If an earthquake were to happen, would it be like this?
The island trembled with a loud roar.
No metaphor here—it truly shook.
The vibrations felt as if the island might collapse, sending items from shelves crashing to the floor.
Those who had been peacefully sleeping were abruptly jolted awake by the sudden tremors, some even roused by falling objects hitting them. Yet, regardless of whether they bumped into something or got hit by a falling item during the clumsy waking process, they were too dazed to feel any pain and merely scurried around in confusion.
An earthquake.
A calamity unfamiliar to Koreans.
With such an earthquake arriving suddenly in the dead of night, how could anyone not be startled?
And not just any earthquake—one powerful enough to shake bodies and send items tumbling from shelves.
“Alert! It might be an earthquake, so watch your head! Get under the bed or desk to protect yourself!”
When a person faces an unexpected disaster, they can turn into a beast, and when soldiers encounter surprise calamities, they often become a rabble.
This time was no different.
The police stationed to protect Dokdo appeared as disorganized as anyone else, moving with all the coordination of a startled animal, rather than executing their trained responses.
Though some did attempt to give proper orders in the chaos…unfortunately, they yielded little effect.
No one in the stunned crowd could have possibly registered those ‘proper instructions’ when disaster struck out of nowhere.
In that upheaval, the police were thrown into a panic, all they could do was cover their heads, and peace was only restored when they realized the vibrations had ceased.
“The shaking… it’s over…?”
The booming noise and trembling that had startled everyone had vanished.
For an earthquake, this should not be the end; the tremors should persist.
At the very least, there should be follow-up vibrations.
The tremors that had startled them seemed to have vanished as if teasing them, only waking them from their slumber before disappearing entirely.
As if asking, when did this ever happen?
The sight was akin to a mischievous fairy waking people only to stick out its tongue and slip away into the darkness, leaving the police utterly baffled.
“What the hell; what the heck was that….”
It’s absurd.
And disappointing.
I can’t fathom what is happening right now.
But what can I do just standing here in a daze?
Someone who had previously given proper orders stood up, aiming to assess the situation.
After all, moving is surely better than remaining still here.
Gaining even a sliver of information about the current state would be advantageous.
If this was truly an earthquake, not only would they have to move to a shelter, they might also need to prepare for a tsunami.
The worst-case scenario could sweep them away in a massive wave known as a ‘tsunami’ that follows an earthquake.
In pursuit of information, Park Jung-jun, the sergeant, would hear an unexpected story.
“…What? The outpost was partially destroyed… What are you saying?”
A tale that made him doubt reality.
“A huge ship collided with Dokdo?”
Am I still half-asleep?
Or has some impact during the quake caused me to faint and find myself trapped in a nightmare…?
A tale so ridiculous that it made Sergeant Park Jung-jun doubt reality.
He wanted to scream into the walkie-talkie, cursing it, but with superhuman patience managed to hold back. He spoke slowly and clearly, injecting strength into his words as he asked again.
“What. Are you talking about right now? I don’t understand. Please explain everything carefully and clearly. Is that possible?”
[Well, you see. While I was on guard, I saw a ship approaching from a distance without any signal or light, and it just crashed into the island. It’s not a regular ship, it seems to be military in nature… but I don’t know exactly what it is.]
But that superhuman patience was short-lived.
When the response on the walkie-talkie included “I don’t know exactly what it is,” his patience reached its limits.
“Kim Yi-chang the officer—! You bastard!!!”
He shouted so loud that someone might have worried the walkie-talkie in his hand would break.
Of course, the sturdy military walkie-talkie didn’t break.
Though it was likely that Kim Yi-chang’s ears were ringing from the yelling.
“You bastard! What were you doing on guard duty? What? A ship approaches without any signals or lights? You should have reported that! You should have sounded the alarm! Instead, now you tell me it’s like a ghost approaching and crashing into our island? Is that even a coherent story – and you don’t even know what kind of ship it is? Hey, you fool! Didn’t you memorize the ships coming here?”
Sergeant Park unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of words like he was rapping.
Every word dripped with anger.
“And you don’t even know what kind of ship crashed? You’re supposed to be guarding the ship with the weapons we have and briefing me on the situation! You…!”
He clenched his teeth so hard it felt like they might shatter, emphasizing each word.
“You’ll come back and we’ll talk about this… And maintain your watch, prepare to respond if necessary. And keep the line open, report to me in real-time. Got it?”
[Yes!]
Listening to the seemingly negligent reports from those at the outpost, Sergeant Park Jung-jun suppressed his anger as he pressed the broadcast button.
[Ah, actual situation. Actual situation…]
What it conveyed was that an unidentified ship had crashed into Dokdo and orders were to be fully armed.
After relaying that message to the police, a signal indicating an emergency was sent.
He launched a signal flare, and pressed a button ensuring the signal reached nearby military units and the police station instantly. Furthermore, he switched on communication equipment to explain the current situation in detail.
But had it malfunctioned during the tremors earlier?
The communication equipment was broken.
All that was fortunate was that only the communication device was down, and everything else remained intact.
The signal flare shot up without any issues, and the signal to the military and Gyeongbuk police was successfully sent.
In a little while, the military and police would be dispatched to Dokdo.
Moreover, the failure of the communication equipment was not a major issue.
Sure, it was more vulnerable than the communication device, but there were plenty of ways to get in touch.
Right in front of him was one such means.
A smartphone.
A brilliant long-distance communication tool created by modernity.
“Huuh….”
He sighed deeply as he turned on the smartphone, selecting the number of his superior from the contacts, pausing just before pressing call.
…It was painfully obvious he would be lambasted.
But what could he do?
Whether he got scolded or not, he needed to report…
He squeezed his eyes shut as though walking into the underworld, pressing the call button.
Drrrrrr.
Time crawled by slowly, feeling like an eternity, the phone ringing ominously in his ears like the sound leading to the afterlife.
[Oh. Sergeant Park, calling me at this hour. What is it?]
What his superior said was neither “hello” nor “communication security.”
Not even a hint of concern for him.
His tone dripped with irritation and anger, layered with a subtle threat that suggested, “How dare you call me at this hour? If this is trivial, brace yourself.”
Upon hearing that blunt voice, Sergeant Park Jung-jun slowly opened his mouth.
To deliver what felt like a death sentence to himself.
“There’s been a malfunction with the communication equipment, so I’m contacting you on my smartphone. Currently, on Dokdo….”
Furthermore, there was even a more disheartening reality.
Tragically, he realized he knew almost nothing.
Thanks to the information given from the outpost, he knew the unidentified military vessel had run aground on Dokdo, but he had no idea which country it belonged to, what kind of ship it was, or what its purpose was.
Even checking the cameras resulted in nothing but noise or dark screens as if they had malfunctioned, and those at the outpost, whom he instructed to report in real-time, seemed as if they had become just deaf mutes.
Moreover, something seemed wrong with the walkie-talkie as well, delivering a static-laden garble.
Because of that, his report could only consist of scant, fragmented details.
The same ones he had previously chastised Kim Yi-chang for.
[Ha ha ha ha ha.]
Naturally, his superior fell into confusion at the sudden calamity.
[Sergeant Park, are you insane?]
Initially doubting the sanity of someone who dared report something like this via smartphone in the dead of night.
[Am I dreaming right now? Usually, when one realizes a dream, they wake up, so why can’t I? You’re telling me this nonsensical situation is real right now?]
He also questioned reality like Sergeant Park did.
[If this is reality, then curse it! This can’t be happening. You, Park, the person I trust, shouldn’t be doing this!]
Finally, his frustration exploded.
[You’re reporting this crap now! This isn’t even basic… this is utter nonsense—smartphone… uh! Smartphone… phew. Ugh, my neck is stiff. Right. You said the communication equipment was down? So, you’re reporting this on a smartphone, but omitting core information for fear of being eavesdropped, right? That’s understandable. My Sergeant Park wouldn’t be the incompetent fool to report something like this freely!]
As he vented rage, he almost clutched his stiff neck.
He managed, with great effort, to calm his anger and finally forged a ‘plausible reason’ that he could understand.
Park Jung-jun wouldn’t act like this without good reason.
It was all due to his distrust of the current situation, forcing him to rely on improvisation.
Thus, he convinced himself.
No, he tried to convince himself.
[…Yeah. If eavesdropping is a concern, that could be valid. Mix in some codes while conveying the message.]
But what could he do?
This unbearable reality.
“Truly, there’s honestly nothing else to report. The communication equipment is broken, and I’m contacting you via smartphone. Right now, all personnel except for those at the outpost seem trapped.”
