“It has constipation.” “What?” The principal’s jaw went slack. His face was a mask of pure disbelief. “What did you just…” “It’s not defecating properly.” If it were possible, the principal looked even more astounded. He wanted to demand what she was talking about, but as his eyes followed her gaze to the elementary school children running across the field with their backpacks, a hot flush crept up his neck. Ji-woo stroked the trunk of the great tree, her touch gentle. She already disliked him intensely. She was used to this kind of reaction. “Defecation is important,” she said calmly. “It’s a perfectly natural and necessary process. You know that, of course.” The principal coughed, a dry, annoyed sound. He hid a smirk behind his hand. Just as I thought. An unhinged quack. Fixing a few trees properly would cost tens of thousands of dollars. He’d rather cut them down. That was why he’d contacted this woman’s shabby little outfit instead of the big-name arboretum in the city. His plan was simple: let her perform her ridiculous “treatment,” injure the tree again himself, and then blame the whole mess on the absurd “tree doctor.” He’d demand a refund for damages and then get his way and have the tree removed. A win-win for the school’s budget. “This is one of the landmark trees of our school,” the principal said, lowering his brows in a show of earnest concern. “It’s a symbol of our vitality. Are you sure you can save it?” “Consider it done,” she said simply. “The treatment isn’t difficult. To put it simply, the tree has eaten, but it can’t defecate. It’s constipated, so it can’t spread its roots properly.” Ji-woo’s gaze swept across the school grounds, and her brow furrowed. “When a tree can’t defecate, it begins to die from the top down. From the looks of it, most of your trees are already in the early stages.” “So, what does the treatment involve?” the principal asked, feigning reluctance. His eyes raked over her, from head to toe. Tattered work pants, dirt caked under her fingernails, the faint, clinging odor of fertilizer. She was, he thought, dirty. A smudge of soil marred an otherwise clear face. Her hair, tied low at the nape of her neck, drooped like damp seaweed. It was like looking at another dying tree right in front of him. Utterly unappealing. The soft light he’d glimpsed in her eyes when she’d first looked at the tree vanished when she faced him, leaving them dull and flat. “Principal.” “Yes, yes,” he answered, his tone overly polite, as if he’d been caught staring. “All the soil here needs to be replaced with Masato soil.” “All of it?” “Yes. That’s the root of the problem. The soil is why the trees can’t defecate. By the way…” Her gaze sharpened. “You cut some corners on the recent remodel, didn’t you?” Ji-woo circled him slowly, her expression skeptical. “Did you bury something out here?” “What?” “I heard the school was renovated not long ago.” Her eyes scanned the grounds. “Broken tiles, perhaps?” The principal flinched. “Leftover cement?” A beat of silence. “Empty cement bags, maybe…” “Or all of the above.” The principal wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, his gaze darting away from hers. How could she possibly know? To save on disposal fees, they had buried the construction waste right here on the grounds. No one was supposed to know, yet this scruffy tree doctor saw everything. “When that kind of waste gets wet, it sets like concrete,” she explained. “It contaminates the soil. The roots can’t penetrate it, so they choke and rot. We’ll find it all once we start digging, of course. I’ll have an estimate sent over by the end of the day.” Ji-woo smiled, a placid, innocent expression, as she wiped her own sweat with a flower-patterned handkerchief tied around her neck. The smile, however, never reached her sharp, cold eyes. “And naturally, I’ll have to file a report with city hall first.” The principal’s sullen face crumpled as he rushed toward her. “D-Doctor, please, just listen…” “You were so pleased with the money you saved, weren’t you?” she said, looking him straight in the eye. “Now you’ll pay double, maybe triple that in fines. Like I said, defecation is a very important process. For humans, and for plants.” Satisfied, Ji-woo turned to leave. She let out a soft sigh. She could already hear her one and only employee back at the hospital nagging her for walking away from a lucrative contract. She paused, then turned back to the principal. She hated playing these games, but the growth of her hospital was important. Right now, it was the most important thing. “I’m a doctor who loves trees,” she said, her voice smooth. “I’m the best there is at saving them. But I’m also very good at weeding out… harmful things.” Especially people like you, she thought. A man whose selfish greed had sickened dozens of trees, yet who spoke of them being a symbol for his school. He was the type to clear-cut a forest and then use a single leaf for an ashtray. “Please feel free to visit our Pine Tree Clinic more often.” She forced a sweet, professional smile. Ji-woo was a tree doctor. She ran the small Pine Tree Clinic on Cheongdo Island, a scenic tourist destination known for its sea, rocks, and lush plant life. Sandwiched between Gangju to the west and Yeongdo to the south, it was surprisingly the second-largest island in Daehan. It was part of the job, getting strange looks from men like the principal. Her work required her to carry ladders, knives, saws, and shears. It required her to climb high into the branches, to inspect trunks and root systems up close. People often stared at her as if she were some kind of strange, feral creature. She knew many clients only called a “female” doctor because they assumed she’d be cheaper, a bargain they could exploit. Now over thirty, she was used to it. It was a reality she’d had to accept to stay in business. She was guiding her scooter along the coastal road, the emerald sea stretching out beside her, when her phone rang. She popped an earbud in and answered the call. “Hello?” “Hey, Director,” a familiar voice said on the other end. “If you’re not back in five minutes, I’m unlocking the second floor.”

Chapter 1: A Sickening Root