OMH Chapter 24

24. The S-Grades I Ended Up Raising (5)

After the food came out, Cha Woojin was even more amazed. He didn’t expect real yukhoe (beef tartare) to actually come out, and instead of eating it, he rummaged through it for a while, examining it, before asking what kind of meat it was. I wasn’t sure why he was asking, but I answered him kindly.

“It’s a bit complicated to explain, but it’s similar to real beef. It’s okay to eat, so please have some.”

“Is it the meat of a monster similar to a cow?”

“…We don’t eat monsters either. We haven’t even succeeded in domesticating monsters yet. The meat provided by the Association is artificial meat. It’s made to resemble beef and pork as closely as possible, so please eat with confidence.”

What’s with the question?

Did Cha Woojin think the Association people ate monster meat?

We don’t have farms anymore, and cows and pigs are endangered, but we don’t eat monsters! We’re not going to catch and eat the things that eat and kill people right in front of us.

I tried to explain diligently that this meat wasn’t monster flesh, but Cha Woojin avoided my gaze. He probably didn’t believe me that it wasn’t monster meat.

In the end, Cha Woojin rummaged through it a few more times, pretended to eat a little, and then said he couldn’t eat it because he didn’t think he could digest it.

‘If you weren’t going to eat it, why did you order it?’

I grumbled to myself and swapped the soft tofu and yukhoe from my menu with him.

All the meat given out at the Medical Bureau was artificial meat too, but maybe he didn’t care because it was cooked?

Anyway, it’s good that Cha Woojin isn’t starving.

Jang Hana, who ordered the pork cutlet, said she wanted to try the yukhoe too, so we swapped food and shared.

As I watched Cha Wooreen diligently eating the pork cutlet by stabbing it with chopsticks for adults like a skewer, something I’d forgotten came to mind.

‘Come to think of it, isn’t she an unregistered person?’

Children under the age of 14 with guardians cannot register their identity directly and can only register through their guardians.

Cha Wooreen has been living as a refugee at the Association for over a month, but she’s practically a non-existent person on the official records.

Cha Woojin was shocked to hear this story and said he would go register Cha Wooreen’s identity right away.

‘Should I tell him that even if he registers her, not much will change?’

And Cha Wooreen hasn’t even eaten half her food yet…

I told him to finish his meal first, and Cha Woojin agreed.

Cha Woojin ate his meal, picking at it, and then asked me where he could register the identity. I replied that all basic administrative work was done at the Central Center and offered to go with him.

So we parted ways with the S-grade teenagers and headed to the Central Center.

*

It is said that people who have lived outside for a long time often forget the date and time.

The calendar hasn’t been updated since 6 years ago, and when the batteries run out, the clocks stop working.

But Cha Woojin knew Cha Wooreen’s birthday and time of birth, as if he hadn’t forgotten the date and time while living outside.

‘Cha Wooreen must have been born almost a year after the Gate Break occurred, which is amazing.’

Thanks to that, Cha Wooreen got her first ID card.

She took a simple ID photo, and an ID card with her picture was printed out immediately. Cha Wooreen was very happy to hold her ID card and ran around the lobby of the Central Center, showing it off to people.

But Cha Wooreen was still a minor, so she had to renew it every three years. And it’s not like she’d be able to enter any new areas with that ID card, so her real life wouldn’t change at all from what it is now.

Still, Cha Woojin was very happy that Cha Wooreen had a token showing she was a member of society.

Seeing the siblings so happy, it suddenly occurred to me that they would be even happier if they went to Downtown.

So I impulsively suggested to Cha Woojin.

“Cha Woojin, if you have time in the evening, would you like to go to Downtown?”

“Downtown? Is there a downtown area nearby?”

“There’s a district near the Association where civilians live together under the protection of the Association. It’s quite large and has a lot of people, and because Association members often come and go, shops have sprung up. It’s not as good as the old downtown areas, but it has everything you need, so it’ll be fun to go.”

“Then let’s go now.”

Cha Woojin grabbed my wrist and asked me to guide him. I don’t mind going right away, but don’t trainees have training from the end of lunchtime until the evening?

A little surprised by Cha Woojin’s impulsive behavior, I asked about Cha Woojin’s schedule.

But Cha Woojin didn’t answer my question and instead asked me if I was busy, looking pitiful.

I wanted to ease that sad expression, so I quickly replied.

“I’m not busy at all!”

I’m definitely ready to go out with Cha Woojin.

*

I put Cha Woojin in the passenger seat and Cha Wooreen in the back seat and drove to Downtown.

Somehow, I ended up helping Cha Woojin skip class, which made me feel a bit dazed, but Cha Woojin seemed even more amazed by this situation than I was in a different sense.

Cha Woojin, who was surprised that I had a car and was driving, enthusiastically looked at the scenery outside the car for about 10 minutes.

Cha Woojin, who had been looking out the window for a while, asked me a question.

“Do all the people here have their own cars?”

“People who have finished their training either buy them from the Association or modify cars they picked up while on missions. It’s hard to get gasoline these days, so we use electric cars. Cha Woojin, if you pick up a car you like while on a mission, modify it and use it. I just bought a car sold by the Association, but everyone says the modified cars are more comfortable and better.”

Cha Woojin had been silently looking out the window, so I answered him as sincerely as possible since he spoke to me. I also wanted to talk to Cha Woojin for a long time.

Cha Woojin said that the last time he saw a car was 5 years ago, and it had been even longer since he’d ridden in one. That must be why he was so amazed by my car.

I guess even things you know can feel unfamiliar if you haven’t seen them in a long time.

As I chatted with Cha Woojin about this and that, I realized that I had really made the right decision to come to Downtown with him, even if it was unplanned.

I parked the car in the parking lot and we went out into the street.

Since it was midday after lunchtime, the streets were deserted. I grabbed Cha Woojin, who was looking around, and asked if there was anywhere he wanted to go.

Unlike me, Cha Woojin would have freely roamed the downtown area before the Gate Break, so I thought there must be something he wanted to do.

Here, there are movie theaters, game rooms, cafes, karaoke rooms, and all sorts of entertainment.

Although we can’t create parks because we can’t do landscaping, you can still enjoy the entertainment of civilization. Someone who was used to this kind of entertainment would definitely have something they want to do.

‘What does Cha Woojin want to do for fun?’

Cha Woojin isn’t that much older than me, so he must have been a teenager before the Gate Break. What did young Cha Woojin do for fun? I was imagining things on my own while waiting for an answer, but Cha Woojin asked a random question.

“The place where Cha Wooreen and I were was definitely Ahyeon, but where is this?”

Uh… I was at a loss for words because it was such an unexpected question.

Why is he suddenly asking that? I couldn’t answer, but Cha Woojin continued, probably because my expression showed that I was flustered.

“The buildings here are all things I’ve never seen before. Considering that you moved Cha Wooreen and me here so quickly, it must be nearby, but I can’t guess where it is. I thought I could tell if I saw any large buildings in the surrounding area, but… I guess they’ve all collapsed. So many monsters swept through.”

Cha Woojin looked dejected as he spoke.

‘Come to think of it, this area was a place that monsters attacked intensively, so most of it was destroyed.’

I wanted to tell Cha Woojin the old name of this district and comfort him as he reminisced about the past, but I couldn’t.

That’s because I don’t know the old name of this neighborhood.

Still, I heard that the Association is located on the site of the old palace, but I don’t know the name of the neighborhood.

Even if there’s a sad past, shouldn’t you be able to laugh in the present?

I took Cha Woojin and Cha Wooreen, who didn’t have any particular opinions, to play VR games.

Audiovisual stimulation is the best way to clear your mind. If we go to a fantasy land where we can forget the bleak reality, the downcast atmosphere will be lifted.

*

There was one thing I overlooked. To enjoy media content, what you do with it is important.

I thought Cha Wooreen, who was experiencing VR for the first time, would be unfamiliar with the machines and have difficulties, but Cha Woojin showed her how to use them first, so Cha Wooreen did it with him without any resistance.

I chose the game without listening to any detailed explanations, simply because it was the most popular.

The fact that it was the most popular meant that it resonated with popular tastes, so I vaguely thought that we could enjoy it.

Until I looked at the contents.

Until we all put on our VR headsets and watched the opening title, I didn’t realize it was that kind of game.

The title was ‘Odyssey of Survival’, and it started with us soaring into the sky in a military plane, but I just thought it was a military game.

In virtual reality, we were in a military plane that landed in some ruins.

And in front of the ruins, we received guns from a helper who was waiting for us and moved through a group of wounded people covered in blood.

Following the helper, we passed between drums with fires burning inside, and then a barbed wire fence appeared.

The helper asked us to keep watch here.

As we stood guard in front of the barbed wire fence, a loud noise suddenly rang out and something popped out.

Clang. Clang. Clang!

Clinging to the barbed wire fence and aiming for us were zombies with rotting flesh.

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