GB 104

The description was so vivid that one could almost feel the salty smell floating in the dawn air, the damp sea fog, the atmosphere that made bodies droop, and that cold wind said to penetrate to the bone.

“But there! The guy standing there was wearing the blue work uniform we don’t use anymore! I thought that was strange, so I approached him, and he actually asked me, ‘Aren’t you Deck Chief Shin?’ I said, ‘No, I’m Deck Chief Choi. Who are you?’ Then he suddenly started mumbling.”

Haero glanced at the turtle ship engraved on the deck chief’s button and leaned forward a bit more.

“From that moment, my spine went ice cold. It’s different from the Antarctic wind, you know. My spine went cold, but sweat started pouring down, and then I became certain. Ah, this isn’t human. But my feet wouldn’t move. I knew I had to turn back, but as I entered, I looked more closely at his face…”

The officers who had already heard the story just threw cards on the table with thuds and chewed macadamia nuts. Only the sounds of munching and cards overlapping broke the silence. 

As the tension peaked and everyone focused on the story held their breath, the deck chief lowered his voice significantly and said, “The guy had no face. His skin was peeled off. With no eyelids, only pale eyeballs were visible, and the moment I saw them, everything went black.”

“Didn’t you just faint?”

“No, kid. My feet felt welded to the ship, wouldn’t budge, and the guy started coming toward me with heavy footsteps. You can’t imagine how eerie that wet shoe sound was. He kept getting closer, body soaking wet, skin peeled off up to the neck with only hair barely hanging on. I thought I was done for. Want to know how I survived? Huh? How did I survive?”

A lieutenant sitting next to Haero raised his hand. “Did you shout ‘Ghost-busting Marines’?”

“You crazy fool. That slogan is from ages ago.” Someone burst out laughing. 

The deck chief grinned, raised his hand, held up his index and middle fingers, pretended to smoke a cigarette, and even mimicked tapping off ash.

“I told you I was smoking. It had burned all the way down to my fingers. When I jumped up yelling ‘Ouch, hot!’ I suddenly came to my senses and felt a sharp pain in my side. I realized I had been sidestepping toward the edge of the deck. One more step and I would have fallen straight into the sea. I truly understood what it meant to be enchanted by a water ghost.”

“Did the ghost disappear?” Haero asked. He was curious about the cause of death since having one’s facial skin peeled off wouldn’t necessarily be fatal. Was it due to bleeding?

“I found out later that on a day with rough waves, there was a kid who was taken along when a deck chief went to smoke. The kid didn’t smoke but got caught up in it unfairly. It was a day when even the people on watch were told to come inside because the waves were so strong, but what was so special about that cigarette? The deck chief who brought the kid survived, but the kid barely managed to hang onto the railing when, unfortunately, a vampire octopus appeared, wrapped around his face, and yanked him away. That’s why his facial skin…”

“Let’s stop with these disturbing stories. That’s just a rumor. There are no reported incidents related to it.” Yoon Moo-hwa, who had entered without anyone noticing, cut off the story.

Everyone stood up at once, but Yoon Moo-hwa waved them down. He looked around and called for Haero, “Medical Officer. I heard there was a sailor who lost a toenail yesterday, but I haven’t received any report. I need to hear about it.”

There was no one who had lost a toenail. Haero, who remembered all medical records, couldn’t have missed it. Nevertheless, Haero immediately stood up and followed Yoon Moo-hwa out. 

As they left, they could hear the deck chief asking, “So what’s the moral of this story?” and someone answering playfully, “Is it to smoke cigarettes?”

Once the door closed, even that couldn’t be heard anymore.

The ship was heading down toward Antarctica. The wind had definitely become stronger. 

Looking at the dark sea through the window, Haero asked Yoon Moo-hwa “Is it really just a rumor?”

Yoon Moo-hwa turned his head toward the window Haero was looking at. The reflections of the two men in the window exchanged glances. Without confirming or denying, Yoon Moo-hwa quietly smiled.

At that moment, Haero felt a chill run down his spine and goosebumps rising, so he instinctively reached out and grabbed Yoon Moo-hwa. He felt solid and warm. And he smelled of pencil.

“Every ship has stories like that. About someone committing suicide on a vessel, or getting swept away by waves while smoking, or being crushed while moving torpedoes.”

“S-so is it true?” 

“Sometimes it’s better not to know the ending of a story.”

Yoon Moo-hwa led Haero into the captain’s quarters. Once they were alone, Haero wrapped his arms around himself, rubbing and shivering.

“Scared?” 

“Wouldn’t you be?” 

“More than the monster angler fish we saw yesterday? There are many worse creatures out there. I heard that near the Arctic Ocean, when icebreakers were still operating, there were even more terrifying things—like unknown sea creatures with bodies so long they looked like train tracks. Some people call it Leviathan. Whether legend or ghost story, as long as there’s someone to pass on the tale and someone to be frightened by it, anything can become real. So, about the person with the missing toenail?”

Yoon Moo-hwa sat in a chair and held out one arm toward Haero. Haero approached with a grumble, allowing Yoon Moo-hwa to wrap his arm around Haero’s waist. Pulled by the force, he sat on Yoon Moo-hwa’s thigh and deliberately answered stiffly.

“There isn’t one. Would I have missed noting that?” 

“Of course not. I would have scolded you. No duty today?” 

“No, sir.”

Sometimes it was hard to tell if he was genuinely asking or asking despite already knowing. Either way, Haero liked it when Yoon Moo-hwa asked him things, so he always answered without showing any sign of annoyance.

“So, are you busy right now?” 

At this suggestive question, Haero giggled softly. “I might get busy if there are injuries, but otherwise, wouldn’t that depend on the captain’s orders?” 

“I see.” Yoon Moo-hwa also laughed quietly. Then he tightened his arm, creating a gentle pressure around Haero’s waist. “Then you won’t be busy.”

His whispers were pleasant. Yoon Moo-hwa pressed his lips against Haero’s ear, nuzzling and biting. The gentle contact without the use of teeth made Haero feel like his entire body was melting.

Feeling Haero unconsciously fidgeting, Yoon Moo-hwa smiled awkwardly. Even as he felt his reason threatened by Haero, he continued writing in his log with one hand.

“Shouldn’t I be looking at that?” 

“It’s a personal record, and there’s hardly anything that counts as military secrets. Weather isn’t classified, you know.”

As he said, Yoon Moo-hwa was writing his diary using substitute words only he knew and understood, excluding details like exact locations. The contents were nearly indecipherable.

Haero also kept a medical log every day—who came in, who received prescriptions, which injuries occurred where and why, and what treatments were given. His personal feelings were excluded from this. Even in his personal diary, Haero rarely wrote about his emotions. Feelings were his alone. And since Haero never forgot his own heart, he didn’t feel the need to record it.

A moment of silence passed. Then, as if it had randomly occurred to him, Yoon Moo-hwa asked, “How many people on board have had seasickness surgery?” 

“Four.” Haero answered automatically. He was idly handling the ruler and pencils on Yoon Moo-hwa’s desk. 

“It was three. Did one of the new crew members have that surgery?” 

“Yes.”

Haero’s hands momentarily froze as he realized he had answered without thinking. He had almost revealed that he had undergone the surgery himself.

But he couldn’t fool Yoon Moo-hwa. The captain keenly noticed Haero’s brief hesitation and strongly suspected that Haero was the new crew member who had the surgery.

Ear surgery was a sensitive matter. When sonar was used on ships, it could cause ear pain, and when one’s condition suddenly deteriorated, it could affect the lymph nodes. Strong advantages came with strong disadvantages. Just like his eyes.

“…Haero, come to think of it, didn’t you get seasick?”

It would have been better if they had been standing apart, but Haero happened to be sitting on Yoon Moo-hwa’s lap. Because their bodies were pressed together, Yoon Moo-hwa could feel even the slightest tension.

Tap. 

Yoon Moo-hwa put down the pencil he was holding. Then he leaned back, causing Haero’s body to sway along with his. “Since when have you stopped getting seasick?”

After a brief silence, Haero spoke as if making light of it, “How long have I been on ships now? I should have stopped by now. I did get seasick at first.” 

“Haero.” 

“Really.”

Yoon Moo-hwa slowly examined Haero from behind. Outside, the sun was setting. With no mountains or buildings to block the view, the sun over the sea was particularly dazzling. In that sunlight that shattered into pieces and seemed to burn everything around them, Yoon Moo-hwa saw the fine hairs on Haero’s nape standing slightly.

Yoon Moo-hwa narrowed his eyes. The veins and tendons in his hand bulged as he gripped the armrest of the chair.

At that moment, Haero abruptly stood up. 

“Stay right there, Lieutenant.”