Episode 39. Joining (4)
As soon as their identities were revealed to the store owner, the staff waiting outside rushed into the store.
The store, which had been empty of customers, was instantly filled with many people.
The young owner stared alternately at the cast and crew with a bewildered expression.
“W-what is this…? W-wasn’t the filming supposed to be tomorrow? Huh? Did I perhaps misunderstand the schedule?”
He must have checked it multiple times.
Nevertheless, the young owner seemed so flustered by the scene unfolding before him that he launched the application where he had organized his schedule and checked tomorrow’s schedule.
No matter how he looked, he knew he wasn’t wrong.
Kwak PD, who had temporarily stopped the filming, stepped forward and explained everything to the young owner about what was happening.
Only then did the young owner, realizing the full story, let out a deep sigh and said,
“If I had known this, I should have paid more attention to you all…”
“We proceeded with this hidden camera setup precisely to prevent that.”
“Ah. Th-that’s right. I apologize.”
Kang Dae-oh and Do Sang-ho’s objective evaluations would allow him to precisely understand his own problems and those of the store he operates.
The owner also agreed with this point.
“H-how was the taste, by any chance?”
The young owner asked Kang Dae-oh and Do Sang-ho for their impressions.
However, the two merely gave meaningful smiles. They did not give a clear answer.
There was a reason.
“When the cameras are rolling, we’ll tell you everything then.”
If they told him beforehand, they wouldn’t be able to capture the young owner’s natural reaction on camera.
Of course, an actor professionally trained in acting could display a fresh reaction as if hearing it for the first time, even if they already knew the fact.
But the young cafe owner, whom they met for the first time today, did not possess such acting talent.
That’s why Kang Dae-oh and Do Sang-ho chose to hold their tongues.
The young owner understood this logically, but he couldn’t help but ask because he was anxious.
There was only one way to minimize his anxiety at this stage.
“All camera settings are complete, so we will start filming immediately.”
The store owner had been waiting for Kwak PD’s words.
The filming began right after.
Before hearing the evaluation of the taste, Kang Yera asked him to introduce himself.
“Mr. Owner. Could you please give a brief self-introduction to our viewers?”
“Yes, yes!”
Kwak PD briefly stopped the filming due to the young owner’s extremely nervous tone.
“Mr. Owner. Please don’t be nervous, and take your time. Just relax first. Understood?”
“Ah, understood!”
Despite Kwak PD’s advice, the young owner’s words still contained unnecessary effort.
At this moment, Kang Yera, a veteran among the cast members with the most TV program appearances, stepped forward.
“Mr. Owner. First, try taking a slow deep breath. And try to clear your mind. When you overthink, your speech slows down and you stammer.”
“I-is that so? Ah, understood. Hoo, hooo…!”
The young owner began to take deep breaths as Kang Yera instructed.
After a short break following the NG (No Good take).
The broadcast resumed.
“Mr. Owner. Please introduce yourself.”
“Hello! I am Shim Gyuhan, who operates a cafe called ‘Rest time’!”
“So you are Mr. Shim Gyuhan. You’ve been selected as the first storyteller for the new season of our Yoratdae. How do you feel?”
“First, I was very surprised. It’s so amazing and joyful to meet in person the people I’ve only seen on TV!”
His stammering had largely disappeared.
It was immediately clear that Kang Yera’s advice had been very helpful to Mr. Shim Gyuhan.
“Looking at your story, it says you started a cafe after working at a company.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Kang Dae-oh unconsciously pricked up his ears at this part.
This was because he, like Shim Gyuhan, had entered this field through the same process.
Kang Yera and Kang Yeyoung also knew all about their dad’s inner story.
“It’s the same as CEO Kang Dae-oh. Isn’t it?”
Kang Yera smiled gently and turned the direction of the conversation towards Kang Dae-oh.
Because it was a broadcast, instead of calling him ‘Dad’ as usual, she used the title ‘CEO Kang Dae-oh’.
At the very beginning of the recording, Kang Yera’s demeanor had felt very unfamiliar.
Now, seemingly adapted, Kang Dae-oh slowly nodded and naturally replied, ‘It seems so.’
Meanwhile, Mr. Shim Gyuhan seemed unaware of this commonality with Kang Dae-oh, showing great surprise.
“You too, CEO?”
“Yes. I am the same as you, Mr. Owner.”
“Wow…! It’s an honor!”
“It’s not that big of an honor.”
Kang Dae-oh showed an awkward reaction to Mr. Shim Gyuhan’s attitude, which was full of respect towards him.
He emphasized several times that he wasn’t that great of a person. Nevertheless, Mr. Shim Gyuhan’s eyes, looking at Kang Dae-oh, still sparkled.
But that was only for a moment.
This sparkle quickly faded before the wall of reality.
“It’s been a year since I opened the store, and except for the first month when I first opened, all months have been in the red. There are so many famous franchise branches nearby. I also wonder if I picked the wrong location for the store.”
However, Kang Dae-oh thought differently.
“These days, wherever you go, competition with franchise branches is fundamentally unavoidable. It’s true for me too. And CEO Do Sang-ho here always says that there are an enormous number of cafes in the small land of Korea. There are cafes even on mountaintops. So, there’s no way there wouldn’t be any in the city center. Especially in Seoul.”
Competition had truly become a prerequisite.
If so.
There was no choice but to seek ways to survive by competing with them.
CEO Do Sang-ho took over from Kang Dae-oh’s words.
“Mr. Owner, I will tell you about the taste, which you were most curious about.”
“Yes!”
Mr. Shim Gyuhan’s expression was filled with tension.
Before that.
CEO Do Sang-ho wanted to confirm something with Shim Gyuhan first.
“You are using Liberica beans, aren’t you?”
“Ah… Yes, that’s right.”
“That’s unusual. Usually, people use Arabica or Robusta.”
It is a bean primarily cultivated in the Philippines and Malaysia, characterized by its fruity and smoky flavor.
As they were experts in coffee beans, Do Sang-ho and Kang Dae-oh immediately knew what kind of beans were mainly used in this place as soon as they drank the coffee.
Shim Gyuhan cautiously asked,
“Is there a problem with the beans, by any chance…?”
“No. In my opinion, it doesn’t seem to matter much what kind of beans you used. In fact, using Liberica could be a unique characteristic of this cafe. I think it’s good.”
“The roasting seems decent as well. How long do you usually degas for?”
“Ah, I usually do it for about 2 days.”
“That’s good.”
Kang Yera seemed to have known about roasting but heard the word ‘degassing’ for the first time, so she asked Kang Dae-oh for an explanation.
“It’s the process where carbon dioxide is released from the beans right after roasting. Usually, degassing takes about 24 to 48 hours. This is initial degassing, and then there’s subsequent degassing, which takes about 7 to 14 days.”
“What effect does carbon dioxide have on coffee beans?”
“It makes the coffee flavor unstable. And if you extract coffee from the beans, excessive foam can occur. That’s why degassing is an essential process.”
“Aha.”
“Conversely, if degassing takes too long, the taste and aroma can deteriorate, so it’s best to adjust the period well. Right, Mr. Owner?”
Kang Dae-oh asked Mr. Shim Gyuhan.
He nodded continuously and said,
“As expected, experts are different.”
“Because we make a living with this. It’s the same for you, Mr. Owner. And also for CEO Do Sang-ho here, isn’t it?”
Do Sang-ho chuckled at Kang Dae-oh’s words.
The coffee taste was perfectly fine.
As for the other menu items, while maintaining their current taste,
“Kang Dae-oh and I talked about various things, like whether it would be good to develop a unique signature menu that can only be found at this store… What do you think, Mr. Owner?”
“A signature menu, huh…?”
Mr. Shim Gyuhan’s mind became complicated with CEO Do Sang-ho’s suggestion.
“What kind of examples would there be?”
When he asked in return, CEO Do Sang-ho gave him an example he wanted.
“Something like a Rainbow Latte. It’s a good menu because it can leave a very strong visual impression on customers. But this requires some advanced skills… If it’s too difficult, other options are fine too.”
He usually didn’t recommend things easily.
However, Mr. Shim Gyuhan seemed quite fond of the example CEO Do Sang-ho had given on the spot, and showed confidence.
“I will practice hard until the next recording!”
“Understood. Just in case, if CEO Kang Dae-oh and I come up with any signature menu ideas, we will continue to share them with you through the production team.”
“Yes!”
“Then…”
CEO Do Sang-ho turned his head towards Kwak PD, who was beyond the camera.
“What will you do with tomorrow’s filming schedule?”
Originally, tomorrow was the official filming day.
Since the first filming was completed today, there seemed to be no need to do it tomorrow.
“You can rest tomorrow. But Mr. Shim, you shouldn’t rest. You need to practice as you said earlier. Understood?”
“Yes, of course!”
Thus, all recordings for the first season of Yoratdae were concluded.
The next day, Kang Dae-oh left his office and, for the first time in a while, visited the Amare main branch where Lee Seojun was.
“Hello.”
“Oh, CEO! What brings you here?”
“What brings me here? I came because I wanted a cup of coffee.”
Before relocating the headquarters, it might have been different. But after the move, it’s quite a distance from the main branch, making it difficult to come without driving.
Nevertheless, Kang Dae-oh tended to visit this main branch more often than cafes located closer to his company.
He had also started his first cafe business in this vicinity. Perhaps because of that, this area where the main branch is located felt like a spiritual home to Kang Dae-oh.
This was the reason why he frequently visited the main branch despite the difficult commute.
“What would you like to order?”
“I’m craving something sweet. How about a Vanilla Latte?”
“You’ll be dining in, right?”
“Yeah. Give it to me in a mug.”
“That works out well. I actually had something I wanted to show you, CEO.”
“……?”
Kang Dae-oh tilted his head at Lee Seojun’s meaningful words.
“You’ll see later. Please have a seat first.”
“Alright, I got it.”
What on earth did he prepare to be acting like that?
Kang Dae-oh’s curiosity was immediately satisfied as soon as the Vanilla Latte he ordered came out.
“This is…!”
His eyes widened.
