After sending the second revised version of the Frozen Hell documentary to Seolpyo.
In truth, with nowhere special to go and no one else to spend it with, the Promotion Team had gathered at their field.
Because of their extended business trip, it had been nearly two weeks since the Promotion Team had come to their field.
But thanks to Zack’s Corn Monster faithfully guarding the place, it had turned into almost a jungle.
“…Can we even call this a field?”
Hallakgoong sighed, staring at the corn stalks that looked twice his height.
Seeing this, Zack put on a display of acrobatics, wielding two sickles at once.
“As expected! The cold-blooded, tearless Zack’s Double Sickle Swordsmanship!!”
Swish, swish—crops were effortlessly cut down by Zack’s hands.
Watching half the field disappear in an instant, Hallakgoong let out another sigh.
“Aigo, the sesame flowers have all fallen to the ground. When are we ever going to harvest the corn, higo….”
Mujae stealthily approached the dejected Hallakgoong and whispered.
“Hey, we’re still on vacation. Let’s just take it easy.”
“…Then why did we come to the field?!”
Hallakgoong, who thought they had come to catch up on days of overdue fieldwork, bristled in protest.
But Mujae already had a plan.
“Zack, can you find us some watermelons?”
-Swoooosh
-Thunk!
No sooner had Mujae spoken than a huge watermelon came flying in.
Hallakgoong’s narrow eyes rounded into buttons.
“And grab a few melons too.”
-Swish! Swish!
-Thunk!
Once again, Mujae caught them all with ease. Mujae called out loudly.
“Zack! Let’s go now!”
Then, from within the thicket—no, the field—Zack jumped to his feet. Having successfully carried out Mujae’s orders, Zack bounded out, and Mujae headed off somewhere.
“Come on, let’s go~”
“Go where? The field’s a mess, where are we even going?”
“You’ll see when we get there!”
And so, the Promotion Team moved to a nearby stream.
The warm afternoon sunlight sparkled atop the water, and a gentle breeze created the perfect holiday atmosphere.
“This is what a vacation spot should be.”
Mujae, who couldn’t even remember their last holiday, bit into the watermelon with satisfaction. Yet Hallakgoong, watching this, still seemed uneasy as he asked,
“Aren’t you uncomfortable looking like that?”
“What’s wrong with how I look?”
Mujae said, biting into another slice of watermelon. Even today, he was fully outfitted in gardening gloves and thick boots. Zack, too, was eating watermelon with gardening gloves on.
Compared to the two, Hallakgoong, who was dressed rather loosely, sighed.
“Want me to teach you how to eat in comfort?”
“Hmm?”
‘What’s that?’
Feigning indifference, but his ears perked up with curiosity.
Hallakgoong leaned in to whisper.
“Just from here to there, touch with your bare hands, Mujae.”
“Huh?”
“Then all the weeds will dry up, right? And then even Zack can touch them without anything happening.”
In that instant, both Zack and Mujae’s faces twisted in disgust as they looked at Hallakgoong.
It was as if they were looking at a psychopath.
“Wow—how can you talk about killing living things so easily?”
‘Mister Goong, I’m disappointed.’
“What, aren’t what you’re eating living things, too?”
Hallakgoong, flustered, pointed at the already half-eaten, cut-up watermelon. Mujae, hands on his hips, shouted incredulously.
“That’s totally different from this~!”
‘Different. Completely different.’
“Hah, honestly!”
Plants or animals, in this realm of the dead, everything was just a spirit, but they refused to yield. In the end, Hallakgoong raised a white flag.
“Alright, I give up, I give up.”
“Hallakgoong, you used to dote on the crops from seeds in the field before.”
‘But you treat weeds on the roadside like trash.’
“Yeah, yeah~ I’m the bad guy. Seriously.”
Hallakgoong fished out a melon that had been cooling in the stream.
Crunch, as he bit into the white flesh, sweet nectar dripped out.
“Anyway, once he bites onto something, he never lets go. What were you in your past life, a dog?”
“Hmm, I could’ve been a dog.”
Apparently still hungry, Mujae placed corn in the pot. Zack, too, hurriedly added potatoes and sweet potatoes next to him. Mujae snickered as if something occurred to him.
“If I were a dog, I’d probably have had a lot of siblings.”
He seemed to be imagining himself living as a dog. Zack fell silent, lost in thought at those words.
‘Come to think of it, all of us are only children.’
“Ugh, a club made up entirely of only children.”
Hallakgoong grimaced again in distaste. Question marks appeared above Mujae and Zack’s heads.
“What’s wrong with being an only child?”
“Well, when you’re an only child….”
Hallakgoong glanced at Zack. Now that he was about to say it, he seemed a bit self-conscious, but that didn’t mean Hallakgoong wouldn’t say his piece.
“Parents pamper you, so you grow up spoiled or clueless.”
“Aha! So that’s why Hallakgoong is like that!”
“When was I ever?!”
While Hallakgoong bristled, Zack simply smiled faintly. Though he wore gloves, his feet were bare, and he leisurely dangled them in the water.
‘Then I’m not an only child.’
“Huh?”
‘My parents didn’t raise me gently, and besides, I have a lot of siblings.’
It was something they’d never heard before. To satisfy their curiosity, Zack gestured more quickly.
‘Technically, I’m the only child of my parents, but Hermes, who brought me here, is my cousin. I don’t have siblings, but when it comes to cousins, I have as many as there are stars in the universe.’
Mujae’s jaw dropped in astonishment. But Hallakgoong, already familiar with the genealogies of Western gods, simply nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Are all gods like that?”
‘No, not exactly. My uncle just had a thing about making lots of offspring, so he ended up that way. He’s got, like, a hundred kids himself?’
It was a world far too distant for Mujae to understand. So flustered, Mujae muttered,
“Sounds like those gods spawn children like fish eggs, a hundred kids….”
At Mujae’s innocent words, the two friends were about to burst out laughing.
“Isn’t Granny coming this week?”
“Really? Ah~ Are we gonna get scolded again?”
Giggles… Voices of Shinsomis came from behind the bushes. Instinctively, the Promotion Team hid in a line beneath the bushes.
Not knowing they were there, the Shinsomis’ conversation drifted over in low tones.
“Why do you always react like that when Granny’s coming?”
“Ah, she always makes us redo everything we already finished.”
Mujae carefully peeked through the undergrowth to observe the Shinsomis. Carrying hoes and baskets, they seemed to be out picking Namul in the mountains. The Shinsomis chattered on and on.
“Hey~ but she’s not as bad when she comes with ‘Bari.’ She hasn’t come lately….”
“Who’s that?”
“Oh, you don’t know?”
Unaware of the Promotion Team’s presence, the two Shinsomis continued whispering. Of course, the Promotion Team, all ears, heard everything. Instinctively, they sensed this would be a fun story.
“A long time ago, our Ggotgam Officer Sir once suffered a huge embarrassment.”
“What kind of embarrassment?”
“They say, back in the mortal world, this girl called ‘Baridegi’ came looking to save her parents.”
“She made it all the way here? That’s impressive.”
“But who would let her just do that? And you know that spring we use from the Western Heaven, right?”
“Gwangcheon Pond?”
“Yeah, the Warrior Monk who guards that spring totally fell for her.”
The Shinsomi’s voice dropped even lower. The Promotion Team ducked down further into the bushes.
“So that Warrior Monk begged her to bear his child, and in exchange, promised to give her the spring water and whatever else she wanted! He even stole all of Ggotgam Officer Sir’s flowers for her!”
“!”
“Wow, crazy love.”
Zack and Mujae’s gazes turned to Hallakgoong. Hallakgoong tried to maintain his composure, but the way his lips were pressed together made it obvious how much he was holding back.
The Shinsomis, oblivious, continued their tale.
“And that’s how ‘Baridegi’ became a god. ‘Princess Bari’!”
“Gasp, that was Princess Bari’s story?!”
“Yeah~ So now Princess Bari only comes with the Three Goddesses Grandmother. If she comes alone, Ggotgam Officer Sir gets so passive-aggressive.”
“What does he say?”
“Oh, just brags. ‘Do you know who you have to thank for becoming a god?’ ‘I nearly killed myself with work as punishment back then,’ ‘Aren’t you basically a thief?’ Stuff like that….”
“So typical of Sir, how petty.”
Giggling… another burst of laughter.
Finally, Hallakgoong could stand it no longer and sprang to his feet.
“Kyaa!!”
“L-lord?!”
Regardless of the Shinsomis’ shock, Hallakgoong had his own urgent business.
Even though he looked a mess from hiding in the bushes, he didn’t care.
“So, did she succeed?”
“Huh? Succeed…in what?”
Hallakgoong pressed the flustered Shinsomi directly.
“Did Princess Bari save her parents?!”
“Well, since she became a god, I guess she did…?”
Princess Bari.
Mujae, who had heard stories of her, knew she was one of the kindest deities in the Heavenly Realm.
A compassionate god who, for countless ages, has guided innumerable souls along the right path.
Just then, Zack held out his phone.
‘Isn’t it her?’
The influencer platform where beautiful photos are uploaded, GrabeGram.
The channel Zack showed was @bari.wanderer, Princess Bari’s account.
A graceful celestial maiden, holding a teacup with the Heavenly King of the Underworld, her white hair shining.
Recognizing her, Hallakgoong nodded.
And now.
The office of Ggotgam Officer Sara, who had suffered a great humiliation in the past.
Right now, she was in trouble, grabbed by the collar by her one and only son.
“Why, do you want to go ask Princess Bari how to use it?”
Pretending to be flustered, Sara snorted. But Hallakgoong wouldn’t back down.
“Yeah, so hurry up and approve it. I’m going to fly to Revelation Hell and ask.”
“Suit yourself. But how will you get there?”
Sara picked her ear in annoyance and stabbed at a sore spot.
“You haven’t received any collab proposal from Revelation Hell.”