Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

Chapter 121

I asked Kim Ga-young about how she managed to get out of her room. She couldn’t have escaped without someone’s help.

“Ga-young. How did you manage to escape from your room?”

“… How did you know I was in a situation where I couldn’t get out of the room on my own?”

“Uh…”

Kim Ga-young’s gaze sharpened as she looked at me. Seeing my momentary confusion, she spoke slowly.

“It’s not really something I need to hide, so I’ll answer. But in return, please answer my question too. How about that?”

“Alright.”

Kim Ga-young heaved a deep sigh and answered.

“People who were trying to leave the dormitory stopped in their tracks to listen to the broadcast. Those who didn’t stop even for screams for help paused at the emergency broadcast telling them not to board the escape pods.”

Kim Ga-young gave a bitter smile. Some people near where Kim Ga-young’s voice could be heard lowered their heads, blushed, or averted their gaze.

“Some people ignored the broadcast and rushed to the escape pods, but there were also those who gave up boarding and came back for me. When four people grunted and strained, the door that had seemed like a rock finally opened.”

Kang Soojung, who had been listening quietly, again urged her to come along, but Kim Ga-young hesitated for a moment and refused once more. It seemed she felt indebted or grateful to the people from the South District dormitory who had saved her.

I wanted to persuade Kim Ga-young to come with us by telling her that those people once abandoned her, trapped in her room, to board the escape pods, tarnishing their current good deed. But as soon as that thought occurred to me, I crumpled it up and threw it into the mental trash can.

It wasn’t me who saved Kim Ga-young from the dormitory today. Even if they left her behind before, they didn’t do so this time. That’s what’s most important. Whether the situation changed because of the broadcast or they stopped at the cries for help, what matters is that they didn’t do it again this time. … At least today’s Kim Ga-young will feel less betrayed and sad about the people around her.

“I wasn’t entirely clear about Ga-young’s situation either. I didn’t think anyone would help. I only expected that Ga-young would write a plea for help on the underwater base’s bulletin board while trapped in her room.”

Then, trying consciously not to look at the part of Kim Ga-young’s body where she had been shot in the elevator, I asked:

“Are you feeling any pain anywhere? Did any part suddenly become extremely painful? … Like your stomach hurting terribly?”

Kim Ga-young frowned and asked me:

“How did you know that? It hurt as if my lower abdomen had disappeared. It was so painful that I thought I’d never experienced such stomach pain before. I cried for help not just because the door wouldn’t open, but also because my stomach hurt so much.”

Kim Ga-young felt pain too? Does that mean they experience the pain they faced right before death? Then what happened to Lee Ji-hyun? Did the elevator really crash? No, in that situation, did Ji-hyun forcibly make the elevator crash?

Then what about Yoo Geum-yi? Yoo Geum-yi didn’t show any symptoms while coming out of the dormitory room and going to the escape pod. … Was Yoo Geum-yi in a situation to feel pain before? It seemed like she was completely crushed under the truck. … Maybe if you die instantly, you don’t feel pain when you wake up next time? The previous time Yoo Geum-yi died…

I recalled the image of Yoo Geum-yi with her eyes closed as if asleep. … If a bullet lodges in your head, do you die without feeling pain? The brain doesn’t feel pain. I hope that was the case. There shouldn’t have been even a shred of pain.

Someone grabbed my shoulder, and I flinched, startled, looking at them. Kang Soojung’s hand was on my shoulder, and three people around were looking at me. I asked Kim Ga-young absent-mindedly:

“Does your stomach still hurt now?”

At my question, Kim Ga-young unconsciously rubbed her stomach and answered:

“No. I felt like I was dying from pain then, but now I’m fine.”

Certainly, the current Kim Ga-young doesn’t seem to be feeling any pain. The last time I saw Lee Ji-hyun, she seemed to be getting better as time passed too. Is all the pain temporary? Then isn’t that okay?

… No, it’s best not to feel pain at all. It’s the worst to have pain lingering like this when the cause of pain doesn’t exist. Why should one suffer pain for no reason when the body is fine?

“… How did you get all this information, including the broadcast and what you know now?”

Kim Ga-young asked hesitantly but firmly about the source of the information. I answered without much hesitation:

“Actually, I’m a follower of Infinity Church. I’m a newbie who just joined this crazy cult. They originally promised to give me 800 million won, but when they didn’t transfer the promised money even after five days, I got annoyed and left the religion.”

Kim Ga-young stared at me with her mouth open.

“You need to deposit money on time and accurately to get work done. In this cold capitalist society, how can anything work properly if you try to exploit people without money? Originally, faith, loyalty, happiness, and whatever else only arise when there’s money. I heard Infinity Church gives the most money, so I agreed and joined, but they don’t give money on time and just spout nonsense about sharks and the past and whatnot.”

I could feel the people around me, including Kang Soojung and Seo Jihyuk, looking at me with similar expressions.

“Moreover, the underwater base suddenly turns into an indoor swimming pool. The engineer team members walk around armed with guns even though firearms aren’t allowed in the underwater base. Some country fires a torpedo at the research center. There are so many people with great bodies from working out. They only told me later about things happening that weren’t mentioned or negotiated in the contract. These crazy cult bastards don’t notify me about any deposits to my account.”

I continued speaking, trying to make an annoyed and wronged expression like Carter’s:

“And they want me to instigate people from the crack of dawn to board escape pods or take elevators? As I lay thinking all morning, I started getting angry. I mean, how can I do as they say and risk becoming unemployed when I haven’t even received my first paycheck? Should I sacrifice my precious first weekend after joining, experiencing unpaid exploitation in the name of religious activities? Why am I doing this crazy stuff? When they’re not even paying the contracted amount?”

“Well, that…”

“There must be several Infinity Church believers here too. Think about it. Is any of the nonsense they’re spouting even slightly plausible? No matter how much money they offer, can you really go to the past? If there’s anyone here who has traveled to the past or future like going on an overseas trip with a load of money, please raise your hand. In a world where even space travelers all die, are there really people who have properly arrived at such unknown destinations, apart from drug addicts?”

People are probably already suspecting that I’m a Infinity Church believer anyway. So let’s just let them believe that. If they ask why I know so much about internal affairs, saying I’m a Infinity Church believer would be more believable than denying it. If there’s something I don’t know, I’ll just say it’s because I haven’t been here long.

No matter what explanation I give to whom, it would be more convincing than saying that Infinity Church occupied this place to conduct experiments to go back to the past, and that it succeeded, sending me alone to the past. Who would believe that?

And I judged that it would be more dangerous to give the impression that those cult bastards actually succeeded in something through force and experiments, rather than gaining the stigma of being a mentally ill person who joined a cult obsessed with money. You can’t obtain evidence of going back to the past through me. Think that you’ve inadvertently gained an apostate obsessed with money who isn’t even on the membership list. No returns accepted.

In fact, tears welled up in my eyes as I spouted nonsense. My family would know that I’m an atheist. That’s enough.

“Honestly, do you think Infinity Church can live well after terrorizing the underwater base like this? Even if they succeed temporarily, can they live happily and then leave Infinity Church? Do you think a religion that offers 800 million won to help with terrorism will quietly let its followers go? Look around this underwater base. How much do you think it cost to build this? Even just one toilet built at -3000m seems like it would cost over tens of billions. Rather than becoming a wanted criminal worldwide as a crazy fanatic and being chased for life, wouldn’t it be better to change your mind now, spill everything you know, and beg for mercy from the eight advanced nations of the North Pacific?”

One of the men who had been quietly listening to my conversation with Kim Ga-young stood up, breathing heavily. He was a researcher I hadn’t seen before, with a gloomy expression. I probably wouldn’t have remembered his face if I had passed him on the street. He contorted his facial muscles mercilessly and said:

“You say you’re a Infinity Church believer?!”

“… Yes. I threw the hat in my room because it’s tacky, and I dumped the gun somewhere because it was heavy.”

“If you’re really a believer, there’s another way to verify that besides what you’ve said.”

My chest felt chilly. What is he talking about? Is he asking if I have dentures? Is there an assigned member number or a mandatory payment upon joining? … A prayer or something?

That’s when it happened. In the moment the man took his eyes off me, Seo Jihyuk silently approached and swung his fist at the man. I’m not sure how he hit him, but with just one punch to the chest that made a thud sound, the man’s eyes rolled back. Seo Jihyuk knocked out a Infinity Church believer in an instant and then pretended nothing happened, hugging him affectionately. Haha. Why suddenly like this? It’s creepy.

“Deputy team leader. Doctor. It’s time for us to go.”

Kang Soojung, who had been momentarily stunned by my sudden bombshell statement, had been enthusiastically recording everything on her pad at some point. After turning off the pad screen, Kang Soojung looked at Kim Ga-young once and then turned her back without hesitation. Seo Jihyuk carried the staggering man on his back like a load.

At that moment, screams erupted. I thought people were screaming because they saw us beating and trying to kidnap someone in an instant, but the researchers were pointing at the front screen and shouting. Suddenly, everyone’s gaze was fixed on the large screen window that had been displaying the escape pods.

The escape pods that had been ascending towards the surface first among those launched so far were now falling back down.