I Returned as a High School Girl

The internet was also on fire due to Han-Gyo’s claims, mainly about how Ra-Eun could possibly be the masked woman. Han-Gyo had also expected the public not to believe him, which was why he had set up the press conference.

“Are all the materials ready?” Han-Gyo asked.

His chief secretary bowed deeply and answered, “Yes, Congressman. I have checked everything from the materials to the venue.”

“I sure am blessed to have you with me, Secretary Kim and Team Leader Park! You’re nothing like that ungrateful Jang Yun-Jik. Hahaha!”

“Not at all. I am simply doing my best as your chief secretary.”

Han-Gyo looked at both Secretary Kim and Park Eun-Soo with eyes filled with trust. Eun-Soo still wanted to oppose Han-Gyo’s plan, but it had become far too big of an issue to stop now. Hence, Eun-Soo decided to do as Han-Gyo said. The result, whether it be good or bad, would be decided tomorrow.

“I think I’ll be able to sleep soundly tonight.”

Eun-Soo couldn’t erase his bad feeling as he looked at Han-Gyo, who was acting like he had already won.

‘If Kang Ra-Eun really is the masked woman, would she let her identity be revealed so easily?’

The masked woman that Eun-Soo knew was more meticulous and cautious than anyone. If she knew that Reporter Ahn Su-Jin had photos of her taken in secret, there was no way that she would let them be. There was one other thing that Eun-Soo couldn’t understand.

‘Reporter Ahn is intimately acquainted with the masked woman.’

The masked woman had even come to rescue Su-Jin, so she was no less than Su-Jin’s savior. It made absolutely no sense for the reporter to be the one to drive the masked woman to her downfall. Su-Jin was not the kind of person to betray her savior; even if it was the biggest scoop of her life, she would never use someone who had saved her life for a story.

‘I don’t understand why she did something like that.’

Thinking more about it, there were even more things that made no sense. Eun-Soo wanted to tell Han-Gyo to reconsider one more time, but Secretary Kim put his hand on Eun-Soo’s shoulder before he could.

“Now, now, Team Leader Park. We’ll be busy tomorrow, so let’s go home and rest. The congressman is also going to be sleeping early today.”

Eun-Soo reluctantly agreed and left the mansion with Secretary Kim.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Team Leader Park. You can go on ahead of me.”

As they were heading to the parking lot, Secretary Kim got a call that seemed rather urgent.

“Is it from the secretary team?” Eun-Soo asked.

Secretary Kim was flustered by the question.

“Uhm, well... Y-Yes. Th-They’re probably asking for my confirmation about the preparations for the press conference tomorrow. It might take some time, so you don’t have to wait for me.”

Eun-Soo was convinced, so he walked to his own car first like Secretary Kim had said. He looked out the window as he got in the car and turned on the ignition. He could see Secretary Kim’s face having become stiff. He could not hear the contents of the call, but his uneasiness rose even higher from seeing Secretary Kim’s face.

‘I wonder if there’s a problem?’

Even if there was, he could not meddle with the secretary team’s affairs. Eun-Soo’s job was solely to protect Han-Gyo. It was best for him not to get involved in anything more than his job description.

‘I’m sure Secretary Kim will take care of it.’

He was a very capable man. Eun-Soo decided not to worry about it.

***

On the day of Han-Gyo’s press conference, Kang Ra-Hyuk came to his little sister’s house early in the morning. He rang the bell, and Seo Yi-Jun opened the door.

“Huh? What are you doing here, hyung?”

“Is Ra-Eun home?”

As the older brother, he couldn’t help but worry for his little sister. Not being able to stand around, he had come all the way to her house early in the morning.

Yi-Jun replied awkwardly, “Ra-Eun noona left about thirty minutes ago.”

“Why? For what?”

“I’m not sure either. She left after saying that she would... settle this once and for all.”

“What? Is this about that thing with Congressman Kim Han-Gyo?”

“I can’t think of it being about anything else.”

Yi-Jun had not heard anything in detail either. She had left early in the morning after leaving them with just that sentence. Ra-Hyuk sighed.

“She doesn’t need to take care of those kinds of things herself.”

Ra-Eun had no need to react to Han-Gyo’s claims, since there was barely anyone who even believed him anyway. The public had pretty much lost all sympathy for Han-Gyo as he claimed that the conspiracy of the masked woman was real; they were saying that he had gone senile and that he was targeting Ra-Eun just because he wanted to regain his former fame. It was truly unbelievable that he had been one of the most influential congresspersons in the nation until a few years ago. He had truly fallen into a bottomless pit.

“This won’t do,” Ra-Hyuk said.

He called his little sister, but she did not pick up.

“She’s my little sister, but... I can never tell what she’s thinking.”

Yi-Jun recalled what Park Seol-Hun had asked him as he was staring at Ra-Hyuk scratching his head.

“Hyung. Do you know if Ra-Eun noona had anything on her mind lately?”

“Ra-Eun? Not sure.”

“Really?”

“Even if she did, you know how she is. She’d never tell me about that kind of stuff, or anyone else for that matter.”

“That’s true. That’s the kind of person she is.”

The two men sighed simultaneously. Ra-Hyuk stared at his call record to Ra-Eun that had been left unanswered while scratching his head.

“It’s better to rely on someone every now and then.”

It was good to be an upright person, but the harder something was, the easier it was to break. Ra-Hyuk’s head was filled with thoughts about Ra-Eun. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to take his hands off of his phone for the entire day.

***

Ra-Eun sat in her office in Levanche. She asked So Ha-Jin while staring at the TV installed on the wall.

“What time is the press conference?”

“It is scheduled at 4 PM, Chairwoman.”

“Really?”

She checked the watch on her slender wrist. It was currently 2 PM.

Ma Yeong-Jun spoke first, “We should get going.”

“We should. We can’t let the performance end when the protagonist hasn’t even arrived.”

Ra-Eun slowly got up from her chair. Her gaze was laser-focused on the news channel reporting Han-Gyo’s press conference to the very end. To Han-Gyo, this press conference was the very last card that he could play. The story was that everything he had suffered until now was defamation, and that the perpetrator of that defamation was none other than Kang Ra-Eun in a mask.

Ra-Eun had yet to put out a statement regarding these claims. It had also been a while since she had talked to Chief Jung and Shin Yu-Bin over the phone; she had simply told them that they would come to know the truth once they watched the press conference.

Seol-Hun, who arrived at the office late, said to Ra-Eun, Yeong-Jun and Ha-Jin, “The car is ready.”

“Thanks, mister.”

Ra-Eun followed behind Yeong-Jun and Ha-Jin.

“Chairwoman Kang!”

Just then, Seol-Hun’s call stopped her in her tracks.

“Make sure you come back. I can’t run this company by myself.”

Ra-Eun snickered.

“I’ll try my best.”

Ra-Eun headed toward the final battle.

***

The press conference seats were already filled with reporters, and Su-Jin was among them. Unlike the other reporters, she was only focused on the bottom-right corner of her laptop showing the time. There was only one minute left until the press conference would begin.

As soon as the time turned 4 PM, the doors of the press conference venue opened, and Han-Gyo and Team Leader Park showed themselves.

Camera shutter flashes could be heard from all around them. Han-Gyo stood in front of the reporters with a stiff expression. Before beginning the press conference, he gestured at Eun-Soo to come closer.

“Any word from Secretary Kim yet?”

“No. He said that he had to take care of something...”

“Where the hell did he go in such an important moment?!”

Although it did not matter since everything was ready, Han-Gyo was anxious about not having one of his confidants with him at this crucial moment.

“We have no choice. Let us begin.”

He could not delay the press conference any longer just because his secretary was not here. The public already had huge doubts about this case, so his claims would come off as even more unbelievable if he were to be indecisive. Being confident was more important than anything in times like this. He had overcome many trials in his life that way, and he was confident that he would be able to this time as well.

“Ah, ahh.”

Han-Gyo finally opened his mouth. The reporters quickly moved their hands in response.

“I believe every single reporter here today already knows why I have scheduled this press conference.”

He was planning on exposing who the masked woman was that he had been claiming existed right here and now.

“Like I had said multiple times, the masked woman exists. As proof...”

The photos and videos of the masked woman that he had painstakingly gathered was shown through the projector. They had already been revealed to the public once before, so the reporters’ reactions weren’t as passionate as the first time.

“I have also gathered additional evidence. If I could direct your attention to—”

Before Han-Gyo could continue, the doors of the press conference venue swung open. Han-Gyo’s mouth spread wide open as he saw who had passed through the wave of people.

“Wh-Why are you here?!”

It was Kang Ra-Eun.

She said while smiling, “Because I wanted to disprove all of your claims on the spot, Congressman Kim.”

A direct confrontation; that was the final stage that Ra-Eun had chosen for her revenge.