Choosing the right building is a choice, and I had to do what I had to do. Moving was confirmed. When I asked the boss, they said that once the price agreement and other paperwork were done, they planned to move in. Of course, they mentioned that the floor I’d be living on would be remodeled separately to give it a homey vibe.
So, it meant it would take some time. Of course, it would be faster than building a skyscraper from scratch on an empty plot of land. If they were to build a skyscraper on empty land for me to live in, it would take at least two years. Thankfully, it wouldn’t take that long.
My long commute to school would now dramatically decrease. My one-hour one-way trip, meaning a two-hour round trip, would now be reduced to a walkable distance. And now, I didn’t have to rush home anymore. It meant more time to hang out with Jiyu and Yumi.
Because of Maru’s work schedule, I usually had to head home early. Maru had to clock out by 6 PM, so I had to leave by 4 or 4:30 PM at the latest, riding in the car Maru brought. Of course, I could’ve made Maru work overtime, but I didn’t want to be a burden. So, I made sure to match Maru’s sharp clock-out time.
*Hum hum~*
I carefully packed Little Magician Lumi’s collection into the moving boxes. These were collections that absolutely couldn’t get scratched or broken, so bubble wrap was a must. Since we’d likely move within a month, I had to start preparing now. I could’ve left it to the employees, but I wanted to pack these precious items myself.
I decided to pack the most important things first. The less important stuff could be packed haphazardly. Things like textbooks or school supplies could disappear for all I cared, so I could just toss them in.
After filling a big box with Little Magician Lumi’s collection, it looked about half full. I smiled warmly at the sight. Seeing so much of Lumi’s collection was heartwarming enough to make me feel full.
“Ah!”
I spotted the magic wand on the desk. I wrapped it carefully in bubble wrap and placed it in the box. I smiled happily as I looked at the contents of the box. All my hard work had paid off. And there were limited editions too. If Lumi fans across the country saw this, they’d be drooling.
—
“Hana, what are you doing?”
Maru walked into Hana’s room with a puzzled look. Hana was neatly packing something into a large box, looking like someone preparing a package. Hana looked at Maru and smiled.
“I’m getting ready for the move!”
“You could’ve asked us to do that… You don’t have to do anything, Hana.”
“No, this is important. I have to do it myself!”
“Really…?”
Maru quietly peeked into the box to see what was inside. After seeing the contents, it made sense. It was Hana’s treasured Lumi collection. Considering the effort Hana put into collecting each piece, it was understandable why she was so careful.
By the way, Hana was in the third grade of elementary school, but she still seemed to love Little Magician Lumi a lot. Of course, it was true that Hana was young, but she was also incredibly smart, ranking first in her school. Despite not attending kindergarten like other kids, she was strangely good at studying.
To Maru, Hana seemed like a child with an adult’s soul. Though, seeing her work so hard to protect her Lumi collection, she also seemed like a kid her age. Maru rushed over to help Hana.
“I’ll help you, Hana!”
“Ah! Don’t touch that, Maru!”
Whether this was a good thing for Hana or not remained to be seen.
—
“Hello, President. This is Choi Jeongcheol.”
Choi Jeongcheol bowed respectfully to Kim Sehee, who was young enough to be his daughter. He was already in his early 50s. Considering Kim Sehee was 20 years younger, it felt a bit excessive.
Choi Jeongcheol was a councilman with a respectable background, but Kim Sehee was a direct descendant of the Starlight Guild. Given the social influence of the Starlight Guild, it made sense why Choi Jeongcheol would bow so deeply.
It also came to life. Elected officials didn’t always have permanent power.
But being a direct descendant of the Starlight Guild was always a permanent power. Even if the sky fell, the fact that she was the daughter of the Starlight Guild’s chairman remained unchanged.
“Hello, Assemblyman Choi Jeongcheol.”
Kim Sehee also greeted him politely. She didn’t want to give any politician a reason to hold a grudge. There’s a saying that if a politician holds a grudge, frost will fall even in May. There was no need to stir up trouble.
“I apologize for suddenly visiting Starlight Food. I should have contacted you in advance, but I heard such surprising news that I rushed over immediately. I apologize for that.”
“No, it’s fine. Starlight Food is always open. By the way, what’s this surprising news?”
“Well… I heard that Starlight Food is relocating its headquarters to Seoul…”
Kim Sehee wondered who had spread the news since she hadn’t told anyone. Of course, it was true that she hadn’t made much effort to stop it. She had been moving real estate around without considering others’ opinions. As they say, rumors travel fast, and it was nearly impossible to hide the fact that Starlight Food’s headquarters was relocating.
If it were a small or medium-sized company, maybe. But with tens of thousands of employees, hiding the relocation was out of the question. At this scale, leaks were inevitable. Of course, Kim Sehee remained expressionless. After all, it was a company where she, as the major shareholder, could do as she pleased.
If anyone didn’t like her decision, they could buy shares and become the major shareholder themselves. Of course, Kim Sehee wasn’t going to just sit back and watch. Though if Hana asked for Starlight Food as a birthday gift, she might consider it. After all, Starlight Food was practically Hana’s anyway.
“Assemblyman Choi Jeongcheol, we are only relocating the headquarters. The farms, other storage facilities, and various auxiliary facilities will remain in Gyeonggi Province. Think of it like the industrial complex in Ulsan. The headquarters is in Seoul, but production sites are in other regions.”
Hearing this, Assemblyman Choi Jeongcheol looked shocked.
“But… if a major company like Starlight Food leaves, it will be a huge blow to Gyeonggi Province. Please reconsider. We will provide all the support we can.”
But the decision had already been made. Not even the president could change it. Hana had agreed, after all. If Hana had opposed it, they might have stayed in Gyeonggi, but Hana was in favor of moving the building to Seoul. There was no one left to stop Kim Sehee’s decision.
“It was an unavoidable decision for Starlight Food to grow into a larger corporation. Not even the president can change this decision.”
“Ah…”
Choi Jeongcheol thought it would be rude to push further, seeing Kim Sehee’s resolute expression. But he couldn’t help feeling regretful. Of course, the local taxes Starlight Food paid were just a drop in the bucket compared to Gyeonggi Province’s annual budget. But looking at Starlight Food’s growth rate, no other company could compare.
Frankly, in the stock market, people were saying Korea had its own Apple! Starlight Food’s stock hit the daily limit every time the market opened. Yet, it was like a rare grape—no one was selling, only buying.
“CEO Kim… Could you please reconsider once more? It doesn’t have to be Paju. What about Bundang? Or Pangyo?”
Kim Sehee felt like the devil inside her was waking up as she watched Choi Jeongcheol whine. But to send him off, she gave him some lip service.
“I’ll… consider Bundang and Pangyo for relocation.”
Of course, that would never happen.
