4
# Chapter 4
The damp sea breeze brushed against the tip of Im Seok-ho’s nose.
He firmly tightened the laces of his heavy safety boots before pushing open the door of the temporary shelter from the outside.
The storm that had pounded against the sandwich panels all night as if it would tear them apart had vanished without a trace.
The sky had taken on a clear blue hue, as though nothing had happened, but the traces left behind by the wind and rain were evident throughout Haewoldo.
“Damn, what a crazy weather.”
Seok-ho clicked his tongue as he looked at the grass, which had grown up to his waist and was now flattened against the ground.
He moved toward the summit of the island, casually kicking aside broken branches with his safety boots.
He had come to inspect the abandoned lighthouse, the source of the massive collapse that had shaken the ground the previous night.
The slope had turned into a muddy path.
If he had not cleared the way beforehand with a brush cutter, he would not even have dared attempt the climb.
After struggling to regain his footing whenever he slipped, he climbed for about ten minutes before a tall white structure came into view atop the steep cliff.
It was the abandoned lighthouse once guarded by Haewoldo’s last lighthouse keeper, Choi Deok-mun.
“The exterior walls are still intact.”
Seok-ho caught his breath while examining the lighthouse’s exterior.
Contrary to his expectation that the structure might have been blown away by the strong winds, the thick concrete pillars remained firmly in place.
The rusty iron door blocking the entrance and the heavy padlock were also untouched.
However, as he approached, the true cause of the deafening noise from the previous night became clear.
“The bottom collapsed.”
The cement floor directly in front of the iron door, which should have been flat, had caved in.
It appeared that the rebar, corroded by years of exposure to waves and salt, had been unable to withstand the weight and had collapsed.
A pitch-black hole yawned open between the sharply cracked pieces of concrete.
Seok-ho took a small flashlight from his pocket and shone it inside the hole.
An old metal staircase twisted downward into the darkness.
“There was a basement?”
The space had not appeared at all in the blueprints or auction documents.
Seok-ho pondered for a moment before turning around.
No matter how curious he was, entering a basement at risk of collapse without any equipment was the kind of madness that had to be avoided above all else at an underwater survey site.
He quickly returned to the temporary shelter and searched through his belongings.
He gathered a safety helmet, thick rope, a crowbar, and a waterproof bag.
He also carefully put on a dust mask to protect his breathing.
Once he was standing in front of the lighthouse again, Seok-ho firmly tied the rope around the edge of the collapsed hole.
It was a lifeline in case the deteriorated staircase broke apart.
“All right. Let’s go.”
Using the crowbar, he carefully knocked the rotten pieces of wood and chunks of cement precariously resting around the hole, sending them tumbling down.
It was a precaution to prevent any further collapse.
After waiting for the dust to settle, Seok-ho gripped the rope and slowly lowered himself.
Creeeak.
Whenever his weight shifted onto a step, the metal staircase emitted an irritable metallic screech.
As he descended one step at a time, relying on the flashlight, a hot, musty smell of mold pierced through the mask’s filter and rushed into his nose.
His feet finally touched the floor.
Seok-ho switched on the headlamp attached to his safety helmet and looked around the space. His eyes widened.
“What is all this?”
This was not merely a storage room for stacked supplies.
The wooden shelves arranged along the walls were packed tightly with all kinds of miscellaneous items.
Wrenches with worn-down handles, broken screwdrivers, and old radios with peeling paint.
Even to Seok-ho, who had spent more than ten years working at a marine surveying company, they were incredibly outdated pieces of equipment.
A wide desk made of thick plywood stood in the middle of the room.
Seok-ho cautiously approached and examined its surface.
Nautical charts of the sea surrounding Haewoldo, seemingly drawn by hand, were neatly stacked on top of one another.
The paper had turned yellow with age, and the edges were crumbling, but the charts were filled with detailed records of the reefs around the island and the direction of the currents.
“Are these records left behind by Grandpa Choi Deok-mun?”
Seok-ho lowered his dust mask slightly and opened a thick file stacked on one side of the desk.
Handwritten words, pressed firmly into the paper with a ballpoint pen, caught his eye.
July 12, 1984. Typhoon approaching. One fishing boat ran aground. Only wooden debris washed ashore.
September 3, 1988. An oil slick discovered near the eastern reef. No personal belongings recovered.
They were records of shipwreck accidents collected over several decades.
The entries were neatly organized by date, and most concerned ordinary maritime accidents or debris that had drifted in from the sea.
However, what immediately captured Seok-ho’s attention was the large nautical chart spread out in the center of the desk.
The waters surrounding Haewoldo were drawn on the chart, but one particular location had been circled in red ink.
Seok-ho brought the flashlight closer.
Beside the red circle, a small line of crooked handwriting had been written.
Black Rock, the day when the water reaches its lowest point.
“The day when the water reaches its lowest point?”
Seok-ho stroked his chin as he searched his memory.
It clearly referred to the spring tide, when the difference between high and low tide was greatest and the sea level fell enough to expose the seabed.
The location marked in red was near the western cliffs of Haewoldo.
It was a harsh area that faced the waves coming directly from the open sea. Under normal conditions, the current was so rough that even bringing a boat close was difficult.
Could there be a coastal cave beneath the western cliff that only becomes visible during low tide?
If so, it was a place that ordinary fishermen and anglers could never approach.
It was a location that only the lighthouse keeper, who had observed Haewoldo’s currents and terrain throughout his life, could have known about.
Seok-ho pulled open one of the desk drawers.
With a creak, the drawer opened to reveal a wooden box covered in a thick layer of dust.
When he lifted the lid, he found a small object resting on an old piece of cloth.
“A key.”
Seok-ho picked up a key about the length of two finger joints.
Despite the passage of so many years, it was a brass key that had not developed the distinctive green patina of copper.
He placed it on his palm and shone the flashlight over it. Faint numbers were engraved on the handle.
47.
“047? There’s a number stamped on it.”
Judging by the key’s sturdy appearance, it seemed less like something used to lock an ordinary door and more like an object meant to open a strong safe or chest.
The red mark on the nautical chart and the brass key quickly became connected in Seok-ho’s mind.
Something is hidden in the western coastal cave, and this key is a clue to opening it.
A pleasant excitement began to rise from somewhere deep in his chest.
It was a raw thrill, completely different from the bitter feeling he had experienced when he was discarded after being treated like a replaceable part at the company.
The rotten uninhabited island he had purchased for 260 million won was gradually revealing its true face.
Seok-ho adjusted his headlamp and carefully inspected the basement once more.
The only things he could take with him immediately were the nautical charts, the accident records, and the key.
“Let’s take these records first.”
Seok-ho carefully slipped the notebook and charts into the waterproof bag he had brought.
He pushed the brass key deep into the inner pocket of his work clothes so he would not lose it, then fastened the zipper.
The lighthouse basement was so precarious that it would not have been surprising if it collapsed at any moment.
Now that he had accomplished his purpose, the best course of action was to leave without hesitation.
Seok-ho gripped the rope and cautiously climbed the metal staircase.
When he emerged outside, the fresh morning air cooled his sweat-covered forehead.
With the waterproof bag slung over his shoulder, Seok-ho looked toward the western side of the island.
The sound of waves crashing beyond the cliff reached him from far away.
“If I go in there without any equipment, I probably won’t even be able to recover my bones.”
Exploring a coastal cave or the area beneath a cliff required more than just one or two preparations.
A drone to examine the underwater terrain was essential, as were safety devices capable of withstanding the currents.
Above all, recklessly charging in alone without any equipment would be a foolish act of underestimating the sea.
“I should head back to the mainland and set up the equipment first.”
Seok-ho took out his smartphone and checked the screen.
The icon indicating that there was still no network service remained visible.
Making the temporary shelter in the middle of the island usable was his priority, but he desperately wanted to uncover the identity of that red mark immediately.
“There’s no need to rush. This island belongs to me now.”
This was an exploration from which he had nowhere to run.
Seok-ho removed his safety helmet and tucked it under his arm before beginning to descend the slope.
Even though he nearly slipped in the mud, a foolish smile spread across his lips.
By noon, the waves had calmed down as if by magic.
Seok-ho roughly gathered his belongings, went down to the pier, and started the boat’s engine.
Put-put-put.
The diesel engine awakened with a cheerful rattling sound.
As the boat left Haewoldo and headed toward the mainland, Seok-ho repeatedly glanced at the nautical chart spread out beside one side of the steering wheel.
As soon as he arrived at the harbor of the fishing village, Seok-ho headed straight toward the place where he had parked his truck.
Park Seong-cheol, who had been sitting on a harbor bench repairing a fishing net, spotted him and raised his hand high.
“Oh, young boss! You made it back alive!”
Seok-ho grinned as he moored the boat and tied the rope.
“I thought the waves were going to blow away the entire island yesterday.”
“I knew something like that would happen. There’s no reception out there, either. You must’ve been scared to death spending the whole night there. I heard the guys who went to work had already run back to the mainland.”
“Being alone was actually pretty nice and peaceful. By the way, Elder, is there a cave or something near the western cliffs of Haewoldo?”
Park Seong-cheol’s hands paused.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and studied Seok-ho’s expression.
“A cave? Why are you asking about that place? That’s a cursed stretch of sea where the waves rage like mad. During low tide, you can sometimes see a wide-open hole beneath the rocks, but plenty of people have taken their boats there and ended up capsized.”
The fisherman’s testimony matched the records on the nautical chart exactly.
“When the water recedes during low tide, can someone walk inside the cave?”
“Are you crazy? Walk inside? Where do you think you’re going to walk? The inside of that cave is completely filled with water, so even divers avoid it. The current swirls around, and once someone gets sucked in, they say you can’t even find the body!”
Park Seong-cheol waved his hands angrily.
“If you bought Haewoldo to run a fishing pension, just stick around the pier and don’t even look toward the western cliffs. You need to know that your life is precious.”
“Ah, yes. I was just curious, so I asked.”
Seok-ho nodded casually and climbed into the driver’s seat of his truck.
A submerged cave completely filled with water.
It was fairly difficult terrain.
If he went in wearing only ordinary scuba equipment, he would likely be swept away by the current and slammed into the walls.
As he started the truck, Seok-ho quickly compiled a list of the equipment he would need in his mind.
An underwater drone and a high-resolution sonar system to examine the dangerous terrain in advance, along with exploration equipment for emergencies.
Fortunately, these were all items he had handled almost daily at the marine surveying company, so he knew their specifications and price ranges like the back of his hand.
“If I use up the severance pay I have left, I should be able to get a used drone.”
Seok-ho shifted gears and drove the truck out of the harbor.
Throughout the journey toward the city, his fingertips kept fidgeting with the brass key inside his inner pocket.
Black Rock, the day when the water reaches its lowest point.
There were only a few days left until the next spring tide when he would return to Haewoldo.
He had to finish making all the necessary preparations by then.
The truck rattled along the coastal road.
The sea breeze entering through the gap in the window was unusually sweet today.