In This Life, I Will Die As An Actress, Not As A Villainess [EN]: Chapter 126

A little later, inside the villa’s swimming pool.

I laughed, watching Kang Jio, who was on a tube, take an unexpected plunge into the water.

“Why are you so bad at rock-paper-scissors?”

Kang Jio slicked back his hair, now completely soaked.

His wet shirt clung to his body, outlining his form.

I caught myself briefly glancing, a reflexive reaction.

Of course, it wasn’t really *me*, but Baek Jangmi…

“If you keep trying to seduce me like that, I can’t be held responsible,” Baek Jangmi said, delivering a cheesy line. Kang Jio replied with a resigned expression.

“Please try to bear with it.”

Inside Baek Jangmi’s mind, I looked at Kang Jio with a sense of pity.

He was so…enduring.

*How* did he get tangled up with *this*?

Then Baek Jangmi got off the tube and approached Kang Jio.

Kang Jio seemed a little nervous, waiting for her to come closer.

*Why is this guy just standing there, doing nothing?* I thought, frustrated. It felt like I was being led along by Baek Jangmi’s actions.

At an almost uncomfortably close distance, Kang Jio suddenly tripped me, sending me tumbling into the water.

“You pervert!”

“Ugh! Do you *want* to die?”

I flailed my arms and legs, falling backward with a splash.

Kang Jio laughed heartily, as if genuinely relieved, and then scrambled out of the pool.

“You’re dead meat.”

Ugh, my nose stings from the water.

Baek Jangmi quickly got out of the water and began chasing after Kang Jio.

Kang Jio and Baek Jangmi chased each other around the house like a pair of energetic kids.

The water dripping from their bodies left a trail on the villa floor.

Meanwhile, I was getting tired of Baek Jangmi and Kang Jio’s seemingly endless game of tag.

After circling around the villa several times, Kang Jio finally stopped and handed me a towel.

“Wipe yourself off quickly. You’ll catch a cold.”

Then Baek Jangmi smiled and stretched out her arms expectantly.

“*You* wipe me.”

Kang Jio sighed softly.

And, contrary to what I expected, he actually started wiping her body.

Ugh, Mom, save me from this cringefest.

Baek Jangmi also stood there blankly, looking a little embarrassed by the unexpected attention.

“Why do you do everything I ask you to do?” Baek Jangmi asked, a hint of genuine curiosity in her voice.

Then Kang Jio wiped my face with the towel and replied.

“Because I can.”

“….”

Hearing those words, even *I* felt a little touched.

Baek Jangmi often acted like a spoiled child, demanding this and that without a second thought.

Kang Jio seemed to resist that behavior, yet he always gave in to her whims.

I was always a little puzzled by it.

Why was he so accommodating to Baek Jangmi?

It felt like Kang Jio was trying to fill some kind of emotional void within her.

“Are you hungry?” Kang Jio asked gently.

Looking up at his face, my heart skipped a beat without me realizing it.

I couldn’t tell if it was Baek Jangmi’s heart reacting, or my own.

“I’m hungry.”

“Let’s eat, then.”

A little later, we were sitting in front of the kitchen table.

Kang Jio brought out a plate of pasta he had made himself.

Baek Jangmi was sitting there, noticeably calmer than before.

She smiled slightly as Kang Jio placed the plate in front of her.

And then, she said pleadingly.

“Feed me.”

And, just as before, Kang Jio silently picked up some pasta with a fork and began twirling it.

“Ah.”

He held the fork out and gently placed the pasta in my mouth.

“How is it?”

My heart was pounding in my chest.

*Why* is Kang Jio suddenly acting like this?

“It’s delicious.”

Baek Jangmi smiled happily.

Kang Jio continued to feed me pasta, not eating any himself.

Baek Jangmi swung her legs under the chair, clearly in a good mood.

“I feel good.”

“You feel good?” Kang Jio gently echoed, wiping a smudge of pasta sauce from the corner of my mouth.

“Have you ever done this for other girls?” I blurted out without thinking.

For the first time, my own voice escaped from within Baek Jangmi.

I waited anxiously for his answer, and Kang Jio replied firmly.

“No. Would I ever do something like this for anyone else?”

Hearing those words, I chuckled softly.

“I guess not.”

Kang Jio being so kind and attentive to a woman…

It was hard to picture.

But, strangely, it suited him quite well.

I glanced at the large window in the living room while eating pasta.

The sun was already beginning to set outside the villa.

Watching the darkness creep in, Baek Jangmi said.

“I’m sleepy. Let’s go to sleep now.”

Kang Jio paused, his hand still holding the fork.

“Let’s just sleep. I won’t do anything.”

Kang Jio looked at me with eyes that clearly didn’t believe his own words.

I was also wary of Baek Jangmi, my heart filled with distrust.

“Are you telling me to believe in some ghost story about just holding hands and sleeping?”

“I didn’t say I’d hold hands and sleep. I’ll just hug you and sleep,” Baek Jangmi said shamelessly.

Kang Jio snorted derisively.

“That’s not even remotely funny.”

* * *

But a little later, inside the bedroom.

Kang Jio was lying down, holding Baek Jangmi gently in his arms.

Soft light filled the room from a small lamp.

Kang Jio looked down at Baek Jangmi’s face, her eyes closed in his arms.

It was such a close distance that he could feel her breath on his skin…

Smooth skin and dark eyelashes, a delicate face framed by a sharp nose and full, red lips.

Kang Jio felt a surge of anxiety, trying to control his pounding heart.

*Can she hear everything I’m thinking?*

Why was he giving in to this woman’s requests so easily?

To Baek Jangmi, and to Yoo Da Yang.

He couldn’t understand why he kept letting himself be swayed by these women.

Kang Jio raised his hand and gently stroked Baek Jangmi’s soft hair.

Then Baek Jangmi, who he thought was asleep, spoke.

“I feel good. Touch me more.”

Kang Jio was startled and quickly pulled his hand away.

Then Baek Jangmi opened her eyes and urged Kang Jio.

“I said, stroke me more.”

Kang Jio reached out his hand again, as if he couldn’t resist.

And said in a low, almost languid voice.

“Please add an object to your sentences?” [Referring to her previous commands.]

Baek Jangmi closed her eyes and smiled as Kang Jio stroked her hair again.

And asked, her eyes still closed.

“Kang Jio, do you also want me to disappear?”

Kang Jio stopped stroking her hair again.

“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Everyone wants me to disappear. I’m asking if you’re like that too.”

“….”

“The reason you’re accommodating me so much today isn’t for me, but for Yoo Da Yang. Am I wrong?”

Baek Jangmi opened her eyes and met Kang Jio’s gaze, who was looking down at her.

Kang Jio flicked Baek Jangmi’s forehead playfully.

“It’s true that I’m helping Yoo Da Yang. But you’re wrong about the rest.”

“…?”

“I’m with you because I *want* to be.”

Baek Jangmi looked genuinely surprised by his unexpected answer.

“Why? Are you a pervert, too?”

Then Kang Jio chuckled softly.

“Don’t say stupid things.”

“Do you want me to disappear?” Baek Jangmi asked again, her voice softer this time.

Kang Jio looked at Baek Jangmi silently for a moment.

“No.”

“…….”

“I’ll miss you.”

“…….”

Baek Jangmi smiled brightly, as if she had heard the most wonderful thing.

But despite her smiling mouth, her eyes were filled with a deep sadness.

“I’m sleepy. Let’s go to sleep now.”

Baek Jangmi snuggled closer into Kang Jio’s arms.

Kang Jio hugged Baek Jangmi back.

The two closed their eyes.

* * *

The next morning.

“Umm.”

The sound of birds chirping came from outside the window, and bright sunlight streamed into the room.

I opened my eyes, feeling surprisingly refreshed.

I actually slept well.

As I tried to stretch, Kang Jio’s face came into view, less than a hand’s breadth away.

“Ugh!”

Startled, I recoiled, and Kang Jio woke up in surprise.

Oh, uh…

I gasped, without realizing it.

Then golden letters appeared in front of my eyes.

‘(2/5)’ [Referring to the counter of personalities leaving.]

I slowly raised both hands and looked down at my body.

“Baek Jangmi… left…?”

Hearing my words, Kang Jio sat up with a surprised look.

I met Kang Jio’s eyes silently for a long moment.

Kang Jio smiled a little blankly.

“I thought Baek Jangmi would stick around a little longer.”

“…I know. She’s so greedy.”

Even though the personality that had been inhabiting my body had left, the room somehow felt bigger, emptier.

The feeling of someone who had been so present simply disappearing left me with a moment of profound emptiness.

Then, suddenly, I slowly reached out and placed my hand on the back of Kang Jio’s hand.

“Thank you.”

Then Kang Jio smiled slightly and gently took my hand in his.

“Let’s have breakfast. We have to go back to Seoul.”

* * *

In the car on the way to Seoul.

“By the way, about our scandal…” I began worriedly, glancing at Kang Jio who was driving.

“How are we going to explain it?”

Kang Jio didn’t answer, focusing on the road.

“Since we have to stick together for the time being anyway… I’ll explain it as soon as my treatment is over. Our agency side…”

But Kang Jio interrupted me.

“Is there anything to explain?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t think there’s any need to.”

I looked at Kang Jio with my mouth slightly open in surprise.

*What* is he saying now?

But Kang Jio then dropped an even more surprising bombshell.

“Your mother didn’t seem to dislike it either? I got her permission.”

“…? You met my mom? What did you get permission for??”

When the light turned red, Kang Jio stopped the car and finally turned to look at me.

“I saw her when I went to the hospital.”

“Oh, when?”

“When you were sleeping.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“….”

Kang Jio refused to answer this time, too.

“What permission did you get?” I pressed.

Kang Jio finally answered.

“To date you.”

“What?”

“If this isn’t dating, then what is it? My head can’t make sense of it any other way.”

I stared blankly at Kang Jio, completely dumbfounded.

Kang Jio continued, his voice gaining momentum.

“I’ve been with your other personalities. We’ve dated in all sorts of places, starting with volunteering at the dog shelter, and we’ve even learned each other’s flaws.”

“….”

“We’re together at least 5 days a week, and we’ve spent the night together. You have to take responsibility for this, too.”

“Wow.”

Kang Jio finished quickly and turned his head away, looking a little embarrassed.

“What responsibility? We agreed to this. It’s not like it’s the Joseon Dynasty [ancient Korean kingdom with strict social rules].”

When I said that, Kang Jio turned his head back to look at me.

“You’re just like Baek Jangmi.”

“What?”

“How can you be so…casual? Is this really okay with you?”

“…….”

I stared at Kang Jio with my mouth wide open.

*Were you secretly raised as a Confucian scholar?*