Farming Druid - Chapter 99



Only Noblemtl

099. The sound of sirens began to be heard.

A tree and Haneum watching TV.

“That’s what you and Grandma did… … .”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

After Haneum said that.

He reached out first.

Taaak―

The sound of two people clapping their hands echoed through the living room.

“Good job, buddy.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“The rice is ready!:

At their grandmother’s call, the two headed to the table.

“Wow, Grandma, you’ve done a lot this morning.”

“You have to eat a lot. Koreans are obsessed with rice.”

The table was made up of vegetables, eggs, meat, and fish.

In addition, two bowls of rice with a high filling and one bowl of regular rice were visible.

Placed next to the rice bowl was a clam soup filled with clams.

“Is this food for the servants?”

Haneum looked at the bowl of rice placed in front of the tree and asked.

“I’ll eat this and eat it again. You saw it when I came in yesterday, no, this morning. My grandmother and I. We boiled 10 packages of ramen and ate them all before going to bed.”

Haneum recalled the dawn.

When I came home after finishing my cleanup work at the ocean, it was 3 AM.

That moment.

Grandmother and the tree were gathered in front of the old house’s cauldron while the grandson lit a fire and boiled water.

I saw my grandmother throw in the ramen, put in 10 eggs, and break it.

As soon as the ramen is cooked.

I saw the two people standing in front of the cauldron, picking up the ramen and eating it almost inhaling it.

“Shall I give you one?”

At the tree’s words, Han-eum nodded without realizing it and took a bite.

Time to finish 10 packs of ramen.

It didn’t even take 10 minutes.

After that.

Han-eum was surprised by her grandmother’s words.

“Should I have just boiled 20? It’s a bit too little… … .”

“Oh, Grandma. I get acid reflux. I eat ramen at dawn and go to bed.”

“Huh? That doesn’t matter.”

At her grandmother’s answer, Han-eum just laughed in vain and went into her room to sleep.

A few hours later.

The tree got up as usual and swept the yard.

Haneum came out, straightening her messy hair.

“Are you awake?”

“Yeah— Abel woke me up with his face covered in spit… … .”

“Wash up quickly.”

“huh-.”

I could see Han-eum’s back as she yawned and walked towards the outdoor hot spring.

“Ah, Grandma, did you sleep well?”

“Ugh. Grandma is cooking, so hurry up and wash up and come out.”

“yes-.”

The tree smiled at the conversation between the grandmother and Haneum.

The tree looked around.

Even animals moving far away could be seen at a glance.

‘My eyesight has really improved… … .’

The fact that your eyes can see well.

The freshness and coolness that dawn brought felt good there.

Namu and Haneum each looked at their rice bowls.

After finishing my reminiscence of dawn, I looked down at my rice bowl.

It looked like there was a lot of rice piling up on top of the bowl, like a servant’s meal.

The tree looking down at the rice whetted its appetite.

‘Even if I boil and eat 10 packages of ramen at dawn, I’m still hungry… … .’

When the tree you were thinking of takes a big spoonful of rice.

I heard my grandmother’s voice.

“Hey – eat – there’s more, so eat a lot.”

Kekekeke

Knock knock knock

Haneum was taken aback by her grandmother’s words.

The tree quickly patted Haneum’s back and handed him the water.

“Oh―. Thank you.”

Haneum drank all the water the tree gave her and then looked at her grandmother and whined.

“Grandma, I can’t eat like this.”

“I have to eat it all.”

“… … .”

After a brief, stormy mealtime.

Haneum went in to pack her bags to go up to Seoul.

“Tree, sit down for a while.”

At the grandmother’s words, the tree pulled out a chair from the dining table.

The old woman, holding out a mug, looked up at the tree.

“The sea will be noisy for a while.”

“What—I saw it yesterday and it was quite serious.”

“We need to warn the government.”

“…A warning to the government?”

“Yes. You may not know, but every time the government changes, the Minister of Environment comes to the ‘Guardians of Nature’ and says hello. That’s why he knows about our existence. That’s why he’s trying to warn us about the recent incident in the ocean.”

“Uh… … Hmm… … No way. The ocean is in this state… So, should we protest to Japan at the government level?”

The grandmother nodded in agreement at the tree’s words.

“You know very well. That’s right.”

“Hey. Will they listen to our protest when they are discharging nuclear wastewater without listening to international standards?”

“If you don’t listen, I’ll just send a typhoon straight to Tokyo.”

“Wow―.”

It was a tree that bit its lips at its grandmother’s harsh remarks.

‘No matter what, it’s not like Japan will listen to the government’s protests… … More than that, do the high-ranking government officials know about the grandmother’s existence… … no, the existence of the ‘guardian of nature’?’

The tree sat with its arms crossed, lost in thought.

As Haneum came out of the room.

“Ha-neum, are you ready?”

“yes-.”

Listening to the conversation between my grandmother and Haneum with one ear.

The tree raised the corners of its mouth slightly as it pondered the thought.

“Hey—what are you thinking? Why are the corners of your lips raised? It’s scary.”

My thoughts scattered at Haneum’s words.

He looked at Han-eum, who was sipping coffee from a mug on the table, and asked.

“Ah―. How was it when you saw the sea yesterday?”

“yesterday?”

The first time I saw the sea at dawn was a shock in itself.

It wasn’t just fish there.

Han-eum answered the tree’s question honestly because she had seen a dead finless porpoise, which is called a domestic porpoise.

“It was a bit serious because there were fish, dolphins, and other things floating around in the ocean. But… … Isn’t it okay now?”

The tree shook its head at Haneum’s words.

“It might be okay for a little while, but to be really okay, the country across the river needs to stop releasing nuclear energy.”

“Um… wouldn’t that be a bit difficult?”

“There must be a way.”

The tree chuckled.

Creepy―

Haneum, who saw the tree’s smile, felt a tingling sensation run down her spine for the first time in a long time.

‘What on earth are you thinking?’

* * *

The three people ate breakfast and left for Seoul.

We each got into our own car, but the old lady was sitting in the backseat of the tree’s car.

She was wearing a simple and elegant hanbok.

After the three arrived in Seoul.

The tree drove away, saying it was taking the old woman somewhere.

As soon as Haneum entered the officetel.

I leaned back on the sofa.

A sigh that comes out on its own.

Phew―

Haneum experienced something truly unbelievable for two days.

“No― but how is this not a fantasy, and how can a person be reborn in a wooden ball… … Does that make scientific sense?”

Honestly, I was embarrassed.

And what was that yesterday morning?

Didn’t you go around the sea on a giant leaf boat and do something called ‘purification’?

Phew―

Han-eum, who had washed her face dry, believed it because she had experienced it herself, but her head was in a situation where she couldn’t believe it.

“If I tell you, you’ll say I’m writing a novel… … If I write about hanging out with this guy, it’ll be real. Oh my—”

Haneum opened the refrigerator door and poured himself a beer.

After clearing my mind of complicated thoughts and downing a can of beer.

I was thinking of getting some sleep.

Click – Pew-

Hurp-

Gulp— Gulp—

After drinking a can of beer in one gulp.

Haneum, who had thrown it in the trash can, lay back down on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling, giggling.

“Well, it was fun. It was surprising too.”

Flash―

Kwarrrrrrrrung―

Han-eum, who had been mumbling, was startled by the sudden thunder and lightning and closed the officetel window.

“Didn’t the weather forecast say it was going to rain today?”

I looked at my watch as the heavy rain pounded outside the window.

“Beer… Did I drink it for nothing?”

Rainy day.

It was a bit of a scary day for doctors and nurses.

No matter how much they say “If it rains, there are no patients,” that’s just the story of an ordinary doctor.

University hospitals were different.

The emergency room is a busy place (when it rains, many patients come).

The heavy rain was unusual.

Haneum turned on her laptop and looked at the duty schedule for today, her eyes widening slightly.

“There was a fantasist (a person who brought in a patient)… … I’m going to die in the emergency room today.”

As I watched the rain falling outside, I thought of the tree that had left to take my grandmother somewhere.

“When will the tree come… … .”

* * *

The tree stopped in front of a five-star hotel located in Namsan.

Squeak-

Let’s open the back seat door that Grandma is in.

A grandmother wearing a beautiful hanbok came down in an elegant manner.

Foreigners staying at the hotel kept exclaiming, “Beautiful!” when they saw the grandmother.

Let the tree bring down the grandmother.

“I’m going to the hospital to get tested. I’ll call you when I’m done.”

“… Yes. Then please contact me.”

“Ugh―.”

Vroom—

After briefly looking at my grandmother’s elegant hanbok in the rearview mirror.

I left the hotel building.

As if passing by, a black, top-of-the-line sedan appeared to glide into the hotel.

‘I guess the person my grandmother had an appointment with is in that car… ‘

I felt it as it passed by.

A car with black tinting that makes the inside completely invisible.

While waiting for the signal, I caught a glimpse of a Busan-like behavior at the hotel.

‘The ‘guardians of nature’ are the ones who take over the government whenever the regime changes… … .’

The tree that had been thinking ended up laughing.

Because I could see how embarrassed the person eating with my grandmother would be.

“Should I go to Grandma’s for some hotel food?”

Sigh-

It was a tree that suddenly made me feel sorry for the Korean, Japanese, and Chinese chefs at the hotel.

“What— It’s not my job… … I hope Grandma enjoys the meal and that her conversation with the high-ranking government officials goes well.”

Jiing— Jiiing—

When the cell phone vibrates.

The tree, which was driving, switched to Bluetooth and answered the phone.

“Yes, I have one.”

-Hello. This is Detective Seong Ji-woong from Gangnam Police Station.

“… Yes, hello. What… is it?”

-Teacher, do you happen to know Lee Sang-ho?

“Is this Lee Sang-ho?”

The tree was caught in the traffic light.

He tilted his head.

It was a name I had heard somewhere.

-Around January. At a highway rest stop… … .

“Ah-ah. Yes. I remember. Did you catch it?”

-Yes, I embroidered.

“Really? Then what should I…?”

The detective kindly told the tree what to do.

-That’s why I contacted you first.

“Yes… … Thank you for calling despite your busy schedule.”

– No problem. Then I’ll see you soon.

“yes-.”

The tree that hung up the phone recalled the events of that day.

Cold winter.

To neuter Abel and the cats.

After approaching me at a rest stop on my way up to Seoul.

He recalled how he had kidnapped Abel and given him a poisoned business card.

“Hmm… … Now that I think about it, I let the kid who kidnapped my sweet King Abel stay alone… … I’ll have to check it out once the inspection is over… … .”

Swaaaaaaahh …

The tree, startled by the sudden pouring of rain on the windshield, looked up at the sky.

“Wow―. When did it get so dark?”

The surroundings were dark even though it was daytime.

Flash―

Woorur- Kkwarreung-

All around brightened in an instant, and then the car in front was startled by the sound of the sky hitting the ground and slammed on its brakes.

Squeak-

The car in front suddenly turned on its emergency lights, the driver’s door opened, and a middle-aged woman got out, shouted something, and walked toward the tree.

“What’s going on?”

Flash – Kwarrurung –

The middle-aged woman staggered as if her legs had given out, startled by the sound of thunder and lightning.

He started shouting in an urgent voice.

-help.

At that sight, the tree first reported it to 119 and then got out of the driver’s seat.

“What’s going on?”

“Hey, help me.”

The tree asks as it supports a middle-aged woman who is about to fall.

She straightened up and headed back to her car, speaking in an urgent manner.

“Oh, all of a sudden… … our child… … .”

Feeling a little queasy, the tree quickly walked over to the passenger seat of the car in front and opened the door.

Click—

In the passenger seat, a boy who looked to be about five or six years old was lying unconscious.

Quickly place your finger on the child’s carotid artery.

The pulse was barely noticeable.

He unbuckled the passenger seat belt, quickly took off his trousers, and spread them on the road.

The child was laid on it.

I checked his pulse and breathing again, but he wasn’t breathing.

Colorful spots were visible when I lifted the child’s clothes.

The tree’s eyes narrowed for a moment.

‘First, the child.’

After checking the baby’s nipple, the tree wrapped its torso with its palm and began to rhythmically press the baby’s chest with its thumb.

“One, two, three, four.”

To keep the rain from falling on the child’s face.

I was blocking the raindrops with my body and pressing on the child’s chest.

A siren began to sound in the distance.

Waaaaa …