Episode 44. Unknown Number (4)
Before the meeting with Plabi.
Min Seung-yeon drove her car towards the meeting place to meet the person who had been periodically sending her texts from an unknown number.
As she parked her car and was about to get out.
A text message arrived from the other person.
It was a message asking her to come to a cafe located near the meeting place, where they would be waiting.
Following the address she had been sent, Min Seung-yeon felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity as soon as she saw the cafe.
It was because of the familiar sign.
[Amare]
Seeing a branch of the cafe brand that her husband operated, she couldn’t help but feel good.
Min Seung-yeon opened the door and stepped inside, looking around.
It was then.
A woman who appeared to be in her late 50s raised her hand.
As soon as Min Seung-yeon saw her, she instinctively knew.
That she was the person she was supposed to meet today.
And the owner of the unknown number.
Clack, clack, clack.
The light sound of high heels reflected Min Seung-yeon’s mood.
“Hello. Are you perhaps the one I was supposed to meet today…?”
Min Seung-yeon cautiously asked her.
The woman stood up from her seat, nodded, and introduced herself.
“My name is Gu Yeong-seon.”
“I’m Min Seung-yeon. I apologize for making you wait. I should have come a bit earlier…”
“It’s alright. It’s my fault for arriving much earlier than the appointed time. More importantly, what would you like to drink? I’ll treat you.”
“Oh, no. I should be buying.”
The middle-aged woman who introduced herself as Gu Yeong-seon shook her head with a firm attitude.
“Because you came all this way for me.”
“Still…”
“Hoho, it’s fine. I have enough money to buy coffee.”
Since she insisted so much, Min Seung-yeon couldn’t be stubborn anymore.
The price of a cup of coffee wasn’t a large amount.
And Min Seung-yeon thought that if she kept refusing, it might make the other woman uncomfortable, so she decided to give in at a reasonable point.
The two women returned to their seats with their drinks.
As soon as they sat down, Gu Yeong-seon asked Min Seung-yeon.
“You said your name was Seung-yeon, right? Do you come to this cafe often?”
“Amare?”
“Yes. You looked very familiar with it when you were ordering earlier.”
She ordered at the kiosk, quickly scrolling through the menus without looking at what drinks were on which menu, and chose her drink.
That sight seemed very impressive to Gu Yeong-seon.
“Yes. I usually only go to Amare. That might be why.”
“It’s delicious here. And not too expensive.”
“There’s that, but…”
Min Seung-yeon trailed off, falling into thought for a moment.
She took a moment to consider whether to speak or not, then finally opened her mouth.
“Actually, it’s a place my husband runs. So I think I visit more often.”
“Your husband, by any chance…”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Even without Min Seung-yeon saying it, Gu Yeong-seon reacted as if she knew who her husband was.
“Oh my goodness, really! You’re CEO Kang Dae-oh’s wife?”
Min Seung-yeon nodded slowly with a shy smile.
When else would she get to boast about her husband?
Gu Yeong-seon looked at Min Seung-yeon with a surprised expression.
“I watch all the programs that CEO Kang Dae-oh appears on. They’re interesting. He tells you so much about coffee that you didn’t know.”
“My husband loves coffee very much. Even when he’s at home, he never drinks a cup of coffee carelessly. Thanks to him, it’s good for me, though.”
“I’m so envious. My husband just says, ‘Make me some coffee,’ and then lies on the living room sofa watching TV.”
An awkward laugh escaped Min Seung-yeon for a moment.
“If you’re CEO Kang Dae-oh’s wife, then you must also be Yera, Yebin, and Yeyoung’s mother?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“How nice for you. To have three lovely daughters.”
“……”
As soon as the topic of daughters came up, the atmosphere quickly became heavy.
Min Seung-yeon knew.
That this was the reason she had asked to meet Gu Yeong-seon today.
“Your daughter… she passed away not long ago, didn’t she?”
A sad smile settled on Gu Yeong-seon’s lips.
“It’s been a little over two years. It’s not that recent. But lately, I’ve been missing my second daughter even more.”
Gu Yeong-seon, like Min Seung-yeon, was a mother with daughters.
A first daughter, and a second daughter.
However, when she heard the news that her second daughter had passed away in a car accident two years ago, Gu Yeong-seon felt as if her world had collapsed.
“From that day on, I spent many nights crying for a long time. She was always the youngest daughter who showed a lot of affection. If her mom asked her to do something, she’d do it right away. She was always the kind of child who would call me, saying she found a delicious place and wanted to go with her mom…”
Seeing her unable to continue speaking, Min Seung-yeon carefully handed her a handkerchief.
“Thank you, Seung-yeon.”
“No problem. To be honest, I… it might be difficult for me to perfectly empathize with your sorrow, but as a mother raising children, I know how incredibly difficult it is to go through such a thing. So I wanted to comfort you somehow. That’s why I sent that text message.”
The reason Min Seung-yeon had this meeting with Gu Yeong-seon was because of a text message she had sent.
Gu Yeong-seon took out her smartphone and re-examined the text message Min Seung-yeon had sent.
[To my loving mom. I’m doing well and happy, so don’t worry too much. I hope you’re always happy too. I love you. Thank you for being my mom.]
Gu Yeong-seon smiled faintly while looking at the message.
“You wouldn’t believe how surprised I was when I first saw this message. I was also happy because it felt like my deceased daughter had really sent me a text… Of course, that couldn’t happen, but still, I was so happy for a short while.”
Gu Yeong-seon reached out and held Min Seung-yeon’s hand.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, my heart feels a little lighter.”
“I’m glad I could be of even a little help.”
Min Seung-yeon was a mother with daughters, but at the same time, she was also a daughter herself.
If she were Gu Yeong-seon’s daughter.
How would she have replied? She had pondered this question several times.
Min Seung-yeon inwardly thanked her husband for helping her with this dilemma.
As soon as they left the cafe, Gu Yeong-seon thanked Min Seung-yeon once again.
“Thank you, Seung-yeon. It was so nice meeting you today.”
“Me too. And you can always text or call my number anytime. I can’t replace your deceased second daughter, but I’ll try my best to be like a daughter to you.”
“Can I really do that?”
“Yes, of course.”
A bright smile spread across Gu Yeong-seon’s face.
“I was so happy as soon as I saw you, you reminded me of my daughter. Thank you.”
“You can speak casually to me too.”
“Then… shall I?”
The two women looked at each other and smiled again.
“Oh, right. You said you had a meeting today, didn’t you?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Where?”
“Well… you might not know it, madam. There’s a company called Plabi. They said their headquarters are nearby. I have a meeting scheduled there tonight.”
At the mention of Plabi, Gu Yeong-seon’s expression suddenly changed.
Min Seung-yeon tilted her head at her reaction.
“Why? Do you know Plabi?”
“More than just knowing… No. Anyway, I hope the meeting goes well. I’ll be cheering for you.”
“Thank you, madam. Since you’re cheering for me, I’ll do my best.”
“It’ll go well. Definitely.”
Seeing Gu Yeong-seon’s strong conviction, Min Seung-yeon decided to try her best.
Although it would be a difficult battle.
She intended to put in her utmost effort.
She resolved to do her best.
She had made that promise.
But she never imagined that Hwang Hyemi, the CEO of Plabi, would attend the meeting.
And that wasn’t all.
“Director Kim.”
“Yes, CEO.”
“How about we put these people in the main spot for this promotion?”
“Excuse me?”
All the Plabi executives were flustered.
That was because.
There had been no mention of this whatsoever.
“C-CEO. What are you suddenly talking about…?”
“Just. I think they’re a good company. I also like the materials they prepared.”
“But still…”
“Are you saying you won’t do it?”
Director Kim shook his head.
“Oh, no! I will do as you say, CEO!”
Meanwhile. As the CEO suddenly stepped forward to help MSH, Min Seung-yeon and Yeon Seong-hwa couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.
The only thought in their minds was this:
Why on earth?
They had no prior acquaintance with Hwang Hyemi.
Furthermore, they weren’t even close.
This meant she had no reason to help MSH.
That’s why they were even more curious.
Of course, from MSH’s perspective, things had turned out perfectly, but she was helping them so favorably that it made them suspicious.
This suspicion didn’t clear even after the meeting ended.
Just then, CEO Hwang Hyemi was on the phone with someone in the hallway of the conference room.
“Yeah. I did as Mom said earlier. Uh-huh. Oh, wait a sec. I’ll call you later.”
Hwang Hyemi approached Yeon Seong-hwa and Min Seung-yeon, especially Min Seung-yeon.
“Seung-yeon. You said earlier that you and your daughters would directly take on the role of fitting models, right?”
“Yes, CEO.”
“Please do your best. I have high expectations.”
“Um… CEO. I have a question.”
Min Seung-yeon decided to directly ask her about the doubts she and Yeon Seong-hwa had been discussing.
“I don’t think this is something we should be saying after the meeting is over, but why did you suddenly decide to push for us…?”
There must have been many other companies vying for the main promotion spot.
Despite that, Min Seung-yeon was curious about why Hwang Hyemi chose MSH.
CEO Hwang asked Min Seung-yeon.
“Who did you meet earlier today? At the cafe.”
“How did you know that, CEO…?”
“That person is my mother.”
“……!”
This was the first time she learned that Gu Yeong-seon’s eldest daughter was CEO Hwang Hyemi.
CEO Hwang smiled faintly at their surprised expressions and said,
“Thank you. For being a source of strength for my mom. She’s been very depressed since my sister passed away. But thanks to that one text message you sent, Mom seemed to smile brightly for the first time in a long while. Please consider this as a reward for bringing back my mom’s smile, which I thought was lost.”
A small miracle brought by an unknown number.
Min Seung-yeon realized once again that all of this was thanks to her husband.
Returning home, Min Seung-yeon asked Kang Dae-oh, who was watching TV in the living room.
“Where are the kids?”
“They have schedules.”
“Oh. All three of them?”
“Yeah. They said they’d eat dinner outside and come home.”
“Really? That’s good. Honey. Then, let’s go out for dinner. I’ll treat you to dinner. Something very delicious.”
“Suddenly?”
Min Seung-yeon approached Kang Dae-oh and linked her arm through his.
“As a token of appreciation.”
“……?”
Kang Dae-oh couldn’t understand what his wife was talking about.
