Episode 50. Officiating (2)
The executive meeting, which started at 3 PM, was already approaching its second hour.
As the company’s scale grew, the agenda items they had to deal with also increased day by day.
Now, the time had come when a plan for global market expansion was needed, not only in Korea but also in Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.
Perhaps it was thanks to Amare successfully establishing itself in Japan.
From choosing the next country to expand into after Japan, the decision had to be made with utmost caution.
This was the biggest reason for the meeting being longer than expected.
“Personally, I think Vietnam isn’t a bad option either…”
Before an executive could even finish speaking, a smartphone alarm sound filled the meeting room.
Everyone’s gaze turned towards the direction of the sound.
The source of the sound was Kang Dae-oh’s smartphone, which he had placed down.
“I apologize. I forgot I had set an alarm.”
Executive Director Yu Inseok asked Kang Dae-oh, who was hastily turning off the alarm.
“Do you have an appointment at 5 o’clock?”
It wasn’t morning. It was an awkward time to set an alarm.
It was natural for such a question to arise, as it was common for people like Kang Dae-oh to set an alarm only when they had an important appointment.
Kang Dae-oh nodded briefly.
“It’s time to pick up Yebin.”
“Ah, it was related to your daughter.”
At that moment, the executives, one after another, stepped forward to quickly send Kang Dae-oh off.
“Shouldn’t you go right away, CEO?”
“We can just schedule another meeting for later.”
“That’s right.”
The executives also knew well, having worked with Kang Dae-oh for a long time.
How sincere Kang Dae-oh was about matters related to his family.
For this reason, even though he himself remained still, everyone was urging him on like this.
“Understood. Then let’s conclude here today. Executive Director, please coordinate the meeting date again later.”
“Yes, CEO.”
Kang Dae-oh, who had grabbed his coat and left the meeting room first, quickly prepared for an early departure with swift movements of his hands and feet.
Arriving at Amare Store No. 1 on time, Kang Dae-oh opened the store door and looked for Kang Yebin.
Just then, Lee Seojun, who was at his post, greeted him.
“CEO. Yebin is actually changing her clothes in the dressing room right now.”
“Ah, really?”
Fortunately, he wasn’t late.
While Kang Yebin finished preparing to leave work, Kang Dae-oh cautiously asked Lee Seojun about his second daughter.
“How was Yebin today?”
“She did great? She looked incredibly skilled, like someone with about 5 years of experience.”
She showed a bit of confusion when she first started learning the work, but after about an hour, even these minor mistakes completely disappeared.
Kang Yebin mastered all her tasks in just one day.
Lee Seojun couldn’t even count how many times he was surprised by her potential, as she showed faster adaptability than anyone else.
Kang Dae-oh knew well why Kang Yebin was able to adapt faster than others.
“If Yebin is given a role, she checks what the character’s profession is and studies it, and if she feels that’s not enough, she goes out and experiences it herself, just like now.”
Kang Yebin’s belief and philosophy was that she could deliver more realistic acting by experiencing things herself.
Lee Seojun clicked his tongue upon hearing Kang Dae-oh’s words.
“She definitely has a professional mindset.”
“That might be because Yebin is a child with very high self-esteem as an actress.”
Since Kang Dae-oh had been watching Kang Yebin since she was young, he knew her personality very well.
While they continued their conversation for a moment, Kang Yebin, who had finished preparing to leave work, changed her clothes and approached Kang Dae-oh and Lee Seojun.
“Dad, you’re here?”
“You worked hard, Yebin.”
Kang Dae-oh gently hugged Kang Yebin.
After exchanging brief goodbyes with Lee Seojun, the father and daughter moved towards Kang Dae-oh’s car.
With Kang Yebin in the passenger seat, Kang Dae-oh gently turned the steering wheel to the left and asked.
“Was working today not difficult?”
“No. It was fun. Though I don’t know how Seojun oppa saw it.”
“Seojun praised our daughter, saying she did a great job.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. He said he was very surprised today because you did everything well as soon as he taught you.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried that as a newbie, I might have just made things harder for the people I was working with.”
Thanks to the intelligence Kang Dae-oh secretly obtained, Kang Yebin felt much more at ease.
On the way home, Kang Yebin recalled something from today that she definitely wanted to tell Kang Dae-oh.
“I saw Seojun oppa’s girlfriend earlier.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yes. Though it was my first time seeing her today.”
“Still, Yebin is better than Dad. Dad has never seen her before.”
When Kang Yebin asked if he was serious, Kang Dae-oh responded in a tone that implied there was nothing to hide, so why would he lie?
Dad’s words were true.
And in Kang Yebin’s case, she met Jo Seoyoung by chance.
Unfortunately for Kang Dae-oh, there was no opportunity for such a chance encounter.
“How was she?”
“Seojun oppa’s girlfriend?”
“Yeah. Did she seem like a good person?”
Perhaps because she started her social life early and worked with all kinds of people since she was young, Kang Yebin had a fairly good eye for people.
Kang Yebin honestly shared her impressions from when she first saw Jo Seoyoung.
“She seemed like a good person.”
“Really?”
“Yes. More than anything, I strongly felt that Seojun oppa cherishes and loves her very much.”
It was a very important point.
Kang Yebin was curious why Kang Dae-oh seemed particularly concerned about Lee Seojun’s girlfriend.
“Are you worried that Seojun oppa might have met a bad person?”
“Rather than that. It seems like it’s time for them to set a wedding date, but there’s been no talk of it at all. So I wondered if there might be some unspoken problem between them.”
With that, Kang Dae-oh asked Kang Yebin again for more details about the encounter at the time.
Could he get at least a rough answer as to whether Kang Dae-oh’s concern seemed true or not?
Kang Yebin, who had been deep in thought for a moment, opened her mouth again.
“They seemed to be getting along smoothly.”
“Hmm, really?”
“How about Dad subtly asks Seojun oppa later? Maybe Seojun oppa is against marriage. That might be why he’s not talking about it.”
“That’s not it. Seojun has always habitually said he wants to start his own family someday.”
Wanting to be a good husband and a good father was another life goal for Lee Seojun.
According to Kang Dae-oh’s memory, this mindset had remained unchanged until recently.
For this reason, he couldn’t agree with Kang Yebin’s conjecture.
“Dad should buy Seojun a meal around the time your part-time work ends, as a thank you, and ask him then.”
“That would be good.”
Originally, Kang Dae-oh was never the type to care so deeply about the romantic lives of his acquaintances.
However, Lee Seojun was not an ‘ordinary acquaintance’.
He was a very special person to Kang Dae-oh, so he didn’t want to treat him with indifference.
‘It’s been a while; I should listen to what kind of worries he has as a life senior.’
For the first time in a long time, he burned with enthusiasm for something other than work.
Time flew by quickly, and soon it was Kang Yebin’s last day of work.
Perhaps because rumors had spread that Kang Yebin was working as a temporary part-timer nearby, Amare Store No. 1 experienced an unexpected boom.
It had always been one of the stores that attracted many customers. But thanks to Kang Yebin’s presence, more than double the usual number of people visited the store.
Kang Yebin wanted to give fan service to each person who came to see her, but she decided to strictly maintain her position as a part-timer because it would interfere with her work.
If she neglected her work and focused on dealing with people, the other staff members would have to shoulder the tasks she couldn’t complete.
She had no mindset like, ‘It’s okay because my dad is the CEO of the company.’
Kang Yebin knew better than anyone that if that happened, not only she but also her father, Kang Dae-oh, would be criticized together.
Even for the sake of her and her dad’s image.
Kang Yebin did her best in the tasks assigned to her as a temporary part-timer at Amare Store No. 1 until her scheduled work hours ended.
And finally.
Her somewhat long temporary part-time experience came to an end.
“You worked hard!”
“You worked very hard, Yebin.”
“How was the work?”
“Wasn’t it difficult? Our store is one of the top ones when it comes to attracting many customers.”
The staff asked Kang Yebin for her brief impressions.
Kang Yebin replied to this:
“Rather than being difficult, it was actually fun. So much so that I hope I get another opportunity like this later.”
Was it because she was Kang Dae-oh’s daughter?
She certainly had an extraordinary mindset.
Kang Yebin looked for Lee Seojun, the person who had helped her the most during her week of work.
“Seojun oppa. Well, I’ll be going now.”
“Oh, okay. You worked hard. It’s fine even if you don’t have business like this time, so stop by sometimes. Alright?”
“Yes, I will. And Seojun oppa, you promised to have dinner with my dad today, right?”
“Huh? How did you know? ……Ah, you must have heard it directly from the CEO.”
Because they’re family. She could have just easily heard it at home.
“I’ll be attending later too, so I’ll see you then.”
“You’re coming too?”
“Yes.”
“Alright. It’s good for me, I guess.”
It wasn’t like he had a particularly bad relationship with Kang Yebin or anything.
Kang Dae-oh, who left for work a little early today, arrived at the restaurant where he was scheduled to eat with Lee Seojun one step ahead.
A moment later. Kang Yebin showed up at the restaurant next.
“Has Seojun oppa not arrived yet?”
“He said he’s almost here.”
As soon as Kang Dae-oh finished speaking, the door of the room where they were waiting made a drr sound and moved.
Lee Seojun, who had been guided by a restaurant staff member, greeted Kang Dae-oh first.
“Hello, CEO. I apologize. I should have arrived first.”
“It’s okay. Between you and me, there’s no need for such formalities.”
“Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease.”
As time passed, Kang Dae-oh was steadily rising to a position that Lee Seojun would find difficult to approach easily.
Perhaps because of this, Lee Seojun sometimes wondered how he should treat Kang Dae-oh.
Regarding this, Kang Dae-oh first gave Lee Seojun the answer.
To just be comfortable, like before.
“You and I, we talked a lot about this and that when we ran the cafe just the two of us. We often confided our worries too.”
“We did.”
“How about these days? Do you have any worries?”
“Worries, you say…”
Would he really take the bait Kang Dae-oh threw?
A moment later.
Lee Seojun opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Recently, I’ve been… thinking a bit about marriage with my girlfriend.”
Thump! He took the bait properly.
