In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 142

After that, between drama filming schedules, I continued shooting various things with Seo Jaeyeon.

From interviews to small variety shows, photoshoots, and CFs.

Today’s shoot together was a chicken CF.

It was for a famous brand launching a new chicken flavor that mixed two popular menu items.

The concept involved Seo Jaeyeon and me trading banter.

We stood facing each other wearing contrasting colors—reddish tones and greenish tones.

Standing opposite Seo Jaeyeon in front of the camera, we each struck provocative poses.

“Who even eats plain fried chicken these days?”

I crossed my arms and spoke, and Seo Jaeyeon responded.

“Showing off your mixed breed pedigree.”

The lines could easily make you burst out laughing if you lost focus for even a moment.

However, both Seo Jaeyeon and I were being chased by tight schedules, so we approached the shoot seriously with a let’s-get-this-done mindset.

“Spicy rosé is what’s trending.”

I held up an orange-tinted drumstick, and Seo Jaeyeon brought a parsley-sprinkled drumstick right up against it.

“It always comes back around to olive fried. That’s how it’ll be.”

The lines played on the images of me being called the current trendsetter and Seo Jaeyeon as a star actress who’d been active for a long time.

Next was a cut of Seo Jaeyeon and me sitting side by side at a table, tearing into chicken while facing the camera.

‘Spicy Rosé & Olive Fried Combo Launch!’

Narration would be layered over our image.

But seriously, how long has it been since I’ve tasted chicken?

This is delicious…

Seo Jaeyeon and I showed off an enthusiastic mukbang beyond what was necessary, happily tearing into the drumsticks.

We ate with obvious enjoyment, naturally smiling at each other as we looked up—good instincts all around.

While eating the chicken, we struck several odd couple poses at the director’s requests.

Seo Jaeyeon handled every cut with ease, and I also showcased the techniques I’d honed filming various CFs in top star Yu Dayang’s body within the script.

“Cut! Wow, that was so good!”

“So pretty!”

“Whoa, done in thirty minutes. Amazing.”

Listening to the staff throwing out compliments with admiration, Seo Jaeyeon and I quickly stood up.

We were both scheduled to rush straight back to our respective filming sets.

The moment we left the studio, we hurried off with our managers in different directions.

“Good work! Stay in touch!”

“Yeah, take care of yourself!”

* * *

The next day.

Leaving behind the hectic schedule of juggling multiple shoots, I arrived at the filming location early in the morning.

I sat alone lost in thought, holding the script that had become worn and tattered from constant handling.

The episode 16 script I’d been anxiously waiting for.

Today was finally the last day of filming.

I closed the script with a snap and walked around the set.

I wanted to calm my mind before approaching the shoot.

That’s when I saw Lee Seonho approaching from far away.

“…?”

There was still plenty of time before filming would start.

Lee Seonho waved his hand at me and smiled.

Watching that face, I smiled back, then suddenly the day I first met Lee Seonho came to mind.

On the first day of the reading, he’d arrived earlier than anyone to review his script.

I’d gotten trapped in an elevator with that Lee Seonho and was instantly drawn into the world within the script.

After that, we went through countless experiences together…

And now here we are, like this.

My heart swelled with emotion.

The ending in the real-world script ultimately turned out different from the world within the script.

Yu Dayang was scheduled to leave today.

Lee Seonho approached and smiled without a word.

Looking at Lee Seonho, who’d become noticeably gaunt, I also smiled back.

“How are you feeling?”

Seonho asked gently.

I shrugged my shoulders after thinking for a moment.

“Not bad. I don’t feel like crying.”

“Me neither.”

Lee Seonho, who’d be sending Yu Dayang off, also put on a brave front, clearly trying to hold himself together.

“Shall we go, then?”

* * *

The press conference venue.

My entire field of vision turned white from the countless flashes pouring down before me.

Today’s press conference was where Yu Dayang would acknowledge the dating rumors with Kang Jio and announce their marriage.

But right now, I sat facing the crowd as Yu Hayeong.

Yu Hayeong intended to end Yu Dayang’s entertainment career.

By exposing that Yu Dayang was a multiple personality disorder patient.

Reporters fired off questions.

“When was your first meeting with Kang Jio-ssi?”

“Have you completed the formal family meetings?”

“Will you continue your entertainment career even after becoming part of a chaebol family?”

I looked at those reporters and smiled coldly.

Then spoke into the microphone.

“No. I plan to retire from the entertainment industry.”

Hearing my words, the reporters jolted in shock and frantically pounded their keyboards while making phone calls.

Simultaneously, the staff standing at the side of the stage looked at Yu Dayang as if about to faint.

I sneered at the dumbfounded crowd.

“This pathetic celebrity life. I don’t want to do it anymore.”

My answer flowed from the speakers, and for a moment everyone froze.

That’s when the press conference doors burst open and someone came running in.

It was Kang Jio.

Kang Jio quickly climbed onto the platform, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me to my feet.

Breathing heavily, Kang Jio instantly figured out who I was and spoke quietly.

“You can coexist.”

“What?”

“You don’t have to do this. You’ve been able to live like this thanks to Yu Dayang. You’ve barely managed to hang on.”

“……”

“Don’t ruin that life. Please.”

Kang Jio spoke desperately with a face that looked ready to cry.

Watching that face, my expression turned even more twisted.

“Every time you beg like that so desperately, I keep… hating Yu Dayang more.”

Kang Jio gripped both my shoulders and shook me urgently as if trying to wake me up.

“Dayang. Yu Dayang!”

“What are you doing?”

“Dayang, come out now.”

“She’s not coming out anymore!”

The reporters stared at us with blank faces, completely bewildered by the situation.

Kang Jio didn’t stop.

“Dayang. This is the press conference venue. You need to speak.”

“What the hell are you…?”

“Two thirty. The time we agreed to meet.”

That’s when I suddenly clutched my head with an expression of pain.

“What is this?”

It was a keyword Kang Jio had pre-arranged with Yu Dayang.

Lines that could wake Yu Dayang at any moment, prepared for any contingency.

“We agreed to meet here at the press conference at two thirty. You said you’d finish it properly, like a top star should.”

“Stop…”

Whether this method would even work was uncertain from the start.

But Kang Jio didn’t give up and kept repeating the same lines.

“Ah…”

My body suddenly lost all strength and I collapsed against Kang Jio.

Then for a very brief moment.

I opened my eyes again within Kang Jio’s solid embrace.

“…?”

“Dayang. Dayang!”

I looked up at Kang Jio in shock.

“Jio-ssi?”

“Dayang.”

Kang Jio cried out with overwhelming emotion.

I looked around in confusion.

“Where is…?”

Kang Jio whispered quietly.

“The press conference. Yu Hayeong started it first…”

“Shh.”

I cut off his words as if I’d instantly grasped the situation.

“It’s fine. I can do it.”

“……”

“I have something I want to say. To everyone.”

‘And to Yu Hayeong.’

This was a line meant to be delivered as narration.

Kang Jio saw the determination in my eyes and nodded.

Then he went down to the side of the stage.

I slowly steadied my breathing and sat back down.

Then I looked at the people watching me.

Without hesitation, I began to speak.

“I am a multiple personality disorder patient.”

“…!!!”

Everyone stared at me with shocked faces.

“I’ve been suffering from this condition for over ten years. Currently the symptoms have worsened, making it difficult to continue my entertainment career.”

“……”

I glanced at Kang Jio, who wore a worried expression, and smiled slightly.

“Since we’re talking about my entertainment career… The reason I dreamed of becoming an actress was because I wanted to hide my insignificant self and live as someone else. While living as a glamorous star like that, I received excessive love and attention.”

Tears welled up in my eyes without me realizing it.

I tried desperately to hold them back to keep from crying.

“Even if it’s not as much as the love you’ve all given me, I’m going to try sharing some of my heart with myself. I’m going to tell myself it’s okay to live as I am.”

I forced a smile while looking at the dazed reporters.

“I plan to return once I complete treatment. I’ll repay the worried fans with good works. I’ll also wait for an opportunity to honestly reveal everything that’s happened.”

Silence descended over the press conference venue.

“I’ll share the details at a later time. I apologize for the trouble I’ve caused. And.”

I paused briefly to gather my thoughts before continuing.

The words I absolutely wanted to convey to everyone.

“Thank you.”

* * *

“……”

“……”

After the press conference ended.

I sat side by side with Kang Jio on a bench at a small playground in the apartment complex.

Silence flowed through the empty playground.

I quietly looked at Kang Jio.

It was time to say goodbye.

Seeing the look in my eyes, Kang Jio seemed to read my mind already and turned his head away.

“You said you wouldn’t leave.”

“I’m not leaving. Yu Hayeong will keep living my life.”

“……”

“So what, you were planning to two-time us?”

I asked Kang Jio playfully.

Then Kang Jio looked at me with an angry face.

As if asking how I could be joking in a situation like this.

“I have to go now. See me off with a smile.”

Kang Jio’s eyes instantly turned red.

Seeing that face made my heart ache unbearably.

Lee Seonho, playing Kang Jio, looked utterly exhausted right now.

I slowly reached out and wiped away the tears falling down Kang Jio’s face.

Kang Jio pulled me into a tight embrace.

As I was held in Kang Jio’s arms, the tears I’d been holding back came flowing out.

“Thank you. Take care.”

I could hear Kang Jio sobbing by my ear.

“Me too. Thank you too. I love you.”

“I’ll always be by your side. You know that, right?”

Kang Jio nodded while tears streamed down his face.

Then for the last time, we looked into each other’s eyes from the closest distance.

Slowly, simultaneously, we gave each other bright smiles.

Wanting to show each other our smiling faces.

I pulled Kang Jio into an embrace and kissed him.

They were warm, soft lips I would never feel again.

* * *

Yu Dayang’s home.

The final, final shoot.

I placed a self-cam on the table and began the message I’d prepared.

It was a message for Yu Hayeong.

To the young girl Yu Hayeong who’d created me long ago.

“Remember? The day I first went to audition. You created me and hid away completely, so I didn’t even know my name was Yu Dayang until that day. When I heard them call ‘Number 34, Yu Dayang, please come in.’ I was a bit resentful.”

I smiled, reminiscing about that time as if lost in memories.

“So I thought about ruining the audition, but at the venue there was this girl crouching down reading her monologue from the script. How could she be so perfectly you? So that day I decided to become a great actress. A brilliantly shining top star.”

As Yu Dayang, who’d regained memories of the moment she was created, I was tying up the loose ends with my own hands.

Boldly, brightly, confidently.

“My other self, Hayeong. I’m leaving now. But Yu Dayang will remain. She’ll be melted into part of your life. You try living this glamorous life yourself. It probably won’t be easy at all.”

I spoke playfully as if warning her.

“And treat Jio-ssi well. You hurt him a lot. How hard must it be for him? Right?”

Thinking of Kang Jio made my heart ache.

“And please take good care of the life I’m leaving behind. From now on, live one person’s full life properly by yourself. Like everyone else.”

Even though I’d been holding back, tears welled up in my eyes.

I tried not to let the tears fall as I smiled brightly.

“Don’t ever call for me again. Goodbye. My childhood.”

I slowly reached out and turned off the self-cam.

“Cut. Okay.”

The moment I heard the director’s voice, tears rolled down my cheeks.

I thought of Yu Dayang, whom I’d met in my dream.

‘End it with a smile.’

‘Smile bright. For me.’

The staff each set down their equipment and applauded.

I also bowed my head and clapped.

Everyone’s faces showed they were just as moved as I was.

“Great work, everyone.”

“Sena-ssi, this must be so hard for you, right?”

“I’m fine. Thank you all so much.”

“Our team is the best!!”

“Say Your Name forever!!!”

“I can’t leave. I’m going to sleep here.”

“I’ll file the report in advance.”

Several staff members who were crying and getting emotional plopped down right where they were.

Watching them made me burst out laughing.

That’s when Lee Seonho, who’d finished his own filming but waited until the very end, approached.

He was holding a large bouquet of flowers in one hand.

I looked at Seonho in surprise, and the staff started excitedly taking photos.

“Here, Dayang. Take it, it’s yours.”

As Seonho called me Dayang and I took the bouquet from him in a daze…

The moment I looked at the flowers, tears welled up again.

They were bellflowers—the ones Yu Dayang had casually mentioned to Kang Jio as her favorite.

‘Out of all the pretty flowers, why bellflowers?’

‘Because I’m crazy, that’s why.’

The clusters of purple blossoms looked beautiful.

The flower language of bellflowers was ‘eternal love.’

It felt like Seonho’s personal final gift to Yu Dayang.

Seonho patted my shoulder, saying I’d worked hard.

I shared a final embrace with Seonho.

“Thank you. To you too, Seonho-ssi.”

“I’m the one who’s grateful. Thank you, Sena-ssi.”

That’s when the director also approached and we took turns embracing.

“Thank you all so much. Great work, everyone.”

Before I knew it, the director’s eyes were also brimming with tears.

This was my first time on a set that was such a sea of tears.

Like that, we kept cycling between crying and laughing…

And inwardly, I sent quiet goodbyes.

To Yu Dayang, to Yu Hayeong, to Baek Jangmi, to Lee Eunje, to Jung Sewoon.

‘Thank you all. I hope you’re doing well.’