142. Eight and Twenty One
The moment when the explosive that fell from In-cheol’s hand passed me and fell into a small puddle at the corner of the ship… In-cheol pulled me to the other side of the explosives, and as a result, In-cheol’s body leaned toward the explosives.
In-cheol flew over the explosives as it was. It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Choi In-cheol, you crazy man… !
There was no time to think back and forth.
I ran to In-cheol and lifted In-cheol’s body, which was lying on his face, and In-cheol picked up the explosives placed under his chest and threw it over the boat.
I lowered myself under the railing of the ship, and the sound of explosives falling into the water coincided with the sound of an explosion.
The vibration of the explosion was felt from the bottom of the ship, and as the ship wobbled, an enormous amount of water splashed over the ship.
As the wobbly ship began to balance again, I lifted my head and looked around.
Fortunately, the ship appears to be in good condition with no damage.
In-cheol is still lying on the deck, not moving.
The entire deck became a sea of water.
beep-! In the midst of the tinnitus, the sound of the drain pump turning on under the deck could be heard.
And on the other side of the ship… The second explosive caught my eye.
me… Why are you there?
It must have been on my hand a little while ago… .
Half of the explosives were already submerged in water from the spray on the deck.
He was not in a state where he could think rationally.
I crawled towards where the explosives were and picked up the explosives with both hands.
The hand holding the explosives trembles.
I threw explosives overboard as if throwing away a disgusting bug.
with a plop-! And only after the sound of explosives falling into the water… I thought I threw it too close.
shit… !
I ran to In-cheol and said,
“It’s going to explode under the boat! Hold on tight to the railing next to you!”
1 second… 2 seconds… 3 seconds… 4 seconds… 5 seconds… … .
does not explode
Why?
After a while, the sound of tinnitus subsided and I began to regain consciousness. And I remembered that the second explosive had the initiator glass tube sealed with a polyacrylate bead.
Incheol was still in a state of disbelief. He didn’t say anything, and even though I slapped Incheol on the cheek, he still looked at the horizon with a blank expression.
In the end, I started the boat and steered the boat over In-cheol’s shoulder the way I learned.
When he arrived near Yeongheungdo after an hour and a half, Incheol was not in a state of being able to drive the boat. I ended up calling the fishing boat rental company, and after the staff got on our boat with great difficulty, we were able to anchor the boat at the pier.
I got In-cheol in the car and returned to the officetel in Mok-dong.
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No matter how much I talked, Incheol still didn’t answer. In-cheol stared at the air with a blank expression, and more than anything, it struck his heart that his eyes were out of focus.
I lifted In-cheol, who was lying on the bed, and said,
“In-cheol-ah, I don’t think you should be like this. Let’s go to the hospital with me.”
At my words, Incheol slowly shook his head. There was an accident at sea today, and it was the first reaction in five hours.
And after a while, In-cheol opened his mouth… .
Incheol’s first words were ‘Let’s stop’.
“What are you doing?”
“… … .”
Incheol didn’t say anything while staring into the air.
“Let’s stop… What do you mean to stop?”
In-cheol’s eyes, which were facing the air at my question, moved slowly as if they were having a hard time, and focused on looking at me.
“Jeong-ho, looking for gold bars… this… all… I think it’s crazy… .”
After speaking, Incheol’s eyes lost focus again and turned towards the air.
Incheol’s words that everything is crazy.
It felt like something had hit the back of the head hard. It wasn’t the anger or disappointment that I felt at the fact that my efforts so far were in vain.
Rather, it was the opposite. It felt like the fog in my head had cleared and my mind had cleared.
After being discharged from the military, for the past two years… I wasn’t crazy.
While eating, talking to people, reading a book, even sleeping… All I could think of was taking out the gold bars.
Meanwhile I… You’ve been living like a crazy person… !
early morning the next day.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I found Incheol’s officetel across the hallway. Incheol was preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
“Are you here? Would you like to eat together?”
“Yeah, yes.”
As I glanced at In-cheol’s complexion, In-cheol smiled and said to me.
“I’m fine, so stop worrying. Bring me some soy sauce and sesame leaves from your refrigerator.”
“Yes, I will.”
When he finished breakfast like that, Incheol opened his mouth with a calm expression.
“At that time, my heart felt very warm. therefore… I thought the explosives had gone off.”
“… … .”
“This has exploded… The moment I think of… The film was spinning.”
Incheol turned his head and looked out the window and continued.
“The film is running… Do you know what was the first thing that came to mind?”
“What?”
“What my mother said.”
“… ?”
“When I was young… When I was rescued after being kidnapped by my uncle… There is something my mother used to say when she hugged me.”
Incheol turned his head again and looked at me and continued talking.
“I don’t need money, I don’t need a house, I don’t need everything… He prayed that only I would come back alive.”
Silence passed, and after a long silence, Incheol opened his mouth.
“By the way… There’s that explosive, why didn’t it explode?”
I don’t know the exact reason, but it’s probably because of the top Incheol was wearing.
Yesterday Incheol was wearing an old cotton tee… The cotton cloth covered over the explosive seemed to absorb the surrounding water, preventing water from entering the glass tube.
At my explanation, Incheol shook his head and said.
“No, not that, the second explosive. You threw it into the sea, but it didn’t explode.”
I thought I was completely out of my mind then… In-cheol, have you been watching all these children?
I said with a smirk.
“Maybe it hasn’t exploded yet?”
“why? Why didn’t it explode?”
In the second explosive, the polyacrylate beads are embedded in the center of the glass tube rather than at the end, so the glass tube will not break at all.
At my explanation, Incheol said with a worried expression.
“Then what will happen? The amount of TNT is quite large, is that ok? If it explodes when a boat passes over it, wouldn’t it be a big deal?”
“Are you saying the area around there is all reef?”
“right.”
“If it’s a reef area, there won’t be any big ships going around… In the case of a small fishing boat, it won’t be too dangerous because it will explode under the sea.”
At my words, Incheol tilted his head and said.
“That explosive… Didn’t I say that a rock can be easily blown away?”
The weight of the explosive I made is 1.2 kilograms, and the purity of TNT is about 20%, so when converted to pure TNT, it is 240 grams.
Since the explosive power of one grenade is about 150-200 grams of TNT, it means that the explosive I made has the explosive power of about 1.5 grenade.
Even if 1.5 grenades were detonated simultaneously at a depth of 60 meters, the explosive force felt above the surface would not be that strong.
With the explanation I continued.
“If it’s 60 meters away, it’ll probably end up swaying a little bit.”
“I see. Then you don’t have to worry. Besides, if the TNT dissolves in the sea little by little and disappears, it won’t explode later, right?”
I shook my head at Incheol’s question.
There will be no seawater leaking into the explosives. This is because, using polyurethane synthetic resin, not only the exterior of the explosives but also the connection part of the glass tube was thoroughly waterproofed.
So one day the glass tube will break… Explosives will eventually explode.
4 years later.
Early spring of 2009.
A lot has happened in the last four years.
Youngmi is currently pursuing her PhD in Mathematics at Hankuk University, and I also entered the graduate school at Hankuk University after graduating from the undergraduate school.
However, he chose mechanical engineering rather than mathematics as his graduate major, and his advisor decided to study fluid mechanics. It was intended for experimental studies of turbulent flow.
I was able to secure quite a lot of experimental data through my master’s research for a year and a half, but the proof of the Riemann hypothesis is still tight.
In-cheol is still living as my neighbor with a hallway in between. And In-cheol is no longer a part-time employee, but is in charge of Yoon Sung Soft’s cyber security business with the title of manager.
After the explosives accident 4 years ago… In-cheol never talked about gold bars. So under the West Sea… The treasure ship loaded with gold ingots became a forgotten story.
I am now waiting for Myungsoo at a coffee shop in Gangnam. Myeong-soo Jung, president of ＜Data Field> long ago.
The phone rang, and when I pressed the call button, Myungsoo hyung’s voice was heard.
-Jeong-ho, I’m sorry! I think it’s going to be a little late, but what should I do?
“Don’t worry, come slowly. It’s been a while since I’ve read an interesting book, so I’m not bored and it’s okay.”
-okay? what book are you reading?
“I’m watching the new Silver Castle come out. ＜simultaneity theory>.”
-Jeongho, I’m really curious, but are you really a graduate student in engineering college?
“haha-! why?”
-How can a graduate student in engineering college sit idle in a coffee shop reading a novel? Have you ever given up on your master’s degree this semester?
“a-! Could it be!”
-Anyway, wait a little longer. I’ll be down soon.
“It’s really good, so take care of everything and come back slowly.”
The moment I finished the call and opened the book… Suddenly, I felt a cold gaze.
Who is it?
I turned my head to look around, and a familiar face caught my eye in a corner of the coffee shop.
Hee-rak Lee, deputy director of the National Intelligence Service.
He was half-covering his face with one hand and bowing his head, and he could recognize it at a glance because of his characteristic cool eyes.
But was there an NIS headquarters nearby?
When I made eye contact with Deputy Hee-Rak Lee, I tried to pretend to know… He avoided my gaze with a bewildered expression.
ah… ! Are you on a secret mission (?) by any chance?
I opened the book again with the thought that I should not disturb it… I can still feel the cold gaze.
It means that he is not the representative of Lee Hee-rak.
Unknowingly, I felt the hair on the back of my head stand up, and then someone tapped my shoulder and said:
“Are you Jung-ho? Chae Jung-ho from Namseo Middle School.”
I turned my head to see a young woman my age looking at me.
She continued talking to me.
“Don’t you remember?”
I narrowed my eyebrows and looked at her, and immediately remembered who she was.
it was rouge Lim Yeon-ji.
Seeing my surprised expression, Yeonji said with a cool smile.
“Looking at your face… I think you remember? Right?”