Chapter 88

A little while ago.

The president of HN Department Store.

Also the owner of a cafe.

Jeong Woo-hee stopped in her tracks as she was about to leave the first-floor lobby.

She had spotted Shin Yu-won standing there with his mouth wide open, staring at the waterfall like a fool.

‘Oh, that guy?’

She stood there quietly, watching him, when her secretary spoke up.

“President, is there a problem...?”

It was a question asking if anything was bothering her.

“No, there’s no problem. Rather...”

Jeong Woo-hee turned around.

Her secretary, executives, and bodyguards, who had been following her in a line, had also stopped.

‘...’

The day they met at Saint Han River Forest.

The words Min Chae-yeon had entrusted to her during dinner came to mind.

Jeong Woo-hee briefly told them,

“Everyone, go ahead. I’ll go separately.”

“Ah, yes.”

After confirming that the group in dark suits had left the first-floor lobby,

Jeong Woo-hee walked to the <Blue Place> pop-up store in the corner of the first floor.

She then said to the counter staff,

“A warm latte, regular, to-go.”

“Yes, you can insert your card here.”

“Ah, I don’t have my card right now. I’m Jeong Woo-hee, the president of this department store. Just note it down; it will be settled separately.”

“Ah... Yes! I’ll do that.”

“Thank you.”

With that, she took the coffee and walked back to Shin Yu-won leisurely.

“Meeting you here, huh?”

His eyes widened comically at the sight of her, which she found rather cute and endearing.

‘At least my daughter has good taste in men.’

She had initially intended to have a light conversation.

“Really, this is my first time here. It’s a department store that doesn’t feel like one.”

...But the conversation turned out to be quite interesting.

“A department store that doesn’t feel like one?”

Jeong Woo-hee asked in return.

Shin Yu-won looked up at the open ceiling and replied,

“It seems like this place wasn’t originally intended to be a department store.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“A department store is supposed to be a space with all kinds of items, right? The goal is to cram as many items as possible. But this place is different.”

“Is that so?”

Jeong Woo-hee pretended not to know.

Shin Yu-won pointed to the people passing by.

“Everyone looks so relaxed and leisurely. They’re not here to shop; they’re here to enjoy themselves.”

“Well, I’m here to enjoy myself too?”

“Exactly.”

Shin Yu-won pointed to a large booth beyond the waterfall.

“That place is called an art space, but when you go inside, it’s more like a playground. There are a lot of kids there.”

Just then, children burst out of the booth, laughing.

Jeong Woo-hee suppressed her delight and spoke in a serious tone,

“So, it doesn’t feel like a department store? Then what does it feel like?”

“Hmm, some people say it feels like an art gallery. But I think differently. It doesn’t try to look sophisticated like an art gallery. It’s more light-hearted, cheerful, and enjoyable...”

Jeong Woo-hee listened quietly to Shin Yu-won’s answer.

“A theme park? An amusement park? That’s the feeling I get.”

The answer she had been hoping for came back.

“Actually, I created a cafe with an amusement park concept. This place feels really similar to my cafe, which is why I like it.”

Shin Yu-won’s lively eyes.

Jeong Woo-hee couldn’t help but smile.

‘Ah, I’m satisfied.’

No more bowing and scraping.

Jeong Woo-hee changed the topic.

“I know you run a cafe. I saw a photo of you with my daughter, tagged in it.”

“Oh... Did you see that?”

“Yes, the Halloween photo.”

Had she only seen it?

She had liked it, commented on it, and even checked out all the photos on the tagged Amuse cafe account.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to show to your mother... It was Halloween, so...”

“What’s embarrassing about it? The photo?”

“Yes...”

“It’s a well-taken photo. What’s embarrassing? You should have fun when you’re young. If I went there, everyone would probably think I’m senile.”

“No! You’re incredibly beautiful! Chae-yeon looks just like you!”

Seeing the flustered Shin Yu-won,

Jeong Woo-hee chuckled inwardly and said,

“Alright. By the way, Chae-yeon was quite drunk that day... Thank you for bringing her home safely.”

In fact, there was another reason she was grateful.

While her daughter’s chatter about the party late into the night was annoying, it was also heartwarming.

“You’re welcome. It was my duty.”

Shin Yu-won replied matter-of-factly.

Jeong Woo-hee stood up.

“Oh, I’ve taken up too much of your time. I’ll go first. Enjoy the rest of your time here, Yu-won.”

“Ah, yes! It was nice meeting you again. Would you like my contact information?”

“Contact information?”

“Yes, if you’re worried about Chae-yeon when she’s out, you can contact me.”

Jeong Woo-hee waved her hand.

She didn’t want to exchange contact information, fearing that Shin Yu-won might find out her personal information and what complaints her daughter might have.

“No, that’s fine.”

“Ah, yes.”

“See you next time.”

“Yes, be careful on your way out!”

Shin Yu-won bowed.

Jeong Woo-hee took a step forward and then turned around.

“Yu-won.”

“Yes.”

“Can I visit your cafe once?”

Shin Yu-won replied immediately.

“Of course! Please come with Chae-yeon.”

“Haha, I will.”

Jeong Woo-hee left the lobby and immediately called someone as soon as she got into her waiting car.

“Ah, Kim Executive, I have a question. Which of our Yeouido branch pop-up stores closes the earliest? Ah, I see. Got it.”

Then she turned her gaze to the window.

The Han River, sparkling brilliantly.

Beyond it, the landmark, ...

While planning this, the largest department store in Korea,

She had often told her executives,

“Please, don’t think of this as building a department store. We are creating a theme park in Yeouido, understand?”

She hadn’t expected to hear the same words from that young man.

‘What an interesting guy.’

Last time, he had been so brave in front of Chae-yeon.

Today, he was shy and fumbling in front of her, which she found endearing.

‘I don’t like it when people are too casual with me.’

She had heard that he ran a cafe after leaving the company.

He seemed to have a good sense of style and a big vision.

And...

‘He said his cafe feels similar to the largest department store in Korea? Ha, I’m impressed.’

Was he being sincere?

Or did he have that much pride in his small cafe...

‘No, considering he bought a house, he must be doing more than just running a cafe.’

Should she have someone investigate him further?

No, to be precise, she wanted to know more.

About whether he would be a suitable person.

‘...Chae-yeon probably has no interest in business, of course.’

Jeong Woo-hee shook her head.

‘No, don’t think too far ahead.’

For now, it was about the two of them.

Not about business.

Jeong Woo-hee just wanted something good to happen to her daughter.

---

It’s one minute before the Amuse Cold Brew launch.

A few days had passed.

I had to pour all my time into setting up the production facilities.

Contrary to my initial assumption that I just needed to set up a cold brew extractor, there were many things to consider.

And today was the day.

The cold brew manufacturing plant was fully equipped.

Chug, chug—

Chug, chug—

I watched the automatic tapping machine and label packaging machine operate smoothly and almost fell onto the green floor.

But this was a clean room.

I couldn’t roll around in my sanitary suit.

“Phew!”

Looking around, it finally felt like a real factory.

“Good job, good job...”

Choi Jung-hyun’s help was invaluable.

The first food production plant of Ilpum Korea in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

It was a huge favor for them to provide me with a clean room and basic facilities.

The structure was perfect.

From the hygiene anteroom to the bean storage and grinding room, coffee extraction room, and UV sterilization storage room.

It was a space where all processes from bean intake to product shipment could be handled.

‘Mr. Choi, you’re a lifesaver!’

Of course, from there, it was all me and Tamcoco.

I bought a large roaster, a large grinder, a sterilization dripper, and a tamper for the bean storage and grinding room.

──Rorororo!

──Pewpewpew!

The 15 state-of-the-art cold brew extractors in the extraction room were made by Tamcoco.

‘Thanks to Hot Hand, I saved a lot of money.’

I only bought two.

I fed one to Tamcoco, brought it here, and activated “Hot Hand.”

Then, I infinitely tempered it, just like with