I Returned as a High School Girl

Chapter 168: Hospital Visit (2)

Kang Ra-Eun’s acquaintances hadn’t been the only ones who had brought gifts. She had brought one as well.

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

The box was fairly heavy even for a man.

“Zero-sugar soft drinks. They’re your favorite, aren’t they?”

Even if they weren’t truly family members, they had lived together for so long that Ra-Eun knew what drinks Ra-Hyuk liked. Ra-Hyuk stared at his little sister in great satisfaction.

“You’re the best, lil’ sis.”

Ra-Eun had not been able to bring a gift the first time because the news of Ra-Hyuk’s hospital admittance had been so sudden, but she had made sure to bring one this time.

“What about Dad?” Ra-Eun asked.

“He visited this morning. I barely managed to get him to go to work when he was trying to take a day off to stay here and nurse me.”

“Really? Good job,” she praised as she took off her jacket. “Because I was gonna do it.”

“Do what?”

“Nurse you.”

“...You were?”

Ra-Hyuk doubted his ears. Ra-Eun glared at him.

“If you don’t want me to, then just say so. I’m busy.”

“N-No, it was just... a little unexpected.”

Considering Ra-Eun’s personality, Ra-Hyuk had thought she would just leave after telling him to take care of himself, but that had not been the case.

“I don’t have any film shoots scheduled until the day after tomorrow. I was bored staying at home all day, so I thought I might as well come here. I didn’t make time on my schedule just to nurse you, so don’t get the wrong idea.”

Ra-Eun was being very curt, but Ra-Hyuk could sense a hint of kindness shyly hidden away. A certain word popped up in his head as he looked at her.

“So this is what people call a ‘tsundere.’”

“What? You want me to stitch your mouth shut?”

“I’m sorry, I was wrong,” Ra-Hyuk apologized in terror.

Ra-Eun was more than capable of doing such a thing.

***

There wasn’t much to do in terms of nursing. All Ra-Eun needed to do was to provide help if needed while staying in the hospital room. Going to the bathroom was the biggest issue. Ra-Hyuk fortunately did not need to go all the way to the public bathrooms since there was a private one in his room, but there was an entirely different issue.

“Okay, let it out.”

“...”

Ra-Eun was standing next to Ra-Hyuk while holding his crutches so that he wouldn’t fall down. He was lost for words.

“Umm, lil’ sis.”

“What?”

“I can take care of a number one by myself.”

“You’re the one who said peeing while standing on one leg was uncomfortable.”

“I did, but...”

It was far more uncomfortable to pee next to his little sister with her eyes wide open. Even if they were family, it was still uncomfortable since they were of the opposite sex. Not just that, they were now both mature adults. However, Ra-Eun was not feeling much resistance to the act since she had been a man in her past life.

“How long are you gonna keep standing like this? Is there something wrong with your bladder?” Ra-Eun asked.

Ra-Hyuk was bewildered by her unreserved comment.

“Can you please wait outside? I’ll take care of it by myself.”

“And what if you fall down?”

“I told you, I won’t! I’ve gotten the hang of it at this point!”

The brother had won the battle of obstinance between siblings this time. Ra-Eun clicked her tongue and ended up waiting outside the bathroom. Ra-Hyuk soon came out of the bathroom in complete exhaustion.

‘This is so tiring.’

He had never thought his little sister’s nursing would be this exhausting.

***

However, Ra-Eun’s nursing wasn’t full of only cons. Her presence sometimes revealed its true value.

“Whoa, it’s Kang Ra-Eun in the flesh!”

“I can’t believe I get to see a real celebrity.”

Ra-Hyuk’s university friends looked at Ra-Eun in amazement. She had been completely expressionless when she had been alone with Ra-Hyuk, but she had made a complete 180.

“Thank you all very much for coming to visit my brother,” she expressed.

Ra-Hyuk felt like he would hurl from seeing his little sister giggling while covering her mouth with her hand. Ra-Eun had always shown a completely different side of herself in front of others compared to when she was with Ra-Hyuk, but those two sides had become like completely different people after she picked up acting. Ra-Eun looked sly in her brother’s perspective, but she was doing this for a reason.

‘I’m sure I’d get called a bitch if I acted like my true self when I’m so popular.’

It was not enough for celebrities to act carefully in front of cameras. The more popular they were, the more careful they needed to be in their daily lives as well. In this era where eyes were everywhere, one wrong move and people would immediately find out. Hence, she had no choice but to protect herself with a false image.

There were a few familiar faces among Ra-Hyuk’s acquaintances that had come to visit him.

“Oh, Ra-Eun! It’s been so long!” Cha Mi-Ye exclaimed.

She was the girl who had come to their home back when Ra-Eun had still been a high schooler. She was the daughter of the owner of a famous restaurant, and the first one among the many women that Ra-Eun had met who liked Ra-Hyuk.

While they were greeting each other, Mi-Ye’s rival arrived.

‘Her name was... Hwang Yun-Ji, if I remember correctly?’

Her older sister was the owner of multiple clothing stores. Yun-Ji’s expression stiffened once she saw Mi-Ye.

“Oh, you’re here too, Mi-Ye?”

“Yeah. Everyone wanted to go visit Ra-Hyuk, so I tagged along.”

“...Is that so?”

The air in the room felt colder despite the air conditioner not being on. However, that was not the end of it. Seo Bo-Yeong, the girl with the aunt who owned a beauty shop, had also made an appearance.

“Oh... hi.”

“...”

“...”

The female members of Ra-Hyuk’s love quadrangle glanced at each other awkwardly. Ra-Hyuk’s other university friends, who all seemed to know what was going on between the three girls, tried to lift the air. However, the chilly air refused to dissipate.

Ra-Eun peeked at Ra-Hyuk, who was lying down on the hospital bed.

‘That goddamn popularity of his...’

She still did not have the faintest idea of why her older brother was so popular with the ladies.

***

Ra-Hyuk’s university friends decided to leave with the three girls before the entire room froze over.

“Take good care of yourself, Ra-Hyuk.”

“Thanks.”

His gratitude contained two different meanings; one was coming to visit him at the hospital, and the other was for putting an end to the extremely awkward situation. Not even Ra-Hyuk had expected all three of them to come visit him at the same time. He was panicking at the beginning, but was glad that it had ended without a hitch.

Ra-Eun sighed once Ra-Hyuk’s friends left and gave him a piece of advice.

“Make sure they come to visit at different intervals next time.”

“I wanted to, but I didn’t expect things to turn out like this either.”

All three of them happened to come visit on the exact same day and time. Ra-Hyuk had been extremely unlucky.

Ra-Eun asked while she was cleaning up, “So, is there one you like among the three of them?”

Cha Mi-Ye, Hwang Yun-Ji, and Seo Bo-Yeong. Ra-Eun wondered if Ra-Hyuk was willing to let one of them occupy the vacant seat by his side.

He laughed in embarrassment while scratching his head.

“I’m not sure.”

“A man shouldn’t be so indecisive. If you have someone you like, you gotta confess your feelings and get it over with.”

“You talk as if you have experience.”

Ra-Eun did indeed have experience as a man, but she had never as a woman, nor would she ever.

“In any case, you’re at an age where you should start thinking about marriage soon. If you find a good woman, make sure to hold on to them tight. I’ll treat my future sister-in-law nicely.”

“What about me?”

“Why should I treat you any better than I already am?”

Ra-Hyuk couldn’t imagine Ra-Eun acting cute in front of her sister-in-law in the slightest.

***

Ra-Hyuk had been discharged after a short admittance. Since he lived nearby, Ra-Eun and Seo Yi-Seo decided to go check on him in turns whenever they had time. It was Yi-Seo’s turn to go check on him today.

“I’m back, Ra-Eun.”

“Welcome back. How is that guy doing?”

“You mean your oppa? I think he’s a lot better than before. But you have no idea how surprised I was when I arrived.”

“Why? Was he only in his underwear?”

“No, not that.”

Yi-Seo lowered his voice as if she was about to say something extremely important, despite there only being just the two of them in their home.

“Three women that I’d never met before were already there when I arrived! Ra-Hyuk oppa said they were his university classmates, but the three of them didn’t seem very close. The air was super awkward in there.”

“Oh, really?”

Ra-Eun had an idea of who those three women had been.

‘I probably shouldn’t visit his house for the time being.’

She did not want to get caught up in the love quadrangle. They could take care of their relationship on their own. Even if she was Ra-Hyuk’s little sister, she had absolutely no intention of getting herself involved in the mess. Although the lineup was a bit worrying, she was at least glad that Ra-Hyuk had many people willing to take care of him.

‘The problem is how I should let Dad know about this.’

Ra-Eun had to let him know that he shouldn’t worry because of this and that, but it was a bit of an uncomfortable topic to bring up.

‘Well, I’ll think about it later.’

Vrr, vrr—!

Her phone vibrated as she was about to throw her smartphone back on her bed. It was a call from Shin Yu-Bin. Ra-Eun expected to get a call from her soon, since there was a Shuttered?film shoot scheduled for this evening.

“Hello?”

- Hey, Ra-Eun. Are you home right now?

“Yes, I am.”

- Oh... really?

Yu-Bin sounded like something was wrong.

“Did something happen?”

Ra-Eun wondered if there were bad rumors spreading about her, or a scandal like the one in the past with Ji Han-Seok had spread. However, it had been because of something else entirely.

- The shoot tonight has been canceled.

“Why?”

She had not been notified in advance, so she was curious as to why.

- You know that there had been a film shoot at the shuttered hospital yesterday, right?

“Yes.”

- Apparently, a real ghost appeared there.

Yu-Bin’s story had been enough for Ra-Eun to be struck with terror.