chapter_0505

505 – Evacuation Drill

505 – Evacuation Drill

Bang! Bang!

Bomi and Levinas were jumping on the trampoline.

Below them, Gaeul lay flat on her stomach with her eyes closed.

I was more concerned about Gaeul, who was lying still, than the kids who were playing.

I approached the trampoline and called out to Gaeul.

“Gaeul?”

“······.”

Gaeul quietly opened her eyes, sticking her tongue out slightly.

I didn’t know why Gaeul was acting like this.

“Gaeul, why are you pretending to be dead?”

When I asked her the reason, Gaeul gestured for me to come closer.

Thinking she wanted me to come near, I climbed onto the trampoline and lay down.

Bang! Bang!

In the bouncing situation, I made eye contact with Gaeul.

Then Gaeul whispered in my ear in a very soft voice.

“Jijin···!”

“Jijin··· earthquake···?”

“Hek···!”

It seemed that Gaeul had mistaken the vibrations of the trampoline for an earthquake.

So she pretended to be dead because she thought there was an earthquake?

How should I connect the earthquake with Gaeul pretending to be dead?

I tried to think like Gaeul as much as possible.

‘Pretending to be dead is something you do when you’re scared, and earthquakes are scary…’

Did a scary earthquake come, and she pretended to be dead?

It was around the time my thoughts reached that point.

“Juin···! Jijin···! Kkaekudak···! Kkaekudak···!”

Gaeul reached out and covered my eyes.

It seemed to mean that since there was an earthquake, I should quickly pretend to be dead.

“Gaeul, you don’t avoid earthquakes by pretending to be dead.”

“···Ing?”

“Earthquakes aren’t like monsters; they’re natural disasters. You know what rain is, right?”

“Gu-aek?!”

Gaeul jumped up from her spot but soon fell back down.

It was because of the vibrations of the trampoline.

“And Gaeul, this isn’t actually an earthquake.”

“Anya?!”

“Yeah. Hey, can you all stop jumping for a moment?”

At my request, the kids stopped bouncing.

Thanks to that, the vibrations of the trampoline ceased, and Gaeul was able to get up.

“Wanga, what’s wrong?!”

“Gaeul is scared.”

“What?!”

Hearing that Gaeul was scared, the kids tiptoed over.

Thanks to that, the shaking of the trampoline stopped, and Gaeul was able to stand up.

“Gaeul, do you want to jump here?”

“Hek···!”

Bounce—

Gaeul jumped up just a finger’s height.

Her eyes widened at the shaking that occurred upon landing.

“Don’t just jump once; you have to keep jumping.”

At my words, Gaeul began to bounce up and down.

After a few jumps, it seemed she learned how to play on the trampoline, and Gaeul started to jump higher.

“Juin! Iguba!”

“Wow, Gaeul is jumping really high.”

“Kkaeguri! Kkaeguri!”

Gaeul laughed joyfully as she jumped high into the sky.

The kids watching her also started to jump again.

Bang! Bang!

It was nice to see the kids playing without any worries.

Just that alone made me feel happiness sprouting in my world.

**

While playing with the kids for a while, Choi Jin-hyuk was making various plans with Yoon Da-in and Song Ha-rin.

Saebyeok also focused solely on planning instead of playing with us.

“So we just need to deal with the places where Mana is gathered?”

“Yeah. Those places seem to be the branches.”

While we were playing for a bit, the conversation had advanced quite a bit.

I hesitated and approached the group in the middle of their meeting.

“I’m really sorry, everyone…”

I sincerely apologized to them.

But for some reason, their reactions were strange.

“What for?”

“Well, I was just playing…”

“You did well. That’s how it should be.”

Choi Jin-hyuk waved his hand, saying it was okay.

I didn’t know what he meant by that.

“No, more than that, everyone gather here.”

Choi Jin-hyuk called me and the kids over.

We huddled together on the sofa in the living room.

I wondered if I was going to get scolded a little.

I politely placed my hands on my knees, but what came out of Choi Jin-hyuk’s mouth was different from what I expected.

“Do you all know how to respond when an earthquake occurs?”

“Uh…”

An earthquake.

Was it because of Gaeul pretending to be dead on the trampoline, saying it was an earthquake?

Choi Jin-hyuk had a rather serious expression.

“Don’t you know?”

Gaeul shook her head, saying she wasn’t pretending to be dead.

It seemed she had learned a little about earthquakes.

“Right, you shouldn’t pretend to be dead. So what should we do instead of pretending to be dead?”

“······.”

Gaeul stuck her tongue out slightly.

Unfortunately, I had never taught her how to prepare for an earthquake.

“When an earthquake…”

“When an earthquake occurs, you face it boldly and fight back!”

Just as I was about to say something, Levinas boldly puffed out his chest and shouted.

Fighting against an earthquake was a very Levinas-like idea.

“That’s amazing.”

“Yeah! Levinas is amazing!”

“But you’re wrong.”

“Huh?!”

Thud.

Levinas got down from the sofa and knelt.

Hehe, we covered our mouths and laughed at Levinas.

“An earthquake isn’t something you can fight. Even the Master can’t defeat an earthquake.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah. An earthquake is… should Gyeoul say it first?”

When Choi Jin-hyuk pointed to me, everyone turned to look at me.

Honestly, I had never experienced a proper earthquake since coming to this world, so I hesitated to answer.

“Um… you should protect your head with something like a pillow and hide under a desk.”

Depending on the intensity of the earthquake, but I knew that this was the best for a weak earthquake.

Of course, I didn’t know if it was accurate.

“You know well? You just need to know a few more things about that.”

“What kind?”

It was education related to the safety of the kids.

We decided to focus and listen carefully.

“When an earthquake occurs, your actions change depending on where you are. For example…”

When you’re at home, when you’re outside.

Or when you’re trapped in a car or an elevator.

Choi Jin-hyuk taught us about earthquakes quite thoroughly.

“Should we be careful of fires too?”

“Yeah. Secondary damage can occur from fires.”

The one who learned the most among us was none other than Bomi.

Bomi had the greatest desire for learning among us.

“So we should be careful of fires and watch out for falling objects…”

Bomi recited what she had learned while looking at the sky.

Choi Jin-hyuk placed his hand on top of Bomi’s head.

“It would be better to experience it once than to memorize it. Now, it’s an earthquake.”

“Huh…?”

At the mention of an earthquake, we stood there for a moment, dazed.

The first one to move among us was none other than Bomi.

“Since falling objects could hurt our heads, we need to cover our heads with something soft.”

“Hek! Got it!”

Bomi protected her head with a cushion that was next to the sofa.

Saebyeok followed suit and protected her head with a cushion.

“I’ll block it with this!”

Levinas raised his bag above his head.

Though small, it could sufficiently protect his head.

And Gaeul…

After a moment of looking blank, Gaeul hurriedly ran behind me.

Then she lifted my tail over her head.

“Gaeul?”

“Neng!”

Gaeul smiled brightly.

I never expected she would use my tail to protect her head.

I had anticipated various things, but this was an unexpected method.

“Are you going to protect your head with my tail?”

“Neng! Juin’s tail!”

Did my tail look that soft to Gaeul?

I was grateful for her kind thoughts, but unfortunately, my tail couldn’t block falling objects.

“Gaeul, the tail is too small to cover your head completely.”

“Huh?”

“It needs to be something soft that can cover your head completely.”

I moved my tail, which was over Gaeul’s head, and let it fall down.

Then Gaeul grabbed my tail with her hands and put it back over her head.

“Okay, now Gyeoul is going to die.”

Thud—

Choi Jin-hyuk lightly attacked my head with the remote control that was nearby.

I dramatically fell to the side and closed my eyes.

“Juin! Juin!”

Gaeul came over and shook my body.

Choi Jin-hyuk explained to Gaeul what had just happened.

“Just now, Gaeul used Gyeoul’s tail to block her head, so Gyeoul couldn’t move, right?”

“······!”

“So Gyeoul couldn’t escape and got hit on the head.”

“Juin! Myanghae!”

Gaeul shook my body, apologizing.

I didn’t want to scare her too much.

Maybe I should slowly open my eyes.

As I slightly opened my eyes, Choi Jin-hyuk lifted me up.

“Let’s start over from the beginning.”

“Neng!”

Gaeul raised her eyebrows much more than before.

This time, would she find a better way?

I waited in anticipation for Choi Jin-hyuk’s earthquake.

“Okay, it’s an earthquake.”

“Yuck!”

At the same time as the earthquake, Gaeul grabbed my hand.

Then she immediately ran towards the nearby desk.

“Yuck!”

Gaeul pushed me under the desk and struck a proud pose.

I was quite proud of Gaeul, who saved me and puffed out her chest.

“Wow, Gaeul saved me.”

“Hek···!”

Swish, swish.

As Gaeul wagged her tail, Choi Jin-hyuk approached.

Choi Jin-hyuk pressed Gaeul’s head with the remote control.

“This time, Gaeul died.”

“Eh?”

“Gyeoul was saved, but Gaeul didn’t evacuate.”

“······!”

Gaeul’s ears and tail perked up.

Then she flopped over to the side and closed her eyes.

“Kkaekudak···”

With a small gasp, Gaeul stopped moving.

I wondered if she was breathing properly; her chest rose and fell.

“Gaeulaaaaaa.”

Gaeul sacrificed herself for me.

I shook Gaeul’s body and cried out.

Of course, I did it quietly so as not to make too much noise.

Though still quite clumsy, the safety training with the kids was quite beneficial.

A word from the author (Author’s note)

Thank you so much for reading today, PIA1747014585384!

Thank you for the comments and recommendations as well! They always give me strength!

Today, the kids had safety training!

I hope everyone has a safe 2025!