I Returned as a High School Girl

Chapter 96: Noona (1)

Today was the day the long journey that was the drama Waitress?would come to an end. The staff members could not contain their troubled emotions due to this being the final shoot. Ji Han-Seok also felt the same way.

“It feels weird to hear that today’s the final shoot.”

If there was a beginning, there was bound to be an end. However, the drama Waitress?held a special place in Han-Seok’s heart because it was a precious production that recorded the highest view rating in his acting career as well as what made him into a star. Hence, the farewell struck him much harder than that of any of his other works.

However, Kang Ra-Eun did not feel the same way at all. She had already known the drama would be a huge hit, so she had not been worried in the slightest, unlike the production team that had been worrying about the view ratings throughout the entire duration of the filming.

Since Ra-Eun had been the only one who was at ease during filming, she was also the only one who did not feel anything in particular in the moment of farewell.

Han-Seok smiled bitterly at the apathetic Ra-Eun, “I sometimes feel like you’re more mature than me whenever I see you off camera.”

“I do? In what way?”

“In the way that you don’t let your emotions sway you.”

In contrast to how Ra-Eun was on camera, she often expressed minimal levels of emotions off camera, almost as if she were a robot. Han-Seok was sometimes envious of Ra-Eun’s strong mentality despite her being a rookie actress.

“There’s apparently going to be an afterparty after today’s shoot. You’re gonna come too, right?” Han-Seok asked.

Ra-Eun nodded as if it was obvious. “Yes, I am.”

It was a place to unwind, but she was also planning on making new connections there. Acquainting herself with people in the broadcasting industry could allow her to seize great opportunities in the future. Therefore, Ra-Eun always attended dinner parties unless her schedule did not allow it. However, there was one thing that she found to be a shame.

‘If only I was a good drinker.’

Ra-Eun loved alcohol, but she couldn’t afford to enjoy it in her current life. There was no telling what she would do if she got drunk. She could even unwittingly leak secret information about herself like she had done with Seo Yi-Seo. She had decided to stay as sober as possible from fear of her own inebriety.

***

Kang Seon-Hye had succeeded in getting revenge on her mother for abandoning her and her younger siblings, by completely ruining her. As if the heavens were rewarding her for her efforts under the sorrows of her past, winter passed and the spring of love had come her way.

Han-Seok, who was looking at the ocean together with Ra-Eun, went somewhere after asking her to wait. He then arrived with a convenience store plastic bag.

.

“You said you wanted something to drink, right?”

“Was there a convenience store nearby?”

“Yeah, I happened to see one while we were looking for a place to park. I’m so thoughtful, aren’t I?”

Ra-Eun couldn’t help but laugh at Han-Seok’s playful speech. Ra-Eun tilted her head as she looked at what was in the bag.

“Oppa, what’s this?”

“Oh, that?”

There was a small box that did not look like a convenience store item, but more like something used to hold an accessory. She opened it to check what was in it, and her gaze was met with a sparkling diamond ring.

“I bought it on the way.”

“You bought this... at a convenience store?”

“No, I ordered it before we went on this trip. It almost didn’t make it, but it was finished just barely in time. I was super lucky.”

Han-Seok took out the ring and pointed toward Ra-Eun’s left hand.

“Give me your hand.”

“...”

Ra-Eun raised her left hand while maintaining an embarrassed expression. Han-Seok then put the ring on her thin ring finger.

“It looks great on you.”

“Oppa...”

“Seon-Hye...”

In contrast to his playful remarks earlier, he was now completely serious. He proposed to the one that he loved with all his heart.

“Will you marry me?”

Ra-Eun scraped together every single sad memory that she possessed because it was the perfect time to shed tears. Her efforts worked and a single tear rolled down her cheek. She hoarsened her voice to act like she was deeply moved.

“Yes... I’d love to.”

From lovers to a married couple. The drama Waitress?came to an end with a two-shot of the couples who had entered a new chapter of their lives.

~

Director Hwang exclaimed in great satisfaction, “Okay! Thank you everyone for your hard work!”

As soon as he gave the OK, the staff members cheered as if they had been waiting for the moment. It actually would have been a huge problem if there had been an NG cut in this scene, because Director Hwang wanted to use the ocean sunset as the background. They needed to finish the scene as quickly as possible because the sun was setting very quickly.

Ra-Eun and Han-Seok overcame the time pressure and perfectly acted out the scene that Director Hwang was hoping for. Because of this, the director’s thrill was not subsiding despite the shoot being finished. He repeatedly gave a thumbs-up to Ra-Eun and Han-Seok as he replayed their excellent performance over and over again.

“Waitress wouldn’t have become such a huge hit if it weren’t for you two. Thank you so much,” Director Hwang remarked.

“No, we should be the ones thanking you for letting us star in such an amazing production. I’m sure Ra-Eun feels the same way. Right?”

Ra-Eun nodded as she was given the baton to speak by Han-Seok. “Please let us know any time once you have another great production. I’d love to work with you again.”

“It’d be my pleasure!”

Director Hwang was merely a rookie drama program director at the moment, but he would grow into an individual who would leave his mark in the history of the drama industry. She had agreed to star in Waitress?because she knew it would be a hit, but she had also done it to make a connection with Hwang Yun-Seong, considering his future.

Now that she had invested in the stock that was Director Hwang...

‘All I need to do now is to wait until it rises.’

Ra-Eun was already curious about how much profit she would gain from it.

***

Ra-Eun prepared to head to the afterparty venue after the shoot was over. As she got in the car, Shin Yu-Bin praised her for her hard work and handed her an energy drink that she had bought in advance.

“I bought it because I thought you’d be tired.”

“Thank you, Miss Manager.”

It had been over two years since Yu-Bin had started working with Ra-Eun, but Ra-Eun still called her ‘Miss Manager’ instead of ‘unnie.’ Hence, Yu-Bin still felt a strange sense of distance from her. She was sad but also curious as to when Ra-Eun would start calling her ‘unnie.’

“Is it okay if we head straight to the venue?” Yu-Bin asked.

“Yes. There isn’t enough time to go back home. I’m already outside, so I might as well get through everything I need to do before going home.”

That was best for both Yu-Bin and Ra-Eun. The road managers were notified in advance of where the afterparty would be held. Yu-Bin typed the address into the GPS.

“45 km... It’s pretty far. There might be traffic on the way there, so you can take a short nap if you want.”

“No, it's okay. I’m not that tired.”

The shoot had only taken a long time because they had driven a long way to shoot the scene; the actual time taken to film had not been very long, so Ra-Eun was not very tired.

Yu-Bin set off as the cars of the other staff members started moving. On the drive there, Yu-Bin told Ra-Eun what she had been told about the afterparty.

“Apparently, other people aside from those related to the drama will be at the afterparty.”

“Who?”

“Some program directors whom Director Hwang is close to, and some business associates.”

Business associates could be referring to people who invested in dramas, movies or other miscellaneous content.

“Come to think of it, they said someone from a conglomerate will also be coming.”

“A conglomerate...? Which one?”

“I don’t know. I only listened in on what the staff members were talking about. Well, I’m sure we’ll find out when we get there.”

Ra-Eun couldn’t ask for anything better than distinguished figures of the financial world coming straight to her, since that would make it much easier for her to make connections with them. However, she had been getting a bad feeling since earlier.

‘What is this feeling?’

It was similar to the so-called ‘women’s intuition.’ However, she could not figure out why she was feeling so uneasy.

***

They had arrived at the Waitress?afterparty venue. They were able to enjoy the party without reservations because the entire restaurant had been rented out.

‘Such treatment from the broadcasting station is a given when the view ratings have been off the charts.’

Ra-Eun believed such a luxury to be natural. She raised her glass with the other actors that she was sitting with, including Han-Seok, to cheer. Her eyes were fixed on the bottles of alcohol on the table.

‘I want to drink! I want to drink like crazy!’

Ra-Eun had loved alcohol so much in her past life, but now that she had become a lightweight that would get drunk from just a sip, just the thought of drinking made her anxious.

‘Should I just go for it?’

She could just leave what happened afterward to Yu-Bin.

‘No, no! Am I insane? I promised myself I wouldn’t drink before I got here!’

She had never imagined that she was such a weak-willed man... no, woman. She could endure anything, but alcohol was the one thing that she couldn’t easily hold herself back from. She gulped just from watching Han-Seok having a drink next to her.

Han-Seok glanced at her and asked, “Would you like a glass?”

“N-No! I’m fine.”

Han-Seok had never seen Ra-Eun so flustered before. Ra-Eun couldn’t help but sigh deeply at her lightweight self.

~

While Ra-Eun was experiencing hell, she heard a familiar female voice.

“I enjoyed the drama so much. It was so entertaining.”

Her head turned by reflex. Her face stiffened in a flash as she laid eyes on a young woman in her twenties wearing a red one-piece dress. It was a face that she never wanted to see ever again.

‘Noona...!’

Park Hee-Woo. It was her older sister in her past life.