The Debt of a Miracle

Honoring a request to sell elsewhere while under an exclusive distribution contract was, frankly, out of the question. But what if I wasn't selling anything? A gift isn't a breach of contract, after all. I carefully brushed the dust off the box resting on my knees. Inside were the special ones I hadn't sent to the agricultural cooperative.

A faint cloud of dust billowed up inside the car for a moment.

"Oh, dear. Would you mind rolling the window down for a second?" "Of course."

At my words, Jang Woo-jin lowered the window, and the dust drifted out into the open air. Oh, right. I'd forgotten to tell my mother I was leaving. ……Well, I have my phone. It'll be fine. I closed the window again and leaned back against the seat. We were on our way to Seoul now.

It took about four hours to reach the nursing hospital where Honorary Chairman Choi Tae-seok was admitted, and by then dinnertime was long past. Because of the awkward hour, we'd stopped at a rest stop on the way up and had udon noodles — which, I had to admit, were pretty tasty, so I was satisfied. Jang Woo-jin, who had done all the driving, smiled with equal contentment.

"The roads were clear, so we made good time."

This was fast, apparently. I wondered what that man had been thinking when he came down alone to our village. ……At the very least, he'd never have to worry about the same thing twice. Picking up the box, I followed Jang Woo-jin.

We took the VIP wing's private elevator up to a floor with only two patient rooms. Which meant he was wealthy enough to use half an entire floor as his personal hospital room. I was glad I'd tagged along on this spur-of-the-moment trip. Once school started back, decisions like this wouldn't be possible.

Knock, knock.

Jang Woo-jin rapped on the door.

"Co……, in."

The voice came through in broken fragments. Not a shred of strength in it. Was this voice really the same person who had built one of the country's leading food companies?

"Please wait just a moment here."

The sounds from inside must have been a yes. Jang Woo-jin asked my leave, slipped into the room, and closed the door behind him. A moment later, the door opened again.

"Would you like to come in?"

"Thank you."

I strode right in. There, propped up in a half-raised hospital bed, lay a gaunt old man who seemed to be doing well just to lean against the pillow. His shock-white hair and arms so wasted they were nothing but bone caught my eye.

"……Good, to see, you."

The old man smiled weakly. It seemed even turning his head was an effort; only his eyes moved toward me. He looked in far worse shape than what Jang Woo-jin had told me over the phone.

"……I brought you a get-well gift."

I cracked the box open slightly and lifted out one of its contents. Behind me, Jang Woo-jin let out a gasp of awe.

"So this is the sweet potato……."

He recognized it at a glance. But this was a sweet potato quite unlike any that had circulated on the market until now. This was one of the intermediate-grade sweet potatoes I'd only just begun harvesting recently!

I handed the sweet potato to Jang Woo-jin.

"Do you think the hospital would steam this for him? I'd like to see the Chairman eat it before I go."

"If they won't, I'll make them."

After Jang Woo-jin left with the sweet potato, a heavy silence settled over the hospital room. Chairman Choi Tae-seok didn't seem to be expecting anything from the sweet potato's supposed benefits. His dark complexion truly looked like that of a man on death's doorstep. Hey, old man. You're not allowed to die for at least another five years. We've still got a good bond to build, you and I.

Before long, Jang Woo-jin returned carrying a plate of peeled, steamed sweet potato. The well-cooked flesh had been cut into small, bite-sized pieces. Even sized for someone who struggled to chew.

"Chairman, have a bite."

Jang Woo-jin gingerly brought a still-warm piece of sweet potato to Chairman Choi Tae-seok's lips. The sweet potato melted slowly in his mouth, then slipped down his throat. He'd eaten maybe a few pieces when—

suddenly, Chairman Choi Tae-seok bowed his head forward.

"H-hurgh……!"

"Ch-Chairman!!"

Jang Woo-jin panicked and clung to his side. In the process, the sweet potato plate he'd shoved aside nearly toppled over. I barely caught it, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠saving us from that little disaster. Do you have any idea how precious this sweet potato is?! There are only two boxes of this batch left in our warehouse!

Choi Tae-seok moved his arm and murmured,

"I can't believe it……. It actually works."

Jang Woo-jin, catching every word of the Chairman's faint voice with miraculous clarity, asked in a rush of excitement,

"Is that— is that really true? Are you all right, sir?"

As if to answer him, Chairman Choi Tae-seok — who had done nothing but lean in place until now — rose from the bed.

"My words come out properly, and I can even stand like this……!"

"Good heavens — thank the Lord!!"

Facial muscles that had long since stopped obeying him were moving freely now. No more slurred, leaking pronunciation.

"Hahh……."

Tears finally slid down Chairman Choi Tae-seok's cheeks.

A miracle. This was a miracle. The sweet potato of legend — the one he'd dismissed as pure superstition — was real!

Vigorous movement was still beyond him, but for a man who couldn't even stand upright to rise from his bed on his own was already miracle enough to call it that.

"Th-thank you. Thank you so much!"

Jang Woo-jin, watching the chairman he served transformed before his eyes, bowed his head again and again in gratitude. How could he be so overjoyed and thankful over something that wasn't even his own affair?

"How could I ever repay this……!"

"No need, really."

Just as I refused Jang Woo-jin's words, Chairman Choi Tae-seok shook ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his head.

"I can't allow that. One does not treat the savior of one's life so carelessly."

"……I truly can't accept any payment."

That would violate my contract with the agricultural cooperative. When I shook my head at Jang Woo-jin's insistence, Chairman Choi Tae-seok added his own.

"You are my savior. I can't very well send you away empty-handed."

But empty-handed I had to go. Accepting compensation here would be amateur hour. If I wanted to leave them with both a sense of debt and an enormous well of gratitude, I had to drag this out.

"Seeing you recover is more than enough for me."

"My goodness……!"

An angel, Choi Tae-seok thought. The boy was an angel, without question.

There was no way he'd crossed all the way to Seoul on nothing but a hearsay story, handing over his own product without wanting a single thing in return. He had to want something. There were precious few humans alive who could fool a man who'd spent his life reading people.

Choi Tae-seok studied the boy's eyes with a hawk's gaze. In those transparent pupils, no desire whatsoever reflected back.

'……You truly want nothing?'

Then it struck him — Secretary Jang's explanation, that the boy before him was fifteen years old. Had he really come out of a pure, childlike heart to help……?

'How can anyone be this pure!'

Thirty long years he had lived as the head of a corporation in this rough and treacherous world. Had he been pickled, without even realizing it, in all those years spent inside a company brimming with betrayal, schemes, and trickery? When was the last time anyone had shown him kindness with no strings attached? And for someone with the ability to grow such ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an extraordinary crop to offer it so freely—

Perhaps it was nothing more than a passing sympathy. But that small feeling had saved his life.

Choi Tae-seok's eyes grew moist.

"……Thank you. Truly."

"Don't mention it. Just keep eating them regularly, as comfortably as you did today. Then the day you'll be out running again will come soon enough."

Intermediate-grade sweet potatoes. To take a man bedridden for over a year — nothing but skin and bone, unable to so much as wiggle a finger — and put him on his feet again right away. The effect was better than I'd hoped.

I flinched and hurried to answer.

A flat, curt voice. This was not my usual, ever-kind mother. This was…… one of the rare "dark mode" versions of my mother preserved in Seo Ji-on's memories. Code red……!

I turned my head, and the window came into view. It was completely late; the sky on all sides had gone dark.

"I'm, um…… in Seoul right now."

The lecture began pouring down on me. She was clearly furious. Watching me squirm, Jang Woo-jin asked if he might take the phone.

"Ah, hello. This is Jang Woo-jin, team leader of the Secretary's Office at Taeram Food. Yes, yes. That's correct. Of course."

Phone in hand, Jang Woo-jin slipped out of the room, then returned a short while later and finished the call.

"Yes, it's far too late an hour for that. For tonight, we'll look after him here, and tomorrow I'll drive him home myself. Naturally."

After handling the call with a grave expression for some time, Jang Woo-jin held the phone back out to me.

"Uh, Mom?"

Click. The line went dead. So I bought myself a reprieve…… right? Watching my frantic face, Jang Woo-jin spoke up carefully.

"I suppose I'd better find you somewhere to sleep tonight."

Jang Woo-jin booked me a hotel room. It was a seriously expensive-looking luxury hotel with a king-size bed. Such extravagance for a single night's sleep. Suddenly I felt motivated to make a lot of money.

Around noon, Chairman Choi Tae-seok — his condition improved enough that the hospital had approved his discharge — came to visit. The reason: he wanted to have lunch together.

"No trouble eating, I trust?"

"Better by leaps and bounds. Thanks to you, I can chew and lift a spoon again — all of it."

Watching the Chairman say it with a smile, I smiled back.

"Come visit again once you've finished all your meals."

Keep him in debt like this, and it was bound to be useful someday. Easier to think of it as a kind of investment.

We were nearly finished with lunch.

"Ahem. Say, Ji-on my boy."

Chairman Choi Tae-seok called my name a little hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"I simply can't bear to send you off just like this. So — forgive an old man for asking, but…"

After a brief pause, the Chairman pressed on.

"I'll come straight to the point. How would you like to be my conversation companion?"

It was a substantial offer. "Conversation companion" was a modest word for it — he was a retired businessman with a colossal store of experience-based knowledge. An expert in accumulating assets and growing businesses. There were people within arm's reach who would gladly pay tens of millions of won just to share a lunch table with him. Regular conversation time with a man like that? For anyone starting a business, that was an enormous advantage. It meant gaining a mentor. And clearly it would be a considerable help to me as well, possessing this body but knowing so little about the world since the possession. But…… one thing snagged. Distance.

"Would I have to come up to Seoul?"

The Chairman's residence was in Seoul. Which meant a drive of at least four hours from our house. No matter how infrequent the visits, throwing away that much time on the road felt like a terrible waste.

Hearing my question, Chairman Choi Tae-seok deliberated for a moment, then shook his head.

"No — no, that won't do. Seoul is far too distant from your home."

He seemed to understand it well enough himself.

"Then I shall come to you."

"I'm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sorry?"

"I hear the place you live is called Jakgol-ri. I'll have a house looked at over there. A retired life anyway — what better way to spend my twilight years than soaking in the clean country air?"

……With that, there was no reason left to refuse. Ah, though I'd need one condition.

"Since you're moving to the countryside, how about doing some activity together? Consider it rehabilitation exercise."

"Activity?"

I put on a face that said there was nothing to worry about.

"It's nothing, really. Just a hobby. A hobby."

"Then what sort of activity, exactly?"

What activity would a farmer propose, after all? Obviously……

"Farming."