Well, there's a limit when it comes to forgiving and forgetting.
From what I understood, our MC already tried to apologize a bunch of times, to his family especially. It doesn't look like it's the first time he's coming back with presents and a positive vibe either.
Sure, this time he's got himself cleaned up and all but I wouldn't fault them for denying someone who keeps making the same mistakes over and over again.
There's also a limit as to how much you can help a person who doesn't want help, especially when it comes to addiction.
I wouldn't call them saints but, I think, it would be more unreasonable for them to accept him right away.
Trust me, you can tell a person that's addicted to something apart from a healthy one. Not only that, but his apperance changed noticably. Clothing, complexion, muscles, his vibe, everything - he looked like a hobo, even shaved and cleaned up, as you remember from what the silverhaired douche said once. But he doesn't look like that anymore. You can clearly see there's a change here. Even if it's just talking quietly or giving him a chance to say something at all would have been a good start.
Appearance is one thing though. You can dress yourself up as much as you want, but it's not gonna help much when you step in front of people who you're saying sorry to, for the 100th time, for the same thing.
Even if his entire aura is different, his family probably needs more than one surprise visit to see him in a new light. God knows how many times his family accepted him back after he showed up in a simular fashion.
I agree that they should try to be more considerate of him, but I know very well that you can't accept a person like that back into your life with just another "I promise this time is different".
Well, in the end whether they're total dicks or not comes down to the perspective anyway, so I agree to disagree, I guess?
It was more skipped in the manhwa, so I suggest reading the novel but just in case its spoilers (I don’t think so but)
He betrayed them multiple times and manipulated them into giving him money by using their trust. They’re disliking of him is fully justified, he put them in debt and continuously betrayed them and asked for more money. because even if he comes looking different and not addicted, he betrayed their trust so many times that they just can’t believe him. (Because you have to remember, the gambling addiction was over the course of several years) If you don’t like the whole family thing, its a long road ahead, so just a warning
Again: It is NOT about what you are wearing. You can NOT dress up as a healthy person, and people who care even in the slightest - or have ever cared in the slightest - would easily spot the difference.
And it is ALSO not about them seeing him in a new light. As I said, giving someone a chance to prove himself doesn't need much. You don't need to invite him in, you don't need to give him money. Just let him explain himself without throwing death threats at his face.
I must say, the only direct experience I have with this was with my older brother. Used to get into one shitty situation after the other, only ever created problems. We let him have a lot of chances, WITHOUT giving him too much. We only stepped in, when he started behaving really strangely, as in, major alarm. Turned out what surfaced was a case of schizophrenia. It runs in the family, we just didn't know, because different father. I know it's not the same, but I feel kind of reminded of that. Of what would have happened if we had simply abandoned him. And as I mentioned above, they really don't seem to care if he vanishes for a month without a trace.
But yeah, seems like that makes the most sense in this case. Since it's about an inherent way of thinking, that won't change - neither for you nor for me. So I guess, to agree on disagreeing on this one sounds fair enough :)
As a matter of fact, I just started reading the book yesterday evening. It does already seem a lot more realistic how they reacted (even the little problems, like the one with his magically wandering cellphone weren't a thing in the Novel xF). I mean, I still kind of see it as a harsh treatment, but I can understand der demeanor more (even if it's a little crazy how ALL OF THIS fit in the small timeframe he had as a gambler - there weren't that many years, actually, and for a while, he wasn't even addicted, as well as he didn't actually lose a lot either - but well, I guess he was really busy ...). I still think they could give him a chance - in which they simply DON'T give him money, for whatever reason it may be, so that can't happen again. They simply need to put themselves in a safe spot, without real trouble, by making it clear that they won't give anything to him. Giving chances isn't easy, I know that, it's still kind of sad to know they act like that.
And yeah, I kinda expected this to be a long way, from the looks of it. The Manwha also doesn't nearly carry any of this information, just a small fraction, which made their behaviour seem even more shitty to me. It's also not like it makes the whole thing unreadable to me, it just irked me a lot.
I do think you're right that them accepting him right away would be weird but their current behavior isn't right too. But you're point about offering help is just wrong. They didn't do enough. I thought It was obvious, they didn't seem to really want to help him
But first: His »new« style.
Wasn't that actually the same look he was already rocking in those headpages from every chapter since page one tho? Not only his black hair and haircut, but you can even see a little bit of that fancy earring on his left ear, which he doesn't wear currently, but has it on those new headpages since season two. You can clearly see it. So, I guess it was planned from the beginning? Maybe a stylechoice from the character, rather than simply changing the art and pretending nothing changed within the story. Maybe because of how his relatives and acquaintances have acted towards him in chapter 46. I totally digged that old hairstyle tho, especially the color. Had this Claire Stanfield vibe to it.
But for the main topic matter: I had to reread the last to chapters, so I could psych myself up to reading two new chapters and knowing I wouldn't get to read another for a while yet again. That also meant, I had to see him go through that shit with those people from his previous life again. Like, really? They see him all dressed up and with money, absolutely healthy and with some new aura around him and all they can do is yell at him?! I mean, I know it takes time to forgive things, but what is it he did to them that they hate him this much? Because of money? Well, problem solved. What else? He ruined his own life? His own health? Then maybe they should have helped him, not with money, but with actual medical help. Now that he's there and simply wants to try and make amends, they won't even listen, eventhough you would normally assume he may have gone through some kind of rehab since the last time they saw him. Then again: Why didn't he tell them he worked for that Corporation? It's big, isn't it? He could tell them, he's not allowed to talk about it, but it's perfectly legal. As far as it sounded as of now, it would be in Kim Hanna's interest too, if no one questioned his new persona. He could even say it's something outside of the country, like businesstrips. Sounds respectable and coming from someone from the Corp. itself, it should sound good enough. But he just stumbles on his words there. Then that other chick, seriously? That takes the cake! Ever seen someone who donated a fucking organ, bitch?! Obviously not, but she still jumped to conclusions without a second thought. He looks WAY too healthy to be doing anything she could suggest and if she once liked him, even if he strayed from the right path, wouldn't she at least try to believe him?! WTF, woman?
It's really shitty. Especially if you consider the fact that they would believe he was actually just gone for a month. Even her, who saw how he vanished (maybe not how he was sapped away, but she found his phone, which he left lying on the streets, while he was just typing something akin to a farewell message, after one huge emotional blow). She didn't try to contact his family, eventhough his brother could contact her easily, after Soel showed up on his doorstep first. She still didn't even report him missing - after one whole month! (Btw. how did his cell end up back in his flat after his glorious return anyway?)
So nobody cared where he went, nobody cared about the fact that he went after an emotional breakdown, nobody cared that he left his fucking phone behind (again: in the middle of typing and ALSO in the middle of a street! Simply abandoned and vanished into thin air) ... what's wrong with these people?
And what I originally tried to get at, just a little point aside from all of this: He looks so healthy and good. So what could it have been? Maybe rehab? A job and rehab at the same time? You would have to think about something like this. Rejecting him this much after all the effort he must have been through (since they think he was only gone for a month), could lead to a serious relapse. What a bunch of inconsiderate dickweeds.