“Wow….”
It was Mujae’s first time at the Staff Cafeteria, and now he understood why all the Shinsomis he’d met until now had such pride. The high ceiling and the wide wooden hall.
And beyond the lifted windows, a beautiful garden in full bloom unfolded. At the center of the ceiling, an elegant inscription was written.
[ Till the soil to plant the heavens, cook rice and share it with reverence. ]
“That’s the Sangnyangmun.”
Hallakgoong, who had already filled his tray with food, approached.
“It’s the beam that’s put in last when finishing a building’s roof. People write words with meaning on it.”
“That’s all you’re eating?”
Hallakgoong’s tray looked like he’d only managed to pick up a bite or two of seasoned vegetables. In contrast, Zack approached with a mountain of pan-fried tofu on his plate. Hallakgoong shrugged his shoulders.
“I took a lot, you know.”
“You remember we still have to work after this, right?”
With newfound speed, Zack signed toward Hallakgoong. Hallakgoong frowned.
‘If you eat like that, your muscles won’t grow.’
“I don’t want to end up like you, okay?”
“Oh, Promotion Team!”
Fertilizer Team Shinsomis waved enthusiastically and beckoned them over. The Promotion Team joined the table naturally.
“Hello!”
“I heard you were at the Doljibat today?”
That had happened just this morning, yet word had already spread. Hallakgoong shook his head. Mujae replied, never losing his smile.
“Aw~ It’s not a Doljibat anymore. We’ve already cleared out a lot of the stones.”
“Tsk, it’s just the Farming Team Initiation, that’s what it is.”
“Initiation?”
A juicy tidbit came up. Hallakgoong and Mujae’s eyes sparkled, though they tried to hide it. The Fertilizer Team Shinsomi, always a friendly soul, began to spill everything.
“Each team has its own style, but you know how the Farming Team is—stuffy and uptight. When newbies come in, they’re rumored to put them through a really tough Initiation.”
“Oh, so rolling in the Doljibat is part of that?”
“It’s not just any old Doljibat. They send you to some rugged mountainside they couldn’t even cultivate themselves. Then, they leave you there for a week or ten days. If you manage to cultivate it, good for you. If not…”
“If not?”
“They put you through some serious drills. Let’s see what happens if you don’t listen to your seniors, that sort of thing.”
The Fertilizer Team Shinsomi clicked her tongue, as if she couldn’t understand it.
“Why wear people out in a place like that? We’re all on the same side. They should just let us do our jobs well.”
“Exactly!”
Oops.
Hallakgoong had unintentionally raised his voice and quickly shut his mouth.
Thanks to him, even staff at other tables turned their gaze to them. Hallakgoong smoothed things over with an awkward smile and a nod.
Seeing this, Zack gestured to Mujae.
‘He’s starting to act like you.’
“No, I’m not!”
Hallakgoong shouted in protest. Meanwhile, Mujae stuffed a mouthful of colorful seasoned vegetables into his mouth.
“How did the cafeteria construction…?”
“Oh, the lord went ahead and approved it.”
The Fertilizer Team Shinsomis all wore delighted expressions. It must have been good news for everyone.
“They set the construction schedule with the General Affairs Team just the other day.”
“That’s great news!”
“In the meantime, everyone eats in the Staff Cafeteria. Lunch Box Delivery is forbidden.”
Remembering the scene, the Fertilizer Team Shinsomis snickered.
“The lord must not have liked actually sitting in that place himself.”
“Who would’ve thought the Promotion Team Live Broadcast would have such an effect? Thank you so much.”
The atmosphere was cheerful and lively. At that moment, Zack lightly tapped Mujae’s shoulder. Mujae shrugged his shoulders.
“I know.”
Across the way, the Farming Team Shinsomis were eyeing them with clear disapproval. They were whispering among themselves, and from the looks of it, nothing good was being said.
Hallakgoong lowered his voice and whispered.
“We’re going to finish the Soil Cultivation on the Doljibat, right?”
“Of course.”
There was something the Promotion Team had that those poor new Farming Team recruits didn’t.
That was Zack.
Once he’d used his strength to remove all the large stones, the Soil Cultivation had progressed at a rapid pace. Still, Hallakgoong muttered in dissatisfaction.
“But if we just cultivate the field and hand it over, one video isn’t really enough…”
“Huh? Who said we’d hand it over?”
“What?”
“Let’s just claim that land for ourselves.”
Mujae grinned slyly.
The Promotion Team headed to the Doljibat early.
There were still heaps of stones everywhere, but thanks to half a day’s work, there was now a patch that actually looked like a field.
“A week? We’ll be done in two days.”
Mujae said with satisfaction.
“Honestly, Zack could do it alone in two days…”
Hallakgoong looked at the small pile of stones he and Mujae had stacked and let out a sigh.
“We worked all day, too!”
Zack patted Hallakgoong’s shoulder with a gentle smile, then signed.
‘That’s why you need to build muscle.’
Upon understanding Zack’s sign, Hallakgoong’s expression soured at once.
“…You, you’re turning into an ‘Iron Bachelor’?!”
“What’s that?”
Mujae, who knew nothing, looked puzzled. Hallakgoong shuddered and explained.
“It’s what you call someone obsessed with iron weights instead of books. They spend all day and night lifting metal instead of reading, hunting for meat and beans, putting all their energy into building muscle…”
“Oh, so that’s it!!”
He should’ve noticed when Zack piled only pan-fried tofu on his plate back at the Staff Cafeteria where there was nothing but Vegetarian Food. Hallakgoong shook his head in disbelief. Just then—
“…What’s going on here?”
A Shinsomi from Farming Team 1, who had come to check the field, stood frozen. Holding a small sack, she looked extremely surprised at the Doljibat, now more than half cultivated.
“Shinsomi-nim!”
“Who helped you? Or did you bring in some machinery…?”
“No, we did it ourselves.”
Mujae proudly patted Zack’s shoulder. Zack smiled brightly, too.
“This guy is crazy strong.”
“…I see?”
The Shinsomi from Farming Team 1 still looked wary of Zack, her reactions out of sync. Hallakgoong butted in.
“Did we even have any machines we could use here?”
“T-that’s…hm. Actually, I came because I have something for you.”
Farming Team 1 smoothly changed the subject. The sack she’d brought was filled with freshly-cut, tender sprouts.
“I heard your Soil Cultivation is almost done, so I brought you something to plant.”
Even though she’d just been shocked at the progress, she pretended like it was nothing. Seeing the sprouts in the sack, the Promotion Team grew serious.
“One moment, we need to discuss something.”
With that, the three of them distanced themselves from Farming Team 1 and huddled together.
Whisper, whisper, it was time for a secret Promotion Team operation.
“Zack, is it okay for you to touch those? As long as they’re not seeds, it’s fine, right?”
‘No, I’ve never tried.’
“How about with gloves on? We’ve both tried that, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s just say we’ll do it with gloves on.”
Just as things were about to fall apart, Mujae rallied the other two.
“Why?”
“But what exactly are those?”
“Ah.”
Hallakgoong, realizing he hadn’t checked, quickly looked inside the sack.
“That’s odd.”
“What is?”
“Those are sweet potato sprouts.”
Hallakgoong whispered gravely.
“We can’t plant those here. It’s too cold for sweet potatoes.”
A momentary lapse under the hard labor and hot sun, but this was the north side of the Seocheon Flower Garden. It was still the chilly spring season, not fit for sweet potatoes. Hallakgoong grew even more cautious about the plants.
“If we plant those here, all the sprouts will freeze to death.”
“…Looks like the Initiation isn’t over yet.”
Mujae let out a sigh. First, they’d given them a rocky field to cultivate, and now they were handing them seedlings that would freeze if planted. The intent to ruin the field was clear.
“When are you starting? I’m just going to leave these here!”
The Shinsomi from Farming Team 1 shouted, impatiently waiting for the Promotion Team. Mujae quickly whispered to the other two.
“Here’s what we’ll do.”
“Ow, my back…”
Sara had just finished making rounds at the Seocheon Flower Garden and returned to her office. She was about to have a very late lunch because of work. Just then, a vibration came from inside her sleeve.
[@seocheon.garden has started a Live Broadcast.]
“Huh?”
She’d definitely told them not to stream without notice. Sara sighed as she turned on her phone. On the screen was the Seocheon Flower Garden’s profile, 1,297 viewers, and the title [Farming Team Experience Live].
“How do you expect us to plant sweet potato sprouts with gloves on? Sweet potato sprouts are so delicate!”
The nagging voice of a member from Farming Team 1 was loud and clear. Even the comments seemed to have picked up on the atmosphere.
@flowerwatcher: What’s with them
@dirtmuncher: The mood here is way different from the Fertilizer Team
One comment in particular caught Sara’s eye.
@underworldwins: Why would you plant sweet potatoes there? lol
Just then, someone barged into Sara’s office. It was the representative Shinsomi for the entire Farming Team. She rushed in, pale-faced, and spoke in a stiff tone.
“Milady.”
“No.”
“How can you say no without even hearing me out!”
“Whatever it is, I just saw it. I don’t know either. So, whose fault is it?”
The representative Shinsomi’s face flushed red. Clearly angry but at a loss for words, she bit her lip, then called out to Sara again in a desperate voice.
“Milady.”
“What on earth did you have them do? The comments know more than you all do.”
Sara glanced at the comments, which now questioned the Farming Team’s heavy-handedness in forcing the Promotion Team to plant sweet potatoes.
@protestmeet: Looks like they haven’t cleared out all the rocks
@48hourlava: This is classic hazing tsk tsk tsk
@coolsymbols: That’s the north side of Seocheon, it’s really cold there, sweet potatoes will freeze to death
@producerslion: If that’s really Farming Team 1, I’m disappointed if they gave out sweet potatoes by mistake
Upon seeing this, the representative’s face turned deathly pale.
The Shinsomi in charge of the Promotion Team’s Initiation didn’t even realize her own face was being broadcast live, and she was berating the Promotion Team on camera.
Worse, because she’d given the Promotion Team the most remote plot of land, it was taking a long time for other Shinsomis to arrive and handle the situation.
Meanwhile, the authority of the Seocheon Flower Garden’s Farming Team was plummeting in real time. The representative could barely keep from fainting.
“Milady, please… give me the Promotion Team’s contact information.”
“Why?”
“Please tell them to end the Live Broadcast right now! Can’t you see the Farming Team’s image crashing?”
“Why don’t you contact them yourself?”
Sara replied flatly.
“All staff contacts are updated on the Seocheon Flower Garden employee list.”
“!”
The representative’s face turned red again.
It was obvious the Farming Team didn’t consider the Promotion Team real employees.
With every second counting, the representative hastily pulled up Mujae’s contact information.
“Hello? This is the representative from the Farming Team…”
In the end, she made a polite request for Mujae to end the Live Broadcast.
As Sara watched, a victorious smile slowly spread across her face.