A Chairman Who Has No Regrets - Chapter 172



Only Noblemtl

Episode 172 – Leverkusen (7)

Kimchi in Germany.

I naturally stuck out my lips and followed my mother and sisters.

“Oh my, there’s cabbage- there’s cabbage!”

What’s so exciting?

“This speed is okay-”

“Mom, look over there. Is that an onion? A green onion? It looks really weird.”

“Oh my- I guess I’ll have to try this to know if it’s green onion or not. Green onion kimchi is also delicious.”

Why do I get excited about that part?

“How much is it?”

“Hey, Mom, 1kg is 8,000 won?”

“What? It’s that expensive?”

“Oh my… Then, should I just buy 5kg?”

“Three thousand won for a head of cabbage?”

“Oh my… I’ll just buy twenty bundles.”

With strides.

From tens of thousands of won to hundreds of thousands of won.

My mother’s wallet was wide open.

“No- why do you save every penny when buying gifts, and don’t let us eat your own food, but spend so much money on kimchi?”

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand it, so I asked. My mother and sisters were just snickering, as if they couldn’t hear me. Why on earth do I feel so energized and happy when I think about making kimchi?

“son-”

“Oh, Mom.”

“Tell me the address, the address.”

“address?”

“Oh my- how are you carrying this heavy thing? I have to have it delivered-”

“No, can you deliver it?”

Contrary to what I thought.

The merchants say with a snicker.

“Delivery okay.”

No, don’t say okay in short English.

It’s as if I’m living in a different world all by myself, and my mother, the merchants, and my older sisters all conspire to make fun of me.

There was a brief moment when I wondered if this was right.

“I don’t know the address either.”

“Huh? I heard you were at Chaboom’s?”

“No, how would you know my address if I said I was there? I just followed him.”

“Oh my – that guy who just talks is following along like crazy.”

I am speechless at my little sister’s nagging.

I didn’t follow the candy-giving man. I followed Cha Boom because he was a player.

“Oh! Cha-boom!”

Suddenly the merchant reacts loudly and asks in broken English.

“Are you Chaboom’s friend?”

“Oh, well, yeah. He’s my older brother.”

“Oh my god! You’re Chaboom’s little brother?”

Suddenly the market merchants became commotion.

“I’ll give it to you cheaply!”

“I’ll give you more!”

Some of those who knew English spoke right away, and those who didn’t know English exchanged words in German, such as “Chaboom something or other”, and then looked at me with bright, kind eyes and said:

“If you let me get your autograph, I’ll give you something extra!”

The sudden situation left her speechless for a moment. As the merchants were making a lot of noise here and there, the younger sister explained to her flustered mother what she had heard.

“Mom, Mom, the bosses here are giving us items at a discount and even giving us extras.”

“Oh my, why?”

“If he’s Cha Bum’s brother, then he’s also a brother to them?”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah, yeah. I think I can get it really cheap.”

As my little sister said.

Of course, it was more expensive than in Korea, but we were able to pay for the items for much less than the original amount discussed.

“Oh my, but there’s the problem of red pepper powder and salted seafood.”

I have a feeling that it will work out somehow.

“Is there a place around here where I can buy sea salt, red pepper powder, and salted seafood?”

The merchants are busy holding a meeting in response to my question.

“If you go over there, aren’t there some small shops where Korean merchants sell things?”

“That’s right! If you go towards the Korean community, you’ll find it.”

Thanks for the replies, the next question is the address.

“If it’s Chaboom’s house, I know it!”

What passionate fans you are.

They find and solve addresses that I don’t even know about.

“Are you sure about the signature, young man?”

Honestly, I’m not sure.

Somehow, I felt like Cha Geun-beom would readily accept my request.

“Yes, I will definitely take responsibility.”

It’s not that I’m giving it away cheaply or wanting to get something for free, let’s just say I’m a fellow fan.

“But doesn’t that mean you can’t make kimchi without salted seafood?”

“Oh my- I guess there are places that serve Korean food-”

Like my mother’s positive thinking.

It’s absolutely ridiculous.

“There’s salted meat?”

I was dumbfounded when I saw a Korean store that stocked not only fish sauce but also meat sauce.

“You’re going to take our car to the player’s house? Then I can’t just sit still! Just give me the cost price, just the cost price!”

Just telling him that he was from Korea made the Korean owner boast that he would give him a discount. Now, when he hears that he is going to Cha Geun-beom’s house, he confidently shouts that he only wants the cost price.

It was an incident that once again showed the status of Cha Geun-beom here in Leverkusen.

“Ah! If you’re going to make kimchi, don’t you need a tub?”

The mother opened her eyes wide at the president’s words and said.

“Oh my – it would be nice if there was one, but even if there was just plastic, it would be great -”

“Don’t worry! I’ll save them all!”

“Oh my gosh – I would be so grateful if you could do that!”

“Hehehe, I’m glad to see Player Cha’s face one more time while I’m at it. Don’t worry about returning it either, I’ll take care of it.”

“thank you-”

But I still had a hard time understanding why his mother and older sisters, who weren’t even that close to Cha Geun-beom, were so happy.

“Oh my- It’s done-”

My sisters and mother, as if they were tired, went into their rooms one after another.

It’s understandable that I would be tired after walking around here and there for four hours to find kimchi ingredients.

“I told you to travel like that…”

I shook my head as I watched my family members fall asleep without any response to what I said, and then I dragged my sore feet into the bathtub to fill it with water. I made that decision because I thought that my condition would improve if I soaked my body in warm water.

When the water in the bathtub just starts to fill.

Crunch.

The door opened and Taesu came in, his whole body drenched in sweat. His eyes looked dim, as if he had been training hard.

“I’m here.”

A guy who greets you as if he’s refreshed and has accomplished something.

“whatever.”

“……”

I ignored Taesu, who was looking at me with eyes that said, “Why are you like that? To me?”

It’s definitely not because I’m taking medicine.

“A guy who wants to be a soccer player is acting tired because of that? Huh? Is that right?”

“Oh my god.”

A guy who stutters because he feels so wronged.

“Run and come! Why are you crawling in so early? It’s only 8pm!”

“Hey- If you do that, I’ll die-”

“Have you tried it?”

“uh?”

“Have you tried it?”

“Uh… no?”

“Try it and tell me! Kids these days don’t have the guts, guts.”

“……”

Taesu, with his head bowed, grabbed onto his trembling legs and left the room.

I put my body in a bathtub filled with hot water.

“Hey!”

I got out of the tub and emptied the water after less than 5 minutes of feeling uneasy.

Then again, I started filling the bathtub with cool, cold water. They say cold water is more effective for muscle pain.

**

From the crack of dawn.

More precisely, it is still early morning.

It was only 8 AM, and I had actually gotten up earlier and gone jogging, so I packed up Taesu and his sisters and arrived in front of Cha Geun-beom’s house.

“No, I need to take care of my condition today.”

Taesu shook his head at my words.

“You wake up at 5:45 every morning, 365 days a year.”

“I see.”

“huh.”

Taesu’s eyes, which already seemed to show respect, were filled with excitement.

“But there’s a game in the afternoon, so wouldn’t today be different?”

“He said no.”

“okay…”

I wondered if it was the right time to come, but I had no choice. There was a game in the afternoon, so I had to put kimchi ingredients in Cha Geun-beom’s house before heading to the stadium in the morning.

Because there is nowhere else to retreat to.

Ding dong.

I rang the doorbell at Cha Geun-beom’s house.

After a while, Cha Geun-beom, wearing a tracksuit, opened the door and tilted his head.

“Why so early in the morning…”

Cha Geun-beom, who couldn’t finish his sentence after seeing his sisters and mother.

“Oh, that’s it.”

No matter how I think about it, I think it’s rude.

“Oh my- there it is-”

As if my mother’s words were some kind of signal.

The kimchi ingredients scheduled to arrive at 9 o’clock begin to arrive one after another in colorful trucks.

Cha Geun-beom and I just looked at the scene in an awkward posture.

“Hey, can you explain it to me?”

“haha.”

“Don’t laugh.”

At that moment, I was wondering how I should explain it.

“Daughters!”

“Yeah, Mom!”

“Oh, Mom!”

“Look at the ingredients.”

“huh!”

“uh!”

The older and younger sisters check the condition of the materials in the cargo hold of the truck that is arriving one after another.

And then the mother approaches Cha Geun-beom and bows politely to him.

“Oh my- Player Cha, you were surprised since morning, weren’t you?”

Cha Geun-beom also quickly bows and says hello.

“No, Mother, you are being too polite.”

“Oh my – you are promoting national prestige, so you deserve this kind of courtesy.”

“Oh my- What do I mean by promoting national prestige… I just do this to make a living.”

“Oh my- be humble, this is how things will go well-”

“Haha, thank you.”

Cha Geun-beom quickly straightens his back by holding his mother’s hand. His mother taps the back of his hand and continues speaking.

“Our Taesu, please take good care of me.”

“He is such a talented and passionate friend, he would do well anywhere even without me, Mom.”

“But, how can it be normal to take time out of your busy schedule to look after children? Even though I’m ignorant and couldn’t learn properly, being a teacher is really hard work, isn’t it?”

“Oh my… It’s not like that…”

“Wow- you have a good heart-”

To anyone who sees it, Taesu is his mother’s son.

My son is me.

Before I knew it, Taesu also found himself bowing his head deeply every time his mother bowed her head, asking for his help.

I shouldn’t have filled the bathtub with cold water yesterday.

“So, what is that, Mom?”

Cha Geun-beom asks, finally wondering.

“Thank you so much, but we don’t have anything we can do to repay you… When I asked my son, he said he likes kimchi.”

My mother spoke, patting me on the shoulder and looking very proud.

“Uh… It’s harder for Koreans to dislike kimchi… But, is that person Kang here, not Taesu here?”

That’s why.

I think the same as Cha Geun-beom.

He must also be thinking that our mother’s behavior, which is like Taesu’s mother, is unexpected.

“Oh my – it’s true that my son is Kang, but my son’s friend is also my son – right?”

“Oh, um, I see… Well, that’s not easy.”

“Hahaha, anyway, since we didn’t bring much, I’m going to pickle it for you.”

“Huh? Kimchi? Here?”

“Yes, fortunately, the ingredients were all available at the market.”

“Yes? I’m German.”

“Yes, there is.”

Cha Geun-beom blinks his eyes and then smiles.

What’s surprising is.

“Well, then the men should quickly use their strength.”

I don’t really hate it.

Rather, she is smiling brightly and swallowing her saliva at the thought of kimchi.

“Oh my – Player Cha, you have to play today – we’ll use the strength, so don’t worry.”

“Oh, no. It’s okay for Mom to move a little.”

“What! No!”

People’s attention was drawn to the shouts of the Korean owner who brought the meat in a barrel.

“What kind of game is today, Player Cha!”

Then he started talking to the delivery men and merchants who came with him in German. Suddenly, the merchants and merchants’ eyes lit up and he said,

“Player Cha, stay still!”

“Cha-boom! Don’t move!”

“Where! Where is there anything to exert effort on!”

“Let’s just get rid of guys like us!”

Why on earth?

Are you serious about making kimchi?

German or Korean.

“Please, please take good care of our Taesu.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Cha Geun-beom tapped Tae-soo on the shoulder and said.

“You should work harder?”

“Yes! I will work hard!”

“What else, until your bones turn to dust.”

I shook my head.

“There isn’t even enough powder.”