School is approaching… I was reminded of a scene from a horror movie. The image of fragile people being overpowered by an unstoppable force lingered in my mind. For a third-grader, the start of school was a brutal ordeal. And I didn’t even get to fully enjoy the vacation. Halfway through, I was whisked away to another world, wasting nearly half of it. It’s not that I didn’t want to go to school, but I was sad to see the unique vacation vibe disappear.
A bit of a mischievous thought, but when I was resting, watching office workers go about their day gave me a sense of satisfaction rising from my toes. It felt like watching people head to work at 6 a.m. while I, the unemployed, was about to sleep. There’s nothing better than lying in bed, listening to car engines outside as I drift off.
Even now, I lay in bed listening to the sounds of office workers heading to work. It was like a lullaby, soothing and sweet. But soon, someone interrupted my peaceful rest. Carefully opening the door, Maru came in.
“Hana, are you asleep…?”
I closed my eyes and pretended not to hear, but Maru was relentless. Maybe because work starts after 9 a.m., she often tried to wake me up. During vacation, we ate breakfast around 9 a.m. Before vacation, when I had to go to school, I ate at 7 a.m., but now that I didn’t have to wake up early, I preferred eating later.
I didn’t need to eat early. Waking up at 7 a.m. to eat was torture, so I preferred a late breakfast. Maru sat by my bed and shook me. I pretended not to notice, but Maru was strong. She started tickling my armpits. I desperately tried to hold back my laughter, but I couldn’t stop my face from scrunching up. Seeing my expression change, Maru laughed devilishly and kept tickling.
“Ahah! Maru, stop!”
I had no choice but to surrender. Some people aren’t ticklish by nature, but I’m not one of them. Even the slightest tickle would make me laugh and clutch my stomach. That’s why I couldn’t win against Maru’s tickling.
“Why are you pretending to sleep, Hana!”
“Ugh…”
I scratched my messy hair and sat up in bed. As I got up, Maru massaged my neck. It was a wake-up massage. Her massage made my head feel refreshed. It’s strange how massaging your neck can make your head feel cool.
“So sleepy…”
“You have to eat, Hana.”
“Okay, Maru.”
Maru came to eat with me, so she must have skipped breakfast. If I didn’t eat, Maru would go to work hungry, and I’d feel guilty. Barely opening my eyes, I walked to the bathroom. I was too embarrassed to eat with my messy hair.
Of course, I could have gone with my dinosaur pajamas and a hood, but that was too much effort. It was better to wash my hair and go comfortably.
“Hana, do you need help washing your hair?”
“No, I can do it myself, Maru.”
My hair, which had grown overnight, reached my waist. I think I understand why women prefer short hair. Long hair is nothing but trouble. It’s unnecessarily long and takes forever to wash. Compared to when I was a guy, washing my hair now takes ten times longer. Back then, I’d just wet it, shampoo it, and rinse. But for women, it’s different.
First, it takes a long time just to wet all the hair. Then, shampooing takes forever. And finally, drying it is a huge hassle. I can wash it myself, but drying it is beyond my ability.
“Maru, help me dry my hair!”
“Sure, sure.”
Maru brought the hairdryer, laughing. I entrusted my hair to her gentle hands. Feeling her soft touch made me sleepy again. And so, I prepared for another energetic morning.
“Hana, let’s go eat. I skipped breakfast too, so I’m hungry.”
“Okay. I’m eating two plates today!”
“If you eat that much, you’ll turn into a pig later.”
“Nooo! I won’t become a pig!”
I’m in my growth period, so eating two plates of rice won’t make me fat or turn me into a pig. Of course, if I ate like that every day, it might be a problem.
After the Gate appeared, humanity could enjoy a more prosperous life. At first, there was little information about the Gate, and due to unfamiliarity, there were many casualties. But now, after a long time, it has become a gold mine.
Among the benefits, incurable diseases that humanity suffered from were overcome using materials obtained from the Gate. The most famous was the conquest of dementia. Now, people no longer had to suffer from dementia. Just that fact alone meant the elderly no longer had to tremble in fear of dementia.
Of course, not all diseases were eradicated. There were still unresolved illnesses like cancer and many others. But seeing major diseases being overcome with materials from the Gate gave people hope. The mindset that even their own illness might one day be cured.
Of course, the most popular medicine discovered in the Gate so far was something else. Materials that treated premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction were the most popular. Probably because it was related to sexual life, the purchasing power was no joke.
Even though only half the population (men) could be buyers, the sales of these medicines competed for the top spots. But now, the situation has changed. Since Tangle was released, it has been fiercely chasing those sales figures.
Experts predict that within a year, Tangle could achieve the top sales spot among all medical-related materials from the Gate.
That’s because so many people were taking it. Thanks to that, Starlight Wellbeing was going through a rough patch.
When there were only medicines that could alleviate but not cure baldness, people didn’t search for hair loss products so desperately.
After all, taking the medicine didn’t make baldness disappear. It was only a temporary fix to stop hair loss or regrow hair in some cases. In other words, there weren’t millions of bald people consistently seeking the medicine.
But now, hope has become a reality. They couldn’t hold back anymore. Just by simply taking it, hair would grow. Once they tasted that hope, they couldn’t escape it.
In a way, it was more addictive than drugs. Of course, not taking Tangle didn’t cause life-threatening withdrawal symptoms. After all, Tangle was just a fruit. But seeing hair fall out after stopping would make anyone hesitate before quitting Tangle.
“Tangle supplies are running low!”
“Did you use up all the Tangle ordered from Starlight Wellbeing? Last time, we ordered fifty boxes!”
“All of it’s gone. And we sent a request to Starlight Wellbeing, but they said we’d have to wait due to production shortages.”
Supermarkets were getting headaches. Sure, it was a best-selling product, but it was selling too well. Some customers were even hoarding it. Starlight Wellbeing had anticipated this and stockpiled a massive amount, but the consumption rate was even higher.
The desperate wishes of those suffering from baldness exceeded Starlight Wellbeing’s expectations.
“The cultivation volume of Tangle is sufficient. But there’s a shortage of factories to process it into products.”
The harvest of Tangle was enormous. The current fruit yield alone could easily meet domestic demand. The fruit from a single Tangle plant could cover the monthly needs of hundreds of people. That’s because the fruit was packed with tiny seeds, which were the Tangle.
But just harvesting Tangle wasn’t enough. There was a shortage of factories to turn it into products. The fruit was piling up, but the factory production lines couldn’t keep up. Even running the factories 24/7, they could barely meet the demand.
At this point, Starlight Wellbeing had no choice but to make a decision. If left alone, they wouldn’t be able to handle the demand. Tangle was the hottest item nationwide.
