Episode 8
“What earthworm? I am a dragon who would have ascended to the heavens if it weren’t for your interference!”
After her outburst, the woman squeezed her eyes shut again. Her fists clenched around the fabric of her robe covering her knees, her expression a mixture of anger and humiliation.
“…”
Seeing Joon-wan’s silence, she continued, her voice softening.
“Let me… explain it in simpler terms.”
She spoke in a hesitant, halting voice.
“I am… how should I put it… a divine being who governs this land, in your modern terms. For countless eons, humans have worshipped me, and I have protected them.”
Joon-wan decided to hear her out.
“However, recently, the earth’s energy has dwindled, and humans have forgotten me. I endured, waiting for their hearts to turn back, but the situation only worsened, leaving me with no reason to remain here.”
She continued, her voice laced with a sigh.
“Thus, I waited for an auspicious day and time to ascend. I sensed that my place was not here, but above.”
“…”
Joon-wan had plenty to say but held his tongue.
“But on the day of my ascension, a human, appearing out of nowhere, dared to call me an earthworm!”
The mysterious woman’s eyes blazed with fury as she spoke, her anger growing with each word.
“His words defiled me, and I fell back to earth like a wounded arrow, before I could even close the gate to heaven.”
“…”
“And then I was abducted and brought to this place.”
She glared at him with piercing eyes.
“Where are we? What do you intend to do with me?”
“Sigh…”
Joon-wan let out a deep sigh after hearing her out.
‘What else can I do but call the police?’
He was far too rational to believe her story, and not naive enough to fall for such an outlandish tale.
“…Hmm.”
However, he hesitated to take immediate action. It wasn’t indecisiveness.
‘She’s clearly delusional, but how does she know about the earthworm I brought down from the mountain?’
While he wasn’t a psychiatrist like his brother, he could certainly recognize signs of mental instability. Yet, something about the situation made him uneasy.
‘Did she follow me? On the night of the earthquake?’
This suspicion could be partly explained if she was, in fact, a stalker who had been following his every move. Perhaps she had witnessed the giant earthworm ascending from somewhere.
‘But…’
That didn’t explain everything. Even a stalker couldn’t possibly know his innermost thoughts, which he had never shared with anyone.
‘Something’s not right.’
The woman’s claim of being a “dragon” aligned with some of his own hypotheses.
A dragon failing to ascend and being transformed into an earthworm due to human words.
‘No matter how I think about it… it’s absurd.’
However, the path from hypothesis to belief was a treacherous one.
“How can I believe that?”
Joon-wan asked.
“How can I believe you’re a dragon?”
“If you weren’t going to believe me, you shouldn’t have taken me in the first place!”
The woman retorted.
“Why did you bring me down from the sky that day?”
“…”
“To raise me here? Do you even realize what’s happening because of you?”
Joon-wan was speechless, overwhelmed by her increasingly agitated questions.
He felt a throbbing headache. Rubbing his temples, he asked,
“So? What do you want?”
“…”
“What do you want from me?”
The woman glared at him.
“Fix it.”
One of Joon-wan’s well-defined eyebrows shot up.
“If you caused the problem, it’s only right that you take responsibility for fixing it.”
‘What does that even mean?’
The woman didn’t back down, unfazed by his expression.
“I’ve been thinking, and I believe I need your help to ascend to the heavens again.”
She spoke with the confidence of someone demanding the return of a misplaced possession.
“So, you need to help me with all your heart and soul.”
***
Frustration surged through her.
‘Fix it… you fool! Fix it while you still have the chance.’
Why couldn’t he understand such a simple request?
‘You’re the one who caused me to fall from the heavens; shouldn’t you cooperate in helping me return?’
She needed to appease him to achieve her goal, but she couldn’t control the growing irritation at his obstinate expression.
‘He’s the one who abducted me, and now he wants me to fix it?’
He threatened to call the police, treated her like a lunatic, and now he was acting indignant. She wanted to leave this place just as much as he wanted her gone.
‘I don’t want help from a human, especially the one who caused this mess.’
However, the past few days had taught her that things wouldn’t be easy.
She sighed.
Her powers showed no signs of returning.
‘Even with all my strength, I can only maintain this form. What has become of me?’
She had believed that once she regained her human form, escaping this place would be a simple matter, but it wasn’t working.
‘If I revert to my earthworm form while trying to reach the mountain, I could drown in the rain or be trampled to death.’
Losing her powers had created a myriad of problems.
‘Even if I manage to reach the mountain, I could be eaten by a mole or something.’
Maintaining her current form was already a struggle. Moreover, he wouldn’t even give her time to transform.
‘Why does he keep dragging me around?’
She felt nauseous from being jostled around all day.
Eavesdropping on their conversations from within the black cylindrical container, she had pieced together a partial understanding of the situation. She realized, much to her chagrin, that she needed his help to regain her powers.
‘This is truly unpleasant.’
That was why, after much deliberation, she had revealed her true identity and made this request.
However, this fool… couldn’t seem to grasp the golden opportunity presented to him.
“Fix what? How?”
He asked grumpily.
‘Is he serious?’
She spoke calmly.
“Offer a ritual. For me.”
He looked at her with a puzzled expression.
‘What does he even know?’
She couldn’t believe his ignorance, but she patiently explained.
“If the malicious words of a human can cause a dragon to fall from the heavens, then surely the sincere devotion of a human can rectify the situation?”
It was the fastest way for her, the Jiryong, the earth dragon of this land, to regain her divine powers.
“Offer a ritual, show your sincerity so that I can regain my powers. Then, I will reward you greatly.”
It wasn’t a bad proposition for a human.
‘You’re incredibly lucky.’
Regardless of the reason, she wouldn’t forget his assistance in helping her ascend.
“…”
However, he remained silent, his eyes wide, his expression unreadable. He didn’t seem inclined to accept her offer.
‘Does this fool even know what a ritual is?’
Well, times had changed. Perhaps he was truly ignorant. She crossed her arms.
‘Right, hmm… He must be refusing this golden opportunity…’
She had no choice but to explain what a ritual entailed.
“Prepare offerings at every meal and pray for me to regain my powers. Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘Sincerity moves heaven’?”
“…Offerings?”
“Yes, offer me your heartfelt devotion, and once I regain my powers, I will ascend to the heavens and reward you generously.”
He frowned and asked,
“Are you a shaman? Are you asking me to pay millions of won for a gut(ritual)?”
‘What is he talking about?’
She felt a headache coming on.
“I’m a dragon. You don’t know what a ritual is, but you know about shamans?”
“Yes, I can see right through your scam.”
He scoffed and then asked,
“What happens if I don’t?”
“What?”
“What if I don’t offer you this ritual and kick you out?”
“Sigh…”
“Will I get sick like someone possessed by a spirit? Will my life fall apart? Will I be cursed and die?”
Despite her detailed explanation…
She had suspected he wouldn’t understand, but this was beyond frustrating.
‘He’s kicking away a golden opportunity. This fool…’
She felt a surge of anger.
‘Is he treating me like some low-level spirit?’
She was refraining from harming him to avoid further defilement, not because she was powerless. He had no idea what transgression he had committed.
“Ha!”
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
“If you don’t? I won’t be able to ascend to the heavens immediately. But more importantly, the living creatures of this land will suffer greatly. And from now on, it will be your fault, not mine. Understand?”
He looked at her with a blank expression, as if he still didn’t comprehend.
She glanced towards the heavy rain pouring outside through the open window.
“On that day, I pushed open the gate to heaven with my head, but I fell before I could close it.”
She suspected that the incessant rain since that day was caused by the hole she had created in the sky.
“And now, in this state, I can’t close it. That’s why it’s raining, isn’t it?”
Whoosh!
The sound of rain intensified as she spoke.
“If it’s not closed, it will rain until the heavens run dry, but this land will be submerged first. Creatures with legs might escape, but those rooted to the earth will perish.”
He looked at the rain, then back at her. His expression, as if he was just realizing his role in this disaster, was so absurd that she couldn’t help but ask,
“Didn’t you find it strange that it’s been raining nonstop since that day?”