In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 155

After asking for time to think it over, I barely managed to escape from Evelyn.

The yacht party burned through its final hour before ending.

Back at the dock.

Nearby, I could see people sitting in restaurants and cafes, tilting back drinks well into the late night.

As I looked around while taking in the peaceful ocean breeze…

A Korean man passed by in front of me, laughing and chatting with his group.

But for a moment, I felt a strange familiarity from that man’s face.

“Huh…?”

The man also flinched and turned around mid-stride.

“Han Sena-ssi?”

“Ah, hello.”

Didn’t seem like a fan…

Without realizing it, I took on a guarded stance while looking at the man.

“Do you know me?”

The man asked in a polite yet oddly interested and playful tone.

“Ah… I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere, but who might you be…”

Then the man laughed as if he’d expected this.

“Hello. I’m a content creator. I’m Shin Hanjun, Vice President of Dayz’s drama production subsidiary.”

“Ah…!”

That face I’d felt I’d seen somewhere finally came into clear focus.

A face I’d occasionally seen on TV and the news.

Though it wasn’t always good news, of course.

Dayz was a massive conglomerate domestically, and it seemed they were launching work at a newly created subsidiary.

Roddy approached with a puzzled expression.

Then he smiled brightly and offered Shin Hanjun a handshake.

Shin Hanjun gentlemanly called himself a fan and grasped Roddy’s hand.

Then Shin Hanjun spoke in a small voice only I could hear.

“By the way, we’re producing a new drama, Sena-ssi.”

“Ah, yes.”

“It’s a large-scale project with joint investment from HBC. Special feature-length.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Suddenly bringing up business out of nowhere.

I laughed, slightly flustered.

“I know it’s rude of me to grab you and talk like this in a place like this. But you were our top candidate for the female lead, Sena-ssi.”

“Ah, it’s an honor.”

“Yeah, since we ran into each other like this, I couldn’t help but see it as an opportunity.”

Shin Hanjun spoke with a sheepish laugh as if he himself felt awkward.

At least talking so honestly didn’t leave a bad impression.

Still, HBC.

For a moment, my feelings grew complicated.

So far, I’d worked with the cable network UBN, public broadcaster NBS, commercial network SCBS, and even the OTT platform Netmate—there wasn’t a place I hadn’t been through.

But somehow, I’d never had any connection with HBC.

Just like in my past life.

‘The role name was Yoo Ari… I’m sure.’

Right before gaining a new life, the role I’d been rejected for at the audition.

HBC was where I’d confirmed my acting career was over after drinking the bitter cup.

There was nothing to feel bad about, nothing to be upset over now.

It’s just that back then, I’d wanted it so desperately, but it hadn’t worked out because of my image alone, and now it was coming to me so easily.

As one small opportunity.

That felt… bitter somehow.

“This is going to be one of HBC’s top three blockbusters. Everyone’s confident about the content, characters, and buzz factor.”

I listened quietly to Shin Hanjun’s words.

After talking for a while, Shin Hanjun looked at my expression and made an apologetic face.

“Was I too rude? I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not rude at all. Thank you for the offer. Could you contact me through my agency?”

“Yes, I will.”

After Shin Hanjun left, I walked the dock again with Roddy.

Roddy quietly gauged my mood.

“Are you okay? Did that guy bother you?”

“No. It’s nothing like that. I’m in a good mood right now, you know?”

I showed Roddy a smile.

Roddy looked at me with a ‘what’s going on?’ expression, eyes half-closed.

“Let’s go! We still have a huge schedule left.”

“Yeah. I’m already nervous.”

* * *

Two days later.

We flew to the outskirts of Minnesota first thing in the morning.

The third shoot that followed was for another title track.

This title track expressed a war-like love between lovers.

Two people who fight as if they’ll kill each other every time, but the fact that they love each other never changes, and because of that, they both suffer.

Yet despite everything, it was the story of two people who choose to be together forever.

The music video concept for that story was ‘war’ and ‘anytime, anywhere.’

To match the concept, this shoot had over ten locations.

I’d heard the staff struggled to find beautiful scenery from all around the world.

Against backgrounds that would change countless times every few seconds, Roddy and I were scheduled to fight in various concepts—’armed killers,’ ‘snipers,’ ‘samurai,’ ‘boxers,’ ‘taekwondo black belts,’ and more.

It was such a fun concept.

First we’d finish filming in America, then keep moving by plane to continue shooting—truly a forced march.

But when else would I get to experience something like this?

Most of all, the fact that we’d be shooting at Korean locations too made me incredibly excited.

Korean fans would love this, right?

Originally Korea wasn’t in the location candidates, but I’d heard they included it after incorporating Roddy’s idea.

He probably suggested the idea for me, a Korean actress.

I was so grateful to Roddy for that.

While standing by like that.

Suddenly the staff preparing for the shoot started murmuring.

“What’s going on?”

Roddy looked at the staff with a puzzled expression.

One staff member approached us with a very troubled expression.

“We contacted the costume team since they were running late. Apparently there was a traffic accident on the way.”

“Are they okay???”

“Was it a bad accident?”

Both Roddy and I asked in near-fainting shock.

“Yes, the staff are fine. But the costumes got badly damaged, which is the big problem.”

“…?”

“They were specially made one-of-a-kind costumes by the designer…”

The staff member sighed in frustration.

In the distance, I could see the director I was meeting for the first time today with his face bright red, furiously angry.

“Oh no.”

We’d have to film other scenes first and find some alternative solution in the meantime.

But as if adding insult to injury, another staff member who’d been on the phone approached and said.

“The designer’s currently overseas in Europe for a show. New costume production won’t be possible.”

“……”

Everyone on set collectively fell into a group meltdown.

Would we have to settle for different clothes?

It had been a costume made with a very unique concept—would we need to find another designer to do alterations?

We couldn’t exactly hold a meeting about this right here and now.

The director trudged over.

“Let’s wrap filming. We’ll leave for the next location tomorrow as scheduled and shoot there first. We’ll think about it after.”

“Yes.”

All three of us wore serious faces.

For a moment, my eyes met Rodriguez’s.

Roddy spoke up cautiously.

“How about asking Evelyn?”

“Evelyn?”

Evelyn—that would be Maisy’s girlfriend I met at the yacht party?

I fell into thought for a moment.

Evelyn was also famous for making unique costumes, and she might actually suit this concept pretty well.

“Who’s Evelyn?”

The director showed interest.

“She’s a designer I know. A pretty famous major, and her costume concepts are unique. It might suit our concept too.”

The face of Evelyn approaching me so pressingly at that party came to mind.

A face that seemed to want a lot from me.

Would it be okay to connect with Evelyn?

Roddy seemed to read my worried expression and laughed.

“If Sena doesn’t feel up to it, we can find someone else. There are designers everywhere, right?”

The director made an expression like he had no idea what was going on.

Roddy shrugged at the director.

“Don’t worry too much. Let’s just wrap today’s filming.”

The staff who’d been laying out equipment everywhere let out deep sighs.

“Pack up!”

“Taking a day off today works out fine. Let’s go, everyone.”

* * *

The next day, Quebec, Canada.

“Cut, cut!! NG!”

Had I underestimated music video filming too much?

Since my new debut, I’d been getting the most NGs ever on a set.

Roddy fumbled with the shotgun.

The martial arts director approached and corrected Roddy’s posture.

“You need to pull the trigger in time with the timing. And your form is too sloppy.”

For Roddy, who was barely supplementing his lacking acting skills, action scenes were a massive wall.

In a way, it made sense.

Since childhood, Roddy had never touched anything besides a guitar, and who would be skilled at handling everything from long swords to all kinds of firearms?

Unless they were an actual killer.

So in the end, this time too.

“Let’s just film Sena separately first and splice the footage together.”

The director reached the same conclusion as the previous director.

Roddy squeezed his eyes shut and blamed himself.

“You stupid bastard!”

When Roddy muttered curses in a low voice, a few staff members laughed.

But unlike the previous director, this director wasn’t the type to laugh off serious situations.

“Roddy, please stand by for a moment.”

Roddy set down the gun listlessly.

Watching Roddy like that, I tried to smile casually while looking at the director.

“I’m fine, director! If we film separately, Roddy might lose even more focus!”

The director looked at me with a surprised expression.

“I’m saying this for Sena’s sake. You might have to wait here for several more hours.”

Hearing that made me chuckle.

“It’s fine! I basically live on sets anyway.”

The director looked impressed.

“American actors should learn this kind of attitude. They take their pay and then just rush to film only their own parts and bail, causing directors so much stress… Tch.”

The director’s staff also gave me thumbs up from behind.

Ah…

So this is America after all.

Realizing anew the difference in atmosphere between Hollywood and Korean filming sets, I laughed awkwardly.

Then I looked at Roddy again.

“Roddy, you can do this, right?”

Roddy nodded.

The director also looked at Roddy with a displeased expression.

“I told you not to act.”

“……”

Hearing that, I felt taken aback inside for a moment.

Even if you’re frustrated, still.

He’s still a global superstar though.

To hear from a music video director not to act.

Something’s weird about this, isn’t it?

Come to think of it, the atmosphere between these two didn’t seem like they were meeting for the first time either.

Did they know each other?

Roddy blurted out while feeling my gaze rapidly shifting back and forth between them.

“He’s my uncle.”

“Ah…!”

Makes sense.

The uncle shot affectionate curses at Roddy.

“Lacking kid. I could tell from when you weren’t studying and just playing guitar.”

“Ahaha.”

Roddy didn’t even seem particularly hurt as he looked at me.

An apologetic face no matter what his uncle said.

I quickly clapped my hands to smooth over the atmosphere.

“Alright, alright, I’m fine. Shall we try again?”