Today, I felt unusually heavy. As winter approached, I could feel my energy draining away. Still, it wasn’t as bad as when I had a cold before. Just my condition wasn’t great.
As usual, I got up from bed and went to the bathroom to wash up. I really liked how the hot water came out right away. When I lived alone, the hot water didn’t come out well, and it was a real struggle.
“Huh?”
As I stepped up, my reflection in the mirror looked unfamiliar. The haircut I got yesterday was still the same. The hair that was supposed to grow hadn’t grown.
I didn’t mind cutting my hair. After all, it only took a minute to cut, and in return, I got a lot of money. From my perspective, the hair was useless anyway.
But today, strangely, my hair didn’t grow. I should probably tell Haru. Still, since my hair didn’t grow last time either, I was calm. Maybe if I endure for 2-3 days, like when I had a cold, my hair will grow back?
I thought that as I washed my face. I was going to wash my hair, but I was too lazy, so I didn’t. After finishing washing, I applied the Starlight Lotion that Boss Kim Seyoung had given me. I liked how the lotion clung to my body.
After a quick wash, I walked to the office. It was still early in the morning, so only Haru was in the office. Haru was, as usual, burying her head in her desk. If she’s going to do this, why not just leave at night?
It seemed like I was watching a hardworking office worker trying to make money. I, on the other hand, was living the opposite, lounging around. My dream was to be a rich bum, but now that I’ve achieved it, it’s not as fun as I thought. People really need to work to live.
I slowly tiptoed towards Haru. Haru was sleeping soundly, her stomach rising and falling regularly.
“Hmm…”
Seeing her up close, Haru’s chest was violent. It was definitely top-tier among Korean women. I thought I wouldn’t want to be that big. Just imagining those heavy lumps on my chest made my shoulders ache.
Anyway, after finishing my random thoughts, I shook Haru awake. Since I’m short, I grabbed her thigh. At the shaking, Haru woke up. She looked at me with sleepy eyes.
Haru checked the time on her phone and then said to me,
“Hana, you’re up early?”
Then she turned off her alarm. She probably set the alarm for when I usually wake up. But I woke up before the alarm.
I told her why I was here.
“My hair isn’t growing again.”
“Really?”
Since this had happened before, Haru didn’t seem too concerned. I also thought it would come back in a few days.
“But we should still contact them, right…”
As she said that, Haru was typing something. From behind, I saw she was sending messages to Starlight Food and Starlight Cosmetics. Is it okay to send messages this early in the morning? Well, it doesn’t matter.
“Haru, let’s go eat!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I went to the building’s restaurant, cuddled in Haru’s arms. What’s for breakfast today? I hoped it was pork cutlet. I imagined pork cutlet being served. My mouth watered.
————————————————
“The research institute contacted us. There’s another issue with the supply of materials.”
“Really?”
Kim Sehee heard that another hair wasn’t growing. Why wouldn’t a hair grow? She was full of questions, but from Kim Sehee’s perspective, there was nothing she could do.
Since Hana is almost like a plant, maybe her hair isn’t growing because winter is coming? Kim Sehee suddenly had such a silly thought.
“Do we have enough reserves?”
“We can last about two weeks with the current demand.”
After the last time Hana’s hair supply was cut off, we compulsively stockpiled. The only downside is that not much time has passed since then, so we don’t have much in reserve.
But since we have two weeks’ worth, maybe if we wait just one week, Hana’s hair will grow back? It’s a pity that the only solution is to wait.
Kim Sehee tapped the armrest of her chair with her fingers and said,
“The research institute should know the reason… Is it because we don’t get much investment?”
Before Hana, the research institute was barely surviving, so compared to other institutes, the research quality was lower. Now, with Hana…
They had reached a certain level of research capability because they were making a lot of money, but that was a recent development. They still didn’t have enough time.
And since they had divided the company shares when drafting the contract last time, the more Starlight Food grew, the happier the Research Institute felt. Of course, Hana also had her share.
So, it wasn’t like they were threatening her to keep her in line. Kim Sehee sipped her Starlight Green Tea, just hoping time would pass quickly. Hana’s hair was a product that nothing could replace.
But even after a week, there was no sign of Hana’s hair growing back.
Meanwhile, Kim Sehee’s face had become gaunt.
—
The employees of Starlight Food were riding an emotional rollercoaster in a short time. The atmosphere in the company had completely changed in just a few weeks.
Before Starlight Green Tea came out, the mood in the company was at its worst. A colleague next to them had been asked to take an honorary retirement… And since it was a production job, if they got fired, there was nowhere else to go. They didn’t have any special skills, and even if they built up experience, it wasn’t like anyone would recognize it.
But after Starlight Green Tea was released and they saw how much it was selling, the employees could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“At least we won’t get retirement requests like last time.”
“Retirement requests? Don’t you see the production line running 24/7? Even with the factory running like this, they say there’s still not enough green tea.”
“Really? Didn’t they hire a ton of people last time? And there’s still not enough green tea?”
“It’s not just the people, but they say there’s a shortage of the key ingredient for the green tea…”
Despite making Starlight Green Tea all day, the employees were in good spirits because the market demand still wasn’t being met. At least it was better than when there was no work. Back then, they were constantly on edge, not knowing when they’d be fired.
However, seeing how much green tea was selling, Starlight Food’s factory lines underwent a major overhaul. They reduced the production lines for other products and increased the production lines for Starlight Green Tea.
After making those changes, they were able to handle the volume to some extent. But as they say, people’s minds change depending on the environment. They were just getting more and more exhausted from the constant demand.
“Seriously, what is the company thinking, running the factory non-stop without a single day off?”
“I get that they’re running it because there’s a shortage, but shouldn’t they at least guarantee some rest time? I even got a nosebleed from working yesterday.”
Some employees who had originally worked five days a week couldn’t adjust to the new seven-day work schedule. The older employees, who knew how serious things were when the company wasn’t busy, had fewer complaints, but the newer hires were full of grievances.
Since the day-night two-shift system was tough on the workers, Kim Sehee also understood the seriousness of the situation. So, she was recruiting more employees to switch to a four-team, three-shift system. If they kept running the factory like this, it wasn’t the green tea that would be the problem—it was the workers who’d collapse from exhaustion.
The labor intensity wasn’t low either, so it was bound to become a bigger issue.
But as the ingredients for Starlight Green Tea started to run out, the problem naturally resolved itself. They went back to a five-day workweek.
Although the pay was slightly reduced, the workers were happy to have some rest time. However, the executives’ faces grew increasingly grim. Unlike the workers, they knew the full extent of the situation.
“This… If the worst comes, we might have to shut down the factory.”
“We need to reduce the shipment volume starting now. That’s the only way we can last a month. Of course, it’s not like things will get better over time…”
As bad reports kept coming in, Kim Sehee’s head started to ache. The Research Institute’s situation was probably not great either, but this was a bigger problem.
‘If I’m struggling this much with the reserves I’ve built up, my sister’s place must be in chaos.’
Even in the worsening situation, Kim Sehee couldn’t help but think that. If our company is like this, what’s going on at Starlight Cosmetics right now?
