The next morning.
Seok-won, who had originally planned to return to land the day before but changed his schedule and spent the night on the drilling ship, stepped out of his cabin.
"You're awake, sir."
Manager Han Ji-seong, who seemed to have been waiting in the corridor for some time, greeted him with a respectful nod alongside his bodyguard, Baucus.
"Did everyone sleep well?"
Seok-won walked outside together with the two of them.
Whoooosh!
The moment he pushed open the steel door and stepped outside, the icy sea wind struck his entire body, instantly clearing his mind.
Leaning against the metal railing and looking down, he saw workers bustling around beneath the massive drilling tower, shouting to one another as they transported materials and inspected equipment.
Above them, flocks of seagulls circled noisily through the air.
It was the kind of weather that naturally made him crave a cigarette, but with the production test approaching, smoking and any use of open flames were strictly prohibited throughout the drilling ship.
Once the ship dropped anchor, workers were confined to the narrow rig for at least two to four weeks, forced to carry out dangerous and exhausting physical labor. Under normal circumstances, as long as it wasn't near the drilling tower, smoking was usually overlooked.
However, on a day like today, when crude oil buried beneath the seabed would be drawn up during the production test, even the slightest mistake could trigger a massive fire or, in the worst case, a gas explosion. For that reason, smoking and all fire-related activities were completely banned.
Though disappointed, Seok-won smacked his lips and suppressed the urge, knowing it was far better than risking an accident.
"Where's CEO Choi?"
"He's in the drilling control room with the others."
"Then let's head there."
Perhaps the weather was on their side today, as the sky was perfectly clear without a single cloud.
Seok-won glanced once at the towering drilling rig, then turned and made his way toward the drilling control room on the top deck.
Passing through corridors and climbing the stairs, he opened a door fitted with a long metal handle and stepped inside. CEO Choi Gyu-wan was there, engaged in serious discussion with Director Kwon Dong-won and the drilling engineers, with documents spread across the table.
Kwon Dong-won, who was seated across from them, noticed Seok-won first and bowed his head in greeting.
"You're here, sir."
The others also greeted Seok-won.
"Is everything going smoothly with the preparations?"
As Seok-won stepped closer to the table and asked, Kwon Dong-won replied in a slightly tense tone,
"So far, the work is proceeding without any issues."
CEO Choi Gyu-wan, standing beside him, added,
"We plan to begin the production test immediately once the explosive installation is fully completed in about thirty minutes."
Since he had already heard the full explanation and agreed to it the day before, Seok-won gave a small nod.
Then he glanced around at the gathered group and asked casually,
"Do you think the results will be good?"
CEO Choi Gyu-wan flashed a confident grin, showing his white teeth.
"This is one of the points with the highest probability of success, so we'll make sure crude oil comes out of here, one way or another."
Director Kwon Dong-won, still in his oil-stained work clothes, rolled his shoulders broadly as if trying to ease his tension.
"If we come up empty this time, we'll have to return to port and head back out to sea again in two weeks, won't we? I'd rather avoid that, so we'll finish it today. Leave it to us."
Seeing the dependable presence of the veteran crew, Seok-won wore an expression of trust.
"If crude oil comes out today, we'll give a generous bonus to every worker."
"W-What? Really, sir?"
One of the drilling engineers widened his eyes and asked again.
"If crude oil erupts all the way up through the top of the drilling tower, each person will receive a bonus of ten million won."
As Seok-won smiled and clearly promised the exact amount, the atmosphere instantly heated up.
"Ooh!"
"Ten million won!"
"At this rate, we absolutely have to make this a success."
"No kidding."
The engineers, who burst into cheers at the far larger amount than they had expected, looked at one another and felt their motivation surge.
Considering that nearly a hundred people were onboard the Duseong, the success bonus alone would total around 1 billion won.
However, if crude oil erupted all the way to the top of the drilling tower, which stood over eighty meters tall, it would mean the oil field had clear commercial viability. A bonus of this scale was more than justifiable.
While everyone buzzed with excitement over the generous promise, CEO Choi Gyu-wan quietly stepped closer and asked,
"With nearly a hundred crew members onboard, are you sure that's all right?"
Seok-won replied with an unconcerned expression.
"It costs about 100 million won a day just to charter the drilling ship, doesn't it?"
"That's right."
"And considering that drilling a single well costs close to 10 billion won, it's far more profitable to hand out bonuses than to fail and start drilling at a new point all over again."
"Now that you put it that way, that makes sense."
CEO Choi Gyu-wan nodded in agreement.
"If we can actually discover an oil field, we could easily afford to give out even larger bonuses."
If they failed to discover oil, the hundreds of billions of won already spent on drilling would vanish into thin air, so Choi Gyu-wan nodded again, clearly in agreement.
Before long, the area around the drilling tower, which had been bustling with workers, fell quiet.
As Seok-won stood beside CEO Choi Gyu-wan in front of the glass window of the drilling control room overlooking the tower, Director Kwon Dong-won approached them.
"We will now begin the production test."
"Go ahead."
As Seok-won gave a small nod and granted final approval, Director Kwon Dong-won, looking unusually serious, raised the radio in his hand to his mouth.
"Commence the test!"
At the same moment, a sharp alarm rang throughout the entire drilling ship three times in succession.
Beeeep! Beeeep! Beeeep!
Only the drillers remained on the drilling floor directly beneath the drilling tower, while the other workers moved far away for safety.
As Seok-won quietly watched the scene, Captain Yoo Jin-ho approached and handed him a white safety helmet marked VIP.
"Just in case, please wear this."
Since a major accident could occur at any moment during the production test, Seok-won accepted the helmet without a word and put it on.
When he looked straight ahead, the drilling tower soaring high into the sky somehow felt even more imposing.
[Crackle. Tubing perforator ready.]
Director Kwon Dong-won, his gaze sharper and more serious than ever, stared down at the drilling tower beyond the glass window as he pressed the transmit button on his radio and spoke.
"The hydraulic measurement system is functioning properly, right?"
[Everything is operating without any issues.]
"Then we're starting the perforation immediately. Everyone, move beyond the safety perimeter!"
[Okay! Understood.]
Through the glass window, Director Kwon Dong-won confirmed that Jung Seok-ho, the crew chief, was waving his arm as he led the other workers away from the well site.
Turning his head to the side, Kwon met Seok-won's gaze. When Seok-won gave a nod, Kwon responded silently with his eyes.
"All right. Detonate it!"
Jung Seok-ho, standing behind a large hard case, released the safety clip and firmly pressed the detonator button.
But instead of a thunderous explosion or tremor, what returned was a suffocating silence.
Watching a few seagulls circle lazily around the drilling tower, Seok-won swallowed dryly without realizing it.
Since the explosives had been installed five kilometers beneath the seabed, they had to wait a little before confirming whether the detonation had worked.
It was only a few seconds, but to him, it felt unbearably long.
Not just Seok-won, but everyone inside the drilling control room fixed their eyes on the separator gauge.
CEO Choi Gyu-wan clenched and unclenched his fists several times, and Director Kwon Dong-won's eyes darted nervously as the tension reached its peak.
Then, as if struck by the shock of the explosion, the needle on the gauge trembled slightly.
"It worked!"
When one of the workers shouted loudly, Director Kwon Dong-won and CEO Choi Gyu-wan also showed expressions filled with anticipation.
Seok-won immediately lifted his head and stared intently at the drilling tower standing tall in front of him.
Once the explosion created openings in the rock formation, crude oil would surge upward through the tubing pipes.
Imagining black gold shooting high into the clear blue sky, everyone waited in excited anticipation for the oil to burst forth.
Soon, mud forced upward by gas shot out through the well, accompanied by small rock fragments created when the formation shattered.
"Once all the mud comes up, the crude oil should follow."
At Choi Gyu-wan's explanation, Seok-won kept his eyes fixed on the well, feeling his heart pounding as if it might burst at any moment.
The mud, which had been gushing out to about waist height, gradually weakened, and before long, it only burbled out intermittently from the well.
Several more minutes passed like that, but the crude oil they were waiting for showed no sign of appearing, and even the muddy water stopped flowing altogether.
The anticipation that had filled the drilling ship just moments earlier slowly began to give way to disappointment and regret.
"What is this?"
"So it wasn't here after all…"
"Hah."
"Damn it. It really felt like it was going to blow."
The drilling control room was likewise filled with a heavy silence.
"Hmm."
Letting out a short, low murmur, CEO Choi Gyu-wan turned to Seok-won and spoke.
"The rock layer may have been thicker than expected and might not have been fully penetrated, so we'll attempt another perforation."
Director Kwon Dong-won, also doing his best to hide his disappointment, set his jaw with a determined expression, as if refusing to give up like this.
"The sample analysis results were promising, so let's give it another try."
Seok-won, feeling the same sense of regret, agreed with the two of them.
"All right. Let's try again."
"Thank you."
Just as Director Kwon Dong-won was about to issue another command through the radio in his hand, a deep rumbling sound echoed, as if an earthquake had struck.
"Huh?"
"That sound… don't tell me—"
KABOOM!!!
Before anyone could react, everyone rushed toward the glass window. At that very moment, a massive explosion roared, and a black torrent erupted from the well like a volcanic eruption.
The workers stared in stunned silence as crude oil shot higher than the top of the drilling tower, which stood over eighty meters tall. Then, as if on cue, they threw their arms around one another and burst into cheers.
"It's coming out!"
"Wooooo! That's it!"
"See? I told you it would!"
"The crude oil's erupting!"
As everyone shouted like they had lost their minds in celebration, Seok-won, unable to contain his excitement, dashed out of the control room.
Gripping the paint-chipped steel railing, he stared at the jet-black crude oil surging powerfully upward, his face flushed with exhilaration.
CEO Choi Gyu-wan, who had followed him out, also burst into laughter, his expression filled with sheer elation.
"It's incredible that the oil field bursts open the moment you arrive, Chairman! You truly are a man of fortune."
"Haha! Then I guess I'll have to show up every time we drill a new well from now on."
"That would be wonderful."
Playing along smoothly, CEO Choi Gyu-wan gazed almost dazzled at the relentless stream of crude oil that showed no sign of slowing down.
"Looks like you'll have to honor that bonus you promised."
Seok-won burst into hearty laughter as he replied.
Even as they continued talking, the black crude oil that shot high into the air and rained back down like a storm drenched both of them completely.
His expensive cashmere coat and shoes were stained with sticky crude oil, but Seok-won paid no attention to it, instead savoring the rain of oil falling from the sky with a delighted expression.
Thus, the crude oil that had slept for tens of thousands of years beneath the cold depths of the Sea of Okhotsk was finally brought into the world by Seok-won's hand.