In This Life, I Will Die As An Actress, Not As A Villainess [EN]: Chapter 27

“Here’s the Hanbok you ordered!”

Someone burst through the door and shouted in a booming voice.

Several actors stared wide-eyed at the door.

The voice belonged to Min-young unnie [older sister or close female friend].

She dragged in a box as big as herself.

Then, she opened the box and showed off the dazzling Hanboks [traditional Korean clothing].

The eyes of the watching actors widened once more.

They quickly approached and took the Hanboks from her.

“Delivering it here yourself? I’m touched.”

Unnie laughed heartily.

“Since I’m doing it anyway, I should give you a proper push [offer support and encouragement].”

Then, the other actors crowded around.

“Wow, what’s all this? The Hanboks are so pretty.”

“You ordered men’s Hanboks.”

At that moment, Yoon Young-jae teacher approached, drawn by the commotion.

“Hanboks?”

The teacher’s eyebrow shot up.

The actors stopped chattering at the teacher’s strange tone.

Min-young unnie glanced around, sensing the unexpected atmosphere.

“I thought having the outfits would make a difference.”

I quickly stepped forward and answered the teacher.

The Hanboks that Min-young unnie brought were also my idea, following the experience center.

I thought that since this drama was different from other genres, starting with the costumes, wearing them properly would make a difference.

Now that I have everything, it’s a little embarrassing.

But I didn’t want to be awkward in even the smallest part.

“I’ll go change.”

I was about to pick up a Hanbok and leave when the teacher spoke.

“Hwanbok [historical term for changing clothes].”

“Pardon?”

“It’s called ‘Hwanbok.’ Get used to the way of speaking from now on.”

“Yes! No. Yes, I will.”

My seniors chuckled at my answer.

Unnie, who had been listening to the conversation with the teacher, smiled slightly as if she had finally grasped the situation.

And so, afternoon practice resumed.

I put on the men’s Hanbok, twisted my hair up like a topknot, and wore a Baekguan [a hat worn by Joseon officials].

Looking in the mirror, I felt refreshed and in a good mood.

I stepped into the practice room and spun around once.

Then the teacher added another comment.

“What’s the point of just wearing the clothes? You have to earn the price of the clothes. Do it again.”

He meant that I should deliver the lines properly since I had made such a fuss.

“Yes, sir!”

Ah, by the way.

I turned to look at Min-young unnie.

“Unnie, what happened to the scripts after the sixth episode?”

I had asked her to get me the rest of the script.

“Ah, I think you’ll have to wait a little longer. I’ll bring it to you soon.”

Then, the teacher, who had been listening to the conversation, shook his head.

“No need to bring it, Min-young.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s good to immerse yourself after seeing all the scripts, but you don’t need that right now. You need to practice immediately immersing yourself in each new scene.”

The teacher said to me.

Ugh…

It was the first time I had heard of such an immersion method in my acting career.

Usually, you would read the entire script, understand the character, and carefully build up emotions scene by scene.

“When you receive a new scene each time, what you feel will naturally come out before you imagine how the character would feel. Acting starts there.”

I nodded at the teacher’s words.

I looked in the mirror again.

I decided to accept it for now.

“I understand.”

I steeled myself once more.

This time, it was a secret meeting between the female lead, who was hiding her identity, and the king, who already knew her identity.

Huh, I took a deep breath.

It was romance, which I wasn’t confident in.

Min-young unnie was filming us from behind with her phone, looking interested.

I stood in the center of the practice room and looked in the mirror.

I imagined the king in front of me and pictured him in my mind.

“Why have you summoned me at this late hour?”

“Again.”

The teacher cut me off as soon as I recited one line.

“Your voice is shaking. Again, calmly.”

At those words, I took a deep breath and straightened the crooked Baekguan.

I cleared my throat and took a moment to immerse myself.

In the silent practice room, I opened my mouth again.

“Why have you summoned me at this late hour?”

I could almost hear the sound of crickets chirping in the palace late at night.

‘There’s no special reason. But what does it matter? The night is even deep for a man.’

That was the king’s line that would follow my line.

As if I had heard the king’s voice, I raised my head, which had been lowered, and looked at the mirror with a flustered expression.

Perhaps the king was looking at me with a playful smile.

I coughed awkwardly.

“If there’s nothing else, I shall return to my chambers…”

‘May I visit that place?’

“Pardon?”

‘I wish to look around the place where the servant who attends to me resides. Is this not also a virtue that a king should possess?’

“Ah, no, you mustn’t. How could you visit the chambers of a mere servant…? I shall take my leave.”

I quickly took a step back.

At that moment, it was the timing for the king to come and grab my wrist.

‘How long will you keep deceiving me?’

This part was a scene where the king held my wrist and our eyes met for a long time.

I made an expression that captured the king’s face with trembling eyes for a long time.

After staring at the air for a moment, I spoke the next line in a voice that tried to maintain composure, but with a trembling tone underneath.

“What do you mean… what am I deceiving Your Majesty about? Please dismiss any misunderstandings that are unrelated to state affairs.”

‘Didn’t you say… you dislike sweets? But earlier, you ate the taffy so well. Why did you lie?’

At those words, the female lead, feeling drained, would take a deep breath.

After exhaling, I shook off the king’s hand.

“Your jokes are too much. Please don’t play such pranks again. I shall take my leave.”

After finishing the short performance, I looked in the mirror.

I wondered if this was right, when the teacher threw out just one word.

“She’s never been in a relationship, has she?”

At those words, Min-young unnie burst out laughing.

“This fun and delightful scene isn’t coming alive at all. How are you going to convey the trembling like that?”

The teacher scolded me again.

A sigh escaped me.

What I had worried about had become a reality.

How do you practice romance?

Just as I overcame one obstacle, an even bigger obstacle was waiting for me.

“Again.”

At the teacher’s words, I looked in the mirror again.

I took a sip of water and straightened my clothes again.

And I started from the beginning.

“Why have you summoned me at this late hour?”

* * *

How many times had I repeated this short line?

Just as the lining of my clothes was soaked with sweat, the teacher nodded slightly.

“Let’s stop here for today.”

“Am I… allowed to leave?”

I asked in a voice that was panting and out of breath.

“It’s better than the first time.”

Endorphins surged at the teacher’s nonchalant words.

I quickly got up and threw myself at the teacher, hugging him tightly.

Min-young unnie also clapped beside me, finally smiling.

“Hey, get off. You still have a long way to go, you rascal!”

“I know! It’s just that when you’re immersed, the pronunciation and movements should follow naturally.”

“If you know, don’t act up and practice like crazy.”

With those words, the teacher shook off my arm and prepared to leave, slinging a small bag over his shoulder.

“Teacher, why don’t you join us for a meal?”

When Min-young unnie and I grabbed him, the teacher flicked my forehead.

“I’ll eat with you later when your acting is worth watching.”

Then, as the teacher opened the practice room door, he tossed out a word.

“Well, you finally look your age.”

“Pardon?”

“Go and rest quickly. You have to come out early again tomorrow.”

With those words, the teacher left the practice room.

“Aigoo… [expression of exhaustion or frustration]”

Only then did Min-young unnie and I slump down on the practice room floor, groaning.

I took out my phone for the first time today and looked at the time…

“Eight o’clock? Already?”

My body shot up on its own.

Unnie looked at me with a bewildered expression.

“Are you going home? I’ll give you a ride.”

“No, you go first, unnie. I have something to do.”

Unnie asked again with surprised eyes.

“Again? What are you doing?”

I smiled at her words.

“I have to prepare for the advertisement!”

There was no time to rest.

I busily took out the camera, concept storyboard, props, and clothes from my bag.

“I can’t stop you.”

Unnie, who was watching me, shook her head and got up.

“Then I’m leaving. Take it easy.”

As Unnie left through the door, I was left alone in the practice room.

I put my hands on my waist for a moment and caught my breath.

Then I put the camera on the tripod.

I pressed the record button.

* * *

“Camera ready.”

“Lighting set.”

It was the day of the Dewdrop Soju commercial shoot.

Inside a large studio, the director was checking the results of the previous version of the shoot on the monitor.

In the screen, I was wearing a provocative red dress as Yoo Ji-an from .

With glamorous makeup, I elegantly drank soju [Korean distilled beverage] in an outfit that would suit a fancy restaurant.

Even the wrist snap as I looked at the camera and emptied the soju glass was naturally executed.

“Wow, it’s like seeing Yoo Ji-an from in person.”

The staff said.

This ‘Yoo Ji-an’ look was the concept of this Dewdrop, contrasting with the ‘Han Sae-na’ look in the second shoot that followed.

The provocative and strong Yoo Ji-an, the comfortable and neat Han Sae-na.

The harmony of those two was Dewdrop.

“Wow, this can go out as is. It wouldn’t be overshadowed even if you put it next to Jeon Mi-yeon.”

“Seriously, this is better than the white advertisement.”

The director continued to watch the footage, seemingly pleased with the staff’s words.

“The expression is good, the expression, the feeling, everything is good.”

“Really?”

I quickly squeezed in behind the director, and he was startled.

“Oh my!”

The director was even more surprised when he recognized me.

“Wow, the reverse charm is even more amazing than the storyboard?”

The staff, who had been busy decorating the set, also widened their eyes when they saw me.

It was because I was wearing a gray tracksuit top and bottom, as if the Yoo Ji-an look in the screen had disappeared.

I had also put in long waves and wore a simple half-up hairstyle with a short bob wig.

“Sae-na, you’re so cute.”

“You finally look your age?”

The staff praised me repeatedly.

I scratched my arm, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Thank you.”

This tracksuit outfit was a story that came out around the time the advertisement contract was finalized.

* * *

At that time, when I was signing the contract and talking about the concept.

“We also launched a lower-alcohol version this time as a frontrunner.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The person in charge looked at me as if curious about what I would say next.

“What if we catch both the strong, mild, sexy, and innocent rabbits? Not only the sexy concept, but also that we’ve entered an era where you can drink comfortably with clean soju without a hangover. That it’s a new trend. It would be good to say that. is.”

“A new trend…”

The person in charge was lost in thought at my words.

“That’s right. Certainly, these days, it’s not an atmosphere where you just pour and drink.”

“But the way we show it is also a problem. If we just revert to a clean and mild image, it overlaps with the old concept we maintained until a few years ago.”

The person in charge and I nodded at the words of the employee who was giving his opinion from the side.

“Are you talking about that? The one where the original goddess Kim Seo-jin wore a tight white dress and filmed it.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

On the table that had fallen into thought once again, I was the first to open my mouth.

“What if we wear a tracksuit?”

“Pardon???”

The eyes of the person in charge and the employees widened.