Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea

After wandering around the central district for 10 minutes, I found a place that seemed most similar to a dental clinic.

[Deep Blue]

Next to the English words, a great white shark’s skull was displayed in front of the dental clinic. The teeth and head alone seemed to be about 3 meters long. Moreover, a single great white shark tooth was as big as a thumb. When I entered, I saw a few pictures of what appeared to be great white sharks hanging on the walls.

I stared back at the shark’s eyes, which glared at me with their pure white color, for a few seconds before turning away. The interior design seemed to effectively push people further away from an already uninviting dental clinic. Not knowing who had set it up, I was determined to cautiously remove a few pictures when my eyes were drawn to the dental unit chair first.

Wow. This is the latest model. It’s the one that can take X-rays directly from the chair. All the instruments are new.

I frantically began searching for basic equipment. New scaler, probe, forceps, suction, spoon, high-speed handpiece, low-speed handpiece, and checking whether the unit chair was working.

Then a blonde woman knocked on the wall twice. As she did, the wall opened automatically, revealing a storage space. There were trays, injectors, and clamps.

After thanking her, I knocked on every wall, finding mouth gags, forceps and tissue forceps, and blades with some bruises. On another wall, there were bands, pin cutters, wires, bone files, crown grippers, needles, etc. Clearly new, but haphazardly shoved in without any thought for workflow, or left unopened in boxes placed directly in the storage cabinet. I was in a frenzy, opening box after box after box.

“Lidocaine (local anesthetic) is to be picked up from the hospital on the first floor,” she said.

I came to my senses, realizing I had been frantically tearing open boxes and searching for syringes while she watched. Maybe the stress of opening tomorrow had gotten to me.

“Hello, I’m the dentist who arrived today, Park Muhyun.”

“Hello, I’m Elliot Brown. Please call me Elliot. You seem very busy.”

“They say we’re opening tomorrow,” I replied, worried that a patient was arriving soon.

Then, Elliot handed me a coffee. I put down the forceps in my hand – I couldn’t find the scissors, so I was scratching the boxes open with forceps – and held the coffee. The smell of coffee made me feel reborn.

“Thank you.”

Seeing me nervously trying to share warmth with the hot coffee with my trembling hands, Elliot reassured me, “Calm down. You have one patient scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.”

“One? …One? I heard there are 1,000 people working here? One patient for my first opening? And then I’m free?”

I had imagined that the people at the underwater base would rush into the dental clinic like angry wild boars, fighting with their feet and fists to get treatment first and refusing to line up.

I couldn’t see the details, but it couldn’t be that urgent. It’s the first appointment when the dental clinic opens. That person must be one of the bravest people at the underwater base. Hmm. There are about 500 people in the 4th Underwater Base, about 100 in the 3rd, 100 in the 2nd, and 100 in the 1st. With about 150 people on the artificial island, it’s approximately 1,000 people.

“I expected at least 20 to 30 people to come every day.”

“Well, today is Sunday, so there are only 20 people with appointments for next week. Don’t worry too much.”

At those words, I collapsed to the floor, feeling all the energy and passion drain from my body. By simple calculation, there should be about four people per day. As the immediate pressure lifted a little, I sipped the coffee Elliot had given me.

“Everyone at the underwater base knows that you’re not ready. That’s why people will start making appointments when they know the early goers have visited the dental clinic and survived. By now, people might think we’re yanking out teeth in droves, treating patients without anesthesia, or punching cheeks to extract wisdom teeth.”

“Luckily, I can cater to those expectations.”

Elliot laughed for the first time at my joke. She was beautiful when she laughed. Her exposed teeth were white and well-aligned.

“I’m conducting psychological counseling here. First-time visitors must undergo counseling. But now… it seems like you don’t have time,” Elliot trailed off as she looked at the unopened boxes and scattered medical equipment.

Worried she might suggest starting right away, I quickly scheduled a time.

“Is it okay if I contact you around Wednesday? I should have some free time by then.”

“Stay strong.”

With those words, Elliot disappeared like the wind. I quickly gathered and organized the essential items. Searching through the drawers, I found a small shark skull to put on the counseling desk. I wished I could meet the person who decorated this place. As the underwater ambiance was dim and cheerless, I removed all the depictions of white-eyed sharks against a murky water backdrop from the walls.

By the time I finished drinking the coffee Elliot had given me, I had barely managed to set up a dental clinic that wouldn’t be criticized for its cleanliness. Dust was flying around.

But you can’t exactly open a window at -3,000 meters underwater, can you?

As I sat in the underwater base, I prayed that the ventilation would work flawlessly, though I imagined my dental professor would faint if he saw where I was. Having been there for five hours, I realized I hadn’t eaten anything aside from a piece of bread given to me as a gesture of kindness upon arrival via helicopter. Feeling hunger pangs, I left the dental clinic and made my way to the central dining hall.

To my surprise, the dining hall was a buffet-style arrangement with a wide variety of tasty food options. From rice and kimchi to flatfish, dumplings, sushi, lamb ribs, and an assortment of sandwiches, there was something for everyone. I even discovered several different soups to choose from. Despite being aware that people from eight different countries worked there, I never would have guessed the food would be so delicious, especially considering it was an underwater base.

I hastily filled my plate and introduced myself as the new dentist to everyone I met. I met so many people that I hardly remembered any of them. After asking numerous questions, I arrived at my room in Section 38, where my luggage was waiting for me. The fact that my suitcase had found its way back to me was a silent comfort.

I should buy some snacks later to thank Ms. Kang Sujeong. Ah, and some bread for Ms. Yoo Geum-yi and coffee for Ms. Elliot.

I grabbed my shower supplies and toothbrush and headed to the shower room I had spotted before coming to the lodging. There were quite a few stalls in the shower room, each a private room where you could lock the door from the inside. The doors were semi-transparent, so it was easy to tell whether someone was inside or not. I tasted the water a bit; it was smooth but not seawater.

How many tons of water were being produced within the underwater base through desalination?

I couldn’t remember since I had just skimmed through the base’s description. After washing up and drying my hair, I returned to my room.

I opened the electronic pad that Priya had given me and accessed the underwater base program. The dental clinic was called [Deep Blue]. Selecting Deep Blue, I found descriptions that even I, a dentist, was not familiar with. Deep Blue at the 4th underwater base was a dental clinic named after a famous great white shark.

····As far as I know, most shark attacks on humans were by great white sharks. I’m curious if the clinic is planning to invite patients with a name like that.

Their teeth are about 3cm to 6cm in length, and they are known to swim up vertically from below to tear off their prey. From the description, it almost sounded like they were flying out of the water to pounce on their target. They are highly intelligent and can bite a human body into two pieces with one bite.

As I read through the description, the idea of encountering one seemed like a death sentence. I resigned from the mental battle simulation between myself and the great white shark and continued reading.

With approximately 3,000 teeth, the great white shark possesses triangular-shaped, serrated teeth that are arranged in three rows, constantly being replaced as they fall out or break during their hunting pursuits. The underwater base’s clinic, which prioritized the dental hygiene of its inhabitants, was aptly named after Deep Blue – the great white shark known for its colossal size, formidable jaws, and impressive hunting abilities. I found myself re-reading this passage multiple times.

After committing almost the entire sentence to memory, I realized that I could at least flash a smile when patients asked me like, “Why is this dental clinic called Deep Blue? What is that shark skull placed in front of the clinic?”

If it were up to me, I would have named it something simple like White Shark Dental Clinic or Shark Dental Clinic.

Maybe it’s because foreigners named it.

Deep Blue – evokes a sense of sinking into a dark and somber ocean, which might not be the most inviting atmosphere for a dental clinic. If it were up to me, I would have named it Light Blue to make it more welcoming for those who come to the dental clinic. But then again, maybe the locals here are fond of the great white sharks.

As I entered the reservation page, there was indeed only one patient coming tomorrow, as Elliott had said. Yoo Geum-yi. Reason for visit: molar cavity. I now understood why Yoo Geum-yi seemed to behave as if there was no need to worry about a dentist who didn’t even know where the dental clinic was. The patient seemed generous to a new dentist who didn’t even know where their treatment room was.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

The program allowed me to move reservation times to other days, and if I pressed the confirmation button on a reserved patient’s name, it would send an alarm to them. I sent Yoo Geum-yi an alarm confirming the reservation request.

I’m curious about how the alarm I sent appears on the patients’ electronic pads.

There were two to three reservations per day on other dates as well, but I turned off the pad after looking at a few characters of the people’s names. I’d see them plenty later anyway.

As I took out my clothes from the carrier and carefully organized them, I took out a family photo that was deeply wrapped inside the clothes. Nowadays, people mostly take digital photos, but if you leave them in the photo gallery, you won’t see them often. By printing them out and placing them next to me in some way, I can at least glance at them once or twice a day. In the past, I didn’t understand why adults printed out family photos and put them on their desks, next to their beds, on the walls, and in their wallets. I wished I could continue not understanding.

The underwater base shook slightly. I fell asleep in an instant in my new bed.