Cornfield Hell

Following Geumran, Ruri arrived at an enormous cornfield.

It already looked vast at first glance.

With corn stalks taller than she was stretching endlessly into the distance, it seemed even bigger.

She found herself thinking that if someone got lost in there, they might never find their way back out.

And every last one of those ears of corn was waiting to be harvested by hand.

“What on earth…”

“Is this… about a thousand pyeong?*”

“Oh my, a thousand?”

Geumran burst into laughter as she tightened the chin strap of Ruri’s floral sunhat.

“I figured it wasn’t that big.”

“Of course not.”

“Maybe five hundred pyeong.”

“That’s all.”

“…You mean five hundred meters, right?”

Whether it was five hundred pyeong or five hundred meters, Ruri had no real sense of the size.

But one thing was painfully obvious.

There was enough corn here to make her dizzy just looking at it.

“You’re funny.”

Still chuckling, Geumran handed her a large harvesting sack.

“Here.”

“Only pick ears that are at least this big.”

“Hold them like this.”

“…Okay.”

“Then twist.”

“Like this.”

“See?”

“It snaps right off.”

“Ah.”

“Just like that.”

She plucked an ear of corn nearly as thick as her forearm and dropped it into the container behind them with a smile.

“Easy, isn’t it?”

“Think you can do it?”

“Yes.”

“I like how spirited you are.”

“Go on.”

“Give it a try.”

After encouraging her, Geumran pressed a button on the small radio clipped to her waist.

A lively trot song immediately began blasting through the field.

Crunch.

Snap.

Crack.

Watching Geumran move briskly forward while harvesting corn at incredible speed, Ruri nodded to herself.

All right.

Let’s do this properly.

With determination shining in her eyes, she began picking only the largest ears just as she’d been taught.

A little while later…

“This isn’t so bad…”

The corners of Ruri’s lips lifted into a grin.

Behind her, the brilliant summer sun climbed steadily higher.

What she didn’t know…

Was that she’d stepped into something far worse than a cornfield.

She had stepped into cornfield hell.

Thirty minutes later…

The confidence she’d felt while saying This isn’t so bad had vanished without a trace.

Beneath the blazing sun and the relentless heat radiating from the ground, Ruri’s face had turned bright red.

She realized, in the most painful way possible, that she’d judged the job far too quickly.

“Um…”

“Madam Geumran?”

“Hm?”

“…Why…”

“…Why doesn’t this ever end?”

“What do you mean it doesn’t end?”

“We’ve barely started.”

The village women’s association president answered casually while rhythmically snapping ears of corn off the stalks far ahead of her.

Ruri nearly lost the will to live.

Working in an open field with absolutely no shade had been bad enough.

Choosing to wear a short-sleeved shirt had made it even worse.

The skin on her exposed arms was already turning red beneath the sun.

No matter how often she wiped her face, sweat continued pouring into her eyes.

Then there were the cursed mosquitoes.

They buzzed endlessly around her ears.

Actually…

Mosquitoes would’ve been the least of her worries.

More than once she’d reached for an ear of corn only to freeze after spotting a fat caterpillar wriggling across it.

And that wasn’t all.

Every movement caused the corn leaves and stalks to scrape against her body.

When they brushed against her clothes, it wasn’t too bad.

But whenever they hit her arms or face, the edges stung like tiny paper cuts.

“Haa…”

It hadn’t even been an hour.

Yet her vision already felt like it was beginning to blur.

Was farming always this hard?

Did I seriously underestimate this?

“…How much do farm workers even make?”

There had to be plenty of people doing this kind of work.

She suddenly found herself curious about their daily wages.

She couldn’t believe she’d proudly declared she’d do this for free.

She must have been truly desperate.

Work this demanding deserved excellent pay.

At the very least…

“Haa…”

Normally, she would’ve been mentally crunching numbers at lightning speed.

Right now…

She didn’t even have the energy.

She couldn’t sit around regretting her decision.

Regret only wasted time.

Even someone as quick with calculations as Ruri knew this wasn’t the moment.

She steadied herself over and over, forcing her hands to keep moving.

But…

“…One of us has to be insane.”

“Either me…”

“Or whoever planted this much corn.”

Ten minutes later…

Standing in the middle of the endless field, Ruri finally collapsed onto the dirt.

She didn’t care whether her clothes got filthy.

That wasn’t important anymore.

I’m going to die.

Her lower back screamed after repeatedly twisting herself into awkward positions to reach the corn.

After squatting over and over again, her thighs felt ready to explode too.

Ah…

Now I finally understand why noble ladies always fed their servants bowls of white rice.

No one could survive farm work on a piece of bread.

This kind of labor demanded a full stomach.

And…

“Ugh…”

Twisting the corn free had left both her wrists and fingers aching.

The husks were much tougher than she’d expected.

The edges of the leaves were as sharp as paper.

Worst of all…

The sticky silk clinging to the ears of corn was unbelievably annoying.

Looking down at her battered hands, Ruri frowned.

Her fingertips stung.

Tiny scratches she hadn’t even noticed covered her skin.

Who said this was manageable?

Remembering how confident she’d sounded less than an hour ago, she let out a hollow laugh.

Just then…

A shadow fell across her.

“…?”

Puzzled by the sudden shade, she looked up.

Thunk.

Something pale landed beside her thigh.

“You’ll ruin your hands.”

Before she could properly focus against the bright sunlight, a familiar deep voice reached her ears.

“If you ruin your hands, you won’t be able to work.”

Squinting into the light, she saw Daeju standing over her in a straw hat.

Beside her…

Lay a pair of worn work gloves he’d tossed over.

They were stained with dirt and faded purple in places.

If you’re going to give me gloves…

Couldn’t you at least give me a new pair?

Pouting slightly, Ruri slipped them on.

They were much too large for her small hands, leaving empty space at the fingertips.

Still…

They were better than nothing.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

“…”

“Using the proper equipment is essential for improving work efficiency.”

“What were you thinking, working barehanded?”

“…If you’re just here to nag me, then leave.”

When Ruri shaded her eyes with one hand and glared up at him, Daeju looked genuinely dumbfounded.

There was no way she was going to let the man who’d come to inspect her see her lying around looking pathetic.

She pushed herself back to her feet.

Just then…

A sweet, refreshing scent drifted into her nose.

Turning her head, she spotted clusters of deep purple berries.

“Wait…”

“Are those blueberries?”

The basket tucked beneath Daeju’s arm was filled to the brim with them.

They were enormous.

Plump.

Perfectly ripe.

“Yes.”

“Wow…”

Ruri’s eyes sparkled.

“Did you grow these yourself, Mr. Ki?”

“Yes.”

“That’s incredible…”

Each blueberry was nearly the size of the tip of her thumb.

They looked astonishingly fresh.

Even compared to the expensive blueberries she’d seen displayed in department stores, these looked far superior.

How much money does someone like Ki Daeju make selling these?

The TV program said his annual sales reached one billion won.

Was that really true?

Well… that’s sales, not profit.

There are electricity bills.

Water bills.

Packaging costs.

Labor costs.

After all that, there probably isn’t that much left…

Still…

He must earn plenty if he ended up on television.

Just look at these blueberries.

They’re definitely expensive.

How much profit does he make from selling them?

Is one handful worth more than my daily wage?

They look delicious enough to make anyone drool…

…Come to think of it.

I’m thirsty.

The sight of the premium-quality blueberries suddenly made her mouth go dry.

They looked even more irresistible.

No matter how expensive they were…

She desperately wanted to shovel an entire handful into her mouth.

How sweet would they be?

How refreshing?

I bet they’d quench my thirst instantly.

I’d feel awake again.

I’d have enough energy to keep working.

Before starting work, she’d left her water bottle behind because she’d thought it would only weigh her down.

Her gaze shifted between the bottle baking beneath the scorching sun…

And the basket of blueberries tucked beneath Daeju’s arm.

“Um…”

Would it be okay if I had just a few…?

I know they’re expensive.

But…

Could you spare me a handful…?

The shameless request was just about to slip past her lips—

When…

The basket of blueberries quietly moved out of reach.

[TL NOTE: Pyeong is a traditional Korean unit of area. 500 pyeong is approximately 1,650 square meters (17,800 square feet).]