Episode 54. Steps Towards a Dream (2)
‘Romance Time’ is a work by John Denney, a film director known as a master even within Hollywood.
Kang Dae-oh also knew about John Denney from a long time ago.
He had also frequently watched movies made by him.
It was both fascinating and proud that his second daughter was applying for a project by such a famous director, one who receives so much attention that even actors active in Hollywood express their desire to work with John Denney at least once.
“When is the audition?”
“It’ll be in two months. I’ve already submitted the application through my agency, and if they contact me to come for an audition, I’ll go to America then.”
“Are you auditioning in America?”
“Yes. They said they needed an Asian actor, but Director John Denney said he couldn’t personally oversee auditions by traveling between various countries due to his schedule.”
“Indeed, that makes sense.”
Usually, audition participants go to the region where the audition is held.
Kang Yebin was no different.
Since she was young, her goal was to make a name for herself as an actress on the world stage.
As such, there was no particular language barrier called English for Kang Yebin.
This was because she had consistently not neglected her English studies from before her regression until after.
English study she had dedicated herself to with the mindset of achieving her dream someday.
The time had finally come to display the results of that effort.
Kang Dae-oh thought as he listened to his second daughter say there would be an audition in America in two months.
“It would be great if it overlapped with Dad’s schedule.”
“Do you also have a trip to America recently, Dad?”
“Because we’ve decided to open a few Amare stores there soon.”
“Ah, right. We did.”
Kang Yeyoung set the timing for the expansion into America.
A famous cafe brand that had long been loved by people in America was seeing its image plummet due to various troubles, such as customer discrimination and hygiene issues.
If a Korean cafe brand could launch around this time and take even a small piece of that pie.
That alone would be a huge achievement for Amare.
It makes no sense to give up a golden opportunity to plant Korea’s flag on American soil.
Kang Yeyoung also expressed the same thought regarding her father’s wish.
“It would be great if I could adjust the audition schedule as I please…”
“Can’t be helped.”
It seemed better for Kang Dae-oh to adjust his time instead.
A few days later.
Kang Dae-oh forced his sleepy eyes open and looked at the piles of paper documents stacked on his desk.
This was the amount of work he had to handle today.
‘It’s immense.’
The more the company expanded, the more reports and approval documents Kang Dae-oh had to review.
Although the work increased day by day.
Nevertheless, Kang Dae-oh rather enjoyed and rejoiced in this phenomenon.
This was because he could confirm he was doing well through the thickness of the paper.
To catch his breath for a moment, Kang Dae-oh stretched his arms above his head.
Just then, Vice President Yoo In-seok came to see Kang Dae-oh.
“CEO. You’re working hard. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“Rather than coffee… I’m craving something sweet.”
“In that case, I’ll prepare a chocolate latte for you.”
When you need sugar, chocolate is always the answer.
As Executive Director Yoo In-seok contacted someone, an employee working under him brought drinks.
“These were ordered directly from Amare and brought over.”
“Thank you, Vice President.”
Kang Dae-oh expressed his gratitude to him and took the iced chocolate latte.
He sucked the drink through the straw until his mouth was full.
The cold sensation lingered on his lips for a moment before spreading throughout his body.
Thanks to it, he was able to wake up.
“Thanks to your help, Vice President, I feel a bit less tired.”
“That’s good. I actually came to ask you something important, CEO.”
“Something important?”
“Yes. Didn’t we decide to go for one last reconnaissance trip to the US before opening our stores there?”
“We did.”
It was a topic that came up at the executive meeting just a few days ago, so Kang Dae-oh remembered it clearly.
Was there a problem with that? Kang Dae-oh had thought Vice President Yoo In-seok came to him because of this.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely wrong.
However, it wasn’t a problem.
It was a very simple reason.
“Now that I think about it, we didn’t set the departure date and time.”
“Oh, really? I thought that was all decided.”
“It was just decided that we ‘go,’ but the schedule wasn’t set.”
If Vice President Yoo In-seok hadn’t mentioned it, Kang Dae-oh might not have noticed it at all.
Kang Dae-oh had been that busy lately.
Still, it was a relief that Vice President Yoo In-seok helped him revisit the overlooked part.
“When is convenient for you, CEO?”
“Hmm…”
Suddenly, Kang Dae-oh recalled memories related to Kang Yebin.
There’s an audition for John Denney’s next project in America in two months.
Kang Dae-oh slowly opened his mouth.
“Vice President.”
“Yes, CEO.”
Kang Dae-oh turned two pages of the desk calendar and said.
“Let’s go the month after next.”
A golden opportunity to see Kang Yebin in America had arrived.
Two months later.
At 7:30 AM, Kang Yebin, the first among her family to leave the house, greeted her mother and father who came out to see her off.
“I’ll be back safely.”
“Be careful. You said you’d be in America for a few days, right?”
“Three days.”
“Are you coming back right after the audition?”
“Yes. I’ll go there two days early to get used to the local environment. Then I’ll head straight to the audition site.”
After all, she wasn’t auditioning in a familiar environment.
Even before her regression, Kang Yebin was always driven by the desire to stand on the world stage.
Like now, she used to submit applications every time movie or drama auditions were held in Hollywood.
For some reason, every single application she submitted resulted in failure.
She couldn’t even seize the opportunity to audition.
And then, for the first time in her life, she was able to stand on an audition stage.
Her expectations were naturally high.
Watching her second daughter brimming with enthusiasm, Min Seung-yeon handed her the lunchbox she had carefully prepared.
“I’ve prepared sandwiches, some chocolates for a quick snack, and a few desserts. Take these and share them with the staff on your way to the airport.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
“Mom will be praying earnestly for you to get the results you want.”
Kang Yebin nodded vigorously and stepped out the front door.
Kang Dae-oh, who had helped load Kang Yebin’s luggage into the car brought by the manager, gave her a farewell greeting he couldn’t give at the front door because he was yielding his turn to his wife.
“My daughter, you can do well enough, so don’t be too scared. Okay?”
“Yes. Don’t worry. Whose daughter do you think I am?”
“Dad’s daughter, of course.”
Kang Dae-oh lightly hugged Kang Yebin with one arm.
After briefly feeling the warm embrace of her father, Kang Yebin soon got into the car with determined steps.
Before the car departed, Kang Dae-oh briefly asked the agency staff traveling to America with Kang Yebin to take good care of his daughter.
Kang Dae-oh, who had stayed until the car carrying his daughter completely disappeared from sight, returned home and checked the current time.
“I should start getting ready too.”
“You said you’re departing today, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Min Seung-yeon made a curious expression.
“How did the dates for you and Yebin just happen to align?”
“Well…”
Kang Dae-oh replied as if there was no need to ask.
“Because I deliberately set my business trip schedule to match Yebin’s.”
“Indeed. That makes sense.”
It makes no sense for a company CEO not to be able to set his own business trip schedule.
Unless there was a meeting or an important buyer he absolutely had to meet and had to coordinate schedules with them, it was simply a matter of adjusting the schedule to Kang Dae-oh’s liking.
This was one of the privileges of being a company CEO.
After arriving at the airport, Kang Dae-oh and the executives and employees who were traveling with him boarded the plane.
A passenger who met Kang Dae-oh along the way was startled and told him this:
“Oh my! Aren’t you CEO Kang? I heard earlier at the airport that someone saw your second daughter.”
“You mean Yebin, right?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
“She has a schedule in America today, so she probably took an earlier flight than me.”
He had also seen a news article while coming to the airport that Kang Yebin’s airport fashion had garnered considerable attention from women.
Kang Dae-oh, who had first taken a window seat.
Shin Young-jun sat next to him.
“It feels like a long time since I’ve traveled overseas with you, CEO.”
Like Yoo In-seok, Director Shin Young-jun, who had worked hard for Amare since the company’s early days, now held the position of Executive Director as time passed.
Whenever Vice President Yoo In-seok remained in Korea to fill Kang Dae-oh’s absence, Executive Director Shin Young-jun would take on the role of assisting Kang Dae-oh, just like now.
Kang Dae-oh nodded at Executive Director Shin Young-jun’s words.
“Now that you mention it, didn’t you say you lived in America for a long time, Executive Director?”
“Not for a long time. I studied abroad for about… three years.”
“Then you must know a lot of good restaurants?”
“The place we’re going isn’t the area where I studied abroad, so I don’t know it well. But I do know which chain restaurants are good, so if you’d like, I can recommend a lot of those.”
Kang Dae-oh said it didn’t matter and expressed high expectations for Executive Director Shin Young-jun’s restaurant guide.
Franchise branches always maintain an average standard in any country.
The biggest advantage of a franchise store is that there’s no failure.
While traveling, Kang Dae-oh thought about Kang Yebin.
‘Director John Denney is known for being extremely strict with auditions, so Yebin must have been very nervous.’
Within Hollywood, John Denney was known as the ‘Audition Devil,’ renowned as one of the directors who conducted the toughest auditions.
Some actors even said they had to go through 6 rounds of auditions to barely pass.
Nevertheless, there was a reason why actors continued to send messages of courtship to Director John Denney.
This was because all of his directed works achieved above-average results.
Like a franchise store, he had never experienced a box office failure.
A director who doesn’t know failure.
This secret might be due to his thorough preparedness.
‘His strictness in auditions must also be due to this preparedness.’
Whether Kang Yebin could impress Director John Denney like this, he didn’t know.
Still, Kang Dae-oh would support his daughter with all his might.
