At Ji-hyun's answer, Canu shook his head and whispered,
"Christians tend to label other countries' religions as demonic. Dagon is a water god worshipped in Mesopotamia."
I've never heard of it. Well, I wouldn't know about other countries' water gods. The only one that comes to mind is Poseidon from Greek and Roman mythology. If you asked me to name air or fire gods from other countries, I wouldn't have a clue. Emma spoke in a frightened voice,
"You don't know what lives on the ocean floor."
Yujin replied with a dubious tone,
"I know what lives there. I live here, and so do the people here. Jellyfish live here too."
"路路路路路Not that kind!"
"Are you afraid of creatures with many legs? 路路路路路路I'm surprised you can even stay here."
Yujin sighed softly, as if she was very familiar with people like Emma. How can someone who hates marine life live in a submarine base? Well, there are people who join cults just for the money, so anything is possible. Yujin grumbled to Emma,
"I still don't understand why Western people are so terrified of cephalopods like octopuses and squids. Mammals have hemoglobin, so their blood is red, but cephalopods have hemocyanin, so their blood is blue. They're called 'blue blood' and are as intelligent as dogs and cats, so why do you hate them so much?"
"One day, they will awaken from the deep, dark ocean and invade the world!"
When Emma answered with disgust, Yujin was speechless for a moment, then sighed heavily as if the elevator had just dropped.
Well, if octopuses and squids were to invade, I would happily boil water in a pot and prepare the sauce. Yujin started to distance herself from Emma, as if she didn't want to waste her precious time on conspiracy theories about marine life attacking humans. I cautiously asked Canu, who seemed knowledgeable about religions,
"Is there a god associated with sharks?"
I asked, thinking there probably wasn't, but Canu answered with a gleam in his eye,
"Yes, there is. There's Kamohoali'i and Nanaue. And Waumauwa, Takawanga."
Canu started listing more names, but I didn't recognize any of them. From his casual explanation, it seemed that there were quite a few places in warm Pacific island nations like Hawaii that worshipped shark gods.
In Korea, the water has become warmer, leading to more shark sightings. But thinking about it, I don't know much about sharks. As I listened to Canu, making a face that showed I had never heard of these things, Canu asked me,
"Where are you from?"
"I'm from Korea."
"In your country, the Dragon King (The Dragon King) is probably similar to Dagon."
路路路路路The Dragon King. It took a few seconds for the meaning to register in my brain. I had only heard of the Dragon King in folk tales, like when a rabbit's liver was needed or when Shim Chong was rescued from the Well of the Dragon King.
Carter, who had been jumping around the elevator ceiling, looked at his phone and, with a frustrated expression, said to us who were calmly discussing legends and gods,
"Whether it's the Dragon King or a demon, the one who gets us out of here is the best! What are we going to do about the elevator? Are we just done? Are we going to stay here in the dark forever?"
No one answered. Everyone's gaze turned to the engineer. Ji-hyun, who was sitting on the elevator floor, looked at Carter and said,
"The backup power will kick in soon. 路路路路路路I hope."
"I hope? What do you mean by 'I hope'? You're the engineer, so you should know. Do your job properly!"
Ji-hyun's patience, which had been hanging by a thread, seemed to have completely run out.
"I did everything properly! You're here because you thought you knew everything and ended up trapped with me, who knows nothing! If you don't want to wait for the backup power, open the elevator door and jump out."
"What?"
Before anyone could stop him, Carter threw his phone at Ji-hyun's face. Kevin, who was next to Ji-hyun, moved with lightning speed.
Bang!
When I shone the flashlight in the direction of the sound, Carter's broken phone had hit the elevator's sea-facing window and rolled to the floor.
Since no one else moved, it seemed Kevin had swung his axe and deflected the phone. I froze, holding the flashlight. Kevin walked forward.
"Do you want to lose your hand?"
As Kevin approached Carter with his axe, Carter took a few steps back and tried to explain,
"I didn't mean to hit you, I just wanted to路路路路路路"
"Just what?"
"Just scare you a little. I didn't throw it at you, so why are you so overreacting路路路路路路"
As Kevin got closer, Carter's voice grew quieter until it was almost inaudible. Ji-hyun looked at Carter with disgust.
I ran over with the flashlight to check Ji-hyun's face, and Kim Ga-young asked from behind me,
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
"路路路路路I don't know."
Ji-hyun winced as the flashlight shone on his face. After thoroughly checking his head and face, I answered the two of them,
"There are no injuries."
Fortunately, there were no wounds on his face or head. The phone and the axe had both missed him.
Yujin, whose face had turned pale, and Kim Ga-young, who had heard my diagnosis, both sighed heavily. As I lowered the flashlight from Ji-hyun's face, he leaned against the wall and looked at the people weakly.
By now, Kevin had cornered Carter in the elevator and was berating him. Sam and James were jeering at Carter from the side. Logan watched the scene with his arms crossed. Emma sat motionless, watching everything.
Suddenly, Carter was dragged by Kevin to Ji-hyun. As Kevin swung his axe menacingly at the elevator wall, Carter, standing in front of Ji-hyun, began to speak in a small, disgruntled voice.
Stop. But Ji-hyun cut Carter off mid-sentence. Though he looked like he didn't want to talk to Carter, Ji-hyun looked at Carter for a moment and then addressed the people in the elevator,
"Earlier, I should have taken the elevator alone. 路路路路路路I keep thinking about why I was so eager to help people and ended up here. Your actions have made me regret saving everyone. I don't want to hear anything from you."
"路路路路路I'm sorry."
"What value does your apology have?"
Looking at Carter's disgruntled face, Ji-hyun asked,
It seems you're more hurt emotionally than physically. Teeth can be fixed. No, let me correct that. Teeth are easier to fix than the heart.
路路路路路Indeed. When the elevator stopped between the 1st and 4th floors, Ji-hyun had the chance to leave us all behind. If he had taken the elevator alone, even if he ended up trapped, he wouldn't have seen this. A wave of guilt washed over me.
When Kevin released Carter, Carter looked at Kevin and Ji-hyun, then walked to the farthest corner of the elevator. On the way, he checked his broken phone and threw it on the floor.
Kevin, who had been dragging Carter, now felt his bandaged calf, perhaps to check if the wound had reopened. Since my arm and flashlight were pointing at the ceiling, it was dark below. I shone the flashlight on Kevin's leg.
The calf was still as I had treated it. There was no bleeding or loosened stitches. I nodded slightly to indicate it was fine, and Kevin looked at me and nodded back twice. Did he understand the same thing?
Kevin glanced at Ji-hyun and sat about a meter away. He then spoke very softly to Ji-hyun's profile. My translator barely picked up and interpreted the small voice.
"路路路路路Thank you for bringing me. Even though my leg is like this, I couldn't help with anything."
When Kevin and Emma came down to the 2nd floor to use the elevator, Ji-hyun didn't criticize or blame them. He simply allowed them to board his ark, which he had built with three times the effort of others.
No, including himself, he had successfully saved 12 people. And there were two animals. 路路路路路路Impressive. I can barely take care of myself. Ji-hyun, who didn't respond, was looking at the ceiling illuminated by the flashlight.
We waited quietly, and suddenly the lights in the elevator came on. At the same time, the elevator started moving upwards again. A bit of dizziness came over me. It seemed the power had been out for about 5 minutes. As the elevator started moving again, people laughed and cheered. I turned off the flashlight.
Oh my God! I knew you wouldn't abandon me! Amen! Amen! Sam's loud voice was heard over Logan's long whistle. Sam, who had been clasping his hands, said to the elevator ceiling,
"As soon as we get out of here, I'll go to church regularly! I'll pray and read the Bible diligently!"
"You're good at lying."
Sam argued with James, who was interfering with his prayer. Kim Ga-young clasped her hands and said softly,
"Namoo Amitabul Kwanseum Bosal."
Yujin, who was next to her, clasped her hands and said rever