“Wooooo…”
“Jiyu, snap out of it!”
I grabbed the sinking Jiyu by the nape of her neck and tried to lift her up with all my might, but her heavy head had no intention of budging. I looked at Yumi, hoping she could play the role of a relief pitcher.
“Ugh!”
But Yumi was sinking too. I tried everything to boost the spirits of these two kids, but nothing worked. I could only stand there, my face pale. What if they stayed in this sinking state forever?
The reason for their sinking was simple: they had just taken their second-semester midterm exams. Jiyu, who never studied, was naturally slumped over, but I couldn’t figure out why Yumi was like this.
Yumi was known to be a good student, but today felt different. I cautiously approached her.
“Yumi, what’s wrong with you too?”
“Woo…”
Yumi was making animal-like noises. Seeing her like this scared me. I never expected Yumi to sink during exam season too!
“Hana… you must’ve done well on the test…”
Yumi looked at me with wide eyes. Her gaze was so intense that I had to look away. Her current state was overwhelming, even for my confidence. I never thought I’d see Yumi like this… It seemed like she had completely bombed the test.
“Y-Yumi, this test was really hard! I felt like my brain was cramping up while solving it.”
As I gave her some lip service, a spark of life returned to Yumi’s eyes. She must’ve thought she failed, but my reassurance seemed to give her strength.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I think the overall average will drop this time. The questions were really tough.”
“If Hana says so, I feel relieved!”
Yumi soon returned to her usual self. Being the top student in school really gave her words some weight. It’s like the power of academic excellence. It reminded me of how people would laugh if a C-student protested against Seoul National University, but they’d listen if the top student did the same.
But Jiyu was still the same. Jiyu didn’t care if the test was hard or easy. She was going to fail either way. So, I tried to cheer her up with something else.
“Jiyu, I’ll treat you to ice cream today! Let’s go get some sweet ice cream…!”
I whispered into Jiyu’s ear. Her eyes lit up like a believer looking at Jesus.
“Really, Hana?”
“Of course! I even brought my card.”
I showed Jiyu my shiny gold check card. Honestly, there was enough money in this card to buy the ice cream shop and still have some left. Boss Kim Sehee had told me to call immediately if I ever lost this card because it had no spending limit.
I could probably buy an apartment or even a building with this card. That’s how much money was in it.
“Let’s go!”
Jiyu and Yumi seemed to snap out of it, speaking with renewed energy. I smiled as I watched their backs. They’re just elementary school kids after all! I followed them, trailing behind.
———————————————————-
Lee Inseop, the head of KT&G’s purchasing department, was surprised by Starlight Food’s unexpected proposal.
“Does Starlight Food handle tobacco leaves too?”
“It just happened that way. We believe the quality of the tobacco leaves is top-notch.”
“Is that so?”
Inseop skimmed through the data provided by Starlight Food. He planned to visit the tobacco farm to verify, but reading through the documented data first wasn’t a bad idea.
“Is this really true?”
“Yes. Everything written in the document is accurate.”
Inseop couldn’t help but be amazed by what he read. If this was true, the tobacco market was about to undergo a massive change. Tobacco typically contains over 3,000 chemical substances.
However, the prototype tobacco produced by Starlight Food lacked several of these components. It was mostly made from tobacco leaves alone. It was hard to even call it tobacco. It was more like nicotine gum or patches.
A tobacco product with no other toxic substances…
It wasn’t harmful to human health. Sure, there was still nicotine, but compared to regular cigarettes, this was practically an angelic product.
“Did the testers really enjoy the taste of the cigarettes?”
Despite only adding a few ingredients like tobacco leaves, it couldn’t satisfy smokers. It wasn’t for nothing that cigarette companies mixed in all sorts of chemicals. That was the magic formula to please smokers’ taste buds.
“We conducted tests with 100 participants, and the results are factual. Starlight Food wouldn’t lie about something like this, right?”
“Well, that’s true, but the results are just so shocking…”
Lee In-seop believed that introducing these tobacco leaves would boost KT&G’s competitiveness. A cigarette that’s not harmful to health? This was bound to be a hit. Plus, it had a taste that all smokers could enjoy.
“After further verification, we’ll get back to you. We’ll do our best to deliver positive results. Starlight Food should also prepare accordingly.”
“Of course.”
Lee In-seop hinted that he’d talk to KT&G’s upper management, so Starlight Food should get ready. Since there was no risk for Starlight Food, they readily agreed.
Given Starlight Food’s reputation, it was expected that this would be quickly introduced to other cigarettes. With this kind of product, the negative perception of cigarettes as harmful or addictive could be somewhat softened.
—
KT&G’s management had no choice but to respond positively to Starlight Food’s proposal. They had faced enough humiliation. Even though KT&G was privatized, they still had to tread carefully under the government’s watch.
“Is it even logical that less than 10% of the tobacco leaves used by KT&G are domestic?”
“It’s practically foreign tobacco at this point.”
“Since KT&G’s privatization, the ratio of domestic tobacco leaves has been decreasing. Aren’t you squeezing domestic farmers too hard? Even if domestic tobacco leaves aren’t as price-competitive as foreign ones, you should still make an effort to use them!”
KT&G felt wronged. They were being blamed for the declining number of tobacco farms. They didn’t even listen to the fact that tobacco farming was becoming increasingly difficult and labor-intensive, leading to fewer farmers.
“How much are you underpaying for domestic tobacco leaves that farmers are quitting?”
“No… We’ve never underpaid for domestic tobacco leaves. According to this data, KT&G actually buys them at a premium…”
“Ugh, I don’t want to hear it!”
The government turned a deaf ear to KT&G’s grievances. It was impossible to meet domestic demand with local tobacco alone, so importing foreign tobacco was inevitable. Without it, domestic demand couldn’t be met.
There were many reasons why tobacco farmers quit, but the main ones were the grueling labor and illnesses caused by nicotine exposure.
Unlike other crops that could be farmed using machinery, tobacco required manual labor. Farmers even got sick from working with it. That’s why they were quitting, despite KT&G buying their leaves at generous prices.
If KT&G hadn’t paid well for domestic tobacco leaves, there would be even fewer domestic tobacco farms today.
Then, Starlight Food proposed supplying a massive amount of tobacco leaves. KT&G’s management couldn’t help but cheer. This was their chance to finally shed the stigma of not using domestic tobacco.
