In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 199

In the end, everyone regrouped and started sprinting madly toward the building’s exit.

Mixed in among them were Jeong Haeseon and Tak Yeowon.

That’s when Tak Yeowon’s foot caught while descending the stairs.

She tumbled down with a crash, hitting the ground hard.

“You okay?”

Jeong Haeseon rushed over and pulled her to her feet.

Tak Yeowon quickly stood and tried to run again, but—

“Ah.”

With a low cry, Tak Yeowon collapsed sideways.

Watching this, Jeong Haeseon’s face went pale.

In the distance, the zombie horde was closing in.

“What’s wrong?”

“My ankle…”

Tak Yeowon bit her lip as she clutched her ankle.

“Go on without me.”

Tak Yeowon pushed at Jeong Haeseon’s shoulder.

But Jeong Haeseon ignored her completely and hoisted Tak Yeowon onto his back.

Then belatedly started running after the others.

However, already exhausted to his limit, Jeong Haeseon couldn’t pick up speed, and the backs of the others gradually disappeared from view.

Tak Yeowon, still being carried, silently watched Jeong Haeseon as he gritted his teeth and ran.

Every time Jeong Haeseon’s legs threatened to give out and he nearly dropped Tak Yeowon, he’d clench his jaw and tighten his grip on the two hands supporting her.

When they finally reached the exit, people had gathered there murmuring anxiously.

“What is it.”

Jeong Haeseon set Tak Yeowon down and approached them.

The path to the exit was blocked by a wall.

“What the hell.”

“It’s a fire shutter.”

“What?”

Jeong Haeseon pushed through the crowd and examined the fire shutter.

“Fire shutters have an escape door. We just need to find it.”

Jeong Haeseon pushed at the escape door, but—

No matter what, the door refused to budge.

To make matters worse, the sounds of zombies were getting closer and closer.

“It has to be opened from the control room.”

“…”

Opening the shutter switch from the control room was the only answer.

Another moment where someone’s sacrifice was needed.

Everyone fell into speechless silence.

The path to the control room was swarming with zombies, and going there would be nothing short of suicide.

In the lingering quiet, only heavy sighs could be heard.

In the end, no one volunteered—

Jeong Haeseon took a step forward.

“I’ll go.”

But then.

Something came flying at Jeong Haeseon’s wrist with a whoosh.

It was the rope people had been carrying.

Tak Yeowon, who’d mastered the art of knot-tying while fleeing from zombie hordes, had tied the other end to the railing.

Jeong Haeseon stared at Tak Yeowon in disbelief.

The knot held tight and wouldn’t come loose.

“What are you doing?”

Jeong Haeseon instinctively reached into his pocket.

But the knife he’d been carrying was gone.

Tak Yeowon grinned mischievously and pulled out the knife.

Then handed it to someone standing nearby, dumbstruck.

“Return the knife once the shutter moves. Not before. Never.”

“What are you doing?!”

Tak Yeowon, realizing what she was planning, screamed at Jeong Haeseon.

Tak Yeowon waved her hand at Jeong Haeseon.

Her own version of a final goodbye.

“Tak Yeowon… you can’t do this. Stop.”

“With this leg, I’m done for anyway going forward.”

“…”

“In this situation, me going is the rational choice. Right?”

Tak Yeowon used the word she’d always favored most.

Rational.

Tak Yeowon’s face showed no trace of fear.

She just smiled faintly one last time while looking at Jeong Haeseon.

“Thanks?”

Tak Yeowon immediately turned around and limped up the stairs, dragging her injured leg.

“Don’t go!! Stop!!”

Jeong Haeseon frantically tried to untie the rope around his wrist.

“Give me the knife!!”

The person holding the knife stepped back with a terrified expression.

“Untie this!!!”

Jeong Haeseon let out a scream that bordered on anguish.

* * *

Inside the control room.

After barely managing to close the door of the small single room, Tak Yeowon pressed the shutter button.

From far away, she could feel the faint vibration of the fire shutter rising.

The zombies that had been in front of the control room must have heard the sound, as they started heading downstairs.

Watching them, Tak Yeowon leaned her hands against the table as if her strength had drained.

Sticky blood flowing from her right arm soaked the table.

Tak Yeowon rolled up her sleeve.

In the middle of her arm, the mark where a zombie had bitten her remained vividly clear.

Staring at the wound, Tak Yeowon pulled her sleeve back down.

For a brief moment of silence, Tak Yeowon stood still.

Then she opened the control room door and headed outside.

The building, now empty after the zombie horde had all poured toward the exit, quickly filled with silence.

Tak Yeowon limped toward the rooftop.

The rooftop door stood wide open.

As if welcoming Tak Yeowon for the last time.

Tak Yeowon stood for a moment, gazing at the bright light streaming through the dark building.

Then started walking again.

Warm sunlight enveloped her entire body.

Standing in the center of the rooftop, Tak Yeowon briefly closed her eyes and spread her arms wide.

A tickling breeze brushed past.

The whole world was quiet.

Without hesitation, Tak Yeowon climbed onto the railing.

A final wish to die as a human, not a zombie.

Throughout Tak Yeowon’s life, there had been no ambition, no goals—only the simple desire to survive.

But if she could no longer live, if she had to die, she wanted to die as a person, not a monster.

Tak Yeowon looked down at the dizzying view beneath her feet and extended her foot.

Just like that, Tak Yeowon fell.

* * *

A dull sound echoed from the mat catching my body.

I slowly opened my eyes on the mat.

“Cut. Okay. Great work, Sena-ssi.”

The sounds of staff quickly clearing and organizing the area faded from my ears.

I stared up at the blazing hot sun overhead.

It really felt like I’d just died and come back to life.

A short but intense character.

When filming first started, it definitely felt less emotionally draining than before…

But now that filming was over, I couldn’t easily let go.

For some reason, my stomach felt upset.

Like my stomach hurt.

I placed my hand on my belly and rubbed the aching spot.

It seemed U’d been immersed and stressed without realizing it.

During filming, U’d tried multiple times to maintain mind control, to keep from crying.

“It ended well.”

It seems like it did.

I whispered quietly to myself.

But then I heard the sound of someone sobbing from somewhere.

I sat up, looking toward the source of the sound.

It was none other than Do Changhyeon.

Do Changhyeon stood next to the director, monitoring my final moment.

Do Changhyeon’s entire face had turned bright red as tears streamed down.

Seeing his face made my laughter suddenly burst out.

“Hey! Why are you crying!”

The moment Do Changhyeon saw me, he cried even harder while covering his face.

I wiped away the tears that suddenly spilled from my own eyes too.

“That kid, really.”

I climbed down from the mat and walked toward him.

The director looked at Do Changhyeon and let out a chuckle.

Staff members who’d been watching Do Changhyeon for a while glanced between the two of us.

“Don’t cry.”

Do Changhyeon seemed completely unable to control himself as tears kept falling.

I reached out and pulled Do Changhyeon into a tight embrace.

Do Changhyeon collapsed limply into my arms.

My shoulder quickly became damp and soaked with Do Changhyeon’s tears.

I gently patted Do Changhyeon’s back.

At that, Do Changhyeon hugged me even tighter.

“Oof, can’t breathe.”

“Hic… Mentor… Yeowon…”

I smiled slightly and stroked Do Changhyeon’s head while whispering.

“Don’t cry, Changhyeon…”

“Hic…”

“You’ve still got filming left to do…”

The director, who’d been drinking coffee, let out a laugh mid-sip.

“Wow, that’s cruel, just cruel.”

Do Changhyeon finally pulled away then, wiping his tears.

His face was a complete mess of tears and snot.

“You really are Tak Yeowon, aren’t you…?”

* * *

That evening.

Everyone finally stood before the last scene.

The protagonist of the final scene was Do Changhyeon.

Do Changhyeon, who’d been crying all day until his eyes were bloodshot red, stood before the camera.

My heart felt restless.

To the point where I wondered if it was okay to film like this, Do Changhyeon looked shaken by Tak Yeowon’s death.

Everyone was watching Do Changhyeon as he stepped up for the final shoot.

Do Changhyeon couldn’t even feel those gazes right now.

“Ready, action!”

From the distance, Jeong Haeseon’s younger brother approached with UN soldiers.

His brother waved his arms widely as he ran over.

“Hyung!!”

His brother ran up and hugged Do Changhyeon tightly.

Do Changhyeon looked at his brother with a drained expression.

“Hyung, you okay?”

Do Changhyeon nodded wordlessly.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Your face is really beat up though, hyung.”

“…”

“Hyung. You okay?”

His brother shook Do Changhyeon, who remained silent.

“Let’s go.”

Do Changhyeon silently turned around and walked toward the bus the UN soldiers had brought.

His brother followed with a puzzled expression.

Before boarding the bus, Do Changhyeon turned back one last time.

* * *

Inside the moving bus, Do Changhyeon sat by the window staring at the streets.

Fires burned atop the piles of zombie corpses scattered everywhere.

The streets were filled with bodies and the smoke from burning them.

An anchor’s brief voice flowed from the bus radio.

‘The zombie crisis has ended.’

Do Changhyeon watched with empty eyes as soldiers walked around burning the zombie corpses lining the streets.

“They said you led everyone to save people, hyung?”

“…”

“They said you’re even getting a medal. As expected, hyung’s always cool.”

Do Changhyeon gave no response.

His brother looked at Do Changhyeon with worried eyes.

“Hyung. Let’s get counseling when we get home.”

“Haeyoon.”

“Huh?”

Do Changhyeon spoke while keeping his gaze fixed outside the window.

“This hyung is not going home.”

“What?”

“Let’s live separately from now on.”

“Where are you going…?”

“I’ll contact you later.”

Do Changhyeon stood up from his seat.

Then walked to the front near the driver’s seat.

“Hyung, hyung!”

When Do Changhyeon said something to the driver, the bus came to a stop.

The door opened and Do Changhyeon stepped straight off the bus.

His brother looked at his retreating back in confusion.

Do Changhyeon quickly disappeared into the black smoke filling the streets.

* * *

“Cut! Okay!”

After filming Do Changhyeon disappearing into the smoke a few more times, all filming finally came to an end.

“Great work, everyone!”

“Wow! It’s over!”

“Everyone did amazing!”

Staff and actors collapsed here and there, letting out cries of exhaustion.

I’d also stayed in a corner of the set until the final cut was done.

It’s really all over.

In the distance, Do Changhyeon stood there looking completely drained.

A chuckle escaped me.

Staff members started clearing equipment one by one as they spoke.

“Wow, that was so hard.”

“Seriously the hardest shoot of my life. Never doing a zombie film again.”

“Sena-ssi, you worked so hard too.”

“Jiyoon-ssi too. Let’s meet somewhere easier next time, everyone.”

The staff laughed.

That’s when Do Changhyeon, who’d been standing there steeped in lingering emotion, suddenly started moving.

Then began bowing deeply to staff members one by one as he greeted them.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you, everyone.”

“Thank you so much for the makeup all this time.”

Staff members hesitated slightly, looking at Do Changhyeon with bewildered expressions.

Feeling their gazes, Do Changhyeon paid them no mind and walked around the set greeting each staff member individually.

“Thank you so much!”