Chapter 304

For the record, Gardeners didn’t just exist on Earth.

"So, could you stop drawing now?"

These were the words the man spat out after a long game of tag across paintings. To this, Ji-oh replied.

"I wasn’t sure what you’d like me to draw, so I decided to win with sheer quantity..."

"You’ve already won that battle of quantity, so please stop. I’ve even surrendered like this, haven’t I?"

"Understood."

Ji-oh blinked at the ’Ji-oh’ in front of him.

"You have less perseverance than I thought."

"What’s this? A provocation? I never thought I’d see the day. How fascinating."

"It sounds a bit sarcastic, but I can feel you’re being genuine in your own way."

"You’re right. I’ve rarely been this baffled in my entire life."

"And?"

"It was fun."

Saying so, he grabbed the top hat on his head and gave a light bow. ’Ji-oh’ skillfully formed an eye smile.

"Ta-da."

It looked close to what was commonly called a magician’s hat. Whether as a small gift or a commemoration, he lightly tapped it with a cane, and flowers popped out like a small bomb.

Looking at Ji-oh, who was now covered in flowers, the man bowed at the waist.

"I am your Jeorge, Ji-oh."

"Thank you for the polite greeting."

Gently brushing off the flowers, Ji-oh scanned ’Jeorge’s’ outfit.

"Your outfit doesn’t particularly seem to match that hat."

"Oh? That’s strange. I don’t think Seo Ji-oh is in any position to criticize my fashion sense."

"I have nothing to say to that because it’s true, but Arzio has great sense. I often owe him for it."

"I acknowledge his sense, too. He knows how to match clothing and accessories perfectly. He’s someone we should emulate."

"Anyway... you’re dressed rather lightly."

A loose poet shirt, black pants, and a hat. That was all.

"Do you not like shoes?"

"Is there any reason I should care about keeping up appearances to that extent?"

"Seeing as you’re wearing both a top and a bottom, it seems you were trying to maintain your dignity as a civilized person."

"Wow, just because I didn’t wear shoes, you’re bringing up ’civilized person’ and ’dignity’? Don’t you walk around barefoot often too, Ji-oh?"

"I mostly move around inside the house, and I don’t wear shoes indoors... I do dress properly when I have an official schedule."

"It’s nothing grand, I’m the same. I spend a lot of time in places where there’s no need to wear shoes, right? For the record, over 90% of my dignity is contained in this hat."

"That seems like a fine choice, too."

I wondered what sin the hat had committed to suddenly have to bear almost all of its owner’s dignity on its own. But seeing how sleek and well-maintained it was, it seemed to be well-loved, so I couldn’t say anything.

After clearing up the situation to a minimum, a sudden feeling of regret washed over me.

"..."

Ji-oh muttered as he fiddled with the painting he had drawn.

"I wasn’t done drawing yet..."

"That’s enough. I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly."

"I wasn’t done yet..."

"How did I end up getting caught by someone like this?"

Despite his words, it must have been genuinely fun, as ’Jeorge’ burst into a refreshing laugh.

"Then again, I have lived for quite a long time."

"I didn’t call you out of a desire for you to retire since you’ve lived long enough. You’re viewing me through a very depraved lens."

"I also know that this isn’t the end, but another beginning. You don’t need to feel so sorry."

"Excuse me, but I wasn’t really feeling sorry. You enjoyed it too much for that, didn’t you, Jeorge?"

"Since this was the first time in my life experiencing something like this..."

He placed the hat on top of his light pink hair.

"Shall I introduce myself first, then?"

"Actually, I don’t need your introduction, Jeorge."

"We learned too much about each other during our game of tag. You’re right, Ji-oh."

"So, could I ask you to introduce yourself for those who don’t understand the current situation?"

"I love times like this."

’Jeorge’ greeted everyone.

"I’m Jeorge the Wanderer, or Ji-oh, as my friends affectionately abbreviate it. Please call me whichever is comfortable."

Ji-oh nodded.

"You were called a Wanderer?"

"Ah, actually, this is a name I gave myself. It wasn’t defined by any official institution or country, so it’s nothing that special."

"In that case, was there a word that replaced Gardener in the very first world?"

"There wasn’t. I was the first ’Wanderer’ there. It’s a name I made up based on the simple context of wandering here and there, but..."

He smiled.

"I just really like fun things."

"The incarnation of dopamine."

"Goodness, how pitiful. Why live if you aren’t going to enjoy it?"

"It seems we’ll have a hard time agreeing with each other, though in a different way from Arzio."

"Anyway, you’re the one who called me, and I’m the one who got caught, so I will do my duty."

’Jeorge’ picked up a chair, placed it next to Ji-oh, and sat down.

"Alright, let’s begin."

"Ah, I’m the one starting? Honestly, I don’t know where to begin explaining..."

Stroking the small canvas depicting nature, Ji-oh nodded.

"It would be best to start from the beginning."

"Where is the beginning?"

"It was after seeing Yoo Sung-woon’s Garden."

"What did you see and feel there?"

"It was so beautiful that I wanted to draw a Garden."

"And?"

"I thought everyone lived such tiring lives."

At that, ’Jeorge’ gave him a faint, warm look, as if he understood.

"And so you ended up coming up with the amazing idea of a food stall..."

"To be honest, I didn’t have any concrete plans until then, but..."

"How about now?"

"I do think things will be much easier with your help, Jeorge."

"Am I being put to work as soon as I arrive?"

"Once synchronization begins, the distinction loses its meaning, so isn’t it my labor?"

"I suppose that’s true. That’s a very interesting remark."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Ji-oh continued.

"So I just started drawing whatever came to mind."

"It’s amazing no matter how much I think about it. You didn’t lure me with a sweet scent or touch. To think I was caught by such an ignorant method."

"? It’s not like I chopped off your ankles with a bear trap to catch you. You walked right in perfectly fine on your own two feet, so if you slander me like that, what will people think of me?"

"So Seo Ji-oh dragged me here with a bear trap?"

"That sounds fun too."

"No, don’t actually draw it. Don’t try to draw a vicious bear trap."

"Please be careful. I’m very sensitive right now because I haven’t been able to eat during our game of tag."

"Well, look at this pig..."

Even at ’Jeorge’s’ dumbfounded exclamation, Ji-oh remained unfazed.

"Yes, exactly. You didn’t obediently answer my call, Jeorge. It was extremely perplexing for me."

"In life, subordinates sometimes disobey orders or coding goes wrong."

"No, completely separate from that... There was clearly a ’suitable candidate’ out there, but weren’t you leisurely avoiding me? Because of that, I didn’t even know your name until I drew the 42nd painting."

"You probably have no idea that drawing 42 landscape paintings to catch someone whose name you didn’t even know isn’t a choice a person with a normal mindset would make, right?"

"What kind of answer are you expecting by asking me that?"

Ji-oh shrugged.

"It’s exactly as I mentioned earlier. I pondered over it. What on earth is this person dissatisfied with? What do I have to draw for them to finally accept the invitation? But by the time I had drawn about 9 paintings, I got a feel for it. Ah, this person wants to play with me."

"Thanks to that, I had a great time playing."

"I was the one who had fun, as this was also a first for me."

Up until now, the method was that receiving ’inspiration’ and drawing a ’painting’ would prompt a ’suitable candidate’ to call Ji-oh out. But this ’Ji-oh’ was truly unique. He existed in all the Gardens Ji-oh had drawn, yet did not exist in them.

In short, he had run away.

"If you were simply refusing the invitation, I wouldn’t have risked being rude and chased after you by drawing 9,421 paintings."

"..."

After a brief silence, ’Jeorge’ nodded.

"This is why I told you to stop drawing. Do you understand now?"

"To be honest, since things turned out this way, I wanted to cleanly reach 10,000 paintings."

"I’m sorry, but even I got a bit sick of it and had no choice but to surrender."

"True, by that point, the forms of the Gardens were becoming a bit repetitive in their repertoire."

"The fact that you realized that after surpassing 9,000 paintings is also a very fascinating point."

"You flatter me. For the record, I never said I gave up on reaching 10,000. I plan to fill them up whenever I have the time."

"Oh, nature. Please save this dreadful artist."

"I was saved a long time ago, which is why I’m roasting and eating sweet potatoes in this cabin."

To return to the main point and explain.

"You didn’t reject my invitation, Jeorge. If you had, you wouldn’t have been defined as a ’suitable candidate’ in the first place. It seemed like you literally just wanted to play, so I chased you to the very end."

"By drawing 9,421 paintings, that is."

"That was the first time I realized I could be so persistent. I usually never had a reason to draw that much. I did realize it was a bit excessive, so I switched to using small canvases halfway through..."

"What are you going to do with all those paintings?"

"Everyone has their own life, and I affirm that."

Just in case of any accidents, I drew them all as good friends.

"And so, in the end, you were caught by me, Jeorge."

"I was just so moved by the sight of someone enjoying life beyond their limits..."

"It’s also because you were slowly getting sick of it. Actually, wasn’t that the biggest reason?"

"The point is that through that process, I finally appeared of my own volition."

"Excellent."

Ji-oh looked at ’Jeorge’.

"Then shall we try your self-introduction again? Since it feels like I explained the situation so far in your stead."

"Hmm, alright. What should I say now, then?"

Soon, he smiled with his eyes.

"...I am a human who became a Garden."

Truly the incarnation of dopamine. He never beat around the bush.

"How I ended up like this doesn’t matter, at least not right now. But in my first life, I eventually became a Garden, and now I’m enjoying my life frolicking among them."

"So you’re a man of nature."

"That’s a well-summarized word in many ways. Yes, technically, I am a man of nature. Please consider it fortunate that I don’t walk around naked. It means I still have some dignity left as a human."

"I’m very surprised there was such a deep meaning. Weren’t you just wearing clothes because you need a minimum level of decency to seduce someone?"

"Hmm, I won’t say there was no such intention. I won’t deny it. But please keep in mind that I can seduce people even without wearing anything."

"Gods of heaven and earth."

I’d better keep a tight grip on my brain so I don’t get sued for obscenity.

Having acknowledged and accepted the disaster he brought upon himself, Ji-oh tilted his head, seemingly remembering something.

"Normally, when we encounter each other like this, ’Ji-oh’ gives me a quest. Is there anything you’d like to ask of me? We need to establish a goal through agreement for it to help me control my mind and body in the future."

"Umm... Nope."

"You’ve tested the waters enough, is that it?"

"No, you sat in one spot and drew 9,421 paintings, Seo Ji-oh! Isn’t it understandable that I’d get sick of it at this point? I’ve played enough, and I’ll continue to have fun from here on out."

Feigning disgust, ’Jeorge’ tilted his head just like Ji-oh had done earlier. It was a perfect imitation.

"So to speak, it’s like I’m upgrading myself a step further."

"Have you synchronized with me already? You’re using a lot of Earth terms from our very first meeting."

"It feels like you’re asking even though you already know... but there are things I learn while wandering around here and there. That’s a very natural thing."

"It seems the one with the unique mindset is you, Jeorge. It’s normally not easy to describe such a series of events as an upgrade. Going from a human to a Gardener, from a Gardener to a Garden, and now becoming a part of a haunted portrait..."

"Ah, that’s all prejudice. Trimming destiny as a human, eventually becoming nature instead of a human, and then experiencing being a painting is something anyone can do. Actually, you should understand this part too, right, Ji-oh?"

"I, too, found myself having become a haunted portrait after living my life this way and that. In that context, your words do make sense, Jeorge."

"Rules are meaningless to people like us."

Ji-oh put on a serious face.

"Still, there must be rules."

"Like etiquette and social ethics?"

"Stuff like that."

"That’s good too."

’Jeorge’ shrugged.

"All I want to say is that there’s no reason to set limits on what I do."

"In that sense, can I finish drawing until I reach 10,000?"

"Seriously, I don’t know about anyone else, but you really shouldn’t say anything to me about mindsets, Seo Ji-oh. Got it?"

And so, the synchronization began.

"Why? Is there a problem?"

He asked, looking at all of you.

"But ultimately, what’s important is ’why Cha Eun-hyuk has to bake Bunggeoppang,’ isn’t it? Honestly, wasn’t that why you clicked on the next Chapter?"

"Your introduction was certainly long for that to be the case, Jeorge."

"Because I figured it would be fine to put off a more detailed explanation of myself for later."

Hadn’t he roughly introduced the important parts by now?

"To summarize, it’s like this. I am a very capable Gardener, a Garden, and also a painting. If someone like me intervenes in what you’re trying to do from now on, Ji-oh, things will become much easier."

"Thanks to that, my heart is already pounding."

"I suppose I never thought of opening a restaurant either, especially a food stall. And in a Garden, at that."

"Aren’t Gardeners human? Do they not eat? Do they not rest? Do they not sleep?"

"It does seem like it’ll be fun."

’Jeorge’ lifted his hat, using it like a fan to cover his mouth, and smiled.

"So, please start explaining your plan."

"I think everyone probably knows by now, but I’m thinking of setting up a restaurant in the Garden."

"Will you be able to persuade Cha Eun-hyuk?"

"If I can’t, I’ll be the one baking the Bunggeoppang."

"It sounds like it’s going to be a very clumsy restaurant operation."

"That’s true, but..."

Ji-oh nodded.

"It’s fun, so that’s enough."

"I thought so, right?"

Anyway.

"Do you understand up to this point, Cha Eun-hyuk?"

"..."

Cha Eun-hyuk was narrowing his eyes, as if frowning.

"...?"

It meant he didn’t understand.