“Wowwwww…!”
“Wow…”
Jiyu and Yumi were admiring the table while looking at it. I wanted to admire it too, but I held back. I didn’t want to disappoint the Boss by acting like a kid. Of course, the Boss liked me even as a child, but I still wanted to show my childish side only to the Boss. There was no particular reason. It just was.
Anyway, the table was filled with all kinds of luxurious delicacies. These were high-end dishes that even the Starlight Building didn’t serve. It was a course meal that cost hundreds of thousands of won per person. It seemed to live up to its price. A month’s worth of groceries for an average family could be replaced by this one meal. Though, for the Boss, this cost was probably nothing.
Just the amount of money the Boss makes in a day must be enormous. Starlight Food was rumored to have an insane net profit. Normally, a company with a 10% operating profit margin is considered solid, but Starlight Food had a net profit margin of 70-80%, which was almost like a scam. It was as profitable as a company selling graphic cards.
What’s even more surprising is that it’s famous for employing a lot of people in agriculture. Considering labor costs and various expenses, the profit margin didn’t make sense. Of course, the apples played a role in boosting profits, but even without them, the company still made an astonishing amount.
Of course, the fact that my plants grow on their own once planted played a huge role. There was no need for labor-intensive tasks like weeding or pesticide application, which made Starlight Food shine even brighter.
Anyway, I turned my attention to the luxurious spread on the table. As they say, even sightseeing at Mount Geumgang comes after eating, so having a delicious meal before sunrise was essential.
“Kids, eat up!”
“Thank youuuu!”
We thanked the Boss and started eating in earnest. The tender and chewy steak was delicious, but I avoided the salad with dressing. I could eat fruit, but vegetables just didn’t suit my taste. But it didn’t matter since Jiyu and Yumi ate them separately.
I focused on the meat on the table. I didn’t even think about balancing meat and vegetables. I was born to eat meat!
Even though the food seemed plentiful, it was soon gone. It was fine dining, after all, serving small portions of various dishes. If we had gone to a regular meat restaurant with the same amount of money, we wouldn’t have spent even 10% of it. If we bought meat with the cost of this meal, we could’ve piled it up like a mountain.
“So delicious…!”
“I’m so full…”
Jiyu and Yumi patted their round bellies, clearly having eaten a lot. I agreed, feeling full myself. The Boss looked at us and smiled.
“Well, since you’re all done, shall we head back to the room? We need to wake up early to see the sunrise tomorrow!”
“Yesss!”
We left the plates and utensils behind. The restaurant staff would take care of it. If we tried to help, we might’ve dropped something and made a mess.
And so, we headed back to the room with the Boss. Our room was on the top floor of the hotel. It was the best room, after all.
“We’re here!”
The elevator doors opened, and we swiped the card key. With a beep, the door opened, and we all rushed in. The Boss came in last.
“What’s all this?”
On the floor were our discarded pajamas. The green dinosaur pajamas were sprawled in the middle. I walked over to them and picked them up, showing them to the Boss.
“These are my pajamas, Boss!”
“Really? Want to try them on, Hana?”
The Boss looked at me with a mischievous expression. I felt a bit creeped out, but for the Boss, I could easily put on the pajamas. Soon, I became one with the dinosaur. The Boss snapped photos of me in the dinosaur pajamas with their phone camera. Jiyu and Yumi watched from the side. They had also changed into their pajamas. Since it was late, we could just sleep like this. Of course, we’d have to wash up first.
“Then we should sleep early to see the sunrise tomorrow, right?”
“Yesss!”
We quickly washed up and got ready to sleep. If we wanted to see the sunrise, we had to wake up early. Sleeping in would mean missing it.
The Boss, now in pajamas, dove onto the bed where we were lying.
“Eek!”
“Yikes!”
We all…
I screamed after the boss suddenly dived at me. The boss was laughing and swimming on the bed like a shark.
“Ugh… Ugh!”
I was being hunted by the boss like that. Before I knew it, the boss had come to where I was lying and grabbed me tightly. I flailed around trying to get to where Jiyu and Yumi were, but my resistance was useless. Just like that, I was defeated by the boss.
—
*Beep beep beep beep-*
The alarm rang in the darkness. With my eyes closed, I moved my hand around to turn it off. Naturally, I turned it off and thought about going back to sleep.
“Huh?”
But my plan was ruined. I felt like I was floating in the air, moving away from the soft bed. When I opened my eyes in confusion, I finally realized why. The boss had picked me up. I don’t know when the boss woke up, but they were already fully prepared. It seemed like the boss had moved first while we were still sleeping.
Soon, the boss started waking up Jiyu and Yumi too. Jiyu and Yumi woke up much faster than me. Their speed was almost jealousy-inducing.
“Alright, let’s get ready to wash up and go!”
Under the boss’s guidance, we moved quickly. After washing up, we changed clothes. Since we slept in such a nice hotel room, we weren’t that sleepy. Plus, we had gone to bed early the night before. Waking up wasn’t too hard since we slept quickly.
After getting fully ready, even putting on our padded jackets, we prepared to head out. The boss said,
“Shall we go?”
“Yesss!”
We held the boss’s hand and went outside. We took the elevator and left the hotel. Not far from here, there was a spot where we could watch the sunrise. It seemed like there were people who had woken up much earlier than us. As we walked, there were people heading in the same direction as us. That probably meant they were also going to see the sunrise. There was no other reason to be up and moving this early in the morning.
“It’s cold!”
Since it was early morning, the cold wind was blowing fiercely. But we had to endure this cold wind to see the sunrise. Finally, we arrived at the spot where we could see the sunrise. The place was crowded with people. Who knew so many people would wake up this early to see the sunrise…
“It’s my first time seeing the sunrise on January 1st!”
“Me too, me too!”
Jiyu and Yumi were so excited, they were active despite the cold winter weather. But I was different. Maybe because it was cold, I wanted to go back to the hotel quickly. But since it was my idea to come see the sunrise, I didn’t say anything. I thought I might as well see it since we were here. It would’ve been such a waste to come all the way to Gangwon-do and not see the sunrise before going home.
“Guys, it’s coming up soon!”
The boss said. We stopped our conversation and turned our gaze toward where the sun was rising. The weather today was said to be perfectly clear, without a single cloud. And there was no fog either. It was the perfect weather to see the sunrise. You could say there was no better day than today.
The boss had found this information through the company.
“Wowww!”
“The sun is rising!”
“Look at that…”
“That’s like…”
People around us couldn’t help but marvel at the sun rising above the horizon. It’s the same sun that rises every day… but there was something special about seeing it rise on January 1st. We clapped and vividly captured the sight of the sun rising with our eyes. If not today, we’d have to wait a whole year to see the sunrise on January 1st.
And so, we silently watched the sun rise. I thought it was a good idea to take the train to Gangwon-do. If we hadn’t come here, we’d probably still be sleeping in a building somewhere right now.
