In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 85

And so an unplanned weekend outing unfolded.

A peculiar tour using Aiden Farrell as a guide without spending a single penny.

I thought there’d be nothing left to surprise me.

But filming would leave no time for sightseeing anyway.

And building rapport with Aiden seemed like it would be good no matter what.

I expected him to take us to Disneyland or something, but the place Aiden drove us to was Santa Monica Beach.

Aiden turned off the car engine.

I felt slightly carsick.

During the drive, Aiden had thrown questions at me non-stop without rest.

When did I debut, had I only worked in Korea, how did I find out about this workshop, which series or networks I mainly appeared on, and so on.

When I answered that I’d recently filmed one series, Aiden looked shocked and asked how many years I’d been filming it.

Since American actors often do long-term series work, his approach to series seemed different.

I explained that Korean series are a bit different from American ones.

“Wow, the ocean!”

Kkotbyeol in the back seat got excited.

Through the window, an open expanse of ocean came into view.

Somehow feeling a bit uneasy, I glanced around.

Aiden, about to open his door, looked at me and asked.

“Sena, is something wrong?”

“No, Aiden… I was just worried what we’d do if paparazzi showed up.”

“Just think of them as flies.”

Aiden answered as if it was nothing and got out of the car.

This is what a Hollywood actor is like…?

It’ll be fine, right?

Kkotbyeol also bolted out of the car excitedly.

Oh well, whatever.

I also got out with my slippers and headed to the beach.

The sand had been thoroughly heated by the sun.

“Ah, hot!!”

On the leisurely beach, Aiden settled down under an empty umbrella and cracked open a beer.

Then he pulled off his t-shirt and sat almost lying down while drinking his beer.

“Want some?”

I accepted the beer he offered.

Unexpectedly, no one was looking our way.

Only the refreshing sound of waves rang clearly in my ears.

I tied my hair back while enjoying the pleasant breeze.

“Ha, this is nice.”

Aiden, who didn’t understand Korean, asked back.

I answered with a smile.

“What did you say?”

“I said it’s nice. Being able to rest like this.”

This was my first vacation spent at the beach.

Though I never expected to enjoy this vacation with a foreign man I barely knew—and Aiden Farrell at that…

The emotions I’d experienced in the script world and the worries that had packed my head after finishing the audition seemed to wash away with the sound of the waves.

I still hadn’t answered the director’s proposal from right after that audition.

‘…Thank you for your kind words. If it’s all right, could I have some time to think about it before letting you know?’

The staff had stared at me with wide eyes at that.

Minyeong unnie was equally shocked.

The wind blew and I closed my eyes briefly.

But Aiden continued with another question.

“By the way, what kind of work was that series you mentioned?”

I was grateful he cut through my worries, but I didn’t understand why he was showing such interest.

“I appeared in Netmate Korea’s first original work. It’s called <Desert Island>.”

“Oh? I see. I’ll watch it before we meet next time.”

“No, please. You don’t have to.”

But Aiden shook his head with a laugh.

“I’m definitely going to watch it.”

At Aiden’s response, I finally couldn’t hold back and asked.

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

Then Aiden looked at me with a slight smile.

“I want to be friends. Because your acting is so good.”

In the distance, Kkotbyeol, who’d run far ahead, jumped into the ocean and swam.

“Aiden! Come in!”

Then Aiden jumped up, drained his beer in one go, and ran out.

I could hear Kkotbyeol’s carefree laughter.

* * *

[(Exclusive) Lee Nara vs Han Sena! Major Clash in Front of Warners Audition Venue]

On the hotel room bed.

An article published in the early morning yesterday was occupying the main pages of various Korean websites.

Having slept in for the first time in ages, I belatedly read through the comments.

-Is Lee Nara washed up for constantly getting pitted against a rookie with less experience, or is Han Sena lacking manners.

-Total Han Sena world. Perfect timing to lose her initial mindset lolol. Enjoy it while it lasts~

-Is there even a guarantee one of them will definitely get cast. Stop making such a fuss over this.

I quickly skipped past the scattered malicious comments.

They were nutritionless meddling that needed to be brushed off.

That’s when Minyeong unnie called.

-Are you reading the articles?

Unnie asked gently.

“Yes, I’m looking at them now.”

-The article from early morning yesterday, or the ones that just dropped?

“Huh?”

I quickly refreshed the page.

Then articles that had been posted starting three minutes ago appeared in a row.

[Han Sena, Hollywood Bound!? Receives Casting Offer for First Korean Role in Warners Hero Film]

[What About Lee Nara. The Century’s Rising Star Who Captivated Warners, Han Sena!]

[Breaking Down the Hero Role Han Sena Will Play]

Comments were also rapidly accumulating at a frightening speed.

-Wait, what’s with Han Sena? Did she get cast? This is seriously impressive.

-Our unnie’s expanding worldwide now. She’ll gain tons more global fans.

-Han Sena became the national representative.

-Insane. I kept hoping but still. Lee Nara should stop being bitter and congratulate her too.

I bolted upright from where I’d been lying down.

“It’s not confirmed yet though?”

At my urgent words, Minyeong unnie responded as if she understood.

-It’s Warners. Of course people will assume you’ll appear if you got a casting offer. They think there’s no way you’d refuse.

I was at a loss for words.

Silence flowed between Minyeong unnie and me for a moment.

-Have you made up your mind?

Unnie asked.

I hesitated at that question before answering.

“Unnie, I… feel kind of strange.”

-Why?

It really was strange.

An opportunity I’d never had in my life, never even imagined, had come and I’d seized it.

The moment I passed the final audition, it felt like only a bright world lay spread out before me.

The role wasn’t bad either. But.

“I should be thrilled, that would be normal. But my feelings are ambiguous.”

-…?

This time Minyeong unnie seemed unable to grasp it and didn’t respond.

Was it because I had trauma about being tied to the same image for years?

Even I couldn’t clearly understand the reason for my emotions.

I felt like I absolutely had to find this reason.

“I think I need a bit more time. A week—no, just three days.”

-Okay, got it.

Unnie answered calmly without pressing further.

* * *

The next afternoon, Universal Studios.

“You’re insane. You’re a genius, Sena.”

Aiden showered me with compliments the entire time we rode attractions.

It had been going on for two hours already.

Once again, Aiden had dragged me out when I was just rotting away in my hotel room.

Though we’d only known each other briefly, over the past few days he’d become a friend who lifted my mood.

“I sat down and watched everything from the documentary to the end. Can you believe I sat there for almost ten hours straight without moving?”

But Aiden’s compliments were getting increasingly excessive.

Aiden grabbed his own hair.

“Oh my god, I was completely blown away. You’re a real genius.”

My head went blank.

Why is this future Hollywood star who’ll make it big grabbing onto an actor from a tiny country like this?

“Thank you, Aiden. But really, you’re the actor who inspires me.”

I spoke sincerely.

Then Aiden’s eyes widened.

His already large eyes expanded until it looked like his eyeballs would pop out and roll onto the ground.

“Aiden, close your eyes. That’s scary.”

“Thank you so much for saying that.”

“Shall we go?”

I deliberately cut off the conversation.

If I heard one more word of praise, I’d get so embarrassed I’d want to run away.

More than anything, I wanted to forget everything and just enjoy myself having fun.

Aiden took the lead and moved briskly.

And for over half the day, Aiden and I rode attractions non-stop as if releasing pent-up frustration.

Around sunset.

“Wow, that was so much fun!”

With weak legs, I barely made it to a bench when Aiden dry-heaved.

I burst out laughing at the sight.

“I told you to stop drinking smoothies. Let’s go ride more!”

I’d never ridden amusement park rides in my previous life.

Even gorging on everything from cotton candy to hot dogs and various foods was enjoyable.

People-watching was fun too.

The pleasant adrenaline I was experiencing after so long filled every corner of my body.

But beside me, Aiden even pressed his hand to his head as if it hurt.

Oh no.

“Are you okay…?”

Then Aiden laughed as if finding himself ridiculous.

“Shouldn’t have volunteered to be a guide.”

I laughed out loud at that.

“Then let’s go now. We played plenty.”

“Sorry, there’s still more you haven’t seen.”

“It’s fine. Today was really fun.”

I dragged Aiden out of the studio.

We got in the car parked in the parking lot.

I felt somewhat sorry about sitting in the passenger seat.

But then again, I was a bit reluctant to rashly drive in someone else’s country.

After Aiden reassured my worried self that it was no big deal, he started the engine.

Then he sat there for a moment.

Aiden looked at me, seeming to hesitate about something.

“Um, Sena.”

“Yeah?”

“Actually, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Suddenly Aiden’s expression became a bit serious.

“I know this might be rude, but I heard you received a casting offer from Warners.”

“Ah…? It’s fine. It even made the news.”

Though it was out of the blue, I answered with a smile.

But Aiden’s expression remained serious.

“Actually, I also received a casting offer for that.”

“What???”

I stared at Aiden with wide eyes in shock.

“For what role?”

Aiden’s next answer was several times more surprising than the one before.

“Blue Guard.”

“……”

My mouth hung open as I stared at Aiden.

Blue Guard wasn’t the main hero in the script, but it was a role with quite a bit of important screen time.

“It’s an attractive character. But I’m at a point where I want to step away from hero film narratives.”

Aiden confessed his feelings.

Hearing that, I nodded.

So this person was also hesitating about participating in the project.

“I was just wondering what you would do… so I asked.”

Hearing Aiden’s words, I smiled bitterly.

I was also racking my brain over this.

But still, finding someone to discuss this topic with…

I let out a sigh.

“It’s not easy. Because it’s Warners.”

“Right, Warners is Warners.”

A moment of silence flowed.

The weight that word carried was substantial.

Plus, I’d even entered and exited that script world.

When even the world inside the script was trying to give me an opportunity, wasn’t I being too hasty about refusing?

If I rejected this project, what would be the point of possessing the script?

My chest felt stuffy like I had indigestion.

As we both silently looked out the window…

Aiden broke the silence.

“Actually, I’m discussing another script with my agency.”

“Really? That’s good?”

I perked up at the good news.

“It’s also a supporting role, but… more the kind of supporting role I want to do.”

“What kind of project is it?”

“Director Raymond Zhang is preparing a new work. It’s about the life of a Korean adoptee woman, and I’d play her husband.”