I'm still alive

When the woman disappeared, the old man nodded as if he had waited and said to the man again.

'Now blow.'

But the man mumbled without opening his mouth. They seem to clash with reason that they should not talk about it. I understood him but didn't consider it. The old man, looking at the figure, laughed in vain and I breathed a small breath.

You think you have a lot of time..... Absolutely not. I slowly stepped aside and pulled the trigger as if in a show of force against him.

A cold long tone hits a man's eardrum.

The man then raised his head in surprise. Then I looked around in a hurry and met my eyes with a mixture of fear. When the silent threat was made, the man was forced to open his mouth.

'......survivors' union.'

'What?'

'We were collecting survivors.’

Upon hearing the answer, I lifted the map I was holding in my hand. The map was heavily x-shaped. However, there was an area marked with a circle, and when I looked closely at it, there were small numbers written next to it.

I beckoned the old man. Then he pointed to this number and looked at the old man. Then the old man opened his eyes thinly and began to take a look at it one by one with his fingers. The number is right. Is that the number of survivors? The old man snatched the map from me and pushed it into the man.

Is this the number of survivors?’

'......yes, that's right.’

Where are all these people?’

'They took him to Shelter.’

Shelter? The man naturally used the word Shelter. A word once heard of it popped out of a man's mouth and the old man closed his eyes for a moment to see if the word Shelter was memorable. And he opened his eyes and looked at me.

'Is that's right.

I nodded slowly. Lee Yeon-kyung and her sister, who were rescued from among the vagabonds. Apparently there was a word Shelter in Lee's eyewitness account. I turned my head and said to the dragon-pal.

'Go get Lee Yeon-kyung.’

* * * * * *

It was a short peace, but Lee Yeon-kyung's face color was much better. His eyes, which were like eyes of winter, were slowly regaining their light and his facial expressions were also colorful. And the mood, which seemed to die tomorrow, was turning as normal as children of their age over time.

Younger brother Junho is also said to be doing well with the children. Seeing you tell me how you've been doing, you seem to have overcome the trauma a little bit. Although not all, I believe it will get better and better.

I talked longer because I felt like I had met him after a long time. I asked her without delay.

'You told me there was a Shelter last time, didn't I?’

Then she nodded. That's what she said herself. For us, who did not know the existence of Shelter or other survivors, Lee Yeon-kyung's information was desperately needed. I asked, pointing at the man in front of me.

Do you know this guy?’

Then Lee Yeon-kyung looked at the man carefully and shook her head. It was obvious. When I saw these people earlier, they didn't respond much. Then the old man pointed his thumb at the man and asked her again.

You know anything about Shelter?’

She opens her eyes wide with a slight surprise at the sound of being a member of Shelter. And once again, I looked at the man. At first, he looked at his face and then began to look at his clothes, then scratched his head with a long face. And said, looking at the old man.

'......shelter has his own name.’

'Right.'

The old man nodded his head and expressed his positivity. No one would be as fond of naming as a human being. Give names to all beings, from their own sushi to animals and objects. There must be a name for even a little step-by-step meeting, so is there no name for the survivor's group?

Lee murmured quietly.

I think I'll know when I hear your name.’

As soon as Lee Yeon-kyung's words were over, me and the old man looked at the man at the same time. The man must have felt our gaze and shuddered. You don't have to tell me, do you? Shut up and blow. There was a silent threat and warning in our eyes. The man sighed and answered.

'... Eden.’

The old man let out a gasp and admired.

'That's a big name.’

My head nodded by itself. Eden? The name is really grand. Lee Yeon-kyung, who stood still next to me, heard Eden and said, "Oh. He uttered a small exclamation, ' And I closed my eyes as if I was retracing my memory. And before a minute had passed, he opened his eyes and replied with a slightly brighter voice to the applause.

I know!

The man's face lit up at the moment when she answered that she knew. And I blinked looking at Lee Yeon-kyung with desperate eyes. We're nice, please tell these bad guys! That feeling came from the gaze.

'Our Shelter was supposed to merge with it. You know that, right? I told you last time.’

I did say it. But I've never heard of combining with other shelves. While the flotsam was disappearing one by one, Lee's Shelter was about to leave Soyul Yeosang. And then he was attacked.….

It's the biggest Shelter. There's the largest number of survivors....... I heard they also produce electricity from solar power.’

Lee continued her words, scratching her head like she remembered.

I'm thinking for a long time, and I'm thinking about it, and the quiet man welcomes me and cries out.

'That's right! Last bastion, Eden! Were you in Shelter? Where's the Shelter?

Then Lee Yeon-kyung flinchs and looks at me and the old man. I think you're asking us for permission, but I told you to wait a minute and looked at the old man. And the old man, whom I had eye contact with, quietly closed his eyes and nodded his head.

Seeing the figure, Lee replied, hesitatingly.

'......soyul Yeo-sang.’

The man who heard the answer, uh! beat oneself with a sound of And as soon as he waits, he approaches Lee Yeon-kyung and raises his head and looks up at her. The man looks at Lee and us alternately, then gulps and asks.

So they're from Soyul Yeo-sang, too?’

Then Lee Yeon-kyung starts to look dark and shakes her head. But the man starts to chat for a long time, noticing her expression.

"We've lost contact all of a sudden, and we're in a situation where we're puzzled. Are you all alive? Here's the... ...Aah!'

The man couldn't carry on what he was saying. Because the old man caught her increasingly bad expression quickly. The old man clapped the man's forehead with his palm and pushed him back. The man fell backwards and the old man warned him.

"Long-tongued? When did you tell me to ask you a question?’

The man, who hit his forehead, sat on the floor and groaned his head. The old man, who stared at him fiercely, snorted softly and turned his eyes toward Lee Yeon- And he turned into a kind old man, releasing his stiff expression.

'Good work. Get in there and rest.’

Then Lee Yeon-kyung nodded quietly with a dark face. And bowed politely to the old man and bowed to me as well. The old man, go in. He replied with a smile.

Lee Yeon-kyung trudged back to the lounge and soon heard the door shut. At the same time, the sighs of me and the old man came quietly from one side. He's coming of age, but he's still young. I felt even more sorry for him trying to pretend not to be.

The old man rose quietly from his seat. And said, looking at Yong-pal.

'I'm keeping an eye on Du-sik. I'm going to the roof for a second.’

'......don't worry.'

Yong-pal nodded quietly, still depressed.

The old man, who looked at the figure in silence, turned his eyes toward me. Then he winked carefully at the stairs leading to the roof. I followed the old man with my gun around me as if I had been waiting.

The old man seemed to have a story to tell me apart.

Of course, so did I.

J, over there!

But there was a presence that caught our way. He kept his body still and turned his head and looked behind him. Then the man was calling us urgently earlier. Yong-pal was startled and restrained the man, but slowly backed away when he saw our sense of no action.

The man gulped at us when he saw us stop. And he continued calmly.

I think there's been a misunderstanding......... we're not vagrants......... From what I hear, you're an ordinary group of survivors, too, but if you talk to our captain...….’

'Tell me.'

The old man hardens his face and asks back in small words. The man then shrugs his shoulders and his lips darticulated. And say it, looking back at us again.

We'll go to Eden with us.….’

That's all the man said and couldn't speak. It may be because of an old man who looks at himself fiercely. We eventually stepped to the rooftop without a word of answer to the man. The steps up the stairs made me feel as if I were walking.

* * * * * * *

A strong wind brushed past his face as he came up to the roof. I breathed a deep sigh in the face of the cold winter wind. It felt like I was solving a math problem without an answer. It's already afternoon when I checked my watch.

Gray city

a constant place

The city has been constantly strangling us and continues to throw questions. And they are asking us for answers that have no answers. I got enough information I wanted. Of course, I thought the answer would come out on its own once I got the information. But the answer makes a problem and throws us into agony.

There was clearly an answer, but there was no answer.

Next to me an old man was still looking at the city, exhaling white breath. My head was too complicated. I looked at the city quietly and asked the old man.

What do you want to do?’

Then the old man answered without much thought.

'Death to murder.'

The old man's thoughts remained unchanged. Of course, I was following the old man's side. Should I end up......... I was holding myself together and suddenly the old man breathed strongly and exhaled. Then he recited in a voice of remorse.

'But who else?'

I was speechless at the moment.

I just vaguely thought that I and the old man could decide and do it. Isn't that right? Wouldn't that be the best? But the old man's words pierced my heart like an awl. And a feeling of injustice leaked out through the punctured gap.

'......you and I have been through it.’

'That's right.'

You'll understand, right?’

My words had been turned into questions before I knew it. Do you understand what we do? I wasn't sure. That's why my heart feels numb. Suddenly, I stutter and my vision is shaking. My injustice was turning into grief and remorse.

And the scenes that I had forgotten for a moment passed by in front of me. Chaeyeon was staring at me with her finger in her mouth. And Kang Soo-ryeon, who couldn't hide her anxiety. Yongpal who begged me not to kill him.

What they're different from me, what they think differently from me.

Oh, I felt something pop out of my breath at the moment. I slowly sat down on the roof railing.

a return to daily life

'......the rest of the party may want it.’

The old man recited quietly.

I found a safe haven. And we got a lot of food. That's good now, thank God. I thought so. But it wasn't. The other party might have been looking for hope in the distance while I looked at the bread that was in front of me right now.

I was scared.

Maybe Chae-yeon wants to go there. I was so afraid that I would want to live like them. I was so selfishly worried, as if I saw a bird just before it flew out in front of the nest.

'You have to tell me, there's a shelter, there's a chance.’

The old man sat beside me with care. And with a lonely face, we looked at the gray city we had passed. The city we had crossed seemed so small and unappealing.