I'm still alive

When I opened my eyes, I saw an old man looking down at me. The old man leans the bottle of water to my mouth without saying anything. I also open my mouth without saying anything and drink the water slowly coming in. When the water comes in, the dry mouth cheers and struggles to eat even one more drop.

I reached out in a hurry, grabbed the bottle of water, and emptied it at once. Then, he exhaled his blocked breath and washed his face to recover his senses. I was lying in the middle of the bus. As I looked around, all the windows were blocked with cloth, and the party was all lying on the floor or on the chairs, falling asleep.

Chae-yeon and Kang Soo-ryeon hugged each other and fell asleep. I breathed a long sigh of relief only when I saw it. I felt something stuck in my mind was popping out.

'I disinfected the ears again.'

The old man sat still and looked at me and said, I raised my hand and groped around the wound. The dirty cloth that was tying up there had disappeared and an old but clean cloth wrapped around the wound. And the subtle pain and stinging delivered the pain vividly.

And looking at the injured foot, the cloth was wrapped with wood splints. I slowly bowed to the old man and thanked him for all this. The old man looked at me without saying a word and laughed.

I swallowed my saliva a few times and looked around and asked the old man.

Where is this place?'

Then the old man answered in a small voice.

'You needed a place to faint and hide.'

The old man beckoned me to come for a while and I slowly got up from my seat and approached the old man.

The old man gently sank down and lifted up the cloth covering one side of the window to show me. The light dawn was rising as if night had passed. The endless gunfire and screams were not heard, and black smoke and flames were seen rising from all over Seoul National University.

And the moaning around the buildings came into sight. I gulped down my saliva. I didn't believe it, but that shot led them here. During the night, this place turned into hell.

It's one of the baguette buses that blocked the area near Shin Seoul National University.'

The old man whispered so beside me. At the old man's words I remembered the identity of this bus.

Is it safe?'

I swallowed my saliva and asked, and the old man answered, shaking his head.

'We'll escape as soon as the sun comes up in the morning. You fell down and were forced to come here.'

I wanted to ask about the situation last night, but I soon gave up asking. Then he sighed and sank slowly on the floor. The old man looked out the window for a moment, and soon covered himself again with a cloth and came up to me and sat down. And asked me.

'There's a lot of people.'

I sighed again and answered the old man.

'I know.'

Me, and four children, including an old man and his granddaughter, Chae-yeon and Kang Soo-ryeon, and a girl. Except for me and the elderly, most of them are non-combatants. I closed my eyes for a moment and fell into thought. I felt like I was carrying a heavy load.

I was so lost in thought that I was waiting for the morning to come, and suddenly I heard a rustle on one side. When I opened my eyes reflexively, a girl who was with Chae-yeon was coming this way.

I looked at the child wondering what was going on, and the old man, who had been packing his bag for a long time, looked at him. Then the child suddenly sat on the floor, kneeling and begging us.

Please take us with you....... I'll do anything...….'

Perhaps the child listened to what I was talking about with the old man without sleeping. He kneels down and bows at us, with tears in his eyes. I want to live with a mournful voice. And I felt desperate to save the children.

I glanced at the old man's countenance. I'm sure this kid knows. In the world where the end came, there was no right to be protected for being a child. That was not to say that we had a compulsory duty. The child knew it so well that he begged and begged like that.

In fact, I had a small resolution to take them to a corner of my mind. But when the old man thought he wouldn't do that, he felt uneasy. I heard the answer at school, but I don't know what people think. This wasn't a matter of impulsive sympathy.

What if the old man asks you to act separately? a childlike anxiety The anxiety turned my attention to the old man.

The old man first hardened his face and then got up and slowly approached the girl. When the girl suddenly saw the approaching old man, she shrank reflectively and collapsed. And he was terrified, blocking himself with his hands. Each of the actions seemed to tell of what had happened before.

I swallowed a bitter saliva and looked at the old man. The old man slowly sat in front of the girl and made eye contact. Then he reached out and stroked the child's head and said,

Poverty, how hard it must have been.….'

Where did the tough, stout old man go? The old man I saw before my eyes had turned into an ordinary grandfather who treated his young granddaughter. Kick your tongue, pat your child on the head, take the biscuit out of my bag and hold it in his hand.

Then he stroked his head again and said,

'I'm proud of you. You brought all those kids, didn't you? You did a great job.'

At first, the child slowly began to cry at the old man's words, and soon burst into tears. As if they could hear loud noises, they cover their hands with their mouths and shed tears like chicken poop in their eyes.

She's the biggest of these kids, but she's still a little girl. What a great hardship he must have had. The girl cried for a long time as the sorrow exploded. The old man said, sweeping down the child's back.

Come with us. Now put your luggage down.'

The child couldn't answer the remark because of tears and only nodded quietly. It was a normal scene after a long time. Yes, human beings are originally these creatures. To help each other, to serve and sympathize with each other.

I enjoyed the peace that I felt after a long time, staring at it.

Then he made eye contact with the old man and turned his head, coughing in vain at the awkwardness. And looked out the window. The sun begins to rise and the world brightens. Then I began to realize that I had escaped safely with Chae-yeon.

The short time felt like a distant journey.

I slowly closed my eyes and enjoyed the sun filling my face.

A mountain of work to be done passes by my head. A safe haven and food for as many people as possible. And the cold that's coming. And still fearful of them and other survivors.

I wasn't sure I could live tomorrow right away, and in my mind there was a thick dreg of the end. Dead people pass by me in front of my eyes and still haunt me. Nevertheless, I have made up my mind. Fear, I'm about to face it now.

I'm still alive.

* * * * * * *

The old man and I woke up the whole party. Everyone seemed to be tired, but they followed the old man and my instructions without complaining. As soon as Chae-yeon woke up, she ran to me and hugged me and burst into tears again.

'I was so surprised to see you fall down.'

Kang Soo-ryeon, who looks much better, said carefully behind Chae-yeon. I always seemed to worry Chae-yeon. I felt sorry for a long time and got up from my seat. As I stroked Chae-yeon's head tightly attached to my leg and looked around, the whole party was looking at me.

I swallowed my saliva once in a sense of responsibility that weighed heavily on me. The old man came up slowly and said, showing me a walkie-

'The radio was cut off at dawn. It's the last thing you want me to do.'

The old man said so and kept his mouth shut. I closed my eyes when I heard that and nodded. Do you think it's a causal response? The group, which was not even human, was swept away by the group, not by the human. It's hard to conclude that everyone is dead, but that's not important.

I found all the precious people. And got out of hell.

It's time to find a way to live.

I opened my closed eyes and looked at the old man and his party. And he opened his mouth and said,

I'm going to go into the mountain and head back to where I was.'

A suitable hiding place could have been found inside the city. It was easier to find supplies and the temperature was relatively higher than in the mountains. But those who are always wandering around and survivors who may turn into enemies are among the dangers.

Most of the party members are noncombatants. We could not put a risk factor around us, even though we were worried about the shortage of supplies and shivering with cold. We have to hide like scared bugs.

The old man listened silently and answered.

'I'll take your opinion.'

The old man was always like this. He sent a quick consent as if he didn't even have any particular family attached. When the old man agrees without complaining, the granddaughter, who was next to the old man, also slowly. Chae-yeon clung tightly to my leg and looked up at me, and Kang Soo-ryeon also closes her eyes and nods her head.

And the children who followed looked at me, and they were looking at me with their eyes. Slowly broaden their horizons and look at everyone, all the party were looking at me. Complete agreement in silence, that's how our destination was set.

Lack of food, drinking water that exposed the floor, and the ever-decreasing temperature. Take this man up the mountain and head for the shelter. My mouth was dry and tension weighed heavily on my whole body, but I clapped my cheeks with both hands to straighten up my fighting spirit. I can do it.

'Let's move, then.'

I spoke calmly, as if nothing was going to happen, and the party moved slowly and began preparing to leave. I opened the bag I brought and checked the quantity of biscuits left and the water. Even if we save on this number of people, it will be gone in a day. I sigh slowly and pick up my bag.

Women and children, who were relatively lightly dressed when I first saw them, were wearing thick clothes. It looked a lot bigger for men, but it was a must-have item to climb this cold winter mountain.

Women and children began to move busily. In the meantime the old man noticed and slowly came up to me and stuck out an old sports bag. I asked what this was and the old man opened the bag without saying anything.

Inside the bag, there were bloodstained guns, bullets, and even a great sword. It was probably collected from the battle site in front of the law school building, but I was impressed by the old man's quick judgment, but I was relieved by the memory of that time.

'It's a secret to the party.

The old man said so and handed me a gun. I must have brought it while I passed out. I took the gun familiarly and breathed out long. The bayonet glows sharply at the end of the gun'

When all was ready, the old man began to collect the cloth that had covered the windows. Then he packed all the cloth in his bag and gestured, pointing to one window. I walked there fast, crossed the window first, and stepped outside.

As soon as I came down the bus, I quickly looked around. A baguette bus that existed on the outskirts of Sinseoul University. And if you look around, it's a very familiar terrain. As I recall, this was the road we had walked on.

I held my gun tightly and looked around, but I couldn't see if they were still inside the school enjoying the predation.

I slowly approached down the bus, beckoning toward the bus.

The old man next to me slipped out of the window. The old man had crossed the window familiarly and as soon as he came down to the floor, he held a shotgun and guarded his surroundings. I approached the bus window and gestured to help the coming party.

Kang Su-ryeon glanced up at the window and leaned out of the window. I accept Chae-yeon from below and put her down carefully. Then one by one, the children start to come over, and the frightened girl comes down.

Next is the granddaughter of the old man. And finally, Kang Soo-ryeon came over from the window. The party clung to the side of the bus and looked at me with a frightened face. The old man slowly lowered the shotgun and came up to me and said,

'Let's walk in a line. You're the lead, I'm the back.'

I nodded. The position proposed by the old man is the best in the present situation. I lined the formation up by sorting out the number of people who needed a care and the number of people who could.