Chapter 44


    Seo Jihyuk spoke in a low voice,


    “Back then, when Team Leader suddenly called for help, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. Even now, whenever I think about it, my heart races like crazy. Three people were missing; the team leader called everyone who could swim. We immediately grabbed our gear and ran to the stream. Had it not been for the sudden torrential rain, no one would have died. One person was found stuck amongst some rocks within a day, but Team Leader’s ex-girlfriend and another person remained missing. Sang-hyeon and I were ted to join, and including us, seven people searched. We thought we’d find them within seven minutes since we were a ‘lucky seven,’ but the rain made the water muddy. It was so murky that I couldn’t even see my own arm in the water. The parents came to the river every day, crying and searching, but even the wretched rain wouldn’t stop. We even talked about withdrawing for safety reasons.”


    “And then?”


    I asked, and the quiet Shin Haeryang answered, “We thought they’d been swept away, but… they had sunk to the bottom of the stream. It shone in the darkness.”


    “Isn’t it strange that the ne is still on? Normally when you enter water, clothes, nes, everything gets stripped away by the current. Most drowned bodies are found naked.”


    “And yet Team Leader-<i>ssi </i>is still wearing the ne?”


    Despite his exnation that the glowing ne I wore was not the same one on the drowned body, I felt more ufortable than before. I should return it as soon as I leave these stairs. No, I want to return it now. Hasn’t it been awkward for Shin Haeryang to wear this for thest three years?


    “Why do you continue to wear it?”


    I shook the glowing ne. Unless Shin Haeryang ispletely oblivious, he should understand what I’m trying to say. I felt some hesitation from the darkness beyond.


    “…I had made a promise.”


    “You promised to wear the ne with the person who died until one of you died?”


    “Not exactly. Lapiszuli, literally meaning ‘blue stone’ in Latin, is considered the gem of a divine spirit that leads to truth. It’s said to bring love to thosecking it and fortune to the unfortunate. Let’s skip the love part and talk about luck… Back then, I was into freediving.”


    “Can you exin what freediving is?”


    “It’s diving into the ocean without air tanks or flippers.”


    “How do you breathe without an air tank?”


    “You take one breath and dive up to around 100 meters.”


    <i>So one floor is 3 meters, ording to Yoo Geum-yi. Then, diving 33 floors deep in the ocean without breathing, thening back up? Why… why would you do something like that? It’s insane. It’s definitely luck, not love, that he needs. Why risk it? Even just walking has its dangers; why increase the chances of dying?</i>


    “It sounds like you need luck for that.”


    “…Lapiszuli is a gem that’s weak to water and pressure. The more often and longer you stay in the ocean, the higher the chance it will degrade. We promised to wear it until it breaks.”


    “Ah… so it hasn’t broken yet.”


    “Yes, it hasn’t.”


    Shin Haeryang closed his mouth. Shifting his weight towards me, Seo Jihyuk spoke, “…This is the first time I’m hearing about this too. I thought he wore it for luck.”


    “You never asked.”


    “True, I never asked.”


    Seo Jihyuk vigorously scratched the back of his head and then spoke to Shin Haeryang, “You lent me that ne during my exams and for Jaehee’s driving test, remember?”


    “You were crying and wailing about failing.”


    “…Well, I did pass. Never thought love was involved in that story.”


    “Now, only luck remains with this ne.”


    “…Do you really have to keep that promise?”


    “Is there a reason not to?”


    As Seo Jihyuk spoke, it felt like his heart was about to burst, and I felt the same. Whatever Shin Haeryang made of our silence, he spoke again to Seo Jihyuk.


    “My therapist told me not to get so attached to the ne. They said for the sake of my mental health, I should either sell or throw it away. But it’s mine anyway. No matter whom I lend it to, it’s destined toe back to me. At least until it breaks. Right now, I lent it to Moohyun-<i>ssi</i> because he needed some light.”


    Sure enough, Shin Haeryang said as I was contemting whether it would be rude to immediately remove and hand over the ne, which was shimmering with light around my neck.


    “Please give it back when you’re out of the darkness.”


    “… Yes. I will return it promptly.”


    Seo Jihyuk found the end of a conversation that had flown somewhere.


    “Ah… anyway, I diligently changed the air tank for three days and managed to find both of them while diving. I had never been to a funeral for someone my age before; it was so depressing and quiet. Back then, we had amazing stamina. We swam for three days and stayed up all night at the funeral, and yet we werepletely fine the next day. Now, even if I wanted to, I can’t do that.”


    “You’re still climbing the stairs well, though.”


    It wasn’t just him climbing on his own; we were all helping him climb. If Shin Haeryang and I hadn’t helped distribute Seo Jihyuk’s weight, there’s no way he could have climbed these stairs with one leg. Hearing this, Seo Jihyuk shook his arm as if he was terribly wronged.


    “I would have flown up these stairs a few years ago.”


    Shin Haeryang lightly grazed the back of Seo Jihyuk’s head. Whether that meant ‘be quiet’ or was some sort of constion, it was unclear.


    “You’ll be flying again once you get surgery.”


    “…”


    Then Seo Jihyuk said nothing. We quietly climbed the stairs. I’m not sure how long it takes to fully recover after getting shot in the knee. Even ten years ago, I heard that it was difficult topletely heal a joint. Maybe medical technology has developed a lot since then.


    As we climbed, panting, we heard that if the total number of stairs was 4300, about 600 were left. We all had a sip of water left in a water bottle that had been circting among us. After asking if everyone had some, I took thest sip and tossed the bottle. It seemed like we had prepared about 9 bottles of water and beverages, and this was thest of them.


    There was a bottle of liquor in Baek Ae-young’s bag that Seo Jihyuk had packed, but no one drank it. Even Seo Jihyuk, who had insisted on packing it, refused to drink. One sip and we’d all getpletely drunk in our current state. I said, lying down and moaning because of my sweat-soaked state,


    “…I want to go to a bathhouse.”


    Yoo Geum-yi heard me and said, yawning and sighing at the same time, “…I want an iced Americano.”


    “Any carbonated drink.”


    “Water.”


    “Beer.”


    At Seo Jihyuk’sst word, Baek Ae-young frowned.


    “Be thankful that I didn’t throw away this Valentino or whatever it is in the bag right here and now.”


    “Thanks, thanks. Let’s have a drink when we get out. When we get out.”


    Iy on the dusty floor, resting my back against it, and dusted off my clothes as the asional breeze blew in. The coolness of the floor somewhat alleviated the heat that had settled into my body, and the winding from an unknown source somewhere along the stairs helped to dry my sweat. As Iy there, staring at the ceiling that was dark as pitch, I spoke.


    “What’s the first thing we need to do when we get out of the stairs?”


    There was no reply to my question until someone spoke from the darkness. It was Shin Haeryang.


    “The second underwater base is located 200 meters below the water surface. There are three fastest ways to ascend, including the central elevator, escape pods, and submarines. In my opinion, it would be easiest to escape in the order of submarines, escape pods, and then elevator. I’d like to reach the surface by any means, even if it’s a manned exploration vessel.”


    “At that depth, isn’t it possible to swim up to the surface with scuba diving equipment?”


    Everyone fell silent at my question, which had been prompted by what I’d heard earlier about free diving. “People can free dive to depths of over 100 meters, so 200 meters with equipment should be even easier,’ I thought. Shin Haeryang and Yoo Geum-yi answered together.


    “Impossible.”


    “~200m is.”


    Because the two answered at the same time, Shin Haeryang directed his next words towards where Yoo Geum-yi was.


    “’You go first.”


    “Alright. At ~200 meters, the pressure is roughly around 20 atmospheres. Imagine putting a weight of about 20kg on each square centimeter of your body—like your fingernails. The human body has a skin area of around 20,000 square cm, so that would mean you’d be taking on a force equivalent to 4000 kg.”


    As I listened to this detailed exnation, I cheekily thought, “Yoo Geum-yi would do really well in math education, wouldn’t she?”


    Just then, Baek Ae-young casually remarked, “That’s like the weight of two Porsches.”


    Seo Jihyuk, surprised, asked, “One Porsche weighs 2000 kg?”


    “Is that what’s important?”


    While Seo Jihyuk and Baek Ae-young were bickering, Yoo Geum-yi calmly said to me, “Biologically, ~200m is considered deep sea. It’s not an environment where the human body can survive without equipment. Alright, my turn is done. Shin Haeryang-<i>ssi</i>, your turn.”


    “Even experienced scuba divers avoid diving deeper than ~50 meters for beginners. And the diving equipment is located in the first underwater base, so it’s possible there.”


    “Thank you for yourprehensive answers, both of you.”


    Hearing these polite exnations made me feel as if I’d returned to my university days. Of course, the professors I’d met were nowhere near as kind as these two. At least they didn’t cut me off instantly for asking ‘stupid’ questions. As I sat on the floor, something heavy settled on my stomach in the darkness. I was so startled that I froze, and it was only after touching it that I realized it was a cat.”