In This Life, I Will Die As An Actress, Not As A Villainess [EN]: Chapter 79

Completely exhausted, I headed home.

I was practically lying down in the back seat of the van, my calves aching with a tingling sensation.

“Rough day, huh?”

My manager glanced at me in the rearview mirror.

“Ugh, I’m starving.”

Then, something suddenly came to mind, and I picked up my phone.

I accessed the UBN website and checked the newsroom comments.

Min-young had sent me a message telling me to read the comments because there were many positive ones.

Below the news video, I could see the gender and age range of the viewers who had commented.

Unexpectedly, most of them were middle-aged or older.

-It’s impressive to see a young actor who is not arrogant and has a thoughtful demeanor. I hope to see her in good roles for a long time~^^

-From the new drama platform to the young actors and directors, to the drama that will spread Korea’s fame. A wind of change is blowing.

-I watched the news and joined Han Sae-na’s fan cafe. I wonder if a 60-year-old ‘keunboni’ [Korean slang for ‘old-fashioned person’] will be welcomed~?

These were formal and polite tones that I had rarely seen in comments before.

And such positive reactions.

I also went into my overflowing text message inbox.

-Sae-na, I watched the news. Many people who didn’t know how to join Netmate have joined this time. The news definitely has an impact.^^.

It was a message from a Netmate representative.

I even made it to the news, Han Sae-na.

As I read more newsroom comments and related articles…

I noticed community posts with strange titles.

[Director Jung Chae-sung of Desert Island, Neck Disc Due to Filming?]

[New Director’s Passionate Struggle]

[Thought it was a Surgical Scar, but it’s Just Tissue Wiping Sweat…]

“Huh…?”

When I clicked on the links, photos of Chae-sung taken in a flash during the video popped up.

Chae-sung’s enlarged neck in the photo caught my eye.

What is this white stuff?

After looking at it for a while, I realized what it was.

“Gasp.”

Chae-sung had gone to the studio with the tissue he had stuck to the back of his neck to wipe away sweat in the waiting room.

And it even made it onto the broadcast screen.

The Desert Island group chat pinged.

– Director, lol, you have to see this~

It seemed the other actors had discovered it too.

Oh dear….

I prayed briefly that this teasing wouldn’t last long and put down my phone.

My eyelids felt heavy.

* * *

A few days after the volunteer work.

I had shut myself off from the world and was buried in bed, sleeping, when I received a call from my manager.

‘I think I’ll be there in about 30 minutes.’

Ugh, already.

Hearing that, I barely managed to get up.

I struggled to get up, wash, and go outside.

The sunny weather was welcoming me.

“Ugh, I’m going to die….”

I still felt like the biting cold I had experienced on the island was lingering around me.

The warm sunlight felt a little unfamiliar.

“Ugh, it’s blinding.”

“Here, coffee. You still look tired.”

Jin-seok handed me an iced coffee, and I gulped it down.

“Oppa [Korean term for ‘older brother’ used by females], the Gaia FW [Fall/Winter] shoot is in June, right?”

I asked after finishing the coffee in one go.

“Yeah, you should rest a bit after today’s interview too.”

Hearing that, I nodded.

I really felt like the emergency lights were on in my energy gauge.

It felt like my body was shouting, ‘You really need to rest now!’

Still, there’s a saying that you should strike while the iron is hot…

I just need to endure well until today.

I got into the van, which now felt like home.

Today’s schedule was the last official event for Desert Island.

An interview with a famous magazine that specializes in reviewing movies and dramas.

The magazine’s name was ‘Futuregraphy’.

As soon as the filming of Desert Island ended, I received an interview request with Kim Eun-seo and Seon Yu-seok under the concept of .

Of course, Seon Yu-seok was the most excited.

‘Both of you are forbidden from rejecting this interview! I’m definitely going to be in it!!’

I chuckled at that, but I was also curious about what we would talk about.

“Let’s go to the salon first.”

Jin-seok grabbed the steering wheel.

* * *

A studio in Seongsu-dong.

As I stepped inside, Kim Eun-seo casually raised her hand.

“Oh, you’re here?”

She was as indifferent as ever.

I sat down next to Kim Eun-seo without much reaction.

“Where’s the reporter?”

“Printing the script.”

“The weather is…”

“Yeah. The weather is terrible.”

Kim Eun-seo replied to my unfinished sentence and picked up a magazine on the table.

Seriously, she’s picking on the weather for no reason.

Then, Seon Yu-seok burst in noisily.

“What, am I the latest! Unbelievable!”

Kim Eun-seo flipped through the magazine without even looking at Seon Yu-seok.

“The youngest is missing.”

I chuckled at Kim Eun-seo’s words.

“Hey, you used to have someone attend your liberal arts classes for you.”

“Is that the same as this?”

Kim Eun-seo retorted.

“Noonas [Korean term for ‘older sister’ used by males], stop-”

“Aren’t you going to sit down yet?”

I waved my hand at Seon Yu-seok, who was blocking my view.

Then, Seon Yu-seok quietly sat down in the empty seat next to me.

At that moment, the reporter approached with the script.

“Oh, oh, you two aren’t on bad terms, are you?”

I received the script and put on an awkward smile with Kim Eun-seo at the same time.

“I won’t write it in the article.”

The reporter joked.

“Let’s take pictures first.”

At those words, I awkwardly squeezed between Kim Eun-seo and Seon Yu-seok and put my arms around them.

As I put my arm around Kim Eun-seo’s shoulder, Kim Eun-seo glanced at my arm.

A look that said, ‘What is this, get it off.’

Yeah, I have no intention of doing that.

“Smile.”

I whispered slightly in Kim Eun-seo’s ear instead.

Then, Kim Eun-seo smiled and used ventriloquism.

“You smile.”

The camera flashed.

After a while, the interview began with a cheerful youth concept.

“Do you three have any fun episodes from your time at Seowon University of Arts?”

The reporter’s eyes sparkled.

Hearing that, a scene flashed through my mind.

The first time I met Kim Eun-seo and Seon Yu-seok right after my regression.

Kim Eun-seo probably tried to slap me back then….

I looked at Kim Eun-seo, quite immersed in old feelings.

But Kim Eun-seo’s expression became strangely sullen, as if she had remembered the same thing.

That face was quite funny.

It’s a shame I can’t capture this.

Seon Yu-seok was trying to lighten the mood next to me.

“The most fun was when we practiced acting together!”

It was a lie.

The three of us had never practiced acting together when we were in school.

“I was in a position to learn from Sae-na noona and Eun-seo noona. These things are more memorable to us than any other episodes.”

Seon Yu-seok shrugged and smiled.

Then, the reporter smiled too.

“As expected, elites are different from the start? No deviations, just acting practice. If you spent so much time together, it must have been special when you three met on Desert Island. How was it?”

The reporter looked at Kim Eun-seo as if asking her to answer.

Kim Eun-seo was slightly taken aback, but quickly opened her mouth.

“There’s nothing more welcoming than meeting a classmate on set. It’s also reassuring, and it’s also twice or three times more immersive.”

I naturally thought she was just saying nice things, but Kim Eun-seo’s voice sounded quite serious.

“And they say that the most frightening thing is affection built on animosity.”

Kim Eun-seo glanced at me.

Then, the reporter laughed out loud.

“You two must be really close.”

I laughed heartily at those words.

“Love for classmates, love for the country… it’s good. The recent public service advertisement and volunteer work have all become hot topics. Even the views on these videos are explosive. How did you feel about doing this together?”

This time, the reporter looked at me.

“Actually, more than anything else… the actors were all very tired after filming. I was also very tired.”

The reporter nodded.

“But it’s okay because we’re all tired together, somehow.”

Seon Yu-seok burst out laughing at my words.

“You know how it’s less terrible to be in pain together than to suffer alone? It’s somehow comforting.”

Kim Eun-seo also laughed in disbelief at my playful answer.

But I’m serious.

“That’s right, of course. Sometimes, seeing others struggle makes my situation feel better.”

The reporter sympathized.

“Yes, that’s why I was able to endure to the end. I wouldn’t have been able to endure this far if I were alone.”

And then we moved on to another topic.

“If you three could steal one talent from each other, what would you steal?”

It was an unexpectedly interesting question.

Something I want to steal….

Kim Eun-seo and Seon Yu-seok were also lost in thought.

Seon Yu-seok raised his hand the fastest.

“From Sae-na noona, leadership, and from Eun-seo noona, a unique spirit. Something like that? I want to steal it.”

“Oh, leadership and a unique spirit. Those are really keywords that tell us about the two characters at once.”

Leadership, did I have something like that?

I also opened my mouth.

“I want to steal Yu-seok’s inexhaustible energy and Eun-seo’s flower-like beauty.”

The reporter smiled with interest and quickly typed on the laptop.

Kim Eun-seo’s answer took the longest.

Kim Eun-seo, who had been lost in thought for a while, finally answered.

“From Yu-seok, I want to steal his untwisted cheerfulness, and from Sae-na, I want to steal her ability to see the future.”

“…?”

My heart sank for a moment.

I turned my head and looked at Kim Eun-seo.

* * *

A few days later, at Min-young’s office.

‘Han Sae-na’s faction? Seowon University of Arts connections? There’s no such thing. Rather, the professors raise us strongly. All three of us are from auditions. Yu-seok also auditioned when casting Desert Island. I tried to stop him at first. I told him not to appear in amateur videos when he doesn’t even have a debut work. But he came running and showed us his acting.’

I sat side by side with my sister on the sofa and read the interview magazine I had received the day before yesterday.

My sister chuckled when she saw Kim Eun-seo’s answer.

“I wondered what she was going to say.”

That’s what I’m saying.

I reread the most embarrassing part.

‘If you three could steal one talent from each other, what would you steal?’

‘From Yu-seok, I want to steal his untwisted cheerfulness, and from Sae-na, I want to steal her ability to see the future.’

Kim Eun-seo smiled at me after saying that.

‘I heard you’re good at investing. Tell me about it?’

I was so surprised at this time.

It seemed that what Min-young had jokingly said to Yu-seok had spread to Kim Eun-seo.

Kim Eun-seo’s joke was just a casual remark, but my heart sank.

She really sometimes comes in strangely.

After hearing Kim Eun-seo’s words, I barely managed to smile and finish the interview.

After reading the interview, my sister slammed the magazine on the table and stretched.

Then, she put her arms on the sofa and suddenly smiled at me.

“Our star.”

“Huh? Suddenly?”

“Why? Frankly, you’ve made so much money for the company that we should treat you this well.”

“…?”

Did this sister eat something wrong?

My sister laughed when she saw my sullen expression.

“As expected, this kind of flattery doesn’t suit you, does it?”

“What flattery….”

“Okay. So, instead of this lip service, I’m going to do something else for you. Is there anything you want to do or go while resting for a while?”

“Something I want to do…?”

“Yeah, I’ll invest in it.”

“Ah…?”

It seemed like she was talking about the care that the company provides to actors outside of their work.

“Even things like dermatology or fitness.”

My sister gave an example first, as if she was frustrated.

“I already go to the dermatologist regularly, and I’ve been going to the gym for a long time….”

“Ugh, you’re so frustrating! Okay, what am I going to talk to you about.”

My sister cut me off and got up from her seat and sat in front of the monitor.

I chuckled as I looked at my sister.

“Geez. I’m going now, too.”

I also picked up the magazine and got up from my seat.

As I was about to leave the office, my sister spoke again.

“Think about it while resting for a while. Anything you want to do. I’ll do it all.”

Oho.

Hearing my sister’s words, I felt playful.

“You’ll do it all? How do you know what I’m going to say?”

“Just say it.”

My sister waved her hand as if it was okay now.

I also waved my hand and closed the office door.

I stretched out.

Now it’s really time to rest for a while!

I walked down the hallway in a good mood and was lost in thought.

Something I want to do….”