Episode 17. Earning Money Is Too Easy (3)
Kang Dae-oh and his family finished dinner.
Min Seung-yeon, who got out of the restaurant and into Kang Dae-oh’s car, let out a tired sigh.
“Are we going home now?”
“No. There’s one more course left.”
“What course?”
Kang Dae-oh made a motion as if drinking something from an invisible transparent cup.
“Since we had a meal, we should have a cup of coffee.”
Having a meal and coffee was almost an essential routine for modern people these days.
Especially for the couple, who loved coffee, a meal and coffee were almost like a given.
Although she was tired, Min Seung-yeon, intrigued by Kang Dae-oh’s suggestion, agreed without a moment’s hesitation.
“Where are we going for coffee?”
She had thought about just going somewhere nearby.
But Kang Dae-oh only said, “You’ll know when we get there.”
As they drove along.
Min Seung-yeon noticed that familiar streets were starting to appear.
“This place is…”
A familiar cafe sign was visible.
Amaare. It was the place her husband ran.
“It should be in full operation. Can we go?”
This was due to her concern that they might unnecessarily bother the part-timers who were working.
“It’s fine. I told them to close early today.”
Just as Kang Dae-oh said, only the sign was lit, and there were no customers inside.
As they opened the door and entered, Lee Seojun and Choi Se-in greeted them.
“Welcome!”
“This is Amaare!”
Min Seung-yeon smiled awkwardly at the two people’s brighter-than-ever smiles.
“I’m sorry. I feel like I’m making you two suffer just because of my birthday…”
The two part-timers shook their heads, denying Min Seung-yeon’s words.
“Suffer? Not at all!”
“On the contrary, thanks to you, ma’am, we get to leave work early.”
If today hadn’t been Min Seung-yeon’s birthday, they would have closed at 9 PM and only left for home at 10 PM.
Considering it was only 8 PM, it was a net gain for them.
Kang Dae-oh told the two that they had worked hard.
“I’ll take care of the tidying up, so you can go home.”
“Yes, boss!”
“Happy birthday once again, ma’am!”
Min Seung-yeon nodded briefly and thanked the part-timers for their congratulations.
As the two left for home, a space exclusively for Kang Dae-oh’s family was created.
“What drinks should I get you?”
Kang Dae-oh rolled up his sleeves to take orders directly from his family.
At this moment, Kang Yera raised her hand high and exclaimed.
“Cold brew iced! Please make it decaf!”
Min Seung-yeon immediately started nagging Kang Yera.
“What do you mean, coffee for a child? No. Drink it when you’re an adult.”
Kang Yera made a ‘Hee-ing’ sound and reluctantly lowered her hand.
Although she was an adult inside, her body was still that of a young child.
From a mother’s perspective, allowing her to consume caffeine already was unacceptable.
In the end, he decided to make fruit juice, considering the children’s health, and a vanilla latte for Min Seung-yeon.
Kang Dae-oh simply chose an iced Americano with a little syrup.
“Here are your drinks. And.”
One more thing.
There was something prepared for today.
“Here is the ‘Bouquet of Love and Cake’ you ordered.”
“……?”
Perhaps it was because things she hadn’t ordered appeared.
Min Seung-yeon instinctively tilted her head.
“This couldn’t be…”
“The kids prepared it.”
Following the bouquet made from folded colored paper, there was even the custom-made cake that the daughters had requested in exchange for providing stock information.
These two items were the birthday presents the children gave to their mother.
Min Seung-yeon’s eyes sparkled brightly as she looked inside the colored paper bouquet.
There were phrases written by the children themselves inside the colored paper.
[Dear Mom, Happy Birthday♡]
[Please remain our mom forever.]
[When I grow up, I’ll be a diligent filial child. I love you♡]
At the word “filial piety,” Min Seung-yeon’s eyes welled up slightly.
“Just being with Mom in such a healthy state is a great act of filial piety.”
Min Seung-yeon opened her arms wide and hugged the children tightly.
Small, precious beings, one of a kind in the world.
Min Seung-yeon once again felt that she was a blessed mother.
Before the lingering emotion faded completely.
“Ahem! Honey. I also prepared something.”
“You too? You spent a lot of money at the department store earlier. What else did you buy?”
“It’s nothing big.”
Kang Dae-oh handed Min Seung-yeon a small handbag.
Indeed, the size itself wasn’t as big as Kang Dae-oh had mentioned.
However, the price was different.
“This, even used, would cost several hundred…”
And it was a new product.
Min Seung-yeon, who was supposed to receive the gift, felt rather burdened.
“Why did you buy something like this? I could just carry something cheap.”
“Sometimes I see you looking envious whenever other kids’ moms brag about buying luxury bags. I thought it wouldn’t be bad to have one.”
“I wasn’t envious of the luxury bag itself, but rather the financial power to spend a lot of money on such things.”
“Now you don’t have to envy such things. Your husband earns well.”
The daughters also urged Min Seung-yeon to accept the gift quickly.
“Dad asked us again and again about what would suit Mom’s taste to prepare this, so please accept it.”
“That’s right. If you don’t accept it, all our efforts will be in vain. Please accept it for our sake.”
After hearing that it was a collaboration between her father and daughters, Min Seung-yeon couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
She nodded with an expression that said she had no choice.
“Thank you, honey. I’ll use it well. But are you really sure it’s okay?”
“About what?”
“You said you had to move the store to a bigger place. I thought you should save as much money as possible.”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. Didn’t I tell you earlier? Your husband earns well.”
The collaboration between the daughters and their father wasn’t just about Mom’s gift.
A splendid collaboration was already taking place regarding money as well.
After Min Seung-yeon’s birthday.
As the new month began, the urgent shouts of Lee Seojun reached Kang Dae-oh’s ears.
“B-Boss! Booooss―!”
“What now?”
Whenever Lee Seojun appeared, making such a fuss, Kang Dae-oh was enveloped in a strange sense of unease.
It was because he wondered if something big had happened.
However, unlike his urgent voice, Lee Seojun’s expression seemed excessively bright.
“J-Jeun Mulsan is going crazy right now! It’s almost a pentakill!”
He expressed intense excitement, even using gaming terms.
At the mention of Jeun Mulsan, Kang Dae-oh finally understood why Lee Seojun was making such a fuss.
And rightly so, as Jeun Mulsan had been on a continuous “ddasang” streak since last week.
Including a massive agreement with Saudi Arabia worth hundreds of billions of won, and announcements from the Ministry of Economy and Finance that seemed to favor Jeun Mulsan.
All attention was currently focused on Jeun Mulsan.
People who bought Jeun Mulsan a month ago were hearing from those around them that they had won the lottery.
The main characters were right here.
And there were two of them.
“Thanks to the stock information you gave me, boss, I’ll be able to pay off all my student loans this week! Thank you so much!”
Lee Seojun’s gaze, which seemed to want to hug Kang Dae-oh and even kiss him right away, was very overwhelming.
“Seojun, you’re just blessed because you always work hard.”
“Didn’t the boss give me that blessing? Until I get a job somewhere else, I will work my life for you, boss!”
“Don’t sacrifice your life.”
When the topic of employment came up, Kang Dae-oh already had something he really wanted to say to Lee Seojun.
“Have you applied anywhere?”
“Many. The problem is that the number of companies that have contacted me for an interview is countable on one hand. And… honestly, the places that contacted me weren’t even my first or second choices, so I’m worried.”
These days, he was even considering compromising with reality and joining a suitable company.
Kang Dae-oh nodded briefly and made this offer to Lee Seojun.
“Then, would you like to work under me? As a full-time employee, not a part-timer.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Seojun, you like coffee, don’t you? And you have a barista license.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Me too. And all our regulars who come to our cafe like you. If possible, I’d like you to continue working with me in the future. Of course, I’ll pay you well. Even if it’s not as much as a large corporation, I’ll make sure you’re never worse off than most places. How about it?”
At the sudden offer, Lee Seojun looked flustered for a moment.
“Should I give you some time to think? That might be better.”
“No!”
Lee Seojun raised his voice and gave his answer at once.
“If you allow me to be employed, I will burn this body of mine to work hard! Loyalty!”
“Loyalty is for the military. You don’t have to do that for me.”
Perhaps thanks to Lee Seojun, who seemed particularly energetic today, Kang Dae-oh also found himself smiling.
Since he plans to continue expanding the cafe with his daughters’ advice, it’s necessary to secure reliable talent like Lee Seojun early on.
Because the father also wants to succeed greatly, just as much as his daughters.
A few months ago.
The real estate agent who had introduced Kang Dae-oh to the commercial building next to Oh Myeong-un’s hair salon looked at Kang Dae-oh with an incredulous expression.
“How did you… manage to get all that money?”
Kang Dae-oh replied with a meaningful smile.
“I was lucky.”
“Lucky…?”
“Yes.”
He boldly omitted the part about it being thanks to the heavenly luck his youngest daughter told him about.
Kang Dae-oh, who succeeded in quickly raising emergency funds, successfully signed a contract for the property he had been eyeing since it was introduced to him.
Ideas on how to decorate the store were already overflowing endlessly in his mind.
The real estate agent happened to ask Kang Dae-oh about interior design.
“How will you do the store’s interior? If you don’t have a separate contracted company, I can arrange one for you. If you can spare some time this afternoon, shall I set up a meeting?”
“No. I have an important appointment today.”
“An appointment?”
“Yes. I have a promise with my youngest daughter.”
Kang Yebin, who had provided the stock information, said she had something else she wanted to ask Dad for besides the custom-made cake.
He intended to go home today and hear what it was.
Kang Dae-oh, who drove home, lifted Kang Yebin, who was playing alone with her mother in the living room, into a tight hug.
“I have something to talk about with Yebin, so can I take her for a moment?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Meanwhile, Min Seung-yeon decided to take a short break, eating coffee and the trendy Dubai chocolate.
Kang Dae-oh headed to the room with Kang Yebin.
“Can you tell Dad what you want to ask for?”
Had she finally realized the time had come?
Kang Yebin’s eyes sparkled brightly.
She finally revealed her hidden ambition(?).
“I, I wanna start Neotube activities soon. Will Dad help me?”
“Huh? Me?”
He had received an unexpected proposal.
