I sent a message to Jiyu and Yumi.
[Let’s go, let’s go!]
[I want to go too!]
Luckily, Jiyu and Yumi didn’t refuse to go skiing. They just told me to bring my body along. Was it my victory? If it had cost money, Jiyu and Yumi would have had to consider their parents’ reactions, but it didn’t. Everything from start to finish was free, so there was no reason not to come. Plus, they even provided transportation.
“It’s happening, it’s happening!”
I paced around the room. Maru came into my room, saw me, and said, “Looks like your friends are coming too?”
“Yeah!”
“The company also gave the okay, so there shouldn’t be any issues.”
“Wow!”
Fortunately, the company also gave permission. Of course, there was the condition that Maru had to come along, but that was no big deal. And anyway, there had to be at least one adult. Elementary school kids can’t just go to a ski resort by themselves. Having one adult around would make things easier. And the ski resort probably wouldn’t be too thrilled about just three elementary school kids showing up. They’d probably cheer if there was one more adult to keep things in check.
And just like that, our ski trip was approved. We planned to go this weekend.
“I hope it snows heavily.”
I thought that as I looked out the window at the sky. Isn’t that the romance of a ski resort? The thrill of skiing down the snowfield in a snowy ski resort—that alone was reason enough to go.
But the sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. I clasped my hands and prayed. Please let it snow heavily on the day we go skiing. Of course, just in Gangwon-do, not Seoul. If it snowed too much in Seoul, traffic would be a mess, and it might take forever to get to Gangwon-do. Though if it snowed just enough, it wouldn’t matter if it snowed in both places.
—
On the promised day, I looked out the window. It was really snowing. The news had said the chance of snow was low, but it seemed the heavens had heard my wish. Come to think of it, ever since I got stuck in this research institute, I’d heard the world was going crazy with weird weather.
Of course, it might have been the result of environmental pollution we’ve been causing for a long time. The Earth is getting sick because of the trash humans throw away and the carbon dioxide we produce.
But from the Earth’s perspective, humans are probably just like bacteria. Even if we ruin things, the Earth will still be fine. Unless some planet crashes into it, the Earth will stay intact. It’s just the life forms on it that will keep fighting.
Anyway, I was staring blankly at the snowy city outside. Luckily, the roads weren’t blocked. It didn’t seem like enough snow had fallen to cause problems. I wasn’t sure if it was snowing in Gangwon-do, but I had a feeling it would. After all, the heavens had heard my prayer.
I went outside. Maru was already there, having arrived much earlier than the other employees to get ready.
“Hana, are you up? Hurry up and wash up so we can get ready!”
“Okay!”
I rushed back to my room. It was essential to wash up cleanly before heading to the ski resort. I went into the bathroom and washed up by myself. I didn’t need anyone’s help anymore. Washing myself was something I obviously had to do.
And just like that, I managed to wash up and come out on my own. When I returned to my room, Maru was waiting with a hair dryer. I still couldn’t dry my hair by myself. I snuggled into Maru’s arms. My hair was long, so it took much more time than when it was short.
I wanted to go for a sporty haircut, but if I cut my hair that short, the boss and other employees would definitely dislike it, so I couldn’t. My body wasn’t just mine anymore. It was part of Starlight Food’s image.
After drying my hair, I put on the super warm padding the boss had bought me. They said it was ridiculously expensive, but I didn’t really care. It was just really warm, with a lot of fluffy stuff inside. Padding just needed to be warm; the rest of its features were whatever. Someone with a good eye might notice how expensive it was, but how many people like that are there?
Most people would just think, “Oh, she’s wearing padding…”
But since the boss bought it for me, I had to wear it with care. Once I was all ready, I lingered in front of the office. Inside, Maru was bustling around.
I picked up my phone and sent a message to Jiyu and Yumi. “Are you guys ready?”
[All done, Yumi and I are waiting in front of the apartment!]
Already out? Of course, it was a place close to the building, so it wouldn’t take more than 10 minutes by car. But thinking about Jiyu and Yumi standing on the side of the road in this cold winter weather made my body heat up. I had to go pick up my friends quickly. I was looking at Maru with a pitiful gaze.
Maru seemed to notice my look, as she soon finished packing and came outside.
“Let’s go, Hana! You said our friends are waiting, right?”
“Yeah!”
I followed Maru like a puppy. It was my first time going to the ski resort, and my heart was pounding. Just imagining how it would feel to ski made me excited. Skiing down a snow-covered field seemed romantic enough on its own.
—
The CEO of CN Jeiljedang, which holds the top spot in domestic flour imports and handles 20% of the total demand, was feeling a bit uneasy.
Already, in this small country, everyone was fighting tooth and nail, and now even Starlight Food was showing interest in flour imports? There couldn’t be a bigger red flag than this.
The only silver lining was that Starlight Food seemed to be trying to establish its own distribution network through self-sufficiency.
Jeiljedang had spent over 50 years pouring massive amounts of money into building its distribution network, and it seemed impossible for Starlight Food to catch up in such a short time. Even if Starlight Food’s wheat was cheaper, you can’t dominate the market with just low prices.
If cheap prices alone made businesses successful, everyone and their dog would open a store. In the distribution industry, factors other than price mattered too. You couldn’t just buy flour from a new company with no established distribution network, no matter how cheap it was.
What if the distribution network was weak and they couldn’t supply flour on time? Sure, Starlight Food might compensate, but the losses couldn’t be fully recovered. Breaking promises with consumers was the worst thing you could do.
Still, they had to prepare. Over the next 10 to 20 years, while Starlight Food was busy building its network, they had to find ways to disrupt it. The longer time went on, the more disadvantageous it would be for them.
Just then, the door to the CEO’s office swung open, and the secretary rushed in.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, sir, but you need to see this right now!”
The secretary quickly apologized and turned on the TV. The CEO of Jeiljedang, checking the breaking news, couldn’t help but freeze.
[Flour import company No. 3, Mir Company! 60% stake sold! Buyer: Starlight Food?]
[Starlight Food becomes the owner of Mir Company, the No. 3 flour import company in Korea!]
[What changes will come to the domestic flour market?]
“What… what is this? Why did Mir Company go under Starlight Food?”
Mir Company was a competitor in the same industry. Even though they were No. 3, they were always hot on their heels, ready to catch up. And now they’ve teamed up with Starlight Food?
There had even been times when they’d gone back and forth in competition. If they collaborated with Mir Company, the hard-to-build flour distribution network would suddenly become a different story. Mir Company already had a solid distribution network. Starlight Food just had to add flour to it.
And if they used that network, Jeiljedang would be the ones taking the hit. Because consumers would obviously choose tasty, high-quality domestic flour over expensive imported flour.
The CEO of Jeiljedang hadn’t expected Mir Company to act so quickly. If they were a chaebol, wouldn’t they rather let the company go under than hand it over to someone else? They weren’t the type to bow down to others.
The situation was the same for other flour import companies.
