Think Farming is Easy?
The day after visiting the director's house.
Dojin, who had driven his newly acquired truck to the closed school to test it out, couldn't help but gasp in surprise after parking.
Only now did he notice the tarp covering the items piled high in the truck bed.
Untying the tightly secured rubber straps, he pulled back the tarp to find countless brand-new machines and supplies neatly stacked inside.
"Uncle Yeongjin completely pulled one over on me. No wonder he shoved me into the driver's seat without even giving me a chance to look around."
He should have checked after driving, but it was a clear oversight on his part.
Between driving a manual transmission for the first time in ages and parking in the motel's tight lot, he hadn't even thought to check the truck bed.
"Let's get these out first."
After tidying up the rubber straps and the tarp, Dojin began carefully unloading the items stacked in the truck.
Fortunately, the gifted truck was equipped with a hydraulic lift, making the unloading process much easier.
Without it, he wouldn't have even dreamed of unloading the riding lawn mower sitting inside.
Once everything was unloaded, Dojin let out a dry chuckle.
"Whew, how many things are even here? Uncle really went all out."
Even at a glance, the equipment was excessively over-the-top.
Just for lawn care, there was one riding mower, two push mowers, and four weed whackers—seven machines in total.
There was also an industrial high-pressure water washer, various power tools, a pesticide sprayer, and even a small generator.
The pile was full of things that made him wonder why on earth he would ever need them.
"...With all this, I could probably survive on a deserted island."
Dojin sighed as he lined up the equipment, which was far too much for one person to use.
He was incredibly grateful for the gear, but the problem was that he had nowhere proper to store it.
"Storing them in that shed would be perfect, though."
Dojin smacked his lips as he looked beneath the school's assembly platform.
Usually, those spaces were used as storage sheds for sports equipment.
However...
Rattle! Rattle!
"...It won't open."
No matter how much he turned the handle and shook it, the door refused to budge.
Since it was secured with a padlock and had no keyhole on the handle itself, it wasn't locked from the inside.
"Is the whole door rusted shut?"
Honestly, he had expected as much.
The door was covered in patches of a dangerously reddish-brown color.
Remembering a senior in the military who had contracted tetanus after touching metal that color, Dojin quietly stepped back.
"This is troublesome. I can't just drive around with all this in the truck."
Aside from the weight, he couldn't leave such expensive equipment in the truck bed.
The bed was only secured by a tarp and rubber straps, making it highly vulnerable to theft.
"Nothing else for it. Let's store them in the main building for now."
With dozens of empty classrooms, it would serve perfectly as a temporary warehouse.
"Power tools are fine, but I need to build a proper shed and move the rest as soon as possible."
He couldn't keep things that used fuel and chemicals, like the lawn mowers and pesticide sprayers, indoors.
Even if they were brand new right now, it wasn't a long-term solution.
"Well, at least I got some footage out of this."
Dojin's gaze drifted to the camera strapped to his chest.
From the chest strap to the GoPro itself, they were all gifts from the director yesterday.
He had started recording upon leaving the motel to test its performance, and he had unexpectedly captured some great footage.
"Having all this great gear but nowhere to store it... This will definitely draw some attention in the comments."
Some might accuse him of staging it, but even that controversy would serve as clickbait to draw people in.
As his thoughts drifted that far, Dojin realized what he was doing and chuckled.
"I've really become a full-fledged YouTuber."
Before his regression, Dojin had refused even when his wife begged him to return to video creation.
He had flatly declared he had zero interest, yet now, the moment anything happened, his mind immediately jumped to YouTube content.
"Since I'm already here, maybe I should film something else."
Dojin looked around.
Now that he was being honest with himself, he wanted to push a bit further.
Just then, the overgrown schoolyard caught his eye.
Looking at the weeds that reached past his shins and up to his thighs, Dojin let out a sigh.
Content or not...
Out of sheer decency, he felt he had to clean that up now that he'd seen it.
"Perfect. Let's break this baby in."
Dojin walked over to the largest machine unloaded from the truck and stripped away its protective netting.
The model name gleamed against the brand-new finish.
Z-FORCE SZ54
"Hmm, is it American? The manual is entirely in English."
Dojin nodded after searching the model on YouTube and finding a tutorial video.
Fortunately, the controls didn't look too difficult.
"Since it's my first time handling this kind of equipment, did he get me an entry-level model? It's easy to operate, so thankfully it probably wasn't too expensive."
It would be some time before Dojin learned that the machine was manufactured by the famous American company Cub Cadet, and that its retail price exceeded twenty million won.
"So if I attach this here, the cut weeds will gather in this bag? Alright, let's get moving."
After installing the grass catcher attachment, Dojin started the engine.
He slowly operated the machine just as the video instructed. Once he got the hang of it, he steered it straight into the schoolyard.
Rrrrrrrr—
He felt the distinct vibration and heard the crunch of weeds being sliced away.
Before long, Dojin had crossed the yard. He turned the machine around and gasped in awe.
"What a sight."
Like the parting of the Red Sea, the overgrown green field was split down the middle along the path he had just carved.
Since the mower didn't pull the weeds out by their roots, the path wasn't bare dirt, but even this was enough to make him breathe a sigh of relief.
"Might as well clear the whole thing today."
The machine was easy to handle, and the results were satisfying. There was no reason to put it off.
Yet, despite his words, Dojin didn't resume working immediately.
Instead, he turned off the engine and ran back to the truck.
"I have to record this."
Having already decided to return to YouTube, this task was content he couldn't afford to miss.
A weed-choked schoolyard being cleared in real-time?
He could already hear the cheers of farming enthusiasts and satisfying-cleanup video lovers.
"This spot is good. If I set one up on the pull-up bars, will that cover the angles?"
Two cameras on the third floor of the main building, one at the main gate.
After setting up a tripod-mounted camera on the truck bed, Dojin secured the final camera to the pull-up bars.
To capture every angle, Dojin mobilized all his gear, including his old cameras and the ones the director had gifted him.
He planned to edit the footage into a six-way split-screen video, including the GoPro footage from his chest.
"Alright, let's start again."
Just as Dojin finished setting up the cameras and was about to get back to clearing the weeds...
His phone, which had been silent all day, began to ring.
Seeing the caller ID, Dojin's face broke into a goofy grin.
If Seungwan were here, she would have made her signature face as if she'd chewed on a bug, but Dojin couldn't care less.
Just being able to talk on the phone like this with the wife he had once lost made him incredibly happy.
"Hey, Dohee. What's up? I thought you were hanging out with Seungwan today."
Dojin's voice dripped with sweetness as he answered.
But Dohee's voice on the other end was anything but sweet.
"Oppa, where are you right now?"
Today, Saturday, was originally supposed to be Dojin and Dohee's date night.
Although it was never officially decided, they had met up every single week without fail since their first meeting, making it a natural routine.
But a few days ago, Dohee had suggested they skip their date this week.
The reason was her best friend, Seungwan.
Dojin had no choice but to agree.
Even he had to admit they had neglected Seungwan lately.
Although the three of them often hung out together, he knew the two best friends needed some quality time alone.
Yet, rendering his consideration entirely moot, the two of them had come to find him.
And they had brought plenty of alcohol with them.
"...What is all this?"
"Hmm, a resignation party?"
"Resignation? Dohee, did you quit your job?"
Dojin asked, startled by Dohee's words.
"No, not me. Seungwan."
"Ah..."
Dojin's face, which had briefly lit up, instantly fell.
He felt bad for Seungwan, but Dojin had secretly hoped it was Dohee who had quit.
Working at a telecom customer service center, her job stress was off the charts.
I need to bring it up before her health gets any worse...
Back when they were dating, Dohee had once fainted.
The diagnosis was stress-induced shock.
After the doctor warned that her overall bodily functions had severely deteriorated, Dohee finally confessed what she had been going through at work.
The complaints from nightmare customers, the colleagues who dumped all their work on her...
...and the office politics, topped off by bosses who cared only about saving their own skins.
All those stressors had piled up until her body simply broke down.
Fortunately, after she quit, her health had recovered.
I'll bring up the topic of her job when the time is right.
Clearing his thoughts, Dojin turned his gaze to Seungwan.
After all, she was the guest of honor today, not Dohee.
"Sigh..."
Her face, usually so composed no matter what happened, was now a picture of utter misery.
Seeing this, Dojin asked gently.
"Seungwan, you said you worked as an editor, right?"
"Yes. I edited broadcast videos for streamers and uploaded them to YouTube."
"The streamer Seungwan managed was actually really famous!"
"Really? Who?"
"Do you know BJ Rogillo?"
"Ah!"
An exclamation escaped Dojin's lips at Seungwan's words.
He actually knew of BJ Rogillo.
Though she was a female streamer, she was good at gaming and had a quick wit, even appearing on cable TV shows at one point.
However...
Didn't that streamer get ruined later after being caught gambling and hiding a secret boyfriend? Ah, has she not been caught yet?
It had happened so long ago that his memory was a bit fuzzy.
Misinterpreting Dojin's reaction, Seungwan let out another heavy sigh.
"Sigh, even you know her, Dojin. Well, she is ranked among the top ten female streamers on Afreesca. That miserable bitch... Who does she think made her that way?"
"...?"
"She only got that big because Seungwan helped her," Dohee chimed in. "Back when she didn't even have ten viewers, Seungwan set up her stream concept, built her character, and edited her videos for free."
"Tsk, I was the idiot. She had a pretty face but was so terrible at streaming... Why did I have to stick my nose into her business? I should have just ignored her and moved on."
The story Seungwan shared after that was quite dramatic.
Thanks to Seungwan's advice, the streamer's viewership climbed to a thousand. Out of gratitude, she invited Seungwan out for a meal...
"When we met and talked, we actually clicked really well. She listened to everything I said."
In the end, they signed an editing contract right then and there.
Seungwan poured her heart into managing the channel and brainstorming content ideas to keep the stream alive. As a result, the streamer became a star, ranking in the top ten on the platform.
If it had ended there, it would have been a heartwarming success story.
Unfortunately, reality was never that kind.
"Now that she's big, she doesn't listen to a word I say. I tell her to avoid sensitive topics, and she brings them up herself. I tell her not to do lunch dates with male fans, but she goes ahead and offers them as raffle prizes. Is gacha content really that important? Does making quick cash justify ruining the lifespan of her own channel?"
Ultimately, the rift between the two could not be mended.
Once the streamer grew famous, the other editors who joined later took the streamer's side and began framing Seungwan, leaving her unable to endure any longer.
"Ah, fuck! I hate everything. I hate people, I hate work, I hate it all!"
"Hang in there, Seungwan... I might not be much help, but you still have me."
"Sigh... Dohee, should I just start farming? I heard they give a lot of benefits to young people who return to farming these days."
"Huh? You, farming? You've never even tilled a field, let alone farmed."
"Hey! Farming is nothing! You just till the soil, throw some seeds, and water them, and they grow on their own! Right, Dojin?"
"..."
"Yeah, go for it, Seungwan! If you start farming, I'll come help you!"
"Hahaha..."
Dojin laughed awkwardly at Seungwan and Dohee's wild banter.
They hadn't even touched a drop of alcohol yet, but they already acted completely wasted.
This was the first time he had seen Seungwan like this since the time Dohee had notified him of a divorce and disappeared in the previous timeline.
As Dojin pondered how to comfort Seungwan, a faint smile played on his lips.
Clap!
Dojin clapped his hands together as he looked at the equipment parked at the edge of the schoolyard.
"You said farming is nothing, right?"
"Yeah! It's just simple manual labor!"
Startled by Dojin's sudden action, Seungwan nodded reflexively.
It seemed to come more from stubbornness than actual conviction.
The smile on Dojin's face grew even wider.
"Then would you like to give it a try?"
"Huh?"
Leading the bewildered Seungwan and Dohee, Dojin walked toward the lawn mower parked at the edge of the schoolyard.