I Returned as a High School Girl

Kang Ra-Eun thought very deeply about being asked to sing the wedding song. She did not dislike singing, even in front of strangers. She had even sung at the weddings of two of her friends in her past life. She had not been an amazing singer, but she had also not been tone-deaf.

Even despite all that, Ra-Eun had never sung at a karaoke bar after becoming a woman. It was not because she had come to hate singing, but because she had not been confident enough to sing with a female voice during her initial years as a woman. She had gotten much more used to it now, but not enough for her to immediately accept the request to sing at a wedding.

“Why me of all people?” Ra-Eun asked.

She was curious about why the conversation had led to this result in the time that she hadn’t been here.

Choi Ro-Mi answered first, “Because Ga-Ae mentioned that you have an amazing voice. I still remember it to this day.”

“Doesn’t it mean you’re a fantastic singer if a famous singer praises your voice?”

“So true.”

Han Ga-Ae had happened to hear Ra-Eun’s singing when she had first visited the GNF agency building. Ra-Eun had never expected that episode to influence an event much further down the line.

“Your singing skills aside, I’m sure everyone will love it if you sing.”

“Yeah. After all, you’re a celebrity.”

It would certainly garner attention if Ra-Eun sang at the wedding. Ra-Eun turned her gaze toward Ahn Se-Hyun.

Se-Hyun softly smiled and expressed, “You don’t have to if it’s too much pressure. I don’t want to force it on you.”

Se-Hyun was as kind-hearted as always. Ra-Eun had heard Se-Hyun’s circumstances from Seo Yi-Seo three days ago; Se-Hyun had been planning on just registering for a marriage certificate instead of holding a ceremony, because...

‘Their financial circumstances aren’t that good, if I remember correctly.’

Se-Hyun’s household was not very well-off. Just like Ra-Eun’s family, Se-Hyun had lost her mother at a very young age, and her father had to raise three kids all on his own. As the eldest daughter, Se-Hyun had given up on going to a four-year university and went to a community college instead to get a job as soon as possible and help out with family expenses. Se-Hyun’s dream had been to become an astronomer, but had given up on that dream without hesitation for her family.

Her fiance’s household was not that well-off either, so they had planned to give up on holding a ceremony. However, they decided to have one after strong opposition from both of their parents.

Ra-Eun had only found out about Se-Hyun’s family circumstances after becoming an adult.

‘I had no idea since she was always so bright back in high school.’

Ra-Eun found Se-Hyun worthy of respect. She sighed in her head. Seeing Se-Hyun’s smile had been enough for Ra-Eun to come to a decision.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

Her classmates, who had been expecting for her to refuse, were in shock.

“R-Really?”

“You’ll sing? Are you sure?” 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝑛𝘰𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝘯𝘦𝘵

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

Ra-Eun decided to hold up a mic to pay back the debt that she owed Se-Hyun from back in high school.

***

Ra-Eun had decided to sing at the wedding, but had no idea what to do now. The biggest problem was which song to sing, so she decided to get advice from the experts: Han Ga-Ae and Rita.

Rita continued to ask in shock from the fact that Ra-Eun had decided to sing at a wedding, “Are you really going to sing?”

“Yes.”

“You and that Ahn Se-Hyun girl must be super close.”

If Ra-Eun was forced to make a comparison, she would consider Se-Hyun a childhood friend, but that was not the case.

“We were just acquaintances in high school,” Ra-Eun remarked.

“Why did you decide to sing at her wedding, then?”

Rita was curious about what had gotten into Ra-Eun to have made such a decision.

“I’ve been helped by her in the past, so I just want to repay my debt to her.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense. I thought that considering your personality, there was no way that you would sing at a wedding for absolutely no reason.”

“What’s wrong with my personality?”

“If I have to put it in words... You’re like a hedgehog.”

“...”

Ra-Eun couldn’t deny it since it was right on the mark. Rita was so in love with Ra-Eun that she had a perfect understanding of her.

“That’s enough about me. Please recommend to me a song that I can sing at the wedding,” Ra-Eun changed the subject.

She knew a few wedding songs that men could sing, but none for women since there had been no need for her to know until now. Hence, she had requested help from Rita and Ga-Ae, who were always requested by their acquaintances to sing at weddings because of the simple fact that they were singers.

Ga-Ae suggested first, “How about I Said, I Love You by Su-Yeon sunbae?”

“How does it go?”

“You’ve never heard it before?”

“I’m not sure.”

Ga-Ae played the song for Ra-Eun on her smartphone. Only after hearing the familiar melody and acoustic guitar chords was Ra-Eun able to figure out which song it was.

“This is the song from that coffee commercial, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. The lyrics are just right for a wedding song. I sang it at one of my acquaintance’s weddings. The high notes aren’t too high for you to handle, and it’s easy to sing because it has a slow tempo. What do you think?”

“Mmm...”

It certainly was a good song, but Ra-Eun wasn’t drawn to it.

“How about this, then?”

Having noticed that Ra-Eun did not like it, she immediately let her hear a second song. However, it had not been enough to draw Ra-Eun in. She still had not made a decision after several attempts from Ga-Ae. Just then, Rita pulled out a trump card.

“I guess I have no choice. Have a listen to this one.”

The song had a completely different feel to everything that Ga-Ae had played thus far. It felt as if...

“This isn’t an official sound file, is it?” Ra-Eun asked.

Rita was impressed by her accurate assumption.

“How keen of you. You’re exactly right. This is actually one of the B-side tracks that failed to be included in my last album. I personally like the song, so I didn’t want to just let it die. That’s why...”

“You’re going to give it to me?” Ra-Eun predicted Rita’s next words.

Rita nodded. “If you want it.”

“...”

Ra-Eun liked this song among everything that she had heard.

“What’s it called?” she asked.

“Undecided.”

“The title is Undecided?”

“No, I mean it hasn’t been named yet. If you decide to sing this at the wedding, you can give it a title.”

Ra-Eun had decided on the song, so all she needed to do now was to give it a title.

***

The day of Se-Hyun’s wedding ceremony had arrived. The ceremonial hall was fairly petite since it had been set to be small in scale, but there were quite a lot of guests in comparison. Se-Hyun and her fiance were both such bright people with amazing personalities that they had an enormous number of friends. Hence, their wedding couldn’t help but have gathered many guests.

Although the bride and groom were today’s protagonists, there was someone that had unintentionally stolen their spotlight, Kang Ra-Eun. She had worn an outfit in skirt form that she rarely wore voluntarily. She had likely matched designs with Seo Yi-Seo since they were wearing similar one-piece dresses.

The guests all focused on her once she had arrived.

“Could that person be the celebrity Kang Ra-Eun?”

“Why is Kang Ra-Eun here?”

Everyone that had not gone to the same high school as Se-Hyun were dumbfounded. People couldn’t take their eyes off of Ra-Eun, who was blindingly beautiful despite only wearing light makeup. Even Choi Sang-Woon, who had worn a suit, was lost for words.

Ra-Eun smirked as she saw him and asked, “Is there something on my face? Why are you staring so hard?”

“N-No, it’s just that... You’re so beautiful.”

“Oh? You’re brave enough to tell women that they’re beautiful now, huh? You’ve grown.”

“R-Really?”

Ra-Eun giggled as Sang-Woon scratched his head in embarrassment. There was another man besides Sang-Woon who had feelings for Ra-Eun for a long time.

“Ra-Eun!”

It was Park Se-Woon, the executive director of Dumont Trois. He had attended the wedding in a hairstyle that fully exposed his forehead.

Ra-Eun greeted him back, “Oh, you’re here. I thought you wouldn’t be able to come because you were busy.”

“Of course I’d come, since you’re here.”

Unlike Sang-Woon, Se-Woon blurted out cheesy lines without hesitation. There was no way that Se-Woon would miss a friend’s wedding, but even more so when Ra-Eun would be singing in it. Ra-Eun was extremely popular among male and female classmates alike.

Moments later, everyone headed to the hall after the host announced that the ceremony would begin soon. Kim Yeong-Gyo, Sang-Woon’s best friend, decided to take on the role of host. After the groom’s entrance...

“Following will be the bridal march. May the bride enter.”

The lights turned off, and Se-Hyun stepped on the red carpet in her wedding dress while her father escorted her by the hand. Ra-Eun was astonished to see her friend, who had been plain during their high school days, be so dazzling.

‘Was Se-Hyun always this pretty?’

Ra-Eun was reminded of a phrase that a woman became boundlessly more beautiful when they were in love. Ra-Eun’s time to sing arrived soon after the greeting and officiation. She received a mic from a ceremonial hall employee, and waited until Yeong-Gyo gave her the cue.

“Thank you for the long wait, ladies and gentlemen. Now, let us listen to the wedding song sung by Miss Kang Ra-Eun, a long friend of the bride Ahn Se-Hyun. Please give her a warm round of applause!”

Applause and cheers filled the hall. Ra-Eun had not been nervous in the slightest, but her heart began to beat rapidly as she was greeted so energetically.

‘Calm down, Kang Ra-Eun!’

Ra-Eun raised the mic while slapping herself inside her head, and expressed with a smile, “I’ve been given an original song from Rita sunbae to celebrate Se-Hyun’s wedding.”

Rita had left naming the song to Ra-Eun. After some very long thought, she had finally managed to come up with a title.

“Please enjoy, A Road Filled with Happiness.”

Ra-Eun desired for the road ahead of the bride and groom to be replaced from that of hardships, to that of happiness, and she decided to put those feelings into this song.

***

Ra-Eun managed to come back home after the wedding and collapsed on the couch.

“My God, I’m exhausted.”

She felt fatigue far greater than what she usually felt after shoots. As her fatigue was finally being relieved, Yi-Jun came up to her.

“Great job, Noona.”

“I really did a great job.”

Ra-Eun felt very proud of herself.

Yi-Jun opened his mouth after a few moments of reluctance, “I have something to ask you.”

“Me? What is it?”

“It’s nothing major,” he replied while smiling awkwardly.

Ra-Eun had not expected the next words that came out of his mouth.

“I’ve ended up getting invited to a TV show, so I’d like a few pieces of advice from you.”