Chapter 153:


    “I knew this would happen!”


    Choo-ja gritted her teeth as she stepped on the muddy ground.


    Currently, Lee-yeon was revisiting the site where andslide had urred after receiving the notice for the fourth round of evaluation.


    The ce that remained as a nightmare was still in a state of chaos and had not been restored. Especially the moment when Lee-yeon almost lost Kwon Chae-woo came back vividly like yesterday, sending chills down her entire body.


    The smell of something rotten pierced her nose, and the mud that couldn’t be swept away piled up like a riverbank.


    Her eyebrows furrowed at the sight of the muddy boots covered with dirty wood scraps, but now this ce had be a testing ground for Lee-yeon once again.


    “I never thought I would meet that snob like this!”


    In the fourth round evaluation of the Hwaido Project, Lee-yeon was finally going to confront the ancient D Hospital. The theme was gardening, and the task was to rebuild the forest that had turned into a wastnd due to twondslides.


    Hwaido was soon to be opened, and if she passed this evaluation, she would finally be among the top six finalists.


    At first, it was just a biddingpetition for livelihood, but as the evaluation continued, Lee-yeon seemed to be clearing up her defensive past and opening a new chapter. So, every time she overcame a crisis and moved forward, the desire for the final bid grew little by little.


    She wanted to be the best tree doctor in Hwaido.


    “If I be a little better… maybe Kwon Chae-woo will see me in a different light?”


    Lee-yeon, who had just been trying to get through each day unscathed, finally began to have ambitions.


    “I should have met Soleil earlier and talked to her!” Choo-ja eximed


    “Soleil Landscaping Company?”


    “Even if we had a tight grip on Soleil, this evaluation was a piece of cake! We’re stuck in this mess!” Choo-ja swatted the mosquitoes that kept clinging to her arms.


    This 4th evaluation was a resident participation evaluation, where the side with more votes would advance. The only condition was that they had to restore the forest they had lost more and more vividly.


    However, how can an individual restore a forest like this, buried in a swamp like an abandoned mine?


    Lee-yeon looked around, her expression showing that her mind waspletely nk. Chooja let out a frustrated sound, “Jo Kyung-cheon must have surely asked Soleil to take on the task. Then they’ll probably turn it into a luxurious wedding hall!”


    The areas each hospital was assigned happened to be facing each other. Since the two areas were in in sight, it was an easy location topare the results.


    If one side showcased a shy gardening disy, the other side was inevitably going to fall behind. For some reason, a sigh escaped her.


    “Is covering the dirty ground with lots of flowers really the entirety of this evaluation?”


    It’s a judgingpetition where people who had to leave theirnd because their houses copsed participate.


    Not only thend but also the people were devastated. Inviting those who suffered directly and showing only superficial things felt ridiculous for some reason. Even if they cover the un-washable stench with expensive perfume, is that the forest the residents wanted?


    With just a little shift of perspective, in a situation where the true face of the forest is clearly visible, the methods of a famousndscapingpany seemed far from sufficient to alleviate the bitterness felt by the observers.


    <em>Don’t get too mesmerized by the word ‘gardening’ and forget its essence. Restoring the forest means it must be in touch withfort.</em>


    “If we’re going to do it, we might as well do it properly and honestly.” Lee-yeon said.


    “What are you talking about?”


    “I don’t mean just imitating it, I mean really bringing the forest back.”


    “What do you mean?”


    Lee-yeon looked at the devastating scene with a troubled expression. “Instead of just focusing on interior design, let’s approach it differently,” she said.


    “Are you suggesting something like horticultural therapy?”


    A ray of hope was suddenly nted in Lee-yeon’s eyes. Perhaps the real purpose of this gardening project was to give the people a chance to return to their hometown.


    “If we can’t cover the entire mountain, then we’ll have to give up on the visual aspect.”


    “What?”


    “Instead…”


    Lee-yeon had only experienced one forest in her childhood. Therefore, it didn’t seem necessary to reproduce the forest only visually.


    The four seasons that always appeared in front of her, riding on the wind. In and already worn out, the most dramatic way to feel the forest was–


    “Hey Director So!”


    At that moment, a familiar voice cut off her thoughts. When she turned around, sure enough, Director Jo Kyung-cheon from D Hospital wasing towards her in long boots, trudging through the muddy ground.


    “What’s going on here? Ah, did Director Soe here for a preliminary investigation?”


    “Yes, well…”


    Lee-yeon bowed politely. As she did, she looked around with a sudden sense of something missing, like a missing puzzle piece. She wasn’t particrly curious about her annoying senior, but she realized she hadn’t seen him even once since the congrattory party.


    “Why is the director Jo leaving Hwang Jo-yoon behind?”


    “Ah―”


    He lightly pped his hands as if he suddenly remembered the thing he had forgotten and left behind.


    “Oh, he’s gone now.” He said it like it was no big deal to him which made Lee-yeon even more confused.


    “Did you send him back to Seoul?”


    “Well, he went somewhere.”


    His gaze as he answered with a tight-lipped expression suggested that he didn’t want to say anything more about it, but Lee-yeon didn’t want to ask any further about Hwang Jo-yoon either.