The Shadow of Silveroak
I wasn't the only one who worked instead of studying after school. I wasn't the only immigrant student trying to make ends meet, after all.
“Armando!”
Armando Cortez, who had crossed over from Mexico illegally when he was a child, was one of the few non-Asian friends I had at school. To be honest, I hadn't even remembered him until he approached me first.
“What?”
He was a guy who cared about nothing but girls; he was undoubtedly thinking about how to hit on Christina, who was in the same class, even at this very moment.
Objectively speaking, I knew he didn't stand a chance.
“Can you do me a favor?”
“A favor? Like what? You’re the son of a vineyard owner now—don’t tell me you’re trying to hire me as a laborer on your farm?”
“……”
“Nine dollars an hour. Even for you, that’s the minimum I’d accept.”
“It’s not for our vineyard. It’s for Silveroak Hills.”
Armando tilted his head.
“Why there?”
“Actually, their owner came to our place yesterday and started trouble for no reason. He had this look in his eyes, like he was eyeing our land... There’s definitely some kind of conspiracy...”
I didn't bother sugarcoating it for him. I didn't think he’d get it if I did, and besides, he was a guy heavily influenced by Japanese manga, so his reactions were quite cartoonish.
“What? How wicked!”
As expected, he clenched his fists and reacted excessively. I quickly lowered my head as I saw the hulking Caden Harper walking past the lecture hall, then continued.
“I just need you to go over there and check out the farm’s situation and the atmosphere.”
“Are they even hiring laborers?”
“The harvest season isn’t over yet, so you should be able to get in easily.”
“Alright! I shall uncover the schemes of those villainous people.”
“……Right, I’m counting on you.”
But Armando was a man who knew that if you take something, you have to give something back.
“Wait, you have to do me a favor in return.”
“What is it?”
Armando leaned his upper body toward me and lowered his voice so no one else could hear.
“Come to the party with me tomorrow.”
“Party? What party?”
“It’s Christina’s birthday tomorrow.”
He looked at me with a shocked expression, as if asking how I could possibly not know that.
‘Why on earth would I need to know that?’
“And what do you want me to do there?”
“Help me out when we get there.”
“So you can hit on Christina?”
“Yeah.”
“……Are you sure I can help you if I go?”
“Absolutely! I’m definitely going to win her over this time. Tomorrow is going to be a historic day in my life.”
“……Well, fine.”
It was absurd and ridiculous that he was chasing such an impossible dream, but since it wasn't a difficult request, I shook hands with him—a gesture I had long forgotten—and made the promise.
In any case, it would take at least three days to a week for the professional contractors to repair and clean the wine equipment, so there wasn't much for me to do. My parents were working hard on the grape harvest, and the laborers were busy with pest control, so my presence wasn't strictly required.
After class, I headed to the lecture hall for the Agriscience Club, which I had joined for my college entrance preparation.
Creak...
As I opened the door and walked in, about half of the faces were familiar, and the other half were strangers.
“Brian! Welcome. You might know some of these friends, but from today, Brian will be studying, experiencing, and volunteering with us here in the Agriscience Club. Come on up.”
Mr. Miller called me to the front, and I stepped forward, pushing through the awkwardness.
“Introduce yourself.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Brian. My family started running a vineyard, so I joined this club.”
Some looked surprised, while others openly frowned.
Today was a theory lesson. As I sat down, the guy next to me sneered.
“If you start learning farming now, I guess you’ll be able to help your parents before you turn thirty? You’d better work hard.”
I tilted my head, thinking I’d seen him somewhere before as I looked at his large, 190cm frame and sharp features. But he seemed to think my hesitation was a sign of disrespect, and his face twisted.
“Are you not listening to me?”
Seeing him look like he was about to throw a punch, I momentarily recalled his past. He was a guy who had once been a school football player but jumped into agriculture due to a lack of talent.
“Oh, Jacob?”
“What? Did you forget my name or something?”
“Wait... but haven’t you only been learning farming for three years? In that case, maybe you’ll be able to help your parents by the time you’re thirty, too?”
“……I wonder if you’ll still be able to run your mouth like that after I smash your face in?”
Perhaps because his actions had become too loud, he caught Mr. Miller’s attention.
“You there, what’s going on? Jacob?”
“……It’s nothing.”
“Focus on your studies. As far as I know, you’re at a very critical stage right now, aren’t you?”
“……I’m sorry.”
Mr. Miller glared at Jacob and then asked the class.
“Alright. Since you’re so confident that you can pick fights during class, you must have prepared well, right? Let me ask a quiz. Today, we’re going to talk about rice cultivation, one of California’s representative agricultural products. Soil management is particularly important—can anyone explain the most common micronutrient deficiency problem in paddy soils in Northern California and the most effective way to solve it?”
Jacob, who had been tense, flinched and looked around with a flustered expression.
“Uh... well, micronutrient deficiency... nitrogen deficiency?”
“Jacob? As far as I know, your family’s farm grows rice. Am I mistaken?”
“No, sir.”
“Then you should be able to answer this even if I hadn’t taught it yet, shouldn’t you?”
“……”
“Anyone else who can answer?”
The teacher’s eyes scanned the lecture hall with expectation, but since he hadn't lectured on the topic yet, no one raised their hand. Just as Mr. Miller was about to explain it himself, I raised my hand.
Jacob and Mr. Miller were both startled.
“Do you happen to know, Brian?”
I gave Jacob a sly grin and answered.
“The micronutrient deficiency commonly problematic in Northern California paddy soils is zinc (Zn) deficiency. Zinc deficiency manifests as yellowing leaves, and the most effective solution is to add zinc sulfate to the soil or treat it with zinc preparations via foliar application.”
The classroom went silent, and everyone’s gaze fixed on me. Mr. Miller nodded with a joyful smile.
“Correct, Brian. You have excellent foundational knowledge.”
Mr. Miller looked at me with a new sense of wonder; he would surely imprint this moment in his mind.
‘Got it! That’s one more recommendation letter for UC Davis!’
Unlike in Korea, you shouldn't hide your abilities in the United States. It took me a long time to realize that you have to constantly step forward, appeal your skills, and get recognized to get closer to success, whether in college admissions or employment.
In American soil, humility is by no means a virtue.
I spoke quietly to Jacob, whose face was red with anger from being publicly embarrassed.
“How long are you going to use your fists? Are you going to punch the rice plants if they don’t grow well? If you want to save the rice, use your head, not your fists.”
As I tapped my head to give him advice, the giant Jacob stared at me with an absurd expression. He probably thought, ‘Has no one ever provoked me like this before?’
If he were just a blockhead like Caden Harper, I would have kept my mouth shut, but since he was attending this club with the will to learn farming, I thought he was different from that fool, so I spoke firmly.
However, there was someone watching this scene.
After the one-hour class ended, I was walking out when Jacob brushed past my shoulder. It wasn't a full-blown shoulder check, just a sign that he was annoyed, so I chuckled and kept walking, but then someone tapped my shoulder.
“Hmm?”
I turned my head and saw a white woman with beautifully tanned skin standing there.
“Chloe?”
“You know me?”
“Of course. You’re famous. Your boyfriend, too.”
It was Chloe Harris, who was called the queen of the school with her height in the mid-160s, a model-like figure, and a pretty face. She was so famous that I recognized her the moment I saw her. Of course, I also knew about her boyfriend, the football player...
“Is that so?”
“But why? Do you have something to say to me?”
She looked at me with a curious expression and asked.
“No, just... it was my first time seeing someone talk to Jacob like that.”
“Oh, is that all...”
I chuckled and was about to leave when she asked.
“If there’s something I don’t know, can you teach me?”
“Huh? Teaching you isn’t a problem, but does your family run a farm?”
“My family runs a cherry farm.”
“Ah... right. Oh!”
I was about to turn away again, but then I remembered something. I looked at her and said in a low voice.
“Can you help me with one thing in return?”
“What is it?”
“Are you planning on going to Christina’s birthday party?”
“Hmm... probably?”
“Good. I’ll have a favor to ask you then. Please help me out.”
“...What kind of favor?”
“You’ll see. It’s just... that kind of thing.”
Leaving her curious, I left the school and rode my bicycle straight to the farm. But the atmosphere was strange.
“Wooseok!”
My mother’s voice was sharp with irritation.
“What is it, Mom?”
“Well, you see...”
Before my mother, who looked deeply upset, could open her mouth, my father intervened.
“None of the workers showed up today.”
“What? Why?”
“They all went to Silveroak.”
“Really?”
I knew for sure now. Elowen was determined to swallow our farm one way or another.
“Isn’t he a truly bad person? We can’t just let this go. He deliberately took the people who came to work on our farm!”
I said nonchalantly to my angry mother.
“It’s okay. And there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s harvest season, so who can blame them if he offers a little more money to hire more people?”
“I’m just so upset.”
“We have plenty of time. We can do the powdery mildew control first and harvest the grapes slowly. The money we need will be earned by those grapes piled up in the warehouse over there. Dad, the wine equipment cleaning company came, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. The equipment doesn’t have any major issues, and the cleaning will take about two days. I told them to do a thorough job.”
“Good job. As soon as the cleaning is done, I’ll start vinegar production.”
“But, will it work out?”
“Just trust your son... In half a year, I’ll make sure our vinegar is being sold at South Coast Plaza.”
As I said that, I looked lovingly at the lower-quality grapes in the box.
‘Oh, you cute little things...’
How would it feel to see vinegar with the Redwood label being sold at South Coast Plaza, where California’s top luxury brands were located?