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### Chapter 1
The waters off Daepyeong-ri, Seogwipo-si, Jeju Island.
A shout rang out across the endless sea.
“Ajubang!”
The boy who had shouted was staring at the men fishing from the rocky shore in the distance.
“Ah, mister! I’m telling you, come out of there!”
Jang Hangil. He had dark, tanned skin and a build so large that it was hard to believe he was about to turn fifteen.
Waving his arms, he urged the men to get out of there.
The wind, the color of the seawater, the rolling waves. If Hangil’s instincts were right, those men were teetering
between life and death at that very moment.
“I said, come out!”
“Ah, kid, you don’t know what you’re talking about! This is a great spot for black porgy!”
The men swung their fishing rods vigorously. They had no intention of listening to Hangil.
“What good is a point? Those idiots need a good slap upside the head before they come to their senses.”
The waves pounded against the rocks, breaking into countless tiny splashes.
It was the warning sign of a swell. Every year, it claimed the lives of countless fishermen, earning it the name of
killer waves. Right now, those waves were opening and closing their mouths, ready to swallow someone whole.
“Land people never listen, even when they’re about to die.”
Hangil looked around before running toward one spot. The life jackets and tubes kept there were over that way. Preparing
for any possible emergency, he ran toward the emergency rescue box. At the same time, he did not forget to call the
Coast Guard.
“Yes, this is Hangil. Yeah. It’s fishermen again. They’re gonna get their heads smashed in if they stay there, so please
hurry. Where am I? Well...”
Saying that they would get their heads smashed in was not an exaggeration.
There were quite a few people who died after being swept away by waves while fishing from breakwaters or rocky shores.
Many died simply because they could not make it back to land, but some died in accidents before they could even do
anything.
They could get caught between the gaps in a breakwater and have their entire bodies crushed.
Or they could hit their heads against the rocks and lose consciousness on the spot.
About ten minutes passed.
The distant sound of a police siren finally began to reach them.
“Oh my, that kid called the police already.”
“Hey. What the hell did you call the police for?”
“We’re done. We’re done. Let’s get out of here.”
The fishermen casually gathered up their belongings. The three men seemed to be backing away from the rocky shore.
At least, that was what it looked like.
Until the accident happened.
A massive wave danced up and down before swinging its arm with tremendous force.
Crash!
The men disappeared.
A muffled cry escaped from somewhere.
“Ah, damn it! I knew this was gonna happen!”
That was when Hangil sprang into action.
The fifteen-year-old Jeju boy, Jang Hangil, rapidly closed the distance. Both his arms were loaded with rescue
equipment.
As he got closer, the sight before him was a complete mess. Two of the men were barely keeping themselves afloat,
desperately fighting against the currents that were trying to wrap themselves around their bodies.
The problem was that one of them was nowhere to be seen.
Hangil threw the tubes toward the two men and pulled them out. His forearms bulged in an instant as he hauled two grown
men toward the shore with tremendous strength.
“Where is he?”
“Over there, over there. I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Hangil frantically turned his head from side to side, searching for the missing fisherman.
The sound of the waves.
Amid that overwhelmingly familiar noise, he caught the sound of something splashing.
Without a moment of hesitation, Hangil jumped into the sea.
His body folded and then extended in a single motion. The momentum from his waist sent him shooting forward without
restraint, as though that had been his sole purpose.
A dolphin had dived into the sea.
“Mr. Kim! Did you find Mr. Kim?”
“That kid...”
The fishermen who had barely made it back to safety looked for their companion.
Following their pointing fingers, they saw Kim struggling desperately against the current to stay alive, with Hangil
beside him.
Hangil quickly approached Kim and threw a life ring toward him.
The life ring barely reached Kim’s fingertips before slipping away.
Hangil hesitated.
‘If I try to save that uncle, I might end up going down with him...’
A life hung in the balance, and every second counted.
Rescuing someone at sea was incredibly dangerous. Normally, a person on the verge of drowning would instinctively grab
hold of the rescuer who approached them and pull with all their strength.
It was not unusual for both people to be dragged underwater.
There were even cases where a struggle between the two resulted in the rescuer suffering a broken neck or shoulder.
“Sir! Relax! Stop using your strength!”
The answer was to relax.
By taking the strength out of his body, he could use the buoyancy of his lungs to stay afloat.
Hangil circled around Kim, shouting at him, but there was no way those words could reach someone in a state of panic.
Hangil remained calm and waited for the moment when the strength drained from Kim’s body.
The desperate movements gradually weakened.
Not yet.
Just a little longer.
He could hear the Coast Guard approaching.
‘Should I wait a little longer and pull him out safely?’
Just as Hangil was thinking that, Kim’s body slowly began to sink.
“Ah, that idiot!”
Hangil took a long breath at that exact moment.
Whoo-upp.
His dive began.
The instant he opened his eyes, the saltwater stabbed at them. It burned, and his vision blurred.
Pushing through the murky seawater, Hangil caught sight of a sinking figure.
His arms and legs stretched straight toward it.
Puhah!
He burst out of the water with Kim in his grasp.
“Hangil! Grab this and come out!”
The Coast Guard, arriving half a beat later, threw a life ring toward Hangil.
His eyes were burning painfully. Hangil squeezed them shut and shouted.
“What are you waiting for! Call an ambulance!”
=
Inside the hospital.
A quiet silence seemed to tighten around the room.
“Th-then, detective...”
“I’m not a detective. I’m a Coast Guard officer.”
“Yes, yes. Right. Officer, we didn’t do it intentionally.”
There were several patients and caregivers in the hospital room, but all eyes were focused on the bed where Mr. Kim was
lying.
Around him stood two fishermen with their heads lowered as though they were criminals, along with a uniformed police
officer.
“I know you didn’t do it intentionally. Who in their right mind would deliberately let themselves get swept away by a
wave?”
“Yes, exactly.”
The fishermen’s faces brightened.
But the officer’s next words were stern.
“Unless you’re crazy enough to climb onto a rocky shore with waves crashing all over it.”
The officer narrowed his eyes and glared at the fishermen.
“You were in serious danger. You’ll come in for the rest of the investigation after Kim Hakmin is discharged. You didn’t
violate any laws, so you don’t need to worry about anything else. The investigation will simply be to determine what
happened.”
“Whew. That’s a relief.”
“A relief?”
The fishermen immediately shut their mouths.
The officer sighed.
“If it weren’t for Hangil, you would have been in serious trouble. Especially Kim Hakmin here. He nearly died from
drowning. Rock fishing is thrilling, and the fight you get from the fish is great. You can catch quite a lot, too. But
as you experienced this time, rock fishing can kill you in an instant. From now on, pay attention to your surroundings
and make sure you wear proper safety equipment. Better yet, don’t climb onto the rocks in the first place.”
“Yes, yes. We’ll remember that.”
One of the fishermen, after bowing his head, suddenly asked,
“Come to think of it, where is that student?”
“Ah, Hangil?”
The officer glanced at the watch on his wrist.
About the time Hangil had mentioned had passed.
“He said he’d be here soon... Though, who knows? He might not show up. That kid has a habit of appearing out of nowhere
and disappearing just as quickly.”
As if his words had summoned him, the door opened.
A height of over 180 centimeters, broad shoulders, and long limbs.
Even the way he walked into the room gave him the presence of a model.
“There he is.”
Following the officer’s amused smile, everyone saw Hangil.
A fifteen-year-old boy with dark, tanned skin.
Jang Hangil, the hero who had just dealt with that entire commotion.
There was only one thing that looked suspicious.
The fishing net hanging from his left hand.
“Hangil, you came?”
“You’re busy working. Why did you come here?”
“I still needed to make sure you were okay.”
“Oh. Are the uncles okay?”
A salty scent of the sea followed Hangil wherever he went.
The hair clinging to his forehead was still damp, as though it had not completely dried yet.
“They’ve been awake for quite a while. Go say hello.”
“Thank you. You saved our lives.”
The fishermen grabbed Hangil’s hand and hugged him tightly.
Mr. Kim hesitated before sitting up to greet Hangil.
“I told you, you should listen to island people. Still, I’m glad you seem to be okay. I brought you guys something to
help keep you healthy.”
Hangil lifted the net and showed them what was inside.
Several objects that looked like black chunks of stone were piled together.
One of the fishermen recognized them and exclaimed in delight.
“Those are stone sea squirts!”
Stone sea squirts.
People who knew their sashimi considered stone sea squirts to be the finest of all sea squirts.
Their rough, unattractive appearance was nothing like what was inside. The moment the shell was split open, a sweet yet
intensely powerful scent of the sea filled the air, something only those who had tasted it could truly understand.
“They’re great for recovering your strength. They’re not quite in season yet, though, so they probably won’t be as
flavorful.”
“Oh, that’s great. Stone sea squirts are so hard to come by, and you brought us these...”
The fishermen reached eagerly for them, but Hangil casually dodged their hands.
He raised his eyes and thought for a moment.
“But you guys are patients. Is it really okay to feed this to patients?”
“It’s... It’s fine!”
The fishermen looked desperate as they clamored for the food.
The police officer looked at Hangil as if there was no stopping him and asked,
“Did you go diving again?”
“Yes. If I don’t go to the sea even for one day, my whole body starts itching.”
“What are you going to do if your grandmother finds out?”
“She’s filming that documentary right now, so she doesn’t know. I think it’ll be fine as long as you keep it a secret.
You’ll keep it secret, right?”
By then, Hangil had already picked up one of the stone sea squirts and taken out a knife.
The officer knew how good they tasted too, so he swallowed hard.
“Save two for me. I’ll have a drink after work.”
“There aren’t many of them.”
“I’ll have to tell your grandmother...”
“Come on, seriously. Your price for keeping a secret is pretty high. Fine. Just keep it a secret.”
“Um... We can eat them too, right, Hangil?”
Mr. Kim and the others cautiously asked Hangil.
They had completely forgotten that they had nearly drowned.
“I think you guys should reflect on what you did first before eating them...”
Hangil let the words hang for a moment before glancing at the dejected Mr. Kim and the others.
He grinned and split a stone sea squirt in half.
“Here. There aren’t any spoons, so figure out how to eat it. I couldn’t bring any liquor for you guys, though. What
should we do?”
“Jang Hangil! You brought seafood to the hospital again! Just wait until I get you!”
A young nurse’s voice rang out from the hallway.
Hangil looked terrified and hid behind the bed.
He whispered,
“Eat quickly. If that noona gets angry, she’ll turn the whole place upside down...”
Everyone in the hospital room burst out laughing.
Everyone except Hangil, who looked utterly miserable.
The stone sea squirt feast continued for a while.
Mr. Kim slurped down the flesh of a stone sea squirt before asking Hangil a question.
Something he had just heard was bothering him.
“By the way, I thought you said you went diving. Did you pick these yourself, Hangil?”
“Yes. I brought them back myself.”
“You did?”
Everyone stared at him, blinking in disbelief.
Hangil casually brushed off their reaction as though it were nothing special.
“Yes. I’m a female diver... No, a male diver. I’ve been diving for four years. Do you really think I can’t bring back
something as simple as a stone sea squirt?”