Chapter 21. Festival

"Oh, my children are here. Come on in."

Seeing the elders warmly welcoming Yeonwoo and his family, a smile spread across Yeonwoo's face.

According to his younger brother, his uncle and aunt had always doted on Yeonwoo and Sohyun, praising how well they ate since they were young.

"Oh, is this really Yeonwoo? I've seen you on TV, of course."

"Hello, how have you been?"

The sound of commotion brought out the grandmother from the kitchen, who clapped and greeted Yeonwoo and Sohyun, and Yeonwoo naturally entered the living room, greeting everyone.

"Oh, brother. You're still recovering from shoulder surgery, yet you're already cooking?"

Yeonwoo's mother, upon arrival, immediately put down her luggage and rolled up her sleeves.

"Oh, Yeonwoo's mother. Take a rest. You just got here, and you have plenty of time."

"You know my personality, right? It's better to finish quickly."

The grandmother and mother went into the kitchen, and after Yeonwoo greeted the other adults who had arrived earlier, he rolled up his sleeves and followed them into the kitchen.

"Sohyun, come on. Help with the food."

"Okay."

At Yeonwoo's call, Sohyun also followed into the kitchen.

Watching this, the uncle whispered to Cheolwoong.

"How did he change so much? He really grew up well."

"Brother, kids change and grow quickly. Hahaha."

Praising his well-grown son, Cheolwoong's shoulders rose, and he beamed.

As other relatives arrived, Yeonwoo was undoubtedly the main topic of conversation.

The elders took out their smartphones, saying that the Ryu family had produced a fine person, and awkwardly posed for photos.

Every word Yeonwoo said was eagerly listened to by the relatives.

The warm atmosphere continued until the arrival of the Ryu family's villain, the "younger uncle and aunt."

Ryu Jeongwoong is the youngest brother of Ryu Cheolwoong.

Unlike his older brothers, who generally excelled in studies, he wandered around doing odd jobs and only started a successful wholesale clothing business in Dongdaemun in his forties, which brought him considerable wealth.

However, his late mother always favored his older brother, a civil servant, saying he worked hard for the country and often took care of him first.

"I pay the most for family expenses, yet why do you always take care of Cheolwoong? Working for the country, my foot. Is he the president or something? He's just an ordinary civil servant, so what kind of country work is that?"

The resentment grew over time, and after his mother's passing, Ryu Jeongwoong took out his frustration inappropriately.

While Cheolwoong's overweight son couldn't even act like a proper person, often staying in his room during festivals and barely greeting anyone, his own daughter was well-behaved and received all the elders' affection.

Not content with this, every year during the Lunar New Year or Chuseok, he would pick on Cheolwoong's son Yeonwoo, telling him to lose weight and learn to greet properly, thereby relieving his stress.

The younger uncle and aunt arrived late, just as the food was almost ready, in a way that seemed deliberately timed.

Thinking it was just the youngest brother's bad habit, the gathered relatives welcomed them without showing their displeasure, after all, it was a festival.

"Here, take this gift set, brother. Hey, be careful with that expensive soju. It's worth a lot. Sigh."

As soon as they entered, Jeongwoong started complaining to his second son, Ryu Jinwoo, who ran to take the heavy gifts.

Jinwoo's expression naturally turned sour.

At that moment, Sohyun, who had been watching, spoke clearly.

"Younger uncle, 'soju' is an incorrect term. It's a remnant of Japanese influence. The teacher said to use 'cheongju.'"

"···What? Whether it's soju or cheongju, it's the same."

Jeongwoong's wife, Yeom Sukkyung, glared at Sohyun and supported her husband.

Muttering, "That family is just..." she entered the living room and looked around.

"Where is Yeonwoo? This kid is on TV a bit, but he doesn't even come out to greet his younger uncle?"

Jeongwoong, thinking it was a joke, spoke with a sly smile, but the gathered relatives didn't like it.

At that moment, the grandmother, who had been cooking, came out, rubbing her sore limbs.

"Hey, this kid is different. He came early to help with the cooking and is now cleaning the oil from the balcony."

Glaring at Jeongwoong and Yeom Sukkyung, who were avoiding eye contact, the grandmother spoke.

"Oh, sister-in-law. What can you do when you're busy? Why do you speak like that?"

"Tsk, the son of a man without manners. I've been taking care of you since I was nineteen, bringing your lunch to school."

The grandmother, who had been looking at Yeonwoo with warm eyes, now clicked her tongue.

"Again, you're bringing up that story."

Shaking his head, Jeongwoong headed to the balcony.

"Those rude kids! Why are all the men in the Ryu family so weak and let that kid do as he pleases?"

The grandmother, sitting on the sofa, glared at the Ryu brothers, and they all turned their heads, pretending not to hear.

Meanwhile, Yeonwoo, who was cleaning the oil from the pan on the balcony, looked up as the door opened.

'That must be the younger uncle. According to Sohyun, he's a real pain.'

Recalling the face from the photo he had studied the day before, Yeonwoo greeted him.

"Hello, younger uncle."

"Oh, you look completely different. I couldn't recognize you."

Jeongwoong looked up and down, trying to find something to criticize, but found nothing.

"Your mother must have been badmouthing your younger aunt to the grandmother, saying you were late. You heard it while cooking, didn't you?"

"···Yes?"

As the saying goes, the thief feels guilty. No one had mentioned the younger uncle and aunt while cooking, but Jeongwoong glared with suspicion.

"And when an elder comes in, you should come out quickly to greet them. Honestly, your manners are terrible."

"Ah, I'm sorry. I was focused on the dishes and didn't realize you were here."

"You didn't realize, or you pretended not to?"

After being reborn in a new body, Yeonwoo found it refreshing to see such overt hostility, given that everyone had been treating him kindly due to his good looks.

"Hey, this kid is looking at me straight in the eye now that he's doing well? Maybe I should give him a good punch to put him in his place?"

Yeonwoo chuckled at the absurd situation. It seemed the relationship between the younger uncle and Yeonwoo was more one-sided than Sohyun knew.

Yeonwoo took off his rubber gloves and stood up.

"What do you mean by that?"

Feeling an unwarranted hostility for the first time in a long time, Yeonwoo tilted his head and stared at Jeongwoong with a deep, piercing gaze, reminiscent of his days on the battlefield.

This was different from the angry expression he had shown during his first acting test with Jung Chulmin.

Like a fierce dog urinating when a butcher appears, the aura of countless experiences.

"Ugh, ugh!"

Suddenly feeling scared, Jeongwoong took a step back and stumbled, stepping on a flower pot stand and falling backward.

Bang!

"Hmm, are you okay, younger uncle?"

Yeonwoo watched him fall and asked in a flat tone.

Hearing the loud noise, the family elders rushed to the balcony.

"What? Why did you go out there and fall alone? Are you hurt?"

Yeonwoo's father, Cheolwoong, checked on his brother.

The grandmother, who had rushed to the balcony, was red-faced and waving her arms.

"You scoundrel! Now you've broken my favorite flower pot, which I've had for over 40 years since I got married. Do you want to fight with me now?"

"No, no. It was Yeonwoo just now."

Jeongwoong, looking indignant, pointed at Yeonwoo, but he had nothing to say.

Yeonwoo had just stood up and greeted him.

"You rotten kid! I've been watching to see what you'd do to Yeonwoo, and you're making excuses again?"

The grandmother, who was very angry, picked up a broom from the balcony despite her sore arm, and the family elders all rushed to stop her.

Jeongwoong, who had fallen and been covered in dirt from the flower pot, said he would go clean up and change clothes, and left with his wife. He returned quietly the next morning for the ancestral rites and left again quickly after the ceremony, not even looking at Yeonwoo.

Yeonwoo distributed envelopes with money to the elders, and his parents, seeing their son giving out money to the family elders, quietly shed tears, wondering when he had grown so much.

***

The first day of March.

A national holiday, Samiljeol, and a special day for Yeonwoo personally.

The day of the final episode party for "Summer's Closet," which started airing on January 3rd.

He had been informed about attending the party and had already informed his school, as it would be difficult to attend school the next day.

Around two o'clock, a van arrived to pick up Yeonwoo from his house.

Yeonwoo, heading out for his first official schedule in a while, walked out of the apartment complex and approached the car, which opened its door for him.

"Hello."

"Hello, actor Ryu Yeonwoo. I'm your new manager, Kim Minsoo."

Yeonwoo got in, and Minsoo greeted him formally.

"Yes, nice to meet you, Minsoo. Please speak informally."

"Ah, if you don't mind, I'm more comfortable speaking formally..."

Yeonwoo nodded at Minsoo's words.

Everyone has their preferences.

"Ah, sure, do what you're comfortable with."

"Understood. We'll head to Seoul first and visit a shop."

"Got it!"

Kim Minsoo drove smoothly, took the Central Expressway, and after a while, asked Yeonwoo.