[The power of love and justice, here we go!]
“Wowwwww…”
I watched with sparkling eyes as the little magician Lumi performed her feats. On TV, Lumi was punishing the villains. I was munching on snacks while watching intently.
I glanced at the clock to see how much time had passed. The clock already pointed to 3 AM. I hadn’t stayed up this late in a long time. Ever since I turned into a child’s body, I couldn’t resist sleepiness. Even now, I was a bit drowsy. But I couldn’t give up because there was an episode I had to watch today. Of course, I could watch it tomorrow, but I needed to finish it.
*Squeak…*
Just then, I heard the sound of the door opening. I quickly grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. Then I lay down on the bed.
I pulled the blanket all the way up and pretended to sleep. Maru sometimes came into my room. Of course, she had to pass through the hallway to get to my room, so I had enough time.
Luckily, Maru just glanced at me once and left. After hearing the door close, I sighed in relief. I grabbed the remote again and turned the TV back on.
*Click!*
“Ahhh!”
I was startled by the sudden sound of the door opening. I thought Maru had left, but no. It seemed like Maru had been waiting outside for me to turn the TV back on. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come back so quickly. I had definitely heard the front door close before turning on the TV.
“Hana, you should sleep!”
Maru stood with her hands on her hips, scolding me. I could only fidget awkwardly because she was right. Staying up all night wasn’t good for my health. I nodded.
“Okay…”
“If you’re having trouble sleeping, I’ll help you!”
Maru lay down next to me on the bed and patted my chest. It was a common method used for children! I pretended to listen to her and closed my eyes. I was planning to watch the anime again once Maru left. This time, I was going to thoroughly check if she had really left by going out into the hallway. Earlier, I hadn’t checked properly, which led to this situation.
I closed my eyes to show Maru that I was pretending to sleep. I was tired, but I could handle this level of sleepiness. After all, I was an adult.
—
*Thud!*
I opened my eyes. Maru had left, so it was time to watch the anime. But something felt off. I had definitely closed the curtains, but the room was bright. I hurriedly got out of bed and looked outside. The sun was already shining brightly. I had closed my eyes to pretend to sleep and ended up falling asleep right away.
No way!
Was I really a child who fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes? I could only sigh. My plan to finish the anime in the early morning had gone down the drain.
“Meow!”
Nabi, who had also woken up, came over to me. I picked Nabi up. I had just managed to put Nabi to sleep last night and had some alone time…
Nabi gave me a little paw punch. It was a signal to ask for food. I brought Nabi’s cat food and poured it into the bowl. Nabi was my pet, so I had to take responsibility. After all, I was the one who had taken Nabi in when they were abandoned in a box. Of course, the office staff also took care of Nabi. And when I was at school, Nabi would play in the office.
According to the office staff, Nabi was quite a mischievous cat. Ever since Nabi came to our house, there wasn’t a single intact tumbler left. That’s because if you put a tumbler on the desk, Nabi would knock it down with a paw punch. It was almost instinctive. And Nabi would tear up paper and cause all sorts of trouble.
But Nabi had such an adorable appearance that they were forgiven. And since Nabi was my pet, they held a kind of “boss” status among the staff. I gently stroked Nabi’s head as they ate.
—
Robert, who ran a large aquaculture farm in the U.S., had been worried lately.
“Hmm…”
The aquaculture farm he operated was an industry heavily influenced by various factors. Unlike manufacturing, where you could just churn out products in a factory regardless of weather or other factors, aquaculture wasn’t like that.
The news kept reporting that abnormal weather was causing global problems, as the announcer…
He was talking. Robert didn’t know, but ever since Hana appeared, strange weather phenomena had been occurring worldwide.
In Korea, massive typhoons were hitting in winter, and globally, abnormal weather was causing crop yields to drop. It was a bonus.
The ocean couldn’t escape the effects of this weird weather either. Fish species that were never caught here before were being caught, or the catch was decreasing. The ocean is a sensitive place, so even a slight temperature change could alter the types of fish caught.
The news was only talking about how global fish catches had recently declined.
Robert was watching the news with a stern face. Then, his son opened the door and ran to him. He had just come home from elementary school.
“Dad!”
“Hey, my boy! Did you have a good day at school?”
Robert softened his expression and hugged his son. As a father, he couldn’t show weakness to his family. A father should always bring peace to the household. If he showed distress or negativity, it would affect the kids.
But his son had also been watching the news. He was about to graduate from elementary school, so he had grown a bit more mature. He was now interested in things he wouldn’t have cared about before.
After watching the news, his son said, “Dad! If the fish catch in the ocean decreases, wouldn’t that make your aquaculture business better? People would start looking for your farmed fish, right?”
Robert, already proud of his son for worrying about the company, patted his head. In the past, he would’ve asked for toys or snacks, but now he had grown so much.
However, misconceptions needed to be corrected. After Robert, his son would inherit the aquaculture business. It was a family tradition, and being an aquaculturist wasn’t a bad job.
“Son! What do you think the fish in our farm eat to grow?”
“Hmm… Isn’t it the feed made by Uncle Lucas’s company, the one who visited us last time?”
“That’s right. But what do you think Uncle Lucas’s feed is made of?”
“That is…”
The son desperately racked his brain but couldn’t come up with much. Robert, looking at his son fondly, said, “Uncle Lucas’s feed is made from fish caught in the ocean.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. They grind up the small fish caught in the ocean to make it. Of course, some places use compound feed not made from those fish, but our farm only uses live feed. Honestly, you could say there are no farms using compound feed. It’s just not efficient.”
“Then, Dad…! If they can’t catch fish in the ocean…”
The son’s eyes widened as if he realized something.
“That’s right. If they can’t catch fish in the ocean, the fish in our farm will starve.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“But there are other types of feed, right, Dad? I heard there are other kinds.”
“That’s true, but if others thought the same, wouldn’t they just use compound feed instead of live feed? Using compound feed slows down the fish’s growth and causes other problems. There’s a reason aquaculturists use live feed. Of course, live feed isn’t perfect either. It causes environmental pollution and other issues. It’s just cheaper, so we use it.”
“Aww…”
“Your thinking isn’t bad, son.”
Robert looked at his son with pride, amazed at how much he had grown.
The son went back to his room. Robert’s expression hardened again. Listening to the news anchor, it seemed the situation was more serious than he thought.
