Chapter 047: A Path Different from One's Intentions (6)
Even though the situation was serious, the workers' leader answered calmly.
"What, you think we're taking water bottles outta the fridge? Just wait."
Then he called out to Hee-soo.
"Time's running out here too. Better hurry!"
The same was true for the victim.
Hee-soo quickly stopped the bleeding in the arm and told the workers,
"Lift it only enough for us to free the leg!"
"Heave!"
At Hee-soo's words, the workers put in their strength.
The steel structure pinning the foot lifted slightly.
Hee-soo and the workers quickly pulled the victim out through the gap.
At that exact moment, a large number of red markers suddenly appeared.
Everyone underneath had become rescue targets.
When they lifted the structure, it shifted, throwing off the balance of the hooks attached to the steel framework.
There was no time to apply a splint.
They placed the victim on a blanket immediately.
Then Hee-soo shouted,
"Everyone get out! It's collapsing!"
The people quickly carried the victim and crawled out from underneath.
The red markers disappeared one by one.
The hooks attached to the steel plates could no longer maintain balance and began slipping.
The crane operator urged them over the radio.
"It's going to collapse! Move!"
A hook finally came loose.
The wreckage collapsed even more violently.
Dust rose into the air.
Screams broke out at the disaster command post.
"Is everyone okay?!"
Before anyone realized it, reporters had gathered outside and were taking pictures of the scene.
Broadcast cameras were filming as well.
When the thunderous noise of the collapsing steel finally faded, silence briefly filled the entire area.
The silence did not last.
Noise erupted from beyond the cloud of dust.
Paramedics emerged through the haze carrying a person out.
The ambulance loaded the victim and immediately left the scene with its siren blaring.
Behind them, workers appeared with Hee-soo at the front.
They were moving toward another part of the accident site.
The worker leader asked,
"You're really sure there are people in there?"
"Yes. Two more. You just saw what happened."
"Two people? Got it. Isn't that section under your team?"
The man he asked nodded.
"Yeah. There're three or four teams over there. My team's all out."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Don't know about the other teams?"
"Of course not. It was chaos. We barely got our own men out."
The collapsed wreckage looked as if it would not allow even an ant to remain alive inside.
Even the worker leader shook his head.
"Can anything alive really be in there?"
"That's what I'm thinking."
Even Hee-soo felt helpless looking at it.
How am I supposed to approach this?
While he was thinking, the mayor of Mokpo came over.
"You're saying someone is in there?"
"Yes. There are two people inside who will die if we don't rescue them quickly."
"How in the world do you know that?"
The mayor looked at Hee-soo as though he could not believe him at all.
But Hee-soo had no way to make him understand.
"Mayor."
"If the rescue is delayed and bodies come out of there, can you take responsibility?"
A threat was the easiest tool.
Fortunately, reporters were already covering the scene, so the threat worked even better.
Samhando Daily's camera was the most active of them all.
Hee-soo lowered his voice so it would not be picked up by the camera.
"If you make a bold decision and save people from there, that would be wonderful."
"Your decisive action would look very good with the election coming soon, wouldn't it?"
"But if bodies come out of there, your public image will collapse."
"I hear a lot of people from the National Republican Party are targeting Mokpo."
The mayor was still hesitating.
Hee-soo added,
"And I'm Choi Hee-soo, successor to Suseong."
"Do you think I can't make that happen?"
The mayor had no reason left to hesitate.
"All right. I said all right! I'll gather the teams immediately, so do whatever you want."
The mayor turned toward his aide with an extremely displeased expression.
"Call in every available firefighter and restart the survivor search!"
"Yes!"
In truth, Hee-soo did not care that much about what the mayor decided.
He had already found dependable helpers.
At that moment, the shipyard workers helping him were more reliable than anyone else.
But looking at the wreckage in front of him, Hee-soo could only sigh.
How do I get in there?
If I knew how deep the victims were inside this structure, I could at least make a plan.
It was frustrating.
At that moment, one of the workers struck a badly bent steel beam.
A moment later, someone inside struck a beam in response.
The workers who had only half believed Hee-soo suddenly became urgent.
"Whoa! There really is someone in there! What do we do?!"
The foreman rolled up his sleeves.
"What else? We get 'em out! Everybody, find a hole big enough to use!"
"Yeah! Got it!"
Around thirty workers spread out and began searching through the collapsed scaffolding.
Hee-soo could not stand still either.
He needed to get as close as possible and estimate the victims' location.
The worker leader found Hee-soo's behavior strange and asked,
"What're you doing?"
"I'm figuring out roughly where the people are inside this wreckage."
"You can do that?"
"Yes. Not exactly, but approximately."
"That's a pretty vague answer. Approximately..."
Hee-soo felt the same way.
Since I'm the reference point, shouldn't I be able to make it show my position relative to the victims?
No. I'll think about that when I return to Seoul. Focus on this place first.
Hee-soo moved around a little, then said,
"About twelve meters inside from here."
"They're near the floor."
"And from this position, roughly at a right angle."
The leader's eyes widened.
"Didn't you just say approximately?"
