Episode 59. Our Daughters Were Regressors (2)
The words of Vice President Yoo In-seok lingered in Kang Dae-oh’s mind for a long time as he was leaving work.
On the way home.
Seeing Kang Dae-oh with his gaze fixed out the window, the driver smiled faintly and carefully spoke to him.
“CEO. Do you have something on your mind?”
In response, Kang Dae-oh asked the driver a question in return.
“From your perspective, do I seem to be overworking myself by taking on too much these days?”
The driver hesitated for a moment before answering.
A little later.
He gave a meaningful answer.
“May I speak frankly?”
“I’d appreciate it if you did.”
“Yes, from my perspective, that’s correct.”
As soon as Kang Dae-oh gave his permission, the driver immediately gave an affirmative answer to his question.
Kang Dae-oh nodded several times, muttering to himself.
“So that’s how it was.”
“I apologize, CEO.”
“No. Rather, thank you for telling me as it is. Earlier, I got a lecture from Vice President Yoo in the office. He said that in the past, my family always seemed to be my top priority, but these days, I seem to prioritize work over family. He said he felt like he was looking at his past self, so he really wanted to tell me that.”
The driver let out a hearty laugh.
“There’s probably no one who cares about you as genuinely as Vice President Yoo.”
“That’s right. We’ve worked together for decades.”
Since he was also older than Kang Dae-oh, Kang Dae-oh often felt that Vice President Yoo In-seok was like a mentor in life and business… no, it happened frequently.
Now, their relationship could be seen as more than colleagues, like comrades-in-arms.
Kang Dae-oh would not take such advice from Vice President Yoo In-seok lightly.
“Today, I should go and tell my family that I’m sorry for everything.”
“If you suddenly apologize, won’t they react with, ‘Why?’”
“No. My wife and daughters probably vaguely noticed it. That my attitude was slowly changing. They just didn’t say it directly, unlike Vice President Yoo.”
“If they knew, it would have been good if they had told you, CEO. Why didn’t they?”
Kang Dae-oh already knew the reason for this.
It was.
“It’s because they trust me.”
Even if he went down the wrong path.
The belief that he would eventually return to his family’s embrace. That was deeply ingrained among the family members.
In a way, these actions might be possible because the family had an even deeper bond with Kang Dae-oh than Vice President Yoo In-seok.
While Kang Dae-oh was on his way home.
Min Seung-yeon and her daughters kept checking the time, taking turns.
It was almost time for Kang Dae-oh to get off work.
However, Kang Dae-oh had been taking on more work these days, so he rarely came home on time.
Indeed.
“Will Dad be late again today? Ku-gung!”
Kang Yeyoung playfully made a sound effect with her mouth and spoke first.
Then Kang Yebin and Kang Yera both spoke at the same time.
“I feel like he won’t be late.”
“Me too.”
Kang Yeyoung asked her unnies for the reason.
However, the answers she got back were somewhat anticlimactic.
“Just because.”
“It’s a feeling.”
“What? I thought you had some solid evidence to say that.”
Kang Yera shrugged her shoulders and said to her complaining dongsaeng:
“Life doesn’t always go according to plan, you know.”
“That’s right. And if it’s Dad, won’t he find his way back to his original self even if we don’t tell him? It’s not just anyone. It’s ‘our dad,’ after all. Yeyoung-ah, don’t you think so too?”
Kang Yeyoung chuckled and nodded.
“Actually, I feel the same way.”
“See?”
When they regressed from the future to the past, they were incredibly worried that their dad might go down the wrong path in the future.
Because they were regressors.
They already knew and had personally experienced the wrong future.
Knowing the pain and sorrow of that time better than anyone, they desperately wanted to avoid that situation repeating itself.
So they had continuously tried to tell their dad and mom not to go down the wrong path in the future.
But.
Now the situation had changed.
As time passed, Kang Dae-oh reached a point where he no longer needed the help of his regressor daughters.
Dad was Dad.
He had always made the right choices for his daughters.
So they decided to trust Kang Dae-oh.
Watching her daughters express their trust in Kang Dae-oh, Min Seung-yeon smiled faintly and said something meaningful.
“If Dad comes home late today and acts the same as usual. Mom will have to give Dad a good scolding today.”
Even though she was speaking casually and gently.
The daughters got goosebumps.
Because Mom was someone who always followed through.
Perhaps to change the atmosphere, Kang Yera asked Min Seung-yeon about something she hadn’t heard last time.
“Mom, didn’t you say something about Dad violating a contract last time?”
“You remembered.”
“I didn’t get an answer then. What was it about?”
The daughters leaned in to listen.
Then Min Seung-yeon chuckled softly and said.
“It wasn’t a big deal. It’s just… do you remember hearing that your dad used to work at a company?”
“Yes.”
“And I know Mom was the one who allowed him to do that.”
Min Seung-yeon nodded.
“That’s right. I gave your dad permission to do what he wanted, but I set one condition.”
“What condition?”
“No matter how tired or difficult it was, he had to prioritize family over work. To put me and our future children first. That was the entire content of the promise I made with your dad.”
Because he agreed to that, Kang Dae-oh was able to jump into the cafe business he wanted to do.
Until now, he had faithfully carried that out.
Perhaps because a lot of time had passed, Kang Dae-oh seemed to be increasingly neglecting the promise he made with Min Seung-yeon back then.
The daughters now understood why Min Seung-yeon had made such a chilling remark just now.
Just then, the sound of the front door opening was heard.
At the same time.
Kang Dae-oh appeared.
“Dad!”
Kang Dae-oh was surprised to see all his daughters gathered.
“You’re all gathered today?”
“We were waiting for you, Dad.”
“It’s a relief you’re safe, Dad.”
“……?”
When they suddenly looked at him and said they were glad he was safe, Kang Dae-oh couldn’t help but tilt his head.
For Kang Dae-oh, who reacted as if he didn’t understand anything, Min Seung-yeon told him everything they had been talking about.
Hearing that, Kang Dae-oh scratched his head.
“I’ve actually been feeling like I’m too overwhelmed with work lately. So, I came home early today because I really wanted to tell you and the kids that I’m sorry. And there’s something else I want to say.”
“What is it?”
“My birthday is next week, right? So I was thinking of having a meal with the kids then. If the timing works, it wouldn’t be bad to pick a date and go on a short one-night, two-day trip. What do you think?”
These were proposals that clearly showed his desire to spend time with his family.
Only after hearing Kang Dae-oh’s words did the daughters show expressions of relief.
“It seems like our dad is back to his old self.”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
“This is why helping Dad feels worthwhile for us.”
Without the help of his daughters, who were also regressors, Kang Dae-oh would not have been able to reach this point.
Ultimately, Kang Dae-oh’s success was a result achieved thanks to the help of all his family members.
Therefore, Kang Dae-oh had to treat his family well.
Kang Dae-oh himself felt that way.
“Dad will buy you something delicious for my birthday next week, so don’t feel too disappointed. Okay?”
“We’re going to ask for something expensive.”
“I’ll buy you anything. For my daughters.”
At this moment.
Min Seung-yeon asked with a slightly sulky tone.
“What about me? You only think about the kids. Don’t you think about your wife?”
“Of course not.”
Kang Dae-oh smiled brightly and handed something to Min Seung-yeon.
“What’s this?”
“An acquaintance recommended a good hotel. They said we should pick a date and stay there for a night. How about you and I go together when our schedules align?”
The daughters let out exclamations of ‘Oh~’ and enthusiastically cheered on Kang Dae-oh and Min Seung-yeon.
Min Seung-yeon seemed to have calmed down at last, letting out a chuckle.
“Seriously, really. I can’t live because of your dad.”
Laughter spilled from the mouths of Kang Dae-oh and his daughters.
As if something suddenly came to mind, Kang Dae-oh asked Min Seung-yeon.
“Can I go have a drink with Myeong-un today?”
“Myeong-un-ssi? Why?”
“He said he wanted to have a soju with me for the first time in a while last time, but I told him to postpone it because of work.”
He wanted to spend time reconnecting with not only his family but also his friends and other acquaintances he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Alright. But don’t come home too late. I’ll be worried.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Kang Dae-oh once again resolved to be a husband who listened well to his wife.
After Kang Dae-oh’s birthday.
He headed to work with a much lighter expression.
Vice President Yoo In-seok, who came to Kang Dae-oh’s office for a matter in the morning, saw Kang Dae-oh’s completely changed face compared to last week and asked.
“It seems your birthday celebration went well.”
“Yes. It’s all thanks to your advice, Vice President.”
“What advice could it be? I merely spoke about what I’d recently felt after observing you, CEO. I did nothing more than that.”
However, the fact that it was extremely important to Kang Dae-oh remained unchanged.
Kang Dae-oh, who was slowly checking the approval documents, opened his mouth.
“When I think about it, it really feels like a series of miracles.”
“And the source of those miracles, for you, CEO, is your family, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. At first, I thought the word ‘miracle’ referred to how I built a company like Amare from the ground up. But these days, my thoughts have changed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Meeting my family’s faces, laughing, chatting, and happily eating meals together as usual. This everyday life itself feels like a miracle to me.”
A happy daily life that seemed like it would never come before his daughters regressed.
Although it was taken for granted now.
When he thought about it, there was no greater miracle than this.
So Kang Dae-oh had been thinking ever since his birthday.
That he would never forget this miracle.
Because a disordered future was enough to experience just once.
“In that sense, if I may say so.”
Kang Dae-oh paused his pen for a moment and asked Vice President Yoo In-seok.
“May I leave early today? I’m going out to eat with the kids and my wife.”
“Of course. You can do whatever you wish, CEO.”
“Thank you, Vice President.”
His pen, which had stopped, began to move again.
