In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 194

A few days later, on set.

Do Changhyeon had been riding high on the energy from filming, throwing out ideas every single day and diving into the shoot with enthusiasm.

The person I’d met at the audition had vanished—he’d completely transformed into someone else.

What Do Changhyeon was especially focused on throughout filming was making sure his character didn’t get overwhelmed by the presence and energy that Tak Yeowon possessed.

“Earlier, the blocking with Yeowon felt a bit off there.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“So from here, if we walk side by side with Yeowon…”

Watching him, I smiled inwardly with pride.

Though if there was a problem, it was this.

“Yeowon, want to rehearse?”

This kid…

The mentor title had completely disappeared—he’d been calling me Yeowon all day long.

We were classmates who’d butted heads constantly, and sometimes showed chemistry with each other.

It felt like he wanted to shake off the mentor-mentee image stuck in people’s heads and his own mind.

Plus, while he’d treat me with the utmost care on the way to set, the moment we stepped onto the filming location he’d put some distance between us.

I understood that feeling, so I went along without complaint.

“Sure, Haeseon.”

I stared straight at Do Changhyeon as I answered.

Do Changhyeon’s pupils wavered briefly as he felt my gaze.

Reading that expression, I bit back a laugh.

“How about if we run like this, Yeowon…?”

“Yeowon thinks that sounds good?”

When I answered, the director beside us chuckled too.

Teasing Do Changhyeon aside for a moment.

Before diving into today’s filming, I brought up a point that had been bothering me.

“Director, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Isn’t Yeowon’s emotional density a bit too low? I’m slightly worried she might just get labeled as some unrelatable psycho character.”

That was definitely the case—the process of embodying Tak Yeowon’s character felt completely different from usual.

It wasn’t draining, it wasn’t emotionally exhausting…

More like an overall feeling of floating, disconnected.

But the director gave a clear answer.

“Yeowon’s supposed to be that kind of character.”

“…”

“Yeowon’s a character who never grounds herself in reality until she dies, who can’t integrate into society. For a character like that, maybe the uncomfortable sense of wrongness you’re feeling is natural, Sena-ssi.”

“Ah…”

Hearing that, I nodded.

Come to think of it, Tak Yeowon was the first unpredictable character I’d played since <Desert Island>.

In <Desert Island>, Lee Jihyeon had the justification of being a sociologist, so it wasn’t difficult to add obsessive psychology to her behavior of filming and observing the island.

But Tak Yeowon, who constantly showed rebellious and socially maladjusted behavior, bounced around unsteadily inside my heart unlike back then.

While mulling it over, I glanced at Do Changhyeon beside me, deep in thought with his eyes darting around.

Watching Do Changhyeon like that made me smirk.

After hearing the director’s words, I felt like I understood a bit.

The Tak Yeowon character could only be completed through Jeong Haeseon.

Jeong Haeseon, who always read the room and acted overly sociable, trying to get close to people—he would emphasize and highlight Tak Yeowon’s character.

Conversely, Tak Yeowon would also make Jeong Haeseon’s flaws and character stand out sharply.

“What do you think, our Haeseon?”

I glanced at Do Changhyeon as I asked.

Do Changhyeon, who’d been thinking seriously, opened his mouth.

“I like the interpretation Mentor is building. Honestly, I thought Tak Yeowon was just this cold character. But Mentor, you’re planting a believable narrative inside that craziness.”

“Really?”

Even after hearing both of them, I didn’t fully get it.

But I decided to trust what the director and my colleague were saying.

When you’re confused about your character, there’s a method of listening to the people standing closest to you.

* * *

A pitch-dark campsite.

In front of a small fire, Jeong Haeseon hesitated before speaking.

“Your family members all… passed away, right?”

“They all turned into zombies. Should I call that dying? It’s kind of vague.”

“…Aren’t you sad?”

“Nope. I feel bad for them, but I’m not sad. I hated my family.”

“Why?”

I didn’t answer.

In the story, Tak Yeowon had endured domestic violence and gaslighting from her family until they turned into zombies.

“The moment my dad became a zombie, weirdly he came after me first.”

“…”

“Things happened and I ended up killing my dad. But it felt satisfying.”

As I said those lines, I deliberately controlled it so the emotions wouldn’t sink in too deeply.

It was a story anyone would find horrifying to hear.

I’d felt pain reading these lines too.

But Tak Yeowon couldn’t be sad when delivering them.

Because that’s what would make others sad.

This kind of character play was a first for me.

I tossed the words out flatly while adjusting my tone.

“After that, killing zombies and people became easy. Nothing’s hard for me anymore.”

Jeong Haeseon spoke cautiously again.

“But you must have been hurt too…”

I stopped putting wood on the fire and looked at Jeong Haeseon.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Did we come on some youth scout trip? Is this a campfire?”

“Ah… sorry. It’s just, when I saw you back in the day, you seemed warm… but you changed a lot while I wasn’t around…”

“And?”

“Ah, so what I wanted to say is… there aren’t many survivors left now. Let’s all try to get along.”

“You get along. I’ll just exist.”

“…”

“And if anyone gets in my way, I’ll eliminate them anytime. That hasn’t changed.”

“…Me too?”

Jeong Haeseon asked again, putting emphasis on the question.

“What are you to me.”

I answered coldly.

“…”

But suddenly Jeong Haeseon smiled slightly.

“When you say that, it weirdly makes me feel good.”

“What?”

“‘What are you to me.’ That’s what I’ve always wanted to say to myself. Why are you always spouting meaningless sanctimony.”

“Right. Don’t be sanctimonious.”

I left Jeong Haeseon behind, got up, and dusted myself off.

Without looking back, I walked straight out of the camera frame.

“Cut, okay!!”

“We’ll just grab a few inserts!”

* * *

A few days later, inside the car heading down to a regional location shoot.

I was watching this week’s Solo Life broadcast that I’d missed because of filming.

‘Strangely, I think Tak Yeowon’s really attractive.’

‘Wait, is your type maybe a badass?’

‘What?!’

‘Sena-ssi, isn’t it weird though? When you do warm acting you look kind, but when you do cold acting you look so cold.’

‘Sena-ssi’s photoshoots are like that too. She uses expressions so well. That’s why she’s not just an actor—she’s a model and an ambassador.’

Hearing the embarrassing compliments made my face flush again.

Why don’t I ever get used to praise like this?

-Han Sena never disappoints.

-The Tak Yeowon character is seriously intriguing. Just from what’s being revealed, she seems like a total badass but why do I keep wanting to see more?

-Han Sena has a talent for making every character intriguing. Plus, none of the characters she’s played have overlapping vibes.

⤷ Facts

⤷ Other actors take breaks between projects to maintain their mask freshness. Han Sena films nonstop but her face never gets old.

⤷ Her acting covers everything.

⤷ She’s not even a rookie anymore but each character keeps feeling like a completely different person.

Reading through the comments, I recharged my energy once more.

Finally, I carefully reviewed the script crammed full with notes I’d written all night.

“Almost there. We’ll arrive in 10 minutes.”

Following my routine, Jinseok oppa considerately gave me a heads-up so I could warm up my voice 10 minutes before arrival.

“Thanks.”

I slowly started reading the script when my phone buzzed.

It was Do Changhyeon.

-There are visitors coming to set today, Mentor.

In the messenger chat, Do Changhyeon politely called me Mentor again instead of “Yeowon.”

But visitors?

And to the filming location…?

-Who’s the visitor?

I sent a reply, and Do Changhyeon, who’d read the message immediately, took a while to respond.

-Um, I’m not entirely sure either. But you might want to mentally prepare yourself…

“What…?”

A cameo?

* * *

When I arrived on site, it was a disaster.

A member of the National Assembly who was running for office in the region where the filming location was situated had come down and was taking photos all over the place.

Staff members couldn’t openly grimace and just slipped away discreetly.

“What is this…”

“Mentor.”

Do Changhyeon appeared from behind.

“Getting the location permit here was pretty tricky, and apparently that person helped approve it. Turns out they want to use our film for publicity.”

“Wow…”

When the assembly member walked up to the director and reached out for a handshake, people with cameras swarmed over, popping flashes everywhere.

The director wiped away nervous sweat while laughing awkwardly.

For the location and filming, it was something we had to endure.

That’s when the assembly member spotted me, eyes widening as they approached.

“Wow, Han Sena-ssi! First time seeing you in person! You’re even prettier than on screen.”

I hid my flustered expression and forced a smile.

Cameras turned this way.

The assembly member extended a hand to me too, asking for a handshake.

As I clasped hands, flashes went off like crazy again.

Is this even okay…?

“I want to generously support Korean content that brings glory to our nation. What’s interesting is, um… this film has a campaign vehicle in it, right?”

“Ah… yes.”

“That campaign vehicle’s BGM is exactly the same as mine. Haha, it was really entertaining.”

Is this person even getting proper information?

That campaign vehicle explodes along with the zombies…

I broke into a nervous sweat internally.

An aide approached and handed me something.

“Excuse me, could you hold this and take a photo?”

The item handed over was none other than a placard.

[Candidate #3 Han Yoonchang! Let’s Hit the Jackpot with Deadline!]

Everyone was waiting for the final shot…

I held the placard and hesitated for a moment.

Then I handed the placard back with an apologetic expression.

“Having text in it makes me a bit nervous. If it gives the impression that I’m politically supporting someone… I’m worried it might have unexpected repercussions.”

“…”

For a moment, the assembly member’s expression hardened.

Looking at that face, I smiled brightly.

“I’m sorry. But let’s all stand together and take a photo—that would be nice! How about that?”

“Sounds good!”

Do Changhyeon, who’d been watching anxiously from a distance, ran over in one breath.

As the reporters raised their cameras again, the assembly member relaxed their expression and shouted fighting.

The director also looked at me and winked with a relieved expression.

“Alright everyone, say kimchi! Candidate Number 3! Han Yoonchang!”

Flashes burst.