Tidal-Bore

9. Outside the Shell

Wooyoung hoped seeing the sacred site of Atlantis was worth this. Like the yawning maw of a massive monster, the black sea greeted them with its nightmarish chill. The two divers carried no light, so they could see only the fishes and organisms close to the glowing shell. The rest of the canyon was plunged in unknown darkness.

Wooyoung never feared the water, but out here with San, he wondered for the first time if something was watching him from the shadows with cold, dead eyes.

Three things soothed him, though they stood in no comparison to the dreadful gloom of the sea.

First, they were close to the ocean floor. Wooyoung knew of the canyon encasing Atlantis, and he could see the jagged rocks that made up the ground below. At least from that direction, he didn't need to fear an attack.

The second part was their equipment. Out in the cold water, neither the pressure nor the frigid temperatures killed them through the extraordinary material of the suits. Their soft glow brightened just enough to see their path, and San had led Wooyoung's hand to the rope around his waist, making sure the scientist didn't drift off.

The last aspect was San, of course. The powerful movements of his legs brought them deeper into the open water and his form was elegant and swift, used to swimming such depths. They couldn't be that scary if he was out a lot, right?

Like deafening white noise, the general crackling sound of water masses hammered onto Wooyoung's head. Every wave and current made him glance around in paranoia and each time he was startled, since they were so deep. There was no light above. Only the shell and San's glowing body.

Wooyoung wasn't scared of the ocean, but this was the worst bonding experience ever.

Paranoid to see a big shadow fall above them any time, Wooyoung lugged along on San's rope. He carried a bucket of unknown contents in his arms. San had handed it to him and the water pressure carried it with them as if weightless.

Scared to be wasting his precious helmet air by rambling further, Wooyoung stared at the scattered bioluminescent fishes and reefs. Some tentacled mushroom waved funnily at him and Wooyoung tightened his hand on the rope.

For not trusting San earlier, he was suddenly Wooyoung's sole anchor.

Did he even use the rope when he was alone? Or did he spend his time swimming through the deep sea befriending morays?

Wooyoung shuddered that thought off. He already understood this man was terrifying and many times more astonishing than Wooyoung or Seungyoun could ever hope to be. Humbled by how easily he treated the team and his flirtations, Wooyoung bit his lip to keep calm as they swam further and further away from the safe shell.

Had San been scared, growing up with this role? Had he cried the first time he came out here?

Wasn't he lonely?

Wooyoung stared at San's back and the way his muscles moved with his every stroke. They were so different, yet they understood. After all, both of them were still human.

When San slowed, Wooyoung did the same, not one to make the same mistake twice. He hovered in the spot to squint his eyes at what San was pointing to this time.

On their descent into the depths by submarine, Wooyoung thought they found the deepest spot in the sea. Their technologies had been created for this exact depth and Atlantis had been hidden away successfully, as no one could reach them until the proper mechanic was developed.

Now, however, Wooyoung looked at a massive hole in the canyon. It was big as a church and though it wouldn't fit a whole Atlantis; it seemed to be a fresh path leading straight to the earth's core.