After Ramunas disappeared, gunshots came faintly from very far away. In truth, they were so faint I could hardly tell if they were gunshots at all. The waves almost drowned them out completely. Wondering if I had misheard, I gently lifted the towel with my left hand and looked at the others. Among the people resting on the beach beds, only Shin Haeryang reacted to the sound. So I hadn’t heard wrong. The gunshots continued, one after another.
It was probably on the other side of the island. Gunfire rang out in every direction, but it was quite far away. Had someone fired a gun at the staff dormitory or the hospital? If there was someone shooting, there would be someone getting shot, too. Yet surprisingly few people showed any obvious signs of anxiety.
Kang Sujeong did wander around with a frown, but her unease didn’t show any more than that, and the same went for Shin Haeryang and Kim Jaehee. Emma seemed nervous and had curled in on herself, while Jeong Sanghyeon acted as if all of this were someone else’s business. The gunshots in the distance were more unsettling and frightening than when Ramunas had been right in front of us.
As the gunfire grew louder and closer, Jeong Sanghyeon grabbed Kim Jaehee and said something, but to my ears it was little more than mumbling. He seemed to be asking something like, We’re not going to get shot to death, are we? Kim Jaehee patted Jeong Sanghyeon on the shoulder and said,
“Sanghyeon. There’s no need to be so anxious. Are you afraid of dying? You might be worried because the process of dying is painful, but a gunshot wound will probably hurt less than a burn. And people won’t be that sad even if you die, so don’t worry too much. You’ve lived selfishly all this time, so who would sincerely mourn you? Your parents might be upset and sad for about two weeks, but after that, they may feel both freedom and relief at the same time. They probably wanted a tall, handsome, wonderful son, but do you think they ever imagined Sanghyeon would come out? Parents don’t always like their children, you know. ……Well. Children don’t always like their parents either.”
I couldn’t tell whether Kim Jaehee was trying to calm Jeong Sanghyeon down or rupture his mind like squeezing pus from a wound. When Jeong Sanghyeon’s face turned deathly, Kang Sujeong stopped Kim Jaehee.
“Jaehee. Is it fun teasing a teammate on the same team? Don’t say ominous things. What are you going to do if they come true? And Sanghyeon. Were you the kind of coward who’d start bawling over such a petty provocation? You’re not, are you?”
The moment the word coward reached Jeong Sanghyeon’s ears, he gave Kang Sujeong his own name in mangled pronunciation and answered as if this didn’t scare him at all. Kang Sujeong nodded and said something halfhearted like, Of course I know our Sanghyeon well, then asked in an anxious voice,
“The odds of us getting shot are low, right? Right? Team Leader.”
Kang Sujeong whispered desperately to the person who looked even slightly reliable in this situation.
“Now is the perfect time to lie. Please make the team members feel even a little less anxious.”
“……The gunfire is coming from a place quite far from the beach. If they approach us, we have safe places where we can hide and evacuate, weapons we can use to counterattack, and ways to treat sudden emergency patients, along with various other measures, so don’t worry too much.”
I saw Emma snort at Shin Haeryang’s words. Hearing him lie made it clearer exactly what we lacked in our current situation. Jeong Sanghyeon seemed far more anxious than before. Kang Sujeong sighed, then asked me, buried in the sand,
“Muhyeon. Can dentists treat gunshot victims too, by any chance? If someone gets shot in the face, can you treat that?”
“Hahaha! I’m the emergency patient right now. Dentists don’t learn voodoo, you know.”
If I get out of here alive, I’m definitely going to look up how to treat gunshot wounds. I was a little envious of Riko, who had fallen asleep as soon as we came out onto Daehan Island. I can’t sleep when I’m too anxious. Shin Haeryang warned the others in a low voice.
“Someone is coming.”
As I fumbled to pull the towel over myself, I asked the people around me,
“What do they look like?”
Kang Sujeong stared at the figures emerging from the end of the beach, then frowned as if she couldn’t see them clearly and answered,
“Two people are coming from far away.”
Could they be other assassins sent by the Muhan Church? Were they coming back this way after wandering around the island shooting people? Shin Haeryang looked into the distance and said,
“Two people in black tops and bottoms are approaching. They’re too far away to identify their faces.”
Kang Sujeong, who had been watching with her arms folded, waved at them. I couldn’t see them from where I was, but judging by everyone else’s reactions, it seemed the other party waved back. Kang Sujeong, whose eyesight was bad, frowned and said to Shin Haeryang,
“I think it’s someone we know. The person on the right. There’s something strangely familiar about their gait.”
“I didn’t recognize her right away because her hair is pinned up. One of them is Kim Gayoung, a researcher from the Vermilion Bird Building.”
“Ahh. No wonder. Still, looks like she made it through this chaos safely. That’s a relief.”
Emma heard this conversation and hurriedly got up from the beach bed, only to slip and nearly fall flat on the sand. Emma urgently asked Shin Haeryang,
“Is the person coming from over there really Kim Gayoung?”
At that, Shin Haeryang checked the other person again and said,
“……To my eyes, she looks like Kim Gayoung.”
“Team Leader. I’m not sure who the person beside her is. I’ve seen their face a few times in passing at the White Tiger Building, though.”
“It’s probably Tumanako! The hair designer! She must have escaped the underwater base together with Gayoung!”
Without meaning to, I shouted at Kang Sujeong’s voice. Kang Sujeong looked at the other person in puzzlement and said,
“Ah…… So that’s the hairstylist who joined before. Our schedules never matched, so I could never book an appointment. Whenever I had a day off, people would reserve every slot like ghosts.”
When I shifted the towel and turned my body slightly, I could barely see the direction the two were coming from. I was so glad to see them. I wanted to push through the sand right away, run out, and shout to them that I was here, but I held myself back. Kang Sujeong raised both arms high and waved at the approaching people. Shin Haeryang asked me in a low voice,
“Muhyeon. Do you know the people approaching us now?”
“Yes! I traveled with them while escaping the underwater base.”
“Can you trust them?”
“Yes? ……Yes. I’m saying this in case there’s any misunderstanding, but neither Gayoung nor Tumanako is a believer of the Muhan Church. Tumanako in particular is an ordinary hair designer.”
Shin Haeryang stopped me as I tried to leap out of the sand at once and said,
“I hope so. Even if they aren’t believers of the Muhan Church, we need to be cautious. We must keep in mind the possibility that they were bought off by someone, like that thug who had the jewels. Do not speak first under any circumstances.”
I don’t know about that. Kim Gayoung or Tumanako? Since Shin Haeryang probably had no memory of either of them at all, he seemed to be reacting this way.
“I only met Gayoung and Tumanako for a short time, but I trust them deeply. You can believe in those two.”
I couldn’t tell whether Shin Haeryang was listening to me or not. Shin Haeryang must have his own way of judging people. Through the narrow gap in the towel, I could barely see Kim Gayoung approaching with both hands raised high as if to show she meant no harm, Tumanako beside her. Kim Gayoung came over with her entire face filled with joy and greeted Kang Sujeong and Shin Haeryang. Shin Haeryang seemed a little flustered by how happy Kim Gayoung looked to see him.
“You escaped safely! Team Leader Shin, I was really worried about you. Jihyeok scared me and Tumanako by saying you might die, Team Leader Shin.”
“Me? ……First of all, I’m glad you escaped safely without injury. How did you know we were here?”
“Jihyeok told us to come here.”
“Where and when did you meet him?”
When Shin Haeryang asked about the location of his team member, who was currently roaming the island, Kim Gayoung thought for a moment and said,
“I think it was about fifteen minutes ago. We saw him at the auditorium.”
“Thank you.”
“No. Actually…… I should be the one thanking you. It’s a little embarrassing and indecent, but being alive is what matters. Thanks to you, Team Leader Shin, I didn’t drown in my room. Later, I’ll treat you to a big meal.”
“Pardon? I’m not sure…… what you mean.”
From Shin Haeryang’s tone, he truly seemed to have no idea what she was talking about, but Kim Gayoung stared at him as if deeply moved, then gave a small nod.
“Ah…… I see. You want to bury it. Got it. I won’t mention it anymore either. Really…… thank you.”
Before Shin Haeryang could answer, Kim Gayoung was seized by Emma. Emma literally checked Kim Gayoung from the top of her head to the tips of her toes with her eyes for injuries, then said,
“You weren’t shot?”
“What?”
“You told me to run without looking back if you called my name! You gave me the bag! You told me to take it and run! You said that woman might kill us all, so you’d draw her attention!”
“What are you talking about? I said that? When?”
Emma stared at Kim Gayoung with a vacant expression. Emma pointed to my bag, which was neatly placed in the corner of the beach bed, and said,
“Obviously today! You told me to take this and go! Why on earth did you do that? Why did you do something like that?”
Kim Gayoung frowned and said to Emma,
“I think…… you’re mistaken. I haven’t met you at all today. Ask Tumanako here. She and I were together the whole time on Daehan Island.”
“Uh, hi? She’s been with me ever since we came out of the underwater base. I’m Tumanako.”
“What are you talking about! You don’t even remember what happened today? Is an ordinary person’s memory that short?”
Uh…… First of all, I felt glad I was buried in the sand. If Emma immediately pulled off the towel, grabbed my head, and asked if I hadn’t gone through the same thing as her, I had no idea what excuse I could make. And if Kim Gayoung grabbed me and asked if we hadn’t been together in Deep Blue, I’d have nothing to say either. So this kind of thing happens when everyone’s memories are different.
Kim Gayoung looked at Jeong Sanghyeon sitting on the beach bed, then was startled and called Tumanako. At that, Tumanako ran over as if she had been waiting for this and slapped Jeong Sanghyeon across the face with the shark ornament she had been holding the entire time. Shocked, Shin Haeryang immediately grabbed both of Tumanako’s arms. Then this time, Kim Gayoung punched Jeong Sanghyeon in the nose.
“Oh my goodness. What are you doing!”
Kang Sujeong grabbed Kim Gayoung from behind and forcibly pulled her away from Jeong Sanghyeon.