Chapter 61: Encouragement (2)

Kang Ra-Eun hurried to get ready after Shin Yu-Bin told her that she would be arriving soon.

“I’m off.”

“Have a safe trip. Oh, and what time are you done today?” Kang Ra-Hyuk asked.

Ra-Eun responded sassily, “Why?”

She felt anxious whenever Ra-Hyuk asked her things like this, since he usually did so when he wanted to ask her for a favor. Ra-Eun narrowed her eyes. Ra-Hyuk got straight to the point to dissipate her wariness toward him.

“I’m not trying to ask you for anything troublesome. I was just wondering if you’d like to eat out.”

“Why so out of the blue?”

It was not a special day, so Ra-Eun found his offer rather strange.

“You remember Mi-Ye, right? My classmate who came to our house last time?”

“The daughter of the famous restaurant owner?”

The unfamiliar woman who Ra-Hyuk had brought had left quite an impression on Ra-Eun, since she made them dinner in their own home.

“Yeah. Mi-Ye invited us to have a meal at their restaurant. Dad likes the food there too, so I thought we might as well all eat out together today.”

Ra-Hyuk was as popular as always. Most women would give up when they found out that there was a lot of competition for a man that they were aiming for, but they were instead setting their rivalry ablaze and flaunting their appeal to win Ra-Hyuk over.

‘What in the world is so good about this guy?’

Ra-Eun was a woman now, but she still had no idea why. Even though she was a man on the inside, she was still a woman. In that case, the way that she viewed men should have also changed. However, in Ra-Eun’s eyes, Ra-Hyuk was unbearable, useless, never listened to her, lazy, frustrating, a terrible cook... In short, he had nothing but flaws. She could not understand why a man like Ra-Hyuk was popular.

‘Well, I guess he’s fairly handsome.’

Ra-Eun had no choice but to acknowledge his looks. But despite that, she could not figure out the secret to his popularity.

‘Women in love sure are amazing.’

She admired their devotion toward the man that they liked. There was a possibility that she could also become like that someday.

‘No, that’s impossible.’

Ra-Eun decided to accept her older brother’s offer while putting on her shoes.

“Sure, if I finish early.”

“Got it. I’ll let Mi-Ye know that you, me, and Dad are coming for now. Oh, and she asked if it’d be alright for you to give them an autograph for them to hang on the wall. Is that fine?”

“Well... I don’t really mind.”

Ra-Eun thought that Mi-Ye had only been aiming for Ra-Hyuk, but it turned out that Mi-Ye had been aiming for her as well.

***

Ra-Eun arrived at Announcer Min Yeong-Seon’s talk show studio. She greeted the announcer first, after which the announcer gasped in surprise.

“You’re far prettier in person. It looks like the camera is unable to fully capture your beauty, Ra-Eun.”

“Thank you, sunbae.”

Ra-Eun had already become immune to compliments regarding her beauty. She never liked such compliments in the first place. She decided to quickly greet her fellow guests who would be appearing on the talk show with her. There was a very familiar face among them.

“Hey, my little Ra-Eun!” Rita called out to her while waving her right hand.

Ra-Eun glanced toward Rita.

“Hello, sunbae,” she greeted in a monotone voice, void of emotions like a robot would.

But despite that, Rita looked like she was happy just from Ra-Eun returning her greeting.

“How about a nice, big hug after such a long time?” Rita suggested.

“Since when have we ever hugged? Please don’t distort your memories in weird directions.”

Ra-Eun would flick Rita’s forehead as soon as she crossed the line. After the dangerous greeting with Rita, she finally made her way toward the waiting room of her main target of the day, Congresswoman Hong Oh-Yeon.

Knock, knock.

She carefully opened the door after a light knock. Congresswoman Hong, who had been sighing with a fairly serious expression, brightened up as soon as she saw Ra-Eun.

“Oh, hello, Ra-Eun.”

Those involved in politics also needed to know how to act. In terms of acting skills, Congresswoman Hong would receive a fairly high score.

‘She could even become an actress.’

Ra-Eun responded to Congresswoman Hong with a smile, “It’s an honor to meet you, congresswoman. I’ve always wanted to meet you.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes. Actually I was going to refrain from going on shows after my drama shoots finished, but I decided to appear as a guest on this talk show because I heard you were also one of the guests.”

Congresswoman Hong’s smile widened further.

“I’m flattered.”

Congresswoman Hong was in her mid-thirties; she was considerably younger than the other members of the National Assembly. Hence, she couldn’t help but feel happy that a young and promising actress like Ra-Eun had come up to her to say such wonderful things.

Ra-Eun wanted to talk some more with the congresswoman, but...

“The recording will start soon, so please gather at the studio.”

A staff member interrupted their conversation. Ra-Eun hid her disappointment, but it wasn’t like this meeting was her only chance. The recording hadn’t even begun yet.

‘It’s okay, I still have lots of time.’

She decided to carry out a plan that she had been constructing in her mind until then.

***

Ra-Eun and the other guests continued the recording without any signs of fatigue. Announcer Min turned to ask Ra-Eun a question this time.

“It hasn’t been that long since you’d debuted, has it, Ra-Eun? You’re currently a high schooler, so you need to juggle your studies and your acting career. Isn’t it hard for you with everything you have on your plate?”

“It certainly is difficult physically, but I’m quite content mentally since becoming an actress has always been a dream of mine. Also, I’m always invigorated by the love and support that the audience gives me,” Ra-Eun answered.

“Oh, so your childhood dream was to be an actress?”

“Yes, I’d always admired the performances of my seniors through the screen.”

Was there even a sliver of truth in what she had just said? Her lines were so cheesy that they gave her goosebumps. If Chief Jung and Yu-Bin saw this live on set, they would not have been able to bear how fake Ra-Eun was being. The same would have also gone for Ra-Hyuk.

Congresswoman Hong smiled in satisfaction at Ra-Eun's pride in her own work.

“I personally really love that mindset of yours, Ra-Eun. I believe one should always have pride in the work that they do,” she remarked.

Ra-Eun had said such a cheesy line because she knew exactly what kind of person Congresswoman Hong was. If she did not, then she would not have sugar-coated her acting career like this.

Ra-Eun’s lines solely meant to impress Congresswoman Hong seemed to be working. She did not have to speak directly to the congresswoman to improve the congresswoman’s impression of her.

Announcer Min stated as she gestured at Ra-Eun and Congresswoman Hong, “You two have a lot of similarities.”

“You’re right. We may be far apart in age, but it feels like we’ve been friends for over a decade,” the congresswoman remarked.

She was right in feeling that way. Ra-Eun already knew what the congresswoman liked, disliked, her hobbies, strengths, and everything else about her. It was a piece of cake to be viewed favorably by someone when one knew everything about them. Not just that, but they were of the same gender; women were able to form a special bond with one other.

‘Times like this make me appreciate that I had become a woman.’

Returning as a high school girl wasn’t only riddled with cons. She preferred it sometimes, albeit very rarely.

***

The five-hour recording was almost coming to an end. She did not expect to become so fatigued from just talking while seated. She reflected on her past misconception that celebrities had it easy. It was not easy in the slightest after experiencing it for herself.

‘I guess you only know the difficulties of doing something after doing it yourself.’

Anyway, the excruciatingly long talk show had finally come to an end.

“Ra-Eun.”

Congresswoman Hong approached Ra-Eun as soon as the recording had finished.

“I had so much fun in this recording. I’d like for us to get closer from now on, so I was wondering if I could get your number?”

“Yes, of course,” Ra-Eun gladly accepted.

She offered the congresswoman a few more words before they parted.

“Congresswoman.”

“Yes?”

“No matter what hardships you go through, I hope you recall the fact that there are people who support you. If anything, I at least will always be supporting you.”

The congresswoman smiled.

“Thank you. I’ve had a lot on my mind because of a bad incident, but you’ve given me some encouragement. Can I call you in the future?”

“Yes, whenever you’d like.”

“Thank you, I will.”

Congresswoman Hong left the studio first. Ra-Eun replayed what the congresswoman had just said as she watched her get further away. She said that there had been a bad incident, and Ra-Eun knew exactly what it was.

The large-scale tax fraud incident that Reporter Ahn Su-Jin was investigating had been eating away at Congresswoman Hong, because...

‘She’s also part of it.’

Hong Oh-Yeon was by no means a saint. She pretended to be clean and righteous on the outside, but she had also nonchalantly committed malpractices that members of the National Assembly could commit.

But despite that, there was only one reason why Ra-Eun had approached her. It was not because the congresswoman was a good person, but because Ra-Eun was willing to join forces with even the devil if it meant that they could help drag Congressman Kim Han-Gyo into hell.