Chapter 96

My acting ultimately stems from my past life.

In this life, there is surely acting that I have newly discovered and acting that I have developed further.

However, I could not deny that the foundation of my acting lies not with Lee Ha-eun but with someone else.

“Well, it’s not exactly a problem.”

Just because my acting originated from a past life didn’t make me reluctant to act.

After all, my past life was one far removed from being an actor.

Personal doubts about “my past self.”

The emotions I felt every time I discovered traces of my past life hidden in “the acting of Lee Ha-eun” were limited to that.

There was no need to attribute greater meaning to it.

However, the questions about “my past self” had been present since childhood.

“…What kind of confidence did I have back then?”

During the peak of my adolescence, I inevitably headed to the familiar hospital and familiar ward to confirm that existence with my own eyes.

I clearly remember trembling immensely.

Just like the protagonists in countless doppelgänger films.

I too wondered if, upon encountering “another me,” one of us might disappear like a mirage.

However, ultimately nothing happened.

The tumultuous days of adolescence completely ended on the day I realized that my past self and “Lee Ha-eun” were separate individuals.

From that day forward, I no longer needed to be confused by thoughts about my identity.

Nonetheless, what continued to bother me was that I knew when and where I would die.

If my options were limited to <rescue> and <let die>, I wanted to choose <rescue>.

And now that I was convinced that I could expand the scope of that <rescue> further,

I was determined not just to save that life but also to save the life that comes after it.

“…I’ve really kept a foolish man by my side.”

Ironically, I needed to be more proactive about the hobby of being an actor.

In other words, a great actor.

Or, a superstar.

I had to become someone with influence that no one could belittle and approach “them” to exclude my past life.

I had to completely distance myself so they could no longer abuse my past self.

To be in a position where I, who was a perfect stranger from my past self, could interact with those who are also another stranger, I needed to stand out more.

Starting with this [Shall We Fall Together], I had to keep climbing higher and higher.

“Truly, I kept a foolish man… by my side.”

The intensity of emotions was different than before.

The acting method was different than before.

Even the clear goals as an actor were different than before.

As I shifted my gaze towards higher places, I could change quite a lot.

The only thing that did not change was the value that those people held.

They were the ones who abused their own child until the very end.

There could be no value worthy of value.

Thus, bringing down such valueless people could not be that extraordinary of a task.

So, this was not a grand ambition but just a light hobby.

Becoming a superstar as a hobby.

Completely bringing down those valueless people as a hobby.

And simply saving my past self was just an incredibly light story.

I had no intention of ruining my life out of vengeance, not even in the slightest.

I would continue to enjoy being an actor and put more effort into my broadcasting as Diah.

It was simply that I now had something I wanted to do.

The reason I became more proactive about my hobby as an actor was solely that.

***

“…This is the last chance to not be unhappy, Kyle. Come on, kill me.”

A distinct voice.

With her back against the floor, as she looked up at Kyle, the face of Empress Aria bore a precarious calm.

A pathetic attempt to not reveal her emotions.

Yet, what returned was not a harsh blade but Kyle’s gradually lowering gaze.

Thus, Kyle once again faced her.

Sitting on the floor like Empress Aria, at the same eye level as her.

“There is no greater unhappiness than killing the one you love.”

He spoke a line bearing entirely different meaning than when he had previously rejected Empress Aria’s orders.

Yet emotion remained absent.

The scarred hand stretched out.

With that outstretched hand, the calm demeanor of Empress Aria shattered completely.

Ultimately, feelings overflowed.

The gaze of the audience focused on her delicately shaking shoulders.

And from that exact moment.

“…How cruel.”

The density of Ha-eun’s acting shifted.

“Truly… it’s cruel. You are such a cruel person, Kyle.”

A choked voice.

A face distorted in the shape of sorrow.

The two hands, which had gradually extended, tightly grasped Kyle’s chest.

Almost simultaneously, she drew him towards herself and turned her back to the audience.

Then her tilted head.

The sound of breath being drawn in could be heard from the audience, as two faces became cunningly intertwined.

The moment felt like a quiet stillness hung in the air.

The weight of the scene stifled the murmurs of the audience.

One of the two mouths, which had felt completely united for a moment, opened shortly thereafter.

“You said there’s no greater unhappiness than killing the one you love.”

The small corners of her lips trembled.

A single tear fell suddenly.

“You were wrong. The greatest unhappiness is having the foremost sinner in this land as yours.”

The meaning of her vaguely cracked voice was either joy or sorrow.

The various emotions, so muddled together that they became indistinguishable, left both the audience and Joo Do-yoon speechless, as they simply watched.

“Ultimately, it will only be a bottomless pit. An endless abyss awaits us.”

Not quite a monologue.

Not quite a curse.

Not quite a reproach.

After that, she continued to pour out conflicting emotions without restraint.

So, in the end.

“Let’s fall together.”

She both smiled and wept.

Rejoiced while grieving.

Breathed in despair and exhaled relief.

Unrefined emotions continuously flowed onto the stage.

Eventually filling the audience and forcing the disordered feelings of Empress Aria upon them.

“I have to… respond…”

Gong Hye-yeon knew that there were still lines remaining.

To conclude the performance, Joo Do-yoon’s tightly closed mouth needed to be opened.

But.

Given that Joo Do-yoon, who was closest to Ha-eun, was swept away by her violent emotions, it was nearly impossible for him to regain his wits.

“Since you have taken me…”

In the fierce aura that engulfed the stage, once again an opened mouth spoke.

“You should carry my miserable fate with you as well.”

Reciting ad-libs that would replace Kyle’s lines,

“Now my sins are also yours, Kyle. Regret it deeply until the day you die.”

She played with it until the very end.

Making countless audience members remember only Ha-eun.

Thus, with a powerful inhale,

All the lights in the auditorium extinguished simultaneously, announcing the end of the performance.

Then came a huge round of applause.

Perhaps due to the fact that I had witnessed Ha-eun’s acting, which was several times more intense and extravagant than what I had seen on TV, the lingering feelings were hard to shake off.

“Wow, no… wow…”

There were countless words I wanted to say, but when it came to actually speaking, they became jumbled.

Lee Geon-yeol also empathized with this aspect of Lee Jun.

“…Huh? Hey, camera!”

The gimbal camera that should have filmed Ha-eun on the stage of [Shall We Fall Together] happened to be resting on Lee Jun’s knee for some reason.

“Ugh! It’s ruined!!”

Ultimately, a high-pitched scream escaped from Lee Jun’s mouth.

The most impressive highlight of the final act wasn’t captured for even a second.

I must have been so enthralled by Ha-eun’s unfamiliar appearance that I lost myself in the performance without realizing it.

***

“Um… sorry.”

Joo Do-yoon’s voice was awkward.

In response, Ha-eun calmly replied that it was okay.

To be precise, if it were a rehearsal, he would have probably lectured her repeatedly.

However, pointing out a line mistake after the performance felt rather unproductive.

Regardless, it was an undeniable fact that the [Shall We Fall Together] performance ended well.

Considering that Ha-eun had startled Joo Do-yoon with emotions several times thicker than during rehearsals, it wasn’t entirely unconnected.

‘It was more bearable than I thought…’

Anyway, all that was left was the announcement of the results.

For now, she headed towards the makeshift changing room in the auditorium’s storage to change back into her school uniform.

The problem was.

– Step.

“Hey! Lee Ha-eun!”

Just as she started to button up her school blouse, a very familiar person came looking for Ha-eun.

“!!”

What she found was Da-yeon, who stood frozen in surprise at that moment.

Turning her body slightly, Ha-eun asked why Da-yeon had come looking for her while she was changing.

“No, it’s just… the kids from Class 2 said you were in the storage. I didn’t know you were changing…”

Her voice filled with half embarrassment, half frustration.

However, Da-yeon quickly apologized, so Ha-eun replied that it was fine.

Still, she didn’t know why Da-yeon had come to her in such a hurry.

“So, what’s the matter?”

While finishing buttoning the ones she hadn’t fastened yet, she asked Da-yeon about her purpose.

It was just then that a cautious voice came through.

“…Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“You were struggling with that kind of acting…”

Da-yeon then added that Ha-eun’s complexion seemed somewhat weirdly off.

At Da-yeon’s worry-laden words, Ha-eun replied,

“I’m okay now.”

Speaking as sincerely as ever.

Since she was closer to being okay than not, it was a truthful answer mixed with a bit of honesty.

“Well, yeah. You did look okay to me.”

Her voice seemed a bit relieved.

Yet, she handed over a pack of strawberry milk.

“I heard everyone thinks your class will come in first. Think of it as a congratulatory gift.”

With that, Da-yeon’s not quite a command of ‘drink it all’ flowed into Ha-eun’s ears.

To be honest, it was funny.

It was easy to catch onto what the real meaning of the strawberry milk given to Ha-eun was.

However, Ha-eun knew that if she asked Da-yeon about the true meaning of the strawberry milk, she would surely deny it vehemently.

“How rude.”

“…? What’s ‘rude’?”

“It exists. Something like that.”

Deciding to play along for now.

Thus, following Da-yeon’s suggestion, she gulped down the sweet strawberry milk all at once, and she indeed felt much better.

Time passed, and finally, the moment of announcing the final results of this autumn festival performance arrived.

More precisely, when it was revealed that [Shall We Fall Together] received overwhelming scores in all categories, excluding the ‘Collaboration & Harmony’ category.

“Thank goodness.”

Realizing that the new acting method she had tried for the first time functioned well, she felt a moment of relief.

She thought that Ha-eun’s acting skills had found a stepping stone to further development.

If she continued to gradually improve like this, she would surely reach the place she aimed for.

Just being aware that she was not stagnating, but rather progressing, strongly motivated Ha-eun.

However, perhaps due to having performed an emotionally taxing act after a long time,

She unconsciously found herself wanting to ‘heal.’

– Click.

[Healing Game☆(Sea Butterfly)]

She turned one of the games recommended as healing games by the sunsets of the past into today’s broadcast content.

Compared to the battle island broadcast, it would likely be a much milder one, but today, she wanted to proceed with the broadcast quietly and comfortably.

She had yet to even remotely guess the true identity of [Sea Butterfly].

Having heard rumors that if you got spoiled, there would be no reason to play the game, she hadn’t searched for any information related to [Sea Butterfly] at all.

– Is Sea Butterfly healing?

– Ah, anyway, it’s a healing game lol

– The pixel graphics are cute, and they feel healing ㅇㅇ

– The background music is also relaxing~

– Diah, if you go down the stairs at the branching point of the ending, you can find out the true identity of Sea Butterfly (message deleted).

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