In a world that forgot how to grow food, one man successfully invented "agricultural drama."
The Great Green Mirage
It started with good news — or what everyone thought was good news.
Reports flooded in from nearby guilds:New green awakeners were sprouting everywhere — kids, old folks, even a retired taxi driver who grew grass from his shoes.
Overnight, hills turned emerald. Forests appeared around settlements.Mana readings soared. People cried with joy.
And then… it all faded.
The "forests" withered in less than a week, leaving nothing but grey dust.The air turned heavy, almost mournful — as if the world itself sighed and said, "Nice try."
The only patch of life that remained… was Jaehyun's farm.
The Immortal Farm of Choi Jaehyun
Located behind the battered research facility, surrounded by makeshift fences and cow-shaped scarecrows Minho insisted on painting ("They scare monsters and me!" Jaehyun said), the little patch of green stood proudly against the wasteland.
Rows upon rows of thriving vegetables shimmered under faint green mana — bok choy, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, beans, even one mysterious vine that occasionally insulted people in three languages.
"Good morning, my children," Jaehyun yawned, dragging his watering can. "Prepare for your daily hydration session."
He tilted the can — and accidentally dumped water all over himself.
From the porch, Minho clapped. "Inspirational start to the day, son!"
Jaehyun: "I'm considering disowning myself."
The Sleepiest Prodigy in Existence
Inside the shade, Chae Bongyu, the green baby prodigy, slept soundly in a basket.
He had an impressive streak of drool on his chin and a faint green glow pulsing around him.
"Still asleep?" Jaehyun muttered, squatting beside him.
Minho counted on his fingers. "Let's see… he slept sixteen hours yesterday… and eighteen the day before."
"Right. So, he's either evolving or photosynthesizing."
The baby yawned and turned over — his aura briefly pulsed, and five new sprouts popped out of the soil near his basket.
Jaehyun staring at Chae Bongyu cute sleeping face and said to himself. "Okay, that's not fair."
Minho grinned. "He's outperforming you in his sleep."
Jaehyun dramatically clutched his chest. "My pride! My beautiful underachieving pride!"
Harvest Day
Despite Jaehyun's theatrics, the day went well.The kids of the Green Kindergarten worked together — some watering with aura, others chasing away mutant crows, one accidentally growing a 2-meter turnip that flattened the shed. But that was not permanent. It appears then disappeared.
"Easy! Easy!" Jaehyun yelled, half laughing, half panicking. "If it grows any bigger, we're gonna need to register it as a citizen!"
Minho was too busy sketching the harvest. "This'll make a great painting — 'Man vs. Vegetable.'"
Meanwhile, Jaehyun inspected the crops with genuine care beneath the sarcasm.Every leaf shimmered with vitality. The soil beneath felt alive — pulsing faintly, as if connected to something deeper.
And yet… when he stepped beyond the fence, even one step — the land turned dull again.
He frowned. "Why does only this spot survive?"
The Coward Hero's Theory
That evening, Minho stood in front of a chalkboard covered with doodles of vegetables wearing crowns.He pointed dramatically with a stick.
"My hypothesis — your aura's stabilized the land's mana pattern. Essentially, your bok choy is the chosen one."
Jaehyun blinked. "Dad, are you suggesting my lettuce achieved enlightenment?"
Minho nodded solemnly. "Yes."
Bongyu sneezed in his sleep — several carrots nearby grew an extra inch.
Jaehyun looked heavenward. "...Why am I the least magical thing in my own field?"
Signs of the Black Soil
Later, as the sun dipped behind the ruins, Jaehyun noticed something odd — at the edge of the farm, where the boundary of green met grey, the soil shivered.
A faint black vein pulsed through the ground.When he touched it, his green aura flared instinctively — the corruption burned away like mist under sunlight.
The earth calmed.
Jaehyun stood there quietly, gaze hard. "So that's it… The world isn't rejecting life. It's fighting it."
Behind him, Bongyu snored.
Jaehyun sighed. "Yeah, no pressure or anything."
The Night Feast
That night, the Green Kindergarten celebrated a successful harvest.
Jaehyun cooked their first real meal — stir-fried bok choy, roasted potatoes, and carrot soup.The kids cheered. Even Minho cried while eating. ("It tastes like hope and seasoning!")
Bongyu slept through the entire thing, face planted in a small bread roll.
Jaehyun watched them — the laughing kids, the flickering lantern light, the faint green glow rising from the soil — and for a rare moment, he smiled.
Maybe the world wasn't beyond saving after all.Even if the saviors were sleep-addicted babies and emotionally unstable farmers.
Foreshadowing — The Next Sprout
In the distance, beyond the walls of the compound, something stirred.
A new aura pulsed faintly in the ruins of another city — not green, not black, but an unsettling violet.
A child's voice whispered from the shadows.
"Grow… with me