I Returned as a High School Girl

Of course, he had ended up returning not as Geon-Woo but Ra-Eun due to some mishaps, but that was not important right now. No, she might only have been able to be in this exact situation because she had returned not as Geon-Woo, but a complete third-party individual like Ra-Eun.

Han-Gyo had one thing that he wanted to ask Ra-Eun no matter what.

“What have I done to you for you to...”

Han-Gyo could not understand at all. Not only had he never caused harm to Ra-Eun in any way, they had almost nothing in common. He wouldn’t be this frustrated if he had excessively caused her harm, but he couldn’t accept why he had to suffer this much in her hands when he had done absolutely nothing to her.

Ra-Eun knew that her revenge might seem very illogical in Han-Gyo’s perspective. The person that she should be taking revenge against was the Han-Gyo of her previous timeline that had driven her to her death and turned it into an unjust suicide. The current Han-Gyo had not betrayed her nor had any intentions to, but Ra-Eun did not consider that to be important.

‘Even if he hadn’t done anything to me in this life...’

“...You’ve committed far too much evil.”

Ra-Eun was not the only victim. From the beginning to now, Han-Gyo had risen to his current position through the blood and tears of others. Ra-Eun had only managed to find out the entirety of his crimes recently. Her revenge was also for those victims, in a sense. Han-Gyo had sinned far too much.

Han-Gyo could not refute that in any way since it was true. Ra-Eun sighed softly and turned her gaze to the medical device next to the hospital bed. This small and cold machine was Han-Gyo’s lifeline.

“Someone I know once told me that a person’s death can be easily fabricated these days.”

It could be made as an extreme decision from depression, or a medical accident. The current Ra-Eun was able to fabricate Han-Gyo’s death however she wanted. This was the end that she had in mind for him.

Han-Gyo’s eyes shook violently. A terror that he had never felt before swept over him. He had never even dreamed to feel such a thing from a girl far younger than him, and neither did Ra-Eun.

‘I never expected to be taking my revenge in this form.’

She turned to the medical device and slowly walked toward it. So Ha-Jin stared at her anxiously.

“Chairwoman.”

Ra-Eun slightly turned her head toward her.

“What...?”

“...It’s nothing.”

Ha-Jin was unable to bring the words that she was thinking of out of her mouth. She did not want to see Ra-Eun taking someone’s life. If Ra-Eun did, Ha-Jin felt like the Ra-Eun that she knew would disappear forever. Ra-Eun also had an idea of what Ha-Jin wanted to say.

“...”

She stretched her arm out toward the machine without a word. Han-Gyo could only stare as Ra-Eun moved toward the machine without hesitation. He no longer had the strength to resist; the only thing that he could do was to watch as Ra-Eun forcibly ended his life.

Vrrrr.

Ra-Eun’s phone suddenly vibrated. She was swept with all kinds of thoughts as she stared at the name that was on the display.

Kang Ra-Hyuk.

Her older brother had called her at this late hour. Ra-Eun thought that she didn’t have to answer it since she was in the middle of an important moment. No, she thought that she needed to decline the call. However, her body moved in the complete opposite way from what she had intended. She could hear Ra-Hyuk’s voice as soon as she accepted the call.

- Hello? I heard you still haven’t come home. Where are you?

“What do you care what someone else does?”

Ra-Eun had always dealt with Ra-Hyuk very bluntly, but she sounded a little different from usual. Her voice was filled with coldness. However, Ra-Hyuk wanted to make one thing perfectly clear.

- Someone else? Don’t say that. You’re my family.

Ra-Eun’s small lips clenched shut the moment that Ra-Hyuk mentioned ‘family’.

- I heard from Yi-Jun that there’s been something on your mind lately.

“...”

- I don’t know what it is, but make sure you tell me if you need my help. Whatever anyone else says, you’re my precious family and little sister.

Although such words usually made Ra-Eun hurl, it touched her heart today for some reason. After ending the call, she checked the huge number of text messages that she had received. Seo Yi-Seo, Na Gyu-Rin, Choi Ro-Mi, Seo Yi-Jun, Choi Sang-Woon, Park Se-Woon, her manager Shin Yu-Bin, Chief Jung, Ji Han-Seok, Je-Woon, and many more... They had all sent her messages because they were worried about her.

Something like this would have been unimaginable back when she was a man. After Geon-Woo had severed ties with his family, he had always been alone. However, not anymore; as he lived the life of Kang Ra-Eun, she had received so much love and interest to the point that she couldn’t handle it. Everyone around her always cared for her.

Seeing those texts, Ra-Eun’s hands trembled. She forcibly put her smartphone back in her pocket and turned back toward the medical device. It would all be over as long as she pressed the button on the bottom of the machine. She had frantically run all this way without ever looking back for this very moment. Getting payback for the indignity that she had suffered that day had been her sole purpose in life... or that was what she had thought.

However, after spending her days as the woman Kang Ra-Eun, she had ended up obtaining a new goal in life besides her revenge. The call from Ra-Hyuk had helped her realize that.

“Chairwoman,” Ha-Jin called out to Ra-Eun one more time. “I... like you just the way that you’ve always been, so you don’t have to push yourself.”

Ha-Jin mustered up the courage to say what she had been unable to say before. Her words had many implications behind them.

Ra-Eun replied shortly, “I know.”

She had hated the fact that she had become a woman at first, but now her thoughts had completely changed. If she was once again given the chance to choose between her former self and her current self, she might choose to become ‘her’ rather than ‘him’.

Ra-Eun sighed deeply and took her finger off of the button. She wouldn’t have cared if she was still Park Geon-Woo, but she did not want to dirty Kang Ra-Eun’s hands with blood. Not just that, she did not want to become the same kind of trash as Han-Gyo.

Ra-Eun took one step back and warned the panting Han-Gyo while looking down at him, “There is no one who will help you now. No one in the political world nor the financial world. I made sure of it.”

She wanted Han-Gyo to know that no one was on his side anymore.

“If you want to take revenge against me, you come at me this time. I’ll be your opponent again.”

And with that, Ra-Eun left the hospital room.

***

As soon as Ra-Eun and Ha-Jin came out of Han-Gyo’s hospital room, Team Leader Park Eun-Soo stood in their way.

“What did you talk about with the congressman while I was away?”

“Nothing much, really. I just wished him a long and healthy life,” Ra-Eun replied.

There was no way that was the case. If she had truly cared for the congressman’s wellbeing, she would never have done something like this in the first place.

“Are you gonna stay with Congressman Kim?”

“...”

“You don’t really have to stay loyal to him, do you? Besides, it’s not like he’s worthy of your loyalty.”

Eun-Soo was a highly capable person. Ra-Eun had always been uneasy about the fact that he had been by Han-Gyo’s side.

Eun-Soo answered, “I simply did as much as I had been paid.”

That had been the only reason why he had stood by Han-Gyo.

“When does your bodyguarding contract expire?” Ra-Eun asked.

The corners of Eun-Soo’s mouth curled up very slightly.

“Today.”

Eun-Soo had not told Han-Gyo this directly, but he also saw Han-Gyo’s actions very unfavorably. The man had built up his career by being a saint in the light and trampling on the weak in the shadows. Eun-Soo had watched over that side of Han-Gyo for a very long time.

Having liked his answer, Ra-Eun offered Eun-Soo a new job.

“I happen to have a great position you might be interested in. Would you like to give it a try?”

Eun-Soo could more or less tell what the job was without getting the details, but shook his head.

“No. I’ll be getting out of this business.”

“What are you gonna do, then?”

“I’ll have to think about it as I take a break.”

With that, he would have no reason to meet with Ra-Eun anymore.

As Eun-Soo was about to leave, Ra-Eun asked, “Your hobby is drawing, right? Why don’t you give that a shot?”

“You investigated me along with the congressman?”

There was barely anyone who knew that Eun-Soo drew as a hobby, so he was curious how Ra-Eun knew about it. She made the same excuse she always made about her knowledge of the future.

“Just a ‘hunch’.”

“A hunch, huh...? I see.”

Eun-Soo smiled softly. As Ra-Eun watched him walk away until he could no longer be seen, she gestured to Ha-Jin.

“Let’s go too.”

“Yes, Chairwoman.”

This had not been the end that Ra-Eun had in mind, but it was not a bad one.

***

Yi-Seo hugged Ra-Eun as soon as she came back home.

“Where have you been all this time?”

“I had to meet someone.”

“You have no idea how worried I was... I’m glad everything worked out okay, at least. The news reported that the prosecution was going to summon Kim Han-Gyo and investigate everything he had done.”

Ra-Eun was unsure if Han-Gyo would be in his right mind to cooperate with the investigation. Not only was he completely broken both physically and mentally, there was no one left to help him anymore. He could only rely on himself to resolve things from now on.

‘I’ll look over him suffering for the rest of his life.’

That was the role Ra-Eun had given herself. But before that...

“Yi-Jun.”

Ra-Eun called out to Yi-Jun, who had been standing nervously at the back, while rubbing her stomach.

“I’m hungry. Make me something.”

Yi-Jun’s expression brightened.

“Okay! I’ll make all of your favorite dishes today!”

“Thanks.”

Ra-Eun had realized for the first time in her life how blessed she was for having a place to return to.