I pulled out a picture book from the drawer under my desk. Then, I grabbed a set of colorful pencils. It was a book Haru left for me to try drawing. When I opened it, the front page had traces of me coloring it with vibrant colors. No matter how many times I looked at it, I always thought I drew it amazingly.
I skimmed through the drawings I made and eventually kept flipping the pages. About halfway through, I came across an uncolored picture. I giggled, grabbed a green pencil, and started coloring the picture book.
Most Asians have black hair, but all the people in my picture book were colored green. Since my hair is green, coloring it black just didn’t make sense.
Originally, I should’ve been studying Korean or other subjects, but my head would get too hot after just a little studying, so I’d pull out the picture book to cool down. I was in such a good mood that I started humming a song. It was the “Baby Shark” song that Haru often played on her phone.
“Daddy shark~ doo doo doo doo~”
The addictive beat and the lyrics were great, so I’d been hooked on this song lately. Even though it was a song for kids, I knew its charm and sang it proudly without feeling embarrassed.
Though, I only sang it when I was alone because it felt a bit awkward to sing it in front of Haru or Bora. Normally, I’m tone-deaf and bad at keeping rhythm, and I didn’t really like singing, but ever since I came into this body, I strangely started enjoying it.
While singing and diligently coloring the picture book with my own unique colors, I felt a presence behind me. Since I was lying on the floor drawing, I didn’t think someone was staring at me from behind.
And honestly, the person behind me was predictable. It was either Haru or Bora, or, in the rarest of cases, the Bald Man… because the people living on this building floor were pretty much set. Though, lately, it seemed like other people were coming around too…
I turned my head to look back and saw Haru covering her mouth with her hand, looking like she’d just witnessed something amazing. What could’ve shocked her so much? I made a curious face and asked her.
“Haru, why are you standing like that?”
“Hana… can you sing that song one more time?”
“The song?”
Oh no! Haru must’ve heard me singing from behind. My singing isn’t really something worth listening to, so I probably just caused some noise pollution. But hey, it’s my room, so who cares if I sing! Still, since Haru asked me to sing again, I shyly tried to refuse.
Even so, singing in front of others was a bit embarrassing since I’m not a singer. But if Haru asked, maybe I could sing once…?
As my feelings slowly changed, Haru also begged me with her hands clasped together. If she was going to go that far, I figured I could sing once.
“Okay, I’ll sing it one more time!”
Using the colored pencil as a microphone, I started singing “Baby Shark” from beginning to end. Haru seemed to want to record this, so she turned on her phone’s video and started filming me singing. She even played the backing track on NewTube, which made it way more fun to sing.
“Mommy shark~ doo doo doo doo~”
Haru smiled like a proud mom while enthusiastically filming me singing. I guess my singing sounded good to her. Relieved, I managed to finish the song without issues. The thunderous applause from Haru afterward was just a bonus.
Feeling a bit smug, I puffed out my chest and proudly accepted Haru’s applause.
“But what are you going to do with that recording?”
I was curious and asked Haru where she’d post it. She answered my question.
“I’m going to upload it to the NewTube channel our Research Institute runs. Hana, your singing is so good that I think it’ll get really popular.”
“My voice is that good? I thought it was just average.”
“I guarantee Hana’s singing skills. This is definitely going to blow up!”
“Really?”
I watched Haru tapping away on her phone screen, but soon lost interest and turned my attention back to the picture book. Since I hadn’t finished coloring, I grabbed the pencils again and started filling in the missing colors.
Haru had already left the room, so I relaxed, lying on the floor, kicking my legs, and slowly coloring while playing around.
—
It’s been a week since Starlight Lotion was released.
Jeong Ji-yeon, an employee at the cosmetics store, was shocked to see the long line in front of the store.
There was nothing outside.
“Why are there so many people?”
Even Jeong Ji-yeon, who wasn’t the type to talk to herself, muttered in disbelief at the sight of the long line. Waiting in line in a busy area was, in a way, a common sight. If it was a famous store or a trendy spot on Instagram, waiting was pretty much a given.
But this was a cosmetics store. Lines at food places or cafes? Sure. But a line at a cosmetics store? That was a first. Except for opening day, there was no reason for a cosmetics store to have a line. Yet, right now, hundreds of people were waiting in the middle of the bustling street.
Jeong Ji-yeon quietly slipped in through the back door. The front entrance seemed like a no-go. Inside, a few employees had already arrived.
“Wow, it’s getting crazier by the day. Today’s a total mess.”
“Is some celebrity coming or something?”
“Is our Starlight Lotion that popular?”
“Then why don’t they just go to another cosmetics store? Why are they lining up here like this?”
“Other stores don’t sell as much Starlight Lotion as we do. Our boss ordered a ton of it…”
“Wow…”
As they prepped for the store opening, the long-awaited moment arrived, and chaos erupted the second the doors opened. The crowd surged in, pushing and shoving. The employees tried to manage the situation, but without police, there was only so much they could do.
“Give me the Starlight Lotion!!!”
“Where’s the Starlight Lotion?!”
It was like a zombie horde charging at people. There was no order, just a scene straight out of a war zone. The employees stuck to their training.
“Customers must purchase 200,000 won worth of cosmetics to buy the Starlight Lotion.”
“To purchase the Starlight Lotion, please show your receipt for 200,000 won worth of cosmetics.”
The strategy of giving customers the *right* to buy the Starlight Lotion after spending 200,000 won, rather than offering it as a free gift, had seemed questionable during training. Who would spend that much just for the chance to buy it?
But contrary to expectations, customers started buying 200,000 won worth of cosmetics just to get their hands on the Starlight Lotion.
“Here!”
One customer, holding a white bag full of cosmetics, showed their receipt to an employee. They’d spent over 200,000 won. The employee checked the receipt and sold them the Starlight Lotion.
Even though they’d spent a total of 400,000 won, the buyer walked out of the store grinning from ear to ear, clutching the Starlight Lotion. Seeing this, other customers scrambled to buy up everything in sight.
It got to the point where a man, who looked like a lifelong bachelor, was buying a ton of baby lotion. Cosmetics were usually a woman’s world, but the male-to-female ratio in the store today was 7:3. Sure, men were the 3, but even that ratio was nothing short of miraculous.
Most men just slapped on some lotion or skin care and called it a day, so having this many male customers was a huge achievement.
The employees kept shouting instructions as customers poured in, and after a while, things started to settle into some semblance of order.
That day alone, thousands of customers visited the store. And by lunchtime, the cosmetics store had to close early. They had plenty of Starlight Lotion left, but every other product in the store had sold out.
Even though there was still stock in the warehouse, they had to reorganize and prepare for the next day, so they ended business early. The employees slumped down, exhausted, while the store owner just stood there, grinning ear to ear.
