Shin Haeryang remained exactly where he had knocked Leonard down, and Yamashita stood about five meters away from him. With Leonard, a massive obstacle, sprawled between them in a straight line, Yamashita pointed at Leonard with his finger, then pointed at Mark and Bart, and waved his hand as if telling them to move the obstacle aside.
At that, the onlookers Mark and Bart, who were standing nearby, hesitated and gauged the mood before each grabbing one of Leonard’s legs. Then they dragged him aside and cast him far away. Mark in particular did not forget to kick Leonard’s butt two or three times with his foot in the process. Leonard was conscious, but perhaps unable to shake off the shock of being hit in the nose, he could not move.
Yamashita suddenly stripped off the sweatshirt he was wearing and threw it to the side. Underneath, he had on a thin short-sleeved T-shirt. His muscular upper body was revealed. Why was he suddenly taking off his clothes and throwing them away?
I must have blurted it out while out of my mind. Kim Jaehui, who was next to me, just laughed, and Jeong Sanghyeon, having heard my voice, answered as if I didn’t know something obvious.
“It’s because it’s uncomfortable to move his arms! This is why beginners don’t know anything. Haven’t you played fighting games? No sleeves makes it easier to move your arms!”
Really? The characters in fighting games don’t have sleeves? How do they survive winter? I was blankly thinking such thoughts before barely managing to pull myself together.
It was fortunate that Shin Haeryang wanted to settle things through conversation. Then couldn’t Yamashita also want to settle things through conversation?
“Um. Mr. Yamashita. Do you have to fight right now?”
Yamashita, not taking his eyes off Shin Haeryang, pretended not to hear me. I began speaking quickly toward Yamashita.
“Mr. Haeryang stopped the fight between Leonard and Mark rather aggressively, but Mr. Yamashita, don’t you think there’s no need for you to fight Mr. Haeryang right now? In this disaster situation where the undersea base is flooded, we should resolve things through conversation as much as possible and avoid anything that could cause injuries. Please think rationally. Since Mr. Haeryang also wants to talk now, let’s resolve this through conversation, Mr. Yamashita. If you really want to fight, please pick another day. ......Can’t you just hold it in for today?”
Are you out of your mind? I struggled to swallow the curses that had risen to my throat. People are dying everywhere because the base is flooding, and you might die too if you can’t board the escape pod, so why are you trying to fight each other? Don’t you see Tamaki holding a gun?
Since he wouldn’t even pretend to listen if I got annoyed, I tried a strategy of gently coaxing him, but Yamashita still didn’t react. Was his testosterone secreting like crazy because of severe stress? Suddenly he was hell-bent on throwing punches. You might as well fight over a board game like the researchers do. If you really have too much stamina left, try climbing 4,000 stairs. Do you think you’d still feel like fighting someone? You’d just want to lie down.
I tried to tempt Yamashita, saying he could still stop now.
“Let’s quickly pick up your clothes and put them back on. And let’s act like nothing happened.”
As I tried to approach Yamashita to pick up the sweatshirt lying on the floor, Kim Jaehui came up and grabbed my waist with one arm, dragging me backward. U-uh-uh?
“You really have no fear.”
Yamashita looked at Shin Haeryang as if trying to burn him alive with his gaze, then turned his head and looked at me in a similar manner. Then he shouted something in Japanese. It didn’t sound like anything nice. Did that mean he wanted to fight?
Kim Jaehui translated while holding my waist and dragging me along.
“He said, ‘Quiet, dentist. Do you think I would lose to Shin Haeryang?’ If you talk to him one more time, Yamashita might jump at you, Savior, so stay still.”
Jeong Sanghyeon, who was nearby, spoke up in support of Kim Jaehui.
“I’m saying I have to take 500 won from Jaehui-hyung! And I want to see our team leader get hit, so stay still!”
Jeong Sanghyeon probably seemed more interested in the latter. Shouldn’t you be taking your team leader’s side?
Kim Jaehui dragged me along, humming as if enjoying himself. Since my waist had been grabbed so suddenly, I was being dragged with my feet almost floating, yet Kim Jaehui didn’t trip—whether because he had strong arms or because he balanced well with his prosthetic leg. As I was being dragged away by Kim Jaehui, I shouted toward Yamashita and Shin Haeryang.
“People who fight can’t board the escape pod!”
A scratch might be one thing, but if bleeding is severe, you can’t board the escape pod. The escape pod is like getting into a giant bathtub, so unless you want to die of exsanguination, you shouldn’t board while your bleeding hasn’t been stopped.
Of course, if it’s an emergency patient, they could be bandaged and loaded. The undersea base guidebook says it’s not recommended, which means you should avoid it as much as possible. The escape pod is the best opportunity and lifeline available at this escape pod port, but neither Shin Haeryang nor Yamashita batted an eye. It seemed my threat didn’t even work.
Shin Haeryang seemed like he would yield the escape pod to his team members, and Yamashita seemed to have given up on escaping using the escape pod. The only ones cheering at my remark were the people around them excluding Yamashita and Shin Haeryang. Jeong Sanghyeon, Kim Jaehui, Sato, Mark, Bart, and Leonard—since three people could leave on the escape pod among them, they were rejoicing as if there were a fifty percent chance. I’m going crazy. Really.
I pulled away from Kim Jaehui to regain my freedom and bumped backs with someone. I immediately apologized and looked to see Sato watching with his arms crossed. Japanese came from his thin lips, and just a few seconds later, Korean came out right after, so I was slightly surprised.
“Isn’t your translator working?”
It must be the latest-model translator. He had changed the language settings for me. I nodded at Sato’s question and answered.
“Yes. It’s broken.”
Sato also nodded and turned his gaze toward Yamashita. I asked Sato with a sliver of hope.
“Your team member is acting like that, but don’t you have any intention of stopping him as the team leader?”
“Yes. I find it amusing too.”
This guy’s translator seemed broken too. I wanted to punch every single one of these guys here, but was violence this easy to manufacture?
“Yamashita.”
At the low voice, Yamashita, who had been glaring in my direction, suddenly looked at Shin Haeryang. Shin Haeryang sent Yamashita a gaze of pity and asked.
“What do I gain from this brawl?”
At Shin Haeryang’s question, Yamashita seemed slightly flustered. He apparently hadn’t expected Shin Haeryang to throw this kind of question at him. Kim Jaehui, arms crossed, translated for me.
“The glory of victory and the experience of a clash between the strong. Men like us don’t need words. We speak only with blood-freezing tension and fists.”
Is she translating properly? Next to me, Jeong Sanghyeon clenched both fists and waved his hands around excitedly with a face full of interest. ......I guess it’s right. Good lord.
“......So there’s no tangible benefit.”
Shin Haeryang said to Yamashita with an expressionless face, as if he felt no particular excitement.
“If there’s nothing to gain, I don’t really want to fight. Go around boasting that you won.”
Kim Jaehui, who had his 500 won stripped away in an instant, laughed loudly at his team leader’s words. Ahahaha! And Jeong Sanghyeon, who had gained 500 won of victory, didn’t look particularly pleased either. Sato also shook his head as if troubled.
That’s right. It’s wiser not to fight like this. Admirable. Shin Haeryang. To think you would yield and step back first. What would be left even if you threw punches and fought here? Nothing but someone getting broken or fractured. There’s no one more pathetic than guys who come to the dentist because of fistfights.
I looked at Shin Haeryang, moved with emotion, then looked at his opponent across from him, Yamashita, who didn’t look pleased or grateful at all. Rather, he seemed angrier than before, as if Shin Haeryang’s declaration of defeat had bluntly slashed at Yamashita’s pride. A grinding sound was coming from somewhere—was Yamashita grinding his teeth right now?
Yamashita hardened his face as if he had heard an insult, then asked Shin Haeryang again.
“You want tangible benefits? Fine. What do you want? Money? Were you a man who could be bought with money?”
What the hell. ......By that logic, every company buys people with money. The undersea base also buys an engineer’s six hours a day with money. Aren’t you also working at this undersea base because you were bought with money? Retorts rose to the tip of my tongue, but I held them back, thinking the fight would escalate if I butted in with such words here.
Shin Haeryang lightly shook his head and answered.
“Thankfully, many people at the undersea base have donated their salaries, so I don’t need it right now.”
“Then what do you want?”
Did he sweep up other engineers’ salaries with poker? Sato, who had his arms crossed, asked Kim Jaehui.
“I’ve been curious for a while. Just what does your team leader do with the money he rakes in from poker? Is he saving up a retirement fund?”
“I don’t really know. Haven’t you asked him directly? I’m not that interested in our team leader. Sanghyeon-ah?”
Kim Jaehui called Jeong Sanghyeon, who was next to him. Then Jeong Sanghyeon said to Sato with a sullen face.
“Gambling funds? He spends it when he buys stuff.”
“Aren’t the drysuits you wear $4,800 per set? Even if you’re short, you’d have at least two sets, and you seem to buy replacements immediately when they break. Doesn’t the relevant department procure them for you? I haven’t seen the members of Engineer Team A walking around in rags yet. ......I heard that back when Team Leader Yang or Team Leader Jo were around, the consumables budget was insufficient, but is it still like that?”
“Why are you so interested in other people’s business?”
Jeong Sanghyeon said that to Sato, squinting his eyes. Then Sato answered Jeong Sanghyeon in a soft voice, as if placating him.
“Isn’t it natural to take an interest in your coworkers when you work at the same workplace?”
“Team Leader Shin told us never to answer anything Team Leader Sato asks. He said to write down all the questions and submit them to him. Then he’ll call Team Leader Sato separately and answer them diligently.”
“......Your team leader is a psycho.”
“I’ll report that too.”
“......”
Sato broke off his conversation with Jeong Sanghyeon, perhaps because he was starting to get a headache. Only Kim Jaehui was smiling as he listened to the two of them talk. Shin Haeryang looked at Yamashita, frowned, and spoke.
“There’s nothing in particular I want to get from you. If you lose...... apologize to Tamaki.”
“......You’re trying to humiliate me. Fine. Is that all?”