Episode 41. The Best Audience (1)
Kang Dae-oh, who got into the car with Executive Director Yoo In-seok, yawned during the ride, showing his fatigue.
Then, Executive Director Yoo In-seok chuckled and asked him.
“You must be very tired.”
He even covered his mouth with his hand on purpose to try and hide his yawn as much as possible.
But he couldn’t escape Executive Director Yoo In-seok’s keen eye.
Kang Dae-oh made an awkward expression.
“Yes. The discussion went on longer than I expected, and by the end, I was feeling quite dizzy.”
“I originally thought it would end within an hour at most. It seems they were quite pleased with our business. I didn’t expect the meeting to last this long either.”
Recently, Amare had a large-scale project in conjunction with the government.
As part of a measure to overcome the crisis of local extinction, discussions were actively underway to select a specific region and create a coffee street there.
Since Amare was in charge of the central role in this project, Kang Dae-oh had no choice but to frequently go back and forth between the relevant departments.
Originally, Executive Director Yoo In-seok often attended such meetings as Kang Dae-oh’s proxy.
But because it was such an important matter, Kang Dae-oh, as the CEO, had to go himself.
That way, they would know that Amare was serious about this project.
“The results for the region selection haven’t come out yet, have they?”
“No. But from what I heard from the official there… it’s highly likely to be Gyehwado.”
“Gyehwado. Isn’t that in North Jeolla Province?”
“Yes. There’s Gunsan Airport nearby, and Saemangeum Environmental Ecological Complex below it, so if a tourist attraction like a coffee street is placed in the middle, it could revitalize the airport. I heard many internal opinions saying, ‘Wouldn’t that be good?’”
“Then it would be good for us to consider that area early on.”
“Still, you never know until the results are out. I think it would be good to just keep it in mind.”
Kang Dae-oh nodded at Executive Director Yoo In-seok’s advice.
Kang Dae-oh, who succeeded in momentarily chasing away the sleep fairy while discussing work-related matters.
His gaze suddenly turned to the window.
“This place is…”
Familiar sceneries began to pass by quickly.
Executive Director Yoo In-seok, who was observing Kang Dae-oh’s reaction, added, “Ah, that’s the place.”
“Isn’t this the area where the cafe is, the one where CEO gave a solution during the first broadcast of the new season of Yolatte?”
“Executive Director, how did you…”
“I’m also a big fan of Yolatte.”
Of course, Kang Dae-oh knew that Executive Director Yoo In-seok often watched Yolatte.
However, he had no idea that he would even remember the scenery around the store, which had only appeared for a very brief moment on air.
Just as Executive Director Yoo In-seok said, as they drove straight along the road, the sight of the Rest time store gradually came into view after a long time.
After the broadcast, just as Kang Dae-oh had predicted, people were lining up long in front of the cafe.
President Shim Gyuhan, who had briefly come out of the store, was seen handing out number tickets to people, apologizing and repeatedly bowing his head, asking them to wait a little longer.
The driver, sensing the situation, briefly pulled over to the roadside.
As the window rolled down, President Shim Gyuhan, struggling hard with his newly hired part-timers, became even clearer.
Executive Director Yoo In-seok clicked his tongue.
“That’s amazing. Even with the power of broadcast, I’ve never seen such a crowd gather. Isn’t this unprecedented?”
“Right. PD Gwak said he came to Rest time a few days ago with a few staff members. He called me then and said that there were so many people that he couldn’t even have a long conversation with President Shim and just quickly drank his coffee and left.”
Word-of-mouth about Rest time spread beyond the local area and across the country via the internet.
To be honest, the taste wasn’t anything special.
However, the reaction to President Shim Gyuhan’s latte art was incredibly enthusiastic.
Perhaps that’s why. President Shim Gyuhan’s cafe increasingly gained word-of-mouth, especially as it was frequently photographed for social media 인증 (verification/proof) pictures.
As time goes on, even more people will flock there.
“It looks like he’ll need to hire more part-timers.”
“Indeed.”
Executive Director Yoo In-seok let out a short laugh, showing his full agreement with Kang Dae-oh’s opinion.
“CEO. If it’s alright, shall we stop by there for a moment before leaving?”
Despite Executive Director Yoo In-seok’s suggestion, Kang Dae-oh shook his head.
“No. If we go, we’ll only confuse President Shim. And when he’s busy, it’s usually better to just pass by.”
“Is that from experience?”
“I can’t say no.”
Laughter escaped Executive Director Yoo In-seok’s lips once again.
This kind of thing is usually better known by those who have experienced it firsthand.
Executive Director Yoo In-seok, following Kang Dae-oh’s words, signaled the driver to continue on their way.
The driver nodded and took the wheel again.
Watching Rest time gradually fade into the distance, Kang Dae-oh smiled contentedly.
‘It turned out well.’
After seeing President Shim Gyuhan looking busy, Kang Dae-oh felt the fatigue accumulated throughout the day instantly disappear.
Although the morning meeting had gone on longer than expected.
Overall, today’s work itself finished quite quickly.
Thanks to this, Kang Dae-oh was able to leave work earlier than usual.
After leaving the office, Kang Dae-oh got into his car and contacted Min Seung-yeon before starting the engine.
“Hello. Oh, honey. It’s me. I think I can make it home for dinner today.”
“Oh, really? Lately, you’ve mostly been eating dinner out.”
“Today, work went better than expected. It’s been a while, so how about we take the kids out to eat?”
He wanted to spend some special time with his family after a long time.
However, Min Seung-yeon’s next words caused a major setback to Kang Dae-oh’s plan.
“Yera and Yeyoung are home, so that’s fine. But Yebin isn’t back yet. It might be difficult for all of us to go together.”
“Yebin, what time is she coming home?”
“I don’t know. It seems she suddenly had an appointment.”
“With friends?”
“No. She said… a meeting related to acting came up. I don’t know the exact details. I’ll probably only know after Yebin comes home and I ask her.”
Kang Yebin, unfortunately, would be absent.
There was nothing he could do.
“Then we’ll have to postpone eating out.”
“That would be best.”
Min Seung-yeon also strongly agreed with Kang Dae-oh’s opinion.
In fact, they could have left Kang Yebin and gone out to eat with the rest of the family.
But he thought Kang Yebin might feel left out.
Kang Dae-oh loved all three of his daughters. There was no favoritism towards any one of them.
He also hoped his daughters would know that their dad loved them all equally and fairly. So, Kang Dae-oh, though regretful, had no choice but to decide to postpone eating out.
“Then I should go grocery shopping before you come.”
“Is there nothing to eat in the fridge?”
“Yeah. We ran out of everything.”
“Then just tell me what I should buy, I’ll stop by the supermarket on my way.”
“Thank you, honey.”
“I can’t help with housework often. So I should at least do this.”
He wished he could help Min Seung-yeon more diligently.
But with his broadcasting activities and business, Kang Dae-oh rarely had the chance to help Min Seung-yeon.
Min Seung-yeon was also very busy lately, having started her own clothing business.
Because of this, Kang Dae-oh’s feeling of regret doubled.
Min Seung-yeon seemed very pleased with her husband’s words, as her laughter flowed from beyond the smartphone.
“Okay. I’ll write it down and send it to you as a text, so check it later.”
After finishing the call, Kang Dae-oh newly entered a large supermarket in the middle as his destination instead of his home address.
“Shall I go grocery shopping for the first time in a while?”
Kang Dae-oh’s hands gripped the steering wheel with force.
Kang Yebin, who had finished all her filming schedules for the day, was filled with anticipation at the thought of just going home and resting.
However, she unexpectedly heard news of an additional schedule from her manager along the way.
“You know Director Jeon Yutae, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
He is a very important figure, indispensable in the South Korean musical industry.
Under his leadership, famous musical stages were performed multiple times in South Korea. And they succeeded.
Thanks to him, anyone with even a little interest in musicals couldn’t possibly not know about Director Jeon Yutae.
As Kang Yebin also makes a living through acting, she was well aware of the rumors about Director Jeon Yutae.
But she couldn’t help but be surprised by the fact that such a Director Jeon Yutae had suddenly contacted Kang Yebin’s side first.
“The director said he wanted to see you for a bit today.”
“It’s fine by me… but why?”
She asked Manager Park Yisong if he had heard why he wanted to meet her.
However, Park Yisong shook his head, indicating he had heard nothing.
“I don’t know either. I just received a call from the agency saying, ‘Director Jeon Yutae seems interested in Yebin, so please arrange a meeting for them.’”
“Being interested means…”
A vague hypothesis came to mind.
However, since nothing was confirmed, Kang Yebin decided to hold her tongue.
She knew well that in the entertainment industry, the more tight-lipped you are, the better.
Anyway, they were scheduled to meet with Director Jeon Yutae’s side for dinner tonight.
If she had any questions, she could ask him directly later.
After some time passed.
Kang Yebin, along with Park Yisong and a few representatives from her agency, moved to a restaurant to meet Director Jeon Yutae’s party.
All the key staff members who work with Director Jeon Yutae on his productions were gathered there.
Kang Yebin felt nervous.
Meanwhile. Director Jeon Yutae, who finally faced Kang Yebin, showed genuine delight and invited her to sit.
“Come and sit, Yebin-yang.”
“Yes… Director.”
Since Kang Yebin had been actively working across dramas and films, it was rare for her to feel this nervous when meeting a particular person.
Yet, she showed a particular nervousness in front of Director Jeon Yutae.
Director Jeon Yutae seemed to think there was no need to drag things out, and immediately got to the point.
“We have a musical performance we’re preparing. There’s a supporting character with a considerable presence, and we’d like to offer that role to Yebin-yang.”
As expected. It was just as Kang Yebin had predicted.
However, there was a problem.
“I… have no experience performing on a musical stage.”
Not only currently.
Even before her regression, Kang Yebin had never once stood on a musical stage.
