In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 166

Barum Entertainment office.

Kwon Minyeong was flipping through scripts when she let out a deep sigh.

She pressed her temples, then sank back into her chair.

The QYN script sat at one corner of the table.

A few days ago, she’d told Han Sena firmly that this project was absolutely off limits. Since then, she’d been burning the midnight oil, reading through scripts to find her next project.

But somehow, the QYN script kept catching her eye again.

“Why aren’t there any fun scripts these days.”

Kwon Minyeong muttered to herself, lost in thought.

Ever since shutting down Sena’s next project, she’d felt constantly uneasy.

A thought kept nagging at the back of her mind.

‘What if Sena had still been a rookie? Or what if I’d just started the company? Would I have been this picky?’

Of course, the circumstances were different now than back then, and with Sena’s recognition having grown so much, they needed different strategies to move forward.

But somewhere along the way, she’d lost her original intent—now she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was just pushing Han Sena into ‘projects that seemed guaranteed to succeed.’

She thought back to the day she’d first met Sena, the day she’d first established the company.

When creating the company name, she’d promised herself she’d run the company without being ashamed of that name.

“Is this really the right thing to do?”

She kept second-guessing herself.

She still opposed Sena carrying the burden of the entire project alone.

But right now, unable to find a script more entertaining than this one, she couldn’t just push her talent into some mediocre project.

That went against Sena’s values, Minyeong’s values, and the company’s values.

“What am I supposed to do with this.”

Her head throbbed.

Kwon Minyeong idly shuffled through papers and pulled out Han Sena’s schedule.

Checking the time, Sena was currently appearing as a guest on Jang Dogyeom’s radio show.

“Wait, Jang Dogyeom’s a DJ too?”

Kwon Minyeong whistled, newly impressed by his remarkable success.

Jang Dogyeom was practically another discovery of Sena’s, to say nothing of exaggeration.

Minyeong had been right there when Sena boldly asked Jang Dogyeom to do the project OST.

Every time she looked at Sena, she always felt it—that exceptional instinct and ability to recognize someone’s potential.

And that eye for choosing projects went without saying.

She’d always jumped recklessly into projects, but had never failed once.

Was it really right to hold back someone like that?

Kwon Minyeong sighed again and opened her laptop.

She pulled up the radio show Sena was on.

Jang Dogyeom’s voice, familiar after so long, filled the room.

‘Will your next project be domestic?’

‘Yes… probably.’

Hesitation colored Sena’s voice as she answered Jang Dogyeom’s question.

‘Do you have a project in mind?’

Jang Dogyeom asked with a teasing, playful tone.

‘I do have one.’

Kwon Minyeong’s expression hardened slightly as she listened.

Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine.

It couldn’t be.

‘Oh, can you give us a hint?’

‘Sure. The mini-series script QYN’s preparing is really interesting.’

‘QYN’s starting dramas??’

“!!!”

Kwon Minyeong shot up from her seat.

“Are you out of your mind?”

She stood frozen in front of the table, completely stunned.

Sena and Dogyeom exchanged a few more words, and Rodriguez’s song began flowing from the radio.

That’s when Minyeong’s phone started ringing nonstop.

Manager, reporters, staff members, and more.

Less than five minutes after the radio mention went out, calls flooded in from countless people.

Kwon Minyeong slumped back into her chair, looking dazed.

That’s when a message arrived from Sena.

-Unnie, I’m sorry…….

“Right.”

Kwon Minyeong muttered in a daze.

“At least it’s refreshing.”

* * *

One hour later.

After handling business and scheduling a meeting with QYN, Minyeong returned to the office.

“The radio show should be over by now. Why isn’t she answering her phone.”

Kwon Minyeong called both Manager Jinseok and Sena alternately.

Neither one answered.

Anyway, now that Han Sena had made such a spectacle, Kwon Minyeong had made up her mind too.

She planned to call Sena, lecture her a bit, then tell her they’d tackle this project together.

Like always.

That’s when a call came in.

An unknown number.

“….”

She stared at the number for a moment with an odd feeling before answering.

-Yes, this is Seoul Miyeon Hospital. Are you the guardian for Han Sena-ssi and Kim Jinseok-ssi?

“…What’s going on?”

-They were in a traffic accident and the patients are in critical condition. Please come quickly.

In an instant, her mind went hazy as the phone slipped from Minyeong’s hand.

Her legs gave out and her whole body started trembling.

Minyeong staggered as she picked up the phone.

She rushed frantically out of the office.

* * *

“Hey! Are you conscious?”

“Miss! Are you okay?”

Several voices echoed painfully in my head.

I barely managed to open my eyes to see a blindingly white ceiling.

“Ugh.”

A groan escaped me at the bone-deep pain.

Am I dead?

Just before.

After finishing the radio schedule, Jinseok oppa had been lecturing me in the van about causing such a scene.

Suddenly, Jinseok oppa yelled -Hold on tight!!- and jerked the wheel hard.

The car swerved sharply as an earsplitting explosion rang out.

The windows shattered, and her body slammed everywhere.

It all happened in an instant.

Bleeding in the overturned car, I barely managed to open my eyes.

The car ahead had crashed into the tunnel wall and was engulfed in flames.

Those flames started spreading to our car stuck right behind it.

Scorching heat and smoke filled the vehicle.

My body wouldn’t move despite the agonizing pain making her shudder.

Jinseok oppa had already lost consciousness at the wheel.

“Are you conscious??? Inha-ssi!! Park Inha-ssi!!!”

“…?”

She’d thought they were calling for her, but heard an unfamiliar name instead.

“Inha-ssi, Park Inha-ssi!!”

She closed her eyes again, hearing that name.

* * *

When I opened my eyes again, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

Am I really dead….

With that horrible feeling, I fully opened my eyes.

But strangely, my whole body felt light.

Unlike my memory of being seriously injured, nothing hurt.

‘…?’

With an unsettling feeling, I raised my hand toward the ceiling.

But the hand before my eyes looked strange.

‘Why is it so small…?’

A tiny hand like a child’s, at least a palm smaller than my original hand, came into view.

What is this.

I bolted upright.

The room’s scenery came into focus.

The small, shabby room was filled with furniture sized for a young child.

A small desk and chair, a bookshelf crammed with comic books, a narrow bed….

Above the bed was a small window leading outside.

I approached the old wardrobe bearing years of wear and placed my hand on it.

That’s when my face reflected in a mirror hanging on one side of the room.

As if possessed, I walked toward it.

Am I dreaming right now…?

In the mirror, I looked like an elementary school student around third or fourth grade.

This isn’t my childhood face….

I blinked quietly, trying to process the situation, when an acrid smell filled my nose.

The smell was even thicker than at the earlier accident scene.

I approached the door and grabbed the handle.

“Ah, it’s hot!”

I flinched at the scorching hot handle.

“???”

No way….

An ominous sensation rose within me.

Wrapping my sleeve around my hand, I turned the handle.

The moment the door opened, scorching heat rushed in.

“Inha… Inha…!”

A voice calling for me echoed from far away.

The living room she’d never seen before was engulfed in flames.

Beyond the living room, in a small bedroom, stood a young couple and a girl around six years old.

“Unnie!”

The girl called out to me with a terrified expression.

“Inha! Don’t come out! Get out through your window!!”

“…?”

But then.

Someone stirred near the entrance close to my room.

A strange man wearing a hat and mask stood there, looking down at me.

I instinctively backed away at his chilling gaze.

The flames grew more intense, spreading toward the bedroom.

The man stood there watching those flames, then pulled out a lighter from his pocket.

And threw the lighter toward the bedroom.

“…?”

I stared blankly at the scene…

“Inha! Run away!!!”

The young couple let out screams that bordered on agony.

And the man looked down at me one more time before opening the front door and disappearing.

The front door slammed shut with a bang.

The lighter thrown into the flames exploded instantly.

The three family members were swallowed by the blaze right before my eyes, and horrific screams filled the air.

I backed away in terror.

Hearing the family’s screams made nausea rise in my throat.

The floor beneath me feet burned hot.

Before I knew it, flames were rushing toward my room with terrifying speed.

Instinctively, I looked toward the window above the bed.

Then looked back at the three people engulfed in flames.

My whole body trembled violently like a leaf.

Without realizing it, I started moving toward the window.

The smoke made me feel like I was suffocating.

I flung the window open.

The view below made me dizzy.

Third or fourth floor height, maybe.

From this child’s body, it looked endlessly high.

Several fire trucks were pulling up below the building.

I climbed onto the windowsill.

Behind me, the family’s screams gradually faded.

I felt like I was losing my mind.

My hands trembled and tears fell.

I couldn’t comprehend what was happening, but sheer terror of dying consumed my entire body.

“Hey!? There’s a kid!! At the window!!”

“Oh no, what do we do!”

“Over there, over there!!!”

People below who’d spotted me started screaming.

The scorching flames reached my back.

There was no time to hesitate.

I leaned out the window.

I released my trembling grip on the window frame.

My body plummeted downward.

People’s piercing screams rang out.

As gravity pulled my entire body toward the ground, time seemed to flow in slow motion.

Every detail of my surroundings came into sharp focus.

The blue sky, the trees around the building, people’s horrified expressions, firefighters rushing this way…

That’s when golden text appeared before my eyes.

‘Complete three missions given to Park Inha.’

What?

‘Reward: Attention’

‘※ However, the reward will not be given to you.’