I Returned as a High School Girl

The atmosphere around the outdoor set of Spokesperson?was blazing enough to negate the freezing winter air.

“Roll cameras! Ready... Action!”

Na Ji-Yang, played by Kang Ra-Eun, collapsed on her knees on the cold cement floor as her disheveled hair fluttered in the wind. The tough-looking men looked down at her degradingly.

“You wouldn’t have had to go through something like this if you had just stayed in your lane like a modest woman should, don’t you think?”

“Killing a bitch like you is child’s play to us.”

The men snickered while ridiculing Ji-Yang. However, she looked up at them with ice-cold eyes without backing down.

“Did Yang Han-Sik order you to do this?”

Yang Han-Sik, played by Hwang Je-Woong, was the villain of Spokesperson?that Ji-Yang was up against. Ji-Yang had been digging for weaknesses that could put a stop to Han-Sik’s rise in the political world, and having realized this, Han-Sik had decided to hire people to erase her.

The men did not give a clear answer to Ji-Yang’s straightforward question.

“You should ask the Grim Reaper about that.”

Just then, Director Seo Yong-Mun raised his megaphone and exclaimed, “Cut! Just a second, please.”

He paused the shoot and fell into deep thought as he replayed the scene on the monitor. He wanted to give the impression that Ji-Yang was under more pressure from the men.

“Isn’t just disheveled hair a bit lacking?” he asked Ra-Eun and the other staff members.

“I think you’re right. It doesn’t really look like she’s been assaulted.”

Ji-Yang’s clothes were too neat and tidy despite having been kidnapped by Han-Sik’s men. Ra-Eun looked down at her clothes as she was watching the scene through the monitor. She was wearing coffee-colored stockings and formal wear with a skirt, clothes that Ji-Yang frequently wore.

Ra-Eun came up with an idea.

“How about this, then?”

Ra-Eun slightly lifted up her skirt, shocking the male staff members. They quickly turned their gazes elsewhere. Moments later, they heard sounds of something ripping.

“Wouldn’t this make it look more realistic?”

Ra-Eun had ripped her stockings in several places, exposing her pale and smooth skin. Everyone turned red with embarrassment, but Ra-Eun herself did not seem to mind very much.

Director Seo coughed and replied, “A-Ahem! I-I think that’s good.”

The state of the coffee-colored stockings adequately portrayed the danger that Ji-Yang was in.

After checking that Ra-Eun was going back in front of the cameras, Director Seo whispered to the camera director to advise him, “Don’t focus too much on Ra-Eun’s legs, okay?”

The camera director nodded. They were filming a political thriller, not an R-rated film.

***

Ra-Eun’s wits had allowed the shoot to end without issues.

“Great work, everyone!”

Ra-Eun, who had finished yet another hard day of shooting, sat down to relieve as little of her fatigue as possible while Shin Yu-Bin was getting ready for them to leave.

‘I have to change too.’

Ra-Eun felt colder because of the ripped stockings. She took out a hand warmer and brought it to the exposed skin. She was swept over with drowsiness as she was enveloped in warmth.

‘No wonder. I’ve been shooting since early morning.’

“Ra-Eun.”

As Ra-Eun was on the verge of dozing off, Yu-Bin called out to her as she tapped on her shoulder.

“Are you finished?” Ra-Eun asked.

“Yeah. I started the car, so let’s go. Oh, and you got a call earlier.”

“From who?”

“A friend of yours. You know, the one that cares a lot about appearances.”

Yu-Bin had been referring to Choi Ro-Mi. They texted each other from time to time, but it had been a while since Ro-Mi had called her first. Ra-Eun called her as soon as she got in Yu-Bin’s car. Ro-Mi picked up immediately; she had likely been on her phone.

- Hey, Ra-Eun. Is your shoot over?

“Yeah, just now. I heard you’d called.”

- Yeah. There’s something I should let you know about.

Whenever Ro-Mi said something like this, it was often regarding news about their high school classmates, and Ra-Eun had been right on the mark.

- Se-Hyun is getting married.

Ahn Se-Hyun had been Ra-Eun’s classmate in her second and third years of high school. She had not been outstanding in any way, nor had she possessed any negative aspects. She had simply been the plain student that every single class had. However, Ra-Eun remembered Se-Hyun very well.

- You remember Se-Hyun, right? 𝚋ｅ𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖｅ𝚕．𝚘𝚛𝚐

“Yeah. She’s the one who covered my skirt with a book when I walked up the stairs.”

- Yeah, her.

Ra-Eun had obviously lacked carefulness as a woman when she had first become one. She had not even picked up the habit of closing her legs, so she of course had no idea that she needed to cover the area down there with something when going up and down stairs.

Not only that, Ra-Eun’s skirt had been shorter than those of the other girls at the time. She had once gone up the stairs without a thought, but Se-Hyun had rushed behind her to keep her secrets hidden. It might have been a small act of kindness for Se-Hyun, but it had been something much greater for Ra-Eun since it had taught her to always be careful when using the stairs.

“Se-Hyun is getting married already?”

- Yeah. She’s been dating a sunbae from her college. Now that the sunbae got a job, they’re also preparing a wedding.

“Really?”

Ra-Eun was fairly shocked to hear that her classmate was already getting married. Se-Hyun was the first one among her friends to get married.

‘Well, I’ve heard women tend to want to get married quicker than men do.’

Even so, she couldn’t help but feel weird about it.

- Se-Hyun will probably meet with Yi-Seo tomorrow and give her the invitation letter. She said she’ll get one for you too.

Ra-Eun had no time to receive the letter due to film shoots and TV appearances, hence Seo Yi-Seo would receive it in her place.

- Are you gonna come to Se-Hyun’s wedding?

“Yeah, if I have nothing on my schedule.”

After all, they were friends. Not just that, Ra-Eun also wanted to relieve some stress, which had accumulated from all kinds of things, by meeting her former classmates.

- I’m sure Se-Hyun would also love for you to come. In that case, I guess we’ll see each other there. I’ll call again next time.

“Okay.”

Yu-Bin asked as soon as Ra-Eun hung up, “Is your friend getting married?”

“Yes.”

“Ro-Mi?”

“No. A high school classmate of mine named Ahn Se-Hyun.”

“Marriage, huh...? How nice. I haven’t even dated anyone lately.”

Ra-Eun felt it was weird that Yu-Bin was still single.

“Wouldn’t you be able to snatch a man whenever you want?” Ra-Eun asked.

Although she was nowhere near celebrity-level, Yu-Bin was also fairly attractive. However, she was still single for some reason.

“I don’t have the time to date,” Yu-Bin expressed.

If Ra-Eun was busy, so was Yu-Bin since she was her manager and practically her arms and legs.

“Should I take a long break after this film shoot is over?” Ra-Eun suggested.

“Why? You want to get a boyfriend too?”

“Of course not.”

There was no way that would happen.

***

Classmates gathered with the wedding just around the corner.

Se-Hyun, the protagonist of this gathering, asked Yi-Seo sitting next to her, “What about Ra-Eun? She can’t come today?”

“She has a shoot today, so she’ll be a bit late.”

Se-Hyun had given Ra-Eun the invitation letter through Yi-Seo. They were at a party among high school classmates one week before the wedding.

Ro-Mi raised a glass filled with beer and exclaimed, “Let’s have a toast for our bride-to-be! Cheers!”

The gathering turned clamorous thanks to Ro-Mi, the mood maker.

Se-Hyun brought up an important topic as they were drinking, “Hey guys, are any of you good at singing?”

“Singing?”

“Why, all of a sudden?”

Se-Hyun’s face turned slightly pale.

“We were planning on entrusting the wedding song to one of Oppa’s friends, but he can’t anymore because of other business. That’s why we’ve been urgently searching for someone to sing for us, and... I was wondering if any of you could.”

They all averted Se-Hyun’s gaze at the mention of a wedding song. They were fine with karaoke among friends, but it was hard to sing in front of an audience without enough guts. It was hard enough to present in front of a class, so singing a wedding song was far more difficult.

“Aren’t you good at singing, Ro-Mi?”

“Me?” Ro-Mi furiously shook her head after suddenly being designated. “I can’t sing a wedding song. I might drop the mic from anxiety if I’m told to sing in front of strangers.”

“What about you, Yi-Seo? I remember you having a great voice when we went to karaoke together last time.”

“I’m also...”

No one was stepping up. They could have the ceremonial hall hire someone to sing the wedding song, but Se-Hyun preferred to have a friend sing in her once-of-a-lifetime wedding instead of a complete stranger.

Just then, Ro-Mi brought up someone that was not present, “Why don’t we ask Ra-Eun?”

“Ra-Eun?”

They all tilted their heads in confusion.

“Ra-Eun can sing?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard her sing.”

“Ra-Eun was the only one who didn’t sing when we went to karaoke last time, wasn’t she?”

They had never seen Ra-Eun sing despite being high school classmates, so they couldn’t understand Ro-Mi’s suggestion at all.

“I heard from Ga-Ae that Ra-Eun is an amazing singer,” Ro-Mi said.

“By Ga-Ae... Do you mean the singer Han Ga-Ae?”

“Yup.”

Han Ga-Ae had once coincidentally heard Ra-Eun sing, and had told Ro-Mi and Na Gyu-Rin about Ra-Eun’s singing skills back when they had gone to the beach together.

“Sorry I’m late. The shoot took so long.”

Ra-Eun appeared as they were talking about the wedding song. Her classmates’ gazes all shifted to her. Ra-Eun unknowingly took a step back from the unknown sense of uneasiness.

“Wh-What?”

“Ra-Eun,” Ro-Mi said while smiling meaningfully. “Could you sing the wedding song at Se-Hyun’s wedding?”

Her uneasiness had become reality.