Finally, I arrived at my destination. It felt like I was heading to the Demon King’s castle, with countless trials waiting ahead, but I managed to push through and succeed. My heart swelled with pride. Is this what it feels like to be an adult? If it were the old me, I would’ve just bought a bunch of toys instead.
This was a huge leap forward. Just like the mind follows the body, I occasionally show my childish side, but today was different. Yep, that’s me.
Anyway, I arrived at a place filled with LEGO and wandered around. Not all LEGO sets are the same. There’s a massive difference between them.
Then, something caught my eye.
“Whoa…!”
It was a LEGO set that let you build a dinosaur. While others were just about building houses or ships, this was on a whole other level. A LEGO dinosaur that looked like it could come to life! I had to get it. I stretched my arm, standing on tiptoes to grab the box.
“Ugh!”
But my short height betrayed me. Even with a jump, I couldn’t reach it. Seriously, shouldn’t LEGO displays be at kids’ eye level? Whoever arranged these should pack up and go home. They clearly didn’t consider children’s height!
Then, a dark shadow approached from behind. I looked up and saw two giant buns. It was Maru. She reached over and grabbed the dinosaur LEGO set I wanted. Of course, it was Maru. I didn’t want her big chest, but I sure wanted her height.
My future ideal self was a slender woman. Big chests were a no-go. Sure, guys might like them, but the women who have them deal with so much discomfort. Unless they get a breast reduction, they’re doomed to chronic shoulder pain.
Come to think of it, I once transformed into an adult before. I really hoped that wasn’t my future self. That version of me was a nightmare—a total black mark in my history.
Anyway, I managed to buy the dinosaur LEGO set. Of course, Maru was shocked when she saw the price at the counter, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t her money, after all.
If it were Maru’s money, I would’ve been more careful. She’s just a salarywoman. But since it was a corporate card, no big deal. I hugged the LEGO box with a happy smile. I’d be assembling it as soon as I got home.
Maru didn’t say much about my excitement.
—
After safely bringing the LEGO box home, I tore open the packaging to start building the dinosaur. But soon, a headache started creeping in. It had been a while since I last had one. Maybe I needed some painkillers. I wrapped my head in my hands and lay down on the bed, planning to rest for a bit.
The headache was bearable. As I closed my eyes, sleep suddenly overwhelmed me like a tidal wave. I had no choice but to surrender to it.
When I woke up, I felt refreshed. The headache was gone as if it never existed. But my head felt heavy. Normally, a heavy head would feel like it’s soaked in water, aching all over.
But this heaviness was physical, like someone had placed a soccer ball on my head. I rushed to the mirror and was shocked by what I saw.
“An apple!”
The apple that had once grown on my head was back. Maru, who had just entered the room, saw me and ran over, her face full of surprise.
“Hana, an apple grew on your head!”
This must’ve been her first time seeing it. Only Bora and Haru had seen the apple growing on my head before. I was dragged outside, my dinosaur tail dragging on the floor.
—
The apple Hana created was already known for its effects. Just eating it could make you years younger. There were also undiscovered benefits—it could even cure chronic illnesses.
However, it didn’t work on things like cancer, incurable diseases, or…
The wounds that were injured didn’t count. Still, whether it was knees tingling or waking up with a sore back, just the idea of curing these age-related ailments had a massive effect.
Even setting all that aside, the mere effect of becoming younger was enough to make the world’s rich drool.
For ordinary people, the idea of being a few years younger might not be that exciting. Sure, a few years are precious to regular folks, but investing a huge amount of money for it? Nah, not worth it.
And Korean men had already paid 1 year and 6 months of their time. Going to the military left no memories, but time still passed.
But for the rich, it was different. They’d be willing to shell out billions just to get younger. Youth had a different value for them compared to regular people.
Some of them went to extremes, pouring down vitamin supplements or even paying to get transfusions of young people’s blood, believing the myth that young blood would make them younger.
“If we market this right, we could make a fortune.”
“Exactly.”
Starlight Food was in chaos. They had to figure out how to sell apples with this kind of value. Should they just price it like a regular product, or auction it off? The debate was on.
In the end, they decided to auction it first, then set a fixed price after some time passed. The news of the Golden Apple auction spread worldwide. The amount of money spent just on advertising this one apple would make most companies gasp.
The ad, crafted with blood, sweat, and tears by designers, went global. Inquiries flooded in like crazy. People wanted to know if the effects were real and when the auction would be.
The ad featured Bora eating the apple and showing a before-and-after photo of her looking younger. Though, since Bora was already young, the difference was hard to notice. So, the ad featuring another researcher who had eaten it before was more helpful.
The world’s wealthy, who had seen the exact effects of the Golden Apple, flocked to Korea. They were ready to pay any amount for youth.
—————————————————–
“Why are there so many people here…?”
Wyatt, an American tycoon, muttered as he stepped out of Incheon International Airport.
He was one of the participants attending the Golden Apple auction hosted by Starlight Food. He met all the conditions set by Starlight Food.
Starlight Food had set strict conditions to prevent random people from flooding in. Only those who met the criteria could attend the auction, and the conditions were tough for anyone who wasn’t wealthy.
But Wyatt easily met them. He had started feeling his body creak as he entered his 50s. Youth wasn’t eternal. It was fleeting. So, he wanted to grasp even a little bit of it. Starlight Food could fulfill that desire. He was willing to give up half his fortune for 5 years of rejuvenation.
After all, money could be earned again, but youth couldn’t be regained. Both the rich and the poor had the same amount of time. Time was fair to everyone. But this apple offered time as a reward.
It was impossible to ignore. Attending the auction was inevitable.
“I’m the best at fighting with money.”
Wyatt chuckled as he left the airport. But he overlooked one thing: there were others just as good at fighting with money attending the auction.
It was a battle of dinosaurs.
