I knew today was the launch day for our last buddy, ‘Astronaut Leo’. But, as always, I seem to miss those crucial moments. It’s like when you discover online that the limited edition pre-order you’ve been waiting for was completed in just one minute…
Getting ‘Office Worker Jay’ last week wasn’t planned either. That day, I left the house early, just wanting to grab a hot Americano because it was colder than expected. But when I saw a cute Playmobil buddy by the register, instead of ordering my coffee, I asked the barista.
“What’s your favorite drink?”
What do I have to drink to get this adorable buddy? Please, tell me right now! I looked at her with pleading eyes, and she pointed at the event poster.
Honestly, ‘Jay’ wasn’t that impressive. First, he’s a guy, his glasses were just hastily drawn lines, and he wore a green jacket. Who wears a green jacket in this world? Not even a Masters champion would wear that, right? Even if they did, it’d be just at the golf club ceremony. But I didn’t pick ‘Hiker Jenny’ because Jay was holding a shiny silver laptop in the box photo, which reminded me of my daily laptop life. However, when I assembled it, the laptop looked like a bulky 90s model.
Yet, both ‘Jay’ and ‘Jenny’ sold out that day and became history in just a few hours. The world suddenly divided into those who owned them and those who didn’t. As I pondered if I made a good choice, Jay’s curly hair started looking cute.
Walking out like any other day, passing by Starbucks, I suddenly remembered today was ‘Astronaut Leo’s release day. Thinking it was early enough, I went in, but even in a relatively quiet store, everything was sold out – just like last time, only 30 minutes difference. ‘Oh well,’ I thought, and continued with my unusually hectic day.
As if time-warping to evening, I left the building and walked towards Gangnam Station, spotting a Starbucks along the way. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to still be there. But hey, no harm in asking, right? Maybe there’d be one hiding in a corner. ‘All sold out… Oh! There’s one left!’ she might say. You never know with these things.
I slowly pushed the heavy door open and asked the somewhat bored-looking barista if ‘Astronaut Leo’ had sold out.
‘What? Sold out this morning.’
She smiled at me, as if her boredom had just been lifted. I hadn’t asked when it sold out… but she kept smiling at me, her expression saying,
‘Hey, you fool, of course, it was gone by dawn. Lazybones.’
So, I thought
Does it make sense to drink coffee from a cup while floating in space? What’s with those snowballs by your ears? At least the spacesuit can be attached and detached, and the headset looks cool, right? Then I asked,
‘Do you have any stickers left?’
And that’s my story.
Leo came with stickers as a bonus. How thoughtful of Starbucks…
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