Chapter 1: The Failed Vineyard

TL: Hanguk

A spring day in California’s Napa Valley, where golden sunlight washes over the vineyard.

Contrary to the refreshing scenery of the endlessly stretching green vineyard that pleases the eyes.

“So you’re saying you’re shutting down now? Huh?”

Some people were agitated, others looked as though the sky had fallen, and then there were Dad and Mom, staring blankly.

All of this should have made me anxious and shaken, but I was simply bewildered.

'Why am I…? Why have I come back again?'

Unlike my confusion, the atmosphere in the front yard of the old wooden farm office located at the center of Redwood Farm was grim.

It was all because of the farm owner, John Anderson, who took heavy steps up onto the small platform in the yard. John brushed down his signature rough beard and pressed down his worn leather cowboy hat.

He let out a deep sigh, looked around at the people, and gave a bitter smile.

“Everyone, whenever I looked at this land, I always felt pride and gratitude. This Napa Valley has been the home our family has cherished for nearly 50 years, and Redwood Farm has been like my very soul.”

John’s voice was low, heavy, and faintly trembling. His blue eyes, unable to hide his emotions, were shaking.

“But as you all know, this beautiful vineyard has not been kind to us in recent years. Three consecutive years of severe climate change, sudden pest infestations, and even the rapid changes in the wine market… all of it has slowly tightened the noose around our small farm.”

Some workers lowered their gazes, their faces sinking into deep shadows, while the men in suits standing at the edge of the yard glared coldly at John.

Those dressed in shabby, comfortable clothes were the workers who had been laboring here, and the ones in suits were probably investors.

John took off his leather hat and gripped it tightly in his hand as he continued. His expression carried deep regret and lingering sadness.

“To be honest, I wanted to hold on longer. But the debt we owe the bank has already reached a point we can no longer handle, and the investors are unwilling to put in any more funds. In the end, I had no choice but to make this decision. As of today, Redwood Farm is closing its doors.”

At his firm yet sorrow-filled declaration, the yard fell silent. In the heavy silence that settled, my heart pounded as I watched Dad’s shoulders slump.

John slowly looked around at the people and steadied his voice.

“All of this is my responsibility as the farm owner. Please forgive me for the pain and loss my poor decisions have caused you. I sincerely hope there is still a chance for this farm to be revived… but it was beyond my capability.”

When John finished speaking, he bowed his head deeply. A spring breeze swept across the distant vineyard, rustling the leaves of the grapevines.

And I…

'I came back. To 25 years ago.'

I still couldn’t believe what was happening.

*

“You’re up already? What’s going on? You woke up without me calling you?”

Before it was even eight o’clock, I had finished getting ready for school and stepped out of my room, and Mom looked at me as though surprised.

“I just… I’m about to graduate high school soon, so I should start acting like a better person.”

“Oh my, oh my, look at my grown son.”

At this time, Mom was still healthy. It had been less than two years since she immigrated to America, so her skin hadn’t sagged much yet and her eyes were still bright.

Even though she was deeply discouraged that the farm where she had barely managed to find work and stability had gone bankrupt, she didn’t show it much, perhaps because she didn’t want to worry her son.

Before regression, I never saw any of that. I only resented Dad for failing in his business and fleeing to America, and I hated watching him struggle on the farm.

My youth, during which I deliberately looked away. I worked as an accountant in New York, but after Dad collapsed, I returned to California and only then did I take an interest in farming.

'Farming? You want to farm in the countryside? Are you out of your mind?'

My wife left for New York back then, and I stayed by Mom’s side, studying agriculture.

Earning my doctorate in agriculture from Cornell University, I had carried out countless agricultural studies, but after losing Mom to illness, life had lost all meaning. I lived exhausted and alone, and at some point, I closed my eyes… and waking up like this, I felt something indescribable.

The lethargy was gone, and it felt as though energy was flowing through my body.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

Just seeing Mom’s lively face made me feel grateful for everything and smile.

“What would you help with? We’re not even going out to the farm for a while.”

“Ah, right. Where’s Dad?”

“Your dad went out to look for another farm. Isn’t there at least one place around here where he can work? Don’t worry too much.”

Just as Mom said, it wasn’t long before my parents found a farm where they could work, and they ended up working there for more than ten years.

“Okay. I’m going now.”

“Alright, study hard. If anyone says anything to you, just ignore it, don’t fight. It’ll cause trouble. You know that, right?”

“I said don’t worry. Everyone is nice, so nothing like that happens.”

That's a lie.

There were kind people, but racism exists everywhere, and school is a place where not-yet-mature individuals gather.

“Okay, my son… have a good day~”

“Yeah.”

Vintage High School in California’s Napa Valley. The school I went to… no, the school I am attending.

A comprehensive high school with over 1,500 students, diverse ethnicities, and a fairly balanced academic and extracurricular program.

A comprehensive high school means that both general education and specialized vocational programs operate within the same school, so one could take classes in culinary arts, hospitality, or agricultural studies as well.

'Ugh, they're going to farm again and hurt their backs and have their fingers bent...'

Even after class began, the chalkboard didn’t register in my mind as I sat in a daze, lost in thought. Mr. Miller, the teacher, stood at the front, chalk in hand, explaining cell structures.

“Everyone, what you see here are the cell wall and the cell membrane. These two parts protect the plant cell.”

Students were taking notes or quietly listening, and Woo-Seok, sitting in the back row, looked slightly bored as he doodled along the edges of his notebook.

'I don’t want to be an accountant again. If I work, I’ll do something I choose.'

I no longer wanted to force my parents to sacrifice under the pretense of doing something for their son.

At that moment,

“Brian, are you paying attention?”

I flinched, lifting my head to see Mr. Miller smiling as he asked.

"Yes, teacher. I'm sorry."

“Good. Then can you briefly explain the function of the chloroplast in a plant cell?”

“Uh… the chloroplast is an organelle that produces the energy needed by the plant cell through photosynthesis. It absorbs sunlight and converts carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and glucose.”

It wasn’t a particularly difficult question, so Mr. Miller grinned and pointed at me.

"That's an accurate explanation. Let's keep focusing!"

“Yes.”

Feeling embarrassed, I fixed my eyes on the teacher again, but my mind quickly drifted elsewhere.

When the tedious class finally ended and I got up to go to lunch.

“Brian!”

This cringe-inducing name was my English name. Instead of my real name, Choi Woo-Seok, I was called Brian…

I turned toward the voice and saw a delicate-looking Asian girl approaching.

“Uh… yeah. What’s up?”

A girl whose face seemed vaguely familiar.

“What do you mean what’s up? We were supposed to submit the group project by this morning. You didn’t answer any messages, so I had to come find you myself.”

“Messages?”

“I texted you. Didn’t you see it?”

I glanced around my desk and realized, I had left my old phone, which could only send texts and make calls, at home.

And then I remembered that the cute girl in front of me was Rachel, originally from Taiwan, whose English pronunciation was a bit shaky but who was extremely smart.

“Ah… sorry. I left my phone at home.”

“Then what about the project?”

I almost asked what project, but as I kept my mouth shut and made an awkward face, Rachel crossed her arms and sighed.

“Ha, are you seriously doing this? You said you’d look into tax and accounting programs.”

Only then did an old memory come back.

Back in my senior year of high school, our group of Asian students each researched college paths, and I had looked into tax and accounting programs because that was what I was interested in at the time.

“I completely forgot today. Can I give it to you tomorrow?”

“Did you actually look it up?”

“Yeah, of course.”

I probably had done the research. I’d find it if I looked. And if I hadn’t, I could just research it now. And honestly, even without looking it up, I already knew a lot from experience.

“Then you’ll come to the study group after school today, right?”

“… I’m sorry, but I think I need to go home early today.”

“What is this? You’re acting weird today.”

“Me? In what way?”

She stared at me intently, as if studying me, then said,

“You know you’re being really half-hearted, right? Your tone too… You’re the one who gathered this study group, and you were the most dedicated.”

Now I remembered what study group it was. And… I remembered the other Asian girl who was part of that Asian study group as well. My wife from my previous life… But right now I had no room in my heart to see her, nor did I want to.

“Rachel, it’s not like that. Something urgent really came up at home.”

“Yeah? Hmm, alright.”

We weren’t close, but as I saw familiar friends one by one, my sense of reality began waking up in real time.

Coming back here felt like watching a brief movie at first, so I just let things flow. But as I gradually realized this was the real world I was living in now, my heart began pounding.

From that moment on, I waited impatiently for school to end. It was always like that when studying, but time had never moved this slowly…

When classes finally ended, I got on the Bicycle I had parked in front of the school and pedaled like crazy. I just wanted to get home even a little bit faster.

“Dad! Dad!”

As soon as I arrived home, I tossed the Bicycle aside and ran inside. I saw my parents sitting at the dining table, talking.

“Why are you back so early?”

I could feel the heavy atmosphere, as if they had been discussing something serious just moments earlier, but Mom forced herself to smile. She didn’t want to let me sense the seriousness.

I dropped my backpack in the living room and plopped into a chair at the table, looking straight at Dad and Mom.

“Don’t look for a new farm.”

“What are you talking about?”

Dad, his hair completely white, asked.

“You’re looking for a place to work. Stop doing that.”

“What do you mean stop? We need to find work. How else are we going to earn money and live?”

“Even if you do, you’ll only earn just enough each month to barely survive.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Let’s acquire Redwood Farm. We’ll grow that farm ourselves.”

Dad and Mom stared at me with eyes full of confusion.