I'm still alive

'......good.’

I came to a conclusion after much consideration. Upon hearing my answer, the group leader smiled brightly and soon rose from his seat and asked me to shake hands. I took his hand and exhaled slowly. The breath contained a sense of relief and a touch of uneasiness.

Then I gently turned my head towards the old man. The old man, who was saying he'd leave it to my decision, sat in a chair and looked at the frame hanging far away. The frame had their doctrines written by the group leader. What is the old man thinking while watching it?

I spoke softly, letting go of the hand that I held with the group leader.

'Don't expect to belong.’

I don't trust an organization called Eden. But I didn't deny the image of Eden that I've seen. This choice was inevitable, even for the sake of the return of daily life and the future of the children.

Everything is for Chae-yeon and her party. Between trust and mistrust, and between good and evil. I will wear glasses made of gray and keep an eye on them. I will judge whether the true figure behind that smile is an angel or a devil on the day my bullet leaves.

'I know what you mean. But don't forget that your decision will save many people.’

'......I'm just working.’

'That's enough.’

That's the end of our conversation. Each gets what they want from each other and gains. It was dry and ideal like a business relationship. However, the head of the group was very pleased to see if such a relationship was satisfactory enough.

A lot of time has passed. Looking out the window, the sun was already setting and the orange twilight was hanging under our feet. The group leader led us out of the room in a flurry and it was only after the restaurant where the party was gathered was cleared up.

The party, as always, clung together in one place and looked out of the room. What are you doing now? The pure gaze that poured on me made me smile of my own. The head of the group, who quietly watched us gather, avoided his seat.

The guards also disappeared along with the head of the group, and now only me and my party were present in the room. Such pretty orange lights flowed down through the quietly twisting curtains. The twilight blessed our peace and poured down so warmly.

I was a little sentimental looking at the orange stars. and whispered quietly, making eye contact with the shining party.

I decided to stay here.’

There was no big commotion. The party is just, oh, I see. It was only a small reaction. And still curious eyes were waiting for a detailed explanation to come out of my mouth. But I had to know the intentions of the most important group.

Are you okay?’

Then the party remained silent. But the silence was soon broken by a small hand that popped out of the party. Me and my party quickly turned their eyes to it, where Oh Hye-yeon, who I rescued from Shin Seoul National University, was raising her hand.

Do you think he's going to ask? With her hands up, Oh quietly walked forward and began to munch her lips. After hesitating for a long time to see whether the sudden gathering of eyes was burdensome, Oh Hye-yeon started asking me to nod my head.

Do I have to stay away from you then?’

When Oh Hye-yeon's question was over, the group began to chat again. And asked me with a silent look whether it was a question that everyone wanted to ask. I laughed and the old man scratched his head and laughed haha. The children held each other's hands tightly as if they had grown attached to each other's hands.

'No, we'll all be together.’

Then Oh Hye-yeon slowly lowered her hand.

* * * * *

When we left the building, the sun was setting and darkened. Eden, who was active during the day, was surrounded by silence and silence as if he had entered the world behind him. The streets were deserted except for the guards on patrol.

All the buildings were tightly locked and the windows were covered with thick curtains, as if they were keeping curfew. I literally couldn't see an ant.

a complete shut-off of sound and light

They were well aware that darkness was not on our side. The silver-rimmed glasses that appeared to guide us to our quarters told us to be careful. The group crouched quietly on one side of the building, concentrating on the man's words.

All personnel enter the building before sunset. And when you inevitably have to get out of the street like now, you listen to the leader's orders well. It was simple and reasonable. After finishing the words, the man carefully began to lead with a flashlight.

We minimized the noise by walking in a row like children going on a picnic. We began to see a three-story villa in front of our eyes. The new villa, which was just built, was showing that the head of the group was considerate of us.

The man gestured silently towards the corridor on the first floor and soon closed the door hurriedly as all the party entered the building. Then he went through his pockets and took out a package of keys and a radio and held it out to me. I accepted it and looked at the man.

You can use the entire first floor. The second and third floors are empty, so don't worry....... Here's your key and radio. And this walkie-talkie is a direct line that can be contacted by the head of the group leader.’

It literally meant that it was a walkie-talkie that could be contacted directly by the head of the group. I'm starting to feel burdened by the special treatment of the group leader. But I received the item and nodded quietly because there was nothing to lose. Then the man looked outside for a moment and whispered to me soon.

'We've moved all the luggage, so you don't have to move it. And if you wait at the front door in an hour, I'll be back.’

Do you have anything else to do?’

There's a lot to explain about the bird.’

There's nothing to do after the sun goes down anyway. When I nodded, the man quietly disappeared into the dark. And at the same time, I looked around the party. Chae-yeon yawning and children with tired faces. I took a package of keys out of my pocket.

* * * * * *

There were three arcs on the first floor and all of them were two rooms, so there was no shortage of rooms.

I went home and pressed the light switch, but there was no response. There were no major complaints, probably limited supply of electricity. Because it is much safer and more economical. However, we could find a lighted stand in a corner of the room, perhaps for the residents' consideration.

And the toilet bowl had a weak water pressure, but the water went down normally. However, the faucet did not produce any water, probably for public use. The water saving poster on the toilet mirror felt so unfamiliar.

Let's stop looking around and let's take a break.

I thought I was sleeping away from the room, but the party didn't seem to be. The children gathered in one room as they slept in the lounge and so did the women who cared for them. Kang Soo-ryeon said, "I didn't put on all fours to say that when we fall, we show signs of anxiety.

The women and children gathered in the living room and lay down under the covers. I took the men with me to the next house with a good night. It seemed to me that men would gather in one place and sleep. That means there is one house left that is closest to the villa gate.

I decided to write a diary and use it alone to prepare for any possible situations. When Yong-pal asked why he wasn't sleeping with me, the old man answered instead of me.

'You're the president. Did you see the president sharing a room with a new employee?’

Me and Teolbo laughed out of breath. It felt good to laugh out loud after a long time.

* * * * *

After an hour, the glasses came back. Waiting for me, I dressed up and came out with the old man. I didn't care to be alone, but I was accompanied by an old man who said he wanted to look around Eden. For your information, the Teolbo and Yongpal brothers were snoring and falling asleep.

When the front door opened, the man approached us as if he had waited and soon came out to the quiet street to beckon us. As I open the door and come out, the cold night air hits my face. I exhaled my breath and asked quietly at the glasses that guided us.

Where are we going?’

Then the silver-rimmed glasses quietly touched the glasses and said, pointing to the villa and the building not far away.

'This is the search team's headquarters. You have to be quiet from now on.’

The villas we live in had clear boundaries of the residential area. Because I didn't even take a few steps, but the atmosphere around me changed suddenly. The density of guards walking down the street increased and we could feel the eyes staring at us from place to place. Security was literally tight.

Even though it was night time, the footsteps heard here and there told us that people in Eden were still working. Busy in silence? Strangely, there was no sense of separation, and there was even a strange sense of life as if an animal was found in a dark forest.

The place where silver-rimmed glasses took us in was an old commercial building on the first floor. The gap was too wide compared to the clean building next to it. I slowly chased after the man, looking at the flyers all over the hall.

The future of Eden! The search team wants you. I don't know who made the flyers, but they looked really bad.

The mall building was quiet. Most of the rooms were blocked from use and only one of them was emitting light. The silver-rimmed glasses, which walked there, opened the door quietly, in a room that said, "A laundry shop."

There was a pile of laundry and hangers on one side of the room that had not been cleaned yet. And the floor was full of fliers and used up backpapers, and in short, the room was in a mess. However, the silver-rimmed glasses shouted, clearing away objects blocking the way ahead, as if they were familiar with the scenery.

Team Leader Kim Hye-jung, are you there?’

Then a bright light sprang up in the dark, and a short-cut woman appeared. The face, which seemed to have just woken up from sleep, was quietly stirred by the candle, and there was a feeling of annoyance on it. Oh, I can't make a first impression. I thought quietly.

'What the hell, this night! What else are these people? You're a new applicant?’

A husky voice came in. The woman, Kim Hye-jung, looked at us and said, " Soon, I put down the candle carefully. And looking at us as if in a sentimental way, I followed that gaze and looked at her in a daze.

Her hair was short-cut and as tall as I was. And as evidenced by running in the field, the tight muscles were revealed on the outside of the clothes. That's how it was to express a strong female warrior's first impression. However, unlike my favorable reviews, Kim Hye-jung gave us a poor evaluation.

This candidate's very, very poor. What the hell and grandpa?’

Then the silver-rimmed glasses carefully lifted up the glasses and answered,

I'm not an applicant. They're the ones who can help the search team.’

Help? Who? Upon hearing the answer, Kim Hye-jung gave an outright unpleasant look. The expression was a mixture of annoyance and anger that had been violated in her territory, and I could roughly predict her answer when I found the expression.

And her answer didn't go far beyond my expectations.

Why? Are they some soldiers? Why did they come to the squalid search party?

I wasn't offended by her sarcastic remarks. My mind wasn't active enough to be excited by provocation. I looked at her insensitively and thought about what to say. Tired quarrels are no good on my side.

But the old man kindly answered her whether he wanted to have a tiring argument.

'I'm not a soldier, but I've picked a soldier.'

Then Eun-tei glasses and Kim Hye-jung flinched. It was too thick and harsh a voice to think of it as a childish bluff. The tingling nerves across the Adam's apple were enough for them to notice as they lived through the end-of-life era.

'......heh, bluffing!‘

Her voice wobbled. They may have wanted to control the initiative, but it was a meaningless fight. I looked at the old man with reproachful eyes and the old man shrugged and avoided my gaze. And time passed and I met eyes with her, who was on our guard, kicking my tongue small.

So, what do you have to do?’

When I asked her what to do, she was weaker than before and threw me a notebook on her desk. I naturally accepted the flying notebook and opened it quickly. The notebook contained a map with a crude manual.

There were places on the map that were painted dirty with highlighters and began to get a rough idea. I gave up my notebook with a nod, and as she looked at it, she gave a small hysterical salute.

'All right? Now get out!'

Nothing much. I took my steps without saying anything and the old man didn't have any particular family. But the man with silver-rimmed glasses told her, frowning for the first time.

'Please give me a detailed explanation.’

But she didn't fall for it either. There must have been a lot of things piled up, but the atmosphere was unusual. She began to vent her resentment and anger at the silver-rimmed man.

'Tomorrow was the last day! You want us to be big? Give me the same weapon as a combat team!

'Cause you don't want us to give it to you? What do you want us to do with what we're lacking?’

'Don't make excuses! They go out and fight? It's not!'

I'm beginning to feel tired. The two began to argue excitedly whether we cared or not, and me and the old man sneaked out of the room to escape the fire. I must have received what I had to do tomorrow, there was no reason to be here anymore. Business is something we can do together.

I think there's something going on inside, but that's none of my business. I and the old man walked happily to the quarters where the party waited with a notebook.

Somehow I felt like I was going home.