Episode 30. Warm Chocolate Latte (5)
As soon as the actors’ pledges were decided, Kang Dae-oh and Amare immediately arranged a face-to-face meeting with them.
Amare wanted only one thing from the actors and the production team of the movie ‘Taepyeong’.
Executive Director Yu In-seok personally mentioned this fact.
“Rather than just fulfilling the pledges, we thought it would be better to expand the scale by collaborating with us. That way, it would also help promote the movie.”
The movie ‘Taepyeong’ was on the verge of reaching 7 million viewers, having already surpassed its break-even point.
To achieve this goal, something that could act as a booster was needed.
Director Choi Ki-yong harbored expectations that perhaps the second collaboration promotion with Amare could serve as this booster.
Not only Director Choi Ki-yong but also producers and other film industry officials showed positive reactions to the second collaboration with Amare.
The actors were no different.
Above all, the fact that the collaborating company belonged to the father of Kang Yebin, a junior actor they cherished and liked, played a significant role.
“We are good with whatever we do with Amare.”
“That’s right. I’m already a regular at Amare. Every time I visit the store and see our faces displayed, I can’t help but feel so proud.”
“Oh, me too.”
As positive reactions emerged among the actors, Executive Director Yu In-seok and Kang Dae-oh smiled inwardly.
The production team tended to prioritize the actors’ opinions regarding marketing.
The fact that the actors viewed the joint promotion with Amare favorably meant…
…it was highly likely that Amare would achieve the desired outcome in this meeting.
As if to prove this, Director Choi Ki-yong asked the other officials:
“What do you think? Personally, I’m thinking of doing another collaboration promotion.”
“I’m good with that too.”
“Looking at the public’s reactions online, many expressed regret that the first promotion period was too short. This time, since we’re also fulfilling our pledges, it seems better to set a generous period for the second promotion.”
The opinions from the other side were being recorded in real-time on a laptop by Amare’s marketing representative.
If there was a part that elicited a particularly positive response, they made sure to emphasize and note it down.
Because every small record like this is very helpful to those conducting the promotion.
Feeling that the opinions were generally converging, Director Choi Ki-yong made a concluding remark on behalf of everyone.
“Then, let’s proceed with Amare. We’ll gradually adjust the specific details, dates, and times. What do you think?”
Kang Dae-oh, Executive Director Yu In-seok, and all other Amare officials nodded, indicating ‘It’s good’.
Thanks to the smooth start from the meeting stage, the work was expected to proceed quickly and systematically as planned.
Executive Director Yu In-seok, who had come out of the meeting room, stretched lightly and said:
“Today, I will go back to the company and look into several organizations that support single-parent families. I will organize the list later and report it separately to the CEO, so I would appreciate it if you could review it then.”
“Executive Director, before that, I have a family I personally want to help. Can they also be included?”
Executive Director Yu In-seok immediately nodded, saying there was no big problem.
“Yes. If the CEO wants to help, there’s no reason to stop him. But I didn’t know there was a single-parent family around the CEO.”
“I found out recently.”
Kang Dae-oh spoke about a boy who frequented the second branch every weekend to order chocolate latte.
Executive Director Yu In-seok seemed to be hearing the story for the first time, listening attentively to Kang Dae-oh’s words with a very interested expression.
After the story was finished.
Executive Director Yu In-seok fell into deep thought.
“I see. Then, separately from this promotion, I will also look into whether there are any benefits or public support that family can receive. There are many policies to support single-parent families, but because they don’t know, many single-parent families miss out on these benefits even though they exist.”
“Thank you, Executive Director. Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Yes. Since the CEO has specifically instructed it, I will proceed without any hitches.”
Just as Executive Director Yu In-seok was about to move.
Kang Dae-oh brought up one more thing he wanted to convey to him.
“And Executive Director. There’s one more thing I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“It’s simple. What it is, is that…”
Upon hearing the story, Executive Director Yu In-seok let out a hollow laugh.
“Objectively speaking, it won’t be simple.”
“Will it be difficult?”
Executive Director Yu In-seok shook his head.
“No. Since it’s what the CEO wants, I will proceed with it. And although I haven’t mentioned it, I was planning to bring up something similar soon anyway. It seems the timing has just been moved up significantly.”
“It seems like we had telepathy.”
“Haha! So that’s how it is.”
The two of them laughed simultaneously.
Not long after.
The details of the actors’ pledges were announced through the SNS account of actor Yu Cheong-in, who could be called the protagonist of ‘Taepyeong’.
A few days after the pledge to volunteer and donate to single-parent families upon reaching 7 million viewers was announced.
News articles poured out stating that 7 million viewers had been achieved.
Thanks to this, Kang Yebin, along with Yu Cheong-in and other senior actors, decided to participate in volunteer activities to help single-parent families.
Kang Dae-oh also joined this special volunteer activity.
Kang Dae-oh, who had been focusing his volunteer efforts on single-parent families needing assistance, including home repairs, visited the boy’s house once again with Kang Yebin.
The boy’s mother, who had received prior contact from Amare and knew they would be visiting soon, greeted the two with an awkward expression.
“Welcome, CEO.”
“Hello. It’s nice to see you again after last time.”
“Yes. By the way, I wonder if it’s okay for us to receive such a large sum of money… I feel burdened receiving it. I’m also worried if I’m causing trouble for the CEO.”
“Not at all. And as you can see…”
Kang Dae-oh said, looking at his second daughter who had come with him.
“We are just helping with what the actors chose.”
Kang Dae-oh emphasized that these things were not happening because of the boy’s mother.
Because if he didn’t clear up the misunderstanding this way, it was obvious that the boy’s mother would continue to feel the burden she mentioned.
As if Kang Dae-oh’s efforts had somewhat worked, the boy’s mother’s expression became a little more relaxed compared to before.
“Thank you, CEO. I’m truly grateful.”
“You’re welcome. And please take this too.”
“This is…?”
“This is a document that simplifies and summarizes the single-parent family support policies implemented by the government. Please read it thoroughly, and if anything applies to you, contact the welfare center anytime. If you are deemed eligible, you may receive monthly support, even if it’s a small amount.”
The boy’s mother felt deep gratitude and emotion at Kang Dae-oh’s thoughtful consideration, which even went as far as rescuing them from a welfare blind spot.
“The CEO has done so much for us, I don’t know what I can do for you…”
“You just need to take good care of Min-seong so he can grow up well and kindly. That alone is a great reward for us.”
Beside him, Kang Yebin nodded, indicating that her father’s words were all correct.
Kang Dae-oh hadn’t only brought a gift for the boy’s mother.
He had also brought a gift that the boy would be happy about.
“Min-seong-ah.”
“Yes, mister.”
“From now on, you don’t have to walk for over an hour just to buy chocolate latte.”
“……???”
The boy tilted his head.
Kang Dae-oh decided to tell him directly why he said such a thing.
“A new Amare store is going to open near here. It’s set to open next month, so you can go there from now on.”
A 5-minute walk. It was a distance easily manageable for an elementary school student.
This was the true nature of the additional request Kang Dae-oh had made to Executive Director Yu In-seok.
The boy’s mother couldn’t hide her shock.
“Surely not because of us…”
“No, ma’am. There wasn’t an Amare store nearby. So we were already preparing to expand our stores from before, so you don’t need to feel burdened by this either.”
“Is that… so? Really?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Kang Dae-oh’s meaningful smile was quite unsettling, but.
The boy’s mother had no choice but to believe his words.
To see off Kang Dae-oh and Kang Yebin, the boy’s mother stepped outside alone.
She expressed her gratitude to Kang Dae-oh once again.
“Thank you so much. I don’t know how many times I’ve said thank you today.”
“It’s alright. As I said before, you just need to raise your son well.”
“’My son,’ you say…”
After some hesitation, the boy’s mother brought up a difficult topic.
“Actually, Min-seong isn’t the child I gave birth to.”
“What? Then…”
“He’s my older sister’s child. But right after Min-seong was born, my brother-in-law and she were in a car accident… and now they are in a far-off place.”
Only then did Kang Dae-oh understand why she was unusually young for a child’s mother.
She continued with a bitter smile.
“When I saw young Min-seong, I just couldn’t leave him alone. So I’ve been raising him, pretending to be his mother. He’ll eventually find out that I’m not his biological mother. I’m a bit scared of that time.”
At this moment, Kang Yebin replied in a reassuring tone.
“If it’s Min-seong, he won’t care about something like that at all. You can trust me because I’m around the same age as him.”
“Thank you, Yebin-ah.”
At that moment, the boy, who had just finished using the restroom, came out and saw off Kang Dae-oh and his daughter with his mother.
“Thank you for coming today, mister!”
“You’re welcome. You need to get along well with your mother. Got it?”
“Yes! She’s my precious ‘real’ mom, one of a kind in the world. I’ll continue to live happily with my mom forever.”
Kang Dae-oh instantly realized the true meaning hidden within the boy’s words.
Perhaps the boy already knew.
That his current mother wasn’t his biological mother.
Kang Dae-oh stroked the boy’s head and at the same time said to the mother:
“It seems you don’t need to worry, ma’am. Min-seong said he would remain your son forever.”
The boy’s mother also seemed to have realized something similar to Kang Dae-oh, and she nodded while swallowing her tears.
Thus, Kang Dae-oh and Kang Yebin’s volunteering and donation activities concluded with a happy ending.
