The moment we opened the door to the place called the Garden of the Hesperides, we realized that every section of the corridor we had walked through so diligently was part of this enormous botanical garden. I had thought the farm was quite spacious for a facility built under the sea, but the garden was incredibly large as well.
Everything that came into view as soon as we entered was a plant. The air was warm the moment we stepped inside, and the humidity seemed far higher than in the other areas. Every plant had a sign with its name written in five languages. We had not taken more than a few steps into the garden before we came across a wooden signboard.
[Garden of the Hesperides]
[The Garden of the Hesperides has been created on a scale of 10,140 square meters (excluding the flower garden), and displays mainly tropical plants, with approximately 600 woody plants of 200 species and over 4,000 herbaceous plants of 123 species planted throughout, allowing visitors to observe a variety of plant species year-round. This garden is the orchard of Hera, queen of the gods, and is home to the golden apples that grant immortality when eaten. The Hesperides, known as the nymphs of the evening, tended the garden and often stole apples behind Hera’s back, so Hera set Ladon, a sleepless dragon with one hundred heads, to guard the apples. In this garden, instead of Ladon, over forty CCTV cameras have been installed to protect the plants planted here. Ladon turned thieves into plants through a kiss, but in this garden, those who harm the plants will receive a punishment more lenient than Ladon’s: half of their salary will be deducted, and they will be made to work in this garden for a set period of time. The golden apple of myth is interpreted in the modern era as the orange, and orange trees are planted at the center of the Garden of the Hesperides.]
Before I could even finish reading the wooden signboard written in Korean, someone’s voice rang out.
“Slowly raise both hands.”
It seemed to be coming from between the trees, but I couldn’t see anyone. Silently relieved that I was walking around with a mask on, I raised both palms beside my face. Kim Jaehee was also slowly raising his hands. I threw out the correct answer I knew toward the other person first.
“We head to the past in order to live.”
The other person nodded and came striding toward us with a gun in hand. Both their top and bottom were dark green, and their cap was dark green too. I had no idea where this person had come from until they approached. Judging by the direction they had walked from, it seemed like they had come out from behind a tree.
“Show me what you’re wearing.”
Show them what? At that demand, Kim Jaehee, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, pointed to the piercing in his ear. Seeing what Kim Jaehee did, I also lifted the lapis lazuli necklace I had been holding and showed it. Since the believers of the Infinite Church would be wearing jewels, it was, of course, a natural verification procedure. If I hadn’t had the necklace, I would have been finished here. Wouldn’t I have been tied up and thrown to the floor, or shot to death?
Looking closely, the other person was wearing a bracelet on their wrist. They looked somehow familiar. Had I met them before? Only after a few seconds did I realize that this was the person who had once put the bracelet they were wearing on me. Looking at the lapis lazuli necklace I was showing, they said,
“Judging by the length, it looks like a necklace.”
“It is a necklace. I was wearing it around my neck, but the clasp fell off.”
I lied moderately. It wasn’t my strong suit. Maybe because I didn’t usually lie much, every time I did, it felt as if the inside of my stomach were being scraped with tension. I could feel Kim Jaehee looking at me. The armed believer of the Infinite Church looked at the state Kim Jaehee and I were in and asked,
“Where are you coming from? Why don’t you have guns?”
“We came from the diving area. No one goes there anyway.”
“Why are you suddenly trying to come into the garden?”
I answered with a lie this time too. Since, at most, there were only about two hours left, and even if I got caught, what more could they do beyond killing me, the lies came smoothly. Looking carefully, I could see people lying in that corner. Judging by their clothes, they seemed to be the full-time gardeners who worked here, and five of them were lying on their sides with their arms and legs bound.
“We’re going to cut across the garden and head to the cafe on the other side. I’m going to starve to death waiting for food.”
“Ah.” The other person let out a small exclamation, nodded faintly, and said,
“I see. I heard about it an hour ago too, but one of the believers shot a Taiga employee. From what I heard, it sounded like they died. They said the remaining employee must be hiding somewhere, because they couldn’t find them. Even if you go, the cafe will be empty. If you want something to eat, you’ll have to make it yourself.”
Kim Jaehee raised the corners of his lips in a smile and said,
“I worked at a cafe for a few months, so I know how to make a few drinks. Want me to make something suitable and bring it back on our way?”
The person wearing the cap thought for a moment, then nodded. Perhaps because of the high humidity, they were sweating profusely.
“Yeah. Anything with ice is fine. Two cups, please. You have no idea how humid and hot it is in this garden. I’m jealous. It would’ve been nice if we’d been assigned to the diving area too.”
“See you later.”
After looking at my jewel and the Infinite Church believer outfit, the other person did not question us any further. The fact that we had come in without guns from the start had also made the people guarding the entrance lower their guard. I forcibly tore my gaze away from the gardeners lying bound on their sides. Then Kim Jaehee and I walked about ten steps along the path inside the garden without saying anything.
Kim Jaehee muttered things like, “You’re better at lying than I thought. I’m a little surprised.”
“Thanks to your necklace, Haeryang-ssi, we passed through the entrance safely. What do you think would have happened if you hadn’t had the jewel?”
“Almost all the Infinite Church believers or the people taking part in this terror attack have jewels, so they would have thought it strange if I didn’t. I often forget I’m wearing it myself.”
“And yet the original owner of this necklace couldn’t even leave the sea as he pleased.”
“Isn’t that because the Savior is granting our team leader’s wish?”
Holding the necklace chain, I looked down at the lapis lazuli gem and said,
“I have never granted Shin Haeryang-ssi’s wish. I don’t have that ability either.”
“How did you do it?”
“What do you mean, how? I didn’t do anything.”
“You definitely did something. You may not know how you did it now, but when you find out later, please tell me too.”
I had borrowed the lapis lazuli necklace once before, but I had returned it quickly, less than an hour after putting it on. We were passing by a tree labeled palmyra palm (dara tree) and an area planted densely with mint. A Bengal rubber tree stood tall nearby, but to be honest, aside from the mint, there were many trees and grasses around us that I didn’t know. I had thought the garden would be swarming with Infinite Church believers, but perhaps because the garden was so large, we fortunately did not run into anyone else.
“If what you said is right, Jaehee-ssi, what do you think Haeryang-ssi wished for on the necklace?”
I just hoped it wasn’t some wish like, I hope the new Korean employee who joined the undersea base can’t quit. Should I have asked when Shin Haeryang was around? Whether he went around making wishes on the necklace like the Infinite Church believers did. But hadn’t Shin Haeryang said before that all he had left was luck? I didn’t think someone like that would make wishes.
“Who knows? I’m not interested in other people’s wishes, and I’m even less interested in our team leader. I have no idea what he usually thinks about as he lives. Maybe something like, I hope I don’t drop a stitch while knitting, or, I hope the team members from other teams or from my own team cause fewer accidents so I have more time to rest? Honestly, I don’t even know if our team leader is delicate enough to make wishes on a jewel necklace like that in the first place. During breaks, he’s either exercising, writing reports, or playing with yarn.”
“I heard Jaehee-ssi borrowed the necklace when you took your driver’s license test.”
“Yes. He said he was wearing a necklace imbued with luck. I asked to borrow it, and I was a bit surprised when he lent it to me without fuss.”
“Did you pass the test?”
Kim Jaehee answered in a voice full of confidence.
“Of course I passed.”
“Do you think it was because of the necklace’s ability?”
“It was thanks to my outstanding driving skills. Still, I haven’t hit anyone yet.”
Wasn’t that obvious even without outstanding driving skills? Kim Jaehee’s tone bothered me, so I asked again.
“Then what did you hit?”
“...A streetlight.”
“......”
“A little kid on a bicycle suddenly darted out, so I turned the wheel and hit a streetlight instead, but then they sent me a bill demanding two million won. Thinking about it now, I do kind of regret my decision. Since I had insurance, I don’t think it would have cost two million won even if I’d hit a person, but apparently you have to pay separately for road facilities.”
“...You’re a good driver. Please keep destroying streetlights instead of people.”
“I will do as the Savior says.”
As we passed by tagara, a type of jasmine, the writing was red. When I asked Kim Jaehee, he said that if a plant in the garden had even the slightest toxicity, its name was written in red. We passed Japanese star anise trees, an area thickly planted with spider lilies, and coralberries bearing bright red fruit. As we were passing through a place planted with flowering glorybower, I saw a tree right beside us heavy with yellow fruits. Looking at the writing, it said mango tree.
“There are mangoes here too?”
“Shall I pick one for you?”
“No.”
There was a warning at the entrance, wasn’t there? It said if you harmed the plants, your salary would be deducted and you’d be made to work here like a slave. ...It suddenly occurred to me that I had no salary to be deducted in the first place, and even if I were made to work like a slave, I only had two hours left. The reason I wasn’t stealing that mango was probably less because of the CCTV and more because I was watching myself.
“There are olive trees farther inside too.”
When we went farther in, there was a sacred fig tree. The bodhi tree was so large that several chairs had been placed around it for people to sit on. Reading the wooden explanation board, I saw that there was even one planted from a bodhi tree branch brought from the ground of the Mahabodhi Temple. The ground was densely planted with hyssop. At this point, even if I knew nothing about plants, I had no choice but to notice that something was strange. So the separate flower garden inside the garden wasn’t the only place where they had planted lots of flowers.
“The plants in the garden seem to have religious overtones.”
“To be precise, each religion took plants that had been living perfectly fine on their own and imposed the meanings of their religion on them one by one. But yes. What you’re thinking is right.”
“What is that pine nut tree over there?”
“As far as I know, Noah’s Ark was made from pine wood. There’s also a dogwood inside. They say that was used to make the cross.”
“I see.” That was the first I’d heard of it. Kim Jaehee said, almost like a sigh,
“When they said they were going to plant important plants in the undersea base garden, apparently the list of requests from every religious circle asking them to plant, preserve, or cultivate plants they considered important was so long it didn’t just reach the floor, it nearly reached the second undersea base.”
“Is that a tea plant over there?”
“Yes. The employees inside the undersea base pluck a handful each when the CCTV isn’t working. Same with those mangoes earlier. The altar is that way.”