Chapter 132
Chapter 132
Translator: Penny
Chapter 132
I threw on some sweats, hastily smoothed down my hair, and checked Yoon Jeonga's real-time updates via text to gauge the situation.
[Yoon Jeonga - Grandfather is currently yelling at Second Eldest Uncle, calling you a jerk who deserves to be disowned. ] 9:11 AM
Yoon Jeonga - Second Eldest Uncle is looking for his coat, saying he's coming to get you.
[Yoon Jeonga - The New Year's bow is about to start. All the grandchildren are being called out. I can't use my phone anymore. ] 9:16 AM
For context, Yoon Jeonga's "Second Eldest Uncle" is my father.
[Me - Tell him there's no need to come get me. ] 9:17 AM
[Me - Also, tell him the family registry system was abolished, so he can't disown me even if he wanted to. ] 9:18 AM
After sending my last text to Yoon Jeonga, I video-called Grandfather.
His face, flushed crimson with anger, filled the entire screen.
"You! You disrespectful brat! I let you off last year because you were busy, but you're trying to skip it again this year!"
"Ah, why are you getting so worked up? I'm just calling to wish you a Happy New Year, Grandfather. And I'm still busy this year, you know."
I grumbled back at my grandfather, who had started scolding me the moment he saw my face. Feeling overwhelmed by how close his face was on the screen, I handed the phone to Ryu Jaehee.
"Jaehee, hold the phone for me. Get the angle right so you can see my whole body."
"Instead of rushing over here, what are you doing?"
"Video call New Year's bow. Times have changed, you know? We're in the digital age now. Analog is so outdated."
As I stood in front of the sofa giving instructions, Ryu Jaehee carefully adjusted the phone angle to capture my full figure.
"Hyung, Grandfather has gone silent..."
"It's okay, he's just speechless. He gets like this when something truly shocking happens."
I knew this well, having shocked him countless times before.
"Yehyeon Hyung, come stand next to me quickly. Jaehee, are you getting a good angle?"
At my gesture, Seo Yehyeon stumbled over and stood beside me, his face blank with confusion.
"But why me...?"
As Seo Yehyeon finally seemed to snap out of his daze and asked the question, I whispered in his ear, lowering my voice:
"We need to get our New Year's money."
"No, I'm really fine. Please don't make me feel even more stuffed after the buffet and the rice cake soup I had this morning."
Seo Yehyeon shook his head vigorously and tried to slip away, but I grabbed his arm and whispered again:
"At least 300,000 won."
The moment he heard that, Seo Yehyeon straightened up, a polite smile spreading across his face, and stood properly beside me with his hands clasped neatly in front of him.
I swallowed the bitter truth: a high school graduate like me only got 300,000 won, while my college-educated cousins received 500,000 won. This damned academic discrimination even tainted New Year's money.
Adjusting Ryu Jaehee's position again to ensure both of us were clearly visible on the screen, I fine-tuned the angle one last time.
"OMG, Oppa, is Yehyeon Oppa next to you? Is Yehyeon Oppa bowing too? Grandfather, can I just watch from the side for a minute?"
"Yoon Jeonga!" Aunt's sharp rebuke cut through the air. What kind of fan fervor could drive Yoon Jeonga, who normally trembled before Grandfather, to speak to him like that?
"Eden Oppa, can you hear me? Video call me later too! But make sure Yehyeon Oppa's face is on the screen, not yours!"
Listening to Yoon Jeonga's desperate, unwavering shouts, I quickly bowed deeply with Seo Yehyeon before Grandfather hung up.
"Happy New Year."
Should we do it too? Let's just do it now. Whispers rippled through the crowd behind us.
Happy New Year! The voices chimed in unison.
I followed Seo Yehyeon as he awkwardly rose to his feet. After taking the phone back from Ryu Jaehee, I held it at arm's length and faced my grandfather again.
"You can send the New Year's money to my account. And don't forget to triple the amount. You wouldn't take triple the money for someone else's kid and then try to weasel out of it, would you?"
There were only two of you bowing. Why triple the amount?
"One of us was working hard to adjust the phone angle. He deserves compensation for his efforts."
At my words, Ryu Jaehee gazed at me with deeply moved eyes.
"Look at yourself before asking for New Year's money! What's so admirable about a beggar-looking kid doing New Year's bows that I should give him money?"
I retorted coolly, now targeting my grandfather's criticism of my appearance.
"If you want to see me in hanbok doing New Year's greetings and bows, just check the Reve Official Channel on YouTube. It's mainly for the fans, but if you want to see your grandson bowing in hanbok, watch that. The greeting is 'May your health be well,' so it shouldn't offend you."
I had confirmed that the Lunar New Year greeting video, which the agency had filmed in hanbok at the studio before the holiday break, had been uploaded this morning. He could find it if he wanted to.
Of course, my grandfather would never bother to look.
"Anyway, please transfer the New Year's money."
"You ungrateful brat! Do you think your grandfather is your personal wallet?"
"Yes, what was that? You want a second diss rap? I can freestyle one right now."
The call abruptly ended.
"Well, at least I didn't get dragged to their grandparents' house to bow for New Year's blessings..." Seo Yehyeon muttered, slumping onto the sofa. His standards seemed to have plummeted.
Just in case they'd forgotten, he'd even sent his bank account details via text. When the money still hadn't arrived after waiting, he sent another message:
[ Why haven't you sent the New Year's money? I already gave you my account number. ] 9:46 AM
[ If you don't send the money, I'll officially release the 80th Birthday Celebration Diss Rap and make some pocket money. 미리 ㄱㅅ. ] 9:47 AM
Terrified that he might actually release the family diss rap, they transferred 900,000 won into his account five minutes later.
"Oh, it's here. Jaehee, I'm sending you 300,000 won. Hyung too."
"Ah, Hyung, wait! Just a moment!"
Ryu Jaehee stopped me from transferring his share of the New Year's allowance and bowed deeply in front of me.
"Happy New Year!"
"Alright, alright," I replied playfully, chuckling as I finished transferring 300,000 won to his account.
"Wasn't that money from his grandfather? Why are you bowing to him?" Seo Yehyeon asked.
"It's just a gesture? I can't exactly call Eden Hyung's grandfather again to bow to him properly," Ryu Jaehee explained.
"True enough..." Seo Yehyeon agreed, nodding thoughtfully as he unlocked his phone. "I should video call my grandparents too, since I can't visit them in person."
After video calling Seo Yehyeon's grandparents to offer New Year's greetings, I changed out of my tracksuit into casual clothes and made another video call.
The screen filled with a face I'd been longing to see.
"Grandmother!"
I greeted my maternal grandmother warmly, putting all my affection into my voice. Seo Yehyeon and Ryu Jaehee turned to me with startled expressions.
Watching the wrinkles around her eyes crinkle sweetly, I remembered what I needed to do.
"Hyung, hold this for a second."
I handed Seo Yehyeon my phone and immediately bowed my head to the ground. It was an act of atonement for using my grandmother to persuade the CEO.
"What are you doing...?"
"Atoning to Grandmother."
What could my little puppy have done wrong? You'll hurt your head. Get up now.
At her words, I quickly stood up and took the phone back from Seo Yehyeon. After exchanging pleasantries and asking about her health, I scratched my cheek and answered her question about why I was video calling.
"It's Lunar New Year, so I called to give you my New Year's bow. Mom said you're traveling overseas during the holiday. I don't think I'll be able to join you this time."
I learned this from the text messages Mom and I exchanged while my paternal grandfather was transferring New Year's money. Thanks to that, I was now stuck in my dorm for the remaining four days of the holiday.
"Happy New Year," I said, bowing respectfully before handing back the phone.
"Oh, and I sent Mom the travel expenses and Grandmother's allowance. Make sure you get your share from her."
You don't have any money. It's fine. What I got from Abeom is enough. Keep it for yourself.
"I'm earning money now, you know."
I chuckled and quickly said my goodbyes before my maternal grandmother could actually try to return the money.
"I'll definitely visit during my next vacation. Stay healthy until then."
Why bother when you're so busy? You don't need to come.
"Come on, Grandmother, you secretly love it when your grandson visits."
When I spoke with a hint of playfulness, Seo Yehyeon coughed as if choking.
After the call ended, Seo Yehyeon and Ryu Jaehee spoke in turn.
"Do you have multiple personalities...?"
"I thought only Hyung could do Filial Scoundrelism."
"Depending on how our grandparents act, I can be either a Filial Scoundrel or their beloved grandson, you know?"
I picked at my ear with my pinky finger and replied nonchalantly. While we contacted our grandparents, I nudged Ryu Jaehee, who had been acting as a phone stand, and asked, "Don't you need to call your family?"
"No paternal family. Cut ties with my maternal side too."
His simple answer discouraged further probing. I nodded and turned on the TV. The three of us sat side by side, watching a holiday special movie in comfortable silence.
During the commercial break, I logged onto social media to do a Search Quest.
Licham @liiicham
Play this to fend off holiday nagging.
Thank you, Yoon Eden-ssi.
https://yxxtu.be/GKPSOEx87
Retweets: 11.7k Quotes: 1203 Likes: 9874
I felt a surge of pride seeing the 80th Birthday Celebration Diss Rap resurface.
On the fourth day of our vacation, Gyeon Hajun and Kim Dobin returned, both laden with holiday dishes.
"Japchae has 285 kcal per serving, and jeon has—"
"Hyung, please stop," Seo Yehyeon groaned, his appetite vanishing at the mere mention of calories.
"Then why aren't you eating? Are you on a diet, or are you just picky?"
"Picky. Hyung, if you had to eat ritual food eight times a year, you'd understand."
Ryu Jaehee, who only avoided the ritual dishes, replied nonchalantly.
Spending the entire vacation with all five of us together felt strange, but it wasn't bad at all.
After a short five-day vacation, our busy schedule resumed.
The schedule was packed with stage performances, a carbonated drink commercial, recording sessions, and music video shoots. Thankfully, since it was a digital single, meeting the comeback deadline wasn't too challenging.
However, we also had to prepare for our mini-album activities in May, leaving us with no spare time.
Come to think of it, was it also May back then?
In May before the regression, we made our comeback with the song that changed Reve's fate from being a flop idol group on the verge of disbandment. It was practically the song that could have been our last activity.
Although the song only started gaining traction months later through a reverse chart climb, we couldn't deny that Seo Yehyeon's visuals, along with the song itself, played a significant role in elevating Reve to the Second Tier.
For four years, "Come to My Universe" had stood tall as Reve's signature song.
While Seo Yehyeon's 직캠 played a significant role in its success, the song itself was praised for its strangely addictive quality, earning it the Digital Music Main Prize at the year-end awards shows.
The reason it remained their 대표곡 for so long wasn't because it was an unparalleled masterpiece, but rather because every song they'd released in the four years since had been utterly terrible, failing to surpass "Come to My Universe."
Should I promote with "One Chance," a guaranteed hit from before the regression, or with my own song, whose future success was uncertain?
That was the dilemma weighing on my mind.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny