2
### Chapter 2
“I still can’t believe it...”
“What?”
“Kim, you know what I mean. That kid is only in eighth grade, and yet look at his size. And the way he dives...”
“Kids these days grow like weeds. It’s nothing new. Still...”
Mr. Kim and the others stared at the floating buoy.
It was orange.
And beneath it, Hangil was diving.
“It really is amazing, though. He still hasn’t come back up from that depth.”
It felt like more than a full minute had passed.
Even if you simply told an ordinary person to hold their breath, most people could not last a full minute. On top of
that, the average diving time of the upper-class haenyeo was more than a minute and thirty seconds.
Hangil had already surpassed that average.
Wheeeeeet!
The boat rocked.
A haenyeo suddenly emerged from beneath the surface. She urgently sucked in a breath before hauling her net onto the
boat.
“Grab my hand!”
“I’m fine! I don’t need it!”
With the harsh pronunciation of the Jeju dialect, Grandma Park climbed aboard the boat.
She took off her diving goggles, then pulled down the hood of her wetsuit.
Her wet hair clung to her face in every direction like strands of seaweed.
Her skin was wrinkled and bronze from years under the sun. Sunlight glistened in every crease.
Grandma Park frowned deeply before speaking.
“What are you lot doing here?”
“You... Oh, you mean us? We came along with Hangil.”
“Hangil? What’s that brat got going on?”
Another haenyeo soon surfaced.
She looked to be around forty, but her dark, sun-tanned skin resembled Grandma Park’s.
Grandma Park sat down and began feeling around for something.
What she found was a packet of powdered medicine.
She tore it open and poured the powder directly into her mouth.
“What are you taking?”
“Brain medicine! Diving for too long makes my head go all funny.”
A torrent of Jeju dialect poured out of her mouth.
The fishermen stared blankly, completely lost.
Jeongsim, who had climbed onto the boat, smiled and translated for them.
“It’s medicine for decompression sickness. It’s called Noesin, and it helps with headaches.”
“Ugh, it’s bitter. Did you come in too?”
“Come in for what?”
“These fellows followed Hangil.”
“Oh, really?”
“Did they come because of that brat Hangil?”
“Hangil has a lot going for him. Do you think it’s possible for someone his age to become an upper-class haenyeo? What
he has is a talent he was born with.”
Thanks to Jeongsim’s translation, Kim and the others found it much easier to continue the conversation.
“What exactly is an upper-class haenyeo?”
“Haenyeo like us are classified as upper-class haenyeo. You know how there’s upper, middle, and lower? If you can dive
deeper than fifteen meters, you earn that title. It’s almost like a medal.”
Even haenyeo had rankings.
They were classified according to how deep they could dive.
The levels were upper, middle, lower, and the lowest class.
Among them, the highest level was special upper-class. Only a handful of people in the entire history of haenyeo had
reached that level.
“Hangil is only fifteen, but he can dive to the same depths as us and stay down even longer. There’s no way to explain
that except as natural talent.”
Haenyeo gradually increased the depth they could dive to through countless dives.
Just as your ears become blocked and painful when climbing a high mountain, divers experienced the same phenomenon
underwater.
The deeper they went, the greater the external pressure became, and their ears automatically adjusted the pressure to
protect the brain.
Sometimes they even pinched their noses and exhaled to force the internal pressure to equalize.
“It’s called equalizing. Usually, people spend years diving to gradually increase their depth. Some people can’t
increase their limit at all. Maybe it’s because Hangil has been going back and forth to the sea since he was young.”
The human body naturally adapts to changes and danger, and diving experience makes deeper dives possible.
But Hangil was only fifteen.
For someone still growing to withstand such depths meant that his natural physical abilities were extraordinary.
“He’s better than those of us who have been doing this for decades. Hangil’s lung capacity is on another level.”
“Why did you come here, then?”
“She’s asking why you came here.”
The fishermen’s eyes turned toward Mr. Kim.
Kim scratched his head before speaking.
“Hangil saved my life. When I asked if I could watch them dive, he told me that if I wanted to do that, we’d have to
rent a boat. I paid for the fuel too, so I came along.”
“Oh, so that’s why Uncle had such a big smile on his face earlier. Thank you. Thanks to you, we get to work
comfortably.”
At Jeongsim’s laughter, the middle-aged man who had been called Uncle glanced behind him.
He was the owner of the small fishing boat and flashed a grin, revealing yellowed teeth.
“I thought maybe we could fish too, but I guess that’s out of the question.”
“Who brings fishing hooks when they’re going diving?”
“I was... just saying. But you’re all amazing. Especially Grandma. I can’t understand how you can still dive like that
at your age.”
“What’s so amazing about it? You people go back to the mainland and work, don’t you? For me, this is simply my job.”
The fishermen, still seeming reluctant to let go of their fishing rods, sighed in amazement.
The face before them looked like that of someone well over eighty.
Seeing someone of that age moving through such deep waters could only inspire awe.
Kim looked down at the sea.
The water was deep and blue.
It felt as though a black abyss was coiled beneath the surface.
Kim grabbed the railing and began breathing heavily.
The memory of falling into the water was still painfully vivid.
“Are you okay? I told you not to come.”
“Fear only disappears when you keep facing it. And this time, we brought safety equipment. It’s okay. You’re okay.”
Grandma Park, who had been watching the fishermen, asked casually,
“Hangil saved you when you fell into the water?”
“Yes. He’s the reason I’m alive.”
“That brat... I keep telling him not to go into the water, and instead of gathering seafood, he keeps saving people.”
“Has he saved other people too?”
“Of course. He doesn’t study and does nothing but stare at the sea, so I suppose seeing people fall into the water has
become an everyday thing to him. What are you waiting for? Try some.”
Grandma Park took out the few abalone they had and removed the meat from their shells.
Her words were consistently sharp, but her hands were surprisingly caring.
“Thank you. But if he likes it that much, why won’t you let him go diving?”
“Who would want their own grandson to inherit the work of a haenyeo?”
Grandma Park clicked her tongue before taking a piece of abalone for herself.
A salty flavor spread throughout her mouth.
She moved her jaw as she spoke.
“That brat Hangil was abandoned by his father, and his mother died. He was raised by his grandmother. I wanted to raise
my grandson properly and send him to Seoul.”
“Perhaps blood really can’t be denied.”
Jeongsim said that, and Grandma Park snorted.
She stared at the sea where Hangil was diving with an expression that clearly showed her displeasure.
Then she smacked her shoulder.
The elastic material of her wetsuit made a loud popping sound.
“If I don’t get in the water even for one day, my whole body starts aching. That brat Hangil must be the same. That’s
why he probably feels more comfortable in the water than he does on land.”
“Then why don’t you have him take up swimming?”
Kim asked.
The two haenyeo blinked.
“Swimming?”
“Yes, swimming. Hangil has great lung capacity and a good physique. Why not have him train properly?”
“I suggested it too, but whenever the subject of water comes up, Hangil’s grandmother gets furious.”
Following Jeongsim’s gaze, everyone looked toward the orange buoy.
The shadow beneath it was gradually getting larger.
“They say speak of the devil and he appears. Looks like he’s finally back.”
A spray of water burst upward, revealing Hangil as he shook his head.
The moment he emerged from the water, he opened his mouth and sucked in a deep breath.
Ho-iiiiiit!
A sumbisori.
The same whistling-like sound burst from Hangil’s mouth.
“You’ve heard that sound a few times already, right? That’s called a sumbisori.”
“A sumbisori?”
Kim and the others asked.
The two haenyeo demonstrated the breathing sound Hangil had just made.
Ho-it! Ho-it!
The high-pitched sound carried across the sky.
The breath that bursts out after holding it in while fighting for survival.
The sumbisori.
There was something incredibly haunting about that sound.
“This one. This sound.”
“Some people even call it the final breath that comes out after hovering between life and death.”
It was Hangil’s voice.
He climbed onto the boat, panting heavily.
He helped the haenyeo pull up their nets, and they were filled to the brim.
“There are a ton of abalone today.”
“Yeah. Looks like we’ll have a good haul today.”
“We’re about to head back. Is that okay?”
The two haenyeo asked.
Hangil did not answer.
He simply pressed his lips together.
The sound of waves crashing.
The sharp scent of seawater filling his nose.
After a brief silence, Hangil’s eyes became bright and lively.
Naturally, they were fixed on Grandma Park.
“Grandma.”
“What is it, you brat?”
“Can’t I go out one more time?”
“You idiot! You’re going to burn to death out there! Now get home!”
Grandma Park unleashed a torrent of scolding like a thunderbolt, but Hangil did not even flinch.
Hangil knew exactly who he needed to persuade.
The oldest person there, and the woman with the loudest voice.
Grandma Park.
So he turned on the charm.
“I haven’t gone diving in a while. Give me a break, okay?”
Hangil, who stood over 180 centimeters tall, was acting cute as though his shoulders had suddenly become dislocated.
The ridiculous sight sent everyone on the boat into laughter, and even Grandma Park kept twitching her lips as though
she found him amusing.
She snickered before speaking.
“Eat this, then go!”
Grandma Park picked out what looked like the largest abalone and removed the meat.
The abalone, generously coated in spicy vinegar sauce, went straight into Hangil’s mouth.
“I knew our Grandma Park was the best. I’ll rest for just five minutes and go back in. I just need to catch my breath.”
“Fine... Then have one more.”
A few minutes of rest passed, and Hangil shook his head.
It had not been long since he finished his dive, so he was still slightly dizzy.
The blazing sun made his skin sting, while the glittering waves of the sea were unbelievably beautiful.
“This is why I love diving.”
Hangil smiled broadly as he picked up his diving goggles.
He spat into the inside once and wiped it around with his fingers.
It was a way of preventing the goggles from fogging up.
Once he decided they were ready, Hangil jumped back into the water.
This time, he had no buoy, no hoe, and no fishing net.
He went in with nothing but his own body.
Sparkling waves rose around him, and the seawater enveloped his body.
Hangil felt a warmth and comfort he could never feel anywhere else.
To him, the rolling sea was like the amniotic fluid of a mother’s womb.
That sensation of floating was something he could never experience on land.
Whenever Hangil floated in the sea, he felt his true self.
He could no longer imagine himself separated from the ocean.
Hangil shouted,
“I’m going out for a bit!”
“How are you going to do anything without your equipment?”
“I’m just going to play around for a little while!”
That was why Hangil found this moment so thrilling.
The sensation of the water against his body.
The current cutting through his body told him exactly why he was alive.
Whoop.
He drew in a deep breath before slowly rotating his body.
Down below, his entire field of vision was filled with the rolling sea.