Episode 39. Joining (3)
The recording of ‘Yolattae’, with Kang Yera joining for the first time, finally commenced with the signal for ‘Action!’.
In ‘Yolattae’, each person’s position was set.
Kang Dae-oh and Do Sang-ho, as experts, typically reveal their opinions, identify problems, and provide solutions.
Ji So-yeon and Kang Yeyoung primarily handled the hosting.
However, as Ji So-yeon was unable to attend due to personal commitments, Kang Yera took over her role.
Since Kang Yera had never taken on a host position in any program before, today’s filming inevitably became a huge burden for her.
Perhaps that’s why.
“Ah, hello! I’m new here and I’ll be greeting you all today……”
“Cut!”
As soon as the camera started rolling, an NG (no good) was immediately declared.
Kwak PD reassured her, telling her not to be too nervous.
“You’re too stiff. Don’t be nervous, just be as natural as possible. You can just speak in your usual conversational tone, like you talk to Yeyoung. Okay?”
Kang Dae-oh swallowed a bitter laugh inwardly.
‘If they talk like they usually do, they’ll definitely fight.’
The words almost came out of his throat, but Kang Dae-oh exercised desperate patience and pushed them back down.
Even so, perhaps Kwak PD’s advice had some effect, as Kang Yera delivered her lines much more naturally than during the first take.
‘As expected, she adapts quickly, probably because she has a lot of experience in front of the camera.’
Having promoted as a solo singer, she must have stood in front of countless people.
Thanks to her past experience, Kang Yera understood what Kwak PD wanted and could immediately start sketching.
Kang Yeyoung’s diligent support from the side, picking up on her unnie’s lines and responding well, also played a significant role.
Although they often bicker normally, at times like this, it was clear that sisters were indeed sisters.
“Alright! The cafe we’re visiting today is right here. Representatives, have either of you ever been here before?”
Do Sang-ho shook his head at Kang Yera’s question.
“This is my first time.”
“Me too.”
Kang Dae-oh expressed the same sentiment as Do Sang-ho.
Even though both of them are involved in coffee-related businesses, they haven’t visited every local cafe in South Korea.
Furthermore, South Korea is one of the countries where cafe startups are highly active.
This is because for those in their 20s and 30s, opening a cafe seems like a goal full of romantic ideals.
The cafe owner who submitted their story today was also one of those cases, temporarily paralyzed by this romantic ideal and now facing difficulties.
They did start the business, but…
However, having already invested too much money, they were in an awkward situation where they couldn’t even close down.
To help this young owner,
‘Yolattae’ decided to step in.
Before that,
Kang Yera placed her index finger on her lips and spoke to the cast.
“Apparently, the owner here doesn’t know we’re filming today.”
“What does that mean?”
Kang Yeyoung asked Kang Yera the exact question written in the script.
Then Kang Yera lowered her voice by a notch and continued.
“The original filming date is actually tomorrow. But last season, there were a lot of opinions saying it was hard to give an objective evaluation because on the day of filming, the food taste was subtly altered for our cast. So, this season, we’re planning to have a surprise taste evaluation first. That’s why we’ve prepared something.”
Kang Yera made a ‘Ta-da!’ sound with her own mouth and pulled something out.
What she held in her hand was none other than…
“Disguise tools!”
To avoid being noticed by the cafe owner, only the cast members would disguise themselves and secretly enter the store. After that, they would select and order a few menu items and evaluate their taste.
This was one of the changed filming methods introduced this season.
Do Sang-ho seemed quite pleased with the new method, nodding vigorously.
“That’s good. This way, we can get a more accurate experience of the taste of the drinks and desserts sold at this store.”
Kang Dae-oh also agreed with Do Sang-ho’s idea.
Even though it was a serious evaluation, perhaps due to the element of broadcasting, there were more than a few stores that put excessive effort into serving drinks and desserts compared to normal.
‘Yolattae’ genuinely wished for the success of the owners who submitted their stories. That’s why they introduced this method.
This is because for the program to receive positive reviews, the stores that received solutions must also receive good evaluations from customers.
After somewhat disguising themselves, the cast members entered the store.
“Welcome!”
The young owner who submitted the story greeted them without any particular suspicion.
Was the disguise good? Or…
‘Filming is tomorrow, surely they wouldn’t come today? Perhaps they were off guard, thinking that.’
Whatever the reason, just successfully securing seats in the store was a huge success.
Meanwhile. The cafe owner looked at the suspicious group of four customers and tilted their head slightly.
It wasn’t because their identities seemed suspicious.
Two middle-aged men. And one high school girl and one middle school girl.
No matter how much they thought about it, they couldn’t immediately grasp what kind of combination this was.
Kang Dae-oh deliberately cleared his throat with a cough.
“Should we tell you after we decide on the menu?”
“Yes, customer.”
Upon hearing Kang Dae-oh’s voice, the store owner’s head tilted again.
From behind, Kang Yera and Kang Yeyoung relentlessly poked their appa’s side and back.
Then, in a whispering tone, they lowered their voices as much as possible and simultaneously nagged their appa.
“Appa! If you speak in that voice, you’ll get caught!”
“We went to all that trouble to disguise ourselves!”
Perhaps it was because they resembled their mother. Both daughters were also fierce with their nagging.
Kang Dae-oh briefly muttered an apology to them.
If they couldn’t speak freely, then how were they supposed to order?
‘At times like this, I really miss kiosks.’
If there had been a kiosk, they could have just ordered and left without having to use their voices.
‘There aren’t as many places that have kiosks unless they’re chain stores.’
That all costs money too.
Anyway, the cast members were already facing a dilemma about how to order.
At that moment,
someone volunteered to be the problem-solver.
It was Kang Yera.
Like her appa, she cleared her throat with a small cough, then checked the menu and stepped forward to order for all four of them.
“One Hazelnut Americano, one Cold Brew, one Vanilla Latte, one Lemonade, and one financier and one muffin of each type, please.”
“Yes, understood!”
The owner had no idea that the person who just ordered drinks and desserts from them was Kang Yera.
There was a reason.
“Her voice… it’s completely different from Yera’s?”
Kang Dae-oh was so surprised that he muttered to himself.
Kang Yeyoung, who heard her appa’s muttering right next to her, pointed to her slender neck and said,
“Unnie works with her voice, after all. And it’s always been unnie’s specialty to make various voices.”
“Really?”
“Yes. When she appeared on a certain variety show a long time ago, she even heard comments like, ‘Have you ever thought about becoming a voice actor?’”
As if swapping out parts, Kang Yera demonstrated the ability to freely adjust her vocal cords to produce any desired voice.
Kang Dae-oh, who had just discovered his eldest daughter’s unknown ability for the first time, confirmed once again that Kang Yera’s joining would be a huge advantage for ‘Yolattae’.
Thanks to Kang Yera’s brilliant performance, they easily finished ordering and gathered around a small table, beginning to taste the drinks and desserts one by one.
Kang Yeyoung pointed her mini-cam at Do Sang-ho and asked,
“Representative. You’ve tasted everything, what do you think?”
“Hmm… it’s not bad. But it’s not particularly good either.”
Overall, everything was just average.
Kang Dae-oh shared the same opinion.
“Just an okay taste? I think that’s a suitable expression.”
Kang Yera posed this question to the two experts.
“Then isn’t that actually good? It means it’s a store that doesn’t divide opinions.”
If they secure regular customers well, it seems there won’t be much trouble maintaining the store consistently.
However, Kang Dae-oh shook his head at Kang Yera’s words.
“No. On the contrary, this cafe needs to strongly express its own unique color, even if it divides opinions.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Before coming here, did you happen to check what other cafes were around?”
“Around here… were there other cafes?”
Kang Dae-oh nodded at Kang Yera’s question.
Before filming began, Kang Dae-oh had, along with Do Sang-ho, investigated what other cafes were additionally located around this cafe.
Since South Korea is a place where cafes can be commonly found everywhere, there was no way there wouldn’t be other cafes nearby.
And Kang Dae-oh and Do Sang-ho’s prediction was very accurate.
“This area has a rather interesting characteristic.”
This time, Kang Yeyoung asked instead of her unnie.
“What characteristic is that?”
“There are many famous franchise branches nearby. I even saw one of Representative Do Sang-ho’s stores.”
Do Sang-ho scratched his cheek with an awkward expression.
“That means this area has good sales. To survive among franchise branches, it’s best to set your sales strategy in a way that clearly expresses your unique identity. That’s the most effective way to surpass the marketing and promotional strategies of large corporations.”
Kang Dae-oh thought so.
Furthermore, since Amare, which Kang Dae-oh himself operates, was originally a local cafe like this owner’s, he understood these aspects even better.
“You need to develop a signature menu item that can be clearly recognized in people’s minds, and then gradually attract and retain customers with it.”
“Aha…!”
Exclamations of admiration escaped the two daughters’ mouths.
Although he was their appa, Kang Dae-oh always looked cool whenever he showed such a professional side.
Meanwhile. As if they had heard their whispers, the store owner cautiously approached.
“Excuse me… I apologize, but you look very familiar.”
They must have seen them a lot on TV.
Since their objective was already achieved anyway,
would it really matter if they revealed their identities? Eyes exchanged busy glances, conveying this meaning.
Kang Yeyoung was the first to take off her mask and glasses.
As soon as they saw her, the store owner covered their mouth.
“K-Kang Yeyoung……!”
She wasn’t the only one who came.
Kang Yera, Do Sang-ho, and even Kang Dae-oh.
They revealed their identities one after another.
“Hello, owner.”
“We enjoyed the drinks and desserts.”
“Me too!”
At the sudden appearance of the ‘Yolattae’ cast, the store owner’s legs momentarily gave out, and they almost collapsed.
