Episode 30. Warm Hot Chocolate (2)
As lunchtime was approaching.
Choi Sein, who returned to Branch 2 earlier than expected, immediately made a face full of apology upon seeing Kang Dae-oh.
“I’m sorry, CEO. You even had to come to work on the weekend because of me……”
“It’s okay. Thanks to you, I got to see how the employees work.”
Normally, if he put his mind to it, he could easily have such an experience at the main branch. This was because the office where he worked was located in the same building as Amare’s main branch. If he took the elevator down, the main branch store would immediately appear. Nevertheless, because he was conscious of Executive Director Yoo In-seok, it was not as easy as he thought for Kang Dae-oh to legally seize such an opportunity. So, when he heard that Choi Sein would be away, he secretly rejoiced for a moment. Of course, Choi Sein, who had no way of knowing Kang Dae-oh’s true feelings, was still just filled with apology.
Kang Dae-oh took off his apron and said.
“There are no special notes. And…… Ah.”
As Kang Dae-oh pondered what to hand over until the very last moment, the boy’s existence suddenly came to his mind.
“The staff told me earlier? That there’s a boy who comes to Branch 2 every Saturday morning.”
“Oh my. CEO, you saw him too?”
“Not only did I see him. His height didn’t reach the kiosk, so I even helped him. It seems like we should put a chair or something there? Although it’s rare for kids to come alone and order, since there’s a regular young customer who comes like this morning, it would be good to take action.”
“As for action, I’ve already taken it.”
Saying so, Choi Sein pointed to a small step stool behind the kiosk. Only then did Kang Dae-oh notice the presence of the step stool.
“It was already here.”
“Yes. Normally, we’d put it in a visible place. It seems one of the staff members briefly put it away.”
Indeed. If a step stool is placed around the kiosk, customers might trip over it. If a complaint comes in, the staff would naturally have no choice but to put it away.
“Should we even get a new kiosk specifically for children’s height……”
Choi Sein smiled slightly, looking at Kang Dae-oh, who was deep in thought.
“CEO. It seems Minsung is really on your mind.”
“He is on my mind. But honestly, this is the first I’ve heard that such a young customer keeps coming to Branch 2.”
He also heard the name for the first time through Choi Sein’s recent remark. A small boy whose face and name he didn’t know. However, because he exuded an aura as if he held some unknown story, the child kept lingering in his mind. Perhaps it was because he was raising daughters of a similar age to the boy. When his first daughter was born, Kang Dae-oh’s gaze would naturally turn towards families carrying babies whenever he passed by. It was a similar behavior.
“Sein-ssi. Are you very close with that child named Minsung?”
“Not very much…… No. I also wanted to find a day to catch him and ask, but as you know, CEO, this place is incredibly busy. I can’t leave my spot, so I only think about it and can’t bring myself to act on it.”
“Hmm, really?”
Just as he was about to fall into deeper thought. Choi Sein made a decisive remark that brought Kang Dae-oh’s consciousness back to reality.
“But CEO. Didn’t you say you had an appointment this afternoon?”
“That’s right, I did.”
Only then able to recall his appointment with his family, Kang Dae-oh thanked her.
“Thank you, Sein-ssi. You saved me.”
Although it was true that the boy was still on his mind. Still, it seemed better to focus on his family appointment for now. Because before taking care of others, it’s the right order to take care of those closest to him first.
Kang Dae-oh, who headed to the stage greeting event for the movie ‘Taepyeong’ starring Kang Yebin with his family, let out a short sigh as soon as he entered the parking lot. This was because there seemed to be no parking space. After circling about 3 times, Kang Dae-oh, who finally secured a parking space, already felt tired. There was only one reason why the parking lot, which was usually quiet when he came, was crowded today.
‘It must be because of the stage greeting.’
It was obvious even without looking. The opportunity to meet the main actors of Taepyeong in one place is rare. Moreover, the movie reviews weren’t bad. As a result, movie fans’ attention was inevitably drawn to today’s stage event. This interest soon led to a shortage of parking spaces.
While going up in the elevator, Kang Dae-oh unconsciously let out a short sigh mixed with fatigue. Then, Kang Yera grabbed Kang Dae-oh’s right wrist and began to rub it. Kang Dae-oh tilted his head at his eldest daughter’s sudden action.
“What’s wrong?”
He asked, wondering if she had something to tell her dad. However, Kang Yera was not rubbing her dad’s wrist with that intention.
“Because you must have driven for a long time. So I’m giving you a massage.”
Kang Yeyoung, who heard Kang Yera’s words, made a realization-like expression and then shouted, ‘I’m going to do it too!’ At the sight of Kang Yeyoung starting to knead his remaining left wrist with her small hands, a smile naturally spread across Kang Dae-oh’s face. Honestly, he was very tired because he had stopped by the store in the morning, worked, and then immediately came to the stage event venue. But thanks to his daughters’ charming massages, the word ‘tired’ was completely erased from Kang Dae-oh’s mind.
Min Seung-yeon looked at her husband, who was beaming, and made a dumbfounded expression.
“You like it that much?”
“Of course, I can’t help but like it.”
“Seriously, what a daughter-fool.”
While the family was having a short conversation. When the elevator doors opened, they couldn’t help but gasp. It was because there were too many people in the movie theater. People everywhere he looked. People everywhere he looked. At the sight of the movie theater filled with crowds, Kang Dae-oh couldn’t help but swallow dryly. However, there was one advantage thanks to the crowds.
‘Hardly anyone recognizes us.’
Perhaps because of the chaos, very few people noticed that Kang Dae-oh’s family was currently there. Thanks to this, Kang Dae-oh was able to go straight to the screening room where the stage greeting event was scheduled to be held without difficulty, taking his family with him.
As they took their seats, people who had arrived and were already sitting nearby began to talk to Kang Dae-oh’s family first. Every single one of them had faces he seemed to have seen somewhere before. These people, like Kang Dae-oh’s family, were industry officials who had been invited. This was why their faces were familiar.
“We’re enjoying ‘Yoratte’ very much. CEO. I visited the place that appeared on broadcast recently, and it was delicious.”
“Thank you. I guess I’ll have to film even harder from now on.”
He unintentionally gained motivation as well.
Kang Yeyoung glared at Kang Yera and said.
“It seems Dad is more popular than unnie?”
If it were the usual Kang Yera, she would have denied it outright. But seeing that industry officials were talking to Kang Dae-oh more than her, she suddenly thought that it might actually be true.
“As expected. We should debut Dad too.”
Then Min Seung-yeon retorted to Kang Yera’s words, asking what she was talking about.
“Hasn’t he already debuted? He even has a regularly appearing program.”
“Ah, now that I think about it, you’re right.”
Unintentionally, Kang Dae-oh’s family became a celebrity family.
As the scheduled time for the event arrived, actors began to appear on stage one by one. People responded to their appearance with enthusiastic cheers. If you were to ask who the most noticeable actor among the many was, it would undoubtedly be Kang Yebin. It wasn’t because Kang Yebin was more famous than other main or supporting actors. It was because Kang Yebin was the only child actor among the performers. Small in stature, yet she exuded an aura of presence that was in no way inferior to any other actor. Kang Yebin, beautifully dressed in hanbok, bowed together with her senior actors. Afterwards, she received the microphone in turn and calmly introduced herself.
“Hello. I am actress Kang Yebin, who played the younger version of Sowol.”
At Kang Yebin’s clear and concise self-introduction, the audience’s cheers doubled. No, they tripled. Kang Dae-oh, who personally experienced his second daughter’s immense popularity at the venue, felt his heart pound as if it were his own affair. Min Seung-yeon looked at her husband’s flushed face, tilted her head, and asked him.
“Why are you more nervous?”
“Just in case Yebin makes a mistake. That’s why.”
“No way. Still, Yebin has been in the industry longer than you and me.”
Hearing that, it was also true. In terms of career, Kang Yebin had been in the industry overwhelmingly longer than any of the other actors standing on stage now. Perhaps because of that, Kang Yebin didn’t show much nervousness. Whether she was talking about episodes during the filming of the movie ‘Taepyeong’, or about the difficulties of her role. Kang Yebin continued to answer in a skilled tone, without a single slip of the tongue, as if she were reading from a script. The senior actor sitting next to her even pointed at Kang Yebin and said.
“Don’t you think Yebin is answering the most maturely among us?”
“I agree.”
“Me too.”
Suddenly, Kang Yebin secured the most prominent position among the actors.
During the continuous Q&A session, a reporter asked a common question to the director and actors.
“Articles are pouring out saying the movie has achieved decent results since its opening day. Is there a target audience number you have in mind?”
Director Choi Ki-yong, who was in charge of the production, took the microphone.
“Since the break-even point is 3 million. I really want to save face, so I hope it surpasses 3 million.”
Another wave of laughter followed from the audience. The reporter asked an additional question about this.
“In the industry, there’s talk that 7 million, even 8 million, might be possible. I’m curious if you have any plans to make a pledge to achieve an audience number double the break-even point.”
At the mention of a pledge, the actors exchanged glances. After a brief discussion. Yoo Cheong-in, the lead actor, spoke on behalf of the group.
“We haven’t discussed it beforehand, so there’s nothing to say right now. We will have a serious discussion among ourselves soon and then upload a separate pledge post via our SNS accounts.”
At the word ‘pledge,’ the audience also showed reactions of anticipation. It would help promote the movie. And if possible, it would be good if it became a socially meaningful pledge.
‘What could it be?’
Kang Dae-oh also decided to think about it with his second daughter.
