The Move to Haetae

Morning came, and Garam woke from sleep.

As he rubbed his eyes, he spotted Lee Jaeheon sitting on the opposite sofa.

“You’re back?

I harvested potatoes and sweet potatoes yesterday.

Would you like some?”

“No, I’m fine.”

So cold, as always.

Garam clicked his tongue silently, but Jaeheon continued.

“More importantly, we’ll be relocating our base today.”

“What?

Where to?”

After all the effort he’d put into turning that messy plot of land into a proper field, he was supposed to abandon it now?

His voice trembled.

Surely they weren’t just going to repeat the same routine somewhere else, right?

That thought made him nervous.

“Somewhere not too far.”

Where exactly was that?

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t imagine a suitable place.

So he gave up guessing and asked what he really wanted to know.

“Are you taking the two outside with us?”

The answer didn’t come immediately.

Three seconds passed — and somehow, that short silence felt ominous.

“Do you want me to?”

“Well… it’s better than working alone, right?”

“If you need helpers, I can assign you new ones.”

At that moment, Garam understood.

If he didn’t speak up for them now, those two might not live to see tomorrow.

Straightening his back, Garam defended them firmly.

“They both work really hard.”

“There are better workers.”

“They’ve got good personalities too.”

“They do?”

Well, to be honest, Kang Jung-bae had the personality of a broken bottle.

Park Deok-pal was easier to deal with — that much was true.

“Still… they’re not bad.”

They were bad.

Very bad.

“I see.

Then we’ll take them.”

Jaeheon nodded lightly.

“Go bring them inside.”

“Yes, sir.”

Garam hurried outside and kicked at the two still snoring in the dirt.

“Get up!”

“Argh!”

“What the—!”

“The boss wants to see you!”

“The boss?”

“The homeowner.”

That word made them shoot upright instantly.

They looked at each other, swallowed nervously, and carefully entered the house.

It was their first time stepping inside.

The interior, clean and quiet compared to the harsh outdoors, made their stomachs twist with jealousy.

All their past hardships flashed before their eyes.

“W-what’s going on, sir?”

Park Deok-pal asked first.

“We’re moving.”

“Moving?

To where?”

“Not far.”

“Aha… and where exactly would that be?”

Persistent as ever, Deok-pal pressed further.

‘Does he have a death wish?’ Garam thought.

Thankfully, Jaeheon didn’t get angry — just answered plainly.

“Haetae.”

At that name, Deok-pal’s eyes widened.

“Wait — that’s a city, isn’t it?”

“City?”

“Yes!

And a big one at that.”

“Then I’m not going!”

Kang Jung-bae shouted.

Garam immediately pinched the soft flesh at his side, hard.

“Ah! Damn it!”

He jumped up, eyes tearing up.

“I said I’m not going, no matter what!”

As he threw his tantrum, Jaeheon just looked at him quietly.

Then he stood and drew his sword.

“W-what’s that for all of a sudden?”

“You said you weren’t going.”

The meaning was clear — refuse, and die.

“Can’t you just let me go?”

“You know too much.”

“Know what, exactly?!”

Kang Jung-bae’s protest fell on deaf ears.

Jaeheon said nothing, only aimed his sword straight at him.

“Big bro! Just say you’ll go!” Deok-pal cried desperately.

“But I hate city people!”

“I get it, but you have to be alive to hate them, don’t you?”

He had a point.

“Right, Garam?”

“Well… yeah.”

Garam answered hesitantly to Deok-pal’s pleading look.

That was enough.

The fight went out of Kang Jung-bae’s shoulders.

“If I go, you’ll let me live?”

“Yes.”

“…Fine.

I’ll go.”

He stared down at the floor, his expression unreadable.

Jaeheon regarded him for a moment, then calmly sheathed his sword.

“What about the leftover potatoes and sweet potatoes?” Garam asked.

“We’ll move them too.”

“Yes, sir.

And the carrots?”

“Sold.”

“How much did they pay?”

He knew it wasn’t the right time, but curiosity burned brighter than fear.

“Ten gold each.”

Garam’s heart skipped a beat.

“Wait — how much?”

“Ten gold per carrot.”

“Th-that’s three hundred gold total?!”

The world spun for a second.

Three hundred gold!

That was enough to buy months’ worth of food in the black market.

Tears welled up in his eyes.

‘I’m sorry.’

Sorry for looking down on the farming profession.

Sorry for complaining about how hard it was.

Sorry, sorry, sorry!

Garam bowed inwardly to his job in heartfelt apology.

“Hand.”

“Yes!”

When Jaeheon said the word, Garam extended his hand automatically.

A heavy pouch landed on it with a solid thud.

He peeked inside — gold glimmered brightly.

‘I’m rich!

I’m actually rich!’

He might still be under Jaeheon’s thumb, but at least the man was fair enough to sell his goods and pay him properly.

For Garam, that was enough to smile about.

Meanwhile, elsewhere — chaos.

Inside Guild Haetae’s Research Department, several researchers were gathered around their newest “specimen.”

A carrot.

“A carrot? Seriously?

This isn’t a food lab!”

Research Director Im Haena exclaimed in exasperation.

“That’s why they sent it here.

The city’s food labs are too small to handle it properly — and if we send it to the main city research division, they’ll just steal it.”

“That’s true, but still.

How special could a carrot possibly be?”

Haena sighed heavily.

“The guildmaster personally delivered it.

So maybe very special.”

“Well, it does look plumper and tastier than normal ones… but it’s still just a carrot.”

“Let’s test it anyway.”

The researchers gathered, sliced one open, and began a series of examinations.

Before long, results came in.

“This carrot is… strong and delicious!”

“How do you know it’s delicious?”

“I tasted it!

It’s really good!”

“You ate it?!

Unbelievable.”

Haena pressed a hand to her forehead.

“Anything else unusual?”

“Not yet.

We’d need more time for detailed analysis.”

“I suppose.”

Just then, another researcher raised a hand excitedly from across the lab.

“Director!”

“What now?”

“This carrot has healing properties!”

“What?

Healing?

It’s not even a potion!”

“I wasn’t sure, so I used an appraisal skill.

Look!”

He handed her a report sheet.

[*A carrot cultivated by a novice farmer.

Remarkably well-grown for a first harvest.

Restores a small amount of health.*]

“This is the appraisal result.”

“A carrot grown by a farmer?”

“Seems like a job title, from what the skill showed.”

“There’s a Farmer job?”

“First I’ve heard of it.”

“Same here.”

If that profession had existed, they would’ve exploited it ages ago.

Even now, most crops were produced by former farmers, but yields were pitiful.

The conditions were too strict — and large-scale farming was impossible.

Only the wealthy elite could afford fresh vegetables anymore.

And even those were mostly gene-modified hybrids.

Still, being able to eat anything fresh was a luxury.

The poor survived on small rations of processed meat and nutrient paste — or worse, monster flesh.

Of course, poverty inside the city was different from poverty outside.

Inside, at least, it was safe.

“Even if it heals a bit, who’s gonna walk around munching on carrots?”

“We’ll find a way.

If we succeed, we could make a tasty potion!”

“Well, potions are usually disgusting.”

“Exactly!

Imagine — sweet, crunchy recovery food!”

Haena sighed.

“…Fine.

Test a few.

If you’re that desperate to eat fresh vegetables, split one carrot and share it.”

“Really?!

Director, you’re the best!”

“Don’t thank me.

Just don’t eat the whole batch.

Still… I really do wonder — who on earth grew these?”

She muttered the question under her breath, eyes narrowing.

Somewhere far outside the city, a certain young farmer sneezed.