In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 223

“Cut! Okay!!”

The moment the okay sign dropped, silence enveloped the set.

Staff stood frozen where they’d been, staring at Han Sena like they’d been stunned into place.

‘What did I just witness…?’

‘Han Sena is really… an unbelievable actress….’

‘Is that what it means to be an actor…….’

Each staff member was trembling with chills, unable to pull themselves out of the scene.

“How does she do that…?”

The assistant director stood there gaping at the monitor.

Even Jin Changju wore an expression he’d never shown once in all his years on set.

While everyone stood there in shock, Han Sena climbed down from Im Hyangmin’s body and collapsed limply onto the floor.

The staff on set finally snapped out of it and began packing up equipment to clear out.

“Ugh, I’ve got goosebumps.”

“That was insane, seriously….”

Meanwhile, Han Sena barely caught her breath, her face still churning with emotion.

Then suddenly raised her hand and opened her mouth.

“Um, sorry but could I get some water….”

Im Hyangmin startled and stared at Han Sena, whose breathing had turned irregular.

“Hey, you okay?”

Im Hyangmin hurriedly supported Han Sena and sat her on the sofa.

“Looks like hyperventilation.”

Han Sena grabbed her leg with a pained expression.

“Your leg, what? What’s wrong?”

Im Hyangmin examined Han Sena with a worried look.

“Got a cramp?”

Han Sena barely managed ragged breaths and nodded.

“Anyone have a bag, a bag?”

Im Hyangmin shouted toward the staff.

Then quickly grabbed Han Sena’s cramped leg and started working the muscle loose.

“Ugh.”

Staff rushed over with a plastic bag, and Han Sena pressed her face against it.

Im Hyangmin calmly massaged Han Sena’s leg while speaking quietly.

“Sena, calm down. Breathe through your nose.”

Han Sena let out a low moan, her face twisted in agony as her breathing refused to settle.

“Slowly. Don’t breathe so fast, try holding it. Long breaths, long ones.”

Jin Changju, who’d approached at some point, examined Han Sena with a grave expression.

“Should we call an ambulance?”

“Should we pause filming for a bit?”

The assistant director, who’d followed right behind, also asked Jin Changju worriedly.

That’s when Han Sena quickly raised her hand even as she struggled to catch her breath.

“No… don’t do that….”

“….”

“Because of me….”

Im Hyangmin furrowed his brow.

“Hey, your health comes first. Is filming more important than that?”

Han Sena slowly regulated her breathing.

Her shoulders heaved dramatically with each breath.

Jin Changju made his decision.

“Let’s take a break. We’ll just eat lunch a bit early. Announce it to all the staff.”

* * *

In the end, an hour later.

I opened my eyes while lying back in the van’s chair.

The moment my breathing settled, self-reproach came flooding in.

“All because of me.”

I murmured quietly and bit my lip.

“Hah….”

A heavy sigh escaped involuntarily.

This was the first time I’d hyperventilated during filming.

I’d entered the shoot in such a tense state, and after doing such intensely emotional acting, my body had locked up and my breathing had fallen apart.

I couldn’t even remember what my performance had been like.

The moment I heard the director’s okay sign, I’d been so drained in that brief instant that everything went black.

Such an amateurish mistake….

Managing my body, handling scenes, controlling everything—all of that was an actor’s responsibility.

I’d only made everyone worry for nothing.

What should I do.

Tap tap—

That’s when someone knocked on the window from outside.

When I opened it, it was Jinseok oppa.

Oppa handed me a takeout lunch box through the window gap.

“Feeling better?”

I accepted the lunch box with a touched heart.

In the chaos earlier, I remembered how Jinseok oppa had immediately carried me on his back and brought me to the van.

He’d deliberately brought me to a quiet place so the stares wouldn’t overwhelm me.

“Completely. Totally fine. Thank you.”

“Whew.”

Jinseok oppa let out a huge breath like he was immensely relieved.

“Man, for a second there, I really thought something bad was going to happen to you….”

Oppa couldn’t finish his sentence.

Seeing him like that made me force a bright smile.

“Hey, it was just hyperventilation.”

“That’s ‘just’?”

Oppa raised one eyebrow sharply.

Ever since the car accident before filming <Night of Fire>, oppa had been constantly on edge about my health and safety.

That sight made me feel grateful, sorry, and sad all at once.

Han Sena, you idiot.

How many people did you make worry.

“Oppa, you were startled, right?”

“I’m fine. More like you were the one startled.”

I looked at oppa and smiled faintly.

“Oppa, did you eat?”

“I grabbed something. Hurry and eat. Need me to get you anything?”

I shook my head.

“No, I’m good. I’ll eat well.”

“Okay, they shuffled around the scenes you were supposed to film right after. Get some more rest. Your next call isn’t for another two hours.”

“Ah….”

The moment I heard that, worry flickered across my face, and oppa caught it immediately, placing a hand on his hip.

“Don’t worry about pointless things. I asked the assistant director, and they said filming isn’t messed up at all. Actually, you got the okay in one take, so it shortened the filming time.”

“Really? That’s a relief… Thanks.”

“Hurry and eat.”

“Okay.”

Oppa walked away to give me space, his footsteps disappearing.

I leaned my head back against the chair.

Gotta eat quick, recover my condition, and prepare for the scenes we’re shooting later.

I lightly tapped both cheeks with my hands.

“Let’s eat.”

I picked up the lunch box Jinseok oppa had brought.

* * *

Filming resumed with my energy somewhat depleted.

The scenes we needed to shoot today were all brutal.

The very next scene too.

‘Whew… just do it like I practiced.’

Feeling my nerves sharpen, I gripped the script tighter.

The scene we’d be filming next was where Han Jina makes her final move to corner Lee Dongkyo as the trail of her crimes gradually gets exposed and her true nature revealed.

This would mark the turning point where Han Jina begins her endless plunge.

Han Jina’s anxious psychology after being caught, yet her conviction that she’d never crumble, her condescending attitude toward Lee Dongkyo.

And… her curiosity about Lee Dongkyo as a person, an interest welling up from somewhere deep inside.

To Han Jina, who’d always lived steeped in boredom, constantly searching for things to stimulate her daily life, Lee Dongkyo was the first person to provide her with extreme excitement.

The problem was, while practicing these emotional lines…

‘I have a feeling I’ll be heavily influenced by the actual set dynamics.’

Even while throwing lines late into the night, I’d had a premonition that what I’d practiced wouldn’t matter much.

Im Hyangmin’s performance and filming rhythm, the director’s directing—so many elements needed to mesh together simultaneously.

I’d formulated a plan to try as many approaches as possible while building the scene.

With that, I began focusing behind the camera, fully immersed in Han Jina.

In the briefly quieted set, the director spoke.

“Let’s go.”

I slowly headed in front of the camera.

The location was inside the Hanyeong Group conference room.

I sat facing Im Hyangmin in the wide open space.

Im Hyangmin also sat at the opposite table, deeply immersed.

I took my seat while staring at his face like I was sizing him up.

Soon, the director’s cue dropped.

“Ready, action.”

Im Hyangmin looked at me with chilled eyes.

“You, you’re caught. All of it.”

I looked at that face and laughed like it was ridiculous.

“So. Got a warrant?”

“Yeah, I’ll bring one soon. Before that, wanted to ask you something.”

“Ask, and who’s gonna answer?”

Im Hyangmin stared at me with unwavering eyes.

Then tossed out a short name.

“Lee Seonghoon.”

“…?”

I looked at Im Hyangmin with a puzzled expression, as if asking ‘who’s that.’

Lee Seonghoon was the boxer who’d died in the gambling ring.

Im Hyangmin looked at my face with disgust and scoffed.

Then threw out another name.

“Kim Minchul.”

Another name of someone Han Jina had killed.

“You don’t even know the names of people you killed?”

“How would I. I’ve never killed anyone.”

I shot back shamelessly.

With a slightly dumbfounded expression.

“You really are… a nasty bastard, huh?”

“…did you just curse at me?”

I frowned.

Then Im Hyangmin slammed his fist down on the table with a bang.

A vivid vein bulged at Im Hyangmin’s temple.

Watching him, I spoke quietly without wavering.

“There’s never been anyone who’s scolded me like this. Not once.”

“What?”

“I’m kind of glad right now.”

I delivered the line with complete sincerity, not a trace of playfulness in my expression.

“….”

“Things you can do, things you can’t do. If you do this, you’ll get scolded, and so on. I never heard any of that growing up.”

Im Hyangmin paused his speaking at these unexpected words.

“So maybe that’s why. Having someone appear to scold me—I’m so happy about it, you know?”

“….”

“But listen. You have to actually do something wrong to get scolded for it.”

“…….”

“If you scold me indiscriminately like this, it’s unfair to me.”

I furrowed my brow, showing clear displeasure.

“I really didn’t kill anyone. Sure, my private life isn’t squeaky clean. It’s a bit messy and all. But that’s not a crime, right?”

“Hey.”

“You remember the first day we met?”

“What, the orphanage?”

“Yeah, the orphanage. I go to lots of other places too besides there. Where else can you find such a good chaebol?”

After hearing me out, Im Hyangmin let out a hollow laugh.

Then soon burst into genuine laughter like he found it hilarious to death.

I hardened my expression and stared at him.

This was the part I’d been constantly nervous and worried about.

No matter how much I thought about it, this section wouldn’t clearly form into a single plan.

I kept my mind razor-sharp and stared at Im Hyangmin, who was slapping the desk while laughing.

Im Hyangmin laughed his fill, then used his sleeve to dab away tears that leaked out.

“Hah, I’m going crazy. You don’t go to a psychiatrist? That’s a disease you’ve got. Ripley? No, wait? Delusions? Multiple personalities?”

“I’ve been thinking about going because of you, ahjussi. My heart’s been so troubled lately. You keep saying scary things like murder and drugs.”

After hearing my response, Im Hyangmin’s laughter completely vanished as if playtime was over, and he slammed the table hard once more.

Then stood up abruptly with the angriest face he’d ever shown, walking around the table.

I raised my head to look at Im Hyangmin standing beside me, breathing heavily.

Im Hyangmin’s emotions had peaked in an instant.

Watching him, I felt a slight unease rising and deliberately suppressed it with a dismissive expression.

Im Hyangmin grabbed my chair’s backrest and lowered himself to meet my eyes.

Then spoke in a low voice.

“Yeah, slip away all you want. Today’s the last day you can run from me anyway.”

I stared at that face with a twisted expression for a moment, then pulled up the corners of my mouth into a bright smile.

My own eyes weren’t smiling though.

Then, just as the script indicated, I slowly raised my hand and placed it on Im Hyangmin’s cheek.

“Yesterday, I had a dream. We were really… passionate?”

I was referring to the incident where I’d hallucinated about Im Hyangmin while on drugs.

Recalling the sensation of strangling Im Hyangmin’s neck, as if lost in the dream…

I continued languidly.

“The one who should run isn’t me, it’s ahjussi. What if I end up seriously, properly interested like this?”

“….”

“I get pretty obsessive. Whether it’s things or people… I play with them until they’re completely broken.”

“…….”

“This is my last warning too. Don’t dig any deeper into me. If you do, I won’t let you off.”

I said that while meeting Im Hyangmin’s eyes.

The rhythm had shifted slightly from the script.

In the script, it was expressed with a more erotic atmosphere, but now, with Lee Dongkyo’s anger level rising, Han Jina’s warning intensity had weakened a bit.

I stroked Im Hyangmin’s cheek while falling into deep thought.

The scene we’d created was excellent.

But it hadn’t brought out Han Jina’s complex psychology as well as my practice sessions had.

If we went for another take, what should I do…

Perhaps because of the hyperventilation I’d experienced earlier, my concentration kept wavering more than usual, unable to sharpen her mental edge.

I felt slightly overwhelmed by the demands when—

[You have not found the correct answer.]

Golden letters appeared in my field of vision as I stared at Im Hyangmin’s face.

I widened my eyes in surprise.