In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 190

“Director!”

The director, who’d been sitting in the office waiting, waved cheerfully.

I sat down next to Do Changhyeon, facing the director.

“How’s practice going?”

“Fine. Though it’s a bit harder than I expected.”

“Not easy, right?”

The director chuckled softly.

A VJ had been filming us with a curious expression the entire time.

The director glanced at the VJ.

“So this is that thing. Solo Life?”

“Yes.”

The director looked at the camera and chuckled again.

“Sena-ssi’s smart as always.”

“Huh?”

“Knowing to promote like this too. Impressive, right?”

Hearing the director see right through my intentions made me smile sheepishly.

“Thanks to you, I’m benefiting from Sena-ssi’s efforts.”

“Ah, not at all.”

I played the prepared footage and started monitoring with the director.

The director watched with a serious expression.

“How is it?”

The director paused the video at various points to give feedback.

“The choreographers will polish it well, of course. But from my perspective, a bit more…”

The director continued with detailed notes.

* * *

‘The choreographers will polish it well, of course. But from my perspective, a bit more…’

Back at the studio.

Watching the VCR with the director’s crucial feedback completely bleeped out, the panelists wore expressions of genuine curiosity and frustration.

“What on earth is it? A musical? A play?”

“Maybe it’s for some kind of New Year’s performance? Acrobatics???”

“Oh, couple dance? Right, Sena-ssi can dance well!”

“Ahh, no, that’s not it!”

I hurriedly waved my hands before the dance talk went any further.

The panelists giggled.

I had an uneasy feeling they’d show my dance footage on the broadcast.

With that ominous premonition, I revealed what the practice footage was for.

“I’m actually preparing a zombie project.”

“!!!”

The panelists looked at me with shocked faces.

“A zombie project? Oh, a movie??”

“Yes, yes.”

“Amazing. There aren’t that many Korean zombie movies yet, right?”

“Exactly.”

In my past life, the Korean zombie movies that left an impression were few enough to count on one hand.

“Wow, amazing. I really love zombie stuff!!!”

“Wait, then that practice was…”

Seeing their puzzled faces made me grin.

“Zombie productions usually have choreography teams. We need to create the movements.”

“Wow!”

The panelists looked fascinated.

I’d been incredibly intrigued too when the choreography team first came on board.

A zombie choreography team, something I’d only heard about.

The choreographers were also scheduled to appear as extras in the film.

“Then is Sena-ssi playing a zombie?”

“You’ll have to check that at the theater.”

I smiled slyly.

* * *

[iTube’s First Original! Han Sena’s Zombie Movie!!!]

[Han Sena! Next Project: Zombie Film Preview!!]

[Han Sena, Relentless Drive… The Ratings Queen, Will She Make Film Box Office History This Time?]

[Zombie Project X Han Sena! Opening New Horizons for Korean Genre Films.]

[Rising Rookie Director Yoon Jaechang, Zombie Film Starring Han Sena X Do Changhyeon!]

The moment the broadcast aired, it became a huge topic online.

From real-time search rankings to articles, communities, fan cafes, social media…

The response was incredibly enthusiastic.

-Wow, when does Han Sena rest?

-I’m still hurting from Park Inha… How can this be.

-They must’ve already been filming before the reveal since it’s this close to production. Did they start right after Night of Fire ended? Amazing.

-iTube Original??? The funding’s already solidly secured.

-She rejected the HBC drama but is becoming the ‘Perfect Woman’ in real life. Han Sena reigns supreme.

-Wow, a zombie movie lol. It’s so refreshing. Love how she always does innovative stuff.

⤷ She never settles, it’s amazing

⤷ Honestly at this point she could just pick guaranteed hits.

⤷ That’s why I love Han Sena.

-Shocked seeing the mentees on Solo Life. Honestly thought it’d be Seo Jaeyeon or Kim Eunseo. She really takes care of the people around her.

-Wow, I’m a fan of this director. Please make genre films mainstream, unnie. I’m sick of Korean dramas where everyone just does romance.

-When Han Sena takes something on, it hitting big is basically a given now. Her eye for projects is almost divinely inspired.

-Meanwhile, <Solo Life> ratings are insane too lolol. Record-breaking numbers this year. Is the ratings god truly watching over her?

Reading through the comments made me feel a bit proud.

At some point, people had started caring about my next projects.

Though negative opinions used to be mixed in heavily before.

Looking at these responses made my heart flutter in a way it hadn’t in a while.

This was my first time participating as the lead in a film, so it felt like a new challenge.

“This’ll be fun.”

I smiled slightly.

* * *

The first reading day for <Deadline>.

The VJ, who’d grown familiar by now, was filming the reading with an even more excited and nervous expression than mine.

Before the full-scale reading began.

The VJ asked for a brief interview in a quiet voice.

When everyone’s attention at the reading focused on us, the VJ broke into a nervous sweat.

Seeing the VJ’s face made me chuckle.

“Could you briefly explain what <Deadline> is about?”

“Sure. <Deadline> is an intense survival story about ordinary people in Korea during a zombie virus outbreak, forming survivor groups and doing everything they can to stay alive.”

“What kind of character is Sena-ssi playing?”

“I guess you could say… someone with their own principles and convictions… very inflexible.”

“Oh, inflexible… So a cool character then.”

“Well… I’m not sure ‘cool’ fits. Maybe not…?”

I deliberately gave an ambiguous answer and smiled slightly.

Do Changhyeon grinned too and gave a thumbs up.

The VJ then moved over to Do Changhyeon.

“What kind of character is Changhyeon-ssi playing?”

“Surprisingly, I’m the leader of the survivor group.”

“Oh.”

The senior actors sitting around Do Changhyeon smiled warmly.

Do Changhyeon continued.

“I’m a really, really good person… so I’ll be constantly clashing and fighting with my mentor nonstop. I’m already scared.”

People laughed at Do Changhyeon’s joke.

“Ah, so is Sena-ssi the villain? That kind of role?”

“It’s not quite like that either. I might get cursed out more…”

Do Changhyeon trailed off uncertainly.

The VJ wore a puzzled expression.

The director sitting up front looked at us both and smiled.

Then the VJ, though trembling, seized the opportunity and approached the director.

“Chungmuro’s hot new director… Yoon Jaechang-nim?”

“Yes?”

The director, who’d been about to take a sip of coffee, choked—cough—and cleared his throat.

“Could you tell us the key viewing points of this project?”

“Sure. The key viewing point is the incredibly high-quality zombies.”

The director answered confidently.

“Ah, right. You have the choreography team.”

“Yes. And another one is the confrontation structure between Sena-ssi and Changhyeon-ssi.”

“Oh, the two of them really fight a lot.”

The VJ looked interested.

“Yes. Actually, the protagonists in zombie movies are always people, not zombies.”

The VJ widened her eyes and nodded at the director’s insightful words.

“Our film will also show various sides of people who are sometimes more inhuman than zombies.”

* * *

Shortly after, at the reading.

“Does acting nice make you feel good?”

I looked at Do Changhyeon, who sat across from me, with a provocative expression.

Do Changhyeon turned away with a wounded look, holding back his rising anger.

Reading that expression, I poked at his pride.

“You hypocrite bastard. Everyone here dies, that’s on you. Because you can’t abandon a single person, because you try to save everyone—they’ll all die.”

The eyes of every actor and staff member fixed on us as tension filled the air.

The VJ was also filming the reading with a tense expression.

Sparks were flying between me and Do Changhyeon.

The reason we were clashing right now was because of a survivor we’d discovered during our travels.

The survivor was none other than a heavily pregnant woman.

Do Changhyeon, who tried to embrace everyone, and me, who always believed sacrificing the minority for the majority was right, were bound to conflict.

Do Changhyeon spoke after holding it in.

“Is taking one pregnant woman along really such a big deal?”

“Of course it is. Her feet are slow.”

“…Don’t you have any compassion?”

The look in Do Changhyeon’s eyes briefly flickered with contempt.

I brushed off that gaze indifferently and answered.

“Not giving that pregnant woman even a shred of false hope—that’s my last bit of compassion.”

“…….”

“Do you know how painful it is to torture someone with hope? We don’t even have enough food for ourselves.”

“She’s so far along though….”

“Exactly. She’s so far along. Are you going to carry her on your back?”

Do Changhyeon bit his lip hard.

“You said you’re going to find your brother. You’re not going to see your brother?”

Do Changhyeon’s character Jeong Haeseon was fighting desperately to survive solely to rescue his distant brother.

I poked at that pressure point.

“At this rate, your brother’s going to die too.”

“….”

Do Changhyeon wore an unpleasant expression.

“What. Does talking about your brother make you feel bad?”

I sneered.

Do Changhyeon turned his head for a moment to calm his anger.

Then he looked back at me.

“…When danger comes… you’ll abandon me too, won’t you?”

Do Changhyeon asked in a slightly trembling voice.

As if directly facing a question he’d been avoiding.

In the story, Do Changhyeon’s character Jeong Haeseon and my character Tak Yeowon had known each other since childhood.

So at a glance, their relationship seemed particularly close.

But the reality was that Jeong Haeseon had always looked after Tak Yeowon, who constantly positioned herself as an outsider, while Tak Yeowon had ignored him.

I answered that question without hesitation.

“Of course. What are you to me.”

“….”

“I’m prepared to abandon anyone. Even myself.”

“…….”

“For the majority, the minority must be sacrificed. Rationally.”

Do Changhyeon looked at me with strange eyes.

“Let’s live rationally. Right? Efficiently. Those who should live must live. That person is already dead.”

* * *

After the reading was revealed.

Comments poured in in real-time.

-Deadline releasing the reading footage is insane… so bold.

-Wow, first time seeing reading footage used for promotion lololol

-This feels way more intense than movie trailers. Fascinating. Can’t see the setting or zombies but the immersion is crazy.

-The movie’s coming out in a few months too!!! Making us excited this early, what do we do!!!

-They’re going to show filming too. I’m so hyped.

-Even the zombie extra auditions are wild lolololol. This is too fun.

⤷ For real? Can’t resist. Time to prep for debut.

⤷ Wow, I want to get killed by Han Sena.

-A nationwide film participation show. Is that what this is. Showing the entire production process while pulling people to theaters. That’s genius level.

-Can they reveal this much of the content? Is there a big twist? This is crazy.

-Han Sena’s acting is seriously wow… Daya… no, Inha… You weren’t like that. Why are you like this….

⤷ Stole her personality and went dark.

⤷ Inha who quit being a firefighter and got pissed when the zombie outbreak hit….

-Han Sena, please rest… I’m worried. But don’t rest T_T I don’t know anymore. Are you taking care of your health?

-Do Changhyeon getting scolded looks genuinely hurt lololol. Why is it so funny.

-Please livestream the blessing ceremony. Please.