Chapter 65
Yoo Geum-yi, having received a candy, said,
“Moohyun-ssi, thank you for waking me up. I was too caught up in the moment, and only now can I finally have a conversation.”
“It’s nothing. It’s what I should do.”
I could feel Jung Sanghyun, standing a few meters away from us, snorting derisively while rolling a candy in his hand. Yoo Geum-yi turned to look at him and then completely ignored him. She then asked Kang Sujeong and me,
“Where are you planning to go?”
Kang Sujeong, looking at Lee Ji-hyun lying on the floor and Jung Sanghyun sitting, then spoke to Yoo Geum-yi and me, who were sitting on the ground.
“Our team is heading to the East District. Even if we can’t use the escape pod, we can use a submarine, and if that’s not possible, we’ll just ride the elevator, assuming we’re dead.”
“The Russian team said they’re moving to North District in two minutes to use the escape pod.”
Kang Sujeong nodded her head upon hearing this from Yoo Geum-yi as she gazed at the people sprawled out far away. Then she asked Yoo Geum-yi,
“Are you going to come with us?”
Yoo Geum-yi shook her head in response.
“I’m going to the South District. I need to see how much damage the South District has taken. The researchers and professors I know are all in the South District.”
Yoo Geum-yi was a marine biologist. I had completely forgotten that she worked in the South District. Kang Sujeong, looking troubled, said,
“Hmm. In this situation, it might be better to look after Yoo Geum-yi’s personal safety first.”
Yoo Geum-yi pondered Kang Sujeong’s advice for a moment before speaking.
“South District has four 7-story research buildings, with about 400 people residing there. When I arrived at South District, the professors and fellow researchers might have already escaped, but there could be people unaware of the water leakage because they were asleep in a frenzy, and there are marine animals trapped there too. I don’t know much about the Rare Earth Center or the Marine Pollution Center, but I’m familiar with the Deep-Sea Biology Center, so I’ll stop by there briefly before taking the escape pod from South District. If there’s no escape pod, there’s also a cargo elevator in the South District Research Center.”VịSit no(v)3lb/!n(.)com for new novels
Kang Sujeong and Yoo Geum-yi’s eyes turned towards me. I hesitated. Should I tell them now? If things go as they did in my dream, the research center will be completely gone, but I can’t send Yoo Geum-yi to such a place. What should I say? That the South District was destroyed by a missile in my dream? Anyway, we need to go to the South District soon. Kim Ga-young is trapped in the South District dormitory.
“...Yeah. Then I’ll go to the South District with you.”
Kang Sujeong’s expression subtly changed. Then, after a moment of contemplation, she nodded.
“Alright. Then we’ll part ways at Jungang-dong.”
The Russian people were groaning as they got up. Kang Sujeong looked at the child lying on the floor, grabbed their arm, lifted them up, and carried them on her back. It looked so natural, like water flowing. Given Kang Sujeong’s height of over 190 cm, it looked as though she was wearing Henry like a scarf. After adjusting Henry’s arms around her neck, Kang Sujeong steadied the child on her back and said,
“Shall we go?”
“Yes.”
Unlike in my dream, I slung a bag over my back. The weight of the cat was heavy. It was then I realized that candies were scattered all around the cat. Does a cat eat candy? Don’t eat it. Animals shouldn’t eat things like candy. It’s not even good for humans to eat. ...I then began to worry whether the cat would eat a snake. As I walked beside Yoo Geum-yi, I wondered if she had knowledge about terrestrial animals and decided to ask her.
Except for Viktor, I was the only one who approached the body. I checked for signs of life. It was just like the person I had seen in my dream. This person was Kevin Wilson, wasn’t he? Shin Haeryang said he was American. His head was smashed against a metal handle installed in the corridor.
As the person’s eyes were open, I licked my dry lips, mentally prepared myself, and then closed his eyes with the palm of my hand. Ugh, damn it. The sensation of the warm eyelids brushing against my palm was strangely unsettling, especially the long eyelashes brushing my hand made me want to flee the scene immediately. I took a deep breath to steady myself, somewhat relieved that at least the deceased had their eyes closed. Jung Sanghyun, who was retreating after taking the photos, saw my action and commented,
“Do you really have to put on such a pretense?”
“I just did what I felt like doing.”
Jung Sanghyun looked at me as if I was strange and then walked away towards Kang Su-jeong. Yoo Geum-yi, who had been waiting for me, asked,
“Shall I carry your bag?”
“No, it’s okay.”
“...This is the first time I’ve seen a body up close.”
“Me too. You don’t usually see people dying at a dental clinic.”
“That’s not supposed to happen, right?”
“Right.”
As I laughed lightly, Yoo Geum-yi exhaled a sigh of relief and chuckled along. Carlos was approaching me. Then Carlos greeted Yoo Geum-yi and me with a bright smile,
“Hey. Saw you back at the dorms. What’s your name?”
“Moohyun Park.”
“I’m Carlos Ruiz. Where are you two heading?”
“I’m Yoo Geum-yi. Moohyun and I are going to the South District.”
“Really? I’m following the Russians to North District. Why South District? Are there many escape pods there?”
Swallowing the words ‘I’m going to save someone trapped in the South District dormitory’, which would have followed the pattern of my dream, I gave a vague response.
“No, we’ll take an escape pod if there is one available. It’s probably better than everyone crowding into one place, don’t you think?”
“Is that so?”
“Why are you going to North District, Carlos?”
Yoo Geum-yi’s question prompted Carlos to lower his voice and glance at the people walking ahead before answering.
“The Koreans here in West District took all the remaining escape pods for themselves. I begged for a spot, but they completely ignored me. The Russians arrived too late and just watched the escape pods being launched. If they had arrived earlier, there would have been a bloody fight. Have you heard about Viktor smashing an Australian guy’s face?”
“No.”
“The researchers practically live in the South District.”