In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 90

A few days later, Korea.

I landed at the airport right on schedule for the Korean location shoot.

Even though I’d only been gone for less than two weeks, the feeling was strange.

This project had made it particularly difficult to separate Emily from myself.

Maybe that was why.

This familiar Korean landscape felt completely foreign.

Chloe’s voice, full of disappointment, kept echoing in my ears.

‘Mom, can’t I come too? I really want to visit Korea.’

Chloe, with her Korean parents, had said visiting Korea was her dream.

But American child protection laws required Chloe to stay in the States and continue her classes.

I felt just as disappointed.

It would’ve been so wonderful if I could’ve brought Chloe along.

What kind of gift should I bring back for her?

But the moment the airport gate opened, camera flashes exploded around me.

“Sena-ssi, please look this way just once!”

“Sena-ssi! I’m a fan! I love you!!”

“Sena-ssi, are you returning from filming <Hometown>?!”

Questions poured in from all directions.

Looking around, I saw roughly dozens of people crowding the area ahead.

The director standing beside me looked flustered as he hastily adjusted his cap.

“Sena, you’re a real star here in Korea.”

However… while some people welcomed me warmly…

“We’d like to hear the reason you rejected the Warners casting offer!”

“Do you have any regrets?”

“Han Sena-ssi, how do you feel about being called more of an artist than an actor?”

“Please give us a statement about your relationship with Lee Nara-ssi!”

Sharp questions that tormented me pierced my ears one after another.

I sighed inwardly.

Wow, this is going to drive me crazy.

I desperately tried to close my ears and move forward.

Fortunately, the security guards Minyeong unnie had called in advance cleared a path.

People rushed up, pushing papers at me for autographs.

In a complete daze, I somehow managed to sign each one.

After signing for a while and starting to leave the crowd behind, someone broke through the guards and approached.

“I’d like to request an interview, Han Sena-ssi.”

An unfamiliar reporter came up beside me with a camera.

He pushed forward relentlessly despite the security guard trying to stop him.

The reporter fired off a question.

“Lee Nara-ssi went on a talk show and spoke about you with somewhat negative undertones. What are your thoughts?”

What?

Lee Nara went on a talk show?

This was the first I’d heard of it.

And it was absolutely absurd.

Who asks questions like this?

The reporter persistently pressed me about Lee Nara’s comments.

“I’ve been busy with filming, so I haven’t seen it yet. I’m sure Lee Nara sunbaenim had her own thoughts on the matter. Please don’t misunderstand.”

Even so, the reporter didn’t back down and laid his next trap.

“You must’ve been happy when you won the audition, right?”

Annoyed by the continued rudeness, I stopped walking immediately.

Director Raymond also looked displeased, pushing his sunglasses up onto his forehead and staring at the reporter.

I looked the reporter straight in the eye and spoke.

“Well, I wouldn’t say so, since it wasn’t a competition about winning or losing.”

The reporter looked at me and smirked.

“Then what do you think about this? That Han Sena picked up the role Lee Nara had discarded.”

What is he talking about?

Seeing my confused expression, the reporter asked back.

“You can’t possibly be saying you didn’t know, right?”

A staff member who understood Korean asked me.

“Sena-ssi, didn’t you see the article?”

I looked back and forth between the staff member and the reporter.

From the situation, it seemed Lee Nara had been cast in Warners after all.

Should I have completely cut myself off from the internet…?

I did my best to answer the reporter calmly.

“Is the interview trend these days to decide on the answer before asking the question?”

It was utterly unpleasant.

The reporter showed no sign of even pretending to listen to me.

I held up my smartphone screen showing ‘recording’ in front of his face and waved it gently.

The reporter’s expression changed completely in an instant.

When the reporter had first approached, I’d instinctively pressed the record button.

I left the frozen reporter behind and resumed walking.

* * *

“How is it even possible to completely fail at this one thing? After all that money we paid you?”

Inside Lee Nara’s agency office.

Sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, Lee Nara furiously berated someone.

It was the reporter who’d persistently interrogated Han Sena at the airport.

“I apologize.”

“You should’ve at least gotten one decent quote.”

“Han Sena-ssi was recording the conversation…. I’m sorry.”

“What? Recording?”

“That girl really isn’t ordinary.”

The agency CEO sitting on the opposite sofa laughed as if finding it absurd.

“Sharp kid. We should’ve recruited her to our company from the start.”

“Ah, unnie!!”

Lee Nara looked at the CEO with intense irritation.

“My image is seriously scratched right now. I even got cast in Warners, but everyone’s saying I’m picking up what Han Sena threw away, that I’ve lost face!!”

Lee Nara ranted without stopping.

The CEO responded as if already accustomed to this.

“Lower your voice. I’m not deaf.”

“CEO!”

“You’re getting more heat because your own behavior has been a mess. That’s why I told you not to go on that talk show acting cocky, and why make a scene where people can see?”

The CEO’s mention of “making a scene” referred to the leaked footage of Lee Nara yelling at Han Sena in front of the Warners audition venue.

The company had spent days trying to scrub that from the internet.

“Then was I supposed to not get angry? That girl keeps getting above herself!”

Lee Nara, still furious, glared at the reporter again.

“Do it right this time, got it? Otherwise, you’ll never work in this industry again.”

The reporter quickly bowed his head.

“Understood.”

The CEO looked at Lee Nara with disgust and shook her head before asking.

“By the way, what’s this <Hometown> thing that made her turn down even Warners? The kid seemed pretty smart to me.”

“Who knows. Maybe she wants to do art.”

“I wonder…?”

The CEO tilted her head quizzically.

* * *

SCBS broadcasting station.

Before starting the Korean shoot, I visited the station for an interview schedule.

An interview bringing together actors who’d recently worked on overseas projects.

The interview had been going on for about two hours.

“So this was the appeal of the <Hometown> project that had been veiled by the news about rejecting <Fabulous>!”

Near the end, after finishing the Q&A about <Hometown>, the MC smiled at me.

The senior actors sitting beside me also looked at me with fond smiles.

“Amazing, really. It’s rare to find an actor with this much conviction.”

“Exactly. Admirable, our hoobae.”

The sunbaenim had each recently appeared as supporting roles in a Japanese drama and bit parts in an American film.

“Thank you all for your support.”

“Well then, we’ll return next week with another interview special. Thank you, everyone!”

The camera turned off with the MC’s cheerful voice.

“Thank you.”

“Great work, everyone.”

I stood up, bowing to the sunbaenim as I said goodbye.

But then.

“Even so, to reject Warners, really.”

The sunbaenim who’d just been giving me thumbs up and calling me admirable spoke up.

“Pardon…?”

The sunbaenim beside him also chuckled and added.

“He’s just feeling regretful on your behalf. Don’t take it the wrong way.”

“Ah, yes….”

I froze in shock, my body stiffening instantly.

“Ugh, it’s such a shame. That kind of opportunity. That was just recklessness!”

“Leave her be, sunbae. Did we know any better when we were young?”

“It’s all just- a phase.”

The sunbaenim held me there, talking nonstop.

“You need to learn gratitude from a young age.”

I couldn’t say a word, just stood there obediently listening.

Then—

“Sunbaenim!”

A playful male voice called out from behind.

This voice sounds familiar…

I turned around to see Lee Seokhyun standing there.

“Oh?”

Seeing my surprised expression, Lee Seokhyun shot me a cheeky wink.

The sunbaenim’s faces lit up when they saw Lee Seokhyun.

“Our top star is here?”

“Ah, sunbaenim. Have you eaten? When are you going to buy me a meal?”

“Hey, you should be the one buying us meals! Trying to mooch off your sunbae!”

Lee Seokhyun, who seemed to have known the sunbaenim for quite a while, perfectly cut off the conversation that had been ongoing.

The mood instantly lightened thanks to Lee Seokhyun’s charm.

After exchanging greetings, Lee Seokhyun looked at the sunbaenim and playfully placed his hand on his hip.

“Why were you giving our Sena-ssi such a hard time?”

At that, the sunbaenim laughed awkwardly.

“Actors should do the projects they want to do! <Hometown> is also a Hollywood debut in its own way, which is admirable.”

The sunbaenim looked at me apologetically at Lee Seokhyun’s words.

“It’s because we’re getting old, getting old. Sena-ssi, if I upset you, I’m sorry, okay?”

I waved my hands at the sunbaenim.

“Not at all. I’m not upset!”

“Don’t hold it against us. We’re all just feeling regretful for you. We always enjoy watching your work.”

“That’s right, do well. We’re heading out.”

“Take care!”

The sunbaenim each left a comment before leaving the studio….

I looked at Lee Seokhyun’s unexpectedly impressive face.

Lee Seokhyun smiled brightly at me.

It’s been forever since I’ve seen this punk.

“So, aren’t you grateful to death?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Lee Seokhyun’s words.

Right, at times like this I should at least say thank you.

“Yeah, thanks….”

I smiled as I started to respond.

“But… why did you really reject Warners?”

Lee Seokhyun asked with wide, curious eyes.

Ha… of course.

My energy completely drained.

* * *

Filming resumed quickly.

The Korean location content involved scenes of Emily meeting the birth mother she’d been searching for so long.

The actor cast in the birth mother role was senior actress Jang Jeongseon.

The scenes with her took place in an office building.

“Come here and take a certification shot. I’ve never seen Hyerim act like these young folks before.”

Jang Jeongseon sunbaenim laughed heartily as she called me over.

The ‘Hyerim’ she mentioned was Won Hyerim sunbaenim.

Jang Jeongseon sunbaenim had at least five years more seniority than even Won Hyerim sunbaenim.

When I went where she called, Won Hyerim sunbaenim’s coffee truck was waiting.

<The unlovable daughter-in-law gets an extra cup of coffee!>

The truck had an amusing placard.

I laughed with the sunbaenim looking at the sign, while the staff stared wide-eyed, examining the coffee truck from all angles.

Noticing this, I approached and asked.

“Is something wrong?”

A staff member answered while drinking coffee.

“This kind of system doesn’t really exist much in America.”

“Huh? System?”

“Usually we call in catering vehicles to the set. We handle all meals, snacks, and drinks there. It’s uncommon for fellow actors or fans to send things like this.”

“Ah…!”

Jang Jeongseon sunbaenim and I simultaneously widened our eyes and nodded.

The staff looked intrigued as they each took a beverage.

The most popular menu item was none other than sikhye.

“Wow, this is delicious!”

“What is this called?”

“Sik.hye.”

The staff began practicing the difficult sikhye pronunciation.

Meanwhile, Jang Jeongseon sunbaenim spoke to me.

“I actually agonized a lot before coming to set today.”

“Ah, what were you worried about?”

Does even a veteran sunbaenim like her have worries?

“Our relationship in the work is what it is, you know?”

Emily’s birth mother Kim Heejeong was someone who lacked conventional maternal instincts.

There were various circumstances behind putting Emily up for adoption, but ultimately she chose her career over her daughter.

Kim Heejeong in the work was one of Korea’s leading architects.

She’d decided to dedicate her life to building houses rather than raising a child.

“So I thought if I got close to you before filming, the emotions wouldn’t stick at all. I debated whether to treat you coldly or pretend not to know you.”

Jang Jeongseon sunbaenim confessed with a laugh.

“Ah, I see….”

I smiled as I listened to her words.

“So I happened to ask Hyerim about it, and she said there was no need for that?”

“What? Why?”

“Well, she said she couldn’t speak for other young actors, but with you there’s no need for that. That you’d do well even without those methods. Then that girl went ‘Unnie, you do your part!’ at me.”

Oh my.

Jang Jeongseon sunbaenim laughed to herself.

I couldn’t dare laugh along.

“Hyerim’s actually pretty picky, but she seems to really like you. How did you win her over?”

I just laughed awkwardly at the sunbaenim’s teasing question, unable to think of an answer.

“Won Hyerim sunbaenim takes such good care of her hoobae. I’m just one of many.”

“No way, kid. She’s got quite the personality.”

Cold sweat dripped down.

“Filming set ready.”

Luckily, a staff member approached and rescued me.