I Returned as a High School Girl - Chapter 243: Drag Down (2)

Kang Ra-Eun had been planning to drag Kim Han-Gyo down his seat as a congressman for a while now. Anyone in the political world went through the cycle of gaining and losing their seat in the National Assembly due to various factors, but Han-Gyo had never lost his seat in the National Assembly.

The reason was because he held a strong sense of pride and dignity toward his position as a congressman; which was why he never backed off right up until the cut-off period of voting. It did not matter to Han-Gyo whether he was up against a senior or junior; he only ever thought about himself. Hence, if Ra-Eun managed to take away the position of congressman from Han-Gyo, she would be able to deal a devastating blow to him.

‘And his influence in his party will also diminish.’

Ra-Eun was planning on reducing Han-Gyo’s place of standing little by little. Meanwhile, Ahn Su-Jin, who had heard Ra-Eun mention the general election, pulled up one of her sleeves and checked her arm.

Ra-Eun tilted her head in confusion and asked, “What are you doing?”

“No, it’s just that I got massive goosebumps the moment you said that we should release everything during the general election period.”

“In a good way?”

“Yes, probably.”

Su-Jin had been thinking about releasing all the information that she held immediately to the entire world, but that would have been a bad move. A true master waited for the right time. In terms of that, Ra-Eun could be considered a master of masters of sorts. Su-Jin had realized one more thing on top of that.

“You hold such great animosity toward Congressman Kim Han-Gyo.”

The masked woman was planning on throwing him into the pits of hell.

“May I ask why you’re going so far to ruin Congressman Kim?”

Ra-Eun stayed silent for a moment, and then nodded.

“Yes, you may ask.”

Su-Jin brightened due to the completely unexpected response, but it did not last long.

“You must be misunderstanding something. I said you can ask, but I never said that I would answer.”

“…”

Su-Jin knew as much. A bitter smile appeared on her visage and she took the USB drive that Ra-Eun had handed her.

“Please let me know in advance when you would like me to release everything,” Su-Jin remarked.

“Thank you, Reporter Ahn.”

“I should be the one thanking you.”

It no longer mattered who the masked woman was. What Su-Jin knew for sure was that the masked woman had saved her from certain death by the hands of Kim Han-Gyo. It was no simple feat to betray someone whom one owed their life to.

Ra-Eun got up from her seat after saying farewell to Su-Jin, but was reminded of something that she had wanted to ask her.

“Come to think of it, Reporter Ahn.”

“Yes?”

“May I know what your bust size is?”

Su-Jin’s face instantly reddened.

“Wh-Why are you asking something like that…?”

They had just been discussing very important matters, so embarrassment swept over Su-Jin once the masked woman queried about her bust size. Not only that, Ma Yeong-Jun was also present; there was no way that Su-Jin would reveal such a thing to a man.

Ra-Eun clarified the reason for her question, and it was unexpectedly dumb.

“I was wondering if there was a specific store that you frequented.”

“Do you need underwear?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Su-Jin had thought that the masked woman had some bizarre sides to her, but she had never expected her to be this bizarre. No, it was more accurate to call her brazen. Su-Jin was nothing like the masked woman, who did not seem to have any shame as a woman.

She let the masked woman know of her bust size in a voice so small that Yeong-Jun couldn’t hear, but her efforts had gone down the drain with a single phrase from Ra-Eun.

“You’re bigger than you look.”

“…”

Yeong-Jun turned his gaze elsewhere. Su-Jin regretted telling Ra-Eun.

***

Ra-Eun visited the underwear store that Su-Jin had told her about. She, like always, chose ones with plain designs rather than extravagant ones. The employee found Ra-Eun’s choice of underwear surprisingly unexpected.

“Are you sure about these? These designs are extremely plain.”

“It’s okay. I much prefer designs like these.”

Ra-Eun did not like dressing up despite being a celebrity. She might not even have gone around with makeup on if she had not become a celebrity, although it would have been no problem at all considering how beautiful she still was without it. It was a great misjudgment to think that all celebrities liked to dress up. In Ra-Eun’s case, she only cared about comfort.

Ra-Eun put on her new underwear as soon as she returned home.

‘I knew it was a good idea to get one size larger.’

It now felt like both her mind and body were at ease.

‘I feel much better now.’

Ra-Eun’s acquaintances were envious of how glamorous her body was, but she herself felt extremely burdened by her own body. She had not been able to get used to the strange sensation of her breasts when she had first become a woman. Although she had more or less gotten used to it now, it had been quite a predicament at the time.

‘Women have it so hard.’

Ra-Eun had almost said her thoughts out loud. She sat on the living room couch and changed channels to the news channel that she often watched. The announcer was reporting news that the ruling and opposition parties were on full alert for the upcoming general election in a few months. Both parties were already criticizing each other.

Ra-Eun laughed as she watched the members of Congress fighting for their piece of the pie in the National Assembly. She couldn’t care less about the battle between politicians; she only cared about beating down one person, Kim Han-Gyo.

‘Kim Han-Gyo will probably run for office in Jongno District.’

Jongno, Seoul was considered among many the number one district in politics. The opposing party would either pit Han-Gyo up with someone that could put up a fight against him, or…

‘They might just send a sacrificial pawn instead.’

There was barely anyone who could match Han-Gyo in terms of recognition. Considering that, they might go with a strategy of completely giving up on Jongno and focusing their efforts on other districts. However, it did not matter to Ra-Eun whichever strategy they went with, since she would relentlessly attack Han-Gyo from the moment that the general election began.

‘That aside, I wonder who will be pitted against Kim Han-Gyo in Jongno?’

Ra-Eun was slightly curious.

‘Maybe I should ask.’

She had many political connections, so she decided to ask Congressman Hong Oh-Yeon, the one that she was closest to, while pretending to ask how she had been doing. Oh-Yeon picked up as soon as Ra-Eun called, and she seemed to be exhausted.

– Hello…?

“Hello, Congresswoman.”

– Oh, Ra-Eun. Why the sudden call? I heard you’ve been busy lately.

“I thought I’d call to ask how you’ve been doing. After all, we haven’t spoken at all recently.”

Oh-Yeon seemed to have gained some strength from the fact that Ra-Eun had called her first, considering the slight uplift in her voice.

– Thank you. My head has been in jumbles, but your call has cheered me up.

“Is it because of the general election?”

– Yes. It’s been so hectic lately.

It was understandable. Ra-Eun had also been extremely busy during the general election period back when she had been a bodyguard. Although she had not been a politician, she understood how Oh-Yeon was feeling since she had guarded a famous politician during many of those hectic periods.

“Which district office are you running for this time, Congresswoman?” Ra-Eun asked.

Not even she remembered everything about which congressperson ran for which district office during which general election. She of course remembered the backgrounds of considerably famous politicians, but Congresswoman Hong could not be considered a famous politician.

The congresswoman’s answer had been enough to shock Ra-Eun.

– I think it’ll be Jongno.

***

The phrase ‘quirk of fate’ popped up in Ra-Eun’s head. She had never expected Congresswoman Hong to be the one facing Han-Gyo. She was greatly shocked at first, but the gears inside her head turned furiously moments later. This was not a quirk of fate.

‘It might be an opportunity!’

Ra-Eun began to draw up a plan inside her head. Meanwhile, Oh-Yeon seemed to be feeling massive pressure from her placement.

– My party seems to be giving up entirely on Jongno, so I’m basically a sacrificial pawn.

“No, Congresswoman. From what I see, I think it’s because you’re the only one who even has a chance against Congressman Kim Han-Gyo.”

It was a stretch to call Congresswoman Hong a sacrificial pawn. She had made a strong impression on members of the public through appearances on TV programs and other forms of media, allowing her to become a politician who was well-recognized by the younger generation. Hence, it was nonsense to waste the weapon that was Hong Oh-Yeon. However, Oh-Yeon herself had been viewing her party’s decision in a pessimistic way.

– I’m thinking of talking it over with my party members again.

“You must really want to avoid Jongno by any means necessary.”

– To be honest with you… Yes, I do.

Oh-Yeon had been thinking of persuading her party members to let her run for office in a different district. She also had her own ambitions, typical of someone who wanted to climb higher than where they were currently at. She was faithful to her instincts, but did not blatantly show it, unlike a certain congressman. Ra-Eun knew this side of Oh-Yeon better than anyone else. Hence, Ra-Eun decided to use that tendency of hers.

“Don’t be like that, Congresswoman. Why don’t you just run for office in Jongno?”

– I’m sorry?

Oh-Yeon was fairly bewildered by Ra-Eun’s unexpected statement.

– But… Would I really have a chance?

It was pointless to fight a losing battle. It was akin to throwing oneself into a blazing pit of fire, so Oh-Yeon honestly did not see a reason to do so. However, Ra-Eun did.

“I’ll make it so that you will be elected, so don’t worry about a thing and go for it.”

Ra-Eun was not doing this for Congresswoman Hong, but because she despised Han-Gyo more than anything else.