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Translator: penny
Chapter: 006
Chapter Title: Elementary School Facing Closure
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Kim Ji-eun, a third-year in the Design Department at Korea University, was on a leave of absence.
Job hunting pressure ramps up in your senior year, so she needed to build up her portfolio beforehand.
Seoul City design contests, Sambyeol supporters, projects hosted by the Korea Design Promotion Institute. Startup logo designs, web designs.
Even after knocking out every little gig she could find, nothing stood out. If she brought them to a corporate interview, the applicant next to her would pull out the exact same stuff.
She needed more than a numbers game—a powerful, emotional knockout punch.
"Huh?"
That's when a notice on the school homepage caught Kim Ji-eun's eye.
[Doma Elementary School Remodeling Volunteer Program] ※ Contact: Lee Yoon-hyuk ※ Phone: 010-xxxx-xxxx - Recruiting volunteers for the full-scale remodeling project at Doma Elementary School in Doma Township, Mir City. As a volunteer program, only a modest transportation stipend will be provided—no other compensation. - In return, we guarantee the following rewards: ① Hands-on experience with real-world art projects in an actual school. ② Volunteer hours certified through the 1365 Volunteer Portal. ③ Comfortable accommodations in a peaceful rural setting with nature all around. ④ Delicious meals served with generous rural hospitality. ⑤ Bonds with kind, passionate fellow volunteers united by a common cause. - This program is the village residents' last-ditch effort to save Doma Elementary School, the final elementary school left in Doma Township. We desperately need your helping hands. Please don't let our children endure three-hour bus commutes every day. Save Doma Elementary School. - Program in partnership with Raymi Castle Co., Ltd.
"Raymi Castle!"
Kim Ji-eun let out a shriek.
Raymi Castle—that mega construction conglomerate with the famous brand, right?
Of course, design majors often landed jobs at construction firms. Especially Kim Ji-eun, who was into infographics and environmental graphics.
"This looks promising."
No pay, sure, but the item itself was gold. Couldn't she just picture it? Heading to a dying rural village school, painting murals on the walls, decorating desks and chairs, and transforming it into something beautiful—maybe even saving it from closure.
It could turn into a drama-worthy story. A knockout punch for any corporate interview.
[Apply Now]
Kim Ji-eun hit the button without hesitation.
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"Gramps..."
The Pajama Granny stood frozen in shock, staring at the scene alongside Mushroom Grandpa.
"What in tarnation is goin' on over there?"
A few days ago, that young fella had shown up. No idea what magic Lee Yoon-hyuk had worked, but a massive crowd had poured in to help Doma Elementary School.
Leading the charge was...
"Raymi Castle? Ain't that the apartment brand?"
The giant contractor had rolled up its sleeves. They were providing minimal manpower, equipment, and supplies, but these were top-tier construction specialists all the same.
Just their presence shifted the atmosphere.
And then the college students.
"Even during holidays, we never see this many young folks gathered."
A huge wave of university students had flooded in, heating up the site with energy.
"What're you standin' around for! Lend a hand!"
The village head was shuttling back and forth from home, arms loaded with snacks he'd whipped up with his wife.
Not just him—once the villagers started thinking, "This might actually work," the grannies and grandpas began pitching in one by one.
Nothing fancy, mostly food.
"Whew. I never wanted to dip into this..."
Pajama Granny unearthed a crock of homemade soybean paste she'd buried behind the house.
"Guess I'll step back in as Doma Township's food empress for a bit."
It was unfolding exactly as Yoon-hyuk had predicted.
The villagers grumbled at first, but once things got rolling, no one dove in harder.
And one more thing.
'Retired craftsmen.'
Doma Township was famous for tomato farming, but not everyone was a farmer. It was still a village.
Hardware store owners, lumber yards, retired or active plasterers and tilers—they started trickling in. Yoon-hyuk had posted recruitment notices at the village hall entrance and bus stop.
In a flash, Doma Elementary School buzzed with a massive workforce and experts.
And right in the middle stood Yoon-hyuk.
He'd done the same during the heated negotiations for the new Raymi Castle build and residents—just naturally stepped into the role of site overseer.
Because he'd been the one uniting everyone there.
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The air carried the dusty tang of a construction site, mixed with sawdust from cutting wood and the sharp bite of fresh paint—a strange, invigorating vibe.
"Reinforcement structure check complete!"
The site supervisor dispatched from Raymi Castle reported to Yoon-hyuk with a clipboard. He pulled a small notepad from his pocket and jotted notes.
"Good. Swap out the window frames first thing this morning, then move to exterior wall painting after lunch."
Yoon-hyuk turned to survey the workers.
On one side of the playground, retired village carpenters were fixing up old desks and chairs.
"Kids these days don't use this stuff anymore?"
"These desks need to be taller. Made for kids twenty years ago—way too low."
"Yeah, it'd wreck their backs. Let's raise the legs on these!"
Yoon-hyuk approached them and pointed toward the college design students.
"Once the chairs and desks are fixed, pass 'em to the art team. They'll make 'em even prettier."
Inside the classrooms, retired plasterers and tilers were laying new floors.
One, kneeling for ages smoothing the surface, flung open a window and hollered at Yoon-hyuk on the playground.
"We're short on tiles here!"
Yoon-hyuk handed a box of tiles to the watching grandpas.
"Could you deliver these over?"
Grandpas or not, their farm-hardened muscles rivaled any laborer's. They hoisted the heavy box with ease.
"Right away!"
Yoon-hyuk headed to the back of the school. College volunteers were painting murals.
Sketching kids' figures atop freshly whitewashed walls.
Meanwhile, in the open lot, landscaping trees were going in. Raymi Castle had brought affordable greenery, fencing it off into a little garden.
"Yoon-hyuk."
Division Head Choi Jun-taek was on site too. Truth be told, he was too senior for this, but he'd come to see Yoon-hyuk in person.
"You've pulled in nearly all the laborers from outside, Yoon-hyuk, so our labor costs are minimal. But tiles, windows, paint materials, and landscaping aren't cheap."
"How much so far?"
"Around 200 million won."
"Not bad."
"..."
Yoon-hyuk slung an arm around the visibly irked Choi Jun-taek's shoulder.
"Division Head. Let's do one more. The playground here. Lay some grass so the kids can play soccer."
"You're nuts?"
"Trust me, it'll pay off big for Raymi Castle."
"By my math, we're at break-even already. What brand buzz are we getting from a rural spot like this?"
Choi Jun-taek figured 200 million was plenty for fixing up a village school. Nice story, but a backwater like Doma Township had limits on drawing public eyes.
"I heard you're running for mayor, so I already factored that in and cut us a slight loss."
"Don't worry. You won't lose a dime."
Yoon-hyuk was dead certain.
Choi Jun-taek couldn't help chuckling at the absurd confidence.
"You've got one more trick up your sleeve, huh? Let's hear it."
He heard Yoon-hyuk's next plan, then greenlit the playground turf.
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Where were the kids while construction was underway?
They couldn't go to school, obviously. Heavy machinery rumbling in and out, paint and glue fumes everywhere.
Instead, they were at Yu-ri's place.
Yu-ri's mom ran a small factory making jam and ketchup from local tomatoes.
The schoolkids were doing hands-on field trip activities there.
"Done!"
Led by Yu-ri's mom, the Doma Elementary kids used the factory setup to produce a few products.
1. Tomato jam.
2. Dried tomatoes.
3. Ketchup.
They carefully packaged the jars and stuck on label stickers with their own hand-drawn artwork.
And where would these go?
As gifts.
"I'll send to Muksik TV!"
Yu-ri picked her favorite 3-million-sub mukbang YouTuber.
Others chose gaming streamers, fishing channels, beekeeping vloggers.
Different niches, all huge names. Yu-ri's mom vetted each channel carefully before approving.
Next up: Yu-ri's dad.
He took the kids' tomato creations to town and mailed them express to each YouTuber's agency.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"A viewer sent me a gift! They say they watch all the time~. Thank you so much!"
BJ Muksik of the 3-million-sub Muksik TV channel picked up the lovingly packaged tomato jam.
"Everyone, this is tomato jam. The kid who made and sent it is eleven years old. So cute, right? The jar's adorable too. Oh no, what do I do! Thanks, kiddo. I'll enjoy it."
💬 Chat— Viewer123Tomato jam from an elementary fan... this is rare!— FoodieFanFirst time hearing of tomato jam.— CuriousCatThat's wild.
"We usually think jam means strawberry or grape, right? But you can make it with tomatoes too. And it's delicious."
BJ Muksik chatted briefly about lycopene and antioxidants in tomatoes.
Then she showed the camera Yu-ri's hand-drawn lizard on the jar label, gushing over it.
"Isn't it precious? Do I even deserve a gift this sweet?"
BJ Muksik hugged the tomato jam close to her chest.
"Homemade food like this could technically violate food laws if shared privately. But the kid's mom works in the industry, so it's all good—they made it at the shop. No promo intent either; they covered the shop name and label with the kid's drawing sticker."
BJ Muksik unscrewed the lid, scooped a bit onto a spoon, and tasted it.
"So good!"
She decided today's stream theme: polish off this jar.
"Yu-ri sent a letter too. I'll read it for you all."
BJ Muksik read the letter to the camera.
"Hello, BJ Muksik. I'm Jang Yu-ri, third-grader at Doma Elementary School. Our town grows a lot of tomatoes. Doma is the old name for tomatoes. My mom's job is making tomato jam. I watch your streams a lot, so I sent tomato jam as a gift. Thank you. Jang Yu-ri bows."
— LOLKingJang Yu-ri bows lololololol— GrandpaWatchWhich grandpa taught Yu-ri that? ㅜㅜ— CuteOverloadToo cute for real.— HappyViewerYou look happier eating this than anything lately.— TearJerkerNo wonder—you got a gift from an elementary kid ㅠㅠ So touching.
Amid the flood of chat, one message dropped the bomb.
With this many viewers, someone was bound to look up Doma Elementary School.
— NewsHoundDoma Elementary School is closing?
"Pardon?"
The wholesome gift from a child and her mom, followed by closure news—it felt like plummeting from a cute fairy tale into harsh reality.
The chat froze, mirroring the viewers' shock.
BJ Muksik struggled to keep her composure.
She quickly searched Doma Elementary School online.
A few news articles on clashes between Mir City education officials and residents over the closure.
And a blog post declaring all-out war to save Doma Elementary School.
That blog was the one Yoon-hyuk had used to write policy columns before Hanmin Party Assemblyman Park Dae-man scouted him.
Now, it served as the official homepage for the "Save Doma Elementary School" campaign.
[Join the Effort to Protect Doma Elementary School]
The world had come a long way.
Perfect for shaping public opinion.