When I Returned to Farming, National-level Big Juniors Flock - Chapter 21



Only Krnovel

21. Yoon Seol-ha

“Are you sure this will work?”

“It means everything to me.”

Thud!

Oh Hyun-seong loaded several boxes of potatoes into the trunk of his car.

Since it’s the same composition as last time, I asked if anything else was needed, but they said potatoes were the way to go.

“You’ve worked hard for a week.”

“Good job, senior. All I did was give you some corrections every now and then.”

Han Soo-yeon smiled faintly.

Throwing on her jacket, she returned to her original appearance as Deputy Director Han Su-yeon, out of her shabby attire.

“More than anything, it was fun after a long time. The time when I worked as an instructor at the training center with my senior was fresh in my mind. I thought I would never do that again.”

“That was a near-death experience.”

After they ended up sharing a hospital room together during an operation, there was a time when she and Oh Hyeon-seong were in the training center together as instructors.

However, unlike Oh Hyeon-seong, who had taught the next class several times since then.

She had never properly taught anyone since that one experience.

If it weren’t for Oh Hyeon-seong’s request, I would have refused this time too.

“Thanks for giving me a breather. I should go back now.”

It’s already been a week since I came down here on my own.

I did contact them and then came down, but since I left a message in the middle of the night and made a one-sided notification, I think there was a huge uproar there.

It was extremely impulsive, but it gave me some relief, so now it was time to clean up the mess.

“And it’s fine to have people over, but please leave one spot empty for me, okay?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll leave one of your rooms empty, so don’t worry and come down whenever you want.”

“thank you.”

Han Su-yeon, who was smiling, got into the car.

At that moment, Oh Hyeon-seong spoke, sticking his face out through the window.

“Before you go, can I ask you one last favor?”

“Hmm? What kind of request does our instructor suddenly have?”

“I think I need to borrow some of our vice president’s strength.”

As I felt with the recent Joo Ji-hye case, there was still a possibility that something annoying would happen because of the strawberries being delivered to the department store.

Of course, it was clearly stated at the contract stage, and it was confirmed that Park Jeong-tae tried to keep it a secret until the end.

But he was merely the person in charge.

No matter how responsible you are, you are still an office worker, so if a decision is made or pressure is put on you from above, you have no choice but to give in.

So what if we get someone with more influence than a department store president or even a CEO of a large corporation to intervene?

Traffic control will be done very neatly.

Of course, someone like Han Soo-yeon could have taken on that role.

“Hmm… I’m not really a fan of interfering with the private sector.”

“So, is it possible?”

“Okay. In a way, we are a community destined to eat potatoes.”

“It looks like a really worthless feeling.”

“Haha! See you next time, senior.”

***

After Joo Ji-hye left, even Han Soo-yeon left, and Oh Hyeon-seong enjoyed some quiet in the house that had been noisy for the past few days.

By this time, the siblings next door who used to visit or contact me often are also quiet.

After the last incident, they were busy cleaning up the damage to the farm and didn’t have the presence of mind to contact me.

That’s also why we didn’t run into each other during Joo Ji-hye’s training these past few days.

‘Still, it’s fortunate that Seungsu seems to have regained his spirits.’

Although the damage was large due to not only simple crop damage but also the blank period, it was a help as the designation of preferential farms by Hankyung Department Store was confirmed.

In addition, due to the increased demand for wild crops caused by the strawberry boom, department stores have been placing additional orders for other crops, which is expected to ease financially.

These siblings are helping each other in many ways.

“Then should I also set off?”

Oh Hyeon-seong, who had finished his farm work for the day and had some free time, packed his backpack and luggage and left the house.

As usual, I had to go down the road to get to the village, but this time, I started going in the opposite direction since I wasn’t going to the secret field.

I was heading to a completely different destination than usual.

‘I heard from the elders in the village. There is an old reservoir beyond the mountain behind the village.’

Not long after leaving his spacious private property, the gentle slope ended and a forest without a road continued.

Oh Hyeon-seong passed the ridge and arrived near his destination.

“I see you arrived safely.”

Yellow do-not-trespassing tapes hanging here and there greet him.

It was a sight of tapes that had been laid down without any consideration for the surrounding scenery or environment, and even those were torn and dangling.

An atmosphere that doesn’t look ordinary at first glance.

This area is a ‘restricted area’ designated by the government.

In the early days of the Gate incident, there was a time when humanity was unable to properly respond due to insufficient information.

Nowadays, they are immediately detected and hunters are dispatched, but at the time, the gates were left unattended, monsters ran rampant, and there were quite a few areas where the land was contaminated with the evil spirit.

This place was one of them.

Chomp!

Ignoring the tape and going inside, the reservoir I was looking for soon appeared.

It wasn’t very big, but it was considerably larger than he had expected.

There were thick bushes growing all around, and it was so remote that outsiders would have no way of finding it.

Oh Hyeon-seong approached the reservoir and knelt on one knee to look at the water.

‘As I heard, the water quality is completely bad. The turbidity is severe.’

There’s a reason why it’s a restricted area.

Although the turbidity subsided significantly over time, water pollution that had once occurred was not easily recovered.

“Is it possible to purify this place as well?”

Boom boom.

The water spirit inside the pocket shook its head.

Then Oh Hyeon-seong whetted his appetite for pub food.

“I guess this is too much.”

Just as the earth spirit removes the turbid air from the ground to create healthy fields, I thought that the water spirit could purify the water in a reservoir.

However, because it is still an area designated as a restricted area, the level of pollution was worse than that of normal land.

It is now at a level where purification is impossible with his spirits.

‘Just in case… Should I check the condition?’

Oh Hyeon-seong took out the fishing rod he had brought.

Although it wasn’t a full-fledged hobby, I had some fishing experience so I knew how to do it.

After finding a suitable spot, I sat back and waited leisurely. Soon the bite came and I caught a fish.

“Oh, it’s a carp.”

A smile appeared on his lips as he felt the taste of food for the first time in a long time.

Even though it’s embarrassingly small, I still caught it.

But when I lifted the caught carp and examined it, I realized that there were many problems.

The condition of a carp completely sick.

Even to an outsider, it was obvious that it was difficult to eat, not just because of the taste.

‘If I eat this kind of stuff, my lifespan will be shortened by 10 years. This is not going to work.’

Oh Hyeon-seong let go of the carp and sighed deeply.

The reason I brought the water spirit here.

Just as crops that are not affected by turbid air boast excellent taste, I thought that fish would also grow well in a healthy environment without turbid air.

It was a major issue that could have greatly expanded the range of ingredients available.

It’s not that I didn’t expect this situation, but I was still disappointed because I had some expectations.

‘It’s such a shame. A remote place like this where no one visits would be perfect as my personal supply location.’

The regret that remains is even greater when you see the place in person.

He wondered if there was any way.

But no matter how much I racked my brain, no answer came to mind.

Tiring!

Then, his cell phone rang.

When I opened the screen, there was a message from Joo Ji-hye.

Contrary to his worries, he said that the filming went well and he went into detail about himself and his gratitude.

And finally, a witty selfie.

“Compared to the first day, there’s no one different.”

Oh Hyun-seong, who let out a sly laugh, sat down and looked out at the scenery where the sun was slowly setting.

The reservoir in the mountains, bathed in sunset, was a spectacular sight, at least from the outside.

The water spirit also seemed to like the sight, rolling around overhead, making pleasant sounds.

‘Come to think of it, the sky was exactly like this back then.’

Oh Hyeon-seong, who was admiring the scenery under the sunset, let out a soft sigh.

“Yes, I hope you can let go of some of the things that have been holding you back. You too, Joo Ji-hye and Choi Jeong-il.”

***

dump!

“Whew, I’m starting to lose my cool.”

Choi Jeong-il entered the representative office and threw himself into the chair.

I just got back from my trip abroad.

He had successfully completed a meeting with European leaders that he had been preparing for months, and the expressions of the staff members who had accompanied him also brightened when he returned.

However, the complicated emotions on his face could not be hidden.

‘Time… Filming must be finished by now.’

Choi Jeong-il glanced at his watch.

I thought of Joo Ji-hye, who just came up to Seoul today to finish her drama schedule.

‘Even if I tell them that the more they push themselves, the worse it will get, they won’t listen.’

Even after suffering from aftereffects, Joo Ji-hye continued to stick to her schedule out of stubbornness.

The filming of this drama was also possible thanks to her strong will.

If it were Choi Jeong-il’s usual personality, he would have put a lot of pressure on Joo Ji-hye to prevent her from overdoing it.

But at that time, he couldn’t stop her.

An inevitable pessimistic future.

Her words, that if I stopped here, it would really feel like the end, kept lingering in my head.

Even at this very moment.

‘We’ve hidden our exposure to the outside world as much as possible, but one day, the world will know that the precursors of psychosis are in progress. No, maybe the government agencies are already aware of it.’

If psychosis continues like this, Joo Ji-hye will be discarded.

Even Choi Jeong-il, with his vast financial resources and network, could not stop that future.

It wasn’t a matter of one or two lives being at stake, so I couldn’t selfishly try to do something just for her.

“Either then or now… there’s nothing I can do.”

Choi Jeong-il stared blankly out the window.

Although his senior, Oh Hyeon-seong, took her in under the pretext of treatment, he said that even that was only to check the possibility and that it was not certain.

To be honest, it’s impossible unless there’s a miracle.

And that miracle, as if to tell us the cruel reality, has never revealed itself until now.

Ring ring ring!

Just then, his cell phone rang and a call came in.

He was Joo Ji-hye’s manager.

“…Representative!”

“What’s going on? Did something happen again?”

“Oh, no! On the contrary! A miracle happened!”

“What does that mean?”

The manager saw everything that happened to her today.

He finished the shoot looking perfect, did not complain of any mental aftereffects such as anxiety or fatigue, and most importantly, his personality changed.

Just like she was a year ago, before she got injured.

“You suddenly changed that much? In just a week?”

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw it!”

This news is absolutely hard to believe.

However, since he was Joo Ji-hye’s manager before she got injured, he couldn’t help but notice the changes in her.

Choi Jeong-il’s two eyes shook violently.

So loud that I couldn’t even hear what the manager was saying.

‘Really… did you do it, senior?’

Choi Jeong-il hung up the phone and stood still for a while.

The exact condition can only be known by seeing it in person, and it may only be a temporary improvement rather than a complete cure.

But even if that were true, nothing would change.

Oh Hyun-seong brought about a mirage-like miracle that had been tormenting him until now, even though he had poured everything into it and had not found a clue.

Suddenly.

He turned his gaze and opened the desk drawer.

Then he carefully lifted up a faded photograph that was upside down.

A group photo of former unit members wearing black combat uniforms, including Oh Hyeon-seong and Han Su-yeon.

In one corner, there was Choi Jeong-il himself with a blunt face and a woman smiling brightly with her arms linked.

“…”

Choi Jeong-il’s shoulders tremble as he lowers his head.

There was no sound and only silence continued, but he could not leave his seat for a long time.

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