In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 68

A few days later, at a cafe on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.

I was drinking tea with Minyeong unnie while enjoying the view of the large lake.

Unnie had contacted me since morning saying we should get some fresh air, then suddenly dragged me outside of Seoul.

And so, at this scenic place—delicious food, a walk, and now this cafe.

What is this, a date?

I stared at unnie, who seemed in a good mood as she hummed.

Unlike what I’d expected—that she’d scold me a bit—unnie didn’t say much at all.

I was the only one feeling anxious.

Right now, every minute, every second counts.

My legs bounced restlessly.

“Unnie, I really need to get home now.”

“Hey, are you a cow? A cow?”

Eventually, unnie raised her voice.

“You said you were making something with your friends, and I was like ‘oh, she’s finally hanging out for once,’ but then you go and cause more trouble. I told you you’d burn out early if you only work like this!”

Unnie’s scolding poured into my ears like machine gun fire.

“And what’s this? You’re trying to direct while acting? Don’t you date? Why don’t you date?”

“Unnie, one at a time.”

“Answer everything in order. You’ve got good memory.”

Somehow feeling a bit of fatigue creeping in, I lifted my teacup again.

“I’m not thinking about directing. And I’m not thinking about dating either.”

“Ugh, honestly. Anyway, how are your parents?”

I nodded at unnie’s words.

I could read unnie’s intention to make me rest.

Even though unnie’s busy herself, she took the time to drag me out here.

In the end, I decided to pretend to give in and forget about work for a moment.

While chatting with unnie, the sun started to set over the lake in the distance.

“This place is really something starting at six. They’re famous for their outdoor live music.”

Huh?

What’s with the sudden outdoor live performance?

“Follow me.”

Unnie stood up and took the lead.

As we left the cafe and walked, sound equipment was being brought into a nearby open-air theater one by one.

“You’ve gotta watch these things while eating something tasty.”

With familiar steps, unnie headed to a food cart in the alley.

“Ahjumma, we’ll take two orders of tteokbokki and two orders of sundae.”

After placing our order, unnie filled a cup with fish cake broth.

Holding our food, we claimed prime spots with a good view of the performance.

I plopped down on the ground and popped some tteokbokki in my mouth.

How long has it been since I’ve had tteokbokki?

It’s so delicious.

The day’s heat faded as a pleasantly cool breeze wrapped around the venue.

Soon the live performance began, and various people started climbing onto the stage.

The typical performers you’d expect at this kind of venue—saxophone players, trot singers, even fusion gugak musicians.

Diverse, but not particularly exciting.

Everyone’s kind of bland—what a shame.

After the fusion gugak performance ended, an indie band came up next.

But…

“Huh?”

The vocalist covering a famous song had a voice that sounded familiar somehow.

I craned my neck to get a better look at the vocalist’s face.

Who is that person?

Why do they look so familiar?

My head tilted in confusion throughout several songs.

“Why, do you know them?”

I shook my head at Minyeong unnie’s question for now. Just in case.

With one song left, the vocalist spoke up.

“Hello everyone. We actually released a mini-album recently. We’d like to introduce it to you all, so today we’re performing it for the first time.”

After finishing, the first verse started with an electric sound, and my body shot up involuntarily.

It’s Jang Dogyeom!

Oh my god, Jang Dogyeom was performing in a place like this.

Minyeong unnie, looking startled, glanced around before pulling me back down.

“What’s with you, seriously.”

The band Polaris, with Jang Dogyeom as vocalist.

This band was destined to sweep OSTs for anything requiring “bizarre and dreamlike atmospheres”—things like mysteries, thrillers, fusion period pieces.

After that, they’d go on a long run and expand from a devoted fanbase to a massive following.

The audience hearing Jang Dogyeom’s music for the first time showed pretty positive reactions too.

Some people were even searching for them.

Ah, his voice was a bit thinner in the early days.

I found myself getting absorbed in Jang Dogyeom’s fresh vocals after such a long time.

The three minutes passed quickly, and before I knew it, the Polaris band members were bowing toward the audience.

After sending enthusiastic applause, I dusted myself off and stood up.

Then I grabbed unnie’s hand.

“What? Why?!”

Unnie tried to wave me off, completely confused by my behavior.

I hurried over to the band members who were getting ready to pack up beside the stage.

“Hello. I’m a fan of Polaris.”

At my words, Jang Dogyeom flinched in surprise and looked at me.

“Ah, thank you.”

“Um, I’d actually like to request an OST production.”

Everyone stopped moving and looked at me in shock.

Minyeong unnie made a gesture beside me like she was about to faint.

One or two members looked at me suspiciously.

“We’re about to start drama production, and we need a sound that would fit our footage.”

Jang Dogyeom looked flustered as he glanced at the other members.

When the guitarist shook his head, Jang Dogyeom bowed to me.

“Sorry, but we’re not at that level yet. Maybe next time.”

“I’m not a weird person!”

In my frustration, I ripped off the mask I’d been wearing.

“She’s lost it!”

Minyeong unnie looked horrified as she blocked me from other people’s view.

The band members fell into shock again after seeing my face.

“So please, please contact me at the number on this business card. I’m begging you!”

Jang Dogyeom took the business card in a daze.

With a face that said ‘what is this?’

And so, on the drive home.

Minyeong unnie, gripping the steering wheel, poured out a storm of scolding.

“You said you didn’t know them, so who are they? No matter how talented they seem, you can’t just charge in like that. Sena, you’re way too impulsive sometimes.”

This time I sat properly and listened to unnie with a genuinely apologetic heart.

Unnie glanced at me and scoffed.

“You’re even acting in front of me now? I can tell you’re just pretending to listen.”

I burst out laughing at unnie’s words.

“This won’t work anymore.”

Unnie shook her head.

“You don’t just have a lot of work—you chase after work. Are you a robot or what?”

As unnie’s scolding continued, the view outside turned completely dark.

* * *

The next day, in a small practice room.

Jang Dogyeom was searching the internet for every article about Han Sena.

[Han Sena’s directorial debut leads to Netmate drama launch…]

[A rookie actor’s extraordinary path]

[Han Sena X Netmate drama production schedule—when?]

“It’s real.”

Jang Dogyeom pressed his temples as if dizzy.

‘This is Barum Entertainment’s Kwon Minyeong. Yesterday was a bit surprising, wasn’t it? Netmate is about to produce a drama, and we’d like to commission the OST.’

This was the content of the call he’d received from Han Sena’s representative just moments ago.

With earnest pleas to really think it over carefully.

Jang Dogyeom sat there hugging his guitar, lost in thought like a statue.

Was he dreaming?

“We’re people who just released one mini-album.”

Jang Dogyeom muttered gloomily to himself.

To him, it felt like an impossibly huge world had suddenly opened up with no preparation whatsoever.

Of course he wanted it.

Jang Dogyeom sighed as he looked around the decrepit practice room interior.

‘Dogyeom, I always feel bad putting responsibility on you as the leader, but… can we even make another album?’

It had only been recently that they’d barely managed to release one mini-album after five years.

The album they’d poured their blood and sweat into—even after releasing it, nobody called.

They ended up applying directly and making rounds to events all over the country.

Even using their own money to promote the album.

Yet the road ahead looked even more treacherous.

The bassist was already slowly wearing down from financial hardship.

And at this point, such an unexpectedly huge offer came in.

The thought kept tormenting him—what if this was their last chance?

Jang Dogyeom picked up his phone and opened iTube.

He planned to watch the video first.

And so, Jang Dogyeom leaned back in his chair and started watching.

An unfamiliar island setting filled his vision.

The overall atmosphere was rough and desolate.

The psychology of the characters dying one by one without knowing why was wretched and fragile.

Jang Dogyeom’s brow furrowed deeper.

As he watched the video, Jang Dogyeom shot to his feet before even ten minutes had passed.

He hurried over to sit in front of the synthesizer and raised his hands.

* * *

A week later, at the Netmate office.

“Dogyeom-ssi, thank you so much for coming.”

Jang Dogyeom sat before the drama staff and Chaeseong-ssi with a nervous expression.

I’d managed to reel him in to some degree.

I wonder how he felt about our video.

What will the staff think of him?

I found myself getting nervous too.

That’s when Jang Dogyeom hesitantly pulled out his phone.

“Um, would you… like to listen to something first?”

“…?”

The staff looked baffled at Jang Dogyeom’s opening line.

I hadn’t expected this development either.

“I watched the original InTheBazookaFo video and tried making something—just the music without lyrics.”

As Jang Dogyeom spoke, one person smiled awkwardly and responded.

“We didn’t expect you to be this enthusiastic. Thanks. But we’re planning quite a few content revisions for the drama…”

The person listening carefully, Jang Dogyeom, nodded.

“You’re thinking I might’ve wasted my effort, right? Of course that’s possible. But I need to show you my abilities too. Sena-ssi seems to trust me for some reason, but the rest of you might not.”

Jang Dogyeom revealed his thoughts in a trembling voice, but slowly and clearly.

That attitude looked really admirable.

That conviction is what shaped his music all along.

And so, the music Jang Dogyeom had brought filled the office.

I quietly rested my chin in my hand as I listened to the emotive bass.

Unpredictable notes trembled anxiously as they spread.

Soon a melody layered on top, creating a dreamlike, fantastical atmosphere.

Like the happy emotions when the characters dreamed of their respective goals and desires.

Just as I was getting absorbed in that melody, the mood shifted sharply and the music began raging like a storm.

The sound grew louder as the drums layered on irregularly.

It felt chaotic enough to be uncomfortable just sitting and listening.

Yet somehow I couldn’t move a muscle, as if I’d miss even one note of that melody.

The office had no sound except for the music Jang Dogyeom brought.

Everyone was frozen in place, listening to the music as if they’d made a pact.

How much time passed?

After the climax faded, everything descended into low tones like sinking into an abyss, and the music slowly stopped.

As if waking from a dream, I lifted my head to look at Jang Dogyeom.