Chapter 103

Chapter 103

Kevin looked at the axe, then at me and slowly explained,

People followed Bells orders until the escape pods dropped below 30. But when the escape pods decreased to less than 20 and water started to fill up, people started fighting to get on the escape pods. The phone doesnt work, and no matter how much I look among the people gathered, my friend isnt there. On the way to the 6th floor friends lab, I suddenly fell and an axe was stuck in my leg.

Kevin lightly brushed the bandage on his calf with his hand.

It didnt hurt until I moved. I just couldnt walk. The guy who threw the axe at me was a New Zealander I saw occasionally in the break room or cafeteria, and even after thinking about it all this time, I dont really know why he threw the axe at me. We hardly talked to each other normally. I guess he judged that if the number of people decreases, he could get on an escape pod.

Kevin looked at the faces of the people inside the elevator one by one, then spoke with difficulty in a hoarse voice,

Rather than the axe being stuck in my leg, it was more terrifying to see him coming at me. He was sprinting towards me at full speed as I fell.

Then he inhaled and exhaled. Every time Kevin spoke, there was a metallic sound in his throat, and now that I think about it, it seemed like his voice was hoarse from crying so much.

After fighting with the people approaching, I was alone on the 6th floor. I crawled to my friends lab and the door was open but no one was there.

Kevin gripped the axe handle once, then trembled and released the strength in his hand again. Looking now, several of Kevins nails were broken, seemingly broken while crawling. I was too busy looking at the axe to even see the nails.

I rummaged through my bag, found medical paper tape, tore off a few pieces with my fingertips, and wrapped them over Kevins nails. It wont help much, but it was a temporary measure. At least it would prevent the nails from breaking or tearing off further.

Looking at Kevin up close, fatigue was fully settled above his eye sockets. The sight of him taking shallow, panting breaths didnt look particularly good either. Emma, who was huddled in the corner, looked similar. They were both terrified. Come to think of it, everyone here was sensitive due to the disaster situation and consumed by fear. It seemed like Kanu was the only one who wasnt scared at all. Thinking of the two offices on the 3rd floor, I asked Kevin,

There was a room on the 3rd floor where dead people were gathered, have you been there by any chance?

Kevin stared at me blankly, then shook his head.

No.

I recalled the water that stayed below the ankle when I was in the elevator on the 1st floor, rising to the calf in an instant. The Marine Pollution Center would be submerged in water.

I thought of the corpses I saw on the 3rd floor. I tried hard to escape from imagining the numerous corpses laid in the room being submerged and floating in water. Damn it. People dont die so horribly at the dentists office. Good thought. Lets think positively. I tried to say something nice to Kevin.

Your friend might not be in that room. He might have gone to another research center, or got on an escape pod when you couldnt see him while fighting.

I hope so.

Kevin said weakly. And soon there was silence. The atmosphere was gloomy. Benjamin was quickly losing strength from Jamess sarcasm. It was because no one agreed with him. Harsh words were flying around telling each other to just breathe while being stuck in a corner. They were even exchanging words that its okay not to breathe if possible.

The elevator was still shrouded in darkness, and it was felt that people were unwittingly soaked in fear due to the darkness lasting longer than before. To save Kevin, who was trying to sink into depression, even a little, and to sort out my thoughts, I asked him a question.

If you could go back to the past by paying money like Kanu, would you go back?

I dont think I would go. It would be impossible to prepare that much money, but I have always lived by thinking deeply and making choices to the best of my ability each time. Even if I go back to the past, I dont know if I can live a life like I do now. Of course, if I go back to yesterday, I wouldnt stay here today.

To some extent, I can relate. If I could only go back to tomorrow, I want to immediately leave the underwater base, hitchhike on a helicopter or boat passing by the Korean Peninsula, and leave this place.

What about going back six hundred years or a few thousand years like that?

If I go that far back in the past, theres no one I know. I dont want to go.

I see. Well. When I think of my family, even if something happened in the past, I also only wanted to wander within the time period I lived in. Kanus wish doesnt seem to be common. I dont know well about other people.

Jihyun, who seemed to have finished praying, was listening to the conversation between me and Kevin, who were closest. I asked Jihyun, who was lowering her folded hands,

Are you done praying?

Why that person?

No, wait a minute. Now that I think about it, Injo is the worst. No, Seonjo is also a mess. Should I make Jeongjo quit drinking and smoking? Now that I think about it, even if I go back to that time, I dont think I have the ability to assassinate the crown prince or the king, so it seems a bit much, right?

Kim Ga-young began to fall into deep thought while reciting the names of Joseon Dynasty kings one by one. She seems much more knowledgeable about Korean history than me. I only roughly know the names of the kings, but their achievements are all mixed up in my head.

Was it Yeongjo who implemented the Tangpyeong policy? But what is Tangpyeong? I memorized it but I cant remember. Was it Yeonsan-gun and Gwanghae-gun? There was a reason those people couldnt put jo at the end. I tried to rummage through my memories of Korean history that were over 10 years old in my brain, but gave up. Kim Ga-young muttered blankly,

If I alone could greatly change history.

Then suddenly Kim Ga-young frowned and said to me,

Putting aside whether that cult can send me back to the past or not, I dont want to go back hundreds or thousands of years by paying even a hundred won of my own money to change history or help with anything. Theres no big gain for me anyway. Let those old men who say strange things be happy. What do I care what happens to the Andong Kim clan!

Then, as if Kim Ga-young thought of something, she started to express her frustration, saying Ah! while snorting. Yoo Geum-yi suddenly burst into laughter and laughed softly, then asked me who was next to her,

Do you want to go to the distant past, Moo-hyun-ssi?

When asked this question, there is only one place I would go back to.

Yes.

Where do you want to go?

I circled my eyes and waist with my fingertips and said,

I want to go back to before the accident. I wish no one had gotten hurt.

People who have been hospitalized for a long time after experiencing a major accident, or those whose family members were involved in a major accident, would probably sympathize with my opinion. How important it is to live healthy without getting hurt. And how much time, money, and effort it takes to regain ones original life.

I see. I want to go back to when I was about 10 years old, be labeled a genius, receive a lot of government support, and redo this research or buy a lot of flour from then on with the goal of a bakery.

With those words, the elevator moved again. Unlike before, when the elevator started operating with a little less rattling, James and Benjamin, who were standing, both fell on their buttocks. People who were half standing or sitting were also all startled. I also hit my body against the elevator wall, and Yoo Geum-yi and Kim Ga-young, who were sitting close to me, collided with each others shoulders.

Kak!

Huk!

Ugh!

Ahhhhh! Were all dying! Were all dying! Were all falling to our deaths! Ahhhhh!

While people were shocked by the slightly shaking elevator, the lights came on. And the elevator began to rise again. My body was stiff with tension, but I realized I was holding my breath and managed to inhale and exhale.

Carter, who was terrified, kept screaming until Logan kicked him for being noisy, then he shut his mouth. After a few seconds of silence, he asked the people around him,

I heard theres a good posture in case the elevator falls, does anyone know?

Emma, with a pale expression, said sarcastically,

Do you want to live that badly? If you fall, just die. Why bother trying to live?

You die.