The Starlight Research Institute decided to immediately commercialize the report and samples submitted by Director Kim Jaeman. After tasting it once, they concluded it was a product that absolutely couldn’t fail.
Originally, research institutes were notorious for gobbling up money while producing pitiful outputs. Well, not exactly pitiful—if they made groundbreaking scientific discoveries or theories, they could sit on a goldmine. But the Starlight Research Institute wasn’t about that. They focused on studying monsters and byproducts from raids, barely scraping by on tourism income from their exhibition hall and selling monster-related theories. No big jackpots here.
Kim Bora convinced Hana with candy and gathered hundreds of thousands of strands of hair, which were then shipped to the factory operated by the Starlight Guild. Though it was a beverage factory, they weren’t exactly excelling at everything.
The beverages they sold didn’t exactly set the market on fire. It was already a red ocean dominated by big corporations, making it practically suicidal for a new company to enter.
Of course, the Starlight Guild wasn’t aiming to be number one. They just wanted to maintain the factory so they could quickly jump on any groundbreaking product. They had the foundation ready.
If they got a byproduct from the Gate or a brilliant employee came up with a new product, but had no factory to produce it, it’d all be for nothing, right?
Outsourcing to other big corporations didn’t sit well with the Starlight Guild leader either—it felt like handing over profits on a silver platter.
That’s why the Starlight Guild kept the factory running, even at a loss, to produce anything from pencils to chopsticks.
Luckily, the Starlight affiliates got along well enough to share profits reasonably.
At the factory entrance, employees, under tight security, carefully carried in a box containing a single strand of hair. They treated it like VIP cargo, guarding it as if it were a sacred relic.
Making green tea with a single strand of hair wasn’t a big deal. They just carefully picked up the strand with tweezers, put it in a green tea bag, and mixed it with other tea leaves for show.
Since one strand alone would make the product seem lacking, they decided to add it to their existing green tea product. The strand overpowered the original tea’s flavor, bringing out its natural taste and aroma. So, green tea it was.
They could’ve used it in other products, but green tea seemed like the best fit. They had time to test the market and develop other products later.
But the employees weren’t exactly thrilled. Despite the tight security and complex procedures, involving only trusted, long-time employees, their enthusiasm was lukewarm.
After all, the Starlight Guild was already selling green tea and beverages, even if they weren’t exactly market leaders. Why bother with this new product?
The employees felt they were only kept around out of necessity. Otherwise, why run such a loss-making factory?
“The beverage market, coffee, and green tea are all dominated by big corporations. Can we, as latecomers, even compete? Surviving would be a miracle.”
“We’ve been researching for decades, but we haven’t even developed a proper recipe. How are we supposed to catch up?”
“Even though the Starlight Guild is famous and widespread, I heard they don’t even have a proper food R&D department. Or if they do, it’s at a newborn level.”
Despite their doubts, the employees followed orders. They were just there for the paycheck, so they had no reason to oppose this new experiment.
They prepared five cups of green tea using five tea bags with the strand of hair and five without, carefully measuring the hot water.
“Wow… the color is so vivid and emerald-like. And the smell is amazing!”
“I don’t think there’s any green tea on the market with such a vibrant color. At least, not that I know of.”
“Yeah, I tested all the green teas on the market, and I’ve never seen one with this kind of color.”
The green tea, properly steeped in hot water with a single strand of Hana’s hair, was radiating a vivid emerald glow. It was so dazzling that you could almost mistake it for an actual emerald. Meanwhile, the green tea from the factory next to it had a pretty ordinary color.
Actually, compared to the one with Hana’s hair, the factory-made tea looked downright murky.
When the properly steeped green tea showed its results right before their eyes, the employees started buzzing. It was a completely different reaction from when they first added Hana’s hair.
“This is seriously promising! It’s sparkling like a gem or something.”
“If the green tea has this kind of color, it’s bound to get a good response, right? Taste is important, but visuals matter too, you know? That’s why food presentation is a thing.”
Judging by the reactions of the lower-level employees, things were looking good.
So, the factory manager and the tasting experts decided to try the green tea with Hana’s hair first.
Holding the vividly glowing tea, they took a slow sip.
“Is… is this really green tea?”
“The aroma is amazing, and it goes down so smoothly! I mean, even if you picked tea leaves straight from the source, it wouldn’t be this good.”
“Just one sip, and my head feels clear, my vision sharp!”
As the experts trembled with excitement, the employees watching them also got fired up. They had made the tea but hadn’t even tasted it yet.
“This is it… this is definitely it!”
“We’re taking the top spot in the green tea market this year.”
—
I rolled around lazily in front of the sunlit window. Basking in the sunlight gave me a sense of fullness and happiness.
‘Huh?’
Wait, why am I wearing clothes? If I’m trying to soak up the sun, shouldn’t I be naked? Lately, I hadn’t been getting enough sunlight, and my body was craving it.
Thinking that, I took off the hoodie and pants Kim Bora had given me and stood in front of the window in just my underwear. People might call me a pervert, but this was a high floor. No one could see me.
‘Haha!’
Feeling like a true naturalist, I rolled around energetically in front of the window. The soft carpet on the floor meant I wouldn’t hurt myself. I kept rolling for what felt like dozens of minutes. My little escapade ended when Kim Bora walked in.
“Oh my! Hana, what are you doing?!”
Seeing me rolling around in my underwear, Kim Bora rushed over with the hoodie and shorts I had left on the bed.
“Eek!”
I didn’t want to put them on, so I ran away from Kim Bra as she tried to hand me the clothes. I opened the door and bolted outside. The hallway was still empty, so I sprinted down the middle of it at full speed.
“Come here!”
Kim Bora, holding the clothes in one hand, started running after me like a wild child, putting all her energy into catching me.
Ever since I moved into this room, I’d been acting unpredictably. I couldn’t even predict myself. The more I cut my hair, the more I needed sunlight.
The day after cutting my hair, I’d wake up feeling weak and hungry. I guessed my hair was stealing nutrients from my body as it grew.
If I didn’t like it, I could just stop cutting my hair. When I didn’t cut it, I woke up feeling fine.
Feeling Kim Bora closing in behind me, I kept running.
“Catch me if you can!”
