Episode 30. Warm Hot Chocolate Latte (4)
The boy who got into Kang Dae-oh’s car initially showed a moment of tension, but soon began to gradually relax.
After some time had passed, he was even showing a reaction of relief.
“I wanted to take a warm drink, so I used to run every day. Thanks to ahjussi, I don’t have to run today, so I’m happy.”
Kang Dae-oh gave the boy a wry smile and advised him.
“It’s dangerous to run with a drink. No matter how busy you are, don’t do that.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The boy immediately replied to Kang Dae-oh’s words.
He listens well to what adults say, and has deep filial piety.
He seemed like a very good child.
Kang Dae-oh, who was moving according to the address the boy gave him, parked his car nearby and carefully got out.
After helping the boy get out of the car, he quickly scanned his surroundings.
‘So there was a neighborhood like this.’
It was an area where old villas were gathered in one place.
Kang Dae-oh suddenly remembered the neighborhood before he moved.
‘The place where my wife and I used to live was exactly like this.’
As the children were born and the house became proportionately smaller, Kang Dae-oh, who felt the need to move and relocated his home, recalled the difficult memories of that time after a long time.
If it hadn’t been for his daughters.
Perhaps Kang Dae-oh might still be living with his family in that small, old house.
While he was lost in his own thoughts.
The boy who was walking ahead pointed to the house where he lived with his mother with a very excited expression.
“Over there, the second floor is our house.”
“Really? Can ahjussi go in for a moment too?”
“Yes, that’s great!”
Was it because he had a guest after a long time?
The boy was very excited.
“Mom will be very surprised.”
“Because of me?”
“That’s also true, but I’ve never brought a guest before.”
“Even friends?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Is it because the school and your house are far apart?”
“It only takes 10 minutes on foot.”
“Then you could call them over to play together.”
Nevertheless, the boy had no memory of playing at home with friends.
Kang Dae-oh seemed to roughly know the reason.
‘Is it because he doesn’t want his friends to find out that his family’s financial situation is difficult?’
Young children might be sensitive about such things.
However, a completely different answer from Kang Dae-oh’s expectation came out of the boy’s mouth.
“Because Mom works all night and comes home, if I bring friends during the day, I think she won’t be able to sleep properly. That’s why I intentionally don’t bring them.”
Kang Dae-oh realized that his thinking was shallow.
He gave a gentle smile and stroked the boy’s head.
“Minsung is much more of an adult than this ahjussi.”
The boy seemed to have no idea at all why Kang Dae-oh was saying such a thing.
Still, perhaps because he felt good after hearing the compliment, he soon chuckled.
Since Kang Dae-oh intended to only visit the boy’s house for a very short time and then leave immediately.
Therefore, it seemed he could invite him home without burden, unlike his friends.
When the door opened, a woman who was doing the remaining dishes in the kitchen greeted the boy.
“Welcome, son······ Oh my!”
The woman showed a greatly surprised reaction to the unfamiliar guest who came in with her son.
It was a perfectly normal reaction.
Kang Dae-oh showed the brightest smile possible and first introduced himself to reassure the woman.
“Hello. You might not know me, but I am Kang Dae-oh, who runs a cafe brand called Amare.”
“Oh my goodness, of course I know! Minsung and I are also enjoying watching Yorae!”
Perhaps because she had no idea Kang Dae-oh would appear as a surprise guest, the woman still maintained a bewildered expression.
Before he could explain what had happened.
“P-please, sit here first! I’ll get you something to drink.”
“Thank you.”
As expected, the house was quite small.
Nevertheless, it didn’t seem insufficient for two people to live in.
‘The child’s father······ isn’t here.’
There was no trace of an adult male whatsoever in the house.
Because of this, Kang Dae-oh instinctively sensed that the boy’s family was a single-parent household.
‘Indeed. On the way here, he had never heard Minsung talk about his father.’
He had only talked about his mother, mother, all along.
At first, he thought it was strange.
Only after seeing the house, Kang Dae-oh understood why the boy only mentioned his mother.
Because it was such a sensitive issue, Kang Dae-oh decided to avoid mentioning it first as much as possible.
Although he didn’t know the full story, he was sure it wouldn’t be a good story anyway.
Meanwhile, the boy’s mother returned to the living room with the iced coffee for Kang Dae-oh to drink.
“Trying to serve coffee to the CEO of a coffee company makes me unnecessarily intimidated. Hoho.”
“Not at all. I’m also very fond of mixed coffee.”
It’s a prejudice that people who like coffee only like bean coffee.
Kang Dae-oh still often makes and drinks mixed coffee himself whenever he feels like it.
Perhaps thanks to Kang Dae-oh’s considerate words.
The boy’s mother made an expression that her mind was at least a little more at ease.
Slurp.
Kang Dae-oh, who drank the warm mixed coffee, gave a faint smile.
“It was worthwhile coming to drop off Minsung.”
As it was, the boy’s mother wanted to ask about this part.
“How did you end up bringing my son all the way here······.”
“I found out that Minsung comes to buy hot chocolate latte every Saturday. Since I’m also a father raising children, hearing that a young child comes alone, and that too, to buy a drink from a place very far from home, I kept getting worried.”
“Ah······.”
The boy’s mother showed a troubled expression.
There was a reason for her reaction.
“Actually, I keep telling Minsung that he doesn’t have to buy it anymore, but he says he’ll definitely buy it even if I try to stop him. So I’ve given up for now.”
“It’s alright. Letting children do what they want is also a parent’s role. Instead, it would be good if he went to a closer cafe if possible.”
It’s not actually easy to tell your own customer to go to another store.
For Kang Dae-oh, who had personally experienced the distance between the boy’s house and Amare’s second branch, losing one regular customer was not perceived as a problem.
He judged that it was right to say this, even considering the boy.
However, the boy shook his head and clearly expressed his unwillingness to do so.
“Mom said she likes the hot chocolate latte sold at Amare the most.”
“Oh, dear······.”
He didn’t try to easily break his stubbornness.
The boy’s mother stepped forward to persuade her son once again.
“Minsung. I told you that you could buy snacks you want instead of hot chocolate latte, didn’t I? Mom can’t even give you much allowance.”
“It’s okay. If Mom is happy, that’s enough for me.”
From a mother’s perspective, there would be no more touching answer than this.
Meanwhile, Kang Dae-oh carefully observed the child’s mother.
To have a son attending elementary school, she looked excessively young.
She looked to be at most in her late 20s.
Did she perhaps have a child early in her teens?
Worries about whether she was abandoned by her husband because of that, and that’s why she maintains her current difficult family environment, slowly crept up.
“Ma’am.”
Kang Dae-oh handed her one of his business cards.
She was quite surprised by Kang Dae-oh’s action.
“Why are you suddenly giving me your business card······.”
“Just in case there’s anything I can help with.”
“Oh, no. It’s already thankful enough that you came here like this.”
The boy’s mother politely declined Kang Dae-oh’s offer of help.
Nevertheless, Kang Dae-oh did not take back the business card.
“Still. Please just keep it in case of anything.”
“If you insist on saying that······.”
The boy’s mother reluctantly nodded her head.
It was because doing this seemed like it would make Kang Dae-oh feel more at ease.
Due to an unexpected schedule, Kang Dae-oh unintentionally returned home later than planned.
“Sorry I’m late. Let’s eat quickly.”
Min Seung-yeon took a seat opposite Kang Dae-oh and asked.
“What were you doing that made you late?”
It was a question asked out of worry, wondering if a big problem had perhaps occurred at the store and he was late because he was handling it.
To reassure his wife and daughters, Kang Dae-oh truthfully revealed what he had just experienced.
Kang Yera, who had been listening quietly, showed a reaction of finding it interesting.
“Dad used to act the same way in the past. Even when he didn’t have money, he tried to regularly participate in volunteer activities. That’s interesting.”
Kang Yebin interrupted her unnie’s words.
“What’s so interesting about it? Before or after the regression, he’s the same dad either way.”
“Right, you’re right?”
Kang Yera gave an awkward smile.
Kang Dae-oh, who thought, ‘I was like this in the past too,’ felt a strange sensation.
Indeed. Even if there are slight differences, they are all the same Kang Dae-oh.
Their actions would naturally be similar.
Kang Dae-oh explained why he was showing interest in the boy’s family.
“Dad, when I was in school, I had a friend who grew up in a single-parent household. They transferred schools and we lost touch. The regret of not being able to treat them better at that time remained. So when I see children growing up in single-parent households, I somehow keep getting worried.”
Neither his daughters nor Min Seung-yeon had known about this inside story before.
Kang Yebin, who heard her dad’s words, seemed to remember something and searched for her smartphone.
Then Min Seung-yeon let out a short nagging remark.
“Daughter. How many times has Mom told you not to look at your smartphone while eating?”
“I’m sorry. It’s urgent.”
When Kang Yebin said ‘urgent matter,’ it was mostly related to her main profession, which is acting.
It was the same this time.
Not long after, perhaps having received a reply from someone, a light flashed on Kang Yebin’s smartphone screen.
Kang Yebin, who was checking her mom’s reaction, spoke first.
“I’ll just check the reply.”
Only after Min Seung-yeon gave a short nod, Kang Yebin’s stopped hand began to move again.
After scrolling down the screen from top to bottom, Kang Yebin’s expression brightened.
Then she delivered surprising news to Kang Dae-oh.
“Dad. You asked us to let you know when our pledge was decided last time, right?”
“Oh, I did.”
“That. It was just decided.”
Saying that, Kang Yebin directly showed her dad the smartphone screen.
Kang Dae-oh, who quickly scanned the content, could see that the pledge content Kang Yebin had proposed earlier was accepted by her senior actors as well.
The pledge presented by his second daughter was.
“We decided to undertake volunteer activities targeting single-parent households with difficult financial circumstances. We’ll also do donations together.”
His dad’s good deed was reflected exactly in his second daughter.
At this, Kang Dae-oh looked at Kang Yebin and wanted to convey this message.
“Thank you, daughter.”
