Episode 38. A Reason to Be Respected (3)
“Ugh… Ha!”
Kang Dae-oh, who was diligently pulling the cart from behind, pushed it forward with his last ounce of strength.
As the cart was placed on the scale inside the junk shop, its weight was displayed in real-time.
The weight displayed, excluding the cart’s weight, was the weight of the boxes the old man collected while wandering around the Hongdae area.
After confirming the weight, the junk shop owner paid the old man his daily wage in cash.
“Here, 7,500 won. Today, especially since you brought a celebrity, I gave you an extra 1,000 won.”
At the mention of a celebrity, the old man’s gaze turned towards Kang Dae-oh.
“A celebrity?”
“Oh? Eoreusin. Didn’t you know? That person is a famous person who appears on TV.”
“Huh? Oh, really? I didn’t know.”
Perhaps because he didn’t watch much TV, he hadn’t recognized who Kang Dae-oh was until now.
“That person is the CEO of Amare. Eoreusin, I know you bring boxes from the Amare Hongdae branch too. Haven’t you seen him passing by?”
“Come to think of it, earlier…”
The incident of briefly encountering Kang Dae-oh’s group at the back door suddenly flashed through his mind.
Only then did the old man understand why the restaurant owner had backed away without a word in front of Kang Dae-oh.
Kang Dae-oh shook his head with an awkward smile at the junk shop owner, who kept praising him.
“I’m not that great of a person.”
“What are you talking about! You are a great person. Your daughters are incredibly famous too. And your wife is a successful model, isn’t she? I also heard you’re preparing for a separate business.”
He seemed very well-informed about Kang Dae-oh’s family as well.
It was clear at once that he was someone who had a lot of interest in Kang Dae-oh.
Listening to the junk shop owner’s continuing words, the old man began to look at Kang Dae-oh with awe.
He had only known him as a kind young man.
He could never have imagined that he would be someone with such an incredible background.
Kang Dae-oh felt burdened by the old man’s gaze.
“I’d appreciate it if you’d just treat me comfortably, like before, Eoreusin.”
Although the old man initially seemed burdened.
Perhaps thanks to Kang Dae-oh’s continuous efforts, the old man’s expression gradually became more relaxed, just like before.
Thanks to this, Kang Dae-oh also felt relieved.
“It’s amazing that I pulled a cart all the way here with such a great person. You helped so much, it feels wrong to just let you go. How about I treat you to a meal? Is that okay?”
Kang Dae-oh shook his head and said this.
“I’ll pay for the meal, Eoreusin.”
“I already feel bad for getting help. I can’t let you pay for the meal too.”
“No, it’s really fine.”
“It’s because I’m not okay with it.”
“……”
Kang Dae-oh was flustered.
He hadn’t helped the old man to get a meal.
Moreover, he had worked hard to earn only about 7,000 won. If he were to buy a meal for Kang Dae-oh and Yoo In-seok, it was clear that he would spend more money than he earned today.
So he tried to refuse until the end.
Even the junk shop owner stepped in to persuade Kang Dae-oh.
“That Eoreusin, he’s the kind of person who must repay a favor once he receives it. If you truly care about him and think of him, it would be best to just quietly accept the meal.”
Seeing the junk shop owner, who had been doing business with the old man for over 10 years, speak like this, it seemed that accepting the meal was the best way for their story to have a good ending.
These days, a single meal costs over 10,000 won.
Still, Kang Dae-oh wanted to reduce the old man’s burden as much as possible.
At that moment.
The quick-witted Executive Director Yoo In-seok quickly began searching for nearby restaurants on his smartphone.
“Perfect timing.”
“Huh? Why?”
Executive Director Yoo In-seok pretended it was work-related and subtly showed Kang Dae-oh the information about a restaurant he had just researched, without the old man noticing.
“Here, a single serving of baekban is only 4,000 won.”
He hadn’t imagined that a restaurant still maintaining such a good price existed.
Kang Dae-oh nodded briefly and mentioned the baekban restaurant he had just learned about from Executive Director Yoo In-seok.
“Eoreusin. I heard there’s a ‘delicious’ baekban restaurant nearby. Shall we go there?”
He deliberately emphasized the word ‘delicious’.
It was to guide the old man to that restaurant.
“Where is it?”
As Kang Dae-oh intended, the old man showed interest.
“It’s called Seongmi Restaurant.”
“Seongmi Restaurant? I’ve never heard of it. Was there such a place around here?”
“You haven’t been there? That’s fortunate. Then let’s go together this time. Come on, quickly.”
Before the old man could change his mind, Kang Dae-oh, along with Executive Director Yoo In-seok, led him towards Seongmi Restaurant.
After they disappeared.
The junk shop owner exclaimed, “Ah, shoot!”
The junk shop owner’s wife, who was nearby, asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“I forgot to get an autograph from CEO Kang!”
He had missed a precious opportunity that wouldn’t come again.
Arriving at Seongmi Restaurant, Kang Dae-oh was greatly surprised inwardly.
It was thanks to the taste of the food sold there.
“It’s delicious. More than I expected.”
“Indeed.”
Executive Director Yoo In-seok shared the same opinion as Kang Dae-oh.
The old man sitting opposite them tilted his head slightly, as if he didn’t understand their reactions.
“Didn’t you two say this place was delicious and wanted to come? But then why are you surprised?”
“N-no, it’s a joke. I knew it was delicious. It’s just that I hadn’t been here in a long time, so I momentarily forgot. Ahem, ahem!”
Kang Dae-oh quickly and resourcefully made an excuse.
Thanks to this, he was able to quietly get past the situation without receiving any more suspicion from the old man.
“By the way, this place is really delicious. And the price is cheap. These days, prices have risen so much that eating a meal out has become a huge burden. Thanks to you two, I’m grateful to have found such a good place.”
“It’s I who should thank you, Eoreusin… No, that’s not it. It’s a place I already knew about, but thanks to you, Eoreusin, I’m grateful to have been reminded that such a place existed here.”
Perhaps because it was an impromptu addition to the story, Kang Dae-oh had trouble making it sound natural.
Fortunately, however, the old man no longer suspected Kang Dae-oh’s suspicious words and actions.
As the meal was almost finished.
Kang Dae-oh spoke to the old man again.
“Do you usually come out to work at this time?”
“Originally, it was in the early morning. But these days, my back and knees aren’t good. So I can’t come out early. I have to come out in the early morning to collect boxes before other old people take them. Being old is a sin, a sin.”
“That’s not true.”
Kang Dae-oh comforted the old man’s self-reproach with a bitter smile.
This time, Executive Director Yoo In-seok asked the old man.
“What about your children?”
“I divorced my wife a long time ago. I have one son, but he died in a car accident five years ago.”
“……I’m sorry. I brought up something I shouldn’t have.”
“It’s okay. You two and I, we just met today, how could you know all about my circumstances? I didn’t even know that young owner here was such a famous person, so what?”
The sorrow of losing a child is a tragedy incomparable to anything else in the world.
Seeing the old man quietly live on, burying that pain in his heart, Kang Dae-oh had many thoughts.
What if. His three daughters suddenly ceased to exist.
Would Kang Dae-oh truly have the will to live tomorrow?
No. That would be impossible.
Just imagining it made Kang Dae-oh lose courage.
Perhaps that was why.
The old man, sitting in front of him, recounting his past with a calm expression, seemed truly remarkable.
“I’m sorry for bringing up such a dark topic while we’re eating.”
“No, it’s fine. More importantly, have you finished your meal?”
“Yeah. I’m satisfied. I’m so full I could die.”
The old man patted his stomach several times with a satisfied expression.
It was then.
A scar on the old man’s right arm caught his eye.
“Eoreusin. That scar is…”
He wondered if he had gotten hurt while working.
“Oh, this?”
The old man said as if it was nothing.
“I got shot once when I was in the military a long time ago. This scar is from the surgery after that. How many people get shot in their lifetime? Haha!”
“What? No, how did that happen…?”
Even if the military discipline was severe in the past, he wouldn’t have been shot.
He had a mountain of questions he wanted to ask.
“CEO-nim.”
Executive Director Yoo In-seok gave him a look that it was time to get up.
In fact, coming here to eat was already a significant time over.
He couldn’t ignore Executive Director Yoo In-seok’s gaze, urging them to leave before it got any later.
The old man, perhaps realizing what Executive Director Yoo In-seok wanted to say to Kang Dae-oh, pulled crumpled money from his pocket and said.
“I’ll pay the bill, so you two can go first. I’ll leave after I’ve digested a bit.”
“……Understood. Thank you for the meal, Eoreusin.”
“Go carefully. Thank you for today.”
“The pleasure was mine.”
Although he reluctantly got up from his seat.
Kang Dae-oh’s thoughts lingered in the restaurant for a while.
Late at night.
Kang Dae-oh, who returned home after finishing work, saw his daughters gathered cozily in the living room and suddenly spread his arms wide.
“Kids.”
“……???”
“What is it, Appa?”
The three daughters, each sitting on the sofa watching TV, had question marks float in their minds at their Appa’s sudden behavior.
“Just because. I wanted to hug my beloved daughters once.”
After hearing the old man’s words and seeing his daughters like this, a sudden urge to hug them tightly welled up within him.
Kang Yera asked, just in case.
“Appa. Did you drink alcohol?”
“No, I’m perfectly fine.”
“……”
If he had said he came back completely drunk, it would have been understandable.
At the mention of being sober, Appa seemed even stranger.
At first, they were full of suspicion.
Soon, the daughters decided to embrace their Appa’s wide arms one by one.
Kang Dae-oh, holding his three daughters in his arms at once, felt as if he owned the whole world.
“Daughters. You know Appa loves you, right?”
“We know. But…”
“Can’t you at least tell us why?”
“Did something bad happen at work?”
Questions from his daughters poured in.
Kang Dae-oh smiled meaningfully.
“Just because. If not now, when else can I hug you?”
He was a strange Appa.
Although they couldn’t know his purpose.
Still, perhaps because they were in Appa’s arms for the first time in a long time since they were babies, they seemed to be in a good mood and didn’t try to escape.
Meanwhile.
Watching her husband’s suspicious behavior, Min Seung-yeon wore an expression of incomprehension.
“Stop bothering the kids and go wash up quickly.”
“Alright, alright.”
Loving his daughters was good, but.
He couldn’t ignore his wife’s nagging, so Kang Dae-oh quietly decided to walk towards the bathroom.
