ebookland Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Chapter 43
I thought about Kang Soo-Jung and Yoo Geum-yi as I climbed the stairs, pausing to rest, then climbing some more. Objectively or subjectively, they are good people. I can’t go on suspecting everyone around me. Of course, there are people who live like that. But I couldn’t be that type of person. My mental fortitude is not strong enough to constantly live with that kind of stress.
I have to be thankful for the goodwill they extended to me at that time, and believe it was genuine. I didn’t want to flounder in a swamp of distrust, whose depth I couldn’t even measure. Seo Jihyuk’s opinion has been quite helpful. But if Seo Jihyuk were to... Never mind.
“Geum-yi!”
“...Yes.”
A feeble voice answered from a distance. As I climbed the stairs, I could see Yoo Geum-yi’s dark figure, hunched over like a zombie. The distance between us was probably around 20 steps. She wouldn’t go down anymore, whether someone ahead or behind her called. She would just rest and wait for people below to catch up and, if someone above called, ascend with a sigh. Efficient, indeed. I took a deep breath after observing her sluggish movement, swaying like a kite in the wind.
“How many steps have you climbed?”
“...I’m standing on the 3025th step. There may be a margin of error of plus or minus 10 steps.”
We’ve rested a total of five times so far, and 3000 steps? Yoo Geum-yi and Baek Ae-Young must have really climbed 450 steps each before taking a break, or perhaps actually 500-600 steps. No wonder it felt so exhausting. There’s nothing to see in the darkness, so it’s easy to be deceived. I wished they had lied and said we were on the 4000th step. ...Humans are so deceitful. Or rather, I am so deceitful.
“I thought we had only crossed about 2000 steps.”
“We still have over 1300 steps left.”
“But we’ve passed the halfway point.”
Like me, Seo Jihyuk panted as he spoke.
“I swear I’ll never use stairs again. Once my legs recover, I’m going to live in an elevator. Seriously.”
“Sounds good. I don’t want to leave my lab either. I’m tired of stairs.”
Shin Haeryang, who had been listening to Yoo Geum-yi, checked his watch and said, “We haven’t lost much time.”
“How long did it take?”
“About 40 minutes.”
“Is that fast or slow?”
“...Considering the number of people, we’re making good time.”
I nodded, unseen in the darkness. If this taciturn man isn’t saying that we’re all doomed, things must be okay. Seo Jihyuk unleashed a string of expletives. His complaint mainly centered around how his knees hurt so much, he wished he could make the person who shot him feel three times the pain. I almost tripped laughing at his claim of refraining from doing so because he was such a wonderful person. To be exact, I missed a step.
“Huh?”
The moment I started to lean, Seo Jihyuk put his arm around my shoulder. Seo Jihyuk himself was being supported by Shin Haeryang, so both caught me simultaneously. One of my feet was completely off the ground, but they pulled me back with incredible speed by holding onto my shoulders and arms, preventing me from falling into the darkness.
After instructing Seo Jihyuk and me to stay close to the wall, Shin Haeryang inspected the ground with his flashlight. Upon closer inspection, the width of the step I was on had narrowed by 2-3 cm compared to the previous steps. Baek Ae-young and Yoo Geum-yi, who were ahead of us, were walking down the middle of the stairs. In the dark, it would have been hard to notice the difference of a few centimeters.
“Doc, that was a close one.”
“It was risky. ...Thank you, both of you.”
Shin Haeryang furrowed his brow as he looked at the stairs.
“Shall we walk on the outer edge? It will be safer.”
“Yes, originally it’s a set of two.”
I felt a shiver down my spine. Could it be that I was wearing one of a couple’s set? Surely not.
“Is the other one currently being worn by your significant other or something?”
An ambiguous voice floated in the darkness.
“Um...No, the other one is mine.”
It was the first time I’d ever heard Shin Haeryang respond so ambiguously. Damn it.
“I’ll give it back right away. My God, why would I be wearing this when you should be giving it to your loved one?”
“...There would be no issue since they have passed away.”
In a calm voice, my neck, now adorned with a necklace, felt somewhat relieved. It seemed that Seo Jihyuk, who was silently standing in the darkness, didn’t expect this sort of explanation either. Seo Jihyuk withdrew the hand he had rested on me, scratched the back of his head vigorously, and then spoke.
“No, I thought you were going to give a brief explanation as to why you made it visible in the dark.”
“...You asked for a detailed explanation.”
“I’m fully awake now.”
“Jihyuk-ssi, were you dozing off?”
“Let’s keep climbing the stairs in the dark. Do you not feel sleepy?”
He says that, yet he makes a ruckus in this situation; is he implying that he’s sleepy?
“I don’t feel sleepy.”
“Then it seems you and I have different constitutions.”
And then there was silence. I felt as though the weightless necklace suddenly became heavy. In the dark, it felt as if some woman was glaring at me, which sent shivers down my spine. I’ve come to realize for the first time that I’m such a coward; I had never noticed it before. So I asked Shin Haeryang.
“Right now, wearing this on my neck feels like a tremendous burden.”
“Oh.”
“If it’s not rude, may I ask how that person passed away? I can’t see anything in front of me, and I feel like I might trip with every step. I just want to return it. If it’s a difficult question, please ignore it.”
“Three years ago, that person was swept away by a sudden rush of water in a stream while out playing in the water with friends.”
“Ah... May the deceased rest in peace.”
“Yes. I also believe so.”
As Shin Haeryang quietly ascended the stairs, I felt so uncomfortable that I thought I’d turn back. Seo Jihyuk seemed to feel the same way. He was quietly ascending the stairs when he suddenly slapped Shin Haeryang on the back and spoke.
“Come on, you need to explain this in more detail. Team leader, your communication skills are severely lacking.”
“...Suddenly, I strongly agree with Jihyuk-ssi’s words.”