Change Your Life with the USB from the Future!

Episode 134: Nearest (3)

‘When I woke up it was an unfamiliar ceiling.’

I think I've seen a novel that begins with the word '.

That's exactly my situation right now.

I literally fell asleep and woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling. No, it was a strange place.

If it was a novel, there should have been an unexpected relationship when I looked around at this point, but now, besides my lover, there were only relief items such as bottled water, instant rice, LED flashlights, and blankets piled high next to me.

All this last night.

‘Teacher, are you going out with us? You probably won't be able to rest comfortably here... .'

It happened because he rejected the offer of a public official.

Just past 10 o'clock yesterday.

‘Only the watchdogs remain, and the rest go to the dormitory.’

Officials at the Disaster Response Center began to get busy.

It seems that all other personnel, except for essential personnel, either go home or go to Oedong-eup, south of Bangeo-ri, to find accommodation.

It was probably because the elementary school auditorium was full of victims, and there was no place nearby for accommodation.

That's why

‘Are you going with us? Most of the shelters are family units, so it would be inconvenient if the teacher was alone.’

Even me, almost the only outside volunteer, was offered accommodation with them.

A proposal with some kindness.

'Fine. I can sleep on the bus.’

But I turned down the offer from the officials.

If you go out to Oedong-eup, which is about 10 km away, and find a lodging place, you will feel comfortable, but the problem was that the earthquake doesn't change day or night.

As aftershocks are still continuing every few hours, there must be a manpower who can respond immediately in case something happens.

Of course thanks to that.

‘Oh, I thought you were just going to follow me.’

I had to deal with the uncomfortable bed of a bus seat and an emergency sleeping bag.

"ha."

As I exhaled, a breath of air leaked out.

When I was young, I used to endure the severe cold with one sleeping bag. Maybe it was because I was getting older, so it was hard on my body even in this cold.

By the way, this is a mangjeong because it is south of Seoul. … .

‘It wouldn’t have been strange if I got sick.’

Anyway, it's time to wake up.

When I looked outside, I could see people already working or moving in bed.

If the aftershocks do not continue today, the people in the shelter will go home one by one, but if not, there will be quite a lot of work to do today.

“Whew.”

He sighed, straightened the car seat that had been laid down, and got up slowly.

OK.

woo duk- woo duk-

There was the sound of bones breaking.

“Ugh.”

Unbeknownst to me, a sound of pain escaped my mouth.

‘I need to exercise… .'

I shook my head and picked up my phone to check the time. However, the phone did not turn on no matter how many times I pressed the power button, probably because I had not charged it all day yesterday.

Most of the urgent things were arranged and dropped off, but I couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

‘I have to go to the auditorium to recharge.’

But then.

Tok- Tok-

I heard someone knock on the car door.

When I turned around, a girl the same age as Yuna was looking at me.

Yes? However?

When she looked closely, she saw a girl talking to her with her mouth open.

But she was outside the bus glass door, so she couldn't tell what she was saying.

‘What’s going on?’

I looked around to see if there was anything urgent, but seeing the people moving around leisurely, it didn't seem like that.I went to the driver's seat and pressed the open/close switch on the car door.

food-

The door of the bus opened and the sound of pressure relief was heard.

The girl in front of the door looked at me with a surprised expression.

I slowly opened my mouth as I stepped out of the bus.

"did you sleep well?"

The girl who heard me nodded her head shyly.

"Yes… .”

“But what did you say earlier? I couldn’t hear well because I wasn’t on the bus.”

I asked with a small smile.

OK.

“Oh, sir. Would you like breakfast?”

The girl pointed towards the shelter and said.

Well, it's no big deal.

Looking towards the shelter, I saw the villagers preparing meals with the materials they brought from their homes, food and relief supplies.

Since there were probably too many people and there was no place to get a meal around, the villagers gathered and prepared their own meals.

I nodded and looked at the girl.

Of course, food is important, but there is something more important than that.

"thanks. By the way, did you get a call from school?”

when i ask

"Yes. For now, I'm going to keep school closed. It's dangerous because the aftershocks aren't over yet... .”

The female student sighs and replies. It seemed he was worried.

Well, if everything went as planned, two days later would have been the day of the entrance exam, so she wasn't unaware of her anxiety.

I opened her mouth to the girl with a worried expression on her face.

"okay? Then let's eat breakfast and start studying, okay?"

Then the girl smiled and nodded her head.

"Yes!"

yesterday.

‘Old man. Could you please gather some students?’

When I told the old man.

The old man, who was looking at the students with a sad expression, nodded her head in anticipation.

and after a while.

'One, two, three… Surprisingly many?’

About 10 students gathered in front of me.

As it is a small rural town, I thought there would not be many high school seniors, but surprisingly, there were quite a number of students.

It was probably because there was an industrial complex in the Naengcheon region nearby.

It was fortunate. In such a case, the more the number of students is, the better the atmosphere will be to conduct the class, so that the anxious students' minds will be calmed a little.

Besides, the place where the shelter was installed was an elementary school.

‘You only need to use it cleanly.’

I was able to find a place to take a class simply by asking for forgiveness.

but.

‘Sir, is the chair too small?’

The problem was that the chair was too small for elementary school students.

‘Who the hell made the all-in-one desk and chair?’

Reluctantly, everyone decided to sit on the floor with blankets and proceed with class, just like in wartime schools.

It must have been an unfamiliar and uncomfortable environment, but the students burst out laughing and having fun.

He seemed to think that it was better to teach in a classroom, even if it was a little uncomfortable, than to hold onto a book that didn't even come into my head in a corner of the shelter.

‘Actually, just having a class in a school classroom will calm your anxiety.’

Fortunately, however, everyone was on the verge of taking the CSAT, so they had finished learning about the CSAT.

Therefore, I lecture on the contents of the passages that will appear in this SAT and the types of problems to be aware of. We decided to focus on taking care of the mentality of the students who may be anxious inside.

‘At a time like this, squeaking works well.’

The important thing was to remind the students that the situation before and after the CSAT was postponed has not changed at all, and boost their self-confidence.

That way, the students' mentality will not be shaken even after they leave.

And all these lectures.

[User 1: Oh Jun-young! What's going on at this hour?]

[User 5: Oh? But what about the background? It's cute, just like an elementary school classroom. Did Junyoung change the concept?]

[User 20: It's not a concept, but Real Luda, it's like an elementary school? what?]

It was broadcast live on a sniper broadcast channel.

'To all viewers of sniper broadcasting nationwide, I'm in Bangeo-ri, the southern end of Gyeongju-si... .'

It was because I wanted to take care of the mentality of as many students as possible, as the students affected by the earthquake were not confined to Bangeo-ri.

‘Even at the shelter, you will see your cell phone.’

And my prediction was not wrong.

[User 40: ㅠ_ㅠ I had a lot of troubles because of the postponement of the entrance exam, but watching Junyoung’s broadcast gives me some comfort]

[User 5667: I am also at the Gyeongju City Shelter right now... I'm taking care of my mentality after watching the black and white broadcasts]

[User 331: It's right next to our neighborhood if you're in Bangeo-ri... May I go too? I have nowhere to go because of school closure]

No, it turned out to be more effective than expected.

Even though it was a surprise broadcast that started late at night, surprisingly many people watched my broadcast and left chatting.

So for a moment when I think about what happened yesterday.

“Oh, sir. While the teacher was sleeping, some other volunteers came.”

The girl who was walking ahead turned her face toward me and said,

Well, that was a bit unexpected. It was because I thought that support would not reach me so quickly in a vaguely isolated place like Bangeo-ri.

But it was also fortunate. It was also said that Korea's response system is changing stably.

However.

“And among them… Oh no, come on!”

Yes? Why are you talking?

There was something unsettling about the smiling girl's face. But she doesn't really need to ask, so she just tilts her head and follows her girl.

Soon after, I saw the scene of the liver restaurant built in front of the elementary school auditorium and the people busily moving between them.

Seeing the savory smell, breakfast seemed to be beef soup.

But then.

“Mr. Kim Jun-young.”

A cold voice came from behind him.

For a moment, my heart was pounding as if I had committed a sin even though I had no sin.

It was a voice I never expected to hear here.

Let's go back.

Eunsol, who had a cold expression on her face, was looking at me with a kitchen knife in her hand.

* * *

[21 missed calls]

[character 65]

[KakaoTalk 95]

When I saved the power by charging the phone that was turned off, I had a lot of unanswered calls.

And it is the one that occupies the largest share of them.

[Eunsol: Teacher. After all, it's called acting for the entrance exam. (｡•́︿•̀｡)a] 20:23

[Eunsol: Are you not coming to the academy today? Because you are not at the academy (｡ŏ_ŏ。)] 21: 45

[Eunsol: I heard from Jisung teacher... Teacher, did you go down to Gyeongju?] 22:59

[Eunsol: Teacher… ] 23: 11

[Eunsol: I'm going down now. Please contact me... ] 04: 25

.

.

who is in front of me right now. It was Eunsol.

"Teacher. Let me tell you something... Whoa, what if it's dangerous? How surprised I was to hear from Ji-Sung... .”

Eunsol said, slicing her leeks with flashy hand movements.

With each movement of her hand, the blue green onion was cut away.

gulp-

I look at it

“… sorry. I forgot to charge yesterday... .”

He spat out excuses, not excuses, to Eunsol.Because it was true that I unintentionally and mercilessly chewed on the contact.

But I had a question.

“… But how did you know I was here?”

Then Eunsol sighed and opened her mouth.

“Hey, I saw a sniper broadcast last night… But it will also be the weekend. I came down immediately after hearing that the high school students were told to rest for a day or so before coming down.”

Oh, it looks like she saw the sniper broadcast yesterday too. She said that somehow she had come down without telling anyone and she knew for sure that she had come.

“… By the way, when is she going to go up? Aren't you busy with work these days?"

She nodded her head at her words. In fact, she said, these days are the busiest times. As it was decided to launch the Ingang channel with TK, there were a lot of things to do, such as training instructors, publishing textbooks, discussing marketing, and meeting with Yotube officials.

However.

“All the teachers and children have gathered! Hurry!"

When I saw the faces of the students who looked at me and smiled brightly, I couldn't stop walking.

If I leave now, the students will have to sit in the corner of the auditorium again and prepare for the SAT with a blank expression on their faces.

After I nod my head to the students. I looked at Eunsol slowly.

“It will probably take some time. At least I'm going to go up a bit before things are finished here... .”

OK.

“… also. First of all, go ahead. I'll clean up and follow you right away."

Eunsol uttered out of nowhere.

"Yes?"

I asked with a puzzled expression.

Eunsol smiled softly and opened her mouth.

“It is not just the Korean language required for the SAT. In fact, I came down to help as well. What teachers do.”

Then, as if the speed up to now was only a warm-up, he began to prepare food ingredients at a tremendous speed.

"why not?"

when i ask

Eunsol smiled slightly embarrassedly and opened her mouth.

“Because I am also a teacher.”

Then, without saying a word, he concentrated on the knife.

“… … .”

In an instant, it felt like my heart was warming up.

I looked at her, engraving her gratitude on her chest.

But she did not raise her head as if concentrating on cleaning the material.

I nodded and slowly made my way to the classroom where the students were waiting.

But then.

thump-

"excuse me! Wait!"

Suddenly someone grabbed my arm.

I looked back in surprise.

“Heh heh, you’re Kim Jun-young, right?”

A man caught my eye, holding my arm tight and breathing heavily.

It looked as if he had run from afar to where I was.

I checked his face in detail to see if it was a familiar face.

It was a face I didn't know.

Well, but seeing that I came here knowing my name, it must be someone who knows me... … ,

"Yes. That's right, who are you?"

When I asked in a puzzled tone

“Oh, I… .”

Having managed to catch his breath, he handed me something.

That's right.

[Reporter Lee Han-young, Social Affairs Department, Korea Daily]

One of the largest newspapers in the country.

one of the big three.

It was a business card with the mission of the Goryeo Ilbo engraved on it.

Lee Han-young, who saw me checking my business card, said to me.

“Master Kim… No, Mr. Kim. Are you able to interview me now?”

Thank you for reading this story at mtlarchive.com. Your support enables us to keep the site running!