I Returned as a High School Girl

Kang Ra-Eun was momentarily lost for words due to Ji Han-Seok’s sudden statement. He had told her not to kiss another man, even if it was just a performance.

‘How should I react to things like this?’

Ra-Eun had never been in a situation like this, so she could not think of an answer no matter how hard she racked her brain. Han-Seok was also abashed by himself for requesting such a thing.

“I’m... sorry. I said something weird, didn’t I?”

“No, it wasn’t weird. It was just...”

“Just what...?”

“...”

Not even Ra-Eun knew why she had left room for doubt.

“It’s nothing. I’m sorry,” she said.

“You shouldn’t be the one to apologize. It’s okay.”

An air of awkwardness enveloped the two of them. Since they were in a deserted park at night, the silence did not seem to want to end. Han-Seok broke the silence first.

“As for why I said that... It just unconsciously came out because I thought I would be jealous.”

Ra-Eun responded in difficulty, “Sunbae, do you...”

She purposefully did not finish her sentence because she thought that it would be better for Han-Seok to finish it for her. Like she had intended, Han-Seok decided to be honest with himself.

“Ever since I first met you on set, I’ve seen you as a woman and not just a junior.”

Han-Seok had known more than anyone else that he shouldn’t have such emotions, so he had been hiding them. Ra-Eun had more or less realized a while ago that Han-Seok had feelings for her, but she had maintained a close relationship with him for two reasons. The first was to establish a connection with him for the sake of her revenge, and the other was because she had realized that Han-Seok was a very good person.

Even when Ra-Eun knew that her actions would invoke misunderstandings in Han-Seok, she could not distance herself from him due to the two reasons. She had known very well that Han-Seok would one day confess his feelings to her, but...

‘Actually hearing it is...’ 𝚋ｅｄｎ𝚘𝚟ｅｌ.ｃｏ𝚖

Inexplicable emotions surged within her. Han-Seok’s confession was certainly more impactful than a confession from a man that she had zero interest in. It truly showed how long she had known him.

“I didn’t say these things because I want an answer from you right here and now, so you don’t have to force yourself to give me a response,” Han-Seok expressed.

“Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“Yeah. The wait might be painful for some, but also heart racing for others. Besides...” Han-Seok remarked with a bitter smile. “Waiting is far better than getting rejected.”

Ra-Eun softly smiled as she looked at Han-Seok’s lifeless smile. It seemed as if he already knew what her answer would be, so he had chosen to wait rather than be turned down. His answer might be wise as well as foolish, but if that was his choice, then...

“Okay. I’ll do as you say, sunbae.”

Even dead people’s wishes were fulfilled, so there was no reason why a living person’s wishes shouldn’t be. However, Ra-Eun had no intention of making him wait forever. Once Han-Seok was prepared to hear her answer as well as resolved enough to endure the results, Ra-Eun was planning on letting him hear the answer that had popped up in her head.

***

Although there had been some unexpected trouble in the middle, Ra-Eun had ended up visiting the restaurant that Joo Yeon-Ha owned with Han-Seok as planned. It was a Korean fusion restaurant located in Suwon. Ra-Eun thought as she stared at a two-story building in the middle of a large parking lot.

‘It’s pretty big.’

Despite not yet having amassed fame through TV appearances, Yeon-Ha’s restaurant was already booming with business.

‘Her culinary skills must be out of this world.’

Whether it be singers or actors, one needed to possess a baseline level of skill to last long in their respective industry. If one appeared on TV without that baseline level to try and make themselves known, the public would realize their intentions immediately since people were extremely sharp these days.

They had been able to enter the restaurant without any wait because Han-Seok had called in advance to make a reservation. The mumbles of waiting customers grew louder as they saw Han-Seok and Ra-Eun together.

“Are they here to eat together?”

“Come on, they’re probably here for a film meeting.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

They had been misunderstood, but it was far better than a scandal. Ra-Eun decided to take the people’s reactions in a positive way.

They were guided by an employee to a small room. Shortly after, Chef Joo Yeon-Ha appeared in a chef’s uniform.

“I’m so sorry, Ra-Eun. I should’ve come to greet you earlier. We’re always the busiest at this time of day.”

“It’s okay. It’s my fault since I made Han-Seok sunbae help me meet you.”

“You’re not at any fault whatsoever, so don’t think like that, hoho.”

The way Yeon-Ha looked back and forth at Ra-Eun and Han-Seok was highly suspicious, as if she had been asked by someone to make sure to connect the two of them. But even so, Ra-Eun decided not to take her suspicious gazes in a weird way since she had come here for something far more important.

Their meal began. The employees set the dishes prepared in advance one by one on the table to match their eating speed. Ra-Eun had often heard about Yeon-Ha’s culinary skills, but she had never personally tasted her food. Yeon-Ha’s restaurant would become even busier once she began to make TV appearances, so Ra-Eun had not even thought about eating here in her past life because rumor had it that one needed to book a month in advance. Since this was a difficult opportunity to grab hold of, Ra-Eun decided to turn off her diet mode for today.

‘I don’t have any plans to star in a production for a while anyway.’

Ra-Eun could not easily choose her next production because her kiss scene was on the line. She also wanted to use the momentum that she had gained from stripping Kim Han-Gyo of his congressperson title to drive him into a corner even more.

Ra-Eun secretly took out her smartphone in the middle of eating and sent So Ha-Jin a text.

Vrrr—!

Exactly one minute later, Yeon-Ha heard the sound of a vibrating phone.

“Han-Seok. I think you’re getting a call.”

Like Yeon-Ha had said, Han-Seok’s smartphone display had lit up. It was an unknown number, but Han-Seok asked to be excused for a moment.

“I’m going to go take a quick call since it might be from a film or drama production company.”

Such calls usually went through to a manager, but actors were also called directly on very rare occasions if it was from a director or staff member that the actor was very close to. Hence, Han-Seok tried to answer as many calls as he could. However, unlike his expectations, this call had been from someone that had nothing to do with the industry.

“Hello?”

- Good evening. This is Team Leader Song Ah-Jin of the survey organization ‘Research Institute’. Could I request a bit of your time for a quick survey?

“A survey?”

- Yes! We’re collecting statistical data from unmarried men and women by request of the government.

So Ha-Jin, who had introduced herself as Song Ah-Jin, expertly recited a script that had been prepared in advance. Ra-Eun had given her Han-Seok’s number and told her to call him while pretending to be an employee of a survey organization.

“A survey... Will it take long?”

- No, not at all!

“Sigh... Okay.”

Han-Seok was not the kind of person to hang up on such calls. Knowing this, Ra-Eun had purposefully made Ha-Jin call him because she had something that she needed to tell Yeon-Ha in private.

***

Ra-Eun praised Ha-Jin inside her head as soon as Han-Seok left the room. Now that there wasn't anyone to interfere, it was time for Ra-Eun to take action.

“Um... Chef Joo. This might be a bit of a sensitive topic, but...”

Ra-Eun pretended to be reluctant. Yeon-Ha tilted her head in wonder due to Ra-Eun’s change in attitude.

“A sensitive topic? What is it?” she asked.

“One of my acquaintances is a reporter, and they had told me not long ago that they had substituted for another reporter due to the latter's family circumstances. It was for an interview with one of Congressman Kim Han-Gyo’s close associates.”

“So?”

Yeon-Ha did not show any particular response yet. Ra-Eun would now get into the main point.

“As they were interviewing Congressman Jo Su-Hwang and Jin Pil-Oh, Congressman Jin apparently made a slip of the tongue. I had heard that he had talked badly about you, Chef Joo.”

Yeon-Ha’s face froze as soon as Ra-Eun mentioned Pil-Oh’s name. Her expression was one of someone that had stepped on shit.

“What... did he say?”

“Apparently, he said that you two had divorced due to a difference in personalities. The reporter secretly told me about the congressman saying that he had decided to get a divorce because you got... way too jealous all the time, and that he couldn’t handle the distrust.”

“In front of reporters...! Hah! I can’t believe this.”

Yeon-Ha’s face turned purple with rage. Humans were truly emotional creatures; simply ruffling their feathers even a little was enough for them to burst with rage.

“That man has always been like that. He always blamed me for every bad thing that happened to him, and acted as if he had done absolutely nothing wrong!”

Jin Pil-Oh seemed to be Yeon-Ha’s trigger. Ra-Eun suppressed her smile as she witnessed Yeon-Ha’s rage. All she needed to do now was to use that anger for her own purpose.

.

“At this rate, only you will look bad. I’ll help you, so why don’t we show the world that Congressman Jin’s words are a total lie?”

“I’d be grateful if you would help me! I’m sure you know a lot of reporters!”

“Just trust me.”

It was fun to watch other people’s revenge from time to time.