In This Life, I Will Die As An Actress, Not As A Villainess [EN]: Chapter 46

Just before the shoot, as I was taking a moment to collect myself, Lee Seok-hyun glanced at me.

“Have you ever filmed a kiss scene before?”

“No, it’s my first time.”

“Oh, really?”

Lee Seok-hyun nodded, seemingly impressed.

“Sena-ssi is a veteran in every way.”

“Pardon?”

“You seem so calm and composed, without any nervousness. I was so flustered when I filmed my first kiss scene that I had more than five NGs [no-good takes]. I felt so sorry to my co-star back then that I couldn’t even look her in the eye.”

“Ah….”

‘I seem calm, huh?’

That’s a relief.

It’s already awkward enough just being next to Lee Seok-hyun.

I sighed inwardly.

Lee Seok-hyun smiled at me.

“You’re so cool, so cool.”

“Haha, thank you. I’m just going to the restroom for a moment….”

I quickly excused myself and headed to the restroom.

As soon as I opened the door, I turned on the water at the sink and looked in the mirror.

‘Why does he keep talking to me? It’s ruining my focus!’

My true self, not Soon-im, kept trying to burst out from within.

It was a rehearsal where I tried hard to suppress the pressure and concentrate.

“Hoo, I’m a professional. A professional. A professional!”

I lightly tapped both cheeks with my palms.

If Lee Seok-hyun and the staff saw this, they’d all be in an uproar.

I briefly splashed cold running water on my hands and pressed it against my face.

‘This is an important scene, Han Sena.’

The kiss scene took a little longer to get into than other scenes.

That’s because, despite having done so many projects, I was a complete novice when it came to kiss scenes.

Especially pretty and sweet kiss scenes.

When I played the ‘villainous supporting role’ in my past life, the only kiss scenes I experienced were affairs and illicit relationships.

It was inevitable that skinship with such deep emotional exchange would feel unfamiliar.

‘I’ve been living like a workaholic, only working, so there’s not much experience in reality either….’

I sighed.

You idiot, Han Sena.

What have you been doing with your life?

As I racked my brain, trying to recall any past kiss experiences, Soon-im’s face came to mind.

That beautiful face that approached me in the script, about to kiss me.

Soon-im’s footsteps, approaching slowly, one step at a time, and her thick eyelashes, faint blush, barely visible light smile, warm body temperature….

I turned off the water.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment.

Putting aside the embarrassment I felt that day, I began to think about the emotions Soon-im must have felt when she approached me.

The courage to reveal her feelings, leaving behind her shyness.

The earnest desire to adore the beloved in front of her.

What was certain was that what I was feeling now was not simply shyness.

* * *

“All standby!”

“Alright, let’s go.”

With Director Kang’s words, all the staff members were invigorated and stood in their respective positions.

“Ready, action.”

Step, step-

I slowly crossed the bridge, and in the distance, I saw the red dragon robe [the king’s formal attire].

Lee Seok-hyun noticed me and immediately approached with rough strides.

I bowed as I met the king’s eyes.

“Your Majesty, there’s an urgent matter….”

“You’ve come at just the right time.”

But the king interrupted and grabbed my wrist.

In an instant, I was pulled by the king, my back against the wall, and trapped in his arms.

Surprised, I looked around…

The king didn’t seem to care at all and looked at me with an angry face.

I looked up at the king’s face with a nervous expression.

“Please let me go! What will people think….”

“Are you going to talk about decorum too? I’m tired of hearing that from the Queen.”

Once again, Lee Seok-hyun twisted my wrist hard.

This wasn’t in the rehearsal.

‘The emotional levels don’t match.’

My mind raced.

Lee Seok-hyun’s emotions were a bit too strong.

The king shouldn’t be angry at Soon-im right now, but rather venting his anger from elsewhere….

It was a slightly coercive atmosphere.

Lee Seok-hyun’s acting sometimes stood out like this.

The reason was simple.

Lee Seok-hyun was nervous.

Not because of the kiss scene, but because of the important emotional flow.

He was anxious that he might break the flow.

In these cases, a good reaction would create a breakthrough.

I immediately opened my mouth.

“It will be difficult to remain safe if anyone sees, and…!”

I responded to the line, which Soon-im could have been embarrassed and afraid of, properly.

This acting wasn’t in the rehearsal either.

This would give Lee Seok-hyun’s emotions more room to maneuver.

“For what must you remain safe?”

In an instant, Lee Seok-hyun’s line calmed down.

“Your Majesty.”

I pulled my wrist out of Lee Seok-hyun’s grip.

And I calmed my heart.

“Of course, to serve Your Majesty for a long time.”

“If my heart is all but gone, is there still meaning in avoiding the eyes of others?”

Sadness was embedded in Lee Seok-hyun’s subdued voice.

‘Good, now.’

Lee Seok-hyun’s emotions hit the mark.

I looked at the king’s face, then lowered my head as if I couldn’t bear to look.

At the end of that gaze was the king’s cold, frozen hand.

Hesitantly, I reached out and slowly took the king’s hand.

And I raised my head and met the king’s eyes again.

For a moment, silence flowed between the two.

Putting aside the emotions that had come in a rush, both of them were speechless.

The lips slowly overlapped.

“…Cut! Okay!”

“Wow, it’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, it turned out great.”

The filming team expressed their satisfaction and self-praise at the director’s okay sign.

“Soon-im looks so pretty.”

Then, Director Kang nodded to the director of photography, who had made eye contact, as if relieved.

“It’s so good, Director.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s pretty even though I filmed it!”

Laughter bloomed on the set.

Except for two people, Lee Seok-hyun and me.

Lee Seok-hyun was lost in thought for a moment after finishing the acting.

I awkwardly smiled and slipped away from Lee Seok-hyun’s side.

At that moment, Director Kang, who had finished monitoring, approached this way silently.

Then he quietly handed me something.

“Ah…?”

It was a water bottle.

The director pointed to his ear.

“Pardon?”

Following his gaze and touching my ear…

My ears were burning red.

I quickly took the water bottle and pressed it against my ear.

“Thank you.”

I quickly ran away.

I could feel the director’s gaze behind me.

* * *

The afternoon shooting resumed.

Kang Jung-hwan was sitting in front of the monitor with a slightly stiff face.

“I’ve been dragging on for a month what could have been solved with a rustle of the Queen Dowager’s skirt. I must be the worst king in the world.”

In the monitor, Lee Seok-hyun was exchanging lines with Han Sena.

Kang Jung-hwan remembered that Lee Seok-hyun had barely caught his emotions thanks to Han Sena’s wit in the kiss scene earlier.

It was nothing for a rookie actress to blush her ears after filming a kiss scene.

In fact, Kang Jung-hwan’s attention had been focused on Lee Seok-hyun since morning.

‘It’s precarious.’

Kang Jung-hwan tapped his temple as he watched the monitor.

Lee Seok-hyun’s emotions were subtle this time as well.

The scene currently being filmed was a scene where the king was self-deprecating.

In order to connect with the emotions from the previous kiss scene, it would have been more appropriate to be slightly angry.

But right now.

“You must resent me too.”

There was no strength in Lee Seok-hyun’s voice.

As a result, all of the king’s emotions, along with the lines, were drained.

‘I’ll have to go to the next take.’

The moment Kang Jung-hwan pulled his body back, Soon-im opened her mouth.

“Then, will you remain a terrible king as they have made you?”

Soon-im’s line wrapped around the king’s line.

As if slightly teasing the dispirited king.

Originally, there was no such nuance in the prompt, just the sentence alone.

Then Lee Seok-hyun’s eyes lit up slightly.

It felt like he had noticed and used the gap that Han Sena had created.

Kang Jung-hwan leaned back towards the monitor.

It was a different texture from what was written in the script, but this was pretty good in its own way.

Kang Jung-hwan was becoming increasingly amazed at how Han Sena was holding the weight and pulling Lee Seok-hyun, who kept bouncing here and there.

Like a pattern.

Before he knew it, one scene was over….

The actors were looking at each other, waiting for the sign.

“Cut.”

Kang Jung-hwan nodded.

“It’s good now, Seok-hyun-ssi. Let’s go with the Queen Dowager’s skirt line with a little anger. With a feeling of being more screwed over.”

“Yes.”

And then, action again.

“I’ve been dragging on for a month what could have been solved with a rustle of the Queen Dowager’s skirt! Ha, I must be the worst king in the world.”

Then Soon-im’s tone changed again.

“Then, will you remain a terrible king as they have made you?”

With one sentence, she calmed the king’s anger and changed the atmosphere.

Then Lee Seok-hyun began to breathe.

Lee Seok-hyun took a moment to catch his breath and said the next line.

‘This one’s better.’

The king seemed a little smarter.

Again, Kang Jung-hwan was convinced.

Just when it seemed like Lee Seok-hyun’s acting was about to fluctuate, his form improved when Han Sena came in as his co-star.

Like a pattern.

Kang Jung-hwan tapped his temple and pondered.

From before, he felt that Lee Seok-hyun was an actor with a very high peak in acting ability.

When he was in good condition or had interpreted the script well, he was an actor who could display a level of competence that no one else could surpass.

However, that peak was difficult to see often, and as high as the peak was, the low point was also too low.

In other words, he was an actor with too wide a graph.

But when he was put with Han Sena, moments close to that peak were frequently witnessed.

Like now.

It was purely thanks to Han Sena’s cleverness.

Moreover, not only Lee Seok-hyun, but currently he himself was also half carried by Han Sena as the director who cast Lee Seok-hyun.

In an instant, Kang Jung-hwan recalled the day Han Sena had her re-audition.

After seeing all that.

He had said that the broadcasting station was a place that ran on money, not passion.

But there was one thing he had overlooked.

‘Chemistry.’

Even if he had chosen one of Seo Jae-yeon and Lee Na-ra, Soon-im would have turned out well.

But considering the chemistry with Lee Seok-hyun….

The weight shifted to the fact that it wouldn’t have turned out like it was now.

Seo Jae-yeon and Lee Na-ra, who boasted the best careers in the industry, also had their own distinct skills and strengths.

However, as a partner who could show chemistry while catching Lee Seok-hyun’s wavering, Han Sena was the perfect fit.

However, there was no way to know where this performance, which could only come from sufficient acting skills, originated from in that rookie actress.

It was mysterious every time.

Kang Jung-hwan looked at Han Sena again.

Anyway, it was time to admit his mistake.

“Cut, okay. Let’s move on now.”

Kang Jung-hwan’s eyes, looking at Han Sena, were filled with a more comfortable trust.

“Everyone, you’ve worked hard!”

Han Sena shouted cheerfully in the middle of the set.

I will die as an actress, not a villain, in this life.