I'm still alive

Gray cities are always accompanied by death. And the survivors who lived in it began to recognize the heartless reality. Even at this moment, many die, and many give up their lives. Perhaps as time went by, all the breathing creatures on this city would disappear.

But it wasn't now. Just as iron has become harder as it is tempered, survivors who are still struggling to survive are trying harder and getting used to it in this hell. Hiding like a cockroach, avoiding them, risking your life today to save food. When we acknowledge this cruel reality and strive to change it, we are only able to become a living object.

'Come on, one more pile!

The old man came up to my desk with a light step, and put more papers on the desk than before. The overwhelming amount of work that sighs on its own, but the old man's face, who has to work with me, looked fresher than I thought.

Because... ...the old man's job was all done earlier. I sighed deeply and looked out the window when the sun began to set. And asked the elderly with a face full of solemnity of the group leader.

'Help me.’

But the old man's answer was still the same.

'You're digging.'

It's already been two days since this day lasted. Even though I didn't keep a diary, time went by like a road, and the work I had to deal with began to double. This is because as time went by, there were more and more people to accommodate. And the reason for this evacuation was that the limited supplies and food remaining in the city were getting smaller and smaller and smaller.

I could assure you. The longer the survivors survive, the more limited food will reach the bottom, and even the drinking water will have to worry about. And the shortage of supplies may eventually lead people to fight each other, and the third tramp of the jay may emerge. The beginning that will lead life to catastrophe is already beginning from the moment the cage door closes.

That's why I didn't stop the influx despite my tight living conditions. It was because, at the same time, it was a stepping stone to a goal that was set in my heart like a point of direction, at the same time as a struggle to prevent another disaster. I looked up and thought quietly.

a rally of survivors

It was a heavy sentence and at the same time arrogant and rash. But I believed in my own judgment and intuition that kept us alive, and soon began to push ahead with this. Of course, there has been a minor noise inside Eden who doesn't know the outside situation, but trust and faith toward me seem to be enough to patch up the confusion in a moment.

We were abandoned. Rescue cannot be expected. The two ideas constantly haunted me for two days. But it happened like a roly poly, and it happened again, and I dug into reality to find a breakthrough to escape in the midst of pain.

And this short sentence deserved to shake my confused heart.

* * *

"Let's get out of this hell.”

The letters faltered as to whether he was concerned until the moment he wrote the sentence.]

* * *

It's vague. Anyone who hears this conclusion will curse me as a madman. But I knew the reality so well that I had no choice but to make this choice. Man is by no means a bread-and-water existence.

I was anxious even when I was full, and scared to avoid death. Because the hungry tomorrow and the future of running away will repeat itself like a wild nightmare. So we needed tomorrow. Like the oath I made to myself when I left the goshiwon. And like the purpose of life to save a child and carry on with his life. We need that hope to sail that far sea.

It can be better. A happy tomorrow will come. What people and I needed was that short sentence, and to do that, we needed more voices and more hands. We must gather together with the bond of survival. And we must struggle with life, as we have done so far, towards the reality of telling us to die and the darkness of hiding the truth.

We're still alive.

* * *

'I owe it to her. It's easier to search because it shows how far the containment radius is.’

The old man told me. The old man, who said earlier that he had no intention of helping me with the work, was sitting near my desk and helping me with my work.

grumbling, rumbling, rumbling.

Although he is constantly complaining, his hands at work are fast. I smiled softly so that the old man wouldn't see, and soon turned my head to the window, avoiding my gaze.

The city seen out of the window the sun was receding and darkness was coming. Residents of Eden get ready to wrap up the day by busily moving before the sun sets completely. I looked dimly at the dusk, which was beginning to lose completely. Then, after taking a short breath, press the switch on the light in front of the desk and get ready for the night.

'Brother! Eat and do it!'

At that moment, the door opened as if it were falling apart, and I could hear the voice of a twinkling dragon-pal. Listening to the voice, I checked my wristwatch just in time, and I could tell that it was time for the party to have dinner at the accommodation. It seems that Su-ryeon didn't forget us and prepared dinner for us. I put down my pen with a faint smile. And the old man never forgets the nagging at the dragon, asking why he opens the door so hard.

Yong-pal laughed, and soon walked towards this side, giving off a delicious smell. Yong-pal's hand held an iron delivery box questioning where he got it. Chinese spots? They must have picked up something useless.

'Did you eat?’

I asked Yong-pal, who delivers rice every time. Then Yong-pal opened the iron delivery box and shook his head, proudly placing his bowl of rice on the desk. The appearance of wanting to eat together openly shows the shamelessness of Yongpal's natural virtues. The old man and I, who were watching it, laughed out loud, forgetting our tiredness, and soon the meal began. The menu is 3 boiled potatoes and thin soybean paste soup. Of course it wasn't a good meal, but it was warm and delicious enough.

Lack of food was a chronic problem. Of course, there was still a considerable amount of food left in reserve before the head of the group died, but it was necessary to save food from now on for the growing number of people and the future to walk forward. From three meals a day to two meals a day. Of course, I was choosing a two-part system on a weekly basis to make sure there was no shortage of nutrients. And the rule applies equally to me, the head of the group. But, uh...Sometimes Kang Soo-ryeon plays the trick of putting boiled eggs in my potatoes.

'The number of people coming in has doubled since yesterday. I think there's going to be more and more, is there a rumor going around?’

You can't believe you're reading the diary, but this little dragon-pal is the team leader in charge of the refugee immigration office. Of course, Detective Kang, who smells amazing people, is working together, but I'm a little worried when I think about the past. Contrary to my concerns, however, Yong-pal, who treats people well and treats them favorably, was a competent team leader who could not be missed from the entrance office.

'Don't mind the numbers, keep taking them.’

I replied, handing over the chewed potatoes to soybean paste soup. Yes, perhaps the rumours that began to spread from mouth to mouth are wandering all over the containment area. Do you know the last fort in the middle of the city? Eden, which preserves small civilizations like urban legends.

The paradise should be the last dream ideal that survivors have. Because only then can we rally and exercise one power. And I didn't forget to say this, looking at Yong-pal.

'Just do your personal research.’

I've dried up the seeds of the vagabonds, but it's not that there are no bad people in the city. From criminals who could cause trouble to ex-convicts who have committed malicious crimes, it would be endless, but they had to be screened out as a primary filter at least. And Yong-pal, who was in charge of the task, nodded firmly.

Lastly, I got up from my seat, cutting the boiled eggs that Kang Soo-ryeon packed separately to the old man and Yong-pal in half and half. At some point, it became a habit to hurry up with a meal, so the daily routine of eating faster than others and getting up from their seats continued. Of course, the old man and Yong-pal focused on the meal without saying anything, as if they were familiar with it. I sat in the chair again and opened the papers.

'Huh?'

And at that moment, a silly question rang out quietly in the office, where only the chomping and the passing of the papers had been heard. At the sound, the old man who was drinking soybean paste soup, and I, who was concentrating on my work for a long time, turned my head in a daze, and I saw Yong-pal looking at us with something in his hand. And what Yong-pal was holding was a satellite phone that a station woman had.

Our all-around old man, Mr. Teolbo, had even brought us a broken satellite phone after fixing it. Of course, I didn't have to use it right away, so I've been leaving it in the corner of my desk since yesterday morning. But Yong-pal, perhaps out of curiosity, fidgeted with the phone, and was soon making that silly noise. The dragon shook his hand and told us.

Brother, brother...Hey, I got a call for this.’

a rattling sound

Silence ensues, and between its silence the sound of an old man putting down a spoon quietly resonates. I put down the papers starting with the sound. Then slowly approached the front and took away the satellite phone that Yong-pal was holding. Then on the satellite phone screen, the signal that the real phone had come with a light was blinking quietly. The old man, who was watching it with me, swallowed his saliva and said to Yong-pal.

'Yongpal, go back to your quarters.’

What? Why? Why am I...….’

Yong-pal doesn't know the truth yet. Yong-pal, who just thought the world was ruined, seems much surprised by the sudden satellite phone call, but it will be less confusing than us who know this phone shouldn't ring. At first, Yong-pal did not know the English language, but he opened the door of the office and left because he was discouraged by repeated orders from the old man and my instructions. On one side, the potatoes and doenjang soup we left behind cooled to a lonely state, and our hearts cooled to a similar degree.

The telephone signal lasts a long time. The other party was persistently calling to make sure that the station woman would receive it. I clasped the satellite phone with a fine trembling hand. Then I turned my head and looked at an old man as confused as I was.

'The woman......the station girl, get her in quickly.'

At the same time as the detention, the vigilance was lifted. Having been assigned quarters like a common Eden resident, she was living busily for cooperation with us, and near the office in case of a possible situation. Probably eating at home by now. The old man, who caught it quickly, ran out the door to pick her up, and I sat powerlessly on my desk and looked at the flashing phone screen.

It is something that was not mentioned in a particular way. Because the station woman thought her satellite phone was completely out of order. However, Teolbo gave the phone a good fix and created an ambiguous situation like now.

Could she have fooled us from the beginning? No, that doesn't make sense in the context. She, who sneaked into the prohibited area, was determined to have the government as an enemy as we did. A woman who needs to maintain the common front created by the situation with us, not trust and faith, would not have had the strong will to deceive me from the beginning.

And at that moment there was a memory of passing through my head. A cameraman whose stomach was full and his guts began to eat. The cameraman who had to bleed to the end and die painfully. Did they really come into this dangerous place alone? I quickly swallowed my saliva, and began to think of the last number of cases left. But my finger was instinctively pressing the call button before the thought was over. The one who's left...There seems to be more...

Tick.

(SEO, SEO!) Are you okay?! Why aren't you answering my phone! I thought you were dead.….)

The voice from the phone was that of a very soft man. The man was gasping for breath at any moment, crying in a frightened voice. Seo? Apparently, the name of the woman on our side was Seo Min-jung.

In other words, it means that the person referred to as "senior" is correct. Again, the reporters who entered the city were not the only two I found. The opposing man began to cry, holding his breath.

(Wooh, everything we were looking for was left in the head office building. All I have to do now is take this......... that's all you have to do, son of a......... There's something here. There's something here that's not a person.….)

Goosebumps that started from the tip of the foot soar to the top of your head. I couldn't resist the force that went into my whole body and jumped out of my seat, breathing heavily. It was as if we had found a breakthrough after a long wandering. I wiped the sweat off my hands.

The woman sneaked into this city for the goal of scoop. So what was the scoop? That people are alive? No, no one knew there was a survivor here. That is to say that the premise of purpose is wrong. She's... she's...No. The reporters who hid here must have come here to find something else.

Head office

What they were looking for.

When all the logic was gathered in one place, the door opened and the old man and woman came in.