The fruit good for baldness had been handed over to the boss, so there was no need to worry about it anymore. After all, they were plants that grew well on their own. Of course, I knew I had to be around, so I was diligently farming in the area where my energy could reach. The buildings around this Starlight Research Institute building were being demolished one by one. When I asked the boss about it, they said the plan was to demolish all the buildings and turn the area into farmland. Of course, the buildings I needed weren’t demolished.
“Hmm…”
I was fiddling with the tablet the boss had left me. The world of the elves was nice, but for someone like me who was used to the digital age, it was a bit boring. Modern society with internet access was the best. Of course, both worlds had their pros and cons. I was busy watching videos on the tablet the boss had given me. I had officially become a full-time slacker.
Since it was school vacation, I didn’t need to go to school, and Starlight Food took care of all the farming except for the greenhouse in my backyard, so there was nothing for me to worry about. I decided to enjoy this leisurely life. After being dragged around as the avatar of the World Tree for the past month, lying in bed watching videos on the tablet wasn’t so bad. In fact, it might have been better. Feeling the softness of the bed and watching dopamine-inducing videos was something I couldn’t do in that other world!
I was watching a movie using the tablet stand so I didn’t have to use my hands. I had asked Hana to get me one that attaches to the bed, and not long after I mentioned it, it arrived. I wondered where they got it so quickly. Whenever I wanted something, it seemed to arrive in a day or two.
As I watched the movie, sleepiness crept in. I didn’t resist the wave of drowsiness. With the soft bed and the air conditioner blowing gently, it would’ve been strange if I didn’t feel sleepy. I laid my head on the pillow and fell into a deep sleep.
—
“Ugh…”
I woke up feeling parched, as if I had been outside. I was drenched in sweat. Unable to bear the heat, I opened my eyes. Why was it so hot? I soon found the reason. The air conditioner was broken. That’s why the hot sunlight streaming through the windows was raising the temperature in my room. It felt like I was inside a greenhouse. No, the greenhouse in my backyard was a state-of-the-art smart farm with temperature control, so this room was like a steaming hot pot in comparison.
“Ugh…”
I groaned and struggled to get out of bed. Using a thick blanket was a mistake. Since the air conditioner in my room never turned off, I had chosen an autumn blanket instead of a summer one, which was the reason I woke up in this sweltering heat.
In the summer, it felt oddly satisfying to cover myself with a thick blanket while enjoying the cool breeze from the air conditioner. The fact that I was using a thick blanket in the summer gave me a strange sense of pleasure. But now, with the air conditioner broken, it was a disaster.
I slipped on my slippers and opened the door to the hallway. The hallway was cool. The temperature in my room earlier felt like a dream. I shuffled to the office, where Bora greeted me.
“Hana, weren’t you just sleeping?”
The office staff would occasionally check on me to see if I was okay. Of course, they came in quietly, so I never noticed. Bora must have come into my room earlier.
“My air conditioner broke, Bora. It’s so hot I can’t sleep.”
“Oh my, Hana, you’re drenched in sweat!”
Sweat was dripping from my body. It was a strange sight considering the cool temperature of the office. Bora went into my room, clicked her tongue, and came back out.
“It’s so hot. Hana, you should leave the door open today.”
Since the hallway air conditioner wasn’t broken, leaving the door open would let the cool air into my room. Bora called to schedule an air conditioner repair. It was summer, so the schedule was packed, and it would take some time. I left the door wide open, hoping the cool air from the hallway would flow into my room and chase away the heat.
But since it would take a while, I decided to hang out in the office. It would probably take an hour for the cool air to fill my room. In the meantime…
Since falling asleep was out of the question, chilling in the office with cool AC was way more comfortable. And I even had my own spot there. The office employees had set up a special space for me since I visited so often. I went in there, grabbed my tablet, and decided to watch a movie.
—
The fruit good for baldness, named ‘Tangle,’ successfully passed its trials. There were no side effects, but about half of the bald folks didn’t see much effect. However, the other half experienced the miraculous phenomenon of hair growing on their heads. Just eating a sweet fruit and suddenly sprouting hair? Nothing could be more magical or divine.
The researchers testing Tangle were satisfied with saving half of the bald population. Unfortunately, the other half might need wigs or hair implants. But despite the partial success, the bald participants were all smiles.
“With further improvements, more bald people will be able to escape baldness.”
Those who took the test could hold onto hope after hearing the researchers’ words. Their heads were shiny enough to reflect sunlight, but seeing the lush hair of the person next to them gave them hope. Seeing the results with their own eyes made them believe they could recover too. And since baldness isn’t life-threatening, they could wait patiently. They’d waited this long for a cure; a few more years with hope was nothing.
Hana, while planting seeds separately, mentioned that the more fruit it bore, the stronger the effect would be. Following her words, future Tangle crops could save even more bald people. And saving half the bald population was already Nobel Prize-worthy. No one had ever conquered baldness before, but Hana, even with a partial success, had given half the bald population an escape from this dreaded condition.
“Insane…!”
Kim Ji-ho was lucky to be one of the half. He couldn’t believe the reflection in the mirror. His middle should’ve been bare, but now it was full of hair. Though still short, the fact that it was growing brought tears to his eyes. He was clearly a bald man, but now it felt awkward to call himself that. One of his biggest complexes was disappearing. That alone was enough to make him cry.
“My… my hair!”
Kim Ji-ho fumbled over his scalp. He could feel the short strands of hair. If this hair grew normally, he could return to his old hairstyle. After going bald, he’d stopped going to the salon, but now he had hair that could take him back.
“Thank you, Teacher!”
Kim Ji-ho bowed deeply to the doctor who oversaw his trial. This doctor was now his life’s savior.
“Don’t thank me, thank Starlight Wellbeing. I didn’t do anything, haha.”
The doctor chuckled as he spoke. He really hadn’t done much—just fed them the fruit from Starlight Food and monitored the progress. None of the participants experienced side effects. In fact, some even asked for more because Tangle tasted so good.
Starlight Wellbeing was satisfied with the good data, and the doctors couldn’t help but smile at the generous testing fees from Starlight Food. It was a win-win for everyone.
