“Nabi~”
It’s already been 3 days since Nabi came to our house. Now, Nabi completely recognized my room as her own territory. Even now, she was lying on top of the cat tower.
When I called Nabi, she perked up her ears and looked at me. I felt like Nabi and I really connected. I didn’t know this was why people kept pets. It felt like I had gained a new family member. I clapped my hands and called Nabi. She immediately came down from the cat tower and came to my side. I patted Nabi’s head and said,
“Today is Nabi’s day to go to the hospital~”
Huh?!
Nabi’s body trembled for a moment. I held her and said,
“Nabi needs to get vaccinated so she doesn’t get sick! You’ll do well, right?”
Nod nod.
Nabi seemed to understand my words, trembling at first but then nodding her head. Nabi was truly the best. I rubbed my cheek against Nabi’s. Even though I hadn’t had Nabi for long, she seemed like a very smart cat. When I lay on the bed watching TV, she would lie right next to me and watch too. It felt like I had gained a friend.
I heard that in this world, there are races like beastmen… I scratched Nabi’s back. Nabi meowed happily, seemingly enjoying it. It was a weakness I discovered while spending time with Nabi. If I scratched the very center of her back, she would lose herself in bliss. I didn’t miss the chance to exploit this weakness.
“Eit eit!”
“Nyaaaong…”
Nabi melted into a jelly-like state on the floor. While playing with Nabi, Bora opened the door and came in.
“Hana, let’s take Nabi~”
“Okay!”
Hearing Bora, I picked up Nabi. If it were me being told to go to the hospital instead of Nabi, I would have run away immediately, but that didn’t happen. In a way, it was a relief. If Nabi didn’t go to the hospital and I had to go instead, I would have tearfully begged Bora.
“I don’t want to go!”
That’s what I would have said.
I carried Nabi and left the room. There was no place for Nabi to escape anyway. The 10th floor of this building was like a closed-off area. It was high up, and the windows were closed, making it impossible to escape through them.
To get out of the 10th floor, one had to take the elevator, but Nabi, being a small kitten, couldn’t possibly take the elevator. She was too small to even press the elevator button. I could barely press the button myself, so there was no way Nabi could do it.
The second option was the emergency staircase, but the door to the staircase was a thick iron door. Even if Nabi pushed with all her might, the door wouldn’t budge. She didn’t have hands to turn the doorknob! The only way would be if Nabi transformed into a beastman.
But beastmen aren’t that easily found. There are only about a dozen young beastmen in the entire country. There’s no way Nabi could be one. Of course, even if Nabi were a beastman, I wouldn’t abandon her.
Nabi was now part of our family. No one would abandon their family. Thinking this, I hugged Nabi and got on the elevator. Nabi looked around curiously. I didn’t know Nabi’s exact age, but Bora said she was about a month old. We could get more accurate information at the animal hospital.
At least, Bora didn’t have the expertise of a veterinarian working at an animal hospital. Sorry to say, but Bora’s words weren’t reliable. After all, Bora was just a cat owner, not someone who had studied professionally like a veterinarian.
We took the elevator down. Carefully holding the kitten, we headed to the hospital. It was nearby, but we planned to take the car. Why walk when Bora’s car was available?
“Hana, hold the cat tight. If you drop her, it’ll be a big problem.”
Bora put me in the passenger seat. I nodded at her words. There was no way the kitten would escape from my arms, but you never know. I kept petting the cat. The cat smiled happily in my arms. Seeing the cat like this made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
“Let’s go!”
Bora sat in the driver’s seat and started the car to head to the nearby animal hospital.
—
“We’re here, Hana!”
“Okay.”
*Flop flop-*
When we arrived at the animal hospital, Nabi was flopping around. I tried to calm her down by petting her head, but Nabi’s flopping didn’t stop.
“Nabi! This is necessary for you to stay healthy!”
I spoke as if trying to persuade her. Upon hearing my words, Nabi just sank down. It looked like she might have died. Worried, I picked her up. She was just pretending to be dead—Nabi was fine. She really has a childish side.
“This is the famous vet in Seoul, so don’t worry.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I come here often.”
“Hehe!”
I stood next to Bora and entered the animal hospital. Inside, various animals were waiting for the vet.
“Ah, you’re from Starlight Food, right? You can go right in.”
As if it was prearranged, I could enter the examination room without waiting. Bora went in too. Inside, there was a pretty female vet. I bowed politely. Since she was going to take care of Nabi, I had to be courteous.
“Hi~”
“Hello.”
I placed Nabi on the examination table.
—
**[Starlight Cheese Hits the Market Hard!]**
**[Consumers Prefer Starlight Cheese!]**
**[Let’s Explore the Detailed Taste of Starlight Cheese]**
**[Chefs Also Praise It! Can Domestic Cheese Beat Imported Cheese?]**
When it came to commonly eaten cheese, people tended to prefer imported cheese over domestic. The taste was similar, and the price was cheaper. Because of this, domestic cheese was losing its competitive edge against imported cheese.
Starlight Food cleverly slipped into that gap. Their cheese was cheaper than imported cheese but had an incredible taste. There was no longer a reason to use imported cheese. Domestic cheese wasn’t really used much anyway. Since making cheese required a lot of raw milk, domestic cheese couldn’t compete with imported cheese in terms of price.
So, the cheese market was a playground for imported cheese.
“Let’s pump up the ads more.”
“Advertising budget? Let’s double it.”
Starlight Food launched a massive advertising campaign. Kim Sehee used her connections in the group to place Starlight Cheese ads on TV and various advertising spaces. It was possible because of the Starlight Group’s influence. The power of a conglomerate.
Of course, if the product was bad, even widespread advertising wouldn’t help much. Consumers’ tastes were quite cold. Ads alone couldn’t make a product sell like hotcakes.
In that regard, Starlight Cheese passed the test.
“Hey! Try putting Starlight Cheese in spicy chicken ramen! It’s really good.”
“Instead of brand pizza, the local pizza shop with Starlight Cheese is way better. I heard from friends, but I didn’t know the difference would be this big.”
From small 1,000-won packs to large quantities, Starlight Cheese could be found everywhere in the market.
Only then did other stores using different cheeses rush to Starlight Food. Brand pizza chains were also squirming. They already had contracts with suppliers, so they couldn’t easily switch. Local pizza shops, however, could change their cheese anytime.
But brand pizza chains had to use cheese suppliers connected by their headquarters. This structure actually made them lose competitiveness.
While local pizza shops saw a sharp rise in sales, brand pizza chains couldn’t avoid a sharp decline. Brand pizzas were already very expensive—2-3 times more than local shop pizzas. On top of that, the taste difference made it a complete mismatch.
Of course, it wasn’t just pizza—other fields using cheese were also undergoing a major upheaval.
