In This Life, I Will Die As An Actress, Not As A Villainess [EN]: Chapter 99

After many twists and turns, we finally sat down at the completed dinner table.

The island cast members looked exhausted, each with a touched expression.

“It hasn’t even been a full day.”

A true disaster show.

The island crew gratefully savored the meager three small fish, carefully picking out the bones.

As soon as the meal ended—a meal that felt like it would disappear the moment you turned around—the dishwashing roulette began.

Ugh, this is really my limit.

My calves ached from standing all day.

“What games! There are elderly people here!”

Senior Won Hye-rim sharply rebuked PD [Production Director] Ha Won-woo.

The PD, though cowed, didn’t budge.

“I was going to have a morning mission for ramen tomorrow… Should we just forget about the ramen then?”

“Huh.”

A dumbfounded sound burst out of me.

Experiencing the push and pull I’d only seen on TV was maddening.

This guy is a complete pro.

In the end, with the unified goal of securing the ramen, the dishwashing roulette began.

“The roulette is! Hitting a bottle cap with a slingshot!!”

A sigh erupted from everywhere as soon as they heard the game.

The staff handed out slingshots one by one.

A slight sweat formed on the hand holding the slingshot.

Why am I so nervous about this?

People quickly started practicing with the bottle caps.

Let’s see, should I try too?

I picked up a round stone, placed it between the rubber bands, and aimed at the bottle cap.

‘3, 2, 1.’

Tick-.

The stone didn’t fly and instead bounced off in a strange direction, falling to the ground with a thud.

“…….”

* * *

‘Han Se-na, winner of the evening dishwashing!’

Seoul, inside an office.

The employees were watching the variety show “Desert Island” on their computers, taking advantage of the boss’s absence.

“Puhaha.”

Laughter echoed through the quiet office.

A caption appeared above Han Se-na, who was trudging along with soulless eyes, carrying the cooking utensils: ‘I want to go home…’

“This is exactly what I look like right now.”

A female employee quickly captured that part and uploaded it as a meme on an online bulletin board.

「My tomorrow I face on Sunday night.gif」

The meme was posted on Sena’s fan cafe, in the Geunbonis’ [a portmanteau of “fundamentalists” and a fandom name, implying dedicated fans] free bulletin board.

The female employee’s coworker, who was secretly peeking at the monitor from the next seat, asked.

“Isn’t ‘Desert Island’ hilarious?”

“Right? This PD is already famous.”

“Yeah. I think these actors are funny too, especially Han Se-na.”

Employees who had been quietly concentrating on their work joined the conversation.

“No, Han Se-na is secretly funny. She’s good at everything, but she keeps getting caught in the roulette; it’s so funny and pitiful.”

At that moment, the boss, who had finished the meeting, joined the conversation.

“Isn’t that human and good?”

“That’s true… Ah, boss!”

The boss crossed his arms in the middle of the office.

“You guys should work as diligently as Han Se-na. Are you going to work overtime again, huh?”

The employees each avoided the boss’s eyes and pouted.

As the boss left the office again, two subordinates made eye contact at the same time.

“Huh?”

“Huh? The boss knows a celebrity’s name?”

“He only knew old trot [Korean pop music genre] singers’ names.”

“Wow.”

* * *

At the same time, at home.

I was sitting on the sofa with my mom and dad, watching TV for the first time in a while.

The new “Desert Island” episode was airing.

“They’re making our daughter suffer!”

Dad frowned as he ate tangerines under a blanket.

Then Mom chuckled.

“Oh, please, blood is thicker than water. She needs to suffer a little!”

“Mom, that’s too much!”

Then Mom glared at me.

“She doesn’t lift a finger at home, but where did she learn those tricks?”

I smiled slyly at Mom.

“It’s a secret!”

“They’re all talking about this variety show at the line dance academy these days. People are calling you mother-in-law, survival queen, Cenderella [a deliberate misspelling of Cinderella], and stuff?”

Mom, who’s been going to line dancing lessons these days, said happily.

“Do people know you’re her mom?”

I looked at Mom, intrigued, and asked.

Then Mom shrugged and smiled.

“I’m not telling them on purpose. It’s fun. My mouth is itching so much.”

“Oh, please.”

I chuckled at the sight of my cute mom.

And then I fixed my gaze on the TV again.

PD Ha Won-woo’s directing skills were truly amazing.

Even trivial scenes were directed so comically.

“The first episode last week had a 5% viewership rating, Sena. The rerun ratings are also very good.”

Dad, who had become well-versed in viewership ratings, was giving me information.

I nodded at his words.

I had heard that the drama views were also skyrocketing thanks to this variety show.

Netmate was planning to release messenger emoticons with a collection of variety show and movie version memes.

I picked up my phone and opened the live broadcast chat window.

I wondered what kind of comments were being posted.

-Why is Han Se-na so funny? She’s rolling around in dramas and rolling around in variety shows. There’s no tire separately [a Korean expression meaning she’s working tirelessly].

-The Desert Island crew all seem close; it’s good to see. ⤷ Han Se-na and Kim Eun-seo seem the closest. The way they fight looks like real friends mode.

-Han Se-na is so down-to-earth. It was funny when she danced with Lee Seok-hyun before. I hope she gets a luxurious concept that suits her beauty later. ⤷ I agree, she looked chic in flat shoes. I hope she does a chaebol [conglomerate heir/heiress] role in her next project.

There were some unexpected comments.

People want quite a few concepts from me.

While I was reading the comments, Mom put an apple in my mouth.

“But aren’t you too tan?”

“Huh?”

I looked down at my arm after hearing Mom’s words.

Come to think of it, it does seem like I’ve gotten a lot tanner….

“You’re an actress; you need to take care of yourself!”

“Ah.”

* * *

“Did you go tanning?”

Back in Min-young unnie’s [older sister or close female friend] office.

My sharp-eyed manager quickly noticed that I had gone to a skin clinic for white tanning.

Unnie chuckled as she looked at me.

“You’re taking care of yourself; you’ve become quite the actress.”

“I was getting roasted here and there.”

“Yes, you need to recover quickly. You have to wear a dress again soon.”

The Maden International Film Festival was right next month.

Although it was a non-competitive section, I was planning to attend the red carpet event.

I wonder what kind of dress I’ll wear this time.

“By the way, the Gaia representative is so frustrated he’s about to die.”

“Why?”

I looked at Unnie in surprise.

“If they were an outdoor leisure brand, they would have sponsored all the clothes and props, but why does the variety show have to be Desert Island?”

“Oh, my gosh.”

I brushed my chest at those words.

“They can do it next time. Still, they gave me Emily homewear when I did .”

As a model, I was paying attention from time to time.

“Well, the product exposure is different. It’s understandable that they’re frustrated; the Westside hat you wore on the island is sold out. There’s no stock left in the country, so they’re taking pre-orders.”

“Really?!”

I clicked my tongue at Unnie’s words.

“Yes, they even sent a huge gift certificate as a thank you. You can use it.”

“Wow. That was Ji-hye coordi’s [coordinator’s] personal collection. I should give the gift certificate to Ji-hye.”

Min-young unnie waved her hand as if she didn’t care about that.

And then she got to the point.

“Westside wants to use you as a model; what do you think?”

Oh, Westside?

Westside was a brand that always released stylish sportswear.

If I take on eco-friendly and leisure at the same time, can I solidify my image as a healthy natural beauty?

“I think it’d be good?”

Unnie seemed to have expected my answer and paused for a moment.

I looked at Unnie, puzzled.

“Did you see what they’re saying in the fan cafe?”

“…About what?”

“They want to see various images.”

“Ah.”

I nodded at Unnie’s words.

Not only in the variety show comments, but especially the fans were most hoping for my image transformation.

It must be a desire that stemmed from the desire for their actor to have a long run.

“So, I think it’s a good idea to create a new image.”

Unnie handed me a document.

[Actor Audition Program ‘Be Actors’ Judge Proposal]

“What is this… an actor audition program?”

I looked at Unnie with a dazed expression.

Unnie had a firm expression for some reason.

“Do you want to do it?”

“It feels more like you’re saying ‘do it’ rather than asking ‘do you want to do it’?”

Then Unnie crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair as if she had been seen through.

“I think this is a perfect opportunity. To give the public a new image while approaching them in a friendly way.”

“…….”

“You don’t necessarily have to be a rich villain, but you need to create an image that you haven’t shown yet.”

As soon as I heard the words ‘rich villain,’ I frowned.

I did that so many times in my past life, and again this time.

Absolutely not.

As I hesitated, flipping through the proposal, Unnie seemed frustrated and stood up, leaning on the desk.

“Why again.”

“Um, it’s embarrassing to say it myself… I know that the entertainment industry is all about casting people who are on the rise these days. But I don’t think I’m the right person to teach and evaluate someone yet.”

Of course, I was curious.

I’ve only been learning; I’ve never taught anyone before.

But objectively, to others, I’m only in my fourth year since debut.

Therefore, this job, which requires not only a judge but also a mentor role, could be a premature decision to appear on.

Min-young unnie stopped me from thinking.

“I roughly know what you’re thinking, but they need a young mentor to hang out with the trainees.”

“A young mentor?”

That’s an unexpected choice.

“Yeah. I heard the actors they’re casting, and it seems doable. Ha Sung-joon and Hwang Yu-sun are almost confirmed to appear.”

Ha Sung-joon, Hwang Yu-sun?

The two male and female actors were arguably in the top five for romance casting in Korean dramas.

Especially Ha Sung-joon, it’s been a long time since I heard about him.