I Returned as a High School Girl

     – 회귀했는데 여고생이 되었다 –

     - VOLUME 2 -

     -AUTHOR-

     Evatrice

     [ Wuxiaworld ]

     Chapter 51

     Business (1)

     The second morning of the year dawned. Kang Ra-Eun hurriedly changed into casual clothes to go out by 11 AM. Before she left, she called out to Kang Ra-Hyuk.

     “Hey, don’t forget to sell and liquidate all the stocks by today. The rates are gonna dip for a while.”

     “Can’t we just do day trading?” Ra-Hyuk asked.

     “Day trading, my ass… You don’t actually think that it’s you who’s earning money through stock trading, do you?”

     “Well… no.”

     Ra-Hyuk had been making easy money thanks to the information provided by Ra-Eun. They already had a few billion won in the stock account, and it was all thanks to her. Hence, Ra-Hyuk could not just do what he wanted with the money in his account.

     Ra-Hyuk wasn’t particularly interested in luxury cars, expensive watches, nor designer goods. He had simply begun stock trading because he wanted to alleviate his father’s burdens by helping to pay off their debt and to take care of his tuition.

     Ra-Eun was planning on using the money that she earned through stock trading in two different ways. First was for setting up the clothing business with Park Seol-Hun, and the second was to invest in cryptocurrency that would experience a massive boom in 2017.

     ‘Bitcoin is a way better way to earn money than starting a business, but… ’

     One cryptocurrency could be worth a hundred million, two hundred, or even over six hundred million won in the future, but that future was too far off at the moment. Hence, Ra-Eun had been doing her best to earn as much money as she could through stock trading and business before the cryptocurrency boom, so she could earn as much as she possibly could when the time came.

     “In any case, just wait and see until January. Holders within and outside the company are only going to sell their stocks for the time being. It won’t be too late to start buying around February or March,” Ra-Eun stated

     “Okay, got it. But Ra-Eun, how do you know all that?” Ra-Hyuk asked.

     Ra-Hyuk had studied quite a lot on stock trading, but he wasn’t as keen-eyed as Ra-Eun was. No, not only Ra-Hyuk, but even his acquaintances who claimed to be experts after earning a bit through stock trading would not be as precise as Ra-Eun. They earned some and also lost some, but Ra-Eun had only been earning ever since she started trading.

     As her brother, Ra-Hyuk couldn’t help but be curious about how his little sister who used to neglect her studies became a stock trading master. However, Ra-Eun just made something up.

     “I just started seeing how the chart will move after studying stock trading whenever I had time.”

     Such an excuse was not enough to explain her skills. It was as if she could see the future.

     “Anyway, do exactly as I told you to do. I’m off,” Ra-Eun said.

     “Okay, have a safe trip. You’ll be back by lunch time, right?”

     “Yup. I’ll be back as soon as I give Yi-Jun something.”

     “That’s your friend’s little brother, right?” Ra-Hyuk asked.

     Ra-Eun nodded, “Yeah.”

     “You’ve been hanging out with him a lot lately.”

     “He’s a pretty decent underling.”

     “Underling, huh…? That wasn’t how it looked to me.”

     Ra-Eun had gone together with him to Hongdae to buy their father a gift, and they even jogged in the morning together. Hence, Ra-Hyuk had misunderstood their relationship.

     “I thought you were going out with him.”

     However, Ra-Eun instantly denied it.

     “Don’t give me goosebumps.”

     “Why? He’s tall and handsome, isn’t he? You also said you get along well with him.”

     “That doesn’t mean that I like him.”

     Most of all, Ra-Eun had no desire to get all lovey-dovey with a man. A little over half a year had passed since she became a woman. It was far too short of a time to accept men as those of the opposite sex.

     “Well, I’m sure you’d be bombarded with scandals about you having a boyfriend.”

     Now that his little sister was a celebrity, Ra-Hyuk thought that Ra-Eun would need to be careful in choosing her partner from now on. However, he was sure that she would take care of such things on her own. In exchange…

     “Make sure you introduce him to me if you ever get a boyfriend. I’ll decide whether or not he’s worth entrusting my cute little sister to.”

     Ra-Eun was exasperated.

     “It’s morning, and you’re already saying weird shit.”

     It had been a while since she blurted out a profanity that didn’t suit her.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun arrived at the Starlight Road cafe. Seo Yi-Seo tilted her head as she saw Ra-Eun from the counter.

     “What brings you here, Ra-Eun?”

     “I have something for Yi-Jun. Is he here yet?”

     “…Oh, no wonder.”

     Yi-Seo seemed to have comprehended something. She let Ra-Eun know what had happened at her home this morning.

     “Yi-Jun always wakes up late during the break, but he woke up early even when it wasn’t a jogging day with you. He showered, did his hair and even put on cologne, so I thought he had plans, but I guess not.”

     Ra-Eun had made the lazy Yi-Jun diligent on a holiday yet again.

     “You said you had something to give him?” Yi-Seo asked.

     “Yup.”

     “What is it?”

     “It’s nothing special.”

     As she was about to take out what was in the bag to show Yi-Seo, the bell attached to the cafe door jingled.

     “Noona! I’m sorry I’m late!” Yi-Jun apologized. He had frantically run to the cafe.

     “It’s okay. You’re actually right on time,” Ra-Eun expressed.

     Like Yi-Seo had said, Ra-Eun detected a faint scent of cologne that she hadn’t smelled much from Yi-Jun. It had been a while since he had met Ra-Eun while wearing casual clothes, aside from when they jogged together. Hence, he had taken much time waxing his hair despite it being a holiday. He had truly devoted himself to looking good today.

     Ra-Eun took out the contents of the bag.

     “Here you go.”

     Yi-Seo gasped as soon as she saw what it was.

     “R-Ra-Eun! A-Aren’t those… your leggings?”

     “Yeah, that’s right.”

     “Why are you giving him those?!”

     Yi-Seo’s face reddened like a tomato. Ra-Eun did not understand how embarrassing it was for a girl to give a guy a piece of clothing that had been in contact with their bare skin.

     “He said he’s been studying to become a fashion designer, so I thought I’d have him do some research on leggings. This is gonna become a huge fad in the future, you know?”

     “A fad…?”

     Yi-Seo also knew what leggings were. However, unlike Ra-Eun who wore them often, she was a bit reluctant to wear them because they openly displayed the lines of one’s entire lower body, starting from the hips all the way down to the ankles. Yi-Seo considered them far too daring for her to handle.

     However, Ra-Eun thought otherwise.

     “I’ll give you a pair as a gift, so try them out. They’re more comfortable than you’d expect, so I’m sure you’ll love them,” Ra-Eun remarked.

     “B-But…”

     Yi-Seo was not confident enough to go around wearing something that stuck to her body like tights.

     “Isn’t it embarrassing?” Yi-Seo asked.

     “What’s there to be embarrassed about? It’s not like I’m showing my bare skin.”

     “That’s true, but…”

     Ra-Eun’s hip and leg lines were so beautiful that she had absolutely no reason to feel embarrassed about wearing leggings. Confidence formed naturally from having a nice figure. Yi-Seo was jealous of Ra-Eun’s overflowing confidence.

     “…Okay. I’ll try them on when I get a chance,” Yi-Seo said.

     “Good choice,” Ra-Eun stated.

     Yi-Jun purposefully let out a cough as he was listening to their conversation.

     “Noona, you haven’t had lunch yet, right? Would you like to go grab something to eat with me?”

     He had just asked Ra-Eun out on a date, which she turned down at once.

     “Sorry, I have to see someone today.”

     “R-Really?”

     “Yeah, you’ll also be seeing him a lot from now on.”

     Yi-Jun was curious as to whom Ra-Eun was talking about, but she did not tell him anything else. Ra-Eun left the cafe, telling them that she would be going on ahead. He was filled with disappointment, but it did not matter, because…

     “These are… the leggings that Ra-Eun noona had worn…”

     Although she had washed them beforehand, Yi-Jun strongly felt like he could detect faint traces of her on them. He looked down at Ra-Eun’s black leggings with a smirk on his face.

     Yi-Seo couldn’t bear to watch her perverted little brother any longer and smacked him on the back of his head.

     “Don’t you dare think anything perverted about Ra-Eun.”

     “I won’t, okay? I won’t.”

     Yi-Seo was worried about her friend who always showed her defenseless side to men.

     * * *

     “He said it was around here… There it is.”

     Ra-Eun arrived at a cafe around the same size as Starlight Road. She went in with sunglasses on in hopes that no one would recognize her. Fortunately, no one had recognized her yet.

     ‘The cafe’s practically empty, too.’

     The second floor looked more deserted than the first. As soon as she climbed up the stairs, she could see an anxious man shaking his leg. She could tell exactly who it was from the back of his head.

     “Hey, Mr. Six.”

     Mr. Six, Park Seol-Hun, was startled by Ra-Eun. He then asked with a glare, “Wh-What’s up with that ‘Mr. Six’?”

     “You failed in six of your business ventures, so you’re Mr. Six.”

     “…”

     “Didn’t I tell you that you’d fail in your sixth venture as well?”

     Seol-Hun did not want to admit it, but his sixth business venture absolutely bombed like Ra-Eun had predicted. It was likely his worst failure out of the six.

     Ra-Eun had received a call from Seol-Hun a few days ago because she had told him to call her once he failed in his ventures six times, and that she would help in his seventh business venture.

     How would she help him? With money, of course.

     “You’re really… gonna provide the funds, right?” Seol-Hun asked.

     “Of course,” Ra-Eun answered to reassure Seol-Hun. “I’ll pay off all the debt that you’ve incurred as well.”

     “How did you know that I was in debt?”

     “The loan sharks who tried to harvest your organs are my partners now, so I know all about you.”

     Seol-Hun couldn’t even laugh or cry.

     “However, I won’t be helping you for free.”

     Ra-Eun’s condition was very simple.

     “We’ll be dividing the business profits eight-to-two. Understood?”

     “Who gets the eight?” Seol-Hun asked with a sliver of hope.

     However, a corner of Ra-Eun’s mouth curled up.

     “Me, obviously.”

     Seol-Hun found out that the high school girl who he had thought was an angel happened to be a masked robber.

     Chapter 52

     Business (2)

     Park Seol-Hun thought he had heard Kang Ra-Eun wrong.

     “Eight-to-two…? Are you serious?”

     “I sure am. I don’t really like joking around,” Ra-Eun answered.

     “…”

     Seol-Hun couldn’t see this deal as anything but unfair, but Ra-Eun thought otherwise.

     “This business is gonna be built with my money, isn’t it? I shoulder all the risks, too. All you have to do is to pursue whatever business venture that you want, mister.”

     “How am I supposed to manage the business with only twenty percent?”

     “You don’t have to worry about the expenses. I’m not saying that I’ll use the eighty percent for my own self-interest.”

     This was not only Seol-Hun’s company. He and Ra-Eun would be co-chairpersons.

     ‘Seol-Hun will be doing the majority of the work, though.’

     Ra-Eun was planning on just getting the money and providing support whenever it was needed. Despite that, Seol-Hun did not seem to find the offer very attractive.

     “Even so…”

     As he was about to say that eight-to-two was far too harsh…

     “Forget it, then. In exchange, spit out all the money that I lent you before you go. As long as you do that, I’ll let you go.”

     “…”

     Seol-Hun tried to appeal to Ra-Eun’s sympathy to make the ratio as better in his favor as possible, but such an act was useless on Ra-Eun. She had all the power in this negotiation since she had the money that was crucial to starting the business. If Seol-Hun didn’t receive her help, his seventh business venture would go down the drain before it even started.

     Not only that, but Ra-Eun had saved him from getting his organs harvested by loan sharks. He couldn’t just forget what she had done for him. But even so, eight-to-two was far too unreasonable.

     Ra-Eun giggled at Seol-Hun’s pondering face.

     “I’m not saying we should keep it at eight-to-two forever. I’ll adjust the ratio based on your performance,” Ra-Eun remarked.

     “R-Really?”

     “Of course. I’m the kind of man… I mean, woman who never lies.”

     Ra-Eun saw Seol-Hun as one of her loyal subordinates. It wasn’t hard to give incentives to exceptional employees, especially one who would be managing her business from now on.

     ‘And I’m sure he’ll work harder now that I’ve mentioned the ratio adjustment.’

     Motivating others was one of the jobs of a future chairwoman. Because of Ra-Eun’s bait, Seol-Hun’s face was much brighter than when the ratio was first brought up.

     “Alright, that’s good enough for now. Let’s go with that,” Seol-Hun said.

     “Okay. We have a deal, then.”

     They had verbally agreed. All that was left now was to register as a business and to officially sign a contract. But before that, Ra-Eun wanted to confirm something.

     “What’s gonna be your seventh venture, mister?”

     Ra-Eun already knew exactly what Seol-Hun was going to say, but she had asked him anyway. Seol-Hun exclaimed with the confidence to make his seventh venture a success no matter what.

     “A clothing business!”

     Ra-Eun smiled. It was exactly as she had expected.

     * * *

     After they had discussed most of what they wanted to, Ra-Eun got up from her seat to head home before sunset. But before that, she said to Seol-Hun, “I know a pretty skilled aspiring fashion designer. Do you want me to introduce you to him when I get the chance later?”

     “How old is he?” Seol-Hun asked.

     “He’s a year younger than me. Since I’m in my third year of high school now… he’s a second-year.”

     “He’s way too young.”

     “What’s wrong with that? Fashion sense is more important for fashion design than age, isn’t it?”

     “That’s true…”

     She was not wrong. Money was certainly important to start a business, but they also needed skilled individuals.

     “Okay, then introduce me to that friend of yours next time,” Seol-Hun said.

     “Okay. Oh, and let me know whenever you need help. This is both of our companies, so I’ll help in any way that I can.”

     “How? I thought you didn’t know a thing about fashion design?”

     Ra-Eun also had no business experience, but it wasn’t only money that she had. She pointed at the massive TV screen outside the cell phone store, which was playing the commercial that she had appeared in.

     [The coffee that you need when you want to cool down.]

     [Would you like to… have a drink with me?]

     Seol-Hun had gone speechless by the Ra-Eun on the screen that was overflowing with sexiness. She was strangely different from the Ra-Eun that he knew. Both were just as pretty, but the aura that they each gave off was completely different.

     Ra-Eun said with a smile on her face, “I’m one hell of an advertiser, if nothing else.”

     Seol-Hun could not refute the words of the star rookie actress.

     * * *

     After Ra-Eun modeled for Do-Dam Group’s three new coffee products, their sales rose to become the highest compared to every product that they had released in the past. The product itself also received good reviews, but having Ra-Eun as the model was able to satisfy the consumers’ senses of sight, hearing and taste simultaneously.

     Today was the day of Ra-Eun’s first drama shoot of the year. She had made plans to meet with Chairman Ji of Do-Dam Group after completing her schedule. She had to complete the shoot with as few NG cuts as possible to not be late.

     She was wearing a modernized hanbok today.

     ‘Thank God it’s a modernized hanbok. The layers that I’d have to put on for a traditional hanbok… urgh!’

     She shuddered just from the thought. Since today’s scene also contained action, the hanbok was designed for her to be able to move as comfortably as possible.

     “Are your movements restricted in any way, Ra-Eun?”

     “No, it’s fine.”

     She lightly warmed up with some stretches, rehearsed the scene to sync up with her acting partner, and then stood in front of the camera with a sword in hand.

     The slate clapped with Director Park’s signal. The extra who was acting like he was possessed by a wraith approached Ra-Eun menacingly. Je-Woon jumped in between Ra-Eun and the man emanating an imposing aura.

     “Seo-Yu! I’ll handle this, so please get to sa—”

     Je-Woon was unable to finish his sentence because he was knocked out with a single blow from the extra. The male lead character that Je-Woon played possessed spiritual powers, but he did not have the combat prowess to exorcize the wraiths like Jin Seo-Yu. Hence, Ra-Eun was the focus of most action scenes.

     Ra-Eun lightly twirl the blade a few times. One could tell from just a glance that she was very adept at handling a sword. The extra charged at Ra-Eun at a frightening speed with a roar. He soared into the air through a wire that was attached to him. Ra-Eun twirled to evade the extra’s strike, and made a horizontal slicing motion while gripping the sword with both hands.

     The scene looked extremely mediocre during the shoot, but it could be packaged into a flashy battle scene with some CG and SFX. Therefore, Ra-Eun did not feel pressured.

     ‘The CG team will take care of it.’

     However, since CG was not an almighty tool, the actual action performance that was the backbone had to be solid.

     The action performances that Ra-Eun displayed always satisfied Director Park and the martial arts coach Heo Son, and it was the case today as well.

     “Cut! Okay, Ra-Eun! You were amazing!”

     The scene was OK’d with just one attempt yet again. Ra-Eun approached Je-Woon as soon as the shoot was finished.

     “Are you hurt anywhere, sunbae?”

     Je-Woon had been flung further and more violently compared to the rehearsal. Ra-Eun had honestly been surprised enough to wonder if it was a genuine accident. However, Je-Woon smiled as if he was completely fine.

     “This is nothing. That aside, you’re getting better at acting by the day, Ra-Eun.”

     “Really?”

     “Yeah. I can tell since I’m your co-star.”

     There was a huge difference between watching Ra-Eun’s performance through a screen and watching it while acting alongside her. Je-Woon had been observing Ra-Eun’s growth by her side, and just like today, he had been surprised by his junior’s growth many times.

     “Could you teach me how to use a sword next time?” Je-Woon asked.

     “Yes, of course.”

     Ra-Eun also needed to become closer to Je-Woon, because…

     ‘I’ll need someone to be a model for our menswear in the future.’

     She had thought of using Ji Han-Seok, but he could not surpass Je-Woon in terms of recognition since Je-Woon was not only an actor, but a member of a boy group with a massive fanbase.

     * * *

     After the shoot was over, Shin Yu-Bin drove Ra-Eun not to her home, but to Do-Dam Group headquarters.

     “Is it really fine for me to just drop you off here?” Yu-Bin asked.

     “Yes. I’m going to be having a meal with Chairman Ji and Han-Seok sunbae.”

     “I’m sure the chairman is overjoyed since his company sales skyrocketed thanks to you.”

     Ra-Eun simply smiled in response.

     “What about your way home? Are you gonna take a taxi?”

     Kang Ra-Hyuk had also been planning on coming, but he couldn’t attend because something else came up. Ra-Eun did not make a big fuss about it since Ra-Hyuk was practically a scarecrow in their first meeting with Chairman Ji.

     She could have just had Ra-Hyuk drive her home, but that was no longer an option. However, someone else had appointed himself to be her driver.

     “Han-Seok sunbae said he would give me a ride.”

     “Oh, really? I can rest easy if it’s Han-Seok. Okay, make sure to text me when you get home, okay?”

     “Okay, I will.”

     Ra-Eun checked her attire again after seeing Yu-Bin off. Because the make-up that she had gotten done during the shoot wasn’t very subtle, she removed it and re-did her make-up with basic cosmetics.

     ‘Those of the older generation prefer lighter make-up.’

     Even the subtlest things completely changed one’s impression.

     ‘Now, let’s go do my other job.’

     She confidently walked toward Do-Dam Group headquarters with her small handbag.

     Chapter 53

     Business (3)

     Kang Ra-Eun entered Do-Dam Group headquarters. Chairman Ji’s secretary who had been waiting for her at the lobby greeted her with a ninety-degree bow.

     “The chairman is waiting for you. Please follow me.”

     “Okay.”

     Because it was far past the time when people got off from work, there were barely any employees going in and out of the building. Ra-Eun preferred this instead of having to go through the trouble of a bunch of people recognizing her.

     They got on the elevator to head up to Chairman Ji’s office. Once Ra-Eun arrived, Chairman Ji and Ji Han-Seok greeted her with bright smiles.

     “Welcome. Thank you for going through the trouble of coming all the way here,” said Chairman Ji.

     It wasn’t any trouble for Ra-Eun at all, since she had arrived before she knew it while dozing off in Shin Yu-Bin’s car. Ra-Eun first greeted Chairman Ji with a light smile.

     “It’s been a while, chairman. Your complexion looks healthier than the last time we met.”

     “Do you think so? I’ve been exercising with my grandson lately.”

     Figure management was crucial for an actor. Although Han-Seok was a director of Do-Dam Group, he spent at least two to three hours exercising since he was also active in the entertainment industry as an actor. Chairman Ji was not in the condition to exercise as much as Han-Seok, but he found it rather fun to exercise with his grandson every now and then.

     “Ra-Eun also exercises a lot, Grandpa,” Han-Seok remarked.

     “Oh, is that so?”

     Ra-Eun smiled at Han-Seok with her eyes.

     ‘Nice assist.’

     Han-Seok did not know why Ra-Eun had done such a thing, but he felt good from receiving a smile from such a beautiful girl. However, the reason why she graced Han-Seok like this was soon revealed.

     “I have a very big interest in exercise and health, so my o… ppa and I have been thinking of setting up a business with a few items in that field.”

     No matter how many times she said it, she could never get used to the word ‘oppa.’ However, since she couldn’t just call Kang Ra-Hyuk ‘that guy’ in front of Chairman Ji, she had no choice but to call him so, even if it sounded a little unnatural.

     She had already thrown some bait regarding her business to Chairman Ji a few times before.

     “Come to think of it, you mentioned that your brother was preparing his business last time,” Chairman Ji said.

     “Yes, he couldn’t come today because of those preparations. Please let me apologize in his stead.”

     Although it was because of personal plans, Ra-Eun packaged it into something that would help in her plans.

     Chairman Ji replied, “You’re always the busiest during the preparation phase, so I completely understand. You don’t have to apologize. That aside, what kind of items…?”

     “We’re thinking of sporting goods for now. Tracksuits, sneakers, and… there’s this women’s sportswear that I’ve been preparing lately, and I think they will sell the best.”

     She was talking about leggings, which Chairman Ji was completely unfamiliar with.

     “I’m sure the business will boom if you help your brother the best you can. You did the same for our product, after all.”

     Chairman Ji laughed loudly. He could not be happier since Do-Dam Group products were selling like crazy thanks to Ra-Eun.

     “Let me know if you need help with anything. And once the business stabilizes, I’ll invite you to an entrepreneur gathering that meets pretty often.”

     One of the core members of the entrepreneur gathering was someone who Ra-Eun knew very well.

     “Congressman Kim Han-Gyo attends that gathering often, doesn’t he?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Hm? How did you know?” said Chairman Ji.

     “There was a party after the Drama Awards where people from all sorts of fields gathered, and I happened to see his son there. I think I heard about it while I was talking to some people there.”

     “Oh, I guess Chi-Yeol also attended the party. Congressman Kim actually happens to be a high school classmate of mine. He also dabbles in business. He seems to be more focused on the political sphere now, but he still attends the gatherings.”

     Ra-Eun kept nodding with an artificial smile.

     ‘Of course he does.’

     She also knew that very well, since she had accompanied him there a few times.

     “Okay! Then I’ll introduce you to him when the opportunity rises.”

     “It would be my honor,” Ra-Eun expressed.

     Her smile widened even more.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun said goodbye to Chairman Ji after their dinner and headed to the parking lot with Han-Seok. He pointed to a bright yellow sports car.

     “Here it is,” Han-Seok said.

     “Is this your car?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Yup. I don’t take it out often, but I felt like it today.”

     “Why?”

     “Because I wanted to drive in style. Do you like cars like this, Ra-Eun?”

     “I do.”

     Ra-Eun loved cars so much that she wanted to line up sports cars like a rainbow like other chaebols, if she had the money for it.

     “This is a Lamborghini Aventador, isn’t it? It looks like it’s fully optioned out, too. The stitchings on the seats and making them the same color as the car exterior are all options that you need to choose.”

     For sports cars like this, the price varied greatly based on the features that one chose to get added on it. Ra-Eun could easily tell that Han-Seok had spent quite a lot of money on it.

     “Yeah. You sure know a lot about cars,” Han-Seok remarked.

     “Just a little.”

     High school girls usually were not this interested in sports cars. Considering that, Ra-Eun was a very special case.

     Han-Seok handed her a lap blanket before she got in the car.

     “I prepared one just in case.”

     “Thank you.”

     He was being considerate to Ra-Eun who was wearing shorts. Compared to the men around her, Han-Seok was extremely affable. He perfectly fit the bill of a tender, gentle and kind-hearted man.

     ‘Not to mention filthy rich.’

     He was also quite handsome.

     ‘I’m sure he’s popular with the ladies.’

     However, the woman that Han-Seok was interested in was the one right next to him, Kang Ra-Eun. But of course, Ra-Eun was still not aware of the feeling that Han-Seok had toward her.

     “Off we go, then,” Han-Seok said.

     “Okay.”

     Han-Seok asked Ra-Eun for confirmation as he typed in the address for the Starlight Road cafe on the GPS, “Are you sure I can just drop you off here?”

     “Yes, this cafe is really close to my home.”

     Ra-Eun did not want to disclose her home address, so she had used Starlight Road as a shield.

     “Does your father run a cafe?” Han-Seok asked.

     “No, my friend’s father does.”

     “Oh, I see. Starlight Road… What a nice name. I’ll pay it a visit next time, so why don’t we have some coffee together when I do?”

     Ra-Eun almost blurted out “You’re so damn annoying,” but she suppressed it with all her might. She was barely able to move her unmoving lips with a smile.

     “Yes, that sounds good.”

     Han-Seok’s face brightened even more from Ra-Eun’s favorable reply. He decided to muster up even more courage while he was at it.

     “You’ll be in your third year of high school this year, right?” he asked.

     “Yes.”

     “Then I guess you’ll be twenty next year? Do you have something that you want to do when you become an adult? Or somewhere you want to go?”

     If there was, then he was planning on appointing himself as the driver. However, Ra-Eun expertly evaded Han-Seok’s trap.

     “I’m not sure. I’ll have to think about it after I finish my SATs.”

     “R-Really?”

     Ra-Eun’s walls were by no means easy to overcome.

     “In that case… Are you free sometime next week? I’m thinking of watching a movie. We can rent out an entire theater so that we won’t have to worry about other people. How does that sound?”

     The scale of a third-generation chaebol was very high, even when watching a movie. However, Ra-Eun’s defenses were still air tight.

     “I’m sorry. I decided to study for the SATs with my friends starting next week.”

     “S-SATs, huh…? Yeah, studying is important. Ha, hahaha…”

     Han-Seok could only laugh in embarrassment. He was nowhere near seasoned enough to conquer the mountain that was Kang Ra-Eun.

     * * *

     In the middle of winter break, Ra-Eun decided to hold meetings with a few of her classmates at Starlight Road to solve mock tests together and to share any information that they had about the SATs.

     Ra-Eun’s friends gathered at Starlight Road one by one in casual clothes instead of their school uniform. The members were the Kang Ra-Eun Family, consisting of Seo Yi-Seo, Na Gyu-Rin and Choi Ro-Mi, and the boys who had newly joined her friend group after the sports day, Choi Sang-Woon and Kim Yeong-Gyo. The study group consisted of quite a large number of people with a mix of boys and girls.

     Gyu-Rin asked as she counted the number of people gathered for the study group, “We’re one short. Who’s missing?”

     Yi-Seo answered, “Ra-Eun isn’t here yet. Her drama shoot ran a little late, so she said she’d get here as fast as she could.”

     “I see. The protagonist always arrives late. I’ll have to admit it.”

     Jingle!

     After fifteen minutes, the small bell attached to the cafe door rang, which directed the attention of Ra-Eun’s friends to the door. At that moment…

     “Oh my goodness!”

     “Ra-Eun! Wh-What’s up with you?!”

     Her friends couldn’t help but be astonished, because it was their first time seeing Ra-Eun in full make-up.

     “Sorry, I came here right after the shoot was finished, so I had no time to remove my make-up,” Ra-Eun said.

     She had just come as is since it was not a hindrance to studying. Her friends’ eyes were glued on her even after she took her seat. Not only were their sense of sight elated, but the faint, sweet scent of lavender also brought joy to their sense of smell.

     “Which question should I start from?” Ra-Eun asked.

     No one could give her an answer because they were all absorbed in Ra-Eun regardless of gender. They sometimes forgot the fact that Ra-Eun was a top star actress because they were so close to her. She was a friend who they could always meet with just a phone call, and a classmate who they could always see at school.

     However, she was emanating a completely different aura than usual. Right now, she was not their classmate Kang Ra-Eun, but the popular actress Kang Ra-Eun.

     Meanwhile, Ra-Eun looked quizzically at how differently her friends were treating her.

     ‘What’s up with them all of a sudden?’

     She had strongly thought that her make-up would not disturb their study session, but it seemed like she was wrong.

     Chapter 54

     Sweet Birthday (1)

     Kang Ra-Eun texted Seo Yi-Seo that she would be late because her drama shoot ran late today as well, and that she was heading to Starlight Road right now by car. She had sent this text because they had another study gathering planned today. As she did, she received a call from Yi-Seo.

     “Hello?” Ra-Eun answered.

     - Are you coming straight to the cafe, Ra-Eun?

     Ra-Eun had done so last week, but she would not today.

     “No, I’m going to drop by my house first.”

     - Hm? Why? Weren’t you gonna be coming straight here like last time? I’m sure it’s a hassle for you to drop by your house first. Or, did you forget your backpack there?

     Ra-Eun looked at her backpack laid on the adjacent seat, filled with workbooks for the study meeting. However…

     “Yeah. I forgot it.”

     - Okay, then. You don’t have to rush, so be careful, okay?

     “Okay, thanks.”

     Ra-Eun always felt like she was being healed whenever she talked with Yi-Seo on the phone. Shin Yu-Bin tilted her head in confusion after Ra-Eun ended her call.

     “Isn’t that your backpack next to you, Ra-Eun?”

     “It is.”

     “Then why did you lie that you forgot it at your house? It’s right there.”

     “Because I need to remove my make-up and change.”

     Ra-Eun had lied to Yi-Seo because she was in full make-up like last week.

     “Why? Didn’t you go like that last time as well? You said your friends loved seeing you like that,” Yu-Bin remarked.

     “They did, but there is a problem separate from that.”

     “What kind of problem?”

     “My friends kept stealing glances at me.”

     It was especially true for the boys. She couldn’t help but be bothered when they were staring at her when they should have been staring at the workbook. Yu-Bin was convinced by Ra-Eun’s explanation.

     “I guess they would. Teenage boys are highly interested in the opposite sex, after all. Don’t you also receive tons of love confessions?”

     “I guess so.”

     Ra-Eun did not refute it, because it was the truth. Not only that, Yu-Bin would not believe her even if she said no, so she decided to just acknowledge it.

     “How many times?” Yu-Bin asked.

     “I’d never counted.”

     She had never even thought to do so either.

     “Meaning you received so many that you couldn't count them all. That’s our Ra-Eun for you.”

     Ra-Eun could not understand why Yu-Bin was so proud.

     “I’m sure you’ll be getting tons again for a while,” Yu-Bin expressed.

     “Why?”

     “It’s Valentine’s Day soon, and White Day after that. Aren’t there tons of love confession events on such special days?”

     Valentine’s Day and White Day. Come to think of it, it was her first time experiencing those days since becoming a high school girl. However, she did not mind it much.

     “Valentine’s Day and White Day are just marketing strategies made by sweets businesses to sell more chocolate and candy.”

     Ra-Eun nonchalantly said something that Chairman Ji would have been sad about if he had heard it. But even so, Yu-Bin did not give up in appealing to Ra-Eun the importance of such events.

     “You’re not wrong, but teenagers can dream. It’s the last event of their teenage years, so isn’t it nice to create heart-pounding happenings? It can also become a story for them to tell others later.”

     “I’m not so sure about that.”

     Ra-Eun was not all that interested in such things. Yu-Bin smiled bitterly at the apathetic Ra-Eun. Yu-Bin did not know if it was because Ra-Eun was in the entertainment industry or had been like that since birth, but she sometimes thought that Ra-Eun did not act like a teenage girl when she looked at her.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun removed her make-up and changed into comfortable clothes as soon as she came back home. She took out and wore the down jacket again after a sudden cold wave had hit in February.

     As she was about to head out the front door after getting ready, Kang Ra-Hyuk called out to her.

     “Ra-Eun, you know what day February 14th is, right?”

     February 14th was the Valentine’s Day that she had discussed with Yu-Bin about. Ra-Eun glared at her brother.

     “Don’t even think about getting any chocolates from me. I’ll never give any to you,” she declared.

     She was not even going to give the commonplace obligatory chocolates. She would consider giving them to women, but absolutely not to men, even if the man was her brother. Her father was fine, but absolutely not her brother. Even if they were family, she just did not want to give Ra-Hyuk any chocolates.

     Ra-Hyuk laughed when Ra-Eun mentioned chocolates.

     “Hey, you think I said that because I wanted chocolates from you? You have no idea how many girls give me chocolates on Valentine’s Day.”

     Ra-Eun would have replied “What a load of crap” if she had heard that last summer, but she could not say such a thing anymore. She had witnessed it herself that his words were the truth.

     Ra-Hyuk was quite popular with the ladies on his campus, whether they were of the same year, upperclassmen or underclassmen. Five women had already come to their home because of a school report. In other words, Ra-Hyuk would receive chocolates from at least five people, or possibly even get confessed to.

     “Why are you bringing up Valentine’s Day if not for chocolates?” Ra-Eun asked.

     Ra-Hyuk pointed at the calendar as he stared at her blunt little sister.

     “Have you forgotten even your own birthday?”

     February 14th was Valentine’s Day, as well as…

     ‘My birthday.’

     She had honestly never even thought about it. It was obvious, since her birthday in her past life was in August. The birthday of Kang Ra-Eun had not even been on her mind since she had only thought of her original birthday.

     Ra-Hyuk said while looking at Ra-Eun strangely, “However busy you may be, how could you forget your own birthday? Anyway, I’ll treat you to something good on that day, so free up some time. Let’s go out to eat as a family with Dad, okay?”

     “Okay. I’ll let you know later once I check my schedule.”

     She had never expected that she had been born on such a sweet day.

     * * *

     Once Ra-Eun finally joined her friends, they were momentarily disappointed as soon as they saw her.

     Seeing that, Na Gyu-Rin scolded them, “You guys are disappointed that Ra-Eun isn’t in full make-up again, aren’t you?”

     She was so right on the mark that they flinched. The same went for Seo Yi-Jun standing by the counter. He had come to work at the cafe when it wasn’t a working day for him, because he had heard that Ra-Eun had come to the study meeting in full make-up before. Yi-Jun had never seen Ra-Eun with make-up on, so he wanted to fulfill that wish of his.

     However, Ra-Eun was not that easy.

     ‘I’m glad I dropped by my house first.’

     Things had gone exactly as she had expected them to go.

     Ro-Mi asked Ra-Eun as soon as she took her seat, “Ra-Eun, are you free next week?”

     “Next week?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Yup. Gyu-Rin and I are gonna be making chocolates here. Yi-Seo said she would teach us.”

     It could have been because Yi-Seo’s father owned a cafe, but she not only knew how to brew coffee, but could even bake all kinds of desserts such as cakes, cookies, and the like. Yi-Seo was the most domestic among Ra-Eun’s list of friends.

     Once Ro-Mi mentioned chocolates, Ra-Eun figured out right away why Ro-Mi had asked her if she had time next week.

     “Is it because of Valentine’s Day?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Yup.”

     “Did you find someone you like?”

     Since Ro-Mi had gotten used to Ra-Eun’s straightforward style of speech, she shook her head without getting flustered.

     “No, just for exchanging between friends. Just because you’re making chocolates doesn’t mean you’re giving them to someone of the opposite sex that you like.”

     “I guess that’s true.”

     “So, do you have time?”

     Ra-Eun was the busiest person here. She had drama shoots and broadcasts to be in. Since Ra-Eun was living a completely different life from a normal high schooler, her friends always had to confirm her schedule whenever they wanted to do something with her.

     “I’m probably free on any day except on Valentine’s Day and the day before.” she replied.

     “Do you have a shoot scheduled on that day?”

     “No, I just have personal plans.”

     “Oh, really?” Ro-Mi showed very deep interest. “Do you have plans with someone, perhaps? With a man, or maybe another man?”

     “Why are men the only choices?”

     “Well, if someone’s spending their personal time with someone else on a day like Valentine’s Day, it’s highly likely that they’re of the opposite sex, isn’t it? At least, that’s what I think.”

     The boys also showed their interest in Ro-Mi's question, especially Choi Sang-Woon, who had been turned down by Ra-Eun after confessing to her. His ears perked up with the anxiety that Ra-Eun had possibly gotten a boyfriend.

     “I guess it’s a man,” Ra-Eun confirmed.

     Her friends and Yi-Jun lost their minds by her shocking statement.

     Cough, cough!

     Coughs and deep sighs could be heard all around. Even Yi-Seo was considerably surprised.

     “A-A man? F-For real?”

     “I’m talking about my family. My brother and dad. Don’t start getting weird ideas.”

     “Oh… I see.”

     Sighs of relief could be heard all around this time.

     “But why with your family?”

     There were many holidays which one spent with their family, such as New Year’s Day or Christmas. However, Valentine’s Day was not really one of them. Ra-Eun showed signs of hesitation, but she decided to just say it.

     “My birthday is on Valentine’s Day, apparently.”

     It was as if she was talking about someone else. Sang-Woon and Yi-Jun’s eyes flashed at the mention of Ra-Eun’s birthday. Compared to them, Yi-Seo and her other friends congratulated her upcoming birthday.

     “Your birthday is on Valentine’s Day? That’s so nice!”

     “Is it?”

     Ra-Eun would have to come face to face with a birthday sweeter than she would like.

     Yi-Seo said as her friends’ representative, “Is there anything you want as a gift?”

     “Gift, huh…?”

     There was one thing that Ra-Eun truly wanted as a gift.

     ‘It’d be great if I could get a button that could drop Kim Han-Gyo and Kim Chi-Yeol straight into hell.’

     If such a button existed, then she was confident that she would press it hundreds of thousands of times.

     Chapter 55

     Sweet Birthday (2)

     On a Wednesday morning of February 14th, Kang Ra-Eun hurried to get ready to exercise at dawn because she had a shoot in the morning. She usually did weight training at the fitness center on weekday mornings, but decided to just go for a light jog like she did on weekends.

     Even if it was February 14th, her birthday, she expected the day to be like any other. However, she was sorely mistaken. As Ra-Eun was about to pass Starlight Road, Seo Yi-Jun, who was waiting for her outside, raised his hand and called out to her.

     “Noona!”

     Ra-Eun said with an exasperated face, “Why are you out here?”

     Yi-Jun only jogged with her on weekends, never on weekdays. Not just that, they had not made any plans. She could not understand why he was here at all.

     “I texted you last night, didn’t I? I asked what you were gonna be doing in the morning, and you said you were gonna be jogging.”

     Ra-Eun did indeed answer as such, but she had never told him to come with her since it was a weekday. Also, they had never promised to always exercise together, but here Yi-Jun was as if it was natural.

     Yi-Jun sometimes one-sidedly joined her workouts, but there was a separate reason this time.

     “I have a gift for you,” Yi-Jun said.

     “A gift? Why so out of the blue?”

     “It’s your birthday, so it’s not really out of the blue.”

     Yi-Jun was not wrong. He opened his backpack after asking Ra-Eun to wait just a second.

     “These are the chocolates that my sis and her friends asked me to give you.”

     “Oh, so this is it.”

     Seo Yi-Seo had contacted her in the middle of a drama shoot yesterday afternoon that she was making chocolates with Na Gyu-Rin and Choi Ro-Mi, and that she would give Ra-Eun some as a gift. She had thought that she would get them later, but she never expected her friends to get Yi-Jun to deliver them to her.

     “And… this is from me,” Yi-Jun stated.

     He handed her the box of chocolates, and…

     “What’s this?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Open it.”

     She tore open the wrapping paper, which revealed a yellow baseball cap.

     “You wear hats often, don’t you? That’s why I made one for you,” Yi-Jun remarked.

     “You made it?”

     “Yes. It’s a handmade product that was made specially for you, noona.”

     As expected of an aspiring fashion designer, the design fit Ra-Eun’s tastes perfectly. There was a hipster sticker stuck on it, and it gave off a youthful feeling of a teenager seeking freedom.

     Ra-Eun put it on.

     “Does it look good on me?” she asked.

     “Yes, extremely!”

     It looked much better on Ra-Eun than Yi-Jun had expected. Although, anything that Ra-Eun wore looked great on her since she was naturally beautiful. Ra-Eun liked the design, but there was one thing that bothered her.

     “But isn’t it way too big for my head?”

     The baseball cap couldn’t help but feel too big for her since her head was so small. However, Yi-Jun was not that negligent.

     “There are clips at the back that you can use to adjust the size.”

     Ra-Eun adjusted the baseball cap size like Yi-Jun had mentioned. Only after adjusting it to the smallest size did the cap fit her head just right. Yi-Jun sighed in relief.

     “Your head is a lot smaller than I thought, noona.”

     His size calculations had been incorrect because of Ra-Eun’s long hair.

     “It fits in the end, so it’s all good. Thanks, I’ll wear it well.”

     Now that Yi-Jun had delivered the chocolates and his gift, he was about to head home.

     Grasp.

     However, Ra-Eun suddenly grabbed him by his sleeve.

     “N-Noona…?”

     Yi-Jun’s mind surged with anticipation that Ra-Eun might confess to him. However…

     “Where do you think you’re going? Since you’re here, you might as well jog with me.”

     “…”

     Only aerobic exercise was on her mind.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun’s phone chimed like crazy on her way to the studio. Shin Yu-Bin asked her as she looked at Ra-Eun’s busy phone through the rearview mirror, “Who keeps contacting you?”

     It was rare to see Ra-Eun fiddling with her phone that much. She did not play phone games, nor was she the type to call or text others often. Hence, she could not help but be curious about it.

     “It’s just my friends texting and calling me to wish me a happy birthday,” Ra-Eun remarked.

     Yu-Bin was also aware that it was Ra-Eun’s birthday today. In fact, most people in her agency probably knew. Yu-Bin asked Ra-Eun while looking at her through the rearview mirror again, “Your high school friends?”

     “Yes.”

     Not only Yi-Seo, Gyu-Rin and Ro-Mi, but she also received congratulations from her male friends Park Se-Woon, Choi Sang-Woon and such. Ra-Eun did not like people contacting her to wish her a happy birthday that much, so her response was lukewarm even after getting tons of happy birthday texts.

     Yu-Bin could not understand Ra-Eun’s lack of reaction.

     “You’re not happy about your birthday?” she asked.

     “I guess… I’m happy.”

     To be honest, she did not feel all that happy since today was not her original birthday. It was simply the former Kang Ra-Eun’s birthday, so she did not get the feeling that it was even her birthday today.

     Yu-Bin smiled lightly as she looked at Ra-Eun.

     “Take a look at the back seat,” Yu-Bin stated.

     “The back?”

     “Yup.”

     Ra-Eun’s eyes widened as she turned to look at the back row seats. Something that she had never imagined to be there was openly laid out.

     “What’s with these flowers?” Ra-Eun asked.

     It was a basket filled with real flowers. Ra-Eun had thought that the car had smelled differently than usual, and those flowers were probably the reason why.

     “Take a look inside the basket.”

     There was a card stuck inside with the name of the sender on it.

     Ji Han-Seok. He had sent a basket of flowers to her as a gift.

     “He was going to send them to your house, but he asked me to give them to you instead since he doesn’t know your address.”

     “Oh… really?”

     Ra-Eun read what Han-Seok had hand-written himself on the card. At the very end, he had written…

     [To Ra-Eun, who’s more beautiful than flowers, happy birthday.]

     The urge to tear up the card swept over her mind, but she did her best to suppress it.

     ‘I absolutely hate cheesy lines like this.’

     * * *

     Ra-Eun’s birthday celebration event continued even at the Reaper studio set, after the shoot had finished.

     “Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~”

     “Happy birthday to dear Ra-Eun~”

     “Happy birthday to you~!”

     Pop! Pop—!

     Party poppers cracked from all around her. Je-Woon appeared from the crowd of staff members while holding a cake.

     “The staff and I prepared this for you. Happy birthday once again, Ra-Eun,” Je-Woon said.

     “Thank you, sunbae.”

     She often saw on TV, staff members holding surprise events on the set for celebrities with upcoming birthdays. However, she had never expected herself to be the protagonist of such surprise events. There were even several staff members holding cameras to film her reaction. She had no choice but to smile and act like she was happy despite the shoot being over.

     ‘I’d rather they just wish me a happy birthday and move on.’

     That was what Ra-Eun wanted, but no one on set understood her feelings.

     * * *

     Her birthday celebration continued even on her way home after the shoot. Chief Jung, who had visited the set after a while, and Yu-Bin filled Ra-Eun’s arms with gifts that they had prepared for her. Chief Jung continued to congratulate her even after they had reached her home.

     “Happy birthday, Ra-Eun. You said you were gonna go out to eat with your family today, right?”

     “Yes.”

     “This is an XIPS gift card. I charged it up by a lot, so go eat as much as you want today.”

     Ra-Eun rather liked practical gifts like this. After thanking Chief Jung and Yu-Bin for wishing her a happy birthday yet again, she entered her home with the flower basket that she had gotten from Han-Seok and the huge number of gifts.

     Her father, who was in the living room, asked her in surprise, “Jesus! What’s all that, Ra-Eun?”

     “I got gifts from a bunch of people wishing me a happy birthday. After getting one after another, it multiplied to this many.”

     They decided to put them all in Ra-Eun’s room for the time being. Meanwhile, Kang Ra-Hyuk returned home after finishing his business.

     “I parked outside with the ignition on, so come out once you’re all ready.”

     Ra-Eun went out the door with her father after removing her make-up and changing into comfortable clothes. Ra-Hyuk decided to drive in their father’s stead this time. He asked Ra-Eun as he set the GPS coordinates, “Is there anything you want to eat?”

     “Meat,” Ra-Eun answered.

     “Meat, huh…? How about we go to XIPS, then?”

     “Sure.”

     It was perfect since she had the gift card that she had received from Chief Jung. It had 500,000 won charged into it, so it was more than enough money to fill the bellies of a three-person family. Although Ra-Hyuk said that it was his treat…

     ‘It’s better to just use the gift card.’

     The gift card could only be used there, so Ra-Eun was planning on paying instead.

     Ra-Hyuk asked his little sister sitting alone at the back, “I’m guessing you weren’t able to get many happy birthday wishes because of today’s shoot, right?”

     Ra-Hyuk had expected that Ra-Eun wasn’t able to spend her birthday with her friends properly because of work. However, their father opened his mouth before Ra-Eun even had a chance to respond.

     “No, Ra-Eun probably had her birthday celebrated even more than our little dine-in.”

     “Huh? What do you mean?” Ra-Hyuk asked.

     “Go take a look inside Ra-Eun’s room later. There are so many birthday gifts that they almost couldn’t all fit in her room.”

     “…???”

     Ra-Hyuk still did not know how much of a social butterfly his little sister was.

     Chapter 56

     Weakness (1)

     The filming of the drama Reaper was almost at its final stage. Kang Ra-Eun in a jet-black one-piece dress looked down at Je-Woon. She acted to exhibit concealment of her sorrow, which she also expressed in every movement that she made.

     Ra-Eun slowly recited her line with a faint tremble in her voice.

     “Our paths… won’t cross again. Another grim reaper will come to retrieve your abnormally strong spiritual powers soon enough.”

     “Then does that mean I’ll never get to see you again?”

     “I told you. Our paths won’t ever cross again.”

     Jin Seo-Yu never thought that bidding farewell was such a heart-wrenching act. Grim reapers were not permitted to bear any sort of emotion toward a human. Despite that, she had broken that taboo. She could no longer violate the rules of the lower world and the afterlife. She did not care what happened to her, but she could not put the one that she loved in danger.

     Hence, Jin Seo-Yu had no choice but to part ways with her loved one, all for his sake. Even if it was not put into words, Ra-Eun had to perform in a way that the audience across the screen could understand her emotions and thoughts. This was the role of an actor.

     Ra-Eun had been performing the role that she had been given as best as she could until now, and as a result…

     “Okay, perfect! Let’s wrap up the shoot here for today. Good work, everyone!” Director Park announced with a very satisfied expression.

     The journey that was Reaper would end in two more weeks of filming. Ra-Eun and Je-Woon headed to the next content on their schedule as soon as the shoot finished. The two lead roles were scheduled to appear in a program that covered entertainment industry news as well as an interview.

     Ra-Eun and Je-Woon sat down for the interview. Before jumping straight into it, the female reporter congratulated the two.

     “Congratulations! You said you didn’t have much more left to shoot, right?”

     Je-Woon raised the mic to his face first.

     “Yes. There are only around two more weeks left.”

     “You must be well aware that the drama Reaper has been receiving much love from the audience. How do you feel about that?”

     Ra-Eun jumped in this time.

     “I didn’t expect that the drama would receive so much attention and love when I went into filming for the first time. The drama has gotten so popular thanks to our loving audience, and I personally have gotten many casting offers. I think this was all possible thanks to the love that everyone has given us and the drama. I’d like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”

     Ra-Eun could be considered a veteran from how well she was answering such questions.

     The female reporter also asked about their personal ventures.

     “Je-Woon, you said that you were going to focus on your music career after the drama shoots finished, right?”

     “Yes, since we’re releasing a new album soon. I love acting, but I’d like everyone not to forget that my main job is a singer. Bex will be bringing our fans another great song, so please wait a little longer.”

     Je-Woon had even advertised Bex’s new song, just like a veteran of the entertainment industry would.

     The female reporter also asked a similar question to Ra-Eun.

     “What about you, Ra-Eun? What will you be doing after the drama shoots are over?”

     “I think I will be focusing on my studies until my SATs are over.”

     “Oh, will you not be appearing in any shows at all?”

     “No, I won’t be completely avoiding them. I’ll be appearing in variety shows or radio shows every now and then, but I’m thinking of putting production activities on hold until my SATs are over.”

     To Ra-Eun, her studies were just as important as her activity in the entertainment industry. Her true goal was not to succeed as a celebrity, but to take her revenge against Kim Han-Gyo and Kim Chi-Yeol. To do so, she could not ignore the connections that she could gain through her academics.

     ‘Not only that, I have to prepare my business as well.’

     Ra-Eun had a lot more to do than she looked. She could possibly be even busier than Je-Woon next to her.

     * * *

     As Ra-Eun, Shin Yu-Bin and her stylist left the waiting room together after finishing with the interview, Je-Woon called out to her from the hallway.

     “Ra-Eun.”

     He looked like he wanted a little of her time. Ra-Eun instructed Yu-Bin and the stylist to go ahead of her.

     “What is it, sunbae?’

     “We’re going to be shooting our music video soon, and I thought I’d tell you about it since you’ll probably get an appearance offer.”

     “Oh, really? Will you be appearing in the music video as well?”

     Je-Woon nodded. Since it was a music video of Bex, the boy group that he was in, it was obvious that he would be in it as well.

     “Yeah, probably,” he replied.

     Ra-Eun had gotten accustomed to performing with Je-Woon since they had been working together for the past half a year. A music video shoot was far shorter than a drama shoot. Also, since it was not Ra-Eun’s own music video, her part would be over after only a day or two of shooting.

     However, it was a little ambiguous to give Je-Woon an answer here. She would have to discuss it with her agency. He also did not look like he wanted an answer right now either since he knew the steps that needed to be taken.

     “You’ll find out how the shoot will progress and such once the offer gets to your agency. There won’t be any skinship, kiss scenes or revealing attires that you hate, so I hope you consider it positively,” Je-Woon remarked.

     “Okay, sunbae.”

     Je-Woon knew Ra-Eun’s preferences very well. She was glad that he mentioned such things since she did not need to go through the hassle of making such demands.

     ‘Je-Woon sunbae is very considerate of others.’

     He looked like a ‘tough guy’ who did not know how to be considerate of others on the outside, but he was considerably sweet on the inside. Such a gap rather added to his charms, which was likely why he was the most popular member of Bex.

     Je-Woon said his goodbyes to Ra-Eun with a straightforward smile.

     “I’ll see you next week, then.”

     Ra-Eun sighed as she watched Je-Woon getting further away, and whispered so that no one could hear her.

     “This goddamn popularity of mine…”

     * * *

     An end marked a new beginning. A new beginning came Ra-Eun’s way once the drama shoots were almost at an end. School had reopened after the long winter break.

     Ra-Eun’s face stiffened once she put on her uniform after a long time.

     “What’s going on? My chest area feels stuffier than usual.”

     Did she have an upset stomach? No, that wasn’t it. She found out why once she stood in front of the full-length mirror.

     Ra-Eun’s breasts had gotten bigger compared to last year. She was still a teenager, so she was still in her growing phase. Despite that, she did not look too thrilled.

     ‘No wonder I kept feeling uncomfortable during my morning jogs… ’

     Her chest area was too tight. She felt embarrassed by how only her chest was protruding out of her uniform. She could just cover them with outerwear during the winter, but…

     ‘What about summer?’

     That was the problem. However, she couldn’t just buy a new uniform, and she was also too lazy to get a new one fitted.

     ‘I’ll just have to bear with it.’

     Ra-Eun did not have to go around school wearing a uniform for much longer. Hence, she decided to be patient once again.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun checked her class allocation alongside Seo Yi-Seo who she came to school with.

     “I’m in Year 3 Class 3,” she said.

     Yi-Seo’s face brightened as soon as she heard that.

     “Really? I’m in Class 3 too.”

     Not only Yi-Seo, but Na Gyu-Rin and Choi Ro-Mi were put in the same class as her this year as well. Yi-Seo sighed in relief as she climbed the stairs with Ra-Eun.

     “Thank God. I couldn’t get a wink of sleep last night while worrying about what I’d do if I was the only one in a different class.”

     “It’s not really that big of a deal…”

     Ra-Eun thought so, but Yi-Seo thought otherwise. Ra-Eun at least understood how Yi-Seo felt, since she would also feel more relieved if she was in the same class as her friends rather than being the only one apart from them.

     She saw some more familiar faces once she opened the door to Class 3.

     “Been a while, Ra-Eun.”

     “Hey.”

     Choi Sang-Woon and Kim Yeong-Gyo were also put in the same class as Ra-Eun. However, there was also one more person.

     “Good morning, Ra-Eun!”

     A boy greeted her with a booming voice. Ra-Eun’s face stiffened as soon as she saw him. Park Se-Woon had also been put in the same class.

     “Weren’t you in the sciences?” Ra-Eun asked.

     Class 3 was composed of students in the arts department, but Se-Woon, a student in the science department, had somehow ended up in this class.

     “I decided to transfer to arts,” he stated.

     “Why so out of the blue?”

     “Obviously to spend more time with you, what else?”

     Ra-Eun raised her middle finger at Se-Woon blatantly displaying his feelings for her.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun had suspicions that Se-Woon had bribed the school to be put in the same class as her. It was extremely unlikely that they could be put in the same class otherwise. She was never the type to believe in conspiracies, but there was no way that she could not believe it with how things had turned out.

     Ra-Eun was satisfied with her new Class 3 classmates, but…

     ‘That son of a bitch Park Se-Woon is the problem.’

     He was stealing glances at Ra-Eun even while the Korean Language teacher was in the middle of teaching.

     ‘Would you look at that bastard?’

     Ra-Eun’s rage was triggered just from laying eyes on Se-Woon’s face. She wrote something on an exercise book, tore the page, crumpled it up and threw it at Se-Woon.

     Tap!

     He caught Ra-Eun’s note and opened it.

     [I’ll kill you if you glance at me one more time.]

     Se-Woon smiled awkwardly at Ra-Eun’s fierce words of warning. Ra-Eun never went back on her word. Because Se-Woon knew very well that her warning was not empty, he turned to fix his gaze toward the blackboard.

     Ra-Eun had once again come to realize that threats and violence worked best on someone who couldn’t be reasoned with words.

     Chapter 57

     Weakness (2)

     Classes usually ended early on the first day of school. Choi Ro-Mi asked Kang Ra-Eun and Seo Yi-Seo after school, “Gyu-Rin and I are gonna go watch a movie. Do you guys wanna come too?”

     “A movie? Why so out of the blue?”

     “We’re third-years now. We’re gonna be studying nonstop from now on, so I was thinking that we should play while we still can. What do you think?”

     Ro-Mi had a point. Third-years were examinees who had to overcome the trial that was the SATs. Although their lives weren’t decided just from taking it once, it still had quite a significant influence on their lives. Ra-Eun was persuaded by their views. And not only that…

     ‘It’s been a while since I’ve been to a cinema.’

     Ra-Eun had been so busy over the winter break that she had no time to take some time to go to a cinema. She had also not gone to watch any movies because she had watched them all before, especially the fairly popular ones that were currently out.

     ‘I guess returning to the past has its downsides in this sense.’

     Ra-Eun held in her bitter smile. She was disappointed that, unlike others, she knew exactly how certain movies were going to go. However, great movies were still great even after a second or third watch, and she had nothing to do at home. Since Ra-Eun was curious about what movies were out, she decided to accept Ro-Mi’s suggestion.

     “Let’s go,” Ra-Eun said.

     “Okay. What about you, Yi-Seo?”

     “If Ra-Eun’s going, I’m going too,” Yi-Seo quickly answered as a best friend should.

     Ra-Eun had decided to go to the cinema after a long time with friends that she got along with. If anything was different from the past, it would be her friends’ gender.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun’s phone vibrated on her way to the cinema. It was a call from Chief Jung.

     “Just a sec,” Ra-Eun said as she slowed down to walk behind her friends.

     They also walked ahead at an appropriate pace so that Ra-Eun did not fall behind too much.

     “Hello?”

     - Hey, Ra-Eun. Your classes are over, right?

     “Yes, I’m free to talk right now.”

     - Really? Actually, you got another music video casting offer…

     Ra-Eun had made quite a profit from starring in Rita’s music video. That music video had instantly raised public awareness of her, when all she had in terms of work record was a minor role in a drama. Thanks to that, she had been receiving a few music video casting offers from other agencies now and then, with their intent being to receive the ‘Kang Ra-Eun effect’ as well.

     - Don’t be too shocked when you hear this. The music video casting offer is from…

     “It’s a casting offer for Bex’s music video, right?”

     Ro-Mi’s ears perked up as soon as she heard ‘Bex’ while she was walking ahead. She was a huge Bex fan, especially of Je-Woon. Her hearing got scarily good whenever they were mentioned.

     “Ra-Eun! You just said ‘Bex,’ right? Right?!”

     “What are you doing? You’re disturbing Ra-Eun’s phone call.”

     Yi-Seo and Na Gyu-Rin grabbed Ro-Mi’s left and right arms respectively. Ra-Eun continued with her call while they were holding Ro-Mi back. Meanwhile, Chief Jung was shocked that Ra-Eun had immediately guessed correctly.

     - How did you know?

     “Je-Woon sunbae told me that they’d be sending me a casting offer for their music video soon.”

     Ro-Mi’s rampage became even fiercer once she heard ‘Je-Woon.’ They had unintentionally gotten people’s attention because of her, to which Gyu-Rin and Yi-Seo apologized in embarrassment.

     Ra-Eun continued her call with Chief Jung in the meantime.

     - Well, okay, since you already know… First, they’re going to be sending over the concept of the music video and how the shoot will proceed around tomorrow. I could have Ms. Shin deliver it to you as soon as I get it, so why don’t you take a look over it?

     “Okay.”

     Chief Jung felt a sense of abnormality from how accepting Ra-Eun was. Ra-Eun would not usually be so compliant. However, Ra-Eun was acting like this because she already knew that there were no revealing scenes, skinship nor kiss scenes included in the music video shoot.

     Not knowing that, Chief Jung was dumbfounded. However, since everything was good, he quickly accepted Ra-Eun’s answer and ended the call before she could change her mind.

     After ending the call, Ra-Eun sighed at Ro-Mi who was even more excited than herself. This was how scary idol fandoms could be.

     * * *

     Gyu-Rin expressed her surprise as soon as they arrived at the cinema.

     “Oh no, I wanted to watch Leashed, but it’s sold out.”

     The hollywood action blockbuster Leashed was an extremely popular movie that broke the total cinema attendance record in just one week of it being released. They had been planning on watching it today, but they had been too late.

     “What should we do?” Gyu-Rin asked her friends.

     It was too much of a waste to just go home after coming all this way.

     “We can just watch another movie.”

     “Yeah.”

     Leashed was not the only movie being screened. They held an emergency meeting about which movie to watch. Ra-Eun also flipped through the pamphlet to recall which movies were released around this time.

     However, they could not easily come to a conclusion. The next screening time of one movie was too far away, and another movie did not fit the preferences of one of the four. It was difficult to match the preferences of multiple people.

     At that moment, Gyu-Rin presented another option like the class president she was.

     “Then how about this one?”

     The movie that she gestured at was…

     “Hell Kree?”

     “Isn’t this a horror movie?”

     Hell Kree was a horror movie that was also made in America like Leashed, and it was rumored to be extremely scary.

     Yi-Seo and Ro-Mi were okay with Gyu-Rin’s suggestion, and the only person left to give her thoughts was Ra-Eun.

     “I-I’m okay with it too. L-Let’s watch it,” she suddenly stuttered.

     Ra-Eun had never been this flustered even in front of a camera, so they had never expected her to be so shaken over picking a movie.

     The quick-witted Gyu-Rin narrowed her eyes.

     “Are you perhaps scared of horror movies, Ra-Eun?”

     Ra-Eun yelled in anger, “Of course not! It’s all fake anyway, so what’s there to be scared about? Let’s go buy the tickets already.”

     Ra-Eun denied Gyu-Rin’s question completely, but something smelled fishy.

     * * *

     The four high school girls entered the theater and sat with Ro-Mi, Gyu-Rin, Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo lined up in one row. Unlike Leashed, there weren’t many people in the theater watching Hell Kree; there were only about twenty people.

     Ro-Mi said while trembling, “It kinda feels scarier when there aren’t that many people.”

     “That’s the charm of horror movies.”

     Gyu-Rin and Yi-Seo with high tolerance for horror movies were sitting nonchalantly in their seats. However, only Ra-Eun was not smiling. Gyu-Rin lightly laughed as she looked at Ra-Eun looking away from the screen with a face completely frozen.

     “Ra-Eun, the movie hasn’t even started yet, so you don’t have to be so scared.”

     “I said I wasn’t scared.” Ra-Eun said while glaring at Gyu-Rin. However, her glare today was rather cute instead of scary.

     The movie began after the ads ended. Like most horror movies, it started at a dark abandoned house to leave a powerful impact on the audience. Ra-Eun flinched vigorously as soon as she saw the abandoned house. She fanned her face with her hands in embarrassment.

     “Wh-Why is this theater so damn hot?”

     “It’s still winter, Ra-Eun,”

     Ra-Eun shut her mouth at Gyu-Rin’s sharp response.

     The group searching the abandoned house looked around with a flashlight. At that moment, a female ghost with hollow eye sockets jumped into the frame.

     “Kyaak!” Ra-Eun screamed.

     Her friends were more surprised by her scream than the jumpscare. Yi-Seo stared at Ra-Eun in amazement. She had never known that Ra-Eun could make sharp screams like this.

     Gyu-Rin’s suspicions had been on the mark. Ra-Eun had absolutely zero tolerance for horror, even in her past life. Even when people suggested they go watch a horror movie, she absolutely refused. She could not play horror games either. One could say that Ra-Eun just couldn’t do anything horror-related.

     She was lost for words at her easily-frightened self who ended up here after putting on airs for no reason. She was slightly trembling with her eyes glued shut. Yi-Seo held her hand, and noticed that it was drenched in sweat despite it being winter.

     “Are you okay, Ra-Eun?”

     “T-T-T-T-T-Totally! I’m totally fine, s-so don’t mind me!”

     She did not look fine at all. She slowly opened her eyes back up once she had instinctively realized that the scary part was over. However, horror movies put jumpscares where the audience least expected it.

     She mustered up the courage to open her eyes, but another ghost jumpscare occurred under an anxiety-inducing BGM. She had unwittingly made eye contact with the ghost.

     “…!!!”

     The theater echoed with Ra-Eun’s screams because of the unlucky timing.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun wiped her sweat-drenched forehead, neck and the area under the neck with a handkerchief. Her friends who came to the bathroom with her looked at her in amazement.

     “I can’t believe our Ra-Eun had a weakness like this.”

     “Yeah, what a surprise.”

     Their image of Ra-Eun was someone who would punch or kick even ghosts, but they found the image of a powerless and trembling Ra-Eun amazing and somewhat cute.

     Ra-Eun warned her friends with a glare, “You’d better not tell anyone what you saw here today, got it?”

     She was threatening them with a face as red as a tomato, but they weren’t really scared, considering they just saw her screaming in fear from a horror movie.

     “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with us.”

     “Yeah, trust us.”

     They decided to bury what had happened in the cinema in the name of friendship, because they thought that Ra-Eun would actually get mad if they didn't.

     Chapter 58

     Wedding Dress (1)

     It was almost 4 PM by the time they left the cinema. Thinking that it would be a waste to just go home like this, Choi Ro-Mi made a suggestion to her friends.

     “It’s gonna be dinnertime in two hours, so why don’t we go home after dinner since we've come all the way here downtown?”

     “Sounds good, but how are we gonna kill time until then?”

     “An escape room? Or coin karaoke? There are a ton of things to do here, so why don’t we look around?”

     “Okay, let’s do that. Ra-Eun, Gyu-Rin, what about you guys?”

     The two also agreed since they had nothing special to do today. Na Gyu-Rin pointed toward a crane game machine while they were looking around downtown.

     “How about a crane game?”

     The machine was filled with cute plushies that women would love. Ro-Mi confidently challenged the machine first. She put in a 500-won coin and maneuvered the crane with the joystick. Her friends were watching from the sidelines, telling her to go forward, right, no, slightly left. Ro-Mi ran out of time while dealing with the backseating and the crane dropped down on its own.

     “One more time.”

     Ro-Mi set ablaze with competitive spirit. No one could stop her once her switch was flipped. Despite the continued failures, she put in 500-won coins to challenge the machine again and again. However, she was not able to win a single plushie after spending almost 10,000 won.

     “Why can’t I get anything? This machine must be rigged!”

     Gyu-Rin stepped up after the highly dissatisfied Ro-Mi, but the result was the same for her after spending 3,000 won. Seo Yi-Seo did not even think of challenging the machine.

     It was Kang Ra-Eun’s turn.

     Ring!

     Her eyes changed as soon as she put in a 500-won coin.

     ‘A crane game, huh? It’s been way too long.’

     Ra-Eun often used to play on the crane game machine in her university campus whenever she passed by it. The skills were ingrained into her muscles. She won a blue seal plushie in one attempt that Ro-Mi couldn’t get after spending 10,000 won.

     “Here, it’s a gift.”

     Not only that, but she even gave it to Ro-Mi.

     Ro-Mi said with sparkling eyes, “Ra-Eun, I would’ve fallen head over heels for you right now if you were a guy.”

     It wasn’t too late for her to fall for Ra-Eun. She was a guy on the inside, after all.

     * * *

     They saw another form of entertainment next to the crane game machine.

     “That’s a shooting gallery, isn’t it?” Gyu-Rin asked.

     Yi-Seo answered, “Yeah, I think so. Why? You want to give it a try?”

     “I want to try at least once. Wanna go?”

     They still had around thirty minutes until dinnertime. Since they had nothing else to do, they decided to head to the shooting gallery.

     A university couple was receiving a toy rifle from the owner of the shooting gallery. The man said to the owner, “This is pretty similar to the K2[1].”

     “Yes, you could say it’s a very similar replica,” the owner replied.

     “Eun-Ji, you don’t know what a K2 is, do you?”

     The man talked about his “heroic exploits” during his time in the army, and explained in detail about what kind of rifle it was, how to aim it and how to mount it on the shoulder. However, the woman did not seem to be interested in the slightest.

     “I got it, so just get me that.”

     “Which one?”

     “The moisturizing cream set!”

     It was a product from a considerably famous brand.

     “Just wait. I’ll shoot it down in a flash. I was called the shooting king in my army days. It’ll be a piece of cake,” the man boasted.

     “Really? I’ll believe in you, then!”

     “Yeah, just believe in me.”

     The man mounted the rifle on his right shoulder and lined the sight with the target.

     Bang!

     He pulled the trigger. However, the bullet from the toy rifle zipped right through without getting anywhere near the moisturizing cream set.

     “Nine bullets left,” the owner remarked.

     “Th-That was a mistake. That’s weird… Is the accuracy off because it’s not a real gun?”

     The man continued to pull the trigger while claiming that there must be something wrong with the rifle. However, none of the ten bullets hit their mark. Forget the cream set, he could not even shoot down the elephant plushie that looked extremely easy to shoot down.

     “Okay, next customer.”

     The man prepared to protest to the owner that this couldn’t be, but…

     Tick!

     Ra-Eun accurately hit the cream set after receiving the gun and getting into shooting position. However, the cream set had some weight that it simply got pushed back, and did not drop. Her friends were astonished by her performance.

     “Ra-Eun! One more shot!”

     “I think it’ll drop if you hit it on its right corner!”

     “Okay, got it.”

     Ra-Eun once again got into position. She held her breath, aimed at her target and pulled the trigger.

     Bang—!

     The cream set was pushed back again. But this time, it could not hold its balance on the shelf and dropped down. The owner and the man were so shocked by Ra-Eun’s shooting that they simply stared with their mouths open.

     On the other hand, the man’s girlfriend said while fiercely slapping him on his back several times, “For God’s sake, after how confident you were… How could you do worse than a high school girl? You’re so embarrassing!”

     “Th-That’s weird…”

     The man was not the weird one. The active duty high school girl Kang Ra-Eun was simply far too good at shooting guns.

     * * *

     Even while eating dinner, Gyu-Rin and Ro-Mi could not stop talking about how cool Ra-Eun was while firing the toy K2 rifle.

     “Isn’t Ra-Eun way too cool?”

     “For real. She’s cooler than most guys!”

     Ra-Eun was certainly cooler than the man who proclaimed to be a shooting king, since she had won the moisturizing cream set with only two shots. Not only that, she had shot down the cream of the crop of prizes, and also gave them to her friends as gifts.

     “If I had to choose someone to go out with, I’d choose Ra-Eun. She’s so dependable, isn’t she?”

     “Except that she gets way too scared by horror movies.”

     “So? That side of her is cute too.”

     Ro-Mi had been flirting with Ra-Eun because she had fallen for her charms. Ra-Eun could only smile awkwardly at Ro-Mi’s direct approach.

     Ro-Mi cared deeply about looks, which was why she loved male idols. But in actuality, she not only loved male idols, but female celebrities as well. Simply speaking, she just loved anyone who was handsome or pretty.

     “Sigh. I think I’d be heartbroken if Ra-Eun gets a boyfriend.”

     Gyu-Rin replied to Ro-Mi’s comment, “Is there even a man who can handle Ra-Eun?”

     They agreed that there probably wasn’t. However, Yi-Seo thought otherwise.

     “You never know. Someone perfect for Ra-Eun might appear one day.”

     Ra-Eun imagined herself dating someone while silently listening to her friends’ conversation. Whether her partner was a man or a woman…

     ‘It’d be extremely weird.’

     She felt extremely conflicted by her position as a man in a woman’s body.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun headed to GNF after a long time on a Saturday afternoon. She had ended up coming to the agency despite it being a weekend, because Chief Jung had called her to discuss the music video casting offer that they had talked about before. However, there was one other thing that they needed to discuss before that.

     “You know about the additional shoot for Reaper, right?” Chief Jung asked.

     Ra-Eun nodded. All shoots were supposed to be over last month, but Director Park had belatedly realized that he had missed some scenes while editing. He would not have suggested the additional shoot if the scenes had no significant impact on the story. However, the scene where Jin Seo-Yu held the male lead Min Hyun’s hand in the final episode could be interpreted differently if the additional scenes were not included.

     Hence, after much consideration, Director Park made the difficult decision to hold another shoot. Such a thing could not be easily established just because Director Park wanted. They needed to re-book the set, re-borrow the equipment that they had rented, and consider the cast’s schedules before even going into the shoot. It was not something one could just start right away.

     “Let me know if you have a preferred time. The production team said that they’ll try to match your schedule,” Chief Jung stated.

     “Why mine?”

     “Because you’re the protagonist.”

     Not just that, but Ra-Eun had the most screen time on the additional scenes that needed to be shot. Hence, her opinion was the most important.

     “In that case… Please schedule it sometime next week since it shouldn’t be done too late. After school, if possible.”

     “Got it. You heard that, right, Ms. Shin?”

     Shin Yu-Bin gestured that she did while quickly jotting down the information on her notepad.

     “Then let’s wrap up the conversation about the drama shoot here. Next up… so you’ve decided to star in Bex’s music video, right?” Chief Jung asked.

     “Yes.”

     Ra-Eun was very satisfied after reading the project proposal. Like Je-Woon had said, it contained nothing that Ra-Eun hated. Her role in the shoot was very simple. She only had two scenes; one was her crying on a street in the rain, and another was her brightly smiling in a wedding dress.

     “You’ve made the right choice. I’ll let their agency know,” Chief Jung said.

     “Understood.”

     On the other hand, Yu-Bin had gotten curious while listening to their conversation.

     “You’ve never worn a wedding dress before, have you, Ra-Eun?”

     “Yes, never…”

     It would be stranger if she had.

     ‘I’ve worn a tuxedo before, though.’

     He had never gotten married, but he had once ended up wearing a groom’s tuxedo.

     ‘But I’ve definitely never worn a wedding dress before.’

     Ra-Eun was a little worried about Bex’s music video shoot since she thought that she would feel extremely weird seeing herself in a wedding dress.

     ‘Should I have just refused?’

     She was swept by regret, but the train had already left the station.

     1. The K2 assault rifle is the standard service rifle of the South Korean military. ☜

     Chapter 59

     Wedding Dress (2)

     Considering that Kang Ra-Eun was a student, Bex’s music video shoot was scheduled to be held on Saturday and Sunday, of which Ra-Eun only had to show up for the Saturday one. However, since both shoots were scheduled very early in the morning, she had to set out at 2 AM.

     Ra-Eun got some sleep on the way there. An advantage of setting out early in the morning was that the roads were practically empty. Anxiety of being late was the norm because of the abysmal traffic in Seoul, but there was no need to worry about that today. It had been a while since Shin Yu-Bin had felt comfortable driving.

     “We’re almost there… Mi-Yeon, could you wake Ra-Eun up?” Yu-Bin asked.

     “Okay.”

     Kwon Mi-Yeon, Ra-Eun’s new stylist, lightly shook Ra-Eun’s shoulder.

     “We’re here, Ra-Eun. Wake up.”

     “…Already?”

     They had arrived earlier than she had expected. Ra-Eun barely managed to wake up from her deep slumber. She could see staff members moving busily outside the car window.

     Her first scene was simple. She just needed to sadly walk down a road in the rain. However, there was a problem. They had purposefully scheduled the shoot on a day forecasted to rain, but…

     “The weather’s beautiful today.”

     Like Ra-Eun had said, the sky was so clear that they could even see stars that were hard to see in the city. Forget rain, not a single cloud could be seen. However, the film crew were not to be underestimated. If there was no rain, then they simply had to make it.

     “Turn on the equipment to check if it’s working properly!”

     “Yes, Director!”

     The young staff member turned on the water-spraying machine.

     Pour—!

     Rain showered down under the clear skies. Ra-Eun had seen artificial rain once before during the filming of Reaper.

     ‘It’s fascinating no matter how many times I see it.’

     She was not fascinated by the machine itself, but by the staff members pushing ahead with the shoot even while making artificial rain. She was sure that many members of the public had no idea how hard staff members worked to shoot just a single scene, and neither did she before working as an actress.

     It was truly a scene made with all the manpower that they could squeeze out. Because of that, Ra-Eun always felt pressured whenever she had to shoot scenes that had taken a lot of time, effort and money to realize.

     She changed and got her make-up done before the shoot. More attention had to be taken for the make-up than usual because she had to shoot the scene while being showered by rain.

     “Hey, Ra-Eun. Are you finished?”

     Just when her preparations were almost complete, Je-Woon, who had finished before her, called out to her.

     “Yes, sunbae. Aren’t you tired? I heard you’re going to be shooting for quite a while.”

     Unlike Ra-Eun, Je-Woon hadn’t had a wink of sleep.

     “I’m fine. Besides, it’s been a while since we released a new song. Just preparing for the comeback is enough to invigorate me.”

     Acting was important for Je-Woon, but he seemed to care about making the new album with his fellow Bex members just as much. He cared for his group and its members very much.

     Before starting the shoot, Ra-Eun and Je-Woon doused themselves with water first. She looked down at the clothes that were stuck to her body.

     ‘They’re… not see-through, right?’

     She was concerned about whether or not her underwear would be seen through the clothes, but stylists were not stupid. They chose the right colors and fabric to take that into account when coordinating her, so she had absolutely no need to worry.

     "We’ll start rolling if everyone’s ready. You first, Je-Woon.”

     “Okay.”

     They were in a dark alley in the rain. They had to express sorrow with their backs against each other under a street lamp. Although Je-Woon was the focus of the scene, Ra-Eun also had to stand still with her back against him.

     “Ready… Action!”

     Je-Woon displayed sorrow at the clap of the slate. Meanwhile, Ra-Eun was grumbling in her mind.

     ‘Shit, it’s so fucking cold!’

     She was screaming all kinds of profanities unbefitting her delicate features. Not only was it still winter, but she was also being doused in rain. It would be strange if she wasn’t cold. Je-Woon’s scene ended while she was grumbling. The shoot ended quickly because there weren’t any lines.

     Ra-Eun was next. She also expressed sorrow like Je-Woon did at the signal. She had found acting with her facial expressions awkward at first, but the myriad of experiences that she had faced as the lead role of a drama had elevated her acting skills.

     The music video director and every other staff member were engrossed by Ra-Eun’s phenomenal acting. She had no choice but to give it her all in her performance.

     ‘I don’t want to be drenched in water for any longer than I need to.’

     Ra-Eun performed with the resolve to get the OK from the director with a single shot.

     “Cut! Let’s move onto the next scene!”

     Her efforts seemed to have gotten through.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun observed Je-Woon as he shot additional scenes while drying herself with a towel. She thought as she watched him dance in the rain.

     ‘That’s a pro for you.’

     He was likely colder, sleepier and more exhausted than her, but he was performing even more passionately than her.

     The outdoor filming ended after two hours, but the shoot was not over yet. Ra-Eun still had the wedding dress scene to shoot. However, Je-Woon had to move onto the next item on his schedule before then.

     “What a shame. I wanted to see you in a wedding dress.”

     Ra-Eun could only laugh awkwardly at Je-Woon’s honesty. He might have been disappointed, but she was not in the slightest. She did not want to let people who she knew see her in a wedding dress if possible, and the reason was simply because it was embarrassing.

     She did not like wearing skirts in front of people, and a wedding dress also applied. However, it couldn’t be helped because it was a shoot. There was one thing that she was relieved about at the very least.

     ‘There are no more rain scenes.’

     She decided to think as optimistically as she could.

     * * *

     The wedding dress scene was to be shot indoors. It was very simple as well. She just needed to lightly run in a wedding dress while smiling, and that would mark the end of Ra-Eun’s part in the shoot. However, she still had to go through the massive process of putting the wedding dress on.

     “Director, what style of wedding dress have you decided to have Ra-Eun wear? Ball Gown, or Mermaid?”

     There were different styles of wedding dresses categorized by their lines. Ball Gown skirts cascaded outward, and Mermaid dresses were slim around the waist and hip areas to accentuate their lines.

     “I guess… Mermaid would be best, right?”

     The director had been planning on getting Ra-Eun to wear a Ball Gown dress, but he had come across a survey that was held by a certain news media outlet about which actresses had the most beautiful figures. Ra-Eun had placed third on that survey.

     The director called the clothing team as soon as he saw the result to prepare a mermaid wedding dress as well, just in case. But of course, they also needed to get Ra-Eun’s opinion. However, since Ra-Eun had no idea what those wedding dress styles were, she just answered that she would wear whatever they gave her.

     Putting the wedding dress on was an ordeal in and of itself. She had barely managed to put it on with the help of two people.

     ‘How do women put these damn things on in their weddings?’

     She felt more and more amazed by women with each passing day. On the other hand, the director clapped as he laid eyes on Ra-Eun in the mermaid dress.

     “Yes, this is it! You complete that dress just by wearing it!”

     Such praises had no effect on Ra-Eun. All that was on her mind was how she could finish the shoot as soon as possible.

     * * *

     The stylists were worried right before the shoot began.

     “Will you really be alright, Ra-Eun?”

     Running in a wedding dress, especially in high heels, was fairly difficult. But despite that, Ra-Eun was exuding confidence.

     “Don’t worry. I’ve been trained in stuff like this from my Reaper shoots.”

     Although she had never made any intense movements in a wedding dress, she had done so in many other similar attires. And most of all, she prioritized finishing this shoot as soon as possible.

     The camera focused on Ra-Eun as soon as the filming began. Ra-Eun slightly raised the hem of her skirt with one hand and threw the bouquet straight up into their air with the other while smiling. She looked extremely uncomfortable, but the director once again OK’d her performance without any NG cuts.

     The filming director and staff members who were monitoring the shot said in marvel, “What a work of art.”

     “We definitely need to use this shot. Right, director?”

     “Obviously.”

     Ra-Eun had greatly satisfied the staff members, but only she was thinking about something else.

     ‘Am I only adding to my dark past whenever I work as an actress, or is it just me?’

     * * *

     The behind-the-scenes film of Ra-Eun filming scenes in a wedding dress was aired in advance, which caused Kang Ra-Hyuk to spit out his drink once he saw it. Ra-Eun and their father, who still did not know why he did so, criticized him.

     Ra-Hyuk cut them off and said while pointing at the TV, “Dad, look! Ra-Eun is… wearing a wedding dress!”

     “What?”

     Their father yelled to bring the camera immediately while staring at the TV screen.

     Ra-Eun asked, “Why a camera?”

     “Why else?! Of course I should take pictures when my precious daughter is so beautiful on screen! Ra-Hyuk, I just need to press this, right?”

     Snap, snap, snap!

     Their father repeatedly pressed the camera shutter as per Ra-Hyuk’s instructions. Ra-Eun was exasperated by the actions of the men in her home. Not just that, texts from her friends that she looked so good in a wedding dress bombarded her phone, and there were even some saying that they were gonna have the screenshot permanently saved on their phone.

     The bad feeling that she had felt in the studio had been right on the mark as she had expected.

     Chapter 60

     Encouragement (1)

     The additional shoot of Reaper was to be held today. The director and cast came to the studio as if their previous final shoot and dinner party never happened. They were disappointed that it had ended when it was over, but now that the additional shoot was taking place, their faces expressed their desire for it to be over already.

     Kang Ra-Eun was also one of them. Not only that, but since she had the largest part in the additional shoot, she had to suffer the most out of them.

     ‘They’re not gonna hold yet another shoot after this, are they?’ Ra-Eun worried.

     On the other hand, Je-Woon did not have as much to do as Ra-Eun. The only scene that he had was grabbing Ra-Eun by the wrist and embracing her.

     “I can’t let you go. Do you understand?” Je-Woon said.

     “…”

     Even with their impending farewell slowly approaching, the male lead that Je-Woon was acting did not acknowledge having to part with Jin Seo-Yu. However, not even his stubbornness was able to stop their farewell. Ra-Eun pushed against Je-Woon’s wide chest with both hands, and looked up at him with a faint smile.

     “You’re as foolish as when I first met you.”

     The camera focused on Ra-Eun’s face full of sorrow.

     “Okay! Let’s move onto the next scene!” Director Park exclaimed.

     The staff members moved busily. The next scene was the actual final one. Ra-Eun would be the only one in the scene. Before jumping into the filming, she went to get her make-up fixed. Je-Woon thanked her in the middle of it.

     “Thanks, Ra-Eun. We reached the top of the music chart thanks to you.”

     “Wouldn’t it be thanks to the effort that you and your group members put into it instead of me? All I did was appear in the music video,” Ra-Eun expressed.

     “The public can’t get enough of that music video, you know?”

     Ra-Eun’s appearance in another music video after Rita’s became a huge story. One could say that she played a massive part in the music video’s success, but she herself did not dwell on such things since she simply starred in it because she was asked to. However, she wanted to make something certain.

     “Sunbae. Since I starred in your music video, you have to fulfill a favor of mine next time.”

     “A favor? What is it?” Je-Woon asked.

     “My older brother is going to be starting his business soon. It’s a clothing business, so I was wondering if I could entrust you to be the model for our menswear products?”

     Ra-Eun had gladly accepted to star in Bex’s music video to ask this favor to Je-Woon. Since he was a very righteous person, he always repaid a favor.

     “Okay. That’s not too difficult to do,” Je-Woon answered.

     It all went as Ra-Eun had planned. She had fulfilled her goal. She felt like humming a tune right here, but decided to hold it in for now.

     * * *

     She wore the modernized hanbok that she had worn back in the filming of episode 1. Jin Seo-Yu often wore this attire as a grim reaper. Ra-Eun felt very weird wearing something that she had worn back at the very first shoot.

     ‘It really feels like the end.’

     She strongly felt mixed emotions. She wanted nothing more than for the drama to end as soon as possible in the beginning, but it looked like she had gotten attached in that short of a time.

     However, if there was a beginning, then there also had to be an end. She raised her sword once again to bring the journey to a beautiful conclusion.

     Swing—!

     The camera crew moved the camera as dynamically as possible to film Ra-Eun swinging her sword. She switched to a reverse grip and stuck the sword into the ground. And then, she looked down at a surprised young woman who had fallen on her butt.

     The corners of her mouth curled up.

     “You can see me as well?”

     The story of Reaper came to an end after Ra-Eun’s last line that possibly signified a new beginning. Director Park’s “Cut!” brought today’s shoot… no, the final shoot of Reaper to an end.

     “Thank you for your hard work!”

     “Thank you for everything!”

     The staff members cheered to enjoy the drama’s final moments once again. Ra-Eun also congratulated everyone for their hard work. Meanwhile, screenwriter Hwang Yo-Rin said in disappointment, “I still had around eighty more outfits that I wanted Ra-Eun to wear. The drama ended way too soon!”

     “I’m not sure what to say to that…” Ra-Eun replied.

     It looked like there was a very high chance for her to fall into attire-changing hell if a new season was announced. She had gotten somewhat used to it, but it was still an absolute hassle.

     ‘I should put a limit on the number of attires next time.’

     There was a chance that she could collapse if she didn’t. Her solitary battle against the clothes had come to an end with the drama’s finale. The production team would usually hold a dinner party after such a long journey had ended, but they decided not to since they already had one last time. Since there was no dinner party, Ra-Eun decided to go home and rest as soon as possible.

     Shin Yu-Bin who had been waiting for Ra-Eun and the stylist said as they got in the car, “Good work, Ra-Eun. You want to go straight home, right?”

     “Yes.”

     She was rather tired after filming a shoot that was not originally planned. Furthermore, she was not in the best condition around this time of the month, so she just wanted to go home and rest.

     Yu-Bin leisurely drove out of the parking lot. After around ten minutes had passed, Ra-Eun got a text from the loan shark Ma Yeong-Jun at this time of night.

     [Reporter Ahn is up to something dangerous again.]

     Reporter Ahn Su-Jin had scooped up some sort of dangerous story yet again. Ra-Eun already knew what sort of scoop she had.

     ‘It must be about the tax fraud allegations.’

     A storm of tax fraud allegations had been brewing in the political circle lately. Since Reporter Ahn had great interest in the political and financial world, she would never let such a scoop pass by her. Ra-Eun was sure that she had jumped straight into the storm this time as well.

     ‘The media is going to be in an uproar because of this for a while.’

     However, Ra-Eun was only a university student at this time in the past, so she had not been able to observe the allegations from up close. She had just heard about it on the news.

     ‘I’d only heard about this later down the road, but Congressman Kim was also among the names on the tax fraud list.’

     A young congressman had acquired a list of congressmen who had committed tax fraud, but Kim Han-Gyo’s name was cleverly omitted from the list. She had no way of knowing in detail what he had done in the shadows, because she was only a plain university student at the time.

     If Congressman Kim was involved in this, then Reporter Ahn would be in danger.

     [Make sure that she doesn’t get into any danger.]

     Ra-Eun had already given Yeong-Jun plenty of money, so he replied that he would. She had little reason to worry since he and his subordinates were secretly protecting the reporter.

     ‘Should I subtly steer her into investigating how Kim Han-Gyo was able to remove his name from the tax fraud list later?’

     Using Reporter Ahn was also one of the options. Only by gathering as much incriminating evidence against Kim Han-Gyo as possible starting now could she perfectly exact the revenge that she was envisioning in the future.

     While she was in deep thought, Yu-Bin’s phone rang.

     “Hello? Yes, good evening. Oh, that? I’ll let Ra-Eun know, but… it’ll probably be difficult. Yes. I’m sure you know since you watched the interview, but Ra-Eun is planning on focusing on her studies for the time being.”

     Ra-Eun’s ears perked up as soon as her name was mentioned. She asked as Yu-Bin ended the call, “What was that call about?”

     “Huh? Oh, they’re casting guests for a show. You know the talk show that’s hosted by Announcer Min Yeong-Seon, right? They’re having a female celebrity guest special, and they called to ask if you’d be willing to appear. They’ve been calling since yesterday, so they must really want you on.”

     Announcer Min Yeong-Seon’s talk show. She felt like there was something about it, but it was clouded in fog.

     “Who are the other guests?” Ra-Eun asked, hoping to lift the thick fog clouding her mind.

     “Let’s see… Rita, Seong-Mi, Yang-Jin, and… Do you know who Miss Hong Oh-Yeon is?”

     “Is it Congresswoman Hong Oh-Yeon by any chance?”

     “Yeah, that’s right. You sure know your stuff.”

     She was the young congresswoman who was awarded a seat through the party-list proportional representation when the opposition party she belonged to came in second.

     Ra-Eun said to Yu-Bin as soon as she heard that name, “Call them back please, Miss Manager.”

     “What? Why?”

     “I’ll go on that talk show.”

     Congresswoman Hong Oh-Yeon was one of the pieces necessary for her revenge.

     * * *

     Congresswoman Hong would later rise to become a senior member of the National Assembly, and a leading figure who would stand on equal grounds against Congressman Kim Han-Gyo. Ra-Eun still vividly remembered the numerous times Kim Han-Gyo had been disgraced by Congresswoman Hong.

     An enemy of Congressman Kim was her friend. Not just that, but…

     ‘Even if I’m a celebrity, it’s not so easy to meet political figures.’

     She needed to make connections with them through appearing on the same show together like this. And like that, she could use Congresswoman Hong to seriously hinder Kim Han-Gyo’s plans.

     Yu-Bin was dumbfounded at first when Ra-Eun said that she wanted to appear on the show, because it was the first time that Ra-Eun ever actually wanted to appear on a program. However, she was in no position to say no since Ra-Eun herself wanted to.

     Hence, her appearance was established. The show would be filmed on Saturday afternoon. Both the date and time were perfect. Ra-Eun tidied her clothes in front of a full-length mirror before heading to the recording.

     ‘I should dress as neatly as possible since I’m off to meet a political prospect.’

     Her goal today was not to do well on the show, but solely to become friends with Congresswoman Hong.

     Chapter 61

     Encouragement (2)

     Kang Ra-Eun hurried to get ready after Shin Yu-Bin told her that she would be arriving soon.

     “I’m off.”

     “Have a safe trip. Oh, and what time are you done today?” Kang Ra-Hyuk asked.

     Ra-Eun responded sassily, “Why?”

     She felt anxious whenever Ra-Hyuk asked her things like this, since he usually did so when he wanted to ask her for a favor. Ra-Eun narrowed her eyes. Ra-Hyuk got straight to the point to dissipate her wariness toward him.

     “I’m not trying to ask you for anything troublesome. I was just wondering if you’d like to eat out.”

     “Why so out of the blue?”

     It was not a special day, so Ra-Eun found his offer rather strange.

     “You remember Mi-Ye, right? My classmate who came to our house last time?”

     “The daughter of the famous restaurant owner?”

     The unfamiliar woman who Ra-Hyuk had brought had left quite an impression on Ra-Eun, since she made them dinner in their own home.

     “Yeah. Mi-Ye invited us to have a meal at their restaurant. Dad likes the food there too, so I thought we might as well all eat out together today.”

     Ra-Hyuk was as popular as always. Most women would give up when they found out that there was a lot of competition for a man that they were aiming for, but they were instead setting their rivalry ablaze and flaunting their appeal to win Ra-Hyuk over.

     ‘What in the world is so good about this guy?’

     Ra-Eun was a woman now, but she still had no idea why. Even though she was a man on the inside, she was still a woman. In that case, the way that she viewed men should have also changed. However, in Ra-Eun’s eyes, Ra-Hyuk was unbearable, useless, never listened to her, lazy, frustrating, a terrible cook… In short, he had nothing but flaws. She could not understand why a man like Ra-Hyuk was popular.

     ‘Well, I guess he’s fairly handsome.’

     Ra-Eun had no choice but to acknowledge his looks. But despite that, she could not figure out the secret to his popularity.

     ‘Women in love sure are amazing.’

     She admired their devotion toward the man that they liked. There was a possibility that she could also become like that someday.

     ‘No, that’s impossible.’

     Ra-Eun decided to accept her older brother’s offer while putting on her shoes.

     “Sure, if I finish early.”

     “Got it. I’ll let Mi-Ye know that you, me, and Dad are coming for now. Oh, and she asked if it’d be alright for you to give them an autograph for them to hang on the wall. Is that fine?”

     “Well… I don’t really mind.”

     Ra-Eun thought that Mi-Ye had only been aiming for Ra-Hyuk, but it turned out that Mi-Ye had been aiming for her as well.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun arrived at Announcer Min Yeong-Seon’s talk show studio. She greeted the announcer first, after which the announcer gasped in surprise.

     “You’re far prettier in person. It looks like the camera is unable to fully capture your beauty, Ra-Eun.”

     “Thank you, sunbae.”

     Ra-Eun had already become immune to compliments regarding her beauty. She never liked such compliments in the first place. She decided to quickly greet her fellow guests who would be appearing on the talk show with her. There was a very familiar face among them.

     “Hey, my little Ra-Eun!” Rita called out to her while waving her right hand.

     Ra-Eun glanced toward Rita.

     “Hello, sunbae,” she greeted in a monotone voice, void of emotions like a robot would.

     But despite that, Rita looked like she was happy just from Ra-Eun returning her greeting.

     “How about a nice, big hug after such a long time?” Rita suggested.

     “Since when have we ever hugged? Please don’t distort your memories in weird directions.”

     Ra-Eun would flick Rita’s forehead as soon as she crossed the line. After the dangerous greeting with Rita, she finally made her way toward the waiting room of her main target of the day, Congresswoman Hong Oh-Yeon.

     Knock, knock.

     She carefully opened the door after a light knock. Congresswoman Hong, who had been sighing with a fairly serious expression, brightened up as soon as she saw Ra-Eun.

     “Oh, hello, Ra-Eun.”

     Those involved in politics also needed to know how to act. In terms of acting skills, Congresswoman Hong would receive a fairly high score.

     ‘She could even become an actress.’

     Ra-Eun responded to Congresswoman Hong with a smile, “It’s an honor to meet you, congresswoman. I’ve always wanted to meet you.”

     “Oh, is that so?”

     “Yes. Actually I was going to refrain from going on shows after my drama shoots finished, but I decided to appear as a guest on this talk show because I heard you were also one of the guests.”

     Congresswoman Hong’s smile widened further.

     “I’m flattered.”

     Congresswoman Hong was in her mid-thirties; she was considerably younger than the other members of the National Assembly. Hence, she couldn’t help but feel happy that a young and promising actress like Ra-Eun had come up to her to say such wonderful things.

     Ra-Eun wanted to talk some more with the congresswoman, but…

     “The recording will start soon, so please gather at the studio.”

     A staff member interrupted their conversation. Ra-Eun hid her disappointment, but it wasn’t like this meeting was her only chance. The recording hadn’t even begun yet.

     ‘It’s okay, I still have lots of time.’

     She decided to carry out a plan that she had been constructing in her mind until then.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun and the other guests continued the recording without any signs of fatigue. Announcer Min turned to ask Ra-Eun a question this time.

     “It hasn’t been that long since you’d debuted, has it, Ra-Eun? You’re currently a high schooler, so you need to juggle your studies and your acting career. Isn’t it hard for you with everything you have on your plate?”

     “It certainly is difficult physically, but I’m quite content mentally since becoming an actress has always been a dream of mine. Also, I’m always invigorated by the love and support that the audience gives me,” Ra-Eun answered.

     “Oh, so your childhood dream was to be an actress?”

     “Yes, I’d always admired the performances of my seniors through the screen.”

     Was there even a sliver of truth in what she had just said? Her lines were so cheesy that they gave her goosebumps. If Chief Jung and Yu-Bin saw this live on set, they would not have been able to bear how fake Ra-Eun was being. The same would have also gone for Ra-Hyuk.

     Congresswoman Hong smiled in satisfaction at Ra-Eun's pride in her own work.

     “I personally really love that mindset of yours, Ra-Eun. I believe one should always have pride in the work that they do,” she remarked.

     Ra-Eun had said such a cheesy line because she knew exactly what kind of person Congresswoman Hong was. If she did not, then she would not have sugar-coated her acting career like this.

     Ra-Eun’s lines solely meant to impress Congresswoman Hong seemed to be working. She did not have to speak directly to the congresswoman to improve the congresswoman’s impression of her.

     Announcer Min stated as she gestured at Ra-Eun and Congresswoman Hong, “You two have a lot of similarities.”

     “You’re right. We may be far apart in age, but it feels like we’ve been friends for over a decade,” the congresswoman remarked.

     She was right in feeling that way. Ra-Eun already knew what the congresswoman liked, disliked, her hobbies, strengths, and everything else about her. It was a piece of cake to be viewed favorably by someone when one knew everything about them. Not just that, but they were of the same gender; women were able to form a special bond with one other.

     ‘Times like this make me appreciate that I had become a woman.’

     Returning as a high school girl wasn’t only riddled with cons. She preferred it sometimes, albeit very rarely.

     * * *

     The five-hour recording was almost coming to an end. She did not expect to become so fatigued from just talking while seated. She reflected on her past misconception that celebrities had it easy. It was not easy in the slightest after experiencing it for herself.

     ‘I guess you only know the difficulties of doing something after doing it yourself.’

     Anyway, the excruciatingly long talk show had finally come to an end.

     “Ra-Eun.”

     Congresswoman Hong approached Ra-Eun as soon as the recording had finished.

     “I had so much fun in this recording. I’d like for us to get closer from now on, so I was wondering if I could get your number?”

     “Yes, of course,” Ra-Eun gladly accepted.

     She offered the congresswoman a few more words before they parted.

     “Congresswoman.”

     “Yes?”

     “No matter what hardships you go through, I hope you recall the fact that there are people who support you. If anything, I at least will always be supporting you.”

     The congresswoman smiled.

     “Thank you. I’ve had a lot on my mind because of a bad incident, but you’ve given me some encouragement. Can I call you in the future?”

     “Yes, whenever you’d like.”

     “Thank you, I will.”

     Congresswoman Hong left the studio first. Ra-Eun replayed what the congresswoman had just said as she watched her get further away. She said that there had been a bad incident, and Ra-Eun knew exactly what it was.

     The large-scale tax fraud incident that Reporter Ahn Su-Jin was investigating had been eating away at Congresswoman Hong, because…

     ‘She’s also part of it.’

     Hong Oh-Yeon was by no means a saint. She pretended to be clean and righteous on the outside, but she had also nonchalantly committed malpractices that members of the National Assembly could commit.

     But despite that, there was only one reason why Ra-Eun had approached her. It was not because the congresswoman was a good person, but because Ra-Eun was willing to join forces with even the devil if it meant that they could help drag Congressman Kim Han-Gyo into hell.

     Chapter 62

     A Scary Woman (1)

     Kang Ra-Eun was contacted by Congresswoman Hong Oh-Yeon only around two days after Announcer Min Yeong-Seon’s talk show recording, asking if she had time to have some tea together.

     ‘That was faster than I’d expected.’

     The congresswoman seemed to have taken quite a liking to Ra-Eun, since there was otherwise no way that she would want to see Ra-Eun so soon after the recording. She had nothing else to do anyway, so she decided to accept the congresswoman’s abrupt offer.

     She headed to Sadang[1] via subway with horn-rimmed glasses and a mask on in hopes that no one would recognize her.

     ‘I wish I could drive soon.’

     She was capable of driving, but it would be a massive problem socially if she drove a car around without a license. Not just that, but since she was not a regular high school girl but a popular top celebrity actress, she had to conduct herself accordingly.

     Ra-Eun headed to Exit 2 as soon as she got off at Sadang Station. A black sedan parked by the side of the road honked twice. She could see the congresswoman as the back seat window rolled down.

     “Please get in, Ra-Eun.”

     The two headed to a deserted cafe in a car driven by the congresswoman’s personal driver. They were the only two people in the cafe, so Ra-Eun was finally able to take off her glasses and mask.

     Congresswoman Hong said sympathetically, “Being famous has its downsides, doesn’t it?”

     “Yes. I’d like to be left alone sometimes, but people around me tend to recognize me often. Is it the case for you as well, Congresswoman Hong?”

     “It sure is.”

     There were two main reasons why Hong Oh-Yeon drew people’s attention. One was that she was significantly younger than most members of the National Assembly, and the other was her outstanding beauty. She was frequently talked about by others because of her looks that could deceive others that she was in her twenties, despite being in her thirties.

     However, the congresswoman did not like those who judged her based on her looks. She wanted to prove herself and be acknowledged solely through her ability.

     ‘But of course, that’s still far off in the future.’

     Ra-Eun knew that Oh-Yeon would only distinguish herself as a politician from 2015.

     ‘It’s 2011 now, so there are still four years left.’

     Four years was a long yet short amount of time.

     Congresswoman Hong explained why she called Ra-Eun today.

     “I wanted to speak with you privately after the recording. We weren’t able to talk much back then because we were both so busy, so I thought I’d try asking if you would like to see me today. You weren’t troubled by my sudden invitation, were you?”

     “Of course not. Rather, I’m happy that you called me first.”

     “That’s a relief.”

     “Also, you can speak comfortably to me[2]. I’m fine with however you address me,” Ra-Eun expressed.

     “Oh, then… should I? You can call me unnie, too.”

     Ra-Eun hated addressing people by oppa or unnie more than anything, and she had been caught by one of the two. But what could she do?

     “Okay, un… nie…”

     She had to do it since she was told to.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun and the congresswoman did not talk about anything serious; they simply chatted. It was the first time that the two had met privately outside the studio, so they could not talk about anything serious. All they did was talk about how they were doing. Ra-Eun found out something that she didn’t know about the congresswoman in the process.

     ‘She’s so damn talkative.’

     Congresswoman Hong had been way more of a chatterbox than Ra-Eun had known. Two hours had passed just from listening to her speak. The congresswoman’s secretary could not stay still anymore and approached her.

     “It’s almost time to go, Congresswoman Hong.”

     “Oh, dear me. Is it time already?”

     “Yes.”

     Ra-Eun asked, “Do you have somewhere to be?”

     “Yup. I have a meeting with the floor leader today. Congressman Kim Han-Gyo will also be there.”

     Kim Han-Gyo’s name was frequently mentioned in conversations about politics.

     “I had a lot of fun today. I’ll treat you to a meal next time, so let’s meet up again, okay?” Congresswoman Hong said.

     “Okay. Have a safe trip, unnie.”

     “You too.”

     The word ‘unnie’ sounded natural coming out of her mouth now. She was momentarily scared by how gradually she was adapting as a woman.

     ‘Will I ever be able to turn back into a man at this rate?’

     No, she could not even confirm if turning back was possible.

     * * *

     TV appearances were important, but SATs were just as important to Ra-Eun. She stretched as she solved the final question of the workbook.

     “All done.”

     She marked her answers, and got a perfect score on Korean language, math, English and social studies as she had expected. However, she could not afford to be careless.

     “Of course I’d get full marks when I’m solving questions at the comfort of my own home.”

     Getting a few questions wrong was well within the realm of possibility in the actual test. However, that was only limited to one or two questions. Ra-Eun was not that worried, but she could never be too careful.

     ‘I guess I’ll buy some more workbooks.’

     Ra-Eun got ready to head out before sunset, and happened to see Kang Ra-Hyuk putting on a jacket.

     “Hey, are you going out?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Stop calling your oppa ‘Hey.’ And yeah, I am,” Ra-Hyuk answered.

     “Where?”

     “Downtown. I’m dropping by the bookstore to get the new issue of a manhwa.”

     “Really? That’s perfect. You’re taking the car, right? Give me a ride.”

     Both the timing and destination were perfect. Ra-Hyuk willingly accepted his little sister’s favor.

     They headed downtown in a rattling, old car. Ra-Eun said as she looked at the car interior, “How about we buy a new car?”

     “I was thinking of doing that.”

     “We have plenty of money anyway. Get a price estimate later. Oh, and don’t buy a Reflector or a RAY4.”

     “Huh? Why?” Ra-Hyuk asked.

     They were both popular sedans with great reviews, so he could not understand why she was excluding them.

     Ra-Eun simply answered, “I think they’ll get recalled soon.”

     She didn’t think so, but she knew so. She could only give such advice because she knew the future. However, the oblivious Ra-Hyuk only tilted his head in confusion.

     They parked the car at a nearby parking lot. Before getting off, Ra-Eun put on the glasses and mask that had become a necessity in her daily life.

     Ra-Hyuk asked while looking at her, “Aren’t there people who recognize you despite the disguise?”

     “There are, but most people don’t.”

     “Oh, really?”

     Unless they were a huge fan of Ra-Eun, most people did not recognize her when they walked past her. Hence, Ra-Eun always took glasses and a mask with her, even if it was a hassle. She wore sunglasses at first, but she had no choice but to switch them for horn-rimmed glasses since wearing sunglasses indoors attracted even more attention.

     The siblings headed to the bookstore. Once they entered, Ra-Hyuk headed to the manhwa aisle and Ra-Eun headed to the workbook aisle for SAT examinees. She headed to the counter with a few mock exam workbooks in hand.

     “Your total comes to 25,000 won.”

     The bookstore employee looked closely at Ra-Eun who pulled out her card. Ra-Eun turned her gaze elsewhere not to make eye contact. She also stayed silent in hopes that the employee would not recognize her.

     Ra-Eun suddenly recalled Congresswoman Hong saying that she had felt troubled by her fame countless times.

     ‘I feel the same way.’

     However, it could not be helped. She had already resolved herself for such events when she first stepped foot into the entertainment industry, so she decided not to stress over it that much.

     Ra-Hyuk came out of the bookstore after Ra-Eun.

     “Why are you waiting outside?” he asked.

     “People might recognize me if I wait inside.”

     “Oh, I guess that’s true.”

     His little sister had a lot to deal with.

     “Wanna grab a coffee before heading home?” Ra-Hyuk suggested.

     “Sounds good.”

     The siblings walked through the bustling crowd. Ra-Hyuk gestured toward Ra-Eun.

     “Stick close to me and try not to get pushed around.”

     Ra-Hyuk was far taller than Ra-Eun. He was almost 180 cm, while Ra-Eun was only 163 cm. She was by no means shorter than the average female height, but there certainly was a large difference between them.

     As Ra-Hyuk was getting through the crowd with his little sister, someone strongly shoulder-checked him.

     Thud!

     Ra-Hyuk fell on his butt from the unexpected attack. The men who shoulder-checked Ra-Hyuk said while snickering, “Be careful, man.”

     “You’re so weak. What would your girlfriend think of you?”

     They seemed to have mistaken Ra-Eun as Ra-Hyuk’s girlfriend. Hearing that, Ra-Eun uttered, “Don’t fuck with me, you crazy sons of bitches. What the fuck are you talking about when you picked a fight first?”

     It had been a while since Ra-Eun cursed in such quick succession. No matter how unreliable her older brother Ra-Hyuk was, he was still her family.

     The men were momentarily lost for words. Ra-Hyuk quickly urged Ra-Eun, “Calm down, Ra-Eun. I’m fine.”

     Their opponents were three men with large builds. Not just that, but Ra-Eun was a popular top-star actress. She would definitely sustain more damage if trouble were to occur here.

     Meanwhile, the faces of the men who were verbally abused by Ra-Eun turned serious.

     “Hey, man. Your girlfriend has quite the pottymouth.”

     “How did your mouth get so foul?”

     “You’d better apologize, yeah?”

     One of the men tried to snatch Ra-Eun by the arm. But before Ra-Eun had the chance to act…

     Grasp!

     Someone grabbed the man’s arm and twisted it.

     “Arrggghhh!”

     A familiar man said to the three men who picked a fight with Ra-Eun and Ra-Hyuk, “How dare you snot-nosed brats try to lay a hand on our valuable client? Do you want to die?”

     The loan shark Ma Yeong-Jun arrived on the scene along with his subordinates, who surrounded the three men.

     “You sure have a lot of guts to be pulling shit like this.”

     “Shall we teach you some proper manners?”

     “How should we deal with these bastards, Boss?”

     “I wonder,” Yeong-Jun pondered. He then said with a smile, “Well, I’m sure a few broken fingers should do the trick.”

     At that moment, the three men who had tried to harm Ra-Eun and Ra-Hyuk knew that they had picked a fight with the wrong person.

     1. Sadang is a neighborhood of Dongjak District in Seoul. ☜

     2. There is formal speech and casual speech in the Korean language. It doesn’t come across well when translated to English, but they have both been speaking formally to each other. ☜

     Chapter 63

     A Scary Woman (2)

     The attention of all the passers-by were focused on Kang Ra-Eun and the others because of the unexpected trouble. Ma Yeong-Jun was not stupid; he knew that Ra-Eun’s reputation could be harmed if he blew the situation up any bigger. He was planning on letting them go with just a simple warning, but…

     “It’s a shame to just let them go like this,” Ra-Eun said while giving Yeong-Jun a look.

     Since long ago, Ra-Eun had a firm conviction that one should always pay someone back in folds. Revenge was now her entire being, and it was not exclusive to Kim Han-Gyo and Kim Chi-Yeol.

     Ra-Eun would not take humiliation lying down, even for the smallest things. There have even been murder cases simply for shoulder-checking in Korea. There was no need to go so far as to take their lives, but in exchange…

     “These sons of bitches need to be taught a proper lesson.”

     Ra-Eun’s words terrified the three thugs. It sent shivers down their spine.

     Yeong-Jun smirked, and looked toward his men.

     “You heard her.”

     The subordinates would take care of educating them. Park Du-Chil, Yeong-Jun’s executive officer, dragged the three thugs into a deserted alleyway along with the other subordinates.

     Kang Ra-Hyuk whispered to Ra-Eun, “Hey, Ra-Eun… Who are these people?”

     He looked slightly scared by the men who looked far more dangerous than the thugs who had shoulder-checked him.

     Ra-Eun answered as if they were no one special, “They’re just kind misters who do volunteer work here and there.”

     It was an obvious lie.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun sent Ra-Hyuk home first. He was persistent in staying with her since he couldn’t just leave her alone, but he could not bend Ra-Eun’s stubborn will. Ra-Eun forced Ra-Hyuk to go back home and decided to have a meeting with Yeong-Jun.

     In the meantime, Du-Chil returned to report to Yeong-Jun.

     “We’ve taken care of them, boss.”

     “You made sure to teach them to never mess with us again, right?” Yeong-Jun asked.

     “Yes. We also drilled into their heads that they’ll see us again if they report about what happened to the police.”

     Yeong-Jun turned his gaze to Ra-Eun, his eyes seemingly asking her if she was satisfied. Ra-Eun nodded. She would have liked to teach them a lesson personally, but it would be a huge problem if it got out to the public that an actress beat the crap out of three men. Yeong-Jun and his men were very useful in times like this.

     Ra-Eun asked Yeong-Jun after cooling her rage down with an iced coffee, “You’re here to see me, right?”

     Du-Chil’s eyebrow twitched.

     “How dare you talk that way to our…”

     He responded very aggressively because he had already been humiliated by Ra-Eun twice. However, he could not raise his voice any further in Yeong-Jun’s presence. Also, since what Ra-Eun had said was true, he had no choice but to stay put. If he didn’t, Yeong-Jun might beat him up like he himself had done to the three thugs.

     Yeong-Jun immediately responded to Ra-Eun, “I see that you have deep connections to the financial and political circles.”

     By political circle, he was talking about Congresswoman Hong who Ra-Eun had been getting close to lately, and Chairman Ji in terms of the financial circle.

     Yeong-Jun had only one goal.

     “I feel like we’ll be able to rake in some profits just by sticking with you.”

     Yeong-Jun could no longer stay as a loan shark in such a small pond. He wanted to move on to someplace even bigger. He did not want to stay as a frog in the well any longer. To get out of that well, he needed the ladder that was Kang Ra-Eun.

     Ra-Eun giggled.

     “You must be dissatisfied with your current life.”

     “Shouldn’t a man always strive for something bigger?”

     Ra-Eun understood that sentiment very well, since she had also thought the same. That was why she rose to become the leader of a bigshot politician’s security team, although it ended up being the worst decision of her life.

     “Well, alright,” Ra-Eun replied.

     Yeong-Jun and his men would become her hands and legs, the chess pieces on her board.

     “But you’d better clean up your criminal identity.”

     Their current identity was sure to become her Achilles’ heel in the future. The fact that she was connected to gangsters and loan sharks was something that could ruin her in an instant.

     “Also, close down your money-lending business and don’t ever act like gangsters again.”

     Du-Chil responded aggressively, “Then how do you expect us to make a living?”

     “There are tons of ways for you to make a living,” Ra-Eun said as she handed Yeong-Jun a card from her wallet. “I happen to be starting a business soon. I’ll employ you and your men.”

     * * *

     Park Seol-Hun could not believe his eyes. The loan sharks whom he never wanted to see ever again had been waiting for him in his office. Ra-Eun, who was standing right in the middle of them, greeted him with a wave.

     “Hey, mister.”

     “Hey… my ass! Why are these people here?!”

     “They’ll be working with you from now on.”

     “Whaaat?!”

     The news was like a bolt from the blue in Seol-Hun’s perspective, but Ra-Eun was still smiling.

     “What? You said you were short-handed,” Ra-Eun remarked.

     “This and that are completely different!”

     This was a clothing business, but Yeong-Jun and his men had absolutely no experience in the clothing industry. Fashion design aside, they had never even done office work before. However, there was still use to them.

     “They can handle the heavy-duty work. Have them work at the warehouse or something. I’m sure you’ll find a use for them.”

     “B-But even so…” Seol-Hun muttered.

     Du-Chil’s anger took the better of him and he slammed his fist down onto the desk.

     “What?! Are you saying you don’t want to work with us?!”

     “Th-That’s not it…”

     Ra-Eun said as she patted Seol-Hun’s shoulder, “I made them promise me that they’ll listen to you, so teach them well. Oh, and these are the newly-designed leggings and female sneakers, right?”

     “Uhh, yeah…”

     “I’ll be taking a few samples. I want to get people’s opinions on them. I’ll leave you to it, then.”

     “Wait, you’re leaving me alone here? Seriously?”

     Ra-Eun left the office while leaving behind Seol-Hun, who was begging her not to go. She was sure that the adults would figure things out by themselves.

     Probably.

     * * *

     It was Saturday morning. Seo Yi-Seo nagged at Seo-Yi-Jun who was laying down on the sofa without even washing up.

     “Weren’t you supposed to be helping Dad at the cafe today?”

     “…I’m going in the afternoon.”

     “You were supposed to start in the morning. Sigh, for God’s sake.”

     Yi-Seo sighed deeply, but Yi-Jun showed no signs of budging. He already found it annoying that he had to help out on the weekend. As he was thinking of heading out to help after lazing around as much as possible, a notification came to his phone. He checked to see if a friend had texted him.

     “…!”

     He had gotten a text from the target of his unrequited love, Kang Ra-Eun.

     [Are you free at 11 AM? I want to show you something.]

     He immediately replied that he was free as soon as he checked the text. And then, he sprang out of the sofa and rushed to the bathroom.

     He exclaimed while repeatedly knocking on the locked door, “Sis! I have to go out right now, so come out already!”

     “What? You said you were going out in the afternoon!” Yi-Seo said in confusion.

     “Something really important came up! Hurry!”

     He did not have the leeway to be late when Lady Kang Ra-Eun herself was calling him.

     * * *

     Yi-Jun arrived at Starlight Road where they planned to meet. However, not only was Ra-Eun not there, but two men were sitting at a table instead.

     “Hm? What are you doing here, Yi-Jun?”

     Choi Sang-Woon recognized Yi-Jun right away. Park Se-Woon, who was sitting across from Sang-Woon, asked him who Yi-Jun was.

     “He’s Seo-Yi-Jun, Yi-Seo’s little brother. He’s a year younger than us,” Sang-Woon answered.

     “Oh, Yi-Seo’s brother? Man, I thought Ra-Eun had called over yet another guy.”

     Se-Woon’s intuition was scarily accurate in situations like this.

     Yi-Jun carefully asked the two men, “Were you two also called over by Ra-Eun noona?”

     Sang-Woon and Se-Woon’s faces stiffened. Judging from their conversation, all three of them had been called over by Ra-Eun.

     “Tch, I thought she only called for me,” Se-Woon said while clicking his tongue.

     Sang-Woon and Yi-Jun were also thinking the same thing; they were simply not saying it. The cafe door opened while the three men were sharing a table.

     “Oh, there you guys are,” Ra-Eun said.

     Their eyes widened as soon as they saw her. She was wearing an oversized yellow hoodie, a tight pair of pink leggings and white sneakers. Her clothes looked sporty yet displayed sexiness with her accentuated hip and leg lines.

     Ra-Eun asked the three men while pointing at her lower body, “What do you think?”

     “About what…?” they asked.

     “The leggings and sneakers. I’m asking how they look from a male perspective.”

     They had finally realized why Ra-Eun had called them. It was to get their opinions on her new pieces of clothing. She had gotten opinions from women, and all that she needed now were those from men.

     “It looks alright…”

     “I think it looks great on you.”

     “Me too.”

     Any clothes that stuck to Ra-Eun’s skin were bound to look great on her since her figure was so stunning. The sneaker design was pretty good as well. Ra-Eun smiled in satisfaction.

     “Okay, got it. You’re dismissed,” she remarked.

     “…Huh?”

     “That’s it?”

     Ra-Eun casually responded, “Yeah. What else would we do here?”

     “…”

     “…”

     “…”

     The three men were silent. None of them could ask Ra-Eun to grab a meal together while the two other men were right there. They were in a tough spot.

     “Nothing, right? Then, see ya.”

     Ra-Eun left the cafe while they were pondering about what to do. The three men sighed in tandem with Ra-Eun’s departure like it was planned.

     Chapter 64

     Swimming Instructor (1)

     Winter turned to spring, and then into summer. Even without drama shoots or TV appearances, Ra-Eun had exercised every single day for the past year since it was her hobby as well as her specialty.

     Ra-Eun headed to the fitness center under the scorching sun on a summer weekend. She had not gone there for weight training, but the swimming pool right next to the fitness center. One could also freely use the swimming pool if they had a membership with the fitness center.

     Ra-Eun headed to the changing room after showing an employee her membership card. Before going in, she peeked inside to check if there were people inside the changing room and if there were, how many. There happened to be no one inside.

     ‘All right!’

     Ra-Eun speed-walked to the deepest area of the changing room and opened the locker to change into the swimsuit that she had brought. She bundled up her hair to stuff into her swimming cap; her long hair could be a nuisance to others in the water if she left it loose.

     She quickly left the changing room and made her way to the pool.

     ‘It’s pretty empty today.’

     She had expected it from the state of the changing room. The pool was not as crowded as usual; there were only seven people, including herself.

     ‘Well, that’s good for me.’

     She stretched before going into the water. After slowly wetting herself with the water, she dived straight in.

     Splash!

     There was nothing better than swimming to alleviate the stress accumulated from the scorching hot weather. She caught people’s attention as she sped along the pool lane.

     Ra-Eun gasped for air as she reached the end of the lane with a freestyle.

     ‘I haven’t swam in so long. It feels so good.’

     She had gone to a water park with her friends last time, but people went to water parks to go on the rides, not to swim.

     ‘And I wore a bikini there.’

     It still made Ra-Eun blush just from thinking about that day. Today, she was obviously not wearing a bikini, but a competitive swimsuit which was less embarrassing. However, that was only in relative terms; it was still embarrassing. She might have picked the wrong size because it was tight around her chest and butt.

     “…”

     She searched her surroundings while in the water.

     ‘No one’s looking, right?’

     She stuck her hands into her swimsuit and pulled out the fabric that her butt had slightly eaten.

     ‘God, what a bother.’

     There were tons of things bothering her, the greatest one being her hair removal.

     ‘I did it last week. It should be fine, right?’

     Ra-Eun had done all sorts of things after becoming a woman. She held in her self-deprecating laugh.

     “Oh, what are you doing here, Ra-Eun?”

     At that moment, Ra-Eun was surprised by a familiar voice. Rita, who was wearing a similar swimsuit as her, approached her with a smile.

     “Oh, how did you come here, sunbae?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Have you forgotten that we’re in the same agency?”

     “Oh… that’s right.”

     It could be because it was something that she did not want to remember, but she sometimes forgot that they were part of the same agency. This sports facility was partnered with GNF Entertainment, so all talents of GNF were allowed to use all of their facilities free of charge. Thinking about it that way, it was natural that Rita would be here.

     Meanwhile, Rita pouted as her beloved junior gave her no attention.

     “Can’t you give your sunbae some more attention?”

     “I’m all out of attention to give you.”

     “Tch, you’re so heartless.”

     Rita should have gotten used to Ra-Eun’s behavior toward her by now, but it looked like she still hadn’t given up yet. Rita seemed to have taken a liking to Ra-Eun that much.

     “Are you here to swim as well?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “No, I’m here to learn.”

     “You can’t swim?”

     “Yup. There’s an underwater scene in my next music video, so I thought I might as well learn how to swim from a friend. But something suddenly came up, so they couldn’t make it.”

     “Really?” Ra-Eun said as she got out of the water and sat on the ledge. “You can’t swim at all?”

     “Yup, I’m like a beer bottle. I sink even when I’m staying still.”

     “Even beer bottles float if they’re perfectly still. The same goes for the human body.”

     Splash!

     Ra-Eun went back into the water and gestured toward Rita.

     “I’ll teach you.”

     “Really?”

     “Yes. I won’t be as good as a swimming instructor, but I could at least teach you the basics.”

     Ra-Eun had been swimming for ten years. It was no exaggeration to say that she was well-versed in most sports because she loved moving her body, and swimming was one of her specialties.

     Rita was so excited that the junior that she liked would teach her how to swim that she fearlessly dived straight into the water. However, she belatedly noticed that her feet did not reach the ground and started waving her arms.

     Huff, puff!

     Rita barely managed to grab onto the ladder thanks to Ra-Eun’s help.

     “Ahhh… I almost died.”

     “I told you, didn’t I? People float on water even when they stay perfectly still. You’ll only sink further if you struggle like that.”

     There was one thing that needed to be done before teaching Rita how to swim.

     “We’ll have to get rid of your fear of water first.”

     Ra-Eun realized from Rita’s actions just now that she had absolutely no idea how to swim. It looked like they needed to start from the very basics.

     * * *

     Three hours flew by in a flash as Ra-Eun taught Rita the very basics, such as paddling in the water with her feet, while getting rid of her fear of water.

     Ra-Eun encouraged her while moving backward and holding Rita’s hands, “Yes, good. You’re doing very well.”

     Rita was still a little stiff from her fear of water, but she was doing much better compared to two hours ago. Ra-Eun thought about letting go of Rita’s hands, but she was still not at that stage yet. And not only that, Rita might get mad at her if she did such a thing without notice.

     Ra-Eun did not hate Rita; she simply found the latter hard to deal with. And not just that, but she did not want to harshly treat a sunbae who liked her.

     Rita reached the end of the lane through sheer will.

     ‘I’ll admit, she has impressive stamina.’

     Rita was undoubtedly a dancing singer. Any normal person would have been exhausted after all that, but she looked like she was still raring to go. They could still go on stamina-wise, but not time-wise.

     “Let’s stop here for today,” Ra-Eun remarked.

     “Already?”

     “Yes. I have somewhere I have to be.”

     Ra-Eun had been planning on heading back home after swimming for about an hour to warm up, but that had changed after encountering Rita.

     “Okay. I guess it’s time for me to go too,” Rita said as she got out of the water and gestured to Ra-Eun. “Let’s go.”

     “Go where?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Where else? To shower and change our clothes. You have plans, don’t you?”

     “Oh…”

     Ra-Eun’s face flushed red for a moment.

     “I-I’m fine. You can go ahead first.”

     Ra-Eun was against the idea despite them both being women. It was not because Rita was a dangerous person to be around while naked, but because she had never showered together with another woman while naked. Even on her trip to the water park with her friends last year, she had showered by herself because she could not stare at another woman’s naked body without feeling awkward. At first, she could not even stare at her own body, and had just barely gotten used to it. However…

     ‘I… can’t handle looking at someone else naked yet.’

     Rita had no choice but to leave first because of Ra-Eun’s strong refusal. Ra-Eun sighed deeper than the depths of the pool.

     “You goddamn idiot.”

     She couldn’t bear how extremely pathetic she was today.

     * * *

     Rita arrived at a broadcasting station to record a music program. She trained by watching a swimming lesson video on repeat in the waiting room. Although she was not in water, she could still practice swinging her arms as if she was swimming.

     Someone knocked on her waiting room door while she was practicing the motions of the freestyle that Ra-Eun had taught her.

     “Hello, sunbae.”

     “Oh, Ga-Ae. What are you doing here?”

     The singer Han Ga-Ae had come to Rita’s waiting room to greet her.

     “I’m here to say hello, of course. What are you watching?” Ga-Ae asked.

     “Oh, this? A swimming video. Ra-Eun told me to watch it.”

     “By Ra-Eun… do you mean Miss Kang Ra-Eun?”

     “Yup, that’s right. Come to think of it, aren’t you girls the same age?”

     “Yes.”

     Ga-Ae was already aware that they were of the same age. It was obvious, since Ra-Eun was a hot topic in the entertainment industry. There was barely anyone who didn’t know her.

     “I need to learn how to swim too…” Ga-Ae muttered.

     “You too? Why? Were you also told by a director to learn how to swim for a music video like I was?”

     “No, nothing like that. I just thought it’d come in handy if I learned how. You told me that the more I know how to do, the more opportunities I’d be able to grab hold of, didn’t you?”

     Just like how a singer who cooked as a hobby was often casted for a cooking program, people with special skills received offers even without lifting a finger. Only those with versatile talents could dominate in the TV industry.

     “Are you gonna keep learning how to swim from Ra-Eun, sunbae?”

     “That wasn’t my intention at first, but it just happened.”

     Ra-Eun had been teaching Rita how to swim twice a week. Since Ra-Eun was still a student, they met on Saturday and Sunday.

     “Then sunbae, could you ask Ra-Eun something for me?” Ga-Ae asked.

     “About what?”

     “Please ask her if she could teach me how to swim as well.”

     Ga-Ae asked Rita of such a thing because she thought it would be more comfortable to be taught by someone of the same age as her, and also because she wanted to take this chance to get closer to Ra-Eun. There were several reasons mixed into her request.

     Chapter 65

     Swimming Instructor (2)

     The most effective and surefire form of stress relief for Kang Ra-Eun was exercise. She found joy in pushing herself to the brink of exhaustion while sweating and panting like crazy, just like what she was doing right now.

     Ra-Eun breathed in the air that she was lacking only after she reached the other end of the pool. She savored the short break after coming out of the water and taking off her swimming cap.

     “Huu…! That felt good.”

     Ra-Eun could sweat as much as she wanted since she was in water. She also did not have to care much about people looking at her, because they would not realize immediately that she was Kang Ra-Eun while she was focusing on swimming in her water goggles and swimming cap.

     Because of that, Ra-Eun had been swimming more than jogging lately, and had unintentionally made Seo Yi-Jun suffer in the process. His jogs with Ra-Eun was one of his greatest joys in life, but that had disappeared due to her recent infatuation with swimming. Yi-Jun could also swim with her, but…

     ‘He said he doesn’t know how to swim.’

     Ra-Eun suggested that she could teach him, but Yi-Jun strongly refused because he did not want to show her his weak side. Hence, he told her that he would do whatever it took to learn how to swim and proudly go to the swimming pool with her in the future.

     Ra-Eun told him to do his best. On the other hand, Rita had benefited from Ra-Eun’s recent infatuation with swimming.

     “Ra-Eun!”

     Rita appeared while Ra-Eun was taking a break.

     “Hello, sunbae. But…” Ra-Eun said as she looked behind Rita. “Who’s that behind you?”

     She could not recognize the woman because she was wearing a swimming cap and water goggles. Ra-Eun only recognized her after she belatedly took them off.

     “Miss Han Ga-Ae?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Oh my, that’s right! How did you know?” Ga-Ae answered in astonishment.

     Han Ga-Ae was a young singer who was a member of Nefti, an eleven-member girl group.

     ‘Since it’s 2011 now, she should be the same age as me.’

     She was the youngest member of the group. Nefti was not that popular of a group. Their main vocalist Gyeong-Eun was fairly recognized, but the public would not be able to match the names and faces of the other members unless they were big Nefti fans.

     In other words, they were stooges to raise one popular member of their group to stardom, and Ga-Ae was one of them. But despite that, there was a reason why Ra-Eun had recognized her. Ga-Ae was only treated like a stooge right now, but she would grow to become a national representative-level female soloist on par with Rita.

     Meanwhile, Ga-Ae was extremely happy just from the fact that someone had recognized her, especially when that person was one of the most talked-about stars, Kang Ra-Eun.

     “It’s an honor to be recognized by you, Miss Kang.”

     Ga-Ae’s smile overflowed with sincerity.

     “But why are you here, Miss Han…?” Ra-Eun asked.

     It did not look like she had run into Rita by chance.

     “Ga-Ae said that she also wanted you to teach her how to swim,” Rita mentioned.

     Ra-Eun said while tilting her head in confusion, “From me?”

     “Yup. I told her that you’re a good swimming instructor.”

     “Well… I don’t mind.”

     Rita aside, it was not a bad idea to make a connection with a future top star like Han Ga-Ae. Ra-Eun was sure that becoming friends with an influential star would be of help to her revenge down the road in some shape or form.

     Ga-Ae brightened up as soon as Ra-Eun said yes.

     “I’ll be in your care, Miss Kang.”

     “Same to you.”

     Ra-Eun was slightly bewildered by the sudden meeting, but such meetings were not that bad.

     * * *

     Unlike Rita, Ga-Ae at least had the basics of swimming down. However, she was not as good as Ra-Eun. Ga-Ae was decent from a beginner’s perspective, but she had tons of things that needed improvement from Ra-Eun’s perspective.

     Ga-Ae was able to swim faster and with a more stable form as Ra-Eun fixed her form little by little. She herself was amazed by how much she had improved in such a short time.

     “I can see why Rita sunbae praised you so much,” she expressed.

     “Really?”

     Rita had left first after one hour because she had something on her schedule, so it was only just Ra-Eun and Ga-Ae together. It was a shame for them to just leave with Rita, so they held a supplementary lesson.

     “Your movements are too stiff. When you’re freestyling… I’m sorry, but could I touch you for a moment?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Yes, of course. We’re both girls.”

     Ra-Eun barely managed to stop herself from the momentary urge to say that wasn’t the case at all. She grabbed Ga-Ae’s left arm with one hand and the left side of her back with the other.

     “You can stride forward much easier by making your arm swings bigger, like this.”

     “Aha…”

     “Shall we go again?”

     “Yes!” Ga-Ae exclaimed enthusiastically.

     Ga-Ae worked diligently and passionately in everything she did, which helped her grow into the top star that she would become in the future. However, there was one barrier that she needed to get through for that to happen. If she did not, then she would only waste her time as a girl group member with nothing to show for it until her early twenties.

     Ra-Eun knew exactly how Ga-Ae could stride forward quicker and easier in her career, just like her swimming. However…

     ‘I’m not sure if I should be telling her this.’

     It was hard for Ra-Eun to bring up since it could come off as harsh to Ga-Ae. On the other hand, Ga-Ae was focused on swimming while completely oblivious to Ra-Eun’s concerns. They finally got out of the water together after thirty more minutes.

     “Thank you for the trouble, Miss Kang.”

     “Not at all.”

     “Oh, right,” Ga-Ae said as she clapped her palms together. “Aren’t we the same age?”

     “Yes, we are.”

     “If it’s alright with you, could we speak casually with each other? We’re friends now, after all.”

     They were friends of the same age, but there was something that bothered Ra-Eun.

     “But you’ve been in the industry longer than me, so that makes you my sunbae…”

     “Come on, I’m a singer, and you’re an actress. It’s true that we’re both in the entertainment industry, but we’re in completely different fields. Also, I don’t really like senior-junior relationships. Oh, but that doesn’t mean I act that way to all my sunbaes. Not at all! Please don’t get the wrong idea.”

     Ga-Ae was cute when she was flustered. She had the cuteness that Ra-Eun lacked. Ra-Eun giggled.

     “Understood… No, okay. I’ll speak comfortably,” Ra-Eun said.

     “Yeah, let’s.”

     Ga-Ae explained why she had suggested such a thing, “To be honest with you, this is my first time making a friend my age in the entertainment industry, so I was just so happy…”

     People assumed celebrities made tons of friends since they met people all the time, but the occupation was ironically a lonely one. The people that they met were simply acquaintances that they only knew the faces and names of. It was extremely difficult for celebrities to find a friend who they could lay their feelings bare to and could get along with.

     It was Ga-Ae’s wish to find a friend like that, and her feelings surged with the hopes that Ra-Eun could fulfill her wish. The two had become friends from their very first meeting.

     “Why don’t we go take a shower and change?” Ga-Ae said as she tried to take Ra-Eun’s hand, but Ra-Eun unconsciously took a few steps back and frantically shook her head.

     “N-No, I-I’m going to swim a little more.”

     “Again? Aren’t you tired?”

     “N-Nope, I’m perfectly fine, so you can go ahead first.”

     Ra-Eun felt like she would be committing a crime if she looked at Ga-Ae’s naked body after just becoming friends, so she had no choice but to desperately refuse.

     Ga-Ae was confused by Ra-Eun’s actions.

     “Okay. I’ll call you later, then.”

     “Yeah, okay. Take care on your way home. And make sure you take a quick shower.”

     There were so many inconveniences about being a woman.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun returned home only to come face to face with Kang Ra-Hyuk watching TV in his underwear. Her face wrinkled.

     “You’d better put on some clothes before I beat you up,” Ra-Eun warned.

     “Who cares? You go around in your underwear too.”

     “That’s because it can’t be helped after I take a shower or change clothes. Also, I don’t laze around in the living room in my underwear like you.”

     “Okay, okay. Let me finish watching this first.”

     Ra-Hyuk was focused on the singing program. It just happened to be Nefti’s turn, the girl group that Ga-Ae was in. The eleven members were performing on the stage.

     “There are so many of them that I can’t tell who’s who. I used to memorize every girl group member’s names back in the army.”

     It was exactly as Ra-Hyuk said. Ra-Eun only knew the names of three members, including Ga-Ae. She only knew their names because they had raised public awareness of them through TV appearances, but the other members were not given such opportunities.

     Ra-Eun asked Ra-Hyuk while staring at the screen, “Hey, hypothetically speaking…”

     “Yeah?”

     Ra-Eun shook her head after she was about to say something. “No, forget it.”

     “What is it?! You can’t just cut it off there! You’ve made me curious now! I won’t be able to sleep tonight out of curiosity!”

     “That’s none of my concern.”

     She was about to ask Ra-Hyuk’s opinion about what Ga-Ae could do to become popular, but she stopped midway because she was still not sure if she should bring it up or not.

     Chapter 66

     Swimming Instructor (3)

     The girl group Nefti went into rehearsal before the singing program recording. The less popular a member was, the more they were positioned to the side. In Han Ga-Ae’s case, she was positioned at the rightmost end of the stage to the point that she was only barely reflected on the camera.

     The Nefti members sang to the beat of the track while performing their choreography. Ga-Ae only had two lines in the four-minute song.

     “I love you so, so much~ I want you to hold me tight~”

     That was it.

     Ga-Ae used to be envious of people who won the lottery the most. But now, the target of her greatest envy had changed to the main vocalists of girl groups because they were the ones in the spotlight during the song’s climax. Ga-Ae could only watch from afar as the main vocalist energetically sang the high notes. They were on the same stage, but she felt an unknown sense of distance from it.

     “Please take care of us during the recording as well!”

     The members of Nefti walked down the rehearsal stage while smiling brightly toward the program director and staff members. The popular members of the group gathered together to give feedback on their performance on their way to the waiting room. The other members also grouped together, but Ga-Ae was the only one who was alone. She made firm resolutions multiple times a day that she needed to get used to such treatment since she had become the singer that she always wanted, but…

     ‘…It’s hard.’

     She still couldn’t get used to it.

     * * *

     Rita’s swimming lessons came to an end last week. All that she needed to do now was to show off in the music video shoot the swimming skills that she had learned from Ra-Eun. It had only been a few days since Rita, Ga-Ae and Ra-Eun last swam and chatted together.

     ‘It’s a bit lonely now that I’m all by myself,’ Ra-Eun thought.

     She rarely used to feel lonely in her past life. However, her personality changed to one that did after her gender changed.

     ‘I might have been affected by the former Kang Ra-Eun.’

     It had also been the case when she had acquired a sweet tooth. Her past personality was changing unwittingly. She used to be scared by the fact that she was slowly changing, but…

     ‘I have no choice but to accept it as fate.’

     It was far better to grab hold of an opportunity to take revenge despite becoming a woman, than dying in the middle of the mountains through Kim Han-Gyo and Kim Chi-Yeol’s betrayal. There were definitely a few annoying instances, but they were nothing that couldn’t be dealt with.

     “Ra-Eun.”

     A familiar voice called her name while Ra-Eun was engrossed in swimming. She turned around to see Ga-Ae waving at her in a swimsuit.

     “What are you doing here?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “To swim, of course.”

     After Ra-Eun’s lessons, Ga-Ae was now able to maintain great form even without adjustments from Ra-Eun.

     Splash, splash—!

     Ga-Ae strode forward by strongly kicking the water. Ra-Eun’s face slightly stiffened as she looked at Ga-Ae immersed in swimming without a word. Since Ra-Eun was already out of the water, she extended her hand out toward Ga-Ae who had just finished swimming.

     “Wanna get something to drink? My treat,” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Really? Thanks, I’d love to.”

     Ra-Eun and Ga-Ae headed to a cafe inside the pool facility and sat down on a bench with americanos in hand.

     “Did something bad happen?”

     Ga-Ae was bewildered for a moment by Ra-Eun’s straightforward question. Anyone was bound to be surprised when someone went straight to the point without notice. She thought about denying it at first, but realized that Ra-Eun would not believe her after she showed her such a reaction.

     “…Yeah, a little,” Ga-Ae answered.

     She chose to acknowledge it, but did not go into detail. However, it did not matter since Ra-Eun already knew everything.

     ‘If I remember correctly, she left the group after five years because of discord among the members.’

     Ra-Eun still remembered vividly because it had been quite a big issue at the time. She sipped the coffee and gave Ga-Ae a vague hint.

     “I don’t know what happened, but sometimes it’s best to keep your thoughts simple if you have something on your mind.”

     “Simple?”

     “For example… If you’re being forced to work with a certain group of people, you could just leave that group and never see them again.”

     Ra-Eun immediately wished she didn’t say that because it was far too specific. However, Ga-Ae focused more on Ra-Eun’s mention of ‘leaving the group’ than her extremely specific example.

     “What if you worked really hard to get into that group?” Ga-Ae asked.

     “That doesn’t matter. There are no guarantees that you’ll succeed as a singer by staying in that group. I’m sure you already know very well whether the road to success lies in going down your current path, or finding a different path.”

     “…”

     “If you’re really that worried about which path you should choose, try consulting Rita sunbae. She’s pretty mischievous, but she listens earnestly when her juniors ask for advice.”

     Ga-Ae slowly nodded.

     “Yeah, okay.”

     Ra-Eun thought as she looked at Ga-Ae, ‘I should let Rita sunbae know in advance.’

     Ra-Eun wanted two things from Ga-Ae. One was for her to leave Nefti, and the other was for her to transfer to Ra-Eun’s agency. She was sure that if those two conditions were met, Ga-Ae would rise to become a top songstress even quicker than before.

     * * *

     Chief Jung was left surprised by what Ra-Eun had said.

     “You’re asking if GNF can take Miss Han Ga-Ae in if she leaves Nefti?”

     “Yes.”

     She gave it to him straight. Chief Jung had wondered what Ra-Eun had to say when she called him to talk about something after a while, but he did not expect it to be about something so important.

     “You have a lot of influence in the agency, don’t you?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Well… I guess so.”

     Chief Jung was one of the founding members of GNF Entertainment. He had worked with the chairman of GNF ever since he was a road manager, so he could do almost anything that he wanted in the agency if he put his mind to it. In that case, Ra-Eun was curious to know if it was within Chief Jung’s power to get Ga-Ae transferred to GNF.

     “We don’t have any reason not to accept Ga-Ae if she really leaves Nefti and her agency. GNF was just thinking about increasing our singing talent lineup, anyway.”

     It was beneficial for both Chief Jung and GNF to accept Ga-Ae.

     “But did Ga-Ae say that she was going to leave her group?” Chief Jung asked.

     “She probably will.”

     “Well, it’s not like I don’t understand why.”

     Someone as engaged in the entertainment industry like Chief Jung knew very well about the fate of stooge group members. It was possibly better to give going solo a shot than to be buried with nothing to show for in the group.

     Ra-Eun repeatedly emphasized Ga-Ae’s importance to Chief Jung.

     “Ga-Ae’s going to rise to stardom for sure, so please support her the best you can.”

     “Okay. Have I ever ignored any of your favors? Don’t worry and trust me.”

     GNF still needed to increase its scale. To do that, they needed to recruit as many capable talents as possible. Chief Jung couldn’t help but be greedy when he was told that someone who had already debuted in a girl group might transfer to GNF.

     * * *

     Two weeks later, Ra-Eun visited Seo Yi-Seo’s house after school to get a workbook from her.

     “It’ll be really dirty because I doodle a lot. Are you sure you’re fine with it?” Yi-Seo asked.

     “Yeah. It’s fine as long as the answers aren’t circled on the questions.”

     Ra-Eun immersed herself into solving SAT workbooks whenever she could, so she had solved all the workbooks that she had bought. She was too lazy to go to the bookstore, so she decided to exchange workbooks with Yi-Seo.

     Yi-Seo asked Ra-Eun to wait as she went into her room as soon as they arrived at her home. At that moment, Ra-Eun could feel a presence inside a room with the door slightly open. She could hear the subtle breathing of a man.

     From his breathing, Ra-Eun was sure that the man was sick at first, so she looked inside through the open door.

     ‘Would you look at that son of a bitch?’

     Seo Yi-Jun was sleeping like a baby in nothing but underwear. Ra-Eun was reminded of Kang Ra-Hyuk as she looked at him, since Ra-Hyuk also roamed around the house in just underwear when it was hot. He had probably been really hot, because he was sleeping with the blanket under him with the air conditioner on.

     ‘Is he having an erotic dream?’

     He had a severe case of morning wood.

     ‘Go to a camping ground if you want to pitch a tent.’

     She couldn’t put a blanket over him because he was on it.

     “Hey, Yi-Jun.”

     Ra-Eun nudged Yi-Jun, but he showed no signs of waking up.

     “You’ll catch a cold if you sleep like that. Do you have any idea how excruciating a summer cold is?”

     “…Sis?”

     Yi-Jun thought the owner of the young woman’s voice was his sister at first, but…

     “R-Ra-Eun noona?!”

     “Yeah, it’s me.”

     The startled Yi-Jun belatedly realized his current attire and scrambled to hide his lower body with the blanket that he was on.

     “Wh-Why are you…”

     “I came to borrow a workbook from Yi-Seo, but you looked like you were about to catch a cold, so I was trying to put a blanket over you.”

     “I-Is that so?”

     Yi-Jun looked down with a face flushed red. He then asked after some time, “Noona, by any chance… d-did you see?”

     Ra-Eun answered with a smirk, “No, I didn’t.”

     It was a blatant lie. Yi-Jun was so embarrassed that he wanted a hole to hide in. Yi-Seo approached Ra-Eun with the workbook in the meantime.

     “What’s wrong, Ra-Eun? Did Yi-Jun do something bad to you again?”

     “No, it was the opposite today.”

     “Opposite?”

     Ra-Eun could not tell Yi-Seo anything more to protect Yi-Jun’s privacy. Yi-Seo suggested that Ra-Eun stop by Starlight Road to grab a coffee before she went home, but Ra-Eun’s phone rang before she could say yes. It was a call from Rita.

     “Yes, sunbae… Oh, really? Okay. Thank you.”

     Ra-Eun apologized to Yi-Seo after hanging up.

     “Something important came up, so I have to go.”

     “What happened?”

     “Nothing special. I made a friend recently, and it looks like I’ll have to listen to her story.”

     It seemed like she would be going back home late today.

     Chapter 67

     Source (1)

     Kang Ra-Eun received a call from Han Ga-Ae and headed to a cafe where they decided to meet. Ga-Ae, who had arrived at the cafe first, waved at Ra-Eun.

     “Over here, Ra-Eun.”

     Ga-Ae was the only customer, probably because the cafe was located in an alleyway. The lack of customers was good for Ra-Eun.

     She asked Ga-Ae, who was wearing nothing to hide her face, while taking off her sunglasses, “You should at least wear a mask. I’m sure people would recognize you.”

     “It’s okay. Not many people recognize me even when I leave my face uncovered like this.”

     Not only was Nefti not a popular girl group, but people recognized Ga-Ae even less since she was simply a stooge member. Hence, Ga-Ae had no need to conceal her face. Not even the cafe manager who was at the counter seemed to recognize her, despite the Nefti song that was playing inside.

     Ra-Eun smiled bitterly. She honestly did not know much about the pain of being unknown. She had not been a celebrity in her past life, and she had risen to stardom almost instantly after her debut in her current life thanks to her stunning beauty and figure. She had no idea how Ga-Ae was feeling right now.

     “You wanted to tell me something?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Yeah.”

     Ra-Eun had an inkling of what Ga-Ae wanted to say. It was probably about…

     “I’m going to leave my group,” Ga-Ae stated.

     Her expectation was right on the mark. She had actually been told by Rita that Ga-Ae was probably going to leave her group and her agency before Ga-Ae had called her. She had already been spoiled, so it was not a big surprise.

     “I see,” Ra-Eun responded calmly.

     Ga-Ae had become the surprised one because of Ra-Eun’s calm response.

     “Did you know I was going to say that?”

     “Somewhat.”

     “How?”

     “I could tell that you weren’t enjoying your singing career at all whenever I saw you on TV programs. Also, I could see signs of you being ostracized by your group members.”

     “Oh… It was that obvious, huh?”

     No matter how different a person was on and off camera, signs were bound to show as long as they were human. Quick-witted people were probably aware of the trouble within Nefti like Ra-Eun. The group was like a ticking time bomb; the scandals were bound to blow up sooner or later, so it was probably better for the group to disband sooner before the problem became even bigger than it currently was.

     “You made the right choice. Rita sunbae said the same thing, right?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Yeah. Oh, right. I decided to transfer to GNF, the same agency as you…” Ga-Ae slurred the end of her sentence and suddenly said, “Thanks, Ra-Eun.”

     “…?”

     Ra-Eun had never thought she would receive words of gratitude from Ga-Ae.

     “Why me?”

     She thought that Ga-Ae was thanking the wrong person, since Rita was the one who had helped her make the final decision to leave her group. Also, she should be thanking the GNF executives instead, who had taken her in to become her second home. However, Ga-Ae knew something that Ra-Eun had not realized.

     “I heard you were the one who helped me transfer to GNF.”

     Ga-Ae was able to transfer to GNF easily because Ra-Eun had worked hard to appeal to Chief Jung, which she did not tell Ga-Ae on purpose. However, there was no such thing as an everlasting secret. Ga-Ae had found out that Ra-Eun had pulled some strings in the shadows for her, which she was thankful for.

     Ra-Eun said with an awkward smile, “It’s nothing, really.”

     “It wasn’t nothing to me. But Ra-Eun, how did you know that I was going to leave my agency in advance? Did Rita sunbae tell you?”

     “Huh? Uhh… yeah.”

     Ra-Eun decided to just get her story straight with Rita’s. She had not just helped, but had actually been the one who set the whole stage for Ga-Ae to transfer to GNF. However, she did not want to let that be revealed since she had no idea what to say if Ga-Ae asked how she knew so much about her.

     ‘Thank God I could use Rita sunbae to make an excuse.’

     She knew asking help from Rita was the right decision.

     * * *

     The article of Ga-Ae’s withdrawal from Nefti was published, but it did not become big news as expected. It was probably better for it to be kept low-profile like this.

     ‘Leaving a group is not a good thing, after all.’

     Nefti let Ga-Ae go all too easily because they did not have much expectations for her. However, they would greatly regret it in the future since they had practically handed a golden goose over to someone else for absolutely nothing in return.

     ‘Well, it's their fault for not recognizing talent.’

     They had no one else to blame but their own incompetence for not recognizing someone who would rise to become a top star.

     Ra-Eun’s foresight was far superior to anyone since everything that would happen from now on was stored in her brain. Rita, Han Ga-Ae, Je-Woon, et cetera; she was gradually securing solid connections in the entertainment industry.

     ‘I’m sure I’ll face that son of a bitch Kim Chi-Yeol in some shape or form since he’s in the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.’

     Ra-Eun simply had to gnaw at Chi-Yeol little by little after casting a wide net. After she was done with Chi-Yeol, her next target would be Congressman Kim Han-Gyo.

     ‘The main dish is most delicious when left for last.’

     Ra-Eun was gradually collecting pieces of the puzzle that was her revenge inside her head.

     She went up the hill that led to her house past Starlight Road.

     ‘That aside, why is it so damn hot today?’

     Ra-Eun was sweating already. She, Seo Yi-Seo, Na Gyu-Rin and Choi Ro-Mi had decided to hold a study gathering at her house later. She had been planning on cleaning up before then, but…

     ‘It’s way too hot.’

     She turned on the fan in the living room as soon as she got home, and then lifted up her uniform skirt. The cool air blew over Ra-Eun’s flawless thighs and calves.

     ‘Much better.’

     This was one of the good points of a skirt in Ra-Eun’s perspective. But of course, it was also something that should never be done in front of others.

     Kang Ra-Hyuk, who had taken out an ice cream from the fridge, scowled as he witnessed Ra-Eun cooling herself down.

     “A grown lady shouldn’t expose her panties in the living room.”

     “Shut up. My friends will be here soon, so make sure you stay quiet in your room. Understood?”

     “Your friends? What time are they coming?”

     “Yi-Seo will be here first, and the other two in around thirty minutes. They’re gonna be here after they change clothes.”

     “Are they eating dinner here?”

     “Yup.”

     “Delivery?”

     “Probably.”

     Ra-Eun did not want to cook in such scorching hot weather. There were tons of delicious foods available for delivery, and it was easy to clean up after as well.

     ‘It should be way easier to order food when smartphones and delivery apps are introduced.’

     She could only hope for that day to arrive soon.

     * * *

     Gyu-Rin and Ro-Mi arrived after Ra-Eun showered and was in the middle of studying with Yi-Seo in her room.

     Ro-Mi asked in surprise as she entered her room, “Ra-Eun, is that your dearest brother?”

     Ra-Eun was dumbfounded by Ro-Mi’s choice of words.

     “I guess so,” she answered.

     “Wow! He’s so handsome!”

     Ro-Mi couldn’t keep herself together whenever she saw handsome men or pretty women.

     ‘I guess he really is handsome if a lookist like Ro-Mi acknowledges it.’

     Ra-Eun did not want to acknowledge that Ra-Hyuk was handsome, probably because he was her older brother, or because she had seen all sorts of unsightly sides to him at home.

     Gyu-Rin mentioned as she compared Ra-Hyuk, whom she just saw, and Ra-Eun, “Genes sure are amazing. Your father must be super handsome.”

     “Not really. I think we take after our mother.”

     There were multiple pictures of Ra-Eun’s mother in her room. Her friends were astonished as they looked at pictures of her mother back in Ra-Eun’s childhood years.

     “She’s so beautiful.”

     Beauty became something that could be modified through the advancement of medical science, but that still did not prevent people from being envious of natural beauties. Korea was not yet very open-minded about plastic surgery, so Ra-Eun felt blessed that she was born with a beautiful face.

     Yi-Seo asked Ra-Eun before resuming their study session, “Come to think of it, Ra-Eun, are you not gonna participate in that event?”

     “What event?”

     “The summer festival sponsored by the government. I heard famous celebrities gather to speak, perform, and other stuff.”

     Ra-Eun’s expression changed as soon as she heard that it was sponsored by the government. It was the cultural festival project that Kim Chi-Yeol led. She of course knew about it, but had absolutely no intention of participating even if she received an invitation, because she did not want to see Chi-Yeol.

     “I heard the overseer of the event was working really hard for it.”

     “Congressman Kim Han-Gyo’s son, right? The person who got married recently.”

     “Yeah. People think very highly of him because he holds cultural events like this often. I’ve seen people comment online that he’s one of the few people who actually do good work in the government.”

     Ra-Eun could not focus at all as her friends complimented Chi-Yeol.

     ‘One of the few people who do good work, huh…?’

     It was an outrageous statement. Ra-Eun was flooded with anguish. Her stomach started to hurt as she heard that Chi-Yeol’s reputation was rising. She couldn’t stand to see certain individuals do well.

     ‘Especially when it comes to Kim Han-Gyo and Kim Chi-Yeol. I cannot let it slide.’

     She used to just let it slide whenever she heard that Chi-Yeol was doing well for himself since she could just plunge him into hell in one go through her revenge, but she did not feel like it today. It could possibly be because of the stress she was feeling from the scorching hot summer weather, but she felt like raining on Chi-Yeol’s parade.

     ‘Summer of 2011. What could I use to screw over Kim Chi-Yeol at this time?’

     She was staring at the workbook, but her mind was completely elsewhere.

     Chapter 68

     Source (2)

     It was almost midnight. Reporter Ahn Su-Jin tried to chase even a little of her fatigue away by stretching. However, no matter how hard she stretched or how many energy drinks she drank, she could not get rid of the fatigue that had accumulated over several sleepless nights.

     “I really should go home today.”

     She had become a complete mess after not leaving the office for several days. The midnight air was cold despite it being the middle of summer. She left the building and walked toward the street to grab a taxi. But then, two men with their faces hidden with hats approached her.

     “…”

     Su-Jin nervously stared at the men. She reacted as if she knew they would come.

     “You’re the ones who’ve been watching me since a few months ago, aren’t you?”

     The two men stared at each other in surprise, because Su-Jin was more quick-witted than they had expected. A reporter’s gut was not to be underestimated. There was no way that she, who had experienced all sorts of difficulties as a reporter, would not perceive their tailing.

     “I’m calling the police.”

     That was Su-Jin’s form of defense. She also carried around a gas pistol[1] in her handbag just in case. She was thinking about shooting it and running away in the worst-case scenario, since she had always been confident in her running speed since childhood.

     However, the men were treating her in an unexpectedly gentle manner.

     “There is someone who would like to meet you.”

     “We would appreciate it if you would come with us for a moment.”

     Su-Jin was surprised by how well-mannered they were compared to their tough-looking faces.

     “And who is this person? Shouldn’t they reveal themselves if they’re inviting me?” Su-Jin asked.

     “You will find out when you arrive. You have already met them once before.”

     “…?”

     Su-Jin’s caution slightly softened by their mention that the person could be her acquaintance. She resolved herself.

     “…Okay. Where are we going?”

     The men directed Su-Jin to their car. She pondered about whether or not she had made the right choice before even getting in the car.

     ~

     They headed to an abandoned building in the outskirts of Seoul.

     “Please head inside.”

     “…”

     Su-Jin belatedly thought that she had made the wrong choice. However, it was far too late to run away because several men had already surrounded her.

     As she went up the stairs, a woman revealed herself among the men. She was a long-haired young woman, but Su-Jin could not tell who she was because she was hiding her face with a mask. Was she in her early twenties? No, she could even be a teenager. Su-Jin could not tell if she was friend or foe, but she felt somewhat relieved that there was a fellow woman among the crowd of men.

     The woman was sitting on a chair with one leg over the other. She then gestured toward the chair across from her and said, “Please take a seat.”

     She was assumed to be in her mid-twenties from her voice. However, after a few exchanges of words, Su-Jin realized that it was pointless to guess the woman’s age.

     ‘She’s putting on an act.’

     The woman was purposefully changing the tone of her voice. She was very proficient in acting. But most of all, Su-Jin needed to find out why the woman had brought her here.

     “Why did you bring me here?”

     The masked woman responded in surprise to Su-Jin’s question, “You’re not going to ask who I am?”

     Most people would have asked who the other person was, but Su-Jin had chosen ‘why’ instead of ‘who.’

     “You obviously won’t tell me even if I asked.”

     The woman would not have concealed her identity in the first place if she had planned on telling Su-Jin. The mysterious woman laughed shortly because of Su-Jin’s wits.

     “I knew it. You’re the same as always.”

     “Pardon?”

     “It’s nothing. Please forget what I just said. I was talking to myself.”

     The more Su-Jin heard, the more she could not understand. The woman signaled the men to leave. After the men left, she handed Su-Jin a folder.

     “What is this?” Su-Jin asked.

     “A scoop related to the politician that you’re aiming for.”

     “What?”

     “Please open it.”

     Su-Jin gasped as she opened the folder.

     She had been chasing scandal stories regarding Kim Chi-Yeol lately, because there had been rumors that he was having an affair with a female celebrity after getting married and starting a family. She had been struggling to confirm whether or not the rumors were true, but her efforts had become meaningless through this one folder.

     All of the evidence that she had been searching for was in it. It included several photos of Chi-Yeol having intimate skinship with the female celebrity, with their faces vividly shown.

     “You can royally screw that son of a bitch Kim Chi-Yeol over with that, right?” the woman asked.

     “Well, yes, but…”

     Su-Jin could tell from the woman’s manner of speaking that she held a seething rage toward Chi-Yeol.

     “How did you get these?” Su-Jin asked.

     “By actually putting in the effort, just like you.”

     “But why would you give these to me…?”

     “Because I think bringing such things to light is a reporter’s job.”

     She was not wrong.

     “There is only one thing that I want from you right now, and it’s for you to ruin Kim Chi-Yeol’s family, like you’d already suspected,” the woman remarked.

     “By ‘right now’…do you mean there will be more things that you will want from me in the future?”

     “Yes.”

     The woman got up from her seat and handed her cash.

     “This is a fee for your services plus taxi money. Please keep this a secret from other reporters. Oh, and please keep in mind that I might call for you again whenever there are scoops to be reported.”

     The woman was telling Su-Jin that she would provide her with information again in the future.

     “Then see you next time,” the woman said as she left first.

     Su-Jin looked down at the folder of Kim Chi-Yeol’s scandalous acts and stared at the bundle of cash. She fell into a state of panic, unable to understand what had just happened.

     * * *

     Kang Ra-Eun got into the back seat of a car with Ma Yeong-Jun.

     He asked her as they headed toward her home, “How did you know Kim Chi-Yeol was having an affair with that female celebrity?”

     “It was a hunch.”

     “And did you find out the exact time and place of their secret dates through a hunch as well?”

     “Yup, exactly.”

     “…”

     No one would believe such an outrageous lie. When Ra-Eun had told Yeong-Jun’s men to take pictures of Chi-Yeol committing infidelity at a specific time and place, Yeong-Jun thought it was completely meaningless at first. However, he was sorely mistaken. They had caught a massive fish with the bait that Ra-Eun had provided.

     However, she did not tell them how she acquired her source regarding the Kim Chi-Yeol scandal. She simply told them that they just needed to do as she said.

     Yeong-Jun’s head was being filled with more and more questions.

     At that moment, Ra-Eun said to him, “Mister. You said you wanted to move onto a bigger stage, right?”

     Yeong-Jun had told her before that he wanted to stop playing around in such a small pond and move on to somewhere bigger. He slowly nodded.

     “I did.”

     “In that case, all you need to do is to follow my instructions. If you do, I’ll let you play around on the big stage that you want so much.”

     Considering that Ra-Eun was a high school girl and a popular actress, her movements were far too restricted since she would be easily recognized anywhere she went. Hence, she needed people to be her arms and legs, which was why she was planning on using Yeong-Jun and his men. In exchange, she would give them what they wanted.

     Yeong-Jun agreed shortly after thinking about what Ra-Eun had said. However, this event had also engraved a slight fear toward Kang Ra-Eun in his mind.

     * * *

     Kim Chi-Yeol arrived at his office early in the morning with a cup of coffee to commence his morning duties as always. However, his peaceful morning turned into a warzone by his chauffeur.

     “Vice Minister! H-Have you seen the articles?!”

     “Articles? What articles?”

     “P-Please read them right now! It’s really bad!”

     Chi-Yeol opened up the internet while grumbling. At that moment, his eyes shook greatly. Scandal articles of him and a famous female celebrity were popping up everywhere. They were not rumor articles; they contained pictures of the intimate skinship between him and the female celebrity.

     “H-How did they get these pictures…?!”

     He could tell exactly when and where they had their date from the picture. It was not only the internet that was in an uproar.

     Vrrrr—!

     His phone vibrated furiously. It was a call from his wife.

     Gulp!

     Chi-Yeol’s head went completely blank.

     * * *

     Breaking news of Chi-Yeol’s scandal played on TV.

     Na Gyu-Rin said in astonishment after having heard the news, “Did you guys see the news? Vice Minister Kim Chi-Yeol got caught having an affair.”

     “Oh, that? I saw it too. I thought he was an earnest person, but he turned out to be complete garbage.”

     “I know, right? I mean, if he was gonna do something like that, then he should have just married that woman. Why did he marry someone else? I don’t understand.”

     Gyu-Rin and Choi Ro-Mi who had been singing praises about Chi-Yeol while they were studying at Ra-Eun’s house had now taken a complete 180 and were talking shit about him. Ra-Eun looked at them in delight.

     Sitting next to her, Seo Yi-Seo asked in wonder, “Did something good happen, Ra-Eun?”

     “Sure did.”

     Something absolutely amazing was happening before her eyes. Her revenge would take a very long time. She was planning on toppling everything that Kim Chi-Yeol and Kim Han-Gyo had built all at once, but she had a few time-sensitive cards that she could make use of.

     Ra-Eun had given Su-Jin the scoop on purpose because now was the perfect time to bring Chi-Yeol’s infidelity to light. But of course, she was not going to take her revenge on Chi-Yeol alone.

     ‘You’d better watch out as well, Kim Han-Gyo.’

     Hell hath no fury like a high school girl scorned.

     1. A gas pistol is a non-lethal weapon used for self-defense, made to be able to fire blanks or tear-gas cartridges. ☜

     Chapter 69

     Second Unexpected Talent (1)

     Summer break rolled around for the third-years. As Kang Ra-Eun had already expected, the life of a third-year high school student was extremely boring. They were not allowed the freedom to have fun during the school festival, nor did they have school excursions. All they could do was study, study, and study even more.

     Third-years could not be happy about summer break either, because they had no other choice but to focus on their studies by going to cram school, hiring a tutor, or holding study groups. Choi Sang-Woon, along with Na Gyu-Rin and Choi Ro-Mi, registered for the same cram school.

     Sang-Woon walked to the staff room with Ra-Eun with the questionnaires that the students had filled out at the homeroom teacher’s behest. He cautiously asked her, “Ra-Eun, are you not gonna attend a cram school?”

     “A cram school?”

     “Yeah. We don’t go to school during summer break, so a lot of our classmates apparently registered for one.”

     Ra-Eun did not see the need to go to a cram school because she had been scoring first in the entire school without going to one.

     “I don’t think I will,” she answered.

     “Oh… really?”

     Sang-Woon smacked his lips in disappointment.

     “You said you were aiming for Seoul National University[1], right?”

     Ra-Eun nodded at Sang-Woon’s second question. Her only goal was to enroll at SNU.

     She asked Sang-Woon back, “What about you?”

     “I…” Sang-Woon slurred his words and said with a gulp, “Me too.”

     “Didn’t you say you didn’t care which university you went to?”

     Sang-Woon once told her while they were preparing for last year’s sports day that he didn’t mind which university he went to, as long as it was a public one. However, his mindset had changed this year.

     “I just thought it’d be nice to aim for a good one. They say the fruits of your labor become as big as the goal that you set for yourself, don’t they?” Sang-Woon stated.

     “I guess that’s true.”

     However, Ra-Eun did not know that 99.9% of the reason that Sang-Woon was aiming for SNU was because of her.

     “I-In any case, I’ll aim for SNU as well, so if I get in… let’s play basketball again like we used to, okay?”

     Ra-Eun happily accepted. The more familiar faces there were, the better. She did not discriminate between men and women. Rather, she did not feel burdened by Sang-Woon’s offer because she was mentally more comfortable around men. However, there was one thing that she was worried about.

     ‘He’s gonna have an excruciating time preparing for the entrance exam.’

     Ra-Eun knew Sang-Woon’s grades very well. He was right smack in the middle of the ranks. She was curious about whether or not he could create a miracle in the short span of half a year.

     * * *

     During summer break, Ra-Eun sometimes went to Starlight Road to study when she couldn’t focus at home. She casually continued her studies with Seo Yi-Seo whenever she was there.

     “Our homeroom teacher seems to have really high hopes for you,” Yi-Seo mentioned.

     “He told me during the summer break ceremony too. Something about me having to go to SNU for sure to improve the school’s reputation.”

     The high school that Ra-Eun was attending was quite far from a prestigious one; it was nothing more than a regular school. Come to think of it, a school’s reputation could change based on how many of their students went to SNU.

     “Adults are so sly. They were accusing you of cheating when you first got good grades, but now they’re relying on you…”

     Ra-Eun smiled at how Yi-Seo was getting mad for her.

     “It’s okay. It’s all in the past anyway.”

     Ra-Eun did not mind much since she would have also suspected herself if she was in the homeroom teacher’s shoes. The teachers’ doubts were bound to fade as she continued to prove her ability to them, and that was exactly what had happened.

     Ra-Eun herself aside, she was curious about where Yi-Seo was aiming for.

     “Where are you going to go?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Are you talking about which university?”

     “Yeah.”

     “I don’t mind wherever, as long as it’s in the metropolitan area. I have something more important to do than university,” Yi-Seo remarked.

     “What?”

     Yi-Seo tapped on the cafe table with the end of her mechanical pencil. Ra-Eun immediately realized what she was trying to say.

     “A cafe?”

     Yi-Seo had not been up for inheriting her family’s cafe business at first, but her mind had changed as time went on.

     “I saw the appeal of cafes the more I worked in one. So, I’m going to work here with my dad while I attend university for the time being, and set up my own cafe once I gather the money. That’s my dream.”

     “That sounds good,” Ra-Eun remarked.

     If Yi-Seo set up a cafe, it would become a place that she could go to unwind whenever she was exhausted. Ra-Eun hoped that it would become her second Starlight Road.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo weren’t the only ones working hard for their dreams. The same went for Han Ga-Ae, who had just transferred to GNF Entertainment. Today was her first day as an artist affiliated with GNF. As she greeted all the important employees of the agency with her new personal manager, she saw Ra-Eun who had come to the building for a short moment.

     “Oh, Ra-Eun!”

     Ga-Ae's face turned much brighter than before from seeing her same-age friend. Ra-Eun also brightened up since she did not expect to see Ga-Ae here.

     “Were you looking around the building?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “No, I was just about to. What about you?”

     Ga-Ae wondered why Ra-Eun was here when she had announced that she was not going to appear on TV until her SATs were over.

     “I’m just here because Chief Jung asked me to look through some good movie scripts that he got for me.”

     It was impossible for Ra-Eun to film at the moment, but she was planning on looking through some synopses beforehand so that she could go right into filming after her SATs were over.

     Ga-Ae’s manager received a call as the two girls were talking. It seemed urgent.

     “Ga-Ae, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to show you around the building another time.”

     “Did something happen?” Ga-Ae asked.

     “Yeah. Something came up for a road manager of another team, so it looks like they won’t make it to the broadcasting station in time. I’m going to have to go pick up the team.”

     It could not be helped, so Ga-Ae saw her manager off.

     Ra-Eun expressed to Ga-Ae, “I could show you around, if that’s okay with you.”

     “Really?”

     “Yeah. I have nothing to do until my manager gets here anyway.”

     Shin Yu-Bin said that she would drive her home once she came back to the company after finishing her external business.

     “I’d love that. I’ll be in your care, Ra-Eun.”

     Where to start the tour was a concern in and of itself.

     * * *

     Entertainment agencies had many more unique facilities than the average company building, mainly the vocal training rooms, choreography practice rooms, recording rooms and the like.

     Ga-Ae looked around the choreography practice room in marvel.

     “It’s so clean.”

     “That’s probably because they only recently did the interior. It’s actually only my second time here.”

     Ra-Eun had barely any need to visit the choreography practice room because she was not a singer. GNF had been investing in such facilities because they were planning on bringing in a lot more singing talents apart from Rita and Ga-Ae.

     “What’s that room next door? A recording room?” Ga-Ae asked.

     “No, that’s the staff break room.”

     “Oh, really?”

     Ga-Ae was surprised as she went into the break room.

     “There’s a karaoke machine in here?”

     “Yeah. I think they installed it so that people can sing while they take a break if they want to.”

     “Does it work?”

     “Yup, but you should close the door if you want to sing. It’ll echo throughout the hallway if you don’t.”

     The room was made to be soundproof, so not much sound seeped out as long as the door was closed. Ga-Ae turned on the machine to sing a song since they were here, and selected I Can’t Forget You, the title song of the second album of Nefti, her former group.

     Ga-Ae’s elegant voice filled the entire break room as soon as the intro of the song ended.

     “I can’t forget the night that we parted~ I spent each and every day in tears~”

     It was the first time that Ra-Eun heard Ga-Ae singing live. As she thought, a singer was in a different league.

     ‘She’s… really good.’

     Ra-Eun genuinely could not understand why Ga-Ae barely got any lines in Nefti’s songs when she was this good. But now that she had left the group, the only thing waiting for her now was success.

     Ra-Eun listened in delight to her future top star friend’s singing. Ga-Ae looked refreshed after finishing the song, and handed the mic over to Ra-Eun.

     “Do you want to sing one too?” she asked.

     “Me?”

     “Yeah!”

     Ra-Eun thought for a moment.

     ‘Come to think of it, I haven’t sung a single time after becoming a woman.’

     She had often gone to karaoke bars with friends and work colleagues in her past life to drink and sing. She had been frequently complimented by her acquaintances that she was a good singer, but she was curious if her singing skills were the same after becoming a high school girl.

     “Okay, sure,” Ra-Eun answered.

     Ra-Eun chose a female singer’s song among the several that she used to sing often.

     ‘I used to sing in the male key.’

     However, there was no need for her to change keys now that she had become a woman. This was also one of the advantages of the change in her gender, albeit a very tiny one.

     “I once again recall our happy times together by drawing the memories in my mind~”

     Ga-Ae stared at Ra-Eun dumbfoundedly as she listened to her sing. She clapped and showered Ra-Eun with compliments once the song was over.

     “You’re so good! You could become a singer!”

     Ra-Eun claimed that Ga-Ae was overreacting, but Ga-Ae was dead-serious.

     “Have you ever sang in front of your manager unnie and Chief Jung?” Ga-Ae asked.

     “No, never.”

     There was no way that she had since she had never sung before in this life time.

     “I’m sure they would have gone ‘This is it!’ if they heard you singing just now!”

     “What’s ‘it?’” Ra-Eun asked.

     Ga-Ae answered, “You being an actress and singer.”

     1. Seoul National University, or SNU, is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea. ☜

     Chapter 70

     Second Unexpected Talent (2)

     There were more actors who also had singing careers than one would think, but Kang Ra-Eun had no desire to take on both roles. Just like how she was when she first started acting, she was not confident enough to take the first step in her singing career. Not only that, an acting career was more than enough for her.

     “Forget it. I can’t debut as a singer with this.”

     Ra-Eun did not want to make an even bigger deal out of it. She claimed that her singing voice was only a little above average, but she had not yet realized that had only been the case in her past body. Ra-Eun had not simply turned from a man to a woman. Park Geon-Woo’s voice and vocal cords had been completely switched with those of Kang Ra-Eun.

     The singing skills of the former Ra-Eun were outstanding. Her voice was perfectly stable even when singing high notes. It was by no means a coincidence that Ra-Eun had talent in acting; her strong vocal cords had a large part in it. She also had absolutely no issues with vocalizing, which she was praised for by her acting instructors.

     Ra-Eun had only just found out that her vocal cords had originally been specialized for singing, not acting. Not only that, it wasn’t just her vocalization that was outstanding.

     “You’re so pretty when you sing, too,” Han Ga-Ae remarked.

     “Pretty? What was I like when I was singing?”

     “You held the mic with both hands and danced by shaking left and right while staring at the screen. You were so cute!”

     “…”

     It was her first time being praised for her cuteness rather than her beauty. In Ga-Ae’s eyes, Ra-Eun possessed the physique to even tackle some choreography while singing. Her figure was so good that simply shaking her body lightly looked amazing.

     Ga-Ae made a rectangular camera angle with the thumb and index finger of both her hands, and put Ra-Eun in it. She then did an impersonation of someone completely unknown to Ra-Eun.

     “Why don’t you try becoming a singer?”[1]

     Ra-Eun answered instantly, “No, thank you.”

     She was busy enough with acting.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun headed to the meeting room where Chief Jung was waiting after ending her agency building tour with Ga-Ae.

     “You’re a little late. Did something happen?” Chief Jung asked.

     Ra-Eun made a half-assed excuse that she had some private business to tend to. A mountain of thick synopses were waiting for her.

     Ra-Eun said while looking at Chief Jung sideways, “You sure got a lot.”

     “It’d be a disgrace if I couldn’t get at least this much work for our agency’s top actress, don’t you think?”

     Ra-Eun could only sigh in response. She had no blazing desire to succeed in the entertainment industry. All that she wanted was to form connections with VVIPs who could keep Congressman Kim Han-Gyo in check. She only wanted to be moderately famous, but reality never went as one wanted it to.

     “Do I have to look through them all by today?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “No. I only got ones that weren’t super time-sensitive, so you can take your time looking through them. And besides, didn’t you say that you would continue your acting career once your SATs were over?” Chief Jung expressed.

     “I did.”

     “I’ll make sure that it doesn’t affect your studies, so just try picking your next role for now. I’ll take care of the rest.”

     Ra-Eun had indeed been comfortable thanks to Chief Jung having her back, but she sometimes got tired of his ambition of making her into a superstar in any way that he could, just like what he was doing right now.

     The mountain of drama and movie synopses perfectly represented Chief Jung’s greed. Ra-Eun took the topmost synopsis bundle and sat down. Chief Jung said a few words as Ra-Eun looked through it page by page to understand her role in the work.

     “That’s a romance movie about a nameless songstress falling in love with a male program director of a broadcasting station as she grows to become a top star. The title is still undecided. Filming starts in the second half of this year.”

     “So, literally right after the SATs,” Ra-Eun stated.

     “Exactly.”

     The timing was cutting it a bit too close for comfort.

     Ra-Eun couldn’t get Ga-Ae’s words out of her head while reading the synopsis. What exactly did she look like when she sang for Ga-Ae to praise her that much? Even Ra-Eun herself was curious.

     ‘It didn’t look like she was teasing me.’

     Ga-Ae was not the kind of person who would tease others either. Her head was filled with curiosity about her own self. Ra-Eun then unconsciously asked, “Chief Jung. What do you think about me dancing on a stage?”

     She flinched in surprise at her own question, but Chief Jung did not think it had any hidden meaning behind it. He simply thought that she had asked because of the movie synopsis that she was looking at.

     “I think it’d suit you well.”

     “Oh… really?”

     “Yup. You might dislike it when I say this, but a girl of your figure looks rather great when dancing. You have long legs, slender arms, and you’re skinny and thick exactly where it matters. To be honest, you’re a sight for sore eyes… wait, I’m not sexually harassing you, okay? I’m just talking objectively. I’ll get in huge trouble if you misunderstand.”

     Chief Jung urgently denied it. It would be a massive problem if rumors spread that a certain section chief of an entertainment agency sexually harassed an underaged high school girl. Ra-Eun assured Chief Jung that he did not need to worry about such a thing.

     Chief Jung sighed in relief and asked while looking back and forth between the synopsis and Ra-Eun, “Are you interested in it?”

     Ra-Eun answered immediately once again, “No. I think Yoo Hee-Yeon sunbae would be a better fit for the role.”

     “Hee-Yeon? I don’t think she’s ever done a role with this kind of personality.”

     “Give her a shot. You won’t regret it.”

     Ra-Eun already knew exactly what movie this was and how it would fare when it aired. The title of the movie was Singer Kim, and the lead actress was Yoo Hee-Yeon.

     Like Chief Jung had said, Hee-Yeon had never taken on a character with a personality like Kim Ju-Hyeon, the female protagonist of the movie. That was also the case in Ra-Eun’s past life. However, it turned out much better than expected. 4.5 million people in total had come to watch it in cinemas, reaching far beyond the break-even point of the movie production cost.

     Ra-Eun was not done.

     “And Chief Jung, about the movie here.”

     “The Lady of the Umbrella Store?”

     “Yes. I recommend So Wu-Myeong sunbae for the male lead role. I’m sure he can make this movie a success.”

     Chief Jung had brought Ra-Eun these synopses for her to choose her own role, but she was suggesting who to cast in what movie like a casting director instead.

     “You’ll probably earn a seat on the board of directors if you do as I say,” Ra-Eun stated confidently.

     Chief Jung was more terrified than surprised whenever Ra-Eun acted like this, because he thought that things would actually go as she said they would.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun was driven back to her home. She dragged her fatigued body to the front door and went inside.

     “I’m home.”

     No one replied. Their father was normally not home at this time, but even her brother Kang Ra-Hyuk was nowhere to be found.

     “Let me know if you’re gonna be late, for God’s sake.”

     Ra-Eun’s complaints about her brother went through the roof yet again. She changed into something comfortable and plopped on the couch. She had no idea why she was so tired when she barely did anything today.

     ‘Actually, come to think of it, I did a lot today.’

     Ra-Eun had bestowed several profound secrets upon Chief Jung today. However, she wasn’t sure whether or not Chief Jung would do as she had suggested. She was not a casting director; she was nothing more than an actress affiliated with GNF. It was only her second year of acting, and she still had much more to learn. She did not think that Chief Jung would unconditionally follow such an inexperienced actress’s casting suggestions.

     ‘I know I wouldn’t.’

     Hence, Ra-Eun decided not to think much about it since it was not her problem. Not only that, but even if she didn’t force Chief Jung to do exactly as she said, the roles would naturally go to the rightful actors as they had in the future. In that case…

     ‘What should I take?’

     Ra-Eun’s head already contained data of big-hit movies and dramas, and all she needed to do was to choose one of them. As long as she did that, she would once again naturally become a huge subject among the public without much struggle. But of course, she needed the appropriate level of acting skill to back it up.

     ‘Becoming a star is a piece of cake.’

     She could easily reap the benefits as long as she effectively used her knowledge of the future.

     ‘I would’ve memorized lottery ticket numbers if I knew this would happen.’

     No one would possibly expect that they would return to the past, especially as a high school girl. Ra-Eun reached for the TV remote and turned on the TV to organize her thoughts.

     A singing program was on, and the popular four-member girl group Lemonetta was performing on stage. Ra-Eun quite liked Lemonetta’s music since her past life. As she watched the program, she once again recalled Ga-Ae’s words that she was really pretty when she sang.

     “…For real?”

     Her curiosity took over. She dragged the full-length mirror into the living room and followed Lemonetta’s choreography while singing, using the remote as a mic.

     “Why don’t you understand my love for you~”

     Creak.

     At that moment, the bathroom door opened. Ra-Eun made eye-contact with Ra-Hyuk, who had just come out of the bathroom after finishing his business.

     “Y-You… Wh-Why are you in the b-bathroom…?”

     “I was doing a number two. That aside, my little sister,” Ra-Hyuk said as one of the corners of his mouth curled up meaningfully, “That was pretty cute. I think you’d be popular if you debuted as a singer.”

     Ra-Eun’s face turned as bright red as an apple. Emotions of embarrassment, humiliation and shame stormed in her mind.

     Unable to handle it, she exploded. “Hey!!! Erase what you just saw from your memory!!!”

     “How could I forget something like that? And don’t be too embarrassed. It actually suited you really well.”

     “Shut up, you fucker!!! I’ll fucking kill you!!!”

     It had been a while since she had exploded with profanities.

     1. This is a Korean meme used whenever someone does something related to a specific occupation. It’s worded like an elderly gentleman’s manner of speech. ☜

     Chapter 71

     Enlistment (1)

     Summer passed and autumn arrived before anyone knew it. The summer uniform had also changed back to the in-between seasons uniform[1]. The high schoolers returned to school after the end of summer break. The third-year examinees didn’t look very bright, and the reason was obvious.

     ‘What else could it be but the SATs?’ Kang Ra-Eun thought.

     Not even Park Se-Woon, who actively appealed his love for Ra-Eun whenever he saw her, could afford to do so because of the upcoming SATs. She had heard that he would be kicked out of his home if he bombed the SATs this year.

     Se-Woon was as crazy for Ra-Eun as always, but he could not follow her around and risked being kicked out. Ra-Eun was already ignoring him as a second-generation chaebol, but he felt that she would end up somewhere that he could not reach if that title of his disappeared. Hence, Se-Woon had been focused solely on his studies these days.

     Se-Woon was not the only one. Other than the examinees who had already received notifications of their university acceptance, most students did their best to attend school without causing any trouble.

     Ra-Eun, who had been maintaining first place in the entire school, could not afford to be careless either. A single error in the SATs could result in an atrocity that could not be reverted. She decided to make a habit of taking care of her health and solving workbooks.

     Anxiety filled the third-year classroom. Ra-Eun recalled her past as she looked at the students shrugged over their desks with earphones on.

     ‘I remember studying like crazy back in my third-year high school days.’

     It was not a happy memory for Ra-Eun; not because of the studying, but because of the family issues that she was facing at the time. Her brow wrinkled unconsciously.

     ‘Stop. Don’t think about my family right now.’

     Ra-Eun not only had no attachments to her old family, but she sincerely hoped that she would never have to see them again. They were memories that she wanted to forget, and they should remain forgotten.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun was very satisfied with the results of the final national mock exam before the SATs. She had gotten a perfect score.

     “Holy…” Seo Yi-Seo could not hold in her surprise after seeing Ra-Eun’s results. “I think you could get a perfect score in the actual exam as well!”

     Yi-Seo was not overpraising Ra-Eun. This national mock exam had been significantly harder than usual, but Ra-Eun had been the sole student to have gotten a perfect score despite that. It was obvious that expectations for a perfect score would rise. However, Ra-Eun did not rest easy.

     “You never know what might happen when you actually take the exam. Being cautious is a must,” Ra-Eun remarked.

     There were times when honor students with great mock exam grades failed their SATs because they were in bad condition on the day of the actual test. Ra-Eun had never experienced such a thing, but she could never be too careful.

     Seo Yi-Jun left the counter and came to the table that Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo were at.

     “You got a perfect score, Ra-Eun noona?” he asked.

     “Yeah.”

     “Wow… You said you were aiming for Seoul National University, right?”

     “Sure am.”

     That was her very first goal ever since she became a high school girl.

     “Why? Are you aiming for SNU as well?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “I’m nowhere near that level. I’m just not suited for studying.”

     However, it was not like Yi-Jun was bad at studying. As to be expected from Yi-Seo’s brother, he was fairly smart. He could easily get into a university within Seoul, but his grades were a little lacking to aim for SNU like Ra-Eun. And not only that, he had no reason to be crazy over his studies since his dream was to be a fashion designer. The department that he would major in was more important than the school he would attend.

     “I have a gift for you, Ra-Eun noona.”

     Yi-Jun had prepared a gift for her in advance after hearing from his sister that Ra-Eun would be coming to Starlight Road.

     “They’re rice cakes to wish you luck on your SATs[2]. I prepared them in hopes that you’ll get into the university that you want.”

     Ra-Eun did not really like rice cakes, but considering Yi-Jun’s best wishes, she gratefully accepted them. The SATs were right around the corner. Considering the bigger picture, she could not afford to bomb this exam since it was crucial to her revenge. She had already raised her GPA enough.

     ‘All I have to do now is to take care of my health for the big day.’

     She wanted nothing more than for the day of the exam to not overlap with that magical time of the month.

     * * *

     On the day of the SATs, Kang Ra-Hyuk drove Ra-Eun to the exam site that she had checked out a day in advance. She could see countless reporters with cameras once they arrived at the entrance.

     “Are they here to film students entering the exam site?” Ra-Hyuk wondered.

     There were far too many reporters for that to be the case, but Ra-Eun knew exactly why.

     “They’re probably here for me.”

     As if proving her statement, the reporters’ camera shutters snapped rapidly to take her pictures as soon as she got out of the car. Ra-Hyuk marveled at the sight.

     “Impressive.”

     “Well, I’ve gotten used to it.” Ra-Eun had also somewhat expected it. “In any case, I’m off.”

     “Okay. Good luck on the exam.”

     “Thanks.”

     Ra-Hyuk was not very worried about Ra-Eun. It wasn’t because he knew that she had good grades, but because he believed that she would find her own path to walk even if she bombed the SATs.

     Ra-Eun walked toward the exam site after seeing Ra-Hyuk off. She wanted to just head straight inside, but…

     ‘That would be too cold-hearted.’

     Since she would be resuming her TV career after finishing the SATs, she felt the need to reveal herself to the public from time to time like this so that she wouldn’t be forgotten.

     The reporters passionately took pictures of her as she slightly raised her right hand. The rarity of seeing Ra-Eun in her school uniform filled the reporters with even more passion.

     “Please look over here, Miss Kang!”

     “Over here too, please!”

     They barraged Ra-Eun with requests, but she couldn’t have a photo shoot at the entrance of the exam site in consideration of the other examinees trying to get in. The reporters would disappear once Ra-Eun went in, so she headed into the exam site once she thought that it was enough. She could hear the disappointed groans of the reporters behind her, but paid no heed to them.

     ‘It’s not like they’re gonna take responsibility for my life.’

     She had to make calm and cool judgments for such things.

     * * *

     The other examinees’ eyes almost popped out of their sockets once Ra-Eun entered the exam hall. They more or less had an idea that she would be here, but seeing her in person was a completely different story. If anything else, they came to realize that cameras couldn’t fully capture her beauty.

     Ra-Eun sat in the very back row and tied her hair back because there were times when her long locks of hair got in the way of her filling in the answer sheet. However, she couldn’t cut it.

     ‘Come to think of it, I heard that Kang Ra-Eun’s mother wanted her to be successful in her studies.’

     She had no idea whether or not her mother actually said that since she had only heard from her father that it was so, which was why her father was overjoyed whenever she got good grades.

     Ra-Eun twirled her pen and smiled unbeknownst to the other examinees.

     ‘I guess I could grant a trivial wish like that.’

     It was not that hard to do since she was in perfect condition today.

     * * *

     The reporters once again frantically took Ra-Eun’s pictures as she exited the exam site after completing the exam. Ra-Hyuk, who was waiting for her to come out, told her what had happened while she was taking the exam.

     “The news showed you going into the exam site to take your SATs.”

     “Well… I thought it would.”

     Ra-Eun had also seen celebrities entering exam sites to take their SATs through media platforms before, although she had never thought that she herself would experience it. Han Ga-Ae had also taken her SATs today, but it did not seem to have bothered her much since she had already given up on doing well on the exam.

     However, Ra-Eun was different. She went into the exam site with the sole thought that anything other than a perfect score was meaningless.

     “So? Do you think you did well?” Ra-Hyuk asked.

     Ra-Eun answered, “Yeah. I have a good feeling about it.”

     She could only get an approximate idea of her grades after she provisionally marked the exam.

     “Do you want to go eat before or after your provisional marking?” Ra-Hyuk asked.

     “Let’s go after.”

     It could completely ruin Ra-Eun’s meal if she realized that she did not get the grade that she wanted, but she was confident. She had filled in the answer sheet without guessing a single answer. Ra-Hyuk was amazed by his little sister’s overflowing confidence.

     “You’re my little sister, but you seriously amaze me sometimes.”

     His little sister had become a model student overnight, but he liked her current self more.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun had gotten a perfect score on the provisional marking as expected. As long as she hadn’t misfilled the optical mark recognition (OMR) card, Ra-Eun would become someone who had gotten a perfect score on their SATs.

     A month had passed after the SATs, and the third-year high schoolers had finally been freed from the oppression.

     “Ra-Eun,” Kim Yeong-Gyo called out. “The boys are gonna go to the PC Room. You wanna come?”

     “Sure. What about Sang-Woon?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “He didn’t say, but he’ll definitely go. He has to play the most out of all of us, after all.”

     “Why?”

     “Because…”

     Choi Sang-Woon approached them as Yeong-Gyo was about to answer. Yeong-Gyo said in Ra-Eun’s place, “Ra-Eun’s coming too.”

     “Really?” Sang-Woon remarked.

     “Yeah. You know how much effort we’re putting in to hang out as much as we can with you, right?”

     “Yeah. Thanks, buddy.”

     As they were talking among each other, Ra-Eun wanted to hear what Yeong-Gyo couldn’t finish saying earlier.

     “You said Sang-Woon had to play the most out of all of us. Is he going somewhere now that the exam is over?”

     “I guess so,” Yeong-Gyo stated.

     Sang-Woon smiled awkwardly. He thought that it was best to tell Ra-Eun himself.

     “I’m going to complete my military service before I go to university.”

     1. In-between seasons uniforms are worn in spring and autumn. ☜

     2. It is Korean tradition to present rice cakes or taffy to examinees during the exam season. ☜

     Chapter 72

     Enlistment (2)

     Kang Ra-Eun’s eyebrows furrowed at the mention of military service. Most Korean men would show the same response as her if anyone mentioned it to them. Ra-Eun only had one thing to say about the army.

     ‘It’s hell.’

     The Ministry of Defense talked about how it was a place where it inspired patriotism and increased self-esteem, but not a single man in Korea believed that to be true. Ra-Eun was not a man, but she used to be. She was a bona-fide active-duty high school girl who had been honorably discharged upon completing her military service as a sergeant, so she felt extremely conflicted after hearing about it.

     “Oh… really? But don’t men usually enlist after they attend university for about a year or two?” Ra-Eun asked.

     That had also been the case for Ra-Eun. Although nothing regarding which university that Choi Sang-Woon could enter had been decided since the official results had not been released yet, he had gotten quite a decent score on his provisional marking. It was high enough to take a shot at aiming for Seoul National University like he had promised with Ra-Eun.

     It was a miracle in and of itself that he was able to raise his grades this high, so she thought that Sang-Woon would want to experience university life first. However, Sang-Woon thought otherwise.

     “I wanted to do that too at first, but I changed my mind. An older brother relative of mine told me that getting the service over with first makes you a winner.”

     Ra-Eun agreed while strongly nodding, “That relative of yours is a wise man.”

     “Huh? How do you know that, Ra-Eun?” Sang-Woon asked.

     Ra-Eun was talking like a discharged soldier despite never having been to the army.

     “No, well, I just heard stories from that son of a… I mean, my o-oppa that one should complete their military service as quickly as possible.”

     It didn’t matter whether or not the service would actually be reduced by a few months in the future. Everyone was envious of those who were already discharged. Sang-Woon had followed his relative’s advice and scheduled everything so that he could start his military service right after his university enrollment was finalized.

     “So I’m gonna play as much as I can before I go,” Sang-Woon mentioned.

     “Got it. I’ll try to hang out with you as much as I can too.”

     “Huh? Really?”

     Ra-Eun smiled at the surprised Sang-Woon. She knew very well that he would long for the existence of women as soon as he enlisted.

     ‘We’re friends, so hanging out with him is the least I could do.’

     However, she was a little worried as well.

     ‘I hope he doesn’t get the wrong idea again that I like him just because I’m doing this.’

     She wanted to avoid a second confession.

     * * *

     There was no longer any need to go to school now that the SATs were over. Taking classes was now a waste of time. Knowing that, the teachers ended classes much earlier than usual to not bother the students. The students who had completed their SATs were allowed to go home after lunch, which exponentially increased Ra-Eun’s free time.

     She and her friends had decided to watch the movie Night of Villains, an extremely popular Korean action movie, at the cinema. However…

     “What the hell, tickets are sold out?”

     “How are there no seats left at this time of day?”

     Kim Yeong-Gyo and Na Gyu-Rin groaned in disappointment. At this time, students were supposed to be studying at school and workers were supposed to be at their workplace. However, such principles did not apply to the third-year high schoolers who had just completed their SATs.

     They had free time as soon as noon passed, which was why they had come to watch a movie, but they had overlooked one crucial thing. They were not the only third-year high schoolers who had completed their SATs. The examinees who could not even freely go to the cinema until now had all taken the chance to watch a movie and flocked to the cinemas, hence the tickets had all been sold out at such a time frame.

     Choi Ro-Mi smacked her lips in disappointment.

     “We would’ve come here earlier if we knew this would happen.”

     Their plan was completely ruined. Since their main plan had gone down the drain, they started to formulate a Plan B.

     “Oh!” said Yeong-Gyo in surprise as he flipped through the pamphlet. “How about we watch this instead of Night of Villains?”

     They checked which movie he was referring to. He had suggested the movie Sacrifice as their alternative. The genre was…

     “This is a horror, right?”

     It was obvious from the poster.

     Yeong-Gyo answered while nodding, “It’s rumored to be super scary. I’ve wanted to watch it at least once. What do you guys think? You guys wanna watch it if no one here has?”

     Seo Yi-Seo, Gyu-Rin and Ro-Mi’s gazes turned from the pamphlet to Ra-Eun. She had been completely fine until just a second ago, but now she had completely frozen. Her pupils were shaking, and her thin and lustrous lips were subtly trembling. Only her three high school girl friends who she hung out with often knew that she absolutely despised horror. There was no way that anyone else knew, since they had never gone to the cinema with Ra-Eun.

     The others started to agree with the idea while completely oblivious to Ra-Eun. It seemed like they would be watching the horror movie by how things were rolling. Yi-Seo, Gyu-Rin and Ro-Mi were the only ones who hadn’t made the decision yet because they were worried for Ra-Eun.

     “O-Okay! L-Let’s watch it!” Ra-Eun decided.

     Yi-Seo asked Ra-Eun for confirmation with worry-filled eyes, “Are you sure? Will you be okay?”

     Hearing that, Yeong-Gyo asked in puzzlement, “You can’t handle horror movies, Ra-Eun?”

     Everyone looked at Ra-Eun in surprise. There was no one among men and women combined who was more charismatic and reliable than Ra-Eun. She could be relied on even when they came across thugs who one-sidedly picked a fight with them, so they had never expected her to have such a weakness.

     However, Ra-Eun strongly denied Yeong-Gyo’s question, “No, not at all! Rather, I watch horror all the time!”

     The others responded as if it was expected.

     “True. There’s no way Ra-Eun would be scared of stuff like this.”

     “Then let’s watch it.”

     “There’s a row with the perfect number of seats too. What a coincidence.”

     Ra-Eun did not need such a coincidence. She could only resent her pride of not wanting to look weak.

     * * *

     In the end, they had entered the theater to watch the horror movie. Fortunately, Ra-Eun was right next to the aisle and Yi-Seo was sitting next to her. She once again went full chicken mode as soon as the movie started. Her small shoulders flinched greatly like a cat reacting sensitively to even the smallest sounds.

     Yi-Seo smiled bitterly as the closest one to Ra-Eun. She held Ra-Eun’s hand to reassure her as much as she could. Her hand was drenched in sweat.

     Ra-Eun whispered, “I’m sorry. I’m sweating so much…”

     “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

     Yi-Seo wanted Ra-Eun to rely on her for a change since Ra-Eun was always helping her. That's what friends were for.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun’s body completely gave out as soon as the hour and forty-minute movie ended. She was so tense throughout the entire movie that fatigue swept over her.

     “S-Survived…” she said unconsciously.

     Sang-Woon heard her while he was getting out of his seat and said while nodding, “Yeah, the female protagonist survived until the very end. I thought she’d be dragged away by that ghost in the end.”

     Ra-Eun was referring to herself instead of the female protagonist, but there was no way for Sang-Woon to have known that. Ra-Eun agreed with Sang-Woon while smiling awkwardly.

     She speedwalked to the women’s bathroom as soon as she came out of the theater, and wiped her neck with a handkerchief. People would think that she had run a marathon from how much she had sweated. She was at least relieved that her other friends did not find out that she was scared of horror movies.

     ‘But it’s not like this damn pride of mine pays for my meals… ’

     Ra-Eun was suddenly slapped with a reality check. She came back out of the bathroom with the handkerchief after a deep sigh. Ro-Mi grabbed Ra-Eun’s wrist as soon as she came out.

     “Ra-Eun, there’s a sticker photo booth over there. Let’s take some together!”

     “Huh? Oh… sure.”

     She took her place in the booth among the girls. High school girls liked leaving memories like this very much. On the other hand, the boys were waiting outside for the girls to be done. Ra-Eun was placed on the center top. She made a V sign like what her other friends were doing while smiling and posing awkwardly.

     Snap!

     The girls exchanged a flurry of feedback once the photos were printed.

     “Ra-Eun looks the prettiest as expected.”

     “You can say that again.”

     “Come on, Ra-Eun is a celebrity. You’ll only feel shame if you compare yourself with her.”

     Ra-Eun was complimented for her beauty all the time, but she could never get used to them. She used to love being called handsome back when she was a man, but it didn’t feel as great the other way around.

     As Ra-Eun came out of the photo booth, she looked at Sang-Woon who was waiting with the other boys.

     She then called out, “Hey, Sang-Woon.”

     “Hm? What is it?”

     Ra-Eun gestured to him to come. He had no idea why, but went to her anyway.

     “When did you say you were gonna start your military service?” she asked.

     “Around the beginning of March of next year?”

     “Really?”

     It felt like a long time away, but actually wasn’t. Time flew by extremely fast when waiting for the enlistment date to arrive.

     “Then let’s take some of these together,” Ra-Eun expressed.

     “What are these?” Sang-Woon asked.

     “Sticker photos.”

     “…!”

     Sang-Woon was bewildered.

     “J-Just the two of us?”

     “Yep.”

     The others looked at Ra-Eun in surprise. She had almost never wanted to take photos together with a guy. However, she wasn’t doing this out of self-satisfaction.

     ‘He’ll need a bunch of pictures to put up on his army locker when he’s doing his service.’

     She knew very well the importance of photos as an active-duty high school girl, so she decided to do her friend who had yet to enlist a favor.

     Chapter 73

     High School Girl's Graduation (1)

     Kang Ra-Eun and Choi Sang-Woon went into the sticker photo booth together. Sang-Woon could not understand what was going on. He never expected Ra-Eun to suggest taking photos with him first. On the other hand, Ra-Eun was confused about which background to choose.

     She said to Sang-Woon, “I’ll just use whatever layout. Is that fine with you?”

     “Huh? Yeah, sure.”

     The fact that he was taking photos together with Ra-Eun was far more important than the layout. He posed awkwardly.

     Seeing that, Ra-Eun expressed, “You’re not in the army yet, so what’s with that face of yours? Smile a little bit. Or is it because you don’t want to take a photo with me?”

     “O-Of course not!” Sang-Woon yelled.

     He was thinking nothing of the sort. Rather, this moment would become a memory that he would treasure for his entire life. Ra-Eun and Sang-Woon smiled as soon as the screen started counting down. The camera shutter snapped and the photo showed up on the screen.

     “Well? Do you like it?”

     Sang-Woon nodded furiously as if there was no need to even ask.

     “Here, it’s my gift to you. Stick it up on your army locker once you’re enlisted.”

     “Army… locker?”

     Sang-Woon still did not know much about the army. Ra-Eun was too lazy to explain.

     “You’ll find out once you’re there.”

     “R-Really?”

     “Take lots of photos with your family and friends too. Those photos will help you get through your military service.”

     The advice was given out of Ra-Eun’s experience, but there was no way that Sang-Woon would know that she had been in the army before.

     * * *

     Today was the day that the SAT results would come out. As Ra-Eun expected, she had gotten a perfect score. Her father shed tears as he checked his daughter’s perfect score report.

     “You’ve worked so hard, my baby girl. I’m so, so proud of you!”

     She lightly smiled as her father hugged her tight. Kang Ra-Hyuk asked his little sister about her future plans while their father was putting the report card in an album and hanging it up on the wall.

     “You said you were gonna apply to Seoul National University, right?”

     “Yeah.”

     “Which department?”

     “I’m not sure yet. I’m thinking of business administration.”

     She was going to be managing a business, so she thought taking that path wasn’t a bad idea. She had many choices since she had gotten a perfect score on her SATs. She liked the fact that she could freely choose which school and department she wanted to apply to.

     “Are you gonna resume your TV career now that you’re done with the exam?” Ra-Hyuk asked.

     Ra-Eun shook her head. “No, not right away. I’m gonna start in April.”

     “Why? You want to take a break?”

     “The production that I want to work on starts filming in April. I’m also going to get my driver’s license and buy a car in the meantime.”

     Ra-Eun’s first order of business after becoming an adult was to purchase a car. Ra-Hyuk tried to frighten her once she mentioned getting a driver’s license.

     “I heard the driver’s license exam has gotten super difficult lately. Are you sure you can handle it?”

     “It’ll be a piece of cake.”

     She already had ten years’ worth of driving experience. If she failed the license exam, then there would barely be anyone who could pass it.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun registered for a driving school as soon as she submitted her university application. The driving instructors showed great interest in her since she was a famous celebrity, but what surprised them more than her celebrity status was her driving skills. Her masterful changing of gears while pushing down the clutch was highly abnormal. Her left turns, parallel parking, and other skills were all perfect.

     The female instructor in the passenger seat asked, “Have you learned how to drive before, Miss Kang?”

     “I have. In this school, for the past two hours.”

     In her ten years of instructing, the instructor had never seen someone other than Ra-Eun who was this proficient in driving after only two hours of lessons.

     “I’m pretty sure you can take the license exam right now,” the instructor remarked.

     “I wish I could too.”

     Ra-Eun would have gotten her license right away if she did. She hoped for a policy that exempted people who had returned to the past from taking driver’s license exams.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun earned her driver’s license and received the notification that she had been accepted into the Business Administration Department of SNU like she had wanted. After all that, the high school graduation ceremony arrived before she knew it.

     Ra-Eun thought as she looked at herself in the full-length mirror with her school uniform on for the last time.

     ‘Today’s my last day as a high school girl.’

     She despised this uniform when she first wore it, but she felt an unknown sense of sorrow when she thought that she would never wear it again.

     She walked to school with the uniform on. She could see students who were sad about this being their last time coming to school, and also those who were happy. Seo Yi-Seo was the former.

     “I didn’t feel too good while I was walking here this morning,” she said.

     Ra-Eun consoled Yi-Seo who honestly revealed her feelings, “If there’s an encounter, there also has to be a farewell, and then a new encounter. Don’t be too sad.”

     “I guess so. But thank God we got into the same university, right?”

     “Yeah.”

     Yi-Seo and Ra-Eun would both be SNU students. They were even going to live together. Ra-Eun had been planning on living on her own, but she decided to live with Yi-Seo because Ra-Eun was worried about her.

     ‘I can always get a bigger place.’

     She had plenty of money to find a place for them to live comfortably.

     “Gyu-Rin and Ro-Mi said they’ll come to hang out often once we find a place,” Yi-Seo remarked.

     Na Gyu-Rin and Choi Ro-Mi weren’t able to get into SNU, but they managed to be accepted into a university in Seoul that was close by. Ra-Eun had no reason to refuse them wanting to come hang out.

     While they were chatting, the start of the graduation ceremony was announced. The graduating students gathered at the auditorium. This was the second high school graduation ceremony of Ra-Eun’s life, which she found to be rather special.

     ‘Almost no one gets to experience a high school graduation ceremony twice.’

     Especially so with their gender changed. The ceremony was almost at its end with the principal’s words toward the students, imploring them to never forget what they had learned here and to grow into fine adults. They sang the school anthem and went back to their classrooms to say their goodbyes to their homeroom teacher.

     “Okay, that marks the end of your final class! Great work, all of you!” the homeroom teacher exclaimed.

     “Thank you so much!”

     “I’ll never forget you!”

     “I’ll make sure to keep in touch!”

     The students got up from their seats and exchanged yearbooks to leave messages on the front and back. The most popular among them was naturally Ra-Eun.

     “Ra-Eun, could you write a few words here, please?”

     “Me too!”

     “I’m begging you! Please!”

     They wanted to leave proof on their yearbooks that they were classmates with a popular actress. Ra-Eun was not accustomed to dealing with fans, but leaving some words on yearbooks was no big deal. She filled the yearbooks with her name and autograph after leaving memos such as ‘Good work’ or ‘Nice job.’

     Ra-Eun also got a lot of messages in her yearbook. Since Ra-Eun was busy, Gyu-Rin helped her by going around with Ra-Eun’s yearbook to get everyone’s messages written on it.

     “Here you go, Ra-Eun,” Gyu-Rin said.

     “Thanks, Gyu-Rin.”

     “No problem. More importantly, we need to take pictures.”

     They had already taken pictures with their classmates, so all that was left was to take them with true friends. Ra-Eun got together with the people who she usually hung out with. Ra-Eun was at the center. To her left was Yi-Seo, and to her right were Gyu-Rin and Ro-Mi. Park Se-Woon agreed to take the picture.

     “Say cheese!”

     After several commemorative pictures with her friends, she then called over Choi Sang-Woon, Kim Yeong-Gyo, and her other opposite-sex friends whom she often used to go to the PC Room with. And finally, she called over one more person.

     “You come too, Se-Woon.”

     “Me? Really?”

     “It’s the last picture we get to take with our uniforms on, after all.”

     She thought she could be lenient with him just for today.

     * * *

     Time flew by while Ra-Eun took tons of pictures with her friends. They headed downtown to alleviate the sorrow of graduation. Sang-Woon and the other boys decided to go to a PC Room. Ra-Eun also wanted to go with them, but…

     “Ra-Eun, let’s go to karaoke.”

     “What do you think?”

     She found going to the PC Room to hold Starcraft 4v4 team melees on The Hunters map or fastest maps to be more fun, but she could not refuse her friends’ offer. She spent a few hours at karaoke and went back home after having dinner with them.

     Since Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo’s houses were the same way, they walked home together until Starlight Road. Seo Yi-Jun came out while he was at the counter once he saw his sister and Ra-Eun.

     “I guess this is the last time I get to see you in your school uniform, noona.”

     Ra-Eun giggled as Yi-Jun expressed his sorrow.

     “What, do you like me more in my uniform?”

     “No. You look good in anything, so it’s fine even if I don’t get to see you in your uniform anymore.”

     “You’re good with words, I’ll give you that. Make sure you take your sister home safely. See ya.”

     Ra-Eun set off to her own home after saying goodbye to the Seo siblings. She finally arrived after sunset. Ra-Hyuk greeted her as he was watching TV in the living room.

     “Welcome back, lil’ sis.”

     “Have you eaten?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Yeah. How was the graduation ceremony? You didn’t cry from the thought of having to part with your friends, did you?”

     “Of course not.”

     Rather, Ra-Eun was overjoyed that she was no longer a minor. However, it was only for a moment. She was swept by mixed feelings as she took off her uniform in her room.

     ‘I really won’t be wearing it ever again.’

     She smiled bitterly as she stared at the high school uniform that she had worn for the past year and a half. The high school girl Kang Ra-Eun had been left in the past.

     Ra-Eun hung her uniform in her wardrobe and slowly closed its doors. She had made a resolution when she swore to take her revenge on Kim Han-Gyo and Kim Chi-Yeol right when she first returned to the past.

     ‘I told myself I would never look back.’

     Whatever fate that was waiting for her, she had to keep pressing forward without looking back, because she could start doubting herself if she ever hesitated. She had to put her beautiful and pleasant school memories away with her school uniform.

     The second act of her life would begin now.

     Chapter 74

     High School Girl's Graduation (2)

     Kang Ra-Eun and Seo Yi-Seo went around by car to look for a place to live before entering Seoul National University. Yi-Seo continued to voice her admiration from the passenger seat as Ra-Eun expertly maneuvered through very tight alleyways.

     “Didn’t you say it hadn’t been that long since you got your driver’s license? How are you so good? I think you’re better than my dad!”

     Yi-Seo was being genuine. Not only that, but Ra-Eun’s car was not small, but a mid-sized foreign luxury vehicle. A novice driver would naturally be afraid to drive in such tight spaces, but Ra-Eun was masterfully handling the steering wheel to the finest detail.

     Ra-Eun answered, “I think driving just suits me.”

     She parked in a public parking lot and looked around the new properties on sale with Yi-Seo and a real estate agent that Ma Yeong-Jun had introduced her to. Yeong-Jun had likely done something, because the real estate agent was being overly polite to her.

     “This is one of our cleanest and most cost-effective homes for sale.”

     Most people looked for studio apartments when they first set out to live independently, but Ra-Eun wanted a large apartment. It didn’t matter if it was expensive; she simply wanted a spacious, newly constructed, clean and well-maintained place with a good view, and she had plenty of money for it.

     However, Yi-Seo couldn’t help but feel burdened.

     “Can we really choose a place like this, Ra-Eun?” she asked.

     “Why? You don’t like it?”

     “No, I love it, but it’s expensive, isn’t it?”

     Yi-Seo knew even without hearing the price that the place was far too expensive for two girls, who had only just become adults, to afford.

     However, Ra-Eun replied as if the price did not matter, “It’s pointless to worry about a celebrity.”

     Yi-Seo had mixed feelings since Ra-Eun was indeed a celebrity. Ra-Eun had no intention of demanding monthly rent from Yi-Seo. She was simply looking for a house for herself, and there was only one thing that she wanted from Yi-Seo.

     Ra-Eun had to juggle both university and her acting career, so she had no time to take care of housework. Hence, Yi-Seo would fill that role. Yi-Seo herself said to leave the housework to her, but she still couldn’t help but feel a little burdened.

     Having taken a liking to the city view from the upper floors, Ra-Eun asked the real estate agent to sign the contract immediately without even asking for the terms of sale. The agent replied that they would start the procedure right away.

     ‘I’m finally out of that shabby home.’

     Ra-Eun couldn't care less whether or not the rent was expensive. She was already happy enough that she had escaped from a house with a rattling air conditioner.

     * * *

     There was about a month left until university life would begin. After having completely moved into their new home, Ra-Eun drove to a building that wasn’t even ten minutes away. The clothing business being managed by Park Seol-Hun had also taken the opportunity to move to a bigger base of operations near Ra-Eun’s new home.

     They were still in the middle of unpacking. Ra-Eun took off her sunglasses and walked over to Yeong-Jun.

     “Where’s our little mister?” she asked.

     “Seol-Hun? He’s away on an external meeting right now,” Yeong-Jun answered.

     “Really? Oh, right. I was able to buy a good home thanks to the real estate agent that you introduced me to, but he was shaking way too much. What in the world did you say to him when you introduced him to me?”

     Yeong-Jun said while shrugging as if it was no big deal, “I told him that we’d drown him in an Incheon beach if he treated our precious client like some gullible customer.”

     That was Yeong-Jun’s way of dealing with people. But thanks to him, Ra-Eun was able to finalize the tenancy agreement very easily.

     “Tell mister to set a date for a meeting when he comes back. I want to hear the overall direction of how this company will be managed before I resume my TV career.”

     Kang Ra-Hyuk would handle the stock trading, and Seol-Hun had to take on a central role in the business. Ra-Eun needed money to face Kim Han-Gyo and Kim Chi-Yeol. Guns and knives were now obsolete in this capitalistic era. Financial prowess, in other words, money, was power, and she was planning on stacking as much of it as possible until the right time.

     “Oh, and Mr. Gangster,” Ra-Eun said to Yeong-Jun. “Keep recruiting more executives just in case.”

     Yeong-Jun asked her jokingly, “You gonna wage a war or something?”

     “I guess so.”

     That was the sole reason she returned, albeit as a high school girl.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun was frantically busy despite university not having begun yet. Yi-Seo knocked on Ra-Eun’s room door as she was working.

     “Ra-Eun, everyone wants to meet tomorrow. Are you free?”

     “Everyone?”

     “Our high school classmates. Sang-Woon is gonna enlist soon, so they decided to have a send-off party.

     “Has that much time passed already?”

     Time waiting for someone else’s enlistment flew by in an instant. She was busy, but she couldn’t afford to miss it.

     “Okay, I’ll go. It was bothering me that I couldn’t go see him off, so I should at least go to his send-off party.”

     She would not be able to go to the training center to see Choi Sang-Woon off because she had a drama shoot scheduled on that day. It was probably a good thing, since it would become complete chaos if a popular actress like her showed up at the training center. That was best for Ra-Eun, Sang-Woon, and those who were in charge of regulating the new recruits.

     * * *

     They decided to hold the party at Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo’s home. It would be uncomfortable to hold it at a restaurant since Ra-Eun was so famous, so they decided to hold the party at their home for it to also serve as a housewarming party.

     Since it was so spacious, it could fit every single one of their friends without issue. Meanwhile, Na Gyu-Rin and Choi Ro-Mi had arrived earlier than the others and were absorbed in checking out Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo’s home.

     “My, my, my! Look at this! The view is insane!”

     “How in the world did you get a house like this?”

     Anything could be bought with money. With the amount that Ra-Eun was earning through stock trading and her appearances in productions, renting a place like this was chump change for her.

     The others arrived one after another. It had only been a month, but the youthfulness that they emitted in their uniforms had mostly disappeared. Especially…

     “Why do you boys already look like old men when you haven’t even gone to the army yet?”

     Sang-Woon, Kim Yeong-Gyo and the other boys smiled awkwardly at Ro-Mi’s sharp comment. There was a reason for their sudden ‘aging.’

     “Alcohol was a lot more delicious than we expected.”

     “Yeah.”

     It was all because of alcohol. Of course, women drank alcohol as well. Ro-Mi and Gyu-Rin had a few sips of beer together, but they had not drunk as much as men drank to their absolute limits to gauge their alcohol tolerance.

     “And today… Ta-dah! Take a look at this.”

     Yeong-Gyo and the other boys took out a black bag. It was filled with soju and beer.

     “This is Sang-Woon’s send-off party, so it’d be a waste not to drink, right?”

     Gyu-Rin retorted sharply, “Who do you think you are, trying to hold a drinking party at someone else’s house with the house owners right here? Right, Ra-Eun? Yi-Seo?”

     Yi-Seo relinquished the right to answer to Ra-Eun since Ra-Eun was the true owner of the house. However, Ra-Eun took Yeong-Gyo’s side instead of Gyu-Rin’s.

     “You sure brought some good ones. I also wanted to drink.”

     “Eh, really?”

     “Yeah.”

     Ra-Eun had always liked alcohol. She not only used to drink at dinner parties with her security team members, but even used to drink wine and vodka by herself.

     ‘But I’ve never drunk as a high school girl.’

     Ra-Eun was a minor until a short while ago. It was possible for her to secretly drink alcohol if she wanted to, but she had been holding herself back since it could deal a massively negative impact on her career and image as an actress. In the shadows, she had to be the mastermind who resorted to various expedients through Ma Yeong-Jun, but in the light, she had to be a righteous actress with a clean image.

     Hence, no matter how much Ra-Eun wanted to drink, she exercised her superhuman endurance to hold back until she became of drinking age. And today, the time had finally come. She could finally drink alcohol! She was already salivating.

     Yi-Seo asked her in worry, “Will you be alright? You’ve never drunk before.”

     “Yeah, but it doesn’t matter. My tolerance is pretty high.”

     “It is? How do you know?”

     Ra-Eun had unconsciously blurted it out because that had been the case in her past life.

     “No, I just… thought I’d have a pretty high tolerance.”

     She managed to play it off as an assumption. The boys got fired up after receiving the house owner’s permission.

     “All right! Let’s party tonight!”

     They had gathered for Sang-Woon’s send-off party plus Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo’s housewarming party, but the purpose of the party had changed a little… no, a lot.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun clicked her tongue as she watched Sang-Woon and Yeong-Gyo mixing the soju and beer.

     “Hey, hey, give it here. I’ll do it.”

     She displayed her hand skills tempered through experience. She added the soju and beer in the ideal ratio and made a whirlpool with a chopstick as a finishing touch. The members of the party were lost for words.

     Gyu-Rin asked while blinking, “Where did you learn to do that, Ra-Eun?”

     “Hm? Oh, during shoots. You want the acting to be as realistic as possible, so you learn all kinds of stuff.”

     Being an actress was amazing for making all kinds of excuses. Ra-Eun confidently chose the soju bomb as her first glass. She was unmoved by her friends’ worries.

     ‘This is nothing more than a light beverage to me.’

     Ra-Eun downed the glass after clinking the glasses with her friends. Something of this level was nothing to Ra-Eun in her past life, but as soon as she had one glass…

     ‘…Huh?’

     She felt something was off.

     ‘No way. Am I… a lightweight?’

     She was already feeling dizzy.

     Chapter 75

     I Returned as a University Girl (1)

     Kang Ra-Eun was dizzy. She was already all too acquainted with the headache that followed.

     ‘Am I like this just because I had one soju bomb?’

     It was impossible. She firmly believed that a dinner party could only begin after downing at least three consecutive shots of soju bombs. However, the current Kang Ra-Eun was different.

     ‘Why?’

     It was not like she couldn’t completely accept it. She used to drink like a fish in her past life, but that was back in her male body, as Park Geon-Woo. Compared to Geon-Woo, who had very high alcohol tolerance, Ra-Eun had extremely low alcohol tolerance. She had simply not realized it because she had not drunk until now. Come to think of it, her father and brother both could not drink much, and she was born with the same lightweight gene.

     ‘No wonder…!’

     She had finally come to terms with reality somewhat. On the other hand, Seo Yi-Seo, who was sitting right next to her, helped her stay upright.

     “Are you okay, Ra-Eun?”

     “Aren’t you acting a bit too strong? You didn’t have to down your first glass.”

     “Yeah. Drink slower, Ra-Eun. Isn’t this your first time drinking?”

     Her friends’ worries only sounded like mockery to her. There were a few phrases that Ra-Eun did not want to hear in life, and one of them was that she was a lightweight. Park Geon-Woo used to pride himself on his high alcohol tolerance. Ra-Eun could endure hearing that she was a bad gamer, but not that she was a lightweight. She did not want to accept the harsh reality that had befallen her.

     “I just drank a little too fast. I can still drink a few more glasses,” Ra-Eun claimed.

     She set ablaze with a competitive spirit. The others tried to get her to drink moderately, but they could not change her obstinate mind. The glass ended up being refilled.

     Gulp, gulp, gulp!

     She felt nauseous with each gulp.

     ‘Your drinking capacity only increases by drinking more!’

     Ra-Eun continued her headstrong charge. Gyu-Rin lightly sighed as she watched Ra-Eun across from her.

     “This isn’t good.”

     * * *

     Things went exactly as Gyu-Rin expected. It had not even been ten minutes since the party started, but Ra-Eun could no longer support herself after not even finishing half of her third glass. Yi-Seo decided to carry Ra-Eun to her room.

     “Help me, Ro-Mi.”

     “Okay.”

     Yi-Seo grabbed Ra-Eun’s left arm and Ro-Mi her right to help her up. They barely managed to lay her down on her bed. Ra-Eun spouted gibberish as soon as she laid down. Ro-Mi listened to what Ra-Eun was saying.

     “I think Ra-Eun is trying to say something.”

     There wasn’t much to listen to; it was nothing more than a drunken frenzy. Ra-Eun’s face was flushed red. It was a relief that she was wearing jeans; if she had worn a skirt, she would have exposed her bare legs and panties to the boys.

     Yi-Seo said to Ro-Mi, “I’ll keep an eye on Ra-Eun for a bit, so you go drink with the others.”

     “Okay. Call me if Ra-Eun looks like she’s about to puke, okay?”

     “Yeah, I will.”

     After Ro-Mi left, Yi-Seo took off strands of hair that were stuck on Ra-Eun’s face one by one with great care. Ra-Eun exhibited a very strong personality on the outside, but she unexpectedly had a fair number of weaknesses, such as her fear of horror movies and her low alcohol tolerance.

     But in fact, Ra-Eun’s true weakness was something else entirely. Tears seeped out between her eyelids.

     “Huh…?”

     Yi-Seo was bewildered to see her friend cry for the first time. As she was wiping Ra-Eun’s tears with a handkerchief, Ra-Eun said something.

     “I… worked my ass off… Fuck… Noona, Mom, Dad. How could you all treat me like you’d abandoned me…?”

     Ra-Eun had a father, but as far as Yi-Seo knew, her mother had passed away long ago. And not just that…

     “Not Ra-Hyuk oppa, but noona?”

     Yi-Seo could not understand Ra-Eun’s drunken gibberish. Ra-Eun finally fell into a deep sleep after crying for a while. Yi-Seo went through what her friend had said while stroking her small back.

     “Is it just drunken gibberish?”

     Or was there some family circumstance that Yi-Seo was unaware of? If she had to choose…

     “She’s probably just too drunk.”

     She decided not to think much of it.

     * * *

     When Ra-Eun slowly opened her eyes, the first thing that welcomed her was not the morning sun nor her phone alarm, but a hangover.

     “Urp.”

     She was queasy, but fortunately not enough to throw up.

     “Urgh… I’m dying.”

     Ra-Eun used to experience a hangover of this level in her past life only after her fifth round of drinking spree with her colleagues. But in reality, she had only drunk two soju bombs. She had put up a very good fight considering her terrible alcoholic tolerance, but there was no way that she was satisfied with that.

     “My head’s splitting apart…”

     Her long locks of hair drooped down in tandem with her movements. The sun was already high up in the sky as she looked out the window. She looked for her phone as she pressed down on her temple. The time was…

     ‘12:35 PM. I sure slept long.’

     No, fainted would have been a more suitable word to use. She noticed that her eyelids were more stiff than usual as she blinked. She checked her face with a handheld mirror.

     “What the hell? Are these tear streaks?”

     Did she cry in her sleep? A wave of embarrassment belatedly washed over her. As she carefully opened her door and went out to the living room, Yi-Seo greeted her while making something in the kitchen with an apron on.

     “Did you sleep well? Is your stomach all right?”

     “Yeah… it’s not bad. What about the others?”

     “The boys all went home by taxi a little past midnight. Ro-Mi and Gyu-Rin slept over and went home in the morning. They wanted to greet you before going home, but they said they couldn't bear to wake you up when you were sleeping so soundly.”

     “…”

     A mixture of sorriness and embarrassment swirled inside her head like the soju bomb that she had made last night.

     “Go wash up. I made hangover soup for you.”

     Ra-Eun could tell that it was spicy just from looking at it. She decided to get rid of the tear streaks on her face in the bathroom while Yi-Seo prepared lunch.

     “Why the hell did you cry, you idiot?” she said to herself.

     Did she have a bad dream? She could not remember; that was how most dreams were like. She washed her face and went out to the living room to have a late meal with Yi-Seo. She was extremely hungry because she had not eaten breakfast, and her hunger only grew with all the delicious-looking food in front of her that Yi-Seo had prepared.

     Sip!

     Ra-Eun tasted the soup and gave her remarks with an unsurprised expression.

     “It’s delicious.”

     “I’m glad you like it.”

     “But Yi-Seo,” Ra-Eun decided to ask what had happened last night just in case. “Did I say anything in my sleep last night?”

     Ra-Eun had no particular habits when drunk. She simply fell asleep once she got tired after talking some gibberish. She had done the same this time as well.

     “You just slept soundly. Although, you did say something in the middle…” Yi-Seo mentioned.

     “What did I say?”

     “It’s a bit…”

     Yi-Seo looked like she did not want to say, but people were wired to want to hear it even more if they were given such a response.

     “What is it? Tell me.”

     Yi-Seo gave in to Ra-Eun’s pressing and told her about what she had said last night.

     “Your dad, mom, and… noona? You were crying about how they didn’t acknowledge you even when you did your best.”

     Ra-Eun now understood the reason for the tear streaks on her face.

     “But noona? Not unnie? Ra-Eun, you had an older sibling aside from Ra-Hyuk oppa?” Yi-Seo asked.

     She did. To be exact, her real family. However, Ra-Eun did not consider that bitch her noona.

     “No, it was just gibberish.”

     Hence, she did not really want to get into it.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun’s conversation yesterday with Yi-Seo came across her mind again while she was heading to the drama shoot meeting in the car driven by her manager Shin Yu-Bin.

     ‘You goddamn moron.’

     Ra-Eun never expected herself to mention her real family while drunk. She brushed it off as gibberish to Yi-Seo yesterday, but she could no longer tolerate further mistakes. Now that she was born in a different household, she was now a complete stranger to her real family. Hence, she did not want any ties whatsoever to them. That was how much she despised them.

     Yu-Bin looked at Ra-Eun through the rearview mirror while stopped by a traffic light.

     “Did something bad happen, Ra-Eun?” Yu-Bin asked.

     “To me?”

     “Yeah. You haven’t been looking too good since earlier.”

     Something bad did indeed happen. Not only had she found out about her terribly low alcohol tolerance, but she had even mentioned her real family, which she did not even want to recall, out loud. She felt like she had been hit by a double whammy. But her low alcohol tolerance aside, she did not want to tell Yu-Bin about family matters.

     “I think it’s because I drank alcohol for the first time in my life.”

     “Oh, that? I heard from your roommate. You’re a super lightweight drinker, right?”

     “…”

     “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s not like people are set for success in the entertainment industry for being good drinkers. Don’t worry too much about it.”

     Yu-Bin’s words of consolement didn’t really console Ra-Eun.

     * * *

     Hwang Yun-Seong was the program director of the drama that Ra-Eun had decided to star in. He expressed his emotion filled with gratitude to Ra-Eun as soon as he saw her.

     “Thank you, Ra-Eun! Thank you so much!”

     “What are you thankful for, exactly?”

     Ra-Eun did not quite understand why Director Hwang was thanking her.

     “For deciding to star in a drama directed by a newbie director like me! I honestly didn’t have my hopes up, but… you have no idea how happy I was when you agreed!”

     The reason why she decided to star in the drama of a program director who had never been a main director was simple. Director Hwang’s drama, Waitress, had not garnered much expectations from the public yet, but…

     ‘I know that this drama will be the most popular production of the season.’

     One could call it a privilege of someone who knew the future.

     Chapter 76

     I Returned As A University Girl (2)

     It was Kang Ra-Eun’s first time working with Program Director Hwang Yun-Seong, but she had worked with the writer before. The screenwriter of the drama Waitress, Yeo Yu-Min, had arrived ten minutes late to the meeting due to personal reasons.

     “Hello, Ra-Eun. It’s been a while.”

     Ra-Eun had already worked with Yu-Min during the production of Reaper. Several other writers other than the main screenwriter Hwang Yo-Rin had been in the Reaper production team, and Yu-Min was one of them. Her job had been to support Yo-Rin by adding to lacking settings, checking synopses or providing feedback, and had met with Ra-Eun several times in the process.

     Ra-Eun was well-acquainted with Yu-Min because she was the one who Yo-Rin relied on the most, to the point that they actively communicated with each other whenever the script needed editing. Ra-Eun knew Yu-Min’s tendencies and preferences very well exactly because of this. To put it bluntly, she was similar to Yo-Rin.

     “I ran late because I was too busy choosing the uniform that Ra-Eun would wear. I’m sorry,” Yu-Min expressed.

     In other words, Yu-Min also had the desire to put as many pretty outfits on Ra-Eun as possible. Ra-Eun was not surprised because it was something that she had already known. It was easier to just give up. Taking inspiration from a certain comic’s famous line[1], she had already half-given up.

     However, Waitress was at least better than Reaper because she only had to periodically switch between the few uniforms that the female lead wore. Like the title suggested, the drama Waitress was a pleasant love story focused around a young female protagonist who worked at a cafe. Ra-Eun was not all that into romance stories, but she had no choice but to choose Director Hwang's work because it was the only one that was guaranteed to blow up for sure in this season. If the conditions of each choice were the same, one should always choose the more attractive one.

     ‘It’s better to star in a hit than a flop.’

     It was the obvious choice to make. Meanwhile, Yu-Min excitedly showed Ra-Eun the dozens of uniform designs that she had printed out in advance.

     “We have frill skirts from Type A to Type D. As for the top, we have one that looks like a corset, or if that doesn’t suit your fancy, we also have designs straight out of the Middle Ages. This is also cute, isn’t it? Which one do you like most, Ra-Eun?”

     Ra-Eun’s answer was obvious.

     “The one that I can wear comfortably for long periods of time, please.”

     Ra-Eun couldn’t care less about the design. All that she cared about was practicality and comfort. She had no interest in fashion back when she was a man either. Of course, she took slightly more attention to her looks now compared to back then, but old habits die hard.

     Since they were already in a meeting, the production team decided to listen to Ra-Eun’s needs along with the outfit selection. There was only one thing that Ra-Eun wanted from them.

     “I’m a university student, so I’d appreciate it if you could cater as best to my course timetable as possible.”

     Director Hwang and Yu-Min understood Ra-Eun very well.

     “Okay. We’ll try to cater to your schedule as much as we can. You don’t have to worry about anything.”

     “Thank you, director.”

     “No, I should be the one thanking you.”

     Director Hwang was already more than grateful for Ra-Eun's willingness to star in his drama. Ra-Eun’s reputation had changed completely from her debut. She could enjoy such luxuries as long as she effectively used her knowledge of the future.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun’s university life had finally begun. There was something that she needed to do right from the first day for the next week.

     Knock, knock.

     Ra-Eun visited a professor of one of the first semester classes of her major. She carefully opened the door and entered the office after getting the professor’s permission to come in. The professor was startled as soon as he saw Ra-Eun.

     “I’d heard from my assistant that a famous celebrity had entered our department, but it’s still quite surprising to see you in person.”

     One could commonly see celebrities if they walked around the Seoul National University campus, but they were mostly in departments related to broadcasting and TV. It was not easy to see someone as famous as Ra-Eun in a humanities department building. Hence, the professor was looking at Ra-Eun in amazement.

     Ra-Eun smiled as radiantly as she could to ask for the professor’s understanding.

     “I have some drama shoots scheduled, so I don’t think I’ll be able to attend your classes very often…”

     “Oh, are you asking me to allow you to write a report instead of keeping track of your attendance?”

     “Yes, that’s right.”

     She was planning on attending classes whenever she could, but it was impossible to attend every single one, no matter how well the production team catered to her schedule.

     ‘Not only that, but it’s better to just write a report whenever it’s a hassle to go to the lecture hall.’

     Ra-Eun only wanted one thing from university, and it was to graduate. She did not have to pursue higher education like a graduate school. The only reason why she studied so hard in high school was to make connections in SNU, so there was no reason to devote herself to her studies anymore. Hence, she was planning on meeting things halfway as a university student. But of course, that did not mean she was going to neglect her grades, since she needed to maintain a certain GPA to graduate.

     The professor decided to be considerate of Ra-Eun’s circumstances, since the reputation of the department would also rise with Ra-Eun’s achievements in the TV industry. They were able to reach an understanding much easier than she had expected thanks to their coinciding interests.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun had successfully conquered every single one of her professors and had come to an acceptable compromise with them.

     ‘All I have to do now is to go home and sleep.’

     She had gotten a load off her chest. She could hear freshman welcoming parties being held throughout the campus as she walked toward her parked car.

     “Chug, chug, chug~!”

     “How long are ya gonna make me shoulder dance~ Look at my shoulders~ They’re dislocated~”

     And of course, alcohol was included. Ra-Eun almost hurled as soon as she saw the alcohol. Her body’s rejection to alcohol had been going on for quite some time. She had drunk like crazy on her first time drinking because she didn’t want to acknowledge that she was a lightweight, but…

     ‘I just shouldn’t drink from now on.’

     It was because she didn’t want to blurt out private matters such as her old family circumstances like she had done to Seo Yi-Seo. Yi-Seo had brushed the matter off as meaningless gibberish because Ra-Eun had been so drunk, but she was bound to get suspicious if such events repeated. Ra-Eun decided to just acknowledge her abysmally low alcohol tolerance since she did not want to get suspected.

     ‘Alcohol is off-limits for the time being.’

     She had thought that she could live freely once she became a university student, but a life of abstinence had begun instead.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun returned home and read intensively through the Waitress script while looking down at the nightscape from the living room. Her phone rang at around 11 PM. She would usually scowl if someone had called her so late at night, but couldn’t bring herself to once she saw who it was.

     [Choi Sang-Woon]

     He was Ra-Eun’s high school classmate, as well as… a friend who would be starting his military service tomorrow.

     “Hello?”

     - Hey, Ra-Eun. I’m sorry to call you so late at night.

     “It’s fine.”

     It was very rowdy around Sang-Woon. Ra-Eun guessed that he was having one last drink with his friends before the big day.

     “Are you drinking with friends?”

     - Yeah. I was planning on spending my last day at home with my family, but Yeong-Gyo and the others called me out, saying they couldn’t just let me leave like this. But these guys all got drunk before me.

     The situation didn’t sound too good. In the end, Sang-Woon had to clean up the mess that his friends had made and was on his way home.

     “You go tomorrow, right?”

     - Yeah. My older cousin said to make sure that I buy a gun and a gas mask, was it…? Anyway, he told me to buy those before I went in.”

     Ra-Eun giggled.

     “They don’t sell those anywhere. He was just screwing with you, so forget what he said.”

     - R-Really? No wonder he was laughing so much.

     It was a joke that those who had completed their service often made to those who were about to begin theirs. Ra-Eun decided to tell him some practical information instead.

     “Make sure you buy a digital watch before you go in. And never eat at any of the stores around Nonsan Training Center[2]. Always go down to the expressway service area and buy something there. You’ll regret it much less.”

     It was a discharged soldier’s heartfelt advice.

     - How do you know stuff like this?

     “Me? You know, my freeloader… I mean, my oppa’s been back from the army. He told me a bunch of things.”

     - Oh, right. I completely forgot.

     Using Kang Ra-Hyuk as an excuse was perfect in such situations. Ra-Eun also told Sang-Woon some things that would be of help to him during his service.

     “I’ll also write you some online letters[3].”

     - You can send stuff like that?

     “Yeah. Times have improved.”

     Ra-Eun used to be the most envious of people in her squad who received online letters. She had made such a promise because she knew how it felt all too well. But of course, she might forget after claiming that she would.

     “Anyway, make sure you come back safe and sound.”

     - Okay. Oh, and Ra-Eun.

     “Yeah?”

     - When I’m discharged…

     Sang-Woon slurred the end of his sentence, and then changed the subject.

     - I-It’s nothing. Good night.

     “Yeah, you too.”

     Ra-Eun unconsciously sighed lightly as soon as she ended the call. The best part about having become a woman was that…

     ‘I don’t have to go to the army.’

     If anything else, she was sure that she would hate her life if she were forced to complete her military service for a second time. Having to spend two whole years in the army was a lot of wasted time. She would have been extremely bitter by the fact that she had to waste two precious years when she needed to elaborately plan her revenge. Hence, her initial complaints of returning to the past as a high school girl had completely disappeared.

     ‘I’d choose being a university girl over crawling across the individual battlefield ground with a K2 rifle in hand any day.’

     The painful memories of her military service sent shivers down her spine.

     1. The author is referring to a meme made from a manga panel taken from Slam Dunk where Anzai-sensei tells Mitsui Hisashi in Chapter 69 to never lose hope, and that the game is over if he does. The meme panel changes Anzai-sensei’s speech bubble to make it look like he’s telling Mitsui that it’s easier to just give up. The author might have thought that was the original panel. ☜

     2. There is a training base in Nonsan where new recruits go to receive basic training for five weeks before they are deployed to their designated units. ☜

     3. Online letters can be sent by civilians to new recruits of a training center. They are received, printed and then delivered to the recruit. ☜

     Chapter 77

     Wanna Stay the Night? (1)

     Kang Ra-Eun met up with her male co-star who she hadn’t seen in a while, right after the official production of the drama Waitress was announced. She would be working together with Ji Han-Seok once again.

     “Hello, sunbae. It’s been a while.”

     Ra-Eun’s radiant smile had already stolen Han-Seok’s heart. She was most charming when she smiled, but the problem was simply that she did not show it often in private occasions. However, that aside…

     “You have a different air about you,” Han-Seok remarked.

     “I do?”

     “Yeah. You definitely felt like a teenager back then, but you’ve gotten a lot more mature.”

     It had only been a few months since Han-Seok hadn’t seen Ra-Eun, but he was a little bewildered by how mature she had become. However, he absolutely did not mean it in a bad way.

     Ra-Eun replied while expressing her gratitude, “I’ve officially become an adult, after all.”

     She was a twenty-year-old university student. It was an age when a woman’s beauty fully bloomed.

     “Anyway, I’ll be in your care for this drama,” Ra-Eun expressed.

     “Same to you.”

     While Ra-Eun had been spreading public awareness of her, Han-Seok had also grown into a popular actor by appearing here and there on TV. Han-Seok possessed a gentle and kind-hearted image as compared to the manly charms of Je-Woon, the male lead of Reaper. Because of that, Ra-Eun and Han-Seok were already shouldering the huge expectations of the drama fans who had heard the announcement of both of them in lead roles.

     Han-Seok asked after the short meeting, “You started living independently, right? Are you finished with moving?”

     “Yes.”

     “Where do you live? Should I drop you off near the area? I drove today.”

     “No, it’s okay. I drove here too,” Ra-Eun said as she took out a car key from her handbag.

     Beep!

     The lights of a bright-yellow sports car flashed as Ra-Eun pressed the button. Its doors opened upward instead of outward. The luxury sports car caught people’s attention.

     “I’ll be on my way first, sunbae.”

     “O-Okay. Be careful on your way home.”

     Ra-Eun’s car speedily exited the broadcasting station parking lot with an enormous exhaust sound.

     Han-Seok said to himself with a bitter smile while looking at the direction that Ra-Eun had disappeared to, “She drives something way better than mine.”

     * * *

     Seo Yi-Jun looked around his surroundings with bags in both hands.

     “I was told it was somewhere in this area… Where is it?”

     He let the bags down for a moment and called his sister.

     “Hello? Sis? I’m at the apartment complex. Which building did you say it was again?”

     - Building 103. You can’t find it?

     “No, wait. 103, 103 would be… over there, I think? I’ll call again if I can’t find it.”

     - Okay. Ra-Eun is home, so just hand the bags over to her.

     “Okay.”

     Yi-Jun was playing the kind little brother who brought some bags filled with stuff that his sister had left at her old home. Since he could also meet Ra-Eun in the process, it was like hitting two birds with one stone for him. However, he was posed with a dilemma when he arrived at the building.

     “What’s this? Do I need a password to open the gate?”

     He had thought it was an automatic door, but there was a number pad to open the door. He pressed the apartment unit number on the number pad to call the unit, but the door automatically opened.

     ‘Huh? How did it open?’ Yi-Jun thought.

     He had no idea why, but he decided to go in since it had opened. He got on an elevator and went up to the floor where the unit that Yi-Seo mentioned was. The elevator rang and its doors opened. He could tell that the place was expensive from just the front door.

     ‘It sure looks expensive, just like sis said.’

     A new member of society could only afford to live in such an expensive apartment in Seoul if they had been born in a rich household, or if they had succeeded massively in life. Ra-Eun was the latter. She was a successful celebrity, so she could more than afford to live in such a place.

     “Ra-Eun noona. It’s me, Yi-Jun.”

     He expected that Ra-Eun already heard that he would be coming. As if to confirm his expectations, the front door opened right away.

     “Yeah, welcome.”

     Yi-Jun’s eyes popped out as Ra-Eun opened the door to greet him.

     “Come in. Would you like something to drink?” she asked.

     “D-Drink? S-Sure! But, n-noona!”

     Ra-Eun stared at the stuttering Yi-Jun as she dried her wet hair with a towel.

     “What’s with you all of a sudden?”

     “D-Down…!” Yi-Jun said as he forcibly turned his gaze elsewhere. “I-I think you’re wearing only p-panties…”

     Ra-Eun’s bare legs were fully exposed under her long T-shirt, to the point that even her inner thighs were completely visible. Ra-Eun giggled and put the towel down. She then slightly lifted up the lower part of her shirt, which startled Yi-Jun.

     “N-Noona! What are you doing?!”

     “Look.”

     Yi-Jun forced his eyes back open that he had shut tight.

     “I’m wearing pants, idiot.”

     He could see a pair of dolphin shorts. It had only looked like she wasn’t wearing anything down there because her T-shirt was too long and her dolphin shorts were too short.

     “Sigh, you scared me, noona.”

     “Scared, my ass. I know you liked it.”

     She was not wrong. Ra-Eun gestured to Yi-Jun to come in. The first thing that he saw was the amazing city view from the living room.

     “Wow. The view is so good!”

     “Right? I mainly chose this place for the view. It’s even prettier at night.”

     “Really?”

     It certainly felt like the nightscape would look much prettier like Ra-Eun had said.

     “Hand me the bags. I’ll move them to Yi-Seo’s room.”

     “Will you be okay? They’re heavy.”

     “It’s fine. And I can’t really let you go inside a girl’s room without permission, even if you’re her brother.”

     Yi-Jun was also in agreement with that statement. He looked around the place while Ra-Eun headed to Yi-Seo’s room with the bags. The first thing that he could see from the living room was the kitchen, and a room that he assumed to be Ra-Eun’s. He couldn’t see what it looked like inside because the door was only slightly open.

     There was one thing that he should not forget during his time here, and it was that this place was off-limits to men. He needed to beat into his mind that only two young women lived here. As proof…

     “…Gasp.”

     Yi-Jun witnessed a blue pair of panties under a chair. He gulped. Meanwhile, Ra-Eun came out of Yi-Seo’s room and headed to the kitchen.

     “What would you like to drink?”

     “Water is fine. But more importantly, Ra-Eun noona,” Yi-Jun said while pointing at the chair with the blue panties under it.

     “Sorry, I completely forgot to put them in the washing machine.”

     Yi-Jun guessed that Ra-Eun had been wearing them before taking a shower. But despite the fact that a man saw the pair of panties that she had taken off, she did not seem to care much. Her personality was as unreserved as ever, even after becoming a university student.

     * * *

     “So how does it feel to become an examinee?” Ra-Eun asked Yi-Jun sitting across from her.

     He answered with an awkward smile, “I’m only counting the days for it to be over.”

     Yi-Jun had no interest in studying. He had little interest in solving SAT workbooks because he was so determined to pursue a career in fashion design.

     “But I heard you were pretty good at studying,” Ra-Eun mentioned.

     “Who did you hear that from?”

     “Your sister.”

     Yi-Seo and Yi-Jun both possessed the studying gene. They maintained considerably high grades in high school. Especially for Yi-Jun, he stayed within the top ranks despite not being fully devoted to his studies.

     “I just do it because my mom and dad tell me to.”

     “I see, but don’t completely give up on studying. Your studies are still important even if your dream is fashion design, since you’ll be able to grab hold of chances of a broader field by entering a good university. This is my advice to you as your senior in life, so keep it to heart.”

     “I’d listen to anything you told me even if you weren’t.”

     Ra-Eun giggled at Yi-Jun’s blatant flattery. Yi-Jun gulped as he stared at Ra-Eun drinking the coffee that she had brewed herself. He could slightly see her well-endowed chest under the loose T-shirt. This trial was considerably difficult for a teenage boy to handle. It could be because he hadn’t seen her in a while or because of her clothes, but he felt as if Ra-Eun’s figure had gotten even better than before. Ra-Eun was exuding sexiness despite being in casual clothing.

     Ra-Eun laid down her cup and gave Yi-Jun a piece of advice.

     “I know you’re at an age where you’re highly interested in the opposite sex, but try not to gawk so much. Girls don’t like that sort of thing.”

     “I-I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention…”

     Yi-Jun was considerably bewildered by the fact that Ra-Eun was aware of his gaze. Ra-Eun snickered in her head from the enjoyment of teasing Yi-Jun after so long.

     “Since you’re here, have dinner with us before you go,” Ra-Eun said.

     “Can I really?”

     “It’d be a shame not to see your sister’s face before you go after you’ve come all the way here, don’t you think?”

     Ra-Eun was right. Yi-Jun had also wanted to check whether or not his sister was adjusting well to university life. He could not help but worry about her as a little brother. She had said that she was doing fine, but he couldn’t stop worrying unless he could see that she was actually doing fine. That was just how family was like.

     “Or you can just stay the night here since it’s the weekend,” Ra-Eun mentioned.

     Yi-Jun was rather conflicted by her remark.

     “But staying the night here is a bit…”

     He was fine with it, but he thought that the girls wouldn’t be. However, Ra-Eun did not seem to think much of it.

     “We have plenty of rooms, and you can buy any necessities at the nearby convenience store.”

     “I’ll let you know while we have dinner together after my sister comes back. I’ll have to call my family to see if I can.”

     “Okay, sure.”

     Staying the night at his crush’s house was nothing short of a blessing for Yi-Jun. He brimmed over with the desire to do whatever it took to persuade his parents to let him stay the night.

     Chapter 78

     Wanna Stay the Night? (2)

     Kang Ra-Eun’s phone chimed while she was reading her script in the living room. It was a text from Seo Yi-Seo. She closed the script and got up from her seat as soon as she checked what it said.

     “Yi-Jun. I’m gonna go pick up your sister, so look after the house.”

     “I’ll go with you, noona.”

     Seo Yi-Jun couldn’t just laze around in someone else’s home. He had suggested going as well because of his sense of conscience, but Ra-Eun adamantly refused.

     “I’d get bombarded with dating scandals if any reporters see me in a car with you, so just stay put here.”

     Yi-Jun would be happy to be in a dating scandal with Ra-Eun, but the thought was purely out of his self-greed. He needed to take Ra-Eun’s position into consideration. He could not hold Ra-Eun back when her new drama would start filming soon. He had no choice but to stay put just like Ra-Eun had said. In exchange…

     “Then I’ll make dinner while you’re away,” Yi-Jun suggested.

     “You know how to cook?”

     Ra-Eun was surprised by the unexpected truth.

     “Yes. I’m better than my sister.”

     “Better than Yi-Seo?”

     If that was true, then he was considerably good. Being in a dual-income household, Yi-Seo and Yi-Jun frequently had to cook dinner for themselves. Hence, the siblings had absolutely no objections to cooking. Ra-Eun decided to give Yi-Jun a chance to show off the cooking skills that he had trained since his childhood.

     “Okay. The ingredients are in the fridge, so use whatever you want.”

     “Got it. Is there anything you want to eat?”

     “Nothing in particular… Just make me your specialties.”

     “Understood,” Yi-Jun said confidently as he put on an apron.

     Ra-Eun felt strange seeing a younger man cooking in her kitchen.

     ‘I heard women love situations like this.’

     Ra-Eun did not really feel anything special since she was not a woman at heart, but at least thought it was nice that there was someone who could cook meals for her.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun talked about dinner with Yi-Seo on their way back home after picking her up.

     “Yi-Jun said he’d cook for us.”

     “He did?”

     “Yeah.”

     “Jeez, that little brother of mine… He never cooked for me whenever I asked him to. He’s way too kind to you, Ra-Eun.”

     Yi-Seo obviously knew that Yi-Jun’s kindness to Ra-Eun was born out of his romantic affection for her, but she couldn’t help but feel sad about the difference in treatment as his sister.

     “I didn’t even know Yi-Jun could cook,” Ra-Eun said.

     “He can. He’s way better than me.”

     “Really?”

     If Yi-Seo was saying that, then it meant that Yi-Jun was considerably skilled since Ra-Eun had been very satisfied with the meals that Yi-Seo had cooked for her.

     “Looks like I’ll get to have a meal that my brother cooked after so long. It’s better than eating out, isn’t it?”

     “It sure is.”

     There was no need to be conscious of others at home, so Ra-Eun felt comfortable and happy. Not just that, but she needed to be extremely careful since the drama shoots were right around the corner. It would be problematic if she was swept into some strange gossip news.

     Ra-Eun got a call from Park Seol-Hun while she was around five minutes away from home. She turned down the music, answered the phone and put it between her ear and shoulder.

     “What, mister?”

     - We decided to launch around the first half of this year, didn’t we? I wanted you to check the homepage draft layout before it goes into official production. Should I email it to you?

     “I’ll come to the company tomorrow. I have something to check there as well.”

     - Okay. Oh, and that loan shark that you employed has been recruiting people without my permission. Is it true that you told him to do it?

     “I told him to do it since we might need them, so don’t worry. Anyway, Chairwoman Kang here is gonna visit the company tomorrow, so make sure you have everything ready.”

     Yi-Seo could hear Seol-Hun’s complaints from the passenger seat. She asked as Ra-Eun ended the call, “Was that about the business you’re setting up?”

     “Yup. We have to get it up and running before my drama shoots start, but it’s taking some time because there’s a lot more to prepare than I expected.”

     She needed to launch the company and release their clothing products as soon as possible so that she could wear them during her drama shoots. Products sold like hotcakes simply from a celebrity wearing them on TV. She had planned the launch of her company to coincide with the resumption of her TV career precisely to aim for this advertising effect.

     “You sure are busy,” Yi-Seo remarked.

     “I don’t really have a choice.”

     “What do you mean? Haven’t you already earned a ton of money?”

     “No, I have to earn even more.”

     Ra-Eun had a much bigger goal.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo were met with a mouth-watering scent as soon as they opened the front door.

     Yi-Jun expressed, “You’re just in time. Dinner’s ready.”

     He greeted his sister whom he hadn’t seen since she entered university, while he gave the rice a stir. Yi-Seo never expected to see her brother again cooking in her own home in an apron.

     “Come eat. You too, Ra-Eun noona.”

     Ra-Eun had very high expectations because of how good it smelled. The menu wasn’t anything extravagant; he had made purple rice, sausage stew with various hams added to it, green onion pancake, and stir-fried anchovies. The rest of the side dishes were what Yi-Seo had previously made.

     Ra-Eun took a photo of the dishes with her phone before digging in.

     Snap!

     “Visually, it’s a pass.”

     “So will the taste, I guarantee it,” Yi-Jun stated confidently.

     Ra-Eun decided to judge whether or not he was being pretentious after a taste. She went for the sausage stew, the main dish, first. Her eyes widened as soon as she tasted the soup.

     “Wow. This is delicious,” Ra-Eun expressed.

     “Right?”

     The taste exceeded her expectations. Even the cooking of Cha Mi-Ye, one of Kang Ra-Hyuk’s girlfriend candidates, did not impress Ra-Eun this much when she ate at her family restaurant. It looked like Yi-Seo’s praises for Yi-Jun’s cooking were not unfounded.

     The other side dishes that Yi-Jun had made also fit Ra-Eun’s tastes perfectly.

     “Noona. It’s good, right?”

     “Yeah, it is. I wish I had someone who would cook me delicious food like this every day.”

     Yi-Jun’s heart thumped from Ra-Eun’s statement. He wondered if this was his chance to confess, but…

     “Lemme dig in too.”

     His plan went out the window once Yi-Seo came out of her room after changing.

     * * *

     Yi-Jun decided to stay the night, but nothing special that he had been secretly hoping for happened. He was a minor, so he couldn’t drink with Ra-Eun yet, and Ra-Eun also had to sleep early because she had a morning shoot the next day.

     “I’m gonna hit the sack first,” Ra-Eun said.

     Yi-Jun could only hide his disappointment. He wanted to spend more time with her, but couldn’t, considering her circumstances.

     It was 11:30 PM. Yi-Jun was watching TV with Yi-Seo in the living room. However, Yi-Jun’s gaze periodically shifted to Ra-Eun’s closed room door while watching TV.

     Yi-Seo witnessed it and asked with a smirk, “Do you still have a crush on Ra-Eun?”

     Yi-Jun’s shoulders flinched violently at his older sister’s hard-hitting question.

     “What are you gonna do if Ra-Eun noona hears?!”

     “Wouldn’t she already know how you feel with how blatantly you’re appealing your feelings?”

     “…”

     It was not a 100% certainty, but the chances were not low either. Yi-Jun also felt the same way.

     “But considering how much she hangs out with me… Don’t you think she has feelings for me too?” Yi-Jun asked.

     “Stay happy in that dream world of yours.”

     “Come on, noona. Stop poking fun at me and think about it seriously.”

     Yi-Jun did not want to let go of that sliver of hope, but there was nothing that Yi-Seo could say to him.

     “I don’t know. I’m not Ra-Eun.”

     There was nothing that a third party could say regarding feelings of love, since it was purely the issue of the people concerned.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun woke up and left her home quietly so that she didn’t wake the Seo siblings after she received a call from Shin Yu-Bin. It was 5:30 AM. Yu-Bin had parked the car outside her home and was waiting for her. Ra-Eun handed Yu-Bin a warm can of coffee.

     “Drink this before we go,” Ra-Eun said.

     “Thanks.”

     Yu-Bin was able to thaw her hands in the freezing winter weather thanks to the sensible Ra-Eun. Ra-Eun showed her stylist Kwon Mi-Yeon something while on the move.

     “What do you think of this?” Ra-Eun asked. She had taken out some sportswear.

     “Oh my, what’s this?”

     The stylist took a liking to the sportswear and searched for a brand logo, but couldn’t find one.

     “This is only a trial product, so it doesn’t have a brand logo attached.”

     “Oh, is this a product from your newly-made company?” Mi-Yeon asked.

     “Yes.”

     She had brought them for a clothing sponsorship. She was planning on promoting her business by putting her products in the drama. The sponsorship was only possible because she already knew that Waitress would be a massive hit. Director Hwang would not hate the addition of a sponsor either.

     Not just that, but Director Hwang had stayed true to the thought that he was already blessed enough that Ra-Eun had decided to star in his drama’s lead role. Ra-Eun had also already laid the groundwork for a clothing sponsorship. The production team still needed to see the products to decide, but it seemed like the products would pass with flying colors if even a stylist liked them.

     “The material’s nice too. They stretch well. They certainly look like they’ll be comfortable to wear while exercising,” Mi-Yeon remarked.

     “Right?”

     Ra-Eun had not only paid attention to the design, but its functionality as well. She had not worn leggings while exercising for no reason; it was all for the success of her business. All she needed to do now was to rake in the dough through these products.

     Ra-Eun was strengthening the foundations of her path to becoming rich step by step. The goals of the rich were to make lots of money and to live happily, but Ra-Eun added one more thing to the table.

     Revenge.

     Only after accomplishing all three things could she earn the right to enjoy happiness.

     Chapter 79

     Beautiful Part-Timer (1)

     This was Program Director Hwang Yun-Seong’s first solo production. He had not been able to sleep well lately despite filming not having begun yet, since this was the first time that a production would be produced under his name.

     Screenwriter Yeo Yu-Min clicked her tongue as she saw the director coming to the broadcasting station with thick dark circles yet again.

     “Did you stay up all night again, Director Hwang?” she asked worriedly.

     “No, I slept.”

     “How many hours?”

     “…That’d be the wrong unit of measurement.”

     “So, you didn’t. How could you even call that sleep?”

     Yu-Min sighed deeply from the fact that Director Hwang hadn’t even slept for an hour.

     “You’re gonna collapse before the shoots even begin at this rate,” Yu-Min remarked.

     She voiced her concern for him as a screenwriter. Director Hwang aside, she couldn’t help but be concerned since her name was also hanging on this production. She was filled to the brim with worries, seeing the terrible condition that Director Hwang was in at such a crucial time when they had to give their all into preparation. The condition of the production team was just as important as the actors’. However good the actors were, it was pointless if the production team couldn’t make good use of them.

     “Why don’t you wrap things up early today and go home to sleep?” Yu-Min suggested.

     They had an early morning shoot scheduled today, but there wasn’t much to film. If everything went according to schedule, it would all be over before noon. However, he politely declined Yu-Min’s consideration.

     “Ra-Eun said she was going to show us her sportswear today. I should at least take a look at them before heading home.”

     “Oh, right.”

     They had heard that Ra-Eun had been preparing to launch her business specialized in sportswear. Kang Seon-Hye, the female lead of the drama Waitress, was written to love exercising, so there would be many scenes where she would be exercising in sportswear. They had been thinking of getting a sportswear sponsorship for Ra-Eun to wear in such scenes, but they had decided to take a look at Ra-Eun’s products because she had brought up her new business during conversations.

     “Anyway, Ra-Eun sure is multi-talented. She’s good at studying, she’s a great actress, and even dabbles in business.”

     Ra-Eun did not give off a feeling that she was stretching herself too thin, but felt like could actually pull off everything that she did. And in actuality, she had been showing people exactly that, which allowed people to rely on her more.

     The car that Ra-Eun was in arrived on set while they were preparing for the shoot.

     “Good morning,” Ra-Eun greeted first.

     “Good morning, Ra-Eun. I’m sorry to have you come so early in the morning.” Director Hwang greeted in return.

     “It’s no problem. Rather, I prefer having and finishing the shoot early since I can take my time exercising once it’s over.”

     “Oh, are you going to exercise as soon as you’re done? Won’t you be tired?” Yu-Min asked.

     “I’ll be fine. I actually feel more refreshed if I end the day by breaking a sweat.”

     Ra-Eun’s stamina that was on par with that of men was one of the reasons why drama production teams loved her so much. She showed no hint of fatigue after continuous re-shoots, and displayed a lively performance every single time on camera as if it was her first attempt. Actors were bound to get tired when shoots extended for long periods of time, but words such as fatigue were not in Ra-Eun’s vocabulary. This was one of Ra-Eun’s massive strengths as an actress.

     Since Ra-Eun had met up with Director Hwang and Yu-Min, she decided to take a short time to show them the sportswear that she wanted to wear.

     “I was hoping to wear these,” Ra-Eun expressed.

     A zip-up sweatshirt, black leggings, and white sneakers were together as a set.

     Yu-Min asked in surprise, “Aren’t these leggings?”

     “Yes.”

     “You’re going to wear these?”

     “Is it not allowed on TV?”

     “No, that’s not it, but there are some actresses who don’t like wearing tight-fitting clothes that expose their figure.”

     Not only did Ra-Eun enjoy wearing leggings while exercising, they were one of the main items that would be sold in her business.

     “I’m fine with them. I wear them all the time when exercising,” Ra-Eun replied.

     Director Hwang asked while tilting his head, “I thought you didn’t like clothes that were revealing, Ra-Eun.”

     “What I don’t like is skin exposure. I’m fine with skin-tight clothes like these.”

     Every actor had things that they were okay and not okay with. In Ra-Eun’s case, she was still reluctant to expose her bare skin. Since the person concerned was saying that it was okay, Director Hwang and Yu-Min had no reason to refuse.

     “The design isn't bad either.”

     In their eyes, the sportswear looked great. They would not contradict the character Kang Seon-Hye’s traits either.

     Ra-Eun sighed in relief in her head as the two most important people of this production showed positive responses. Her sportswear was approved in no time. Since the sportswear issue had been resolved, Ra-Eun got ready for the shoot. But before that, Yu-Min asked her about a different subject.

     “Ra-Eun, are you not interested in social media?”

     “Social media?”

     “Yes. I’m sure your company sales would increase exponentially if you upload selfies in your sportswear. Other celebrities do the same thing, don’t they?”

     An indirect advertisement through social media. In Ra-Eun’s case, it could even be considered a direct advertisement since it was her own company’s product.

     ‘Social media, huh…?’

     She had used a few in her past life, but it was nothing more than a way to communicate with her friends. It was her first time making a social media account as an extremely popular actress.

     ‘Do I just upload a few pictures like other celebrities do?’

     It looked like she had some studying to do as a social media novice.

     * * *

     Scene #3-2. The shoot started off with the scene where the female protagonist Kang Seon-Hye visited the cafe to apply for a part-time job. Ra-Eun entered the cafe in casual clothing. The camera filmed her first meeting with the man standing at the counter, Ji Han-Seok.

     “Welcome.”

     Mistaking her for a customer, Han-Seok put on his business smile. Ra-Eun stated the purpose of her visit while returning his smile with an awkward one of her own.

     “I’m here for an interview.”

     “An interview? Oh, are you Miss Kang Seon-Hye?”

     “Yes, that’s me.”

     “You’re extremely early, aren’t you?”

     The interview was supposed to be held at 3 PM, but Seon-Hye had arrived at 1 PM.

     “I arrived early because I didn’t want to be late. If it’s too early, then I’ll spend the time drinking a cup of coffee until you’re free.”

     “No, no, it's okay. There aren’t any customers at the moment, so let’s start the interview right away.”

     Ra-Eun and Han-Seok exchanged lines naturally without a single NG cut, possibly because they had already worked together before.

     “Okay, cut! That was great. Let’s take a fifteen-minute break before we move on to the next scene.”

     “Yes, Director.”

     Ra-Eun did not seem to have any intention of taking a break despite being given time for one. She had always been the competitive type even in her past life, so she always saw things through until perfection. And of course, that was also true in the case of drama shoots.

     “Sunbae. I’m sorry, but could you join me in the script reading?”

     “Script reading? Okay, sure. Let’s do it.”

     Han-Seok became a yes-man for any of Ra-Eun’s requests.

     “W-Wait,” Han-Seok stuttered in embarrassment as soon as they sat across from each other.

     As Ra-Eun was about to ask him what was wrong, Han-Seok said while turning his gaze elsewhere, “Ra-Eun. You should… cover your legs with something.”

     Ra-Eun was not wearing a particularly short skirt, but it had rolled up slightly due to her sitting motion. It was possible for someone right across from her to see her panties at the right angle. However, Ra-Eun had been a woman for almost two years. Such situations were well within her expectations.

     “It’s fine, sunbae. I’m wearing bloomers underneath.”

     Ra-Eun did not seem to mind her movements or posture much because of the insurance that she was wearing, but that was only the case for herself. Han-Seok, who had to sit across from her, was not thinking as positively as her.

     “No, but still…”

     Ra-Eun’s smooth calves and thighs were still clearly visible. There was no way that Han-Seok could take his eyes off her legs which were every man’s hopes and dreams. Ra-Eun had no choice but to take off her jacket and cover her legs for Han-Seok to focus on the script.

     Everything was now ready.

     Ahem!

     Han-Seok cleared his throat and recited his line first.

     “Where did you say you were from again?”

     “I’m from Namhae County of Gyeongsangnam Province!”

     “Namhae? That’s pretty far away. How did you end up in Seoul?”

     “It… just happened.”

     No drama revealed everything from the first episode. The same went for Waitress; the reason why Seon-Hye came to Seoul was not fully revealed because the audience would slowly lose interest as the drama went on if everything was laid bare on the table.

     This script was special because the reason was not revealed to the actors.

     ‘There are a few production teams that do this.’

     Ra-Eun had heard of such instances before in her past life where a thriller drama was filmed with the actors having no knowledge of who the culprit was, not even the actor who was playing the culprit. The movie director had said that he had purposefully kept it secret to help the actors immerse themselves in the scenario more to heighten the quality of their performance.

     However, there was one problem.

     ‘I already know what happens.’

     The actors had speculated that Seon-Hye had come to Seoul to find her long-lost younger sister that she had separated from in childhood, and that younger sister would play a very important role in greatly distorting Seon-Hye’s relationship with the male lead played by Han-Seok.

     ‘That’s not it… It’s a bit boring to perform while knowing everything.’

     However, Ra-Eun was giving her all into her performance despite that.

     ‘I was paid a lot, after all.’

     One should do as much as what they were paid to do. That was the case for a security team leader, a popular actress, or any other job.

     Chapter 80

     Beautiful Part-Timer (2)

     After the script reading, the production team moved on to shooting the next scene where Kang Ra-Eun and Ji Han-Seok were having a one-on-one interview. The two actors had to focus their nerves on every single word for the dialogue-heavy scene. Ra-Eun activated yet another one of her talents.

     “I’ve had a lot of part-time jobs. I used to be a server at a restaurant, an employee at a beauty store, and explained food products while serving samples at food aisles in stores.”

     Han-Seok pretended to be writing something down as Ra-Eun said her long line with perfect articulation.

     “So, you’re saying you have confidence in your communication skills?”

     “Yes!”

     Ra-Eun used to be criticized for her articulation back when she had been a bodyguard. She had been berated by one of her seniors one time for her inability to clearly explain the situation in emergencies. After that day, Ra-Eun took enunciation lessons as if she was aiming to become an announcer. Only after she was able to brief her security team members as concisely, swiftly, and accurately as possible were they able to respond in kind.

     ‘I never expected the enunciation lessons that I got back then would raise my value as an actress.’

     She even thought that… she was born to be an actress in her second life. Director Hwang nodded like a bobblehead in great satisfaction by Ra-Eun’s perfect line enunciation.

     “Okay, Ra-Eun! That was absolutely perfect! You could even become an announcer!”

     “Thank you, Director.”

     Han-Seok already knew how good Ra-Eun’s articulations were, so he was not all that surprised. However, he was surprised about something else.

     “I think you’ve gotten a lot better than back in our previous drama together. Your tone of voice has also gotten a lot more natural.”

     “It was worth putting all that practice into it, then.”

     No matter how talented one was, a satisfying product could not result from a lack of effort. Ra-Eun had replayed the scenes that would be shot today in her head over and over again right until she went to sleep yesterday. She had a good memory, so she could easily memorize the lines. The issue was her performance.

     Ra-Eun’s character Kang Seon-Hye, unlike her character Jin Seo-Yu in Reaper, had to emit the energy of an innocent country girl. She would slowly adapt to life in Seoul and become more sophisticated as time went on, but there was a need to emphasize during the initial portion of the drama that Seon-Hye was an innocent country girl. Hence, Ra-Eun forcefully raised her energy level.

     ‘This isn’t really my thing, but… ’

     It couldn’t be helped. As long as she was an actress, she had to perform as if she had been possessed by the character, even if their personality did not match with her own. That was the essence of a true professional.

     * * *

     The shoot was able to end an hour earlier than planned thanks to the Ra-Eun & Han-Seok pair’s flawless performance.

     “Great work, everyone!”

     “Thank you for your hard work from so early in the morning!”

     The staff members congratulated each other for their successful first day of shooting. Ra-Eun got ready to go back home together with her manager. Director Hwang approached her as she was saying goodbye to Han-Seok.

     “Ra-Eun. I discussed it with the clothing team, and they said you can wear the sportswear that you showed me this morning. They all loved the design as well.”

     “I’m glad everyone liked them.”

     Han-Seok took an interest in the mention of sportswear.

     “Are you talking about the clothing business that you were setting up, Ra-Eun?”

     “Yes. The preparations are almost complete. All that’s left for us to do now is to secure enough supply through the factory.”

     Park Seol-Hun and his sales team had already secured a distribution line. All that was left to do now was production, and then to go into proper sales.

     “Do you have menswear as well? It’d be nice to show male sets as well, don’t you think?” Han-Seok said with great interest in Ra-Eun’s business.

     He had volunteered to be a model, which Ra-Eun more than welcomed. Director Hwang also strongly agreed.

     “Please bring some menswear next time as well like Han-Seok suggested, Ra-Eun,” said Director Hwang.

     “Okay, I will.”

     Her company sales would increase along with her popularity as an actress. It was the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

     * * *

     It had been a while since Seo Yi-Seo, Choi Ro-Mi, Na Gyu-Rin and Ra-Eun got together. Their goal was clear: shopping. The four girls arrived at a department store and looked around clothing stores before they went for lunch.

     Ra-Eun was bombarded with people asking for her autograph as she strolled through the store. Her popularity was as high as always. She didn’t mind dealing with fans, but…

     ‘I’d like to buy some clothes.’

     She had become a university student. Now that she was an adult, her clothes from last year felt a little tight. Her waist circumference was fine; rather, her clothes felt more loose around the waist than last year. The problem was with her hips. Ra-Eun had come shopping with her friends to buy some new jeans because her old ones felt too tight around her hips.

     She no longer felt awkward in womenswear stores.

     “Is there a specific piece of clothing you’re looking for?” an employee asked.

     Ra-Eun answered as if she was waiting for them to ask, “Could you show me some jeans?”

     Jeans, unlike skirts, were one of the safest and least uncomfortable pieces of clothing to wear. Hence, they had become her most frequently worn fashion item as of late.

     The employee took out and showed Ra-Eun a pair of jeans.

     “How about something like this? Jeans like these that help accentuate the hip curves are on the rise these days. They’re skinny-fit, so your legs will look beautiful as well. They’re also made of comfortable materials, so I’m sure they’ll be more than good enough for daily use.”

     Listening to explanations was pointless. The most important thing when choosing clothes was how good it felt to wear them.

     “Could I try them on?” Ra-Eun asked.

     No one could tell how a piece of clothing would look on someone until they actually tried it on.

     “Yes, of course!” the employee answered cheerfully.

     Ra-Eun entered the fitting room with the jeans. She could hear her friends outside while she was putting them on.

     “Have you put them on, Ra-Eun?”

     “Yeah. Can you take a look?” Ra-Eun asked.

     Her friends showered her with compliments as she exited the fitting room with the jeans on.

     “My, my. They fit you so nicely!”

     “That’s a celebrity for ya.”

     They could clearly see the difference between a regular person and a celebrity. Ra-Eun pulled her hair back and stood in front of the mirror to check her appearance for herself.

     ‘But man… I’ve completely become a woman.’

     She used to get so embarrassed by stuff like this, but now, shopping with her girl friends felt all too natural to her. She was placed on a turning point of whether she should be happy or sad by how well she had adapted to her new self.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun purchased every single piece of clothing that she took a liking to regardless of price, because there was no way that she was short on money. The clothing stores also gave her discounts on their own without reserve for items that were a bit too pricey. They were well aware that a celebrity like Ra-Eun simply wearing their products was an advertisement in and of itself. The stores were practically begging her to wear their products.

     Shopping time had come to an end. Ra-Eun had been planning on having lunch with her friends and perhaps watching a movie after, but that plan crumbled into bits from a single phone call.

     “You won’t be able to free up any time other than today?… Okay. I’ll be right there, so tell everyone to wait.”

     Yi-Seo asked what the call was about as Ra-Eun hung up. “Was it about the drama?”

     “No, my company. They asked me to come greet everyone since they’re having their regular meeting today. Sorry, but I have to go.”

     Ra-Eun had not met all of her company’s executives yet. Not only was the company schedule jam-packed, Ra-Eun’s own schedule was also just as full, so she had not been able to schedule a proper date. She was not directly involved in business administration, but she was the chairwoman in name. It was her responsibility to deliver a few words of encouragement to her staff members.

     Ra-Eun drove to her company building. She parked in the underground parking lot and took the elevator up to the floor where the new office was. She could see the engraved company logo and name written in English as soon as she entered the hallway.

     They had decided on ‘Levanche’ as their company name. It was the same clothing brand name that Seol-Hun had grown into greatness in Ra-Eun’s past life. She had asked him why he chose that name, but he answered that there was no particular reason for it. It simply sounded cool.

     ‘That mister sure loves to act cool.’

     The executives got up from their seats as soon as Ra-Eun entered the office.

     “Good afternoon, Chairwoman!”

     “Oh my God, is Miss Kang Ra-Eun seriously our chairwoman?”

     “Wow, it’s my first time seeing a celebrity in person.”

     The employees who had yet to meet Ra-Eun until now tried their best to hide their astonishment. Seol-Hun and Ma Yeong-Jun approached Ra-Eun as soon as they heard that she had arrived.

     Ra-Eun asked the two men, “Is the meeting over?”

     “Yeah. They were all waiting for you.”

     Ra-Eun usually spoke informally to the two men, but she forced herself to speak formally since it was obvious what the other employees would think if they witnessed her being disrespectful to men who were far older than her. Seol-Hun and Yeong-Jun were unaccustomed to Ra-Eun speaking formally to them at first, but like how Ra-Eun was slowly adjusting to her life as a woman, they were also in the middle of adjusting to the current situation.

     Clap, clap!

     Seol-Hun clapped twice to focus the executives’ attention on Ra-Eun.

     “Okay. It’s been a while since our chairwoman visited, so let’s have her say a few words of encouragement before we start getting into business for real.”

     This was the perfect chance to greet the executives as well as to let them know in what direction she would lead the company. She cleared her throat with a few coughs and clearly articulated her ambitions like she had done during her drama shoots.

     “Our company Levanche will grow to become the greatest clothing brand that will represent Korea, so all you have to do is to trust and follow me.”

     She was saying that she would carry this company on her back. The executives showered her assertive ambitions with applause. Ra-Eun had already risen to stardom as an actress. However, it was still not enough. She had taken her first step in her second objective, to become a successful businesswoman.

     Chapter 81

     Dutiful Daughter (1)

     Seo Yi-Seo sat in the living room to catch the original airing of the drama Waitress. She had prepared food and drinks, and then called today’s main character Kang Ra-Eun over.

     “Ra-Eun, the drama’s about to start.”

     Ra-Eun asked as she lifelessly came out of her room, “Do I really have to watch it too?”

     “Of course you do! You star in it! Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

     “Not in the slightest.”

     She had already taken a look at the original shots, and she wasn’t very interested either since she knew everything that would happen. Not only that, but she considered watching the drama that she starred in as neither a hobby nor for stress relief, but as an extension of work. Hence, Ra-Eun had no intention of watching it, but unable to handle Yi-Seo’s pressing, she ended up taking a seat next to her.

     ‘Episode 1’ was written right at the center of the TV screen, and then slowly transitioned to a different background. Yi-Seo took pictures of the TV screen with her phone. She wanted to remember the monumental moment through her eyes, mind, heart, and finally, pictures.

     Snap, snap!

     Ra-Eun requested, “Send me a few of what you just took.”

     “Huh? Why?”

     “So I can upload it to my social media account.”

     Ra-Eun had recently made her personal social media account. Despite it only containing a single post with two pictures attached, her account blew up with follow requests as soon as she had made it. There was no need to accept every single request; she only followed back people who worked in the same industry as her, and her high school friends. She rejected everyone else.

     ‘I’d regret it down the line if I follow everyone back.’

     She wouldn’t receive malicious comments just for not following back every single person, so she only followed back people who she knew. Kim Chi-Yeol, her mortal enemy, was one of them. He was very active on social media like the womanizer that he was. Congressman Kim Han-Gyo also had an official account, but she did not follow it.

     ‘There wouldn’t be anything to snoop on anyway.’

     However, that was not the case for Chi-Yeol. Ra-Eun had followed him back because he was one of the people she knew who caused many issues through social media.

     ‘This son of a bitch tries his shot with any beautiful woman he sees, for God’s sake.’

     Yi-Seo looked through the pictures that she had taken and told Ra-Eun that she would send them to her once the drama was over. She needed to focus on the first episode of Waitress right now.

     The country girl Kang Seon-Hye was wandering all over the place after arriving in Seoul. Yi-Seo smiled unconsciously as she saw Seon-Hye’s first meeting with Ji Han-Seok’s character.

     “You guys are the definition of a handsome couple,” she remarked.

     “Why so out of the blue?”

     “It’s not out of the blue. Look at the screen. You’re beautiful, and Ji Han-Seok is handsome. I’m sure the ratings would rise even if the drama only contained two-shots of you and Han-Seok!”

     The phrase ‘feast for the eyes’ existed for a reason. Regardless of whether one was male or female, it was natural for them to feel good whenever they saw handsome men or beautiful women. If there was a tier list for dramas based on how good-looking their cast was, Waitress would be top-tier.

     After the interview, the store manager played by Han-Seok said to Ra-Eun.

     [Would you like to try the uniform on?]

     Ra-Eun’s character blinked perplexedly.

     [You have uniforms?]

     [Of course we do. Please wait here. Ye-Jeong! We have a uniform left over, don’t we? Could you bring it over please?]

     The cafe that Han-Seok’s character ran provided uniforms for the staff to wear. The writer added a setting that the cafe’s female staff uniforms were rumored to be extremely pretty. The camera panned upward from Ra-Eun’s toes to the top of her head in one take to fully display her in the uniform. It looked like a Middle Ages European dress that was modified to be easier to move around in, making Ra-Eun look exactly like a princess.

     “Oh my God, you’re way too pretty!” Yi-Seo exclaimed.

     “You have no idea how hard it was to film with that on.”

     “Really? Why?”

     “That outfit’s a lot tighter around the waist than it looks. It forcibly straightened my back even when I was seated.”

     It was only possible for Ra-Eun to wear it because her waist was so thin. However, considering how pretty she looked, she felt that it was worth suffering through it.

     An hour passed by in a flash. The first episode of Waitress came to an end. Ra-Eun’s phone rang like crazy as soon as it was over, being bombarded with texts and calls saying that they loved the drama, along with some feedback on the side. A text from her older brother caught her eye as she scrolled through the texts.

     [Dad and I watched the drama. You were great. Dad was happy too. Give me a call if you’re not sleeping.]

     ‘Why a call all of a sudden?’

     She had not been planning on sleeping just yet, so she went into her room with her phone. She could hear Kang Ra-Hyuk’s voice as soon as she pressed the call button.

     - Attagirl, my lil’ sis! You looked like an absolute princess right from the first episode.

     “I’m hanging up if you asked me to call you for something like that.”

     - Hey, hey, hey! Wait! You’re as cold as always. You’re nothing like your kind and docile character in the drama.

     “Try to distinguish between drama and reality. That aside, why did you ask me to call you?”

     Ra-Eun wondered if something bad had happened.

     - You know, about the thing that we talked about last time.

     “What thing? We talked about a lot of things.”

     - About the house-moving.

     “Oh, that?”

     Their household no longer had to live while saddled with debt thanks to Ra-Eun’s accomplishments. They had paid off their father’s debt long ago, and had been amassing a considerable amount of wealth through stock trading and Ra-Eun’s TV appearance fees.

     Hence, they had considered getting a new house not for Ra-Eun, but for her brother and father. Although they were not her real family, they were still currently her older brother and father. She felt a little bothered by the fact that only she was living in a nice home. She had been hoping for her brother and father to live in a place just as nice as her own, to prevent it from biting her in the ass down the line through entertainment industry scandals.

     ‘But Dad is against it.’

     Ra-Hyuk was in charge of persuading him, but…

     - I don’t think I can persuade him on my own.

     He had put up the white flag in the call with his little sister whom he hadn’t spoken to in a while.

     “So, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna live there forever?”

     - No, I can’t do that. So I was thinking… Could you persuade Dad for me?

     “Me?”

     - He listens to you more than me. You know he’s a sucker for his daughter.

     Their father had even put up a screenshot picture of Ra-Eun’s TV appearance and her first-place report card on the living room wall. He loved his daughter very dearly. Hence, Ra-Hyuk thought it would be more effective for Ra-Eun to persuade their father to move houses instead of himself.

     He certainly was not wrong. Ra-Eun sighed deeply and agreed to do it.

     “What days is Dad off work?”

     - This Thursday and Friday.

     “Really? Then I’ll head there around Thursday evening. I’ll probably arrive before dinnertime. I only have morning shoots on that day.”

     - Then we can talk about it with Dad while we’re having dinner. Or we can do it after.

     “I’ll wait for the right time to bring it up.”

     The siblings’ father certainly would listen more to his cute daughter who had just become an adult instead of his son who had already been discharged from the military. Ra-Eun hung up and texted her real estate agent contact to look for some good apartments on the market.

     ‘I’ll make sure to persuade Dad.’

     Ra-Eun was strangely confident.

     * * *

     It had been a while since Ra-Eun visited her old home; six months had passed since she moved out to live with Yi-Seo. It hadn’t even been that long, but it felt like she had been away for a very long time.

     ‘Seeing the house again, it sure looks old.’

     It was a shabby single-floor detached house. Not only was it not in a good location, but the land value would not rise either since there were barely any favorable things about the area. It would be very difficult for an investor to find any value in such a place. Despite all that, Ra-Eun could not understand why her father was so against leaving this house.

     There was only one thing that she knew about this house.

     ‘I’ve lived almost twenty years here.’

     She could not see any value in the house aside from that.

     ‘Is it simply because of sentimental value?’

     Ra-Eun believed that such sentiments were better off being put aside. There was no need to impose discomfort on oneself when they could afford to live in a much better space.

     Her father, who had been watching TV in the living room, looked at Ra-Eun in surprise when she opened the front door.

     “My baby girl! How did you get here?”

     “By car, of course.”

     The exhaust sound that had echoed throughout the neighborhood had been from Ra-Eun’s sports car.

     “Had oppa not told you that I’d be coming?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Had he…? Oh, he had. Sorry, I’d completely forgotten.”

     No wonder. Despite Ra-Eun earning a ton of money, the siblings’ father continued to work as a delivery man. Ra-Eun had tried her best to persuade him multiple times that he did not have to work anymore, but he had not budged on the matter at all.

     ‘I should bring that up as well along with the house-moving.’

     She had been given a lot to do. Ra-Hyuk opened his room door and greeted his little sister after belatedly noticing the noise coming from the living room.

     “Hey, lil’ sis.”

     “What were you doing in your room? You were watching porn again, weren’t you?”

     “…Is that all you talk about whenever you see me?”

     Ra-Hyuk was reminded of the trauma that had formed because of Ra-Eun’s frequent harassment when they used to live together.

     They decided to have dinner at home instead of eating out. Ra-Eun chatted with her father about all kinds of things while eating the homemade meal that she hadn't had in a while.

     ‘This seems like as good of a time as any.’

     Ra-Eun casually brought up the topic of moving.

     “Dad. What do you think about moving to someplace bigger and better than here?”

     Her father was a yes-man whenever it came to her, but…

     “I can’t do that.”

     He refused Ra-Eun’s suggestion without hesitation.

     Chapter 82

     Dutiful Daughter (2)

     Kang Ra-Eun knew as soon as her father refused without hesitation that this was going to be a hard battle to win. Like Kang Ra-Hyuk had mentioned in the call, their father listened to almost everything that she would ask. That was how much he treasured her. However, that was not the case for anything related to the house.

     “Your brother also brought that up last time. Ra-Hyuk, did you ask Ra-Eun to persuade me in your place?”

     “U-Um…” Ra-Hyuk stuttered in confusion.

     Ra-Eun interjected, “No. Rather, I was the one who asked him to bring up the subject to you.”

     She told her father everything about how they had been considering the house moving. Ra-Hyuk had been thinking of taking all the blame since he was the older brother, but that chance had been stolen now that Ra-Eun had laid everything bare on the table.

     Their father lightly sighed and asked, “Why are you considering something like that?”

     “Because this house is old,” Ra-Eun answered.

     They had plenty of money; it was human instinct to live in a better place if they could afford it. It was perfectly natural for a human to pursue better food, clothing and shelter. However, their father did not seem to have even a little of such basic human desires, which Ra-Eun could not understand at all.

     “We’ve paid off all our debt, and there’s no more reason for us to save money. Moving to a new house isn’t much trouble for us financially, so please take this opportunity to move to someplace better with oppa.”

     “No, I’m fine.”

     Ra-Eun proposed the move once again, but their father flatly refused. His gaze then shifted to Ra-Hyuk.

     “Ra-Hyuk, do you want to move to a better place?”

     “I, well… yes.”

     It was obvious. If Ra-Hyuk had felt the same way as their father, he would have refused once his little sister even brought up the subject.

     Their father sighed and said to Ra-Hyuk, “If you want to move, then you should also take this chance to live independently. I won’t be against it.”

     Their father suggested that Ra-Hyuk move out instead. Ra-Hyuk was inwardly happy, but he could not openly express it because Ra-Eun was fiercely glaring at him.

     ‘This dim-witted twat.’

     Ra-Eun needed to remind herself that she wasn’t here to help her older brother receive approval for his independence. She had gotten curious about her father’s refusal to move.

     “Why do you want to stay here so much?” she asked.

     Only after knowing the reason could she come up with a solution.

     “It’s complicated.”

     However, their father did not seem to have any intention of telling them why.

     “Let’s eat,” he said as he picked up his spoon.

     They could not bring it up any more for today. They needed to wait for another opportunity.

     * * *

     Once their father went to bed early, Ra-Eun visited Starlight Road after a long time with Ra-Hyuk. It was practically empty because it was quite late at night. Yi-Jun at the counter blinked repeatedly in surprise as soon as they entered the cafe.

     “R-Ra-Eun noona? Why are you here?”

     “We’re here for a family meeting. Don’t mind us and keep doing your job.”

     They ordered two iced americanos and sat at the furthest table possible. No one would hear them since there weren’t any other customers in the cafe, but they sat at the most remote place possible just in case.

     The contents of their meeting was very simple; it was about why their father wouldn’t move houses.

     “I’ve been thinking hard about it,” Ra-Eun voiced her opinion first. “Could it be because that house was the first one that he’d bought with his own money?”

     No matter how old and low in value something was, there were some items that held great meaning in one’s life. That house could be one of such things for their father. After much thought, Ra-Eun had put it up as one of the potential reasons.

     Ra-Hyuk objected, “That wasn’t his first house. I once heard him say that he and mom used to live in a small studio apartment, but sold it and moved to our current home.”

     “Oh… really?”

     If it wasn’t special because it was the first house that he had ever bought, then…

     “Could it be because the place is filled with his memories with Mom?” Ra-Eun conjectured for a second time.

     Ra-Hyuk said in possible agreement, “Yeah, I’m sure Dad has lots of memories with Mom in that house that we don’t know about. We’ve also lived there during the time that Mom passed away.”

     There were a few points that meshed together. They didn’t know exactly what sort of memories that their father had with their mother in that house. Such memories were their own little secret.

     “He doesn’t want to move, so shouldn’t we just let him be? It’s not like there’s a reason that he needs to move no matter what.”

     It was simply because the house was old. Like Ra-Hyuk had said, there was no other reason but that.

     “Wait,” Ra-Eun expressed.

     Refusing to yield, she called her hands and legs, Ma Yeong-Jun.

     “Mister. You introduced me to a real estate agent last time. Do you know any other real estate agents in the area where I used to live? If you do, then send me their number.”

     Ra-Eun was extremely competitive. Once she started something, she could only rest after seeing it through to the end. And of course, that also applied to family circumstances.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun once again went to her father and brother’s house on the next day. Since she had received noise complaints from pulling up on her sports car last time, she pulled up on a regular sedan this time. She called for her father as soon as she got out of the car and opened the front door.

     “Dad. Could you come out here for a second?”

     He came out of the house in puzzlement with Ra-Eun.

     Ra-Eun said as she pointed at the vacant lot next to them, “I bought this plot of land, and I’m going to build a house based completely on your preferences. What do you think?”

     She was planning on building a new house right next to the home that he did not want to move from, with the thought that her father could live in the new house and just keep the old house in good shape.

     Ra-Hyuk who had followed his father out on impulse was lost for words by his little sister’s will to act. She had come up with such an idea in just a single day.

     Their father expressed with a bitter smile, “Thank you, my baby girl. But you see…”

     He fixed his gaze not on the plot of land that the new house would be built on, but the old house that he was living in.

     “I like this house much better.”

     He refused despite Ra-Eun’s proposal to build him a house right next door.

     “Is it about money? If it is, then you don’t have to worry, Dad. I have more than enough money left over.”

     Ra-Eun wondered if their father was acting like this because he was bothered by using the money that his children had earned. However, that was not the reason.

     “It’s because this house holds special meaning to me,” their father remarked.

     It was as the siblings had expected. Ra-Hyuk brought up what he had discussed with Ra-Eun yesterday.

     “Is it because this house is full of memories you’d made with Mom?”

     That seemed to be the most plausible.

     Their father said, “You’re not wrong, but…”

     Memories even more precious than those he had made with his wife were dwelling in this house.

     “This is also where you two were born.”

     “…Huh?”

     The siblings were both shocked. It was not like they ran a maternity clinic.

     “We were born… in this house?”

     “Yes.”

     Their father started unpacking the bag of past stories that they had no idea about.

     “There weren’t any maternity clinics in the area at the time. There was only one hospital far downtown. Ra-Hyuk, you came out a lot faster than scheduled, so we ended up having you here. You were born safely thanks to the help from the neighborhood ladies.”

     “I see…”

     It was the first time Ra-Hyuk had heard of it. However, that was not the end of the story.

     “Then was Ra-Eun also…?”

     Their father nodded.

     “We were determined to go to a hospital to have Ra-Eun, but things happened and you ended up being born here as well.”

     It was a strange turn of fate. This old detached home was not only filled with memories with his wife, but also the place where he first met his children. Hence, their father could not bring himself to leave this home, nor would he ever sell it to someone else.

     Ra-Eun sighed after hearing the story. Now that she had heard the reason, there was no way that she could persuade him to move.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun gave up on getting him to move houses, but…

     “Is a refurbishment okay, then?”

     She had still not given up. This was the final form of compromise that she could offer. Ra-Hyuk admired his little sister’s tenacity. Their father laughed loudly and finally decided to accept Ra-Eun’s goodwill.

     “Okay, fine. What sort of father would I be to refuse when my precious daughter is going so far for me? I sure have a dutiful daughter.”

     He felt so great that he couldn’t stop smiling.

     While their father went to the bathroom, Ra-Hyuk asked his little sister, “You really wanted to see it through to the end, huh?”

     “You’re goddamn right.”

     Ra-Eun’s competitive spirit could not be broken even after hearing their home’s circumstances. She wanted to do whatever it took to come to a result that she could be satisfied with. A refurbishment was barely within the lines of satisfaction.

     “What are you gonna do?” Ra-Eun asked Ra-Hyuk.

     “Me?”

     “Dad said yesterday that you can move out if you want.”

     Ra-Hyuk answered immediately as if he had already made up his mind long ago, “I should move out. My friends were asking when I was going to.”

     “Why?”

     “Something about wanting to make our own hideout.”

     It was a man thing. If a friend moved out of their parents’ house to somewhere close by and was living alone, that place would be designated as their hideout. Ra-Hyuk also looked like he was secretly wanting it.

     “Have you thought about where?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “I was thinking somewhere near your place. I’m sure Dad would like it, since he always says an older brother should protect his little sister.”

     “I can take care of myself, so worry about yourself first.”

     She had come to help her father move houses, but had ended up helping her brother move out instead.

     Chapter 83

     First Military Leave (1)

     Private Choi Sang-Woon was vigorously swinging a pickaxe under the sweltering sun. He had never held a pickaxe in his life, but soldiers needed to know the basics of using a shovel, pickaxe and hammer if they didn’t want to be given a hard time by their seniors. This was his first time learning to use a pickaxe, but fortunately…

     “Wow. You’re pretty good at using a pickaxe, aren’t you, little newbie?”

     “Thank you very much, sir!”

     “I was worried that you wouldn’t be of use when you were first transferred to our squad since you were so skinny, but you’ve impressed me.”

     Sang-Woon was also surprised by himself. He was worried while being trained at the training center after the entrance ceremony about whether or not he could handle the rifle training, marching, outdoor camping, individual combat and even CBR[1] training. However, he had acclimated much better than expected, considering how scared he was.

     But of course, that didn’t mean he had come to like the army. If he could escape his military service without any repercussions, he would in a heartbeat.

     A superior wearing a squad-leader epaulet called out to the soldiers, “We will resume in ten minutes. Everyone, take a break.”

     “Yes, sir!”

     The soldiers hurriedly escaped toward the shade.

     Thump!

     Sang-Woon collapsed on his butt and looked at his forearm while wiping his sweat. He had been tanned and had also put on quite a bit of muscle after being forced by his seniors to work out with them during his free time.

     ‘I wasn’t interested in fitness at all during my high school days.’

     The entire squad had been infected by a fitness craze because of the seniors’ desire to get toned to pick up girls at the beach during their leave in the summer. Sang-Woon thought of Kang Ra-Eun.

     ‘I wonder what Ra-Eun would say if she saw how much I’ve changed.’

     His head heated up once again after having barely been cooled down by the shade. Sang-Woon had not been able to put up the sticker photo that Ra-Eun had gifted him to put up on his army locker, because he did not want to show it to his seniors who pounced on anyone who had pictures of female acquaintances on their locker.

     One of the seniors brought up Ra-Eun just as Sang-Woon was thinking about her.

     “Did you watch Waitress yesterday?”

     The drama Waitress was extremely popular among their squad lately. They could only watch reruns of it on the weekend because they could not watch dramas whenever they wanted to. However, that was more than enough for them to be happy.

     “Kang Ra-Eun is so hot in it, isn't she?”

     “You’re goddamn right she is! I couldn’t take my eyes off the TV screen when she came out with that cafe uniform on. I guarantee you that Kang Ra-Eun is the hottest woman in Korea.”

     “I couldn’t agree more.”

     The soldiers watched Waitress every weekend without fail not for the story, but to see Ra-Eun in it.

     “Sigh… If only I knew Kang Ra-Eun personally.”

     Sang-Woon’s shoulders violently flinched at his senior’s remark. Having noticed that by coincidence from up close, his senior asked, “Hey, Choi Sang Woon.”

     “Yes sir! Private Choi speaking!”

     “Why did you flinch? No way, are you acquainted with Kang Ra-Eun?”

     Sang-Woon flinched again. His senior reacted in surprise, “Seriously? You know her?”

     As Sang-Woon was wriggling hesitantly, their squad’s highest-ranking officer interjected, “Fucking hell, say something that actually makes sense. How could regular people like us be close with a goddess in heaven like her? Right, Sang-Woon?”

     “Y-Yes, sir. Th-That’s exactly right,” Sang-Woon said as he secretly sighed in relief.

     The thought of what would happen if his squad members found out that he used to be classmates with Ra-Eun terrified him.

     * * *

     “This is Private Choi. I’m here for business in the orderly room[2].”

     “Oh, Sang-Woon. Come here,” the army administrative clerk Jang Hyun-Bok said as he showed Sang-Woon a calendar. “It’s time for your first military leave, right?”

     “Yes, that’s right.”

     “I have to make the leave schedule for next month, so pick which day you want.”

     Sang-Woon was bewildered from being given priority selection.

     “I’ll just… choose a date after my seniors finish choosing.”

     “Hey, you don’t need to yield to your seniors. There’s no leave more prioritized than a new recruit’s first leave. It’ll be difficult to choose the dates that you want for your leaves after this one, so make use of your new recruit privileges while you still can,” the administrative clerk sincerely advised.

     Sang-Woon had never thought about which day he wanted his leave. If he could choose, then…

     “Corporal Jang. Could I let you know after I call my friends?”

     “Yeah. You have until the end of the day, so go make your calls.”

     “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

     ~

     Sang-Woon headed to the phone booth and called his best friend, Kim Yeong-Gyo first.

     - Hello?

     “Yeong-Gyo, it's me.”

     - Oh, Sang-Woon? Son of a bitch, it’s been a while. What’s up?

     “You see…”

     Sang-Woon asked Yeong-Gyo for a good date to schedule his leave so that he could meet up with all of his friends. Yeong-Gyo’s answer was clear.

     - We’ll be free anytime, so come whenever you’d like. You said it was five days and four nights, right?

     “Yeah.”

     - That’s pretty long.

     It could feel long for regular people, but the person on leave did not feel that way. The four nights and five days only felt like 4.5 seconds to them.

     Sang-Woon hung up and pondered deeply as he stared at another phone number that he had written down. There was someone who he was wondering whether or not to call.

     ‘Should I try calling Ra-Eun too?’

     He was already filled with worries whether or not she would meet with him when she would be up to her neck with work related to the drama around this time. However, he decided to give it a shot anyway. He took a deep breath.

     “Okay, let’s do it.”

     Sang-Woon pressed the number keys.

     * * *

     It was 7 PM. Ra-Eun was running on a treadmill while wearing the sportswear newly released by Levanche to shoot a scene where she exercised at a fitness center. Ra-Eun perfectly recited her lines without a hint of fatigue despite the difficulty of speaking while running.

     “Cut! Okay, that was great. Let’s move on to the next scene after a short break.”

     Program Director Hwang Yun-Seong OK’d the scene on the second attempt. The staff members immediately brought a towel and some water over to Ra-Eun. She thanked them as she wiped her sweat with the towel. Her manager Shin Yu-Bin brought a mini fan for her while she was getting her make-up remade that was slightly smudged off.

     Whirr—!

     The cool air enveloped her face.

     “How is it, Ra-Eun? You feel a lot better, right?” Yu-Bin asked.

     “Yes, thanks to you.”

     “I’ve also prepared some cold beverages for you, so have some once the shoot is over.”

     A manager’s most important job was to take care of the celebrity that they were managing. Ra-Eun’s phone vibrated as Yu-Bin was about to ask if she needed anything else.

     Yu-Bin, who had been holding on to Ra-Eun’s phone during the shoot, said to herself as she looked at the display, “A spam call at this time of day?”

     “What is it?”

     “You got a call from an unknown number. This is obviously a spam call, isn’t it?”

     Ra-Eun understood as soon as she checked the number.

     “That’s not a spam call,” she remarked.

     “Huh? What is it, then?”

     “Please hand me the phone for a second.”

     Ra-Eun received the phone from Yu-Bin and answered it without hesitation.

     “Hello?”

     She could hear a man’s rigid voice.

     - H-Hello? Is this Ra-Eun’s phone?

     As she had thought, it was a voice she knew very well.

     “It is, so you don’t have to be so scared.”

     She figured out instantly that it was Sang-Woon. She could tell from just a glance of the unknown number that he was calling from the army base.

     - H-How have you been? Oh! I’ve been watching your drama. It’s all that my squad talks about.

     “Really? That’s a relief.”

     Sang-Woon was extremely nervous, possibly because it was his first time calling Ra-Eun after he had enlisted. However, he had not called Ra-Eun only because he wanted to hear her voice.

     - I’ll be going on my first military leave next month. So, I called to ask if I could see you even for a little bit while I was out…

     “Just a sec,” Ra-Eun said. She then turned to Yu-Bin to ask, “Miss Manager. What’s my schedule like next month?”

     “Next month? Here.”

     Yu-Bin took out the notepad that she used to organize Ra-Eun’s schedule and showed it to her.

     After looking through the notepad, Ra-Eun told Sang-Woon, “I’ll have time on Thursday of the first week of next month.”

     - Then I’ll schedule my leave around that time. A senior of mine said earlier that—

     “That you can choose whatever date you like because it’s prioritized over other leaves, right?”

     - Huh? Y-Yeah, that’s right.

     Ra-Eun already knew without Sang-Woon telling her.

     “Okay. Take care of yourself until then. I’ll see you next month.”

     Yu-Bin asked as soon as Ra-Eun hung up, “Who was that?”

     “A classmate who went to do his military service. He’s gonna be on his leave soon, so he called to see if we could meet up.”

     “Really? But how did you know that it was from him? It was an unknown number, wasn’t it?”

     “I could just tell.”

     An active-duty university girl was not to be underestimated.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun woke up early despite having no shoots scheduled today, because she had to fulfill her duty not as a university student nor an actress, but as a businesswoman. She had to stop by her company in the morning and somewhere else in the afternoon. Ra-Eun arrived at Levanche in her car and received some good news from Park Seol-Hun.

     “About the sportswear that you wore last time in your shoot…”

     “The Type B?”

     “Yeah, that. Its sales skyrocketed after it aired on TV, so I’ve been thinking about making that our flagship product for the time being. What do you think?”

     “Sounds good,” Ra-Eun answered carefreely.

     “I’ll let you know about the details of the additional promotions once I summarize the conversation that I’ll have with the marketing side. Oh, and are you free during lunch?”

     “Why?”

     “I don’t have anyone to eat with today.”

     It was for a very simple reason. Ra-Eun felt sorry for Seol-Hun, but…

     “Just eat by yourself today,” she replied.

     “What? Why? Are you saying you don’t want to eat with an old man like me?”

     “No, I made plans to have lunch with a soldier friend who’s breathing the fresh air of society after a while.”

     Seol-Hun said as if it couldn’t be helped, “If it’s a soldier on leave, then of course I should yield.”

     1. CBR = Chemical, Biological, Radiological warfare ☜

     2. The orderly room in the army provides administrative support to the whole troop. ☜

     Chapter 84

     First Military Leave (2)

     Choi Sang-Woon checked his appearance again and again to make sure that he didn’t look like a soldier. His number-one priority was to hide his buzz cut. He was wearing a hat, T-shirt and shorts. Sang-Woon then took a look at his arms.

     “It itches so goddamn much.”

     There were a few red spots around his arms from the aftereffects of the weeding that had to be done every summer in the army.

     ‘I should’ve listened to my seniors when they told me to work with my sleeves down.’

     Sang-Woon had no choice but to suffer through grass rashes for the time being. He needed to depart before he was late. He had decided to meet Kang Ra-Eun at Starlight Road, which was practically their group’s hideout in their high school days. There wouldn’t be anyone to bother them there, making it good for Ra-Eun.

     ‘It’d be a huge issue if any reporters caught the two of us alone together.’

     Sang-Woon would be devoured by his seniors when he went back to his squad. He hurried to Starlight Road as soon as he left his home.

     Seo Yi-Seo’s father greeted Sang-Woon as he opened the door, “Oh, is that you, Sang-Woon?”

     “Good afternoon, sir.”

     “You’ve become quite a man after coming out of the army. You look a lot more reliable now.”

     “D-Do I?”

     Sang-Woon had not realized how much he had changed yet. Ra-Eun did not seem to have arrived yet, so he decided to take a seat and wait for her. He had only recently figured out how much of a blessing it was to meet a girl during his leave, especially when the girl was Kang Ra-Eun, the extremely popular actress as of late. He had emptied the iced americano that he had ordered from the pressure of meeting Ra-Eun after so long.

     Jingle!

     As Sang-Woon was about to order another drink, the cafe door opened and Ra-Eun in sunglasses entered the cafe. She greeted Yi-Seo’s father first like Sang-Woon had, and then walked toward Sang-Woon.

     “What the hell? Why are you so tanned?”

     Thankfully, Ra-Eun recognized him right away.

     “Oh? You’ve gotten pretty built too,” Ra-Eun remarked as she rubbed Sang-Woon’s shoulders and arms.

     Sang-Woon was momentarily bewildered by the sudden skinship, but his pride as a man urged him to slightly flex his muscles to show off their firmness. Ra-Eun sat across from him and lightly laughed because of how much he had changed.

     “How’s life as a private?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “I’m sure you can guess. It’s difficult, exhausting, and… I can’t fully express it with words.”

     People these days talked about how much better the military service had gotten, but it did not change the fact that it was the army. There was no way that it could be better than being a member of society.

     “I’m guessing it’s weeding season right about now. I can see the grass rashes on your arms. Looks like you’re having a hard time.”

     Sang-Woon was running out of things to talk about because Ra-Eun was saying everything that he wanted to. He had thought that women would be amazed by what soldiers had to go through during their service, but his expectations had gone completely out the window. Rather…

     “You should wear long sleeves and trousers while you’re weeding, no matter how hot it is. You might also get stung by a wasp if you’re unlucky. Also, there’s this thing called a ragweed that comes all the way up to your hips. Not only is it tough, but it also has thorns on its stems, so you should remove them while wearing coated cotton work gloves. Make sure to keep these life hacks in mind.”

     “R-Really?”

     “Oh, and try to pull the roots out as well. They’ll just grow back after it rains if you just cut off the stem. I’m sure your seniors will tell you all of this.”

     “…”

     Sang-Woon thought that he was back in the army for a second. He wondered how Ra-Eun knew so much about weeding.

     “With how much you know, people might think you’d gone to the army,” Sang-Woon expressed.

     Ra-Eun smiled meaningfully and said, “Who knows? I might actually have.”

     Of course, Sang-Woon thought she was just making a joke. However, Ra-Eun was telling the truth. There was no way for Sang-Woon to know that Ra-Eun was a university girl who had been honorably discharged as a sergeant.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun wanted to hear more of Sang-Woon’s stories, but…

     “I have to go now.”

     She had an interview with the press later today. Sang-Woon was not disappointed at all since he was happy enough that he got to see Ra-Eun for even a moment.

     “Can I meet you again during my next leave?” Sang-Woon asked.

     “Just let me know when and I’ll try to make time for you.”

     His next leave would be a private first class regular leave instead of a new recruit’s first military leave. It would be much easier to schedule a meeting since it was longer than just five days and four nights.

     Ra-Eun got up from her seat and gestured to Sang-Woon, “Let’s go. I’ll give you a ride back to your house.”

     The two headed to Ra-Eun’s car that was parked in the area. The radio played as soon as she started the car.

     - Congressman Park Su-Choon has been summoned by the prosecution after the uproar that he had caused in the political sphere due to recent corruption allegations. The prosecution is…

     Sang-Woon acted as if he knew the details of the news as soon as he heard it.

     “I heard about this a bunch at home too.”

     “At home? Why?”

     “Because my dad is part of the bureau that’s in charge of this case.”

     Ra-Eun’s hands froze just as she was about to turn the steering wheel.

     “Your father works in prosecution?” she asked.

     “Yeah. He’s in the special investigations bureau.”

     The special investigations bureau, which would be known as the anti-corruption investigations bureau in the future, was a special bureau that investigated large-scale corruption cases of high-ranking civil servants and politicians. Ra-Eun happened to have been involved with them multiple times in the past because of Kim Han-Gyo.

     “Congressman Park’s borrowed-name bank account has been secured, and evidence will spill out soon enough. It’ll be difficult for him to slip out of this one,” Sang-Woon stated.

     Ra-Eun had already known this information, but she had not gotten it from articles since no official articles had been released yet. If Sang-Woon knew this information despite that, then it meant that his father really was involved in the case. Not only that, but he seemed to be in a considerably influential position.

     “Is your father the deputy prosecutor general?”

     “Huh? No, he’s not that high up yet.”

     Ra-Eun saw Sang-Woon in a completely new light now that she had found out that he had close connections to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the special investigations bureau, no less.

     “Sang-Woon.”

     “Yeah?”

     “Let’s stay close friends,” she suddenly expressed.

     Sang-Woon nodded with a dumbfounded expression.

     They would be staying close friends regardless, since she might be seeing his father very often from now on.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun blankly looked out the car window while heading to the set where episode ten of Waitress would be shot, which was in Busan this time instead of Seoul. Hence, Ra-Eun was forced to spend a very long time cooped up in the car[1].

     Shin Yu-Bin asked as Ra-Eun stretched to chase away as much of her fatigue as possible, “Do you want to stop by a service area?”

     “Yes, please.”

     She was just about craving some coffee. Ra-Eun put on her sunglasses and mask before getting out of the car as a precaution to prevent people from recognizing her. However, such measures were not fully effective; sharp-sighted people were able to recognize her, like now for example.

     “Isn’t that Kang Ra-Eun?”

     “I think you’re right.”

     Ra-Eun quickened her steps as soon as she heard them since she would be found out if she wasted any more time. She escaped to the bathroom and put her sunglasses and mask back on after doing her business.

     ‘However much of a rush I’m in, I should still wash my hands.’

     Ra-Eun always made sure to stay clean. However, two women shyly greeted Ra-Eun as she was washing her hands.

     “Excuse me, are you Miss Kang Ra-Eun?”

     “Oh… yes.”

     She could not deny it anymore once it had come to this. Social media and the internet had advanced so much that any rude remarks to the public would spread like wildfire. But fortunately, the two women who had recognized her had not made it very obvious, hence other people in the rest area had no idea that she was in the women’s bathroom.

     “What are the chances that we got to see two celebrities in one place?”

     “I know, right? Should we buy a lottery ticket or something?”

     Not one, but two celebrities? There were no other celebrities in Ra-Eun’s car but herself. Yu-Bin and her stylist were the only other people.

     “Who was the other celebrity?” Ra-Eun asked just in case.

     The one who seemed to be the older of the two answered, “Mr. Cha Byun-Soo. We saw him at the hot dog stand about ten minutes ago.”

     Ra-Eun’s smooth forehead wrinkled at the mention of the name. She had fortunately been wearing sunglasses and a mask, because the two women would have witnessed the displeasure on her face if she hadn’t been.

     * * *

     Yu-Bin handed an iced americano to Ra-Eun who safely returned to the car.

     “Here’s the coffee that you wanted.”

     “Thank you very much.”

     She took off her sunglasses and mask, and soothed her stomach with the cold coffee. Yu-Bin tilted her head as she looked at Ra-Eun.

     “Did something happen at the rest area?”

     Ra-Eun was not a machine, but a person. Hence, there were times when she couldn’t maintain her composure. That had been the case in the bathroom, and now in the car. However, Ra-Eun played it off as nothing.

     Ra-Eun felt complicated whenever she heard the name Cha Byun-Soo. He was an actor in his fifties with close connections to the political world. He had started acting when he was twenty. He had thirty years of acting experience under his belt and was well-known by the public, but his reputation within the industry wasn’t very great.

     There were instances when he forgot his place as an actor due to his political backings. And among them…

     ‘He’s closely connected to Kim Han-Gyo.’

     Byun-Soo had once joined Kim Han-Gyo’s election camp and assisted in his election campaign. It was fairly easy to rake in votes when they were supported by a famous celebrity.

     It was common knowledge to take out the limbs first if one wanted to subdue a beast. In other words…

     ‘I should take action so that Cha Byun-Soo can’t meddle in my plans.’

     It had been a while since the gears in Ra-Eun’s head turned so fast.

     1. It is roughly a four-hour drive from Seoul to Busan. ☜

     Chapter 85

     Flop (1)

     The drama Waitress had gone beyond competition among those of the same time frame and had become the hottest drama of the season. Ra-Eun was told of the next event on her schedule by Yu-Bin once her afternoon shoot had finished.

     “You remember you have an interview with the press, right? You’ll be together with Han-Seok, so all you need to do is to come back to the set after doing whatever you need to do.”

     “Without even changing clothes?”

     Ra-Eun was wearing her character’s cafe uniform. There was no way that she liked this outfit with how fluttery the skirt was.

     “The reporters asked if they could have the interview with you in that outfit. Han-Seok decided to wear his uniform for it too.”

     “…”

     If Ji Han-Seok had already decided as such, Ra-Eun had no choice but to comply since she couldn’t embarrass her senior. Not only was he her senior, she needed to maintain a good relationship with him.

     ‘I’ll have to put up with it for my connection with Chairman Ji.’

     That aside, Ra-Eun had gotten fairly used to going around in a skirt. She no longer unconsciously spread her legs while in one.

     Ra-Eun stopped by the bathroom for a short moment. As she walked through the hallway to get back to the studio, a man who she knew was approaching from the opposite end.

     ‘Cha Byun-Soo… ’

     She had never expected to meet him here. She clicked her tongue in her head so that he would not notice. Meanwhile, Byun-Soo recognized Ra-Eun immediately and walked toward her. To Ra-Eun, Byun-Soo was in a position of a great senior.

     ‘It can’t be helped.’

     She did not like it, but steeled herself to act like a well-mannered and sincere junior.

     “Hello, sir.”

     Ra-Eun used ‘sir’ instead of ‘sunbae’ due to their very large age difference.

     Byun-Soo stared at Ra-Eun with a wicked grin and said while laughing, “You don’t have to be so formal. Just call me oppa.”

     ‘Oppa, my ass, you senile geezer.’

     Ra-Eun calmly suppressed such thoughts from coming out of her mouth and let his words slip past with a smile that fully concealed her displeasure.

     “How could I possibly call you something so disrespectful?” she swiftly refused.

     Byun-Soo smiled awkwardly. “It looks like you’re in the middle of a shoot,” he said as his gaze shifted to Ra-Eun’s legs.

     Her smooth legs could be seen under the skirt. Byun-Soo was known to be an extreme womanizer, just like Kim Chi-Yeol.

     ‘That’s why three of his wives divorced him.’

     His private life was so filthy that Ra-Eun tried not to get involved with Byun-Soo as much as possible, but he seemed to be thinking otherwise.

     “Oh, right. Do you have time this Sunday?” Byun-Soo asked.

     “Sunday?”

     “Yeah. I’m thinking of stopping by your agency with Minister Kim. You know who he is, right?”

     There was only one Minister Kim that Byun-Soo would be referring to: Kim Chi-Yeol.

     ‘He wants to come to my agency with that son of a bitch?’

     Her head surged with suspicions. She tried asking, “May I ask what is it for?”

     “It’s for a very important project. There might be ears around us right now, so I’ll tell you when I’m there,” Byun-Soo remarked while emphasizing that Ra-Eun needed to be there on Sunday.

     Ra-Eun went through the knowledge of the future that she remembered while staring daggers at the direction where Byun-Soo disappeared to.

     ‘Could it be… about that?’

     There was one thing on her mind, but she was not yet fully certain it was about ‘that.’

     ‘I guess I have no choice but to go on Sunday, now that it’s come to this.’

     She would rather die than to willingly meet Chi-Yeol and Byun-Soo, but she had no choice, considering she could seize an opportunity to screw both of them over at once big time.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun arrived just in time for the interview where the reporters were gathered.

     “I apologize. I was tied up with something.”

     There wasn’t much time, so the interview commenced right away. Ra-Eun and Han-Seok were asked basic questions such as if they were aware of the drama’s massive surge in popularity, and what sort of difficulties they faced while filming. They were able to answer them with ease since such questions were asked in almost every other interview that they had.

     Among the crowd of reporters, a female reporter asked Ra-Eun a very interesting question.

     “Miss Kang, the reason that your character Kang Seon-Hye came to Seoul has not been revealed yet. Is it true that not even the actors know why?”

     Han-Seok and Ra-Eun answered one after the other while nodding, “Yes, that’s correct.”

     “Director Hwang wouldn’t tell us even when we asked him to tell us in secret.”

     Ra-Eun acted like she didn’t know despite knowing everything. She did not want Director Hwang’s efforts to keep his actors in the dark to go to waste. He could bear a grudge toward Ra-Eun if she ever spoiled the true reason.

     The female reporter asked in succession.

     “What do you think the reason is, Miss Kang?”

     Ra-Eun almost blurted out the true reason.

     ‘You won’t fool me.’

     It wasn’t her first time dealing with reporters. She was now a bona-fide veteran; she wouldn’t be baited by such a mediocre ploy.

     “I’m not too sure. Maybe to meet her first love?”

     Ra-Eun purposefully put forward an answer that couldn’t be further from the truth, but the reporters frantically jotted it down in their notepads as if it was.

     As Ra-Eun was about to get up from her seat after the interview had ended, Han-Seok whispered to her, “Could we talk for a bit, Ra-Eun?”

     He had a serious look on his face. Ra-Eun thought it was because she was late for the interview. They went somewhere away from the eyes of reporters. Ra-Eun was about to apologize as soon as they had changed locations, but Han-Seok spoke first.

     “I heard you met Mr. Cha Byun-Soo on your way back.”

     “Oh, yes. How did you know?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “My manager told me that he saw you two in the hallway.”

     There were many people there, so it wasn’t strange for anyone to have seen Ra-Eun being preoccupied with Byun-Soo.

     “Did he say anything to you?” Han-Seok asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

     Ra-Eun did not understand why he was acting this way, but she revealed everything that they talked about in the hallway.

     “He said that he’s been enjoying the drama, and asked if I had time to meet him at our agency on Sunday since he might come visit.”

     “Sunday, at GNF? Why?”

     “I’m not sure. He wouldn’t tell me.”

     “…Really?”

     Han-Seok lightly sighed and asked Ra-Eun again after looking around, “Did he say anything else?”

     “Like what?”

     “For example… Did he say anything weird to you?”

     Ra-Eun finally realized why Han-Seok was acting this way. He was worried about her. Byun-Soo was the kind of man who sexually harassed his young female juniors without qualms. His unacceptable behavior was so well-known among members of the same industry that barely anyone liked him.

     Han-Seok had been worried that Byun-Soo had said something insulting to Ra-Eun. In Han-Seok’s eyes, Ra-Eun was a rookie actress who had only just become an adult, and an innocent university student who did not yet know much about the world. Of course, Ra-Eun was an old man at heart who had gone through all kinds of hardships, but there was no way for Han-Seok to have known that.

     Ra-Eun felt thankful for Han-Seok caring for her well-being like this.

     “You don’t have to worry, sunbae. Nothing like that happened.”

     “That’s a relief. Let me know if he demands anything weird from you. I’ll do whatever I can to protect you.”

     It was the first time Ra-Eun had heard that someone would protect her. She used to be a bodyguard, so she had always been the one to do the protecting. However, that was no longer the case in her new life.

     “Thank you, sunbae.”

     Ra-Eun appreciated the thought, but she was not a weak girl. She would not take anything lying down. She could only be satisfied if she dealt five times as much damage as her opponent dealt her. For now, she needed to wait and see what Byun-Soo would come out with on Sunday.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun received a call from Chief Jung on Friday afternoon.

     - Ra-Eun. Do you have time this Sunday?

     “It’s about Mr. Cha Byun-Soo and Minister Kim Chi-Yeol, right?”

     - Huh? You already knew about it?

     “Yes, I had a vague idea.”

     From Chief Jung’s reaction, what Byun-Soo had said to Ra-Eun in the hallway must have been true.

     - They said that they have something to propose to us. They want to have a meeting, and would like for you to be there. That’s why I called you, but…

     Chief Jung sighed deeply.

     - To be honest, I’d rather you don’t come.

     Chief Jung also did not want Ra-Eun to get involved with Byun-Soo. However, Ra-Eun was willing to put up with it.

     “It’s okay, Chief Jung. I know exactly what you’re worried about, so you don’t have to worry.”

     She expressed her desire to attend the meeting because she was curious about their intentions. Chief Jung reluctantly accepted.

     The meeting was the day after tomorrow.

     ‘It’d better be about something interesting.’

     She could flip out if it turned out to be a waste of her time.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun, Chief Jung and Shin Yu-Bin greeted Byun-Soo and Chi-Yeol on Sunday afternoon.

     Byun-Soo expressed while gesturing toward Ra-Eun, “Having a lovely lady in the room sure makes the meeting pleasant. Isn’t that right, Minister Kim?”

     “Absolutely, haha!” Chi-Yeol answered.

     The first sentence that came out of their mouths already made Ra-Eun feel like shit. Chief Jung proceeded to the main subject before they said anything worse.

     “Why did you want to see us today?”

     “Oh, you see…” Byun-Soo said as he took something out of his bag.

     It was a thick bundle of paper. One could tell from a glance that it was…

     ‘A script?’

     Chapter 86

     Flop (2)

     Kang Ra-Eun and Chief Jung’s eyes narrowed as Cha Byun-Soo suddenly took out a thick script. Ra-Eun could tell immediately why Byun-Soo and Kim Chi-Yeol visited GNF Entertainment to see her.

     ‘It must be for a casting offer.’

     Byun-Soo handed the script to her and said as if to confirm her suspicions, “Minister Kim here was saying he wanted to make a historical film, so we’re making a movie with his investment.”

     “You're making one yourself, sir?”

     “That’s right. I’d always dreamed of being a film director.”

     Having dreams was fine, but dreams were meant to be born through one’s own desires. That was not the case for Byun-Soo.

     ‘He’s losing ground as an actor, so he’s trying to debut as a director while mooching off of Kim Chi-Yeol as much as possible.’

     It was obvious. If she remembered correctly, Byun-Soo had also done the same thing in her past life. Reporters were bound to swarm at the fact that a veteran actor was suddenly debuting as a film director, but…

     ‘What looks good doesn’t always taste good.’

     Not only was he not trained in the slightest as a director, but he had no talent for it. Hence, Byun-Soo’s first film completely flopped. The title of the film was Coup d’etat, which just happened to be written in two big words on the first page of the script.

     ‘If you’re gonna bring something, you should’ve at least brought something decent, not a flop like this.’

     Ra-Eun found it so absurd that she almost laughed dispiritedly. However, not knowing of his movie’s future failure, Byun-Soo was busy blabbering away about his historical film scenario.

     “The movie is set in the mid-Joseon Dynasty[1]. Minister Kim said he would give me his full support. Didn’t you, sir?” Byun-Soo asked.

     “That’s correct, sir. There are already several investors lined up, so all you have to think about is making the movie that you want to make. Don’t worry about the money at all,” Chi-Yeol answered.

     Byun-Soo’s goal was to debut successfully as a film director, while Chi-Yeol’s goal was to show the political sphere and the public through his investment how much he was contributing to cultural affairs. The worst kind of duo had been born because their interests happened to coincide.

     Ra-Eun almost puked from seeing such a duo, but she was able to endure it because she happened to have a strong stomach.

     “Look through the script while the Minister and I go take a smoke break. Let’s go, Minister,” Byun-Soo stated.

     “Shall we? Would you like to join us, Chief Jung?”

     The suddenly-designated Chief Jung politely refused with an awkward smile, “I’m sorry. I quit last year.”

     “You’re strong-willed. I can’t seem to quit ever since all my completely unfounded infidelity scandals started popping up,” Chi-Yeol remarked.

     He had no idea that the source of his infidelity scandals was in this very room. Ra-Eun threw the script on the table without even opening it while Byun-Soo and Chi-Yeol were absent.

     She asked Chief Jung, “I can refuse, right?”

     “Without even taking a look at the synopsis?”

     Chief Jung had expected Ra-Eun to at least refuse after looking at the synopsis, but she had no intention of even doing so since she knew exactly what the movie was about.

     “I caught way too many problematic points from what Mr. Cha had said.”

     “Well… there certainly was a lot.”

     Chief Jung had gotten a sense of how this production would end up just from hearing the synopsis from Byun-Soo.

     Ra-Eun expressed bluntly, “This is gonna be a flop.”

     Neither Chief Jung nor Shin Yu-Bin could deny it. Not only was the synopsis a complete mess, but the addition of strange philosophies would cause controversy regarding the perversion of history in the future. This controversy would also cause the public to boycott the movie.

     Ra-Eun remembered the events very vividly because she had not gone to see the movie exactly because of such events.

     ‘No matter how much money is thrown at it, a production is bound to be ostracized by the public if it’s low in quality.’

     That was how all entertainment content was. Hence, no one should jump at something just because they would be supported handsomely, since they could be severely criticized by the public as a result. The actors who would star in Coup d’etat would be criticized along with the movie, and Ra-Eun would rather not have such hate brought on to herself.

     However, there was a problem.

     “But how should we refuse?” Yu-Bin asked.

     Byun-Soo was Ra-Eun’s senior who had been in the industry for much longer than her. Yu-Bin could not figure out how to refuse an offer that was supported by Kim Chi-Yeol, who was backed by a bigshot like Kim Han-Gyo. Chief Jung was also at a loss of what to do.

     “Yeah. We need to figure out a way to sugar-coat it…”

     Not offending them was their top priority. At that moment, Ra-Eun volunteered.

     “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of the refusal.”

     “You’re going to tell them yourself, Ra-Eun?”

     “Yes. I happen to know of a very versatile way of refusing.”

     Chief Jung wondered if Ra-Eun knew of a way to handle Byun-Soo. He had no idea, but decided to leave it to Ra-Eun for now.

     Byun-Soo and Chi-Yeol returned to the meeting room after ten minutes. Byun-Soo tilted his head as he looked at the script on the table.

     “Have you read through it all?” he asked.

     “Yes,” Ra-Eun answered.

     “Already? I think you’ve gone through it a bit too fast.”

     “Reading through the synopsis was more than enough for me to come to a decision.”

     This was better for Byun-Soo, since he could get Ra-Eun’s answer regarding the casting offer right here since she had gone through the script.

     “So, you’ll star in it, right?”

     He had expected her to say yes right then and there, but her answer drove him and Chi-Yeol into a state of shock.

     “No. I’d like to refuse because it’ll be a flop.”

     Chief Jung and Yu-Bin screamed in their heads.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun knew how to deal with people like Byun-Soo and Chi-Yeol very well. She could not leave a shadow of a doubt. All she needed to do was to flatly refuse without hesitation. It didn’t matter if it sounded harsh.

     ‘They won’t get very far anyway.’

     Meanwhile, the two men finally came to their senses after Ra-Eun’s shocking statement. Byun-Soo spoke first.

     “I-It’ll be a flop, you say?”

     “Yes,” Ra-Eun answered.

     “B-Based on what?!”

     “The synopsis. It’s a complete mess.”

     Byun-Soo was dumbfounded. He had never expected to hear such criticism from a junior far younger than him.

     “You have a terrible eye for production! Other directors were praising it to no end!”

     “That’s because they didn’t want to anger you, I’m sure.”

     “…”

     Byun-Soo was lost for words. Chi-Yeol could do nothing but watch their argument in a daze because he had never expected Ra-Eun to come out so hard-hitting. Chief Jung and Yu-Bin were swept into deep thought about whether or not they should stop Ra-Eun.

     However, Ra-Eun quickly continued, “And I don’t do skinship or revealing scenes.”

     “Skinship and revealing scenes are the basics of the basics for actresses these days! You don’t even know that?!”

     “Of course, there are instances when such scenes are needed to raise the quality of the production. However, the skinship and revealing scenes that you’ve mentioned have nothing to do with the synopsis, do they? They’re simply scenes to be added into the trailer to pull audiences into cinemas. Are such scenes really necessary?”

     “Wh-What did you say…?”

     Revealing scenes of Kang Ra-Eun would certainly get people’s attention since she had never once filmed such scenes. Not only that, but she was an actress rising in popularity as of late. Many people were guaranteed to watch a movie with her in it. However, Ra-Eun had not even the slightest intention to show her skin for such a garbage movie.

     “I’ll think about it again if you remake the synopsis from scratch,” Ra-Eun stated.

     Of course, she made that statement knowing full well that there was no way Byun-Soo would do such a thing. Byun-Soo grabbed the script and furiously swung open the meeting room door. Chi-Yeol had no choice but to chase after Byun-Soo who had left into the hallway.

     He glared at Ra-Eun before leaving the room. “You went a bit too far, Ra-Eun.”

     She had done so on purpose while knowing it was harsh. Yu-Bin got restless as soon as the two men left.

     “R-Ra-Eun. Even if you didn’t want to star in it, that was a bit… How are you going to handle the consequences?”

     Not only did Byun-Soo have connections throughout the film industry, but he also had a connection to the political sphere through Chi-Yeol. They could end Ra-Eun’s whole career if they so desired, but Ra-Eun did not seem scared in the slightest despite that.

     “It’s okay. That movie won’t even make it into the production stage,” she remarked.

     “What do you mean?”

     “I happen to know a few pieces of special information. You could say that I refused because of them.”

     She was planning on detonating the bomb that was Byun-Soo’s secret that only she knew.

     ‘We’ll see which one of us can no longer step foot into the entertainment industry.’

     * * *

     Reporter Ahn Su-Jin stretched to chase away as much of her fatigue as possible. While she was all alone in the office during lunch, she recalled the nagging that the chief reporter had given during the morning meeting.

     “Find a scoop, huh…?”

     Her fellow reporters had been picking up one decent scoop after another, but she hadn’t been doing too well lately. She had done decently well until last year, but…

     ‘I’m not finding much this year.’

     The chief had not directed his nagging at her, but she could tell that he was implying it.

     ‘Even if you say that, it’s not like a scoop is gonna drop into my arms from the sky.’

     Creak.

     As she was deep in thought, the old office door opened. A man with his hat pulled deeply down into his head approached Su-Jin.

     “I have a package for you,” the man stated.

     “A package?”

     “Yes. Miss Ahn Su-Jin, correct?”

     She found the man’s voice to be somewhat familiar. Her expression changed as soon as she checked the delivery man’s face.

     “Y-You’re from that time…!”

     Ma Yeong-Jun disguised as a delivery man handed Su-Jin something.

     “What is this?” Su-Jin asked.

     He answered, “The scoop that you want so much.”

     1. Joseon was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting from 1392 to 1897. ☜

     Chapter 87

     Sold-Out Parade (1)

     Kim Chi-Yeol was summoned to Kim Han-Gyo’s private office. Han-Gyo let out a long stream of cigarette smoke as soon as he saw Chi-Yeol.

     “I’m sure you know why I’ve summoned you, correct?” Han-Gyo said.

     “Yes, of course,” Chi-Yeol answered.

     “Say it.”

     “…”

     Chi-Yeol’s face stiffened. He had recently made a mistake that greatly compromised his father’s reputation. His infidelity scandal had damaged even his father’s image. Hence, Chi-Yeol had been occupied with walking on eggshells around him.

     “If I remember correctly… I believe you’d told me to do whatever it took to appeal to the public that I am taking an active role in cultural affairs by early next year,” Chi-Yeol stated.

     That was why he had chosen to produce a movie. A historical production that Koreans loved, and the newsworthy topic of a famous actor like Cha Byun-Soo making his first film… It was full of attention-grabbing factors. And not only that, but Chi-Yeol had been able to receive a large amount of investments for the project using his father, Kim Han-Gyo’s name.

     Han-Gyo put out his cigarette and lit another one.

     “The only way you can recover from this is through results. Small issues like this are bound to get buried with time. All you need to do is to just put out results during that time, and people will have no choice but to acknowledge your capabilities despite your questionable private life.”

     “Yes, Father.”

     Although Chi-Yeol was unfortunately not very capable, he possessed something that put him ahead of others. It was the fact that he was the son of Kim Han-Gyo. Just those three syllables had people wanting to work with Chi-Yeol to get on his good side, simply because his father was highly influential in the political sphere.

     “Make sure you frequently show yourself to the press with Cha Byun-Soo during the film production period. You need to engrave into the public’s minds that you were one of the key individuals that made this film happen. Keep this in mind.”

     “I know, Father. You don’t need to tell me.”

     Like father, like son, Chi-Yeol instinctively knew how to gain public approval. However, an incident that neither of them could expect had occurred.

     Chi-Yeol’s phone rang.

     “It may be urgent, so answer it.”

     As he was about to decline the call, Han-Gyo permitted him to answer. Chi-Yeol slightly nodded and asked his chauffeur who had called him.

     “What is it?”

     - M-Minister! There’s been a huge problem!

     “What problem?”

     - There are… fraud allegations regarding Mr. Cha Byun-Soo being raised across various news media!

     “What?!”

     Chi-Yeol suddenly recalled back when his infidelity scandals were released. Yet another accident… No, it was no exaggeration to call it inevitability at this point.

     * * *

     Shin Yu-Bin clicked her tongue at the absurd news that she was seeing on the waiting room TV.

     “Jesus. I can’t believe Mr. Cha had been involved in fraud.”

     In contrast to the surprised Yu-Bin, Kang Ra-Eun answered with perfect composure, “I sure can.”

     Byun-Soo had not only been involved in the entertainment industry, but in business as well. He had created five different business ventures in a very short time, such as a pork cutlet restaurant, a home shopping mall, an interior design business, and the like.

     He first used his fame to instill trust in his investors to invest large sums of money. However, the problems came after that; he put off the day of payment little by little by making all kinds of excuses, and sometimes made up outlandish reasons as to why he couldn’t give them their money back.

     The people who had trusted in Byun-Soo had gotten the short end of the stick. In the end, his victims all got together to prepare a lawsuit against him, and Ra-Eun had simply relayed the information to Reporter Ahn Su-Jin. After the article was released, his victims decided that it was now or never and exposed Byun-Soo’s acts of brutality to the world.

     “The movie won’t go into production now, right?” Yu-Bin asked.

     “That’d be the least of his problems. I’m sure he won’t be able to set foot in the entertainment industry ever again,” Ra-Eun replied.

     There was no way they could make a film under such a massive fire. The actors and even the investors would have no choice but to turn their backs on Byun-Soo now that the incident had become too big to ignore.

     “I guess we made the right choice to refuse that casting offer,” Yu-Bin remarked with a sigh of relief.

     However, Ra-Eun was not relieved at all since she had never thought of working with them in the first place. In her perspective, the incident had already been foreseen. However, there was one thing that she found to be a shame.

     ‘I should have made it so that Kim Chi-Yeol went under fire as well. I might have exposed it too soon.’

     She had momentarily lost her temper from Byun-Soo’s manner of speaking that she had exposed the news before the movie even entered production. After calming down, she had realized that she could have waited a little longer to expose it. The damage would have been much greater if the news came out in the middle of production.

     ‘It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped.’

     It had already been done.

     ‘Not only that, but there are plenty more chances to attack Kim Chi-Yeol.’

     Chi-Yeol’s private life was so filthy that she could pounce as many times as she liked once the opportunities showed themselves. After defeating the miniboss…

     ‘The final boss is next.’

     She could only desperately wait for that day to come.

     * * *

     Like Ra-Eun had expected, the film production plans crumbled into pieces. She was able to have a wonderful day thanks to that, plus something else that livened her mood.

     ‘I haven’t held a smartphone in so long.’

     She had only been using 2G phones ever since high school, but the era of smartphones had finally arrived. She had gotten so used to the era of 5G networks that being forced to use feature phones bothered her to no end when she first returned to the past.

     ‘There was no KakaoTalk[1], and so many missing features.’

     She had gotten too accustomed to future technological advancements. However, she was bothered about something else entirely after having gotten hold of the smartphone that she had dreamed of.

     ‘This isn’t really usable either.’

     It was such an early-generation model with a low number that the lag was brutal.

     ‘When will the era that I know and love arrive?’

     There was still a very long way to go. She had no choice but to use this snail-like smartphone until then, no matter how frustrating it was.

     Seo Yi-Seo, who had gotten a smartphone together with Ra-Eun, asked in admiration as she watched Ra-Eun skilfully maneuvering the new device, “Ra-Eun, how do you use those features?”

     The store clerk had explained various features to her, but there was no way that a smartphone newbie could memorize every single one of them. On the other hand, Ra-Eun was already highly experienced in using a smartphone that she could use it like an extension of her body without having paid attention to the explanation.

     “I’ll show you. Give me your phone,” Ra-Eun said.

     She had nothing else to do, so she decided to teach Yi-Seo the basics. While they were deep in the world of smartphones, Ra-Eun’s phone rang. It was a call from Park Seol-Hun.

     “I’ll go take a quick phone call.”

     “Okay. Take your time.”

     Ra-Eun went into her room and answered the call.

     “What, mister?”

     - I had a meeting in your area, so I thought I’d meet with you before I head back to the company since I have something to say to you. Are you free?

     “Right now?”

     - No, not right now. Let’s see… I’ll get there in about fifteen minutes.

     “Okay. I’ll send you the address of a cafe near my place, so I’ll meet you there. There’s a parking lot in the back, so you can park there.”

     - Okay.

     Ra-Eun apologized to Yi-Seo after hanging up, “Sorry, Yi-Seo. Something came up, so I’m gonna go out for a bit.”

     “What about dinner?”

     “I’ll come back before dinner. I don’t think it’ll take very long.”

     “Really? Okay. Have a safe trip. You packed your sunglasses and mask, right?”

     “Of course.”

     Ra-Eun had every single item necessary for a celebrity packed into her handbag.

     Ra-Eun covered her face with sunglasses and a mask as soon as she left her house. She took a seat at the cafe and waited for Seol-Hun to arrive. A few minutes later, Seol-Hun recognized Ra-Eun immediately despite her covered face and approached her.

     Ra-Eun went straight to the point as soon as she saw Seol-Hun, “What did you want to say?”

     “It’s just about a decent partnership that we were offered.”

     “A partnership?”

     “You know RT Fitness, right?”

     There was no way Ra-Eun didn’t know. One could say that they were a considerably famous fitness brand in the metropolitan area. Not only did they have fitness centers, but the massive fitness company had their fingers in pilates, squash, swimming, golf, and other fitness-related businesses.

     “They contacted us first to offer a partnership,” Seol-Hun stated.

     “What kind of partnership?”

     “Something like a collaboration partnership, or each of us providing benefits if a client signs up for their membership or purchases one of our sportswear. I personally think it sounds pretty good, but you’re the chairwoman. I came to ask you since I can’t just decide by myself.”

     Ra-Eun did not have to think much to give an answer.

     “Well, if you say so. I’m fine with it.”

     “Really? Okay, I’ll let them know.”

     “Do I also have to be there during the contract signing?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “The RT Fitness chairman said he’d like to meet you since he’s your fan, but you don’t have to if you’re busy. I’ve been handling all the contract signing until now, after all. But in exchange…”

     Seol-Hun’s voice got quieter. It was a habit of his whenever he was about to say something tough to bring up.

     “Could you do something about those loan sharks trying to follow me to every meeting?” Seol-Hun asked.

     “Who?”

     “You know, the lunatic with a scar on his face and their boss.”

     He was referring to Park Du-Chil and Ma Yeong-Jun. They were likely shadowing Seol-Hun to learn how a business was run. Ra-Eun lightly laughed, but Seol-Hun was in no position to.

     “Don’t laugh. My livelihood is on the line here.”

     “Okay, okay. I’ll talk to them, so don’t worry about it.”

     “…Really?”

     “Really. Trust your chairwoman.”

     Resolving the inconveniences of employees was also one of the responsibilities of a chairwoman. Ra-Eun decided to do something chairwoman-like for once in a while.

     1. KakaoTalk is the main messenger app that Koreans use. ☜

     Chapter 88

     Sold-Out Parade (2)

     Kang Ra-Eun sighed from seeing how doubtful Park Seol-Hun was.

     “You have that little faith in me?” she asked.

     “It’s not that, but I’m just worried because I don’t think those gangsters would obey you just like that.”

     “Why? They’ve been listening to me just fine.”

     “Have they?”

     Seol-Hun had barely seen the loan sharks faithfully following Ra-Eun’s orders with his own eyes because she used Ma Yeong-Jun to relay her orders to the loan sharks. Seol-Hun had never been present in her meetings with Yeong-Jun, so he was doubtful of whether or not she could control the loan sharks like she had claimed.

     “I can’t get the possibility off my mind that those gangsters might ruin our profitable business. I can’t even focus on work like this,” Yeong-Jun stated.

     It was natural for him to feel that way because he was working with people who had once tried to harvest his organs.

     “Okay. Just a second,” Ra-Eun said as she pulled out her brand-new smartphone.

     She searched for Yeong-Jun’s phone number in her contacts and called him right in front of Seol-Hun.

     “Hello? It’s me, Mr. Gangster.”

     Seol-Hun gasped.

     - What is it this time?

     “It’s about that mister with a scar on his face.”

     - Du-Chil?

     “Yeah. I happened to hear that he keeps following little Mr. Park to his meetings. Tell him not to do that if possible since he would only make the air of the meeting menacing and scare the others. That goes for you as well.”

     Ra-Eun purposefully left out the fact that Seol-Hun had told her to reassure Seol-Hun, who was terrified that he would get on Yeong-Jun’s bad side for snitching. However, Yeong-Jun also had something to say.

     - The contract would only progress swimmingly if we’re there.

     “What does that mean?”

     - There are negotiations that can’t be handled with words. Don’t you think it’d be of help if we’re there to convince them?

     “That’s not convincing, that’s threatening.”

     Threats were not necessary when managing a business. There were of course times when it could be used as a last resort, but it was not needed 99% of the time. Contracts were born from trust; however, trust established through fear was easily broken.

     “Leave the contract signing with other businesses to Mr. Park and the other employees, and you guys do what you do best. Got it?”

     Yeong-Jun fell silent for a moment, and answered as if it couldn’t be helped.

     - Understood. We’ll do that.

     “Okay. Make sure you keep what I just said in mind. I’ll trust you.”

     - Don’t worry.

     Ra-Eun hung up and said to Seol-Hun as she put away her smartphone, “Did you hear that, mister? It’ll be alright now.”

     “I wonder if those gangsters really will do as you say…”

     “Call me if they don’t. I’ll take care of them.”

     For the sake of peace in the company, Ra-Eun was willing to step up with both her sleeves rolled up.

     * * *

     One week had passed. Seol-Hun hurriedly prepared for his meeting with a dietary food manufacturing company.

     “You packed the contract, right, Mi-Yeong?”

     “Yes, sir.”

     Park Du-Chil was piqued by their conversation.

     “Are you heading out for a meeting?” he asked.

     Seol-Hun flinched.

     “Y-Yeah, I am…”

     “Okay. I guess I should go with you.”

     Du-Chil had been getting bored, so the timing was perfect. He got up from his seat to follow them to the meeting place. However…

     “Du-Chil,” Yeong-Jun’s deep voice echoed throughout the office. “Finish what you were doing.”

     “Huh? But boss…”

     Yeong-Jun was the one who had said that their presence in the meeting would help in getting the other party to sign the contract more peacefully, but he had suddenly changed his mind.

     “Leave the meetings to Senior Managing Director Park from now on. Make sure you tell everyone else who isn’t here as well.”

     Du-Chil could not understand his boss’s sudden change in the course of action, but had no choice but to follow his order.

     “Yes, boss.”

     Yeong-Jun gestured to Seol-Hun.

     “Have a safe trip.”

     Things really had gone exactly as Ra-Eun said they would. The menacing gangsters were completely submissive to a university girl. Seol-Hun could not figure out what had happened between them.

     * * *

     It was well past midnight. Ra-Eun in her cafe uniform quickly turned the corner into an alley in the dead of night and called out to Han-Seok across from her.

     “Manager!”

     The camera focused on Ra-Eun out of breath. Han-Seok walked toward Ra-Eun with a surprised face.

     “What is it, Seon-Hye?”

     “U-Um…”

     Ra-Eun acted to be hesitant despite calling out to Han-Seok. She then mustered up the courage after being indecisive.

     “I wanted to… give you this.”

     She had secretly prepared a small gift.

     “What is this?” Han-Seok asked.

     “You said you lost your handkerchief last time, so I got you a new one.”

     The handkerchief was blue, the manager’s favorite color.

     Ra-Eun continued with an awkward smile, “I’m not sure what’s been bothering you lately, but I hope you can cheer up. I’ll help you in any way that I can.”

     Kang Seon-Hye had prepared the small gift to cheer up the manager who seemed down due to his family circumstances. Han-Seok’s gaze was fixed on Ra-Eun. The camera was positioned to capture their two-shot.

     A very important scene was about to be played out. It was the kiss scene that Ra-Eun hated more than anything else. However, they weren’t really going to kiss; they just needed to pretend.

     The male protagonist felt emotions that were difficult to express in words from Ra-Eun’s… no, the character Seon-Hye’s thoughtfulness. He would then do something impulsively: a surprise kiss. He snatched Ra-Eun’s thin wrist with one hand and wrapped the other around her waist to pull her toward him. And then, their lips “touched”.

     A camera was positioned at the back of each of their heads to angle the shot in a way to make it look like they were actually kissing. The camera across from Ra-Eun filmed her eyes that were startled from the surprise kiss. She was surprised at first, but she then slowly closed her eyes as if she was accepting the manager’s feelings. They awkwardly stepped away from each other after the short kiss.

     Han-Seok spoke first, “I-I’m sorry, Seon-Hye.”

     “N-No! It’s okay, Manager. I-I…! I should head back! Sunbae might be looking for me… I’ll see you tomorrow!”

     Ra-Eun ran out of the alley in embarrassment. Han-Seok stared blankly in the direction that she had disappeared to, and then immersed himself into acting like he was reproaching himself while hitting his head.

     “You goddamn idiot!”

     This marked the end of the scene.

     ~

     “Okay, cut! Let’s end the shoot here. Thank you for your hard work, you two.”

     “Thank you, Director.”

     “You as well, Director.”

     They could not cheer out loud for the end of the shoot because it was past midnight. They commended each other for their great jobs as quietly as they could.

     Han-Seok asked Ra-Eun to check something, “Are you okay? I thought I yanked you a bit too hard.”

     He checked if her wrist and waist were okay. Ra-Eun assured him that she was with a smile. However, she was more concerned about something else.

     “Our lips almost touched for real back there, sunbae.”

     “Th-They almost did, didn’t they?”

     Han-Seok had embraced Ra-Eun so abruptly that their lips had almost touched. They managed to stop just a centimeter… no, a millimeter away from each other, almost causing Ra-Eun to make an NG cut.

     “You didn’t do that on purpose because you actually wanted to kiss me, did you?” Ra-Eun said teasingly while narrowing her eyes.

     Han-Seok’s face turned as red as a tomato.

     “N-No, I didn’t! I swear!”

     He had no such intentions. Of course, he wouldn’t have minded if their lips had actually touched. He had felt it was a bit of a shame, but he had no intention to kiss someone without their consent. Han-Seok roughly knew how sensitive an issue kissing was to Ra-Eun.

     He quickly brought up something else to change the subject.

     “C-Come to think of it, about the sportswear sets that you and I wore last time.”

     “The ones that we wore on episode 12?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Yeah, those.”

     They had filmed a scene on episode 12 where they exercised at a fitness center while wearing the sportswear sets sponsored by Levanche.

     Han-Seok asked in curiosity, “What happened to them? I saw that you guys were offering some sort of promotion for them.”

     “Are you asking about their sales?”

     “Yeah.”

     Having the blood of an entrepreneur flowing in his veins, he was naturally interested in sales.

     “They were sold out before even a day had passed since the promotion,” Ra-Eun replied.

     “Really? That’s good. That’s been on my mind lately.”

     Han-Seok couldn’t not worry about it since he sincerely hoped for Ra-Eun’s business to succeed.

     “Wasn’t Do-Dam Group also planning on releasing a new product?”

     “Yeah, we decided to release a new topping yogurt[1] series, but the sales aren’t as high as we’d expected them to be. It might be because we have a lot of strong competitors.”

     Those in the food industry were always at war against one another due to the enormous amount of competition. Ra-Eun decided to help Han-Seok who had a lot on his mind.

     “Sunbae. Can I upload that topping yogurt product on my social media account?”

     “On your account?”

     “Yes. I advertise my newly-released products there. I found it to be pretty effective since I have a lot of followers.”

     Whether they were clothes or shoes, Ra-Eun held a sold-out parade whenever she uploaded photos of herself wearing them. She was also curious whether or not she could replicate the effect with products other than her own. She wanted to test her theory for the sake of Do-Dam Group and Han-Seok since she had been helped by Han-Seok several times.

     “I’d love for you to do that. I’m sure my grandpa would love the idea if it meant the sales would increase.”

     Chairman Ji’s happiness was exactly what Ra-Eun was aiming for.

     “I’ll do my best for you and the chairman.”

     “Thank you, Ra-Eun.”

     Han-Seok decided to borrow the power of the goddess who made everything that she touched sell out, for the sake of the product’s sluggish sales.

     1. Topping yogurt is a pack of yogurt with toppings included in the pack. ☜

     Chapter 89

     This Isn't It (1)

     Seo Yi-Seo was immersed in writing her report when she heard the ringing of the intercom. She quickly walked to the living room.

     “Who is it?”

     - I have a delivery for Miss Kang Ra-Eun.

     “A delivery? Just a second.”

     She opened the front door and saw a delivery man who she’d never met before with a cart full of large cardboard boxes.

     ‘He’s not the usual delivery man,’ Yi-Seo thought.

     He could be someone new.

     “Is all this for Ra-Eun?” she asked.

     “Yes.”

     She wondered if they were gifts from Ra-Eun’s fans, but she rejected the thought since that couldn’t be. Fan gifts and letters were made so that they would be sent to the GNF Entertainment office. Yi-Seo checked the invoice to see who had sent them.

     ‘Oh, they’re from Han-Seok.’

     She was curious what exactly Han-Seok had sent to Ra-Eun for there to be so much of it.

     Meanwhile, the delivery man asked, “Should I bring them inside?”

     “Oh, yes please. Let me help you.”

     “No, no! It’s alright. They’re heavier than you think. I’ll take care of it since you might get hurt.”

     The delivery man skillfully moved the boxes into the house, likely due to his experience in carrying heavy loads. Yi-Seo felt it was wrong to send him on his way after all the trouble, so she decided to offer him a cold beverage since Ra-Eun’s father also worked as a delivery man.

     “Please have this.”

     “Thank you very much, ma’am.”

     Yi-Seo stared at the boxes while tilting her head even after the delivery man had left. She pondered over what they could be, but she couldn’t just open them since they were for Ra-Eun.

     ‘I guess I have no choice but to wait until Ra-Eun comes back.’

     * * *

     Thirty minutes later, the front door unlocked and Ra-Eun entered.

     “I’m back.”

     “Ra-Eun, a ton of packages came for you. What’s all this?”

     “Are they from Han-Seok sunbae?”

     “Yeah.”

     “They’re topping yogurt.”

     “Topping yogurt?”

     Yi-Seo wondered why Han-Seok would send so much of such a thing to Ra-Eun. Ra-Eun explained to her housemate the circumstances while opening the boxes. She would help in advertising a Do-Dam Group product on her social media account since Han-Seok had helped advertise her company’s sportswear. Han-Seok offered to pay her for her services, but Ra-Eun had refused since it would no longer be returning a favor if she was paid for it.

     “…So he said he would at least send me the product,” Ra-Eun said.

     “Aha, I see.”

     But… There was just one problem.

     “That aside, isn’t there way too much?”

     Topping yogurt did not have a long shelf life. It was realistically impossible for Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo to get through every single one.

     Ra-Eun reassured Yi-Seo while tapping on one of the boxes, “I can just share them with people.”

     “With your drama staff members?”

     “No.” She had many more mouths to feed aside from her drama staff members. “I’m gonna hand them out to my company staff members.”

     It was time for her to do something chairwoman-like.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun posted a picture of herself eating topping yogurt on her social media account. The number of likes and comments that said she was a work of art exploded. Any pictures that Ra-Eun took of her daily life became a work of art.

     Shin Yu-Bin, who had taken the picture, witnessed the fervent responses from Ra-Eun’s fans with her own eyes and tried asking Ra-Eun something.

     “How about you post selfies more often?”

     “Why?”

     “Because your fans look forward to your posts a lot. Just look at this. They’re still on a commenting spree.”

     Ra-Eun was not very active on her social media account despite making one. Three pictures a week was a massive amount from her perspective, but there was no way that her fans would be satisfied with that.

     “One selfie a day, excluding weekends. What do you think?” Yu-Bin posed.

     Five selfies a week. Ra-Eun did not seem to like her proposal very much.

     “Isn’t that too many?” she asked.

     “You have more than enough material to post just from taking photos of your daily life. I’m not asking you to write an essay. All you would have to do is to post a picture with a caption about what you did on that day. How does that sound?”

     “Hmm…”

     It certainly was not hard to do, but there was only one reason why Ra-Eun was not very active on social media.

     Because it was a hassle.

     However, it did not seem like a bad idea to post more often if it meant she could satisfy her fans.

     “Okay, I’ll try.”

     “Alright. I hear ‘interactive celebrities’ are the trend lately. Let’s do our best as well.”

     Interactions. They were important indeed, but…

     ‘It’s not really my style.’

     * * *

     Ra-Eun had come to the studio like always for the filming of the 27th episode of Waitress. Han-Seok approached Ra-Eun as soon as she arrived.

     “Ra-Eun!”

     “Good morning, sunbae.”

     Han-Seok looked ecstatic. She wondered if something good had happened.

     “The sales for the product that you posted on your account rose so much that we had trouble keeping up with the demand as soon as you posted it. Thanks, Ra-Eun. Grandpa is also extremely happy.”

     “Really? I’m glad it worked out as well as I’d hoped it to.”

     Celebrities were public figures, so they had a considerable amount of influence on the public. Ra-Eun could experience first-hand how far-reaching the influence of celebrities was.

     “Grandpa said he wanted to treat you to a delicious dinner soon.”

     “That sounds good to me.”

     It was perfect to meet Chairman Ji after so long and to find out how the relationship between him and Kim Han-Gyo had been faring.

     ‘I’m sure cracks haven’t formed in their friendship just yet.’

     However, she was sure that she’d be able to see a few signs of such cracks that would form. She only had one goal: to sever the relationship between Chairman Ji and Kim Han-Gyo earlier than it would naturally. Only then could she eliminate the benefits that Kim Han-Gyo would reap from Chairman Ji’s cooperation. That alone would deal a devastating enough blow to Kim Han-Gyo. This was the only reason why Ra-Eun had been forming a close connection with Chairman Ji, and she desperately needed Han-Seok’s help to do that.

     “And our marketing team had been talking about leaving the model for our next snack product to you. What do you think about that? And of course, the contract conditions will be much better than the one before.”

     There was no way Ra-Eun would pass up a two-birds-with-one-stone opportunity to earn money while consolidating her connection with Do-Dam Group.

     “Of course I’ll do anything you ask, sunbae,” Ra-Eun replied.

     “You’re doing it… because I’m the one who’s asking you?”

     “Yes.”

     “R-Really?”

     Ra-Eun’s words had added yet another stack to Han-Seok’s tower of misunderstandings. Screenwriter Yeo Yu-Min entered the waiting room while Han-Seok was flustered.

     “Ra-Eun… Oh, you’re here as well, Han-Seok,” Yu-Min said.

     “Oh, yes. I had something to talk about with Ra-Eun.”

     “Really? What luck. I just happened to have something to tell you both.”

     “What is it?”

     Program Director Hwang Yun-Seong had still not spoiled them on a certain secret until today, the filming of episode 27.

     “Today, we’re going to be handing out the script with the reason why Kang Seon-Hye came to Seoul.”

     It was finally time for the cast to be enlightened on the biggest spoiler of the drama Waitress. Han-Seok’s eyes sparkled as if he had been waiting for the day, but the same couldn’t be said for Ra-Eun. The reason why Seon-Hye, the female lead of Waitress, had come to Seoul happened to be the same as Ra-Eun’s reason for returning to the past.

     ‘It’s for revenge.’

     Seon-Hye had a younger brother and sister. Their mother had been raising all three of them by herself, but she abandoned them and disappeared one day. Because of that, Seon-Hye was separated from her younger siblings, and had been secretly growing her feelings of revenge toward her mother. She had heard news that her mother was in Seoul, and had blindly come to find her. At least, that was how Ra-Eun remembered it.

     Ra-Eun got up from her seat and smiled at Han-Seok.

     “Let’s go check the script, sunbae.”

     “Shall we?”

     ‘Let’s see if it’s how I remember it.’

     * * *

     The actors gathered in one place. The leads Han-Seok and Ra-Eun, plus the senior and rookie actors all stopped what they had been doing and had come here after Director Hwang had told them of the news.

     Yeo Song-Won, a veteran actress playing a friend of the male lead’s mother as well as her business partner, asked Director Hwang, “Director, you said you’d be telling us the reason why Seon-Hye came to Seoul, right?”

     “Yes, sunbae. Min-Tae went to grab the scripts, so please wait a little longer.”

     The actors had been enthusiastically discussing what the reason could be for a while, and the hypothesis that Seon-Hye came to Seoul to find her younger sister had received the most votes.

     ‘But that’s the wrong answer.’

     Ra-Eun knew the right answer. There were countless times when she was tempted to just blurt it out, but just barely managed to hold it in each time because one wrong move could ruin all the hard work that the director and the writers had put into the production.

     “I’ve brought the scripts, sunbae!”

     “Good job.”

     An assistant director handed the scripts containing the synopsis of later episodes to Director Hwang, which he then handed to each of the actors.

     “We have plenty of time until we start filming, so take your time reading through it. I ask the fast readers to please keep the surprise to yourself for the slower readers, okay?” Director Hwang said while boasting an expression of confidence that the cast would be shocked.

     Ra-Eun was confident that she wouldn’t be very shocked since she already knew what would happen.

     ‘But I should still check, just in case.’

     She was planning on skimming through the script to check only the part where the spoiler was. However, as she read through the script…

     ‘…Huh?’

     There was a problem.

     ‘What the hell? This is different from the story that I know.’

     Chapter 90

     This Isn't It (2)

     Kang Ra-Eun was confused after reading through the script. The first thought that she had after checking the synopsis was ‘Why?’.

     ‘Well… It’s not like the future ends up exactly as my knowledge of it.’

     But even so, the changes until now hadn’t been as significant as a story of an entire drama changing. Ra-Eun wondered if the story had changed because she had taken the place of the original female lead.

     ‘No, that can’t be it.’

     There was no way that the overall story would change just because the actress playing the role had changed. If that was the case, then every single production that Ra-Eun was a part of, including Reaper, would have exhibited similar changes. The scenario change of Waitress was a complete outlier.

     The female protagonist Kang Seon-Hye had come to Seoul to find her mother Cha Yeo-Woon, played by the veteran actress who was sitting right next to Ra-Eun, Yeo Song-Won. However, the reason written on the script was different from what she remembered.

     “I see. Seon-Hye… came to Seoul to find her little sister.”

     “Didn’t Seong-Jin say that last time?”

     “Yeah, I guess Seong-Jin got it right.”

     The actors focused their gazes on the supporting actor Yoo Seong-Jin. Even he himself was dumbfounded because he didn’t expect to have guessed correctly.

     Ra-Eun tilted her head.

     ‘This isn’t it.’

     Coming to Seoul to find her little sister… it severely lacked impact. Honestly speaking, it was uninteresting and did not feel like a twist. It would be natural for Seon-Hye to be searching for her little sister since they were related by blood and had separated when they were young.

     However, to Seon-Hye, her mother signified revenge. Hence, searching for her mother, even if they were also related by blood, represented something else entirely from searching for her younger siblings.

     ‘It’d have been better if they went with the scenario that I remember.’

     She had felt it to be a shame. She wanted to propose to Director Hwang and Screenwriter Yeo Yu-Min about changing the synopsis to the one that she knew, but couldn’t bring herself to.

     ‘Even if I’m the female lead, it’d be disrespectful for an actress with little experience to get involved in the screenwriting process.’

     She looked around to observe the reactions of the other actors. There were two who caught her attention. Ji Han-Seok, and…

     Yeo Song-Won.

     “Director,” Song-Won said as she slightly raised her right hand.

     Director Hwang replied with a bright smile, “Yes, sunbae?”

     “I’m honestly not sure if I should be saying this, but…”

     All eyes were on her, filled with curiosity about what she was so hesitant to say. She apologized once again to Director Hwang before continuing.

     “I’m actually a little bewildered by the reason’s lack of impact after all the expectations that we’ve instilled in the audience through the press.”

     Ra-Eun held in her admiration for Song-Won.

     ‘Sunbae sure has an eye for stories.’

     As expected, experience could not be ignored.

     * * *

     The reactions to Song-Won’s remark between Director Hwang and Yu-Min were different. Director Hwang could not hide his confusion. On the other hand, Yu-Min was looking at Song-Won with a surprised yet slightly happy glint in her eyes.

     Yu-Min responded first, “Right, Song-Won sunbae?”

     Ra-Eun noticed Yu-Min’s reaction and asked, “Could it be that you and Director Hwang have differing opinions regarding the synopsis?”

     She wondered if this was the reason for the unexpected change in the story.

     Yu-Min answered, “Yes. I wanted to set the reason why Seon-Hye came to Seoul to ‘ find and take revenge against her mother,’ but Director Hwang suggested that we change it to ‘find her younger sister’…”

     Ra-Eun had gotten to the bottom of the case.

     ‘I guess they must have had a lot of discussions regarding it.’

     It was not out of the ordinary; a drama was not made by one person. There were bound to be several points of view, considering it was such a large-scale project with multiple people involved in it.

     Song-Won took Yu-Min’s side.

     “I prefer Miss Yeo Yu-Min’s idea. What do you think, Director Hwang?” Song-Won asked.

     “I-I wonder. To be honest, the writers were pretty divided about this too. If we’re talking about the exact ratio, it was fifty-fifty. Right, Yu-Min?” Director Hwang asked.

     Yu-Min nodded and expressed, “We had several meetings because of this one thing, and we ended up going with Director Hwang’s little sister idea. Director, why don’t we take this opportunity to get the actors’ opinions?”

     Yu-Min still seemed to have lingering attachments to her revenge twist idea. Director Hwang agreed since a production was made together with staff members and actors. Not just that, but no one understood the characters better than the actors who played them. In that case…

     ‘I guess my opinion will be the most important.’ Ra-Eun thought.

     After all, she was the one who played Kang Seon-Hye. If she was put in the same position as the character Seon-Hye, which path would she have taken? The answer was already decided.

     “What do you think, Ra-Eun?” Director Hwang asked.

     Ra-Eun answered without hesitation, “I also prefer Screenwriter Yeo’s synopsis.”

     Only then would this drama be remembered as a masterpiece among its fans.

     * * *

     Director Hwang turned serious after Ra-Eun, who knew the character Kang Seon-Hye best, took Yu-Min’s side.

     “Can I also ask why?” he asked.

     Her answer to this question would be the most important part. She focused on laying out the reasons for her decision using her knowledge of the future.

     “It was implied that Seon-Hye already knows where her younger siblings are. She could find them any time she wanted, so taking the story in a direction focused around searching for them would lower the tension. On the other hand, a twist involving her mother can be used to add the ‘revenge’ trope that’s been a trend in dramas these days. I think it’ll help the plot in many ways.”

     Ra-Eun fluently expressed her opinion. Everyone was focused on her.

     “Also, looking back on Seon-Hye’s scenes with Cha Yeo-Woon, they were often confrontational, weren’t they? Those scenes can be reinterpreted as a foreshadowing of the twist, so that’s why I prefer Screenwriter Yeo’s synopsis.”

     Director Hwang had also been paying close attention to Ra-Eun before he knew it. She certainly was not wrong. Rather, it felt like a puzzle inside his head was being solved thanks to Ra-Eun’s assertion.

     “You’re right. Come to think of it, there were several scenes setting up Seon-Hye and Yeo-Woon’s relationship.”

     The scenes had just been to show their difference in viewpoints, but it did not seem like a bad idea to reinterpret those scenes for the story ahead.

     Song-Won smiled as she was listening to Ra-Eun in silence.

     “You have a very good eye for stories, Ra-Eun,” she remarked.

     “I simply expressed what I thought. Thank you very much, sunbae,” Ra-Eun replied.

     Ra-Eun felt weird to be complimented by Song-Won. She rarely complimented her juniors. She was known to be a strict sunbae among the other actors, so they were always much more anxious than usual whenever they had scenes with her. If that anxiety led to an NG cut… One could say that would bring hell on Earth.

     Director Hwang came to a decision after thinking much about Ra-Eun’s opinion.

     “Min-Tae. I’m sorry, but could you gather everyone? I want to have a meeting.”

     “Understood.”

     “Like what Song-Won sunbae and Ra-Eun had suggested, we’ll edit the synopsis to be focused around the mother. I’m sorry.”

     Song-Won gestured that it was okay toward the apologizing Director Hwang.

     “We should be the ones who are sorry. Actors meddling in the screenwriting process is a bit…”

     Like Song-Won had said, actors getting involved in the inner workings of the production could lead to serious problems. There were directors and writers who found such acts to be extremely unpleasant, but Director Hwang did not seem to be one of them.

     “No. I’m the type of person who decides on story content after getting many people’s opinions, so I prefer it. You don’t have to worry about it, sunbae.”

     Song-Won felt less guilty after hearing Director Hwang’s remark. At this moment, Ra-Eun was the only one who knew that a small suggestion made by a veteran actress would raise the drama Waitress to the status of masterpiece in the future.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun managed to get through another day’s shoot safely yet again, and headed to the waiting room after commending Han-Seok and the others for their hard work.

     “Oh, Ra-Eun. Did you just finish filming your scenes?”

     She met Song-Won at the hallway as she got her things and headed to the car with Shin Yu-Bin.

     “Yes, sunbae. I thought you’d left a while ago?”

     Song-Won had finished shooting her scenes two hours earlier than Ra-Eun, so Ra-Eun was curious why she was still near the studio when she had already said her goodbyes to everyone for the day.

     “I had some business with my husband.”

     Ra-Eun’s ears perked up. Song-Won’s husband was a rather famous person. No, he was about to be. And not just that, but he was necessary for Ra-Eun’s plans. Hence, Ra-Eun had approached Song-Won first when the filming for Waitress had started, to get as close to her as possible. She had left a huge impression on Song-Won, considering other junior actors actively avoided her due to fear.

     Ra-Eun lowered her voice once the topic of Song-Won’s husband came up.

     “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m sure you’ll get through it.”

     She actually knew exactly what was going on but pretended not to know. Song-Won smiled at Ra-Eun’s meaningful statement.

     “Thanks.”

     Chapter 91

     The Mayor's Wife (1)

     Kang Ra-Eun either went to her university lectures or fulfilled her company duties whenever she didn’t have drama shoots scheduled. It was currently summer break for university, so she decided to finish the work needed for the promotion event in advance that was set to release in the latter half of the year.

     Ra-Eun looked through the female sportswear that would soon be released. She was going to be wearing them for today’s photo shoot.

     Do Hye-Yeong, a director of Levanche who would be acting as Ra-Eun’s assistant, said to Ra-Eun while showing her today’s schedule during the photo shoot.

     “The photo shoot will likely finish at around 5 PM. I will let the photo shoot director know if you need to leave earlier.”

     “No, it’s okay. It doesn’t matter if it takes longer, so please tell him to make the photo shoot as high-quality as possible.”

     “Yes, ma’am.”

     Time was not of importance; only results were. Not only that, but she couldn’t not be concerned about it since her company sales were on the line.

     Ra-Eun had never owned a business; she had been a full-time employee right up until her death. Hence, she had come to realize how difficult managing a business was as of late.

     Ra-Eun walked to and stood in the middle of the studio after changing. Despite the tight-fitting clothes she was wearing, she was not embarrassed in the slightest due to her fine figure sculpted through exercise. She did not mind wearing such clothes that accentuated her figure as long as they did not reveal too much skin.

     Ra-Eun tied her hair up to give off a more sporty look, exposing her slender neck. The photographer gave an OK sign as he looked at her through the camera.

     “That’s good, Ra-Eun. Let’s have you take some natural poses,” he stated.

     “Can I do as I like?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Of course! Just do whatever you think feels right.”

     Ra-Eun used to feel extremely pressured when she was asked to do such a thing because she had never been in a photoshoot before. However, she had gotten used to posing in front of a camera after entering her third year as an actress.

     Her cleavage was slightly revealed as she slightly bent over. She couldn’t bend over too much since the photos would be rated R if she did. There certainly were disadvantages to having a voluptuous body at times like these. She posed as wholesomely as she possibly could while taking such things into account.

     The photographer’s speed at pressing the shutter increased due to Ra-Eun’s SSS-tier excellence as a model.

     “Oh! That’s a great pose! Let’s do that again, but facing this way! Yes, marvelous! Yes!”

     The shutter sound filled the entire studio. Park Seol-Hun smiled satisfyingly as he watched the photo shoot from the back. He approached Ra-Eun during her break time and gave her a big thumbs up.

     “Looks like this one’s guaranteed to be sold out as well! Fantastic!”

     Seol-Hun could already hear their company sales skyrocketing from the thought of Ra-Eun in Levanche’s sportswear taking the whole page of their promotion banner. Any product that Ra-Eun wore had a 99% chance to be sold out, earning her the nickname ‘Sold-Out Goddess.’

     Ra-Eun laughed at Seol-Hun’s elated face as she cooled herself down with a mini fan.

     “Don’t get too conceited, mister. You shouldn’t let your guard down.”

     “Yeah, I know, but I can’t help being happy.”

     No matter how exceptional their competitors’ models were, they could never surpass Ra-Eun. They would need to spend abhorrent amounts of money to bring in stars even more famous than Ra-Eun, but would that even be cost-effective? It would depend on the resulting sales, but it would not be easy to pull off.

     On the other hand, Levanche had the massive merit of being able to make use of the card that was Kang Ra-Eun anytime they wanted, obviously because Levanche was owned by her. They were able to save lots of money from the chairwoman herself being a model for their products. Levanche would no doubt come out as the winner in a battle of models. Not just that, but Ra-Eun could also bring in other famous actors as models through her connections.

     “You remember that Je-Woon sunbae is going to be the menswear model, right?” Ra-Eun inquired.

     Seol-Hun nodded, “Of course I do. We’ve even set up a date for the shoot.”

     There was no way the company sales wouldn’t skyrocket when the leader of the most popular boy group in Korea was going to be a model for Levanche.

     “All you need to do is to manage the company, mister. I’ll take care of the marketing side.”

     “Leave it to me.”

     Seol-Hun was glad that he had cooperated with Ra-Eun. He recalled the first time he had met her. He had been nothing but skeptical when a high school girl who he had never met before suddenly offered to start a business with him. But now he had no choice but to acknowledge that he was lucky to have met her.

     “But why are you here, mister?” Ra-Eun asked.

     There was no need for Seol-Hun to be at the photo shoot studio, since Director Do Hye-Yeong was already here. He was not here just to see her.

     “I’m here to talk about what we’d discussed over the phone,” he remarked.

     “What was it again?”

     They had talked about so much stuff that she couldn’t remember. Seol-Hun concisely summarized the reason for her.

     “About taking over Lestea.”

     “Oh, that?”

     There were two ways for a company to grow as a business. One was to grow by raising their sales independently, and the other was to grow by taking over smaller companies through mergers and acquisitions. Ra-Eun was planning on making her company even bigger by using both strategies.

     Lestea was a relatively well-known sneaker manufacturing company, but had been getting less relevant due to their inability to compete with other famous companies. Ra-Eun had been thinking of acquiring the business to conquer even more of the sporting goods market, and Seol-Hun used to sell shoes as well in the past.

     “Their chairman decided to sign the contract,” Seol-Hun mentioned.

     “Really? I thought it’d take a while, but I guess it got resolved better than I’d expected.”

     “Well… I guess so,” Seol-Hun answered reluctantly.

     Ra-Eun noticed his attitude and asked, “What? Was there a problem?”

     “It’s not really a problem, but it’s just about the one who made it happen… It was that gangster boss.”

     Ra-Eun was shocked that Ma Yeong-Jun was the one who had clinched the contract.

     “That mister? How?”

     She had warned him not to go to the meetings. However, there were certain circumstances to the matter.

     “Lestea was blatantly trying to feel us out, so I was getting a bit annoyed. We had a meeting about how to handle it, but that gangster boss suddenly said he’d give it a shot, so…”

     “So you let him?”

     “I thought it’d work out one way or another, so I let him do what he wanted.”

     However, it had actually worked. Seol-Hun had been more bewildered than happy after getting the news that Lestea would sign. He asked Yeong-Jun what he had done for them to have a change of heart, and Yeong-Jun answered…

     “He said he investigated Lestea’s chairman and all their executive members, and something about everyone having at least one skeleton in their closet,” Seol-Hun stated.

     Yeong-Jun and his men specialized in getting something on someone and threatening them with it.

     “And he apparently said it straight to the Lestea chairman’s face and asked him whether he wanted to experience a social death or hand over his company while we’re still offering good conditions. Their chairman then handed the company over.”

     “Handled like a true gangster,” Ra-Eun expressed.

     It certainly was not a good method, but…

     ‘There are times when such measures are necessary.’

     This was exactly why Ra-Eun had decided to take Yeong-Jun and his men under her wing. She had been worried if the beasts that she had bought lost their fangs after playing around in their pen for too long, but she had now realized their beastly instincts were as strong as ever.

     ‘Good. Never let go of that ferocity.’

     After all, there would be many times when she would need their help in the future.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun’s drama shoot schedules had gotten tighter as Waitress was slowly proceeding to its latter half. However, there was one thing that she couldn’t forget to do.

     Ra-Eun arrived at her old home and the first thing that she saw once heading inside was her older brother walking around in only his underwear.

     “Even if this is your home, you should at least wear some clothes, don't you think?” Ra-Eun nagged.

     Kang Ra-Hyuk responded lukewarmly, “You don’t even live here anymore, so it doesn’t matter, does it? I like how freewheeling it is to walk around the house like this.”

     “You can freewheel when you get your own place.”

     Ra-Hyuk was planning on moving near Ra-Eun’s place around winter break, and would stay here until then.

     “But what are you doing here? You didn’t even tell us you were coming,” Ra-Hyuk asked.

     Ra-Eun usually called before visiting her old home, but she did not have the leeway because she had a late shoot today. She had come without even removing her makeup.

     She took out something after telling Ra-Hyuk to wait.

     “Here.”

     Ra-Hyuk was in surprise as he stared at the small gift box Ra-Eun took out from her handbag.

     “Is this… my birthday gift?” he asked.

     “Yeah.”

     Today was Ra-Hyuk’s birthday. He was a sad excuse for an older brother, but was still an invaluable supporter and a reliable ally to Ra-Eun. She was only able to become a successful celebrity and a well-off businesswoman because of Ra-Hyuk’s help.

     “Can I open it?”

     “Do as you like. It’s yours.”

     The gift was small in size, but not in the slightest in terms of its value.

     “Th-This is… a Rolex!”

     It was a leading name in luxury wristwatches that boasted prices up to the ten million won range.

     “I never thought there would be a day where I would get a watch like this as a gift.”

     Not only was Ra-Hyuk surprised since he thought he wouldn’t ever come to own such a luxurious watch, but he couldn’t help but be happy that it was filled with his little sister’s love.

     “Thanks, Ra-Eun. It sure is nice to have a well-off little sister.”

     “Shut up. You’d better not lose it, or I’ll kick your ass.”

     Despite her pottymouth, Ra-Hyuk could only see her as his precious and cute little sister today.

     Chapter 92

     The Mayor's Wife (2)

     It had been a while since Kang Ra-Eun had entered her own room. Despite it already being over half a year since she had moved out, her room was the exact same as she had left it in her high school days.

     “Why is Dad not emptying this room out?” Ra-Eun asked.

     She could not understand it.

     Kang Ra-Hyuk answered, “He said he’s leaving it because you’d need a place to rest if you ever come to visit like right now. And it’s not like Dad has a lot of stuff. He doesn’t have anything in particular to put in there to the point that he would have to empty it out.”

     “Then I guess the same would go for your room once you move out.”

     “Probably.”

     Even after the refurbishment, Ra-Eun’s room would stay as her own.

     “When is Dad coming?” she asked.

     “He said he’d be back in time for dinner.”

     “There’s still quite some time, then.”

     It was currently 2:30 PM, a long while until dinnertime.

     “What do you wanna do? Shall we go for a drive? I bought a new car,” Ra-Hyuk said as he showed Ra-Eun his car keys.

     He had only bought it three days ago, hence he was itching to drive it at any chance he got. Ra-Eun giggled and flatly refused Ra-Hyuk’s offer. She wanted to do something else instead.

     “I want to go to Starlight Road. It’s been a while.”

     To Ra-Eun, Starlight Road was as comfortable as her own home. The place was filled with her high school memories, so she always stopped by whenever she visited her old home.

     “Well, sure. Let’s go. Shall I drive us there?” Ra-Hyuk asked.

     “Why take the car when it’s only a five-minute walk?”

     He wanted to take the car using any means necessary, but he could not break Ra-Eun’s stubborn attitude. Ra-Eun was the most loud-spoken member of their household, hence Ra-Hyuk had no choice but to leave the opportunity to drive the car for another time.

     * * *

     Seo Yi-Jun brightly greeted the Kang siblings as they arrived at Starlight Road.

     “Welcome, hyung[1]! Noona!”

     “How’ve you been?”

     Yi-Jun had recently slept over at Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo’s house, so Ra-Eun did not feel like it had been a while since she had seen him. Yi-Jun’s gaze unconsciously focused on Ra-Eun.

     “You’re extremely pretty today, noona.”

     “Stop talking nonsense. It’s just because I haven’t been able to remove my makeup after my shoot.”

     Ra-Eun still reacted sensitively to people saying she was pretty. The siblings took their seats and Yi-Jun himself brought the drink that they had ordered, plus a cake that they had not ordered.

     “We didn’t order this,” Ra-Eun mentioned.

     “It’s on me. Please enjoy.”

     Ra-Hyuk lightly laughed as he watched Yi-Jun go back to the counter.

     “How lucky am I to get to eat free cake thanks to my beautiful little sister?”

     “Shut up before I kick you on the shin.”

     Ra-Eun really might have kicked him on the shin if she wasn’t wearing heels. They could hear a loudspeaker outside as they were spending time in Starlight Road after a while.

     - Please choose #1, Lee Chun-Tae! I will do my best for the people of this city!

     A candidate’s voice pleading for votes filled the neighborhood despite it not being election season yet. Ra-Hyuk pulled out his smartphone to check the date.

     “Is it that time of the year already? Oh, it must be that. The Incheon mayor by-election. You know about it, right?”

     “Yeah.”

     There was no way Ra-Eun wouldn’t know. She especially knew Lee Chun-Tae who had just passed them very well since she had met him several times before becoming a high school girl.

     Lee Chun-Tae looked like an incorruptibly pure person on the outside, but he couldn’t be more filthy on the inside. As proof of that…

     ‘He got along very well with Kim Han-Gyo.’

     He was one of the main individuals who followed Kim Han-Gyo. Ra-Eun would not sit idly by and watch as Lee Chun-Tae became the mayor of Incheon. However, his approval ratings were overwhelming; he alone possessed over 60% of it.

     “Lee Chun-Tae will probably win this by-election,” Ra-Hyuk remarked.

     He was more than justified to think as such from the objective statistical data. Even if the data was only an estimation, the data itself could not be ignored. Even in the future that Ra-Eun knew, Lee Chun-Tae would become the new mayor of Incheon through this by-election, and Kim Han-Gyo’s influence would grow.

     Ra-Eun had no intention of letting that happen. There was only one way to stop it, and it was to get Jang Tae-Hwan, the second candidate and the only one who even has a chance against Lee Chun-Tae, elected.

     “You’re going to vote, right?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “Me? Yeah.”

     “Who are you gonna vote for?”

     “Umm… not sure. I haven’t really thought about it.”

     Ra-Eun was not able to vote since she was already registered as a resident of Seoul, so she asked Ra-Hyuk in her stead.

     “Then vote for Jang Tae-Hwan.”

     “Jang Tae-Hwan? That’s fine, but will he even be elected?”

     “He will be.”

     Because Ra-Eun was going to make it happen.

     * * *

     “…”

     Reporter Ahn Su-Jin looked through the package that Ma Yeong-Jun had given her yet again. They were materials regarding Lee Chun-Tae this time.

     “Tax evasion, and… I can’t believe he even pulled strings for his son to be exempted from military service.”

     They were not simply allegations; the package was filled with objective sources.

     Su-Jin asked while looking at Yeong-Jun, “Were these provided by the masked woman as well?”

     Yeong-Jun simply nodded. He did not mention anything related to Ra-Eun.

     “All you have to do is to release an article containing the information given to you.”

     Then it would naturally become a scoop. Su-Jin looked through the materials in more detail. The package had not only contained information regarding Lee Chun-Tae, but those regarding Jang Tae-Hwan as well. Her eyes widened as she confirmed the name of his wife.

     “By Yeo Song-Won… is it the same Yeo Song-Won the actress that I know?”

     Yeong-Jun nodded again in acknowledgement.

     “My. I had only heard rumors that her husband worked in politics, but I never expected him to be a candidate for mayor.”

     Song-Won had not revealed her husband’s identity to the public yet. A small amount of information had been exposed due to the reporters’ persistence, but they had not yet figured out who he was.

     “Are you telling me to release this information as well?”

     “That’s right.”

     “Is this also the aim of the masked woman?”

     “Most likely.”

     Su-Jin had more or less an idea of what the masked woman was aiming for. Making Lee Chun-Tae’s misconduct public would lower the number of his votes, and exposing the fact that Jang Tae-Hwan was Yeo Song-Won’s husband would raise public awareness of him.

     Song-Won was highly favored by the public. Not only had she often made donations and done many good deeds in her career, but she had never been involved in a single scandal either. It was very rare to see an actress who had managed to maintain a sparkling clean image for several decades.

     Her image would become even better if it was revealed that Jang Tae-Hwan was her husband, but…

     “I’m sure Miss Yeo Song-Won wouldn’t like her family matters made public,” Su-Jin expressed.

     She was not wrong, but Ra-Eun had no qualms about ignoring such feelings if it meant she could fulfill her goal. There was also one other reason.

     “Now that Jang Tae-Hwan is a candidate for mayor, the fact that Yeo Song-Won is his wife is bound to be revealed soon. We’re simply moving it up. There is no problem,” Yeong-Jun remarked.

     Now that Song-Won’s husband had come into the light, it would only be a matter of time until their marital relationship was revealed to the public. Ra-Eun was simply moving it up to use for the election. Su-Jin smiled bitterly, understanding the machinations that the masked woman had built.

     “The woman you’re serving is terrifying.”

     Su-Jin did not know who the woman was, but one thing she knew for sure was that the woman should not be antagonized.

     * * *

     Kim Han-Gyo checked the Incheon mayor by-election results again and again in shock. No matter how many times he checked, all he could see was that they had lost. Jang Tae-Hwan had won by a 1,871-vote difference.

     Lee Chun-Tae could only apologize with his head hung down since this predicament had resulted because of his past actions. Even if he had ten mouths, there wasn’t a single thing that he could say.

     “…”

     Han-Gyo’s rage took the better of him and he smashed his fist down onto his desk. Chun-Tae and the secretary flinched. Han-Gyo’s ice-cold voice filled the office.

     “Something’s off.”

     “O-Off? Wh-What do you mean, congressman…?” the chief secretary asked carefully.

     Han-Gyo said as he buried himself deep into his chair and lit a cigarette, “Ever since last year… no, the year before that, I’ve had this feeling that someone had been purposefully foiling my plans.”

     Two years ago. It happened to be around the time that Ra-Eun had returned to the past as a high school girl.

     * * *

     Just like Ra-Eun had predicted, Jang Tae-Hwan had won the seat of the mayor of Incheon. She had managed to deal some damage to Kim Han-Gyo.

     ‘Only after I keep accumulating damage will he get knocked out when I deal a huge one.’

     She was setting things up for the future.

     “Ra-Eun, the reporters are here,” Shin Yu-Bin said as Ra-Eun was in the middle of checking the by-election results again in delight.

     Ra-Eun responded in surprise, “Already? They’re quite early.”

     “They said they arrived earlier than they had expected because they left early while fully expecting there to be traffic. What do you want to do? Do you want to get started now?”

     The interview was supposed to begin at 2 PM. It was fifteen minutes early, but Ra-Eun thought it was better to get it over with and go home early.

     “Yes, let’s do that,” Ra-Eun answered.

     “Okay. Just wait here.”

     The meeting room door opened again while Yu-Bin was away.

     “Good afternoon.”

     Reporter Ahn Su-Jin was going to be heading today’s interview. Yu-Bin had gone with Su-Jin’s fellow reporters as a guide while they went to grab the supplies that they needed. In the meantime, Ra-Eun and Su-Jin were all alone.

     “Thank you very much for saving me last time, Miss Kang.”

     Su-Jin was thanking Ra-Eun for saving her while she was being threatened by a criminal suspect in the dead of night.

     “I only did what should’ve been done. You don’t have to worry about it too much,” Ra-Eun replied while maintaining her light smile.

     At that moment, Su-Jin brought up something completely unexpected.

     “You’re the masked woman whom I met last time, aren’t you?”

     1. Hyung is an honorific that Korean men use to address their older brothers or older men that they are close to. ☜

     Chapter 93

     The Mayor's Wife (3)

     Kang Ra-Eun maintained her light smile despite Reporter Ahn Su-Jin’s surprise question. She always had to keep a poker face back when she used to be in the security team, because showing emotions to others could let them grasp her weaknesses.

     Members of the security team had to become an expressionless iron wall. Due to Ra-Eun’s training in her past life, she was able to maintain perfect composure despite Su-Jin’s straightforward hook.

     “I’m not really sure what you mean,” Ra-Eun responded.

     ‘That’s a skilled actress for you,’ Su-Jin thought.

     Most people would have been greatly flustered by such a question. Su-Jin knew that Ra-Eun had worn a mask in front of her and used Ma Yeong-Jun as an errand boy because she had a reason for hiding her identity. She first tried to lower Ra-Eun’s guard.

     “I won’t tell anyone that you provided me with all kinds of information, nor do I have any intention to.”

     Su-Jin was telling Ra-Eun that it was okay to tell her the truth since she would take the secret to her grave.

     “I’m simply curious about your intentions for spreading such information in the entertainment and political world, and where you got them.”

     Su-Jin could not help but be curious as a reporter. The information that Ra-Eun had provided Su-Jin were by no means rumors. They were hard pieces of evidence with objective materials to back them.

     Su-Jin had been able to reap many benefits thanks to the information given to her. She was considered a reporter who reported massive scoops at the perfect times, raising her reputation in her company. It was by no means a loss for her.

     However, despite all that, she couldn’t help but be curious. Why exactly was she being provided such information with absolutely nothing asked in return?

     Ra-Eun’s smile did not falter in the slightest.

     “I think you’ve misunderstood me for someone else. Masks and such… I’m not really sure what you’re talking about.”

     “But…”

     It had to be Kang Ra-Eun. She had suddenly appeared while Su-Jin was ambushed by the criminal suspect, and people had started monitoring while protecting her right after that incident. She had suspected that the masked woman was Ra-Eun because everything had fallen into place time-wise, but Ra-Eun denied it to the end.

     “I’m not trying to blame you, Miss Kang. I’m just—”

     “Sorry we’re late, sunbae.”

     Just when Su-Jin was about to convince her more directly, her junior reporters who had gone to grab some supplies had arrived at the meeting room with Shin Yu-Bin. To Su-Jin, they couldn’t have come back at a worse time. On the other hand, it was a stroke of luck for Ra-Eun.

     ‘Goddammit, Ahn Su-Jin. How little regard do you have for your life?’ Ra-Eun thought.

     She should have just let it slide despite knowing the truth, but she had gone out of her way to ask if Ra-Eun was the masked woman. Su-Jin had not yet realized that curiosity could kill the cat.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun’s interview with Reporter Ahn was rather ordinary. She was asked mainly about which episode stood out to her the most, and what she was planning on doing after the Waitress shoots were over.

     Su-Jin wanted nothing more than to ask about Ra-Eun’s relationship with the masked woman, but she couldn’t afford to because of the large number of eyes on them. The people’s gazes were acting as a shield for Ra-Eun. The interview ended just like that.

     “Thank you for your hard work.”

     “We will send you the article before we publish it. Please read through it and let us know if there is anything that you’d like for us to edit.”

     “I understand.”

     Ra-Eun said her farewells to Su-Jin and her group. Su-Jin did not want to leave, but she forced herself to. Having lingering attachments, she turned around. Ra-Eun sent her off with a smile yet again.

     “Have a safe trip, Reporter Ahn.”

     “…”

     It was hard for Su-Jin to describe this bitter feeling in words. The meaningful attitude that Ra-Eun had shown her continued to bother her as she got into the car.

     Her junior reporter grabbed the steering wheel and asked while glancing at her, “Sunbae. You haven’t been looking too well since the interview even began. Is something bothering you?”

     “Me? No, I just… have a personal problem to deal with.”

     She felt like the unsolved mystery would keep her up all night long.

     * * *

     On a busy road in downtown Seoul, a man was irritated by a car that had changed into his lane with the turn signal on.

     “Fucking hell. I’m already feeling like shit from that goddamn chief of mine.”

     The man mercilessly honked his car horn from how slowly the car in front of him was moving. Road rage got the better of the man and he overtook the car to retaliate against them. The car then turned on its right turn signal and pulled over onto the side of the road.

     “Oh, you wanna go, is it?”

     The man who had been holding back his anger also pulled over and swung open his car door to get out.

     “Hey! Fucking hell, lemme see your face, dipshit!”

     He threatened the driver with various profanities. However, he fell silent as soon as the door opened. A beefy man who was taller than him by the size of his head, and another tough-looking man with a scar on his face got out of the car.

     The scarred man, Park Du-Chil, spat on the ground and approached the man.

     “What? You wanted to see my face, didn’t you?”

     “U-Um, the thing is, g-good sir…”

     “What the fuck do you know about me to call me a good sir? Also, it’s not like we cut you off. Did you not see we had our turn signal on as we changed lanes? Are you blind? Should I rip out your eyeballs and replace them with some new ones with 20/20 vision? Huh?”

     “I-I’m sorry! I’ve been told I have intermittent explosive disorder… C-Could I ask you to let it slide just this once?”

     “IED or whatever, I don’t give a shit. You’d better fucking see it through if you picked a fight!”

     The man unconsciously hunched his shoulders from Du-Chil’s bellow. At that moment, the back seat window of the car that Du-Chil was driving rolled down.

     Ma Yeong-Jun said to his two men, “We don’t have the time. Let’s go.”

     “Yes, boss!”

     The man lost the strength in his legs and collapsed as he watched the two gangsters bowing at a 90-degree angle to their boss. Yeong Jun warned the man who had retaliated against them while Du-Chil and his subordinate got back into the driver and passenger seats.

     “The moment I see you doing this kind of shit again, I’ll make it so that you can never grab a steering wheel ever again. Mark my words.”

     “Y-Yes, sir!”

     The man expressed his sincere gratitude toward Yeong-Jun just for sparing his life.

     Yeong-Jun and his men parked at a nearby parking lot and walked to a certain cafe.

     “Welcome to… Gasp!”

     The employees gasped before they knew it as they welcomed the customers as they’ve always done, because of the overpowering aura that Yeong-Jun and his men were giving off.

     Du-Chil pointed to a seat by the windows.

     “Over there, Boss.”

     “Mm.”

     Yeong-Jun took a seat while his two men stood at attention to guard his back.

     The woman who had been waiting for them, Do Hye-Yeong, said while sighing, “Do you really have to give off gangster energy like this? This is exactly why the chairwoman doesn’t like meeting you in public.”

     Hye-Yeong had set up a meeting with Yeong-Jun to relay Ra-Eun’s words to him. The contents were simple enough to be relayed by phone, but they met like this to avoid leaving evidence when talking about something very important.

     Yeong-Jun briefly answered Hye-Yeong’s criticism, “We usually don't.”

     “Then why the change today?”

     “We had done something rough earlier. The boys usually get so hyped up for such things that this kind of behavior comes out unconsciously.”

     “…”

     Hye-Yeong wished she hadn’t heard that.

     “Anyway, what does that young lady want to tell us this time?” Yeong-Jun asked.

     “It’s about Reporter Ahn Su-Jin.”

     “Ahn Su-Jin? My men are already watching over her.”

     “She asked to raise the number of men and monitoring hours.”

     Hye-Yeong usually worked as a director of Levanche, but she also sometimes acted as Ra-Eun’s proxy who relayed her words. Ra-Eun had been planning on entrusting that role to Park Seol-Hun, but not only was he busy running the company, but he was also so scared of Yeong-Jun and his men that she had left it to Hye-Yeong instead.

     Ra-Eun used to meet with Yeong-Jun directly, but she had gotten so recognizable lately that she had taken such measures. It would become huge news if it got out to the public that a popular actress frequently met up with a gangster loan shark boss.

     Unable to understand, Yeong-Jun asked Hye-Yeong, “Did that reporter lady do something dangerous again?”

     “I’m not sure either. I simply relayed to you what the chairwoman asked me to.”

     “I see.”

     Although he wasn’t sure why, he had to do it if it was Ra-Eun’s order.

     “Okay. I’ll do so.”

     He simply complied, thinking that she had a reason for doing so.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun was busy getting her makeup done for today’s shoot of Waitress as soon as she arrived at the studio. She could hear loud cheers from outside the waiting room.

     “Congratulations, sunbae!”

     “You have no idea how surprised I was when I saw the article!”

     Ra-Eun also went out to the hallway as soon as her make-up was finished. Yeo Song-Won had been receiving words of congratulations while holding a bouquet of flowers. She awkwardly thanked them. She was being congratulated because of her husband.

     Ra-Eun also walked up to Song-Won.

     “Congratulations, sunbae.”

     “Thanks. But my… I never expected something like this to happen, so I’m a little bewildered.”

     Song-Won had suddenly become the mayor’s wife. She was of course happy that things had worked out so well for her husband, but she was also at a loss of what to do.

     “I have no idea how the reporters found out about my husband’s identity. I thought I’d hidden it pretty well”

     Song-Won never really enjoyed being given attention by the public for subjects other than the productions that she had appeared in, so she had purposefully avoided bringing up her husband. She thanked her fellow production staff members without the slightest idea that Ra-Eun was the one who revealed the fact that she was married to Jang Tae-Hwan.

     Ra-Eun held in her laugh as she watched Song-Won head to her waiting room.

     ‘I feel bad for sunbae, but it had to be done.’

     This was also part of the process of perfecting her plan for revenge.

     Chapter 94

     The Sound of Cracks Forming in a Friendship (1)

     Kang Ra-Eun’s schedule was jam-packed yet again from the Waitress shoots heading toward its final stages. They were about to shoot the scene where the female protagonist Kang Seon-Hye finds out her mother’s identity and confronts her for the first time.

     Ra-Eun read her lines with Yeo Song-Won to get in sync with her before the filming started. There was no need to instill emotion into one’s lines during the reading process since it was simply to make sure they were on the same page. But of course, there were actors who read their lines like they were actually in the middle of filming, and Song-Won was one of them.

     “So what? Do you resent me for abandoning you three? Say it straight to my face. Say it!”

     The gazes of the staff members naturally shifted to the reading area due to Song-Won’s cries that echoed throughout the set. Stimulated by her powerful performance, Ra-Eun also put her all into her acting to not fall behind.

     “Do you even have any idea how hard it was for us to live because of you? How hard it was to be treated like outcasts just because we had no mother to raise us?! And you ask me if I resent you? Is that all you have to say for yourself? Why are you asking the obvious?!”

     Ra-Eun’s powerful voice did not fall behind Song-Won’s in the slightest. Her hand that was holding the script trembled. One could tell from such expressions that she was bursting with emotions.

     “I’ll resent you until the day I die. Mark my words!”

     The reading came to an end with Ra-Eun’s hate-filled line. Song-Won was genuinely impressed by Ra-Eun’s acting that improved day after day.

     “You’re good, Ra-Eun,” she expressed.

     “It’s nothing compared to you, sunbae.”

     “No, what you showed me just now was more than enough. I couldn’t find any faults in it. Let’s keep this up for the actual filming.”

     “Yes, sunbae.”

     Reading lines with Song-Won sitting right across from her was far more exhausting than actually shooting the scene, because Song-Won would tackle her for the smallest mistakes. Ra-Eun managed to safely overcome the imposing trial.

     Ji Han-Seok, who had been watching their passionate reading from a distance, commended Ra-Eun.

     “It’s tough reading with sunbae, isn’t it?” he asked.

     “It’s certainly difficult, but it’s okay since she helps me improve my acting in the process.”

     “You’re so optimistic, Ra-Eun. I got super depressed during my first reading with her because she gave me hell.”

     This was nothing to Ra-Eun because she had worked with people far worse than Song-Won in the past. She didn’t really want to mention their names, since they were her current targets for revenge.

     Her acting skills somewhat helped in her plan to ruin Kim Han-Gyo because she needed to maintain a poker face in front of people that would soon become her allies. Chairman Ji was one of such allies.

     “I remember you saying last time that the chairman wanted to have a meal with me. Has he said anything about it after that?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “I was planning on letting you know after today’s shoot. He said he’s free to meet you next Friday. Is that fine with you?”

     “Yes, of course.”

     As long as there was no drama shoot scheduled, Ra-Eun could always make time for Chairman Ji, the most important individual in her plan for revenge. Her meetings with him were always her top priority.

     “Then I’ll let him know you’re free as well,” Han-Seok remarked.

     “Thank you. You’ll be there as well, right, sunbae?”

     “Yeah, of course.”

     Han-Seok always tagged along in her meetings with Chairman Ji. If Ra-Eun considered Chairman Ji to be her top priority, then Han-Seok considered Ra-Eun to be his top priority. It was a give-and-take relationship. The gears in Ra-Eun’s head were already turning to plan out what to do to get what she wanted from the meeting.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun headed to Do-Dam Group as soon as she finished getting ready. Although she had taken a short break at home, she had realized yet again that driving to a dinner meeting almost right after a morning shoot was very tiring.

     ‘Maybe I should hire a chauffeur.’

     She had Shin Yu-Bin to drive her for anything related to the TV industry, but she had to drive herself for anything else. Not only was it annoying, but she had a considerable amount of matters to handle. Hence, it did not seem like a bad idea to have someone handle the driving for her.

     ‘I’ll have to consult Director Do.’

     If she had a chauffeur, then she could have them meet Reporter Ahn Su-Jin in her place. She could think of many other uses for one.

     Ra-Eun headed to Chairman Ji’s office as soon as she arrived at Do-Dam Group. She got on the elevator that went straight up to the top floor. Chairman Ji’s secretary bowed to her as soon as the elevator doors opened, as if he had been waiting for her.

     “Welcome. The chairman is waiting for you.”

     Ra-Eun was guided by the secretary to Chairman Ji’s office. She used to find it extremely difficult to walk in heels, but she had become able to walk naturally even while wearing high heels. This was the effect of dramas; she had filmed so many scenes in heels that she had gotten accustomed to them.

     ‘I’ve seriously become a full-fledged woman, for God’s sake.’

     As she laughed self-deprecatingly in her head, Chairman Ji greeted her.

     “Welcome, Ra-Eun. You’re getting more beautiful by the day!”

     “Thank you very much, Chairman.”

     Ra-Eun had dressed up fairly well for her meeting with a VIP. She would have come in a shirt and jeans if this was a normal meeting, but she did not want to show Chairman Ji her casual side.

     “Where is Han-Seok sunbae?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “He’ll be here soon. His movie shoot ended a little late, apparently.”

     Aside from the drama Waitress, Han-Seok was also starring in a comedy film Double Standards at the same time. His active involvement in the entertainment industry was raising public awareness of him as much as Ra-Eun by the day.

     “He could’ve just come straight after his shoot, but he went home first apparently because he couldn’t afford to look bad when he’d be having a meal with you.”

     Han-Seok’s romantic feelings toward Ra-Eun were still going strong. Ra-Eun was already well aware of his feelings for her; even the densest person in the world would notice when he was so blatant about it. However, she was not yet mentally ready to accept a man’s feelings.

     ‘I likely never will be.’

     She still could not imagine herself dating a man.

     Han-Seok arrived shortly after she was chatting with Chairman Ji.

     “I’m sorry I’m late!”

     He had come wearing a very stylish formal suit. As expected of a celebrity, it fitted him very nicely.

     As Han-Seok was pondering over whether to sit next to Ra-Eun or Chairman Ji, Ra-Eun said while pointing to the seat next to her.

     “Sit here, sunbae.”

     “Should I?”

     Chairman Ji looked at the two satisfyingly as Han-Seok naturally took the seat next to Ra-Eun.

     “You suit each other very well. It’s as if I’m looking at myself and my wife back in my youth. My wife was as beautiful as you back when she was your age, Ra-Eun.”

     Han-Seok’s face reddened. On the other hand, Ra-Eun simply covered her mouth and lightly laughed without saying a word. She had been interested in something else entirely.

     “Chairman. I remember you saying that you’d like to invite me to the gathering where famous people of the financial world met up. May I ask what happened to that?”

     “Oh, the thing is…”

     Chairman Ji expressed reluctance. Something likely happened.

     “I actually haven’t been attending those gatherings much lately.”

     “Oh, why is that?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “It’s just that I have a friend who I’d gotten along with ever since my school days, but we had a slight dispute recently. I might ruin the mood if I go, so I’ve been stopping myself from going.”

     Ra-Eun knew exactly who his school friend was.

     ‘It’s probably Kim Han-Gyo.’

     It was obvious, but Ra-Eun pretended not to know.

     “I hope you work things out with them soon,” she expressed. She didn't mean it in the slightest.

     Chairman Ji said awkwardly as Ra-Eun consoled him, “This isn’t our first time disputing like this over a difference in opinions. We fought and immediately made up, but… I think it’ll take quite a while this time.”

     The signs of cracks in their friendship might have started to show themselves from this moment, or the time might have been moved up because Ra-Eun got in Kim Han-Gyo and Kim Chi-Yeol’s way whenever they had tried to do something. Whichever the case, it did not change the fact that it was good news for her.

     ‘All I have to do now is to slowly bring him over to my side.’

     She felt like she would be fairly busy for a while.

     * * *

     She received a call from Do Hye-Yeong a few days later.

     - I’ve sent someone your way just now, Chairwoman.

     “Who?”

     - You said you needed a chauffeur, so I selected someone after careful consideration.

     Hye-Yeong was very quick to handle things. The only qualities that Ra-Eun wanted in a chauffeur were good driving skills and ability to keep secrets. The second quality was the most important, because it must never be revealed that she had Ma Yeong-Jun and his men under her wing and that she was having Reporter Ahn Su-Jin leak information in her stead.

     There happened to be someone perfect for the job, and he had just arrived in front of her house. He introduced himself to Ra-Eun with a ninety-degree bow.

     “My name is Lim Seok-Jun. I will be in your care from now on, Chairwoman!”

     “You look very familiar. Oh, aren’t you one of Mr. Gangster’s men?”

     “Yes, that’s correct. I’m honored that you remember me!”

     There were a few smart individuals among Yeong-Jun’s men, and Seok-Jun was one of them.

     ‘I guess it’s much better to use someone internal than hiring an outsider.’

     Ra-Eun had realized why Hye-Yeong was able to find someone so quickly. Since he had come all this way to greet her, she decided to assign him his first duty.

     “I was just about to head out. Can you give me a ride?”

     “Where would you like to go?”

     Ra-Eun answered simply, “The fitness center.”

     She felt like warming up after a long while.

     Chapter 95

     The Sound of Cracks Forming in a Friendship (2)

     There were a few things that Kang Ra-Eun did no matter how busy she was, and one of them was exercise. She felt restless if she missed even a day, so she had gone straight to the fitness center yet again today.

     “We’ve arrived, Chairwoman,” Lim Seok-Jun said.

     He got out of the car and opened the door for her. She got out of the car and praised Seok-Jun in satisfaction.

     “Thanks. You’re pretty good at driving.”

     “If there’s one thing I’m good at, it would be driving.”

     That could be one of the reasons why he was chosen to be Ra-Eun’s chauffeur. Not only was he good at driving, he was also quick on his feet. Ra-Eun commended Director Do Hye-Yeong in her head for choosing someone so great.

     “My workouts take around two hours, so just come back around that time.”

     “I understand. Please feel free to contact me if you need anything before then.”

     “Okay. You can go.”

     Ra-Eun headed to the elevator with her sports bag after sending Seok-Jun off. The employees at the information desk greeted Ra-Eun as soon as they saw her. She greeted them back and walked straight to the changing room.

     She saw three young women chatting while changing their clothes. She couldn’t get used to seeing such a sight during her early days of having returned to the past, but now she could just walk past them without getting flustered.

     She had even gotten used to being in the shower room with a bunch of women, which she honestly couldn’t determine if it was a good or bad thing. She was getting used to life as a woman, hence…

     ‘It also means that I’m slowly becoming a woman.’

     It was a pretty weird thing to think about. She was already a woman. However, that was only in the physical sense; she was still mentally a man, so she was somewhat terrified that she had been adjusting so well to life as a woman.

     Ra-Eun lightly sighed.

     ‘I don’t know anymore.’

     She had reached a point where she just accepted it. It was not like she could go around saying “I’m actually a man!” because she didn’t want to be a woman. She thought it’d be better to just become a woman than be treated like a lunatic.

     ‘I can’t take my revenge from a mental hospital, after all.’

     She couldn’t give up on revenge, the entire reason for her being and her greatest goal. She changed and exited the changing room, and saw someone familiar after a long time.

     Han Ga-Ae, a songstress and her only friend in the entertainment industry, was on a treadmill with earphones plugged into her ears. Ra-Eun could see from her slim figure and beautiful curves made visible by her tight sportswear that she had been maintaining her figure very well. Something else also caught her attention.

     ‘That’s our company’s product.’

     Han Ga-Ae’s pink leggings were one of Levanche’s flagship products. Ra-Eun couldn’t help but smile. She got on the treadmill right next to Ga-Ae’s and greeted her.

     “Hey, Ga-Ae.”

     “Oh, Ra-Eun!” Ga-Ae took off her earphones after belatedly noticing Ra-Eun. “What are you doing here at this time?”

     Ra-Eun usually worked out at the fitness center early in the morning except when she had early morning shoots, so she rarely met with Ga-Ae here.

     “I didn’t really feel like staying at home,” Ra-Eun replied.

     She had come here while testing Seok-Jun’s driving skills in addition.

     “I’ve been enjoying Waitress so much. My mom and dad also watch it regularly. My mom was cursing the mother character that Yeo Song-Won sunbae plays, saying she’s a bitch, and then she cried because she felt so sorry for your character,” Ga-Ae mentioned.

     It went to show how amazing Ra-Eun and Song-Won’s acting had been. The view ratings had reached an all-time high when it was revealed that Kang Seon-Hye’s mother was Cha Yeo-Woon, the character played by Song-Won. It had become huge news among the fans when the episode aired.

     “I felt proud for some reason when you were being praised,” Ga-Ae said while laughing.

     Ra-Eun also laughed and replied, “I’m glad your mother’s enjoying the show.”

     “It’s a shame, though. We wanted to watch reruns, but couldn’t because we couldn’t bother my little brother.”

     “Why would it be a bother?”

     “Oh, because he’s going to be taking his SATs this year.”

     Ga-Ae had a brother who was a year younger than her. Since the older sister took her SATs last year, it was now the little brother’s turn.

     “How many days until he takes the exam?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “I don’t think there are even a hundred days left. Around… eighty?”

     “Already?”

     Time flew by extremely fast. It only felt like yesterday when Ra-Eun took her SATs, but it felt weird to hear that juniors who were only a year younger than her were preparing for their SATs. If Ga-Ae’s little brother was preparing for his SATs, then…

     ‘Doesn’t that mean Yi-Jun is as well?’

     Seo Yi-Jun was also exactly one year younger than Ra-Eun. She had seen him when she stopped by Starlight Road during Kang Ra-Hyuk’s birthday, but she hadn’t wished him good luck on his exam.

     ‘Well, I’m free tomorrow, so I might as well stop by.’

     Yi-Jun had jogged with her on weekends and even made her a hat on her birthday, so she also wanted to do something for him.

     * * *

     The next day, Ra-Eun looked for her car keys to go see Yi-Jun like she had planned yesterday.

     ‘Oh, right.’

     Come to think of it, she no longer needed to drive long distances; she could just call Seok-Jun. She looked for Seok-Jun’s number that she had saved on her phone.

     - Yes, Chairwoman?

     “I have somewhere to go today. Can you come?”

     - Yes, right away. Where should I come pick you up?

     “Come to my house.”

     - Understood.

     In the meantime, she made sure to grab her gift for Yi-Jun, limited-edition sneakers of a famous sports brand. It was extremely costly, coming to almost eight million won. Not just that, but they were being auctioned for even higher prices since they could no longer be purchased in stores. She had gone through a hard time to get these because she thought they’d be the perfect gift for Yi-Jun who was aspiring to be a fashion designer.

     Fifteen minutes after she had called Seok-Jun, she received a call from him saying that he had arrived.

     ‘That was quick.’

     It had been thanks to Ma Yeong-Jun’s strict education. Ra-Eun pulled out her smartphone as soon as she got in the car.

     ‘He should be done with school by now.’

     She thought about contacting Yi-Jun in advance to say that she was on his way, but…

     ‘No, let’s not.’

     Her mischievous desire to surprise him took over. Ra-Eun had been given information from Seo Yi-Seo that Yi-Jun was currently at Starlight Road. She had Seok-Jun park the car near the area and walked to the cafe with the paper bag containing the gift. At that moment…

     Jingle!

     The cafe door opened and she saw Yi-Jun sending off a girl wearing the same school uniform as him.

     “Have a safe trip home.”

     “Okay. Thanks for today. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

     The girl looked like she’d be rather popular in school. As he was about to head back into the cafe, he stiffened because he had locked eyes with Ra-Eun.

     “N-Noona…?”

     Ra-Eun said teasingly with a corner of her mouth curled up, “Hah, damn punk. I guess it was true when Yi-Seo said you were pretty popular in school. You’re even dating a pretty girl like that.”

     A bystander could have easily misunderstood the two students to be couples. Yi-Jun frantically shook his head.

     “No, noona! That wasn’t a date! She just came to pick up something she forgot at the cafe.”

     “Okay, okay. I won’t tell Yi-Seo, so you don’t have to deny it so frantically.”

     Yi-Jun was not acting like this because his sister would hear of it. The biggest problem was that Ra-Eun was misunderstanding his relationship with his classmate.

     “Here you go,” Ra-Eun said as she handed him a paper bag.

     “What… is it?”

     “A gift to wish you good luck on your SATs. They’re sneakers, so wear them when you go jogging.”

     “…”

     “I was only here to give you that, so I’m off. Good luck on your studies.”

     She turned around to walk back to where Seok-Jun was.

     “Noona!”

     But then, Yi-Jun snatched Ra-Eun’s thin wrist and forced her to turn back to him. He immediately closed the distance between them and spoke clearly in complete seriousness.

     “I’m really not in any sort of relationship with that girl earlier, so I hope you don’t get the wrong idea.”

     “…”

     Yi-Jun had only been swayed by Ra-Eun, but now the situation had completely reversed. Yi-Jun was also a man. Ra-Eun felt something inexplicable as Yi-Jun showed a manly side of himself. She hurriedly pulled her hand out from his grasp.

     “…Okay. You could’ve just said so. Why did you have to get all serious, you punk?”

     “Because you didn’t believe me.”

     “Fine, I’ll believe you.”

     Ra-Eun was talking confidently, but she couldn’t bring herself to look Yi-Jun in the eyes. She herself couldn’t understand why she was acting like this either. She was only thinking of one thing: to get out of this situation as quickly as possible.

     “Anyway… I’m gonna go. Good luck on your SATs.”

     “Thank you, noona. Can I come over to your house again when it’s over?”

     “Do as you like.”

     Step, step.

     Ra-Eun was slightly fumbling as she walked.

     Seok-Jun bowed to Ra-Eun as soon as he saw her and asked, “Have you finished your business here?”

     “…” Ra-Eun nodded in silence.

     “Where would you like to go?”

     “Home.”

     “Understood.”

     Ra-Eun’s eyes shot toward Starlight Road as soon as she got in the car. She replayed what had just happened in her head. Ra-Eun had always thought of Yi-Jun as a younger brother who she could order around whenever she wanted, but he had shown a completely different side of himself to her just a little while ago. She didn’t quite know how to explain it, but after seeing Yi-Jun’s assertive side…

     ‘He’s unexpectedly manly.’

     She found the normal Yi-Jun to be likable, but his serious side when things came down to it was not bad either.

     Chapter 96

     Noona (1)

     Today was the day the long journey that was the drama Waitress would come to an end. The staff members could not contain their troubled emotions due to this being the final shoot. Ji Han-Seok also felt the same way.

     “It feels weird to hear that today’s the final shoot.”

     If there was a beginning, there was bound to be an end. However, the drama Waitress held a special place in Han-Seok’s heart because it was a precious production that recorded the highest view rating in his acting career as well as what made him into a star. Hence, the farewell struck him much harder than that of any of his other works.

     However, Kang Ra-Eun did not feel the same way at all. She had already known the drama would be a huge hit, so she had not been worried in the slightest, unlike the production team that had been worrying about the view ratings throughout the entire duration of the filming.

     Since Ra-Eun had been the only one who was at ease during filming, she was also the only one who did not feel anything in particular in the moment of farewell.

     Han-Seok smiled bitterly at the apathetic Ra-Eun, “I sometimes feel like you’re more mature than me whenever I see you off camera.”

     “I do? In what way?”

     “In the way that you don’t let your emotions sway you.”

     In contrast to how Ra-Eun was on camera, she often expressed minimal levels of emotions off camera, almost as if she were a robot. Han-Seok was sometimes envious of Ra-Eun’s strong mentality despite her being a rookie actress.

     “There’s apparently going to be an afterparty after today’s shoot. You’re gonna come too, right?” Han-Seok asked.

     Ra-Eun nodded as if it was obvious. “Yes, I am.”

     It was a place to unwind, but she was also planning on making new connections there. Acquainting herself with people in the broadcasting industry could allow her to seize great opportunities in the future. Therefore, Ra-Eun always attended dinner parties unless her schedule did not allow it. However, there was one thing that she found to be a shame.

     ‘If only I was a good drinker.’

     Ra-Eun loved alcohol, but she couldn’t afford to enjoy it in her current life. There was no telling what she would do if she got drunk. She could even unwittingly leak secret information about herself like she had done with Seo Yi-Seo. She had decided to stay as sober as possible from fear of her own inebriety.

     * * *

     Kang Seon-Hye had succeeded in getting revenge on her mother for abandoning her and her younger siblings, by completely ruining her. As if the heavens were rewarding her for her efforts under the sorrows of her past, winter passed and the spring of love had come her way.

     Han-Seok, who was looking at the ocean together with Ra-Eun, went somewhere after asking her to wait. He then arrived with a convenience store plastic bag.

     “You said you wanted something to drink, right?”

     “Was there a convenience store nearby?”

     “Yeah, I happened to see one while we were looking for a place to park. I’m so thoughtful, aren’t I?”

     Ra-Eun couldn’t help but laugh at Han-Seok’s playful speech. Ra-Eun tilted her head as she looked at what was in the bag.

     “Oppa, what’s this?”

     “Oh, that?”

     There was a small box that did not look like a convenience store item, but more like something used to hold an accessory. She opened it to check what was in it, and her gaze was met with a sparkling diamond ring.

     “I bought it on the way.”

     “You bought this… at a convenience store?”

     “No, I ordered it before we went on this trip. It almost didn’t make it, but it was finished just barely in time. I was super lucky.”

     Han-Seok took out the ring and pointed toward Ra-Eun’s left hand.

     “Give me your hand.”

     “…”

     Ra-Eun raised her left hand while maintaining an embarrassed expression. Han-Seok then put the ring on her thin ring finger.

     “It looks great on you.”

     “Oppa…”

     “Seon-Hye…”

     In contrast to his playful remarks earlier, he was now completely serious. He proposed to the one that he loved with all his heart.

     “Will you marry me?”

     Ra-Eun scraped together every single sad memory that she possessed because it was the perfect time to shed tears. Her efforts worked and a single tear rolled down her cheek. She hoarsened her voice to act like she was deeply moved.

     “Yes… I’d love to.”

     From lovers to a married couple. The drama Waitress came to an end with a two-shot of the couples who had entered a new chapter of their lives.

     ~

     Director Hwang exclaimed in great satisfaction, “Okay! Thank you everyone for your hard work!”

     As soon as he gave the OK, the staff members cheered as if they had been waiting for the moment. It actually would have been a huge problem if there had been an NG cut in this scene, because Director Hwang wanted to use the ocean sunset as the background. They needed to finish the scene as quickly as possible because the sun was setting very quickly.

     Ra-Eun and Han-Seok overcame the time pressure and perfectly acted out the scene that Director Hwang was hoping for. Because of this, the director’s thrill was not subsiding despite the shoot being finished. He repeatedly gave a thumbs-up to Ra-Eun and Han-Seok as he replayed their excellent performance over and over again.

     “Waitress wouldn’t have become such a huge hit if it weren’t for you two. Thank you so much,” Director Hwang remarked.

     “No, we should be the ones thanking you for letting us star in such an amazing production. I’m sure Ra-Eun feels the same way. Right?”

     Ra-Eun nodded as she was given the baton to speak by Han-Seok. “Please let us know any time once you have another great production. I’d love to work with you again.”

     “It’d be my pleasure!”

     Director Hwang was merely a rookie drama program director at the moment, but he would grow into an individual who would leave his mark in the history of the drama industry. She had agreed to star in Waitress because she knew it would be a hit, but she had also done it to make a connection with Hwang Yun-Seong, considering his future.

     Now that she had invested in the stock that was Director Hwang…

     ‘All I need to do now is to wait until it rises.’

     Ra-Eun was already curious about how much profit she would gain from it.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun prepared to head to the afterparty venue after the shoot was over. As she got in the car, Shin Yu-Bin praised her for her hard work and handed her an energy drink that she had bought in advance.

     “I bought it because I thought you’d be tired.”

     “Thank you, Miss Manager.”

     It had been over two years since Yu-Bin had started working with Ra-Eun, but Ra-Eun still called her ‘Miss Manager’ instead of ‘unnie.’ Hence, Yu-Bin still felt a strange sense of distance from her. She was sad but also curious as to when Ra-Eun would start calling her ‘unnie.’

     “Is it okay if we head straight to the venue?” Yu-Bin asked.

     “Yes. There isn’t enough time to go back home. I’m already outside, so I might as well get through everything I need to do before going home.”

     That was best for both Yu-Bin and Ra-Eun. The road managers were notified in advance of where the afterparty would be held. Yu-Bin typed the address into the GPS.

     “45 km… It’s pretty far. There might be traffic on the way there, so you can take a short nap if you want.”

     “No, it's okay. I’m not that tired.”

     The shoot had only taken a long time because they had driven a long way to shoot the scene; the actual time taken to film had not been very long, so Ra-Eun was not very tired.

     Yu-Bin set off as the cars of the other staff members started moving. On the drive there, Yu-Bin told Ra-Eun what she had been told about the afterparty.

     “Apparently, other people aside from those related to the drama will be at the afterparty.”

     “Who?”

     “Some program directors whom Director Hwang is close to, and some business associates.”

     Business associates could be referring to people who invested in dramas, movies or other miscellaneous content.

     “Come to think of it, they said someone from a conglomerate will also be coming.”

     “A conglomerate…? Which one?”

     “I don’t know. I only listened in on what the staff members were talking about. Well, I’m sure we’ll find out when we get there.”

     Ra-Eun couldn’t ask for anything better than distinguished figures of the financial world coming straight to her, since that would make it much easier for her to make connections with them. However, she had been getting a bad feeling since earlier.

     ‘What is this feeling?’

     It was similar to the so-called ‘women’s intuition.’ However, she could not figure out why she was feeling so uneasy.

     * * *

     They had arrived at the Waitress afterparty venue. They were able to enjoy the party without reservations because the entire restaurant had been rented out.

     ‘Such treatment from the broadcasting station is a given when the view ratings have been off the charts.’

     Ra-Eun believed such a luxury to be natural. She raised her glass with the other actors that she was sitting with, including Han-Seok, to cheer. Her eyes were fixed on the bottles of alcohol on the table.

     ‘I want to drink! I want to drink like crazy!’

     Ra-Eun had loved alcohol so much in her past life, but now that she had become a lightweight that would get drunk from just a sip, just the thought of drinking made her anxious.

     ‘Should I just go for it?’

     She could just leave what happened afterward to Yu-Bin.

     ‘No, no! Am I insane? I promised myself I wouldn’t drink before I got here!’

     She had never imagined that she was such a weak-willed man… no, woman. She could endure anything, but alcohol was the one thing that she couldn’t easily hold herself back from. She gulped just from watching Han-Seok having a drink next to her.

     Han-Seok glanced at her and asked, “Would you like a glass?”

     “N-No! I’m fine.”

     Han-Seok had never seen Ra-Eun so flustered before. Ra-Eun couldn’t help but sigh deeply at her lightweight self.

     ~

     While Ra-Eun was experiencing hell, she heard a familiar female voice.

     “I enjoyed the drama so much. It was so entertaining.”

     Her head turned by reflex. Her face stiffened in a flash as she laid eyes on a young woman in her twenties wearing a red one-piece dress. It was a face that she never wanted to see ever again.

     ‘Noona…!’

     Park Hee-Woo. It was her older sister in her past life.

     Chapter 97

     Noona (2)

     Back when Kang Ra-Eun was Park Geon-Woo, she naturally had her own family. Geon-Woo had a father, mother and an older sister. However, he had never felt a sense of attachment to his family. His family, especially his father and older sister, tried to oppress him by meddling in his entire life. His mother was not as bad, but she had never once taken his side because she thoroughly maintained neutrality.

     Geon-Woo had been raised in a family that never felt like one. Hence, he declared his independence and left home as soon as he came of age, saying he no longer wanted to live in a home like this and that he wasn’t his father and older sister’s puppet.

     Since then, Geon-Woo had completely cut ties with his family. As Ra-Eun’s past memories as Geon-Woo replayed inside her head, she was reaching for the drink glass before she had realized it.

     Ji Han-Seok asked, “Didn’t you say you weren’t going to drink today, Ra-Eun?”

     “…”

     Impulse was a scary thing. She pledged to herself over and over again that she wouldn’t drink during the afterparty, but she went straight for the alcohol due to the stress that she had recalled from seeing Park Hee-Woo.

     Ra-Eun belatedly managed to get a hold of herself.

     ‘Calm down. Who knows what I’ll do if I drink here.’

     Huu.

     She took a deep breath. She was able to calm down just a little, but her heart was still beating just as quickly.

     Hee-Woo was chatting with Program Director Hwang Yun-Seong. Just then, Director Hwang turned toward Ra-Eun.

     “Perfect. Ra-Eun and Han-Seok happen to be together.”

     He approached Ra-Eun with Hee-Woo. She momentarily pondered over whether to leave or not, but it was too late.

     “Ra-Eun, Han-Seok, say hello. This is Vice President Park Hee-Woo of TP Entertainment.”

     Han-Seok was surprised by the mention of TP Entertainment.

     “Oh, I heard someone was newly inaugurated as vice president, and I see it was you, Senior Managing Director Park! I had no idea.”

     “We skipped the inauguration ceremony, so there are a few people who don’t know that I’ve become the vice president.”

     “I must be one of them.”

     Han-Seok and Hee-Woo laughed as they looked at each other. Although Han-Seok was an actor, he was also a bona-fide businessman. He had met Hee-Woo once or twice during his time as one.

     Hee-Woo then shifted her gaze from Han-Seok to Ra-Eun. Hee-Woo was the typical example of an eastern beauty, perfectly embodying the word ‘elegance.’ Not only was she beautiful, she was extremely capable and was born in an exceptional household. Hence, she was extremely popular among those in the financial world regardless of age or sex.

     However, Hee-Woo was nothing more than an enemy to Ra-Eun. No matter how amazing Hee-Woo’s reputation was among the people around her, Ra-Eun couldn’t bring herself to think well of Hee-Woo.

     ‘It’s probably because of everything I had to go through since childhood because of her.’

     Geon-Woo had suffered countless times from his older sister’s oppressive attitude. However, that older sister of his couldn’t be seen anywhere. All that was in front of Ra-Eun now was the amicably smiling Vice President Park Hee-Woo.

     “Nice to meet you, Vice President. I’m Kang Ra-Eun.”

     “Nice to meet you, Ra-Eun. I’m Park Hee-Woo. I’m not sure if Director Hwang told you this, but I happen to be a massive fan of yours. I’ve come to this afterparty just so I could meet you.”

     “I’m honored to hear you say that.”

     ‘Honored, my ass.’ she thought.

     If there was a competition of who could name as many of Hee-Woo’s faults as possible, Ra-Eun was 100% sure that she would place first. That was how much she despised Hee-Woo. However, she couldn’t show her resentment right now because the one in front of Hee-Woo was not Park Geon-Woo, but Kang Ra-Eun.

     Hee-Woo’s smile widened even more after her greeting with Ra-Eun.

     “You’re pretty bold, Ra-Eun.”

     “Am I?”

     “Yes. Most people get surprised when I tell them I’m the vice president of TP Entertainment, but I couldn’t see a hint of surprise from you.”

     TP Entertainment, a subsidiary of TP Group, was a conglomerate among conglomerates specialized in media and home shopping. Not only did Hee-Woo possess an important position in TP Entertainment, but she was also the daughter of Park Chan-Gil, the co-chairman of TP Group.

     In other words…

     ‘He’s also my father.’

     TP was led by the older brother Park Chan-Seok and the younger brother Park Chan-Gil. Ra-Eun also used to be a member of the TP Group family, so she had not been surprised after meeting Hee-Woo. Hee-Woo had mistaken Ra-Eun’s familiarity for boldness.

     “I’m liking you more and more, Ra-Eun.”

     Ra-Eun simply smiled lightly without answering.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun laid down on her bed as soon as she came back home after the afterparty. Not even her fluffy mattress could comfort her troubled feelings. She replayed what had happened at the afterparty as she looked up at the familiar ceiling.

     ‘I can’t believe I met Noona there of all places.’

     Ra-Eun had heard from Yu-Bin on the way to the afterparty that outsiders would also be attending. The bad feeling that she had felt back then had manifested into her meeting with Hee-Woo.

     TP Group was one of the top ten largest businesses of Korea. Ra-Eun had originally been born as a second-generation chaebol. However, there hadn’t been a single moment in her life when she was happy about the fact. Unable to endure the bombardment of pressure from her father and older sister, she had thrown away the title of second-generation chaebol of her own accord.

     Did she regret it? Not even once. Rather, she felt relieved that she had cut all ties with her family. However, the situation was a little different in her current life. Ra-Eun had finally become perfect strangers with her family, but she still had a very important mission to fulfill: revenge.

     She would absolutely need the help of TP Group if she wanted to go against Kim Han-Gyo and Kim Chi-Yeol.

     ‘I’m sure Father especially would be of great help to me in the future since he’s extremely close to those in the financial world.’

     Hee-Woo just happened to be Ra-Eun’s fan, so making a connection didn’t seem very hard to do.

     ‘But I’ll have to see Father’s face again.’

     It was not appealing in the slightest. She had thought she had just barely escaped from the clutches of the devil, but she would be jumping into its clutches again of her own accord.

     ‘My current family are angels compared to my old one.’

     No matter how harshly Ra-Eun treated Kang Ra-Hyuk, she still thought of him positively. The same went for the siblings’ father. They were both extremely kind people. However, the same could not be said for her old family.

     ‘What should I do…?’

     Ra-Eun was deep in thought. She was going round and round inside her head. She decided to leave it for later as she got up and stroked down her disheveled hair.

     She opened her room door and headed to the refrigerator.

     Yi-Seo asked while she was stretching in the living room, “Are you looking for something, Ra-Eun?”

     “Yeah.”

     “For what?”

     Ra-Eun took out something stored deep in the refrigerator.

     “I’m suddenly craving some alcohol.”

     She took out one bottle of liquor after another. She tried her best to hold it in, but…

     ‘I seriously can’t help myself today.’

     She decided to sleep early today with the help of alcohol.

     * * *

     ‘Why does my head hurt so much whenever I wake up the next day?’

     She thought as such every time she drank alcohol. She missed the days when she was a man. She had rarely experienced bad hangovers no matter how much she drank back then, but she had to face the massive hurricane that was a hangover every time she drank after becoming a girl.

     She came out of her room as she combed her lion’s mane-looking hair with her fingers. Yi-Seo in an apron noticed her presence and turned around.

     “Good morning. I’m making bean sprout soup right now, so wait just a little bit.”

     She had prepared it to help Ra-Eun relieve her hangover.

     “…Thanks.”

     “No problem. But why alcohol out of the blue? I heard from Yu-Bin unnie that you didn’t have a single sip during the afterparty.”

     As a roommate, Yi-Seo couldn’t understand why Ra-Eun drank alcohol when she didn’t even have any at the afterparty.

     “I just felt like it.”

     Ra-Eun couldn’t tell her that it was because of Hee-Woo. The bean sprout soup was done as she came out of the bathroom after washing up. Ra-Eun nodded several times in satisfaction as she drank the soup with a spoon.

     “Kaahh, that hits the spot.”

     Yi-Seo laughed as Ra-Eun displayed such a hearty reaction.

     “Look at you? People would think you’re an old man relieving his hangover.”

     Ra-Eun was an old man on the inside, so she technically wasn’t off the mark.

     Yi-Seo took a seat across from Ra-Eun and carefully mentioned, “Let me know if something’s on your mind. I might not be able to resolve it, but I can at least hear you out.”

     Counseling was not difficult to do; it was more than enough to just listen to their troubles. Simply relieving oneself of what was festering in their mind could relieve them of even a little of their burdens.

     Ra-Eun’s heavy heart lightened a little thanks to her friend’s sincere worry. She put down her spoon and decided to consult with her friend as figuratively as possible.

     “This is about a friend of mine,” Ra-Eun remarked.

     Most stories that started out like this were usually about themselves.

     “A friend, huh…? Okay, go on,” Yi-Seo expressed. She decided not to think much of it.

     “Person A is trying to take revenge on Person B because B had wronged A in some way, but A lacks the power to do so. So, as A was going around to find someone who could help them, they met Person C.”

     “C? Are they A’s ally?”

     “No, C is the worst of the worst kind of person who only sees A as a tool.”

     “I feel bad for A.”

     “Yeah, me too.”

     Ra-Eun also had times when she pitied herself.

     “But C has power on par with B. In such a case, should A ask C for help?” Ra-Eun asked.

     She had been thinking about this for quite a while, but Yi-Seo unexpectedly answered right away.

     “Is there even a need to ask them for help? A can just ‘use’ C instead.”

     “Use?”

     “Yeah. You said A doesn’t think well of C either since C used them like a tool. In that case, A can be the one to use C as a tool this time to defeat B, right?”

     In other words, ‘The Tool’s Rebellion.’

     Ra-Eun liked Yi-Seo’s answer very much.

     Chapter 98

     New Year (1)

     Despite becoming a high school girl that Kang Ra-Eun wasn’t cut out for, what drove her to keep moving forward without breaking was her objective to pay Kim Han-Gyo and Kim Chi-Yeol back in folds for what they had done to her. Just for that one purpose, she did not lose her composure, even if she was put in a situation where she had to wear a skirt or put on an embarrassing act in front of a man.

     Revenge took up most of Ra-Eun’s life, but now she needed to slightly modify her plan. Her original plan was to use the funds and connections she grew by using her knowledge of the future, to ruin Kim Han-Gyo and Kim Chi-Yeol.

     However, that would take far too long. It could take ten years, or even twenty.

     ‘Kim Chi-Yeol aside, Kim Han-Gyo is a whole different beast.’

     The Kim Han-Gyo that she knew was always calm and composed no matter what situation he was put in, and used whatever means necessary to overcome such situations. He was cruel enough to bury his right-hand man six feet under.

     Hence, there were more than just a few people who found Han-Gyo to be distasteful. In the financial world, the most representative of such people would be Chairman Ji Seong-Geum. Park Chan-Gil of TP Group did not have a good impression of Han-Gyo either.

     Chan-Gil had started to see Han-Gyo in a bad light because of the policies that Han-Gyo had proposed. At the time, TP Group had been ambitiously preparing several large-scale projects, but they had ended up suffering massive losses because restrictions had been placed due to the newly proposed policies.

     Why did Han-Gyo one-sidedly pick a fight with Chan-Gil and TP Group?

     ‘It was a war of nerves.’

     Han-Gyo was giving Chan-Gil a warning that he should cooperate with him if he didn’t want something like this to happen again. However, Chan-Gil was Ra-Eun’s… no, Park Geon-Woo’s father. Geon-Woo had gotten his overpowering competitive spirit from his father.

     Chan-Gil simply laughed at the face of Han-Gyo’s indirect threat. The conflict between Han-Gyo and TP Group was not yet prominent, but…

     ‘It’ll get worse with time.’

     Ra-Eun was certain since she knew the future. It was also because of their hostile relationship that Ra-Eun had become Han-Gyo’s subordinate back when she was Geon-Woo. Although Geon-Woo and Chan-Gil were against Han-Gyo due to different reasons, it did not change the fact that the father and son were hostile to each other. Hence, Geon-Woo had purposefully applied to become Han-Gyo’s security team leader.

     However, thinking about it now, that had only tightened the noose around Geon-Woo’s neck. There was likely a specific reason why Han-Gyo had framed all of his injustices on Geon-Woo and tried to kill him.

     ‘If it was revealed to the world that I committed suicide while shouldering such dishonor, it would deal a massive blow to TP Group.’

     Even if Geon-Woo had cut ties with his family, it did not change the fact that he was Chan-Gil’s son. Filial ties were not severed so easily. To Han-Gyo, it was the perfect chance to kill two birds with one stone; he could bury the allegations raised against him while dealing a massive blow to TP Group.

     This was nothing more than Ra-Eun’s guess, but…

     ‘It’s highly likely.’

     The Kim Han-Gyo that she knew was more than capable of such a thing.

     ‘But I won’t let him do as he likes this time.’

     Ra-Eun decided to add new members that weren’t originally included in her revenge plan. Park Chan-Gil, and her older sister, Park Hee-Woo. She absolutely hated the idea, but she had no choice.

     ‘You have to fight fire with fire.’

     * * *

     Ra-Eun looked up information regarding TP Group while moving to the interview shoot location in Shin Yu-Bin’s car. She went through everything from the company’s financial statements to every article reporting their recent activities.

     Despite Ra-Eun having been the son of the chairman of TP Group, she ironically barely knew anything about the business because she had actively avoided taking an interest. However, she wouldn’t do that in this life.

     ‘I should at least know basic information related to the company if I want to coax Father and Noona.’

     Ryu Ha-Yeon, Ra-Eun’s stylist, asked as she looked at Ra-Eun scrolling through materials filled with TP Group information. “Are you looking at that for stock trading?”

     Studying up about a company was essential before investing in them. Only after taking a company’s accomplishments, favorable indicators and growth potential into account should someone invest in them. It was far too easy to go broke by investing in a company just because other people were.

     Ra-Eun was well-known within the entertainment industry as a stock trading expert. Although Kang Ra-Hyuk handled most of the trading because she was busy, she also invested directly whenever she had time.

     Ra-Eun answered while nodding, “Yes. TP Group is one of the companies that I’ve been taking an interest in recently.”

     However, what she would be investing was not money, but her efforts to make connections with them for the sake of her revenge.

     Ha-Yeon’s eyes sparkled. “Should I invest in them too?”

     “Is it really okay to decide just like that?” Ra-Eun asked.

     “I’ll only lose money if I invest on my own. I found it much better to just follow you. I bought the stocks that you suggested last time and my profit rate rose 30%.”

     Ha-Yeon had once treated Ra-Eun to something because she had managed to earn big thanks to her.

     Yu-Bin showed interest in their conversation. “Isn’t stock trading hard? I gave it a shot before, but I couldn’t do it at all.”

     Yu-Bin didn’t even know how to use the stock trading software, so she couldn’t start stock trading even if she wanted to. However, Ha-Yeon was taught by her younger sibling who already traded stocks.

     “Then I’ll teach you next time, unnie,” Ha-Yeon expressed.

     Yu-Bin had no reason to refuse when money would automatically flow into her account if she bought the stocks that Ra-Eun suggested.

     However, Ra-Eun warned them like she always did, “Just don’t invest your entire life savings. Use only your spare funds.”

     “Okay, I will.”

     There was likely no way for them to lose money if they did exactly as Ra-Eun said, but there was still a possibility.

     Ra-Eun mentioned one more thing to them, “Please keep what I tell you a secret among yourselves. Don’t go around telling a bunch of people.”

     Information was only valuable if they were scarce. The value of information that everyone knew was bound to plummet, so Ra-Eun had been trying her best to use her knowledge of the future by herself. Now that her stock trading and business were successfully put on a track to success, all she needed to do was to fulfill her revenge.

     * * *

     The final episode of Waitress had aired. Ra-Eun stood on stage with Ji Han-Seok and Director Hwang in front of reporters to give their thoughts on how it felt to have reached the end of the journey.

     Director Hwang whispered to Ra-Eun and Han-Seok before the interview began.

     “This was only possible thanks to the drama’s high view ratings. Apparently, they don’t even provide stages like this for other dramas just because they ended.”

     Views were everything. No matter how beneficial a program was, it would only be discontinued if the view ratings were low. That was especially the case for dramas. In that sense, Waitress was the most successful drama of the year.

     Ra-Eun scanned the reporters as they took their seats one by one.

     ‘Reporter Ahn Su-Jin isn’t here today.’

     Since Su-Jin mainly focused on political and financial stories, she did not have the time to come to such interview sessions like a reporter in charge of entertainment news would.

     ‘Well, that’s better for me.’

     Su-Jin was still suspecting Ra-Eun to be the masked woman. She felt relieved by her absence since she did not have to worry about her asking difficult questions to answer in front of other reporters.

     The interview started off with introductions.

     “Hello, I am the actor Ji Han-Seok.”

     Ra-Eun raised her mic after Han-Seok.

     “Hello, I’m Kang Ra-Eun, and I played the role of ‘Kang Seon-Hye.’ Thank you very much for your passionate support despite the drama having reached its finale. I will be in your care during this interview.”

     She had gotten far too accustomed to speaking in front of a camera. On the other hand, Director Hwang was far more nervous than the two actors who had introduced themselves before him.

     “I-I am Hwang Yun-Seong, a-and I was in charge of the production. Thank you very much for having me!”

     He secretly wiped the beads of sweat formed on his forehead with a handkerchief as soon as he introduced himself. He already knew it was extremely difficult to stand in front of a camera, but the new experience made him realize it once again. He admired how naturally Ra-Eun and Han-Seok were answering the reporters’ questions.

     “From The Devil’s Touch to Waitress, you’ve shown the country how much chemistry you two have with each other. This is your second time playing the role of a couple, is it not?”

     Han-Seok answered the reporter’s question, “Yes, that’s correct.”

     “How did it feel to have worked together in similar roles for a second time?”

     “Mm… I wonder. This is something I haven’t even told Ra-Eun, but…”

     Han-Seok looked toward Ra-Eun. She had no idea what he was about to say.

     “Although Ra-Eun is my junior and like a little sister to me, I feel like I’m always the one learning from her whenever we perform together. I respect her in more ways than one, starting from her exceptional acting skills and her mindset toward shooting scenes.”

     It was no simple thing for a senior to say that they respected their junior. Han-Seok had praised Ra-Eun in the greatest way that he could.

     The reporters then directed their questions at Ra-Eun.

     “Is it true that you’ve never actually kissed your co-stars during kiss scenes, Miss Kang?”

     “Yes.”

     She had never directly kissed anyone. Even excluding her time as an actress, she had never once kissed a man in her life.

     “If there comes a time when you’d have to shoot an actual kiss scene, who would you like your partner to be?”

     Han-Seok’s ears perked up. His heart fluttered. Other actors usually hesitated or thought deeply when asked such a difficult question, but that was not the case for Ra-Eun.

     She raised her mic and adamantly answered, “I don’t have someone in mind yet.”

     Han-Seok had expected such an answer, but he couldn’t help but be disappointed that Ra-Eun didn’t even have anyone in mind.

     Chapter 99

     New Year (2)

     Kang Ra-Eun’s schedule was jam-packed even after the finale of Waitress due to how massive of a hit the drama had been. Even today, she had a radio show scheduled, which she had to get ready for since it was at 11 AM. One thing she at least found fortunate was that it was only an audio recording, so there was no need to be in full make-up.

     Ra-Eun only put on basic make-up and headed to the broadcasting station in Shin Yu-Bin’s car. She put on a mask as soon as they arrived at the parking lot. She had no reason to wear a mask in the station since the place was full of people in the same industry as her, but she wore it regardless because the air was highly polluted today.

     Yu-Bin said as she took the lead, “It would’ve been a huge problem if an outdoor shoot was scheduled on a day like this.”

     “No kidding.”

     Indoor shoots were best in bad weather conditions. Ra-Eun walked to the radio studio with Yu-Bin while her hair was fluttering in the wind. She greeted the host of the show, Announcer Jung Min-Ho.

     “Good morning, sunbae.”

     “Oh, hi, Ra-Eun!”

     Ra-Eun and Min-Ho had already met several times, so they were not awkward around each other.

     Min-Ho asked Ra-Eun after drinking some water to clear his throat, “I bet you’re gonna be super busy starting next month, huh?”

     “Me?”

     “Yeah. It’s the end of the year, and the drama you starred in turned out really well. I heard there are tons of directors lined up for you. A writer from our station has been super worried about it.”

     “About what?”

     “About whether or not they’d be able to cast you.”

     Ra-Eun lightly laughed while covering her mouth with her hand. The writer’s worry was not unfounded, since Ra-Eun was at the top of the list of actresses that program directors wanted to cast. The view ratings of anything that she starred in was practically guaranteed to be high.

     Even the number of people in Club Allegiance, Ra-Eun’s fan club, multiplied threefold after Waitress. One could easily tell how popular the production had been.

     “I heard you also received an invitation to the Drama Awards,” Min-Ho mentioned.

     It had not been released to the public, but Announcer Jung already partly knew about information regarding the Drama Awards.

     “I have, but I’m not really anticipating getting an award,” Ra-Eun replied.

     “I think you will, considering your achievements this year.”

     This was not Announcer Jung’s subjective opinion, but something that everyone acknowledged. However, Ra-Eun did not have any large expectations for the awards ceremony. It was not like she had returned to the past to be successful as an actress; she had no reason to be desperate for an award since she had been put in such a situation simply because she didn’t properly fill out her Return Application Form.

     ‘I’ll just accept whatever they give me.’

     Ra-Eun was planning on just going with the flow.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun decided to visit a beauty parlor before the Drama Awards ceremony. It would take a huge amount of time to get her make-up, hair and outfit done on the day of the event, so she wanted to get everything that she could do in advance over with.

     The hairdresser gave Ra-Eun a suggestion while touching her hair. “Why don’t you try dyeing your hair, Miss Kang?”

     “Dyeing my hair?”

     “Yes. Your hair is pretty long, so it could give off a gloomy feel if not properly managed. I think dyeing your hair in a brighter tone would also brighten the aura you give off.”

     She had been reluctant to do so since she had never dyed her hair back when she was a man, but after much thought…

     ‘It’s not a bad idea.’

     Dyeing her hair was different from revealing her skin or kiss scenes. It was simply changing her hair into a different color. Also, Ra-Eun kind of wanted to try it out. She was never permitted to dye her hair back in her bodyguarding days because she needed to look professional, so she had always been envious whenever she saw her friends with various hair colors.

     ‘Yeah. When will I ever get the chance, if not now?’

     Ra-Eun decided to take this opportunity to do what she had never been able to do in her past life.

     “What color do you recommend?” she asked.

     “Would you like to see samples?”

     The hairdresser’s eyes lit up as soon as Ra-Eun showed interest, and quickly brought her a file folder. There were a myriad of colors; cherry pink, red wine, rose brown, ash blonde, ash gray, and much more.

     ‘There are tons of different shades just for the color brown.’

     Ra-Eun couldn’t quite explain it, but this feeling was not unfamiliar. The shades might look the same in a man’s perspective, but a woman’s eyes could catch even the slightest difference in shades.

     “I personally think ash brown would suit you best. What do you think? The color’s also friendly to people dying their hair for the first time.”

     It was a fairly bright shade of brown. It certainly looked like a safe choice for beginners.

     “If you don’t mind me suggesting a bit more, I think it’d be good to get the ends of your hair slightly permed. Straight looks good and all, but adding a slight wave makes your hair look more voluminous.”

     Ra-Eun liked the sound of that. Voluminous hair certainly sounded much better than straight hair.

     “I’ll leave it to you, then,” she responded.

     She decided to make a bold move since she had already made a resolution to change her image.

     * * *

     Seo Yi-Seo heard the sound of the front door opening as she was making dinner. The only ones who knew the door password were herself and Ra-Eun.

     “Welcome back, Ra… Eun?”

     Yi-Seo doubted her eyes. She knew that Ra-Eun had gone to a beauty parlor, but she became wide-eyed from how much Ra-Eun had changed.

     Ra-Eun blushed. “…Does it look weird?”

     The hairdressers had said it looked great, but waves of anxiety hit her from the thought that it might not be the case for ordinary people. However, Yi-Seo had not shown such a reaction because she did not like her new look. Rather, it was the complete opposite.

     “No, no, no! It looks great! You’re so pretty! It looks way better than your previous style!”

     “R-Really?”

     “But why did you change your hairstyle all of a sudden?”

     Ra-Eun had stuck to the same hairstyle for the last three years. However, something had brought about a change of heart, and Yi-Seo could not take her eyes off of her friend.

     “No reason. The hairdresser just asked me if I’d be up to dyeing my hair, and I changed my hairstyle to what best fit that color while I was at it,” Ra-Eun responded.

     She kept touching her hair because she was not yet used to it. She couldn’t help but feel awkward because this was her first time trying out a hairstyle like this.

     “You’re gonna be so beautiful in your dress for the Drama Awards.”

     Yi-Seo already couldn’t wait for the day to come, but Ra-Eun was nervous about how the public would react to her new look. She could only find out once the day arrived.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun attended the ceremony wearing a purple dress with an open back. People frantically pressed the camera shutters as she stepped on the red carpet with Ji Han-Seok escorting her. Han-Seok had also been shocked by Ra-Eun’s new look. She was already beautiful, but he could not focus on anything else after her charm had increased twofold.

     Ra-Eun and Han-Seok stood in front of the backdrop together. After a short photo time, a female reporter approached them with a mic. Her attention was naturally focused on Ra-Eun.

     “You’re so beautiful today, Miss Kang!”

     “Thank you very much.”

     Ra-Eun didn’t forget to cover her upper chest with her hand as she slightly bowed. She had at first bowed to greet people without this action, so people’s gazes naturally shifted to her exposed cleavage. She had finally gotten into the habit after Yu-Bin nagged her to no end to cover it with her hand.

     “I believe this is the first time you’ve changed your hairstyle. It’s not because of something personal, is it?” the reporter asked.

     A girl changing her hairstyle was a big deal. There were times when women were asked if they had broken up with their lover if they cut their hair short. However, Ra-Eun did not put much meaning into her hair.

     “I just wanted to try a new look.”

     She had no reason. It was truly a Ra-Eun-like answer.

     * * *

     Ra-Eun pulled out her smartphone from her handbag as soon as she entered the ceremony venue. Kang Ra-Hyuk, Yi-Seo, Seo Yi-Jun, and her other acquaintances were sending her texts of their thoughts and cheers. There were far too many to reply to them all.

     As she was looking through her texts, Han-Seok said as he turned his head toward the stage, “Looks like it’s starting.”

     Like he had said, music started playing with the change of the lighting. After a short performance, the host introduced himself and explained how the awards ceremony would progress.

     There were various award categories: Best New Actor/Actress, Best Writer, Best Couple, Friendship Award, Achievement Award, Netizen Award, and many more.

     ‘This is why it takes hours to film the ceremony.’

     Ra-Eun was only hoping for it to be over soon because she had no interest in winning an award. She thought about playing a mobile game, but couldn’t because of the cameras that filmed her from time to time.

     After much time passed…

     “Next up, let’s meet the nominees of the Top Excellence in Acting Award!”

     “Let us take a look together on the screen!”

     Before getting to the Grand Prize, the nominees for the Top Excellence in Acting Award were revealed one by one. The last of the seven nominees caught people’s attention.

     [Kang Ra-Eun - Waitress]

     “You’re on the screen, Ra-Eun!” Han-Seok exclaimed.

     “Me?”

     Ra-Eun belatedly noticed that her performance was playing on the screen. The drama Waitress had already swept five categories, such as Best Writer, Viewer’s Choice Drama, and so on. If Ra-Eun won Top Excellence in Acting here, Waitress would have swept six categories.

     “I will now announce the results. The Top Excellence in Acting Award goes to…!” the host paused on purpose, and then exclaimed, “Miss Kang Ra-Eun! Congratulations!”

     Ra-Eun, who had been thinking about spending the time playing mobile games until just now, had no choice but to walk up to the stage with an awkward smile.

     ‘Shit. I haven’t even prepared a speech.’

     She was smiling on the outside, but her brain was in full overdrive.

     Chapter 100

     New Year (3)

     Kang Ra-Eun received the honor of earning the Top Excellence in Acting Award, but all that was in her mind was figuring out what to say. She stood in front of the mic with the trophy and a bouquet of flowers in hand.

     “Uhh… Mm…” she stalled while recalling what the other actors had said in their speeches after winning their awards. “First… I’d like to thank Program Director Hwang Yun-Seong, Screenwriter Yeo Yu-Min, and all the staff members who made the production of Waitress possible. Also, I’d like to share this honor with Ji Han-Seok sunbae, Yeo Song-Won sunbae, and all the actors who I’d worked alongside.”

     There were more people that Ra-Eun couldn’t forget to mention.

     “I’d also like to express my love to my family who I’m sure are watching this from home. Thank you very much once again for giving me such a huge award. I will do my best to become an actress who doesn’t disappoint my fans.”

     She thought she had done rather well for something she had prepared on the spot. Director Hwang and Han-Seok congratulated Ra-Eun once she came down from the stage.

     Ra-Eun smiled and looked toward Han-Seok. “I hope you also get an award, sunbae.”

     It was weird that Han-Seok’s name had not been called yet despite playing a lead role in the most popular drama of the year. However, Director Hwang told Han-Seok not to fret.

     “From what I can see, I think you’ll be a nominee for the Grand Prize, Han-Seok,” he expressed.

     “Me?”

     “I think so, judging from the flow of things. Don’t you agree?”

     The Grand Prize of the Drama Awards was the greatest honor for an actor. Han-Seok had never once won the Grand Prize; the most he had won in his career was an Excellence in Acting Award. Not even he himself could believe that he was qualified for the Grand Prize.

     “Come on. There are so many more outstanding actors than me,” Han-Seok remarked.

     The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. Hence, Han-Seok cleared his mind. However, his name and performance playing in the video cassette recording of the Grand Prize nominees shook him greatly.

     Director Hwang exclaimed, “Han-Seok! You’re a nominee for the Grand Prize!”

     “No way…”

     Not even Han-Seok himself could believe what he was seeing. He had never expected himself to become a Grand Prize nominee so early in his acting career. On the other hand, Ra-Eun went to go get a bouquet of flowers before the winner was announced, as if she already knew who would earn the honor.

     “The honorable Grand Prize goes to… Mr. Ji Han-Seok! Congratulations!”

     Burst—! Crack!

     Fireworks cracked from all around to congratulate Han-Seok winning the Grand Prize. Han-Seok walked up to the stage in complete bafflement. Ra-Eun, Director Hwang and the other Waitress production staff members followed to congratulate him on stage.

     Han-Seok was extraordinarily happy because he had not even expected it a little. He walked up to the mic like Ra-Eun did for her award. He articulated his thoughts of winning the Grand Prize while holding back his emotions.

     “Thank you very much for this honorable award. I will continue to do my best to grow into an even better actor!”

     Ra-Eun clapped. She felt weird seeing her partner who had acted alongside her winning the Grand Prize.

     Director Hwang then whispered to her, “Why don’t you aim for the Grand Prize next year, Ra-Eun?”

     “Sure, if I come across a good production.”

     Only by encountering a good production could she hope for awards, just like this moment.

     * * *

     After the awards ceremony, actors and those closely connected to the video content industry gathered at the afterparty venue. Ra-Eun had also attended the event last year. Although she had met Kim Chi-Yeol last year…

     ‘I don’t see him this year.’

     Chi-Yeol had been swept by several scandals thanks to Ra-Eun, so he was nowhere to be seen. However, she could see someone else.

     ‘Noona’s here too.’

     Now that Park Hee-Woo had been newly inaugurated as the vice president of TP Entertainment, she was walking throughout the venue to meet people. She then waved at Ra-Eun.

     “Congratulations on your Top Excellence in Acting Award. But it’s a pity.”

     Ra-Eun’s eyebrows slightly flinched. Was she trying to criticize her speech? No, nothing of the sort. Hee-Woo suddenly leaned right up to Ra-Eun with a wide smile and then whispered into her ear so that no one else could hear.

     “I was actually hoping you’d win the Grand Prize.”

     An actress winning the Top Excellence in Acting Award in her third year of acting was already a remarkable feat, but Hee-Woo had been evaluating Ra-Eun much higher.

     ‘Noona must have an extremely good impression of me.’

     The same couldn’t be said for Hee-Woo’s little brother, but Ra-Eun decided not to mind it much. It was not like the relationship between Hee-Woo and Park Geon-Woo needed to improve for Ra-Eun’s revenge plan to be perfected.

     “I hope you’ll work with us next year,” Hee-Woo expressed.

     “Are you talking about a movie?”

     “Yes. We decided to invest in Director Yoon Tae-Yoon’s next work. The director happens to be here; do you mind if I introduce you to him?”

     Director Yoon Tae-Yoon was one of the most famous directors in the Korean film industry. He was known to have a strong personality. He did not follow the trends; he simply inserted his own unique ideas into his films, so there were many criticisms that his films were far too manic. However, as a result of the obstinate pursuit for his own path, he had proven that his unique tastes possessed commercial value.

     ‘At this time, I believe Director Yoon still hasn’t made a name for himself.’

     Ra-Eun decided to accept Hee-Woo’s offer.

     “I’d be honored.”

     “Perfect. Just a second.”

     Hee-Woo went somewhere. Ra-Eun sighed as Hee-Woo walked further and further away from her. Although Hee-Woo used to be her older sister, Ra-Eun still felt uncomfortable around her.

     ‘I don’t think I’ve ever spoken with Noona for this long.’

     But like an actress should, Ra-Eun did not let her discomfort show. She was skilled enough to maintain a perfect poker face in front of Kim Chi-Yeol, and Hee-Woo was nothing compared to him.

     “Ra-Eun!”

     Like Hee-Woo had said, she had come with Director Yoon Tae-Yoon. The director first congratulated Ra-Eun for her Top Excellence in Acting Award. She had been congratulated so many times today that her ears were starting to hurt.

     Hee-Woo’s chauffeur walked up to her as they were introducing themselves.

     “Vice President, the chairman is asking for you.”

     “Father is?”

     “Yes. He asked for you to call him as soon as possible.”

     Hee-Woo asked for Ra-Eun and Director Yoon’s understanding because something urgent seemed to have come up in the company.

     “I’m sorry. It looks like I’ll have to leave first.”

     The two people said it was okay. Rather, Ra-Eun was thankful that the person she was uncomfortable around was leaving of her own accord.

     Director Yoon awkwardly spoke first after Hee-Woo left, “I’m not sure if the vice president had told you, but I’ve been coming up with my next work. The project proposal hasn’t been officially approved yet, but it’s highly likely that you will receive a casting offer.”

     He was beating around the bush to say that he was hoping for Ra-Eun to take on the female lead role. There were tons of drama program directors and film directors hoping to cast her; she could tell from the enormous number of synopses that were sent to her right after Waitress came to an end.

     However, Ra-Eun was not planning on starring in just any drama or film. She would pick only productions that were foreseen to succeed.

     ‘There’s no need to walk down the hard path when I know the future.’

     Considering that, she needed to abstain from starring in Director Yoon’s productions at this point in time. There was no need to star in his works until he started becoming a household name. She would just aim for his productions down the road.

     ‘I’ll just be satisfied with acquainting myself with him for now.’

     Director Yoon politely requested Ra-Eun while having no idea of what she was thinking, “May I contact your agency as soon as the synopsis is complete?”

     Ra-Eun smiled radiantly. “Yes, of course.”

     Although, she would refuse as soon as she took a look at it.

     * * *

     After the Drama Awards ceremony, Ra-Eun spent the end of the year at home without going anywhere else. It was December 31st, 11:59 PM. The TV displayed numbers counting down.

     - 10! 9! 8! 7!

     “Let’s raise our glasses too, Ra-Eun,” Seo Yi-Seo said.

     “Okay.”

     The two girls decided to set the mood with soft drinks instead of alcohol since Ra-Eun couldn’t drink alcohol.

     - 3! 2! 1! Happy New Year!

     The people on the TV screen exclaimed celebrations for the new year. Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo also wished each other a happy new year.

     ‘And there goes another year.’

     Ra-Eun realized as she was staring at the TV that four years of her life as a woman had gone by in a flash.

     ‘I remember being stumped on what to do at first.’

     However, she was getting accustomed to it in her own right. She sincerely hoped for this year to go by without any problems like the previous three years had.

     * * *

     On January 1st, the monumental first day of the year, she received a call from Chief Jung.

     - Ra-Eun. I received a call this morning from someone who wanted to send you a script. It’s from…

     “Director Yoon Tae-Yoon, right?”

     - Huh? You already knew?

     “Yes. He told me about it during the Drama Awards afterparty.”

     Ra-Eun was already aware that Director Yoon had been working on his next work and that he was hoping for Ra-Eun to star in it.

     - That makes things quick, then. I still haven’t received the script yet; I was just told the general synopsis. But… sigh, I personally think it’ll be hard to make this movie a hit. It’s too difficult a genre.

     “What is it about?”

     Ra-Eun was quite curious about what sort of work that Director Yoon, who possessed unorthodox preferences, had brought to the table. She was extremely shocked by Chief Jung’s answer.

     - Do you know what TS Fiction is?

     Transsexual Fiction. Also known as gender bender, it was a genre of media where one’s gender was changed, either from a man to a woman, or vice versa. It was a fiction like the name suggested, but the problem was that from Ra-Eun’s perspective, it was a non-fiction.