In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 141

“Is he still like that?”

On a rare day off.

I rushed out of the house while chatting on the phone with Minyeong unnie.

“Should I put the luggage here?”

“Yes, yes!”

Today was a big event day.

Our family’s moving day.

Minyeong unnie laughed and sighed over the phone.

-I’m telling you, he’s making a fuss about bringing over that contract as fast as possible.

She was talking about Seon Yuseok, who was facing contract renewal season.

Yuseok had been pestering Minyeong unnie about wanting to join Barum Entertainment.

-He’s just like your puppy.

Minyeong unnie said something disgusting.

“Ugh, I never adopted him.”

-Still, it worked out so well that he landed that romcom second male lead role. He keeps saying it’s all thanks to you.

“What the— Tell him to watch what he says. People are going to think I taught him everything!”

I pressed the elevator button, flustered.

-Anyway, I’m going to sit down and talk with him.

“Sure. By the way, how’s the office relocation going?”

I asked about the company’s situation since they were also preparing to move, just like our family.

Minyeong unnie, who’d been looking for a new entertainment office building for months, had gone from initially considering rentals to eventually buying an entire building and preparing for remodeling.

-It’s going well. The practice room you asked for so earnestly— I’m really putting serious effort into it.

Hearing that made me chuckle.

“Thank you.”

-I’m the one who’s grateful. You practically bought that building for me.

“Ugh, here we go again. How’s Teacher Yoon Youngjae doing?”

-Yeah, he’s busy. Said he’s joining a new play.

I nodded, smiling contentedly.

Everyone’s doing well.

-Anyway, finish moving smoothly. See you soon.

“Yes! I’ll contact you.”

I watched the furniture and luggage being brought into the new home, smiling happily.

Mom and Dad were frantically arranging furniture.

“I’ll help too!”

I rolled up my sleeves and stepped forward, but Mom waved her hands shooing me away.

“Standing still is helping. Go over there.”

“Okay.”

“Oh my, moving into such a nice place thanks to your daughter. You must be so happy.”

One of the movers laughed heartily.

Then Dad put his hands on his hips and laughed along just as heartily.

“She’s such a devoted daughter, truly devoted! I mean, we’d be fine living anywhere, but she went and bought us a place like this.”

“Ugh, are you really that happy?”

Mom gave Dad a light scolding.

But even Mom couldn’t stop smiling, clearly delighted.

Before moving in, when we’d toured the apartment complex together along with the various facilities and community centers, my parents’ eyes had gone round as saucers.

‘Are we really going to live here?’

‘Is our daughter a chaebol…?’

Watching their reactions made my mood soar.

I was checking off things I’d been unable to do for Mom and Dad in my past life, one by one.

I left the bustling house and pressed the elevator button.

* * *

In front of the convenience store.

I saw a young child concentrating on their ice cream while walking down the stairs, then twisting their ankle.

I quickly reached out and caught the child.

“Whoa, it’s a pretty unnie!”

Having barely steadied them from falling, the child—who’d somehow managed not to drop their ice cream—exclaimed.

I let out a relieved breath and played along with a “Shh,” when I heard someone’s hurried footsteps approaching from behind.

“You need to be careful! You can’t just look at your ice pop!”

Thinking it was their guardian, I turned around to find an unexpectedly familiar face.

“Do Changhyeon…?”

It was Do Changhyeon, whom I was seeing for the first time in months since the audition program ended.

Why is he here…?

When his name was called, Changhyeon also froze in surprise.

After looking at me closely, Changhyeon shouted.

“Mentor?!”

“Why are you here?”

“Mentor! I’ve missed you so much!”

Changhyeon expressed his happiness enthusiastically, looking ready to rush over without even answering my question.

“How have you been?”

He seemed noticeably brighter than before.

“Yes. Mentor, I’ve been watching your drama so well. It’s seriously so good. Isn’t it insane?”

Definitely brighter.

I felt certain watching Changhyeon rattling off words rapidly.

In my past life, even the photos in articles had shown him with such dark expressions.

“This is my hyung’s place. But I did see the article about you buying a place….”

Changhyeon brought up an embarrassing topic.

Not long ago, articles had made big news about ‘Han Sena purchasing a new home with a cash payment.’

“I saw that article and was happy. But I thought it was the next complex over?”

I felt slightly flustered at Changhyeon’s question.

“Ah, that one’s the place I’ll be living separately. This is my parents’ home.”

Changhyeon’s mouth fell open.

Actually, the place featured in the article was the house I’d use alone, and this was my parents’ residence.

I’d planned to quietly slip past it without anyone knowing.

This got a bit awkward.

“Mentor’s wealth is seriously incredible.”

“Haha. By the way, Changhyeon, you’ve gotten much healthier. Your face looks brighter too. You’re choosing your next project, right?”

I quickly changed the subject.

Then Changhyeon eagerly shared his recent updates.

“Actually, my mentality was the biggest problem. Everyone says a healthy mind dwells in a healthy body… so I’ve been starting with exercise.”

“Good job.”

I smiled, touched by his progress.

“For my next project, I’ve got about three I’m considering right now.”

“Oh, three? Kid, you’ve become a star?”

At my words, Changhyeon smiled as if embarrassed.

“One’s a youth melodrama where I appear as a baseball player male lead, the second is a psychopathic killer, and the last one’s a story about profilers told in omnibus-style episodes.”

“Hmm… I see. They all have clear pros and cons.”

“Right? My agency’s pushing for the first one.”

“What do you think?”

“I keep wanting the last project too. I’m torn.”

As expected, he’s got good instincts.

I nodded while listening to Changhyeon.

“What do you think, Mentor?”

Changhyeon asked with sparkling eyes.

“I like the third one best.”

“Why?”

“You’ll end up filming romcoms until you’re sick of them anyway, so it’s better to plant the image early that you can digest various roles. Plus it’s a socially meaningful work.”

At my words, Changhyeon made an ‘ah’ expression of realization.

“I’m so lucky I got to meet Mentor and ask.”

Changhyeon said while stroking his nephew.

“How are the other kids doing? Do you all keep in touch?”

“Yes, Yeongyi’s filming right now, and Hyoseo’s also choosing her next project. Sohyeon noonim and Haneul noonim are filming too.”

“Wow, everyone’s either choosing their next projects or already filming.”

I felt happy hearing about my students.

“Yes, everyone wanted to contact you saying they’d entered filming, but you were so busy, Mentor, so they said they’d tell you once it airs.”

“Tell everyone not to hesitate—contact me anytime. If they need help with anything, don’t hold back and just reach out. Same goes for you.”

“Yes.”

Changhyeon smiled happily, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

“Mentor, everyone’s really rooting for your drama. Take care of your health.”

At some point, Changhyeon was even looking after my health.

Is this why everyone raises students despite the hardships?

Seeing Changhyeon so bright and energetic made my heart feel full.

I waved with a pleasant smile.

“Let’s see each other around. Take care, little one!”

“Pretty unnie, bye-bye!”

* * *

A few days later, at a studio.

This was a place I’d rushed to during the brief time while Lee Seonho was filming his solo scenes.

When I entered the studio, Seo Jaeyeon had already arrived and was sitting on the sofa waiting.

“Was traffic bad?”

“So this is how it ends up.”

At my words, Seo Jaeyeon also laughed as if finding it amusing.

The MC who’d been sitting on the other sofa quickly stood up to greet me.

“Hello. Nice to meet you for the first time.”

“Ah, hello. Thank you for the invitation.”

After our guest appearances aired, casting offers kept flooding in from everywhere wanting Seo Jaeyeon and me as a double act. After careful consideration, Jaeyeon and I had selected a few appearances.

The first destination was this interview location.

It was the studio of Kejin, a young male MC currently popular for his smooth and entertaining interview format.

Since both Jaeyeon’s and my sides had postponed filming to come, the interview shoot proceeded quickly.

Kejin opened with a friendly smile.

“Until now, there’ve been many cases of male-female couples or same-gender couples from the same work getting hot together. But this is the first time rival work female-female pairing has been this hot! How do you both feel?”

Seo Jaeyeon spoke first.

“I’ve been acting for quite a long time, but this is my first time experiencing something like this. It’s fascinating.”

I also smiled and added.

“I didn’t realize the guest appearances would draw this much attention.”

Then Kejin threw out a question everyone must be curious about.

“Now, everyone’s talking about your chemistry. Did you two have a prior connection?”

Kejin looked genuinely curious.

Then Seo Jaeyeon answered honestly.

“She’s one of my few friends in the entertainment industry….”

At the word ‘friend,’ I also felt a bit strange.

So I’ve made a friend.

For me, Jaeyeon was one of the few friends not just in the entertainment world, but in everyday life too.

Something I’d barely had in my past life.

Kejin showed a surprised reaction and waited for my answer.

“Me too. I’m not very outgoing, so I don’t have many friends, but Jaeyeon approached me first.”

Then Seo Jaeyeon laughed and flipped her hair.

“I do have to have a good personality.”

At that, Kejin laughed as if entertained.

“Truly beautiful people with great personalities hanging out together….”

Afterward, several more questions and answers went back and forth when Kejin pointed to the screen in the studio as if he’d prepared something.

“Today’s most entertaining content starts now. We’re going to film both of your reactions while watching a video fans made.”

Both Jaeyeon and I opened our eyes wide, not knowing what video it was.

That’s when the dramas Jaeyeon and I had appeared in started playing on screen.

It was the melodrama that fans had edited together using clips from our respective shows—the one I’d already seen some time ago.

Ugh.

Jaeyeon also made an ‘ah’ expression as if she’d already seen it.

Kejin looked back and forth between the screen and our faces with an intrigued expression.

‘Who do you think you are to hurt me like that? Why should I hit rock bottom because of you! Are you really that great?’

‘I’m Yoo Ji-an. Not once has anything failed to go my way. You’ll be the same.’

‘Am I pretty?’

‘You’re pretty… You’re pretty when you smile like that.’

‘I wanted to be loved too….’

The lines from the works we’d appeared in matched up strangely well.

Seo Jaeyeon made an openly disgusted expression.

Watching that face made me burst out laughing despite trying to maintain my composure.

“Is this what’s trending these days?”

Seo Jaeyeon laughed incredulously with an ‘ugh’ expression.

Then Kejin burst into laughter.

“Yes. And it’s not just anyone—it’s you two. How do you feel, Sena-ssi?”

When Kejin asked, I blanked out momentarily, flustered.

A laugh just escaped. Puhup.

Seo Jaeyeon shook her head.

“See? She thinks it’s gross too.”

Hearing Jaeyeon’s words, I suppressed my laughter.

Then I changed my expression and said.

“Why? If the project’s good, I’m confident I could do it.”

At my provocative attitude, Kejin went “Woah” while laughing, and Seo Jaeyeon’s eyes widened.

Seo Jaeyeon narrowed her eyes with a ‘so that’s how you’re playing it’ expression.

“Yes, I’m a professional, so I can do it anytime. I could give it a try.”

Then Kejin clapped with a satisfied expression.

“This is going to be total chaos! We got all today’s broadcast content!”

Both Seo Jaeyeon and I also smiled with satisfied, pleased expressions.