Today, Kim Ayul, who was working hard at her part-time job, slightly widened her eyes.
From afar, little children were approaching. They were very cute-looking girls. Moreover, the child in the middle had a very unique hair color. Green hair—not blonde or brown—was a color you rarely ever saw.
“Hello!”
The little customers greeted Kim Ayul. She held back a fatherly smile and did her job as a part-timer. If she weren’t working right now, she might’ve screamed and hugged the kids. Her rationality had overcome her instincts.
“How can I help you?”
“Three tickets for the movie ‘Little Magician Lumi,’ please!”
Of course, kids who looked like elementary school students wouldn’t have come to watch any other movie. Within Kim Ayul’s expectations, the kids chose the movie. She showed them the screen to pick their seats.
There was a separate pad displaying seats for people with disabilities, which came in handy for the kids. The computer screen at the ticket booth wasn’t visible to the short kids since it was set up for adults’ height.
So, the kids were thoughtfully choosing their seats on the pad.
“How about here?”
“That’s too close. We’d have to tilt our heads up to see the screen.”
“Then here?”
“Isn’t that too in the middle? It might be inconvenient if we need to go to the bathroom later.”
The kids were huddled together, discussing like they were playing a mafia game. Kim Ayul smiled as she watched them. Back then, just talking with friends was enough to make you happy. She remembered being that young once…
But now, all that remained was her old self. Of course, if others heard her, they’d say she was just a greedy 20-something.
She gave the kids plenty of time to discuss. There were no customers behind them, so she had time to spare. Eventually, the kids made their choice and told Kim Ayul. She selected the seats according to their decision and asked,
“Will you be paying with cash?”
Kids usually preferred cash payments. Some parents gave their elementary school kids cards, so Kim Ayul asked just in case. Her guess was right—the green-haired kid handed her a card.
Kim Ayul politely took the card. But something about it seemed unusual. After years of working at the movie theater ticket booth, she’d seen countless cards, but this one was a first. Its appearance screamed, “I’m an expensive card!” Years of handling hundreds of payments a day had given her a sharp eye for such things.
‘Is this their parents’ card?’
Curious, Kim Ayul entered the card into the system. The card’s information popped up, though no personal details were shown, of course.
It was a VVIP card with an annual fee of tens of millions of won. It came with incredible benefits, including free movie tickets—not just half-off, but completely free. Kim Ayul, shocked, asked the kid who handed her the card,
“Is this your parents’ card?”
She wondered if the kids had picked up someone else’s card. But the green-haired kid shook her head and said,
“No! It’s my card!”
“Don’t lie, or you can’t use it.”
“It’s true…”
Kim Ayul couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t their parents’ card, and an elementary school kid couldn’t possibly have such a card. This was the kind of card issued only to the most valued customers by Starlight Cards.
It wasn’t something you could get just by having money. There were strict criteria and conditions set by the company. A little kid like this couldn’t possibly have one.
“Hey!”
But the kid kept insisting it was hers. Kim Ayul had no choice but to call her senior.
“Senior! I think this card might be stolen!”
“What?”
Kim Ayul showed the card to her senior. It was a card with an annual fee of tens of millions of won. Hana, Jiyu, and Yumi had suddenly become suspected card thieves.
The weather is insane. Despite it being Chuseok, the temperature outside was over 30 degrees. Global warming is serious, but it was too much for ordinary people to experience. Korea used to have summer and winter, you know.
But experiencing this crazy temperature made me think that global warming might actually be real.
Still, the weather right now is just too weird. Even though Chuseok has passed, it feels like the middle of summer. Even people who love summer wouldn’t like this weather.
Normally, it should cool down after Chuseok. It’s hard to understand this contradictory situation where you have to turn on the air conditioner during Chuseok. But hey, winter will come eventually, right? After some rain, it finally got chilly.
Seeing the temperature drop from over 30 degrees to 15 degrees in an instant, Kim Sehee was left speechless. No matter how you look at it, Korea’s weather is truly unique.
How many countries in the world have such rapidly changing weather? I wonder how our ancestors survived in Korea without air conditioners or heaters. Sure, they managed to stay warm in winter with ondol (heated floors), but how did they endure the summer?
Jokingly, some say the greatest invention of humanity is the air conditioner. For countries with hot weather, air conditioners are like gods. Of course, when winter comes, they’re considered the worst environmental destroyers in human history.
Kim Sehee was working hard in her office today. The bigger the company gets, the more work piles up. But this is better. There were times in the past when she had nothing to do and just sat blankly in her chair.
Thinking back, working hard in the office like this is thousands of times better. Kim Sehee is a workaholic who loves her job. Though she’s not at the level of pulling all-nighters.
“Huh?”
Just then, her secretary brought in some unusual news.
“A typhoon in autumn?”
After a massive typhoon hit in spring, there were no typhoons this summer. So Kim Sehee thought the typhoon season was over. But the information her secretary brought said an unusual typhoon was heading north.
And it’s a super typhoon. Korea hasn’t even fully recovered from the damage in spring, and if a super typhoon hits, the damage could be enormous.
Starlight Food wasn’t hit hard, but looking at the broader scope of Korea, the typhoon caused massive damage. And that typhoon was weaker than the one heading north now.
“This is bad…”
But the predicted paths of the typhoon were all over the place. The US, Korea, Japan, and China all had different forecasts for the typhoon’s route. None of them matched. This typhoon is truly an anomaly.
The Japan Meteorological Agency predicted the typhoon would pass through Korea, while Korea’s weather agency predicted it would hit Japan directly. Even in this, Korea and Japan are fighting—how grand.
If the Japan Meteorological Agency’s prediction is correct, Starlight Food needs to prepare thoroughly. Even though their plant is resilient, who knows what will happen with a super typhoon. Starlight Food only needs to protect one main plant, so it might be better off than other farms.
Other farms might be in deep trouble right now. It’s harvest season, and this typhoon is moving incredibly fast. It started heading north as soon as it formed.
In the worst-case scenario, if the typhoon makes landfall, there could be another rice shortage crisis.
Hearing her secretary’s report, Kim Sehee ordered all departments to prepare thoroughly. There were only about two days left, but every moment was precious.
Starting today, Kim Sehee is also working overtime.
