GB 67

He’s someone who appears almost supernaturally before anything happens, as if sensing something. The executive officer responded casually. But since he didn’t actually do his work carelessly, Yoon Moo-hwa could entrust the bridge to him.

Especially at times like this, it was fortunate to have someone trustworthy.

His concentration was scattered. It was fine for now, but this couldn’t continue until they crossed into the next sea zone.

Wasn’t this expected from the beginning?

That he would be somewhat shaken from the moment Haero boarded his ship.

“Hyung, you remember everything too, don’t you?”

The voice of a stranger whose face and name he couldn’t even remember mixed with Haero’s voice he had heard on the outer deck just moments ago.

‘Do I remember?

Of course.

I’ve never forgotten for a moment.’

About 29 hours before entering the Red zone.

Current position on the sea chart: Safe zone.

But Yoon Moo-hwa knows. That safety is a relative concept. There’s no absolutely safe zone. For Yoon Moo-hwa, right now it is the Red zone.

* * *

It took a little while for news of the swim call to reach Haero’s ears. After the ship’s cleaning was finished, operation training followed, and Haero had to participate in that as well.

As soon as the ship-wide announcement signaling the end of training finished, a new sergeant who had played the role of an injured soldier asked, “Isn’t this your first swim call, Lieutenant?”

“Swim call?”

He had heard of it. It’s when they stop the ship and give the sailors a kind of free time. Of course, while maintaining precautions against sharks or sea monsters that might appear.

Since long-term operations themselves were hard to endure if one hated or feared the sea, naturally, the sailors of such fleets tended to like water. In their own way.

No matter how large the space, how nice would it be to jump into the sea after living cramped together in the densely packed ship? Now he could understand the strangely excited atmosphere that had flowed even during training.

While organizing his tools, Haero nodded. “It’s my first time.”

“It’s quite fun. It’s also a luxury that can only be done when there’s enough water to wash off the salt water.”

Though less frequent than before, sometimes the prepared water falls below the appropriate amount. While seawater could be purified for use, in cases where the pollution level of that seawater was dangerous, it would take longer or be impossible altogether, making water a precious luxury to be enjoyed when available.

“Do officers participate too?”

“Of course. After all, even if they’re officers, we’re not on land. On a ship, what’s the problem with mixing with the sailors?”

Compared to the army or air force, the navy had a much higher proportion of officers. Moreover, spending long periods together in confined spaces tended to make everyone quite close.

Haero thought of one person he had been close to, wanted to be close to again, and wanted to be intensely close to in a different sense.

But soon he shook his head and smirked.

While it’s true that Yoon Moo-hwa had treated him kindly and specially, this is a public space. Moreover, he doesn’t show such personal sides to him now. He couldn’t even imagine him taking off his clothes, jumping into the sea, and swimming together.

‘No, actually, I could imagine it.’

Haero grinned with a somewhat smug expression.

‘I even know what Yoon Moo-hwa’s thing looks like.’

While having these bold, even audacious thoughts, Haero firmly locked all the cabinets. Then, suddenly curious, he asked, “You absolutely can’t do things like swim calls in the ‘Red’ zone, right?”

“Oh my. Of course not. Sea monsters are already a problem, but there are too many dangerous factors to jump into the sea for trivial times like a swim call. As sea surface temperatures rise, jellyfish populations have exploded, and in the case of new species of jellyfish, they’re not only highly venomous but also reproduce at an incredible rate. Filtering them out is also part of our job.”

“Filter them out? How?”

The sergeant opened his eyes wide, then grinned. Then he waved his hands wildly in the air. “We grind and burst them.”

“Wouldn’t that… attract other sea monsters to eat the remains?”

At least, that’s what Haero had learned in the marine biology lectures he took in his first year.

“Ah. That’s how they used to be trained, but things have changed recently. Those creatures have developed a taste for human feces and flesh, so they’re no longer satisfied with such small fry.” He added nonchalantly, “Evolution is quite fast, isn’t it?”

Haero vaguely agreed, then carefully probed. He couldn’t hold back. “I can’t imagine the captain or vice captain participating in a swim call.”

He thought he asked naturally, but to others it seemed rather abrupt. Everyone except Haero exchanged puzzled looks for a moment he didn’t notice.

But it’s understandable to be curious about your first swim call.

“Have you seen it…?”

Soon the medical officer seemed to recall something and clapped his hands, saying, “I think I’ve seen it once. Not on this ship, but before he was promoted to rear admiral. I remember we were a bit excited then, knowing it would be the last swim call before he transferred, as he was about to be promoted.”

“So did he skip it?!”

Haero almost blurted out, “Did Yoon Moo-hwa skip it?!” 

His eyes were sparkling, making him look like a young man in his early twenties. Though he was still young.

Seeing this, the petty officer felt a bit fond, as if looking at his own son or youngest, and explained in more detail, “Back then, it was really like… a celebration party. Some guys even jumped in completely naked. I remember the captain jumping in wearing only his underwear. At that time…”

The petty officer closed his mouth, seemingly reluctant to talk about his superior’s private parts.

Haero could guess the unfinished part and felt a bit deflated.

‘I thought I was the only one who knew…’

He wasn’t naive enough to think there had been no one else with him. After all, that lavender scent still seemed to linger in his nose. Still, he felt a bit disappointed.

“It’s so cheap. Only expensive for me.” Haero muttered sullenly. 

Fortunately, no one heard it, as it was drowned out by the ship’s ambient noise.

* * *

They had almost completely shut down the ship’s engines. The ship, running on minimal power just for internal circulation and operation, gave the pleasant illusion of being on a cruise ship rather than a warship.

Turning off the engines wasn’t that unusual. Sometimes it’s better to shut them down when encountering a severe typhoon.

Today, however, they had simply moved early to a very calm sea area, away from the region where storms were forecast.

Yoon Moo-hwa’s ship wasn’t as huge as an aircraft carrier the size of a small island, but it was large enough to be comparable to a light aircraft carrier. If you had to compare, it was about the size of a large reef. The ship housed one patrol boat, three lifeboats, and even a small amphibious vehicle. By opening the lower deck doors to lower these and setting up buoys to mark the boundaries, everyone except those on watch for potential dangers like sharks or seawater intrusion could jump into the sea.

“Aren’t you going in?!” Someone who had already taken a dip asked Haero.

Haero also wanted to dive into the sea right away. However, he couldn’t completely ignore the tattoo on his shoulder.

He had taped it with thick, strongly adhesive scar-covering tape that wouldn’t easily change color or come off, but…

“The water temperature is perfect today. Sharks rarely appear here. We often visit this place for swim calls, and it’s not too deep, so you can see coral just by going down a little.”

Coral.

Haero pressed his lips tightly.

It was the reason he insisted on night swimming in the sea when he was Number 8, despite adults’ objections. Looking back, he seemed to have been a stubborn character who didn’t listen well from the start. He thought Yoon Moo-hwa must have had quite a hard time raising him.

And now too.

Even now, Haero wanted to jump into the sea.

It was too tempting.

“What if a sailor gets hurt and I need to attend to them?”

“Those gloomy guys standing over there are supposed to alert us if a giant shark suddenly appears. Don’t worry. We don’t have the kind of men on our ship who would run crying to the infirmary just because they got scraped by seawater.”

Well then… just for a little while.

Coincidentally, the medical corpsman also remained in the infirmary, saying he swam but didn’t particularly enjoy it.

Haero finally succumbed to the temptation and started undressing. He placed his clothes neatly next to the pile of uniforms. There was even a guy completely naked despite it not being a party atmosphere. Underwear was decent in comparison, and no one was foolish enough to jump in wearing their uniform.

Haero, half-naked, took a deep breath.

He loved this act of filling his lungs with oxygen, puffing up his chest as if it were the last breath before plunging into the water.

Haero threw himself into the sea with a smile on his face.

“…”

And as if waiting for Haero to throw himself in, not long after he disappeared into the seawater, Yoon Moo-hwa appeared.

In the relaxed atmosphere, Yoon Moo-hwa waved off the salutes from the sailors and slowly walked to the edge of the ship.

He stopped in front of the clothes Haero had neatly folded.