In This Life, I Will Die As An Actress, Not As A Villainess [EN]: Chapter 101

After a three-week preliminary journey, the sixteen contestants selected for the main competition were finally chosen from a pool of 300 applicants.

Only sixteen people.

This audition was the brainchild of the PD [Producer Director, the person in charge of a show], who envisioned selecting a small, elite group and debuting them all.

The audition was structured to narrow down the contestants: sixteen in the first round, eight in the second, four in the third, and two in the final round.

The ultimate winner would be just one person.

Before the main competition, there would be a mentor and mentee team-matching session.

The time had come to meet the selected participants face to face.

The PD gathered the judges and the sixteen participants together.

“Feel free to talk to each other.”

Head judge Park Seok-jin and senior Kim Hee-ju, who weren’t participating as mentors, were waiting elsewhere.

Ha Seong-jin smirked and approached me.

He had cameras attached to both sides of him.

“Who do you want to work with?”

This guy really knows how to play the broadcasting game.

It was my first time in this kind of environment, so I was sweating internally.

“It’s a secret.”

I tried not to show my embarrassment and playfully raised my voice at the end.

Ha Seong-jin shook his head and crossed his arms.

“Let’s not compete too hard, okay?”

I chuckled at Ha Seong-jin.

He’s definitely Seon Yu-seok’s friend.

Then, I moved and slowly scanned the faces of the participants.

Here and there, there were familiar faces like Do Chang-hyun.

That friend over there was a good actor but ended up with the wrong agency.

The friendly friend on the other side, talking to other participants, debuted as an idol when she was in middle school, so she’s technically my senior in terms of debut year.

Her idol activities didn’t go well, so she’s not well-known.

She had come all the way here with the desperate hope of transitioning to acting.

And most of all….

Do Chang-hyun was standing in the center, his eyes sparkling.

Do Chang-hyun was still scanning the other participants with a nervous look.

After a moment of contemplation, I approached Do Chang-hyun first.

Do Chang-hyun bowed politely when he saw me.

I smiled at Do Chang-hyun.

I was about to speak when Hwang Yu-seon approached with quick steps.

“Oh, Ms. Sae-na. Are you eyeing Chang-hyun?”

“…Pardon?”

All eyes turned to us.

Three or four cameras quickly followed us.

Oh, this isn’t good.

Hwang Yu-seon crossed her arms playfully and glared at me as if she were acting.

“Hmm, can’t have that.”

Do Chang-hyun laughed out loud at Hwang Yu-seon’s cute, slightly nasal voice.

“Wow, Chang-hyun is so lucky. You already have two mentors fighting over him.”

“Wow, I knew it. He’s too handsome.”

I could hear the murmurs around me.

No, why is this dynamic happening?

I was about to wave my hands and deny it, but Hwang Yu-seon dropped her smile and asked Do Chang-hyun.

“Why did you come here to act?”

It was the same question I was going to ask.

However, Hwang Yu-seon’s tone was a bit sharper.

It was unexpected.

Do Chang-hyun bit his lip for a moment, looking nervous again.

Then, he answered slowly.

“Because I want to play cool roles.”

“Cool roles?”

This time, I asked back.

“Yes, I hate my timid and cowardly self. I want to live different lives through various roles.”

Hwang Yu-seon nodded at his sincere answer.

The people around him also had impressed expressions at Do Chang-hyun’s answer.

Except for me.

All of Do Chang-hyun’s answers and actions kept linking back to drugs.

Why did he do that?

Does he think of himself as a weak person?

With these kinds of dreams?

Hwang Yu-seon immediately asked a second question.

“Then, what kind of person do you think you are?”

This was also a sharp question.

Do Chang-hyun’s ears turned red as he became even more nervous.

Silence filled the audition studio.

“…….”

In the end, Do Chang-hyun couldn’t open his mouth.

“If you don’t know, it’s good to think about the answer.”

Hwang Yu-seon left a quiet piece of advice and left the spot.

I met eyes with Do Chang-hyun, who was filled with embarrassment and shame.

“I’m such an idiot….”

Do Chang-hyun mumbled quietly.

I sighed inwardly.

“Straighten your shoulders.”

“Pardon?”

Do Chang-hyun asked back as if he had misheard.

“I said straighten your shoulders. A lack of confidence is a minus in this industry.”

“Yes….”

I also passed by Do Chang-hyun and headed to the other participants.

As I did, I thought for a moment.

Do Chang-hyun is Do Chang-hyun, but I also learned a little more about Hwang Yu-seon’s character.

A person who creates an image with sharp introspection and self-management, rather than relying on her actual personality to create a character.

The current Hwang Yu-seon seemed exactly like that.

It felt like I had discovered the true nature of someone who had risen to stardom with cringeworthy *aegyo* [acting cute] acting.

Anyway, if the mentors compete with each other, it seems like it will be a pretty rough journey.

But it would be a bit funny to have a close cooperative relationship.

Moreover, the mentor should only think about their mentee.

While I was lost in thought, two participants jumped up and down and approached me.

“Actor! No, Mentor Han Sae-na! I’m a fan!”

“Kyaa, please sign!”

Uh, what is this?

I instinctively took a step back.

The two participants were former idol trainees and were friends from the same agency who had made it to the main competition together.

The story of their friendship, which contained touching moments in the preliminary broadcast, was quite noteworthy.

Having some kind of narrative is advantageous for an audition participant.

Once again, the camera turned to us.

Ugh.

I could feel my face turning red in real-time as I was so embarrassed.

The participants approached from both sides and linked arms with me as if they were arresting me.

“Thank you, everyone. But you all have to think of yourselves as actors now, so whoa, calm down a bit.”

“Wow, as expected, charisma.”

“I really want to be on your team, Mentor!”

It was my first time having someone so openly cling to me and say they liked me, so I was very flustered.

Ha Seong-jin chuckled as he saw my reddened face.

Ha Seong-jin was already approaching the participants he had marked and shaking hands with them in a friendly manner.

Park Eun-gi, the judge who spoke the least, was talking to all the participants with the most serious look.

Seeing that, I also hurried my steps.

Time was running out to talk to all the participants, even briefly.

* * *

That night.

After the sixteen selected members moved to the group accommodation.

I was about to head to the van, exhausted.

“If you have time, let’s have dinner and go. It would be good to talk among ourselves.”

I heard the deep voice of senior Park Seok-jin.

As soon as I heard those words, I closed my eyes tightly and recited “Amen” in my heart.

Then, I smiled brightly and turned around, shouting, “I’m in, senior!”

Senior Park Seok-jin was a well-known heavy drinker throughout the entertainment industry.

In my past life, I had stayed at company dinners until he went home and couldn’t get out of bed for two days straight.

Ah, I’m going to taste hell again after a long time….

Ha Seong-jin was next to him, already smiling with a resigned expression.

“Senior, please save me. I can’t drink.”

“Tsk, tsk, this young punk is acting up.”

Eventually, thirty minutes later, everyone gathered at a Chinese restaurant.

While we were renting a room and sitting down to eat, two cameras installed next to the table were rolling.

They were planning to film the judges’ ‘behind-the-scenes for broadcast’.

While we were talking in a friendly atmosphere.

Park Eun-gi, who had been silently accepting the drinks that senior Park Seok-jin was pouring, opened his mouth.

“What do you all think of Do Chang-hyun?”

I stopped the chopsticks that were picking up sweet and sour pork.

Senior Park Seok-jin answered slowly.

“He’s a talented friend. We’ll have to watch him more to know.”

“What do you think, Ms. Sae-na?”

Park Eun-gi looked at me and asked.

Hwang Yu-seon also looked at me with an interested expression.

“I have the same opinion as the senior. He has charm, but he needs to be refined.”

I swallowed the last words, ‘in many ways’, inwardly.

“Overall, the level is high. The participants. Right?”

Senior Kim Hee-ju said in a warm tone.

Throughout the audition, she had been evaluating the participants with a positive perspective and attitude.

Senior Park Seok-jin was a bit different though.

After Do Chang-hyun, the stories of several other participants continued, and the staff took away the cameras.

After the door closed and only the judges were left, senior Park Seok-jin revealed his true feelings.

“Will this show be successful?”

Everyone was surprised and looked at him.

In my judgment, senior Park Seok-jin was one of the best in the industry at seeing scripts and works.

Such a person was now expressing doubts about the program.

While the juniors were flustered and hesitant, senior Kim Hee-ju smiled leisurely and eased the atmosphere.

“It’s good, isn’t it, auditions?”

“Huh?”

Senior Park Seok-jin took a sip of his drink and looked at her.

“Just. The passion and challenges of young people. Doesn’t it have a positive impact on you, senior?”

Then, senior Park Seok-jin laughed lowly as if he understood her intention.

“That’s right. It reminds me of the old days.”

“That’s right. Don’t worry about the ratings. You’re suffering so much in our drama, can’t you enjoy it a bit here?”

Ha Seong-jin also agreed with her words.

“I think so too. And with the two seniors who are guaranteed ratings participating, what’s there to worry about?”

The senior chuckled at those words and nodded.

But only for a moment, he suddenly stared intently at me.

“I really like Ms. Sae-na’s career path.”

“Yes? Ah, thank you.”

Suddenly praising me….

The eyes of the people sitting at the table focused on my face.

“I can feel that you’re very smart. I like it. When you didn’t do and chose , I applauded alone.”

I smiled shyly at those words.

“So I was curious about how you would judge or mentor. It seems like you’re still being careful. Very much so. Is that right?”

“That’s right, senior. Ms. Sae-na doesn’t even talk!”

Hwang Yu-seon added a word and smiled at me.

I was very embarrassed by the atmosphere focusing on me and couldn’t easily think of what to say.

It was unexpected that the judges, not the participants, were curious about my evaluation.

“Ah… as the senior said, I’m still in the observation stage. The teams haven’t been formed yet. More than anything, I’m just like that. I’m very timid and cautious.”

I finished speaking and laughed, “Ahahaha.”

I tried to gloss over it and move on, but Hwang Yu-seon threw another question.

“Isn’t Ms. Sae-na the shortest in terms of experience here?”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“I heard that you’re quite the tomboy. Are you gritting your teeth here to make your mentee number one?”