Chapter 94

Chapter 94

I took a few steps back at Kevins shouting, and faced off against him in that position. Kevin seemed extremely bothered by me approaching him, or maybe he didnt like my greeting.

I brought my backpack to the front, unzipped it slightly, and reached inside. Fumbling around, I took out a bottle of saline solution, a spray disinfectant, and a few packaged painkillers.

I knelt on one knee and heard someone inhaling sharply in the distance. I began rolling the saline bottle like a bowling ball towards Kevin. The cylindrical bottle tumbled and stopped at Kevins ankle. Next, I rolled the spray disinfectant.

Even as I rolled the items to him, Kevin didnt look at what they were. He only watched my actions. The painkillers were what Kim Ga-young had brought from Yoo Geum-yi s lab, and I tossed the remaining two pills in their container. The painkiller bottle flew in an arc and landed lightly next to Kevins instep.

From my observations, most Koreans dont take pills without water, but foreigners just swallow them dry. Im not sure why. Maybe I just havent seen Koreans swallowing pills without water. As for water to take with the medicine they could scoop up the draining seawater with their hands. I tried it and it was fine. But rather than drinking that seawater, Id prefer swallowing the saline solution. Its salty water either way.

I said something I would never tell a patient at my clinic.

Treat yourself.

Without taking his eyes off me, Kevin felt around his ankle and picked up the round saline bottle, holding it up towards me. Keeping both the bottle and me in his field of vision, he quickly glanced at the item in his hand and set it on the floor. He was checking the disinfectant and painkillers in the same way.

It seemed he believed that the moment he took his eyes off me, I would rush in to close the distance and attack, or the people keeping their distance would run over and jump him. Im not sure why he thought that. Pointing at the bottles, I said,

Wash the wound area thoroughly with saline, then disinfect with the spray. The painkillers will make it hurt less if you take them, or you can keep hurting without them.

You need to see the wound to know what it looks like. I think I acted in a way that wouldnt get me kicked out if I stood before Hippocrates. It may surprise most people, but dentists also take the Hippocratic Oath. Kevin frowned, gripping the axe handle, and asked,

Whats your name?

Zipping up my backpack, I returned the question in an equally dry voice.

Whats your name then?

I heard a sharp inhalation behind me. What if Yoo Geum-yi was mistaken or youre a twin and a different person? Kevin gave me a displeased look and spat out his name.

Kevin Roy.

Park Moo-hyun.

Mister Park. Theres no guarantee you wont attack me if I let go of this axe.

Keep thinking that then.

Kevin looked taken aback. Even if I said Im harmless, have no intention of harming you, wont attack you needlessly, and will treat you if you allow me, could he really believe it?

We were strangers, and we met under circumstances too perilous to instantly trust each other. And while Ive countless times soothed frightened children to treat them at the dental clinic, what power does a doctor have if an adult refuses treatment? Id just say something like Come back when you feel like getting treated. Besides, Deep Blue is closed and Im on vacation.

I dont want to imagine you chopping me with that axe while Im treating you either.

What do you gain from this?

Kevins words made me smile wryly. Realizing my laughter might seem like mockery to him, I erased the smile tugging at my lips and retorted,

Would I gain anything?

Looking down at the first floor from the second floor railing, a tremendous amount of water had drained. Lee Jihyun, who had been slumped in a chair, was now getting up and heading towards the stairs. Kevin, gripping the axe handle again, slowly stood up leaning on the axe. People seemed to want to go to the stairs leading to the first floor, but they were wary due to Kevins presence.

However, Lee Jihyun passed right in front of Kevin and descended the stairs, not caring whether he was holding the axe or not. As Kevin slowly went down the stairs after her, the others followed, keeping a distance of 2-3 meters.

On the first floor, the water level was between the ankles and calves. Washing my hands once in the seawater to avoid falling, I slowly walked to the elevator. People who had already arrived were boarding the open elevator. The elevator interior was huge. Lee Jihyun had removed the control panel cover and was examining the inside. I entered the elevator and checked the maximum occupancy.

[Passenger Freight]

[3750 kg]

[50 persons]

No wonder the elevator was so big the capacity was immense. It was much larger inside than it appeared from the outside. The central elevator in the main building was also huge, but this was no joke either. Whats the per-person weight limit? Yoo Geum-yi was also looking at the maximum occupancy and simply told me,

75kg per person.

Hearing that, Kim Ga-young smiled slightly and said,

Well, Im definitely not 75kg.

Is 75kg the standard weight per person in elevators? I had never thought about this topic before. There are 12 people here, so cant we all fit?

As I was trying to recall my most recent weight from the company health checkup, Sam frowned at the kilograms and asked Yoo Geum-yi ,

How much is that in pounds?

Oh. One moment. Uh, about 166 pounds?

Sam fell silent. Then he stared at the maximum occupancy sign as if glaring would change the numbers.

The woman named Emma was sitting crumpled in the corner of the elevator floor. She seemed utterly indifferent to her legs and bottom getting wet. Unlike when she appeared fine on the second floor, she now looked extremely exhausted. I wanted to talk to her, but she was hunched over with her head in her hands, shutting out all external stimuli. I didnt want to bother someone who seemed worn out by the very idea of conversation.

As people boarded the elevator one by one, Benjamin asked Lee Jihyun impatiently,

Will it work? Or not?

Wait.

How long do we have to wait? I went diving and pulled this elevator out of the water because of what you said.

I said wait.

If this doesnt work! Hey! Youll have killed everyone here! Killed them all! The people here couldve all gone to the bio center but stayed here trusting you!

Lee Jihyun raised her head from the elevator panel and looked at Benjamin. But Kanu cut Benjamin off first.

If it doesnt work, we die here then.

Maybe you have no problem living or dying here since your days are already numbered, but not me!

Its about the same whether we get out by elevator or not, so quit whining.