Episode 19. A Special Viewer (3)
Kang Dae-oh, who went to work at the cafe as usual today, sat down to conserve energy for a while, preparing for the lunch hour when the most customers flock in.
After taking out his smartphone, he started watching a video.
Then, once again, Lee Seojun’s attention was drawn to Kang Dae-oh, or more precisely, to the changes in Kang Dae-oh’s expression.
But.
Today, he couldn’t immediately tell what video Kang Dae-oh was watching, unlike last time.
“He wouldn’t be watching kids’ videos, would he…?”
As Lee Seojun muttered to himself carelessly.
Kang Dae-oh smiled broadly and averted his gaze, which had been fixed on his smartphone.
“Can you guess what I was watching this time?”
It was Lee Seojun, who had guessed it right away last time.
But the problem Kang Dae-oh gave him today was quite advanced.
“I’m not sure. You seemed to be watching it with great concentration. What were you watching?”
“This.”
Showing something with one action is more efficient than a hundred words.
Kang Dae-oh tilted his smartphone screen towards Lee Seojun and showed him.
“Is it a drama?”
“Yeah. I was watching some highlight videos uploaded on Neotube. I missed the first episode, you see.”
“I like dramas too, but this is my first time seeing this. What’s the title?”
“It’s called ‘Memory Bookstore,’ you can think of it as a fantasy drama. The theme is like that too.”
It was an omnibus-style drama where a bookstore, which materialized people’s memories into books, and its owner welcomed customers with their own stories.
Both the actors appearing in it and the PD directing it.
They were all unfamiliar to Lee Seojun.
“Boss. Are you really into this drama these days?”
If he’s going as far as to look for highlights of episodes he missed, it means he has a certain level of interest in this drama.
Kang Dae-oh nodded and replied that he was.
“Yeah. As I watched it, I found it quite interesting. More than anything, it’s a work that completely aligns with my wife’s taste, so if I just sit there, I end up watching it with her.”
Because the drama kept playing on TV.
Naturally, Kang Dae-oh also adapted to his wife’s drama preferences.
The thought, ‘This is how couples grow to resemble each other,’ briefly crossed his mind.
“Seojun, you should watch it sometime when you have time. It’s interesting.”
“If the boss recommends it so strongly, I definitely have to watch it. I’ll prepare my review after watching it and come back.”
“No, you don’t have to go that far.”
The problem was that the cafe employee had too strong a loyalty to Kang Dae-oh.
Kang Yebin, who entered Sunshine Kindergarten following her unnie.
Today, Kang Dae-oh, who left work early, decided to pick up both children, including the new student Kang Yebin and the eldest.
“Yera, Yebin! Dad’s here!”
At the words that Dad had arrived, the two children rushed over.
After a brief greeting with the kindergarten teacher.
Kang Dae-oh seated Kang Yera and Kang Yebin side by side in the back of the car.
Kang Dae-oh, who had gotten behind the wheel, looked at the children in the rearview mirror and asked.
“Yebin. How’s kindergarten life?”
Kang Yebin’s one sentence was short and to the point.
“It’s boring.”
“Haha……”
For a grown adult to take kindergarten classes with babies would indeed be incredibly boring.
It would probably feel childish as well.
Nevertheless, to hide her identity, Kang Yebin had no choice but to act like a child her age and perform.
On the other hand, Kang Yera spoke in a tone as if she had barely felt the frustration that Kang Yebin was experiencing.
“I find playing with kids fun, though.”
“unnie might find it fun, but for me, it’s just okay.”
“Right. You’ve been working with adults ever since you were a student.”
Kang Yera, having been part of a group, was able to live in a dorm with teammates of similar age.
Kang Yebin was not.
She had taken on an acting career by herself, and even when acting with others, she had to act with actors who were much older than her, not her own age.
Because of this, she wasn’t particularly accustomed to spending time with children her own age.
“You often skipped school, saying you had schedules, didn’t you?”
“What’s wrong with that? As long as I studied well, that’s all that matters.”
In reality, despite having significantly fewer days attending school compared to other children, Kang Yebin consistently ranked within the top 3 of the entire school.
She also entered a prestigious university that everyone recognized.
However, this wasn’t the point Kang Yera wanted to make.
“I admit you studied well. But you didn’t have a single friend, did you?”
“I didn’t have none.”
“Then who did you have?”
“…Minhye, I had about one. A high school friend.”
“How many times did you contact her?”
After a long deliberation, Kang Yebin opened her mouth with difficulty.
“About once every three months……”
“That’s just asking how an acquaintance is doing. How is that a friend?”
“She is a friend.”
“Her stubbornness, really.”
She had a lot she wanted to say to her stubborn younger sister, but she seemed to be deliberately holding back.
Meanwhile, Kang Dae-oh, who had been quietly listening to the children’s conversation, found it very jarring that Kang Yebin had lived a life without a single friend.
“Still, it’s good to have friends, Yebin. I’ve told you many times how Uncle Myungwoon helped our family a lot when we were going through tough times, haven’t I?”
“…Yes.”
“If you have friends, even when you’re going through difficulties, you can lessen that burden, even just a little.”
“It’s fine. Even if difficult things happen, I just need to have the ability and financial resources to overcome them on my own.”
It was a very Kang Yebin-like answer.
Nevertheless, Kang Dae-oh could not agree with his second daughter’s words.
“That’s not the point. What Dad means by ‘difficulties’ includes things that cannot be solved by ability and financial resources alone. You know, there are times when your heart feels empty, right? There are many ways to fill that, but there’s definitely a part that friends can fill.”
“……”
“Dad doesn’t want our daughter to experience such difficulties.”
As a parent.
As a life senior.
Kang Dae-oh offered sincere concern and advice to Kang Yebin.
Kang Yebin, who had been quiet, slowly nodded and said.
“It doesn’t really resonate, but since Dad said it, I’ll try.”
“Thank you, daughter.”
For now, this answer alone is enough.
“Yebin. Are you all ready?”
At her mother’s call, Kang Yebin suddenly appeared from her room as if she had been waiting.
“Yes. I’m ready.”
Disappointment was clearly visible on Min Seung-yeon’s face when she saw Kang Yebin’s outfit.
“Are you going to wear those clothes?”
A plain t-shirt and plain pants.
Kang Yebin, with a look that suggested there was no problem at all, even asked her mother back.
“I wore comfortable clothes to move around in. Isn’t that okay?”
“It is, but……”
Min Seung-yeon clicked her tongue in disappointment.
Kang Yebin couldn’t possibly understand why her mother was reacting this way.
At this moment, Kang Yera, who was playing building blocks with Kang Yeyoung, accurately grasped Min Seung-yeon’s feelings and spoke on her behalf.
“Mom means she wishes you’d wear something prettier and more glamorous, like a princess’s dress, instead of those plain clothes.”
Min Seung-yeon unconsciously clapped her hands together with a jjak! sound.
As expected of the eldest. She showed delight, saying that she understood her mother’s heart so well.
Kang Yera and Kang Yeyoung tended to enjoy wearing girlish outfits like skirts or dresses.
However, Kang Yebin preferred pants over skirts. She preferred clothes that were comfortable to move in and prioritized functionality over flowy dresses.
To put it directly.
“There’s no cuteness factor.”
The youngest precisely pointed out the second child’s fashion sense.
Kang Yebin glared sharply at the eldest and youngest.
As a mother, she wanted to dress her daughter up prettier and cuter and take her out.
But she didn’t want to force Kang Yebin to do something she disliked.
“If Yebin is comfortable with that, then there’s nothing we can do. Come on, let’s go quickly.”
As Min Seung-yeon extended her hand, Kang Yebin took her mother’s hand as if she had been waiting.
Today was the day for a grocery shopping date at the mega-mart, just the two of them, with her mom.
Meanwhile, Kang Yera and Kang Yeyoung decided to stay home together amicably.
Although it was nice to go out with her mom, just the two of them, after a long time.
The words her unnie and younger sister had said kept lingering in her mind.
“Mom. Next time, I’ll wear different clothes when we go out.”
At Kang Yebin’s words, Min Seung-yeon shook her head.
“No. You don’t have to worry too much about things like that.”
Conversely, Min Seung-yeon felt sorry for unnecessarily creating something for her second daughter to worry about.
When feeling unsettled, as always.
“Let’s go eat something delicious with Mom, okay?”
Solving it with food is the best.
Perhaps because she was Min Seung-yeon’s daughter, Kang Yebin’s expression immediately brightened when the topic of delicious food came up.
And so, the mother and daughter held hands amicably and walked towards the food court located inside the mega-mart.
Then, someone called out to Min Seung-yeon and her daughter.
“Yebin’s mom!”
“Oh my, aren’t you Jiyoon’s mom?”
Yang Jiyoon. A child who entered Sunshine Kindergarten at the same time as Kang Yebin and is even in the same class.
Yang Jiyoon was clinging tightly to Jiyoon’s mom’s left leg.
To ease the wariness of Yang Jiyoon, who was very shy, Min Seung-yeon first approached with a gentle smile.
“Hello, Jiyoon. You remember ajumma, right?”
“……”
Yang Jiyoon nodded her head repeatedly.
“And of course, you’d know our Yebin too.”
Another nod followed.
Because they were in the same Sky Class.
There was no way she wouldn’t know.
Jiyoon’s mom gently pushed her child’s back and said.
“Jiyoon. You should say ‘Hello?’ to Yebin, shouldn’t you?”
“……”
“You promised Mom you’d make lots of friends at kindergarten, didn’t you?”
Due to her characteristic shyness, Yang Jiyoon hadn’t properly made a single friend yet.
Of course, the same went for Kang Yebin.
However, in Kang Yebin’s case, it wasn’t because she was shy like Yang Jiyoon.
It was because the children’s level didn’t match hers, so she wasn’t eager to make friends.
Min Seung-yeon made eye contact with Kang Yebin.
At Min Seung-yeon’s meaningful smile, Kang Yebin gave a short nod as if she understood.
“Hello, Jiyoon. My name is Kang Yebin. Nice to meet you.”
A mechanical tone, as if reading from a Korean textbook, unfolded.
At that sight, Min Seung-yeon gave a wry smile.
Despite Kang Yebin initiating the conversation, Yang Jiyoon increasingly hid behind her mother.
As if thinking this wouldn’t work, Jiyoon’s mom pulled out her trump card.
“Jiyoon. How about you talk about ‘Memory Bookstore,’ which you like? I heard Yebin also likes watching dramas.”
At the unexpected mention of the drama, Kang Yebin unconsciously looked at Min Seung-yeon.
Kang Yebin knew ‘Memory Bookstore’ well because it was a drama her mom and dad also liked.
But surely not.
She had no idea that a young friend in the same class would like that drama.
