“Excuse me! Passing through! Sorry, but make room! Excuse me!”
Jo Gyu-Min urgently and insistently pushed the people away from his path.
“Ouch?! What are you doing, man!”
“Are you crazy?!”
Insults of varying severity flew in from all directions, but Jo Gyu-Min remained stone-faced as he continued to relentlessly forge ahead.
“Jin-Seong!” Jo Gyu-Min called out to Han Jin-Seong behind him.
“Yes, Chief Jo!”
“No one has fallen behind, right?”
“Yes! I’m constantly checking to make sure, Chief!”
“Good! Keep your eyes peeled, okay!” Jo Gyu-Min nodded, then repeatedly glanced behind him.
‘Damn it!’
With how long the line of Seongsim kids was and with too many visitors in the aquarium obscuring his view, Jo Gyu-Min couldn't confirm whether or not everyone was still accounted for.
However, he couldn't leave his post to check the situation. Without him leading from the front, the speed of breaking through the unwilling crowd would drop like a ton of bricks. Visitors were only begrudgingly stepping out of the way despite all their grumblings because of Jo Gyu-Min's... "somewhat" rough-looking countenance.
So, imagine what it would be like if children were trying to do the same.
‘Nope, it’s not gonna happen.’
Jo Gyu-Min’s anger level spiked when someone bumped his shoulder deliberately. Even though the visitors were stepping aside, some of them also tried to trip him up. When another visitor seemingly stepped aside only to shove Jo Gyu-Min on the shoulder, he almost lost his cool.
‘No! Calm down!’
He dearly wanted to let that visitor have a piece of his mind, but now wasn’t the time to create a scene. He must rigorously avoid any situations that could waste valuable time.
Besides, these people’s irritation was understandable. Who wouldn’t get annoyed when you were minding your own business, enjoying your time in an aquarium, only for someone to suddenly push you from behind?
“I'm sorry! I'm sorry, it's an emergency situation. Please yield the way for us. Please! I'm sorry.” Jo Gyu-Min continued to bow and apologize, which prompted the obstinate visitors to finally yield and step aside.
‘We need to move faster!’
Jo Gyu-Min was growing more and more anxious. If he was being honest, he had no idea what was happening back in the main hall. However, he wasn’t interested in finding out.
Kang Jin-Ho said they must evacuate, so Jo Gyu-Min should do just that. That was all he needed to do. After all, Kang Jin-Ho wasn't the type to actively create trouble for his companions. Without a doubt, he wanted the children evacuated because there was a problem in the aquarium.
Besides, Jo Gyu-Min was no dummy, anyway. He had his own suspicions.
‘The fish tank!’
If Han Jin-Seong had really heard that strange noise and Kang Jin-Ho agreed with the boy... Then, it was easy enough to guess the problem. Jo Gyu-Min's expression hardened as visions of a possibly horrifying future popped up in his mind.
‘We need to hurry and get out of here!’
Jo Gyu-Min couldn’t estimate how massive the scale of the destruction would be. A situation like that was unprecedented, after all. Would it lead to a huge tragedy? Or would it end as a mere little mishap where no one was hurt badly?
Of course, difficult-to-estimate didn’t mean Jo Gyu-Min should sit on his butt and do nothing. One should always assume the worst and prepare accordingly. If nothing of note happened after evacuating, then that would be great. If something did happen... Well, that would be an even greater relief.
It was just that...
‘Is it okay to leave like this?’
Jo Gyu-Min couldn't help but think about the annoyed visitors stepping aside. These people were oblivious to the current situation.
Was it okay to leave these people behind and evacuate first? Shouldn’t Jo Gyu-Min alert them and advise them to evacuate, too?
‘Damn it!’
For now, Jo Gyu-Min should prioritize the Seongsim kids and their safety above all else.
While thinking this, he tightly bit his lower lip. His priority should be the people he knew. In other words, these kids.
There was no helping it, even if people criticized him for being heartless. Every human's life was supposed to hold equal value. However, it was impossible for a person to view human lives that way.
First things first... Jo Gyu-Min would focus on evacuating the children out of here. And then, if he had some spare time, he’d participate in evacuating strangers next.
‘Besides, there isn’t much I can do right now.’
What could he possibly say to convince these people to evacuate from the aquarium? Should he declare loudly that the main fish tank was about to rupture, so everyone must flee?
It'd be a miracle if Jo Gyu-Min wasn't labeled as a lunatic on the spot. Even before he could raise a commotion, security guards would swiftly kick him out of the premises first!
That was why the only thing Jo Gyu-Min could do was guide these kids outside. He shouldn't feel guilty about leaving all these people behind.
He knew all that, but...
Jo Gyu-Min’s expression hardened as he pulled out his phone. “Jin-Seong!”
“Yes, Chief Jo!”
“Keep in touch with Mi-Hye! Make sure no one’s missing!”
“Understood! Don’t worry, and leave it to us!”
“You must stay awake, okay! Keep your wits about you!”
“Understood!”
Jo Gyu-Min exchanged determined glares with Han Jin-Seong while calling someone on the phone.
“Damn it! Why isn’t he answering?!”
He could hear the ringtone, but the other side wasn't answering the call. In the middle of this, Jo Gyu-Min continued to wade forward through the crowd while glancing back at the children.
“What...! What should I...”
“Chief Jo!” Han Jin-Seong urgently called out to Jo Gyu-Min.
“Yeah? What?”
“Look over there! Over there!”
“Huh?” Jo Gyu-Min’s gaze chased after Han Jin-Seong’s pointing finger to stare at a wall in the distance. He could see something distinctively red on it.
‘The fire hydrant!’
Jo Gyu-Min’s eyes flickered with realization.
‘How much further to the exit?’
Gears in Jo Gyu-Min’s head spun at a rapid pace.
Of course, he did think about the fire alarm before. However, he couldn't just thoughtlessly trip the alarm like that. The alarm going off could cause the crowd to react negatively, and the entire aquarium could plunge into absolute chaos.
Jo Gyu-Min was not confident about safely guiding the kids outside in that kind of environment. At the very least, he must wait until every Seongsim kid had been evacuated from the premises or they were very close to the exit before tripping the alarm.
‘The aquarium’s pamphlet!’
Jo Gyu-Min remembered the pamphlet he received at the entrance. He yanked out the crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and looked at the simplified map on it. He grimaced and bit his lower lip.
‘Dammit, I can’t tell!’
They were almost at the exit. However, with how large this aquarium was, Jo Gyu-Min couldn't be sure if they were near enough for him to feel confident about tripping the alarm. From the map, he deduced that they still had about seven to eight hundred meters to go. That was how much of the twisty tunnels and passageways they still had left to negotiate.
Such a distance should be eminently doable for one person. However, considering over thirty kids had to cover that distance, the destination still seemed so far away.
‘Should I trip it now?’
Or should Jo Gyu-Min lead the kids outside first?
Just as Jo Gyu-Min mulled over this agonizing decision, Han Jin-Seong hurriedly tugged at his side.
“What are you doing, Chief Jo!”
“M-mm?”
“Hurry and trip the alarm!”
Jo Gyu-Min dazedly stared at Han Jin-Seong.
The boy continued to yell back. “We gotta get these people out of here too, right!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Something welled up inside Jo Gyu-Min just then.
Han Jin-Seong was not an idiot. He wasn’t just an immature little kid, either. He must’ve realized that all these people rushing toward the exit would endanger himself and the Seongsim kids.
Even then, he was still advocating for the option of tripping the alarm. Jo Gyu-Min couldn’t help but see himself as too cunning for his own good for wasting time weighing his options until now.
‘Bloody hell... What the hell have I been worrying about until now?!’
He felt ashamed. He was supposed to be the adult here, yet a teenage boy knew better than him!
“Listen, Jin-Seong.”
“Yes, Chief Jo!”
“I know it won’t be easy. But you gotta keep pushing forward and make way for everyone, okay?”
“I will!”
“I'll be right at the back to watch if anyone falls behind. You understand what I'm talking about, don't you?”
“I do! Don’t worry and leave it to me, Chief Jo!” Han Jin-Seong urgently nodded.
Jo Gyu-Min squeezed the boy’s shoulder hard, enough to cause a bit of discomfort. Then, he urgently pushed Han Jin-Seong’s back. “Good! Hurry and leave!”
“Okay!”
Han Jin-Seong began breaking through the wall of human bodies and ran ahead with the Seongsim kids in tow. Jo Gyu-Min watched this scene for a second or two before hurriedly dashing toward the hydrant built into the wall. After reaching his destination, however...
Jo Gyu-Min began frowning deeply.
‘Dammit! What am I supposed to do here?’
If only he knew things would turn out this way! Jo Gyu-Min would've paid more attention during the fire drill. Then again, how was he supposed to predict his future?
‘Am I supposed to press this thing?’
Jo Gyu-Min’s heavy panting gradually subsided, and his eyes began regaining their focus. And that was when he spotted the words ‘Press Here Strongly In Case Of Fire’ right above the clear acrylic panel.
‘This must be it!’
However, just before Jo Gyu-Min could press that button...!
KA-BOOOOOOOOM!
A massive ear-crushing noise of something crumbling down deafened him mere moments before the entire aquarium began quaking ominously.
“What the hell! Talk about crappy timing!”
Jo Gyu-Min unhesitantly depressed the button. Almost at the same time, a loud screeching siren went off in the aquarium's speakers.
With that, the once-peaceful interior of the aquarium was instantly submerged in screams of terror.