234 Luncheon at the Joo Family’s House (1/2)

Saturday, the Joo household.

The Joo family lived rather close to the Heo family, with only a few houses between them.

Similar to the Heo household, the Joo family's house was large and well-decorated, befitting of a high class neighbourhood. Therefore, after wrapping up her last shoot of the day, Yeo Ri was able to head straight to the Joo household since Secretary Kwon was already familiar with the route.

In Guk had invited the Lees to his home in favour of it being the weekends. His father was usually busy with other things during the weekdays, so he decided to have the siblings come over to his house on the weekends since it was his father's days off.

Being the supportive friend that he was, Jin Goo was also present.

He knew about the altercation between Mrs. Joo and the Lees that had transpired all those years ago, and because he was worried for Yeo Ri, he decided to come along to make sure that everything was civil.

And so, Jin Goo had gone to pick up Gun in the morning, and when Yeo Ri arrived at the house after work, she was greeted by a somewhat stiff atmosphere.

Being one of the hosts, Mrs. Joo opened the door to let her in.

”Welcome,” the older woman said, a stiff smile on her face. She vaguely remembered the incident from back then and how she had lost face due to this girl who acted like a weak little flower. She had also disproved of her son's friendship with the delinquent Lee Hyuk, thus her impression of the Lee siblings were already biased even though neither Yeo Ri nor Gun had ever acted rudely towards her.

”It has been a while, Madam. Thank you for allowing us to intrude,” Yeo Ri politely greeted.

”My, Miss Lee Yeo Ri, you're here? Come in, come in!” Since the girl was so polite, Madam Joo could not hold it against her and invited her in with faux-cordiality.

”Thank you,” Yeo Ri bowed perfunctorily, exchanging her shoes for the already prepared indoor slippers. As she trailed after the older woman, she felt her phone buzz in her bag, which she assumed to be Secretary Kwon. He had told her beforehand that he had been recalled to the office by Park Soo Yeon, and that he would not be able to accompany her to her private lunch with the Joos.

Yeo Ri found it ridiculous that he even thought that he was allowed to join, but considering the recent dangers around her, Yeo Ri decided against saying anything. It was too tiring to keep pushing his buttons, after all.

As they made their way to the dining room, neither of the ladies spoke a word to each other. Mrs. Joo's gait appeared restless, and she had a barely concealed look of reluctance and mild forbearance as she led the way.

”Yeo Ri!” As soon as the men seated around the dining table spotted the two ladies, In Guk sprung up from his seat and called out to her. A large, excited grin hung on his face, showing how much he had been looking forward to seeing her.

Yeo Ri did not match his energy, but returned his greeting with a happy smile of her own. ”In Guk-oppa, Jin Goo-oppa, hello!”

”It's been a while, Yeo Ri-ah,” Jin Goo calmly greeted. He had been busy with school lately and didn't have the time to check up on her in person, but seeing her radiating with energy, he felt relieved.

Yeo Ri bowed towards the man seating at the head of the table, ”Hello, Uncle Joo. I'm Lee Yeo Ri. In Guk-oppa has been taking care of me.”

Mr. Joo smiled, his face glowing with mirth. ”Come on over here and sit down! No need to be polite,” he laughed boisterously, ”In Guk wouldn't shut up about you. Welcome, Yeo Ri! Make yourself at home. Also, congratulations on your success. I heard your commercial is doing really well.”

”Yes, thank you,” Yeo Ri displayed her gratitude with another bow, a sweet smile gracing her lips. She didn't think twice before heading towards her brother who had already been seated on the table, taking the empty seat next to him.

”Good girl, good girl!” The older man could not help but feel an urge to pamper her after seeing her pretty, demure looks, thinking about how nice it would have been if he had a daughter like her. Unfortunately, he was 'blessed' with two stinky, unfilial sons instead.

Sending a silent reproach at his youngest son, he motioned for everyone to gather around and called for the food to be served.

The men seemed to have had their fair share of chattering before she arrived, and as they dined, the conversation steered more towards Yeo Ri and her current occupation.

”So how is it, working as an actress?” Mr. Joo asked. Once upon a time, he had also dreamt of becoming a celebrity, but never went through with it as he knew it was only a pipe dream. It wasn't easy to become a celebrity, so he was rather awed by the girl who was quite famous for her age. Even though her name wasn't quite well-known yet, almost anyone could recognise her face.

”It's not too bad. Everyone has been nice to me, and Auntie Soo—President Park—is sorting through some offers as of late. I think I'll be quite busy soon,” Yeo Ri explained. Yeo Ri often received updates from the company, and every time she went to her acting classes, Park Soo Yeon would pull her aside to discuss some scripts. The older woman was looking into some lead roles for her, though Yeo Ri hadn't asked for it, but not many of the scripts she had received were impressive enough to attract the woman.

In terms of doing commercials, Park Soo Yeon was even pickier. Just as proven from Yeo Ri's VitaQua commercial, just one ad could impact her career. Park Soo Yeon had to be careful so as to not accidentally accept a job offer from D Corporation's rivals seeing how Yeo Ri had become VitaQua's 'face'. Of course, she also took care to filter out the ridiculous or inappropriate products that would not suit a child like Yeo Ri.

”Just a small commercial. It's not like she's some big celebrity... what a showoff,” Madam Joo mumbled indiscreetly. No one seemed to have heard her except for In Guk who sat next to his mother. His face warped and reddened, feeling ashamed that his mother was so petty. Luckily, her complain remained unheard—or perhaps those who had heard her simply pretended they didn't.

”Is that so? That sounds wonderful.” Mr. Joo, noticing the slight tension in the air, changed the subject. ”I heard you're looking for a new apartment? It's good that you're choosing to move to a nicer place. I heard that some crazy fans like to break into celebrities' homes. I own a few units that have good security, but if you're unsatisfied with them, I'll give my contacts a call and see if there's a good one available,” the man flashed an amiable smile at the young girl.

The girl responded with a smile of her own. ”Thank you very much, Uncle. We really appreciate your hel—”

Bzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzz.

Before Yeo Ri could finish her words, her phone buzzed. The sound was loud enough for the group to hear, seeing as how silent the wide, echoey dining room was.

As everyone looked around to check their phones, Yeo Ri blushed before bowing her head apologetically, rummaging through her bag. ”I'm sorry, I'm sorry!”

Seeing the name [Auntie Soo Yeon] flashing on the screen, Yeo Ri did not have time to panic and immediately picked up the call.

”Auntie?”

”Ah, Yeo Ri-ah! I'm sorry to call you so soon after you just finished work. I was having lunch with a few old friends, and one of them is interested in seeing you act. Actually, he wants to meet you. Do you know Director Bang Ji Han?”