Episode 53. Youth (1)
The morning for work dawned as usual.
However, Kang Dae-oh was particularly meticulous about his appearance today.
Seeing him spend more than 5 minutes in front of the full-length mirror, something he never did, Kang Yera tilted her head, showing curiosity.
“Appa. Do you have an important appointment today?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
“Because it’s the first time I’ve seen Appa stand in front of the mirror for so long.”
Kang Yera and her sisters, and Min Seung-yeon, were naturally people who spent a long time in front of the mirror, given their strong interest in appearance and beauty.
But Kang Dae-oh was not like that.
Since he wasn’t someone who cared much about dressing up compared to his wife and daughters, Kang Yera found today’s Kang Dae-oh quite suspicious.
Kang Dae-oh nodded slightly, saying that it was understandable for her to think that.
“I thought. I thought our daughter found out by reading an article.”
“What article?”
“Today is the day Amare officially signs a contract with Choi Bok-hyun Eoreusin.”
“Ah······!”
Back then, when South Korea was abuzz with In Future.
If you were to ask who was the most talked-about person, people would unanimously say this:
Choi Bok-hyun.
Choi Bok-hyun, who, despite his old age, became the very hope that ‘we can still do it’.
Thanks to him, Choi Bok-hyun’s story of aiming for runner-up even became a separate documentary after In Future concluded.
A runner-up who received more attention than the winner.
That was Choi Bok-hyun.
From Amare’s perspective, they could proceed with ease because Choi Bok-hyun himself had expressed his desire to sign a contract with them first.
Although Amare had few demands from him, Choi Bok-hyun also adopted a stance of accepting most of Amare’s terms, so the contract proceeded smoothly.
To inform the public that Amare and Choi Bok-hyun had officially decided to sign a contract, reporters were specially invited today.
That’s why Kang Dae-oh was paying so much attention to his appearance.
“Appa, isn’t this your first time standing in front of reporters in a long time?”
“Not really. I’ve done a few interviews recently.”
“Really? Appa, aren’t you doing more broadcasting activities than me?”
“Haha, no way.”
In the past, Kang Yera used to be more active than Kang Dae-oh.
But looking at Kang Dae-oh’s recent activities, it was difficult to guarantee that Kang Yera was more active than her appa.
Not only had the voices of viewers looking for Kang Dae-oh grown significantly louder recently,
but even broadcast PDs were salivating at the thought of inviting Kang Dae-oh as a guest.
He had literally become a blue chip in the broadcasting industry.
Recently, Min Seung-yeon was also expanding her broadcasting activities to promote her company’s products, so Kang Yera unintentionally felt a sense of crisis.
She worried that she might end up being told that she was less active in broadcasting than her eomma and appa.
“Appa. Don’t be too active. Otherwise, I might get criticized for being lazy.”
“Where else is there a singer who works as hard as our eldest princess? If there is such a person, tell Appa. Appa will scold them.”
“Really?”
“Of course!”
“Then······ Ouch!”
Suddenly, a small knuckle rap landed on Kang Yera’s head.
Min Seung-yeon was glaring at Kang Yera with an angry expression.
“Didn’t Eomma tell you to put the towel straight into the laundry basket after using it? Are you going to just leave it on the floor like this again? Huh?”
“Appa! Eomma is bothering me! Please scold Eomma!”
Kang Dae-oh hadn’t expected her to use the ‘Appa card’ so quickly.
He also certainly hadn’t expected the person she wanted him to scold to be his wife.
Kang Dae-oh had to ask for his daughter’s understanding with a bitter smile.
“Eomma is someone Appa can’t even win against.”
“Appa is a liar!”
He couldn’t help but be called a liar.
After all, Kang Yera was the one who had made the mistake first.
Leaving his eldest daughter’s complaints behind.
Kang Dae-oh headed to the venue where reporters had gathered, accompanied by Choi Bok-hyun.
As the two men appeared simultaneously, reporters eagerly began pressing their shutters to capture their two-shot in their lenses, as if they had been waiting.
Perhaps thanks to the In Future filming, he seemed much more accustomed to standing in front of the camera, looking quite different from the first shoot.
He even showed the composure of smiling familiarly and waving to the reporters.
Kang Dae-oh chuckled softly and said,
“Eoreusin, you’ve become a star.”
“Compared to CEO Kang, I’m still a fledgling.”
It’s certainly not common for someone of old age to have the opportunity to introduce themselves as a fledgling.
In the business field, Kang Dae-oh was much more senior than Choi Bok-hyun, so such an expression was possible.
Kang Dae-oh added more words to boost Choi Bok-hyun’s self-esteem.
“Who knows? When Eoreusin opens a senior cafe later, it might become an even bigger hit than Amare.”
“Still, my experience is far less than CEO Kang’s, isn’t it?”
“Business is a field where the successful person ultimately becomes the senior and pioneer. If you succeed, whatever you say on stage becomes advice.”
It was a bitter truth, but this was reality.
That’s why the saying ‘If you feel wronged, succeed’ also exists.
Of course, Kang Dae-oh didn’t think that saying was 100 percent correct.
“That’s why people like Eoreusin must succeed somehow and take on the role of generously providing sound advice to aspiring entrepreneurs who dream of starting businesses later.”
This was exactly what Kang Dae-oh wanted to say.
Choi Bok-hyun slowly nodded, realizing once again how profound Kang Dae-oh’s thoughts were.
“I will work hard to live up to CEO’s expectations.”
“Before that.”
Kang Dae-oh pointed to the reporters and said,
“Shall we take photos first?”
“Yes, sounds good!”
The two men, holding a simplified contract, walked towards the center of the stage.
The host, holding a microphone, briefly guided them through the ceremony.
The highlight, as expected, was Choi Bok-hyun signing the contract.
That’s when the most flashes went off.
The second was the scene where Choi Bok-hyun and Kang Dae-oh shook hands.
“Please look here!”
“To the right, please!”
From the handshake pose to poses popular among the younger generation these days, the two men actively responded to the reporters’ requests.
After successfully completing the contract signing with Choi Bok-hyun in the morning, Kang Dae-oh later called Executive Director Yoo In-seok to his office.
“Please ensure Executive Director Yoo handles Choi Bok-hyun Eoreusin’s senior cafe matter well.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The senior cafe, Youth, which Choi Bok-hyun would establish, was to be included as a new brand of Amare, with stores gradually opening.
Three stores were already set to open simultaneously in Seoul.
“Since Choi Bok-hyun Eoreusin said this is his first business, he’ll probably need a lot of help from Executive Director Yoo.”
“Understood. Even without that, he and I are similar in age, and our conversation styles match well, so it seems like a perfect fit for working together.”
“Executive Director. Have you already reached that age?”
Executive Director Yoo In-seok chuckled.
“Yes. I’ve already reached that age.”
“I see······.”
Kang Dae-oh didn’t particularly feel himself aging.
Instead, he felt the passage of time by looking at those around him.
If he were to name the people who gave him the most realization, it would undoubtedly be his daughters.
It felt like just yesterday he was changing their diapers, but those daughters have already grown up and are now at an age where people say they should get married.
Although it seemed like something far off, as they themselves didn’t appear to be thinking about marriage yet.
Kang Dae-oh felt, and felt again, how quickly time had passed.
But today, as he talked with Executive Director Yoo In-seok, Kang Dae-oh experienced a different kind of feeling than what he felt through his daughters’ growth.
“Time truly flies. I remember meeting Executive Director Yoo for the first time as if it were yesterday.”
“Me too. Oh, right. I forgot about this.”
“······?”
Executive Director Yoo In-seok took something out and handed it to Kang Dae-oh.
“This is my new business card. I held onto it because I wanted to give it to CEO first.”
“Ah······!”
As soon as he saw the business card, Kang Dae-oh instantly realized something he had overlooked.
It was because Executive Director Yoo In-seok’s title was ‘Vice President’.
“That’s right. Executive Director Yoo recently had his inauguration ceremony as Vice President.”
Kang Dae-oh had even attended it.
But he had been calling him ‘Executive Director Yoo’ all this time.
Embarrassment washed over him belatedly.
However, Vice President Yoo In-seok showed a reaction that he didn’t mind much.
“Isn’t it true that the longer you’ve known someone, the more accustomed you become to their old title? So, CEO, you can just call me Executive Director.”
“No, that’s not right. Still, you have an official title. I’m sorry. I should have paid more attention.”
As he continued to apologize, Vice President Yoo In-seok was rather perplexed.
He even felt a slight regret, wondering if he shouldn’t have given him the business card if he had known this would happen.
However, since he couldn’t avoid giving it forever, Vice President Yoo In-seok decided to just let it be.
The collaboration with Choi Bok-hyun proceeded quickly, both before and after the contract, just as it had been.
Today was the opening day of the first Youth senior cafe.
Accordingly, Kang Dae-oh personally visited the site with Vice President Yoo In-seok.
Choi Bok-hyun was already at the store.
“CEO Kang! Welcome. I was just waiting for you. I’ll make the coffee myself, so please tell me right away if there’s anything you’d like to drink.”
“Then I’ll have······ a Cafe Latte, please.”
Vice President Yoo In-seok ordered an Americano.
The two men occupied a table and waited for their drinks.
Even though it was called a senior cafe, it didn’t explicitly refuse visits from younger generations.
Initially, there was a suggestion to impose an age limit.
However, with the peak of public interest in Choi Bok-hyun’s senior cafe, Youth, due to broadcasting, young people also wanted to visit the cafe. The opinion that there was no reason to block their entry was ultimately chosen.
So currently, there were more young people than elderly people occupying seats inside the store.
Despite it being a senior cafe.
Vice President Yoo In-seok took a sip of coffee and looked around.
“It’s called Youth because it’s a senior cafe. Shouldn’t we change the brand name to something like ‘young person’ or ‘young people’?”
Kang Dae-oh laughed heartily at his joke.
“I guess I should suggest it at a meeting sometime.”
Of course, Kang Dae-oh’s answer was also a joke.
