“If hitting someone with your fist is a gentle way of handling things, what is a violent and malicious way?”
“Well, suddenly disappearing from the underwater base, for example.”
I couldn’t hide my shocked expression. Is this place always filled with violence, and are ordinary people like me unfortunate enough to get caught up in it?
“What about the man? What are you going to do with him?”
“There’s nothing to do. I’ll kick him a few more times on the side and leave him here. He’ll wake up and go back to his room on his own. Or he’ll go to the hospital.”
I desperately wanted to escape from here, not because I was scared of the person who wielded his fist, but because I didn’t want to be next to someone who could easily commit violence against others. But if I left Baek Ae-young here, who knows what might happen. The guy lying on the ground could suddenly get up and take revenge on her, or Baek Ae-young could completely beat the man up worse than just his nose or ribs.
“Shall we go together?”
Upon hearing my words, Baek Ae-young looked at me and hesitated for a moment before nodding her head. I handed her the cleanest looking towel from my laundry and asked her to wipe her hands with the back of it. But she looked at the towel she received and shook her head.
“A towel stained with blood. It’s too much trouble to wash.”
Really? I carried the laundry basket on my side and went to the cafe with Baek Ae-young. On the way there, she high-fived people or fist-bumped them, or put up her index finger. Most of the famous people she met knew her.
As I met people and listened to their voices, I felt the remnants of violence I saw earlier slowly fading away. Being in places with CCTV or bright lights gave me some peace of mind. However, my mind was in turmoil and I wandered while walking to the café, so Baek A-yeong naturally guided me.
Baek A-yeong’s long hair swayed as she walked, like a tail following her every move. There are two cafes in the Central District of the Fourth Undersea Base. One is called “Red Coral” and the other is “Agulhas Current”. I don’t know where Agulhas Current is, but it seems more like a mythical underwater creature than a real place in the North Pacific.
I ordered coffee and received two cups, handing one to Baek A-yeong. Holding the warm coffee in my hand and sitting at the table, everything else seemed insignificant. I continued to take deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves from the horror of blood and broken bones. Baek A-yeong looked through the guidebook on top of my laundry basket and asked:
“Who gave you this book?”
“I only had the English version, so I was embarra*sed and Seo Ji-hyeok kindly gave it to me.”
“I heard they only printed about 10 copies and distributed them only to the engineers. I think they gave it to the Navy base as well.”
“I guess the team leader of the engineering team made it?”
“Um… I heard they outsourced the translation. They paid a lot of money for high-quality work. Some were probably given to the Navy base.”
“I see. Thanks to it, I’m enjoying the book.”
“If you meet the new team leader later, mention it. He might appreciate it.”
Then we fell into silence. As I drank my coffee and tried to heal from the fear of blood and broken bones, Baek A-yeong held her coffee cup and bit her small lips. She suddenly spoke up:
“I want to tell you something that just happened. I don’t want to worry the new team leader. He’s a delicate person.”
“Why…what happened? I don’t know anything.”
“I don’t know the team leader, Shin Hae-ryang. And I want to forget about what happened today.”
Baek A-yeong held her coffee cup and sighed after hearing my response. Age is forbidden to be revealed here, especially for Asians. I felt relieved looking at her face that seemed younger than her age, probably in her early or mid-twenties. It seems like the team leader’s ears can’t hear this story.
Both Seo Ji-hyeok and Baek A-yeong seemed to want to hide their unethical behavior from their team leader, strangely enough. Shin Hae-ryang doesn’t seem to live the most ethical life, but it’s strange that they want to keep this hidden from him.
“Thank you.”
Then I took a sip of my coffee, thinking of something that suddenly came to mind.
“I heard the beach is beautiful. Do you know where to go to see it?”
“The central elevator will take you to the ground floor, but it will take some time. Alternatively, you can take the Cheongnyongdong or Hyeonmudong elevators from here to get to the third underwater base. From there, when you turn the corner of the bakery, there will be an elevator on the left that will take you to the second underwater base. Then take the third elevator to get to the ground floor, and just walk a little further to get to the beach.”
“Thank you.”
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