Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

A scream pierced the air from where Jihyuk had his gun aimed, followed by what sounded like someone collapsing. The sound of running footsteps indicated Jihyuk was moving. Moments later, the enemy began unleashing a barrage of gunfire in our direction.

There was barely any cover or structures around to shield ourselves from the bullets. Thinking back, at least that jewelry exhibition hall had high pedestals or large raw gems we could hide behind. In this even worse situation, all we could do was throw ourselves to the ground and wait for the gunfire to pass.

Gunshots echoed from every direction. Judging by the sound, it seemed like Ae-young was firing at something too, but I couldn’t lift my head to look. How the hell was she even managing to shoot in this chaos? Could she actually see what she was aiming at?

From my previous experience, I couldn’t tell where bullets were coming from or who was shooting what. Even in this second firefight, nothing had changed except that I was calmer now instead of crying in terror like before.

Everyone around had thrown themselves to the floor, covering their heads and screaming. When Tumanako’s screams grew as loud as the gunfire, I crawled over and covered her mouth with my palm. Within three seconds, Tumanako assessed the situation and closed her mouth, allowing me to remove my hand. Jaehee, his head covered, glanced at me beside him and said with a grin as the rat-tat-tat of gunfire assaulted our ears.

“Isn’t this thrilling? Most exciting day since we got to the underwater base.”

I could only hear his voice because he was close – the gunfire was too deafening for normal conversation. Covering my head with my hands, unsure if I was trying to protect it or block out the noise, I shot back.

“We’re getting shot at here?!”

Just as I finished speaking, something whizzed past and struck the floor right next to my forearm. Shit. That was close.

“That’s what makes it fun.”

His relaxed voice somehow carried over the chaos. This isn’t fun at all. Tumanako was literally trembling beneath me. Sanghyun, who had thrown himself down similar to me, shouted while pressing his face to the floor.

“You’re out of your fucking mind! Are you high or something?!”

“Hey, that’s going too far.”

As I lifted my head slightly to look around, I could see Haeryang and Vladimir prone on the ground, firing their weapons. Following their aim, I spotted black-clad figures lying at the other end.

The enemy’s fire ceased, and after a brief pause, our side stopped shooting as well.

“Sanghyun!”

Haeryang called out Sanghyun’s name softly. Still plastered to the floor, Sanghyun replied in a small, indignant voice.

“Nothing showed up on the pad!”

A man from the opposing side shouted in English.

“Who the fuck are you people?!”

…We’d like to know the same thing. Who are you? The uniforms look like Infinity Church believers, but did they come down from the Second Underwater Base? Nikolai, thinking similarly, immediately shouted back in English.

“Who the fuck are YOU?!”

The other side seemed slightly taken aback before revealing their identity.

“We are Infinity Church believers who have taken control of the underwater base. Who are you?!”

Ah. So I was right. But weren’t they supposed to stay in the Second or Third Underwater Base? Nikolai’s voice carried a hint of confusion as he asked those around him. What’s Infinity Church? What? I don’t know either. Nikolai shouted to the team leader.

“Boss! What should I tell them? Should we be honest?!”

“Tell them we’re Japanese. The only people carrying guns around here are either Japanese or Chinese.”

Ignoring the chatter around him, Haeryang began crawling forward. After hearing Vladimir’s low voice, Nikolai bellowed at the top of his lungs.

“We are Japanese!”

Good lord. He shouted that exact phrase in Russian, causing Haeryang to pause momentarily in surprise before resuming his movement. Jaehee burst out laughing while still lying face-down.

Vladimir’s face turned red and purple as he glared at Nikolai from his crouched position, while Carlos, who had his head buried in the floor in a corner, yelled out.

“Are you fucking insane? Damn, I’m the idiot for hanging around with these Russian bastards!”

Nikolai looked bewildered by everyone’s reactions before realizing he’d shouted in Russian, his face falling in dismay.

Since the other side had stopped firing, I cautiously raised my hand and waved it slightly. Nobody shot. I lifted my head to survey the surroundings.

In the distance, Jihyuk was crouched behind a pillar, gesturing toward me. The first thing I noticed was his fingers stained crimson with blood. He was waving his second and fourth fingers while moving his hand from right to left. Probably telling me to crawl over, or maybe swim across the floor. Come to think of it, neither Jihyuk nor Ae-young had made a sound. Jihyuk, hidden behind the pillar, was sitting with his gun aimed at the enemy.

I tapped Tumanako’s back with my fingertip and pointed toward Jihyuk. When I tapped Sanghyun’s calf to show him Jihyuk’s position, he tucked the pad he’d been looking at against his back and started frantically crawling sideways. After several seconds of silence, the Infinity Church believer shouted.

“You must be Engineering Team D. Did you take those guns from Engineering Team A?!”

“Please spare meeeee!”

Suddenly, Takahashi Yurie spat out the cloth stuffed in her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs. Sophia, who had been holding Takahashi, seemed unable to subdue the bound woman who was now thrashing about – perhaps she’d been injured in the recent firefight. Soprano screams filled the western section of the Central Building. Nikita could be seen hastily stabbing Takahashi’s throat with her knife.

The whole situation must have struck Jaehee as hilarious because he was lying on his side, his body shaking with laughter. After the forced screaming died down and everything fell dead silent, the Infinity Church side received a response in Japanese from a woman, followed by a reluctant reply.

“Seems you did steal them. Is Captain Sato still alive?!”

That figure lying unconscious next to Viktor looks like Sato Ryusuke, but… I tapped Jaehee’s calf, and when he didn’t respond, I patted his waist.

“Jaehee! Jaehee!”

Jaehee turned his head to look at me, then noticed Sanghyun crawling away in the distance. After scanning our surroundings, he started crawling with me toward where Sanghyun had gone. Vladimir sighed before shouting at the opposing side.

“Consider him dead! Why did you terrorists attack the underwater base?!”

“You don’t need to know that! …We’re looking for someone! If you want to live, cooperate!”

Vladimir angrily shouted back at the Infinity Church believers in response to their answer.

“Not my fucking problem! Get out of the underwater base!”

In the distance, Carlos looked between Engineering Teams A and D before starting to crawl toward Team A. Only after crawling to the pillar where Jihyuk was hiding did I realize he was injured. The left sleeve of his clothes was soaked with blood.

“Did you get shot in the arm?”

“Just grazed.”

Jihyuk replied while keeping his eyes forward, as if it were nothing. Then he suddenly asked me.

“Do you know how to treat gunshot wounds?”

What do these people think of Korean dentists? Of course I don’t.

“No.”

“…Alright.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Ae-young should be behind that snack machine over there, but she hasn’t responded or shown herself for a while now.”

Jihyuk said with a grimace. So that’s why Haeryang was moving in the opposite direction from Jihyuk’s position. He must have gone that way. Sanghyun ducked behind Jihyuk and asked.

“So what do we do now?”

Jihyuk replied in a tired voice.

“What else? We run. Didn’t you see anything of these guys on the CCTV?”

“Looks like they and the Japanese broke all the cameras in the Central Building. All the screens are pitch black.”

“What about the places that aren’t broken?”

“…Uh, just a moment.”

“Check the back footage too. Could be a trap.”

While Sanghyun was examining his pad, the Infinity Church person shouted at the top of their lungs.

“Is there a dentist named Park Moohyun there?!”

My heart dropped. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Why was my name coming up? As soon as the Infinity Church believer spoke, Tumanako, Jaehee, and Sanghyun all stared at me. Jihyuk kept his gun aimed forward, still watching ahead.

Now I understand why Nikolai was flustered. Finding myself having to answer a terrorist cult’s question, I could only ask the others.

“…How should I answer?”

I almost reflexively said yes, but then wondered if revealing my presence would do any good. What should I say? I’ve never felt so uncertain about my own existence. Tumanako quickly said to me.

“Why don’t you just say no? They probably aren’t looking for you with good intentions.”

“No way! If we say no, won’t they start shooting again?!”

Hearing Sanghyun’s comment, Jaehee looked at me with excited eyes.

“What did you do? First Captain Sato, now this. Tell us something.”

But Jihyuk frowned and said to me while watching outside.

“Stay quiet.”

While I was still undecided, someone else answered the Infinity Church believer’s question for me.

“Why! What happens if he’s here, and what happens if he’s not?!”

Carlos yelled while crawling toward us. Good answer and question. I’d love a clear and detailed response to both. Depending on the answer, I might or might not exist here. The Infinity Church believer shouted sharply.

“Hand over Park Moohyun! Then we’ll let you go!”

I could feel everyone’s eyes boring into me.