Of course, it’s only natural—the office of the highest authority in Seocheon Flower Garden was separate from the Promotion Team’s office.
And it was huge.
Of course, it couldn’t compare to the Great Celestial Treasure Storehouse, but still.
Now, that vast space was packed full.
There was Sara, the flower persimmon keeper, expressing her headache with every fiber of her being, and next to her, three members of the Promotion Team standing in a line.
Standing opposite them, sniffling, was Education Team Shinsomi.
Behind her, the other Shinsomis stood like a folding screen. Their stares were so menacing that Mujae gulped.
It was the perfect atmosphere for a group lynching.
“Explain.”
Sara’s voice scraped the floor, a far cry from her usual tone.
In place of the deathly pale Zack, Mujae stepped forward and forced himself to speak.
“Well, Zack touched the seed and…”
“And?”
“Suddenly, a dragon appeared…”
“A dragon?”
Sara’s brows twisted hard.
At Mujae’s words, Education Team Shinsomi exploded in outrage.
“Sir! How could you allow someone so dangerous to participate in the class!”
“Do you realize how important the Great Celestial Treasure Storehouse is!”
Other Shinsomis chimed in, glaring fiercely.
“What dragon is that! That’s not a dragon, that’s the reckless, ferocious Imugi!”
“It’s a good thing it disappeared quickly, but what if it had started breathing fire inside?!”
“What if it had eaten one of the young souls—oh, heavens…”
Sighs burst out from every corner, as if the very thought was unbearable.
Mujae’s face grew redder, Zack’s paler.
There was nothing more to say.
At least only the Promotion Team had witnessed Mujae getting rid of the Imugi—small relief.
“I took care of it. Isn’t that enough?”
That guy!?
At the brazen voice that shook the office, Mujae whipped his head around.
Hallakgoong, who had been standing quietly in the corner, picked his ear and stepped forward.
“I didn’t want the exchange student program in the first place. But who was it that pressured me with, ‘The seed is the foundation of all things; if you can’t even do this, you can’t do anything~’?”
“Oh my!”
While Education Team Shinsomi was rendered speechless, another Shinsomi stepped forward.
It was the Farming Team 3 Shinsomi who’d run into Mujae a few days ago.
“I happened to meet the Promotion Team on the way to work, and they asked me where to get gardening gloves. Didn’t the Promotion Team already know something like this would happen?”
“…”
That was because of Mujae’s [Brown Thumb].
But since the other Shinsomis didn’t know this, all their suspicion was directed at Zack.
Zack, who was already huge, shrank even smaller.
Another Shinsomi shouted,
“If you knew you had such power, you should have held back!”
“The Promotion Team should be banned from participating in classes!”
“I agree!”
The voices of the angry Shinsomis grew louder and louder.
Mujae’s plan to somehow attend classes was falling apart miserably.
Just then—
“But still.”
All eyes turned to Mujae.
Under the weight of their gaze, Mujae thought he might be crushed, but after swallowing hard, he forced himself to speak up.
“An accident happened, but it was handled. Isn’t that even better?”
“What did you say?”
“I managed to film a video worth going viral.”
At Mujae’s words, the Shinsomis looked incredulous.
Even Sara frowned.
“Mujae.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Are you even aware of the situation right now?”
Zack and Hallakgoong also stared holes into Mujae.
Their expressions differed only in temperature; both clearly thought, ‘He’s crazy.’
Mujae nodded.
“Of course.”
He pulled out his phone.
On Mujae’s phone screen, a short video played, showing a dragon bursting out from the seed Zack touched.
And next to it, numbers spinning rapidly.
“Already thirty thousand views.”
“What?!”
“I uploaded it right away. Titled it, ‘A Dragon Appears at Seocheon Flower Garden?!'”
Sara’s eyes widened.
Even the Shinsomis began to murmur in surprise.
To think people were flocking to the flower garden’s promotion account, which they’d rarely checked.
They’d assumed it only ever uploaded mundane flower or landscape healing content…
Sara snatched the phone from Mujae’s hand in a flash.
Sara’s pupils trembled in shock.
“Thirty-five thousand…?!”
“People are leaving comments in real time.”
Truly, comments were pouring in live.
On their SNS, which had barely a hundred subscribers, comments were exploding.
@지옥지박령: Woah, that’s really a dragon
@꽃구경왔다가_486: Where is Seocheon Flower Garden? I want to visit!
@범_올라간다: Amazing lol, so powerful—what kind of dragon is that
To the dumbfounded Sara, Mujae grinned confidently, as if the one terrified just moments ago had been someone else entirely.
Only a bead of cold sweat trickled down Mujae’s brow.
“See? It’s working.”
Mujae felt a bit of his tension release.
He sensed the mood in the room was shifting a little.
But the Shinsomis started yelling again.
“But it’s still dangerous!”
Education Team Shinsomi shouted desperately.
Promotion was one thing, but the peace of her beloved class time was another matter.
“I absolutely will not allow them in my class! If they insist, let them take an online course or something!”
“Then we’ll have to find another way.”
Just when Mujae thought things were finally turning his way, Sara made a thunderous decision.
“From now on, the Promotion Team is banned from participating in regular classes.”
“What?!”
Mujae shouted in shock.
He’d prepared two months of content around the exchange student from the West—was he to throw away this golden opportunity?!
“Instead…”
Sara paused in thought.
“Go to the Fertilizer Team.”
“Fertilizer…team?!”
“That’s right, Raw Fertilizer Storage. Work there.”
Even the Shinsomis couldn’t believe Sara’s decision.
“Raw Fertilizer Storage? That’s brutal for newbies…”
“But at least there are no seeds there, so it’s less dangerous.”
A collective sigh of relief—except for the Promotion Team, who were turning pale.
“Any objections?”
Sara’s decision was final.
The storage overflowing with all sorts of fertilizer: Raw Fertilizer Storage.
Here, not only seeds but fertilizer was gathered on a cosmic scale—the scope of Seocheon Flower Garden’s fields.
It was located in the coldest, most remote northern corner for good reason.
“Ugh…”
Mujae groaned, a giant clip pinched onto his nose.
It had only just begun, and already he couldn’t breathe.
“How are we supposed to survive this?”
No matter where he looked—manure here, manure there.
The whole place was packed with all kinds of fertilizer materials.
But the most wronged party was someone else.
“Why did you drag me along?!”
“You’re in the Promotion Team too!”
Hallakgoong yelled, and Mujae shot back just as fiercely.
Zack ignored the two, shook his head, and picked up a shovel with a strangely practiced motion.
“Does he not even have a nose?!”
“Stop picking on the one who actually works!”
Zack, not even bothering with a nose clip like Mujae, silently started working.
The roar of heavy machinery working all around them was so loud they had to shout just to hear each other.
Truly, it was a place enough to make anyone lose their mind in several ways.
A Fertilizer Team Shinsomi approached the newbies.
“Hey, rookies. I know it’s overwhelming, but use these.”
“Thank you!”
This Shinsomi was absurdly muscular.
She handed the Promotion Team oxygen supply masks.
Once Mujae hurriedly put his on and switched it on, he finally felt like he could breathe again.
“Ahh… Huh?!”
Just as he relaxed, another Fertilizer Team Shinsomi opened the warehouse door from afar.
Inside, piles of ripening fertilizer stacked like mountains came into view, and the smell seemed to rise all over again.
“Argh…!”
Mujae and Hallakgoong screamed at the same time.
But no one came to help.
This mountain of compost was their workplace from today onward.
“All right, let’s get started.”
The Fertilizer Team Shinsomi picked up a shovel to demonstrate.
“First, turn the compost thoroughly. So it ferments well. The seniors over there will bring you one ton of eagle droppings, so mix that in well.”
“Eagle… ugh…”
He thought he had a strong stomach, but apparently not.
Mujae’s shoulders slumped as he listened to the Fertilizer Team’s explanation.
No matter how he looked at it, he felt suffocated.
What kind of promotional video could he possibly make here?
“Once you’re done, the seniors will move it with equipment, so stay alert!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
At least they responded loudly.
After the Fertilizer Team Shinsomi left, the Promotion Team fell into a silent rhythm, shoveling diligently.
Even with the mask, it still felt like the smell was getting through, but they didn’t have the energy to even speak.
Suddenly, Hallakgoong stopped moving.
Mujae shot him a glare.
“What are you doing? There’s no break time—they said to finish all this today.”
“Come to think of it…”
Hallakgoong suddenly snatched the phone from Mujae’s back pocket.
“I think this might work.”
“What?”
“Open this.”
Mujae obediently unlocked his phone, and handed it back.
Hallakgoong tapped a few things, then turned the phone to face Mujae and Zack.
On the screen, clearly displayed…
[LIVE]
“?! Hey, wait!”
“Seocheon Flower Garden, live broadcast starting!”
Before he could stop it, their first live broadcast had begun.