“Hee…”
I couldn’t take my eyes off the delicious food on my phone. What I was looking at was fruit skewered on a stick, generously coated with sugar. In Korean, it’s commonly called Tanghulu.
Come to think of it, back in my day, all we had was raw ramen with seasoning powder or, at best, cup tteokbokki. There were other junk foods too, but I didn’t really enjoy them. But the snacks kids these days have are different. They’ve become even more junk food-like.
Since I’d never tried Tanghulu before, I couldn’t help but be drawn to it. What does it taste like…? I thought I’d go try it after school. I heard somewhere that Tanghulu is one of those foods kids go crazy for. Some even say they like it as much as Malatang.
“Hana, do you want to try Tanghulu? You’ve been searching for it nonstop!”
Jiyu, who was sitting next to me playing around, said that. I nodded at her words.
“Yeah…! I’m curious about what it tastes like!”
“Hana, don’t tell me you’ve never had Tanghulu before?”
I nodded again at Jiyu’s words. Tanghulu is a relatively new food. There’s no way I could’ve tried it before. And back in my childhood, this kind of menu didn’t even exist. If Tanghulu had been around back then, I probably would’ve spent all my money on it. It’s the perfect combination of fruit and sugar—something kids would love.
“Then, wanna go to a Tanghulu shop after school? There’s this place Yumi and I love!”
“Let’s go, let’s go!”
With Jiyu’s suggestion, I now had a destination after class today. Just imagining how delicious the Tanghulu shop Jiyu recommended would be made me happy. I was curious about the combination of sugar and fruit. It probably tastes super sweet. I mean, it’s already sweet fruit, and then they add sugar on top.
I might end up with cavities from all that sugar. Of course, I’m a responsible adult who brushes my teeth three times a day. If my teeth rotted, I can’t imagine how depressed my coworkers would look.
My teeth are ridiculously expensive. If even one tooth rotted away, the damage would be huge. Although, with the plants we’re selling now, it might be enough…
Since I’m not directly running the company, I don’t know the details. CEO Sehee is managing the company well, so as a major shareholder, all I have to do is watch. There’s no need for me to meddle when they’re making money just fine.
With that, the teacher came in, and the last class of the day began.
—
“Tang Tang Hulu Hulu~”
Humming cheerfully, I headed to the Tanghulu shop with Jiyu and Yumi. As if to prove it was the most famous Tanghulu shop near our school, a long line greeted us. Seriously, these kids don’t eat proper meals and just snack on stuff like this! They should think about their parents at home!
But since I was in the same boat, I kept that thought to myself. I headed to the back of the line and stood there. Jiyu and Yumi stuck close to me.
“It wasn’t usually this crowded before…”
“Right. The school lunch was good too, but I guess they’re still hungry! Turns out a lot of kids love Tanghulu!”
Jiyu and Yumi also seemed surprised by the crowd. It was a bit awkward to stand in line just for Tanghulu, but chatting with Jiyu and Yumi made the line move faster, and soon it was our turn.
“One strawberry Tanghulu, one Shine Muscat Tanghulu, and one tangerine Tanghulu, please!”
Jiyu ordered the Tanghulu with fluent pronunciation. Her voice was completely different from the defeated tone she had during study sessions. Clearly, Jiyu wasn’t cut out for academics. Maybe she’s better suited for physical activities.
After a short wait, our Tanghulu arrived. I held the strawberry Tanghulu in my hand. The strawberry, coated in sugar syrup, sparkled and greeted me. With a pounding heart, I opened my mouth wide and took a bite.
“Mmm…”
The sugar coating cracked, and the cool taste of the strawberry inside hit me. I closed my eyes and savored the Tanghulu. It was pretty much what I expected—strawberry mixed with sugar. The conclusion? It was delicious!
My eyes lit up as I started eating the rest of the Tanghulu. Jiyu and Yumi had bought different flavors for me to try, so I happily smiled and dug into the other Tanghulu sticks.
“Ugh, it’s so sweet!”
I felt my head throbbing. Oof.
Still, it was sweet fruit, and with the sugar syrup poured over it, the sweetness doubled. It was so sweet it made my head tingle.
“Take your time, Hana!”
Indeed, as Jiyu said, it wasn’t like the military, and there was no rule saying I had to finish this Tanghulu within a time limit. In the military, eating slowly would earn you some side-eye, but here, no such rule existed. Hearing Jiyu’s words, I started eating the Tanghulu slowly.
Before I knew it, I ended up sitting on a nearby bench to eat. Jiyu and Yumi weren’t eating their Tanghulu and instead handed them to me. Probably because it was my first time trying Tanghulu, they seemed eager to let me taste different flavors.
“Ah!”
I gratefully accepted their kindness. Trying various Tanghulu flavors was absolutely delightful!
—
Luxury stores in Seoul couldn’t help but cheer in excitement.
“How did sales skyrocket like this?”
The store owner demanded a quick analysis of the situation. In the luxury business, information was more important than anything else. Soon, the desired answer came.
“Rich people from all over the world have gathered in Korea to buy auction items sold by Starlight Food.”
“What?”
Even if a Middle Eastern royal visited Korea, domestic tycoons would usually go meet them. There were even photos of Middle Eastern princes sitting on chairs with Korean tycoons lined up beside them. Tycoons of that caliber certainly had the right to do so.
Their family assets alone amounted to trillions.
Currently, there were about a thousand billionaires in Korea, each with assets exceeding 100 trillion won. Considering that the chairman of Starlight Guild, known as the richest in Korea, had assets just under 100 trillion, it was clear that an enormous number of wealthy individuals had gathered in Korea.
Thus, it was no surprise that VVIP stores in Korea were experiencing an unexpected boom. The rich were simply loosening up at luxury shops before the auction started. Even if they were buying items, to them, it was no different from ordinary folks shopping at a market.
To them, luxury items worth tens of millions of won probably felt like a few thousand won.
“All items are sold out now! And the customers’ reactions aren’t exactly thrilled.”
From their perspective, the products didn’t meet the standards of global tycoons. They seemed rather disappointed. Perhaps Korea’s luxury market didn’t offer items that satisfied their tastes. Still, from their standpoint, the items were so cheap that they sold out.
Some tycoons might not have even known about Korea’s existence before the auction. Globally, Korea was a small presence. Even though it’s an economic powerhouse in the top 10, some people in the U.S. or other major countries might confuse it with North Korea.
Korea’s global status wasn’t that of a superpower yet. It was inevitable. Korea was a unique country. Few nations had achieved such rapid growth in less than half a century.
“A golden opportunity…”
Unfortunately, this opportunity was a one-time thing. Next time, they’d send proxies, so this kind of sell-out phenomenon would be hard to replicate. Proxies wouldn’t spend money like the tycoons themselves. Their goal was to secure auction items, not to tour Korea and shop.
The luxury stores cheered but also couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. However, the luxury stores under the Starlight Group, already in the know, managed to achieve staggering sales compared to others.
