Episode 48. Home of the Heart (4)
After listening to reports regarding the additional branches scheduled to open in Japan during a meeting, Kang Dae-oh returned to his office with Executive Director Yoo In-seok.
As Executive Director Yoo sat down, he brought up the topic of the Namseol General Market fire incident.
“Speaking of which, I’m worried about the market merchants. I wasn’t at the fire scene at the time, but… I heard from Manager Lee that it was tremendous.”
“It was no joke.”
Kang Dae-oh shook his head, recalling the nightmare again.
He had also run a cafe and worked at Namseol General Market for several years, so the massive fire that unfolded before his eyes felt like a dream, not reality.
To overcome that incident, which was a dream he never wanted to dream again, the merchants united and devoted themselves to the restoration work.
Amare, along with Oh Myung-woon’s hair studio, became the main entity in the restoration project and actively helped them.
The goal was to unveil the newly renovated Namseol General Market to the public before the first half of this year passed.
“The progress itself is going smoothly, so it will probably proceed as scheduled.”
“The key will be how many people visit.”
Regular customers who used to frequent Namseol General Market would have already become accustomed to going in and out of large supermarkets.
It’s hard to guarantee how many of them will return to Namseol General Market.
This is what the merchants are most worried about.
Nevertheless, Kang Dae-oh was not overly concerned.
He rather intended to view the crisis as an opportunity.
“Because of this fire incident, Namseol Market unintentionally garnered national attention. Donations are pouring in from everywhere too.”
It is important to quickly complete the renovation work so that this attention does not fade.
That’s why Kang Dae-oh set the first half of this year as the deadline.
This wasn’t all.
“I also told the kids. Before the Namseol General Market opens, we’ll produce a video series through Yeyoung’s channel and upload it. Yera, Yebin, my wife, and I will probably take turns appearing.”
The power of Neotube transcends imagination.
The current media era makes even seemingly impossible things a reality.
The platform at the center of this media era is Neotube.
Here, Kang Yeyoung had a considerable number of subscribers.
The channel she had nurtured since childhood had already recorded close to 7 million subscribers.
It could easily generate as much impact as a typical TV broadcast channel.
Because of this, there was no need to go to a broadcasting station and plan something, making concessions.
It was simply a matter of going to his youngest daughter and asking, “Can you do this for me?”
“Did your daughters all agree?”
“Yes. They readily said they’d help.”
“I’ve always felt this, but your daughters’ filial piety is amazing. They must all be very busy, but they never refuse their father’s words and always listen, don’t they? Haha.”
“Rather than filial piety…”
Kang Dae-oh trailed off.
“Just as Namseol Market is a special place for me, it’s also a special place for the kids, so that’s probably why.”
Because their father had run a cafe at Namseol General Market for a long time, the children also frequented the place.
In doing so, they were able to accumulate many memories.
Home of the heart. This saying didn’t apply only to Kang Dae-oh.
His daughters also considered Namseol General Market their second home.
Because of this, no matter how busy they were, they couldn’t help but actively offer to help.
It wasn’t just a precious place for their father.
Executive Director Yoo In-seok seemed to realize that fact belatedly and nodded several times.
“Now that I think about it, that’s true. Your daughters must have been very worried when the fire incident happened.”
“That’s right. Their mom was too. Fortunately, the merchants seem to have regained their spirits, so I’m somewhat relieved, but…”
Kang Dae-oh trailed off.
He knew well that the situation wasn’t entirely resolved.
From now on is what’s important.
How wisely and well they can overcome this crisis.
The fate of the market merchants will be determined by this.
As the renovation work was nearing completion.
Kang Yeyoung visited the market with her filming crew.
Looking around, Kang Yeyoung let out a long exclamation of admiration as she gazed at the Namseol General Market, which had completely changed from the entrance.
“Wow…! Is this newly built?”
Kang Dae-oh nodded, confirming it.
Originally, only the words ‘Namseol General Market’ were plainly attached to the entrance.
However, the newly changed market entrance was completely different.
It had transformed from an old-fashioned image to a sophisticated design that gave a modern feel.
This wasn’t all.
“We also installed separate guide signs with numbers for each section so you can see where which stores are located.”
“I’ve always thought this was necessary. It’s good, isn’t it?”
“Right? Director, please film the entrance in detail.”
The camera director moved the angle according to Kang Dae-oh’s request.
It wasn’t just the entrance that had changed.
The haphazard appearance of the stores was also uniformly tidied up on this occasion.
A scene overlapped in Kang Yebin’s mind, who had come to the site with them.
“When you go to Europe, the stores are arranged like this.”
“That’s right. We referenced a lot of that image too.”
Just by looking at the renovated interiors, Kang Yebin and Kang Yeyoung immediately knew what their father wanted.
“You’re trying to target the younger generation, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
Kang Dae-oh immediately admitted his daughters’ guess.
The term “traditional market” itself often sounds too old-fashioned to people nowadays.
To break away from this image, Kang Dae-oh pondered and debated with the merchants for days, ultimately concluding that they should redecorate this place as a young market for the 2030 generation.
This was because there had never been a market that openly targeted the 2030 demographic before.
His second and third daughters reacted positively to Kang Dae-oh’s strategy of targeting a niche.
In the middle, Kang Yeyoung asked, just in case.
“Dad, you didn’t, by any chance, regress to the past from the future, did you?”
“Suddenly?”
Kang Dae-oh didn’t understand why his youngest daughter was saying this.
“Actually, I’ve been debating whether or not to tell you. In three years, markets with this concept will become popular.”
“Oh, really?”
It wasn’t intended at all. Kang Dae-oh had suddenly become a person who predicted the future.
“Did you also know that Namseol Market would get caught in a fire?”
“No. This was something that didn’t happen in the world we knew.”
If his daughters had known that a big fire would break out in the market soon, they would have definitely told Kang Dae-oh.
The fact that they didn’t meant that, as Kang Yeyoung said, it was an unforeseen event.
“I see.”
Kang Dae-oh slowly nodded.
In a way, it was a relief.
Although it was an event from another timeline he had never seen, Kang Dae-oh still hoped that the merchants there would not have to suffer from fire as they were now.
Since the incident had already happened.
Kang Dae-oh, who resolved to cheer up and diligently carry out follow-up measures, walked around the market with his daughters, filming video content to upload to her channel.
Kang Yebin asked Kang Dae-oh about Kang Yera and Min Seung-yeon, who hadn’t arrived yet.
“When are unnie and mom coming?”
“Tomorrow. Yera decided to come one more time when Namseol General Market opens and even hold a mini-concert.”
This was to attract even more customers to the place.
Kang Dae-oh and his family had already made all preparations.
All that remained was.
To see how many customers would come.
The day finally arrived when the renovated Namseol General Market opened its doors to the public for the first time.
During that time, Kang Dae-oh, along with Oh Myung-woon, invested a large sum of money to prepare a variety of events that could be enjoyed within the Namseol General Market.
Namseol General Market, where attractions and food coexisted, received enthusiastic attention from people from the very first day.
Among these, the most attention was undoubtedly Kang Yera’s mini-concert.
Many of her fans flocked to Kang Yera’s special stage held within the market.
Kang Yera asked the gathered crowd.
“Everyone, you’ll continue to be regulars here, right?”
As Kang Yera passed the microphone to the crowd, a resounding “Yes―!” echoed.
The merchants had never seen so many people flock to their market in their lives.
They were bewildered yet couldn’t hide their joy.
Namseol General Market, which had regained its vitality after a long time.
This place, where only black and white remained after the fire swept through, was once again colored with various hues by the people’s energy and cheers.
While his daughters were at the forefront, actively supporting the market.
Kang Dae-oh and Min Seung-yeon also busily moved around to meet people who visited the market, helping their daughters.
Through them, they received immediate feedback on what people liked or what needed further improvement.
It’s good to enjoy the festive atmosphere. But it shouldn’t just end with enjoyment.
As it’s the first unveiling, they need to receive as much feedback as possible from people and gradually show improvements.
Only then can they continue to grow both short-term and long-term.
This was Kang Dae-oh’s know-how, learned through business.
The laundry owner quietly approached Kang Dae-oh, who had momentarily stepped away from the crowd to catch his breath and rest.
“You’ve worked hard, CEO Kang. And thank you. For working so hard for us.”
“Didn’t I tell you before? This place is my second home. If this place disappears, it’s no different from losing my hometown. I can’t just stand by.”
The laundry owner, who had been quietly listening to Kang Dae-oh’s words, chuckled softly.
“Well, that’s true.”
“How about you, sir? The current market atmosphere, or the newly changed store exterior. Do you like it?”
“I said I didn’t care as long as the interior was the same as before. I don’t really care about the exterior. And everyone’s enjoying themselves like this. How could I have any complaints? Don’t you think?”
“Then that’s a relief.”
The two men silently sipped the coffee the laundry owner had brought.
After a long period of contemplation, the laundry owner finally made a firm decision.
“Originally, I was going to quit operating the laundry around next year. But seeing CEO Kang, my mind changed.”
The laundry owner smiled faintly.
“I’ll operate the laundry as long as I can. So that whenever CEO Kang is tired or feels empty, he can always come back. I have to protect this place.”
Seeing the laundry owner’s burning enthusiasm, Kang Dae-oh also felt motivated to work hard.
Home of the heart.
Kang Dae-oh realized anew that it was a great blessing to have a place he could always return to.
