“Woo woo…”
The fun times were slowly fading away. I was turning into a doll that changes clothes. Every time I appeared dressed, the boss would film me with a camera. Apparently, they had to capture my dressed-up looks in photos.
Wearing so many clothes made me feel exhausted. You might think, “What’s so tiring about just changing clothes?” But this young body of mine was already worn out just from that. My body, which used to be sturdy when farming, strangely felt more strained from changing clothes. Physically, I could still hold on, but mentally, I was on the verge of breaking down. I didn’t know what extreme choice I might make if this went on any longer.
Still, when I showed signs of struggle, the boss immediately showed consideration. While picking out clothes, the boss never took their eyes off me. I always had this baseless thought that the boss might be some kind of monster with eyes on the back of their head.
“I’ll take all the clothes she wore, and also this one and that one over there.”
The boss pointed with their finger as they spoke. An employee next to them bowed and replied,
“Understood.”
They bought a whole pile of clothes for me. I wasn’t even sure if I’d wear all those clothes during the winter. Since I usually wear my school uniform to school, I’d only wear those fancy clothes when going out, but who knows if that day would even come. Maybe they’d just end up stuck in the closet, never to be worn.
And I was still a growing kid. By next year, I might have outgrown these clothes. What made me a bit anxious was that after almost a year, I was still stuck at 135cm with no growth at all. Being born a girl, being short was somewhat inevitable, but I still hoped to reach at least 160cm.
If I stayed any shorter, it felt like the masculinity inside me would be chipped away. Being short was sad enough, but the thought of not growing any taller made it even sadder.
And so, my shopping spree ended. I tried to peek around the employee handling the payment to see how much was spent. Should I pay in one go? Or maybe use a credit card for installments since it might be too expensive? But maybe because of my short height, I couldn’t see the payment scene. I stood on my tiptoes, trying to see how much was spent.
From what I could see, the first digit was a 1—could it be 10 million won? If they spent over 100 million won on these clothes, I’d be horrified. They bought about 10 outfits, so if each cost over 10 million won, that would be such a waste.
Anyway, after buying the clothes, I watched the boss shop. The boss’s shopping ended quickly, and they seemed less interested compared to when I was shopping. They just looked at accessories and necklaces with a blank expression.
It was hard to believe this was the same person who, just an hour ago, was smiling brightly while taking my photos. Clearly, the boss smiled and took pictures whenever I came out dressed, but…
The sudden change felt strange. Still, I figured the boss’s fondness for me remained the same, so I just let it be.
——————————————————–
“Hee hee…”
Kim Sehee was looking at photos on her phone after sending Hana back. As expected from a phone made with great effort by Starlight Electronics, its camera performance was far better than most regular cameras.
Even now, a cute photo of Hana was captured in sharp quality. Kim Sehee picked the cutest pose among them. She planned to print it later and hang it in the CEO’s office, of course, in a small frame. She considered using a large frame for Hana’s photo but decided to think about that later.
She needed Hana’s permission first. While carrying a small frame with Hana’s photo was already approved by Hana, she hadn’t asked about a large frame yet.
So, Kim Sehee managed to pick a few photos of Hana. Telling the secretary to have the photos printed was just a bonus. All she had to do now was choose the frame for Hana’s photo.
—————————————————————————————————
Park Jeontae, Vice President of Starlight Food, listened to Director Marzo’s words and said,
“So, you’re saying that while Starlight Food’s grapes are perfect, the manufacturing process is lacking?”
Director Marzo, who had been swirling his wine glass with a blank expression, nodded. What Vice President Park said was exactly right. If Moët Chandon had used these grapes to make wine, they could’ve created a wine twice as delicious as this one.
The know-how accumulated over 300 years wasn’t going to disappear. In fact, the more it piled up, the better it got in this market. Director Marzo looked at the vice president and said,
“Top-quality ingredients are important, but so is the manufacturing process. I feel like we’re not even halfway to unlocking the potential of these grapes.”
The vice president could only bite his lip. He couldn’t deny it. It hadn’t even been a year since Starlight Food properly expanded the company. And these grapes came from Hana around summer, so it hadn’t even been half a year.
Starlight Food had plenty of money and ingredients, but they lacked a solid foundation. They had built a super sturdy base, but there was no one to build the house on it. That’s why they sent a request for cooperation to Moët Chandon.
Vice President Park Jeontae made a proposal to Director Marzo. That was the reason they called him in the first place.
“Starlight Food is deeply aware of its shortcomings. That’s why we sent a request for cooperation to Moët Chandon.”
“Is that so?”
Director Marzo already knew this, but he casually probed. A company that fixed baldness was still a company, and he needed to bring a contract that would benefit Moët Chandon. Of course, he didn’t deny that there was a bit of goodwill involved.
“Starlight Food wanted to let you know that we can have a win-win relationship with Moët Chandon.”
“Win-win?”
“Yes.”
How would this win-win relationship work? Were they asking Moët Chandon to fully unlock the potential of Starlight Food’s wine? But it was also something Moët Chandon had to think about. If Starlight Food just took the technology and ended the contract, that would be the biggest loss.
It would be like the dog chasing the chicken and ending up empty-handed.
“We’ll give Moët Chandon exclusive sales rights to Starlight Grapes for 10 years. We won’t sell to any other wine company during that time. Of course, we can sell the grapes on the market, but the quantity won’t be that large.”
“10 years, you say?”
“Yes.”
Vice President Park Jeontae of Starlight Food added,
“In return, Moët Chandon will teach us the wine-making process.”
Starlight Food would sell perfect grapes to Moët Chandon. In return, Moët Chandon would teach Starlight Food the wine-making process and various trade secrets.
“Hmm… What if someone takes these grapes and plants them elsewhere?”
In industries like semiconductors or other high-tech fields, patents provide legal protection. But with crops like these, there’s no answer. You just take the seeds and plant them somewhere else, and that’s it.
You can’t exactly demand patent laws for growing crops, right? Of course, you’d have to consider climate and other factors, but in fertile land with the right temperature, like in France, they’d definitely grow.
Hearing this, the vice president laughed and said,
“Our crops absolutely cannot be grown anywhere else.”
Director Marzo didn’t understand. How could they not be grown elsewhere? That didn’t make sense. Crops grow anywhere as long as the conditions are right.
“Do you know about Tangle, Director?”
“Of course, I do.”
“There were countless knockoffs of Tangle, but none of them worked.”
Director Marzo knew this better than anyone. He had seen a friend who bought cheap knockoff Tangle to save money and ended up losing all their hair. That friend never bought fake Tangle again.
“Are you saying the grapes are made the same way?”
“That’s right. The details are a company secret, but like Tangle, these grapes won’t grow unless they’re in a specific location. Actually, let me correct that—the only place on Earth where these grapes can grow is with us at Starlight Food. They absolutely cannot be grown anywhere else.”
Seeing the vice president’s confidence, Director Marzo’s eyes twitched.
