I'm still alive

I fell asleep writing a diary. I woke up from sleep because of the heavy feeling in my stomach, but I opened my eyes and saw Chae-yeon. Chae-yeon was definitely on my stomach and I'm surprised when I open my eyes. When I saw that, I naturally burst out laughing and laughed with Chae-yeon.

It must be morning. It was already noisy outside. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and held Chae-yeon in my arms. After a long time, I slept in a clean cotton blanket and a soft bed, and I felt as if my fatigue had been washed away. I slowly opened the front door, twisting my refreshed body around.

When I opened the door, I saw Kang Soo-ryeon wearing shoes and running often. As I gently raise my hand, Kang Su-ryeon approaches me with a bright smile. Wasn't everything a dream? It was such a peaceful scene that I thought I was asleep.

'Did you sleep well?'

Is it because of the morning sun? Kang Soo-ryeon shone exceptionally brightly. Although they cut my hair short, it didn't even hurt a little. Because she was a kind-hearted and pretty woman than she looked. As I gently nodded, she had a Dawny smile.

We're going to eat. I heard that there is a public restaurant.’

Is it rationing? I scratched my disheveled back and nodded. From far away I could hear the children rumbling. Now that I see Chae-yeon, who was next to me, was also gone, and I thought maybe she went to the children.

I wasn't disappointed. I just thought it was a relief that Chae-yeon played with the children without any major problems. While I was lost in thought, I heard a call for me from behind.

Dong-yoon, are you up?’

The old man was wearing a training suit that he didn't know where he got it, and he had a towel hanging from his neck. Did you jog, old man? When I asked him, the old man replied so calmly, "Uh." I was dumbfounded and blamed the old man, but the old man pointed to the side of the road without saying a word.

People were walking around the streets so calmly. When I found the figure, I hardened my body blankly. People walking on the streets were dressed in clean casual clothes, whether they were going to eat or work. The scene, which seemed unlikely to be seen again, was unfolding before me so naturally.

For a moment I heard a slap on my head. My mind flashed and I looked back in a hurry, and there was an old man smiling and raising his hand. I scratched the area where I was hit and closed my open mouth tightly.

And the old man said to me,

By the way, this guy has no respect for the elderly.’

* * * * * *

He kicked Yong-pal and Du-sik, who had no sign of getting up, and headed for the public restaurant. Public restaurants were near residential areas, with each person having a designated restaurant. At any rate, all the residents living near us gathered here, so it was very crowded.

As there were many people, they were worried about disorder, but the residents of Eden were well lined up and well-ordered. The stillness even felt solemn about the food.

I held Chae-yeon in my arms and whispered quietly, showing her as she was. Chaeyeon, this is the order that humans have. A human order in which everyone is in line, not the disorder of the end, in which the strong are ahead and the weak are behind.

Chae-yeon grabbed my finger with a look she didn't understand or not. I put Chae-yeon down with a big smile.

As the distribution speed was fast, the line shrank in an instantaneously. About 10 minutes later, it became our turn and the first thing I saw was not food but a plate. Do they get rationed on a plate? A man blocked me as soon as I reached out and tried to grab the plate with the thought.

'Hey, man! You have to pay for your meal ticket.’

A meal ticket?

I don't have a meal ticket? I've never heard of it from a silver-rimmed man. Furthermore, it was the first time I received a food coupon, so I didn't even know it existed. I gently turned my head and looked around and soon found a piece of paper in people's hands. That seemed to be a meal ticket.

'......do you really need a meal voucher?’

I asked because I really didn't know. But the man in front of me didn't look very happy. He frowned harshly and made a gesture to call someone. Then big men began to walk from place to place.

Everyone wore yellow armbands on their arms, and I thought maybe they were the ones who managed the distribution center. The atmosphere quickly became harsh and the residents slowly began to escape.

"Where are you from? Don't you know your meal ticket? If you don't have a meal ticket, you should go home.’

As the big men walked in, the group began to unite like instinct. The old man kicked his tongue with a sharp glare in his eyes, and Yong-pal brothers and Teol-bo naturally hid the party behind him. I responded calmly once again.

We don't know because we came here yesterday. Is there anyone in charge?’

"Director? No, does our chief look so pathetic?’

Do you think he's going to pick a fight? Strangely, looking at a man who couldn't communicate, I felt relieved. And I reflected on what I had done to him and thought about whether there were elements of conflict. But no matter how much he looked at the process, there was no reason for him to pick a fight with us.

Chae-yeon ran to me to give me a hug as if she was scared. Seeing Chae-yeon, I felt my excited heart gradually subside. Let's not have a useless dispute. I'm afraid I'll skip breakfast. I looked back at the party and shook my head slowly.

Then the man, who was touching, smiled contentedly as if he thought they had won. And I began to sarcastically look at me and Chae-yeon, who were stepping down from their seats.

Do you know how many people there are in a day like you? If you don't want to be subjected to a rough patch like your daughter, go away quietly.'

In fact, I can't remember this process in detail even now when I write a diary. It was as if the breaker had gone down and the filament had burst, and I was not happy to think about it. I was already being restrained by someone when I realized that I was being rational when I came to my senses.

As I turned my head gently, I saw a dragon arm holding my waist tight, and on the right was an old man with a stiff expression, holding my arm. There was something heavy in my hand, which was a great sword with a sharp edge.

Since when was it start? I always put a sword in my waist and fell asleep. The day I ran around like a madman, and the day I fell asleep with Chae-yeon, I always had a great sword. I was going through a marked but feeble change, cherishing it as if it were a talisman.

And the lump in my heart burst out the moment the man mentioned Chae-yeon.

'Put it in.'

The old man soothed me and whispered quietly. I relaxed my hand and slowly put the sword I was holding into the house. I think I'm a little weird, old man. I swallowed the horse with my saliva and breathed heavily. I tried to control the pounding heart.

The man had a blue face in front of him. And suddenly, he took out a knife and was stalling back, perhaps not knowing it would come. The men around him also blinked their eyes, unable to come forward in front of the harsh flying colors.

The old man, looking at the figure, shouted at the dragon.

"Do you have any food left from Yongpal Mart?"

The dragon-pal, who was hugging my waist, stood still, startled by the old man's question. Then he hesitated for a moment and soon nodded violently to answer that he had left the can. Then the old man nodded and said to the party,

'Let's go home and eat that.'

The situation was sorted out in a flash. The old man led the party on behalf of me, who was lost in spirit, and we headed back to our quarters. The old man, however, stopped walking and looked back, as if he still had business to attend to. And muttered, reaching out his index finger to the man who was arguing with us.

'Let's not run into each other outside. If you don't want to be searched.'

It was a sincere warning.

* * * * * *

We walked the same way again and went back to our quarters. Of course, the party remained silent throughout the walk and carefully watched my eyes. I knew the tact was a concern for me, but I walked silently because I needed time to think for myself.

And by the time we arrived in front of the lodge, there was a man running in the distance. I ran in a hurry, but the distance couldn't be narrowed because of the slow running. It was not until he arrived in front of the accommodation that the man was clearly visible.

As expected, they were silver-rimmed glasses. He was showing frequent signs of whether he intended to mark us at all. But it seemed a little urgent, as usual, running so hard that his trademark silver-rimmed glasses were flowing down.

And we could soon find out why the silver-rimmed glasses were running busily. Because the silver-rimmed glasses held a pile of paper in his hand that looked like a meal ticket. Yong-pal who was standing behind me said yes after a long time.

'......you're coming fast.'

The old man stroked the bare head of the dragon's arm quietly.

The silver-rimmed glasses, which did not tell us their meal tickets in advance, bowed their heads hard as soon as they arrived in front of us. And he looks like he's about to cry with the words "I'm sorry." The silver-rimmed glasses had offered us to go to the distribution center, but I and the party, who had lost appetite, quietly turned down the offer.

We headed to the room where the children were sleeping for a simple feast. I put up my silver-rimmed glasses to wait in front of the front door by myself, so I invited him to breakfast. The silver-rimmed glasses carefully entered the room with a sorry box on their face.

There was quite a lot of food from the mart. Although once or twice a meal would have gone away, a simple meal for breakfast was enough. I opened a can of pineapple and took a disposable fork in my mouth. And asked Eun-teh glasses in a little voice.

Are there many people who lack the right to eat?’

The silver-rimmed glasses, eating the chocolate bar, shook their heads and answered.

'No, we issue three sheets a day, regardless of age or gender.'

But why did the man do that? They overreacted to us as if there were many people who didn't have food stamps. I was curious about the reason, so I told my glasses about what happened before. Then the silver-rimmed glasses answered with a deep sigh.

'In Eden, food stamps are like currency. So we exchange food with food stamps or buy food that we like at stores. We pay extra for each of our duties, but if not...….’

The silver-rimmed glasses gently clouded the end of the speech. Then he closed his mouth and poured the remaining chocolate bar into his mouth. I focused on eating pineapples without asking any more questions. Even if I didn't listen any more, I could guess why such people were created.

But the silver-rimmed glasses mumbled, swallowing a chocolate bar, as if they had more to say.

'By the way, the distributor has a problem responding. I'll warn you.’

I shook my head drinking canned soup. Then he gently turned his head and looked at the old man eating corn. The old man might not have felt my gaze, but he was still eating with a sullen face. I mumbled, pointing my thumb at the old man.

'It's enough.'

The silver-rimmed glasses looked at me with a face that said, "I don't know what English is."

* * * * * *

After finishing the meal, the silver-rimmed glasses began a brief explanation of today's schedule. It was a long story, but to sum it up, it was like this.

Non-adult children enter a school run by Eden with basic education. They live there as a group and receive education as if they were a normal school, and the classes are said to be accompanied by survival education needed in the current situation.

And I could sigh deeply of relief when I heard that I was giving 30 minutes of mental therapy a day for Chae-yeon and the young children who were greatly shocked. It felt like a big stone had been removed from my mind.

However, adults had to do what they had to do if they were mentally and physically, and me, the elderly and the Yongpal brothers fell into the search team as promised. And Kang Soo-ryeon and Kim Si-eun are said to receive proper work through 1:1 counseling.

Of course, Teolbo fell out of the search box. Such a rare talent had to be busied in a precious place. He didn't seem to dislike it either, so the work went smoothly and we started a busy day as always.