“Hehehe…”
I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw my reflection in the mirror. Dressed as Lumi, the Little Magician, I felt invincible. There were eyes watching me as I struck a pose.
Bora and Haru stood with their arms crossed, looking at me with doubtful eyes. They couldn’t possibly understand my superior fashion sense. After all, there was a 10-year age gap between us. Sure, I was originally in my 20s, but if you considered my current physical age, that was the reality.
And since the mind follows the body, it wasn’t a lie to say there was a 10-year difference. Men going through menopause sometimes become more feminine due to hormones, so who was to say I wouldn’t change because of this child’s body? Even if I did change, I was still me!
“Hana, didn’t you say you were going to meet your friends?”
“Yeah. So?”
“I don’t think you should go dressed like that…”
Bora insulted my impeccable fashion sense. I glared at her, furious.
“No! This is exactly how I should go!”
Bora and Haru exchanged glances, then nodded. They slowly approached me. I had no choice but to step back. Their intentions didn’t seem pure. With their hands raised, they moved toward me like ghosts, and I couldn’t help but gulp nervously.
“O… don’t come closer, Bora! Haru!”
“No matter how much you’re going to meet friends, we can’t let you go dressed like that, Hana.”
“Ahhh!”
I screamed. I had no choice but to call out for Maru, who wasn’t even here.
“Maru, save me!”
If Maru were here, she could’ve rescued me. But Bora and Haru shattered that hope.
“Maru took the day off today!”
“Waaah!”
I was caught by Bora and Haru. And then, they ruthlessly made me change my clothes.
—
“Hiiing…”
My reflection in the mirror was different now. The child dressed as Lumi, the Little Magician, was gone. Instead, there I was, wearing a bright outfit. Objectively, it looked fine, but I still wanted to wear Lumi’s costume.
Normally, I would’ve just worn whatever Bora or Haru picked out, but today was different. It was a gathering of people who loved Lumi, the Little Magician. There would be girls my age there. Some might even be cosplaying, so my outfit wouldn’t have been out of place.
But now, it was too late. I pouted. Bora and Haru seemed pleased with what I was wearing.
“I’m going.”
“Want us to take you, Hana?”
I didn’t want to talk to Bora and Haru anymore today, so I shook my head.
“I’ll go by myself!”
I bowed politely to Bora and Haru before leaving the room. No matter how angry I was, basic manners were still important. I stepped out of the building, greeted by a clear autumn sky.
The cloudless weather lifted my spirits. That’s right. All that was left was to have fun, so there was no need to stay upset. I could shake off this gloomy mood by chatting with kids who shared my hobbies.
My heart was racing. I couldn’t even imagine how fun it would be to sip drinks at the café and talk about Lumi’s movie. It might even be more fun than talking to Jiyu and Yumi.
I hopped into a taxi parked on the street. I had to hurry if I didn’t want to be late. Of course, it wasn’t like public transportation where they leave right on the dot. I smiled brightly and told the taxi driver my destination.
—
When I arrived at the meeting spot, I looked around. I wondered if I needed to go further. Checking the time on my phone, I realized I had to hurry. I was already a little late. Of course, the group wouldn’t leave right at the scheduled time, but it still felt a bit awkward to be late when meeting new people.
However, as I got closer to the meeting spot, I sensed something unusual. The meeting place was supposed to be in front of Idaya Café, but there were grown men swarming around.
No elementary school kids in sight. But even so, being late…
It wasn’t like I had come here for no reason. Clutching my chest, which felt like it might burst, I slowly approached. The members of the gathering had all agreed to bring the Little Magician Lumi’s bag.
Could those guys really have brought Lumi’s bag? I couldn’t help but hope that this group had gathered for some other purpose.
—
Kim Sehee decided to turn all of Gangwon Province into a Starlight Food farm. Just like how Ulsan makes you think of Hyundai, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to make an entire local government synonymous with a company. Of course, the goal wasn’t to own it directly but to make sure that whenever people heard the name, they’d immediately think of Starlight Food.
Anyway, Kim Sehee was watching several cows that had been fed plenty of Starlight Rice Straw and raised in warm, comfortable conditions. The cows’ expressions were the epitome of comfort.
“Mooooo.”
The cows were being milked by machines. Curious about how it worked, I came to watch, but the process of milking barely involved any human hands.
The machines extracted the milk from the cows. Then, they checked if the milk was productive, tasty, or if it contained any harmful elements before using purifiers and filters to remove impurities.
Drinking milk straight from the cow wasn’t very tasty and wasn’t good for people either.
By the way, who even thought of milking a cow and drinking it? I couldn’t help but think the first person to drink milk must’ve been a weirdo. Who even thinks of drinking an animal’s milk? It was an extraordinary thought that no ordinary person could’ve come up with.
I stared blankly at the milk production process. White milk was gushing out of the milking machine like an explosion. I wondered if the Starlight Rice Straw contained something that boosted production.
It was only natural that a plant had special abilities. It was time to get used to it. But the most unique thing about this plant was that no other company could dare to replicate it.
Due to the peculiar nature of this plant, which only grew in specific areas, it could only be cultivated by Starlight Food. If planted elsewhere, it would grow a little but never fully mature. So even in these times of serious business leaks, they could grow it with peace of mind. It was the company’s secret, something that could never be stolen.
On top of that, it had various abilities. Kim Sehee received a perfectly processed cup of milk. It was milk produced by the cows here. Kim Sehee drank the milk handed to her by an employee.
Her eyes widened. While other milks were bland, like water, this Starlight milk was fresh and nutty. With this level of taste, conquering the milk market was only a matter of time. And milk wasn’t just for drinking.
In modern society, there were countless products that used milk.
Coffee, cheese, cream, butter, yogurt, bread—it was hard to even list them all. It even went into baby formula. Once produced, milk could go anywhere. It was like a versatile all-rounder.
The cows fed with Starlight Rice Straw produced several times more milk than regular cows. Even though they were the same breed, what they ate made a huge difference.
Both were Holstein cows, after all. Confident in her success, Kim Sehee decided to increase the number of cows. She had enough capital, and the employees and farms to raise the cows were already in place.
All she had to do was fill the farms with cows, and production could start immediately. She had already over-hired people because expanding the business required manpower. Kim Sehee imagined a future where Korea’s food market was in her hands.
Like a dystopian world, only foods branded with Starlight Food’s name would have the right to sit on Korean dining tables. Kim Sehee happily imagined the Korean people living under the rule of Starlight Food.
