Chapter 31

I was just left to enjoy Bora’s hand movements, unable to do anything else. The way she quickly kneaded the parts I wanted felt like a heavenly massage.

After Bora’s massage ended, I stretched and started my morning. Waking up in the morning, I was a bit groggy, but starting the day feeling refreshed made me happy.

After Bora left and I was alone in the room, I dove into the soft bed. Normally, I would close the curtains and sleep, but my body needed sunlight, so I basked in the sun and drifted off into a light nap.

Since the office staff hadn’t arrived yet, it was a perfect opportunity for a 1-2 hour sweet nap. Bora didn’t disturb me while I slept like this.

After a short nap, I woke up to some noisy sounds outside. The office staff must have arrived.

Tap tap tap tap.

I quickly moved my short legs and headed outside. Sure enough, my subordinates had arrived at the office. Of course, I was the captain, and the people in this office were my supporting crew.

Although it might seem like I lacked authority, I was a democratic captain, so I could easily overlook small mistakes.

As soon as I arrived, Haru was diligently typing away, while the bald man was leisurely sipping coffee… Bora was nowhere to be seen.

I was right behind Haru, watching her type away. Haru seemed to sense my presence and turned her head.

“Hi, Hana!”

Haru greeted me cheerfully. I raised a hand in response. Then I shifted my gaze.

“Hi, Bald Man!”

“Yeah. Have a good day.”

The bald man also acknowledged my greeting while sipping his coffee. Truly, I was a benevolent superior. Where else would you find a boss who greets their employees first?

I asked Haru where Bora had gone. Haru thought for a moment with her finger on her chin but didn’t seem to know.

Failing to get an answer, I played around on Bora’s computer. Of course, after causing a big accident last time, I made sure there was no water on the desk before tapping on the keyboard.

While struggling to log in, I felt someone patting my head.

“Bora!”

Bora had returned to her seat without me noticing. I smiled brightly and greeted her. Bora looked a bit tired, as if she had been through something.

“Hi, Hana~”

She picked me up and gently placed me on the chair next to her. I obediently let her handle me.

Bora put me down on the chair next to her and started typing. I watched in awe as she easily bypassed the lock screen that I had failed to get past hundreds of times.

I quietly watched Bora work. After lunch, I had some free time to study.

As I stared, Bora glanced at me and then fully turned her gaze toward me. Did I look different?

Bora stroked my head and examined my hair closely.

“Your hair color seems darker…”

My hair had a light green tint. But as Bora said, after getting sick once, my hair had definitely darkened compared to before, though only slightly.

Bora stopped what she was doing and picked me up, heading somewhere. Probably to the research lab?

Being dragged along by Bora, I underwent a simple check-up and found out that my hair had become stronger.

From what I heard, the effect of my hair had doubled.

Originally, it could produce the equivalent of 400,000 green teas, but now it could produce 800,000.

Upon hearing this good news, Kim Sehee reportedly danced with joy.

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“Ha…”

Kim Seyoung couldn’t help but sigh in relief as she left the office. Whether it was sisterly affection or some good news, Kim Sehee greeted her with a smile.

Then, she mentioned adding some special ingredients and told Kim Seyoung to visit the Starlight Research Institute. Compared to the executives from the cosmetics group who left empty-handed, this was a fortunate turn of events.

Kim Seyoung drove her car and headed to the research institute. As the mid-sized car arrived with a soft hum, the alerted security guards appeared and welcomed Kim Seyoung.

As Kim Seyoung entered the large building, she was greeted by a lobby that wasn’t overly flashy but still neat and tidy, with a clean interior design.

Kim Seyoung, seemingly familiar with the place, operated the elevator and went up. *Ding!* She arrived at her desired floor and stepped out. The hallway was completely empty. As she walked on the soft carpet toward the office, her steps carried a hint of tension.

Standing in front of the door, Kim Seyoung took a deep breath, opened it, and quickly scanned the office. Fortunately, she found the person she was looking for.

Thanks to Kim Sehee’s description, Kim Seyoung spotted a researcher holding something and heading somewhere.

“Excuse me…”

Luckily, the researcher seemed to know she was coming and greeted her with a warm smile.

“Ah, yes! I got the message and was expecting you. Please come in.”

Putting the item down, the researcher led Kim Seyoung to a meeting room inside the office. A child with greenish hair curiously pressed their face against the glass wall, staring at them.

Kim Seyoung, following Bora’s request to help just like Kim Sehee, managed to secure a supply contract thanks to another person in the office who stepped in to assist. By then, a contract officer had also arrived in the office.

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[Starlight Cosmetics! New Product Launch Imminent!]

[Experience New Skin with Starlight Lotion!]

[Discover the Benefits of Starlight Lotion!]

Starlight Cosmetics aggressively started their advertising campaign. Having passed all clinical tests and legal requirements, the product was ready to hit the market any day now.

The benefits were listed in tiny letters: brighter skin, blemish improvement, pigmentation disorders, atopic skin relief… It was hard to tell if this was a cosmetic or a skin medication just by looking at it.

The price, of course, was set higher compared to other lotions. A 100ml bottle was priced at 199,000 won. They didn’t release a larger size because they couldn’t produce enough to sell in bulk anyway.

When Starlight Lotion first appeared on the market, the reaction was lukewarm. They hadn’t advertised much, and the Starlight Cosmetics brand wasn’t well-known. It was just a decent-quality product at a cheap price—nothing more.

As a cosmetics company that couldn’t even break into the Top 5, they decided to rely on word-of-mouth to spread the product’s effectiveness, just like they had done with Starlight Green Tea.

“What kind of lotion costs 200,000 won? Did they coat it in gold? Looking at the size, it’ll probably run out after a few uses.”

“The executives at Starlight Cosmetics must’ve lost their minds. A simple lotion for 200,000 won? Starlight Cosmetics is finally going downhill.”

“No matter how high-quality this lotion is, how confident are they to charge this much for such a small amount?”

Most housewives and women who regularly bought lotions immediately cursed Starlight Cosmetics for their insane pricing. The price and size were just too ridiculous.

It’s a consumer habit to curse first when they see a strange product and don’t like it.

Starlight Cosmetics patiently waited. They could’ve taken over the market with a low initial price, like they did with Starlight Green Tea, but they anticipated strong resistance when raising prices later. So, they launched with a higher price from the start.

Having seen firsthand how effective the product was during research, the employees at Starlight Cosmetics could smile despite the fierce consumer backlash. They were confident that even the cursing consumers would change their attitude 180 degrees once they tried the lotion.

True to Starlight Cosmetics’ expectations, a week later, the beauty community slowly started to buzz.

This was exactly what Starlight Cosmetics had been waiting for.