Episode 31. A Strong Supporter (2)
After dropping off Kang Yera and heading to the office, Kang Dae-oh sat in his chair and turned on his computer, immediately greeted with good news.
A headline like this was prominently displayed on the main portal site:
[Taepyeong, bringing a new wave to the historical drama film industry!]
[Achieved 8 million viewers! What kind of movie is Taepyeong?]
[‘The acting skills of the actors and the power of director Choi Ki-yong’s direction’, regarding the success factors of the movie Taepyeong······.]
Despite quite some time having passed since its release, South Korea was still caught up in the Taepyeong syndrome.
Thanks to this, actors Yoo Cheong-in and Bae Yoon-ah, who starred as the male and female leads respectively, were able to achieve a high career point in their acting careers.
Kang Yebin was in a similar situation.
Kang Yebin, who played the younger version of the female lead, received much praise from fans.
As a result, many opportunities, such as advertisement offers and program casting requests, were pouring in for Kang Yebin.
Kang Dae-oh moved his mouse wheel to scroll through the articles related to his second daughter.
First his eldest daughter, and now his second daughter.
Kang Dae-oh was incredibly proud of his daughters, seeing them gradually taking steps towards success in their respective fields.
While Kang Yera and Kang Yebin’s activities were particularly prominent, Kang Yeyoung was also building her career just as much as her unnies.
‘Recently, Yeyoung even did a collaborative broadcast with a foreign actor.’
She was steadily increasing her status and influence as an influencer by filming videos with an actor who starred in a Hollywood movie slated for domestic release.
Just as the smile on Kang Dae-oh’s face wouldn’t fade.
Knock-knock.
With a knock, someone came to Kang Dae-oh’s office.
Director Shin Yeong-jun greeted him for the morning.
“Good morning, CEO.”
However, Kang Dae-oh looked at him and tilted his head slightly, puzzled.
“Where’s the Executive Director?”
Executive Director Yoo In-seok had always been in charge of reporting to him.
It was natural for him to ask this, as Director Shin Yeong-jun came in instead today.
Director Shin Yeong-jun began to explain to Kang Dae-oh what had happened.
“Executive Director Yoo In-seok has a business trip scheduled for today.”
“Ah, you mean the Busan matter?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Amare was gradually expanding its number of stores, centered in Seoul.
Because of this, regional areas inevitably had fewer Amare stores compared to other companies.
After long discussions, they reached the conclusion to establish Amare’s influence in regional areas as well.
The first such region was Busan.
As it was the start of an important project, it seemed best for Executive Director Yoo In-seok, Kang Dae-oh’s right-hand man, to personally inspect and promote the site.
Executive Director Yoo In-seok himself also wished to do so.
“I heard about the business trip last week. I must have forgotten.”
“You’re so busy, CEO. I’m sure you can easily forget. More importantly, CEO.”
Director Shin Yeong-jun asked Kang Dae-oh with a faint smile.
“It seems you had something good happen today.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
There was nothing particularly good to have happened.
Just helping Kang Yera get to school.
That was all that happened before coming to work.
Nevertheless, there was a reason why Director Shin Yeong-jun mentioned what he did just now.
“As soon as you entered the office, your expression looked incredibly bright, CEO. That’s why I asked.”
“Ah ha······.”
Kang Dae-oh touched the corner of his mouth with his hand and thought to himself.
‘Was it too obvious?’
He had developed a habit of smiling automatically whenever he thought of his daughters.
Kang Dae-oh knew it was an unavoidable phenomenon.
Still, during work. Especially during meetings with buyers, he tried to restrain himself as much as possible.
Kang Dae-oh stepped forward to clarify and clear up Director Shin Yeong-jun’s misunderstanding.
“I was just looking at some articles about the kids.”
“Then the smile I saw on you, CEO, was a dad smile.”
“You could say that.”
At Director Shin’s direct comment, Kang Dae-oh awkwardly scratched his left cheek.
“I envy you, CEO. Since all your daughters are famous, you must feel so proud.”
“That’s true.”
However, it wasn’t just pure joy.
He always subtly felt the pressure to be as good a father as his children deserved.
But since that also served as another driving force that pushed Kang Dae-oh forward, he didn’t dislike this feeling.
They couldn’t just talk about Kang Dae-oh’s children forever.
Kang Dae-oh pointed to the report in Director Shin’s hand and asked.
“Could you tell me what it’s about?”
“Yes! I apologize. I dragged on with personal talk for too long.”
Kang Dae-oh knew that was Director Shin’s nature, so he had reached a point where he just accepted it.
If Executive Director Yoo In-seok was a business-like and meticulous type, Director Shin Yeong-jun was a human and humorous type.
Although they were close senior and junior colleagues, their personalities were completely different.
Because of this, Kang Dae-oh felt a sense of freshness every time he met the two of them alternately.
Because their personalities were opposite, there was never a dull moment.
‘Looking at it this way, I think I chose the executives quite well too.’
At the same time, Kang Dae-oh had this thought.
From family to work. He was truly a person blessed with good fortune in people.
Only 5 days remained until the Seoul Coffee Expo.
In the meantime, Kang Dae-oh re-checked the address of the expo venue.
‘It’s the same place where it was held two years ago.’
It wasn’t far from his current home.
However, his mind wasn’t entirely at ease.
Competitors Fever Time and Coffee Angel were already mobilizing reporters to churn out articles related to themselves regarding their participation in the Coffee Expo.
Because of this, even before the expo began, people’s attention was already directed towards these two companies.
Amare had also decided to participate in the Coffee Expo for the first time, but it didn’t receive as much fervent attention compared to the other two companies.
‘So this is why public opinion warfare is important.’
If he had known this, it would have been great if Kang Dae-oh had prepared by distributing press releases or whatever else was needed.
Kang Dae-oh couldn’t understand why regret always arrived so late.
What was done was done.
Doing their best in the given situation was the mission given to Kang Dae-oh and the Amare executives and employees.
Perhaps there was a good method,
To brainstorm, Kang Dae-oh moved to the main store located below his office, found a corner seat, and fell into his own thoughts.
Whenever he faced a series of deep 고민 (worries) like this, Kang Dae-oh usually spent time in a cafe.
This was a habit that remained even after he became the CEO of Amare.
At this moment.
Someone approached Kang Dae-oh.
“The financiers and strawberry fresh cream cake are ready.”
Lee Seo-jun said as he placed the food from the tray down one by one.
Kang Dae-oh silently watched them for a while, then finally opened his heavy mouth.
“I didn’t order this.”
This was why Kang Dae-oh had been staring blankly at Lee Seo-jun’s actions.
In response, Lee Seo-jun smiled brightly and said:
“It’s my service. You seemed to have a lot on your mind. I thought you might need some sugar, so I intentionally prepared them.”
Lee Seo-jun had been quite perceptive ever since they worked together in the small store, just the two of them.
He would often figure out what Kang Dae-oh wanted, or what he should do, without being told, and just do it promptly.
Even though they no longer worked face-to-face as often as before.
Lee Seo-jun remained Kang Dae-oh’s ‘well-matched partner’.
Kang Dae-oh was simply grateful for his demeanor.
“Thanks. I’ll eat well.”
“But what kind of worries brought you down here during work hours, CEO?”
“Because of the Coffee Expo. You heard we decided to set up a booth there this time, right?”
“Yes. Some of my friends who like coffee said they’d definitely stop by if they go. But most of them seem to be aiming for Fever Time or Coffee Angel. Aren’t they all after the limited edition tumblers and coupons sold there?”
Amare hadn’t even started their merchandise business yet, while those two places had already begun a long time ago.
Of course, Amare also had plans for tumblers, glass cups, and other collaboration merchandise soon.
However, as a latecomer in the F&B, especially the coffee brand sector, they were inevitably in a position where they had to follow others in whatever they did.
The effect of pioneering cannot be ignored.
In that sense, Amare was already losing the battle of momentum with them even before the Coffee Expo had begun.
That’s why Kang Dae-oh wanted to devise a special strategy that only they could offer.
At this moment, Lee Seo-jun offered an idea.
“CEO, you have your own cheat code.”
“Cheat code?”
“Your daughters. Yera, Yebin, and Yeyoung. Couldn’t you mobilize at least one of the three? Oh, and the madam is here too.”
Including Min Seung-yeon, there were four people who could be brought in as promotion specialists.
Of course, Kang Dae-oh had thought of this too.
Nevertheless, he shook his head.
“The expo is held for three days: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I’d rather let the kids rest on weekends if possible.”
And even if they were his daughters, he didn’t want to command them like possessions, telling them to do this or that.
If an unavoidable situation arose, he intended to formally request it, not as a father, but as the CEO of Amare.
“For now, I’ll do what I can. That’s how cheat codes work, right? You use them as a last resort when things really don’t work out.”
“That’s right.”
“This opportunity also gives us a chance to think about what Amare’s biggest strengths are that we might have overlooked. It’s good.”
Suddenly, Lee Seo-jun began to stare intently at Kang Dae-oh without a word.
Kang Dae-oh tilted his head slightly at his changed attitude.
“Why?”
“CEO, you’ve changed a lot.”
“Me?”
“Yes. When I worked with you, CEO, just the two of us, how should I put it······ you seemed to lack composure? You looked like someone feeling a lot of pressure. But now you’re much more relaxed, and on top of that, you’ve become incredibly bright.”
He asked what the secret was.
Kang Dae-oh replied:
“Get married. And have children and raise them. Then your life will change.”
How much meaning was condensed into that one sentence.
Lee Seo-jun didn’t immediately realize.
