Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea-Chapter 159

Seo Jihyuk picked up a chocolate bar. After carefully examining its expiration date and packaging condition, he unwrapped it and took a bite. His jaw moved diligently, and then he let out a contented sigh.

Me and Tumanako awkwardly opened our chocolate bars. I didn’t particularly like the strong sweetness typical of foreign snacks, and Tumanako seemed to have no appetite. However, Tumanako vigorously tore open the chocolate bar wrapper and started chewing so intensely that I worried about the state of her teeth. It didn’t seem like she was eating because she was hungry, but because she had to eat.

I broke off about 1/3 of the chocolate bar, still in its wrapper. Then I forced myself to chew just the small piece in my mouth. As the sweetness that made my tongue ache entered my stomach, I felt nauseous. When I tasted the artificial, sticky chocolate flavor, dizziness washed over me like a tidal wave. I couldn’t long more for hot coffee to wash out my mouth.

Seo Jihyuk finished his chocolate bar in just two bites. Baek Ae-young was slowly chewing her chocolate bar while stretching one leg out. And Shin Haeryang was sitting against the wall, motionless. He looked like a seated statue sprouting from the floor, but he too moved only his jaw and hands, demolishing the chocolate bar in three bites.

I handed the remaining 2/3 of my chocolate bar to the person next to me who didn’t have one.

“My mouth touched it. Please eat it.”

Seo Jihyuk, who was licking the wrapper to eat the melted chocolate, looked at me and said,

“Eat your own share.”

“My stomach doesn’t feel good, so I can’t eat it.”

There’s someone who can’t eat, you know. Besides, I feel like I’ll throw up if I eat any more. I leaned against the cart filled with hair products and watched as others ate their chocolate bars in their own ways.

As I zoned out watching their cheeks move as they chewed quietly, someone said something. I was in a daze until Seo Jihyuk tapped my forearm, and I realized that Shin Haeryang, sitting near the door, had spoken to me.

“Pardon?”

“I asked what day it is today.”

“Ah… Just a moment.”

It was May, but what day? As I hesitated for a few seconds trying to answer, Shin Haeryang asked another question.

“Doctor. What’s your room number?”

“West District thirty… what was it again? Give me a second. It’s an even number.”

“…Who are your family members?”

“I have my mother and younger brother.”

“How old is your younger brother?”

“Uh… I’m calculating. There’s quite an age gap between us.”

How old was he again? His age changes every year. Even my own age confuses me. Now it’s faster to remember the year of birth. Shin Haeryang didn’t wait for my answer and continued to ask other things.

“Where are we?”

I saw hair products, hair dryers, and aprons around.

“…It’s a hair salon.”

“How many hours did you sleep last night?”

“…I don’t know. We’ve been living the same day for three days now. I think. …I don’t think I slept.”

Shin Haeryang suddenly asked a strange question.

“Do you remember my name?”

“Shin Haeryang.”

“What do I do for a living?”

“You’re a tooth thug. I’m about to sue you for work overload.”

Someone listening to the conversation let out a low laugh. The voice sounded like Seo Jihyuk, but despite the loud giggling from the side, Shin Haeryang continued to ask questions without even a smile.

“Who were you trying to give the chocolate bar to just now?”

“To Geum-yi.”

The person who had been laughing suddenly started coughing. Cough! Cough! Hack! Someone was pounding their back as if trying to break it. Shin Haeryang asked me again, expressionlessly.

“Do you mean Researcher Yoo Geum-yi from South District?”

“Yes.”

“Is there a reason you shared it?”

“It seemed like there wasn’t enough food for the number of people.”

“No, Doctor. That-“

Shin Haeryang stopped Seo Jihyuk, who tried to interject mid-conversation, with a glance and said,

“Are you tired or sleepy?”

“Aren’t all office workers like that?”

“What’s in your bag?”

“There’s a cat and a snake in it.”

“May I look inside?”

“Yes.”

As I handed over the bag I was carrying, Shin Haeryang, holding the bag in one hand, gave me a water bottle with the other and said,

“Drink it all without leaving any.”

“Have the others all drunk it?”

“You’re the last one, Doctor.”

While I was drinking the water from the bottle, Shin Haeryang opened the bag to check and handed it back to me. As I sat on the floor wearing the bag, I heard low, faint voices from afar.

“How does the condition look? You’ve been coaxing and persuading all this time, don’t make me burst. Just spill it.”

“They’ll hear us.”

“I don’t care about being heard or not.”

“…There are impairments in orientation, memory, concentration, perception, emotional and cognitive functions, and the response time to questions is too slow. On the way here, there were also signs of paranoia and anxiety disorder.”

Someone suddenly interjected between their conversation.

“It’s because of stress. Half of all illnesses are due to stress.”

“Great white shark, who here isn’t under stress right now? …Maybe there was a pre-existing mental illness and they missed the time to take medication. I’m also concerned about the long rambling earlier.”

“That… it contained too much information to be dismissed as simple nonsense. Moreover, one couldn’t make up such detailed content in a short time, and they don’t seem skilled enough in psychological warfare to deliberately deceive me. …To my eyes, it looks like delirium.”

“Delirium? Does delirium behave that calmly? The guy who was causing a ruckus with the medical staff at the field hospital, saying ghosts were trying to kill him, was also delirious, wasn’t he?”

“What’s delirium? No, no. Don’t answer that. Anyway, the three of us are good at hitting people, but none of us can cure them. Is there any solution other than getting out of here?”

“There isn’t. If the condition is serious, shouldn’t we tie them up?”

“It’s okay. I’m watching.”

“Hey. If you don’t want to get kicked out, be quiet.”

Someone grabbed my shoulder with their palm and said,

“This is my hair salon, so you need my permission to talk. Either answer only my questions or go outside to chat.”

The voices disappeared in an instant. Tumanako shouldered a sturdy cloth bag and asked Seo Jihyuk,

“Hey, Tour Guide. When do you think we’ll be able to get out of here?”

Seo Jihyuk, who had been addressed, put down his water bottle on the floor, frowned, and said,

“It depends on how many functioning escape pods are left in the escape pod port next to us.”

“…I hope there are 5 left. Or even more than that.”

Seo Jihyuk nodded briefly at Tumanako’s wish. Baek Ae-young finished chewing her chocolate bar and wiped her mouth and hands on a towel in the corner. Watching this, Seo Jihyuk said quietly, as if sighing,

“Or at least I hope there are two left.”

“Why?”

“I want to send out the Tooth Doctor or the Hair Doctor quickly. I’m struggling. The guide’s future goal is either unemployment or going on strike.”

“I struggled too. Do you know how hard I worked to get here?”

“I know well.”

Seo Jihyuk affirmed Tumanako’s words, then looked at me and Tumanako, shrugged his shoulders, and said,

“Both of you are model tourists. Well, one person’s condition is a bit off, but we can’t always be in good shape, right? Please maintain that exemplary attitude.”

“What kind of people are non-exemplary tourists?”

To my question, Seo Jihyuk lightly tapped the empty water bottle and said,

“Hmm. Suddenly shouting loudly, fighting among tourists thinking it’s a good opportunity, trying to drink alcohol or smoke, attempting to hit the guide. Or trying to stick around when they should just lightly brush their eyes over the tourist attraction and leave. Well, there are many.”

“Has that happened often?”

“Ah, a lot. When I used to do escort duty, you wouldn’t believe the crap I went through.”

“Confidentiality agreement. Want to cough up a bucket of money?”

Baek Ae-young lightly kicked Seo Jihyuk’s foot. Seo Jihyuk grumbled, then made excuses saying he was only going to talk just enough not to get caught, before shutting his mouth. Tumanako continued to ask Baek Ae-young beside her,

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

“Can’t we just run straight to the escape pod port? Was there a need to stop by all sorts of shops for 2-3 minutes each before coming to the hair salon? We could just run to the escape pod port, check the number of escape pods, and then run to take the elevator, right?”

Baek Ae-young nodded lightly as if Tumanako’s words made sense, then answered,

“We could do that. But I want to move through blind spots not covered by CCTV as much as possible. We haven’t been detected yet, you know. The thing mounted above the escape pod port moves every 7-8 minutes, so we just need to wait a little longer.”

“Who haven’t we been detected by?”

Shin Haeryang stared blankly at the closed door of the hair salon and answered in a low voice,

“There are armed personnel patrolling outside. I saw them come down by elevator from the Second Underwater Base.”

Tumanako looked at the hair salon door with a frightened expression and said in a much lower voice,

“…Huh. I didn’t see them.”

“That’s our job. You should continue not seeing them.”

Tumanako, slightly tense, gently placed her hands on my shoulder as I sat still. Then she asked Shin Haeryang,

“The kid’s nice. It seems like their memory is going back and forth. It’s just that their physical condition is a bit off, but you’re not going to leave them behind, right? …Right?”

“We’ll take them. Delirium can happen to anyone. It will improve with treatment.”

Tumanako’s tense sigh subsided at Shin Haeryang’s confident words. Tumanako’s fingers lightly tapped my shoulder like playing piano keys, then clenched her fist happily. Suddenly, with both fists tightly clenched, Tumanako asked Shin Haeryang again,

“Hey. Would you have taken me along, risking danger through people with guns, even if I had delirium?”

“Yes.”

“…You’re lying, right?”

“Yes.”

Both answers were in the same tone. Tumanako’s fists trembled as she looked at Shin Haeryang. Tumanako’s expression suggested she wanted to punch Shin Haeryang right then and there. However, suppressing that emotion, she said one thing,

“Give me your gun. You guys have three guns, don’t you?”

“Do you know how to shoot?”

“I don’t. Do you know how to throw a spear stylishly?”

“I don’t.”

“Yeah. It’s a tie. Give me a gun too.”

Shin Haeryang shook his head lightly. When Tumanako looked at Seo Jihyuk and Baek Ae-young, the two slowly backed away as if Tumanako might snatch their guns. Tumanako made a sad face but quickly erased it and said to Shin Haeryang,

“Then I want to immigrate to your country. Dual citizenship or whatever. I’m going to be Korean now, so you have to protect me diligently.”

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