In This Life, I Will Die As An Actress, Not As A Villainess [EN]: Chapter 104

The long-awaited first mission day had arrived.

After the MC’s eloquent opening remarks and program introduction, the mission commenced immediately.

“The first performance is from Han Sae-na’s mentor team, La Dolce Vita!!”

I tried to calm my trembling heart as I watched my team members walk onto the stage.

The cameras were zooming in on my face.

“We will now reveal the mission.”

Tense background music played as the mission appeared on the big screen.

‘La Dolce Vita Team Mission – Love-Hate Relationship’

The team members on stage looked at the mission, a wave of bewilderment washing over their faces.

Then, they exchanged glances before looking in my direction.

I smiled at them, as if to reassure them that everything was okay.

You have to command the atmosphere with your tension.

Just like you prepared.

I clasped my hands together and watched the stage with more desperation than when I was acting.

The studio slowly darkened…

Four pin lights spotlighted the stage.

Then, Park Eun-gi quietly asked from beside me.

“Is the ace Min So-hyun? Or Yoon Ha-neul?”

To that question, I replied meaningfully, “We’ll see,” and smiled slyly.

The audience wouldn’t hear it, but this would also be caught by the individual microphones and used in the editing process.

After running some calculations in my head, I turned my head back to the stage.

In the meantime, Kim Young-i walked forward.

“Huh?”

Ha Sung-joon raised an eyebrow as if surprised.

At that moment.

Kim Young-i broke the silence and sat down on the stage, bursting into tears.

“…?”

Kim Young-i cried sadly, even rolling her legs as if she were a child throwing a tantrum.

I was so surprised that I stared at her with a dumbfounded expression.

While no one could predict what was happening, Lee Hyo-seo seemed to have caught on and approached Kim Young-i.

Then, she pushed the crying Kim Young-i and rolled her away.

The audience burst into laughter at the absurd situation.

Then, Min So-hyun seemed to get the gist and raised her hand, shouting.

“Teacher! They’re fighting!!”

As soon as I heard Min So-hyun’s lisping line, I gasped.

It’s a kindergarten.

It was a completely unexpected concept.

While everyone was amazed and laughing, Yoon Ha-neul clapped twice with a straight face.

“Stop, stop. What did I tell you to do if you hate your friend?”

Yoon Ha-neul had instantly transformed into a kindergarten teacher.

Lee Hyo-seo, who had been bullying Kim Young-i, jumped up, raised her hand, and said.

“Compete fairly in a 1:1 match!”

To that, Yoon Ha-neul replied shamelessly.

“Correct.”

The audience erupted in laughter.

Even the judges were laughing, but I was the only one with my mouth wide open.

The four members were working together to create a concept and incorporate the direction they had been practicing.

“Why are those two fighting like that, teacher? My mom and dad do that too.”

Min So-hyun asked Yoon Ha-neul as if she couldn’t understand.

Then, Yoon Ha-neul replied.

“Because they hate each other. Enough to want to hit each other.”

“Then why don’t they just not play together?”

“They also like each other enough not to want to do that. They fight like they’re going to kill each other, but they still want to be together.”

“Weird!”

No sooner had their conversation ended than Kim Young-i and Lee Hyo-seo continued their chaotic fight.

What they had practiced during the first training session was now shining.

“Go die! Don’t come in.”

“You old hag!”

The two children were imitating the adults’ lines as they had learned from watching their parents fight.

The audience was already doubled over with laughter.

Kim Young-i and Lee Hyo-seo’s combo acting was being utilized, and the other two, who were excellent actors, were continuing the situation commentary and emotional acting.

My mentees were pulling it off.

I watched the skit with sweaty hands.

The time was already past the 2-minute mark.

Kim Young-i and Lee Hyo-seo continued to fight, changing their repertoire without dropping the tension.

However, it was inevitably a bit boring.

Because it was so impromptu, unlike Ha Sung-joon’s team, there was no particular narrative line.

However, the corners of my lips did not droop the entire time I was watching.

The four team members were working together to maintain their chemistry and enjoy the stage until the end.

I heard Kim Hee-joo’s senior’s mutter from behind.

“Oh, how lovely.”

I perked up my ears at those words.

I wanted to turn around and shout, ‘Right?!’ right away.

“Everyone, stop!”

With Yoon Ha-neul’s high-pitched voice ending the situation, exactly 3 minutes had elapsed.

“Yes, well done.”

Applause poured out for the team members who had finished the stage.

I also barely let out a small sigh and applauded.

Senior Park Seok-jin gave his review first.

“The atmosphere is good, as expected. Lee Hyo-seo and Kim Young-i are the mood makers in the team, right?”

As expected, he’s like a ghost [meaning he sees right through them].

The team members smiled brightly and nodded at the question.

“Looking at the stage now, the acting isn’t perfect. But the power to maintain a pleasant tension, and the energy with which the two strongly pull each other and the other two members, is very good.”

Next, Hwang Yoo-sun gave her review.

“I was impressed with Yoon Ha-neul. Her emotional interpretation is excellent. It was good that she explained love-hate from the children’s point of view in that short moment.”

The corners of my lips twitched involuntarily as my mentees were praised.

I struggled to not show my jumping emotions in front of the camera.

“Now, let’s reveal the scores! Kim Young-i 87 points, Yoon Ha-neul 85 points, Min So-hyun 81 points, Lee Hyo-seo 81 points! Average 83.5!”

A sigh of disappointment rippled through the audience.

My brow also furrowed slightly.

Hmm….

Then, the audience votes were revealed in succession.

“But there’s a twist. Kim Young-i 91 points, Yoon Ha-neul 88 points, Min So-hyun 85 points, Lee Hyo-seo 83 points!”

It didn’t quite meet expectations, but it was too early to jump to conclusions.

I stood up and applauded my mentees.

The team members smiled brightly on stage and looked at me.

* * *

A few days ago.

After finishing the 1:1 feedback and interview time, I gathered the mentees in one place again.

“Kim Young-i and Lee Hyo-seo will create our team’s narrative.”

Then, all four mentees looked surprised.

In particular, Kim Young-i and Lee Hyo-seo’s expressions showed embarrassment.

It was probably because they thought the other two were better than them.

Seeing the expected reactions, I said.

“I think you should show ‘acting that you can do well’ for the first round.”

The mentees, calming their surprised hearts, began to focus on my words, and I continued to explain.

As an actor, you sometimes need to abandon comfortable methods and be bold.

Especially in an audition where you have to show a leap forward in each episode.

However, choosing that method from the first round was inefficient.

Because there were viewer votes in each round, you had to show the participants’ most confident acting at first.

That way, you could give a strong first impression, whether you were a talented person or an individualist.

If you make a good first impression, it will be easier to continue the anticipation until the later rounds.

And above all.

I was convinced that our team could gain a clear advantage over other teams due to the nature of the first mission.

“Mentor, can we set the narrative in advance for an improv?”

Min So-hyun asked in a clear tone.

I smiled slightly at Min So-hyun.

“Of course, you have to make it up on the spot. But very attractively. Everything is character play.”

However, just as I was speaking confidently, an unexpected variable occurred before long.

Young-i couldn’t perform to her full potential, perhaps because she felt burdened by taking on the key role.

“In this case, the lines……”

Every time Young-i practiced, she would cut off the situation and ask me for help.

I crossed my arms and watched, then asked Young-i.

“Young-i, what do you think your strengths are?”

After the team announcement and the first meeting, a 4-day training camp was underway.

Our team’s training was being filmed in real time.

But Young-i kept hesitating.

“My strength… I’ve heard that I have good observation skills.”

“And what else?”

“And what else……”

Young-i hesitated.

I didn’t wait for an answer and changed the target to Lee Hyo-seo.

“Hyo-seo, you’ve known Young-i for a long time, right? What do you think Young-i’s strengths are?”

Lee Hyo-seo, who received the question instead, was lost in thought for a moment.

“I’ve always thought that not having any particular weaknesses is a strength. It may seem like she doesn’t have any color because of that. And Young-i always has good chemistry with others.”

Lee Hyo-seo gave an answer close to the correct one.

“Yes, that’s right. In my opinion, Young-i’s strength is interaction with others.”

Young-i looked surprised to hear my words.

“She has a better ability to trust and support others than anyone else. That ability is the most necessary ingredient for this first mission. From today, engrave that strength in your heart.”

Young-i nodded slowly.

* * *

After our team members went down, the remaining three teams’ improv performances continued in succession.

Hwang Yoo-sun’s ‘The Glory’ team’s mission was ‘Reconciliation’, Park Eun-gi’s ‘300’ team’s mission was ‘Thirst’, and finally, Ha Sung-joon’s ‘Sky Land Star Land’ team’s mission was ‘Fear’.

The most outstanding team among these was Ha Sung-joon’s ‘Sky Land Star Land’ team.

Cha Seung-hee, who was lying in the middle of the stage, screamed and jumped up.

“Aah!!”

“Why, what’s wrong!”

“Oh, Mom!!”

The other team members gathered in front of Cha Seung-hee as if they were a family.

“Hah, hah….”

Cha Seung-hee gasped realistically as if she had a nightmare.

“You had another dream about taking the college entrance exam.”

The audience burst into laughter at Cha Seung-hee’s subsequent line.

Even the judges were smiling faintly.

The team members continued the situation fluently without any hiccups, as if they had rehearsed the script many times.

“Mom, it’s my college entrance exam today. Why are you like that, Mom!”

Yoo Hye-jin, who played the role of the daughter, shouted as if she was annoyed.

In that way, the families began to fight over the mother’s nightmare for three minutes, reaching the extreme.

“This was a nightmare.”

With Cha Seung-hee’s last line, the 3-minute timer ended immediately.

“Wow.”

“You did so well.”

Real-time reactions were heard and applause poured out.

Above all, the composition of the play stood out the most in this team.

You did better than I expected?

I also smiled and applauded Ha Sung-joon’s team members.

This team will get even scores.

I smiled slyly and entered the scores more boldly than when evaluating Hwang Yoo-sun’s team.

“Let’s reveal the scores. Cha Seung-hee 91 points, Myung Yoo-hyun 86 points, Yoo Hye-jin 84 points, Yang Geon 82 points! With an average of 86.75 from the judges’ scores, they are far ahead, and the audience votes are Cha Seung-hee 90 points, Myung Yoo-hyun 83 points, Yoo Hye-jin 83 points, Yang Geon 80 points!”

Ha Sung-joon made a fuss and applauded next to me after hearing the scores.

It was a fairly high average score that could aim for first place.

“Our team is the best! You did well!”

And…

Hwang Yoo-sun’s Glory team, which I had been paying the most attention to, pushed Do Chang-hyun as their ace.

However, the stage was reduced to Do Chang-hyun’s one-man show.

‘Do Chang-hyun 92 points, Kim Min-seok 86 points, So Dae-hwi 71 points, Yoo Jang-hyuk 71 points.’

The score gap between the team members was very large.

Only Do Chang-hyun stood out.

Even in the audience vote, Do Chang-hyun’s score plummeted.

‘Do Chang-hyun 80 points! Kim Min-seok 85 points, So Dae-hwi 79 points, Yoo Jang-hyuk 80 points.’

“…!”