“Until now, I thought the Boss and I were family—!”
Of course, I thought it would be like that. The Boss and I were inseparable, even if we wanted to be apart! Hearing my words, the Boss awkwardly laughed and spoke. It felt a bit off since it wasn’t like the Boss’s usual demeanor.
“Uh… right, Hana and the Boss were family! What’s happening now is that, legally, Hana is officially becoming family with me!”
“Reallyyy?”
“Yep.”
And so, we arrived at the community center by car. The road wasn’t too congested on the way. Looking at the Boss’s car, there were no cars parked next to it. Even a scratch would cost tens of millions, so who would dare park next to the Boss’s car? There were just no cars around the Boss’s car. Is this the majesty of an expensive car? Experiencing that almighty power today made me think this must be why people drive expensive cars.
Of course, I knew Maru’s company car was expensive, but the Boss’s car was on a whole other level. Just its appearance screamed, “Do not provoke me!” like a giant banner.
“Alright, Hana, let’s get out!”
“Okayyy!”
I got out of the car as the Boss instructed. Holding the Boss’s hand, we went inside. The Boss smiled and looked at me.
“Hana, is this your first time here?”
I nodded and looked at the Boss. The Boss hugged me and said,
“Just stay still, Hana. The Boss will take care of everything else.”
Hearing the Boss’s words made me feel incredibly secure. I rested my head against the Boss’s chest. Today was the day the Boss and I became family. Could there be a happier day than this? Probably not.
It’s already been over a year since I started living with the Boss. Taking in someone with no ties like me must have been a huge risk for the Boss.
And not just any family—this was the Starlight Group, ranked number one among Korea’s conglomerates. Though the Boss mentioned having no interest in the group’s management rights, so it didn’t matter much. There was no fierce inheritance battle either. In fact, there wasn’t even a fight over shares since most of it had already been passed down to the eldest.
So, the Boss was free. Not interested in group management, the Boss’s relationship with the family wasn’t bad either. All these factors probably made it possible for me to become family with the Boss.
“Hana!”
While I was lost in thought, the Boss called me. I snapped back to attention.
“Now, what Hana needs to do is…”
I followed the Boss’s kind instructions. There was no way the Boss would scam me, so I signed the papers without hesitation. It wasn’t like I was being asked to guarantee anything. And with the Boss’s immense wealth, there was no way I’d be asked to do that.
Signing the papers so casually, it was over before I knew it. The Boss submitted the final document and then hugged me.
“Hana and the Boss are family now!”
“Really?”
“Yep!”
The Boss then rubbed cheeks with me. It didn’t feel bad, so I accepted the Boss’s cheek rubs. Who else would get to do this with the Boss if not me?
“Is there anything you want to eat, Hana?”
At the Boss’s question, my mind started racing. There were so many things I wanted to eat, but one thing stood out.
“Ham-boo-gi… I want Ham-boo-gi!”
“Ham-boo-gi?”
“Yep!”
I nodded enthusiastically. Hearing this, the Boss seemed deep in thought. Could it be that the Boss didn’t know what Ham-boo-gi was? In our class, it was trendy to call hamburgers Ham-boo-gi. Calling them hamburgers would get you weird looks. The Boss seemed to figure it out and nodded.
“Ah, hamburgers…! Alright, Hana, let’s go eat Ham-boo-gi!”
“Yay!”
I raised my arms in excitement. The thought of eating delicious Ham-boo-gi made me happy. Delicious food is always right. Eating it when you’re happy makes it even better, and eating it when you’re down lifts your spirits.
I got to go eat Ham-boo-gi with the Boss.
—
Time had passed since the Starlight Flatfish was shipped. Before establishing a direct distribution network, the flatfish reached various stores through middlemen. The stores were now filled with flatfish bearing the Starlight name.
Buying the flatfish that went in was an adventure. It was a different flatfish from what we had been handling so far. It was like starting all over again.
So, among the stores using Starlight Flatfish, our sashimi restaurant started promoting it big time. The taste had already been verified. After trying one of the distributed flatfish as sashimi, I couldn’t help but smile. It was really delicious and fresh. Sure, the size was a bit small, but for this taste, the size was somewhat forgivable. They said we could get bigger flatfish later, so I had no choice but to trust that.
[Delicious farmed Starlight Flatfish!]
We put the name in big letters on the banner. People passing by could easily tell that our sashimi restaurant used Starlight Flatfish. With letters this big, even if you didn’t want to see it, you couldn’t miss it.
Not long after, we saw the advertising effect in full swing. Reservations at the store skyrocketed.
—
This year marks one year since Kim Yumin was appointed as a civil servant, and he was diligently searching for good restaurants. Strangely enough, finding good restaurants was more stressful than his civil servant job. Every time there was a company dinner, it was tradition for the youngest to find a place to eat.
Well, it wasn’t even a tradition. Other companies also had the youngest pick the dining spot and handle general affairs. Kim Yumin eagerly waited for his successor to arrive, but unfortunately, in this civil servant organization, it took a long time for a successor to come. He vaguely heard that it would still take a few years. The organization’s characteristic was that someone above had to retire before someone below could be hired.
“Hmm…”
With a blank expression, Kim Yumin was once again unable to find a good restaurant today. Well, he did find one, but his senior shot it down.
“Senior, how about this pork place?”
“We had pork last time. The boss won’t like it.”
“Then how about this beef place?”
“Beef is too greasy. And we have to think about our department’s dining budget. It’s too expensive!”
“Then what about here…?”
“There…”
Rejected for various reasons, Kim Yumin felt his shoulders drooping more and more. The civil servant job was tough, and handling these general affairs on top of it made him feel worthless. He wondered if his parents knew he was doing this kind of work. Of course, in Kim Yumin’s mind, he hoped they would never find out. He didn’t know what they would think if they found out their only son was doing this.
“Ugh…”
When his senior wasn’t looking, he stepped outside and put a cigarette in his mouth. The only thing that comforted him while doing this civil servant job was cigarettes. Of course, he knew better than anyone that cigarettes were bad for his health. But he couldn’t quit. Instead, Kim Yumin switched the brand he was smoking.
[Starlight Cigarette]
It was a recently released cigarette, advertised as healthier compared to others. Of course, the idea that cigarettes could be healthy didn’t make sense. But it was promoted as having no carcinogens compared to other cigarettes, so he bought and tried it.
But ironically, it tasted much better than other cigarettes filled with various carcinogens. So, he switched from other brands to Starlight Cigarettes. After all, if it’s the same cigarette, wouldn’t a tasty and less harmful Starlight Cigarette be better?
That was one of the reasons Kim Yumin was smoking Starlight Cigarettes now. As he looked at the cigarette pack, an advertisement he saw somewhere flashed through his mind. It was a banner from a sashimi restaurant that used Starlight Flatfish.
Starlight Food had never disappointed Kim Yumin. And this time, it wouldn’t disappoint him either. Kim Yumin searched online for the sashimi restaurant. The next company dinner spot would be the sashimi restaurant that served Starlight Flatfish. He imagined the sashimi melting in his mouth.
