Chapter 3
It was a familiar face.
The old man was staring at me with his eyes wide open, as if he had just seen a ghost.
…Who was he again?
As I searched through my hazy memories, one face suddenly came to mind.
“Grandpa Chun-bae?”
He was the elderly man living right next door and the oldest person in the village.
He rarely spoke and had a difficult personality, so the villagers quietly avoided him.
Still, at least he had never openly pushed my family away.
Wow… Grandpa is still as healthy as ever.
Come to think of it, it had only been a little over a month since I had been struck by lightning.
I must have felt like I had crossed a long stretch of time.
“It’s been so long. How have you been?”
The old man ignored my greeting and slowly shifted his gaze from my feet to the vegetable garden.
“Forget how I’m doing.”
He muttered in a low voice.
“What were you just doing?”
“Huh?”
“In front of the garden.”
His eyes narrowed.
“I saw some strange little rat-like things running around.”
…He saw them.
He definitely saw them.
Fortunately, the Children of the Earth had already disappeared underground.
But the old man’s attitude wasn’t that of someone who thought he had seen something.
He was certain.
“Rats?”
I forced a calm smile.
“There are lots of field mice these days. Maybe you just mistook them?”
“My eyes still work just fine.”
…Still as sharp as ever.
Judging from his stubborn expression, he wasn’t going to let this go easily.
“You were standing there, stomping on the ground, waving your hands around, dancing like a fool.”
At that moment, the ground beneath my feet trembled ever so slightly.
Stay still.
I hurriedly gathered my divine power and pressed my foot firmly against the ground.
The earth immediately became silent, as if holding its breath.
“Haha. Maybe it just looks strange because it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other.”
I laughed and quickly moved closer to the wall between our houses.
“I thought about you a lot while I was in the hospital.”
“…What’s gotten into you?”
Hearing his thick Gyeongsang dialect made me feel nostalgic.
But right now, more than anything, I had to change the subject.
“…Your body’s alright?”
“Yeah. I’m completely fine now.”
The old man silently looked me over from head to toe.
“Take it easy. Don’t go wandering around and do something stupid enough to get struck by lightning again.”
Then, after a brief pause, he added,
“You’ve got kids at home.”
“…Yeah.”
“Then shouldn’t you be even more careful?”
There was a warning in his voice.
The old man turned to leave, then suddenly placed something on top of the wall.
“What’s this?”
“Honey. Eat a spoonful every morning.”
Right.
His family kept bees.
After another short pause, Grandpa Chun-bae added,
“I’m giving it to help you recover. Not because I trust you.”
That made me smile.
“I’ll enjoy it!”
“Don’t eat it all by yourself! Feed your sister and the kids first!”
His footsteps gradually faded beyond the wall.
Even so, he kept stopping every few steps to look back at me.
Every time he did, I had to wave at him again.
Because of that, I couldn’t leave the spot for quite a while.
…He still hasn’t let go of his suspicions.
Looking down at the jar of honey, I quietly let out a sigh.
I’ll have to be more careful next time.
As soon as I finished showering, I headed into the kitchen.
I was busily chopping ingredients by myself when my older sister peeked into the kitchen and immediately frowned.
“Are you okay? Shouldn’t you go back to the hospital?”
When I placed two food containers on the table, her eyes narrowed even more.
She clearly had a lot of questions.
“Is it really that strange that I’m cooking?”
“Of course it is. You never cooked at home. The most you ever did was secretly make ramen with the kids.”
“Ahem. T-That was the old me. The current me is in the middle of changing for the future.”
“What are you even talking about?”
To my sister, the old me must have been completely unreliable.
But the current me really was changing.
And during times of change, people naturally had doubts.
I’d just have to work harder to prove myself.
“Where did these cucumbers come from?”
“I found them.”
“You didn’t secretly steal them from Grandpa Chun-bae’s garden, did you?”
I flinched.
Sharp as ever.
Of course, I hadn’t simply taken them.
I had replaced them with a few cucumbers grown in our own garden, so my conscience was clear.
“More importantly, taste them and tell me what you think.”
I opened the lids of the containers.
The refreshing scent of seasoned cucumber salad spread through the room.
“But why did you put them in separate containers?”
Both containers held cucumber salad.
They looked exactly the same, so her confusion was understandable.
Actually, one was made with cucumbers I had borrowed from Grandpa Chun-bae’s garden.
The other was made with super-super-super ultra-organic cucumbers that had been grown using divine power.
I wanted to see what kind of changes would happen when someone ate crops infused with divine power.
“I seasoned them a little differently. Tell me which one tastes better.”
“Hmm… alright.”
Still looking doubtful, my sister picked up the ordinary cucumber salad first.
“Mmm. It’s not bad. But it’s a little plain.”
“Really? Then try this one.”
Just as she reached her chopsticks toward the divine cucumber salad—
“What are Mommy and Uncle eating?”
“Whaaaat are yooou eating?”
Jia and Jiwoo, who had been playing in the living room, suddenly ran over, curious about what we were eating.
“Your uncle made cucumber salad. Want to try some?”
“Cucumber? Umm…”
Jia’s face immediately twisted into a frown.
Right.
She absolutely hated cucumbers.
“I wanna eat! Uncle really made it?”
“Of course.”
I held out a piece to Jiwoo.
He opened his mouth wide.
Crunch.
The sound was crisp.
A moment later, Jiwoo’s eyes sparkled.
“Wooow! Uncle! It’s super yummy! It’s a hundred times tastier than Mommy’s!”
“Right? It’s good, isn’t it?”
“More! I want more!”
His reaction was almost exaggerated.
Still, it made me happy.
Naturally, my attention shifted toward his body.
The divine power is spreading.
I could feel a tiny change flowing through Jiwoo’s body.
It was as if blocked pathways were opening and divine energy was beginning to circulate.
Of course, ordinary people couldn’t permanently store divine power.
For now, it simply filled them with vitality.
But if they continued eating it regularly, it would definitely improve their health.
When divine power was infused into crops, it could also enhance their natural characteristics or strengthen their original flavor and aroma.
“Me too! Mommy! Me too!”
Unable to resist Jiwoo’s excitement, Jia quickly accepted some cucumber salad as well.
Crunch.
“…Huh?”
She froze.
“That’s strange.”
“What?”
“I thought it would taste bad… but I want to keep chewing it.”
Even Jia, who hated cucumbers, was eating happily.
My sister looked at me suspiciously.
“You didn’t put something weird in this, did you?”
“What could I even put in it? I only used ingredients from home. You watched me.”
“That’s true, but… the kids’ reactions…”
“Here, you try this one too. These cucumbers came from our garden.”
“Hmm…”
My sister finally took a bite.
A moment later, her eyes widened as she looked at me.
“…This doesn’t taste like an ordinary cucumber.”
The texture was definitely that of a cucumber.
As she muttered to herself, I picked up a piece and ate it too.
The crisp bite.
The moisture spreading through my mouth.
And the faint stream of divine power flowing into my body.
It wasn’t just delicious.
It felt as if life itself was filling my body.
I absorbed the tiny amount of divine power stored inside the cucumber.
Because it had been grown so quickly, the amount was extremely small.
But it was more than enough.
Now I’m certain.
Divine power works even on modern cultivated crops.
It will become a completely new kind of nutrient.
A special power that belongs only to us.
A crop that nobody dislikes…
What could be more amazing than that?
For now, I’ll start with our greenhouse.
There was no need to expand too quickly.
I’d watch the market’s reaction and slowly increase production.
More importantly, the life force of land damaged by modern civilization couldn’t simply be restored with fertilizer.
I thought the countryside would be better since it’s closer to nature… but even here, the land has been damaged.
Nature never lies.
Even the recent typhoon damage was simply the result of nature’s balance being broken.
If I wanted to farm this land, there was still a lot to prepare.
Most of all, I don’t have enough divine power.
Just restoring the small garden and yard had almost completely exhausted the divine power I had accumulated during more than a month in the hospital.
For now, my goal was to recover enough divine power to use at least the minimum level of my abilities.
For my family.
I turned my head toward my sister, Jia, and Jiwoo.
The children who had been begging for meat were now completely absorbed in eating the cucumber salad I had made.
My sister was so busy making sure the children had enough that she barely ate any herself.
Life had always been difficult for her.
Even so, she had never complained.
Watching her, my determination grew even stronger.
One day, I’ll make sure my sister lives a comfortable, happy life.
And while I’m at it…
I’ll help her remarry.
I’ll even take responsibility until both of my nieces grow up and get married.
To make that happen…
There was something I had to do first.
