Episode 17. Earning Money Is Too Easy (1)
Kang Dae-oh revisited the real estate agent who had helped him with the initial expansion and relocation of his store.
When he told the agent that he wanted a larger store in the vicinity’s commercial district, the real estate agent blinked several times and said,
“Didn’t you just move? I believe it hasn’t even been a year yet. Then there’s the premium rights issue too…”
“It’s alright. I think it would be more profitable to move to a larger place right away, even if it means giving up some of the premium rights. You know that well too, don’t you, agent?”
Kang Dae-oh explicitly asked for his opinion.
Then, a bitter smile naturally spread across the real estate agent’s face.
“Indeed. When my office manager and I go to Mr. Kang’s store for a cup of coffee after lunch, I’ve never seen a time when people weren’t lining up.”
During peak hours, there’s always a waiting line.
The phenomenon of a cafe, not even a restaurant, having a waiting line is the first and only case in this area for Kang Dae-oh’s store.
Kang Dae-oh knew that the real estate agent was one of his regular customers who frequently visited his store.
So, there was no need to explain in detail why he was pushing himself so hard to move the store to a larger place.
Because the real estate agent had witnessed multiple times that the business was doing exceptionally well.
Seeing it directly was always better than hearing about it.
“Alright. There’s a good property available right now. Would you like to see it? But it’s really big.”
“How big is it?”
“About 3 times? 4 times? bigger than your current place, Mr. Kang? It also has a second floor.”
A two-story cafe.
Kang Dae-oh never dreamed that the store he operated would expand to this extent.
“First, please show it to me.”
“Understood. Let’s go right away.”
The real estate agent, who stepped out first, brought up the topic of Kang Dae-oh’s daughters.
“Are the children growing well?”
“Yes. They’re growing so well that as a father, I’m just grateful.”
“I saw that recently.”
“That?”
“Didn’t Hae-ssal Kindergarten, where Yera attends, upload a video of their talent show? I saw it this morning, and it had over a million views!”
Once it caught the algorithm and word-of-mouth, the views began to increase at an explosive rate.
It was all according to Kang Yeyoung’s plan.
Well, it was personally edited by the number one influencer in Korea.
There was no way the quality wouldn’t be good.
‘Though, strictly speaking, she didn’t do it herself.’
Because of her small stature, editing work using a computer was still too much for Kang Yeyoung.
So, Kang Dae-oh decided to be his youngest daughter’s hands and feet.
Thanks to this, Kang Dae-oh touched a video editing program for the first time in his life.
If he were to say that his first work was a video with a million views, no one would believe him.
But it actually happened.
As a result, the Hae-ssal Kindergarten channel’s subscribers rapidly increased, and inquiries from parents wanting to enroll their children in that kindergarten also poured in.
It was a brilliant success for the strategy that Kang Yera had planned and Kang Yeyoung had helped with.
The real estate agent walked ahead, continuing to talk about the talent show syndrome that Hae-ssal Kindergarten had created.
“My niece is entering kindergarten this time, and I contacted them to quickly apply to Hae-ssal Kindergarten.”
Even though it wasn’t the kindergarten he worked at, the words “Thank you” naturally came out of Kang Dae-oh’s mouth.
The real estate agent let out a short laugh.
“I think most parents in this area will probably try to send their children to Hae-ssal Kindergarten. All my acquaintances with children are saying they want to send them to Hae-ssal Kindergarten.”
Kang Dae-oh also didn’t know that the scale of the miracle Kang Yera brought about would become this large.
“Come to think of it, isn’t it Yebin’s turn to enter kindergarten soon?”
“She’s entering next year.”
“She’ll be going to the same kindergarten as her unnie, won’t she? Yebin must be really happy about that?”
“Well… I guess? Probably?”
Actually, no.
They were constantly bickering, asking why they had to see each other even at kindergarten when they already saw each other at home so much.
It was a frequent scene, so Kang Dae-oh just let it be.
But Min Seung-yeon, caught in the middle, always had a hard time mediating the children’s fights.
Originally, Kang Yeyoung took on this role.
But it seemed she didn’t want to be bothered by her unnies in this life too, so she would just lie still, pretending to be a normal baby and saying “Eung-ae” only when the two of them fought.
Kang Dae-oh’s house was never boring.
Sometimes it was difficult, but.
‘Still, I like it now.’
Kang Dae-oh could affirm it.
This feeling right now was the ‘happiness’ Kang Dae-oh had longed for.
He hadn’t even seen the store yet.
Strangely, a smile kept forming on Kang Dae-oh’s lips.
Had they walked for about 5 minutes?
The real estate agent stopped and pointed to the commercial building ahead.
“It’s here! You might find this place familiar.”
“Huh? This is…”
It wasn’t just familiar; it was an extremely familiar place.
“The hair salon next to this, it’s run by my friend.”
He never imagined that the property introduced would be right next to Oh Myung-woon’s hair salon.
Upon receiving a call from Kang Dae-oh, Oh Myung-woon immediately left his shop and headed to the empty commercial building next door where they were.
When he opened the door, Oh Myung-woon looked surprised.
“It’s really here! Dae-oh, are you going to move here?”
“It’s not confirmed. I’m just looking for now.”
As soon as he saw Oh Myung-woon, the real estate agent, as if it was perfect timing, asked him,
“Mr. Oh. What do you think of this property? It’s good, isn’t it?”
“It’s more than just good. It’s a newly built building from earlier this year. How could it not be good? If Dae-oh moves his store here, it would probably be the first business to move in here…”
However, there was one problem.
“Won’t it be a bit expensive?”
As a new building, the rent was enormous.
Moreover, the location wasn’t bad.
It would definitely be good if they moved in.
But as always, money was the problem.
Indeed, when Kang Dae-oh heard the price range from the real estate agent, he let out a silent scream.
Because it was easily more than 3 times the rent of his current store.
“Do you have the money?”
Oh Myung-woon also seemed worried, asking Kang Dae-oh how much financial leeway he had.
“I think I might be able to manage somehow. But it might be tight.”
The real estate agent also fell into deep thought.
“As the owner next to you guessed, the premium rights and rent are a bit high compared to the surrounding market price. I plan to contact the landlord and try to lower it as much as possible. But it would still be good to be prepared.”
Kang Dae-oh nodded briefly, indicating that he would take the real estate agent’s words to heart.
“Understood. I think I’ve seen enough of this place. Please show me the next property.”
The real estate agent nodded briefly and stepped out first.
Oh Myung-woon followed him out with Kang Dae-oh, lightly patting his friend’s shoulder.
“I’d be happy if we became neighbors, but don’t push yourself too hard. If the money is a burden, you can look for a cheaper place.”
“I will. Thanks for telling me all this, Myung-woon.”
“You’re welcome. See you later then. I’ll come visit your store soon.”
“Okay.”
After saying goodbye to Oh Myung-woon, Kang Dae-oh quickened his steps, which had briefly paused, and followed the real estate agent.
Even then.
“……”
Kang Dae-oh unknowingly kept turning his gaze towards the commercial building he had just seen.
‘I like it, but…’
The rent was definitely a burden.
What could be a way to quickly raise emergency funds?
Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.
‘There was something I wanted to ask Yeyoung when she was born.’
It was time to play his trump card.
When he returned home. His youngest daughter was making something with her unnies.
“What are you making?”
The moment Kang Dae-oh asked his daughters.
“Shhh!”
“Be quiet, Appa!”
Kang Yera and Kang Yebin glared at their father.
Kang Yeyoung didn’t say anything, but she showed the same reaction as her unnies.
Kang Dae-oh, who suddenly found himself in the position of a culprit who had committed a great wrong, didn’t know why, but he briefly apologized to his daughters anyway.
It wasn’t long before Kang Dae-oh immediately realized what his daughters were preparing.
“You’re preparing Eomma’s birthday present.”
No wonder.
That’s why they were quietly preparing the gift among themselves in the living room, hidden from Min Seung-yeon.
Seeing that the whole plan was a surprise.
“Yera is leading it.”
It seemed to be the work of Kang Yera, a surprise enthusiast.
Kang Yera answered, puffing out her small shoulders as if it were natural.
“Because if it’s not me, there’s no one else to push it forward.”
Although she was often teased by her younger siblings, an unnie was still an unnie.
“What kind of gift are you preparing?”
“We’re practicing making a bouquet of paper flowers.”
They were learning how to make them through YouTube.
If Min Seung-yeon had seen this scene, she would have been deeply moved by her daughters’ efforts.
However, it was a surprise event after all.
Kang Dae-oh also decided to pretend not to know and keep quiet.
He briefly mentioned his business so as not to disturb his daughters.
“I have something to talk to Yeyoung about.”
“Me?”
Kang Yeyoung pointed to herself with a short index finger and asked.
Her appearance was so cute that he wanted to hug her tight, but he decided to hold back for a moment.
“Do you know a lot about stocks besides real estate?”
According to the testimonies Kang Dae-oh heard from Kang Yera and Kang Yebin, Kang Yeyoung was an expert among stock experts.
It was safe to say that she had mastered almost everything that could make money.
Kang Yeyoung’s eyes narrowed.
With a meaningful smile, Kang Yeyoung asked her father, as if telling him to be honest.
“Do you need money?”
“I always need money.”
Then, Kang Dae-oh additionally mentioned that he needed money because of the store relocation.
He had looked at other properties for a few days besides the commercial building next to Oh Myung-woon’s hair salon.
But he hadn’t seen anything better than the first property he saw.
So, he decided to ask for his youngest daughter’s help.
Kang Yeyoung showed an attitude that she didn’t mind telling him.
“I’ve been looking at future blue-chip stocks with my eyes whenever I have time anyway.”
“Oh, really? Then will you tell Appa too?”
The moment Kang Yeyoung was about to move her mouth.
Kang Yera and Kang Yebin’s hands moved simultaneously, covering their youngest sister’s mouth.
Kang Yebin let out a short laugh.
“Looks like we had telepathy, Unnie.”
“I know. It’s moments like these that make me realize we really are sisters.”
Meanwhile. Kang Dae-oh tilted his head at his two daughters’ sudden actions.
Kang Yera explained why she and Kang Yebin had acted this way.
“Appa. In exchange for Yeyoung telling you stock information, please make one promise with us.”
Kang Dae-oh readily accepted his eldest daughter’s audacious negotiation request.
