Solo Farming In The Tower Chapter 4: Lighting a Fire.
Previously on Solo Farming In The Tower...
TL: Hanguk
Sejun immediately picked up on the pink vibe circulating between the pair.
“You two seeing each other?”
Squeak!
Squeak!
Both nodded in unison.
‘Damn it!’
Trapped between a pair of rabbits in love...
Back in college, he’d lacked friends with open schedules, forcing him to dine with a romantic duo. The unease was real, yet skipping meals solo all term wasn’t an option, so he tagged along.
One meal shared, tension flared between them, sparking a fierce quarrel. Sejun squirmed in discomfort, caught right in the middle.
That’s when he mastered the art of solo dining.
From then on, he swore off sharing tables with couples...
Squeak, squeak.
Sensing Sejun’s odd vibe, the male rabbit nuzzled his hand eagerly, striving to earn permission to remain. This frantic move aimed to safeguard their nest.
‘Pushing so fiercely to shield their kin...’
Sejun’s resolve melted. Shame washed over him for clinging to old grudges.
‘Exactly. They’re partners, and this duo’s wedded.’
Sejun remained clueless about the depths of marital bonds.
“Fine. You can stick around. But it won’t be without cost.”
No real payback crossed his mind.
Squeak!
Squeak!
With Sejun’s okay, the rabbit pair bobbed their heads rapidly and dashed to a cave nook, burrowing to craft their shelter.
“A burrow?”
Observing the rabbit excavate, Sejun sparked with inspiration. Could they tunnel their way free?
‘Idiot! I fixated on the overhead gap just because it existed!’
“Rabbit!”
Squeak?
The digging male rabbit paused, head popping up at Sejun’s summons.
“Think you can burrow a path to escape?”
Squeak…
The rabbit pondered briefly before shaking no.
“Can’t?”
Swish, swish.
The rabbit sketched on the soil. It outlined Sejun’s cave and delved deep below.
Then,
Whoosh.
It doused the excavation with watering can liquid. Sejun’s cave floor submerged in fluid.
“Ah. It’s all liquid down there.”
Squeak!
The rabbit affirmed with a nod.
“Got it. Carry on with your task.”
Squeak!
Back to burrow work the rabbit went.
Right then,
Beep, beep.
The alert sounded. Smartphone power hit full. Given the laptop’s drain, one more charge looked feasible.
[May 16th, 6 AM]
Sejun’s routine kicked off.
He inspected the tomato sprouts first.
“Doing great, everyone.”
(…T…)
By now, lush green foliage had spread wide. Sweet potato patch stayed silent.
Sejun headed to the pool, splashed his face clean, and irrigated the plot.
Next,
Snap, snap.
He snapped leaves away for sunlight reach on tomato sprouts. Breaking more led to sturdier, branched stems sprouting extra greenery. Started with three per plant; now eight thrived.
“Gonna turn into a hassle snapping these someday?”
Sejun sun-dried the ripped leaves. Sun-exposed ones had stiffened, nearly dry.
Crunch.
Morning chores wrapped as Sejun munched fresh snaps. Eight hours from now, one more snap and water round would close the day.
Work done, Sejun plopped in his spot, gazing vacantly upward.
How much time slipped by sky-watching?
Ooook! Ooook!
Boo-woo! Boo-woo!
“Eh? What racket is that?”
Sejun turned toward the clamor. It echoed from the rabbit pair’s burrow.
The noise cut off sharp.
“What in the world?”
Just as Sejun eyed the heavens again for spacing out
Ooook! Ooook!
Boo-woo! Boo-woo!
It resumed. Tuning in, it mimicked heavy breathing.
‘No freaking way?!’
“You two!”
Home set, the rabbit duo dove straight into mating.
Later, mating sessions repeated multiple times.
Hours on.
At 2 pm, Sejun rose for afternoon duties.
Then,
Peek.
Pee.
The rabbit couple emerged joyful from their burrow.
And swiftly tackled the farm chores Sejun planned.
Peep-peep.
Swoosh.
Male rabbit hummed, sprinkling crops via watering can, while
Vzz-vzz.
Snip-snip.
Female rabbit harmonized by clipping leaves with shears.
Male led the tune, female echoed. Echoed that old saying about hubby singing, wife chiming in.
Yet Sejun’s mind snagged on another detail.
“What’re those gadgets...”
Turns out, male’s watering can poured endlessly. Female’s apron held spatial enchantment, pulling tools like shears or spades on demand.
A twinge of jealousy hit. They possessed such gear. He scraped and ripped bare-handed, hauled water manually.
Time flew eyeing the rabbits labor.
Boredom struck soon. Then, light through the water-filled PET bottle bent, beaming intense rays.
That sparked a thought. Recalled a survival program where pros ignited flames using water-packed bottles.
‘Gonna attempt a fire?’
Dry leaves appeared perfect kindling.
“Let’s go.”
Sejun stood, gathered prime dried leaves.
Then,
Swoosh. Swoosh.
Shredded leaves narrow for tight central bunch, easing ignition.
Sejun wielded the water PET as a lens, directing sun on dried onion greens.
Squeak?
Squeak?
Over 20 minutes frozen, rabbits neared curiously. Wondered at the farmer’s antics.
Ten minutes more, rabbits nodded off from tedium.
Suddenly
Smoke wisped from the shredded onion pile. A spark ignited.
‘Success!’
Sejun intensified the bottle’s beam on the spark. It flared brighter, smoke densened.
“Whoo! Whoo!”
Carefully, Sejun puffed at the spark-laden shreds.
Blowing jolted rabbits awake; they eyed Sejun.
Soon
Squeak!
Squeak!
Shock hit as they spotted smoking onion bits.
After persistent puffs,
Flames erupted.
“Hehehe! Nailed it!”
Squeak.
Squeak.
Rabbits gazed at Sejun in awe. No fire-starting tools in their kit.
First fire act: grill onions for a meal. Craved something hot to sate hunger.
Dried ones turned firewood-tough, uneatable raw, so he charred today’s fresh picks.
As onion skins blackened,
“Ouch! Scalding! Hoo.”
Sejun laid the charred onion on a leaf, blew fingers while stripping char.
Grabbed the grilled onion, nibbled the stripped end.
Puch Puch.
‘…Insanely sweet!’
Eyes popped at the flavor blast. Sugar surged wildly inside. Sweetness detonated fiercely.
Sejun tossed extras into the blaze, devoured grilled onions fast.
Squeak?
Male rabbit, eyeing Sejun’s thrill, boldly chucked an onion in.
Moments later,
Squeak!
Squeak!
Rabbit pair savored peeled grilled onions with deep feeling. All three chowed down avidly, faces smudged dark.
Day 7 trapped in the tower,
Sejun slept belly full of hot fare for the first time.
Beep-beep. Beep-beep.
[May 19th, 6 am]
Day 10 of the crisis.
“Let’s do this.”
Sejun bounced up full of vigor today too.
Squeak!
Squeak!
Rabbit couple, up earlier, welcomed Sejun.
“Yep. Morning.”
Splish-splash! Splish-splash!
Sejun hit the pond for a face rinse, then settled in his place.
Squeak.
Female rabbit offered grilled onion.
“Appreciate it.”
Sejun took the meal gratefully.
~ Munch ~Gulp. ~ Munch ~Gulp.
Grilling onions while scanning the crop patch. Onions harvested, soil moist. Early-rising rabbits completed tasks.
Plus, female prepped breakfast. Self-sufficient care felt luxurious.
Still,
“……”
Even scarcer tasks in an already idle spot.
“Gotta stir some activity.”
Today called for relocating delayed cherry tomatoes. Overcrowding risked nutrient shortage.
Sejun hand-dug soil, prepped spots for cherry tomatoes, and
With a tiny spoon-shovel, male rabbit gently lifted and shifted each. Included the six later-planted ones.
58 total sprouts aligned in six rows of ten.
“Whew.”
Neat rows swelled pride. Sejun cherished minor wins lately.
Transplant done, Sejun launched fresh chore.
Torch crafting.
Wove leaves into a grip, bound tip with countless shredded dried bits.
Dried onion leaves fit torches ideal, sustaining blaze long. Burned steady, no tending needed.
Early repetition dragged, but now joy bloomed in crafting life necessities through intent, form, toil.
Hours poured in yielded a torch; sleep alert chimed.
[May 20th, 6 AM]
Day 11 of crisis, dawn broke.
“Yeah!”
“Peep!”
“Peep!”
“Sure, good morning.”
Up and at ’em, Sejun hailed rabbits, then pond for face wash.
Pond glowed brighter than prior day. Darkness always bugged face-washing; Sejun lit a torch there first.
“Perfect. Hehehe.”
Admired the flame, Sejun leaned to pond for cleanse.
Instantly,
Splash!
Fish lunged from water, aiming for Sejun’s face.
“Ugh?!”
Sejun jerked back fast. Fishy water scent whooshed by nose. Dodged by a hair.
Grounded fish thrashed toward water.
“What… the heck?!”
Stunned, Sejun neared the squirming fish for inspection.
Black body striped gold, teeth razor-sharp.
Nose might’ve sliced if slower.
Sejun shoved fish to pond’s far side, blocking flight.
Scrutinized the pond next.
“Oh!”
Multiple same-type fish, fresh attacker kin, cruised inside.
“How’d they get in?”
As Sejun pondered origins,
Fish writhed for pond return.
‘No time to waste!’
Sejun snatched the land-bound fish quick.
Day 11 tower-trapped, fish meal opportunity arose at last.