I Don’t Want to Play Villains Anymore - Chapter 1

However, even if I indulge in a bit of greed,

It’s been about a month since I returned and endured the memories of the past, reaching the age of five.

“Umm…”

I’m bored.

There’s still a few months left until kindergarten starts.

Because of that, the only remaining content for me is the thorough reading of the Little Prince.

Of course, the Little Prince is a good book.

Even if you read it dozens of times, new meanings arise each time, and every single sentence approaches philosophically, making it a masterpiece.

But,

‘This isn’t the direction I want to go.’

I want to become an actor.

I want to fulfill the dream of becoming a ‘leading actor’ that I couldn’t in my past life.

However, this body is still too young.

No matter how much I remember from my past life, I am just seen as a child in the eyes of adults.

Then, the range in which I can act is bound to be limited.

No matter how well I act, a five-year-old can’t take on the role of a noir film boss like in my previous life.

Fortunately, I have returned with some knowledge of the future and some acting skills.

I can at least choose a good work.

‘…Then, what kind of acting should I do?’

I raised myself from the bed and looked out the window.

Still, the round and small hands unique to a child.

I can’t clench my fists in a single motion like before,

and there’s no heavy and rough script to turn.

However, the desire to ‘act’ remains unchanged.

‘I am five years old.’

I have to admit what I must admit.

If I have the body of a five-year-old, I have to act in a way that befits that age.

‘Then, I should act like a four-year-old.’

But I haven’t liked the ‘child actor acting’ I’ve done so far.

Even in my past life, I watched many child actors perform,

and the focus was on ‘naturalness appropriate for that age.’

Rather than concentrating on explosive emotions, it was about conveying emotions in an arrogant manner.

‘So, do I have to abandon the acting from my past life and just do regular child acting?’

Wouldn’t that be too different from the acting I did in my past life?

“No, I don’t want that.”

Swish, swish.

I shook my head and stared at my reflection in the mirror.

I don’t want to become just a simple child actor.

I am not just an actor to be consumed as ‘cute.’

I am Baek Ha-neul, to be recognized as a true actor.

Then…

“Let’s practice the expressions I’ve wanted from the start.”

I stood in front of the mirror with my hair slightly tousled.

In the mirror stood a smiling girl with blue eyes and silver hair.

Still a bit chubby in the cheeks and with fair, soft skin.

But the problem is, can I create the expressions I want using this cute face?

Starting with the most basic emotions, I cautiously scrunched my face.

Um, the ‘Neulno’ I acted countless times in my past life.

‘This is an easy thing for me.’

I frowned, slightly biting my lip and tightening my jaw.

In my past life, if I made an expression like this, I exuded strong charisma.

Especially when the camera was on close-up, I had trained to convey emotions through just my gaze.

I was compared to Ral, the legend of the film industry.

But now I…

“What’s this…”

The face reflected in the mirror wasn’t angry; it looked just like a sulking child.

I couldn’t recognize my cheeks becoming puffy from the inward breath and my white skin turning red.

With eyes narrowed in annoyance.

‘…It’s cute.’

The ‘Neulno’ expression from my past life had a powerful presence.

But trying to make the same expression with this body just made me look like a kid whose temper tantrum was being controlled.

“No, I wanted to make an angry expression!”

I tried again.

I furrowed my brows, lowered my eyebrows, and slightly bit my lips.

A classic ‘Neulno’ expression.

Yet again, in the mirror, it reflected a child-like appearance, like someone holding back tears.

‘…Sigh. This is a disaster.’

“Ah.”

I sighed and relaxed my expression.

Applying the expressions from my previous life directly doesn’t work out.

I can’t express charisma with a child’s face.

Let’s aim for the best performance I can with this present facial structure.

“Then, the angry expression must be formulated differently.”

I tilted my head and decided to try a ‘Neulno’ more suitable for this face.

I slightly pursed my lips and opened my eyes wide.

While putting strength in my cheeks, I raised my eyebrows a little and finished with a turn of my head.

“Oh…”

This time, rather than a charismatic ‘Neulno,’ it became more of a pouty child’s expression.

And it looked much more natural with my current body.

“Good… After that, the expression is…”

“Haneul.”

“Ah?!”

Startled, I jumped and turned around.

The door that had been slightly open without me noticing had a man standing there, emitting a chill.

My father in this life, Baek Geon-hwan.

Still holding a coffee cup at the end of his loosely hanging hand, his pale arm rolled up his neatly fitted shirt sleeve.

He stood quietly, as if watching every single one of my clumsy actions from start to finish with one hand stuffed in his pocket.

I instinctively looked at the mirror. d*mn. My face is clearly visible…!

While I was so absorbed in practicing my expressions, he had been quietly watching from the door.

“…Dad?”

Baek Geon-hwan took a slow step forward, still holding the coffee cup in one hand.

He had a peculiar presence in his stride.

His gaze, penetrating me without any significant change in expression, seemed a bit sharp and meaningful.

“…Dad. How long have you been there…?”

“I saw you scrunching your lips, widening your eyes, crossing your arms, and tilting your head.”

I felt like my whole body froze in that moment.

“And I saw you going ‘Oh!’ in admiration of yourself.”

Fortunately, he hadn’t seen much…!

My face burned hot.

I felt like burying my head in the ground out of embarrassment.

“Then, I also heard you about to say ‘Next, the expression is…’”

“…Aaaah!!!!”

I instinctively covered my face with my hands.

It was so, so, so embarrassing.

“No, Dad! If you’re coming in, at least knock!”

“The door was open.”

“So you could have waited for me to invite you in!”

“You left the door open, you know.”

I was in despair.

I had been caught with traces of my previous self and the transformation of a five-year-old at the same time.

This is too embarrassing…!

However, Baek Geon-hwan continued to look at me with a calm face.

And then he briefly chuckled.

“You said you wanted to be an actor, and I guess you were practicing.”

I was momentarily speechless.

It was a completely normal statement, but his tone had a peculiar nuance of ‘confirmation’ mixed in.

“…Well, yes, that’s right.”

“You seem to be practicing while checking every expression quite earnestly.”

He looked at my face intently for a moment,

then slowly set the mug down.

“Haneul.”

“…Yes?”

“Have you ever acted?”

In that moment, my heart skipped a beat.

“…Well, that…”

“I’m glad to see that our daughter is genius-like.”

I pondered my response for a moment.

How could I navigate the conversation naturally?

“…Um, I just want to be an actor?”

“Really?”

Upon hearing that, Baek Geon-hwan raised an eyebrow delicately.

His heavy gaze pierced into me.

“A five-year-old is acting, huh?”

“A five-year-old can act too!”

I snapped back.

But at the same time, I wanted to shy away from Baek Geon-hwan’s unsettling gaze, so I tried to make the ‘pouty’ expression I had just practiced again.

“…Hmph. Are you doubting that I can act?”

“……”

“I will truly become an actress! I can act well!”

Baek Geon-hwan stared quietly at my small body for a moment,

then slowly nodded his head.

“Okay.”

“…Huh?”

“Then, let’s go watch an audition today.”

“……Audition?”

My mind went blank.

“Really?”

“Yeah. You said you want to be an actress, right?”

“Well, that’s true…”

I stammered at the unexpected development. Wait, are we going to an audition suddenly?

This fast? This suddenly?

“Do you have time?”

“…Dad, I’m five years old. I haven’t even started kindergarten yet. I have lots of time.”

There probably won’t be this much time to rest in my life again.

Perhaps due to my audacious attitude, Baek Geon-hwan chuckled softly.

“Alright, then prepare.”

And he turned towards the door while adding one last comment.

“Let’s check your acting today.”

At those words, my heart sank.

I could tell instantly from his expression that this situation wasn’t a joke.

It seemed that I was about to face my first test as an actor, even quicker than my previous life.

“Hmm… This audition is quite large in scale.”

Director Jung Hee-chang murmured as he slowly skimmed through the list of applicants in hand.

As each line passed by, children in the back continued to practice their performances.

This audition was for the child role of ‘Yeomra’ in the modern fantasy drama ‘The Story of the Quiet God.’

In the drama, it’s a supporting role that appears only once, but in the original work, it’s a pivotal character that shows a strong impact on the story.

If the sequel is confirmed, it is guaranteed that Yeomra will be central in the story, so under normal plans, the audition should have already been completed.

However, due to the leading child actor Seo Jun-han moving to another production, they were now urgently looking for a substitute talent.

Naturally, the scale had to expand.

From newcomers to already well-known child actors in the industry, the number of participants in this audition alone was in the dozens.

But Director Jung Hee-chang did not appear to be pleased.

He gazed intently at the stage with his arms crossed.

“…Something feels ambiguous.”

Beside him, the assistant director, holding a script, whispered with a perplexed expression.

“Nowadays, child actors’ performances are too similar. It’s not that they’re incapable of acting, but there’s no sense of ‘this is the only child!’ either.”

“That’s the problem.”

Jung Hee-chang let out a deep sigh.

This work is a mystical fantasy drama.

Given that it revolves around characters with quiet yet strong presences, merely having an exceptional appearance or tearing up like a typical child actor isn’t enough.

“We need something… a bit more powerful.”

He tapped the list he was holding with his fingers.

There weren’t many candidates left now.

Many of the child actors had several experiences,

and while a few of them showed decent performances…

“…Whether they fit this role is a different issue.”

He turned his gaze back to the waiting room.

“…Oh?”

Director Jung Hee-chang’s eyes widened.

Entering the waiting room was a girl with silver hair and wall-like green eyes.