Baek Aeyeong explained to Yu Geumi in a low voice.
“We were already trapped in an undersea base with water leaking and the life support broken, and we’d struggled all the way to Cheongryong-dong, so I suppose she judged there was no need to tell us about lunatics with guns roaming around just to distress us further. Have either of you ever fired a gun?”
“No.”
“I have not.”
“Good. Just live your whole lives without ever needing to.”
Hearing that, I automatically wondered, *What if the moment comes when I have to fire a gun?* The moment the elevator opened, Baek Aeyeong shoved me and Yu Geumi inside. There was only one button we could press. [Third Undersea Base] — a space built beneath the sea at a depth of -1000m. Baek Aeyeong tore out the panel below the elevator buttons. It looked like she was forcibly operating the elevator.
“It’s unsettling, but I can’t think of any other way to get you out of this Fourth Undersea Base more safely. Normally, if an accident occurs, all elevators are supposed to stop. The escape pod would be the safest. Damn it.”
*Is it okay to take this? What happens if the elevator itself collapses while we’re riding it? Do we just die?* Baek Aeyeong began muttering unsettling things.
“If we can’t reach the surface in the escape pod, we’ll have no choice but to take the elevator out. Otherwise, you’ll have to swim out of here. If a human had the ability to withstand pressure at a depth of 3,000 meters and swim upward, they wouldn’t be called a human—they’d be called a mermaid.”
“…Are there no stairs?”
Baek Aeyeong, who had been pulling a wire from the panel and pressing the button, snorted at my words.
“From here to the top is 2,000 meters, so that’s at least 400 floors. To get to the Third Undersea Base, you’d need roughly ten thousand steps.”
Hearing the number of floors, Yu Geumi’s face turned pale. There was an amazing bakery at the Third Undersea Base. I’d used the central elevator to go buy some bread there before, and if I recalled correctly, it took about two to three minutes between floors. How long would it take to walk up? Were stairs even built in the first place? Was humanity insane, building bases like this under the sea? Baek Aeyeong removed her hand from the panel, apparently finished.
“Or take the elevator prepared to die.”
Baek Aeyeong looked at me and Yu Geumi one last time.
“The elevator is just as dangerous. I have no idea how the torpedo impact might have affected it. But it doesn’t seem to be leaking.”
While fiddling with the panel, Baek Aeyeong had muttered anxious things like, *“Ah, I don’t know~ All I’ve got is guts~”* turning Yu Geumi’s already pale face as white as a sheet of paper. I probably looked the same. It was going to be a hellish 120 seconds. Finally, the sole button for the Third Undersea Base in the elevator lit up.
Recalling movies made about water, I asked.
“If water fills the undersea base a bit and drains out, wouldn’t it take less water pressure?”
“The base will collapse first.”
Great. Baek Aeyeong finished the explanation simply. If I were an engineer, I would probably have had my collar grabbed several times over by now for the stupid questions I’d asked. Yet not once had she thrown a punch at me for asking too many. Just how much had that guy in the laundry room gotten on Baek Aeyeong’s nerves to get his face punched? Baek Aeyeong, possessed of tremendous patience, said as she exited the elevator.
“I hope you get there safely.”
Seeing Baek Aeyeong’s tense expression, Yu Geumi and I answered energetically to blow away the anxiety.
“We’ll see you healthy later!”
“Go safely! See you later!”
With Yu Geumi’s farewell, the elevator doors closed. As the elevator began to ascend, Baek Aeyeong started running back the way we had come. Through the long window on the elevator, I could see her running toward the escape pod on long, outstretched legs like a gazelle. Her ponytail, tied up atop her head, whipped behind her like a horse’s tail.
Baek Aeyeong’s figure was periodically hidden by the body of the Cheongryong, growing smaller each time until finally she disappeared from sight. Soon the elevator entered the sea, and there was only darkness. Reflected in the window was nothing but lightless darkness. If the inside of the elevator hadn’t been lit, wouldn’t it have been terrifying? How far had we gone? While I had been watching Baek Aeyeong run through the window, Yu Geumi had apparently been looking at her watch. At least that was a relief. One of us was smart.
“Thirty-eight seconds. Thirty-nine. Forty. Forty-one. Forty-two.”
At 120 seconds, we should arrive at the Third Undersea Base, built between the twilight zone and the midnight zone. In case Yu Geumi lost count, I started counting the same numbers in my head.
“One hundred. One hundred one. One hundred two. One hundred three. One hundred four.”
Anxiety sent a shiver down the back of my neck. As time passed, I tensed as if someone were touching my back with a cold hand.
“One hundred five. One hundred six. One hundred seven. One hundred eight. One hundred nine. Gasp!”
The ascending elevator suddenly lurched with a grinding sound and stopped.
“Huh?”
And the lights went out completely.
Yu Geumi screamed in surprise, and I started screaming too; we shrieked like cuckoos, our voices echoing throughout the elevator. Then we came to our senses and shut our mouths.
It was pitch darkness inside the elevator. Outside the window, there wasn’t a single point of light, so nothing could be seen. I asked quietly into the dark void.
“The elevator stopped, right?”
“It seems that way.”
Listening to her frightened voice, the thought that we were completely screwed drifted through my mind. The same was probably true for Yu Geumi’s head. In the darkness, only each other’s breathing could be heard. Then, sniffling sounds continued. I was the first to let go of my pride and speak honestly.
“I’m scared to death.”
“Me too.”
“Have you ever been trapped in an elevator, Geumi?”
“No.”
“Neither have I.”
After a few sniffs at my pointless question, Yu Geumi spoke.
“It seems both you and I have lived lucky lives until now, Muhyeon.”
“Yeah. I hope luck follows us today too.”
There was a rustling sound of clothes brushing. I leaned my back against the wall, listening to the sniffling. Fish were probably swimming outside this elevator wall. If we went out into the water, we’d be crushed by the pressure and die instantly. Wasn’t it a miracle the elevator had even stopped? If we were unlucky, it would plunge back down the 2,000 meters we’d just ascended.
“You were trying to count to 110 earlier, right?”
“Yes. Sniff.”
“How many more meters of the 2,000 do we have left? If it’s not far, let’s try to handle the situation ourselves.”
*Wouldn’t it be about ten meters?* At my voice, Yu Geumi’s sniffling soon subsided. When no sound came from the darkness, anxious, I called out softly, “Geumi?” A voice came back: “I’m mentally dividing by 120, so be quiet!” After a few more sniffs and rustling sounds, Yu Geumi’s usual voice was heard.
“By simple calculation, if we’ve come about 1,833 meters, there are 166 meters left.”
Hearing the number, I laughed in absurdity. I must be going crazy. 166 meters. I’d thought there wasn’t much left since there were only ten seconds remaining out of 120. That’s a lot left.
“Do you know how to climb ropes or anything? You know… in movies, when an elevator stops after an accident, they open the ceiling hatch and climb up the elevator cable using arm strength.”
Now Yu Geumi laughed as if bewildered. *Sniff, sniff. Ahahaha!*
“One hundred sixty-six meters? Ahahaha! Unless you’re a spider, it’s impossible. I can’t even hang from a horizontal bar for three seconds doing a chin-up. I couldn’t climb two meters.”
“Same here. Let’s just wait for help then.”
Just moments after saying we’d try to handle the situation ourselves, not even ten seconds later, we were already resigned to waiting for rescue. Neither Yu Geumi nor I was any good at survival. Well, we were both people who just sat in chairs and worked; how could we have any advantage in a disaster situation?
“What if no one comes?”
“Then there’s nothing we can do.”
When I plopped down on the elevator floor, a sound came from the opposite side—Yu Geumi sitting down too. Then after a few seconds, the sound of blowing her nose. *Oh, you poor girl.* I felt like bursting into tears myself, so I couldn’t say anything and just kept my mouth shut.
Suppressing the urge to cry, I spoke quietly into the darkness of the elevator, which was spacious enough to fit fifty people.
“If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve gone with Aeyeong.”
Yu Geumi sniffed a few times at my words and replied.
“…Who would’ve known we’d get trapped in an elevator? You can’t change the path you’ve already walked. Don’t regret it. Sniff. Regretting won’t give us a better option anyway.”
“You’re such a hopeful person, Geumi.”
“I am a bit like that.”
“It’s pure admiration. I’m not being sarcastic.”
“I know. But being pessimistic doesn’t make things any better.”
There was a sound of sniffing and swallowing snot. Then it went quiet. How much time had passed? In the darkness wrapped in silence, Yu Geumi suddenly shouted.
“We can’t just sit here like this!”
I was so startled by the sudden loud voice that I nearly jumped.
“Huh?!”
“What if no one comes?! Whether we become spiders or threaten the elevator to go up! We have to do something ourselves!”
So much energy. I thought of the snake and cat in my backpack. What sin had they committed to deserve being stuck next to me? Right. I wasn’t alone. And crying here wouldn’t change the situation.
“What should we do?”
“Turn on your pad light and come over here.”
When I went over as instructed, Yu Geumi was sitting beside the elevator buttons. I pretended not to notice her red eyes. Relying on the pad’s light, she examined the wiring below the elevator buttons that Baek Aeyeong had touched earlier. Countless wires were revealed in the light, and I had no idea what any of them were.
“Do you know what any of this is, Geumi?”
“Nope. No idea.”
“You’re so full of hope, Geumi.”
Yu Geumi cackled along with me at my words. We were both losing our minds. At that moment, without us doing anything, the elevator lights suddenly flickered—and then came back on.