In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 123

A deserted playground.

Waking from sleep, I shuffled out in slippers and sat on a swing.

Wearing just a haphazard coat thrown over pajamas.

I’m a celebrity—is it really okay for me to be out like this?

Ever since possessing this script world, my head had felt heavy nonstop.

But once again, against my will, my hand reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone.

What the hell.

Have I become a different personality again?

A sudden headache struck.

And for some reason, I’d been chewing on my lower lip for a while now.

I never had this habit before.

When I accessed the internet, my name was plastered all over every domain.

Yu Dayang.

And one more name—Jaeshin Group’s Kang Jio.

“…?”

Following my hand’s unauthorized movement, I read through the headlines scattered across the internet.

[Yu Dayang ♥ Chaebol Third-Gen Scandal?!]

[Yu Dayang Spotted Leaving Jaeshin Group Heir Kang Jio’s Home…]

[The Man Who Captured Asia’s Star! None Other Than Korea’s Top Chaebol Son]

[Yu Dayang, Kang Jio Marriage Rumors?]

The photos in the articles showed Baek Jangmi slipping out of Kang Jio’s house.

A deflated sigh escaped me.

The scandal happening had been part of the script’s predetermined sequence.

But seeing over 200 missed calls made my skin crawl.

Suffering for what another personality did and left behind was more grueling than I’d expected.

That’s when a sigh also flowed from my mouth, matching my mood.

This personality staying quietly still for once—could it be…

Just then, footsteps crunched from behind me.

“We meet here, huh.”

I whipped around, startled.

A man dressed simply in a hoodie, holding a beer can in broad daylight.

It was Kang Jio.

Kang Jio plopped down on the swing next to me and cracked open his beer.

What—he saw the scandal, right?

His reaction was different than I’d expected, so I just watched him quietly.

I couldn’t read Kang Jio’s expression at all.

What’s with him? Has he given up?

That’s when Kang Jio offered me his beer.

“Want some?”

The words “you drink it” didn’t come out.

My two hands carefully accepted the beer.

Kang Jio looked at me with a bit of surprise.

“…Who are you… this time?”

Then my side took a small sip of beer and answered.

“…We’ve met before. My name is Lee Eunje.”

“We’ve met?”

“At the convenience store…”

“Ah.”

Hearing Lee Eunje’s words, Kang Jio seemed to understand and responded.

“The person who said ‘Even chaebol third-gens eat cup ramen at convenience stores?'”

I quietly nodded my head.

“Then Jio-ssi said even top stars buy beef jerky and soju at convenience stores.”

At that, Kang Jio chuckled.

Then took back the beer and sipped it.

“Right, I remember now.”

“Yeah?”

“You comforted me that time, even though you acted different from usual.”

Kang Jio recalled what had happened at the convenience store.

“I was grateful back then. That you had a drink with me.”

“…”

“And that you didn’t ask about anything, just told me to hang in there. Thanks. It gave me strength.”

Unlike the intense and chaotic times with Baek Jangmi, the atmosphere between Lee Eunje and Kang Jio was quiet and comfortable.

A feeling like I could finally breathe a little.

Kang Jio kept talking.

“I got confused because of that day.”

“About what?”

“You were strangely warm… suddenly kind. That’s why with the other person… whenever ridiculous things happened, I couldn’t just push you away all at once.”

That “other person” probably meant Baek Jangmi.

The look in Kang Jio’s eyes as he gazed at me was calm for the first time.

Watching him like that, I smiled slightly.

“That day wasn’t anything special. I just felt like I related. We both live such unusual lives, after all. But I’m also scared when people stare.”

“…”

“I have no idea why Yu Dayang chose this profession. It’s so exhausting.”

A brief silence settled between us.

Kang Jio quietly watched me, then spoke.

“You said you like games.”

“Huh??”

“Want to go play games?”

* * *

A PC room tucked away in a corner of the neighborhood.

Kang Jio and I sat side by side in front of monitors, caps pulled low.

Slurping ramen, we frantically mashed keyboards and clicked mice.

What the hell, this is actually fun.

Unlike Lee Eunje who boasted incredible gaming skills, Kang Jio was absolutely terrible.

Watching him, I let out a small laugh.

Kang Jio scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.

“This isn’t going well.”

After watching him for a moment in thought, I decided to try speaking like Lee Eunje would.

“You’re doing well.”

As expected—the right answer.

The words came out exactly as I intended.

So that’s how it works.

In that case…

If I figure out each character and imitate them exactly the same way, I can take control.

My mind spun rapidly inside.

Kang Jio looked at me briefly in surprise, then smiled warmly.

It was a childlike smile I’d never seen before.

Seeing that face, I smiled along too.

Mimicking each personality seemed like something I could master with just a little practice.

…Except for Baek Jangmi.

Three hours later.

After leaving the PC room, we got into Kang Jio’s car.

Kang Jio entered a nearby lakeside park into the navigation.

The drive was also Kang Jio’s idea.

I gazed at Kang Jio’s profile as he gripped the steering wheel, lost in thought.

This is… pretty much like a date, isn’t it?

Is Yu Dayang the only one who’s never been on a proper date?

While I was recalling the mission in the middle of all this, a red light turned on at the traffic signal.

The car carefully came to a stop.

Thunk!

That’s when a dull impact sound came from behind the car.

“Huh?”

Startled, Kang Jio and I both whipped around at the same time.

Two hulking men got out of their car and approached threateningly.

One man was wearing a hospital gown.

“Hey, get out.”

What the hell is this situation?

Shocked, I locked eyes with Kang Jio.

“You hit a patient and you’re not getting out?”

This wasn’t in the script at all.

And in this script world, both our faces were famous enough that everyone would recognize us.

The scandal had even broken this morning.

Next to me, Kang Jio hesitated for a moment, then reached over and pushed down the cap I was wearing.

Then with a resolved expression, he rolled down the window.

The man in the hospital gown immediately shoved his face inside.

“Hey, if you hit a patient you should get—huh? I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

“…How much do you want.”

“Well now, you speak reasonably. A gentleman.”

“Look at him, so classy. Three thousand, how about it?”

Listening to their outrageous demands, anger gradually built inside me.

That’s when my neck suddenly felt stiff.

Something hot boiled up from within.

And my vision went dark for a moment.

I briefly lost consciousness, then opened my eyes.

“If you won’t pay, we’re going to the police! Let’s go!”

The moment I heard those words, my hand whipped off my cap and swept back my hair.

“Excuse me.”

“What do you—Yu Dayang???”

The man’s eyes went wide with shock as he stared at me.

“People tell me I look like her all the time.”

“…”

The man froze.

“You rear-ended a stopped car and now you’re playing the victim? Start driving again. We’re really going to the police.”

The man hesitated for a moment.

“From the looks of it, you’re an insurance scam gang. Your repertoire is pretty weak. No effort at all.”

“Wh-what?”

Kang Jio also looked at me in surprise, trying to stop me.

“H-hey, calm down a bit…”

Cutting off Kang Jio’s words, I kept going.

“Actually, we should be demanding compensation for vehicle damage. Do you even know how much this car costs?”

The man’s face instantly darkened.

Then he squeezed out one last attempt at intimidation.

“Who the hell are you?!”

I smiled sweetly and answered.

“Attorney Jung Sewoon. An attorney with intelligence that matches her beauty. See you in court. I’ll show you what I can do.”

“…”

“Honey, roll up the window.”

Kang Jio stared at me, stunned.

Then he snapped to attention and rolled up the window.

“What are you waiting for? Drive.”

“Ah, right…”

Both Kang Jio and I were in complete shock at the personality shift that happened in an instant.

Kang Jio pressed the accelerator without saying a word for a while.

As the car headed toward the suburbs, Jung Sewoon kept grumbling the whole time.

“Why would you just take it from guys like that? Is being a rich sucker your dream?”

At that, Kang Jio just shook his head, the bewildered look still not fading from his face.

“Y-you said your name was Sewoon-ssi?”

“Yeah. We met before. When I signed that advertising contract with the Jaeshin affiliate.”

“…!”

“Even back then, when I asked for triple the money, you just handed it over. You’re way too soft—that won’t work.”

“Right…”

“Then again, having money doesn’t always make you strong, does it?”

At Jung Sewoon’s words, Kang Jio smiled faintly.

Through that smile, a glimpse of bitterness showed.

Kang Jio suddenly brought up an old story.

“Yeah. I’ve had money but no adults looking out for me since I was young, so whenever situations like this came up, I had no choice but to ignore it, solve it with money, or avoid it.”

“…”

“So now those three options are all I have left in my life.”

Hearing Kang Jio’s words hit somewhere tender.

Jung Sewoon, who’d been listening quietly, broke the mood and spoke coolly.

“Then come find me whenever you’re at a disadvantage. I’ll help.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve got one more option now. That makes four.”

Hearing Jung Sewoon’s words, Kang Jio paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Then said.

“That’s interesting.”

“Me?”

“Everything. Dating you is interesting without a single dull moment.”

Listening to those words while quietly observing the situation, I felt my heart grow anxious.

There was still one more personality left.

But looking at things so far, Yu Dayang seemed to be the most behind in her relationship with Kang Jio.

At this rate, it’s dangerous, isn’t it?

In terms of getting physically(?) close, even Baek Jangmi was ahead of Yu Dayang.

Once I return as Yu Dayang, I need to act fast.

Otherwise I might never escape this script world.

Anxiety crept in.

* * *

A little later, we parked near the lake and got out.

A lakeside with a deck installed.

Jung Sewoon asked Kang Jio to take a picture and walked toward the end of the deck.

Both I and Kang Jio were a bit flustered when Jung Sewoon spoke.

“I want to preserve this moment as a photo while I’m myself.”

“Huh?”

“My time is short!”

Saying that, Jung Sewoon made a V-sign with her hand.

Just as Kang Jio smiled and was about to press the shutter—

Suddenly my vision spun.

“Whoa…”

At the same time, I could feel Jung Sewoon’s personality panicking too.

Before realizing what was happening, my body lurched backward.

In an instant, I was submerged in water, sinking beneath the lake’s surface.

“Sewoon-ssi! Sewoon-ssi!!”

Through the water’s surface, I heard Kang Jio’s urgent voice calling for me as he rushed over.