OLGAF Ch 3
by DishaTae-joo didn’t immediately understand what Da-young meant, blinking once in confusion before bursting into laughter.
“Pfft.”
When it came to saying ridiculous things, no one could beat Yoo Da-young. If there were a world championship for audacity, she’d take gold without question.
“What, are you planning to track down my first love and grab her by the collar?”
In response, Da-young clenched both fists tightly and raised them in front of her with resolve.
“I can’t just leave an obstacle in my way. If it’s because of her, then I’ll deal with it myself. What else can I do? Even if it takes violence!”
Tae-joo was momentarily stunned. But then his eyes landed on her tiny, balled-up fists, and a sigh escaped him.
‘With those puny hands, who is she planning to fight?’
Forget his first love—Da-young would probably lose in a scuffle with a seven-year-old. Her hands were so small, it was almost absurd to think those same hands prepared food every day for hundreds of customers.
Still, if he stripped away their personal relationship and judged her purely on merit, he had to admit: Yoo Da-young was an impressive person.
Tae-san Construction, her father’s company, was running solidly, backed by strong internal structure and growth. She belonged to that rare class of people who could have easily lived her whole life as a pampered heiress, never touching a drop of dishwater.
And yet, she had stubbornly chosen to build something with her own two hands.
For that alone, she deserved respect.
But Tae-joo didn’t have the luxury to simply support and cheer for Da-young’s life from the sidelines.
“Come to Korea with me,” he said bluntly.
Da-young shot back immediately.
“Say you’ll marry me. Then I’ll go.”
“Hey!”
He snapped, but it was clear he was struggling not to laugh at this point. It kept slipping out, tugging at the corners of his mouth no matter how hard he tried to suppress it.
He couldn’t even remember exactly when it started. If he had to trace it back, it was probably sometime during Da-young’s high school days.
From that time on, she had persistently, endlessly told him to marry her.
‘Oppa, marry me.’
‘Oppa, don’t you want to marry me, have beautiful kids, and live happily ever after?’
At first, he’d just laughed. A cute kid with sparkling eyes talking about marriage—it was so absurd, it felt like a joke.
Later, he began pretending not to hear it. It wasn’t worth reacting to something that clearly had zero percent sincerity behind it.
Back then, Tae-joo had come into contact with Da-young’s grandmother, the now-deceased master of traditional Korean cuisine, Hah Sil-ja, quite by chance. After completing his military service, he became a frequent visitor to their home.
He’d known Da-young since she was in middle school, still in her school uniform. To Tae-joo, she was like a little sister.
He assumed Da-young felt the same. They saw each other so often, teasing each other had become second nature. So her talk of marriage had always felt like just another joke—nonsense for the sake of teasing. Maybe Da-young simply enjoyed watching Tae-joo get flustered every time she said it.
If Da-young had ever truly seen Tae-joo as a man—really, as a potential partner—this relationship would’ve ended long ago.
She only clung to him when he was right in front of her; the moment he was out of sight, she returned to living her life without hesitation. Since moving to Canada, she almost never contacted him first. And after opening her restaurant? She was even quieter.
In contrast, it was always Tae-joo who reached out first, calling her every so often to check in. Not frequently—about once a quarter, claiming it was a “survival check.”
If you looked at it objectively, it was Tae-joo’s occasional efforts that kept their connection alive at all.
And yet, the moment they met again, Da-young was back to talking about marriage as if no time had passed. It made Tae-joo think—she really is consistent, I’ll give her that.
“Don’t you think it’s about time you stopped with that kind of joke?”
He asked, but—
“You think I’m joking?” Da-young shot back without missing a beat.
Tae-joo figured it wasn’t even worth responding to that. Instead, he switched gears, pressing her more directly.
“I talked to your dad. Told him I’m going to bring you back to Korea, no matter what. He said to do whatever it takes.”
“Oh? So you’ve already got my dad’s blessing? What does he think about you as a son-in-law? While you were at it, did you negotiate the wedding gifts too? I mean, even if construction’s in a slump, Dad’s company seems to be doing just fine.”
“Ha… Yoo Da-young, seriously—”
Her shamelessness made the back of his neck stiffen. She looked completely unbothered, even amused, while he was the one internally combusting. Realizing this conversation was going nowhere, Tae-joo finally dropped all pretenses and asked, sincerely—
“Come work for our company. Help me out a little.”
“…Huh?”
One of Da-young’s strengths was knowing exactly when to push and when to step back. Instinctively, she sensed this wasn’t the time to keep joking about marriage—so she quieted down and waited for Tae-joo to continue.
“You know how easy it is to find NT franchise Korean restaurants anywhere in the world, right?”
“I know. Not in my neighborhood, but I’ve seen one in Toronto.”
“That’s not the point. Up until now, we’ve focused on fusion Korean cuisine. But I want to build a new brand that serves real, authentic Korean food. No shortcuts. I’m ready to take my time and do it right.”
As soon as she heard that, Da-young slowly nodded, like the pieces were starting to fall into place.
“So that’s why you need my doenjang-jjigae recipe?”
“Unfortunately, I’m too picky for my own good. I can’t claim we’re serious about this if I can’t even eat the food myself and feel satisfied. It’s not just the doenjang. I need your touch for the gochujang, the kimchi—everything.”
A long silence stretched between them.
“…”
Da-young sat still, not even breathing loudly, just quietly staring at Tae-joo while organizing her thoughts.
In truth, she’d more or less expected this ever since Tae-joo said he was flying to Canada. She figured he wanted to ask for something work-related.
She’d vaguely assumed it might be about opening a franchise branch in the area, or maybe he’d want some market data—but this wasn’t that. This was something much bigger.