Chapter 4: Returned as a High School Girl (3)

Choi Hwang-Cheol and his friends took Kang Ra-Eun to a waste sorting area. It was at the back of the school, out of the way from any eyes.

“...”

However, Ra-Eun was not satisfied. Meanwhile, Hwang-Cheol said to Ra-Eun apathetically, “Hey, Ra-Eun, when did I ever say that I was going to get your brother fired if you didn’t go out with me? Huh? I was just...”

“If we’re gonna talk...” Ra-Eun cut him off and pointed above her head. “Don’t you think we should do it where there aren’t any CCTVs?”

“What?” Hwang-Cheol asked.

“Isn’t it problematic for you guys too if there are eyes on us?”

“...” Hwang-Cheol exchanged glances with his friends. The three delinquents nodded toward him. Hwang-Cheol flashed a wicked smile.

“You understand the meaning of what you just said, don’t you?”

Ra-Eun put both of her hands into her jacket pockets and spat on the ground.

“Yeah,” she replied concisely.

“Okay, then. As you wish.”

The delinquents got ready to move again. They went somewhere deeper than the waste sorting area. Ra-Eun and four delinquents went inside a narrow alley between two buildings where it could barely fit two people shoulder-to-shoulder.

Ra-Eun quickly scanned the area.

‘There aren’t any CCTVs.’

There wasn’t a single other person in sight. It was the ideal location for her.

Hwang-Cheol approached Ra-Eun again with the same wicked smile.

“You know, I confessed to you because I really like you. What I’m saying is that—”

However, Hwang-Cheol could not finish that sentence...

Bash!

...Because Ra-Eun kicked him directly between his legs.

“...Kurghhh...!!!” He collapsed with his eyes rolled back without even being able to properly scream.

“H-Hwang-Cheol!”

“You crazy bitch!”

One of the delinquents couldn’t hold in his rage and charged toward Ra-Eun.

Fwip.

Ra-Eun slightly turned outward and raised her right knee to smash the delinquent’s face in. The delinquent bent back considerably. His nose was bleeding from both sides. Ra-Eun unconcernedly kicked his solar plexus with her right leg. The delinquent crashed into the wall and fainted.

Ra-Eun stroked down her hair that was blowing in the wind.

“Next. I don’t have a lot of time.”

Ra-Eun didn’t lure them to a place with no CCTVs for no reason. It was simply to beat the shit out of them as much as she wanted.

“Hey, hey, Byeong-Jin... Wh-What the hell is she?!”

“Fuck, how should I know...!”

The two remaining delinquents couldn’t help but panic. Was Ra-Eun always that good at fighting? No, there was no way.

“You’re the ones who came at me as a group. Are you that scared of just one of me? Huh?” Ra-Eun taunted them.

The two delinquents swung their fists at Ra-Eun, not knowing what else to do. But of course, their fists did not even graze her. Ra-Eun crouched down and dealt an uppercut on one delinquent’s chin.

Bam!

The shock rattled his brain. Seeing how the delinquent was knocked out in one blow, the remaining blonde delinquent shook in fear.

“If you won’t come to me...” Ra-Eun quickly warmed up. “...I’ll come to you.”

She jumped up into the air using the delinquent who was passed out as a foothold. She raised her right leg high up into the air.

“Hey! I can see your panties—”

“Good for you.”

Thwack!

Ra-Eun’s leg chop landed directly on top of the blondie’s head. While the four delinquents were rolling on the floor groaning, she picked up her backpack and left the narrow alley as if nothing had happened.

‘Did I go too far against kids?’

Feeling a little regretful, she went home to where Kang Ra-Hyuk was waiting for her.

***

Ra-Hyuk rushed toward his little sister as soon as she came home.

“Ra-Eun! Wh-What should we do?”

“About what?”

“The price keeps dropping!” Ra-Hyuk shouted anxiously.

“It doesn’t matter. It’ll make a large rebound tomorrow. And we’re still profiting even if it’s dropping right now, aren’t we?”

Their profit rate was already over 30% through Yeong-Shin Industries. It still wasn’t a loss for them even if it went down even further.

“That’s true, but...”

Ra-Hyuk kept making a fuss, saying it was still a waste. Ra-Eun was exasperated by her brother’s reaction.

“You’re panicking at the tiniest of drops. How did you even get into stock trading with that kind of mindset?”

“...Like you said, I didn’t know when we’d be able to pay off my tuition and our household’s debt at this rate. That’s why I got into it.”

Their father worked tirelessly in his deliveries to support their family, so Ra-Hyuk wanted to be able to at least support himself for his father’s sake, even if it were just a little bit.

“Then just do as I say. Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it.” He decided to trust Ra-Eun for now, since everything was going exactly as she had said so far.

“What about dinner?” she asked.

“Let’s eat. Should I make you some ramen?”

“How many times are we gonna eat ramen?”

There was no one who could make proper food in this household.

“Wait a bit, I’ll make dinner,” Ra-Eun said.

“You? You’re gonna make dinner?”

“What, am I not allowed to make dinner?”

One of her hobbies back when she was Park Geon-Woo was cooking. Because he spent a long time living by himself, his cooking skills rose naturally.

She changed and tied her hair back.

‘I’ve gotten used to using a hair tie.’?

It was thanks to loads of practice. Ra-Eun quickly went through the ingredients in the refrigerator and decided on today’s menu.

‘Pepper pancakes, spicy seasoned garlic scapes, and soy sauce rice. That should be good.’

After cutting the peppers in half and removing the seeds, she lightly coated them with flour. It would have been nice if she could add minced meat inside them, but...

‘There are always alternatives.’

She decided to replace it with tuna. After coating the peppers with flour and dipping them in beaten eggs, she rolled the cooking oil around a hot pan and added the peppers in.

Sizzle—!

A mouth-watering scent permeated the kitchen. Meanwhile, she started preparing the second side dish, the spicy seasoned garlic scapes. Dinner was served in a flash.

“You can only get through the next day with a hearty meal,” Ra-Eun stated.

“What are you, a granny?”

“Shut up and eat.”

It was a meal prepared by his little sister who didn’t even know the basics of cooking, but he was very impressed by the taste.

“My God, why is this so good?”

“Because I made it delicious, why else?”

While they were eating in the living room, Ra-Eun explained the plan for tomorrow to Ra-Hyuk.

“Like I said before, sell every single stock of Yeong-Shin Industries before the market closes tomorrow.”

“And then what?” Ra-Hyuk asked.

“You just need to buy the stocks that I tell you to buy tomorrow.”

“Can’t you just tell me right now?”

“Just wait. I need to organize the information in my brain.”

Since it was information from 15 years ago, it didn’t just pop into her head.

“And quit your convenience store job,” Ra-Eun stated.

“Eh? Why? It’s a good job.”

“You’ll earn more money from just focusing on stock trading, and you’ll get fired from there anyway.”

“Me? The store manager was praising me for my good work, so why would I get fired?”

“Because I kicked the store manager’s son in the balls.”

Pfft—!

Cough, cough!

Some food must have gotten caught in his windpipe, because Ra-Hyuk kept coughing violently. After coming to his senses, he asked Ra-Eun with astonished eyes, “Wh-What the hell have you done?!”

“Then do you want your one and only little sister to date some delinquent she doesn’t even like?”

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

“That son of a bitch said he’d get you fired if I didn’t go out with him, so I kicked him in the balls.”

Ra-Hyuk sighed deeply, and then...

“Good job,” he praised his little sister. “Then I can quit without regrets. How dare he try to lay his hands on my precious, cute and pretty little sister? Just say the word! I’ll take care of everything!”

“You can’t take care of it. And I made an example out of him, so they wouldn’t dare cross me from now on.”

Ra-Hyuk got curious in the middle of their conversation. “But... How much did you beat him?”

“Quite a lot,” Ra-Eun answered.

“What if he complains to the school because of that?”

“It’s fine. They can never tell anyone about how I beat the shit out of them.”

Four guys got beaten up by one high school girl? They wouldn’t dare speak of it if they cared about their pride. Well, it didn’t matter even if they did. She could simply play dumb and say she never did such a thing. That’s why she chose a place where there weren’t any CCTVs.

‘It’s best not to leave any evidence.’

And logically speaking, it didn’t make sense that one teenage girl beat the shit out of four delinquents. Even if she were to get reprimanded, she would only get a simple warning.

Ra-Hyuk clicked his tongue at his little sister’s bold actions.

“You’re amazing,” he said.

“Well, it was no big deal.”

When she was about to lift her spoon again, a news channel reported news of a certain individual.

[Onto the next story. Congressman Kim Han-Gyo, confirmed for his second-term election, has started up his first external schedule. Congressman Kim has been visiting headquarters of foundations that he sponsors, meeting the workers there and—]

Beep.

Ra-Eun turned off the TV with the remote.

“What’s wrong?” Ra-Hyuk looked at her strangely.

Suppressing her rage, Ra-Eun answered, “Nothing.”