In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 27

“The hanbok you ordered is ready!”

Someone threw open the door and announced in a booming voice.

Several actors turned their wide eyes toward the entrance.

The voice’s owner was Minyeong unnie.

Unnie dragged in a box as large as herself.

Then she opened it and pulled out splendid hanbok after hanbok for display.

The watching actors’ eyes grew even larger.

I quickly approached and received the hanbok from unnie.

“Delivering it all the way here personally. I’m so touched.”

Unnie laughed heartily with a boisterous haha.

“If I’m going to do this anyway, I should push for you properly too.”

Then the other actors crowded around.

“Wow, what is all this? The hanbok are beautiful.”

“You ordered men’s hanbok.”

Just then, Teacher Yoon Youngjae approached at the commotion.

“Hanbok?”

One of the teacher’s eyebrows shot up.

At the teacher’s peculiar tone, the actors stopped their chatter.

Minyeong unnie looked around, reading the mood at this unexpected atmosphere.

“I thought it would feel different if we had proper outfits.”

I quickly stepped forward and answered before the teacher.

The hanbok unnie had brought was also my idea, following the experience center.

Since this drama was different from other genres starting with the costumes, I’d thought—wouldn’t something change, truly change, if we did it properly dressed?

Now that it was all set up like this, it felt a bit embarrassing though.

Whatever the case, I didn’t want to feel awkward in even the smallest details.

“I’ll go change.”

I grabbed the hanbok and started to leave when the teacher spoke.

“Change your clothes.”

“Pardon?”

“Say ‘change clothes.’ Get into the habit starting with your speech patterns.”

“Yes! No—I mean, yes, I will do as you say.”

The senior actors chuckled at my response.

Unnie, who’d been listening to my conversation with the teacher, smiled softly as if she’d finally grasped the atmosphere.

And so, afternoon practice resumed.

I put on the men’s hanbok, twisted my hair up into a topknot-style bun, and wore a white headband.

Looking in the mirror, I felt good about the refreshing impression.

I stepped into the rehearsal room and spun around once.

Then the teacher added another comment.

“What good does dressing up do if you can’t deliver? Do it again.”

His way of saying—act properly to match all that fuss.

“Yep!”

Ah, but then.

I turned to look at Minyeong unnie.

“Unnie, what happened with the rest of those scripts?”

I’d asked unnie to get me the later portions of the script we’d read up to episode 6.

“Ah, that’ll take a bit longer. I’ll bring it to you soon.”

At that, the teacher, who’d been listening, shook his head.

“No need to bring it, Minyeong-ssi.”

“Pardon?”

“Immersing yourself after reading all the scripts is good, but you don’t need that right now. You need to practice immediately immersing yourself while encountering each scene fresh.”

The teacher spoke to me.

Ugh…

It was the first time I’d heard this immersion method in my entire acting career.

Usually you’d read the entire script first, understand the character, then carefully build emotions scene by scene.

“Every time you receive a new scene, what instinctively jumps out is your own reaction before you even imagine how the character would feel. That’s where acting starts.”

I nodded at the teacher’s continued words.

I looked at the mirror again.

I decided to accept it.

“Understood.”

I steeled my resolve once more.

This time it was a secret rendezvous scene between the female lead, who was hiding her identity, and the king who already knew her secret.

Whew, I took a deep breath.

Romance—what I wasn’t confident in.

Behind me, Minyeong unnie was filming this way with her phone, clearly entertained.

I stood in the center of the rehearsal room and looked at the mirror.

I drew out the image of the king who would stand before me, painting him in my mind’s eye.

“For what purpose have you summoned me on such a late night?”

“Again.”

The moment I finished one line, the teacher cut me off sharply with his command.

“Your voice is wavering. Again, calmly.”

At those words, I took a deep breath and straightened my crooked headband.

I steadied my voice and took a moment to immerse myself.

I opened my mouth again in the rehearsal room where only silence flowed.

“For what purpose have you summoned me on such a late night?”

The sound of crickets echoing through the late-night palace seemed to ring in my ears.

‘It’s nothing urgent. But what of it. To a man, how late is the night anyway.’

This was the king’s line that would follow mine.

As if hearing the king’s voice, I raised my bowed head with a flustered gaze toward the mirror.

The king was probably looking at me with an amused smile.

I cleared my throat awkwardly.

“If there is nothing urgent, this humble servant shall return to his quarters…”

‘May I visit that place?’

“Pardon?”

‘I wish to tour the quarters where my attending official resides. This too is a virtue a king should possess, is it not.’

“No, no, it cannot be. How could a mere servant’s quarters… I shall take my leave now.”

I hastily stepped backward.

Then came the timing where the king would approach and grasp my wrist.

‘How long will you deceive me.’

This was the part where the king held my wrist while our eyes locked for a long time.

I made an expression of holding the king’s face in my trembling gaze for an extended moment.

After staring at empty space for a while, I spoke my next line with a voice that tried hard to maintain composure, yet trembled beneath.

“How dare I… deceive Your Majesty. Please withdraw any misunderstandings unrelated to state affairs.”

‘You… didn’t you say you disliked sweet things? But earlier, I saw you eating candy quite well. Why did you lie?’

At those words, the female lead would let out a big sigh, her strength completely drained.

After exhaling, I shook off the king’s hand.

“You jest too far. Please do not play such tricks again. I shall take my leave.”

I finished the short scene and looked at the mirror.

As I wondered—was this right?—the teacher threw out just one comment.

“You’ve never dated, have you?”

At that, Minyeong unnie burst out laughing—pfft.

“Such a fun and flavorful scene, yet none of it comes alive. How will you convey that flutter like this?”

The teacher scolded me thoroughly once again.

A deep sigh escaped me.

What I’d been worried about had become reality.

How do you even practice romance?

Just as I’d overcome one obstacle, a bigger one was waiting.

“Again.”

At the teacher’s single word, I looked at the mirror again.

I took a sip of water and straightened my appearance.

Then I started from the beginning.

“For what purpose have you summoned me on such a late night?”

* * *

How many times did I repeat this short line?

When the lining of my outfit was completely soaked with sweat, the teacher gave a slight nod.

“Let’s stop here for today.”

“May I… leave?”

I asked in a breathless, panting voice.

“Better than at first.”

At the teacher’s indifferent words, endorphins surged through me.

I threw myself at the teacher, who was quickly getting up, and pulled him into a hug.

Minyeong unnie also clapped from the side with a laugh.

“Agh, get off. You still have a long way to go, you brat!”

“I know! Just immerse myself and pronunciation, movements will follow naturally.”

“If you know, stop fooling around and practice until you bleed.”

With that, the teacher shook off my arms, slung his small bag over his shoulder, and prepared to leave.

“Teacher, let’s at least have dinner together before you go.”

When Minyeong unnie and I tried to hold him back, the teacher gave me a knock on the forehead.

“I’ll eat when your acting becomes worth watching.”

Then as the teacher opened the rehearsal room door, he tossed out one remark.

“Well, at least now you finally look your age.”

“Pardon?”

“Hurry up and go rest. You need to come out early again tomorrow.”

With those words, the teacher left the rehearsal room.

“Geez…”

Only then did unnie and I collapse onto the rehearsal room floor together, groaning.

I pulled out my phone for the first time today and checked the time…

“Eight o’clock? Already?”

My body shot up automatically.

Unnie looked at me with a bewildered expression.

“Going home? I’ll give you a ride.”

“No. You go first, unnie. I’ve got something to do.”

Unnie asked again with surprised eyes.

“What? What are you doing?”

At unnie’s words, I flashed a grin.

“Gotta prepare for the commercial!”

There wasn’t a moment to rest.

I busily pulled out my camera, concept storyboards, props, and various clothing items from my bag.

“Really, you’re impossible.”

Unnie, who’d been watching me, shook her head and stood up.

“Then I’m leaving. Take it easy.”

With unnie leaving too, I was left completely alone in the rehearsal room.

I briefly placed my hands on my hips and caught my breath.

Then I set the camera on the tripod.

I pressed the record button.

* * *

“Camera setup complete.”

“Lighting setup complete.”

Morning Dew soju commercial filming day.

Inside the large studio, the cinematographer was checking the previous version’s filming results on the monitor.

On screen, I wore <Flat Shoes> Yoo Ji-an’s look in a provocative red dress.

With glamorous makeup, dressed perfectly for a high-end restaurant, I elegantly drank soju.

Looking at the camera while tilting back the shot glass, even the wrist snap was naturally executed.

“Wow, it’s like seeing Flat Shoes’ Yoo Ji-an right before my eyes.”

The staff commented.

This “Yoo Ji-an-like” appearance would contrast with the second filming’s “Han Sena”—that was Morning Dew’s concept.

Provocative and intense Yoo Ji-an, comfortable and clean Han Sena.

The harmony of those two people coming together in Morning Dew.

“Man, this could air as-is. Even standing next to Jeon Miyeon, it wouldn’t lose.”

“Really, this turned out better than the White commercial.”

At the staff’s words, the director kept rewinding the footage with a satisfied expression.

“Expression’s good, the portrayal, the feeling—all good.”

“Really?”

When I quickly wedged myself behind the director, he startled.

“Whoa!”

Confirming it was me, the director was shocked once more.

“Wow, the reversal charm is even more impressive than the storyboard?”

The staff who’d been busily setting up the filming site also looked my way with wide eyes.

Because while on-screen Yoo Ji-an looked one way, I was wearing gray sweatpants and a matching top from head to toe.

I’d tucked away my long waves and wore a simple short bob wig with a half-updo.

“Sena-ssi, you’re so cute.”

“Now you finally look your age.”

The staff showered me with compliments.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I scratched my arm.

“Thank you.”

This current tracksuit outfit was something that came up when we were finalizing the contract.

* * *

When we were signing the contract and discussing concepts.

“They released a lower-alcohol version as a leading product this time too.”

“That’s right.”

The person in charge looked at me as if curious what I’d say next.

“Intensity, gentleness. And sexy, pure. Why don’t we catch both rabbits? Not just the sexy concept, but also saying that now we’ve entered an era of drinking comfortably with clean soju that has no hangover. A new trend. I think it would be good to frame it that way. <Morning Dew>.”

“A new trend…”

At my words, the person in charge fell into thought for a moment.

“That’s true. These days definitely aren’t the ‘drink up, drink up’ atmosphere anymore.”

“But how to show it is another problem. If we just go back to a clean and gentle image, it’ll overlap with the old-fashioned concept we maintained until a few years ago.”

At the employee voicing their opinion, both the person in charge and I nodded.

“You mean what you’re talking about? The original goddess Kim Seojin-ssi wearing that tight white dress.”

“Yes, exactly.”

With the table lost in thought once more, I was the first to speak.

“What about wearing a tracksuit instead?”

“What???”

The person in charge and employees’ eyes went wide.