“Huh?”
An employee working at Starlight Food discovered something strange.
Just yesterday, the cherry tomato plant was perfectly fine, but today it was found completely dried up, as if it hadn’t been watered for weeks.
“No way!”
Even though there were many identical plants at the Starlight Research Institute, neglecting care could lead to disciplinary action. But that wasn’t the only problem.
“This one’s dried up too?”
Even in the state-of-the-art system used for preserving plant varieties, the plants were found withered. This wasn’t just a matter of poor management. There had to be another issue.
Upon discovering the anomaly, the employees of Starlight Food immediately called the Starlight Research Institute. If the plants there were also affected, it would cause major disruptions to future plans.
However, the plants at the Starlight Research Institute were perfectly fine. At this point, something felt off. The cherry tomatoes on the branches were fine, but the branches themselves were dried and twisted.
“This can’t be happening…”
The anomaly experienced by Starlight Food reached the ears of the Starlight Research Institute, and after several tests, they were able to identify the cause.
“If the plants are more than a certain distance from the research institute, they dry up and die as if they’re not receiving nutrients.”
This distance formed concentric circles around the Starlight Research Institute, roughly 20 to 30 kilometers.
“This… we might have to buy all the land around our research institute.”
Fortunately, the Starlight Research Institute was located on the outskirts of the city, so purchasing the land wasn’t too inconvenient. In fact, it was a great opportunity for the institute. If cherry tomatoes could be easily grown elsewhere, there would be no chance for a monopoly, but given the current situation, a monopoly was entirely possible.
Cherry tomatoes could still be grown elsewhere. So, they planned to gather as much as possible and make a profit through a large-scale seasonal sale. But now, with this anomaly discovered, they could sell at a more relaxed pace. After all, if it wasn’t near the research institute, these cherry tomatoes wouldn’t grow properly.
“We should let Starlight Food know. We’re partners, after all.”
“Do that.”
Upon hearing the news, Starlight Food could breathe a sigh of relief, knowing it wasn’t their management mistake. However, they soon received some not-so-great news: the cherry tomatoes wouldn’t grow properly unless they were near the research institute.
While these cherry tomatoes bore much more fruit than regular ones, there was no guarantee they would only be sold domestically.
If they expanded overseas, the demand for cherry tomatoes would skyrocket, but the limited amount of farmland available was a concern for Starlight Food.
Still, since no one else could grow these cherry tomatoes, their value would continue to be recognized. And the cherry tomatoes harvested from the branches didn’t wither, no matter how far they were taken.
“We’ll have to revise our sales plan.”
Kim Sehee realized she needed to completely revise the sales strategy report she had brought. The method of harvesting these cherry tomatoes had become limited, so they needed a corresponding plan.
And thinking about competitors struggling to grow these cherry tomatoes made her laugh. They would surely try to grow them elsewhere, failing repeatedly without knowing why.
It would be great if they kept trying. That way, the cost of purchasing our cherry tomatoes would likely increase.
———————————————
“Eeeeeek!”
I felt like I had traveled back to a time when I couldn’t speak. Bora had already brought the school uniform, and her madness to dress me up in it overwhelmed me.
I tried my best to escape from Bora’s grasp, but there was no winning. I just had to quietly let her take off my pajamas and put on the school uniform.
I had no choice but to put on the uniform with a sullen expression. Bora clapped her hands in delight as she saw me in the uniform.
“Cheese~”
Then she started walking around me, taking pictures with her phone. I naturally struck a pose for Bora as she took photos. If I didn’t pose, she would get upset, so I generously let myself be photographed.
“Let’s go check out the area around Starlight Elementary School today! We should see how good the school Hana is enrolling in is.”
“Can’t we just… not go?”
But as soon as I said that, Bora gave me a cold stare. It matched the expression I saw in my dream the other day. So, I naturally had no choice but to shrink back.
“No… on second thought, let’s go.”
“I wanted to!”
“Right? And except for when we went to get our school uniforms, we haven’t been downtown.”
As Bora said, it’s been months since we got here, and I still haven’t been downtown. Of course, I saw it when we went to get our uniforms, but I didn’t get to explore it myself.
I held Bora’s hand and went down to the first floor. It was afternoon, so there were a lot of people in the building. I felt like people were looking at me. Probably because green hair is hard to find in Korea.
Hiding behind Bora’s legs, we safely made it to the parking lot.
“Bora, it’s so cold…”
“Let’s get in the car quickly! I’ll turn on the heater.”
I was fine on top because I was wearing a padded jacket, but my legs were cold because I was wearing a skirt. Even with stockings, it was still cold. I never thought I’d be wearing something like stockings…
Feeling my breath puffing out, I got into Bora’s car. Winter is best spent staying at home. Coming outside was just unnecessary suffering. Of course, I didn’t say that to Bora.
Bora’s car was just average. I don’t know much about cars, so unless it’s an expensive car, they all seem the same. Sitting in the passenger seat felt different somehow.
“Put on your seatbelt, Hana.”
“Oh, right!”
It had been a while since I rode in a car, so I forgot about the seatbelt. With a skilled hand, I fastened the seatbelt and said excitedly,
“Let’s go!”
“Hana, really… where do you learn such things…”
“Hehe.”
I smiled brightly and felt the vibration of the car as it started moving. The ride was pretty comfortable. Leaving the Starlight Research Institute felt different. Even though I had gone out once before, every time felt new.
Looking at the scenery outside the window, it felt peaceful. The research institute is in a remote area, so there weren’t many people around. Only research vehicles passed by on the opposite lane.
After driving for a while, I started feeling sleepy. The warm heater breeze was blowing, and the scenery outside wasn’t changing. I didn’t resist as my eyes closed. Bora would wake me up when we arrived, right?
“Hana… Hana…”
“Huh… huh?”
I woke up from a sweet sleep at Bora’s voice. Looking around, it seemed we were already in the city.
“Let’s eat before we stop by the elementary school!”
Just waking up, I felt too lazy to move. Seeing me still half-asleep, Bora smiled slightly. Then she came to the passenger seat, hugged me, and took me into the store.
Today’s lunch seemed to be hamburgers. Bora skillfully operated the kiosk and chose a burger set.
“Want to try, Hana?”
This is a piece of cake. Since I was being held by Bora, I used the increased height to gently touch the kiosk. I was going to have a delicious kids’ burger set.
It definitely wasn’t because I wanted the toy that came with the burger. I have plenty of toys at home… but one more wouldn’t hurt, right?
“Huh? Hana, it’s your first time with a kiosk, but you’re really good at it?”
Oops!
Thinking about it, this was the first time I had touched a kiosk since becoming this body. I rolled my eyes, thinking of an excuse.
“I… I saw it on YouTube!”
“Oh, I see. I was going to help, but you did it all by yourself. You’re so clever!”
“Hehe.”
Bora’s patting made me feel good. Her touch was somehow ticklish. When the hamburgers came, I left Bora’s embrace and took the burger.
The taste was average. That’s the advantage of franchise restaurants. The low points are high, and the high points are low.
But the toy that came with the burger set really caught my heart. It was a plastic dinosaur. A Tyrannosaurus rex was roaring with its head held high. Seeing that majestic figure, I thought I should eat hamburgers every day from now on. I needed to collect the dinosaur collection.
