Chapter 44
Chapter 44
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Goods and Cuteness
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Slurp! Chomp!
Slurp! Chomp!
The woman was lost in her ramen trance, oblivious to her researcher's lab coat staining red.
Slurp!
She inhaled the noodles in a daze before finally shrugging off the coat. It was just too damn uncomfortable.
Plop!
The impact of it hitting the floor knocked her employee ID off her chest, but she couldn't have cared less.
[Hwayeon Monster Research A-Team - Team Leader: Baek Seo-ha]
That was nothing compared to the ramen right in front of her.
Slurp!
"Nguh...!"
Yes! This was the taste!
Was there anything in the world more heavenly than ramen after pulling an all-nighter for seven straight days?
Even a Michelin three-star meal would have to bow before this bowl.
Farewell, crappy caffeine pills.
She had three whole days before diving back into research... Time to binge like a madwoman.
Tap-tap-tap... Click!
Seo-ha put water in a fresh pot and lit the burner.
Crash!
She swept all the junk off the desk.
They were all failed experiments anyway.
Let the waste pile up on the floor like the trash it was.
Of course, the lab floor wasn't just littered with waste.
"...Hey. Go sleep in the nap room."
"......"
There were several humans sprawled out, looking pretty much like discarded refuse themselves.
They weren't dead, so no need to make a fuss.
They'd just collapsed after one all-nighter too many.
For the record, they'd chosen to pull those all-nighters themselves.
Sure, Seo-ha worked her researchers hard...
But she didn't drive them to the brink of death.
"Move over a bit. You're in the way."
Rustle.
One of the downed researchers crawled away at her words, claiming a spot free of debris.
It was right by the AC vent—the best real estate in the lab.
"If you're gonna do that, just go to the nap room..."
Why insist on the hard floor when there were deluxe beds available?
Seo-ha was briefly curious about her team's motivations, but she quickly lost interest.
Bubble bubble!
Ramen first. Ramen.
It was boiling just right now—who had time to worry about them?
"Haa...!"
She lifted the lid, and steam billowed out, along with a smell so potent it made the sprawled researchers twitch.
The moment Seo-ha grabbed her chopsticks for that legendary first bite in ramen history...
Bzzz!
"T-Team Leader!"
Seong-han returned to the lab at the perfect moment.
"Oh. You get the kimbap?"
"Huh? Oh, right here... No, that's not it."
"Not it? What do you mean?"
"You knew about the collab between Baekya and the inventory creator, right?"
"That popup store thing? Yeah, it came up once."
It had even been a topic at the board meeting last Tuesday, she thought.
The guild master had been furious, yelling his head off.
Just thinking about it made Seo-ha shudder—not in a good way.
"...Ugh. That was brutal. I heard some sales team folks got canned over it?"
"That rumor was true?"
"Yeah. Man... the way he tore into them was savage. If it were me, I'd have jumped out the window. Poor bastards."
Tough break working for such a shitty guild. Not that the research team had it much better.
"But why bring it up now?"
"Oh...! Team Leader, take a look at this?"
Seong-han held out his smartphone. On the screen was a short video.
One of those brain-rotting platforms that had recently exploded in popularity.
Seo-ha usually avoided them like the plague.
"This the popup store video?"
"Yeah, exactly."
"Why are you watching this crap? It'll just ruin your appetite."
"True, but... just watch it once."
Click.
The video started playing. The first thing that caught her eye was a bunch of bouncy pudding slimes. Probably the creator's pets.
Ten of them? That was a lot. Where'd they even get that many?
"Eh, nothing special. Just clickbait to draw a crowd, right?"
"This is just the setup. Here, this part... the highlight."
Seong-han scrolled, revealing slimes stacked into a tower.
It was still meh up to that point... but the next scene was downright shocking.
"...What the hell? Did they just fuse them?"
Fusion slimes. Multiple fusions, no less. A total success.
"That's right...! How is that even possible?"
"Whoa... that's insane. For real."
Seo-ha couldn't help but curse at the outrageous sight.
Anyone would.
Her team was just starting initial fusion research to boost inventory stability, grinding away endlessly without much progress.
And these guys pulled off multiple fusions? In public?
Clang!
"Ah, lost my appetite."
Stunned, Seo-ha flung her chopsticks away.
"Whoa..."
Seong-han scooped them up quick, dusted them off with his hand.
"You not eating it? Guess I'll have to."
"...Hey! You nuts? ...Go grab another pair of chopsticks."
"Got it."
Seo-ha used the fresh ones to lift some noodles.
The ramen had bloated up completely.
She slurped them down while idly wondering.
Should she... just quit?
**
"Mom! Look! It bounces so much!"
"Ooh, it does! So cool~"
Boing! Boing!
The kid was in a total trance, bouncing what looked like a super bouncy ball on the ground.
That was the slime ball I'd painstakingly developed.
Made from byproducts that didn't make the cut for Molrangtori. The bounciest ball in Earth's history, no contest.
Boing!
The kid's slime ball shot up nearly seven stories high before dropping back down.
"Whoa...! It bounces so high...!"
But kiddo, how about wrapping it up? You're being a nuisance.
Elasticity was nice and all, but stating the obvious wouldn't help.
The real hidden feature was something else.
You could shape it into a tiny pillow!
'No pillow's more dreamy than those things.'
Of course, they were kid-sized only. Adults would find them disappointingly small.
But it was the best choice for me.
Quantity was an issue, but the first rule of killer marketing was...
'Lure in the kids.'
Get the children hooked, and the adults follow. Straight to potential sales.
That's why I focused on kid-friendly designs. Split colors into blue and pink for that reason.
Not some sexist thing—pure human instinct.
'Boys tend to like blue, girls pink.'
It worked perfectly: sales split roughly 50/50 by gender.
Grow up big and strong, kids, and buy Molrangtori later too?
The merch margins weren't bad, but at the cheap price point, they weren't raking in big bucks.
Retail: 5,000 won.
33% cut to Baekya.
That 33% applied not just to these, but all future Molrangmol merch based on pudding slime designs.
Word was Baekya wanted to produce their own goods.
Split: me 34%, Baekya 33%, expenses 33%.
'No reason to say no.'
Especially since I had final approval rights. I could block anything sketchy upfront.
Granted, demand was a gamble...
"Can't I buy two? I want one for my little sibling too."
"Ah, sorry... Only one per person per purchase..."
But judging by the scene now, it'd sell out easy?
Pudding slime cuteness was world-class. Rivaled my own destructive power.
"Ready to head up?"
"Already? We just got down here."
"Yeah, no need to stick around. It's crushing it."
"True. The kids' smiles won't quit."
The giant pudding slime was still mobbed by children.
Seolbaek was hopping from head to head, having a blast.
Both looked plenty happy.
They hated being lonely, so they were probably loving this.
Heading back to the coffee shop and my half-finished melon soda...
"Um... kiddo?"
Someone called out. Could've been for anyone, but it felt aimed at me.
Glancing back casually, Joo Haneul was staring right at me.
What? Did she figure out I'm the creator?
"M-Me?"
"Yeah. You."
"......"
Total shock.
While Ha-young and I stood there dumbfounded, Haneul walked right up.
Wait, busted?
—Or so I thought.
"Here."
Haneul handed me something.
A pink, squishy blob in her palm.
A slime ball.
Why give it to me?
"You wanted one, right? It's mine, but I'll give it to you special."
Oh.
She must've thought I'd missed out on buying one and given up.
Picked up on some unintended longing in my eyes? Or did my cute kid look seal the deal?
Either way, one hell of a spontaneous, unique event.
Which is why...
"Pfft...!"
Ha-young next to me couldn't hold back her laugh.
"What's wrong? Don't... want it?"
"N-No! Thank you. Um, sis..."
I got swept up in the moment and thanked her.
"Good. Come again next time?"
Haneul didn't stop there—she patted my head too. Her touch was pure affection.
Love it or hate it? Complicated feelings.
"...Yeah. Bye."
I bowed politely and slipped away.
"Saewol really is cute. But I never imagined special treatment like that."
"...Right?"
This made me seriously curious.
Someday, when I meet Haneul face-to-face as the creator...
What would her reaction be?