In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 69

“This is insane.”

Harsh words slipped from my mouth involuntarily.

Jang Dogyeom looked at me with wide, surprised eyes.

“Ah, no…”

But beside me, Chaeseong-ssi muttered the exact same thing in a daze.

“You’re right. This really is insane.”

“It really is…”

Even the staff member agreed.

We couldn’t escape the lingering resonance of the music.

The entire process of filming the five-minute video replayed vividly in my mind from start to finish.

Even the direction we should take moving forward became clear.

If I was feeling this way, Chaeseong-ssi’s head must be spinning like crazy right now.

Chaeseong-ssi stared at Jang Dogyeom intensely.

“Excuse me, but how old are you?”

“…Yes?”

“You look like you’re in your twenties, so I was wondering if you’re some kind of genius…”

A laugh escaped at Chaeseong-ssi’s words.

To my eyes, Chaeseong-ssi looked like an eccentric genius himself, though he had no way of knowing that.

Jang Dogyeom just stood there with a reddening face, as if receiving this kind of praise was a first.

“Th-thank you.”

Another staff member spoke up.

“From planning to casting to OST, it seems like we’re basically riding on Sena-ssi’s coattails, doesn’t it?”

I shook my head at those words.

“Not at all. The most important thing in video production is capital anyway. What I trust most about Netmate is their financial power.”

Chaeseong-ssi nodded as well.

“Everyone’s got high expectations for the Korean market, right?”

And so everyone continued the meeting with expressions brimming with renewed enthusiasm.

* * *

“It’s fascinating… it seems similar yet different, but somehow strange, you know?”

Three weeks after signing the contract with Jang Dogyeom, at the Netmate office.

Chaeseong-ssi handed over the Episodes 1 and 2 scripts he’d written himself.

I’d already read through the files he’d emailed last night several times.

“What do you mean by that?”

Chaeseong-ssi’s words sounded vague, so I asked for clarification.

Then Chaeseong-ssi opened the script and explained with a deeper look in his eyes than I’d ever seen before.

“When Sena-ssi appeared as a stalker in Director Hwangbo Jaejoon’s work, the desire and obsession you had toward the celebrity. And the desire and obsession to record videos as a suicide cafe member on this island. These two are similar yet completely different in nature.”

I nodded at those words.

Chaeseong-ssi had added a setting to give my character’s psychology—this intense desire to record videos in the original footage—more credibility.

‘A social psychologist researching suicide as her subject.’

It was a setting that would allow her to express obsessive tendencies freely.

“So Sena-ssi will join the suicide cafe with the purpose of observing people who are suicidal up close, then head to the pension where the incident unfolds.”

Listening to Chaeseong-ssi’s explanation, the character’s image began blooming richly in my mind.

A texture of obsessive desire completely different from when I’d played the stalker fan.

“We’ll include the process of how Sena-ssi enters the island as character backstory in the drama. We decided to focus on the characters rather than revealing the money’s source.”

I smiled brightly hearing that.

Character backstory had been the most regrettable part I’d had to abandon in the original video due to various constraints.

I’d wanted to depict the characters’ journey to the island and give them detailed characterization, but had to settle for expressing it through speech patterns and actions.

Now I had the capital and a talented storyteller to unfold the story without worry.

“Reading the script, all the other characters’ backstories were interesting too.”

When I gave a thumbs up, Chaeseong-ssi suddenly looked flustered and returned to his usual awkward self.

“S-so we’ll film all the character backstories separately first.”

“Where are everyone’s locations? I want to see everyone’s process of arriving on the island!”

I was incredibly excited.

It seemed like it would be so much fun.

As I leaned in closer, Chaeseong-ssi looked burdened and leaned back awkwardly.

That’s when my phone vibrated.

– Minyeong unnie: You know about the dress fittings for a while, right? I cleared all your other schedules.

Oh right.

I returned to my seat and ran my hand through my hair.

To lose such an exciting opportunity because of dress fittings.

How had time flown by so quickly?

I’d only finished two drama projects, yet the NBS awards ceremony was coming up soon.

Chaeseong-ssi looked at my rapidly cooling expression.

His face seemed to ask what was wrong, so I answered.

“I have an awards ceremony coming up.”

“…?”

“Apparently awards season is war for actresses. I’ve just been recruited as a mercenary.”

“Ah…”

Chaeseong-ssi nodded as if finding it interesting.

“Win an award. So everyone watches our drama.”

Chaeseong-ssi clumsily made a fist and held it out.

* * *

And so, amid all the dress fittings and simultaneous behind-the-scenes filming of the characters.

I arrived on the island in a state just short of developing clothing fatigue.

My manager oppa stood beside me holding an armful of large shopping bags.

As we got off the boat, a grand, impressive large-scale set stood there waiting.

My manager oppa, who’d disembarked beside me, made a sound of surprise.

“Wh-what is this. Is it an island or a country?”

It was truly a pension set that showcased Netmate’s ambitions.

I’d heard they rented an entire small island.

So this is what you can create on screen when you have money…

As I was newly realizing the greatness(?) of capital, Seon Yuseok and the staff approached from the distance.

“Noona! Did filming go well?”

“Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you?”

“Now that it’s getting cold, this place is completely eerie. What’s that?”

Seon Yuseok showed interest in the shopping bags my manager oppa was holding.

My manager oppa silently took out muffler boxes from the shopping bags one by one and handed them to the staff.

They were from Gaia’s 2015 S/S new collection, the eco-friendly clothing brand I modeled for.

Gifts I’d prepared for the staff who’d be working on the island shoot in the cold winter, enduring the sea breeze.

“Wow, Sena-ssi! Are these gifts?”

“Whoa, the muffler is so pretty.”

“Sena-ssi’s the model for this place! They just opened in department stores too, right?”

One staff member made a fuss, saying they’d seen my pictorial displayed at the Myeongdong department store.

“The pictorial was so pretty. But Sena-ssi, you must’ve gotten a lot of inquiries from other brands—why did you choose Gaia?”

An honest question flew at me without any malice.

“The eco-friendly brand concept is meaningful. Other actresses do the glamorous and pretty stuff way better than me anyway.”

“Oh come on, you’re being way too modest!”

I smiled awkwardly at those words.

“At some point, I started feeling more comfortable wearing and using eco-friendly materials. They’re just as pretty anyway.”

The staff laughed at my words and started gathering to take proof shots.

“The word about Sena-ssi is famous at every drama filming site. That your personality is so good.”

The lighting director, who’d quickly wrapped on the muffler, left that compliment and disappeared.

“Oh, thank you. Please spread the word to the brand too!”

I called after the lighting director’s back, and Seon Yuseok stood there staring at me.

“This is what you call… a professional’s attitude?”

I tossed a muffler box to Seon Yuseok too.

“It really is cold though.”

I tightened the muffler I was already wearing.

Then I looked at the fierce waves crashing before the massive pension.

Capital had created this place, and now nature was adding its own mise-en-scène.

Chaeseong-ssi must be thrilled to death.

That’s when actors I’d never seen before also approached and greeted me.

The two male characters Chaeseong-ssi had added to the script.

Han Hyeonsu, playing a securities company analyst in his mid-thirties, and Ahn Heechan, playing a former national team reserve athlete who’d lost his dreams to injury.

In Han Hyeonsu’s case, he wasn’t an actor who’d left deeply impressive work in either my past or present life.

However, he was an actor who consistently showed stable acting across any project.

I remembered hearing his personality was as calm as his acting.

Ahn Heechan, who was one year older than Kkotbyeol, was in his third year since debut and had recently been snatching up all the male lead roles in school dramas.

A true rising star of youth.

“Hello, I’m Han Hyeonsu. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Hello! I’m Ahn Heechan.”

Both of them bowed politely.

I bowed my head in greeting as well.

Despite being a rookie, Seon Yuseok took it upon himself to be the mood maker.

“I hope we all get close during this opportunity!”

And so we quickly began chatting warmly.

That’s when Kkotbyeol’s story came up, and Heechan’s eyes went wide.

“Yeongwoon Foreign Language High School?! Isn’t that one of the top schools in the nation?”

“Heechan, are you interested in academics too?”

At my question, Heechan shook his head right away.

“No way. I’m completely hopeless when it comes to studying.”

At those words, Seon Yuseok laughed heartily.

“Hey, you better not get more nervous than Kkotbyeol later, okay?”

While everyone laughed and chatted, relieving tension, Hyeonsu-ssi naturally slipped away with a smile.

He seemed to be setting the mood to immerse himself in his role.

As expected, that person’s diligent.

That’s when Chaeseong-ssi’s voice rang out from speakers installed somewhere.

“We’ll start the rehearsal. Actors, please gather at the pension’s back yard.”

* * *

Two hours after filming started, everyone ran into an unexpected problem.

Difficult expressions appeared on all the actors’ faces.

Along with them, Chaeseong-ssi, clutching the innocent script, broke out in a cold sweat.

Yuri-ssi, standing beside me, muttered to herself.

“This is emotional overacting.”

Yuri-ssi’s gaze was directed at her own performance on the monitor.

I too quietly watched Yuri-ssi’s character, Jang Soyeong, on the monitor.

Jang Soyeong, after losing her family, had depended solely on her boyfriend before being robbed of all her assets and ending up on this island.

Jang Soyeong on the monitor was brimming with vitality.

Crying and wailing, freely venting difficult emotions everywhere.

Like someone about to dust herself off and rise again soon.

Chaeseong-ssi didn’t seem too pleased with this Jang Soyeong either.

Yuri-ssi spoke to me as if venting her frustration.

“Maybe it’s because of the added backstory. The director and I keep having timing differences in interpreting the character’s emotions. Jang Soyeong feels unfamiliar.”

That’s when Jang Heeyeong sunbaenim, standing in the distance, raised his hand slightly.

“Director.”

Chaeseong-ssi turned toward sunbaenim with a “Yes.”

“My character changed a bit when Hyeonsu-ssi came in as Gyuhwan, right? But trying to express that character keeps getting a bit ambiguous…?”

Beside him, Won Hyerim sunbaenim, who’d been holding something in with a pained expression, also spoke up.

“Director, I can’t see Yeongsil.”

Everyone’s eyes instantly focused on Won Hyerim sunbaenim.

“Yeongsil’s such a charming, tough woman. But her raw appeal isn’t showing here.”

The moment sunbaenim finished speaking, everyone’s eyes fixed on Chaeseong-ssi’s back.