The event has started. People began to pour into the venue in droves. Everyone looked excited. However, most of the animations were for children, but for some reason, there were more adults. Do adults have a reason to like children’s animations?
Maybe they came with their kids? I thought, but there were many people alone. Clearly, animations are loved by people regardless of age. Seeing adults come like this proves it.
People started walking quickly to the booths of their favorite animations. Soon, the venue was packed. The booths were using loudspeakers to call people for promotion. And then, a familiar song reached my ears.
It was an animation theme song! As if enchanted, I walked towards the booth playing the theme song. But I didn’t forget to hold Bora and Haru’s hands tightly. With the crowd growing, I felt like I’d get lost if I let go.
I didn’t see anyone else wearing Lumi’s hood, hat, and holding a magic wand. I must be the first. Feeling good, I jumped around.
I went back to Lumi’s booth I visited earlier. It seemed fully prepared, a stark difference from when I first came. Various goods were displayed on the exhibition stand. It was empty when I first arrived.
The goods were selling fast. If I hadn’t come in first, I might not have been able to buy any. Even though it’s early, they’re selling so quickly, it was obvious my turn wouldn’t come.
Lumi is indeed popular. I saw some kids my age, but many adults were buying too. Are they buying for their kids at home? But they seem a bit old for that.
“Ah!”
I noticed something then.
“What’s wrong, Hana?”
“Look! Over there!!!”
I pointed somewhere with my finger. Haru and Bora looked where I was pointing. There stood a life-size figure of Lumi. People were taking photos with it as a background. A line was forming beside it.
“I want to take a photo too!!!”
“Sure, sure.”
I stood next to the figure, dressed the same, and waited. Luckily, it was still early in the event, so not many people were there. After a short wait, it was my turn.
I stood next to Lumi’s figure, posing with a V sign. Bora took my picture with her camera. I posed just like Lumi, holding the magic wand.
“Are you taking good pictures, Bora?”
“Yeah, yeah, perfect!”
Bora took dozens of photos of me. One would have been enough, but more photos aren’t bad.
I stomped the ground lightly, stepping around Lumi’s figure. I checked the photos Bora took of me.
The pictures on my mobile phone looked amazing. Not only was I wearing Lumi’s hat, but I also looked like an Amazon warrior wielding a magic wand.
“Next, I want to do that!!!”
“Take it easy, Hana.”
I ran around the venue like it was my home. I spread my arms and ran like an airplane, feeling faster and enjoying it.
Leaving the booth, I unconsciously approached a crowded area. Don’t we all go to crowded places out of curiosity?
“Wow!”
There was a small game set up with a toy gun. The game was to knock down dolls with the gun and win them.
My eyes sparkled at the sight of Lumi’s doll. Other prizes caught my eye, but not as much as Lumi.
“Bora! Haru! I want to do this!”
I grabbed Bora and Haru’s sleeves and whined like a child. Luckily, Bora and Haru listened to me. They followed me well and didn’t get lost.
“You want to do this?”
“Yes!”
“If Hana wants to, we should!”
Saying that, Bora took out her wallet and paid. I held the heavy toy gun in my hand. The metallic feel was familiar to me, a former soldier.
It’s cool… I expected to handle this toy gun easily, being a top shooter.
I naturally shouldered the gun. Haru and Bora were surprised at my shooting stance.
“Wow, Hana, your shooting stance is unusual.”
“Did you learn it online…?”
For an ordinary person, holding a gun…
Instead of properly shouldering it, it was common to just clumsily hold it with both hands. And since it was a toy gun, there was no recoil, so it didn’t matter if I maintained that shooting stance.
But as someone who’s served in the military, I couldn’t stand such a sloppy hold. So, I started shooting with movements so precise they could’ve been in a military training video. The target was Lumi’s doll.
*Pew! Pew!*
Only cute, un-gun-like sounds came out. But contrary to my expectations, Lumi’s doll didn’t fall easily. If it were real bullets, the doll would’ve been shattered, but the gun I was holding was a toy. The bullets looked like cork stoppers, so they had zero lethality.
“Eat this! Eat this!”
I shouted while shooting, trying to knock down Lumi’s doll. After a few shots, the cost of shooting probably exceeded the cost of buying the doll, but I finally managed to get it.
By repeatedly hitting the same spot, the doll slowly tipped backward, and I kept shooting. Eventually, the doll fell backward and landed in the basket below.
“Here you go, little miss.”
The store owner handed Lumi’s doll to me. I happily took it and raised it high into the air. Bora and Haru clapped and congratulated me.
“Wow!”
I gained so much from today’s event. A transformation set and a doll! It was a jackpot.
We stayed at the event until sunset.
—
Starlight Coffee was selling like crazy. If someone had been watching, they’d have said it was unbelievable!
Even though Starlight Food was distributing massive amounts to each region, there were still suspicions of hoarding. Fortunately, adding online delivery helped calm the hoarding rumors nationwide.
At 10 cans for 36,000 won, it was expensive compared to convenience store coffee but cheap compared to café coffee. However, once you tasted Starlight Coffee, your thoughts changed.
It was like rewiring your brain—how could coffee this good exist? Coffee reviewers left rave reviews on their blogs. Even notoriously critical bloggers praised Starlight Coffee.
“Hmm…”
Kim Sehee sipped the coffee on her desk. Despite her back aching like a bow, she forced herself to sit up and read the delightful report.
The domestic beverage market was worth 10 trillion won annually. Most food markets couldn’t compare.
Green tea accounted for about 10% of that. Even if you monopolized the green tea market, you’d only make 1 trillion a year. And with diverse tastes, a 100% monopoly was impossible.
Currently, Starlight Green Tea held about 70% market share, earning nearly 60 billion won a month.
The coffee market was even bigger. Including café coffee, it was close to 3 trillion won.
Capturing the coffee market alone would mean controlling 30% of the domestic beverage market. So, Kim Sehee’s challenge in the coffee market wasn’t a coincidence—it was inevitable.
She wanted to expand into carbonated drinks, but those were already patented from the concentrate, making them hard to crack.
For now, sales were smooth. Reports of Starlight Coffee selling out as soon as it hit convenience stores were becoming repetitive, but hearing them never got old. What boss wouldn’t be happy hearing their product was selling well?
Unless the boss was some weirdo hoping their company would fail, they’d definitely be thrilled.
Kim Sehee smiled brightly while reading the report. Some competitors tried sneaky discounts to counter Starlight Coffee, but they were no match. All they did was cut into their own profits.
