Episode 41. The Best Audience (2)
Three days ago, Executive Director Yoo In-seok had told Kang Dae-oh where the candidate site for the new local tourist attraction project would be selected.
His prediction that it would highly likely be Gyehwado, located in Jeollabuk-do, came true.
“Gyehwado really got selected.”
Executive Director Yoo In-seok nodded as he reviewed the related documents with Kang Dae-oh in his office.
“Yes. I actually only heard it in passing. Still, it’s a relief that it turned out to be Gyehwado.”
Kang Dae-oh seemed to understand why he used the expression ‘it’s a relief’.
While Amare stores are heavily concentrated in the metropolitan area, the number of stores in the provinces was still lagging far behind other rival companies.
A small number of stores also means a significant difference in sales.
The coffee street project, which will be carried out in cooperation with the government, will strengthen Amare’s expansion into the provinces, which can be considered its weakness.
Executive Director Yoo In-seok viewed this outcome very positively, as it would also be a great help in terms of business expansion.
“You’ll be going back and forth there frequently for a while. I just calculated the distance on a map app, and it’s quite a way. It’s 250km by car, isn’t it?”
“You can take the KTX to Iksan or Jeongeup, then rent a car and drive to Gyehwado. It should be comfortable.”
“I see.”
He could just let his driver handle the wheel, but there would definitely be times when Kang Dae-oh had to drive there himself. He had been worried about the distance because of this.
It was a great help to Kang Dae-oh that Executive Director Yoo In-seok offered various alternatives as if he had been waiting.
“Let’s set a date soon and go down together.”
“Shall we?”
It seemed like a good idea to go to Gyehwado, partly for a change of scenery.
Kang Dae-oh turned his eyes to the clock and realized it was getting close to sunset.
“You don’t have anything else to say, do you?”
“No. That was everything.”
“Then shall we leave work? I heard you’ve been going home too late these days, Executive Director. Don’t do anything else today and go home early. Your family must be worried.”
“Worries? Well, I’ve been getting those ever since I started working at the company. Haha.”
Executive Director Yoo In-seok was also a typical workaholic who couldn’t live without work.
It was good that he worked hard for the company, but…
“Still, family is always the top priority.”
Family first, then me, before the company.
As the company representative, it was a bit awkward to say such a thing, but Kang Dae-oh didn’t want to force loyalty to the company upon his executives and employees.
Executive Director Yoo In-seok found Kang Dae-oh, who said such things, very surprising.
“I’ve worked at many companies so far, but this is the first time I’ve met someone like you, Representative.”
“Is that a positive meaning? Or negative?”
“The former, of course.”
The two men smiled at each other.
“Understood. As I mentioned earlier, I’ll set a schedule and let you know, Representative. Do you have any preferred dates?”
“No. I don’t.”
“Understood. I plan to set the schedule within this week, so please let me know anytime if a preferred date comes to mind in the middle.”
“Yes, I will.”
After sending Executive Director Yoo In-seok off first, Kang Dae-oh slowly began preparing to leave work himself.
‘I wonder if I can take the kids out to eat today.’
He thought he should call and ask on his way home.
Kang Dae-oh parked his car in the underground parking lot and fiddled with his smartphone several times out of regret.
Today, Kang Yera had a schedule, so the second attempt at a family dinner out unfortunately fell through.
‘It’s really hard to match schedules.’
It couldn’t be helped. Everyone was actively performing in their respective fields. And since they were even doing so well, it was naturally even harder to set a date and time.
‘Still, I wish we could all see each other and eat together at least once.’
Kang Dae-oh suppressed his disappointment and got into the elevator, heading straight home.
When he opened the door and entered, Min Seung-yeon, wearing an apron and with her hair tied back, greeted her husband’s return.
“Welcome home. You worked hard, honey.”
“Where are the kids?”
“Yera has a schedule, as I told you earlier. Yeyoung went out to meet a friend. And Yebin is….”
Min Seung-yeon gestured with her head towards the sofa where Kang Yebin was sitting.
Kang Yebin’s expression hadn’t looked good for several days.
Even when asked what was wrong, Kang Yebin wouldn’t easily open up.
It was her bad habit she had shown her mom and dad since before.
It would be better if she just said it directly when something was bothering her.
‘This time, too, she seems to be suffering alone and trying to forget it in her mind.’
It was one of her bad habits.
Kang Dae-oh’s prediction was exactly right.
However, Kang Dae-oh had not yet realized that his guess was very close to the truth.
Kang Dae-oh cautiously approached the living room where Kang Yebin was.
“Yebin-ah. Do you have any worries these days?”
At her father’s question, Kang Yebin shook her head.
“No. I don’t.”
“Really? To Appa, your expression hasn’t looked good for the past few days.”
Kang Yebin touched her own face with her hand and asked.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Other people might not know, but since I’m your Appa, I can tell right away.”
It was natural for a parent to understand their child’s feelings.
He could tell what her current mood was, but it was impossible to know the exact details.
Unless Kang Yebin herself spoke directly.
So, Kang Dae-oh wanted to persuade his second daughter as best as he could.
Because if she kept suppressing difficult things and bottling them up inside, repeating the process, someday those accumulated things could explode all at once.
Fortunately, Kang Yebin also knew this well.
“Actually… I received an offer.”
“What kind of offer?”
“There’s Director Jeon Yu-tae, who’s really famous in the musical world. He asked me if I’d be interested in doing a musical.”
“Isn’t that a good opportunity?”
Simply put, it was.
But Kang Yebin’s thoughts were different.
“I’ve never been on that kind of stage before, so I’m really worried.”
“Still, broadly speaking, musicals are also acting in front of people. Whether it’s in front of a camera or in front of people. I think it’s just that difference.”
Kang Yebin had a lot of pride and confidence in her own acting skills.
So, Kang Dae-oh couldn’t understand why she was hesitating about this offer simply because she ‘hadn’t done it before’.
He was sure there was one more reason she hadn’t mentioned yet.
That was what Kang Dae-oh wanted to know.
Another heavy sigh escaped Kang Yebin’s lips.
After much thought, she revealed a secret she had hidden even from her younger siblings.
“Actually, I have musical stage fright.”
“……”
Kang Dae-oh was momentarily speechless at the unexpected confession.
She had never officially stood on a musical stage.
This was true.
However, Kang Yebin had stood on a practice stage.
“Before I came back to the past, I got an opportunity to audition for a musical through an acquaintance. I decided to audition on the actual musical performance stage, but…”
As if a bad memory from the past surfaced, Kang Yebin paused to catch her breath.
Kang Dae-oh didn’t rush her.
He waited, saying nothing, until she calmed down.
She sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time and then moved her lips again.
“The judges were sitting in the audience, watching my audition from the audience’s perspective… and suddenly my mind went blank. I realized that since I’ve only acted in front of staff for dramas or movies, acting in front of an audience felt much more awkward than I thought. I was nervous too.”
The audition result was, of course, bad.
Since that day, Kang Yebin had developed a symptom called musical stage fright.
That one experience.
That one failure.
It had come as a painful blow to Kang Yebin.
Kang Dae-oh leaned back into the sofa.
There was a reason why Kang Yebin’s expression had been bad for the past few days.
“I guess it would be better to… refuse this, right? There must be many people more suited for that role than me.”
“Can I ask you just one thing?”
“Yes, Appa.”
There was something he really wanted to confirm with his second daughter.
“Is musical something you want to do? Or do you think you should do it because you’re an actress?”
Something she wanted to do versus something she had to do.
He first needed to confirm what a musical truly meant to Kang Yebin.
After much thought, Kang Yebin’s conclusion was this:
“I think it’s something I want to do…”
Kang Yebin had a desire to one day perform while receiving real-time reactions from the audience’s expressions and voices.
Curiosity and longing for the stage.
That lingering regret continued to bother Kang Yebin.
Kang Dae-oh first thanked Kang Yebin for being honest.
With this, the solution was simple.
“Why don’t you give it a try?”
“Even though I have stage fright?”
“Because you have it, you should try harder to overcome it. If it’s something you have to do, you don’t have to do it. But if it’s something you want to do, I think you should take every opportunity to challenge yourself. You know why Appa opened a cafe, right?”
“….Yes.”
Because it was something he wanted to do.
At that time, the person who encouraged Kang Dae-oh was Min Seung-yeon.
So this time, Kang Dae-oh wanted to play that role for Kang Yebin.
“Give it a try. It’s okay to fail. The experience you gain from failure will definitely be a great asset in life.”
Did her father’s advice resonate with her?
Kang Yebin slowly nodded.
“I’ll do as you say, Appa.”
“Cheer up. Appa will be cheering for you too.”
“Yes! If I audition and pass, can I invite Appa then?”
“Of course. Where will you perform?”
“I heard it’ll be in Seoul for a month, and then a provincial tour for the remaining month, performing in various places.”
“A provincial tour isn’t bad.”
Still, for Kang Dae-oh, watching the performance in Seoul would be more convenient.
Kang Yebin, emboldened by her father, sprang to her feet with a refreshed expression.
“I’ll go contact my manager unnie.”
“Will it take long?”
“No. It’ll be quick.”
“Then let’s eat together with Omma and Appa later.”
“Yes!”
Kang Dae-oh intended to watch over his precious daughter until the end, so she could continue to move forward.
