In This Life, I Will Die As An Actress, Not As A Villainess [EN]: Chapter 43

I smiled subtly at the director’s words.

Did he think I’d stop at just that?

Not after fighting so hard for this spot.

I stared at the camera, mentally rehearsing my movements again.

Then, I started jogging in place.

I needed to be genuinely out of breath.

I could feel Director Kang’s gaze intently watching me.

And then, after a moment.

“Ready, action!”

I started running as the camera glided along the rails.

Before I knew it, several royal guards were chasing after me.

My feet moved quickly, but the long skirt kept getting in the way.

“This darn skirt!”

If I, as Soon-im, were to be seen by those guards while wearing this skirt, I’d be dragged to the Uigeumbu [a Joseon Dynasty judicial office] immediately.

I started to show hints of despair and fear on my face.

The distance between me and the guards was closing.

At that moment, I saw a pond ahead.

I paused briefly to catch my breath.

There was no time to hesitate.

I glanced back once, then held my breath and gathered the skirt.

Splash-!

I jumped straight into the pond.

While holding my breath without moving, I could hear the guards milling about near the pond.

“It could be an intruder! Spread out and search!”

“Yes! Understood!”

How many seconds had passed?

Just as I was reaching my limit, the guards’ footsteps faded away.

When the sound was completely gone, I slowly began to rise to the surface.

I cautiously peeked my head above the water…

And my eyes met someone staring at the pond.

“Puh-ack!”

The person who met my eyes was also startled and fell backward.

That face was definitely…

“Your Majesty…!”

It was the King.

The King, disguised in shabby clothes instead of his royal robes.

Lee Seok-hyun looked at me with bewildered eyes.

“What… what are you doing here?”

“I, Your Majesty, what brings you here…”

Then, Lee Seok-hyun put his finger to his lips as if telling me to be quiet.

Lee Seok-hyun, also fully immersed in his role, naturally portrayed the King’s nervousness and the comical aspects that would be captured on camera.

I nodded in response, but my breath was getting shorter and shorter.

I needed to get to the edge of the water, but it wasn’t easy.

Then, Lee Seok-hyun reached out his hand towards me.

“Take it.”

“…”

A moment of silence passed.

I couldn’t easily take his hand.

Under the water… I was wearing a woman’s clothes.

However, Soon-im had a cramp in her leg and couldn’t hold on any longer.

I grabbed the King’s hand tightly.

The King pulled me up with all his might.

And so, we sat down together by the pond, catching our breath.

After a moment, we looked at each other’s attire and made embarrassed expressions.

“How is it that… you are wearing a woman’s clothes?”

Lee Seok-hyun’s voice suddenly became heavy.

“Cut!”

“Sae-na! Come here quickly!”

“Oh, how can you stand the cold.”

“Great first scene!”

The staff’s voices and applause poured out.

Lee Seok-hyun supported me and took me to the staff with towels.

Instantly, large towels and blankets were wrapped around me.

Holding a hot pack in my hand, I stared at Director Kang, who was lost in thought among the staff.

The okay sign hadn’t come out yet.

A moment of silence hung over the set.

Even I, shivering from the cold, became lost in thought.

My eyes met Director Kang, who had an ambiguous expression.

“Director! Should we go again?”

I wasn’t okay with it either.

I was disappointed.

Then, some of the staff gasped.

The director looked at me, shivering in the cold, and paused for a moment.

I quickly approached him and looked at the monitor together.

“Um, here. The shot when I jumped in was a bit ambiguous. I didn’t completely submerge, so it might look awkward when we try to add an insert later.”

“Right.”

Director Kang nodded reflexively.

It seemed like me being here was the right decision after all.

The director looked at me, completely soaked.

“But I don’t like things that aren’t efficient.”

“Pardon?”

It was an unexpected answer.

“Sae-na isn’t a machine, and it’s not good to have her jump in again in this cold weather.”

Was he… worried about me?

“Sae-na is the female lead of our drama, right? We can’t have her exhausting herself like this every scene, can we? If she gets sick or hurts herself, it would be a huge loss for the production.”

“Ah….”

Of course.

The director was simply considering efficiency and profit, seeing me as an important component of the drama.

Then, Lee Seok-hyun, who was listening next to me, shook his head.

“Our director. Sometimes he seems like a cold-blooded person.”

I fell into serious thought for a brief moment.

But this person’s words were definitely true.

However… my mind hadn’t changed.

I couldn’t let the scene go out like this.

I grabbed the director’s hand with the hand holding the hot pack.

“…?”

“It’s okay, Director. Do you know why?”

The moment I said it confidently, the eyes of all the staff on set turned to me.

The director looked at his hand, which had been unexpectedly taken, with a bewildered expression.

The director’s hand, exposed to the cold wind, was also very cold.

I didn’t have a prepared answer.

My mouth moved on its own.

I quickly spun my wheels to come up with a way to justify my words.

But nothing came to mind.

Unfortunately.

“I’m young.”

“…?”

Director Kang’s brow furrowed as if he was dumbfounded.

I was doomed.

I closed my eyes tightly.

“I want to film it again! Please let me!”

In the end, I resorted to pleading.

Against people armed with reason and logic, there was no other way.

I had no choice but to act crazy and beg.

“Wow….”

Even Lee Seok-hyun, who was in charge of the 4-D persona [a character with an eccentric or unpredictable personality], looked at me as if he was dumbfounded.

Then, the director, still looking bewildered, smoothly pulled his hand out of mine.

“Oh, geez… Go ahead, then.”

As soon as the words were out, the makeup team kidnapped me and took me away.

* * *

Splash-!

“Okay. Cut!”

In the end, I had to do the second water scene.

As I barely managed to get out of the pond and faced Lee Seok-hyun, the okay sign echoed through the set.

Haa, I was being reckless, but it’s really cold.

My chin was chattering.

“Sae-na, you’ve worked so hard.”

“Oh, it seems even worse than your flats incident in the previous work.”

The staff I had seen in the previous work threw out words.

“It’s nothing. I’m Yoo Ji-an, after all.”

The staff laughed cheerfully at my answer.

As I hurried towards the staff with towels…

A thick coat was draped over my body.

When I turned around, it was Director Kang.

When our eyes met, the director headed back to the monitor as if nothing had happened.

Leaving behind just one word.

“Good work.”

What is this person….

Is this what they call a tsundere [a character who is initially cold but gradually shows a warmer side]?

Then, Lee Seok-hyun chuckled.

“Sae-na, you’ve been making everyone on your side like this.”

“Pardon?”

At that moment, the atmosphere Lee Seok-hyun created was serious.

“You’re quite something, really. But you know.”

“…”

Lee Seok-hyun came closer and whispered.

“Strangely enough, if you work too hard like that, you’ll get just as many haters?”

This time, it wasn’t the 4-D crazy person’s appearance.

“What on earth does that mean.”

At the end of Lee Seok-hyun’s gaze, there was Heo So-jin, waiting after finishing her makeup.

When I looked at Lee Seok-hyun with a bewildered look, Lee Seok-hyun showed a playful smile again.

“Social skills. You need a little bit of that.”

Lee Seok-hyun winked and walked away in another direction to prepare for the next scene.

As I looked at Lee Seok-hyun’s back, I looked back at Heo So-jin, who was staring at me.

The moment our eyes met, Heo So-jin laughed in disbelief.

Heo So-jin’s gaze went to the director’s coat I was wearing.

At that moment, I sensed it.

She was pissed.

It was an uncomfortable moment.

A moment where I had to feel the hatred of others for no reason with my whole body.

And for some reason…

Looking at Heo So-jin’s smile, I had a feeling that I would experience a more vicious conflict than with Kim Eun-seo.

I turned my back on Heo So-jin’s gaze.

Whatever the case, what was important right now was preparing for the next scene.

* * *

The next day.

A fancy coffee truck entered the set.

‘Congratulations on the first filming of Gwol-flower! – From all the fans who love Han Sae-na’

It was the phrase on the coffee truck banner.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“Wow! The fans’ sense is amazing? So fast.”

“Thanks to Sae-na, we’re living the high life. Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

The staff gathered in groups of twos and threes in front of the coffee truck and greeted each other.

Then, Lee Seok-hyun ran from afar.

“Ah! I lost!”

Then, the assistant director laughed in disbelief and retorted Lee Seok-hyun’s words.

“A top actor is pushed back by a rookie’s momentum and misses the coffee truck order, huh?”

Then, the staff burst into laughter.

As I was watching that scene….

I quickly lowered my head, and the road manager checked my complexion.

“What’s wrong?”

The face that had been smiling brightly slowly contorted.

“Oh my, Sae-na, what’s wrong?”

“Are you crying?”

I quickly wiped away the tears.

“No. Oh, I’m being such a mess.”

Why are you crying, Han Sae-na.

Like a fool.

Tears kept flowing for some reason.

Then, the assistant director laughed heartily.

“A rookie is a rookie. I guess she was nervous even though she pretended not to be. Good job! You did a really good job.”

Then, Lee Seok-hyun raised his index finger and waved it.

“No. Sae-na is crying because she’s touched right now.”

Another senior actor, as if he understood now, held a warm coffee and smiled.

“Is this the first time you’ve received a coffee truck from fans? Oh, it reminds me of my debut. It’s been a long time.”

That’s right.

Including my previous life, my debut was almost a distant memory.

It was the first coffee truck I had ever received.

In 21 years.

I became fond of the fans I didn’t even know.

How do they know what kind of person I am and love me like this?

I smiled at the people as if I was embarrassed and left the scene.

After washing my face and cooling it down in the bathroom for a while, I returned to the van.

I picked up my phone and took a selfie.

After taking the coffee that had been left a while ago and drinking it all at once, I uploaded a proof shot to the fan cafe [online fan community].

‘Our sweethearts who sent a warm coffee truck on a cold day♡ Thanks to you, the atmosphere on set is very warm! I’ll become an actress you won’t be ashamed of. Thank you!’

As I looked at the post with satisfaction, comments started to come in real-time, less than a minute after it was posted.

– JjoriCinderella: Ack! Unnie!!!!!!!!!! Immersion from the first filming?! But you’re pretty even when you’re wet!!

– Soju☆Goddess: The red marks on your eyes, were you crying? So touching ㅠ0ㅠ

– YooJianFootWiper: We’re more grateful♡♡♡♡♡

As I read the comments and smiled, I suddenly felt a slight dizziness.

My face started to feel a little hot.

What is this feeling…

Dizzy.

“Huh?”

At the strange sensation, I instinctively took the coffee cup I was drinking from and put it to my nose.

Only now did I smell alcohol.

I opened the window and put the script to my face.