NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 24
The most headache-inducing time of my day has arrived.
It was none other than study time. Haru came to my room, arms full of something resembling a textbook.
I hid in bed because I didn’t want to study, but somehow Haru found me and dragged me to the desk. I struggled, but with a *swoosh*, I had no choice but to sit down.
“I hate studying…”
“Hana! Studying every day is important. If you don’t want to become useless in society later, studying is a must!”
Hmm…? Listening to Haru’s passionate speech about the necessity of studying, it oddly made sense. Inspired by Haru’s words, I decided to study with a determined heart.
“Alright, let’s start with dictation.”
“Can’t we do math first…?”
“It’s Korean, English, then math. Hana’s a good girl, so she’ll listen quietly, right?”
“Ugh… okay…”
Of all things, it had to be dictation, my weakest point. I nervously waited to see what dictation problem Haru would give me.
Normally, I’d ace it with a perfect score, but ever since I was reborn in this body, something felt off with my brain. Things I used to know were now confusing.
Still, I believed my brain was good, so I thought a little studying would fix it. I was smart before, after all!
“Alright, here’s an easy dictation problem. You can do it, right?”
“Yep!”
I confidently grabbed my pencil with my small hand. It wasn’t going to be a hard problem, so I just had to write down what Haru said.
Haru read from the book slowly and clearly. Her pronunciation was so good, it reminded me of an announcer’s voice during exams.
“Hana ate a lot of rice at home today.”
-*Hana ate a lot of rice at home today.*
I chuckled inwardly as I perfectly wrote down what Haru said. I had better control now, so I didn’t write in weird ancient characters like before.
Of course, if I zoned out, I’d still end up writing in those ancient symbols, but I was fully focused now, so no mistakes.
The problem was so easy I had to hold back a yawn. Haru was really underestimating me with this elementary-level dictation… I could already picture myself getting a perfect score.
“Done?”
“Yep, I wrote down every word Haru said without a single mistake.”
“Really? Then I’ll give you the next one.”
“Okay!”
Haru kept her eyes on the book and continued reading elementary-level dictation sentences.
I neatly wrote them down. My pencil broke at one point, but I had a sharpener, so no big deal.
Elementary dictation was way too easy. She gave me five sentences, and I wrote them all down perfectly without missing a single word.
After finishing, I handed my notebook to Haru.
*‘No need to check, I definitely got all five right.’*
Elementary dictation was a piece of cake for me. They’d need to bring out broadcast-level dictation problems to stump me.
I sat arrogantly on the chair while Haru diligently graded my notebook.
But… was there even anything to grade…?
It should’ve been a perfect score, but Haru’s pen moved frantically across the page.
After a while, Haru put down the pen and said,
“You got one right…?”
“One…?”
No way. I frantically compared my notebook with the answer sheet.
As Haru said, my notebook was a mess. I couldn’t believe it, so I stared wide-eyed at the answer sheet and my answers. But Haru’s grading was correct.
“It’s okay. Hana’s learning a new language from another world, so getting one right is genius-level, right?”
“Really?”
“Of course~”
Hearing Haru’s words, I puffed up with pride. The problem was definitely hard, so getting one right was an achievement. I sat up proudly.
“Let’s move on to the next problem~”
“Ugh…”
But Haru’s next words deflated me again. Korean really is hard.
—————————————–
“I’ll step out for a moment. Keep discussing.”
Kim Sehee gestured to call in the vice president. They were pointlessly discussing prices, and with the president and vice president here, it felt like they were being watched.
Kim Sehee, who had stepped outside, bought two coffees from the vending machine. She handed one to the vice president and asked,
“What do you think, Vice President?”
“Well, I agree with raising the prices, but I think both sides have valid points on how much to increase it. Whether we raise it a lot or a little, there are pros and cons, so it’s hard to hastily decide who’s right or wrong.”
“But if we raise the price too much, it won’t be a product for the common people anymore. No matter how good Starlight Green Tea is, people who don’t earn much or those making an average monthly wage won’t buy a 10,000 won Starlight Green Tea. It’s a daily drink, and no one’s going to spend 10,000 won every time they want a sip.”
“True.”
“However, since our green tea production is limited, even if only wealthy people drink it, we can handle the supply. But later, when we produce more, will consumers still buy our green tea at such high prices? That’s my concern.”
“Vice President, you seem to have thought about the price range already?”
The vice president smiled slightly and said to Kim Sehee,
“I think 10,000 won is a bit over the top. Around 5,000 to 6,000 won seems reasonable. If you look at street cafes, they sell coffee at that price. It’s just green tea instead of coffee.”
“True. Since you’ve been with Starlight Food longer than I have, I’ll follow your decision. Your instincts are better than mine.”
After chatting in the hallway for a while, they entered the meeting room.
They expected heated debates, but the meeting room was surprisingly calm, as if a decision had already been made.
“We’ve concluded that 5,000 won is a suitable price for our Starlight Green Tea,” said one executive.
Kim Sehee listened as the executive continued, “Since green tea isn’t a daily necessity, we didn’t have much trouble deciding the price. The main concern was how much we could raise it without causing issues.”
“Right.”
“The original price of 300 won was ridiculously low compared to the benefits of our Starlight Green Tea. After discussions, we decided on a price that wouldn’t shrink the tea bag market and would maintain our company’s market share.”
“Can’t we raise it to 7,000 or 8,000 won?”
“Even now, the price has increased nearly 20 times. Raising it further could dampen consumer sentiment. Plus, our production is limited now, but if it explodes later, we might end up with excess Starlight Green Tea.”
“I see.”
Kim Sehee readily agreed with the executives’ opinion. Looking at the vice president’s face, it seemed close to the amount he had in mind.
When Kim Sehee agreed so quickly, the executives sighed in relief and said,
“Then we’ll proceed with the announcement.”
“Good work.”
—
[Starlight Green Tea Announces Significant Price Hike Next Month!]
[Starlight Green Tea, Once a Comfort for the Common People, Now Leaving Their Reach?]
[Kim Sehee, CEO of Starlight Food, Calls It an Unavoidable Decision…]
When Starlight Food announced a major price increase, the market went wild.
When cigarettes went up by 2,000 won, there was massive hoarding, but the Starlight Green Tea situation was on another level.
“Only one per person!!!”
No matter which supermarket you went to, you could see long lines. And the shocking part was that everyone in line was there to buy Starlight Green Tea.
The news that a 10-pack box of Starlight Green Tea, currently priced at 3,000 won, would jump to 50,000 won next month left people across the country wide-eyed.
Frankly, if you bought one box a day and held onto 10 boxes until next month, you could make 470,000 won.
The market was pure chaos.