“No one was there….”
Hallakgoong furrowed his brow deeply, bowing his head. The two watched him anxiously.
“How can that be?!”
Thud!
“Calm down, Hallakgoong!”
Hallakgoong finally exploded.
Knowing exactly where he was about to storm off to, his two friends grabbed him from either side, holding him back.
But this was already the third time Hallakgoong had been worked up.
His anger wouldn’t subside so easily.
“This is all the Facilities Team’s fault to begin with!”
“Hallakgoong.”
The feelings he’d been holding down finally burst out.
“It’s only because I didn’t say anything! How did they even handle security?!”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“Whether it’s the Agriculture Team or not, if the security had been properly done, this never would’ve happened in the first place!”
Hallakgoong shouted his anger at the air.
Nothing he said was wrong.
No matter who the culprit was, with data disappearing from a server within the organization, the Facilities Team in charge of security was the first to be held accountable.
And it had already been days since they’d promised data recovery.
The Promotion Team could do nothing but wait for word from the Facilities Team.
On top of that, just yesterday at the Monthly Department Heads Meeting, they’d received the task: “Produce department promotion videos for Seocheon Flower Garden.” For that, recovering the footage shot so far was essential. And yet, Zack and Mujae couldn’t say a word to the Facilities Team.
“…Goong, we don’t have any money to repair the greenhouse…”
Because they’d lost a third of the greenhouse.
The Facilities Team turning a blind eye to that was nothing short of saintly.
For Zack and Mujae to blame the Facilities Team would be like demanding a bundle from the man who just rescued them from drowning, or the muddy dog calling out the speckled one.
And besides…
‘I’m promised as a test subject over there.’
Zack gestured frantically. The only reason the Promotion Team survived after smashing up the pride of the Facilities Team, the greenhouse, was thanks to Zack. Team Leader Shinsomi of the Facilities Team had taken a huge interest in Zack. She secured his full cooperation with experiments, then persuaded her team members to forgive.
Given the circumstances, only Hallakgoong, who had no connection at all, could vent his frustration.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Hallakgoong~!”
Tap, tap, tap.
Zack urgently tapped the shoulders of Mujae and Hallakgoong. He thrust his phone before them.
[Data recovery complete. Please check. -Facilities Team]
The message from the Facilities Team glowed clearly on Zack’s phone screen. The eyes of the three collided as they read it. Without hesitation, each began to check the recovered data.
“Crazy.”
Sara clapped a hand over her mouth.
On the screen before her, bright red chili peppers, onions, garlic, and ginger were being mixed with fresh vegetables, showing the process of making various types of kimchi.
It was none other than the Promotion Team’s video made for the Meal Service Team.
How well they had captivated the viewers was instantly quantified.
[View Count: 425,763]
[Like: 43,307]
[Comments: 3,337]
A video barely a minute long, but its impact was strong. Mujae shouted excitedly.
“Look at this!”
On the screen Mujae pointed to, the majestic sight of Seocheon Flower Garden’s Raw Fertilizer Storage, Saengbigo appeared.
Fertilizer sacks piled like mountains next to a huge tiled building.
The footage fast-forwarded—sunset fell, night arrived.
The neatly stacked fertilizer sacks vanished in perfect order.
As the sun rose again, the Fertilizer Team Shinsomis appeared, stacking new fertilizer sacks once more.
Thick beads of sweat dripped from their foreheads.
[Gather the dry twigs, rotten waste]
Their work song played as they labored.
[Let’s gather it all and make gold]
A sprout burst from where the sweat fell, bringing the short video to a close. Right below, the video’s appeal was once again quantified.
[View Count: 522,457]
[Like: 49,093]
[Comments: 6,953]
“I can’t believe that bird shot something like this…”
It was the first drone shoot Mujae had tried, using the Recon Bird he’d run into back when he was a clueless newbie.
Thanks to that, the Fertilizer Team’s grand scale was captured perfectly.
Hallakgoong, hearing Mujae’s words, smirked.
“Told you, you need an expensive camera.”
No matter how skilled the Recon Bird’s flying was, Sara’s attempts with the Recon Bird Camera were a lost cause.
So Hallakgoong pestered his father and boss, Sara, into buying a top-grade Camera.
This was the first time Hallakgoong, who valued visual beauty above all, was satisfied with his work.
As they admired the footage, Zack moved his hand.
‘I never thought I’d be making stuff like this.’
What he was watching was the Agriculture Team’s video, starting with a shot from inside the dark, cavernous Great Celestial Treasure Storehouse.
Glimmering seeds emerged from the darkness, then were planted one by one in the earth.
In another stretch of darkness beneath the ground, the seeds sprouted, the plants shot up, gazing at the night sky—like stars grown from the earth meeting those above.
A beautiful video, and the result was just as impressive.
[View Count: 639,543]
[Like: 62,627]
[Comments: 6,697]
As each video was completed, the Promotion Team summoned the corresponding department for a screening.
When the Agriculture Team first saw this, some were moved to tears.
But upon learning that Zack—the man they most feared to provoke—was the one who had created the video, they fell silent.
Swallowing their tears in embarrassment, they rolled their eyes awkwardly, much to Hallakgoong’s delight.
After the screening, the Agriculture Team Representative, Shinsomi, shook Zack’s hand and thanked him.
Sara shrieked with joy.
“All three videos already have over sixty thousand views!”
Just three videos uploaded in a single week.
There were still so many department introduction videos left to upload. People were getting curious about Seocheon Flower Garden, a place they’d only vaguely known by name.
@Godlife_Ruinlife: Is the Fertilizer Team’s muscle real? lmao
@Striving_Upward: Please share Seocheon Flower Garden’s kimchi recipe!
@6SeocheonResident9: ?? Our neighborhood was this hot?
@DongdongLocalSpirit: I want to visit Seocheon Flower Garden
The Promotion Team was still dazed, having never expected such an explosive response. Sara, curiously reading the Comments Section, asked,
“How many do we have left?”
“Thirteen out of sixteen are left.”
“And the ones already finished?”
“We have two more ready.”
The completed ones were the Facilities Team and the Education Team. Sara tilted her head at Mujae’s answer.
“Huh? Sixteen? Not seventeen?”
-Ding-dong!
Just as Mujae was about to answer, an alert rang out. Zack, checking the monitor, urgently gestured for them to gather.
The Promotion Team clustered together and saw it was a DM notification from the GoddoG app.
“Who’s it from?”
When Zack tapped the alert, a message appeared from an unfamiliar account.
Sender: @boiling_hell
Recipient: @seocheon.garden
Title: [Collab Proposal] Boiling Hell X Seocheon Flower Garden Mutual Exchange & Joint Content Production
“Holy crap!”
Sara cursed a second time. Hallakgoong hurried to open the email.
To the Promotion Team of Seocheon Flower Garden
Greetings.
We are the Boiling Hell External Cooperation Department.
First, thank you for taking the time to read our message during your busy schedule.
Here at Boiling Hell, we’ve been following Seocheon Flower Garden’s content with great interest. Especially
the ‘Meal Service Team Experience’ and ‘Fertilizer Storage Live’ videos have become quite a sensation among our staff, and we’ve been deeply impressed by Seocheon Flower Garden’s warm approach and unique perspective.
Therefore, our Boiling Hell External Cooperation Department would like to propose a mutual exchange and joint content production with Seocheon Flower Garden.
“They have 2.8 million followers here!”
“Wait, don’t tell me it’s… [Boiling Hell Gym]?”
Scrolling down, Hallakgoong pinched his forehead, his expression pained. It was as if the inevitable had finally come. But the others’ faces beamed with amazement, awe, and excitement.
“These guys are the hottest fitness channel right now!”
“It’s not fake, right?! It’s not a scam?!”
“…Let’s at least check.”
Hallakgoong clicked the @boiling_hell account. The screen changed, showing Boiling Hell Channel’s main page. The background was roiling magma—just looking at it made you feel hot.
Boiling Hell Gym
[Subscribers: 2,865,412 / Total Views: 4,523,489,112]
“Wow…”
For Seocheon Flower Garden, that subscriber count was like a dream. Below, endless videos showed muscular people working out in boiling lava.
[Extreme Flame Deadlift Challenge]
[Plank in Lava for 10 Hours]
[Yoga in Hellfire Sauna]
Entranced, Zack snatched the mouse from Hallakgoong and clicked on a video. On screen, a brawny giant stood before bubbling magma.
“Today Boiling Hell hit 1,200 degrees! Let’s go for a quick 300 deadlift to warm up!”
Whoosh! Someone off-camera tossed a barbell to the strongman.
He caught the enormous barbell with ease.
Two 150kg plates hit the black stone floor with a thunk.
Picking them up, lava spurted and popped behind him, but with a casual air—as if it was everyday life—he loaded the plates and set his feet.
With a bizarre kiai, the strongman lifted the barbell.
With each count, his muscles flexed in mesmerizing rhythm.
In a flash, he completed five sets and dropped the barbell to the floor.
“Yeah! Nothing like a Boiling Hell warm-up!”
Watching, every muscle on Hallakgoong’s face sagged to the floor.
Looking utterly drained, he glanced weakly at the others.
“Do we really have to do this collab…?”
‘Those muscles are real! That’s insane! I have to go there no matter what!’
Zack’s excited gestures reached maximum speed.