Yoongi wasn't kidding about the manual labor. The first couple of days involved watching videos, reviewing instructions in Japanese and included a dinner of the world-famous wagyu beef. Never thought beef could melt like that in your mouth.
Yoongi and I shared a room in a dorm-type setting in the property at the entrance of the farm. It was located in the foothills which apparently was perfect for crops. I wanted to see the farm with the cows that provided such delicious cuts of beef but that part is off-limits. Instead, we were assigned to the crop area, mostly strawberries and companion crops like beans and lettuce. I thought to myself...even crops have companions.
I wanted to be as unreachable as possible so I didn't activate my cell phone roaming services. Plus it's expensive! My family knows they can reach me through Yoongi anyway in case of an emergency. There were twenty participants but they said this number dwindles after a few months. We were from different countries and the others barely spoke Japanese too.
"Yoongles, this is great, they all speak different languages so I don't need to talk to anyone else" I whispered to him. Man-of-a-few-words Yoongi just smiled and patted me on the head. I swear this guy treats me like his son sometimes. Just then, the guy closest to us smiled like he understood what I said but then looked away.
We got up at the crack of dawn every day. The goal was to experience the process in its entirety, starting from cultivating the soil to planting seeds, the in-between and harvesting. We learned about appropriate drainage, types of soil, natural pest control and other things I didn't quite understand yet.
Day in, day out, we worked our asses off. I didn't mind it. Yoongi was right, I grudgingly admit. We were phsyically drained after several hours of work. I felt the exhaustion in my bones but chose to look at the bright side: food was good and the fact that I was also getting a workout and getting paid.
I must have been in a daze one night outside the dorm room when I bumped into mr. eye-smile.
"So...what are you running away from?" he asked. Oh shit, he's Korean too. And why does this guy have a perennial smile on his face? He's actually easy on the eyes but definitely not what I came here for.
I said "what makes you think I'm running away from something?"
"Well, it's unusual for guys our age to participate in this program unless you're a glutton for punishment".
"Name's Jeno, by the way".
