Lately, Hana has been acting strange. Bora suddenly had that thought. She was sitting in front of the computer longer than before. But she wasn’t playing games. However, every time Bora entered the room, Hana was watching videos of the Little Magician Lumi.
But usually, Hana watched Little Magician Lumi on the big TV, so why would she watch it on a small monitor? Bora pondered but couldn’t find a reason. However, as they say, if the tail is long, it gets stepped on. Bora found out what Hana was up to. She entered the room just as Hana went to the bathroom.
Of course, Bora brought snacks for Hana. It was always her job to bring snacks for Hana at this time. The computer monitor didn’t have Little Magician Lumi’s video. Instead, a Korean document was open.
It was filled with tiny letters. Bora tried her best not to look at the monitor to respect Hana’s privacy. But Bora was human too. She was curious about what Hana had been writing so diligently. So she looked around. Hana hadn’t come out of the bathroom yet. Bora could see what Hana had been writing.
“Became a Healthy Elf?”
The title was peculiar. Bora felt like she knew who the “healthy elf” was. It was right next to her. She knew it was healthy, but she didn’t think it was an elf. The elves she knew had pointy ears. Hana had round ears like a human.
Bora thought Hana had written it at an elementary school level… but as she read, she felt a strong pull. Hana loved Little Magician Lumi, but she sometimes showed her smart side. That’s why she never missed being the top student in school. Her tastes were childish, but her brain was sharp.
“Ah, Bora!”
Bora was so engrossed that she didn’t notice Hana coming out of the bathroom. Bora looked at Hana and said,
“Sorry, Hana! But you have a talent for writing novels, don’t you?”
“Really?”
Hana thought she had created a dark chapter in her life, but Bora thought differently. The quality of the novel was good enough to post online, assuming some gaps were filled.
As a humanities major, Bora noticed that Hana’s writing still had some childish habits. If those parts were corrected, it could be a decent novel.
“Since you caught me, I’ll show it to you!”
Hana showed Bora the novel she had written. Bora stood beside her and read it carefully. It was different from when she hastily glanced at it earlier.
Unfortunately, the novel was short. These days, web novels are long—some readers even say 500 chapters are too short. Some novels stretch their plots so much that they exceed 2,000 chapters. That’s almost 80 volumes worth of content.
In the past, 7-10 volumes were considered a lot, roughly 200 chapters. But now, it’s different. The trend is to stretch the story as long as possible.
Bora said to Hana,
“Hana, do you want to make the novel a bit longer?”
“Huh?”
Bora decided to help Hana. She gave her tips on writing novels. Since Bora loved novels, she had some knowledge to share.
“Here, do it like this…”
“Wow!!! Bora, you’re the best!”
Bora taught Hana how to write a novel. She wasn’t a professional, but she had enough skill to polish Hana’s work.
[Became a Healthy Elf]
– The End –
“How was it, writing a novel?”
“Hmm… It was really fun but hard!”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
And so, Hana was able to complete a proper short story, all the way to the final chapter.
Of course, with Bora’s help.
—
Starlight Food.
It might be the company that hit Korea the hardest this year.
At first, it was small. It had the title of Starlight Group, but the core was shaky. It was a small-to-medium enterprise with annual sales of less than 20 billion won.
But after Hana appeared, it changed at an incredible speed, like riding a rollercoaster.
In just over half a year, it showed tremendous sales growth. Anyone watching from the side would be shocked and ask if they were lying. The growth rate was so fast that people questioned if they used fraudulent accounting or other illegal methods.
Looking at the list of products sold by Starlight Food, it was all top-notch stuff.
First up, Starlight Green Tea, the product that put Starlight Food on the map.
It was so effective that it became a must-have for students preparing for exams.
In just half a year, it raked in 20 billion won in sales.
Next came the Cherry Tomato.
This nutrient-packed snack was so filling that just eating it made you feel full, perfect for busy modern folks.
In less than half a year, it hit 50 billion won in sales, not even including military supply sales. It was such a hit that it even got exported to the U.S.
Then there was Starlight Coffee.
They were planning to sign supply contracts with every coffee chain except Starbucks.
Even though it hadn’t been long since they started growing it, they were already boasting impressive sales. Just selling coffee beans alone brought in 60 billion won, and they weren’t even fully prepared for supply yet.
Next, Starlight Grapes, which had only been around for less than two months, already hit 20 billion won in sales.
Starlight Rice, despite not being distributable in South Korea, was a cash cow, bringing in 200 billion won. It was mainly sold in Japan, raking in massive profits.
And then there was Tangle, Starlight Food’s best-selling hair loss treatment.
This was mainly sold in the U.S., and even though it hadn’t been around for long, it was already close to 1 trillion won in sales—all in crisp U.S. dollars.
They were also preparing to export Starlight Beef and other products.
The most shocking part? These numbers weren’t even for a full year—just about half a year.
And then, the cherry on top: a single apple slice.
This one product alone brought in close to 1 trillion won in sales. Just selling these apples could pull in 7 trillion won. It was on a whole different level compared to their other products.
In conclusion, Starlight Food had become a massive dinosaur of a company, nearing 9 trillion won in sales in less than half a year.
Of course, in terms of food company sales in South Korea, Starlight Food wasn’t number one yet. The top food company in South Korea had annual sales of over 30 trillion won.
But looking at Starlight Food’s growth trajectory, they could easily surpass that soon. A company that made 20 billion won in half a year was now breaking 10 trillion won? It was almost unbelievable.
Part of the reason Starlight Food could grow so relentlessly was its name.
The name “Starlight” and its lineage as a direct descendant of the Starlight Group gave it the power to crush any obstacles in its path. Even the government and other companies couldn’t touch Starlight Food because of this.
Messing with Starlight Food meant facing the wrath of the Starlight Group, South Korea’s top company.
And Kim Sehee wasn’t even involved in the bloody power struggles within the group. The Starlight Group was famous for its sibling harmony, and any inheritance disputes had already been settled. There was no reason to fight over it. Thanks to that, Starlight Food was able to achieve massive growth in just half a year, backed by the strength of its family.
Their stock price was also skyrocketing.
Kim Sehee held 51% of the shares, and Hana had been gifted 40% of the shares early on. Since it was gifted early, the taxes weren’t too high. The remaining 9% was floating in the stock market.
The stock price was, of course, on a steep rise.
What started as a seemingly insignificant stock had now become worth its weight in gold as Starlight Food released new products.
The market cap, which was initially just a few hundred billion won, was now expected to surpass trillions. Those who held Starlight Food shares from the early days could see returns thousands of times over.
Now, it was a stock you couldn’t even buy if you wanted to. Kim Sehee had no intention of selling, and Hana didn’t even know she owned the shares.
