Mumyeong City Freediving Center

The spring freediving member recruitment notice has finally gone up.

I've been swimming for two years but I'm still stuck at intermediate level. I like playing in the water, but swimming just doesn't feel worth the investment. So the moment the free trial notice went up, I applied immediately. And somehow, against fierce competition, I won a spot.

The Unknown Building in Mumyeong City is famous for two things: first, nobody knows how many floors it has; second, nobody knows how deep it goes. The freediving center of unknown depth in the building's basement accepts free-trial members exactly once a year, with no published criteria and no set number of openings. Rumor has it the odds are several thousand to one, and that even a world-famous swimmer applied and got rejected. But rumors always inflate things, so take it with a grain of salt.

The day of the free trial.

I'm standing in front of the diving pool holding fins as long as I am tall.

In front of that famous diving pool of unknown depth.

Unknown depth...

...

It was a lie.

The bottom of the pool, where crystal-clear water rippled, was lined with tiles identical to those at my regular swimming pool. There were even terraced steps built in for safety — it didn't look dangerous at all. Feeling deflated, I put on my gear and slid into the water.

"Don't exhale. Hold the rope and descend to the bottom slowly."

Following the instructor's directions, I gripped the rope and slowly descended.

Pinching my nose and focusing on equalizing the pressure in my ears as I went down...

Down...

Down...

...

Sparkle

Sparkle sparkle

...

Bubbles rising from the bottom were catching the light and sparkling.

I descended further into the sparkling bubbles.

Into the bubbles...

Deeper...

A shimmering fish visible between the bubbles

A glittering tail fin

Enchantingly sparkling long green hair dances in the water.

It sways before my eyes as if inviting me to grab it.

I reach out my hand.

Just a little more...

Just a bit...

More...

...

Got it!

I grabbed the hair as it shot forward and held on tight.

I was instantly sucked into pitch-black darkness.

I opened my mouth and screamed.

The scream became a blade that flew and — snip! — cut the hair.

Watching the green-haired fish disappear into the darkness, I blacked out.

...

"Ma'am, please open your eyes. Ma'am."

Bleurgh — hack!

I snapped my eyes open and reflexively sat up.

Water gushed from my mouth like a fountain.

"Congratulations. You have earned your Open Water certification. Welcome to the world of ocean diving."