Chapter 144: Retry (3)

Kang Ra-Eun had no intention of resuming her acting career until she received a casting offer for the film that would reach ten million in total audience attendance. Her schedule was nowhere near as packed as last year’s since all she had were the occasional broadcast appearances. Hence, she had time to attend the class reunion that Park Se-Woon had mentioned.

Seo Yi-Seo tagged along with Ra-Eun from lunchtime to prepare for today’s class reunion. It was Yi-Seo’s first time coming to a beauty salon. She was at first troubled, wondering if it was really okay for her to get make-up in such a place. Not only was it expensive, it was also a place where celebrities frequented.

However, Ra-Eun blew Yi-Seo’s troubles away like it was nothing.

“It’s not like we’re here to get our make-up and hair done for free. We made an appointment and paid for it fair and square, so there’s no need for you to be so withered.”

Yi-Seo had been envious of Ra-Eun’s confidence ever since high school. She decided to trust Ra-Eun and entered the salon. They were guided to adjacent seats by the employees. After telling the employees what sort of hair and make-up they wanted, they could hear the employees working hard behind them.

Yi-Seo was amazed by how much her face was changing as time passed.

“Experts really are on a whole other level,” she remarked.

“Right?”

Ra-Eun was capable of basic make-up, but for special events like the recent financial world gathering or today’s class reunion, she felt much better leaving it to the experts in beauty salons. It was of course expensive, but this was nothing more than a drop in the bucket for her; she was more than willing to pay a fair price for anything convenient that could also save her time.

While the two were having a great time at the beauty salon, Yi-Seo checked her smartphone.

“Gyu-Rin and Ro-Mi said they can come too.”

“Really? That’s great.”

The two of them had been unsure of their availability up until last night. Na Gyu-Rin had private tutor lessons, and Choi Ro-Mi had planned a date with her boyfriend.

“Gyu-Rin postponed her lesson, and Ro-Mi... had a massive fight with her boyfriend,” Yi-Seo stated.

“Again? They fight so much.”

“I know.”

Ro-Mi was the only one among Ra-Eun’s same-sex (female) friends who was in a relationship. Just like her tastes in men suggested, her boyfriend this time was also fairly good-looking. However...

“He’s a huge womanizer, apparently,” Yi-Seo mentioned.

“That’s not good.”

Having a boyfriend with good looks was pointless if they secretly met with other women.

“I guess looks aren’t everything.”

The hairdresser who was doing Ra-Eun’s hair smiled awkwardly after hearing her comment.

“It’s a bit weird to hear that from you, Miss Kang.”

It was understandable, since Ra-Eun’s looks were top-tier. She couldn’t help but not be convincing when she was the one saying looks aren't everything. In any case, although there had been some issues, she was thrilled to hear that her friends who she hung out with a lot in her high school days could attend.

“Oh, right. Is Sang-Woon coming too?”

Yi-Seo answered, “I’m not sure... Se-Woon didn’t say exactly who would be coming. Has he been discharged?”

“Time-wise, he should have by now.”

Ra-Eun was confident in her discharge date calculations, because they had been polished through experience. Even without the fine details, she could guess that Choi Sang-Woon had been discharged from the army right about now.

“Has he not contacted you at all, Ra-Eun? I’d expect he would at least contact you of all people.”

Yi-Seo knew that Sang-Woon had not gotten over Ra-Eun. Ra-Eun shrugged.

“Nope.”

“That’s odd. I thought you’d be the first one he’d call once he got out of the army.”

It was possible that Sang-Woon had completely gotten over Ra-Eun during his time in the military. Yi-Seo could not understand Sang-Woon’s actions at all.

***

Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo headed to the location that Se-Woon had told them about. Lim Seok-Jun, Ra-Eun’s chauffeur, drove them to the class reunion venue.

“We’ve arrived, Chairwoman.”

“Good work. I’ll call you when the class reunion is over, so take a break.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

They got out of the car and onto the elevator. They came across Gyu-Rin and Ro-Mi.

“Oh, it’s Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo!”

“It’s been a while. Have you gotten prettier in the time I haven’t seen you, Ra-Eun? You’re definitely much prettier in person.”

Ra-Eun did not get overjoyed from Ro-Mi’s compliment. They had seen such a reaction from Ra-Eun for so long now that they were not hurt in the slightest. They already knew that Ra-Eun reacted in such a way to compliments regarding her beauty.

“Anyway, Se-Woon sure is capable. I can’t believe he booked a hotel restaurant for a class reunion venue,” Gyu-Rin said in disbelief.

Yi-Seo gave her opinion with a bitter smile, “He’s the host, after all. He must’ve spent a lot of money on this.”

“I guess this is nothing for a second-generation chaebol like him.”

Ding!

The elevator door opened. They could already see a few of their former classmates enjoying the reunion. The one who garnered the most attention was of course Ra-Eun. Even the hotel staff were captivated by her.

Ra-Eun did not exchange greetings with Se-Woon for that long since they had met during the recent social party. However, the same did not go for her other friends.

“Ra-Eun!”

Kim Yeong-Gyo, Sang-Woon’s best friend who always used to be together with him, approached her.

“Wow, you’re a full-fledged celebrity now. None of my university friends believed me when I told them we went to the same school.”

“You should’ve shown them your yearbook,” Ra-Eun mentioned.

“I already did, and they were shocked.”

“Because they found out we were in the same class?”

“That too, but because you were just as pretty in your high school days.”

Ra-Eun did not have a dark past regarding her face; every single moment of it was legendary. Hence, she couldn’t help but be popular among both men and women.

“Come to think of it, what about Sang-Woon? He was discharged, right?” Ra-Eun asked.

“Yeah, around last week, I think? We had a drink together.”

“But why the hell didn’t that son of a bitch contact me?”

“Oh, that’s because...”

From his response, Yeong-Gyo seemed to know why Sang-Woon had not contacted Ra-Eun. As she was about to ask for the reason...

“Oh, there he comes.”

Sang-Woon was approaching Ra-Eun and Yeong-Gyo from the entrance. Ra-Eun quickly scanned her friend who had finally been discharged from the army.

“Wow, Sang-Woon. Looks like you’ve been working out a ton in the army, huh? You’ve gotten so built, man,” Ra-Eun stated.

“I didn’t really have anything else to do. I thought I’d try studying, but I couldn’t focus. One of my juniors was a personal trainer, so he helped me get in shape.”

“Good job. You look good.”

Sound mind, sound body. Sang-Woon looked far more manly now compared to how he was during his high school days. He scratched his head in embarrassment from Ra-Eun’s barrage of praises.

“But why didn’t you contact me once you were discharged? You hurt my feelings,” Ra-Eun asked.

She had wanted to ask him this the moment that she met him.

“Oh...” He was about to answer, but asked for her understanding instead. “I’ll tell you later.”

What enormous reason could he possibly have to tell it to her later? Ra-Eun couldn’t understand Sang-Woon’s vague behavior at all.

***

Time flew by when spending time with friends who one hadn’t met in forever, and the same went for the high school class reunion.

“Oh, it’s already this late? Who’s up for round two?!” Se-Woon exclaimed.

A multitude of friends raised their hands, but Ra-Eun did not.

“I have plans tomorrow, so I have to go,” she remarked.

Her friends’ faces were dyed in disappointment, but they couldn’t force her to come with them. They all knew that she was the busiest person among them. After thinking about it, it was a little unreasonable to beg her to stay for round two, since she couldn’t drink alcohol. It was best for her to just enjoy round one.

‘Who knows what I’ll do if I get some drinks in me during round two.’

It was best to stay in her comfort zone.

After they all came out of the hotel, Se-Woon guided everyone to the venue that he had booked for round two.

“Ra-Eun, wait.”

But just then, Sang-Woon stopped Ra-Eun. He had told his friends to go on without him.

Ra-Eun tilted his head in confusion and asked, “What is it?”

“You asked me why I didn’t contact you right after I was discharged, didn’t you?”

“Oh, right. Are you gonna tell me the reason now?”

Sang-Woon nodded in seriousness.

“I didn’t call you because I wanted to resolve myself.”

He had needed time to collect his thoughts. As for why, he told her right away.

“I still like you.”

It was for his second confession. He felt much more at ease compared to his first confession in his high school days, because he already had a vague idea of what her answer was going to be.

Her answer was...

“I’m sorry.”

It was exactly what Sang-Woon had expected.

“Like I told you before, I like being your friend better,” Ra-Eun stated.

Sang-Woon felt rather refreshed after getting rejected beyond a doubt.

“Sorry to trouble you like this,” he said.

“No, it’s okay. That aside, was this the reason why you didn’t call me?” Ra-Eun asked.

“Basically, yeah.”

“Idiot. Just call me next time. I like that a lot better.”

Sang-Woon nodded with a smile. He was starting to understand why she had said that she liked being friends better.

***

Ra-Eun and Shin Yu-Bin arrived at a broadcasting station early in the morning for a radio show recording. Ra-Eun stopped in her tracks while on her way to the studio.

“What is it, Ra-Eun?” Yu-Bin asked.

“Shh!”

Ra-Eun brought her index finger to her lips to get Yu-Bin to be quiet for a second. She then brought her ear to the wall of a break room to eavesdrop on the broadcasting station employees.

“I heard Director Choi is starting up a new production.”

.

“Oh, Director Choi Yong-Woon? I heard he’s been working with the casting director.”

Ra-Eun unconsciously smiled from hearing their conversation. Finally,

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

‘The time has come!’

The opportunity for her to become an actress who starred in a film with ten million in total attendance had finally arrived.