MVP of the Happy Orchard

Homeroom teacher of the 5-year-old Shark Class, Kang Sagwa. And, a 7-year-old student of the Dolphin Class, Lee Seoro. Barely past my initial surprise at bumping into a coworker and one of my own students out of nowhere, their peculiar getup caught my eye first. They looked like people headed off on a mountain camping trip — bulging backpacks straining at the seams, each of them gripping a gimbap roll neatly in both hands…. It went beyond refreshing and bordered on a mild shock.

"Teacher."

"Teacher?"

"What are you two doing here?"

9 a.m. on a Saturday, Seoul Peace Dungeon Park. The place was currently packed with people gathering for the two-day, one-night field hunter experience camp.

Unless they'd come out to the park at nine in the morning specifically to stroll around with picnic gimbap, the two of them…. Flutter.

Kang Sagwa pulled out a flyer and thrust it in front of me. Ah…. right, I have one too.

"So you and Seoro came for the hunter experience too."

"You as well, Teacher?"

I nodded and took the flyer out of my bag to show them. Kang Sagwa gave me a look that said figures and asked,

"You got it in front of the office yesterday, didn't you?"

"Ah, yes."

"They scrambled to fill the quota last year too. Guess it's the same this year."

"Not very popular, is it?"

"It would be strange if it were."

…Hey, why would you say that? Now I'm getting anxious again.

Was it just not fun? Surely that's all it was.

Pushing down the unease, I turned to Seoro, who was busily chowing down on his gimbap.

"So what brings our Seoro here?"

"I've been coming since I was five. I'm going to be a hunter when I grow up anyway, so I figured it'd be good to learn early."

Early study or something?

"I see~ Seora didn't come with you?"

"Lee Seora went to a weekend farm experience with our older brother. She says she likes sheep and cows better."

Their tastes really do split cleanly down the middle.

While Seoro gnawed away at his gimbap, I accepted and ate the one Kang Sagwa handed me.

"Thank you. I actually skipped breakfast, so I was starving."

"…By the way, what made you join the camp, Teacher? I came last year out of curiosity, then promised Seoro we'd come back together this year."

You two don't even talk at kindergarten, and you made a promise like that?

Even as I puzzled over that, I began thinking of an answer to Kang Sagwa's question — and only then did the ultimate goal of my camping trip resurface.

Finding Nabi's right leg.

While everyone else relaxed and enjoyed the camp, I alone had to hunt down a body part belonging to something that wasn't human. That fact felt rather…. sad, like a harsh reality settling in.

'Looking at just the wording, I sound like a total lunatic.'

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Of course, regardless of my feelings on the matter, the owner of the body part was thrilled.

Please don't butcher children's songs and sing your own versions….

'…I can't exactly tell them the truth about this, can I.'

Swallowing the honest answer — "I'm here to find my friend's right leg" — I decided to recycle what Kang Sagwa herself had said a moment ago.

"I'd say…. curiosity, same as you. I saw the flyer and it looked fun. And I'd just finished recovering, too."

"Oh, right. How's your body? Feeling better?"

Thankfully, the conversation shifted to my health without any ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠further suspicion, and we chatted comfortably for a while….

"All right! Participants of the two-day, one-night field hunter experience camp, please gather over here!"

At last, a man who appeared to be the camp guide made his belated appearance, and we moved over to join the crowd.

The guide split the participants between two large buses. Just as Kang Sagwa had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠implied, the event wasn't exactly in demand — there were barely enough people to fill even a single bus.

'Well…. more legroom for me, so no complaints.'

We rode the bus for about an hour. It seemed to be heading clear out to the edge of Seoul — the buildings grew sparser and the traffic thinned as we went.

Right around when my lower back started to ache, we arrived at our destination.

I set foot in what turned out to be a vinyl greenhouse farm.

A cheap banner stretched across the greenhouse flapped in the wind.

And beneath it, in lettering small enough to be mistaken for a smudge: Sponsor: BOND.

Nearby, I spotted Kang Sagwa and Seoro putting on rubber gloves and sun caps with practiced ease.

No way….

"Was it like this last year too?"

Don't tell me…. the program was identical every year?

"It was similar the year before and the year before that. I dug through the event organizer's website, and aside from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the lunch menu, barely anything's changed in years."

"They say to become a hunter, you have to get used to repetitive labor too. I like it."

…Well, if Seoro says so, then who am I to argue.

Kang Sagwa, however, saw things differently.

"Looks like some huckster really swindled these kids. Everyone running this event is either a con artist or a part-timer who followed along without thinking. Don't get your hopes up."

Yes, ma'am. I'll keep that in mind.

"Now, now! Hunters these days perform all sorts of miscellaneous tasks and requests every single day! Kind of like… picking peaches in an orchard, for instance~"

And the moment Kang Sagwa finished speaking, the presumed huckster — our guide — grabbed the microphone.

"For roughly two hours, you'll all be picking peaches here at Happy Orchard! Think of it as a request that's come in to us, if you will!"

"This is probably paid work for the orchard, too. They're swallowing our day wages, is what it is."

"We hope this experience becomes a precious time to build your stamina and perseverance! Both are virtues a hunter must possess."

Quit selling snake oil.

…Apple Teacher sure is a bitter one.

As I was putting on the spare sun cap Kang Sagwa offered me, the guide raised his hand high and shouted. His voice rang out impressively loud.

"Before we begin, let's fire up your competitive spirits, shall we? A reward will be given to the single MVP participant who shines the brightest as a hunter today! That very reward, specially provided by our sponsor BOND, is…. ta-daa~ THIS!!"

At the man's signal, a black suitcase appeared on stage. Two young men who looked like part-timers carefully lifted the lid — and reactions erupted from every corner of the crowd.

"What is that thing? It's creepy…."

"Just hand out gift certificates already!"

"…Huh, even kids these days won't take stuff like that."

"God, that's pathetic. It's not some occult toy."

Seriously…. what is that?

I understood the reaction. The MVP prize sitting in that suitcase was a little…. strange.

A long cylinder plastered over with yellow talismans.

At a glance, it looked like something sinister had been sealed inside — and everyone's discomfort tipped over into outright displeasure.

"Ugh, wouldn't take it even if you gave it to me."

"Just give us a gaming console."

"…I'd bet they dragged out another item destined for disposal."

But Kang Sagwa's biting parting remark was the one thing I couldn't agree with.

Because…. because, you see.

Nabi had just declared it!

He claimed his leg was inside that cylinder!

As I stood there flustered by the sight of Nabi's leg discovered right at the starting line….

the man swept his gaze over the crowd's reactions and waved his hands as if to calm everyone down. Then he added in a low murmur,

"Aw, come on~ whatever it looks like, this is a high-value auction item? It's a D-rank-or-higher artifact, no less. Apparently it was found in some rural dungeon out in Gyeongju. No one knows why, but it simply came stored in a case like this…."

The moment the words D-rank or higher left his mouth, the eyes of the crowd transformed.

Even selling a D-rank-or-higher item secondhand starts at the million-won range.

Which meant….

"In any case, this goes to whoever stands out the most over today's schedule — first place, our MVP prize! Do your best, everyone~"

Wow. We're doomed.

"Now, the standard for standing out here at Happy Orchard…. well, naturally, the person who picks the most marketable peaches will draw the eye, right?"

I could hear the competition ratio skyrocketing with a shriek.

Kang Sagwa rolled her stiff neck several times before she could finally face forward.

And she had to do this for over an hour more.

With zero interest in the reward or anything else, spending two hours silently picking peaches felt to her like nothing but menial labor.

'This is exactly why I didn't want to come this year.'

But what could she do? Last year she'd gotten so swept up in becoming friends with Seoro at this camp that she'd gone and made that promise.

Still, it wasn't entirely without its merits.

'Maybe because there's no room to think about anything else, it's kind of…. a change of pace.'

Kang Sagwa turned her head. She gazed down at the plump peach in her hand for a moment, then quietly lobbed it into Lee Seoro's basket.

The 7-year-old Lee Seoro was using his telekinesis instead of his short arms, which couldn't reach the branches, to ruthlessly strip peaches off the trees.

'Even a machine probably couldn't pick them that fast.'

Just as she was silently marveling,

"Teacher."

"…!"

"You put your peaches in my basket, didn't you? Take them back right now. There's no room for cheating like that in the world of competition."

"Huh? Uh…. right, sorry."

Kang Sagwa hastily reclaimed a few peaches under the suddenly reproachful glare of Lee Seoro.

'Last year I didn't get caught.'

She considered handing them to Teacher Hwiyeon instead, but when she glanced around…. she spotted a familiar figure bustling about in the distance.

"This one's pale in color, and what about this one? Looks decent…"

Na Hwiyeon muttered to himself, flipping his head up and down so often it was as if he'd been possessed by the spirit of a peach appraiser.

Kang Sagwa picked up her entire basket and approached the industrious peach appraiser.

"Teacher, would you like some of mine? I'm not really interested in the prize."

"Hmm…. Teacher, I'm grateful for the thought, but the color and shape don't look premium-grade."

And she was rejected.

Ah…. yes.

She had no choice but to put the peaches back into her own basket.

Watching her colleague blazing with competitive fire — and that colleague's student — the light in Kang Sagwa's eyes slowly died.

Only after another grueling hour of tedious, exhausting labor did the guide pick up his microphone again.

"Ooh~ you picked so much in such a short time! But quantity isn't everything when it comes to judging, is it? Today's judge, Grandmaster Park Gosu, the farm owner of Happy Orchard, will select our winner with the utmost fairness!"

The farm grandmother emerged radiating the aura of a hidden master, scanning the peach-filled baskets with the eyes of a hawk.

"Tsk, this one's got poor color."

"Who on earth picked a peach that isn't even ripe!"

"Whose is this? Picking nothing but ugly ones — well, I suppose that's a talent of sorts."

After a string of rejections and scathing verdicts, the person ultimately chosen by the farm owner was….

"Now this one's rather good. Right size, properly ripened, nothing but the pretty ones. You've got a discerning eye…"

"Oh! Then, that gentleman over there? The…. the handsome one? Congratulations!!"

Me…. that's Na Hwiyeon.

Na Hwiyeon stood there with an embarrassed face, receiving a baptism of praise from the farm grandmother.

'Is there anything that teacher can't do?'

Even as disbelief and awe washed over me, I noticed a small figure trembling beside me.

"……I lost."

"……."

"I said I lost."

Lee Seoro was shaking with clenched fists, glaring at Na Hwiyeon like he wanted to kill him.

That's right. Lee Seoro had been last year's MVP of this camp. And the year before that, too.