People were walking around outside, and the sound of footsteps reached my ears. Maybe it was because the sound lingered in my ears, but I naturally woke up from sleep.
*Flick!*
Like a robot powering on, my body felt energized. Slowly opening my eyes, I sat up in bed. Outside, it seemed like spring had already arrived—trees were adorned with leaves, and flowers were in full bloom in the garden.
It felt a bit early, but whatever. Although it was still cold outside, it wasn’t freezing anymore. In fact, it even had a slight spring vibe.
“Ugh!”
I let out a grunt and jumped from the bed to the floor. Wearing my dinosaur pajamas, my long tail dragged on the ground. I wiggled my hips left and right, trying to move the tail.
Sadly, since it wasn’t my real tail, I couldn’t move it freely like an animal. I wondered how dogs or cats could wag their tails so effortlessly. I wanted to ask them for tips.
Still in my dinosaur pajamas, I stepped outside. The hallway was already bustling with people. I greeted the employees and headed somewhere other than the office. It definitely wasn’t because I was following a delicious smell.
Following the delicious aroma, I found Bora and Haru making something. The room was filled with the rich scent of sesame oil.
I grabbed Bora’s pants and asked, “Bora, what are you making?”
“Hana, you’re here! Remember? We’re going on a picnic at the park in front of the company today.”
Oh, right. I remembered Bora mentioning it before. We were going to have a picnic at the park near our company. With spring approaching, Bora and Haru sometimes took me outside. Maybe it was a practice run before school started?
“So, we’re making things to eat for the picnic.”
“Aha!”
The floor of the building I live in is multi-purpose—it has living spaces, a kitchen, and even offices. You could call it the all-in-one floor. It has almost everything, so there’s nothing particularly inconvenient.
I sneakily approached Haru, who was rolling kimbap. Haru looked completely focused. With sparkling eyes, I scouted for my prey.
‘Now!’
I managed to grab a piece of ham meant for the kimbap. Putting the long slice of ham in my mouth, I couldn’t be happier. Honestly, there’s nothing more satisfying than sneaking ingredients while someone’s cooking.
It felt like stealing a bite of ramen. I circled around Bora and Haru, sneakily snatching ingredients. There were plenty of ingredients, so my little thefts didn’t cause any shortages.
But long tails get stepped on, and I got caught by Haru. Just as I was about to grab the last piece of ham, Haru and I locked eyes.
I gave Haru an awkward smile. Haru chuckled slightly and said, “Hana, can you help me a bit?”
“Sure!”
“Here, stack the sliced kimbap into this lunchbox in your own style.”
Haru handed me a lunchbox. I carefully placed each piece of kimbap Haru had sliced. Meanwhile, Haru skillfully cut the kimbap on the cutting board.
Watching Haru’s knife skills, I was mesmerized. It looked so cool, like a samurai.
“Haru, Haru.”
“Yeah?”
“Can I try using the knife too?”
But Haru gave me a firm look and said, “No. It’s dangerous. I’ll let you use it when you’re older.”
“Ugh…”
I knew knives were dangerous, but I didn’t expect such a firm rejection. I made a sad face, but Haru wasn’t swayed.
Well, if I messed up with the knife, it could be a disaster… Thinking about it again, I realized Haru was just looking out for me.
As I arranged the kimbap into star shapes, my mouth watered. While Haru went to wash the knife, I sneakily popped a piece of kimbap into my mouth.
‘Mmm…’
The crunchy pickled radish and various vegetables made it delicious. When I ate just the ham earlier, I didn’t realize how special it would taste with all the ingredients mixed together.
I could now eat vegetables without much hesitation. Though it was still a bit uncomfortable, it wasn’t as bad as before.
I was about to grab another piece, but Haru returned, so I couldn’t. I’d eat plenty later at the picnic anyway. Still, I couldn’t help but gaze longingly at the kimbap.
Kimbap, I’ll eat you until I burst later. Just you wait.
I turned my gaze away.
I looked at Bora. Bora was making a sandwich. I packed all the kimbap into the lunch box, closed the lid, and ran straight to Bora.
Watching her make the sandwich next to me made my mouth water. It was a sandwich packed with various meats. There were some vegetables too, but not enough to be annoying.
As expected, Bora knows my taste well.
Ever since she caught me sneaking vegetables onto her plate last time we ate, Bora knew I wasn’t a big fan of veggies. If I had known this would happen, I should’ve just told her straight up.
I stared at Bora with sparkling eyes. I was speaking to her through my gaze. “Can’t I just have one sandwich?”
Bora seemed to understand my pleading look and handed me a finished sandwich.
Yum!
Bora’s sandwich was really, really delicious. For some reason, I craved beer, but I resisted with superhuman patience.
—
Many companies, other than Starlight Food, had tried to grow Starlight Cherry Tomatoes.
It was unclear whether they were advertising with rarity, like honey-infused potato chips, or if they genuinely couldn’t produce enough. But one thing was certain: cherry tomatoes were profitable.
They sold out as soon as they hit the shelves, not to the point of resale, but they sold fast enough to make you think about it. Despite the somewhat high price, office workers loved them for a quick and hearty breakfast.
However, students or those who didn’t earn much didn’t prefer cherry tomatoes. Younger generations cared about taste, and for less than the price of Starlight Cherry Tomatoes, they could get cup noodles and triangle kimbap for 3,000 won.
Anyway, if you could successfully grow Starlight Cherry Tomatoes, you’d hit the jackpot. They were only sold domestically, but the potential for overseas sales was endless.
However, companies trying to grow Starlight Cherry Tomatoes hit a major roadblock.
“Why aren’t they bearing fruit?”
At first, they planted the cherry tomatoes and tried to grow them. But most of the tomatoes didn’t even sprout. They just stayed buried in the ground.
So, they tried various methods. They adjusted sunlight, optimized temperature, gave plenty of fertilizer—they tried everything.
Perhaps as a result of their efforts, when the cherry tomatoes did sprout, they celebrated with a feast. But that was the end of their success.
The cherry tomatoes grew much faster than other plants. But at some point, that abnormal growth rate stopped. And without fail, they didn’t bear fruit.
“It seems like something’s missing for the cherry tomatoes to bear fruit.”
They didn’t know what that “something” was, but they thought the Starlight Guild might know. That’s why they confidently released Starlight Cherry Tomatoes to the market. They must have known the secret to making them bear fruit.
Just in case, they tried growing regular cherry tomatoes instead of Starlight ones. It worked. The ordinary cherry tomatoes bought from the market grew slower but thrived and bore plenty of fruit.
“We absolutely must figure out how to make these cherry tomatoes bear fruit.”
But even with all the advanced equipment, it was unclear if they’d ever find out. With their modest research budget, it seemed impossible. Unless they stormed Starlight Food’s headquarters and stole the growing method, the secret seemed out of reach.
And Starlight Food didn’t even remove the seeds from their cherry tomatoes. This meant they were truly confident.
So, Starlight Food’s competitors had no choice but to throw money into the void trying to grow cherry tomatoes.
Starlight Food, with its relatively small stake in the Starlight Guild, was confident that if they succeeded in growing cherry tomatoes, they could take a significant share of the market.
