A while later, Kim Sehee led people to visit the place that would soon become a coffee farm.
“Wow… This is really…”
She couldn’t help but marvel at the baby coffee trees that had already borne abundant fruit just a few days later.
“Is this whole area going to be filled with nothing but coffee trees?”
Kim Sehee had already created a department dedicated solely to farming because of the cherry tomatoes. So, she was able to create an environment where the coffee trees from Hana could be skillfully cultivated.
“Yes. In the future, this entire area will be dedicated to growing only coffee trees.”
“That’s great.”
Now that it was spring, it had become warm. And she planned to prepare state-of-the-art greenhouses to allow cultivation even in winter. The profits would easily cover the operating costs. It was even more profitable considering the continuous harvests that would be needed.
Kim Sehee, who had seen it before, couldn’t help but marvel at the thickly clustered coffee fruits.
“Does it make sense for a single coffee tree to bear this much fruit?”
“I was surprised too. Both the cherry tomatoes and the coffee trees seem to have some special ability.”
“I see.”
Kim Sehee couldn’t help but smile at the beautifully shaped coffee fruits. To have so many coffee trees bearing top-quality fruits…
“With this, we should be able to handle the domestic demand, right?”
Kim Sehee said, looking at the number of fruits on a single coffee tree. If just one tree could bear this many fruits, imagine how many coffee fruits would be produced with tens of thousands of trees.
Kim Sehee happily imagined how many coffee beverages she would sell in the future. The quality of these coffee drinks would be impossible to imitate. It was clear that only Starlight Food’s coffee would later be recognized as the best.
For now, the plan was to release the coffee harvested from the trees as regular products, while the coffee containing a strand of Hana’s hair would be sold as a premium product. The coffee with Hana’s hair had an unparalleled aroma and taste that no other coffee in the world could match.
The price wouldn’t matter. Coffee enthusiasts wouldn’t care about the price. And even if they did, so what? It was planned to be a limited quantity anyway. If the opportunity arose, production could be increased later, but for now, that was the plan.
—
“One, two! One, two!”
I turned on the computer and diligently did my exercises. Exercise was essential if I wanted to grow taller. The woman on the computer screen was doing exercises to help grow taller. I followed her movements.
For some reason, Haru said she wanted to film me doing this, so she was holding a camera and filming me as I diligently exercised. What was she planning to do with the footage?
I focused all my energy on the height-increasing exercises, not paying attention to anything else. If I could grow even 1cm taller, I would have no regrets. I drank milk every day, went to bed early, and woke up early, but growing taller seemed like a distant dream.
But if I kept exercising diligently, maybe one day I would grow taller? Maybe the heavens would notice my efforts, and a height-increasing fairy would visit me while I slept.
Since I was in my growth period, I absolutely refused to stay at 135cm forever. If I didn’t grow taller, I even considered getting height-increasing surgery. Of course, I wasn’t sure if Bora or Haru would allow it.
“Yah yah!”
Before I knew it, the exercises were coming to an end. I vigorously moved my short arms and legs. The woman in the video was skillfully doing the height-increasing exercises. At first, I couldn’t keep up with her tempo, but now I could do the exercises almost as well as her.
“Done!”
As the final move ended, the video concluded with the woman congratulating us on completing the exercises. I felt the sweat and turned off the computer. I felt proud and accomplished after finishing today’s energetic and fulfilling exercise session. Haru clapped beside me, congratulating me on finishing.
“Hana, you’re so good at exercising! You could even become a gymnast!”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I was amazed by your flexibility!”
“That’s my flexibility!”
I walked to the fridge. Inside were various beverages and delicious snacks. I pushed them aside and… (to be continued)
I drank the milk from the “Well-Grown” brand. I really wanted to drink one carton a day, but I held back a bit because I heard that drinking too much could actually harm my body.
“Ugh~”
I was so tired that I just flopped face down on the bed. After an incredibly tough and dangerous workout, I needed to rest like this every once in a while. Even people who work out don’t go to the gym every day—they take a proper rest at least once a week, right?
I was the same. If I overstimulated my growth plates, there was a chance I wouldn’t grow taller, so I carefully avoided doing workouts every day and only exercised on set days. Haru was sitting next to me as I lay face down on the bed.
Haru was holding a camcorder and checking something. Out of curiosity, I peeked to see what she was doing. It seemed like she was saving my workout videos separately. What’s so great about me working out…? Whenever Haru or Bora saw me exercising, they’d always record it on their phones or camcorders.
Maybe they wanted to show it to me later when I grow up? But since I’m already an adult, I didn’t have any childish thoughts about keeping those videos to watch later.
“Hana, let’s go eat!”
“Okay!”
I guess all the hard work made me hungry, so I got ready to head to the restaurant as Haru suggested.
—
Rumors were swirling that Starlight Food was entering the coffee market. Some said its taste was so incredible that once released, it would sweep through the coffee market like a massive tsunami. Of course, others claimed it was all just hype.
Kim Dong-bin, the CEO of Nosde Chilseong Company, had no choice but to gather his executives in the meeting room. Starlight Food was already a giant in the green tea market. It was an open secret that the CEO of Seodong Food had collapsed from high blood pressure due to declining sales.
However, the mood in the meeting room wasn’t too bad. That’s because Starlight Food had previously released a coffee beverage that completely flopped. One executive emphasized this point, calming CEO Kim Dong-bin’s nerves.
“CEO, Starlight Food still can’t make a proper coffee beverage.”
After investigating the coffee bean supply chain, they found that Starlight Food hadn’t secured any decent coffee beans yet. Of course, Starlight Food could grow its own coffee beans, but that information hadn’t spread yet.
Since there were no coffee farms in the country, it was simple to track the import routes. There still weren’t any farms in Korea growing coffee trees.
“The green tea market was small, and it was easy to meet consumer needs. But coffee is different. The market size is incomparably larger than green tea, and capturing consumers’ tastes is incredibly challenging.”
The executives exchanged opinions with valid reasoning. Still, it didn’t hurt to be cautious.
“Just in case, let’s take some additional measures.”
It would be too much to provoke Starlight Food through the media. If two major companies clashed, the losses would be too great for both sides. Plus, Starlight Food was part of Starlight Guild, the top company in the country.
On top of that, it was said to be run by Kim Se-hee, who was known to be a close relative. Everyone wondered why she took over such a small factory. It had a structure worse than most small and medium-sized enterprises. But thanks to the recent success of their green tea, the company had grown significantly, so they couldn’t afford to ignore Starlight Food like before.
“When Starlight Food releases its coffee beverage, we’ll respond by temporarily discounting our beverages.”
It was a fairly reasonable method of countering, so CEO Kim Dong-bin nodded in agreement. It was nearly impossible for Starlight Food to develop a proper coffee beverage in less than a month.
