Retire 351
by Cristae351 Kitchen Garden and Greenhouse (1)
Until just before I came to the past, I preferred to make plans for the future.
I had dreams, vague though they were, of retiring at a certain age and living out my days in some quiet, warm country. At that time, I even thought I might sponsor a promising young director and contribute to the film industry. I saved up money for that purpose, too. With my father around, I never truly worried about money, but I won’t deny that watching my bank balance steadily grow brought me a certain satisfaction.
But after coming to the past…
Not once did I think about what I should do in the future. Well, perhaps I had some vague notions. Like, one day, I’d like to throw my resignation in Hong Seok-young’s face.
Aside from that, I didn’t really know. Knowing the world was about to end, I wasn’t optimistic enough to make twenty-year plans with the hope of, “I’ll definitely save the world!” There was too much to do, too much chaos. I was busy enough just trying not to remember that the children walking around, smiling so brightly, were people who had once died.
When did I start thinking about the world I would have to live in from now on? When did I decide to stop overlaying the dead onto the living, and resolve to make a world where those children could live in peace, without fear…?
“Ah! There! Mr. Woo! Don’t space out! You’ll damage the roots!!”
“……”
“Like this! More delicately! That one’s expensive, you know!!”
I stopped thinking.
Kim Chaemin watched my hands as I carefully brushed the soil from the roots, then turned away.
She let out a sigh.
“Ah! Ms. Kim! Teacher! Is it okay if it turns out like this?”
“What? Hmm, that’s fine! Just put it here, like this… Yes. Cover it with soil, carefully, like that. Good!”
“Teacher! Look at mine, too!”
“Teacher, what’s this flower called?”
All my tangled thoughts fell away.
The noisy bustle was nothing short of delightful.
Well, sometimes, just doing what others tell you isn’t so bad. I set aside my complicated thoughts for a while and simply did as I was told, moving without thinking. Carrying soil, digging, transplanting seedlings…
“Mr. Woo!!”
“I’m doing it, I am.”
Kim Chaemin didn’t leave me a moment to get lost in thought.
It wasn’t even the height of summer yet, but working out in the open, making a kitchen garden with no shade, I could feel the heat.
The children, covered in dirt, laughed and played as if nothing could make them happier. Just a year ago, they were rolling around in front of a makeshift container classroom that barely qualified as a school. Maybe it was the shabby facilities, but back then, even the kids seemed to be on edge.
No, not just “seemed”—they definitely were. There were always kids like Yoo Hye-eun who smiled gently, but Oh Hyunwook… Oh Hyunwook, and kids like him, still had a sharp edge, their hostility barely dulled. Park Seohyun was the same, and now that I think about it, Seo Hanseong had a subtle darkness about him, too.
But now?
They still wandered the school, always looking for something fun to do. Not content with pestering me or Kim Chaemin about our hobbies, they’d trail after Im Miseon or the other Hunter girls, or try out things they’d found online that looked amusing. Thankfully, I’d warned them not to post any photos or videos of the school online for security reasons. Otherwise, Yangseong High might have become famous for all the wrong reasons.
Even Oh Hyunwook, who used to scowl all the time, smiled easily these days, and Seo Hanseong, who always watched from a step behind, now often voiced his opinions. Park Seohyun laughed out loud now… With things like this, it finally felt like a real school. Not that it hadn’t been a real school before, but, well, it hadn’t really been.
Now that the kids had settled down, it was about time to finally start the dungeon exploration training we’d been putting off.
“Wait! Where should I install this?”
“Kids, can you move aside for a moment?”
At Kim Chaemin’s words, the children burst out laughing and crowded around me.
“Teacher, why do you look so tired?”
“I’m not tired, it’s just…”
“Mr. Woo is just old.”
“I am not.”
“Remember at first? When we called you ‘mister,’ you made such a face.”
So they remembered that.
At Lee Seungyeon’s comment, the kids burst into laughter again.
I thought about saying something, but figured I’d only make myself look silly. Unlike Lee Seungyeon, who probably had a relatively ordinary childhood, I noticed that even the kids who’d had rougher times were laughing along.
Fine, let them enjoy themselves. That’s all that matters…
I looked over at Kim Chaemin, who was talking to the truck loaded with supplies. Jiyu Gun got out of the driver’s seat. That guy… I still wasn’t sure if he was a Hunter from Dasun or worked in Yangseong High’s administration.
After giving a long list of instructions, Kim Chaemin came over to me, asking for my help. By then, the kids had already wandered off in search of new amusements.
I watched as Jiyu Gun and the other Hunters began erecting pillars on the ground. Gleaming white metal columns. Not just one or two…
“What are you building?”
Gamble, who hadn’t yet adapted to the sudden labor and looked half-dead, staggered over.
Unlike her sharp gaze as she watched the Hunters work, Kim Chaemin answered in a cheerful voice.
“A greenhouse!”
“…A greenhouse?”
I looked back and forth between the materials on the truck and the Hunters.
Now that I knew what they were building, I could guess, but…
“Is the hut not enough?”
“That’s that, and this is this. I’ve already talked to this Hunter, so don’t worry.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
No, it wasn’t that I was worried.
“Besides, we have to claim the space before any more buildings go up. There’s no time like the present.”
“Oh! Then can we have another lab built, too?”
“Why a lab?”
“The bigger, the better, right?”
Gamble looked at me as if to say, “Why are you even asking?”
“Gotta claim it early!”
“The school grounds aren’t some kind of land grab, you know.”
“Who knows what’ll happen in the future!”
I pointed to the parking lot next to the school. Compared to the number of people coming and going, it was absurdly large.
“If it comes to it, we can use all of that, so there’s no need to worry. And we can always build the lab upward, or even dig underground…”
“Che.”
“For someone who’s the only researcher, you sure are greedy.”
“Che…”
Ignoring Gamble, I turned to Kim Chaemin.
“But really, why the greenhouse all of a sudden?”
That a conversation about Alex Hope’s situation had led to us cultivating a kitchen garden… I didn’t really get it, but I could let it go. I wasn’t the only one feeling stifled. Kim Chaemin probably wanted to relieve stress with a hobby, too. And, surprisingly, mindless physical work could be fun, so I joined in without complaint.
But a greenhouse?
I wasn’t complaining, but wasn’t this a bit much? If she’d wanted a greenhouse, she could have built one ages ago, and more importantly…
That greenhouse frame. It was inscribed with runes.
Kim Chaemin smiled suspiciously.
“I wanted to create a certain environment. That’s why I made it special.”
“…So that’s where you’ve been going these past few days? You went out to make that?”
“It’s one of the runes my grandfather made. It’s not such a big secret, but I didn’t feel comfortable leaving it to someone else. So I went and carved it myself.”
“You could’ve done it here.”
“I didn’t want to work in the schoolyard, you know? What if someone saw and thought I couldn’t draw runes properly!”
What a ridiculous excuse, I thought.
Still, I had the sense not to say that out loud. Kim Chaemin grumbled, then continued explaining.
“There are a few experiments I want to try, but to do that, I need to create the right environment first.”
“Oh! That! Finally?”
“Finally.”
The two of them started talking in a language only they understood.
“Didn’t you say it was hard to catch?”
“It’s just difficult, not impossible! Who do you think I am? Sure, I had to adapt Grandpa’s research, but…”
“Adapting it is impressive enough!”
“Right? Anyway, ta-da. I did it.”
“So that’s why you called the kids!”
“You catch on quick, see?”
…Was this what Hong Seok-young felt when Kim Chaemin and I talked? At the time, I never thought to feel sorry, but now that I was in his shoes, I did.
“So, why do we need such a grand greenhouse? What kind of experiment are you planning… It’s not dangerous, is it?”
Still, I wanted to know exactly what was going on, so I asked. I didn’t think Kim Chaemin would do anything risky with the kids around, but…
“Of course not.”
Kim Chaemin answered firmly.
“It’s just… I wanted to create an environment where various types of magic coexist.”
And then Kim Chaemin said something I never expected.
“The hut is my territory, so only my magic is present. But… you know what I want to grow.”
Kim Chaemin looked at the reeds growing around the school. I knew a plant that looked just like that. The one she’d recently complained was difficult to cultivate.
Mana grass.
“I want to recreate its original environment as closely as possible.”
“…Is that even possible?”
“It doesn’t seem to like an environment with only my magic. Some plants are sensitive like that.”
“Hmm. Well, I don’t really know about that. So, the greenhouse?”
“Yes, the greenhouse. That rune captures and circulates the magic in the area. It’s like… an air purifier, in a way.”
“What about the kids?”
“What do you think its original environment was?”
“Pardon?”
Well, inside a dungeon, obviously.
Ah. So that’s why she said ‘various types of magic.’ Inside a dungeon, all sorts of magic swirl together.
“The kids… I mean, water.”
“…Water?”
“Nutrients?”
“Nutrients.”
“Where do you think I’ll get all those different types of magic?”
“……”
“The flowers the kids planted these past few days were from seeds I managed myself, so they’re specialized for absorbing magic. Perfect for creating the right environment, right?”
I nodded, still unconvinced.
“And I’ve even brought some from the dungeon on purpose. Haven’t planted them yet, but I will once the greenhouse is ready.”
“From the dungeon?”
“Yes. Like mana grass.”
“…It’ll die in three months.”
“Still, it’s a plant you can easily find in a dungeon. And it’s good to learn emergency first aid methods for when you run out of potions.”
It was obvious that Kim Chaemin had thought this through for a long time. It was such a perfect excuse that I couldn’t argue.
With that excuse, she could plant the mana grass she’d been carefully nurturing among the ones that would wither in three months, and no one would be the wiser. Whether the mana grass could resume growing in that environment was another question.
You wouldn’t know until you tried.
Maybe Kim Chaemin noticed my silent admiration, because she laughed brightly.
“It’ll work pretty well, don’t you think?”