Chapter 144
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Fire Drill
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At the sound of the emergency bell, the chattering sixth-graders in Class 3 fell silent, and the kids playing in the hallway rushed back into the classroom. The homeroom teacher quickly surveyed the students.
A broadcast came on over the loud ringing of the bell. The children perked up their ears.
[We will now begin the evacuation drill.]
“What a relief. It must be a drill.”
“Yeah. That scared me.”
Relieved that it wasn't a real emergency, Seojun and his friends waited for the next announcement.
[A fire has broken out in the third-floor science lab. Please avoid the hallway and stairs near the science lab and use the hallway and stairs near the library to evacuate. I repeat. In the third-floor science lab...]
The location of the third-floor science lab popped into the minds of the teacher and the students.
“The third-floor science lab. Kids, let's get out of here.”
“Yes.”
At their teacher's words, Seojun and his friends went out into the hallway. Students from the classes in front and behind them, all sixth-graders, were pouring out and lining up.
In less than a minute, all the students were out of their classrooms and standing in two lines in the hallway.
Seojun, being the tallest in his class, stood at the very end of the line and looked ahead.
No one was missing from the two neat lines of his classmates. Jio, standing next to him, whispered to Seojun.
“Fourth period was math. This is great!”
“No wonder. We didn't have math homework because of the drill.”
The upperclassmen, accustomed to the twice-a-year drills, chattered away as they expertly formed lines.
It seemed a student from the neighboring class was in the restroom, as their teacher asked Seojun's teacher to help guide the students.
“Check on the friend in front of you and the friend behind you.”
“Yes!”
“Anyone missing?”
“Everyone’s here!”
“Alright, let’s go down.”
Under the teacher's guidance, the students began to move. They covered their mouths with handkerchiefs or sleeves, bent low, and headed for the stairs.
Not just Seojun's class, but the neighboring classes and those on the floors below all exited the building in an orderly yet swift manner, making their way down to the schoolyard.
As the upperclassmen from the higher floors came down, the head teachers of each grade and the homeroom teachers checked on the students, ensuring no one was left behind.
“The first-graders are crying.”
At Jihu's words, the kids' gazes turned toward where the first-graders were standing. The first-graders were crying, likely startled by the loud noise and sudden movement.
Even though their classrooms were on the first and second floors, allowing for a quick evacuation, their lines were a mess, and teachers from other grades had gathered to comfort them and get them in order.
“They cry even though they're told in advance.”
“They’re still little.”
“You guys cried a lot too.”
Mina said with a laugh at Jio's comment.
“Everyone in our class cried except for Seojun.”
They all looked awkward, darting their eyes around before looking at each other and bursting into laughter.
For the first and second graders, their parents were notified days in advance. They were given explanations the day before, again on the day of the drill, shown videos, and moved together as a class.
Despite all that, the loud emergency bell and the sudden situation scared them, and they burst into tears.
Because of this, there were opinions that the first-graders were too young for such drills, but those were quickly dismissed since real emergencies don't spare young children.
“In third grade, they surprised us by only telling us on the day of the drill.”
“Yeah. We were used to it by then, so we didn't cry, but still.”
Seojun and the kids nodded. Just then, they saw a teacher coming into the schoolyard with the student who had been in the restroom.
Judging by the way they headed toward the fourth-graders, the student must have been in fourth grade. Seojun and his friends burst out laughing.
“They said disasters happen unexpectedly, so from fourth grade on, they wouldn't tell us in advance anymore.”
At Mina's words, Jio shook his head and said.
“I really didn't think they'd stop telling us. I was in the restroom during break when the bell rang, and I was so shocked. Good thing I could hear the announcement in there. The teacher came to get me right away, too.”
“I was surprised you were missing, Jio.”
“The teachers really have it tough.”
After the teachers counted and recounted the students, the emergency bell stopped. No one had hidden on purpose. The teachers had stressed that point since first grade.
“But for real, if you hide on purpose and don't come out, do you have to write a 100-page apology?”
“Probably. We have to sign a parent consent form every year, right? It said 100 pages of apology on there.”
“If you write one page a day, you could probably finish it by the end of the school year.”
Everyone frowned at Seojun's words. An apology letter every single day. Just the thought of it was painful.
“Alright, let’s move to the stands.”
The children moved at the teacher's command. As they were sitting down in the stands, a fire truck entered the schoolyard.
Seeing the big, red fire truck in person, even the crying first-graders stopped their tears and cheered, “Wow!”
Finding the sight adorable, Seojun and his friends smiled.
The firefighters who got out of the truck explained fire evacuation procedures in detail to the children and taught them how to use a fire extinguisher and perform first aid.
They also picked a few children who wanted to try it themselves and demonstrated how to extinguish a fire with them.
Seojun watched a third-grader put out a fire with an extinguisher before turning his gaze away. Some kids listened intently, while others looked bored. But considering even the bored ones had made it down to the schoolyard without any trouble under their teachers' direction,
“I don't know about other things, but I bet the kids at our school would be good at evacuating if there was a fire, right?”
Everyone nodded at Seojun's words. It would be best if a fire never happened, but accidents were always sudden. Jihu spoke up.
“That might be true for school, but kids aren't only at school. They go to academies, go out to play.”
“Still, they probably wouldn't freeze up in shock at the sound of an emergency bell.”
“We've been doing these drills for six years. I feel like my body would just move on its own if I heard an emergency bell.”
Seojun and his friends laughed and nodded at Jio's comment. The first-semester evacuation drill at Maesil Elementary School concluded with the final event: a firefighting demonstration by the firefighters.
* * *
The National Fire Agency posted a bid announcement for an advertisement.
[Bid Title: 'Production of a Public Service Announcement on Fire Evacuation Procedures for Children', Announcing Body: National Fire Agency]
The conference room of 'Cloud,' an advertising agency.
The planning team staff gathered for a meeting to create a proposal to submit to the National Fire Agency.
['Fire Evacuation Procedures PSA for Children']
Everyone was lost in thought, staring at the topic written on the whiteboard.
A PSA on fire evacuation procedures.
In everyone's mind, a typical ad came to mind: one with large, conspicuous subtitles like '1. Shout "Fire!"', '2. Press the emergency bell,' and models with awkward acting. The planning team leader, who was thinking the exact same thing, spoke up.
“Keeping in mind that the target audience is children, what kind of ad do you think we should make?”
“First… we need to make it easy for children to understand.”
“We could also use characters that children like.”
“What about the National Fire Agency’s mascot?”
Everyone shook their heads without even looking up the mascot.
“Using the National Fire Agency’s mascot might increase our chances of winning the bid, but the ad's effectiveness would be low. It's not a character kids like.”
“If we're going to use one, it should be a popular cartoon character. You know, the ones that are a huge hit with elementary school kids.”
“The most fundamental problem is that kids these days don't watch television. The National Fire Agency is probably planning to post it not just on TV, but also on social media and N-tube. We might need to think outside the box of a traditional TV commercial.”
While the planning team members were actively sharing their opinions, Kim Jihyun, who had a child in elementary school, spoke up.
Since her daughter was part of the target audience for this ad, it was easy for her to think of what would appeal to her.
“Besides cartoon characters, we could use a celebrity who's famous among children, or we could make an ad that kids can easily empathize with.”
“Empathize?”
“Dramas starring child actors are popular among kids these days. Children's dramas, you know?”
Children's dramas.
The employees in the conference room also recalled the children's dramas they had watched when they were young.
There was one about a family of wizards. It centered around children, depicted life in elementary school, and while it was childish, it was popular among their peers.
There was probably even an employee among them who had been so engrossed in the drama that they'd wanted to become a wizard.
Fire evacuation procedures as a children's drama? Everyone fell into thought. Kim Jihyun continued.
“With a child as the protagonist, it would be easier for kids to learn the fire evacuation procedures. If they imitate the main character after watching the drama, it would naturally become a form of practice, and if a real fire broke out, they might recall what the protagonist did, step by step.”
“The idea is good, but…”
The planning team leader scratched his head.
“It’s an ad, but you want to make it into a drama?”
“Five to ten minutes would be enough. We can edit the important scenes from it to use as the commercial, and people who want to see the full video will seek out the National Fire Agency’s N-tube channel. That would promote the agency as well. Plus, it could be used as an educational video for the fire agency.”
At Kim Jihyun's words, everyone started leaning toward the idea of a web drama. The planning team leader couldn't shake the thought that a web drama might be a better approach either.
Still, the reason they couldn't adopt it right away was,
“Government offices are conservative. They’ll have a hard time accepting a proposal like this…”
With the team leader's groan, the dilemma for the advertising agency 'Cloud' deepened.
* * *
A few weeks later.
The conference room of the advertising agency 'Cloud'.
The employees of Cloud gathered and read through the official document sent from the National Fire Agency.
They read it again and again, but it still felt like a lie. It felt as if all their hard work had been rewarded with this single document.
“...It actually worked?”
“...? Weren't you the one who proposed it, Jihyun?”
Faced with the surprised gazes of her team leader and colleagues, Kim Jihyun scratched her cheek.
“I thought it was a good idea, but like you said, team leader, government offices are conservative. I was sure they'd never go for a web drama as a PSA…”
“Someone I know said it got bonus points because the video could be used for educational purposes. And just like you said, Jihyun, they thought it would be interesting for kids. Apparently, there were a lot of people at the National Fire Agency who also felt a standard PSA wouldn't work. The timing was perfect.”
The employees nodded repeatedly at the team leader's words.
“If we do a good job with this, we might be able to land ads from other government agencies.”
“We might even get proposals for web dramas.”
“Maybe someday we could even make a TV drama. Like Pado.”
Everyone shook their heads at the rookie's comment. 'Pado' was the production company behind 'Naeuiwon,' the drama Lee Seojun had starred in.
“They got super famous after making Naeuiwon, so I hear they're flooded with work.”
Everyone's eyes widened at the team leader's words.
“Even after three years?”
“They have a director and writer who are close with Lee Seojun, so there's always the hope that he might appear in another one of their projects. Plus, dramas made by Pado are almost guaranteed a slot on KBC. All they have to do is produce it, and it's on a major network—no wonder scripts are flooding in. And the dramas that did get broadcasted that way have had pretty good ratings.”
“Pado really hit the jackpot.”
“I wish Actor Lee Seojun would come to us, too. Not just kids, but adults would watch it like crazy. Our company would get super famous, right?”
Everyone burst out laughing at the comment from the employee who was creating promotional materials for the child actor auditions for the PSA. The team leader, who had been laughing heartily, spoke up.
“We'd love it if Lee Seojun came, but his fee is the problem. This isn't a corporate ad; it's for a government agency, so we can't spend that much money.”
Ah, the appearance fee.
How much would they have to pay Lee Seojun? The employees shook their heads, unable to even fathom the amount.