ReLife Player

[Presidential Election]

April is almost over.

Eunha watched the rain fall outside the window.

The sound of the rain felt good. Listening to the pounding on the ground made the screams in his head not sound like lies. (1)

Not now, though.

Before the regression, the causes and reasons that had driven him mad were already in the distant past.

Now he just liked the sound of the rain, and if he closed his eyes and listened, he could hear the chatter of children-.

«─Then I’ll write down Eunha as a candidate.»

«What?»

Hearing his name called out by Miss Yoo Ji-na, Eunha couldn’t help but snap out of his reverie. He blurted out something stupid in his panic, then noticed the big letters on the board.

«What’s wrong?»

«Teacher, why is my name on there?»

«Class 4 Presidential Election,» read the big, colourful letters, with Eunha’s name underneath.

«What do you mean? Who wrote it?»

«I mean, who? Why?»

Answering for Miss Ji-na was her double, Minji.

Eunha glared at her, wondering if Minji was playing a prank on him.

«Come on. It’s not me.»

They had been together for years. Minji, who could read Eunha’s thoughts with her eyes, protested in a low voice.

«Then who is it?»

«Who could it be? duh»

«Choi Eun-hyuk again…!»

That was all it took to guess who it was.

Eunha found Eunhyuk sitting in the back of the classroom.

«Captain~!»

Eunhyuk was waving his hand casually, not knowing what Eunha was thinking.

«Haa….»

Eunha wanted to punch him, but he couldn’t afford to mix up the order of things. He held off on hitting Eunhyuk and decided to withdraw as a candidate for president.

«Miss, I’m withdrawing.»

«Eunhyuk nominated you, you shouldn’t ignore his sincerity.»

«I’m not qualified to be president!»

«Don’t say that. Kids have so much potential!»

Miss Ji-na, who had always been swayed by children, spoke in a different manner. She clapped her hands together and ranted about how children are the country’s greatest resource.

Giving up on listening to Miss Ji-na’s idealism, Eunha realized that it would be impossible for him to drop out of the presidential race.

«You should have told him before!»

«I did tell him. Who cares?»

But why are you talking so much? Weren’t you in cahoots with Choi Eun-hyuk?

I don’t know what you’re talking about

Their gazes meet in the air for the first time in a long time. Sensing the atmosphere, the kids around them pulled their desks as far as they could.

Okay, let’s do it too.

«Teacher, I recommend Eunhyuk and Minji!»

«You can only recommend one.»

«Then I nominate Minji, she’s got great leadership skills!»

«Are you really going to do this!?»

Minji protested loudly.

Eunha also raised his voice.

«You guys! Didn’t the teacher say we shouldn’t fight!?»

The person trying to calm them down was the weak-willed Miss Yoo Ji-na. She screamed with a pale face, but it wasn’t enough to stop the two of them.

You’re a real wench, wench.

Just wait and see, really.

They hadn’t been lucky since they became partners. They couldn’t get any angrier, so they decided to temporarily make up.

«Minji, do you want to run for president?»

«No. I’ll nominate No Eunha.»

«Miss. Ji-na, why do I have to run and she doesn’t have to?»

«Because if you do, the election will feel like a joke.»

Isn’t elementary school a child’s play anyway?

Eunha swallowed the words that were about to come out of the back of his throat.

«You’re the only one who wants to run for president right now. Are there any other kids who want to serve class 4 for a semester?»

The atmosphere in the class hung heavy as the two argued. While the kids from Doan’s kindergarten and the kids who usually hang out with them were willing to let it go, the other kids didn’t seem to like it, especially the kids from the other kindergartens, who were giving them cold looks.

Realizing her mistake, Minji blushed and hung her head in shame.

Feeling unnecessarily apologetic, Eunha grunted and shut his mouth.

«Teacher. I’m a candidate.»

It was Sena who volunteered her candidacy in such a mood. She raised her hand, taking the stares as a given.

«Uh, yeah. Is there anyone else who wants to run?»

Several kids who were running for president lowered their hands when they heard Sena was running. They didn’t want to draw attention to themselves.

«Then we’ll have the election later today in the fifth period, and you and Senna can start thinking about what you’re going to do for the class if you’re president.»

The stifling minutes came to an end. The kids scrambled out of their seats as soon as the bell rang.

«I don’t want to do it. Annoying.»

Listening to the rain, Eunha slumped against his desk, almost in a daze, unwilling to be president.

Part of him wanted to stay put, cheer for Sena to be president, and get some rest.

If only the kids would let him.

Of course they wouldn’t.

«Captain. I think you should be the president of this class. I’ll make you the president!»

Eunhyuk’s eyes lit up as if this was his only chance, and he turned to the remaining boys in the classroom. Grabbing them by the throat, he began to explain, point by point, why Eunha should be president. (E/N: I love him)

«Hmm, I see!»

«I want Eunha to be president too.»

«If you’re president, you’ll have gym class every day!»

I know no one keeps their promises, but isn’t that a bit much?

«You’re not really trying to get me in trouble, are you?»

Eunha mesmerized the boys with words that Eunhyuk couldn’t even understand.

«Me, too, Eunha, I want you to be president.»

«Me too. I’ll vote.»

After going to the restroom, Hayang and Seona decided to vote for Eunha.

Eunha, who wasn’t happy about this at all, shook his head.

«I’ll ask some kids, too.»

«Is the election for elementary school president really this competitive?»

Eunha stuck out his tongue as he watched Minji approach the kids she knew.

It was almost as if the election was for the entire school.

«You’re probably going to be president.»

«Why?»

Before he knew it, Hayang was gone.

Left alone with Seona, Eunha looked out the window at the rain.

«The boys will probably vote for you.»

I didn’t have to ask why, because I knew Eunhyeok could win over the non-clique boys.

«And the girls…. There are a lot of girls who don’t like Sena.»

«Hmm….»

Seona was not just keeping her seat in the classroom. She was observing the children’s relationships, taking advantage of that point, while spending her time at the end of the classroom as if she were dead like a mouse.

Sena was the little queen of the class. Ever since Minji’s clique had fallen apart, she’d been leading the vocal clique.

However, not all of the kids accepted her rule over the class. Some of them didn’t like her dominance.

«I don’t want to do it.»

«I think you’re great.»

«It’s annoying.»

«You’re so like yourself.»

Seona smiled sheepishly and went back to her seat.

The bell rang for recess and class began.

Eunha stared out the window at the steady rain.

☆

This happened during lunch.

«Wow~! What’s that smell?»

«Hamburgers! It’s a hamburger!»

«Wow, why did hamburgers come to our class?»

As the kids headed to lunch, they stared at the man with the burger in his hand with a twinkle in his eye.

«Kids, these are from my dad, enjoy.»

Sena stood in front of the man in the suit and scrunched up her nose.

«Wow~! It’s Sena!»

«Hamburger! Hamburger!»

«Today’s lunch is hamburgers!»

The school cafeteria’s lunch was delicious, but the children’s tastes didn’t change. After all, hamburgers were the best.

Sena had taken their enthusiasm for hamburgers for granted.

She gestured to the man to help her flip the burgers.

«You guys help, too.»

«Yeah.»

«Okey.»

«It’s Sena!.»

The girls in Sena’s clique followed the man as he flipped the burgers. Only she, the reigning queen of Class 4, stood at the table, surveying the classroom, while the children who served her distributed food from the bag the man held in his hand.

«I want Sena to be president, vote for her.»

«If Sena is president, we’ll buy hamburgers every month.»

As they passed around the burgers and cokes, they didn’t forget to mention Sena’s name.

Wow. You’d think they were running for Congress.

Eunha stuck his tongue out at Sena for bribing the kids with hamburgers. He couldn’t understand how she could be running for president of an elementary school by bribing them with hamburgers.

Sena called the man with the hamburgers to the classroom table and placed some on the table.

She then called a girl from the guard (her bodyguard) and ordered her to follow her with a burger and a Coke.

Wondering what Senna was up to, Eunha watched in silence,

What? Look at this?

Sena walked over and handed out burgers to Eunhyuk, Hayang, Seona, Minji, and finally Eunha.

«Here you go. Give me your vote.»

Eun-ha knew the meaning of Sena’s smile as she handed over the hamburger.

It was a knowing sneer. It was a gaze that looked down on people from above, but also took pleasure in trampling on those beneath them.

«You’re a kid and you’re already doing this….»

Eunha was not interested in the hamburger as he was angry.

Min-ji was the same. She knew that she was going to vote for Eunha, but she looked at the burger that Sena handed over arrogantly and frowned.

«Who do you think I am, a beggar…?»

Min-ji did not take the hamburger that Sena offered.

It was a message of sorts.

You lowlifes, just keep your heads down.

I hadn’t expected to be the recipient of someone’s malice in this way, to have such complex malice in a seemingly innocent act.

Or that it would make me feel so miserable.

Unable to do anything but stand by and watch, Minji didn’t know how to express her feelings.

«Forget it, everything. You can forget about it now. Don’t worry about it.»

«Ouch, why did you hit me?»

Eunha slapped her on the forehead.

She was still too young to endure human malice.

She didn’t need to be hurt by the malice of others already.

She didn’t need to feel helpless, she didn’t need to feel miserable.

So it was better not to know. She didn’t have to be tainted by the malice of others and become one of them.

In that sense, she’s amazing.

Senna excelled at bullying children her own age. She knew exactly what power she had.

She’s not a rich girl for nothing.

She must have had some sort of education from a young age.

By the way, the others are….

Minji was like this. Eunha looked around the classroom, worried about the other kids.

Most of the kids were gobbling down their hamburgers, unaware of anything.

On the other hand, the kids who insisted on voting for Eunha seemed to feel some sort of emotion when they received the burgers, even if they couldn’t put it into words.

There is nothing wrong with hamburgers. There’s nothing wrong with it….

«Eat! You can have it all!»

«Huh! Really? Thank you! I’ll eat it! I won’t complain later!»

«Me too! Me too!»

Eunhyuk, who was seriously thinking about it, eventually passed the hamburger to the other kid.

For some reason, he felt like he would be considered insignificant if he ate it.

«Ooh, I want to go for lunch….»

Ever since she began to control her mana, Hayang’s boldness grew. She was good at sensing people’s intentions with her senses, and she recognized Senna’s intentions.

Not even bothering to look at the hamburger on her desk, she thought about going to lunch with her friends.

«…Whoa.»

Sena, who usually ignored her, walked over and handed her the burger.

‘Should I take it to church and give it to the kids?’

After thinking about it from ear to ear, Seona finally came to a conclusion. She chose not to take it to church. There was no option to eat the burger in the first place.

The children who were salivating didn’t leave her alone. Even though they never talked to her before, the kids talked to her now.

After wordlessly handing over the burgers, Seona waved gently at Eunha.

«…That’s good.»

It was unexpected. It was also a relief.

The children had accepted their first malice with grace.

Like a parent, Eunha was proud of them.

Now, what to do about this?

He had no intention of letting it go.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. That’s what No Eunha was all about.

He thought to himself as he watched Sena talk about her ambitions when she became president.

«When I become president,….»

…Haha, I’m young, so I’ll put up with it. No Eunha, you’ve lost a lot of character.

I’ll let it go this time, but there will be no next time.

Remember, I can kill you anytime I want.

«…Huh?»

In the middle of her speech, Sena shuddered as she felt an electric current run through her body. She felt something run down her leg and froze in place.

«Huh? Huh?»

Goosebumps rose.

What was that?

She swiped at her arm to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling, but that wasn’t the problem. She hastily finished her speech and called for the man who brought the burgers.

Sena didn’t return until after lunch.

☆

The election for president began after lunch.

«Then the class president will be Sena, who has a majority of 21 votes!»

Sena was elected president.

And Eunha became the vice president since there were no candidates for vice president.

Notes!

(1) In the context of the sentence, «lies» refers to the deceptive nature of a sound or sensation. It means that the sound of rain that Eunha hears doesn’t seem fake, but instead feels genuine and authentic. It contrasts this with the «screams» (비명) that used to haunt him in his past life, which implies that his experience was traumatic or distressing. Thus, the sound of the rain is described as not feeling like ‘lies’ because it brings him comfort, unlike the distressing experiences of the past.

Hi guys this is the first part of the mass release! I will come back with more chapters…(Hopefully). Take care!