Episode 29. Special Advice (5)
Standing for the first time at a production presentation, Kang Dae-oh awkwardly smiled and waved.
When reporters asked him to look left, he looked left.
When they asked him to look right, he turned his body to the right.
It was hard to keep his eyes open properly because of the flashes bursting too much in front of him.
Despite that, Kang Yeyoung showed an amazing composure, not batting an eye.
Even Do Sang-ho, the star barista who was somewhat familiar with broadcasting, couldn’t handle his gaze as skillfully as Kang Yeyoung.
Only the youngest, Kang Yeyoung, was showing a professional demeanor.
Watching his youngest daughter’s talent, Kang Dae-oh swallowed his admiration internally.
‘Being a celebrity is truly a grueling profession.’
Furthermore, Kang Yeyoung wasn’t a case of formally debuting in the entertainment industry like Kang Yera or Kang Yebin.
She was someone who had continuously worked in the entertainment industry as a famous influencer. Yet, her professional appearance felt remarkable to Kang Dae-oh.
After sitting down, the cast and Kwak Jong-soo PD had time to answer reporters’ questions.
The first question was about another cast member who was unavoidably absent from today’s production presentation.
“Including Ji So-yeon, there are a total of four cast members, right?”
In response, Kwak PD raised the microphone.
“Yes, that’s correct. Originally, Soyeon wanted to participate in the production presentation, but she couldn’t come because she wasn’t feeling well. So, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t publish articles with the nuance that there was a conflict between our production team and Soyeon, leading to her absence.”
A burst of laughter escaped from the reporters’ mouths.
As in private, Kwak Jong-soo PD maintained his unique humor even in official settings.
Next, the microphone was passed to Kang Yeyoung.
“Your unnies are actively pursuing careers as an idol and an actress, respectively. Does Yeyoung have any plans to formally debut like your unnies?”
In response, Kang Yeyoung answered firmly.
“No. I don’t have any plans for that yet. And I prefer working as an influencer. It’s freer. I think it suits my style better.”
Mature comments, unlike a young child, flowed out smoothly.
Reporters weren’t greatly surprised by Kang Yeyoung’s demeanor.
This was because Kang Yera and Kang Yebin had also consistently shown the same composure.
As expected, sisters are sisters. This was the only thought that briefly crossed their minds.
After Do Sang-ho, it was finally Kang Dae-oh’s turn.
“Is this your first time appearing on a regularly scheduled program with your daughter? Could we briefly hear your thoughts and determination on this?”
“Ah, yes!”
Perhaps nervous, Kang Dae-oh almost dropped the microphone for a moment.
Fortunately, such a mishap did not occur.
“First of all… I want to thank Kwak Jong-soo PD-nim for providing me with the opportunity to create such good memories with my youngest daughter. Also, personally, I really wanted to meet CEO Do Sang-ho at least once. When I heard the news that we would be filming together, I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep well at night.”
At Kang Dae-oh’s words, revealing his fan admiration for Do Sang-ho, laughter once again spread through the venue.
Do Sang-ho, who was named as the party concerned, also gave an awkward smile with an embarrassed expression.
CEO Do Sang-ho, naturally receiving the microphone, offered a reciprocal comment to Kang Dae-oh.
“The honor is all mine, CEO Kang Dae-oh. Personally, I really love the menu items sold at Amare. Especially, I enjoy drinking the hazelnut Americano; its taste is a bit different from other stores. Regular stores usually make it by adding hazelnut syrup to adjust the quantity.”
Kang Dae-oh raised the microphone again.
“Amare uses coffee beans infused with hazelnut flavor instead of syrup. That’s probably why the taste feels richer.”
“No wonder. Should I say it definitely has a depth of taste and aroma? So that was the reason.”
“At first, I thought about using hazelnut essence, but the current method suits my taste better.”
“I agree. The philosophy that ‘if I find it delicious, customers will also find it delicious’ is naturally held by self-employed business owners.”
Perhaps due to the commonality that both operated coffee brand companies, at some point, Kang Dae-oh and Do Sang-ho’s conversation continued exclusively between them.
At this moment, Kwak Jong-soo PD deliberately cleared his throat to prevent their world from expanding further.
“Ahem! Both of you. Coffee talk is good, but please also say something about our program.”
“Oh dear, I apologize.”
At some point, the two had forgotten that the place they were sitting in was the Yolatdae production presentation.
Thanks to this, the people who attended the production presentation could clearly understand that the two were truly passionate about coffee.
Arriving at the first filming location for Yolatdae, Kang Dae-oh tilted his head, looking at the cafe sign.
“Was there a cafe like this around here?”
Coincidentally, the area where the chosen cafe was located was also a place Kang Dae-oh knew very well.
It was where his former workplace was, so it was no exaggeration to say he knew the geography of the place inside out.
Even back then, Kang Dae-oh was very interested in cafes and had frequented all the nearby cafes.
Yet, even he had never seen ‘Dongne Chingu’ cafe, today’s filming location.
“Writer-nim. When did Dongne Chingu Cafe open?”
“I heard it was two years ago.”
“Ahaha…”
Indeed. If he thought about it, it had been quite a long time since Kang Dae-oh worked there.
From then until now. The fact that the cafe has continuously been located and operating here means it must be generating enough profit to sustain the business.
Then there would be no need for it to appear on Yolatdae.
Because they are earning enough to live on.
Similar to Kang Dae-oh, Do Sang-ho also said, “Was there a cafe like this?” as soon as he arrived at the scene, showing the same reaction.
Furthermore.
“This is a street with a lot of foot traffic…”
Do Sang-ho trailed off.
The unspoken meaning at the end was that it was a location where business couldn’t possibly be bad, so he couldn’t understand why sales weren’t coming in.
Kang Dae-oh thought the same.
If there were a vacant commercial space here, the location conditions seemed good enough to immediately make it a new Amare branch.
That made him even more curious.
What exactly was making the sales situation of the Dongne Chingu cafe difficult?
Identifying this cause and, moreover, presenting solutions was the job of the Yolatdae cast… No, more accurately, it was Kang Dae-oh and Do Sang-ho’s job.
Kang Yeyoung and Ji So-yeon were in charge of reactions.
Before filming began, Kang Dae-oh entered the cafe first and quickly scanned the interior with his eyes.
An ordinary-looking interior.
Plain and lacking individuality, but that didn’t necessarily mean it was bad.
Conversely, it also meant the interior wasn’t an eyesore for people.
‘It’s unremarkable.’
The hypothesis that the interior might be messy, deterring customers, was deleted from Kang Dae-oh’s mind.
This time, the menu.
Drinks and desserts were also composed of items that could be seen in any other store.
‘The menu is also ordinary.’
Filming hadn’t even started yet.
Kang Dae-oh was already beginning to analyze the problems.
That’s because Kang Dae-oh knew all too well how desperate the cafe owner was when applying for the story.
Kang Dae-oh also once wondered if he could make a living by operating a cafe.
Thanks to this experience, he was able to form a deep empathy with the Dongne Chingu cafe owner, even though they were meeting for the first time today.
A man in his 30s, who had been quietly observing Kang Dae-oh’s sharp eye, cautiously approached him and spoke.
“Please take good care of us, CEO-nim. I personally can’t see what the problem is…”
Perhaps Kang Dae-oh and Do Sang-ho could immediately identify what he couldn’t notice?
He wore an expression full of such anticipation.
Kang Dae-oh briefly nodded and said he would do his best.
Even if he saw a problem, there wasn’t enough time to say it now.
And if he spoiled the broadcast content in advance, there wouldn’t be proper reactions during the actual filming.
Someone like Kang Yebin, who works as an actress, might be able to skillfully feign ignorance even if she already knew something, but ordinary people couldn’t do that.
So, Kwak PD had separately asked Kang Dae-oh and Do Sang-ho to hold their tongues until filming, just in case.
This was because he wanted to capture the real reactions of the store owner on camera.
‘Even if I wanted to tell him, I still can’t quite see what the problem is, so…’
It turned into a forced vow of silence.
Nevertheless, Kang Dae-oh’s eyes moved busily.
Do Sang-ho also seemed to be experiencing a similar problem to Kang Dae-oh, as he tilted his head several times.
“There’s nothing special, but it’s not like it has conditions that would make business bad either. It’s ambiguous.”
“Indeed.”
“Well, we’ll find out once filming starts later.”
Just as Do Sang-ho and he were discussing future plans.
From outside, Kang Yeyoung’s voice was heard, greeting someone.
The last cast member to join, Ji So-yeon, approached where Kang Dae-oh and Do Sang-ho were, repeatedly apologizing for being late.
“I tried to come early, but they said my car tire went flat in the middle… I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay. You’re only 5 minutes late.”
Thanks to Ji So-yeon’s arrival, they could finally begin full-fledged recording.
“Opening shot, rolling!”
Following the assistant director’s shout, the camera began to roll.
There were a total of four cast members.
They exchanged simple greetings and self-introductions in front of the camera, then immediately walked to the first client’s store.
Ji So-yeon looked around and said,
“From the outside, it looks ordinary.”
She expressed the same opinion as Kang Dae-oh and Do Sang-ho.
After a brief greeting with the store owner.
They proceeded to order menus to analyze the problem.
Kang Dae-oh said to Kang Yeyoung, with a ‘just in case’ thought in mind,
“Yeyoung, you know you’re not supposed to drink coffee yet, right?”
Kang Yeyoung swallowed her disappointment and replied, “I know.”
In Yolatdae, Kang Yeyoung was active as the dessert 담당 (dessert manager/person in charge).
Even though it was a broadcast, she was still young, so caffeine intake couldn’t be allowed yet.
Do Sang-ho asked Kang Dae-oh,
“What are you going to order?”
“I’ll choose an iced Americano. Small size.”
“A classic choice. Then I… I’ll go with a cafe mocha.”
Each took care to avoid ordering the same menu items as much as possible.
They weren’t there to play but to identify problems. It was better to taste various things if possible.
The iced Americano Kang Dae-oh ordered was placed in front of him.
Kang Dae-oh, without much thought, picked up the glass and drank the Americano.
At that moment.
These words burst from his mouth.
“I think I finally know what the problem is.”
He finally found it.
