I'm still alive

I washed my hair that was tangled with blood, and wiped off my dirty face. And I dressed up in thick and long clothes to cover the wound, and slowly went out of the hospital. Kim Chul was startled and told me to relax, but I missed Chae-yeon because I wanted to see her even a minute earlier.

Kang Soo-ryeon, who had been crying for a while hugging me, blushed out of the hospital room with an excuse that the work was not over yet, the old man went out to meet his granddaughter, who was working at school, and the Yong-pal brothers went out to meet their nephew, who was studying in the same place as Chae-yeon.

And Detective Kang, who followed us in a daze, was completely treated at the hospital and lying on the bed resting. The quiet entry of someone holding the papers into the room seemed to lead to a rough investigation and conversation. He must be well adapted.

When I left the hospital, I felt tired and drowsy. As if to celebrate my return, the sun glides through the clouds, and the warm warmth licked my skin quietly. I walked down the sunny road and headed to the school where Chae-yeon was going.

The time is 3 p.m. Yongpal says school will be over in 30 minutes. I was going to surprise Chae-yeon who was getting off school at that time. I found a nearby store and bought an armful of snacks for children to enjoy using overflowing coupons.

I could feel the eyes around me, but I tried hard to ignore them and walked with the party. Eden seemed to be in full swing, with people running around the streets busily, and every building felt bustling.

And maybe five minutes' walk, we could get to the front of an exceptionally bright and large building. The buildings, which were painted cutely with yellow and pink paint, were so different from the buildings around them. Like the innocence that still lingers between the apocalypse gray? I liked the school building.

Yong-pal and Du-sik looked unusually excited. I was quietly watching the colorful school, and a dragon-arm came up gently, poking me in the waist and whispering quietly.

Brother, don't you feel a little strange?’

I nodded my head without negation. Yongpal's words were true. I felt a little strange when I waited for Chae-yeon in front of the school where the children were studying. Is it because I'm always busy in the city at this time? I was unable to adapt myself to the sudden arrival of peace.

But the important thing is that it's never a bad feeling. We waited for the school to end without saying anything. As time passed, the inside of the school began to get cluttered and the children began to pour out of the door at the same time.

The number of students wasn't that large. But when the children were gathered in one place, I felt strangely that only the place was shining. I rolled my eyes fast and checked the children coming out one by one, and soon I could find Chae-yeon and our children.

Chae-yeon was walking to the front gate of the school with her head down. And the other children were gathering near Chae-yeon and walking silently down the street. It was in stark contrast to the way children from other schools ran, laughing and chatting.

I always did. When I told him to be quiet, he was quiet. When he told me to walk, he walked. The children didn't grumble or annoy out of proportion to their age. I just tried to be of any help to adults, and I often showed my age as I am now.

The apocalypse was clamoring the children to grow up. But I hated it so much. That's why I came to Eden, and I wanted to send my children to school. I hugged the kids' favorite snacks and slowly approached them.

The other children had slipped out of school, and our children, who were only walking slowly, were the last to pass the main gate. And I sneaked up to her and called her name quietly.

'Chaeyeon.'

Chae-yeon, who was walking on the floor, raised her head. At the same time, the eyes of all the children walking around it turned to me. First, Yong-pal's nephew ran out and ran to Yong-pal, and then Chae-yeon came running to me.

The child began to melt my heartstrings, running as close as he could fall. Chae-yeon opened her arms to me crying with a big snowdrop around her eyes, and I, like instinct, crouched on the floor and leaned down.

Then a heavy touch was felt in my chest, and I began to feel a small hand holding my neck. Chae-yeon burst into tears as she buried her face in my heart. I stroked the child's head with trembling hands. Who braids his hair? The butterfly pin on the tip of her head was so pretty.

My eyes were forward, and there were other children who were avoiding their gaze and pretending to be indifferent. The sisters of some children were taking classes elsewhere, or there were children without guardians. I didn't say it, but I could see that she was envious of Chae-yeon.

Envy? No, this is sadness. The children, who lost their parents and became orphans, knew too well about the unreasonableness of the world as they matured. And the heart, which had been cut many times by that sharp blade, would have already been ragged. Are you used to it? No, you'll feel terrible pain from the wound.

'Guys.

I held Chae-yeon in one hand and opened the other again. And I quietly called the children who were avoiding my eyes, but they tried to ignore my call because they knew there was no reason to call them. But when I called the children again, they turned their eyes to me.

With a smile on my face, I opened my arms as if to come here. Chae-yeon and her children bought enough snacks to eat. And if I could, I wanted to be a person who could fill at least one spot for those children who lost everything.

As I did to Chae-yeon, and as Chae-yeon did to me. A person who can share at least one item in the name of bond, although they are not blood-sharing. I wanted to be a strong fence and a pillar for the children to worry about.

Chae-yeon smiled and called the children as if she had cried, and the children, who heard the call, were walking all the way here. And as time went by, the awkwardness vanished like a haze, and the school gate was filled with the laughter of the children.

I was beginning to resemble Chae-yeon.

* * *

We had a lot of fun with the children and came back to our accommodation and had dinner together. After a long time, the group gathered together in one room and chatted merrily, ending the lavish meal, which even packed dessert. Even though the sun had set and curfew had come, the whispering chatter showed no sign of ending.

And now, a group of people tired of chatting and playing are gathered in one room and are asleep. They brought blankets and covered the children in a hurry, but the meaning was overshadowed by each other's hugging. Only Kang Soo-ryeon and Kim Si-eun were moving quietly and cleaning up the room.

When everyone was asleep, I heard a gentle knock on the door, and the old man and I stood up as if we had waited. The Yong-pal brothers were already asleep, so I thought they'd better let them sleep. I made eye contact with Kang Su-ryeon, who did not fall asleep and was quietly watching us.

Kang Su-ryeon nodded silently and sent me a look of faith, and I quickly started changing my clothes, starting with that look. Comfortable attire was also good. However, he did not know how the meeting would go, so he intentionally wore what he was wearing when he was on duty.

And I took care of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and carefully opened the front door with the old man and went outside in case of a possible situation. A chilly night breeze brushed his face, and his breath came out like steam. This cold wind gradually increased my tension.

As expected, silver-rimmed glasses were waiting for us in front of the front door. He was still staring at us quietly with a stiff face, and we too began to walk along the road along the silver-rimmed glasses without saying a word. It was an exceptionally dark night without the moon.

* * *

The place where we arrived was the place where I first attended the meeting. Maybe it's because I've been here before? Strangely, I wasn't as nervous or nervous as last time. The silver-rimmed glasses opened the door without hesitation, and we strode into the conference room.

The number of people remained unchanged from then. However, Kim Hye-jung, who resigned from the group, was not seen. People's eyes were on us as to whether we were the last to arrive, and I strode down to the chair that the group leader had designated last time.

Then I gently turned my head and looked at the group leader. The head of the group was still lowering his head with a stiff face, as if he had not been relieved of his anger. The atmosphere in the conference room is unusual. Most of the executives were either wary or anxious to see if they had been briefed on the incident.

But only one, the captain of the battle at my diagonal, was taking off his sunglasses and staring at me. Fucking bastard, curse words broke out of my mouth, and the old man's eyes began to shine sharply, too. The little cursing that popped out of my mouth made the conference room atmosphere even colder.

There was an atmosphere where a fight was about to break out. My hands were instinctively directed to the great sword located in the thigh, and the old man was glaring at the young captain of the battle with a fierce look enough to kill a man. But it was none other than the head of the group that broke the ice.

'Let's start the meeting.’

At the end of the voice, my hand, which was heading toward my thigh, stopped, and the old man gently closed his eyes. The combat team leader also coughed heavily, then put on his stupid sunglasses again and weighed heavily. The group leader, who looked around us slowly, looked at me and soon bowed his head gently.

Dong-yoon, I've heard everything. Thank you for your hard work.’

'Thank you.'

I answered briefly and nodded. Although it was a short compliment and answer, we had enough of that. Upon hearing the short answer, the group leader's face slowly unraveled, and soon I looked at the old man with a pleased face. The eyes were a mixture of trust and faith.

But for a moment, the group leader looked at the captain with an angry face.

'Kim Yoon-sik, I'm sure you're aware of your mistakes.’

Was his name Kim Yun-sik? I chewed his name into my mouth, reflecting on the resentment that still lingered in my heart. Kim Yun-sik, who was criticized for a moment, looked at the head of the group in surprise, and soon coughed in vain and gave an excuse that was not an excuse.

'......this is what happened in the process of searching for vagrants.’

And at that moment, the silver-rimmed glasses, standing quietly beside the group leader, gently lifted the glasses and answered him.

'That's not your authority.

Of course, I understood that it was sensitive right after the incident in which the vagabonds planted spies. But what happened earlier in the day was never what Eden, who is rallying survivors under the name of doctrine, would do. There was definitely a five-year-old child in the position.

And as if to show what the real right judgment is, the silver-rimmed glasses held the documents and began reporting to the head of the group.

'Everyone is quarantined in one place and treatment is in progress. And in case of a possible situation, we did a physical examination, a personal belongings examination, and a census, and we put surveillance on them so that they could not be contacted by the outside world. Reports will be posted periodically.’

At the end of the remark, the silver-rimmed glasses put the documents down on the desk with a thump. The report of silver-rimmed glasses was the best, and it was a convincing process for everyone. The head of the group nodded with a look of complete acceptance, and other executives seemed to agree.

But only one, Kim Yun-sik, was blushing and closing his eyes. But the head of the group slowly rose from his seat and began to walk to the dimly lit conference room window, as if he had no intention of finishing it with it. And there was the same frame in the group leader's room.

It was their doctrine that the head of the group spoke proudly.

The group leader mumbled in a calm tone, carefully sweeping down the frame.

'We'll retrieve the search mission and the gun control we gave the combat team.'

It was a determined and down-down knife. It was a mission that was naturally transferred to the combat team as the search team disappeared.But that wasn't what mattered. The right of the combat team to arm itself with a proper gun was lost overnight.

Literally a knight without a sword, an archer without a bow, and a combat team without weapons. The executives began to babble in the face of such drastic disciplinary action, and Kim Yun-sik stormed out of his seat and slammed into his desk as if he would never admit it. Silver-rimmed glasses frowned at the rude behavior, and other executives who were not favorable to him also hardened their facial expressions.

Sir! This is our battle team, combat team!

He seemed to be very proud of being a combat team. It's like I'm this kind of person! As if to be serious, Kim Yun-sik sent a strong protest to the head of the group. However, the head of the group seems to be already firm in his opinion, but no answer has been heard.

And at that moment in that corner, a woman gently raised her hand. It was a more exquisite timing than I thought, so everyone's eyes turned to her, and she began to notice with a timid shrug. But soon the head of the group nodded and she asked in a small voice.

So who's going to take that mission, and who's going to take the authority?…?

That was the talk of the town. In fact, there weren't so many groups of people who could fight in Eden, and the most representative was the fighting team and the search team that had now disappeared. There seemed to be other groups guarding the head of the group, but they were smaller than expected.

Literally, the only group that could fight in groups was the combat team. However, until we have an uninvited guest, Eden,

The head of the group quietly took his hand off the frame, and returned to his place and sat down in the chair. His mood seemed better than before, and his face was milder than expected. He looked around the conference room and soon breathed heavily.

And he looked at me and said,

Dong-yoon, I'll give you two days off, so please make up for me. It doesn't matter who you need.’

The horse was a catalyst. Some officials have frowned, while others have responded that they are fine. But the young Kim Yun-sik still went mad and started pointing a finger at me, and soon he shouted loudly.

'They're gonna be soldiers?! It's not up to anyone! Group leader!'

Bang!

A sudden noise came from beside me. I knew who it was, so I quietly leaned my back on the chair and closed my mouth. Everyone's eyes turned to the old man next to me, where the old man, who hit the desk with his hand, was shining fiercely.

'Yoon-sik.'

‘…….’

The sound of swallowing saliva echoed quietly. And between those silences the voice of the cold-knife old man poked and entered.

We're confident. And you?’