I Returned as a High School Girl

Chapter 212: Secret Love (4)

Kang Ra-Eun sighed deeply as she had barely managed to wake up at 4:30 AM.

“The worst part about this entertainment world life is the inconsistent daily routine.”

She had been able to wake up and go to work at a consistent pattern when she used to be a bodyguard, but she had not been able to at all ever since becoming a celebrity. Her routine changed based on her schedule for the day, and today was no different. Since they had a film shoot scheduled in the middle of the city where people frequented, they needed to finish the shoot as early in the day as possible. Due to this, she had to wake up earlier than she had wanted.

Ra-Eun got on her knees and stretched her arms upward with the sound of joints cracking. She then bent over and raised her butt, getting into a cat pose. Her loose sleepwear slid down her back from her movements, exposing her slender arched back. She fixed her sleepwear back and combed her disheveled hair with her fingers.

“It’s too cold to sleep naked lately.”

Summer had passed, making way for the chilly autumn. Ra-Eun recalled sleeping in her underwear last week and waking up while sneezing. She barely dragged herself out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Before that, her gaze shifted to the living room to see Seo Yi-Seo staring at her smartphone while sitting on the couch. It was obvious that...

“You didn’t sleep?” Ra-Eun asked.

Yi-Seo noticed Ra-Eun only after she had called out to her.

“Hm? Yeah, I couldn’t sleep. You’re up early.”

“I forced myself awake because I have an early morning shoot today.”

“I see...” Yi-Seo slurred as she got up from the couch. “Should I make you a quick snack?”

“No, it’s okay. Miss Manager will buy me something, so I can just eat that on the car ride there. More importantly...”

Ra-Eun approached Yi-Seo with long strides, getting a bit too close for comfort. Yi-Seo stepped back before she realized it.

“Wh-What is it?” she asked in a fluster.

“Stay still.”

Ra-Eun put her arms around Yi-Seo’s waist so that she couldn’t run away. They were around the same height, so their eye levels were also the same. Yi-Seo had never been this close to Ra-Eun before, so her face turned as red as a tomato. Her beauty was still too radiant to look at directly early in the morning.

Ra-Eun checked Yi-Seo’s face with her large blinking eyes and said, “Your eyes are bloodshot. You haven’t slept a wink, have you?”

Yi-Seo nodded; it felt like she shouldn’t lie in such a situation.

Ra-Eun sighed. “What are you worried about this time?”

She had thought there was no longer any need to worry since Jo Su-Yeon was out of the equation, but the result had been completely different from what she had expected from Yi-Seo. Ra-Eun did not fully understand a maiden’s heart, so she decided to ask the person directly.

“Are you nervous that he’ll get another girlfriend?”

Yi-Seo’s face reddened again. “That’s not it, but...”

“Just confess your feelings to him.”

Ra-Eun also knew that Yi-Seo liked Kang Ra-Hyuk.

“I’m sure that guy won’t turn a girl like you down. You’re pretty and have a great personality, so have more confidence in yourself and confess to him.”

A girl like Yi-Seo had many things going for her, and she was a great match for Ra-Eun’s slightly slovenly older brother. Ra-Eun would be relieved to have Yi-Seo take care of Ra-Hyuk, and she also personally hoped for them to get together. However...

“I’m... still not sure if I really should confess.”

Ra-Eun held in her sigh from seeing Yi-Seo’s complex emotion.

‘I’m not sure either.’

She was not sure about how a maiden’s heart operated, and what love was.

***

“Let’s get ready for Scene #15. Stand by. Roll cameras! Ready... Action!”

Ra-Eun watched from behind the cameras as the other actors acted out the scene. She stared blankly at them with her chin resting on her hand.

Ji Han-Seok approached her and asked, “Is something on your mind lately?”

It was rare to see Ra-Eun in a daze on set, so Han-Seok couldn’t help but worry since it had been going on for several days.

Ra-Eun answered with an awkward smile, “No, nothing much.”

“Hm, really?”

Han-Seok was unexpectedly very good at reading people based on their expressions. He was in the same line of business as his grandfather, so this skill of his had been unintentionally polished as he attended meetings with buyers. Hence, he could tell that Ra-Eun had lied to him.

“I won’t tell a soul, so you can confide in me,” he remarked.

Ra-Eun knew that Han-Seok was a considerably tight-lipped person even without him telling her. He was definitely not the kind of person to go around blabbering other people’s secrets.

Ra-Eun held in her sigh and asked as she stared fixedly at him, “What do you think about love, sunbae?”

“L-Love?”

Han-Seok had never expected the word ‘love’ to come out of Ra-Eun’s mouth.

“Love, huh...? Could it be y-you found someone you like?”

Han-Seok’s heart beat rapidly. It was not out of joy, but out of anxiety that Ra-Eun might have fallen in love with someone other than him. The anxiety was killing him.

“Not me, but my friend who I live with seems to have found a guy that she likes.”

“Oh... You’re talking about that high school classmate of yours, right?”

“Yes.”

Although Han-Seok had never met Yi-Seo in person, he had knowledge of her. He sighed in relief after finding out that Ra-Eun had not fallen in love. Ra-Eun continued to talk about what was on her mind without caring about whatever was on Han-Seok’s mind.

“The person that she likes recently broke up with his girlfriend, so I thought she would go right ahead and confess her feelings to him, but she’s been doing nothing but hesitating.”

“And you’ve been like this because you feel frustrated about that, I see.”

“Yes, exactly.”

If Ra-Eun had been in Yi-Seo’s shoes, she would have confessed in a heartbeat, but Yi-Seo had not been able to.

“This is just my assumption, but your friend is an extremely cautious person, right?” Han-Seok asked.

“Yes, I guess you could say that.”

“The cautious types can’t help but be passive in terms of progressing in a relationship. Confessions might look very easy, but to the two people involved, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. It may simply be a switch in relationship from acquaintances to lovers, but the change that follows is a very large one.”

Their feelings, actions, manner of speaking and expression would change overnight, hence Han-Seok had described love and confessions as a once-in-a-lifetime event.

“It means they’ll become like family... or something even more than that, doesn’t it? That’s why I think it’s normal to be hesitant to reveal one’s feelings to someone else.”

Ra-Eun had never once truly loved someone before. She found Han-Seok’s serious advice rather unexpected.

“You seem to have a lot of dating experience, sunbae,” she said.

Han-Seok coughed repeatedly as if something had gotten caught in his throat.

“N-No! I wouldn’t say a lot...”

“It’s okay. I know guys like you are extremely popular with the ladies.”

Han-Seok was tall, handsome, rich, smart, and most of all, he was very kind to women. Even men would expect him to be popular with women.

“But... I already have someone that I truly like!” Han-Seok exclaimed.

“And who is that?” Ra-Eun asked.

“...”

He was speechless. The words weren’t able to leave his mouth, even when the target of his love was right in front of him. No, this might actually be an opportunity.

“Th-The one that I like is...”

All he had to say was one word: you. However, he had been met with terrible timing.

“Han-Seok. Please get ready for the next scene.”

“Huh? Oh, yes! Understood!”

Han-Seok reluctantly got up from his seat.

“I’ll... tell you when I get the chance next time, Ra-Eun.”

“Okay, sunbae.”

Ra-Eun took out her smartphone as she watched Han-Seok force his legs to move. She was getting a call from Ma Yeong-Jun.

- I’m about to investigate that Jo Su-Yeon woman again. Should I focus on how she’s connected to Congressman Kim Han-Gyo?

“She probably isn’t connected only to Congressman Kim. I’m sure there will be several other high-level figures involved with her, so try to find that out as well.”

- Alright. I will.

Weaknesses were an excellent chip for negotiation. Ra-Eun was planning on using Su-Yeon to plant a massive bomb in the political world. Right as Yeong-Jun was about to hang up...

“One more thing, mister. Have you ever thought about what love is?”

- ...

Yeong-Jun remained silent for exactly thirty seconds, and then barely managed to open his mouth to say:

- I think you’ve chosen the wrong person to ask.

“Yeah, me too.”

Ra-Eun shouldn’t have bothered asking.

***

Ra-Eun made plans with her two friends Na Gyu-Rin and Choi Ro-Mi, who could at least give her normal romance advice, while on her way home. Not only were they very close to both her and Yi-Seo, but they were also all the same age. Ra-Eun was sure that they would be able to weigh in on the topic of love that she was unaccustomed to.

Ra-Eun decided to leave out the fact that Yi-Seo liked Ra-Hyuk as she made the plans with the two girls.

‘It’d be better for Yi-Seo herself to tell them later.’

She had simply made plans to have a meal together with them.

Ra-Eun said to Shin Yu-Bin after getting out of the car, “Thank you very much, Miss Manager. Have a safe trip home.”

“Alright. I’ll see you next week.”

“Okay.”

Ra-Eun turned around after watching Yu-Bin’s car getting farther away for a while. An unfamiliar pair of sneakers caught her attention once she arrived at her home. Ra-Hyuk waved at her from the living room.

“Welcome back, lil’ sis.”

“Why are you here this time?”

“I thought I’d have dinner with you.”

Yi-Seo came out of the kitchen just in time and awkwardly waved at her.

“Go get changed, Ra-Eun. Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Okay.”

Ra-Eun narrowed her eyes at her older brother before going into her room.

‘He has no idea how Yi-Seo feels.’

Her older brother looked rather detestable today.

Ra-Eun, Ra-Hyuk and Yi-Seo sat down at the table together for dinner. Ra-Hyuk took a sip of the soybean paste stew.

“Mm~ I’m sure the man who marries Yi-Seo will be happy for life. Wouldn’t you agree?” he expressed.

Unlike Yi-Seo, whose face had become as red as a tomato, Ra-Eun gave him a death glare.

“Go die in a hole, moron.”

Ra-Hyuk had been insulted for a compliment.