A Family Dinner

After making himself presentable, Ryung headed for the dining room. His little sister, mother, and father were already seated around the circular mahogany table. When he saw the sizzling pile of pork shoulder arranged among a generous helping of side dishes, he gave a slight smile. At least the food was good tonight.

His sister looked up from her phone, waved at him, and glanced back down. She was probably playing one of her mobile games. He'd tried to encourage her to spend a little time each day doing something other than staring at a screen, but she could be unexpectedly stubborn. On the bright side, it was always easy to find her. If she wasn't hidden in her lair, doing something on a PC or laptop, she was in the living room, fooling around with the Playstation or Xbox.

"Son, how was your day?" His father gave him a genial smile. Given that he was still wearing his white coat, he must have just gotten home from the hospital.

"It wasn't bad, father. I experimented with some new colors today. And I think I finally have something worth using for the mountain peaks in my newest painting." Ryung pulled up a seat next his sister, across from his parents.

"That's great. I've heard from one of my patients that there's going to be an art exhibit at the East market this weekend. Have you considered showing your work?" his father asked.

"Don't encourage him. We've talked about this, you know." His mother interjected. She turned her hawk-eyed gaze on him. He met her eyes for a moment, then glanced away. It was sometimes unnerving how intense she could be. But, as a criminal prosecutor, it no doubt came in handy in the court room.

His father grinned, took a sip from his Soju glass, but said nothing.

"Ryung, do you have something else to share?" His mother inquired.

"No, not really." He picked up a pair of chopsticks, and placed some pork and pickled vegetables on his leaf, rolling it up carefully to make sure nothing escaped.

"There is a fine line between omitting evidence and lying, Ryung. Let me ask you again, do you have something to share?" He wasn't entirely sure where she was going with this, but he had a sneaking suspicion.

"Well, we did get our exam results today." He replied.

His mother nodded, "That's better. After noticing your lack of enthusiasm for informing me of certain particulars, I contacted the school, and told them to email me your test results."

"And how was your performance, Ryung?" She added.

Ryung paused for a moment to consider what he should say. Then he shrugged internally, "I'm satisfied with the results."

"You got a 'C' in world history, Ryung. A 'C'!" she said, accusingly.

"But I got an 'A' in painting," He snapped. As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it.

Despite his mother's diminutive stature, she seemed to grow larger. "You're lucky your father's favorite belt is in the wash now, as I'm inclined to give you a lesson in respect. Ryung, you are a man now, not a boy. Do you know the difference between a boy and a man?"

He could tell she was getting worked up. He looked pleadingly at his father, who was engrossed in admiring his crystal glass. No help there. "Sorry mother, I don't know. What is the difference between a boy and a man?"

"A man recognizes the practical realities of the world, and makes sound decisions based on the relevant considerations. However, a boy stumbles care free through life like those low life drunks who frolick in front of the subway station. You're not a loser, Ryung. So, stop acting like one."

At this point, he was sure anything he said would just make matters worse, so he remained silent.

"Dear, don't we have something to celebrate?" his father intervened. Ryung felt some of the tension seep out of him.

His mother's attitude shifted completely, and she looked gleefully at his sister. "Sweety, congratulations on placing first in the prefectural computer science contest. Ryung, your sister is going be an engineer. Now, that is a very respectable profession."

His sister's hair was obscuring her face, but she didn't seem to care. She looked up, "The algorithms were somewhat challenging, but I managed to come up with a couple clever optimizations on the time complexity."

"That's great, sis. I'm happy for you." He said, genuinely delighted. He didn't understand much about her hobby, but it was good their parents approved.

His mother pushed her chair back and stood up. "Let's go and tell your grandfather about this happy news." She gestured imperiously, and, dutifully, the rest of the family got up and followed her into grandfather's room, which happened to be adjacent to the dinning room.

Just inside the room, a large shrine of intricate faux gold was situated, with an enormous jade statue looming as the center piece. There were numerous burning sticks of cinnamon and clove incense; it was Ryung's responsibility to ensure they were always lit. His mother got very upset if the incense went out.

Ryung had always found the statue particularly creepy. Originally, it had been a museum piece, a Buddha, resting in tranquil repose. But his mother purchased it from the museum, and hired an artist to carve his grandfather's face in place of the original. The eyes were chips of amethyst. The mouth was open, his grandfather's favorite wooden pipe clenched between white quartz crystal teeth. On the statue's head, an old, worn, floppy fishing hat rested.

Ryung and his family kneeled on their designated mats.

"Lower your head, Ryung. Show proper respect to your grandfather!" His mother admonished.

He groaned under his breath, but complied. It was going to be a long night.