Chapter 263: Moving Houses (1)
While Kang Ra-Eun was reaching the peak of her career shooting the latest Steel Man series film with the globally famous actor Lotier, there was also someone who was in the complete opposite situation. It was Kim Han-Gyo, whom Ra-Eun had awakened a sense of revenge for.
Han-Gyo had not even been able to partake in any public activities due to the myriad of allegations against him. He had been hiding in his own home while leaving the important duties to his chief secretary and his other close associates, while spending his days drowning himself in alcohol, tobacco and stress.
Today was no different. Jo Su-Hwang, one of Han-Gyo’s close associates, carefully entered Han-Gyo’s home. The chief secretary, who had visited Han-Gyo’s home with Congressman Jo Su-Hwang, waved a female housekeeper over and whispered to her.
“Where is the Congressman?”
“He’s been in his study ever since last night.”
Congressman Jo was shocked by the housekeeper’s answer.
“Has he not even been sleeping?” he asked.
“I believe he’s sleeping in the study...”
“He has a fully functioning bedroom, so why is he sleeping in the study?”
“I’m not sure either. The congressman has been acting very strange lately...”
Han-Gyo’s actions had been incomprehensible. His doctor and the people around him were considering it as one of the symptoms of his excessive stress. The other congresspersons who were still loyal to Han-Gyo were worried beyond belief.
Su-Hwang cautiously knocked on the study door.
“Congressman? It’s me, Jo Su-Hwang.”
There was no answer. Worried about if something had happened to Han-Gyo, he clenched the door handle tighter.
“Please excuse me.”
Su-Hwang opened the door. His and the chief secretary’s faces distorted. They were assaulted by the disgusting stench of tobacco and alcohol, and there Han-Gyo sat lifelessly in the thick of it. He couldn’t be described as anything but a bum.
“C-Congressman?” Su-Hwang cautiously called out to him.
Han-Gyo drowsily opened his eyes and asked, “What are you... doing here?”
“I’m here because I’ve been worried about you. Forget that; what is going on here? Have you been getting any sleep?”
“...Sleep? How can I possibly get any sleep when it doesn’t come to me?”
Han-Gyo had to rely on alcohol because he was suffering from severe insomnia. Only with the help of alcohol could he forget even a little of the current situation he was in. He was escaping from reality, something the Kim Han-Gyo that Ra-Eun knew would never do. That was how far she had driven him into a corner.
Ra-Eun had told him that she would push him over the edge the moment that he was at his peak. At first, Han-Gyo did not believe her words spoken as the masked woman. No one could have possibly imagined that a young woman would bring a highly influential politician like him to ruin. However, her words were slowly becoming reality, and that reality was gradually choking him to death.
“Cough...!”
Han-Gyo coughed dryly several times, to which Su-Hwang and the chief secretary were horrified.
“C-Congressman!”
“Are you alright?”
Blood had come out of his mouth.
Su-Hwang urgently exclaimed to the chief secretary, “C-Call 911! Hurry!”
“O-Okay!”
Unlike the two frantic men, Han-Gyo still considered the situation a bad nightmare instead of reality.
***
Breaking news reported that Congressman Kim Han-Gyo’s health had deteriorated and that he had been moved to a hospital to recuperate. Ra-Eun, who had been listening in silence, smiled unconsciously.
“He must be under an enormous amount of stress, considering his high and mighty pride has taken considerable damage.”
Ra-Eun knew Han-Gyo’s personality very well, so she was easily able to deduce that he wouldn't be able to handle the current situation. However, she was far from done; she wanted a more theatrical way to put the finishing touches to her revenge.
‘I’m nowhere near satisfied with this level.’
Ra-Eun once again called Ma Yeong-Jun to perfect her revenge.
“Do you know where Kim Han-Gyo has been hospitalized?” she asked.
The hospital had not been publicized on the news, but considering how famous he was, a simple investigation would yield immediate results.
- I’ll look into it. Are you thinking of charging into the hospital or something?
“No. Just keep tabs on him like you’ve been doing, but don’t stop at Kim Han-Gyo. Put some men on his close associates like Jo Su-Hwang and Jin Pil-Oh as well.”
Since Han-Gyo’s health had deteriorated severely, there was a chance that he would order his close associates to erect some sort of scheme to turn the situation around. Ra-Eun could never let her guard down when it came to Han-Gyo; he was more than capable of climbing back up even if he had fallen down. She wanted to eliminate even the slightest possibilities.
- Understood.
Ra-Eun ended the call and focused her attention back on the news channel. It was just then...
Rumble...
Ra-Eun slightly frowned due to the faint sound of vibrations. She had been hearing such sounds for the past three weeks. The cause of it was obviously the redevelopment constructions occurring right next to their apartment complex. The faint sounds could be heard ever since the construction began.
It was not loud enough to negatively affect her daily life, but Ra-Eun had become extremely sensitive after becoming a woman, so the construction noises sometimes really ground her gears no matter how faint they were. Even now, she just wanted to watch the news in peace but was continuously irritated by the disruption.
‘It’s not like I can stop them from working.’
While Ra-Eun thought about a resolution, Seo Yi-Jun, who had woken up from his nap, sighed.
“Noona. When will that construction be over?”
“Who knows? Why?”
“It keeps bothering me whenever I try to sleep.”
They couldn’t just wait for the construction to be over when they didn’t even know when that would be. Ra-Eun fell deep into thought. Since they had been living here for a while, they started to notice flaws that they had not noticed when they had first bought it. They were adjacent to a busy road, so they could hear cars passing whenever they opened the window. The air quality wasn’t that great either, and so was the traffic.
Ra-Eun had bought this house to have a more comfortable commute to her university, but her entertainment industry career and her company had taken up the majority of her life now. She felt like she needed to reform her living conditions to have a more peaceful and comfortable time.
Ra-Eun then said to herself, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen[1].”
They needed a new home.
***
Ra-Eun gathered the Seo siblings and then expressed concisely, “Let’s move houses.”
They blinked repeatedly in confusion.
“Move houses? Why so out of the blue?”
“The construction bothers me, and this place is uncomfortable in many ways.”
Seo Yi-Seo had not found the faint construction noises as bothersome as Ra-Eun and Yi-Jun had, but she did indeed feel the need to move houses. She and Ra-Eun had chosen this place because it was perfect for the two of them to live together in, but the space had become a bit cramped due to the addition of Yi-Jun.
Not just that, but as Ra-Eun got more and more things to do, she had come to realize that this house wasn’t as convenient as she thought it had been. She needed someplace bigger and more comfortable to commute to broadcasting stations or her company and back. Yi-Seo did not mind wherever they moved to since she had not yet begun working, and Yi-Jun was better off following Ra-Eun’s decision since they worked at the same company.
“Have you looked into where to move?” Yi-Seo asked.
Ra-Eun shook her head and replied, “I’m thinking of looking around starting tomorrow. Vice President Park Hee-Woo said that she knows a good real estate agent among her acquaintances, so I’m thinking of leaving it to them.”
Since the agency’s target demographic was chaebols, Ra-Eun hoped to be introduced to various homes that fit her bill. Although she had not been born wealthy, she had risen to become a member of the top 1% of Korea in terms of wealth.
“How about you guys? Wanna come with me?” Ra-Eun asked.
Ra-Eun would be purchasing the house, but they would be living in it as well. She was planning on taking their opinions into account as well. However, Yi-Seo smiled bitterly.
“Sorry. I have plans with Ro-Mi tomorrow, so I can’t.”
“Really? Then...”
Ra-Eun turned toward Yi-Jun.
“I can go,” he answered.
“Okay. We’re gonna leave early in the morning, so don’t sleep too late.”
“Got it.”
Buying a new home was a very important business. Like she had told Yi-Jun, Ra-Eun also decided to sleep early today.
***
The next day, Ra-Eun arrived at the real estate agency in the car that Yi-Jun drove, and was slightly surprised to see that a fairly young woman had greeted them.
“Good morning. My name is Jin Hye-Seung, and I am the president of this establishment.”
Ra-Eun had expected the president of a famous real estate agency to be fairly old, but she was far younger than Ra-Eun had expected. Even that aside, both she and Yi-Jun were considerably shocked by how beautiful she was despite being an ordinary person.
Yi-Jun asked dumbfoundedly, “Are you really the president?”
Hye-Seung softly laughed while covering her mouth with one hand, seemingly having gotten used to such a reaction.
“Yes, that’s right. That’s what everyone who meets me for the first time asks.”
“It’s probably because you’re so young and beautiful.”
“My, thank you very much. I’ll take you to your seats first. Would you like coffee or tea?”
Ra-Eu chose coffee and Yi-Jun chose tea. Hye-Seung asked them to wait and went to get her employees. Just then, Ra-Eun pinched Yi-Jun’s side hard.
“Ouch!”
“You feel good seeing a pretty lady, huh?”
“Of course I do... not in particular. Like I said before, I was just surprised.”
Ra-Eun sulked. “Aren’t I prettier than her, you idiot?”
“You don’t need to ask the obvious.”
Yi-Jun nodded without thinking at Ra-Eun’s bold question. She had become very proud of her beauty before she had realized it. Her pride felt hurt for some reason whenever men that she was close to were giving more attention to another woman than her, so such reactions unconsciously came out of her.
Yi-Jun did not dislike that side of Ra-Eun since he found it rather cute.
1. This is a proverb saying to leave instead of complaining if you can’t deal with the pressures and difficulties of your current situation. 👈
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