GB 65

At the morning briefing, all the officers gathered and sat down. Despite only a few days since setting sail, the atmosphere had quickly become harmonious. Haero also engaged in light conversation. Yet, beneath the table, his hands anxiously clenched and unclenched.

“The captain is entering.”

At that voice, a now-familiar thud sensation sent shivers through his entire body.

Everyone stood up. As a newly appointed officer, Haero was seated in the middle of the table. More experienced officers sat behind Haero, leaning against the wall and stifling yawns. They were on night duty yesterday.

“At ease.” Yoon Moo-hwa briefly returned their salutes and looked around the room. 

Haero’s gaze naturally followed him. For days, Yoon Moo-hwa hadn’t looked in his direction once. They hadn’t even accidentally encountered each other on the ship. They had brushed past each other, but that wasn’t enough.

Haero hoped for the captain’s gaze to reach him. And when Yoon Moo-hwa’s eyes finally came his way, he withdrew his gaze as quickly as if looking at a stranger. How lightly and indifferently he turned his head. Despite thinking he had prepared and trained well for the captain’s cold treatment, at that moment, Haero felt his heart sink.

‘It’s okay. This much is fine.’

Haero knew how wrong his actions towards Yoon Moo-hwa had been just before he left. He just didn’t feel guilty about it.

Even without guilt or regret, he knew that Yoon Moo-hwa might feel uncomfortable or displeased because of what he had done. In fact, he had hoped for it, for Yoon Moo-hwa to be uncomfortable around him.

If that’s why he was ignoring him, then he could ignore him as much as he wanted.

Instead, Haero stiffly raised his head and didn’t take his eyes off him. His right cheek must be quite itchy.

“From 1900 hours today, a 3-meter storm warning has been issued for the nearby area. We plan to be out of the area with no wind and wave forecast by that time, but stay alert just in case.” Yoon Moo-hwa briefed in a blunt tone that could almost be considered boring.

Next, the helmsman standing beside him explained their current position and where they would be entering at what time.

About 140 years ago, when the world was pointing guns at each other for the second time, the Atlantic was called the ‘Black Pit’. The vast empty space between where friendly air cover ended and where allied carrier-based aircraft could reach. This area, where only destroyers could be relied upon as aircraft carriers didn’t exist yet, was a space that both existed and didn’t exist.

How many merchant ships and warships sank in that vast sea, and how many U-boats exploded? Naval battles were said to be countless. With the development of aircraft carriers, the ‘Black Pit’ no longer showed its face, but after the Great Flood period, a considerable number were damaged or sunk, and many were abandoned due to high maintenance costs. As a result, the number of aircraft carriers decreased to countable on one hand, and now, while not black, it could be called a gray area. And it wasn’t just one or two places. A significant portion of the sea was like this.

‘Gray Pit’. This is what Yoon Moo-hwa’s operational area at the forefront was called.

“As summer approaches, the sea surface temperature has risen. Deep-sea temperatures have also increased, and there are predictions of underwater volcanic eruptions. Observations of small sea creatures’ movements in the deep sea have reported that they are ascending towards the surface. Medium to large sea creatures may follow the smaller ones, and with some northern hemisphere sea creatures entering breeding season and moving to the southern hemisphere, there’s a high possibility of sea creature appearances, so extra caution is needed. We have 35 hours left until entering the near-red zone.”

As the sea begins to boil, pirate activities might decrease slightly. They can’t risk facing sea creatures in this ocean for night-time plundering, so it’s more of a season for coastal vessels including maritime police rather than the navy. As coastal battles with pirates become more frequent, resentment towards them will sprout again, and discussions about pirate treatment, which had subsided, will boil up again with the unpleasant summer.

Anger and hatred bloomed and withered with the seasons. Summer was the best time for these two emotions to fester. The sour smell of emotions wafted from everywhere.

“Still, we can’t let our guard down against pirates. They’re developing their own technology, so every time we come out to sea, we face new ones.” Yoon Moo-hwa added.

Haero’s shoulder throbbed. He hadn’t removed the tattoo yet. He wanted to cover it rather than erase it. And he wanted Yoon Moo-hwa to choose the design.

“That’s all. Return to your positions and carry on.” Yoon Moo-hwa stood up without responding to Haero’s devoted and persistent gaze until the end.

Water sprinkled on the deck dried without a trace in no time. In the extremely hot weather, the sailors’ activity uniforms were quickly soaked with sweat. Haero too had his sleeves rolled up as he inspected the sickbay and the corridor in front of it.

The harsh heat and oppressive humidity were enough to make one’s head spin. As they approached the equator, special hygiene management was required, but due to poor ventilation, the strong smell of disinfectant lingered. Though not toxic to the body, it was enough to sting the nose and head. After thoroughly cleaning his area, Haero finally headed to the stern. He needed some fresh air.

“Whew…”

The calm, vast ocean that showed no signs of the 3-meter waves predicted for the evening. The blue and expansive view cleared Haero’s breathing.

While some might feel suffocated and fearful looking at this endless, distant mass of water, Haero did not. To him, this place was as familiar as home.

The weather made him want to dive in and swim right away. With 35 hours until the danger zone, they might contact nearby fleets and allow time for swimming by stopping the ship’s engines briefly.

Haero passed by the deck crew focused on their tasks and was about to return to the sickbay when he paused.

He wanted to see more of the ship. His hesitant steps turned not towards the interior but to the outer deck. As he slowly walked along the narrow outer deck, he heard the mischievous voices of sailors cleaning the searchlights above.

“He was clinging to the toilet yesterday. What’s he going to do with just 1-meter waves? They say it’ll be 3 meters tonight?”

“We’re screwed. Better get seasickness pills in advance. It’s a headache if they run out.”

While seasickness medication is the most stockpiled medicine on ships, it can still run out during a 6-month voyage. He had learned simple compounding methods in medical school. To serve on a ship, a doctor needed to know not only how to save lives but also how to make simple medications. No one who could only do one job could serve on a ship.

‘Although seasickness medication use drops rapidly at first, after about 3 months, the sailors adapt and usage stabilizes. Most are likely already adapted to long operations, and there aren’t many new recruits, so severe shortages of seasickness medication should be rare. Theoretically. But on days with rough waves like today…’

As Haero was calculating the medicine inventory, preparing for the sickbay threshold to wear down, he suddenly raised his head at a familiar and longed-for scent tickling his nose.

In the middle of the narrow outer deck passageway, he was there.

Even from behind, he could tell.

When he had been waiting and expecting, not even a strand of hair was visible, yet now, when his salt-soaked hair was tangled with sweat and his clothes were a mess, they met. And he wasn’t alone.

“Ah, of course, at a time like this.”

Haero bit his lip and quickly tidied himself up. His hands smelled of pungent disinfectant. But there was no time to go in and apply hand cream or anything.

Regardless of who else was around, Haero approached Yoon Moo-hwa.

He felt nervous. Once again, he adjusted his invisible appearance, swallowed hard, and called out to him.

“Brigadier General Yoon Moo-hwa.”

Having addressed him by his rank, not as ‘hyung’, he couldn’t ignore him. Moreover, there were still sailors above. Haero thought he might be too cowardly, but quickly dismissed the thought. Any opportunity was what you made of it. Only those with luxury could consider cowardice and justification in opportunities.

“I wanted to greet you separately but regretted not being able to find the chance.”

He put on airs. He approached as if nothing was wrong, as if he had leisure. He even pretended that his presence on this ship was purely coincidental and that, as Yoon Moo-hwa had said, he had forgotten everything now that they met again.

“Have you been well?”

Both sides of the outer deck became busy. They were probably organizing cargo, to clean other areas.

Haero clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly.

He was nervous about how Yoon Moo-hwa would respond. He had imagined and dreamed of this reunion many times, but had never heard the answer.

Yoon Moo-hwa leaned his arms on the outer deck railing and looked at Haero. The salty wind blowing from behind him brushed Haero’s cheeks and hair.

“Ah.” Finally, Yoon Moo-hwa opened his mouth.