Jeong Sanghyeon had turned on the broadcast function on his pad and was talking, but sounds of arguing and bickering with someone next to him were all coming out over the broadcast. Intermittently, Kim Jaehui's voice could be heard trying to stop him.
["It's been thirty minutes already and no one's coming! Whether it's the Team Leader or Jihyeok-hyeong or whoever, they're all dead! If they were alive, they would have come here! We need to save our own lives first. (Sanghyeon-ah. If we stay still, at least half of us will make it. Don't do anything weird and just stay put.) You stay still! Ahem, ahem. People of the Muhan Order, please listen. I was with Park Muhyeon until the very end. If I report his current location, will the informants be safely protected? (Sanghyeon-ah. Stop it.) ......Ah. Jaehui-hyeong! I'm telling you I'll take care of you too! Ah! Just stay still!"]
What was he trying to say?
The sound of Kim Jaehui scolding Jeong Sanghyeon reached them quietly from the side. He was asking why Jeong Sanghyeon insisted on broadcasting when they could just hide quietly in a corner.
["You have to answer so that I can give you the information. Ahem, ahem. Then I'll cut the broadcast until you answer. What was it? Ah! Over!"]
And Jeong Sanghyeon's broadcast cut off. Shin Haeryang, who had been frozen as if pressing the pause button since the broadcast started, began drinking water again while holding his cup, and Seo Jihyeok said nothing, as if someone had clamped his mouth shut.
Kim Gayeong seemed surprised by the Korean that had suddenly burst from the speaker. She stared blankly, then flustered, asked Shin Haeryang, who was sitting beside her.
"Isn't that Jeong Sanghyeon's voice?"
"That's correct."
Shin Haeryang answered briefly, as if tired. Seo Jihyeok looked toward the dental clinic door, then turned his head to look at Shin Haeryang and asked.
"Team Leader. I'll step out for a moment. Please loosen up your frozen body here. It won't take long."
Before Shin Haeryang could answer, a sharp sound came from the broadcast machine, and then suddenly some man's voice began coming from the broadcast.
["If it helps us find him, we'll guarantee your life."]
It was a simple message. And that was the end of it. It was a heavy, low voice speaking English, yet somehow familiar. Where had I heard it before?
Seo Jihyeok frowned fiercely after hearing that broadcast, and Shin Haeryang emptied his cup clean and returned it to me.
"I've enjoyed the drink."
"Ah. Yes."
Then he began carefully folding the blanket wrapped around his body. The moment Shin Haeryang placed the neatly folded blanket on the floor and picked up the gun he had set aside on the floor, the broadcast started again.
["Ah, it's real, right? I've recorded it! You can't go back on your word! Ahem! We were coming from Jungang-dong and got separated from Park Muhyeon in the middle. He said he was going to the Jujak-dong dormitory to find that aju—, I mean, researcher named Kim Gayeong. If you look at the underwater base bulletin board, you'll see Kim Gayeong spammed posts saying water was leaking into her room and the door wouldn't open, asking for help. What a nuisance. Really. In a situation like this, you should escape on your own. We're busy to death, so why ask for help. Ah! Park Muhyeon is going around with a savage woman named Tumanako. You should be careful."]
Tumanako began breathing roughly in annoyance. And she started doing swinging practice with the shark ornament in her hand, as if it were a golf club or a racket. Every time she swung her arm this way and that, a buzzing sound came from the shark ornament. Tumanako seemed to be swinging it while imagining smashing Jeong Sanghyeon's head with it.
["I am Jeong Sanghyeon of Team Ga in Engineering, and the person with me is Kim Jaehui. Ah! Hyung! I'm not finished talking yet! You won't shoot the two of us, right? And I had been persuading Park Muhyeon to go to the Muhan Order since we were in Jungang-dong. But the dentist pretended to be all kinds of good, yet wouldn't listen, probably because he didn't want to sacrifice himself. If you find him with this tip, I get ninety-five percent and Jaehui-hyeong gets five percent of the credit. Ah. Hyung! Do you know what a loyal man I am? I'm looking out for you this much. I am."]
Haah. Seo Jihyeok was now holding his forehead and running his fingertips down around his eyebrows. He probably suddenly had a headache from listening to the broadcast right now. Seo Jihyeok, who had sighed, seemed to have just muttered "stupid bastard" in a small voice.
At first, I was startled and frightened at the sound of my location being reported over the broadcast, but listening to Jeong Sanghyeon's broadcast, I began to think it was rather fortunate. Because it occurred to me that the Muhan Order believers would search Baekho-dong first and then head to Jujak-dong, buying us time to avoid them.
Perhaps because we hadn't traveled together for long, among the things Jeong Sanghyeon said about me, there was almost no information that would be considered important besides the last place I headed. Strangely, though he shouldn't know anything about me, Jeong Sanghyeon's broadcast continued.
["Honestly, I don't know why you're looking for that dentist, but he said he was going to the Jujak-dong dormitory, and he has no ability to open doors, no stamina, and was staggering around, yet he was strutting around saying he was going to rescue people. Honestly, I hate guys the most who have no ability but sermonize about morality and argue. Those guys think they're some kind of angel or saint. If you shake out guys like that, you'd be lucky to get a handful of dust, and food waste or nuclear waste would come pouring out endlessly by the ton. They force bothersome tasks on others when they can't even take responsibility themselves, and if you don't participate in their stupid acts, they try to guilt-trip you by asking if you don't feel sorry. I don't really know what wrong Park Muhyeon committed against the Muhan Order, but catch him quickly and get out of the underwater base! Ah, right! Over and out!"]
I didn't have much thought about the slander Jeong Sanghyeon was committing against me over the broadcast. It was a waste of time to explain in detail to that person that I wasn't that kind of human. ......Stop by the dental clinic where I work just once. Hey. You've got to eat and live too, don't you? Unless you're a shark, you'll go to a dentist at least once in your life.
Guys from college who cursed at me saying I was hitting on all kinds of women suddenly came to mind. Back then, I was busy with multiple tutoring jobs, plus searching for my missing father's whereabouts and going to the hospital for rehabilitation, so I had no time to myself.
I had only lent or shown pens and notebooks a few times, yet according to rumors I had already become a tyrant indulging in debauchery with all the women in the department. I couldn't drink alcohol at all because of medication, yet such rumors spread—wasn't that fascinating? That's when I learned there were many guys with too much time on their hands.
Deep Blue's indoor temperature, which I had thought was slightly warm to the point of being a bit hot, now seemed to have dropped by about ten degrees. I waited a few more minutes, but after that, no broadcast came out. Especially from the Muhan Order side, there was no answer whatsoever.
Feeling that people were watching my expression, I hesitated, then spoke up.
"You probably won't believe me much if I say this, but I'm not as bad a guy as I came out in the broadcast."
I had said that because I was afraid everyone would rush out of Deep Blue all at once, but not a single person moved. Seo Jihyeok, who had said he would go out and come back, was the same. Shin Haeryang had only gotten up but wasn't moving either.
"I know."
Kim Gayeong, sitting across from me, made a clinking sound by tapping the cup with her fingernail tips. She seemed to be shaking less than before, but she didn't seem to have any intention of coming out from under the electric blanket.
"Um...... Until before that broadcast came out, I didn't know that Muhyeon-ssi had been so actively trying to rescue me. When I was trapped in the room, I thought no one might come to save me. I figured everyone would be busy running away on their own, so no one would have read the bulletin board posts. I guessed they had all gotten on escape pods and left."
Kim Gayeong, who had been holding the water cup, let out a deep sigh.