of us moved. I stared into the darkness, it looked like a place where monsters could lurk. Much like a black hole consuming light, the illumination by my side failed to penetrate this abyss. Pointing towards the unseen interior, I asked.

“What is this place used for?”

“It’s the stairs.”

“Stairs…? There are stairs in the undersea base?”

Yoo Geum-yi, Baek Ae-young, and Seo Jihyuk all wore bewildered expressions.

“It was built during the early stages of the undersea base when no central elevator had been made yet. It was used while constructing Undersea Base 1 through Undersea Base 3. It’s a temporary fixture, so it’s uncomfortable and difficult to manage, and because of frequent accidents, it’s no longer used.”

Additionally, there was no light. I swallowed saliva as I looked at the total darkness inside the hydrant-like fixture. An eerie wind seemed to be blowing from inside, making a strange noise. And the smell was peculiar too. It was a location straight out of a horror film, a place any sane person wouldn’t dare to enter.

“What kind of accidents happened?”

“People slipped and fell, from what I understand. Once you see the stairs, you’ll understand why. You’ll see when you see the stairs, but there are no handrails and the stairs were not made to standard, so the heights are inconsistent. Moreover, since the completion of the elevator, the stairs haven’t been used, so there’s a lot of dust and it will be slippery.”

Despite my efforts not to, my gaze found its way to Seo Jihyuk’s legs. I wasn’t the only one—Yoo Geum-yi and Baek Ae-young were also reflexively staring at Seo Jihyuk’s legs. Seo Jihyuk swore under his breath.

“How high are these stairs?”

“To reach the second undersea base, which is approximately 800m from the third base, you will have to climb about 180 floors. That’s… roughly 4300 steps.”

I was at a loss for words. So this was what Shin Haeryang meant by ‘a difficult journey to the second base without encountering others’. I couldn’t recall a single instance in the past five years where I had climbed a ten-story staircase. But now, 180 floors? This is madness.

Yoo Geum-yi, the researcher, also seemed to blanch further. Damn it. I almost joined in echoing Seo Jihyuk’s earlier sentiments. 4300 steps? I recall there being 1600 steps when climbing to the peak of Mount Oseo.

“Um… 4300 steps. That’s surefire workout… How long will it take to climb all the way up?”

Shin Haeryang looked at Yoo Geum-yi and me, then finally at Seo Jihyuk, before hesitantly replying.

“If you climb quickly without rest, you should be able to reach the second undersea base within 60 minutes. However, with this group, it will likely take at least an hour and a half.”

Oh… I found Shin Haeryang’s optimism oddly reassuring. I had thought we would need an entire day to make it up the stairs. Even Baek Ae-young, who had never once questioned Shin Haeryang’s decisions, wore a troubled expression.

“Wait… Team Leader. I once participated in a vertical marathon where a top-tier time required running up one step per third of a second, or roughly seven seconds per floor. If I remember correctly… the record for receiving an award was under 25 minutes. Even those who trained exhaustively just to climb stairs would likely take around 30 minutes for a height like this. I… I enjoy climbing. But aside from you and me, Team Leader, everyone else will probably collapse as soon as they reach the second undersea base, unable to even move a finger.”

To Baek Ae-young’s statement, Shin Haeryang responded in a low voice.

“…That won’t be a major problem. It would be best if several problems arise at the second and third undersea bases during the time we are climbing. For instance, if they end up shooting each other to death.”

Upon hearing Shin Haeryang’s claim that climbing the stairs wouldn’t pose any issues, Seo Jihyuk glanced at his own legs. It seemed he held more hope for the elevator that could swiftly carry them upward.

“Screw it. Will a person die twice? Let’s take the elevator. A cult? Let’s fight it out! At the least, I can take down three.”

Seo Jihyuk’s words fell on deaf ears as Yoo Geum-yi, who had been obsessively repeating ‘4300’ like a mantra since earlier, finally spoke after a series of sighs.

“Let’s climb, taking breaks on the way. The less we encounter people with guns, the better.”

I let out a sigh as I stared at the barely visible stairs in the darkness and the interior of the underwater base enveloped in a warm light. My answer was almost predictable.

“I’d rather climb the stairs in the dark than encounter those guys we saw earlier.”

Baek Ae-young said nothing. Yoo Geum-yi, Seo Jihyuk, and I were looking at her. Seo Jihyuk, in particular, was ardently looking at her as if pleading for her to take his side. Baek Ae-young, with a cool gaze, looked back at Seo Jihyuk and said,

“I agree with Team Leader Shin Haeryang’s opinion.”

Now, the gazes of Baek Ae-young, Seo Jihyuk, Yoo Geum-yi, and myself fell on Shin Haeryang. The expression on Seo Jihyuk’s face was particularly comical, as if he was desperately trying to grab onto a single lifeline. He started to cling to the expressionless Shin Haeryang, trying to win the majority vote. Seo Jihyuk started to spout nonsense.

“The cult members might only be two or a handful of less than five. When we ascended to the second underwater base, the entire floor was eerily empty. It felt unjust to have climbed so many stairs. Clearly, they’re making efforts to seem more numerous than they are. How about hiding in the elevator and going up? (The elevator is transparent, isn’t it?) Maybe the Japanese or Chinese have already fought the cultists and everything is over. They may have fought amongst themselves and all be dead. The fourth underwater base was a mess, how can we know when the central elevator connecting to the third or second underwater bases could go wrong or collapse? We’re also in the dark. And if these two (He pointed at Yoo Geum-yi and me with his finger) think they are burdens, I will teach them how to shoot a gun right now. Who knows, they may have a great talent. Maybe this person (pointing at me) possess a natural killer’s talent, which could explain why he became a dentist. Drilling into people’s teeth is not something you can do with a normal mind. Can anyone stay sane when they spend their whole day looking into people’s mouths? (Ha ha ha! I laughed out loud at this point.) Yoo Geum-yi might also be a perfect match for a gun. Look at Baek Ae-young. The shorter, timid-looking women with long hair often have a level of inherent violence that’s beyond description. Surely, Yoo Geum-yi might also be naturally adept with a gun. Look at Baek Aeyoung. Women who look small, timid, and long-haired tend to harbor unimaginable violence within. Certainly, Yugeum will have the courage and decisiveness to pull the trigger. As a marine biology graduate student studying in this deep-sea base, the violent decisions she made risking her life might be a manifestation of a level of frustration and stress comparable to that of a mass shooter. (What? Yoo Geum-yi looked at him with a bewildered expression.) Why should we walk strenuously for over 90 minutes in the darkness, when we can comfortably walk for just 3 minutes in the light? Look at my legs!” And so on…

Shin Haeryang silently listened to Seo Jihyuk’s words, then asked, “You’re suggesting that we, with three guns, protect two civilians who’ve never held a gun and one injured person while engaging in a shootout with an unknown number of religious fanatics in an elevator? Even if it were forty thousand stairs instead of four thousand, I’d choose the stairs.”

At his words, Baek Ae-young giggled and was the first to throw herself into the darkness inside the fire escape.

Seo Jihyuk let out a sigh. In the pitch-black darkness, Yoo Geum-yi barely made out Baek Ae-young’s silhouette and asked, “How is it in there?”

“It’s comfortable and cozy. Soft rock music is playing, there’s a scent of roses, the floor is covered with feathers, and petals are falling from above.”

“······I’ll go in too.”

Yoo Geum-yi cautiously entered the fire escape. Then I bent my waist and went in. None of Baek Ae-young’s words were true. First of all, the sound of the wind was whistling, there was the smell of mold, dust, and something rotting. The floor was covered with garbage that someone had discarded, and unidentifiable drops of water fell from above. Furthermore, the stairs were slippery, there was nothing to hold onto except the wall, and the steps were all of different heights.

I propped up Seo Jihyuk from the inside to let him in, and Shin Haeryang supported him from the outside. Seo Jihyuk could barely get in only after lying flat as if he was being carried by people. The last one was Shin Haeryang.

From inside, I saw Shin Haeryang wiping the floor with something like a rag that had been in the cafe, erasing fingerprints, and then entered by closing the door of the fire hydrant from the inside. As the fire hydrant door was completely closed, there was no light coming in from outside.

Baek Ae-young was illuminating the floor with the light from the pad. Seo Jihyuk shone the light from the pad on the wall, saw something moving, cursed for a while, and then just illuminated the floor. I put my hand into the bag, which had now become a bag for putting the cat in. The fur was incredibly soft.

When I took out the cat and searched the bottom of the bag, a flashlight appeared. I started turning the flashlight. Wind it for a minute, use it for 15 minutes. Nowadays, self-generating flashlights have become so good that it soon shone brightly. This bag and flashlight were the employment gifts from my younger brother. He gave them to me so I would never lose my way in life, but I never thought I would use them like this. I wonder what my brother is doing now.

“Wow!”

“Oh.”

Exclamations came from Seo Jihyuk and Yoo Geum-Yi. The flashlight is definitely better than other electronic devices. I thought I would never need to use this. I handed the flashlight to Baek Ae-young, who was standing at the front. Baek Ae-young quickly put the pad into the bag on her back and took the flashlight.

“I was… really losing it, but this turned out well.”

Baek Ae-young gave a smile as if she was saved. And then, as she was illuminating the floor with the flashlight, she shone the light on Seo Jihyuk’s leg. Shin Haeryang and I, having adjusted the length of the splint, supported Seo Jihyuk.