I flinched in surprise at the woman’s voice that suddenly came from a room with no light source but the penlight. Beth’s voice, coming over the radio, spoke gently.
[I hope the meal was to your liking.]
It couldn’t have been directed at the hostage-taker, so it was certainly meant for me. What would happen if I answered that I hadn’t eaten it? Would she fly into a rage and storm in immediately? Or perhaps she’d think it didn’t suit my taste and push in several more baskets.
······Wait. Beth didn’t seem to be considering the possibility that Shin Haeryang might be holding this radio at all. Or else, even if Shin Haeryang, the hostage-taker, did have the radio, she didn’t care. The Infinite Church was completely ignoring the existence of the hostage-taker right now. Her tone was as if I were somewhere isolated and they had no choice but to contact me like this, not as if I was being held captive by a hostage-taker.
In situations like this, wasn’t the hostage-taker who thought he was being ignored supposed to get furious enough to torture or execute the hostages to show off his power and influence? Not that I wanted to be on the receiving end of that, of course. In her soft voice, Beth suddenly dropped a bomb.
[Among the patients transported to Daehando Hospital, there is an unusual individual, so we wished to ask you about it, Savior.]
My whole body went rigid. Could it be? The unusual individual couldn’t possibly be—
[Someone who is not a believer of the Infinite Church is currently undergoing surgery. Her name is Baek Aeyeong, and she is said to be an engineer, a member of Team Ga at the Fourth Undersea Base.]
Ah. As expected. The Infinite Church probably wanted to use the injured Baek Aeyeong as a hostage to attack Shin Haeryang, the hostage-taker.
Beyond the penlight’s glow, my eyes met Shin Haeryang’s. Shin Haeryang made a gesture at me as if firing a gun with his index finger. Then he made a gesture as if shooting himself. Mm. ······I had absolutely no idea what he was trying to convey. I slowly pressed the radio button and spoke.
“Ms. Aeyeong was shot in my place while trying to protect me from the hostage-taker. Please take good care of her treatment.”
A brief silence passed, and from beyond the radio, Beth asked me a question.
[Is she a woman who has caught your favor, Savior?]
······I had no idea how one could make such a leap from the conversation we had just been having.
Going by my answer, wasn’t that a question they should be asking Baek Aeyeong? Shouldn’t they be asking Baek Aeyeong, “Did you get shot in his place because you like the Savior?” Of course, once Baek Aeyeong came to her senses, she’d probably spit out something like, what kind of bullshit question is that, I just had the bad luck to get hit by the bullet you people fired.
What was I supposed to answer in this situation? What happened if I said yes? These people were so extreme that I was scared they might forcibly hold a wedding for us or something. What if I said no and they executed Baek Aeyeong by firing squad? What kind of question even was this? I really······could not understand the minds of people who believed in cults. Ms. Aeyeong. I’m sorry.
“Uh······. Yes.”
As I answered awkwardly, the radio spouted something like, [Understood. I will instruct them to do their utmost to save her.] Then the transmission cut off.
Fine. This was better. Rather than letting the Infinite Church believers know Baek Aeyeong was my sworn enemy, wouldn’t it be more helpful for Baek Aeyeong’s safety if they misunderstood us as being lovers? ······Wouldn’t it? Shin Haeryang, who had been listening to the conversation in silence beside me, praised me for once.
“Well done.”
“What did that gesture earlier mean?”
“It meant I shot because of a difference of opinion between a superior and a subordinate. What you said was smoother.”
Why did he take it for granted that a subordinate would want to shoot their superior? Surely he didn’t normally live like that, right?
Shin Haeryang did not say much about the rest of the radio exchange. He had become a man who mercilessly shot a young coworker who had shielded the Savior, but Shin Haeryang didn’t seem particularly concerned.
Joseph seemed to think the conversation Shin Haeryang and I had just shared concerned some issue of interpretation that arose when speaking in Korean and English. Joseph’s eyes sparkled, and then he looked at me with a moved expression and said,
“To think that before we entered, a woman named Baek Aeyeong did something so brave.”
In truth, Baek Aeyeong had just been hit by a stray bullet fired by Infinite Church believers. Fine. Better he know it that way. Joseph added in a sorrowful voice,
“To think our Savior found someone he likes in this undersea base.”
No. Baek Aeyeong was probably quite a bit younger than me. I didn’t know what he was thinking right now, but I wished he would fold those thoughts up neatly and burn them. Joseph glared at Shin Haeryang and said,
“I knew that son of a bitch was that kind of bastard from the start!”
I did want to defend Shin Haeryang, even if only with a few words, but since I was the one who had framed him, I had no idea what to say. In my situation, I didn’t think I should be defending Shin Haeryang. Besides, after Baek Aeyeong, two of his subordinates had been sent to the hospital by Shin Haeryang’s gun. Would Joseph really believe me? Whatever I said, he would probably think it was Stockholm syndrome.
Shin Haeryang spurred on the disgrace placed upon him and said,
“If you don’t want to get shot in the chest too, stay quiet.”
······Looking at his conduct so far, I felt like I had a rough idea how Shin Haeryang’s infamy had been created. He never made excuses or explanations. Perhaps Joseph knew Baek Aeyeong’s appearance, because he became indignant and snapped at Shin Haeryang.
“You shot that small, young woman!”
“You’re a large, old man, so I can shoot you with even less guilt.”
“You—you! You—!”
However, Joseph could not bring himself to attack this displeased hostage-taker any further. It was because he had seen Shin Haeryang shoot his own subordinates right in front of him. Perhaps he had finally realized that picking a fight with Shin Haeryang would only shorten his own life, because Joseph now began looking at me with a broad grin. It was unbearably burdensome.
“I did hear that you were going around with that······woman called Tumanako.”
Ah. It must have been because Jeong Sanghyeon mentioned Tumanako over the broadcast. I couldn’t have been more relieved that Tumanako wasn’t here.
“That······Ms. Tumanako and I have no relationship whatsoever.”
I answered hurriedly, trying to remove any possible misunderstanding in advance. Considering Jeong Sanghyeon’s case, it seemed the most dangerous thing was for someone to be linked to me as having some kind of relationship. It seemed best for them to have nothing to do with me. Joseph looked at me with a pleased face and said,
“The believers said they had once seen the Savior sitting in a café and chatting with some woman, so I assumed the woman who fled was the same person.”
When had I sat in a café? Had there ever been a time when I had that much leeway? It had been so long ago that I couldn’t even remember properly. ······Ah. I had drunk coffee with Baek Aeyeong. Even I, the person involved, was on the verge of forgetting it, but there were people who remembered. Joseph grinned and said,
“But you were going around with someone named Baek Aeyeong. And with someone so devoted to you that she would risk her life!”
I finally understood what he was talking about. Ha. I had a lot I wanted to say to that face, smiling happily with teeth bared. The harder I tried to correct it, the deeper I felt I would sink into the mire, so I simply stayed silent. For now, misunderstand as you like.
With a smile spread all across his face, Joseph began conducting an investigation into my household registry.
“Are you married?”
“No. I was too busy making a living.”
“Do you have anyone you’re dating or living with?”
“I was busy making a living.”
As I answered whatever he asked, it felt as though a believer was beating the Savior with questions. The Canadian was shocked by my answer and said,
“Savior! You seem to like eating, but you weren’t eating at all.”
For a moment, I couldn’t understand what Joseph was saying, then wondered if my Korean was not being translated properly and added an explanation.
“······Making a living means I was busy working.”
“Ah. You were busy earning money. Still, it’s possible to balance work and dating!”
I soullessly agreed with Joseph’s opinion. I had no idea why my private life had become the center of the conversation. Joseph was acting like paparazzi who had discovered the Savior’s private story for the first time. Activating the skills I had learned in social life, I rotated appropriate responses such as, I see. Things like that happen too. I’m not sure.
Joseph seemed eager to introduce me to someone at once, like a matchmaker who felt responsible for the fact that the Savior beside him was not in a relationship. To cut off Joseph’s conversation, I dragged Shin Haeryang into it.
“Instead of talking about me, why don’t you ask Mr. Haeryang beside me too?”
Joseph’s cheerful voice dropped sharply.
“That son of a bitch?”
“Yes.”
I expected Joseph to either not ask Shin Haeryang about this uncomfortable topic, or to change the subject. However, Joseph paid no heed and shouted a question at Shin Haeryang.
“Hey! Weren’t you dating that······Chinese woman? I heard some rumor somewhere.”
I was an idiot. I should have just shut up and listened to him pry into my private life. I hadn’t expected Joseph to suddenly ask a question like that. Shin Haeryang looked at Joseph pathetically before answering.
“We’re not dating.”
“Then what was the rumor that reached my ears? That······what was it again? That person had an unusual name too. Anyway, there was a pretty engineer team leader from China, and there was a rumor that you were dating her.”
Shin Haeryang frowned at Joseph’s tone and then said,
“Haiyun didn’t want to marry the fiancé her father chose for her, so she needed a fake boyfriend strong enough to block her family’s coercion. She said if she told them she was dating a Japanese man, her family would be turned upside down, so I lent her my photo and a few personal details.”
“If I were a woman, I would never use your personal details.”
Joseph, his philtrum swollen, gritted his teeth as he spoke to Shin Haeryang. Well. I didn’t really know what kind of person Haiyun’s father was, but with Shin Haeryang’s face, it seemed like there would be enough persuasive power to reconsider the marriage with the fiancé. And if she was an engineer team leader, she probably earned good money too. Rich Chinese people were all straining their eyes wide open to emigrate, so wouldn’t a Korean son-in-law be acceptable?
“So did the engagement get broken off?”
“Yes.”
“Couldn’t you explain a bit more?”
“Ask Haiyun. It’s Haiyun’s engagement, so it’s not something I should go around talking about.”
I had made a mistake. With an awkward expression, I nodded.