“It’s too harddddd…”
I clutched my head in despair. I managed to make a rabbit out of balloons, but trying to make other animals beyond that was a failure.
“It’s okay, Hana. You made a rabbit out of balloons, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah! I can only make rabbits and turtles too!”
“But still…”
I really wanted to make a cool dinosaur, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought. In fact, making a dinosaur plush out of balloons seemed harder than being the top student in school. Of course, if the kids who study hard heard this, they’d probably get mad.
“Hehe…”
Still, I decided to take pride in the fact that I at least made one rabbit. Maybe because I made it well, I was pouring a lot of affection into it. I planned to keep this rabbit forever, to stay with me until I grew old. Smiling, I carefully placed the rabbit in my bag.
*Pop!*
But the balloon couldn’t withstand the pressure in the bag and burst.
“Uwaaaah!”
I couldn’t help but despair at the sight of the dead rabbit balloon. What was once a rabbit had turned into a pile of balloon scraps.
—
“Ooooh…”
I was busy exploring the vast sea of the internet on my phone. Among the things that caught my eye was LEGO. I vividly remembered playing with LEGO back in my childhood. I recalled the toy soldiers and, most of all, the memory of connecting blocks to build a huge ship.
The sense of accomplishment was no joke. I could confidently say that LEGO was a man’s hobby. I had absolutely no intention of playing with dolls or stuff like that, like girls do. Dolls and dressing them up weren’t fun at all, and I was way past that age anyway.
Of course, the Little Magician Lumi was an exception. Lumi was my hero, regardless of age. Lumi was my life companion, someone who would stick with me until I grew up. So, I was planning to ask for LEGO. It seemed there were many types, so I decided to buy them directly from the store. Ordering online took too much time, and, more importantly, there was no fun in carrying the LEGO box home.
Since the big mart sold LEGO, I planned to go there. Once you make a plan, you should act on it immediately. I got up from bed and changed my clothes. I threw my dinosaur pajamas on the bed and pulled out my everyday clothes to go outside. It had been a while, but the clothes still fit perfectly.
Shouldn’t clothes get smaller as you grow? But that didn’t happen to me. It made me anxious. Maybe this body wasn’t human. Maybe I’d have to live in this small body forever. I hoped that wouldn’t happen. I wanted to grow at least a little, like I had when I was an adult before. A child’s body was just too inconvenient.
Being short was so uncomfortable, and I realized this even more as I became shorter again. Before, my strides were long, and my body was big, so I didn’t feel much inconvenience. But now, with these short legs, I could barely make it across the crosswalk before the light changed. If only my legs were longer, I could cross before the signal changed.
So, I put on my hat. I was ready to go. I confidently stepped out of my room, only to run into Maru in the hallway.
“Ah!”
“Hana! Where are you going dressed like that?”
I got caught by Maru.
“I was going out to buy something I want…”
Maru knelt down and looked me in the eye.
“What do you want to buy?”
“I want to buy LEGO!”
“LEGO?”
Maru must know about LEGO too. It’s one of the most famous toy companies in the world. It’s loved not just by kids but also by adults. In fact, adult men seem to like it even more than kids, and some sets cost as much as a month’s salary for an average worker.
“Yeah! I saw people building LEGO on NewTube, and I want it!”
“Really? Then let’s go together. It’d be boring to go alone, right?”
Maru had a point. Going alone would be a bit boring. Plus, if I went with Maru, I could hitch a ride, so it was a win-win. I nodded and waited for Maru to come out of the office.
—
“James! Are you sure your head’s okay?”
Layla said to James in the break room. Even if Tangle is great, how could he be so positive about importing Korean beef? Is Tangle…
I thought maybe there was some kind of micro-robot controlling James. Maybe that urban legend about micro-robots in vaccines controlling people was true. Here’s the evidence.
“I know, Layla.”
James knew too. Korean beef and American beef were different, starting with the fat content. And that Hanwoo (Korean beef) was produced according to Korean grading standards, not American ones.
In other words, Hanwoo naturally had a taste that leaned toward fattier beef. Koreans preferred beef with more fat, but Americans were different. They preferred leaner cuts.
Even neighboring countries like China and Japan had vastly different tastes, but across the vast ocean, the taste preferences were on a whole other level. James was certain that even if this Korean beef was sold at a 10% discount, it wouldn’t sell.
Having tried Hanwoo at a Korean restaurant, James could confidently say this. Boss Kim Sehee seemed to underestimate the American market after Tangle’s success, but distributing Hanwoo in the U.S. could end in disaster.
Americans, who had been accustomed to American beef for decades, weren’t going to suddenly prefer fatty Hanwoo overnight. If they didn’t end up dumping expired stock into the ocean, it’d be a miracle. They’d have to discount it by half just to sell it, and even then, Walmart might drown in debt.
“Glad you know.”
Layla was relieved. She was worried James, impressed by Tangle, might make a deal that would cause massive losses for Walmart. At least for bald people, Starlight Food was like a godsend.
“Instead of outright rejecting it, we should say it’s against company policy. It’s better than flat-out refusing to their face.”
“Good idea, James.”
After their conversation, James and Layla returned to the CEO’s office.
“Boss…”
James, with a gloomy expression, was about to say that headquarters wouldn’t allow it, but then he saw the beef laid out in front of him. Kim Sehee had prepared it separately.
“This… what’s this?”
James and Layla were speechless as they stared at the steak on the grill. Were they seriously going to make them eat it? But they couldn’t help but stare at the steak, almost hypnotized. It looked like an ordinary steak.
“Please try it. It’s from cows raised on Starlight Food’s special feed.”
The smell alone was incredible. The steak seemed to be begging to be eaten. James and Layla exchanged glances and nodded. They decided to give it a try.
They picked up their forks and knives and approached the steak. As soon as the utensils touched the meat, it tore apart effortlessly, like wet paper. It was incredibly tender.
James speared a piece with his fork and put it in his mouth. He chewed a few times. The chewy texture greeted him warmly. His eyes widened. Then, the burst of juices brought him pure joy. Layla must’ve felt the same.
James and Layla silently finished the entire steak. Just as Kim Sehee had predicted, this beef was top-tier, something anyone would enjoy without hesitation.
After finishing the steak, James wiped away his earlier gloom and spoke.
“Are you thinking of distributing this beef in the U.S.?”
Not distributing beef of this quality in the U.S. would be a shame, even as an American. He wanted his fellow Americans to experience this incredible flavor.
Even Layla, who had been fiercely opposed, didn’t argue with James. It didn’t make sense to oppose beef this good.
