In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 23

Under the clear May sky, on a Jeju hotel rooftop overlooking the ocean.

Splash!

After swimming in the middle of the wide pool for quite a while, I finally surfaced.

“Ah… feels like I’m alive again.”

How long has it been since I last rested?

Two months?

No, five years? Ten years…?

I lay on my back and crossed the water leisurely, taking in the brilliant blue sky above.

The only swimming I’d done as an adult was pushing the female lead into the water.

Now I’d like to film sweet romance scenes with the male lead in places like this.

Would it look good on camera?

Romance, huh…

You’d have to try it to know.

In acting, or in real life.

I split through the water again.

Then several people started coming up to the rooftop.

“Huh… isn’t that Han Sena?”

“Oh my god, really?”

Soon I could hear murmuring from outside the pool.

Yikes, and I came out early on purpose.

Better get going.

I quickly wrapped myself in a towel and headed for the hotel elevator.

Shivering, I entered the room to find Dad’s light snoring.

Where is he…

Looking around, I found Dad dozing in the spa.

“Why’d you come back already?”

Mom approached holding a glass of orange juice.

“People started coming.”

“Sena’s back?”

“You’re awake?”

Dad must have woken up at the sound of our voices.

“That’s what I told you—you should’ve played somewhere private like me.”

Dad teased.

“Dad, get in the water and sit down a bit.”

With a grunt, Dad moved his body and I climbed into the spa pool beside him.

“Whoa, it’s warm.”

“You two only do a little and get out. We need to go eat.”

Mom commanded the melting father-daughter duo.

“Aren’t you tired, Mom?”

“What’s there to be tired about on a trip?”

“You had people crowding around at the airport—that was rough.”

Dad laughed heartily, clearly pleased.

“I’m so excited about this. Everything’s great, just great.”

Despite people following us around the entire time, Mom and Dad kept beaming with smiles.

Seeing that made my heart swell.

Taking a family trip to Jeju with my first paycheck was a bucket list item I’d failed in my past life.

* * *

In my previous life, during the height of Yang Euichul’s media manipulation combined with hate comments for my villainess roles.

The three of us gathered in the living room for a rare moment of leisure.

“Mom, when this project ends, should we take a trip to Jeju?”

Holding Mom’s hand with one of mine, I asked worriedly while stroking her gaunt cheek with the other.

“What trip? You were exhausted from filming. Just rest at home.”

“No, I want to go on a trip with you and Dad.”

Dad, who’d been sitting silently on the sofa, stood up and came over to the table where we sat.

“Sena, let’s not go out for a while.”

At those words, I let go of Mom’s hand and simply smiled without saying anything.

“You’re worried, aren’t you? About the hate comments.”

Mom finally let out the words she’d been holding back.

“Sena, do you really have to keep acting?”

“Mom.”

“Why do something you want to do while getting cursed at?”

“This stuff is temporary. And this kind of attention is all—”

Suddenly I stopped mid-sentence, feeling like I’d been hit in the head.

I’d just remembered that the most extreme hate comments always included attacks on my family.

I bit my lip hard.

That’s what Mom and Dad had seen.

Only now did I understand Mom’s sharp reaction.

“No matter what… I’ve spent years chasing this dream of acting, Mom.”

“You’re still young. So young. You can do other things.”

“I’ll somehow find a good agency and ask them to handle the hate comments…”

“I’m worried about you. Not as Mom and Dad, but as your parents—I’m worried about my daughter. How can a person handle seeing those kinds of comments day after day?”

Mom’s voice grew louder.

“I said I’m fine, so why are you doing this?”

My nerves frayed too.

Dad quickly intervened.

“People forget this kind of stuff fast anyway! Both of you, stop. Come on, once things calm down, let’s all really go on that Jeju trip together, okay? Let’s go shake it all off.”

My expression wouldn’t soften easily despite his efforts.

“Sena, Dad’s fine with it. Do what you want to do.”

Dad patted my shoulder.

I looked back at Mom.

“Mom, I’ll choose a different project next time. Just trust me once.”

Mom couldn’t hide her upset expression.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”

“I know.”

I clasped Mom’s hands.

“Fine… I don’t know anymore. Let’s just go to Jeju.”

Mom forced a smile.

I tried hard to smile brightly too.

“Yeah! Let’s go!”

We all laughed together, holding each other’s warm hands.

But that travel plan was postponed for a lifetime.

After that, I filmed projects nonstop, getting called here and there without rest.

Of course, all of them were villainess roles too.

* * *

Mom smiled while brushing her hair beside the bathtub.

“Mom, isn’t this trip nice?”

“Well, it’s not bad.”

I laughed at Mom’s response.

“Daughter, I want to eat abalone.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Old memories and the present moment overlapped, making me feel like crying.

“Wow, the Jeju ocean is so beautiful!”

Mom yanked the curtains wide open and spoke cheerfully while gazing at the ocean.

* * *

After exploring the sights for a while.

The three of us entered a jjamppong restaurant wearing our trekking outfits.

“This is that famous haenyeo jjamppong place.”

“I’ll order abalone too, Dad. Eat a lot.”

“Awesome, sounds good.”

“And take off those sunglasses.”

My face reflected clearly in the glossy sunglasses Dad wore.

“No.”

“Please.”

Buying Dad expensive sunglasses at the duty-free shop before our flight had been the critical mistake.

Since then, he hadn’t taken those sunglasses off his face all day, no matter where we went.

“Can’t have my face recognized.”

“Why would that matter to you and not me?”

“I haven’t gone to the dermatologist enough yet.”

“Your jjamppong’s here.”

Thankfully the server’s arrival stopped Dad’s antics.

Mom grabbed her spoon without caring either way.

Slurp—

Mom’s eyes sparkled after tasting the broth.

“Wow, this is so delicious.”

While the three of us ate busily, Mom kept glancing at the TV in the restaurant.

Then in her characteristic nonchalant voice, she asked,

“By the way, doesn’t our daughter do commercials or anything?”

“Would you like that?”

“Well… wouldn’t it be nice if you did?”

I’d been curious about that myself.

Shouldn’t I be getting commercial offers?

It seemed like the right timing, but there’d been no contact…

Just then, my phone rang.

Checking it, I saw it was Minyeong unnie.

After a drink or two together, we’d quickly become close—a minor behind-the-scenes detail.

The moment I answered, Minyeong unnie spoke first.

– A commercial came in.

“You’re psychic.”

The timing was perfect.

– Huh?

“Never mind. What kind?”

For some reason, I felt nervous.

– Soju. Morning Dew.

“…!?”

Soju…?

The soju that only top stars do???

– Hello?

When I stayed silent, Minyeong unnie laughed through the phone.

– I’m also stunned.

“Really soju? Why? Why would they want me?”

Wait a second.

In that instant, several scenes flashed through my mind like lightning.

The drinking scenes from filming Flat Shoes had become quite the topic…

Even fellow actors and staff had joked that I’d get soju commercials.

I’d thought it was just ridiculous speculation.

Could it be…

– The scene of Yoo Ji-an drinking. They said it just clicked for them. The vice president, no less.

Wow…

My mouth fell open.

– Anyway, you’ll do it, right? I’m busy, so I’m hanging up.

“Ah, thank you. I’ll call you later, unnie.”

The call ended.

I sat there dumbfounded when Dad pushed the spoon back into my hand.

“Hey, why are you grinning like that while talking about soju? Are you trying to become a lush like your mom?”

“Want to go on a diet?”

Mom’s sharp retort made Dad cough.

“This isn’t just about soju. It’s a modeling gig, a commercial!”

“Huh…?”

Mom and Dad’s eyes widened simultaneously.

Suddenly Dad slammed his spoon down.

“That’s even worse!”

“What? Dad, did you hear me wrong? A soju commercial, you know?”

Dad suddenly took off his sunglasses and got serious.

“That’s the one where they strip down and act all seductive, isn’t it? That soju commercials!”

I scooped up jjamppong broth with my spoon without answering.

“You can’t do it!”

Dad repeated himself.

Mom just listened to Dad quietly.

She seemed to be considering it too.

True, in my past life, different concepts only emerged much later.

Before that, it was all sexy concepts.

Anyway, this is the key point.

The trend is changing.

And I can be the one to change it.

“Don’t worry, Dad. I won’t film it all seductively.”

“No way, absolutely not!”

“Just put your sunglasses back on.”

“Hey!”

* * *

A few days later, Seoul.

Inside an office still smelling of fresh paint.

The Morning Dew logo hung on the wall.

At my gaze scanning the surroundings, the two PR team employees sitting across from me smiled.

“It’s gotten pretty clean. Since the new director came in, we’ve been going for fresh trends.”

“I see.”

I nodded and smiled.

Even better then.

“By the way, that drinking scene you did—absolutely incredible. You drank soju like water, wow.”

“You know about the chaos on all the community sites that day, right? Some neighborhood, can’t remember which though, sold out of fried chicken gizzards because of Flat Shoes.”

“Your acting was so intense. I thought it was real, not acting. And when you were drunk!”

They’d probably seen countless celebrities before, but I was a bit amazed they’d treat a rookie like me so well.

“Then you woke up the next day perfectly fine and went around doing bad things like nothing happened?”

The two employees laughed pleasantly at my words.

“Oh wow, exactly. It was incredible. As expected, villainess acting isn’t something just anyone can do.”

“That filming actually took a lot of effort. And it was real soju.”

I whispered as if sharing a behind-the-scenes secret, bringing my hand to my mouth.

“What? Really?”

The employee’s eyes widened as they leaned in.

“You filmed while drinking actual alcohol. You must have been so exhausted—how did you manage? I heard Flat Shoes was brutal.”

“Haha, right. What I drank then was Morning Dew.”

In that pleasant atmosphere, the office door opened.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

The person in charge came in with documents and sat down.

“Before we talk about anything else, let me give you the contract first. Could you review it? I’ve already discussed it with your agency representative. Take a look.”

Looking at the paper, the contract was 5,000 for one year.

They’d initially offered 3,000, but I’d heard Minyeong unnie had skillfully negotiated it up by 2,000.

For a rookie without even a confirmed next project, it was a decent amount.

After signing like that.

“By any chance, could I see the concept designs first?”

I asked with a bright smile toward the person in charge.

As expected, they showed a troubled expression.

“Well, we’re still coordinating the concept internally. And if it leaks externally…”

“Now that I’m the model, I definitely won’t tell anyone else. Haha, but it might be awkward if I find out later, right? You’d be putting the person in charge in a difficult position.”

“Oh no, not at all. As you said, you’re the model now. Actually, we have two concept designs…”

My ears perked up at those words.

The employees showed tense expressions.

“Before that… could you share your thoughts if you have any, Sena-ssi?”

Hearing that, I smiled again casually.

Just as I’d expected.

They’d be hesitant to tell me directly.

And I could immediately guess what those two concepts were without hearing them.

Around this season, the media had been quite heated about whether liquor companies would push the previous sexy concepts or try different images.

If my memory was correct, Morning Dew started pushing a pure concept from next season.

That was already one beat behind other companies.

“Hmm… when I think of Morning Dew, it’s originally about cleanliness.”

Morning Dew had a clear concept from its brand launch.

Clear and transparent.

Now it had become generic following liquor trends.

“Clean soju. Refreshing the next day too, crisp and bright. So more enjoyable and comfortable when drinking—”

The person in charge listened attentively and nodded.

“Comfortable at home too, easy even alone. That’s how Morning Dew feels to me.”

Plus, I’d heard Morning Dew had worked hard this time to lower the alcohol content and reduce hangovers.

“But… the alcohol content dropped, so are you keeping the same commercial concept?”

I looked at their face with genuine curiosity, as if knowing nothing.

The person in charge showed a slightly flustered expression.

“We’re not quite sure yet… And to add one more thing, we’ll be releasing the lower-alcohol product separately while keeping the existing high-alcohol one marked in red.”

“Oh, so two different concepts for the two products…?”

“Yes… we’re considering that direction too.”

The person in charge smiled and hedged.

Then suddenly something flashed through my mind.

“Ah, I see. The red feels like Yoo Ji-an, and the original blue feels like my comfortable self. When I imagine the image?”

I smiled broadly as I said that.

The person in charge’s expression became distinctly unusual.

“Huh? That’s actually good…”

“What?”

“What you just said. The intense high-alcohol image is like Yoo Ji-an, while the clearer, gentler one is like Han Sena… If one actress does both concepts together, the image-making would be easier and the commercial narrative would flow in one thread.”

The person in charge spoke faster.

The employees listened as if entranced, then chimed in.

“That’s really good…”

“Blue could be natural and friendly like how Yoo Ji-an ate with the gizzards in the drama. Red could be dressed up and intense. That matches Yoo Ji-an’s sexy concept perfectly. I can already see the commercial.”

The person in charge pulled out a pen and scribbled urgently on the back of some paper.

The employees’ eyes also lit up with this is it expressions.

“Could we share the idea Sena-ssi mentioned?”

“Of course.”

After writing for a while, the person in charge put down the paper and pen.

Then spoke again.

“Actually, as you know, our competing brand is Hanyang Liquor’s White. We heard they re-signed with Jeon Miyeon-ssi.”

Jeon Miyeon was the one-top sexy star who’d ruled the industry for over 10 years.

So White is going all-in on sexy concepts again.

“Then shouldn’t Morning Dew take this path?”

“What?”

This time the person in charge asked back.

“Intensity and gentleness. And sexy and pure. Why can’t we catch both rabbits?”

I widened my eyes and spoke while the person in charge fell into thought watching me.