Chapter 184: Malady for a Malady (1)

A celebrity’s every action was newsworthy, especially so for Kang Ra-Eun, an actress that the majority of the public was interested in. Such attention became an everyday thing for Ra-Eun because she had become a top star, but there were times when she wanted to hide things about herself.

For example, her revenge against Kim Han-Gyo and the fact that she had been a man were things that brought her absolutely no benefit in revealing. The recent stalker incident was nowhere near as important, but Ra-Eun had not wanted it to be published as an article and cause a huge uproar.

Ra-Eun had told Ma Yeong-Jun to take care of it on his own. Of course, it did not mean that Yeong-Jun should bury the stalker in the mountains; she had simply wanted Yeong-Jun to take the proper legal procedures and make sure he was punished by the law. However, Ra-Eun had not taken the reporters, possessing an obsession as strong as the stalker for a story, into account.

[Top star Kang Ra-Eun pleaded for psychological damage due to a stalker.]

[“I was so scared.” Actress Kang Ra-Eun was harassed by a stalker.]

Ra-Eun laughed in bafflement as she read through articles written about herself. She had never pleaded for psychological damage nor had she confessed to reporters that she had been scared. Ra-Eun had wanted to take care of the stalker incident quietly, because...

‘It’ll get annoying.’

Ra-Eun was bombarded with calls. There was no way that her acquaintances wouldn’t worry about her since her stalker incident had been published in several articles. She couldn’t even remember how many calls she had gotten from family, friends, and others since this morning. She was fine with the calls and texts, but there was someone trying to unnecessarily go even beyond.

Kang Ra-Hyuk suddenly came to Ra-Eun and Seo Yi-Seo’s house and declared, “I’ll be living here for the time being.”

Ra-Eun said as she stared at her older brother holding bedding items, “You’re crazy.”

“Hey, hey, what’s with that attitude when your beloved oppa came to check up on your wellbeing?”

“I told you over the phone that you don’t need to worry about me. The stalker was already arrested and I have bodyguards with me wherever I go. You being here means literally nothing.”

“Why not? There’s a world of difference between having and not having a man in the house.”

They already had a man in the house since Ra-Eun had once been a man, albeit not anymore. She told Ra-Hyuk many times to go back, but he showed no signs of budging this time round.

Yi-Seo took Ra-Hyuk’s side. “Ra-Hyuk oppa is right. Bodyguards can’t protect you twenty-four-seven, and it’s reassuring to have a man in the house.”

“...”

It was two against one. Having lost on a majority vote, Ra-Eun gave up and told Ra-Hyuk to do whatever he liked.

‘This is why I didn’t want it published.’

Ra-Eun was belatedly swept with regret. Maybe she should have had him buried in the mountains. As Yi-Seo guided Ra-Hyuk to a room that he could use, the doorbell rang.

‘Who is it now?’

She was sick and tired of uninvited guests, but she couldn’t act like she wasn’t home either.

“Who is it?”

- It’s me.

Yeong-Jun’s giant face covered the entire intercom screen.

Ra-Eun advised, “Don’t stick your face so close like that. No one will open the door for you.”

- ...I’ll keep that in mind.

She opened the door for him. Yeong-Jun in a black suit reported to Ra-Eun about things related to their bodyguarding duties.

“Seok-Jun and Tae-Seon will take shifts to always be on standby as your chauffeurs. Let them know if you need anything.”

“Got it.”

“And one more thing...”

As Yeong-Jun was about to continue, Ra-Hyuk was startled as soon as he came out of his room and exclaimed, “R-Ra-Eun! Get behind me!”

He ran in between them, seemingly to protect Ra-Eun from Yeong-Jun.

Yeong-Jun asked while pointing at Ra-Hyuk, “Who’s this?”

Ra-Eun sighed deeply before answering, “A moron... I mean, my oppa.”

Yeong-Jun was surprised to hear her say that word.

“I can’t believe you know how to say ‘oppa.’ Fascinating.”

“...Do you want a beating?”

“I respectfully decline.”

A beating from Ra-Eun would actually hurt. Meanwhile, Ra-Hyuk expressed confusion as they were listening in on their conversation. Yi-Seo came out soon after and greeted Yeong-Jun.

“Hello, Mr. Ma. Come in.”

“Thank you.”

Ra-Hyuk was baffled as he stared at Yeong-Jun casually entering their home.

“I-Is it really okay to let him in? He’s obviously a gangster, no matter how you look at him!”

Ra-Eun was impressed by Ra-Hyuk’s sharp deduction. “Good eye.”

“Wh-What? Are you saying h-he’s actually... a gangster?”

“He was, until recently.”

But now, Ra-Eun had forcibly employed him as a bodyguard. Unlike Ra-Hyuk, who didn’t seem to have any idea what was going on, Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo were acting as if this was natural. Ra-Eun asked Yeong-Jun about what he was about to say earlier while Yi-Seo and Ra-Hyuk were elsewhere.

“What else do you have to tell me?”

Before answering, Yeong-Jun asked, “Do you have a remote?”

“What remote?”

“A TV remote.”

“...?”

Ra-Eun couldn’t help but tilt her head in confusion as someone who had come to her home unannounced was asking for a TV remote, but decided to play along for now. He put on a news channel.

“Perfect timing.”

A breaking news was being announced that Ra-Eun had no knowledge of.

[Congressman Kim Han-Gyo has temporarily set aside his party leadership role due to reasons regarding his health. The other congresspersons guess that the aggravation of his health is due to the recent imprisonment of Minister Kim Chi-Yeol.]

Ra-Eun’s fine eyebrows slightly twitched as she listened to the announcer. Yeong-Jun didn’t know why, but he was one of the very few people who knew that Ra-Eun detested Congressman Kim Han-Gyo, so he had decided to let Ra-Eun know of this news.

“I only found out about it this morning. It seemed to be an abrupt decision, from what I can tell.”

“Seems so.”

This had not been in the future that Ra-Eun knew about. Han-Gyo had never once abandoned his duties for health reasons until now. She fell deep into thought as she buried herself into the couch with her arms crossed. She wondered what Han-Gyo’s unexpected decision, which he seemed to have made after very long thought, could mean.

‘It definitely isn’t because of Kim Chi-Yeol, at the very least.’

Ra-Eun was sure of it. Han-Gyo wasn’t the kind of person to let the fact of his son’s imprisonment affect his political duties. Ra-Eun knew better than anyone that he wouldn’t take a break over something like that.

‘What in the world could he be planning?’

Ra-Eun’s smartphone lightly vibrated as she was in thought.

‘It’s rare for Sang-Woon to give me a call.’

The two of them barely contacted each other after Ra-Eun turned down Choi Sang-Woon for a second time. It was a bit awkward for Ra-Eun to call first since she had rejected him, and it was just as awkward for Sang-Woon to call her since it might imply that he still had feelings for her. Ra-Eun found his call to be a bit weird because of their complex circumstance, but also felt it was perfect.

‘Sang-Woon’s father works at the investigations bureau.’

Her intuition was screaming at her that Sang-Woon might have heard something about this incident from his father.

***

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Have a safe trip home, Sang-Woon hyung.”

“See you later, oppa!”

Choi Sang-Woon had finally set foot into university life after being discharged from the army, since had decided to enlist right after graduating from high school. His face was full of comfort as it was enveloped in the freeing air of the university campus that he had never felt before.

‘It’s a different world from the army.’

If he was still there, he would be digging ditches with a shovel and pickaxe in hand under the first sergeant’s command around this time of day. He unconsciously trembled at the thought.

‘Goddamn army.’

Sang-Woon now understood why men talked about the army to their dying breaths. He looked at his fellow university peers that he had just taken a lecture with. They were in the same year, but he was the oldest out of them because he had gone to the army. He was worried at first about what he would do if they had a hard time getting along with him due to their age gap.

‘But I’m glad things went well.’

It had all been thanks to his peers, but not all of them were nice.

“Huh? Sang-Woon hyung.”

A man driving a convertible momentarily stopped in front of Sang-Woon. Next to him was the most popular female student one year above them.

“Where are you going, hyung?” he asked.

“Oh... A friend of mine decided to come pick me up after my lecture, so I’m just waiting for them.”

“A friend, huh? Is it one of your army peers?”

“No, not that.”

“Really? What a shame. It’s a beautiful day today, so it’d be great if you could also go for a drive with a pretty girlfriend like I am.”

Sang-Woon laughed awkwardly as he watched his bragging peer. He found it uncomfortable to deal with this peer because he always indirectly looked down on him.

“You don’t have a girlfriend, hyung? Should I introduce you to someone? We dated last month, and she doesn’t look half bad,” the peer mentioned.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Come on, don’t be like that. Give her a try!”

“...”

Honk, honk—!

Just as Sang-Woon was about to get angry, a car honked its horn from behind them.

“What kind of bastard... Gasp!”

The man’s expression stiffened because the horn honk had been from a foreign convertible far more expensive than his. Not just that, he doubted his vision as he laid eyes upon the woman who got out of it.

“M-Miss Kang Ra-Eun...!”

The top star Kang Ra-Eun stroked down her hair. She possessed beauty and a figure that couldn’t even compare to the woman next to the man.

Ra-Eun first said, “It’s been a while, Sang-Woon.”

“It sure has.”

The man couldn’t hold in his shock from finding out that Ra-Eun and Sang-Woon knew each other.