Episode 55. In the Name of Sisters (4)
It was good that she received courage from Yang Jiyoon and honestly expressed her desire to see her family.
However, she absolutely did not send the text message with the intention of telling her family to come all the way to America.
Because they are just as busy as Kang Yebin. Kang Yebin knows better than anyone how precious these hours are for them, coming and going to America like this.
Perhaps because of that, she felt very sorry.
Meanwhile.
As soon as the car door opened, Kang Yera showed a delighted expression towards Kang Yebin.
“Little sister! Have you been well?”
“Unnie. Why on earth are you here…?”
“Huh? Nothing much. We had planned to coordinate a day sometime to come see you, along with Appa, Umma, and Yeyoung. But it just so happened that you sent a text message right then. So that’s why we came.”
Kang Yera repeatedly emphasized that they did not intentionally take time off and fly all the way here because of the message Kang Yebin sent.
This was because she knew well that if Kang Yebin found out they came here just because of her text message, Kang Yebin would continue to feel sorry towards them.
That’s why she intentionally brought up this story first, as soon as they met.
Perhaps to support Kang Yera’s assertion, Kang Dae-oh also actively stepped in to back them up.
“That’s right. It was something we had planned for a long time, so Yebin, you don’t have anything to worry about.”
Min Seung-yeon and Kang Yeyoung. Everyone spoke in unison, saying the same thing.
However, Kang Yebin knew.
The saying that strong denial is strong affirmation.
As soon as she heard their story, Kang Yebin was strongly convinced that her family had intentionally booked same-day flight tickets to America, thinking of her.
The manager seemed to know, but perhaps because Kang Dae-oh’s family had strongly urged them to keep it a secret, they didn’t explain.
The car, which was too spacious for just the manager and Kang Yebin, was instantly bustling with people.
Kang Yeyoung poked Kang Yebin and said.
“Listen, unnie. Eldest unnie was sitting next to me, right? But she had her earphone volume turned up so loud that I could hear it through the airplane noise, even in my ears! I told her several times that listening with the volume too high would damage her ears.”
“Hey. When I’m on stage, I turn the sound up even louder than this and wear in-ear monitors. And you’ve never even stood on a stage.”
“I have, actually? When unnie had her solo concert, I prepared the stage with Yebin unnie.”
The bickering between unnie and little sister, seen after a long time.
When she was at home, it used to be annoying and irritating.
But seeing this scene in this unfamiliar land of America, she felt strangely glad.
Kang Dae-oh, perhaps noticing Kang Yebin’s inner thoughts, quietly smiled without a word.
Somehow, they managed to get plane tickets and came straight to America, but…
They still had problems they needed to solve.
For Kang Yera and Kang Yeyoung, it was schedule adjustments.
For Min Seung-yeon and Kang Dae-oh, work for their respective businesses awaited them.
Kang Dae-oh, who had reserved the largest room in the hotel where Kang Yebin was staying, began unpacking with his family, one by one.
The first thing Kang Dae-oh set up was not clothes or toiletries, but his laptop.
“Appa has something urgent to check. Just a moment.”
Kang Dae-oh took a seat at a window-side table overlooking the city skyline and opened his laptop.
A short while later.
Min Seung-yeon, holding a laptop in both hands just like Kang Dae-oh, took a seat opposite him.
Kang Dae-oh chuckled softly and asked Min Seung-yeon.
“You too?”
“Yeah. I should have checked and submitted the approval document that came up yesterday. I couldn’t, so I’m trying to do it now. My unnie kept pestering me about when I could get it done, so I told her I’d check it as soon as I arrived in America.”
The couple was equally busy.
On the other hand, Kang Yebin and Kang Yeyoung only needed to adjust their schedules, so they didn’t need to handle work as busily as the two of them right away.
Kang Yera asked Kang Yeyoung.
“Should we go out?”
She was worried they might accidentally disturb Umma and Appa.
“What would we do if we went out?”
“We should walk around and see what amenities the hotel has and what else there is to see. We’re going to be staying here for a few days anyway, aren’t we?”
“Who’s going to guide us?”
“Isn’t that already decided?”
There was already an acquaintance… no, a family member, who had been staying at this hotel for a long time.
“We can just ask Yebin to show us.”
At Kang Yera’s clear answer, Kang Yeyoung nodded her head naturally.
The two sisters, having received permission from Umma and Appa, began exploring the hotel surroundings with Kang Yebin.
“The restaurant is here. The top floor is a rooftop, but even though it was operating normally until last week, access is prohibited until next week.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Was it because of plumbing work…? Anyway, they said there’s some problem and it won’t be operating until next week.”
Kang Yera and Kang Yeyoung both clicked their tongues in disappointment at the same time.
They had gone to all the trouble of taking time off and flying all the way to America.
Wouldn’t it be beneficial to enjoy as many things as possible while they were there?
However, just the fact that they couldn’t use the rooftop cafe, which could be called the best viewpoint in this hotel, made them feel as if they had already incurred a significant loss.
Seeing her disappointed unnie and little sister, Kang Yebin felt unnecessarily concerned.
“Should we walk around the area outside the hotel?”
“Is there anything to see?”
“Yeah. There’s a big department store. Unnie, you like shopping, don’t you? And you too, Yeyoung.”
Unlike Kang Yebin, the two of them had a considerable interest in fashion and beauty.
In Kang Yebin’s case, unless it was a filming day, she usually maintained a simple outfit.
However, Kang Yera and Kang Yeyoung seemed to be inherently equipped with the idea that they always had to look pretty, anytime, anywhere, so they would even put on basic makeup when going to the convenience store in front of their house.
If it were Kang Yebin, she would have just worn a mask, put on a hoodie, and that would have been it.
Knowing full well how much her unnie and little sister were interested in fashion and beauty, Kang Yebin naturally guided their destination in that direction.
At this moment, Kang Yeyoung clapped her hands briefly as if remembering someone and said.
“How about asking Jiyoon unnie to come along with us?”
“I wonder if she can come out. Just a moment.”
When contacted, Yang Jiyoon immediately said okay.
Having stopped by Yang Jiyoon’s house, Kang Yebin then drove the car again towards their original destination, the department store.
Kang Yera’s eyes widened.
“Wow! Oh my gosh, look at this dress! It’s so pretty!”
Yang Jiyoon shook her head, watching Kang Yera’s joyful expression.
“Unnie. Don’t be too happy. That dress probably won’t fit you.”
“Won’t fit? Where?”
“Well… you’ll know when you try it on.”
Things like the hips or the bust. Because it’s tailored to a typical Western body type, it doesn’t fit well when an East Asian person wears it.
To satisfy her curiosity, Kang Yera picked up the dress and headed to the fitting room.
Not long after.
Kang Yera, who came out after changing, tilted her head and looked down at the dress she was wearing.
“I think it suits me well? Doesn’t it fit me perfectly?”
“……Oh my gosh. No way!”
It was a dress Yang Jiyoon had given up on because the bust and hip areas were too loose when she tried it on.
But perhaps thanks to her voluminous figure, Kang Yera showed a perfect fit.
“Unnie, what is this! You’ve made your chest bigger without me knowing!”
“W-wait a minute! Don’t touch! People are watching!”
Even for Kang Yera, having her chest explicitly touched by her younger sister’s friend in front of people was an embarrassing thing.
However, perhaps because Westerners have a more open culture regarding physical contact compared to East Asians, they didn’t seem to pay special attention to their affectionate (?) antics.
Kang Yebin let out a deep sigh and strongly pinched Yang Jiyoon’s side.
“Ouch!”
“The staff are looking at us and laughing. It’s embarrassing, so stop it.”
“Why! You look at Yera unnie’s chest too! Doesn’t it make you angry?!”
“I’ve seen it a lot at home, so not really.”
“You don’t think anything at all?”
“I just think she’s a really pretty unnie if she just keeps her mouth shut.”
At those words, Kang Yera seemed to be stung this time, and glared sharply at Kang Yebin.
At that sight, Kang Yeyoung chuckled.
“Now you finally seem like the second unnie I know.”
“……”
This one remark Kang Yeyoung just made left Kang Yebin with much to ponder.
When you think about it, she was originally like this.
Bickering like this with her sisters every time.
But then reconciling immediately as if nothing had happened. And the next day, becoming even closer than lovers, linking arms and going around looking for good restaurants.
Perhaps Kang Yebin had been missing this very situation?
She asked herself that question.
To have dinner, Kang Dae-oh headed to the restaurant buffet with Min Seung-yeon.
Since they had made plans to meet their daughters there, the two decided to go into the restaurant first and reserve a table.
When an employee asked Kang Dae-oh and Min Seung-yeon how many people there would be, Kang Dae-oh replied that there would be a total of six, including Yang Jiyoon.
From Kang Dae-oh’s perspective, it was a trivial conversation.
But from Min Seung-yeon’s perspective, it was not.
“Since when did you become so good at English?”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Not really good. I can only manage simple conversations.”
“That alone is amazing. You didn’t even go to an English academy or anything like that.”
Kang Dae-oh chuckled briefly and then asked Min Seung-yeon in return.
“Why? Is it because you see your English-speaking husband and think he looks cool?”
Then Min Seung-yeon also laughed in the same way and replied.
“I won’t say no.”
Because it was true that her husband looked intelligent, unlike usual.
Kang Dae-oh mentioned Kang Yebin, who was still on her way to the restaurant.
“I guess I’ll have to come see Yebin like this often from now on. And also to regularly show my cool side to my wife.”
“What are you talking about, really.”
Min Seung-yeon reacted with disbelief upon hearing Kang Dae-oh’s cheeky remark.
While the couple spent their time together like that.
The three daughters and Yang Jiyoon appeared at the restaurant.
“Hello, Ajeosshi! Ajumeoni!”
“It’s been a long time, Jiyoon.”
“Oh my! Jiyoon, why have you become so pretty? You could be a celebrity, you know.”
Despite Min Seung-yeon’s suggestion, Yang Jiyoon shook her head vigorously and pointed to her friends, the sisters.
“You shouldn’t say things like ‘you could be a celebrity’ so casually in front of these people here. People listening would curse me.”
It’s like a wagtail trying to catch up to a stork.
Kang Dae-oh seated his three daughters along with his daughter’s friend, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Appa will pay here. So eat as much as you want if there’s anything you’d like.”
“Yes!”
“We’ll eat well!”
Watching the children’s joyful faces, Kang Dae-oh thought once more.
Indeed. He had done well to come to America.
