In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 131

A few days later, at a small playground.

“‘Asia’s star’, yeah right.”

Kang Jio pulled on a hoodie and sat on a swing with a can of beer, muttering complaints.

This playground was Kang Jio’s favorite spot.

Even Kang Jio himself didn’t know why, but somehow it felt comforting, always bringing him a sense of peace.

Kang Jio gulped down his beer.

“Ahh.”

That’s when the sound of dragging slippers approached from the distance.

Who’s coming at this hour?

Kang Jio stared intently in the direction of the footsteps.

A silhouette emerged from the darkness, drawing closer.

And the person was—

“Yu Dayang?”

Hearing the voice, Yu Dayang looked at Lee Seonho with a startled expression.

Unlike her usual glamorous appearance, Yu Dayang was wearing plain pajamas and holding a can of beer just like Kang Jio.

Her confident demeanor was nowhere to be found as she bit her lip with a startled face.

“…Why are you just standing there?”

At Kang Jio’s voice, Yu Dayang’s shoulders jumped again in surprise.

Kang Jio watched her and fell silent for a moment.

Thinking it might be about what happened last time, Kang Jio’s expression settled before he spoke again.

“I’m sorry for getting angry back then.”

“About what…?”

Yu Dayang asked in a small, shrinking voice.

That tone puzzled him for only a moment.

Kang Jio regretted his past behavior and said:

“Calling you easy, asking how many guys you’ve been with. I said things I shouldn’t have when I was angry.”

“…”

Hearing those words, Yu Dayang fidgeted before responding.

“It’s okay.”

“Really…?”

“Then I’ll be going.”

That’s when Yu Dayang turned to leave, and Kang Jio hurried over and grabbed her arm.

“!!”

Yu Dayang jumped in surprise and shook off Kang Jio’s hand.

“Get away!”

Kang Jio flinched and stepped back in shock.

“S-sorry.”

Yu Dayang looked up at Kang Jio.

Her eyes were wary and unfamiliar, as if asking who he was.

Kang Jio looked down at Yu Dayang with a confused expression again.

“What’s with you.”

“…”

“Have you decided to act like you don’t know me now?”

Yu Dayang kept fidgeting anxiously and biting her lip.

“Why do you keep torturing your lip like that?”

At that, Yu Dayang made a tearful face, completely at a loss.

And for good reason—right now she wasn’t Yu Dayang but Lee Eunje.

Plus, Lee Eunje was meeting Kang Jio for the first time.

Lee Eunje had no idea about what the other personalities had done.

She couldn’t understand why this man was apologizing to her.

She’d just come out to catch her breath comfortably, but now she’d run into another difficult situation.

“Get away.”

Lee Eunje whirled around again.

That’s when Lee Eunje’s elbow knocked against Kang Jio’s beer can.

The beer fell to the ground and spilled everywhere.

“Ah!”

Lee Eunje jumped in surprise and picked up the beer can.

“I’m sorry. I’ll buy you another one.”

Kang Jio watched silently as Lee Eunje fussed around.

Kang Jio’s eyes were filled with confusion.

“Who are you.”

“…!”

Lee Eunje looked up at Kang Jio.

Kang Jio approached, speaking quietly.

“What exactly are you?”

But then—

“Me too. I’m confused too.”

Lee Eunje answered softly and brought the edge of her sleeve to Kang Jio’s face.

This time Kang Jio looked down at Lee Eunje in surprise.

Lee Eunje gently wiped the beer that had splashed on Kang Jio’s face.

Lee Seonho, who’d been acting as Kang Jio, froze in confusion.

It was an ad-lib that wasn’t in the script.

But Han Sena, as if she’d swapped souls with Lee Eunje, looked up at Lee Seonho with eyes so purely innocent she seemed unaware of what she was doing.

“Cut!!”

The director’s voice rang out through the silence.

Hearing that voice brought me back to my senses.

Like waking from a dream.

I’d thrown out an unplanned ad-lib as if under some spell.

Lee Seonho froze and just stared down at me.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to. Seonho-ssi, I’m sorry. Were you surprised?”

Ugh, Han Sena, you idiot. Get it together.

About two weeks into filming, there were increasingly moments where I forgot whether I was in the script or reality.

It was because I immersed myself too deeply every time I acted.

Plus during scenes, it was hard to separate Lee Seonho and Kang Jio—they had the same face both in the script and in reality.

Every time, it felt like Kang Jio had stepped out of the script and appeared before me.

A strangely pleasant sensation.

It was a secret I couldn’t tell anyone.

Lee Seonho kept his surprised expression.

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s not about that.”

Lee Seonho mumbled his reply.

Then Lee Seonho snapped out of it and asked an odd question.

“Sena-ssi. How did you prepare for this script?”

“What?”

I was taken aback for a moment by Lee Seonho’s words.

“How… can you act like this?”

Hearing those words, I laughed it off casually.

“That’s quite the compliment.”

Then Lee Seonho furrowed his brow slightly.

“I’m being serious right now. I’m asking about your acting method.”

“Ah.”

That put me in quite a bind.

There wasn’t a single thing I could explain.

I’d have to make it all up.

“I just spent every day thinking of you as Kang Jio. And I studied the personalities’ characteristics and habits.”

“You can do this well with just those obvious methods?”

“Um…”

“Even after trying all sorts of things on top of those methods, I still can’t do phenomenal acting like you, Sena-ssi.”

“Come on, Seonho-ssi. You’re praising me too much.”

“It’s not just me—everyone on set right now thinks the same thing.”

Lee Seonho’s expression stayed completely serious without a hint of wavering.

Cold sweat started forming on my back.

This was the first time anyone had probed so persistently about my acting practice.

I could feel Lee Seonho’s passion and signs of hard work in his questions.

‘Amazing, Lee Seonho…’

Even though Lee Seonho had been at the top for quite a while, he still hadn’t let go of his hunger for growth.

I found that aspect of him phenomenal instead.

It had been so long since I’d admired someone else’s passion.

Could I keep striving like this too?

That’s when Lee Seonho added:

“You’re like someone who’s actually been inside the script.”

My heart sank.

“!!”

Lee Seonho didn’t miss my shocked expression.

“What? Anyone watching would think it’s real.”

“Ahaha.”

I let out an awkward laugh.

“Let’s move to the next scene!”

That’s when the assistant director’s voice rang out.

I’d finally found an excuse to escape the situation.

I quickly turned and walked away.

I could feel Lee Seonho’s gaze following my back.

* * *

Walking through a corner of the set, clutching my startled heart…

I spotted a familiar face.

“Oh?”

The person who noticed me grinned and waved.

“Team Leader!”

It was Team Leader Jung from Korean NetMate, whom I’d run into occasionally during <Desert Island> filming.

I quickly ran over to him.

Standing beside Team Leader Jung appeared to be a buyer from headquarters.

In other words, these people were conducting sharp-eyed business.

I greeted them warmly, pretending not to notice.

“How have you been?”

“Yes, Sena-ssi. How do you do it so well? The show is so entertaining!”

That’s when Lee Seonho, who’d approached from the side, also bowed his head.

Lee Seonho seemed to have already figured out who they were too.

While the production company seemed to be letting buyers quietly observe rather than formally introducing them to avoid pressuring the actors, it was pretty obvious.

Team Leader Jung spent quite a while listing his impressions of the work.

“The way I see it, once this comes out, it’ll devour everything.”

“Wow, really?”

“You know my eye for shows, right? These days while making the rounds, only two places have been fun.”

Lee Seonho’s ears perked up.

“Where else?”

“The <Powerful Woman> team.”

“Ah.”

Lee Seonho and I nodded simultaneously.

It was the show Seo Jaeyeon and Sung Minhui were currently filming.

Scheduled to air on UBN, competing in our same time slot.

A comedic mystery investigation drama about female detectives handling the violent crimes and narcotics units.

Several staff members on our set were already keeping an eye on that show.

That’s when Lee Seonho boldly asked,

“Which team is more interesting?”

Gasp.

I was internally shocked by Lee Seonho’s words.

But Team Leader Jung didn’t seem flustered and made a humming sound while stroking his chin, playing it cool.

His years of experience in the industry were shining through.

Even I waited anxiously for Team Leader Jung to speak.

“From what I see…”

“From what you see…?”

“It’s a rivalry that’ll make a huge mark on the industry. It wouldn’t be strange whichever side does well.”

Team Leader Jung delivered his serious analysis.

“Whichever side falls a bit short in ratings will probably have amazing rewatch rates. It’s truly a win-win.”

Hearing that, I let out a relieved sigh.

At least it meant our show was entertaining enough not to fall behind.

But Lee Seonho seemed to think differently, burning with competitive spirit beside me.

“Then we’ll have to work even harder.”

“Hahaha. I heard you had incredible competitive spirit. Living up to your reputation.”

“Yes. I absolutely hate losing.”

I gaped at this unfamiliar side of Lee Seonho.

Maybe this was something he’d shared with Kang Jio all along.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

Team Leader Jung grinned, said goodbye, and hurried off.

But from another corner, a different voice caught my attention.

“It’s the ShowMedia era now. We put in massive funding this time. To compete with NetMate’s global service.”

Huh?

Lee Seonho and I simultaneously turned our heads toward the voice.

Openly provoking NetMate at someone else’s filming location…

Are they insane?

“Our ShowMedia is betting everything on this contract. You should all know that.”

A ShowMedia representative shouted in a booming voice, mixing in English.

Wow.

Lee Seonho also looked at them with a sour expression.

ShowMedia was a famous Chinese platform.

Watching that representative, my mind spun.

There was something untrustworthy in all that grandiose talk.

I hope they don’t keep that same stance after signing and start telling us how to handle our show’s content.

I couldn’t help imagining an ominous future.

In my past life, ShowMedia couldn’t sustain their business for more than a few years due to policies back home and quickly collapsed.

But even in that short period, they rapidly expanded and had significant influence on the drama business.

To run into them during this period…

Anyway, if ShowMedia was serious about this contract, NetMate would find them incredibly annoying.

On the other hand, ShowMedia might just pretend to compete, drive up the contract price, then pull out.

That was ShowMedia’s specialty.

Ugh… I’m anxious, so anxious.