I Don't Want to Play Villains Anymore

It's been a month since I reached the age of five, enduring all kinds of embarrassment after reincarnating.

"Hmm..."

I'm bored.

There are still a few months left until kindergarten starts.

So the only content left for me is intensive reading of "The Little Prince."

Of course, "The Little Prince" is a good book.

It's a masterpiece where new meanings emerge each time you read it, even after dozens of readings, and each sentence becomes philosophical.

But—

'This isn't the direction I want.'

I want to become an actress.

I want to fulfill my dream of being a "lead role" that I couldn't achieve in my previous life.

But this body is still too young.

No matter how much I retain memories from my previous life, I still appear as a child in people's eyes.

That means the range of roles I can play is limited too.

No matter how good my acting is, a five-year-old can't play a noir boss like in my previous life.

'...Then, what kind of acting should I do?'

I got up from the bed and looked out the window.

My hands are still small and round, characteristic of a young child.

I can't make a tight fist in one go like before, and I don't have the sensation of flipping through heavy, rough scripts anymore.

But my desire to "act" remains unchanged.

'I am a five-year-old.'

I need to acknowledge what must be acknowledged.

If I have a five-year-old body, I should act in a way that suits that age.

'Then, I should act appropriately for my age.'

But I wasn't satisfied with the "child actor performances" I'd seen so far.

In my previous life, I watched many child actors perform, most focused on "natural behavior appropriate for their age."

Arrogant acting that no longer focused on explosive emotions, as if merely conveying emotions was okay.

'So, should I discard my previous life's acting skills and just perform ordinary child acting?'

If so, wouldn't that be too different from the acting I've been doing in my previous life?

"...No, I don't like that."

Swish, swish.

I shake my head and look at myself reflected in the mirror.

I don't want to be just a child actor.

I'm not an actress who is simply consumed as "cute."

I am Baek Ha-neul, who will be recognized as a real actress.

In that case...

"First, let's practice facial expressions."

I got down from the bed and stood in front of the mirror.

In the mirror stood a beautiful girl with long silver braided hair and blue eyes.

My cheeks were still slightly chubby like a young child, and my skin was white and soft.

But the problem is whether I can properly create the expressions I want with this cute face.

Starting with the most basic emotions.

I carefully tried to scrunch up my face.

First, "anger," which I had acted out countless times in my previous life.

'This should be a piece of cake.'

I furrowed my brow, slightly bit my lip, and tensed my jaw.

In my previous life, making this expression created intense charisma.

I had trained especially to convey emotions with just my eyes during camera close-ups.

I was compared to the Hong Kong film legend Tony Leung.

But now I am...

"What is this..."

The face reflected in the mirror looked not angry, but just like a sulking child.

My cheeks puffed up unconsciously, my white skin flushed red, and my eyes glared as if pouting.

'...It's cute.'

My "anger" performance in my previous life was an expression filled with intense presence.

But making the same expression with my current body just made me look like a child who was upset about being denied a snack.

"No, I wanted to make an angry expression?"

I tried once more.

Furrow the brow.

Lower the eyebrows.

Slightly bite my lip.

The standard expression of anger.

But this time too, the mirror reflected someone who looked like a child trying not to cry.

'...Haah. This is a disaster.'

"Eh-yo."

I sighed and relaxed my expression again.

The facial expressions from my previous life don't translate directly.

I can't exude charisma with a child's face.

Instead of thinking about my previous life, I should aim for the maximum performance possible with my current face.

"Then, I'll have to express anger differently."

I tilted my head and decided to try expressing anger in a way that better suited this face.

Slightly push out my lips, open my eyes wide.

Tense my cheeks while slightly scrunching my eyebrows upward.

Finish by crossing my arms and turning my head away sharply.

"Ooh..."

This time, instead of charismatic anger, it was a young child's anger, as if pouting.

And this looked much more natural for my current body.

"Good... now for the next expression..."

"Ha-neul."

"Eek?!"

Startled, I flinched and turned around.

The door was slightly open, though I hadn't noticed when it opened, and through the gap stood a man exuding a cool aura.

My father in this life, Baek Geon-hwan.

His long, slender fingers still held a coffee cup, and his pale arm with the shirt sleeve casually rolled up was visible.

He stood quietly with one hand in his pocket, as if he had been watching my every move from beginning to end.

I instinctively looked at the mirror.

Damn it. He can see my face from that angle...!

While I was distracted practicing facial expressions, he had been quietly watching from the doorway.

"...Daddy?"

Baek Geon-hwan slowly took a step inside with the coffee cup in one hand.

His gait had a strangely imposing weight to it.

Without any particular change in expression, his gaze pierced through me, sharp and meaningful.

"...Daddy. How long have you been there..."

"Since you pushed out your lips, opened your eyes wide, crossed your arms, and turned your head sharply."

I felt like my whole body froze in that moment.

"And I also saw you going 'ooh' while admiring yourself."

Fortunately, he didn't see much...!

My face burned hot.

I was so embarrassed I wanted to bury my head in the floor.

"I also heard you saying 'now for the next expression...'"

"...Aaaahhh!!!!"

I reflexively covered my face with both hands.

It was too, too, too embarrassing.

"No, Daddy! If you're coming in, at least knock!"

"The door was already open."

"Then close it before coming in!"

"You're the one who left the door open."

I was in despair.

He had caught me showing both traces of my previous life's self and my gradually changing five-year-old behavior at the same time.

This is too fatal...!

But Baek Geon-hwan still looked at me with an indifferent face.

And very briefly, he smirked.

"You said you wanted to be an actress, so I guess you were practicing."

I was momentarily speechless.

It was an obvious statement, but his tone had a strange nuance of "confirmation."

"...Y-Yes, that's right."

"Checking each expression while practicing, you were quite diligent."

He stared intently at my face for a moment, then slowly put down his mug.

"Ha-neul."

"...Yes?"

"Have you acted before?"

At that moment, my heart skipped a beat.

"...W-Well..."

"Is it common for a five-year-old child to study expressions so analytically in front of a mirror?"

I hesitated with my answer for a moment.

How should I explain this to make it sound natural?

"...Um, just because I want to be an actress?"

"Just?"

Baek Geon-hwan subtly raised an eyebrow at those words.

His heavy gaze seemed to pierce right through me.

"A five-year-old doing 'expression research'?"

"Five-year-olds can act too!"

I retorted defiantly.

But at the same time, wanting to escape slightly from Baek Geon-hwan's gaze, I tried to make the "pouting expression" I had just practiced.

"...Hmph. Are you doubting that I can act?"

"..."

"I'm really going to be an actress! I can act well too!"

Baek Geon-hwan quietly looked at my small body, then slowly nodded.

"Alright."

"...Huh?"

"Then, let's go to an audition today."

"...Audition?"

My mind went blank.

"Really?"

"Yes. Didn't you say you want to be an actress?"

"W-Well, that's true, but..."

I stammered, caught off guard by this unexpected development.

Wait, suddenly going to an audition?

This quickly?

This suddenly?

"Do you have time?"

"...Daddy, I'm five years old. I don't even go to kindergarten yet. I have plenty of time."

There will never be a time in life with this much free time.

Perhaps due to my bold attitude, Baek Geon-hwan smirked.

"Good. Then get ready."

And as he turned toward the door, he added one more thing.

"Let's see your acting today."

At those words, my heart sank.

I could immediately tell from his expression that this situation was no joke.

It seems I'll be facing my first test as an actress sooner than I thought.

○

"Hmm... this audition is quite large-scale."

Director Jung Hee-chang muttered as he slowly reviewed the list of applicants in his hand.

As his finger moved from line to line, children continued practicing their acting in the background.

This audition was for casting the child version of 'Yeomra' in the modern fantasy drama "The Story of the Quiet Gods."

It was a minor role appearing only once in the drama, but in the original work, it was a core part of the story with a powerful impact.

If a second season were to be decided, Yeomra would definitely become a central character, so according to the original plan, this role should have already been cast.

However, because the leading child actor Seo Jun-han moved to another project, they were urgently looking for a replacement talent.

As a result, the scale inevitably became larger.

From newcomers to child actors already known in the industry, there were dozens of participants in this audition.

But Jung Hee-chang's face wasn't very bright.

He was watching the stage expressionlessly with his arms crossed.

"...It's somewhat ambiguous."

The assistant director holding the script whispered with a troubled expression.

"These days, child actors' skills are too similar. None of them are bad actors, but there's no one who makes me think 'it has to be this child!'"

"That's the problem."

Jung Hee-chang exhaled deeply.

This project was a fantasy drama with a mysterious atmosphere.

As a work centered around characters with quiet yet strong presences, simply having good looks or crying like a typical child actor wasn't enough.

"We need something... more intense."

He tapped the list in his hand.

There weren't many applicants left.

There were many child actors with considerable experience, and some of them certainly showed good acting, but...

"...Whether they suit this project is another question."

He turned his eyes back to the waiting room.

"...Huh?"

Director Jung Hee-chang's eyes wavered.

Entering the waiting room was a girl with silver hair and blue eyes.