Chapter 35: Who Might You Be? (1)

On a Friday afternoon, Seo Yi-Seo approached Kang Ra-Eun as soon as school ended.

“Are you gonna head home right away, Ra-Eun?”

She was asking Ra-Eun if she had any special plans after. Ra-Eun did not have any drama shoots scheduled yet, and did not have any particular private plans either.

“Yeah, probably,” Ra-Eun answered.

“Then come stop by the cafe. Dad is making a new menu item, and he’s been wanting someone to taste test it.”

“Really? I’d love to.”

Her taste buds had changed ever since becoming a high school girl. She did not like sweet things back when she was a man, but...

‘I don’t get why I occasionally crave sweet things these days.’

She did not know the exact reason, but she guessed that the original owner of this body loved sweet things. She had the soul of a man, but her body was that of a high school girl. She felt her tendencies gradually changing to match her body. Since she could not find any precedent of someone’s soul having entered another person’s body, especially that of the opposite sex, she was simply accumulating her own data.

“What about Gyu-Rin and Ro-Mi?” Ra-Eun asked.

It was better to get multiple opinions for a dessert taste test. Ra-Eun thought that it was better to take Na Gyu-Rin and Choi Ro-Mi as well, since tastes were not objective. People often had different judgments of whether the food was good or not. Hence, it was always best to get multiple opinions, especially with food.

“They already have other plans today, so they’re gonna come tomorrow,” Yi-Seo answered.

They had plans, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Alright.”

Before exiting the classroom, Ra-Eun texted her older brother that she was going to hang out with her friend at a cafe for a bit. Kang Ra-Hyuk had probably been on his phone, because he had sent a reply much quicker than usual.

‘What the hell, why did he reply so fast?’

Its content was very simple.

[OK]

This kind of reply was normal for siblings, since this alone said everything that needed to be said. Ra-Eun did not mind such replies from her older brother either, since she also replied to his texts extremely concisely.

After checking his reply, Ra-Eun exited the school building with Yi-Seo. As they were about to pass the school gates, Park Se-Woon approached Ra-Eun out of nowhere with a shit-eating grin.

“Ra-Eun, are you heading home now? Should I give you a ride home again?”

The luxury foreign car that she had ridden last time was parked openly on the side of the road. Ra-Eun’s smooth forehead slightly wrinkled, explicitly displaying her anger.

“Can you not take a hint? I believe I told you to fuck off last time.”

Se-Woon was very persistent even after Ra-Eun’s cold-hearted rejection. It seemed like he had completely fallen for her.

“It’s not like I’m trying to make plans with you. I simply want to give you a ride home. Really,” Se-Woon expressed.

He was claiming that he was doing this out of pure kindness, but Ra-Eun knew all too well that such kindness was born out of beastly desires. She could tell from just a glance because she was a unique high school girl with the perspective of a man.

Ra-Eun stopped in her tracks and looked up at Se-Woon in annoyance. A difference in eye level was inevitable because Se-Woon was 15 centimeters taller than Ra-Eun.

“I told you that I have no interest in going out with you. Have you already forgotten? Are you a goldfish or something?”

Hearing that, Yi-Seo’s eyes widened. It was her first time hearing that Ra-Eun had been confessed to by Se-Woon. Rather than his motivation dying down, Se-Woon had been working even harder to get closer to Ra-Eun after getting rejected.

Se-Woon had never been rejected by a girl before. Every single one who he confessed to said yes, as if they had been waiting for the moment. Ra-Eun had been the only one who had rejected him. Because of that, his desire to make Ra-Eun his girlfriend burned brighter than his despair over being rejected.

“There’s a saying that there’s no tree that won’t fall if you chop it ten times, you know?”

Ra-Eun answered, “Bullshit.”

He was not worth humoring.

“Let’s go, Yi-Seo.”

“Ra-Eun, don’t be like that and let me give you a ride, okay?” Se-Woon said while extending his hand toward Ra-Eun.

At that moment, Ra-Eun lowered her stance and extended her leg out to trip Se-Woon. And then, she turned her back toward him and grabbed his left arm.

Se-Woon flew into the air in the span of him saying “Huh?”, and Ra-Eun flung him back down onto the ground.

Slam—!

Extreme pain reverberated all over his body from his back. Ra-Eun clicked her tongue at the writhing Se-Woon.

“I told you not to touch me, didn’t I?”

“Th-That wasn’t my intention... W-Wait! Ra-Eun! Wait for me!”

“Don’t think it’ll end with just a shoulder throw if you keep following me.”

Crushed by Ra-Eun’s spirit, Se-Woon could not take another step. Like he had said, there may not be a tree that wouldn’t fall if you chopped it ten times. However, Se-Woon did not realize that Ra-Eun was not a tree, but a concrete pillar embedded deep into the ground.

***

Ra-Eun was sure that she had rejected Se-Woon’s confession.

“Looks like I’ve got another stalker,” she muttered.

Her head hurt. Yi-Seo tilted her head as she listened to Ra-Eun talk to herself across from her.

“What do you mean by ‘another one’? No way, do you have another man following you around?” Yi-Seo asked.

“Hm? Well, I guess so...”

Ra-Eun’s first stalker was a woman, not a man, but she did not have the courage to tell Yi-Seo that. Ra-Eun was strangely popular, whether it be among men or women.

Yi-Seo’s face was filled with worry.

“Be careful. Who knows what might happen if you get marked by someone sketchy?”

“I know.”

Ra-Eun knew that better than anyone, since she had also worked as a private bodyguard in the past. She recalled the time when she was a bodyguard for a female celebrity with tons of stalkers. But...

‘To think I’d ended up in the same situation as her.’

Considering what Rita and Se-Woon were like, Ra-Eun doubted that they would do anything bad to her. Even if they were to attempt such a thing...

‘They’ll get taught a lesson by me.’

She did not worry too much about that. However, there was one thing that terrified her.

‘I’m not gonna end up marrying a man at this rate, am I?’

Ra-Eun got goosebumps just from the thought. She instantly emptied the americano in front of her to drown such thoughts, and took the chance to taste test the new menu item.

“How is it?” Yi-Seo asked.

Ra-Eun momentarily pondered.

“Mm... It’s good, but I don’t think it tastes much different from the tiramisu cake on your menu.”

She personally could not taste any distinct characteristics that should come from a new menu item.

“What do you think needs emphasis?” Yi-Seo questioned.

“I think it’d be good to enrich the texture. For example, you could add an ingredient that increases its chewiness.”

“Wow, that sounds like a great idea!”

It was an interesting suggestion. Yi-Seo quickly took out her notepad and wrote down Ra-Eun’s idea.

“Thanks, Ra-Eun. I’ll let Dad know,” Yi-Seo remarked.

“It’s not like my opinions are absolute. I simply said what I thought, so don’t rely too much on it.”

Ra-Eun had been a guard, not a chef. Now that she was reminded of that, her confidence in her suggestions plummeted.

***

Ra-Eun came out of Starlight Road and hurried home before it got any later. She decided to put her ‘Teach Ra-Hyuk Cooking’ plan that she had been thinking of executing for a while now into action as soon as she got home. However, her determination shattered as soon as she opened the front door.

‘What are these heels?’

Black heels that she had never seen before were placed neatly in front of the door. They obviously were not hers. She had never worn heels outside of TV shows and photo shoots since they were uncomfortable. Also, she found sneakers to be far more comfortable because she was originally a man, so she did not even own any heels.

Could Ra-Hyuk have bought them for her as a gift?

‘They look too used for that to be the case.’

They were not brand-new. No matter how much she and Ra-Hyuk fought, their relationship was not bad enough for him to give used heels to her as a gift. As she was thinking over the unidentified heels, she felt a presence from inside.

“Hm? You should’ve told me you were home. Why are you just standing there?”

Ra-Hyuk looked at his little sister in confusion. Ra-Eun felt wronged by Ra-Hyuk’s remark, because he was the weird one here.

“What are these?” Ra-Eun asked as she held up the heels.

“Oh, those?” Ra-Hyuk answered with little regard. “They’re—”

Someone else showed up before Ra-Hyuk had the chance to answer Ra-Eun’s question. It was not a man, but a woman. Not only that, but...

‘She’s fairly pretty.’

A woman with semi-celebrity-grade looks smiled at Ra-Eun.

“Is this your little sister?” the woman asked Ra-Hyuk.

“Yep, she’s Ra-Eun.”

“I see. She’s way prettier in person. That’s a celebrity for you.”

The woman enviously stared at Ra-Eun. Meanwhile, Ra-Eun could not understand what was going on right now.

“Who’s this? Your girlfriend?” Ra-Eun asked.

The woman’s face reddened at Ra-Eun’s question. Ra-Hyuk strongly denied it while shaking his head.

“No, she’s just a friend in the same department as me. She’s here because of a report that we have to write.”

“...Really?”

Ra-Hyuk denied it, but the woman did not seem to agree. Rather, she looked happy at the mention of the word ‘girlfriend’.

‘This guy must be popular with the ladies on campus.’

However, the person in question did not seem to be aware of this at all.