In This Life, I Will Die As An Actress, Not As A Villainess [EN]: Chapter 127

In front of the agency office.

As soon as I returned to Seoul, unexpected guests were waiting.

Two middle-aged men were sitting on the office sofa with their arms crossed.

As I was about to open the door and go inside, my manager, who was flustered, spotted me and quickly rushed out.

Then, he asked urgently.

“Are you really… dating that jerk?”

“That jerk? Kang Jio?”

“Yes.”

The manager urgently pressed for an answer.

“Yeah. But who are those people anyway? Doesn’t the company handle them?”

I asked, irritated, and the manager scratched his head vigorously.

“They’re Kang Jio’s family.”

“What?”

“They’re Kang Jio’s great-uncle and uncle. They came all of a sudden, mentioning the scandal.”

“…?”

I frowned and opened the door right away.

Then, Kang Jio’s family, who were sitting down, didn’t even stand up and just nodded their heads.

And then, they suddenly threw several photos onto the table.

“…?”

When I went closer, I saw pictures of me with Kang Jio when I was transformed into different personalities.

Especially, there were many pictures of me as Baek Jangmi, clinging to Kang Jio intimately, even in public.

I sighed slightly as I looked at the photos.

*Why do these people have this….*

Then, one of them spoke.

“I’m Jio’s uncle. You know that your acting career will be over if this is revealed, right?”

Hearing that, I chuckled inwardly.

*What on earth are these family members doing right now?*

“And it seems like you’re going in and out of the hospital too. Is there something wrong with your mind?”

Kang Jio’s great-uncle asked a sharp question.

As I stood there silently, listening to the insulting words, Kang Jio’s uncle immediately got to the point.

“We’ll block all these photos and scandals, so let’s make a proposal.”

I stared at the uncle intently.

“We don’t care whether you two are really dating or not. Just expose Kang Jio for dating violence.”

“…What did you say?”

“If not that far, just do an interview saying he’s a violent person. He’s involved in our group chairman’s death case from the past. The trial is still ongoing.”

The great-uncle added from the side.

“We’ll take care of spreading articles here and there.”

The moment I heard those words, Kang Jio’s face came to mind.

I became furious and felt sorry for Kang Jio.

*How hard must it have been for him alone among these family members.*

I stared at them for a moment, then threw the photos on the table and sat on the sofa.

“It seems like you’ve done a lot of research, but you’re lacking some prior information.”

“…?”

“I’m sorry for the late introduction. I’m Yoo Da-yang, Jio’s girlfriend.”

The two didn’t easily show any agitation, but I could see a hint of embarrassment.

“Jio and I are very serious. You can spread these photos as much as you want. Is there any top star without any controversies anyway?”

“….”

“If things go wrong, I can just quit being a celebrity. I’ve earned enough. I’ll quit being a celebrity and… become a *chaebol’s* [a wealthy conglomerate family] wife or something.”

As I said that and smiled, the expressions of the two people sitting in front of me immediately hardened.

“And then, it might be nice to get attention by interviewing about how I lived under this kind of threat. Well, that’s me. Would you two be okay with that?”

The great-uncle got angry and tried to step forward, but the uncle, sensing the unfavorable turn of events, stopped him.

Then, he stood up from his seat.

“Miss, can you handle it?”

I also stood up from my seat and stared straight at him.

“Surviving in this industry as a celebrity is just as hard as surviving in a *chaebol* family.”

I smiled slyly.

“….”

“I’m quite strongly trained, so maybe Jio’s family members should be the ones who have to handle it.”

The two were speechless for a moment and glared at me.

“See you again, then.”

And then, they left the office.

As soon as the two left and the door closed, my legs gave out.

The manager, who was trembling next to me, rushed over.

“Da-yang, are you okay??”

I smiled slightly at the manager.

“Didn’t it show that I was shaking?”

“Yeah, you looked like a crazy person. Just like usual….”

I glared at the manager and sighed deeply.

*I’m using the makjang [over-the-top] chaebol drama I watched like this.*

The manager clicked his tongue next to me.

“She caused an accident.”

“I know.”

But suddenly, the manager started lecturing me.

“No, do you have no eye for men? Putting aside dating, you should meet someone decent.”

I glanced at the manager.

“What’s wrong with Kang Jio?”

“You two have the same personality!! You jerks. At least one of you should be nice.”

“What? A jerk?”

“You said you wouldn’t clarify the scandal either, right?”

“Why bother.”

“You’ve been photographed dating here and there and are being threatened by other people too. The CEO has given up, given up.”

Really, people are so interested in other people’s relationships.

Suddenly, I felt a headache coming on.

*Is this what it feels like to have a scandal even in the reality of living as Han Se-na?*

Then, a text message came from Kang Jio.

-Where shall we go tomorrow?

Suddenly, I laughed.

*How can that jerk be so carefree?*

The manager looked at me like a crazy person as I smiled and replied to the text message.

* * *

The next day, a small playground.

Kang Jio was waiting for me, looking very angry.

“Why the long face?”

I asked in surprise, and Kang Jio frowned.

“Do you even need to ask?”

“Did I do something wrong?”

Then, Kang Jio touched his forehead.

“It’s my fault. My family. My great-uncle and uncle went to see you, right?”

“Ah, that.”

Kang Jio stared at me as I answered nonchalantly.

“I didn’t do well either. I turned on the headlights and lashed out at them, at the adults.”

“What did they say to you?”

“Just… well….”

I trailed off and looked up at Kang Jio.

*He’ll get hurt if I tell him.*

I hesitated and opened my mouth.

“What on earth happened that they’re trying to bury you like that?”

“….”

At my question, Kang Jio bit his lip as if he had guessed what they said.

“You have to tell me what happened so I can deal with it in the future.”

“…I told you there was an accident a long time ago. I was in the car with my grandfather at that time. In the accident, my grandfather and I were thrown out of the window at the same time, and my grandfather protected me until the end, holding me in his arms.”

I listened to the terrible story and looked at Kang Jio.

I couldn’t say anything.

“But the driver at the time testified that I pushed my grandfather out of the door when the accident happened. That testimony was accepted as fact, and since I was a minor at the time and had lost my memory, I wasn’t punished, but….”

“…….”

“After that, I searched for the driver, but he disappeared. Since then, I’ve been living with the label of murderer.”

I felt more upset than Kang Jio, who was speaking calmly.

*How hard must it have been for that young child.*

As I was about to say something to comfort Kang Jio, suddenly my voice didn’t come out.

And then, a random word popped out.

“I know that driver.”

“?”

Kang Jio looked at me in surprise.

I was also very embarrassed, but no gestures were made.

*Somewhere dark and familiar feeling that dominates me….*

In a sudden moment, the last personality manifested.

The last personality left meaningful words and walked towards the swing.

Kang Jio followed as if possessed and sat next to me, observing me.

“Could it be you.”

The last personality looked at Kang Jio while swinging.

“You still don’t remember me?”

Kang Jio answered in embarrassment.

“I haven’t found my memories. Tell me your name.”

“Yoo Ha-young.”

A name similar to Yoo Da-yang.

Yoo Ha-young was the name of the last personality.

Inside Yoo Ha-young, I was shocked and only listened to what Yoo Ha-young was saying.

“I saw that driver when you ran away from home before.”

“…When I ran away from home?”

Kang Jio groped for his lost memories.

“Yeah. That driver had a torn scar on his forehead, right?”

“!!”

Kang Jio had a surprised expression.

Probably the facial injury of the driver that Yoo Ha-young described was the same as the one he had confirmed in the photo.

Kang Jio said with a confused face.

“But, he quit a long time ago.”

Then, Yoo Ha-young revealed a new fact.

“Among the road managers that Yoo Da-yang saw while working, there was one person who had a scar in the same location, a similar person.”

* * *

That evening.

I asked my manager to search the company where that road manager was, but only got the answer that he had quit a long time ago.

Inside my house, I sat facing Kang Jio, very disappointed.

Kang Jio tried to calm me down.

“It’s not good to have expectations. I’m okay.”

I looked at Kang Jio with pitiful eyes.

There was still a confused feeling left.

I couldn’t gauge how deep the history between the fifth personality and Kang Jio was.

It seemed like Yoo Ha-young remembered everything, even the past that Kang Jio didn’t know.

Something was a bit strange.

I clearly heard that Yoo Ha-young was the last personality to manifest.

Even Baek Jang-mi, who was created third, manifested around the time Yoo Da-yang debuted and did her third work.

But Yoo Ha-young, what on earth.

How did she meet Kang Jio in his mid-teens?

Before Yoo Da-yang even started acting.

With an uneasy feeling, I immediately called Nam Woo-hyuk.

As soon as Nam Woo-hyuk answered the phone, I told him the new information I had obtained from Yoo Ha-young.

And the news that Baek Jang-mi had left too.

Then, Nam Woo-hyuk was silent for a long time as if shocked.

– ….

“Hello?”

– Yeah. Da-yang, I’ll look into it more and call you back.

Nam Woo-hyuk answered with a serious voice that I had never heard before and hung up the phone.

For some reason, a sense of unease arose.

Kang Jio held my hand tightly.

“It’ll be okay.”

*Even though he’s having a hard time himself….*

I held Kang Jio’s hand tightly.

* * *

A few days later.

After getting through Yoo Da-yang’s packed schedule for the first time in a while, I headed to the amusement park with Kang Jio.

“It feels like it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”

It was a face I was seeing again in less than a week, but for some reason, a welcoming feeling filled me.

Kang Jio smiled at me.

“Don’t you like me too much?”

“That’s overconfidence.”

I answered Kang Jio and looked at the natural scenery unfolding before my eyes.

“Wow, it’s pretty!”

Then, in the distance, I saw unfamiliar tropical plants and animals.

“Wow, let’s go there!”

I quickly dragged Kang Jio, but suddenly my head spun.

“Oh, uh.”

As my body tilted, Kang Jio, surprised, quickly supported me.

“Are you okay?”

“I want to see it too, something like this!”

“…?”

Suddenly, Jung Se-eun’s personality popped out.

“I’m tired of being stuck in the office and only working all the time.”

Kang Jio was surprised to see Jung Se-eun after a long time, but suddenly laughed.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Look to your heart’s content. Let’s look around together.”

Jung Se-eun dragged Kang Jio’s arm and headed towards the animal cage.

“Wow, cranes!”

A bird with a long neck was drinking water in front.

But the zookeeper intervened from the side and corrected.

“It’s an egret.”

My face flushed at those words.

Embarrassed, I said, “Ah, I see,” but Kang Jio burst out laughing next to me.

“Heh.”

“What are you laughing at? Geez.”

Embarrassed, Jung Se-eun turned her back and headed towards another cage.

There were red pandas in another cage.

“Wow, cute. Red panda…?”

“Yeah, cute.”

“It doesn’t look like a panda?”

As Jung Se-eun said in bewilderment, another zookeeper intervened.

“Red pandas are related to weasels.”

“….”

Jung Se-eun shut her mouth tightly.

Kang Jio started laughing loudly next to me.

“You’re really bad at everything except studying.”

“What, did you know? You didn’t know either!”

Jung Se-eun got angry.

*Jung Se-eun is quite hot-tempered too.*

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

Kang Jio took Jung Se-eun’s hand as if to appease her and dragged her to another place.

“Let’s see other animals too. Don’t get angry.”

“I don’t want to see!”

Kang Jio kept chuckling.