Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

Chapter 7

Seems like I’ve made a mistake in naming the districts. The districts mentioned as Central District is actually named as South District. You will see later on that all the districts are named or called after the Four East Asian mythological beasts, which governs cardinal directions. They are the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise of the North. However, for localization sake, I will translate the districts as cardinals; East, South, West, or North districts. Amendments will be made accordingly for earlier chapters.

That’s all! Have fun reading!

Seo Jihyuk glanced at the English version of the Underwater Base Guidebook next to me and asked, “Have you finished reading the Underwater Base Guidebook?”

I hadn’t even read 40 of the approximately 300 pages of the English version of the Underwater Base Guidebook. I shook my head slightly towards Seo Jihyuk.

I can read English. The problem was that many of the terms related to underwater bases were not necessary in daily life. There were parts I couldn’t understand what they were explaining. Why would the thickness of a wall or a screw be important? Moreover, the attention span of someone like me, who was familiar with electromagnetic waves, didn’t even last 8 seconds.

“I see you’re reading it in English, but there’s a Korean translation as well. Do you need it?”

“Yes! I really need it!”

As I exclaimed excitedly, Seo Jihyuk looked startled and then laughed. “I’ll give you the one I have in my room. However, mine is a few years old, so it might be slightly different from the latest version. Please compare and read them.”

“Thank you. I couldn’t make much progress reading it in English. Is there a separate Korean version?”

“Well… At first, when they gave me the English version, I didn’t even read it and just put it away. Our team leader, seeing the state of the team members, got so frustrated that he brought a Korean version within a month. He told us to memorize it within a week, or we’d be kicked out of here, so I hurriedly read it. I’ve highlighted a few things with a highlighter pen, but other than that, it should be in good condition. I’ll bring it to you after the treatment.”

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“That would be really helpful. My translator doesn’t work for document translation.”

Seo Ji-hyuk blinked his eyes looking at my old translator hanging on my ear like an earring. It was a bit embarrassing because it was outdated, but it was better than not having one. I hastily added another sentence, “The ones that translate in real-time are expensive.”

“I see.”

“Next time you come, I’ll read the whole book. In return, how about you start flossing?”

After teaching Seo Jihyuk in detail about how to floss, I advised him to eat as little sugar as possible and handed him some dental floss. A few minutes later, he handed me a book with the title [Underwater Base Guidebook Korean Version] written in huge letters and left. I was so happy to see Korean that I hugged the book for quite a while.

The dental clinic wasn’t too crowded, but it wasn’t completely idle either. Firstly, those who were curious about the dental clinic that had just opened in the underwater base made reservations, but most people couldn’t make reservations due to shift work schedules, or they decided to take their time after hearing the reviews from those who had visited the dental clinic.

I occasionally heard about the mess that medical cultures were in various countries through my patients. In the case of William Erickson from Mining Team 6, he vehemently criticized the medical services in the United States while suffering from a fever. He came in with a cavity and demanded that all his teeth be replaced with gold ones by the end of the day. When I asked if he was planning to fast starting today, he hesitated slightly, so I filled in the cavity and did the scaling first.

He said he’d never had scaling done before, and throughout the procedure, he clenched and unclenched his fists, squeezing the poor orange whale plushie Noeul that he was holding until it seemed ready to burst. Then, twisting his over the 180cm-tall body like a grilling squid, he suddenly left for the restroom before I could start on his lower teeth and never returned.

I sent him a message saying his treatment wasn’t finished, but there was no response. It wasn’t until the wrinkles on the crumpled and traumatized Noeul smoothed out that I received a reply saying he would return next week. I couldn’t help but laugh at the message he sent saying there would definitely be a dental drill at the front row of hell’s Gate. When I sent a message telling him to take the dental floss, there was no reply.

In the case of Vladimir Sergeyevich Ivanov, the team leader of Team D, who claimed to have come from Russia, he actually brought alcohol with him. I didn’t realize what it was when I greeted him, thinking it was water in a metal flask. But when I smelled it, I was shocked to discover it was vodka.

When I reached out my hand towards him, the tall, blond man, who was over 190 cm, obediently handed me the bottle of alcohol. As I locked the flask lid to prevent the smell of alcohol from escaping, I noticed his strange look and realized he had meant for me to drink it. I shook my head, had him brush his teeth with a disposable toothbrush and toothpaste, and prepared for the procedure. Surprisingly, he quietly brushed his teeth, rinsed his mouth, and lay down in the treatment chair.

His oral condition was quite unique: all six of his front teeth were implants. When I asked him about having six implants in his mid-30s, he raised his blond eyebrows and said, “You probably don’t want to know. Doc.”

I couldn’t tell if my translator was too old-fashioned or if he actually spoke Russian that harshly. As if I had heard his response, I asked about the lower right molar he had broken from applying too much force, “Didn’t it hurt?”

“Life is pain.”

I considered causing him more pain but decided against testing my patience on someone who had smuggled alcohol into a place where it was forbidden. While the American patient had raised both hands and waved them when I told him to raise his hand if it hurt, Ivanov bore the pain as if life truly was pain. Noeul, who had been forcibly held, was much more stable in his embrace than with previous patients.

I habitually praised him for enduring the procedure like I would for a young patient who had done well, but then realized I was complimenting a Russian man who drank vodka like water and carried on with the treatment in silence. In the quiet treatment room, only my hands and feet worked diligently.

“You’ll have to come back next week. Don’t eat hard foods until then. Don’t chew on the right side. Brush your teeth well. And don’t drink alcohol.”

Vladimir took the dental floss I had placed on the table and put it in his pocket, but I wasn’t sure if he’d actually listen to me. As he was leaving, I instinctively threw him another piece of floss. He caught it in mid-air, frowned, and left.

Ever since I found a box full of dental floss, my goal has been to get everyone in the underwater base to use it for brushing their teeth.

We’re on a salary system anyway, so isn’t it better if we don’t have patients?

The initiative began with this intention, but it hasn’t been off to a great start. Judging from the dental conditions of the people who visited the dental clinic in the last two days, there were some who flossed, but not many.

I have to remain hopeful. There’s no need to despair when fewer than ten people have visited so far. I’m looking forward to this new hobby spreading throughout the gloomy underwater base. Otherwise, the legend of a dentist who threatens patients to floss diligently, saying their teeth aren’t stacked like a shark’s, might be born.

No matter how diligently one brushes their teeth, how thoroughly one floss, how little sugar one consumes, or how well one rinses their mouth with mouthwash, there’s no answer for direct trauma. In the past three days, I treated five very unique men with chipped front teeth, cracked molars, or teeth shaken from a strong blow to the jaw.

One even had a non-dental item wedged into his tooth. They were all miners and engineers. When asked how they ended up in such a state, bizarre excuses poured out: they tripped and fell near stairsteps, fell out of bed, didn’t know, or suddenly found their teeth like that when they woke up.

It was obvious that these injuries were caused by fistfights. And from the appearance of those who came to the hospital, I knew that the person responsible was tall and right-handed. The patients I treated were all bitter losers who had tasted defeat once or twice.

I first treated old, neglected wounds and traumas before addressing the most recent acts of violence in the treatment room. Yesterday’s loser had loose teeth, and his lower molar was broken. As I examined the broken molar, I sighed and said, “That guy must have a strong punch.”

Violence is not tolerated in the underwater base. But I have no idea where they’re getting into these fistfights. At my question, Tyler from the engineering B-team started speaking excitedly.

“That crazy guy threw the first punch. Ah, of course, I hit him more. Just watch. I’ll make him walk around toothless like a jellyfish. And make him suck soup for the rest of his life!”

As I was pondering whether to stick the fantastically broken molar back like Tetris or pull it out since it was hopeless, I heard a familiar curse. “That skinny bastard from engineering A-team!

“Is that how the leader of the engineering A-team behaves?”

At that, Tyler, apparently feeling wronged, began to curse his opponent, unleashing every curse word he knew. I had heard that the engineering B-team was made up of Canadians, but this was the first time I had seen a Canadian, who I thought were peaceful people, excluding hockey, passionately wishing misfortune upon an opponent.

Upon hearing this, it seemed that Engineering Team A would never compromise, even on the smallest of matters, and there was absolutely no negotiation. Not only that but the team leader, Shin Hae-ryang, was said to be instigating disputes. I had been half-listening to the story from the person who had been defeated, and now they were enthusiastically badmouthing the entire Engineering Team A.

Thanks to that, I was able to memorize the names of all seven members of Engineering Team A, whom I hadn’t met, excluding Seo Jihyuk. It must have been very difficult for them. They must have been in pain but managed to hold it in so far. Anyone who provides any type of service to others becomes a service worker. They soullessly spat out several obsequious phrases to appease the customers and then cut off the conversation as they had to start their next appointment immediately.

Sounds that couldn’t form words filled the treatment room. As the long yet short treatment time came to an end, Tyler got up from the medical bed, wincing in pain. I had managed to save his molar, but Noeul’s face, which had been nestled in Tyler’s arms, was all crumpled up.

“Rinse your mouth, and then you can go. I’ll see you next week.”

“I’m never coming back!”

I handed Tyler some dental floss while consoling him, saying he had done well to endure it. The people at the underwater base had rather fierce faces and were quite large, as equipment repair and mining were their priorities, but surprisingly, they didn’t throw away the dental floss and obediently took it with them. Perhaps it was because they were out of their minds after the treatment or they unconsciously grabbed the offered floss as they ran away.

People often lose courage just by making a dental appointment. I tried to give as much encouragement and praise as I could to those who came to the dentist. After all, it’s already remarkable that they didn’t avoid their situation and went to the dentist.