chapter 21

Chapter 21. Lunar New Year's Holiday

"Oh my, my babies are here! Come on in."

Yeon-woo smiled, warmed by the adults' welcoming greetings. According to his sister, his uncle and aunt had always doted on him and So-hyun, especially praising Yeon-woo's hearty appetite when he was younger.

"Oh my, is this really Yeon-woo? I saw you on TV, of course."

"Hello, how have you been?"

His aunt emerged from the kitchen, clapping her hands and greeting Yeon-woo and So-hyun. Yeon-woo greeted her naturally and entered the living room.

"Oh, my goodness, sister-in-law, you're already cooking? You're still recovering from your shoulder surgery." Yeon-woo's mother put down her bags and immediately started rolling up her sleeves.

"Oh, Yeon-woo's mom, relax. You just arrived; there's plenty of time."

"You know me, I like to get things done quickly."

Yeon-woo's mother and aunt went into the kitchen. Yeon-woo greeted the other relatives who had already arrived, then rolled up his sleeves and followed them into the kitchen.

"So-hyun, come on. Let's help with the cooking."

"Okay."

So-hyun followed Yeon-woo into the kitchen.

Yeon-woo's uncle whispered to Cheol-woong, "How did he change so much? He's grown into such a fine young man."

"Kids change and grow quickly, hyung, haha." Ryu Cheol-woong beamed, his shoulders rising with pride at his brother's praise for his son.

Other relatives arrived, and Yeon-woo was naturally the center of attention.

The older relatives, proud of the rising star in the Ryu family, took out their smartphones and awkwardly posed for pictures with him. They listened intently to every word he said.

The warm and friendly atmosphere continued until the arrival of the Ryu family's villains: Yeon-woo's uncle, Jeong-woong, and his family.

Ryu Jeong-woong was Ryu Cheol-woong's youngest brother. Unlike his older brothers, who had generally excelled in their studies, Jeong-woong had been a troublemaker in his youth. He had finally found success in his forties, running a wholesale clothing business in Dongdaemun, accumulating considerable wealth.

However, their deceased mother had always favored Cheol-woong, a civil servant, praising his "hard work for the country."

'I contribute the most to family events, so why does she always favor Cheol-woong? Working for the country, my foot. He's not the president; he's just an ordinary civil servant. What's so special about his job?'

His resentment towards his brother had only grown after their mother's death, and he often misdirected his frustration.

He resented Cheol-woong's son, Yeon-woo, for being overweight, gloomy, and socially awkward, often staying in his room during family gatherings and barely acknowledging his relatives. In contrast, Jeong-woong's own daughter was well-behaved and charming, earning everyone's affection.

Not content with this, he would often pick on Yeon-woo during holidays, telling him to lose weight and criticizing his manners, using it as an outlet for his frustration with his brother.

Jeong-woong and his wife arrived late in the evening, just as the food was almost ready.

The other relatives, attributing his behavior to his upbringing as the pampered youngest child, greeted them without showing any displeasure. It was a holiday, after all.

"Here, take this gift set, hyung. Hey, you! Be careful with that sake! Do you know how much it costs?" Jeong-woong immediately started with a complaint, directed at Jin-woo, his older brother's second son, who had rushed to help him with the gifts.

Jin-woo's expression soured.

So-hyun, who had been watching the scene unfold, spoke up, "Uncle, 'sake' is the wrong word. It's a Japanese term. My teacher said we should use 'cheongju.'"

"…What? Sake, cheongju, it's all the same." Jeong-woong's wife, Yeom Suk-kyung, glared at So-hyun, supporting her husband.

"That family…" she muttered, entering the living room and looking around. "Where's Yeon-woo? He's too good to greet his uncle now that he's on TV?" Jeong-woong said with a smug grin, thinking he was being funny. The other relatives, however, found his comment distasteful.

Just then, Yeon-woo's aunt emerged from the kitchen, rubbing her sore arm. "Unlike some people, he came early and helped with the cooking. He's cleaning the grease off the pans on the veranda now," she said, glaring at Ryu Jeong-woong and Yeom Suk-kyung.

"Oh, sister-in-law, I was busy with work, what could I do? Why are you saying it like that?"

"You ungrateful brat! I raised you, packing your lunches since I married into this family at nineteen!" Her tone towards Jeong-woong was a stark contrast to the warmth she had shown Yeon-woo.

"Not this again," Jeong-woong muttered, heading towards the veranda.

"That disrespectful… those Ryu men are all so spineless, letting him get away with everything!" She glared at her brothers-in-law sitting on the sofa, who pretended not to hear.

Yeon-woo was scrubbing grease off the frying pans on the veranda. He looked up as the door opened.

'That must be my uncle. The "annoying" one, as So-hyun calls him.' Recalling the photo he had studied the previous night, Yeon-woo greeted him, "Hello, Uncle."

"Oh ho, you look so different I almost didn't recognize you." Jeong-woong scrutinized Yeon-woo, looking for something to criticize, but he couldn't find any fault.

"Your mother must have badmouthed your aunt to your grandmother, complaining about us arriving late. You must have heard them while you were cooking, right?"

"…Sir?" Like a thief feeling guilty, Ryu Jeong-woong made assumptions, despite no one mentioning him or his wife during the cooking. He glared at Yeon-woo with suspicion.

"And you should have come out to greet your elders when we arrived. So disrespectful."

"I apologize. I was focused on washing the dishes and didn't realize you had arrived."

"Sure, you 'didn't realize.' You were just pretending."

Since his rebirth, everyone had been kind to Yeon-woo, perhaps due to his improved appearance. This blatant display of hostility was a novel experience.

"Oh? You're looking at your uncle directly in the eye now that you're a big shot? Should I smack you like I did last year to put you back in your place?"

The absurd situation made Yeon-woo chuckle. It seemed his uncle's relationship with the original Ryu Yeon-woo had been even more one-sided than So-hyun had described.

Yeon-woo took off his rubber gloves and stood up.

"What do you mean?"

The unfamiliar, unwarranted hostility triggered something within Yeon-woo. He unconsciously tilted his head and stared at Ryu Jeong-woong with the cold, abyss-like gaze he had honed in the field. This wasn't the practiced "anger" he had shown during his first acting test with Jung Chul-min. This was the aura of a man who had faced countless dangerous situations, an aura that could make even the fiercest dog cower.

"Gah!" A wave of fear washed over Jeong-woong. He instinctively stepped back, tripped over a plant pot stand, and fell.

Crash!

"Are you alright, Uncle?" Yeon-woo asked in a flat tone, watching him impassively.

Hearing the commotion, the other relatives rushed to the veranda.

"What happened? Why did you fall? Are you hurt?" Yeon-woo's father, Ryu Cheol-woong, checked on his younger brother.

His aunt, rushing onto the veranda, her face red with anger, pointed at Jeong-woong. "You good-for-nothing! You broke my favorite pot?! The one I've had since I got married, over forty years ago! Do you want to fight me?!"

"No, no, it was Yeon-woo, that brat…" Jeong-woong stammered, pointing at Yeon-woo, but he trailed off, realizing the absurdity of his accusation. Yeon-woo had simply stood up and greeted him.

"You rotten scoundrel! I was watching you the whole time, just in case you tried something with Yeon-woo! Don't you dare blame him!" Furious, his aunt, ignoring her sore arm, grabbed a broom. The other relatives intervened, preventing a physical altercation.

Jeong-woong, covered in dirt from the broken pot, left with his wife to clean up and change. They returned quietly the next morning, just in time for the ancestral rites. They avoided looking at Yeon-woo, performed the rites, and then quickly left again.

Yeon-woo distributed envelopes containing cash gifts to his older relatives. His parents, watching their son respectfully offering gifts, teared up, marveling at how much he had matured.

March 1st.

National Independence Movement Day, and a special day for Yeon-woo.

The wrap-up party for "Summer's Closet," which had premiered on January 3rd, was being held today.

He had been informed about the party in advance and had notified his school that he might be late for the first day of the new semester tomorrow.

Around 2 pm, a van arrived to pick him up.

Yeon-woo left his apartment for his first official schedule in a while. The automatic doors of the van opened as he approached.

"Hello."

"Hello, Actor Ryu Yeon-woo. I'm Kim Min-soo, your new manager." The manager greeted him respectfully as he got into the car.

"Nice to meet you, Min-soo hyung. Please, speak comfortably."

"Ah, if you don't mind, I prefer to speak formally…"

Yeon-woo nodded, respecting his preference.

"Alright, please do as you're comfortable with."

"Yes, we'll head to Seoul and stop by the salon first."

"Okay!"

Kim Min-soo drove smoothly onto the Jungbu Expressway. After driving for a while, he asked Yeon-woo,