In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 91

“Ready, action!”

In front of Kim Heejeong’s office.

I stood with my arms crossed, my face expressionless.

I tried to act indifferent, but the tight grip of my hands on my arms betrayed my nervous heart.

That’s when I heard footsteps, and someone came around the corner toward me.

“……”

It was Kim Heejeong, the birth mother I’d been searching for all this time.

When she saw my face, Kim Heejeong-ssi stared at me intently without asking who I was.

Director Raymond had said the casting of Kim Heejeong’s role involved considerable effort to find the actress in Korea who most resembled me.

I stared right back at my mother standing before me.

Then I was the first to break the silence.

“I came to commission a house.”

Kim Heejeong-ssi turned and opened the office door as she spoke.

“The architectural approaches in Korea and America are very different. Commission someone else.”

Kim Heejeong already had extensive experience working overseas.

It was just an excuse to refuse my request.

I looked at Kim Heejeong-ssi’s retreating back and spoke.

Stubbornly, firmly.

“No, you have to take it on.”

I deliberately kept my tone from carrying too much force in delivering the line.

Because my gaze fixed on Kim Heejeong had already grown coldly distant.

Kim Heejeong-ssi turned back around and looked at me wordlessly.

The eyes of the sunbaenim playing Kim Heejeong seemed to hold an expression that said she’d known this day would come.

Almost like resignation.

I looked away from those eyes and spoke resolutely.

At least I’m sadder and more pitiable than you.

“Three stories tall. My parents will be staying on the first floor.”

“……”

“My child’s room is on the third floor.”

At the words ‘my child’s room,’ Kim Heejeong-ssi’s expression shifted subtly.

Kim Heejeong-ssi opened her mouth to respond.

“So you had a child too. Congratulations.”

Hearing those words somehow made me angrier.

I suppressed the emotions rising within me.

“I don’t need belated congratulations. Ah, if you really want to congratulate me, build the house.”

But Kim Heejeong-ssi flatly refused.

“That won’t be possible.”

I stared at my birth mother in silence for a long moment.

It was the first time I’d felt resentful toward someone’s eyes that showed so little emotion.

I gazed into those eyes for a long time.

“Cut! Let me check something.”

The moment the director’s words fell, the sunbaenim smiled slightly.

“You’re like a chestnut covered with a blanket.”

“Excuse me…?”

“You did well.”

Only then did I realize it was a compliment.

She seemed to have caught how I’d kept the exterior dry while holding desperate emotions inside.

I smiled shyly at the praise.

That’s when the director spoke.

“Sound NG. The emotions from both of you are good. Let’s go again!”

* * *

While continuing the brief three-day Korean filming schedule.

“What do you think about the discord rumors with Lee Nara-ssi?”

“Do you think this project holds enough value to give up <Fabulous>?”

“Does Han Sena-ssi prefer art films over commercial art?”

“Please give us a word to comfort the disappointed Warners fans.”

This time, we ran into a new obstacle with reporters swarming unexpectedly.

“Director Raymond, what’s the secret to bringing two actors who were both cast in Warners?”

“Can this film beat Warners at the American box office?!”

Even questions thrown out in English.

The hands of the staff preparing for the next shoot stopped dead.

I found myself automatically reading the room and glancing around…

The staff’s expressions weren’t good, which made me deeply uncomfortable.

I felt like they were dealing with this hassle because of me.

I bit my lip hard.

I really wanted to stop hearing this now.

Director Raymond also looked fed up and frowned sharply.

“Get out, get out!”

As if the reporters would listen.

But then I spotted a familiar face among those reporters.

It was the reporter I’d seen at the airport.

The moment our eyes met, I turned my head, and sure enough, that reporter threw out a question as if he couldn’t miss this chance.

“I heard you talked at a gathering with acquaintances about how satisfying it felt to step on Lee Nara. Is that true?”

At the reporter’s words, the surroundings fell silent for a moment.

Ha, this is seriously annoying.

But if I went over and gave even one response, I’d be tormented by gossip articles for days.

I was holding back with all my strength when the reporter kept provoking.

“They even say you pushed Lee Nara-ssi out at a private actors’ gathering. Is that right?”

A brief silence fell over the set.

That’s when Jang Jeongseon sunbaenim, who’d been listening quietly, opened her mouth.

“Who said that?”

The reporter looked flustered and stared at the sunbaenim.

“That’s a very private matter. Did you hear it ‘directly’ from the parties involved? Sena, did you say something like that?”

The sunbaenim turned her back and asked me.

I immediately shook my head.

The sunbaenim asked the reporter again.

“Then who did you hear it from?”

Other reporters also started rolling their eyes nervously at the sunbaenim’s sharp point.

“That’s not…”

“If it’s not that, then it’s false information, isn’t it? Can someone who’s a reporter really do this?”

In the frozen atmosphere, Jinseok oppa, who’d been waiting in the distance, smoothly approached.

When the imposing Jinseok oppa stepped forward, the reporters flinched back in surprise.

“Please leave. What are you doing at someone else’s filming site?”

The reporters who’d been reading the room started withdrawing one by one.

I watched intently as the reporter hastily packed up his camera.

Judging by his expression, he looked utterly flustered.

Rather than the feeling of coming up empty, I sensed an emotion more like fear.

Seeing his face gave me a faint suspicion.

A very rotten suspicion at that.

I sighed inwardly and turned my head, meeting eyes with Jinseok oppa.

Jinseok oppa also had an ominous look, as if he’d sensed something.

* * *

A few days later, at the airport.

After finishing the brief Korean shoot, I was heading out of the country again.

This time too, reporters were lined up en masse.

I tried to pass by lightly while waving, but the reporters’ questions poured down.

“Did you coordinate with Actor Aiden to reject <Fabulous> together and film <Hometown>??”

“Where does that confidence come from? Please say a word!”

Sick of the similar questions, I quickened my pace.

But then one voice among the many reporters particularly caught my ear.

“Han Sena-ssi, what kind of person is the protagonist Emily in <Hometown>?”

It was a polite tone I hadn’t heard in recent days.

Plus, it was the first question I’d received about the work itself.

Unlike other reporters who only obsessively asked about my conflict with Lee Nara.

Feeling pleased, I smiled slightly at that reporter.

Then I approached and spoke.

“Thank you for asking.”

Then I freely shared the thoughts about Emily that came to mind.

Camera flashes burst intensely in front of us.

The reporter who heard my explanation bowed and offered thanks.

I also bowed lightly and turned around.

Then I whispered quietly to Jinseok oppa beside me.

“Oppa, could you get that person’s business card for me?”

Jinseok oppa looked briefly surprised, then nodded.

* * *

In front of a house in a small neighborhood on the outskirts of LA.

I reached out and pressed the doorbell next to the entrance.

In one hand, I held a large bouquet I’d carefully selected.

Ding dong-

Before long, I heard pattering footsteps rushing out, and the door swung wide open.

“Sena!”

Chloe smiled brightly and gave me a hug.

I also embraced Chloe with a happy heart.

“Welcome!”

Behind her, Chloe’s parents approached and offered handshakes.

They were both Korean-American with pleasant impressions.

“Nice to meet you! Thank you for inviting me.”

The parents smiled and responded.

“We should be thanking you for coming all this way.”

“I heard Mother likes flowers.”

When I handed over the flowers, Chloe’s mother beamed.

“Morning glories. They’re my favorite flower.”

“Chloe tipped me off.”

At my answer, Chloe’s mother placed her hand on her chest.

“Kamsahapnida.”

I smiled at Mother’s awkward Korean.

“We both can’t speak Korean. My husband lived in Korea briefly, but he says he’s forgotten almost all of it.”

“That’s fine. My English is still rough too.”

“Thank you for the flowers, come in quickly.”

With that, I stepped inside the house.

Entering someone else’s home with shoes on was a first for me.

It felt completely awkward.

As if reading my mind, Chloe grabbed my hand and grinned.

“I heard in Korea people don’t wear shoes inside homes.”

“That’s right, it’s a cultural difference.”

“Fascinating!”

“Next time you visit Korea, I’ll invite you to my house.”

“I’d love to go.”

A moment later, in front of the table where we all sat together.

The dishes on the table showed clear traces of the parents’ considerable care.

Steak and pasta salad, roasted chicken, freshly baked bread, dessert pie.

“My goodness, thank you so much. Even the plating is perfect.”

“I told him to stop because it’d put pressure on our guest. This person’s a perfectionist in the kitchen.”

Chloe’s father shook his head playfully as if exasperated.

Her mother smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

Her face showed nervousness about what kind of evaluation she’d receive.

“Is it too American? Korean food turned out to be difficult.”

I waved my hands at those words.

“I eat Korean food to my heart’s content every day when I’m in Korea! This is the first time I’ve seen such a stunning table in my life.”

Mother’s expression brightened completely.

“Eat as much as you want. Our house’s signature dish is this pork neck steak.”

Mother placed the steak on my plate first.

Chloe’s father poured wine into the glasses.

Chloe smiled continuously, seeming to enjoy this meal.

Watching Chloe like that, I asked.

“When did you start wanting to become an actress, Chloe?”

“After watching Glen act when we used to live together!”

“Glen?”

At my question, Chloe’s mother added an explanation.

“Our dog who went to heaven a few years ago. His specialty was pretending to sleep in front of the table, then snatching food and running away.”

Hearing that made me burst out laughing.

“You wanted to become an actress after watching that dog act?”

“Yes. We all laughed so hard every time Glen did that, even though we had to rush to the vet and went through so much trouble because of those performances.”

What a truly harmonious family.

My smile wouldn’t fade.

“That’s why I was confused for a while, thinking acting made everyone happy.”

“When did you realize that was a misconception?”

“The first time I performed on stage. I started with musicals before films, actually.”

“I see.”

Despite her young age, she was quite experienced.

“One day, people found my singing boring. I was deeply hurt by that. That’s when I realized: not everyone likes it just because I’m acting. Plus, being Asian made it difficult to get various roles.”

The story was becoming more intriguing.

“So that happened. How did you overcome it?”

“I didn’t overcome it. I went to see a counselor and asked, and they said that’s just what life is like. Some people will laugh at whatever I do, and some people won’t, so just do what I want to do.”

Hearing that surprised me a bit.

Such profound realization from a thirteen-year-old.

“That’s wonderful advice. I think the same way.”

“And when they wouldn’t give me roles because I’m Asian.”

“What about then?”

I leaned in to listen intently.

What Chloe said next was shocking.