Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

Chapter 10

I took the central elevator up and filled a tray with one of each type of bread at the 3rd Underwater Base. The bakery at the 3rd Underwater Base was called “Babylonia.” I wasn’t sure why it had such a name, but the bread was really delicious. Freshly baked bread was available every day, and there was a wide variety. At first, I couldn’t understand why people would wait in line for the bread to come out, but now I could. I looked at the daring phrase engraved inside the bakery.

I would choose rice over bread if given a choice, but the bread from this bakery was so incredibly delicious that I couldn’t object to that phrase. I initially thought I had swallowed the first red bean bread I tried without chewing because I was hungry, but it was delicious even when I was full.

The food at the cafeteria was decent, but I suspected someone might be eating bread for their meals because the taste was so good. I considered filling the tray with only the types of bread I liked, but instead, I made a safe choice and picked one of each kind. I couldn’t tell who would like what.

Kang Soo-jung had work again in three hours. I received a question asking if she could come over while her friends were chatting and playing at her quarters. I thought of the dental appointment scheduled in two hours. Then I asked if it was really okay for me to come, and after hearing that it was okay, I knocked on the door with four cups of coffee and a bundle of bread. Kang Soo-jung, wearing a light shirt and jeans, opened the door to her quarters.

“You’re here. Doctor.”

“Hello!”

“Hello.”

“Hello. I’m the new dentist Park Mu-hyun.”

Both were engineers from different teams. One was Zhu Xian from the Engineer B Team, and the other was Lily, a Canadian from the Engineer A Team. The three were workout buddies, having met at the gym in the central district. They encouraged and scolded each other when they didn’t feel like exercising. All three were over 180cm tall, and their biceps for grabbing coffee were no joke.

Listening to the chatter of the three, it was only then that I realized most of the female engineers at the underwater base were regularly exercising. I began to reflect on my own body, which only had basic muscles. I thought I should also build some muscles while I’m at the underwater base.

“I should start working out too.”

“That’s a good idea. The men here work out a lot. There’s a trainer for women named Emily, and for men, there’s James.”

“Speaking of which, I remember James swearing every day because the men broke so many exercise machines at first.”

“Who’s James?”

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“James Miller is an American trainer here. You can just tell him that you’re new to working out, and he’ll teach you well.”

Zhu Xian gave me a clueless look and explained in more detail, “He’s a 195cm tall man, covered in muscles, wearing a red tracksuit. He wears the same tracksuit every day, I wonder if he washes it or not.”

“It seems like most men living in the underwater base have good physiques.”

Hearing my opinion, Kang Soo-jung shook her head. “Not everyone is like that.”

“Only those who work out actually work out.”

Zu Xian, who said that, wiped cream from her lips with her thumb, licked it off, and quickly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. I handed her a napkin a beat too late, as Lily, who was next to her, took it with a smile and wiped the cream from her fingers.

Since the topic of exercise came up, I was about to ask if Team Leader Shin Hae-ryang was also hitting people’s jaws like a storm, but when I found out Kang Soo-jung’s superior was Shin Hae-ryang, I changed my mind. Besides, there were other engineers around, so it would be gossip if I brought it up. Silence was always golden. On the other hand, I couldn’t tell whether the psychologist Elliot or the researcher Yoo Geum-yi were working out just by looking at them.

“Did you always work out? Or did you start after coming to the underwater base?”

Hoping that I would naturally gain muscles by staying at the underwater base for a long time, I asked, and Zhu Xian surprisingly gave a light-hearted affirmation. “I started after coming to the underwater base. Nothing used in the ocean is light, after all.”

Watching her grabbing some bread, it seemed I miscalculated the amount of food. The three of them ate more than I thought. Since I bought different types of bread, there were about 17 pieces, and they disappeared in the blink of an eye. I should have bought more. When I briefly shared my thoughts, Kang Soo-jung shook her head.

“It’s because today is a cheat day, we don’t usually eat bread like this.”

Lily immediately refuted her, “I eat bread just fine! You just prefer rice instead!”

“Then you should eat rice too.”

At Kang Soo-jung’s nonchalant words, Zhu Xian chuckled. Lily, who had been sucking the sugar from her fingers after picking up a doughnut, asked why the dental clinic was called Deep Blue. It was a question related to the underwater base that I could answer confidently.

After hearing my explanation, Lily snapped her fingers and said, “That name definitely sounds like it was made up by an American. Us Canadians don’t name things like that.”

“The naming around here is a mess. What kind of name is ‘Full Course Feast’ for the West District restaurant? The only Chinese dish they serve is dumplings.”

As Kang Soo-jung looked at Zhu Xian, Zhu Xian then spoke as if she felt wronged by the woman’s gaze, “You wanted to name it King’s Kitchen, didn’t you? What’s with King’s Kitchen! Mine’s better. I wanted to call it Sichuan Cuisine!”

We chatted so much that it was almost time for my scheduled appointment, and I was the first to stand up. Holding my half-finished coffee, I said to Kang Soo-jung, “Thank you for inviting me to your event and tea party.”

“I should be the one thanking you. I have an appointment next week, so please take care of it.”

“See you later.”

“Thanks for the meal!”

Kang Soo-jung handed me two cup noodles. I quickly threw the cup noodles from room 24, Section 100, onto the bed in my room, number 38, and hurriedly ran out. I was in such a hurry that I bumped into someone coming from the escape route and almost spilled all my coffee. I caught the arm of the person about to fall and barely managed to prevent them from falling. It was a short man. I managed to recall his name after scratching my head.

“Hello, Mr. Tamaki. Is your clothing okay?”

The other person looked at me and made a very surprised expression, then hesitated. Fortunately, it seemed that the coffee hadn’t splashed on his clothes.

Tamaki hesitantly asked, “Do you have an appointment tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow is my day off. How’s your wound?”

“······It’s fine.”

“That’s a relief. I’m thinking about what to do tomorrow. It’s my first day off since I came to the underwater base.”

“I see.”

Then Tamaki hesitated to say something and closed his mouth. After a few seconds of awkward silence, I told him that we’d meet again later and started running again. There were only two people scheduled for the afternoon, and I couldn’t keep those few patients waiting. I had to run across the central area to make it back to Deep Blue in time for my appointment.

D-Day 1