“Whoaahhh!”
The white snow was falling from the sky. Most people would feel happy seeing this snow. The only ones who disliked the falling snow were those who had to shovel it. Most people loved the fact that it was snowing. Of course, I was in the former group. Since I didn’t have to shovel snow, it didn’t matter to me whether it snowed heavily or not.
I stretched out my arms and ran through the snowy parking lot. I couldn’t just stand still while it was snowing. Maru, seeing me like this, said:
“Hana, get in the car! Your friends are waiting, right?”
“Oh, right!”
Even though the snow made it feel like a cozy winter, I had to hurry as soon as possible when I thought of Jiyu and Yumi standing by the road. Even if it felt cozy, winter weather was still cold. I got into the passenger seat. Maru sat in the driver’s seat and stepped on the accelerator. She showed steady driving even in the falling snow.
Since it wasn’t the kind of snow that piled up to your ankles, there were no traffic issues. Of course, some remote areas might have a bit of snow piled up, but the roads with lots of cars had already been cleared. I hummed a tune while looking at the scenery outside. It seemed like people were also excited because of the snow.
As I admired the world turning white, I spotted Jiyu and Yumi standing by the road. Starlight Food had taken care of preparing the ski equipment and tools, so all we had to do was show up. It was a very comfortable and enjoyable trip where we only needed to bring ourselves.
“Jiyu! Yumi! Over here!”
I opened the passenger window and called out to Jiyu and Yumi. Hearing my voice, they ran over.
“Hana!”
“Hi!”
I waved and greeted Jiyu and Yumi. Yumi and Jiyu carefully got into the back seat. Then, they bowed their heads slightly and greeted Maru.
“Hello, unnie!”
“Jiyu and Yumi, welcome~”
Since we had already seen each other a lot, there wasn’t any awkwardness like when you meet for the first time. Maru used to take me to and from school when we were at the building, so we often ran into Jiyu and Yumi back then.
“Shall we go then?”
“Yes!”
Now that Jiyu and Yumi were in the car, we could head straight to the ski resort in Gangwon-do. Since it was my first time skiing, my heart was pounding. I casually asked Jiyu and Yumi:
“Jiyu, Yumi, have you ever skied before?”
In response to my question, Jiyu and Yumi nodded as if it were obvious.
“Yeah. I’ve skied with my parents. Jiyu went with us too, right?”
“Yeah! We went with Yumi’s parents and our parents!”
“Ugh…”
They had skied before me. They were seniors in skiing compared to me, who had lived for nearly 20 years. I couldn’t help but scratch my cheek. Come to think of it, I had mostly stayed at home and couldn’t even remember the last time I went out to have fun.
“Really?”
“Hana, have you ever skied before?”
I decided to be honest. There was no need to lie.
“No, this is my first time!”
“Really? Then we’ll teach you!”
“Really?”
“Yeah!”
The thought of taking ski lessons from Jiyu and Yumi didn’t seem bad. Of course, taking lessons from a professional instructor might be better, but having a fun, friendly lesson with friends didn’t seem like a bad choice either.
The car was driving on the highway when I suddenly felt the urge. I must have drunk too much water before getting in the car. I said to Maru:
“Maru, I need to… I need to go to the bathroom!”
“Really? Hold on a bit, Hana. There’s a rest area about 10 minutes away.”
“Okay…”
10 minutes was bearable. Jiyu and Yumi were also talking in the back seat.
“Unnie, I need to go to the bathroom too!”
“Me too!”
“Really? Should we take a short break at the rest area then?”
“Yes!”
So, it was decided that we’d take a short break at the rest area. I felt relieved. If the rest area had been even a little farther, something terrible might have happened today. I might have peed in front of Jiyu and Yumi. That absolutely couldn’t happen. I couldn’t let such a humiliating show happen in front of kids younger than me.
“Ahh!”
As soon as the car parked at the rest area, I ran straight to the bathroom. Nowadays, I rarely go into the men’s restroom. Of course, sometimes I still zone out and walk into the men’s restroom. Decades of habit were still ingrained in me. But now, I ran to the women’s restroom.
He went in.
Inside, it was packed with people. Come to think of it, the women’s restroom had a higher frequency of waiting compared to the men’s. Men take care of their business in separate places, but women use the same toilet.
I had no choice but to clutch my groin with a pale face. This was really the limit.
—
Yoo Gisoo, the boss, visited the wheat farm with Director Jeong Jinsu. They were partners who would conquer the wheat market together. The fewer secrets, the better. Seeing the wheat farm cultivated by Starlight Food, Yoo Gisoo couldn’t help but marvel.
“I’ve never seen wheat grow so abundantly before.”
“With this, we could meet the entire domestic wheat demand, right?”
“With the smart farm they’re building, exporting overseas is just a matter of time.”
Yoo Gisoo and the executives shared their thoughts after seeing the wheat cultivated by Starlight Food.
“To see such a high yield, and to harvest in less than a month… It’s truly astonishing.”
“If other wheat could grow like Starlight Wheat, the entire wheat market would have turned 180 degrees. Wheat with this level of productivity didn’t exist before.”
“And we’d have to worry about a price crash too. If other wheat grew like Starlight Wheat, the whole world would have more than enough wheat to eat.”
Hearing that it grows well even when carelessly planted made their heads spin. They knew well the hardships farmers endure to grow just one wheat crop. Having been in the wheat market for decades, it was absurd not to know how wheat grows.
But seeing how Starlight Food cultivated wheat sent shivers down their spines.
They said they just scatter the seeds and let them grow. If wheat farmers heard this, they’d tell them to stop talking nonsense. But Yoo Gisoo couldn’t help but believe it, seeing the wheat fields before his eyes. The wheat truly grew on its own without human intervention.
No wonder other wheat couldn’t compete in terms of cost. While others toil all year to grow wheat, Starlight Food just clicks a button. Starlight Food didn’t share detailed production costs, but Yoo Gisoo estimated it wouldn’t even cost half as much.
Yoo Gisoo felt he made the right decision handing over his company to Starlight Food. Trying to compete with such a monstrous company… Starlight Food must have laughed at him. It was a David vs. Goliath battle.
A battle that was never fair from the start.
“We plan to expand the wheat fields further. Our goal is to export not just domestically but overseas as well.”
Hearing Director Jeong Jinsu’s explanation, Yoo Gisoo nodded. With this level of production, expanding overseas was a breeze. And the overseas market was vast and populous. Starlight Food could step into a massive market.
No one in the country had a wheat farm like this. Now he understood why the government favored Starlight Food. It was a golden opportunity to boost domestic wheat self-sufficiency. While rice had some self-sufficiency, wheat was a barren land with less than 1% self-sufficiency.
But Starlight Food’s appearance changed everything.
—
“Is this bread really made from Starlight Wheat?”
The executives Yoo Gisoo brought couldn’t help but marvel after tasting the products made from Starlight Wheat. Wheat with such an outstanding flavor. It was hard to believe where they found such superior wheat. It was as if aliens had just dropped it from somewhere.
With such bizarre growth speed and exceptional taste, failing to dominate the wheat market with this wheat would mean losing their qualifications as executives. And so, Mir Company began to receive Starlight Wheat in earnest.
