Episode 38. Reasons to be Respected (1)
Morning sunlight cautiously stepped into Kang Dae-oh’s house through the blinds.
Just in time, Kang Dae-oh, who had come out of the bathroom, sat down at the table with the breakfast his wife had prepared in front of him.
Sandwiches and warm milk.
They were simple dishes, but full of his wife’s devotion.
“I will eat well.”
As always, Kang Dae-oh expressed his gratitude to his wife, who had prepared his breakfast despite her busy schedule, and began his meal.
Perhaps it was because it was filled with his wife’s love.
“It’s delicious.”
“I saw tomatoes in the fridge. I tried slicing them thinly and adding them. How is it?”
“It’s good? It’s more delicious with it than without it.”
“Really? Then I should make it that way from now on.”
Min Seung-yeon independently modified her own recipe again today to suit her husband’s and children’s tastes.
It was good for Kang Dae-oh to always have such delicious breakfasts, but…
“If you’re tired, you can just rest. I can easily handle breakfast.”
Min Seung-yeon, who had started a clothing business in addition to her modeling career.
She must be very busy too.
Nevertheless, she always made sure to prepare breakfast for her family.
Kang Dae-oh was grateful for his wife’s actions, but at the same time, he was also worried.
However, Min Seung-yeon shook her head.
“Because seeing you and the kids enjoy eating is my joy.”
Rather, Min Seung-yeon felt happy by making breakfast for her family.
Since she said so herself.
Kang Dae-oh decided to say no more.
Instead, he brought up another topic.
“How are your business preparations coming along?”
“It’s smooth sailing. I’m also learning a lot in many ways.”
“Really?”
“Later, unnie asked me what I thought about having Yera be a model for our brand.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Recently, Kang Yera’s popularity has been extraordinary.
This was because her value had increased even further due to the successful completion of her solo concert.
Her first solo concert, which all the fans who attended were thoroughly satisfied with.
While box office success is important…
The fact that Kang Yera gained confidence in her stage performance through the concert was a greater gain than anything else.
“Try talking to Yera about it. If it’s mom’s request, I think she’ll definitely agree.”
“No specific plan has been decided yet. I’ll tell her when it’s concretely set.”
“Indeed. That would be better.”
With that, Kang Dae-oh brought the last remaining piece of sandwich to his mouth.
Just as he was finishing his meal.
Kang Yeyoung’s room door moved with a creak.
“……Good morning…….”
Deep dark circles had settled around Kang Yeyoung’s eyes.
At Kang Yeyoung’s appearance, waking up much earlier than her usual time, Min Seung-yeon asked, as if in disbelief.
“Did you stay up all night again?”
Kang Yeyoung nodded with an awkward smile.
“Because ideas weren’t coming to me easily.”
Is this the pain of creation?
As a YouTuber, she constantly had to think about what content to plan.
Since it was the path Kang Yeyoung chose, there were no particular complaints, but…
That didn’t mean the burden of her worries completely disappeared.
“I wish a content that truly touches people’s hearts would just pop into my mind. And if possible, it would be great if it could be socially beneficial.”
“Creating content that touches people’s hearts and is also socially beneficial at the same time seems like a very difficult thing to do.”
Min Seung-yeon clicked her tongue and shook her head.
Of course, if she could really create such content, nothing would be better.
Even Min Seung-yeon, a novice YouTuber, knew well that meeting both conditions simultaneously was very difficult.
Of course, Kang Dae-oh also thought the same.
“It’s good to pursue high-quality content. But wouldn’t it be better to get some sleep while you’re at it? Even if it’s vacation, you should sleep well at night and study or work hard during the day. You need to try to maintain this pattern.”
Otherwise, it will be painful after school starts.
Of course, Kang Yeyoung knew that well.
She knew it in her head, but…
Her body wasn’t ready to follow her dad’s advice.
“From today… no, I’ll try to get my pattern back on track starting tomorrow.”
Not just ending with mere effort.
But hoping it would lead to results.
As a father worried about his youngest daughter, Kang Dae-oh wished for it inwardly.
From the second half of last year until today.
Kang Dae-oh mainly focused on paperwork.
This was because as the number of stores steadily increased, the amount of work to be handled also increased.
So, today, he decided to temporarily step away from office work and personally visit stores for inspection.
There was a reason for his choice.
“There were reports that the number of customer complaints recently received has increased.”
The person who directly reported it to Kang Dae-oh was Executive Director Yoo In-seok, who was sitting in the car seat next to him.
“Yes. As the number of stores increases, it’s an unavoidable phenomenon that the number of cases where customers have complaints also increases.”
“Even if it’s unavoidable, you shouldn’t just stand by and watch as if there’s nothing you can do. If these complaints keep accumulating, someday they will come back as an uncontrollable backlash.”
“Yes, you are right, CEO. I apologize. I was too complacent.”
Kang Dae-oh shook his head.
Because he didn’t say it with the intention of blaming Executive Director Yoo In-seok.
Executive Director Yoo In-seok probably couldn’t help it either.
Executive Director Yoo In-seok is only one person. The tasks he had to handle were increasing along with Amare’s expansion.
It was as if he was in a similar position to Kang Dae-oh.
“Should we hire more people?”
“We are always hiring people.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. So much so that we can’t keep up with Amare’s growth.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Executive Director Yoo In-seok said with a wry smile.
“It seems being too successful is also a problem.”
It’s a happy problem.
However, if we keep increasing the number of stores at this pace…
There’s a possibility that a happy problem will turn into a troublesome one.
“For the time being, let’s aim for a direction where we focus more on strengthening our internal foundation rather than just expanding.”
“Yes, I think that would be good too.”
Even while traveling, Kang Dae-oh and Executive Director Yoo In-seok spent their time constantly discussing the company’s direction, sharing their thoughts, and finding ways to move forward.
As they discussed topics that would contribute to the company’s development, they arrived at Amare’s Hongdae Branch 2, which they were scheduled to visit today.
Despite it being a weekday afternoon, many young people were already filling the area, proving that it truly deserved to be called ‘the street of youth’.
Before getting out of the car.
“CEO.”
Executive Director Yoo In-seok briefly called Kang Dae-oh.
“I think it would be good if you wear this.”
What he handed over was…
A disposable mask.
“Nowadays, there are hardly any young people who don’t know your face and name, CEO.”
A wry smile spread across Kang Dae-oh’s lips.
Though it was an embarrassing thing to hear from his perspective.
It was true.
Despite his break from broadcasting, Kang Dae-oh’s fame was actually increasing over time, thanks to ‘Yora Ttae’ continuously being re-broadcast.
In addition to this, videos are now being released on OTT platforms and YouTube.
Among people in their teens and twenties, it was rather difficult to find someone who didn’t know Kang Dae-oh.
And even though Kang Dae-oh had temporarily suspended his broadcasting activities, his daughters and wife continued their public activities.
This also played a significant role in maintaining Kang Dae-oh’s fame.
“If the mask is uncomfortable, I also have sunglasses. Would you prefer those instead?”
“No. The mask is better.”
A suit and sunglasses.
Even in Hongdae, this combination would actually attract more attention.
Masks have become an item that can be worn anytime for appropriate reasons like fine dust or a cold.
A mask would look more natural than sunglasses.
Thus, Kang Dae-oh entered today’s destination with Executive Director Yoo In-seok.
As soon as the employees saw them, they immediately recognized who the two men were and why they had come.
This was thanks to prior contact from the headquarters.
“You’ve arrived. We were just waiting for you.”
“Hello. You are the branch manager here, right?”
“Yes. My name is Yoon Ha-seung. It’s an honor to meet you, CEO!”
The man who introduced himself looked at Kang Dae-oh with exceptionally sparkling eyes.
From Kang Dae-oh’s perspective, being stared at felt a bit burdensome.
Executive Director Yoo In-seok chuckled and explained why Branch Manager Yoon Ha-seung was greeting Kang Dae-oh so enthusiastically.
“Manager Yoon said he’s a long-time fan of yours, CEO.”
“I’m a fan who has watched ‘Yora Ttae’ since Episode 1! The reason I applied to Amare as a branch manager was all thanks to you, CEO, which led me to become a fan of this industry!”
Kang Dae-oh gave an awkward smile and said, ‘Oh, really?’
Occasionally, there are cases like this.
People who claim to be Kang Dae-oh’s fans while working at Amare.
Nevertheless, Kang Dae-oh was still unfamiliar with such encounters.
Because if a colleague claimed to be his fan, it was still at a stage where embarrassment came first rather than joy.
He would gradually get used to this later, but…
At least not yet.
“We worked hard to clean since this morning because you were coming, CEO! Where would you like me to guide you first? Just tell me!”
“Then…….”
Kang Dae-oh pointed upstairs.
“Let’s start from the 3rd floor.”
“Yes, understood!”
Amare’s Hongdae Branch 2 boasts the largest scale among the Amare stores located on Hongdae Street.
This was because it was the only store that occupied an entire building.
As someone who claimed to be Kang Dae-oh’s fan, Yoon Ha-seung seemed to know almost exactly what areas Kang Dae-oh focused on when inspecting the store.
Indeed, Kang Dae-oh carefully examined every corner, but he didn’t see any particular areas to point out.
This was a good sign.
Suddenly, Kang Dae-oh had a thought.
‘It would be great if other branch managers also did things like this person.’
A humorous thought briefly crossed his mind: ‘Should we add being a fan of Kang Dae-oh as a requirement when recruiting branch managers?’
Guided by Yoon Ha-seung, they moved from the 3rd floor to the 2nd floor, and then from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor.
Kang Dae-oh pointed to another area located in a corner.
“Where does that area connect to?”
“It connects to the back of the building. Would you like to see?”
“Yes, please show me.”
As per Kang Dae-oh’s request, Yoon Ha-seung immediately moved.
The moment he opened a small side door.
“Oh.”
Kang Dae-oh’s party encountered an unexpected person.
An elderly person who was busy sorting waste paper gave Kang Dae-oh’s party a warm smile and briefly bowed their head.
Kang Dae-oh, Yoon Ha-seung, and Executive Director Yoo In-seok. All three of them also greeted the elderly person similarly.
‘So, he collects waste paper here.’
After ending the awkward encounter.
Kang Dae-oh’s party moved back into the store.
