Chapter 23. Reward Vacation

- Ryu Yeonwoo: "Thanks for always supporting us. I'll be back at school from the 3rd, see you there!"

- Woo Sungshik: "Oh, Yeonwoo is finally coming back?"

- Hwang Jinhyun: "Yeonwoo, how long are you going to be back at school this time? The kids in 4th period keep beating us at soccer. Come and score some goals!"

As soon as Yeonwoo posted the message in the group chat, messages and smiley emojis from friends started pouring in one after another.

The farewell party continued late into the night, with some going to a second venue and others heading home. Yeonwoo, being a minor, left early.

"Mr. Min, did you wait long?"

"No, I just got back from dropping off stylist Yeeun near her house."

Min drove Yeonwoo to the office apartment owned by the agency and dropped him off before heading home.

"Phew, my first drama is finally over."

Yeonwoo felt a mix of relief and nostalgia as he finished his first work. He still couldn't believe he had appeared in a drama. In his past life, he had only been an extra playing a passerby.

"Will I get used to this feeling after a few more works?"

Despite the late hour, a vague sense of emptiness made him lie in bed, aimlessly searching for information about Yooim's wardrobe on his smartphone before falling asleep.

The next day, around lunchtime, manager Min came to pick up Yeonwoo again.

"Have you eaten, sir?"

"No, how about you, Min?"

"I haven't either. Let's grab a quick breakfast and then head out."

"Hey, I'm still a student. I haven't even had a drink. But I do like hangover soup."

Kim Min, who often forgets that Yeonwoo is a minor because of his mature demeanor, nodded and led him to a restaurant he frequents.

After having breakfast and lunch at a nearby restaurant, they headed to Daejeon.

Min's car arrived at Yeonwoo's parents' apartment.

"Hey, Min, do you want to come in? I can offer you some juice."

"No, I'll wait by the elevator. Take your time."

Yeonwoo entered his home, opened the door lock, and went in to retrieve his passport, which he needed to submit to the company for the reward vacation trip.

Fortunately, he had a passport made along with his resident registration card when he turned 17 last year.

His mother had already placed the new passport on the dining table as per his request the previous day. Yeonwoo picked it up and came out.

"Here's my passport. Thanks for coming all the way to Daejeon today."

"Going back and forth between Seoul and Busan is part of my job. Daejeon is relatively close."

Yeonwoo handed the passport to Min with a bright smile.

"Probably, the company will apply for the travel visa online, so there won't be anything else you need to do. See you on the 7th."

"Sure. Drive safely."

Min left, saying he would come on the day of departure, and Yeonwoo spent the day as usual, preparing for school and exercising.

The next morning, Yeonwoo arrived at school in his father Chulwoong's car.

As he got out of the car and passed through the school gate, screams from female students echoed from all directions, and they rushed over.

"Wow, it's Ryu Yeonwoo."

"Ah! What do I do!"

Seeing that more than half of the faces were unfamiliar, they seemed to be freshmen.

"Hello. Yes, hello."

Yeonwoo shook hands, made eye contact, and greeted the students.

The entrance was suddenly turned into a chaotic scene due to the swarm of juniors.

"Wow, I just made eye contact with him."

"No way, he looked at me."

Among the bickering, a confident freshman named Yesol pushed her way through.

"He even held my hand."

"Amazing."

Everyone raised their smartphones, turned on the cameras, and started taking pictures of Yeonwoo.

In a high school located in a local area, a celebrity senior was an irresistible topic of interest for the freshmen.

Beep!

"What's going on?!"

Seeing the students gathered at the entrance, the student affairs teacher, thinking it was a fight, blew the whistle and ran over. Upon seeing Yeonwoo surrounded by students, he pushed through the crowd.

"Hey, hello, teacher."

The teacher, noticing Yeonwoo's slightly awkward smile, quickly understood the situation and, like a manager, wrapped his arm around Yeonwoo's shoulder and guided him through the crowd to the main building.

"Hey, move! How can you prevent your senior from entering the school?"

Yeonwoo, who arrived safely at the main building with the teacher, headed to the newly assigned 3rd-year classroom and reunited with familiar friends.

"Yeonwoo, it feels like we haven't seen each other in ages."

"Oh, Yeonwoo and I are in the same class. Yay!"

Unlike his friends who consistently came to school for self-study during the break, Yeonwoo hadn't seen these friends for nearly three months.

"Indeed, it's been three months already."

At that moment, Junsu approached and put his arm around Yeonwoo's shoulder.

"Yeonwoo, only Sungshik is in the next class. Hahaha."

"Ah, I must be disappointed to be separated from everyone else."

Yeonwoo's comment made Junsu shake his head.

"Come on, you know him. He's not the type to be alone."

Indeed, Sungshik is a social butterfly who is friends with everyone in the school.

"Yeonwoo, is Han Sohyun really that beautiful?"

"Have you met any girl groups? Who did you meet?"

Friends gathered around Yeonwoo, bombarding him with questions typical of enthusiastic high school boys.

Yeonwoo smiled and answered each question carefully, and the class erupted in intermittent "Oh!"s.

"Quiet! Let's start the class. Class president."

The teacher entered and the class began. Yeonwoo, who would be absent for a few more days due to the reward vacation, focused on his studies while at school.

"Yeonwoo, why are you studying so hard? You're a celebrity now, after all."

"Well, there's nothing else to do at school. You should study too. It's a student's duty, and you might regret it later."

"Ugh, sometimes you sound like my dad."

Junsu shook his head at Yeonwoo.

***

"Son, did you pack the red pepper paste?"

"Haha, I'm good with foreign food. It's fine."

After a few days of school life, the day of departure arrived.

Yeonwoo, who had been trying to stop his mother from packing red pepper paste, instant noodles, and other items, left home early in the morning.

A van was waiting in front of the still dim house.

"Min, thanks for coming so early. I'm sorry for the trouble."

Yeonwoo's words made Min smile.

"It's no trouble. Thanks to you, I get to go to Hawaii, so I'm thrilled. Haha."

Min, who seemed to have a natural talent for being a manager, found it boring to sit in the office and do paperwork.

"Alright, let's go."

Min, known for his smooth driving, headed quickly towards Seoul and picked up stylist Yeeun, who was waiting with a bundle of clothes in Gangnam.

"Yeeun, hello. Was it heavy to hold all this?"

Yeonwoo, with a slightly apologetic smile, made Yeeun's early morning fatigue disappear.

"No, not at all!"

"Please speak informally. We've known each other for a long time."

Yeonwoo's words made Yeeun's cheeks flush, and she nodded.

"Alright, Yeonwoo. Do you want to change into this first? It's better to do your hair after changing."

Yeonwoo took the clothes Yeeun offered and quickly changed on the spot.

Yeeun, letting out a slight scream, covered her eyes and peeked through her fingers at Yeonwoo's upper body muscles.

"Are you done?"

"Yes, I've changed. Yeeun, if my stylist is embarrassed by me changing clothes, what would I do?"

Yeonwoo's words made Yeeun fidget with her fingers.

"Well, I've only worked with established actors and actresses before..."

Yeeun, though embarrassed, quickly started styling Yeonwoo's hair professionally.

"I'm not a hair specialist, so I'll just do a clean look. You look good in anything."

"Sure, I don't need makeup for the long flight."

Yeonwoo's smooth skin made Yeeun nod and apply only basic moisturizer.

"Are those reporters? They seem to be gathered there. Hmm, I'll park here."

The van, which had arrived at Incheon Airport, stopped near Gate 8, where reporters were gathered.

Min quickly got out and helped Yeonwoo with his carry-on luggage.

"Yeeun, wait a moment. Someone from the company will come to pick up the car."

Yeonwoo, who followed, took his luggage and thanked Yeeun, saying he would have a good trip.

Standing on the small crosswalk in front of the gate, the reporters' flashbulbs went off, and passing travelers also noticed Yeonwoo and raised their phones.

The green light soon turned on, and Yeonwoo crossed the crosswalk, greeting the reporters and fans.

"Hello, I'll have a good trip."

Yeonwoo, with Min's assistance, entered the airport.

"Watch out for the pillar behind you. The pillar."

Min, warning the fans who were taking pictures of Yeonwoo while backing up, headed straight to the boarding area.

"Here, I'll check you in. Sir, there are fans over there."

Min, holding Yeonwoo's passport and luggage, pointed to the fans waving from the other side of the glass.

Yeonwoo, in response, made a heart with his fingers to the fans waiting until the last moment and completed the boarding procedures.

"Sir, the company said to go to Lounge B, but I don't come to the airport often, so please wait a moment."

"Min, this way."

Yeonwoo, who had traveled abroad frequently during his time in the National Intelligence Service, was familiar with most airports in the world.

When they arrived at the lounge, other people were already there.

"Hey, Yeonwoo, over here."

An Junho, waving his hand.

Min also went to the next table to greet the managers of the other actors he would be traveling with.

"Yeonwoo, are you here?"

"Yes. Sohyun, are you not feeling well?"

Han Sohyun, who usually has a lively demeanor, seemed down.

"Ugh... I'm afraid of flying."

Han Sohyun, who had been afraid of flying since experiencing severe turbulence as a child, rarely traveled abroad.

Yeonwoo, comforting her, soon it was time to leave, and they left the lounge to complete the boarding procedures.