Chapter 301

Yoo Sung-woon continued his explanation with a smiling face.

"For about 10 years after the Great Cataclysm first broke out? Korea was closer to a chaotic mess than a single nation. Just like how most overseas areas outside of Korea were lawless zones and backwaters."

He shrugged.

"Just know that it was a time when all sorts of... well, incomprehensible and illogical crimes ran rampant. I’m telling you this so you know that what I went through might not have had any meaning whatsoever."

"I understand."

"Well, to tell you the truth, I don’t remember my earliest childhood well. To be exact, it’d be more accurate to say there was barely anything to describe. Because I was always locked up somewhere. It was a very dark place."

"Were you kidnapped?"

"Probably, right? It couldn’t have been the work of my own flesh and blood, surely. No, of course, right. I know the possibility isn’t completely zero. It was that kind of era."

It was a chaotic world.

"No, well. That’s what I think, but."

In truth, Yoo Sung-woon didn’t know for sure either.

"Before I got a job at the Association, I once calculated my physical age. I was probably around two years old when the Great Cataclysm broke out. I don’t know exactly when I was locked up, but... still, at two years old, wouldn’t you be able to use language to some extent and have some cognitive ability?"

"That’s right, and they’re active too."

"Thinking about it that way, it’s a bit strange. Because I have absolutely no memory of seeing or learning anything before that dark space. It probably even started before the Great Cataclysm broke out."

Kidnapping and confining a newborn baby—one would normally imagine it happening after the Great Cataclysm. Because right up until the Great Cataclysm, Korea supposedly had a certain degree of public order maintained.

An awkward laugh slipped out.

"So in other words, I was either kidnapped as an infant, or my parents placed me there from the beginning..."

"Is that so."

"...Still, if it was something my biological parents did, it would be an even more horrifying thing, so I’m thinking that’s not the case. It’s also highly likely my memories from before I was two were erased for some reason."

"It’s true that things from a young age are hard to remember."

"Yeah. I was in such a confused state without having learned anything, so I might have just forgotten all my past memories. Without any special measure or reason, just because I was too exhausted."

"That’s also possible."

"But I still really don’t know why such a thing happened. I do wonder what could have happened, but it’s not like I’m dying of curiosity either."

Yoo Sung-woon curved his eyes as if squinting.

"Ah... I was really hungry back then. When I woke up, food was given to me, but it was literally just enough to keep me from dying."

Even though it was a food-related topic that the portrait normally reacted sensitively to, Ji-oh showed no response. Confirming this, Yoo Sung-woon stroked his neck. He recalled his faded past.

A cold and dark dirt pit where he had to grope around just to feel his food. Because he couldn’t see anything, he couldn’t guess the flow of time, but it was certain he had been in there for a very long time.

"I lived like that in there for a few years."

Since it was enough for his body to grow a bit, even if slowly due to malnutrition, it must have been quite a long time.

"Since there was nothing to see or learn, I didn’t know any language, and though I was wearing something similar to clothes, back then I thought it was just one of my layers of skin. What could I have possibly done?"

He was truly ignorant.

"Then one day, something unusual happened."

"What happened?"

"Incredibly delicious food was given to me. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but I think it was warm and fluffy. Probably the first proper food I ever ate. And..."

"And?"

"My world collapsed."

"It collapsed?"

"In a very literal, physical sense."

That not-so-wide cave, pit, or whatever it was had caved in.

"That ’being buried alive’ I just mentioned comes from this. Whether it was intentional, if the ground simply shook during that chaotic time, or if it was the doing of some monster or Mystery... I still don’t really know."

He didn’t even try to think deeply about it.

"It was so cramped. I quickly started suffocating. As for it being dark, it was always like that so it was fine, but because I ate too much my stomach was churning. Wedged in that narrow gap, I threw up, screamed, and flailed about..."

"..."

"Then I came to the thought that I couldn’t just stay like that. Should I say I was brave thanks to my ignorance? If I had learned anything, I might have been terrified by fear and given up beforehand."

But Yoo Sung-woon simply felt it was a waste of the food he threw up that day, was angry, and felt suffocated, so he wanted to escape that place.

"So I started digging out the dirt and rocks that buried me."

"Was there space to move?"

"If I felt it was too narrow, I ate them to get rid of them."

"It couldn’t have tasted good."

"Since it was something I ate often, I actually had less aversion to it."

"Aha..."

"It was probably winter back then."

He didn’t know what was so hard while digging. The blood flowing from his scraped fingertips quickly froze. Whether even that was just his imagination, it was truly cold.

"But it was okay. That cramped space I stayed in was always cold anyway. I was naturally resistant to the cold to begin with, and since I didn’t know an environment that wasn’t cold, I think it was pretty bearable."

Of course, he wouldn’t be able to do it if told to do it again. Because right now, he was a normal member of society who knew what warmth was.

"In the first place, my goal back then wasn’t to escape to somewhere, but rather, how should I put it... I was probably just trying to secure as much space as the area I originally stayed in. But at some point, I saw light."

"What kind of light was it?"

"It was the light of the snowfield."

The pure white thing he saw for the first time in his life.

"That became the reason I fell in love with the snowfield."

On that day, Yoo Sung-woon was chosen by the snowfield.

***

The child walked through the snowy field. He got frostbite from walking barefoot, but as time passed, it actually didn’t hurt anymore, so it was fine. Captivated by the fluffy sensation he felt for the first time, the child came to love the snow.

The child looked up. It was a white world where up and down couldn’t be distinguished, but it was fine. The child, who had originally lived in darkness, was simply satisfied by the fact that this place was vast. In that way, he came to love the contradiction.

The child had a low body temperature. Even though he walked the snowy field without qualification, he did not easily melt the snow, and he accepted the sight exactly as it was seen without damaging it. The child came to love this vast nature just as it was.

"..."

The child looked at the ice.

"..."

And so slowly, he looked at ’me’.

Dark-colored hair. Dark-colored eyes. But pale skin from not being able to bask in the sunlight. That day, the child recognized his own existence for the first time. He realized he looked like this and accepted it.

The moment the child realized he was alive, he was dyed white.

Pure white hair, deep blue eyes, and pale skin. Because it closely resembled his first love, the snowfield, the child learned joy.

"...?"

His breath no longer came out in a white puff.

***

"Well, isn’t that what they call destiny?"

This was the story of how Yoo Sung-woon became a Gardener.

"Of course, there are many stories after that, too. I instinctively realized I shouldn’t eat things in the Garden and stubbornly escaped the snowfield; I almost got beaten to death by people for casually spewing knowledge from the Garden; and as I somehow lived on with my own know-how of life, I ended up meeting the Gardeners."

"How old were you then?"

"Probably around 11 years old? People cursed at me so much, calling me a crazy demon brat, that I thought I was just a crazy bastard, but after listening to the elders, it seemed that wasn’t the case. I even learned formal speech for the first time back then."

"Then how did you learn language before that?"

"It wasn’t like I didn’t meet other people before meeting the Gardeners. You could say it was practical terminology, I guess. Well, the words I learned back then were all practically curses, but... since all I heard were harsh words."

Yoo Sung-woon laughed jokingly.

"I told Joo-hyun before too, but because I was so poorly educated, formal speech feels really awkward to me. Even though the elders worked hard to make a proper human out of me back then, I’m still like this. I don’t know why Korean has formal and informal speech separately."

"I know that it’s a point foreigners often get confused by as well."

Blinking, Ji-oh asked.

"But you found your path quickly despite that, didn’t you? I know you were a Research Team Leader at the Association before becoming a Curator."

"Right, I was. I somehow ended up working as an employee for the Association. I guess a Gardener’s temperament doesn’t go anywhere, so I eventually fell completely into the research side. But for someone like me who loves the Garden to make it a lifelong workplace... it was a place with severe Mystery abuse, I suppose?"

"Mystery abuse, what a unique expression."

"So I ended up accepting the proposal from the Bisabeol Guild Master, who often showed interest in me before. That man, he kept saying ’You aren’t suited for this job’ for so long... as if it really became a curse, I truly felt it didn’t fit my aptitude..."

Having spoken that far, Yoo Sung-woon blinked his eyes.

"...Am I the only one talking too much?"

"I was listening carefully, though."

"Sorry, I just hope it wasn’t boring to listen to. It’s my first time telling a story like this to anyone."

"Didn’t you tell the Bisabeol Guild Master too?"

"I briefly wrote it down as a special note when signing the contract, so he probably knows, but I’ve never told him directly. Even then, I’ve never shared such detailed parts with him."

But Yoo Sung-woon’s certainty quickly dulled.

"...Ah, or not? He’s so perceptive, maybe he knows even without me saying it...?"

"He is also quite peculiar."

"That’s how people from the Collector are."

Wasn’t Bisabeol the boss of peculiarity even among them?

"Well, anyway, that’s how it was. This is how I’ve lived until now."

"What should I say."

"You can just speak honestly as you feel. There were probably quite a few parts that would be appalling even by today’s standards, but honestly, from my perspective, it just feels like any other memory..."

"I want to feed you."

"I want to say you’re truly consistent as always, but I am suddenly getting hungry too."

Is it because memories of when he starved so much came to mind?

"No, actually, it is the time to be hungry anyway."

"So there really is such a time."

"Getting hungry after maintaining a Garden is a racial trait of Gardeners. Just like how Hunters get hungry while clearing dungeons."

"It sounds like it would be fun to open a diner targeting Gardeners."

"Oh, that really... sounds fun."

It was proven like this that Yoo Sung-woon’s personality was also quite something.

"When you open the shop, you have to sell to me first."

"From a restaurant owner’s perspective, it’s right to sell in the order customers arrive."

"Every time this happens, I really feel that you’re a very rule-abiding portrait, Ji-oh."

"Did you have to bring up being rule-abiding when I’m just stating the obvious?"

Ji-oh asked.

"Would you like something to eat?"

"...Do you have something to eat?"

"I brought skewers."

"Why on earth?"

"I brought sweet potatoes too."

"Seriously, why?"

"It’s only natural to have skewers and sweet potatoes when lighting a campfire."

"You and I must have lived in slightly different cultural spheres."

"That is somewhat the case."

Ji-oh nodded.

"Because I’m a person from before the Great Cataclysm."

"I never imagined it would be a different cultural sphere in that way."

Anyway, a tremendously good scent came from the skewers roasting over the campfire.

"Can’t I just eat it raw?"

"You’ll get a stomachache, Yoo Sung-woon."

"What’s the point of having an A-rank stomach..."

"That’s probably not what your stomach is there for."

"A stomach is there to digest."

"Why would you go out of your way to do that when it’s busy enough being filled with delicious things?"

"Do you not even count tasteless things as food?"

He truly was a portrait who was sincere about food.

"I feel so guilty."

"You must feel like you’re cooking and eating ramen past midnight."

"Oh, that’s somewhat similar. What is it, the feeling of eating snacks on a blanket?"

"That sounds plausible too."

Roasting and eating meat over a campfire in a snowfield—if other Gardeners heard about it, they would ask in what way he had lost his mind to do such a thing. Honestly, it lacked any sense of reality.

But Yoo Sung-woon was a Gardener who had adapted in his own way to this hollow sense of reality.

’You can’t help but adapt if you live next to Ji-oh.’

Whenever things turned out like this, he always thought, ’Whatever happens, happens.’

’Future me will pay the price.’

Though bitter, he felt at peace on the other hand. It was the peace of resignation. Holding the chicken skewers and vegetable skewers Ji-oh handed him in both hands, Yoo Sung-woon bit into them. Filled with meat juices and vegetable juices, it tasted fantastic.

The portrait asked.

"How is it?"

"When did you say you were opening that shop?"

"Thank you for the compliment, I will contact you as soon as I open it."

"My insides are warming up..."

Yoo Sung-woon blinked as he chewed on the skewer.

"..."

The crackling sound of the campfire.

The quiet voice of a friend. The rustling snow bunnies. The blizzard raging outside the igloo. The warm air trapped under the round roof. The unmelting snow and the warm-colored light of the fire. The delicious food...

"...Mhm..."

Yoo Sung-woon nodded.

"This is romantic."

"Right?"

"Want to come hang out again next time?"

"I’m glad you invited me."

"I’m the one who’s... glad."

Yoo Sung-woon smiled.

"...Thank you."

Perhaps, a little awkwardly.

Just like when he first learned joy.

***

"Looking at Yoo Sung-woon like that, I had a thought."

At Ji-oh’s words, Bisabeol nodded.

"Mhm, good. Tell me as much as you want. Daddy is listening."

"Gardeners definitely need a labor union."

"It seems I’ve been earning money all this time for this very day."

Bisabeol rolled his eyes to the side in thought.

"It is about time the welfare and treatment of Gardeners improved."

"I’d like to try making a diner for them first. What do you think?"

"Oh, wonderful. That’s very full-scale."

Yoo Sung-woon remained silent at the Guild Master clapping and the portrait looking proud.

"..."

"...Yoo Sung-woon."

Joo-hyun, who had come to the Collector following Ji-oh, poked his side.

"Just what kind of ideas did you put in his head?"

"Joo-hyun, I’ve been thinking."

"Yes, go ahead. What are you going to say?"

"Don’t you think it would be nice if something like a food stall opened in the Garden...?"

"Are you out of your mind?"

"...Gardeners are so cold and hungry..."

"..."

Hesitating, Joo-hyun subtly leaned toward the table.

"...Should I go get a list of the Gardeners?"

"Let’s shake down Hae-woon first."

"Hmm... That sounds like a good idea."

"People need to eat to work."

Ji-oh nodded.

"I like it."

It felt like he would be able to paint a new picture tonight.

***

Thus, a few days later.

"Excuse me."

Ji-oh went to find Cha Eun-hyuk.

"Do you sell bunggeoppang?"

Tl/N: Bunggeoppang is Korean fish-shaped pastry

"No."

"Will you sell them when winter comes?"

"..."

Cha Eun-hyuk, who was once the bunggeoppang youth, was about to go crazy.

"...Let’s resolve this with words."

It seemed it was time for the Earth to perish.