Chapter 121
Chapter 121
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: VIP Treatment and Gifts
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The situation had settled down for now.
President Jeong had handled everything perfectly, and Ms. Yoon seemed quite satisfied.
And most importantly, Daeun was bravely powering through it.
Swish.
At that moment, Ms. Yoon quietly approached and asked,
"Painter Lee Kanghyeok."
"Yes?"
"Are you okay?"
"Me? Y-Yeah, me?"
"Yes."
I gave an awkward smile in response to Ms. Yoon's question about whether I was alright.
"Psh, of course I'm fine. It doesn't bother me at all."
"It seems like it does."
"Yeah?"
"Even if it was just a verbal fight, it must have taken an emotional toll."
It seemed Ms. Yoon was a bit worried about me like this.
Well, yeah—I couldn't stand seeing Daeun get hurt and had charged in just like back in my university days.
Of course, there probably were better ways to handle it, but at the time, this felt like the best option.
"I'm really fine. If anything, I'm just disappointed I didn't push back harder."
At my words, Ms. Yoon responded with a look of surprise.
"I never knew Painter Lee Kanghyeok had this side to him. It's cool."
"Yeah?"
"Not shying away from a fight for his daughter. I already liked you, but I'm starting to like Painter Lee Kanghyeok even more."
Hahaha, well now.
I'd known she liked me for a while, but was it just my imagination that it was starting to feel a bit burdensome?
"I was just doing it for Daeun."
"Yes, and that's exactly why it's so cool."
With that, Ms. Yoon called out to Daeun, who had been walking ahead with President Jeong, and asked,
"What about you, Miss Daeun? Do you like Painter Lee Kanghyeok?"
At those words, Daeun spun around with a hop and said,
"Yes! Daeun really, really likes Daddy! And Daddy is super cool!"
President Jeong, standing beside her, smiled and chimed in at Daeun's words.
"Oh my, I like Painter Lee Kanghyeok too, so that means everyone here likes him."
"Wow! That's awesome!"
Wow, they were really going all out to embarrass me. Just how much more did they plan to fluster me?
I laughed awkwardly and tried to quickly change the subject to escape the situation.
"Haha, uh, anyway—where are we headed now?"
Ms. Yoon answered my question.
"To buy those clothes we couldn't get because of the commotion."
"Oh, right—we were about to line up when the incident happened, so we didn't even get to go in."
There had been a ton of people earlier, so it looked like we'd have to wait in line for quite a while again.
But there was no other choice.
"Yeah, we have a lot to pick out, so keep an eye out."
"Wait, me? I-I'm not sure if I can pick well for you, Ms. Yoon..."
"You'll do fine."
"Yeah."
Ms. Yoon made that somewhat vague comment and headed toward the store we'd tried to enter before.
Step.
A short while later, we arrived at the store, where a huge line of people was waiting, as expected.
"Then I'll go ahead and hold our spot in line."
President Jeong smiled and said,
"No need for that, Painter Lee."
"Yeah?"
"You don't have to wait in line."
Smiling as she spoke, she walked straight toward the store entrance.
The guard who had blocked us earlier spotted President Jeong and jumped in surprise, quickly making way.
And just like that, we were able to enter alongside the line without waiting.
'Hmm, is this really okay?'
It felt like cutting in line, and the stares from the other people made me uncomfortable.
But Ms. Yoon and President Jeong didn't seem to care at all as they strode confidently inside.
A moment later, a middle-aged woman who appeared to be the luxury boutique's manager hurried out.
"General President, you've arrived."
"Yes. These guests want to shop, so I've come to escort them personally. They are very important VIPs to the department store. Could you ensure they have no inconveniences while shopping?"
The manager nodded briskly and replied,
"Of course. We'll serve them with the utmost courtesy, without a hint of discomfort."
Glance.
At her words, every eye in the store turned toward us.
Among them were some who'd been waiting in line at the entrance during the earlier commotion.
Naturally, they recognized us, and the way they looked at us changed.
'Stares that change based on what you're wearing.'
It was a bit bitter, but this was reality.
Just then, President Jeong turned to us and said,
"Then please shop comfortably, and if you need anything else, just call for me. I won't go far, so I can rush right over."
For the general president to go this far.
Everyone in the store seemed to be seeing Ms. Yoon and the rest of us in a new light.
"Then, Miss Daeun, shall we go look around together?"
"Yes! Pretty auntie!"
With that, Ms. Yoon took Daeun's hand and went deeper into the store. I watched their backs for a moment before turning to President Jeong, who had approached me.
"I hope we're not causing you any trouble."
"Trouble? Guiding customers is my job, and making sure they shop comfortably is part of it too."
Even at President Jeong's words, I smiled awkwardly and said,
"I'm just worried you might get in a tough spot because of us."
"Me, in a tough spot?"
"Yeah."
As I spoke, I glanced around.
There had been a commotion at the entrance.
Naturally, the people in line had recognized us, and their gazes had shifted.
But some of those looks weren't so friendly.
Especially the ones directed at President Jeong—they weren't exactly kind.
The reason was obvious without saying it.
"Hmm. Are you perhaps worried that people might think badly of me for using my position like this?"
I didn't want to think that way, but the situation made it hard not to.
But President Jeong seemed to think completely differently.
"Hmm, it seems Painter Lee Kanghyeok is under a big misunderstanding."
"Yeah?"
A misunderstanding? Me?
"Of course, given my position, I can certainly offer this level of perks.
No—actually, since we're already planning Miss Daeun's artist exhibition, I could provide this kind of shopping assistance even without Ms. Yoon here, if you wanted."
"Without Ms. Yoon?"
Something felt off about her words.
It was almost like she was saying all of this was because of Ms. Yoon.
At my question, President Jeong smiled brightly and said,
"Exactly as I said. All of this is a benefit from Ms. Yoon's VIP status."
"Yes?"
A benefit from VIP status?
There was no way Ms. Yoon, who was visiting Korea for the first time today, had VIP status at this department store.
But President Jeong's next words made everything click.
"While I was sorting out the earlier commotion, Ms. Yoon met the conditions for premium tier."
"P-Premium tier? You mean that condition..."
"It's the tier you get for purchases over 100 million won annually. Our department store's highest VIP level."
At those words, only one thought crossed my mind.
Ms. Yoon was indeed Ms. Yoon.
President Jeong stepped out of the store for a moment, saying she had some business.
I hurried inside, just in case Daeun might look for me.
The scene that greeted me brought a faint smile to my face.
'Good thing she seems okay.'
I'd been worried she might be shaken up from earlier, but thankfully, it didn't look too bad.
That said, I couldn't let my guard down completely.
Daeun was different from other kids—she was surprisingly deep for her age.
Not just because she was my daughter, but sometimes her offhand comments would catch me off guard.
Step.
As I approached with those thoughts, Ms. Yoon said,
"You're here."
"Yeah. Have you been shopping?"
"Yes. I got a few outfits for myself to wear in Korea, and one for my mom. I realized last night that it had been decades since I last saw her, and I was going empty-handed."
"Oh, right, yeah."
I should've at least grabbed a drink or something, but things had been too hectic, so I'd gone just as I was.
"I looked around just in case, and there were some things that seemed like a good fit. So I bought them on a whim, and also..."
"Oh? What else did you buy?"
She'd bought clothes and a gift.
But what else? Just then,
"Yes, I asked here just in case I wanted to buy it."
Step.
At that moment, an employee assigned as our shopping attendant by President Jeong approached and said politely,
"The children's clothing you mentioned is on the 7th floor, where you can browse our store along with other brands' kids' sections all at once."
Children's clothing? No way...
"Then, Miss Daeun, shall we head up to the 7th floor together?"
At those words, Daeun looked at me and asked,
"Daddy! Pretty auntie says she'll buy clothes for Daeun! Can Daeun go?"
Swish.
It seemed Ms. Yoon wanted to buy clothes for Daeun.
Well, given what happened earlier, it made sense.
'This is tricky.'
No matter how wealthy Ms. Yoon was, that money wasn't ours. And nothing in this world was free.
I understood her intentions for wanting to buy clothes for Daeun, but I didn't want to just accept it blindly.
Swish.
'I'll turn it down this time.'
Clothes, of all things.
Even kids' items from a luxury brand would cost at least tens of thousands, up to hundreds of thousands or more.
I could stretch to buy them if I had to, but we didn't really need such expensive clothes.
Swish.
Instead of answering Daeun, I looked at Ms. Yoon and said,
"Um, Ms. Yoon."
"Yes."
"If you're going up to buy clothes for Daeun, how about next time? Today is about you shopping, and besides..."
Daeun was listening beside me, so I couldn't refuse outright.
Still, I needed to convey my intent, so I tried to phrase it gently.
But Ms. Yoon didn't seem to grasp what I meant at all.
"No, I'm fine with it, so let's go up together and get clothes for Daeun."
Hmm, looks like I have to be direct.
Daeun was listening, but there was no other way.
In the end, I...
"Um, Ms. Yoon..."
I decided to be straightforward. But timing wasn't on my side, it seemed.
Click.
"Have you finished shopping?"
Having finished her business, President Jeong approached us with a smile.
The conversation naturally broke off, shifting to another topic.
"You're back."
"Yes, it looks like you've wrapped up your shopping."
"Yeah, thanks to you, it was easy."
"Thanks to me? As our department store's top-tier VIP, this is the least we can do."
Anyone who paid 100 million won in one go would get this treatment, right?
Just then, Daeun asked me again.
"Daddy! Can Daeun go buy clothes?"
"Oh, clothes..."
With the mood leaning that way, she was asking again. Ms. Yoon saw my reaction and asked,
"Is it bothering you that I'm gifting clothes?"
"Yeah."
Ms. Yoon furrowed her brow slightly.
"If that's really the case, I'll be pretty disappointed."
"Yes?"
Disappointed? Sure, I'd thought of it as incurring a debt, but wasn't it more of a heartfelt obligation?
You know, that emotional debt kind of thing...
"Thanks to Painter Lee Kanghyeok, my life has changed so much, and if you won't even let me give this one gift, I'll... get mad."
It seemed like Ms. Yoon was the one who felt indebted to me, not the other way around.
And my kind-hearted Daeun, more than anyone...
"Daddy! Daeun wants to go buy clothes with pretty auntie!"
Was trying to ease Ms. Yoon's feelings, even if just a little.
In the end, I...
Smile.
Couldn't win against these two.
"Alright, let's go. Let's buy some clothes."