In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 216

After receiving the director’s critique, we moved into the fourteenth take.

For dozens of minutes now, I’d been swinging my arm through empty air, mimicking striking Im Hyangmin’s face hard over and over.

Im Hyangmin collapsed sideways, spitting out the blood he’d been holding in his mouth…

Gasping harshly, I stomped on Im Hyangmin’s face.

“I told you—let’s not end up looking pathetic.”

Im Hyangmin mumbled something with his face still pinned beneath my foot.

“…ck.”

“What?”

“…fuck.”

I lifted my foot off Im Hyangmin.

He flipped over with a pained groan.

“Fuck off, damn it.”

Watching him, I let out a sigh.

Then smirked.

“Got some guts. Wish my guys had even half of yours.”

I picked up the water bottle from the corner and chugged it down.

Then splashed the water over Im Hyangmin as he writhed on the ground.

I kicked Im Hyangmin’s side with my foot, flipping him over again.

“Hurk!”

It was a scene not in the script.

After eating NG after NG dozens of times, I was truly determined to end this—rolling Im Hyangmin around however I needed to.

Either way, in this awkward situation, finishing the cut quickly would be better for both of us.

Director Jin still sat in his corner, eyes glued to the monitor, watching us both.

I crouched down in front of Im Hyangmin as blood trickled from him.

Im Hyangmin looked at me with swollen eyes and let out a wheezy laugh before speaking.

“You’re strong as hell, huh? When’d you learn boxing?”

“Learned it so I could handle punks like you who come at me recklessly.”

“You little shit. Know how many years you’re looking at? Assaulting a cop?”

“Shouldn’t have gotten hit then.”

I kicked Im Hyangmin’s stomach again.

“Ugh!!”

Standing up, I grabbed my phone from outside the ring.

After making a call somewhere, I immediately gave an order.

“At the boxing gym. Bury it.”

Hanging up bluntly, I stared down at Im Hyangmin lying motionless on the ground.

“Such a waste. Goodbye.”

Then I casually walked out of the ring.

Sweeping my hair back, I headed toward the boxing gym exit.

* * *

“Sunbaenim… are you okay?”

One hour later.

The situation naturally brought back my formal speech as I checked on Im Hyangmin anxiously.

Im Hyangmin was applying an ice pack after getting his genuinely torn skin near his eye stitched up.

My kick during the scene had apparently injured his eye area.

To avoid stopping filming, Im Hyangmin had gritted through it until just going to the hospital for emergency treatment and returning.

“Ah fuck, Jin Changju…”

Im Hyangmin cursed the director’s name repeatedly like a mantra.

This time even the director stuck close to Im Hyangmin in a submissive posture, trying to appease him.

“Should we call it for today?”

“Call what off! How many cuts get delayed then! Who benefits from that?”

Im Hyangmin exploded.

The staff flinched in surprise, staring at Im Hyangmin.

“What are you all doing, fuck! Hurry up and move the equipment! I’m shooting quick and leaving!”

Watching Im Hyangmin completely lose it, I broke into a cold sweat too.

I’d also been stressed out from the very first day of shooting, consuming unprecedented amounts of energy.

Not a single cut had proper direction.

Everything was being shot relying entirely on the actors’ chemistry, momentary synergy, and luck.

Yet those results were thrilling enough to boldly call them perfect.

While deeply understanding why Director Jin stubbornly insisted on this method, I couldn’t bring myself to suggest changing it.

‘God, what do I do…’

The words asking for proper direction rose to my throat.

Only now did I understand why Lee Yang-ju sunbaenim had gotten angry at the director.

“Then let’s hurry and shoot the next cut!”

The director quickly dusted himself off and stood.

Im Hyangmin barely swallowed his anger, leaning back in his chair as he lit a cigarette.

I approached Im Hyangmin worriedly.

“Sunbaenim, are you okay…?”

“Why are you suddenly speaking formally again. Don’t get scared.”

“…Still.”

“You kicked me good. Do you work out?”

“Yeah…”

“Figures…”

Just then, the assistant director called us from far away.

“We’ll rehearse now!”

Im Hyangmin grunted as he stood up with his cigarette still in his mouth.

We still had so many cuts left to get through.

Taking a deep breath, I walked toward the camera.

* * *

That night.

I came home completely wiped out and collapsed in the entryway.

“Ugh.”

I didn’t even have the strength left to crawl to bed.

I pressed my face against the cold floor and sighed.

“It’s still only day one.”

Unbelievable.

I had to keep shooting for several more months—how was I supposed to endure this?

Did I make a mistake agreeing to do this…

“Hah…”

For the first time in forever, the thought of cigarettes I’d quit crossed my mind.

Ironically, the director’s words also came to mind.

‘Push back if it’s bullshit. Doesn’t matter if they’re your senior or whatever. You need to protect your Han Jina.’

Could those words have applied to the director himself too?

Right, I can’t just let myself get dragged around like this, drowning in stress.

Senior or not, director or not.

They’re people already accustomed to this rough filming style anyway.

I flipped over, stretching my arms and legs out in a starfish position.

The entryway light went out, plunging the house into complete darkness.

“This won’t work.”

The polite attitude and boundary-respecting behavior I’d maintained until now wouldn’t help at all on this shoot.

It was actually becoming a negative.

Both of them were demanding I adopt a stance that fit the set atmosphere rather than maintaining courtesy.

‘Starting tomorrow, I’ll say everything I need to say.’

Both my instincts and logic were sending clear signals that I absolutely had to.

Better to throw away my image than collapse from exhaustion before we’re even halfway through filming.

“Right, I’ve had it too easy until now.”

Whenever things got difficult, I’d escape into the script world. Whenever conflicts arose, I’d slip away using experience from my past life.

Now there was no way out.

I bolted upright.

Every minute and second was precious if I wanted to prepare for tomorrow’s cuts.

I quickly pulled the script from my bag.

* * *

The next day.

“Try going more like a thug, more like a delinquent.”

“Director, calling Han Jina a thug delinquent would destroy her character.”

The moment I decided to say everything I needed to say last night, I immediately clashed with the director.

This had never happened before.

The cut we were debating now showed Han Jina tormenting and toying with her personal assistant.

The director replayed the cut we’d just shot, grumbling.

“This kid goes with whatever she feels like in the moment. It’s possible, isn’t it?”

“Han Jina would never want to look trashy. Her appeal is the high-class elegance and depravity she oscillates between. There’s no room for thug delinquent vibes in that range.”

From my perspective, even the cut we’d just shot didn’t sit right with me at all.

It was completely divorced from the image of Han Jina I’d envisioned.

Yet the director was demanding even more excessive action.

The director frowned and crossed his arms.

Then asked Im Hyangmin, who stood nearby listening with a serious expression.

“What do you think?”

“I think we should just cut this whole scene.”

Hah.

I barely held back the sigh that almost escaped.

Now Im Hyangmin was spouting nonsense too.

Frustration was driving me crazy.

I pushed down my rising emotions and swept my hair back.

A brief silence fell over the set.

“…”

No one broke the stillness first.

Meanwhile, some anxiety and worry bloomed inside me too.

‘Am I being too stubborn right now?’

Despite last night’s resolution, actually facing this situation made holding my ground difficult.

The other party was a star director who’d produced mega-hits with every project.

Of course, this director’s career always included collaborators who’d exploded in frustration while helping him find proper direction.

The director himself never insisted only on his opinions either, bending when needed and continuing to succeed.

Incorporating half his own ideas, half others’ ideas.

Whether this moment represented the director’s correct judgment or an error was impossible to gauge.

The director, who’d been grumbling constantly, finally burst out in irritation.

“Ah, let’s just shoot it once and see.”

In the end, I wavered at those words.

“Okay, I will.”

* * *

Inside the office.

“You know you’re pretty, right?”

Sitting in a chair, I tapped my toes while looking at the assistant standing before me.

The assistant in a neat ponytail and business attire bowed her head.

“No, I’m not.”

“You’re like a martial arts black belt, right? And really high level too.”

“…”

“Let’s spar. I’ve done lots of martial arts training too.”

“No, I couldn’t possibly…”

I cut off the assistant’s words immediately.

“You want to be boring?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Straighten your face. Makes it look like I’m bullying you.”

“No, that’s not—”

“What’s not.”

“…”

“I am bullying you right now though, aren’t I?”

“…”

“Follow me. We’re going shopping.”

I stood up with a bright smile.

“Black belts must be strong too. You can carry my bags easily, right?”

“Yes. Please leave it to me.”

“Getting hit with reality? Training all that time just to carry shopping bags instead of dumbbells.”

“No, that’s not—”

“It is though. I’m deliberately taking you shopping to make you face reality.”

I walked out of the office with a snicker.

The assistant bit her lip hard and followed behind.

* * *

“Hmm.”

Shortly after, the director watched the cut we’d just shot on replay several times, lost in thought.

“This isn’t the feeling I wanted.”

Hearing those words instantly deflated me.

What was I supposed to do?

“Director, I think I need clearer direction.”

I finally voiced what I’d been holding back.

The director made an awkward expression.

“I want to do that too. But finding direction by shooting multiple times like this is my style.”

“Yes, I know that approach is good too. But continuing to shoot this way all day is exhausting. It’s only day two and I’m already physically and mentally drained.”

“…”

“Please consider the actor’s position just a little.”

Im Hyangmin standing behind also quietly watched the situation without intervening.

More than anything, with this film having so many action scenes, if we continued at this pace, not just the leads but supporting actors and stunt performers would all collapse from exhaustion.

That’s when the assistant director, reading the atmosphere, carefully interjected.

“Director, Sena’s right about this. There’s a lot of action, and you’ve been shooting way longer than usual. The delays since yesterday have been severe too.”

The director listened while stroking his chin with a serious expression.

“Let’s pause filming for a bit.”