Kindness, Conflict, and the Cost of Staying Alone

‘You ungrateful brat… repaying kindness with hostility.’

As if I’d ever comfort him again.

Just as I was about to say something, my arms were grabbed.

Thanks to Chae Yunchan’s quick reflexes.

“I-I didn’t mean I wanted you to fall. What kind of Beta collapses like an Omega? Are you made of paper?”

‘Is he apologizing or insulting me…?’

Pick one.

He was just crying a second ago, acting all weak.

“It’s not that I’m weak. You’re just too strong.”

“Since you’re back to normal, get back to work. You’ve done the least tilling.”

“I’m last?!”

“Yoo Iseo and Baek Dojun already finished. Same with Joo Taegang.”

“Ugh…”

I pointed at the others.

The neatly tilled fields stretched out behind them.

Even though I had divided the land equally, once they got the hang of it, they finished quickly.

‘What terrifying people…’

I had even spread fertilizer and manure beforehand, yet unlike Yunchan, they didn’t complain about the smell.

They even accepted the sun protection gear after a brief grimace.

“See? You can do it!”

“Exactly. That’s the spirit of a diligent worker of the new era. Excellent.”

“…You were about to say ‘s*ave,’ weren’t you?”

“Not at all. How could I say something so outrageous to those providing such noble labor?”

Yoo Iseo’s sharp question was met with mechanical applause and hollow praise.

Yunchan glared at me while continuing to till the soil with the pitchfork.

He was definitely better like this—arrogant and fired up—rather than the defeated version from earlier.

“Just you wait. I’ll stick around here long enough to make you go back home.”

“Sure. Try your best.”

I answered lazily, already lost in my own thoughts.

‘My real home might as well be in another dimension…’

If he could take me there, I’d call him elder for life and bow every day.

But that wasn’t happening.

That’s why I was stuck here, farming.

“You’re mocking me! I can tell!”

“I’m not.”

…But the idea of him sending me “home” gave me chills.

How long were they planning to cling to me like ticks?

“Wait… didn’t you just speak politely to me?”

“No?”

What? Was that my imagination?

After that incident, Yunchan became a somewhat diligent worker too.

Still complained, still clumsy, but his attitude had definitely improved.

‘Can’t he just quit and run away in the middle of the night?’

From my perspective, this kind of growth was the last thing I wanted.

If I had known, I wouldn’t have comforted him—I’d have gone full Spartan mode.

‘Fine. I’ll grind them down until they leave on their own.’

As the peak of my evil farm-owner strategy, I decided to use them to build an orchard.

I had already purchased fruit trees—apples, peaches, and grapes.

Since I wanted to eat them when the season came, I brought in fully grown trees by truck.

As expected, Mr. Kim handled the delivery.

Secretary Choi had once again sourced high-quality trees from various places.

“Young master! The fruit trees you ordered have arrived. Only the best varieties!”

“Thank you, Mr. Kim. Looks like I’ll be enjoying delicious fruit this summer and autumn.”

Just thinking about fresh fruit and homemade jam made my heart race.

If I managed to harvest strawberries too, I could even make mulled wine.

Exciting… in more ways than one.

‘This time, they’ll definitely run away.’

Of course, I wasn’t being blindly optimistic.

‘An orchard isn’t something to take lightly.’

I’d have to protect the trees from pests and natural disasters.

Pests could be handled with money, but storms and heavy rain were another story.

Mr. Kim seemed to know that too.

“Young master, don’t overdo it. I’ve seen many people lose a lot of money trying orchard farming.”

“I know. But it’s been my dream.”

The orchard from my old home had been my emotional refuge.

And here, it would tie me to this place, make it feel like mine.

Of course, I planned to make those bastards do everything—planting, fencing, pesticide spraying.

If this didn’t exhaust them, nothing would.

‘I’ll make them beg to go home.’

Once they ran away, I’d hire people to maintain the orchard and use drones for pesticides.

Honestly, I didn’t feel great about working them like this.

Modern equipment existed, yet I was making humans do all the labor.

‘At this rate, I might burn out first.’

I hadn’t even thought about what I’d do if that happened.

This whole situation was unpredictable.

As I absentmindedly stroked an apple tree, Mr. Kim asked me something.

“Sometimes I wonder why you came all the way out here to suffer. You could live comfortably.”

It was a fair question.

Chairman Seong had wondered the same.

So had those guys working over there.

“I just like it. I know I could live a life of luxury, travel the world, do whatever I want.”

With three Alpha sisters above him, Chanyeong had essentially given up any claim to succession.

A carefree life was his future.

“It might seem strange, but this is what I like. I’ve always wanted this—harvesting fresh fruit, eating rice I grew myself, proudly sharing my crops with people.”

Living the healthy life I had always dreamed of—

I didn’t care what others thought.

Call me weird if you want.

It was worth it.

“You’re the strangest person I’ve met, but also the happiest.”

“Thanks.”

“And you sound like an old man sometimes.”

“Guess I’m a bit of an old soul.”

I used to hear that a lot.

Because I spent so much time sick, confined to rooms and hospital beds, my thinking could’ve become narrow.

But I didn’t want that.

So I forced myself to understand others, to learn, to observe.

Watching my family farm—even from afar—helped me feel connected.

‘And that’s how I fell in love with farming.’

This passion came from a longing to be with my family.

‘Which is why I hate seeing those guys help me.’

They had healthy bodies, no love for farming—yet they worked effortlessly, just because they were curious about me.

It twisted something inside me.

Then Mr. Kim said something unexpected.

“Still, since they came, you seem more lively. Like someone your age.”

“…What?”

For the first time, I felt a flicker of resentment toward him.

Didn’t he know how much I wanted to avoid them?

Even as my expression cooled, he continued.

“I don’t think it’s good for you to be alone here.”

“I have the staff. I talk to Secretary Choi when needed. I even know people in the village.”

“I know. But they’re not your friends. You’re young—you should experience life with people your age. But it seems like you’re avoiding that.”

“….”

I had no response.

He was right.

I was isolating myself.

Avoiding not just them, but everyone else too.

‘When I first came here, I didn’t even consider hiring staff.’

I thought it was normal.

That I could handle everything alone.

But why?

Farming alone was fine.

I could just get supplies through Secretary Choi.

‘But being completely alone… that’s no different from being stranded on a deserted island.’

A memory surfaced—

me, alone in a hospital room, staring at a single leaf clinging to a branch, like in The Last Leaf.

How old was I then?

All I remembered was loneliness.

Pain.

Suffering.

Back then, I had been convinced I would die.

Even after leaving the hospital, I had believed it.

And I was terrified of how much it would hurt the people I left behind.

That’s when it clicked.

That’s where this tendency came from.

“Thank you, Mr. Kim. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I hope I didn’t overstep. I just want you to be happy.”

“It’s fine. Just brought back some memories.”

I knew what he meant.

That maybe I should go back with them.

‘Keep this place as a hobby.’

But I couldn’t.

I was an outsider.

An observer.

If I wanted to keep changing the story, I couldn’t follow them.

“There are reasons. If I go with them, it’ll just give me headaches.”

“…Did those Alphas mistreat you?”

Well… actually the opposite.

I was the one stressing them out.

I couldn’t say that, so I just smiled awkwardly.

And Mr. Kim began to form a completely wrong conclusion.