Episode 30. Warm Hot Chocolate (1)
The moment he opened his eyes in the morning and tried to get out of bed.
Kang Dae-oh’s body trembled.
“Ugh, it’s cold.”
Although he desperately wanted to go back under the covers, he had no choice but to get out of bed because ‘work’ was waiting for Kang Dae-oh.
Perhaps it was because it was a weekend morning.
Normally, the house would have been bustling, but today it was very quiet.
Kang Dae-oh usually didn’t go to work on weekends either.
The store, unlike before, had been newly structured with a system that ran well even without Kang Dae-oh. After the merger with Etoile, as they continued to expand stores, Kang Dae-oh’s workplace changed from the store to the company, so there was no reason for him to go to work on weekends.
It was obvious the office would be empty if he went.
Nevertheless, today, Saturday morning, there was an unavoidable reason for him to head to work.
This was because Choi Sein had an urgent matter at home and had to leave the second branch temporarily in the morning.
Of course, having another employee working at the second branch temporarily cover Choi Sein’s duties was one method.
No, that’s how it was originally supposed to be.
However, Kang Dae-oh wanted to use this opportunity to personally run the store again, like in the old days, and regain a sense of the field after a long time.
That’s why he decided to fill Choi Sein’s empty spot.
‘Even if it’s bothersome, I have to do it. It’s my company.’
Kang Dae-oh had no intention of resting on his laurels in his current position.
He wanted to continue growing his business in the future.
Therefore, he needed to personally experience and understand what customers wanted.
Because the F&B business is never easy.
He came out to the living room and quickly prepared for work as quietly as possible, so as not to wake his family.
However, despite Kang Dae-oh’s efforts.
Screech.
The door to the bedroom, shared by the couple, opened.
Min Seung-yeon rubbed her eyes and trudged into the living room.
“……Are you going to work?”
“Yeah. You can sleep a bit more. The kids are sleeping right now anyway.”
“No. You’re going to work, I can’t just comfortably sleep. Should I prepare something simple to eat?”
“It’s fine. I’ll make a sandwich at the store and eat it. Didn’t you come back late last night from filming? You don’t have to worry about me, go back to sleep.”
Only after Kang Dae-oh gently pushed her back towards the bedroom was Min Seung-yeon able to return to bed.
The moment he was about to close the bedroom door after telling her to sleep well.
Min Seung-yeon poked her head out from under the covers and asked.
“What about going to see the movie in the afternoon? What are you going to do?”
“That, we can still do it. I’ll only be working the morning and leaving.”
Choi Sein is scheduled to return right after noon.
The time Kang Dae-oh would be in charge of the second branch was at most about 4 hours.
Min Seung-yeon nodded, replied that she would wait, and closed her eyes again.
Today was the premiere of the historical film, ‘Taepyeong’, starring Kang Yebin, the second daughter of Kang Dae-oh and Min Seung-yeon.
On its opening day, Kang Yebin, along with the main and supporting actors, were scheduled to make a surprise stage appearance at a movie theater in Seoul.
Accordingly, Kang Dae-oh, Min Seung-yeon, and their other two daughters also planned to attend the stage greeting event.
To accommodate this, Kang Dae-oh planned to quickly complete the handover to Choi Sein and return home.
Kang Yebin would move with her agency, but the family had to travel separately.
Whenever this happened, Kang Dae-oh always had to take on the role of chauffeur.
Kang Dae-oh, who got into the car, as always, focused his eyes on the road ahead and his ears on the radio playing.
Just then, news about the premiere of the movie Taepyeong was broadcast on the radio.
[From what I know, I heard that Taepyeong received very high scores from film critics. Is that true?]
[Yes, that’s true. I also attended the preview screening and saw the movie the month before last. And I am a historical drama critic, aren’t I? So I watched the movie even more strictly, but… Wow. It was a huge hit. Personally, I think this could reach 7 million. No, perhaps even 8 million viewers.]
[It wouldn’t be easy to reach 7 or 8 million viewers in times like these.]
[If I include my own hopes, I even thought it might reach 10 million viewers. But I guess 7 or 8 million is a more realistic goal. Anyway, it’s a really well-made movie, so I highly recommend it, especially if you like historical dramas.]
As the film critic came on and praised the movie his daughter appeared in, Kang Dae-oh naturally felt good as well.
‘Ten million, huh.’
If his daughter were an actress who mobilized ten million viewers, how would that feel?
Kang Dae-oh couldn’t even dare to imagine it.
In fact, he still couldn’t quite grasp that his daughters were a successful singer, actress, and influencer, respectively.
As they each started to achieve increasingly clear results in their respective fields, Kang Dae-oh felt an even greater joy than his own business succeeding.
So that the movie Taepyeong could succeed at the box office.
‘I’ll have to promote it diligently.’
He instinctively thought, ‘Should I hold an event where if you order a few drinks, you get a free movie ticket?’
Upon arriving at the store, Kang Dae-oh made a BLT sandwich, a breakfast-limited menu item actually sold at Amaare, and simply filled his hungry stomach.
Since regular business hours began at 9 AM, he couldn’t have a proper breakfast.
Kang Dae-oh, who had quickly eaten his meal, diligently began preparing to welcome customers with his employees.
‘This makes me think of the old days, it’s nice.’
The days when Kang Dae-oh personally ran the cafe vividly came back to him.
However, there was a significant difference between then and now.
At that time, Kang Dae-oh managed the cafe by himself.
Now, he had become the CEO of a company with numerous employees.
It wasn’t just the number of employees that had increased.
“Welcome!”
“How can I help you with your order!”
“Customer, there’s also a kiosk next to it, so you can use that.”
“Customer number 15, your takeout order is ready! Would you like me to put it in a carrier?”
“Thank you! Have a great day!”
As soon as business started, people began to flock in incredibly.
If it were a weekday morning, that would be understandable.
Because carrying a cup of Americano when going to work is almost a common practice.
So, it’s normal for weekend mornings to be relatively quiet.
Amaare was different.
In fact, weekend mornings attracted even more customers.
Especially the main branch and the second branch, whether it’s a weekday or a weekend, are always bustling with customers.
This phenomenon began to become more prominent ever since Kang Dae-oh started appearing on the Yoratte broadcast.
If you were to ask who benefited the most from the broadcast, the answer would be Kang Dae-oh, as his recognition was quite significant.
Customers who saw Kang Dae-oh directly at the store showed joyful expressions, saying they never imagined they would see him there.
“CEO-nim! If it’s okay, could I get a picture…?”
“Yes, of course.”
Kang Dae-oh smiled brightly and posed alongside the fans who requested photos with him.
One of the employees, seeing Kang Dae-oh engrossed in fan service, jokingly remarked.
“CEO-nim, aren’t you more famous than your daughters?”
“No way.”
Kang Dae-oh shook his head, denying that was the case.
No matter how famous he became, he couldn’t escape the bounds of being a businessman.
Nevertheless, the employees’ expectations for Kang Dae-oh were very high.
Before his face could turn as red as a ripe apple, Kang Dae-oh left a brief scolding for his employees to get back to work.
About 30 minutes later.
Exactly at 9:30 AM, a boy who appeared to be around Kang Yeyoung’s age came to the cafe.
He seemed to have trouble reaching the kiosk, so he diligently stood on his tiptoes.
Kang Dae-oh, who was watching him, told his employees that he would be away for a moment and approached the boy.
“Uncle will help you.”
The boy seemed slightly flustered by Kang Dae-oh’s appearance.
When an unfamiliar adult suddenly strikes up a conversation, children tend to be wary at first.
At first, the boy was like that too.
However, it wasn’t long before he seemed to realize who Kang Dae-oh was, blinking his eyes several times and sending a look of wonder.
“You’re that uncle from TV, right?”
Kang Dae-oh smiled brightly.
“That’s right. You know me well.”
“Mom and I always watch the TV show where you appear, so I know you well!”
“Really? I’m happy to hear that.”
He never imagined he would meet a young fan of his show here.
Kang Dae-oh lifted the boy into his arms as if it were a familiar gesture.
After all, he was a father who had raised three daughters.
Because of this, lifting young children into his arms was as easy as pie for Kang Dae-oh.
However, there was definitely a difference compared to his daughters.
‘Perhaps because he’s a boy, he does feel a bit heavy.’
Meanwhile, thanks to Kang Dae-oh, the boy, now able to stand at the kiosk’s height, began ordering a drink with an excited expression.
The drink the boy chose was.
A warm hot chocolate.
“Did you come because you wanted to drink this? Where are your mom and dad? Didn’t they come with you?”
For some reason, at Kang Dae-oh’s question about his parents’ whereabouts, the boy looked momentarily flustered.
It almost seemed as if Kang Dae-oh had asked a question he shouldn’t have.
A moment later, the boy pressed the payment button and said.
“They’re… at home.”
“I see.”
How much must he have wanted to drink this, to wake up early and come all the way to the cafe, even though it wasn’t a school day?
For payment, the boy pulled out several crumpled 1,000-won bills from his pocket and carefully unfolded them.
‘Did he get it as pocket money?’
In the case of Kang Dae-oh’s daughters, they were a special case compared to other children their age, so they received a very generous allowance.
However, the boy didn’t seem to receive such a generous allowance, as he carefully cherished each 1,000-won bill.
To put it positively, he seemed to know the value of money.
Conversely, it seemed his family’s financial situation wasn’t very good.
‘His clothes, too.’
His pants and jacket. There were noticeable frayed parts where threads were coming loose.
After Kang Dae-oh set the boy down, he pointed to an empty chair and said.
“Just wait a moment. Your drink will be ready soon.”
“Yes!”
Despite this, the child’s expression looked bright, which Kang Dae-oh found fortunate in a way.
The moment he returned to where the employees were, Kang Dae-oh overheard something from them that was hard to ignore.
“That child, he came again today.”
“It’s always the same, isn’t it? Coming at this time.”
“Saturdays, Sundays. Does he come regularly like this?”
Kang Dae-oh’s ears became fixed on their conversation.
