Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

What the hell does he mean “okay” when my palm is black? Baek Ae-young responded to Jung Sanghyun with obvious irritation.

“How should I know? Stop talking to me.”

“You’re only pissy with me.”

Baek Ae-young completely ignored him and walked ahead, calling out to Nikita. She was pointing at Shin Haeryang’s pad and saying something. Kim Jae-hee examined my palm closely and spoke.

“It’s in better shape than expected.”

“I wrapped a towel around my hand when I grabbed it.”

“Ah, I see. Ae-young set that jewelry box to conduct 60mA of current – enough to cause cardiac arrest.”

“What?!”

Holy shit, I almost died. How does Baek Ae-young live with something like that installed in her room? One moment of forgetfulness touching that box and you’d end up in the hospital… No, scratch that – you’d go straight to the afterlife. Kim Jae-hee whispered to me.

“You’re smarter than Sanghyun. He touched Ae-young’s jewelry box and got rushed to Daehan Island’s emergency room in cardiac arrest.”

“Ah, hyung! Why are you telling that story?! That’s a privacy violation!”

“Wow, you even know the word ‘privacy’! I’m impressed, hey.”

Kim Jae-hee laughed exaggeratedly while patting Jung Sanghyun’s shoulder.

“If I hadn’t kicked your hand away from the box with my leg, you’d have been reduced to ashes right then… See, this is why prosthetic leg material shouldn’t be silicon. My magnificent kick kept you alive until now.”

“Ah, seriously! Stop milking that story!”

“I’m gonna milk it as long as you’re in this facility.”

“Someone who installs that kind of thing in their room is the crazy one. They’re clearly not right in the head.”

Jung Sanghyun was cursing while keeping an eye on Baek Ae-young in the distance.

“What kind of psycho woman installs something like that in her jewelry box? I bet she’s killed people like this before.”

“Is that so… Don’t you think it’s kind of cool? I find that stuff impressive. How does a woman even come up with the idea of causing cardiac arrest like that? You won’t meet people like this at other companies.”

Jung Sanghyun huffed angrily when Kim Jae-hee showed zero agreement with his complaints.

“Hyung, are you even listening to me? Shouldn’t you be taking my side? I ended up in the emergency room! Don’t you remember I couldn’t use my right hand for a month?!”

“Our Sanghyun wasn’t destined to die then – getting carried by medics, arriving at the hospital in under 10 minutes, getting kicked by my magnificent leg… Life’s been so easy for you. Back when I dropped that landmine, there was no hospital within 10 minutes, not a medic in sight. I passed out and woke up with my leg gone. Meanwhile, our Sanghyun passes out and wakes up with his hand still perfectly attached.”

“Arrrgghhhh! It’s impossible talking to you, seriously!”

Jung Sanghyun ran ahead clutching his pad. Kim Jae-hee watched his back while giggling and said to me.

“His mental and physical growth hasn’t caught up to his age. Give him about 60 years, he might finish developing.”

That would make Jung Sanghyun well over 80. I clenched and unclenched my left hand, checking its condition. Movement wasn’t too difficult. Kim Jae-hee watched my hand movements and said.

“Just get to a hospital quickly. Don’t worry too much. These days they can fix almost anything if you’ve got the money.”

Somewhat relieved by those words, I shared my frantic concerns with Kim Jae-hee.

“What I’m worried about now is Ga-young in the South District dormitory.”

On the way from the escape pod port to the Central District, Kevin Wilson was still dead in the exact same spot, head smashed against the railing. How does he consistently die hitting his head on that metal handle? Can’t he dodge it just once?

I realized that repeatedly seeing corpses in the same location was having a significant impact on my mental state. The same goes for accidents that keep happening. Kim Jae-hee stretched both arms skyward and spoke carelessly.

“Don’t worry, Team Leader Shin said he’s going to the South District.”

“I’m worried we won’t make it in time. What if Ga-young’s room fills up completely? What if the rescue comes too late? I’m so worried.”

I left my room too late because I was sleeping. Wasn’t there another way? Maybe there’s a better solution that I just don’t know about. A person only has one life. Kim Jae-hee answered with a big yawn.

“Then she dies.”

My breath caught in my throat. Why can’t I get used to facing situations where people die or might die, even though it’s happened so many times now?

“Why are you overthinking it? It’s not like you’re the one killing her.”

“…I just can’t think about it so simply.”

“Well, Team Leader Shin’s going, so we should focus on saving ourselves.”

“But if I went along… maybe it would be less dangerous, or maybe there was a better way. That’s what I’m thinking about.”

“People live according to their fate. Let’s not worry too much.”

Kim Jae-hee seemed completely relaxed. Even with the facility flooding, people carrying guns threatening to kill each other, and no escape pods available, he didn’t seem particularly concerned. I couldn’t understand where such composure came from. And I was just a tiny bit envious of it.

Even though I’ve lived through dying and getting stuck in water-filled rooms multiple times, I never developed that kind of composure.

I always end up anxious, racing against time, and berating myself for my inadequacies. It’s the same now. Until I see Kim Ga-young rescued and safe, anxiety will coil in my gut like a huge snake, refusing to unwind as I fret.

If Kim Ga-young is rescued, I’ll hope that she and Tumanako get out of this facility. …How does one live with such composure? I sighed and took slow, deep breaths.

Just as we were entering the Central District, Vladimir and Shin Haeryang almost simultaneously signaled everyone to stop. Carlos, who crashed face-first into Viktor’s back from the sudden halt, groaned while clutching his nose.

Kim Jae-hee and I stopped too. Those walking at the back had no idea why people in front had stopped. But the people in front gradually dispersed from the corridor, slowly disappearing. Seo Jihyuk pried open the ceiling, skillfully climbed up, pulled Sophia up with one hand, and closed the panel. Others slipped behind or into vending machines.

“-ey!”

“What?”

“Hide!”

Baek Ae-young shouted sharply at everyone. Where? There weren’t many places for twelve people to hide immediately. Hide around here? Watching the situation unfold, it seemed Vladimir and Shin Haeryang were quickly giving instructions, designating hiding spots for people nearby. People from the front were ducking into various hiding places.

What the hell? What’s going on?

In my confusion, I followed Kim Jae-hee behind the beverage vending machine where Carlos and Viktor were hiding. It was my first time hiding in such a narrow gap between a vending machine and wall since growing hair – the space was barely enough for two grown men.

Then someone kicked me, sending me flying into the corridor connecting the central and West District sectors. Momentarily confused at suddenly rolling on the floor, I realized there was no space left for me to hide behind the vending machine again.

And both Vladimir and Shin Haeryang in the corridor must have found their final hiding spots, as the corridor adjacent to the Central District was now completely empty.

…Where did everyone hide? Why is nobody here?

This area is basically the entrance corridor to the Central District. At first glance, there were only a few vending machines visible. Now I could see people had hidden behind and beside all of them. As I headed toward the snack vending machine next to the beverage one, I heard a whistle. Tumanako was gesturing to me from what looked like a gap in the wall.

When I quickly approached, I found Nikita, Baek Ae-young, and Tumanako squeezed into a tiny space that was essentially recessed into the wall.

It was a narrow space barely big enough for storing supplies, like a small storage closet. Looking closer, I saw cleaning robots entering and exiting. The circular cleaning robots were emitting red light, confusedly circling around my feet which had suddenly appeared as an obstacle.

The cleaning robots that entered the narrow space moved around, spitting out collected dust and garbage into a palm-sized hole in the floor. After emptying their waste, small robotic arms moved them to empty charging ports where they clicked into place and began charging.

The cleaning robots emerged with green lights after charging. I’d assumed the cleaning robots charged and emptied their waste somewhere, but I hadn’t known about these charging stations tucked into wall corners.

I realized why I’d never noticed this place before – it was completely flush with the wall, and the colors matched perfectly. It was practically invisible unless you looked carefully.

The size was close to a single-person closet. It looked cramped even for three women. It was so tight that the three women were practically compressed together in an embrace, and there was clearly no room for another adult male. There wasn’t even space for feet. The cleaning robots, evicted by the human intruders, were hastily retreating from their charging station.

Moreover, with human bodies blocking the charging spots, robots that couldn’t find charging ports lit up red and buzzed away to find other charging stations.

Hmm… this won’t work. I don’t know what’s coming, but I’d rather face the danger head-on than hide here.

This space is barely enough for one adult male to hide alone. No, it wasn’t even designed for people to hide in at all. As I stood frozen like a statue in shock at the tight space, Tumanako pulled me in regardless.

Baek Ae-young clicked her tongue, stepped on what looked like a shelf on the wall and Nikita’s shoulder, and rose into the air. Then she stuck to the corner like a spider weaving its web. Nikita grabbed the charging station door and closed it completely.

Without external light, the charging station’s interior was dark and smelled of dust and garbage. The cleaning robots hummed mechanically, charging with red lights.

I pressed my face into the furthest corner, barely breathing. With each breath I took and released, my back pressed against Nikita’s. And Tumanako’s shoulder was crushed against mine. How the hell was Baek Ae-young hanging up there? I was grateful they’d called me over but half sorry and half desperate to get out of there immediately.

We squirmed to find more comfortable positions in the tight space. Specifically, Nikita had Tumanako sit on the floor while Nikita and I ended up in an awkward position – neither standing nor sitting – with our backs together, bracing our limbs against the walls and corners.

Something suddenly started pressing on my shoulder, startling me. Turning my head slightly, I saw Baek Ae-young’s foot using my shoulder as a foothold. It seemed difficult to stay attached to the charging station ceiling by arm strength alone. What the hell is happening that we need to hide like this?

Nikita was peering outside through a tiny gap in an uncomfortable position, turning his shoulders. We could hear people talking. Looking through the poorly constructed gaps in the charging station, I could see people with guns approaching from a distance. I recognized one face through that small gap. It was Team Leader Sato.

Just then, Tumanako, who had inhaled some dust from the floor, panicked and coughed. “Achoo!”