In This Life, I Will Die As An Actress, Not As A Villainess [EN]: Chapter 61

My mouth dropped open.

Is she seriously mocking me this openly?

Is she being too honest?

Even so, can she really do that…?

I tried to ignore it and took a sip of my drink.

The conversation shifted elsewhere, with everyone else seeming a bit tense.

The more I listened, the more I understood why these people were at the top.

I thought I did a fair amount of monitoring myself.

But they had several times more industry news and information than I did, and they monitored even more.

Indeed… there’s a reason why they’re at the top.

I could vaguely understand why Lee Seok-hyun maintained friendships with these people.

I also felt like I made the right choice coming here.

But why is everyone so good at drinking?

“Speaking of which, Saena is the ‘Morning Dew’ model, right? Are you a good drinker?”

A male actor directed the question toward me.

As I opened my mouth to answer, Seo Jaeyeon cut me off first.

“Even if she can’t drink, she has to pretend to, right? This is a gathering to get to know each other.”

I couldn’t take it anymore.

I put down my glass and looked at Seo Jaeyeon.

“Oh my, are you trying to establish discipline?”

Seo Jaeyeon waved her hands exaggeratedly.

“No, Saena. Are you trying to paint me as a bad person? I’m saying this because I’m worried. There are many directors who get on your case if you don’t come to the after-party.”

How thoughtful of her to worry about such things.

And she’s subtly using informal language.

I still don’t like her.

Other actors started asking me various questions, trying to ease the atmosphere.

How is acting life, who did I learn acting from, how did I meet Teacher Yoon Youngjae, etc.

Even while answering appropriately, I couldn’t concentrate because I was so focused on Seo Jaeyeon.

“Oh right, the A-Tech stock I bought recently went up? Did you buy it?”

Then, Sung Minhee changed the subject.

“Ugh, I didn’t buy it.”

“I told you to buy it!”

Seo Jaeyeon intervened again while Sung Minhee was talking to another actor.

“You can catch up quickly. I put in 5,000 and took out 130 million this time.”

I paused at those words.

Is she trying to keep the other members in check too?

How do people hang out with her when she has such a personality…?

But Sung Minhee didn’t seem to care, pouting slightly and brushing it off.

“Anyway, you have to be interested and manage your money well from now on. We keep hearing news about seniors getting scammed. Don’t just sign up for insurance. You have to invest safely.”

Lee Seok-hyun, who had been listening quietly, looked at me.

“Saena, do you do any 재테크 [jaeteheu keu] (financial planning)?”

“I’m just learning little by little. I don’t know much.”

I smiled vaguely and trailed off.

The 재테크 [jaeteheu keu] (financial planning) items I’ve put away would probably only get me questions about why I bought them at this point.

I kept avoiding eye contact with Seo Jaeyeon and sipped my drink.

* * *

About two hours passed.

As the gathering broke up, Lee Seok-hyun stopped me from taking a taxi.

“Now that more people recognize you, what if something happens if you take a taxi after drinking? Take my car.”

“It’s okay.”

“No refusal allowed.”

As Lee Seok-hyun and I waited for the driver, a sharp voice pierced the back of my head.

“Hey!”

Hey…?

I turned around to see Seo Jaeyeon looking at me with a thin cigarette in her mouth.

My mouth dropped open.

I knew it.

Is she openly picking a fight with me right now?

I stared straight into Seo Jaeyeon’s eyes without answering.

Seo Jaeyeon, with a slightly flushed face as if the alcohol was kicking in, tossed out a comment.

“Heo Sojin seems to be making a move.”

Who’s Heo Sojin?

Lee Seok-hyun frowned beside me.

“Where did you hear that information?”

I stopped Lee Seok-hyun from intervening.

“Why are you telling me that?”

Seo Jaeyeon lit her cigarette as she heard my question.

“Just because. I hate that kind of thing.”

“… ?”

What is she? I don’t know what her intention is.

“Anyway, you Heo Sojin… no. She won’t do it herself and will probably make Kim Jeonghoon do it…. Don’t go if you get invited to a gathering with Kim Jeonghoon.”

Kim Jeonghoon….

Seo Jaeyeon mentioned the actor I slapped with the flat shoe.

I was confused by the situation.

What is this?

Why is she telling me Heo Sojin’s intentions in advance?

Am I supposed to just listen quietly?

I felt bad, but I had a feeling Seo Jaeyeon wasn’t lying.

“Is Jeonghoon in the same group as Heo Sojin?”

“Yeah. Don’t ask for details, but don’t go if you get a call. Neither you nor Kim Jeonghoon will benefit from it.”

Lee Seok-hyun seemed to have caught on to something and ran his hand through his hair.

“Well, is she trying to get a scoop on Saena and write an article?”

Seo Jaeyeon didn’t answer and blew out cigarette smoke.

Could it be a scandal, something like that?

Is she trying to link me with Jeonghoon?

I could only guess.

Seo Jaeyeon looked at me and spoke again.

“If you had completely crushed her spirit, she wouldn’t have even tried. Why can’t you handle someone like that?”

Then she took another drag of her cigarette.

I still couldn’t think of a response.

“Back in my day, you were so cunning like a fox. Why are you suddenly pretending to be a dumb bear?”

That, you….

The thought of thanking her even as a formality vanished.

What a bitch.

At that moment, the designated driver arrived, and Seo Jaeyeon nonchalantly walked away toward her van without saying goodbye.

I sighed deeply and got into Lee Seok-hyun’s car.

“It’s a headache.”

As I leaned my head against the window, Lee Seok-hyun asked worriedly.

“Grandma… should I buy you some 청심환 [cheongsimhwan] (herbal medicine for calming the nerves)?”

* * *

The next day, in the morning.

While binge-watching dramas I had missed and eating snacks.

Buzz-

A text message arrived.

– Saena, long time no see! Are you free this weekend? Want to come to a gathering?

It was Kim Jeonghoon.

Here we go.

I got up and stared blankly at the text, then another one came in a row.

– Sojin, who worked with you on ‘Gwol Flower,’ is also there!

I was speechless for a moment at the innocent suggestion, as if he knew nothing.

Seo Jaeyeon was right.

How do I deal with Heo Sojin?

I sent a reply, vaguely refusing.

– I’m not feeling well these days after filming ㅠㅠ Sorry. Let’s set up a time to see each other with Yuri next time!

I put the phone back down and turned on the TV.

I couldn’t focus on the drama, and Seo Jaeyeon’s voice kept ringing in my ears.

‘Back in my day, you were so cunning like a fox.’

Her way of speaking was so cold and heartless.

But in conclusion, I did get help.

“But why are you helping me, you psycho?”

As I muttered to myself while watching TV, my dad, who was in the kitchen, flinched and turned to look at me.

When he made eye contact with me, he smiled knowingly and gave me a thumbs up.

This isn’t acting practice, Dad.

Then the vibration rang again.

“I said I’m not going.”

Looking at the screen, I saw a call coming from an unknown number.

Could it be Heo Sojin?

I decided to prepare myself properly.

Sigh, I took a deep breath and answered the phone.

‘Hello, is this Saena?’

But the other person was not Heo Sojin, but an unknown woman’s voice.

“Yes, this is me. Who is this?”

Usually, work-related contacts come through the company, so who is it?

‘It’s me, Sung Minhee.’

Ah?

“Hello, Minhee.”

I remembered Minhee’s sparkling eyes as she asked for my number at the gathering.

‘Yes, are you free to talk right now? I know I’m calling out of the blue.’

“No, it’s okay to talk.”

What did this person call for?

‘Thank you. Actually, there’s something I really wanted to ask Saena, so I got your number.’

“Ah, yes. What is it…?”

‘It’s nothing much, but there’s a movie I’m about to film right now? It’s Director Hwang Bojaejun’s new work.’

Hwang Bojaejun?

I widened my eyes at the name.

Director Hwang Bojaejun was a director I trusted for crime thrillers and crime comedies.

I knew he had won awards at film festivals both domestically and internationally several times.

Of course, that was longer ago than now.

Wait, how far has this person’s filmography come out?

Before that, why is she telling me this?

Then Sung Minhee continued to speak.

‘But there’s a very important role in our movie that’s still vacant. This role isn’t long, so it’s classified as a cameo…. I’m sorry to ask Saena, who already has recognition, but because it’s a role that requires good acting skills, I recommended Saena. Would that be okay?’

Role recommendation, cameo?

I blinked at the unexpected words that kept coming out.

“Ah, yes. I see…. I’m happy to be recommended here and there.”

Sung Minhee’s voice brightened at my words.

‘Then, if it’s okay with Saena, would you like to talk to the director on the phone? Just listen to what he has to say.’

“Yes, I will.”

After hearing the story in a daze, the call with Sung Minhee ended.

So suddenly.

I was lost in thought for a moment.

“A cameo….”

An old memory came to mind.

‘A total of three cuts. It’s a comical villain. You’re having a hard time these days, so why don’t you do this to change your image a bit.’

When I was at Yang Euicheol’s company, I had received cameo appearance offers once or twice.

At that time, those cameo roles were like charity allocated to me.

As if they were giving a spot to show my face to an actress specializing in villain roles who couldn’t even hope for a big role.

I looked down at the innocent phone.

How will it be this time?

Clearly, my position has changed a lot.

As Minhee said, I was just going to listen to what kind of story it was and what kind of character it was.

I had never filmed a movie since coming to this life.

Maybe… even if it’s a small role, it could be an opportunity to participate in a work by a talented director.

When my thoughts reached this point, the phone rang.

-Hello, is this actress Han Saena? This is Director Hwang Bojaejun.

It was Director Hwang Bojaejun’s voice, which I had only heard in interview videos.

“Yes, hello. I heard about it from Minhee in advance.”

-Thank you for agreeing to listen to the story. As you know, we have a work that has completed pre-production and is about to start filming. I couldn’t find an actor to play the role I consider most important. But Minhee and several staff members recommended Saena.”

“Ah, is that so? Thank you.”

One question was resolved as I listened to the director’s words.

As I remembered in my past life, there was no such cameo role in the director’s movie.

In my past life, could it be that the director couldn’t find the actor he wanted to give the cameo role to after all?

Then this time…?

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