In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 170

Once again, Tae Sunwoo hoisted the rescue target onto his back and quickly headed for the exit.

I moved forward alongside Kim Cheolgyu while watching Tae Sunwoo safely disappear into the distance.

Right then, sections of the building began collapsing in multiple locations.

The sight of the building’s framework being exposed was terrifying.

It felt like the entire structure could cave in at any moment.

With each step forward, I had to feel relief at not being crushed by debris.

The flames showed no signs of dying down.

They’d barely be suppressed before instantly spreading again.

Every second counted.

Each time debris fell, scorching heat came rushing in.

The rescue target might have already been suffering from oxygen deprivation for quite some time.

That’s when I spotted a hand belonging to someone collapsed near the area with the most intense heat.

“Over there!”

I shouted without thinking and rushed in that direction.

Kim Cheolgyu quickly followed.

I stopped running and grabbed Kim Cheolgyu.

“It’s too dangerous. Sunbae, you stay here.”

“Are you crazy? How are you going to break through those flames alone! And with that body!”

Kim Cheolgyu raised his voice.

“I can see a path with less heat! I’ll do it!!”

At my words, Kim Cheolgyu stood there as if at a loss for what to say.

“There’s no time!!”

Eventually, Kim Cheolgyu reluctantly nodded.

I quickly turned around and ran toward the rescue target.

There was no time to think about what judgment to make.

Just as I was extending my foot toward the area where the flames had spread less…

Concrete fell right beside me and fierce flames engulfed my body.

I lost consciousness in an instant and collapsed.

<You have failed the mission>

* * *

I opened my eyes in despair.

Kim Cheolgyu stood there looking at me with shaking eyes.

I felt just as confused as Kim Cheolgyu looked.

What am I supposed to do?

My heart grew anxious as I kept making wrong decisions at critical moments.

I feared both the rescue targets losing their lives in a split second and anything going wrong with Kim Cheolgyu because of my judgment.

What am I missing?

Kim Cheolgyu grabbed my arm.

“Let’s go together. You just need to show me the path.”

I nodded absently.

Then moved forward again.

Kim Cheolgyu stuck close behind me.

I carefully headed toward the rescue target while avoiding the spot where debris had fallen earlier.

That’s when Tae Sunwoo, who’d safely brought the rescue target outside the exit, came walking from the distance.

“There’s a rescue target here!!”

Tae Sunwoo hurried over to us.

The three of us carefully approached the rescue target.

Tae Sunwoo hoisted another rescue target onto his back.

I quickly took the lead, finding paths where the flames were less intense.

After Tae Sunwoo headed toward the exit, I was left behind with Kim Cheolgyu again.

I walked forward with confused feelings.

My limits for enduring the heat were gradually approaching.

I didn’t have much time left either.

While suppressing flames and moving forward, another fork appeared.

I could feel more intense heat coming from the left corridor.

Without hesitation, I headed in that direction.

“Sunbae, please take the right path.”

Kim Cheolgyu hesitated for about two seconds before following my words and moving to the right.

I took a deep breath while watching sunbae’s back grow distant.

I thought I might lose consciousness in those flames if I wasn’t careful.

I steeled my resolve and took a step.

With each step deeper into the corridor, my breathing grew labored.

While suppressing flames and moving forward, debris fell right in front of me and flames shot up.

I fell backward.

I couldn’t endure the heat.

“No…”

Extreme pain found me.

Park Inha, who must have endured situations like this all along, suddenly came to mind.

How had she managed to bear it?

Had she really endured alone through this pain, isolated and lonely, every single time?

Was that even right?

Doubt crept in about my situation, isolated both inside the flames and outside them.

My consciousness gradually faded.

So I’m dying again like this.

I waited for my consciousness to cut out quickly, for the golden text to appear.

But then I heard voices calling for me from the distance.

“Park Inha!!”

“Park Inha! Where are you!!”

“There! Get her out quick!!!”

I forced strength into my fading eyelids and turned my head toward the voices.

The team members were running this way.

Kim Youngwoo, who’d sprinted over quickly, hoisted me up while the other two swiftly suppressed the flames.

Being lifted onto Kim Youngwoo’s back made me realize.

The reason I’d been failing the mission.

I hadn’t been trusting my colleagues at all.

I’d only worried about causing them trouble and never even considered distributing the work.

Maybe I’d failed to trust them far more than they trusted me.

The thought struck me that I was actually the harshest toward my team members among everyone here.

“Just hang on a little longer.”

Kim Youngwoo spoke quietly, as if feeling my pain alongside me.

Kim Youngwoo quickly ran toward the exit.

Gradually, bright light became visible and the scorching heat began to fade.

I closed my eyes.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, contrary to my hopes, I was once again standing before the corridor.

This damn system was never going to go easy on me.

“Sunbae, let’s go this way together. The fire’s much hotter, so be careful.”

I barely mustered the courage to speak to Kim Cheolgyu.

Kim Cheolgyu strode toward the corridor as if my tension had been pointless.

Following behind him, I made a decision.

This time, I’d trust my colleagues.

This time, I’d try relying on them a bit.

The same debris from before fell and flames shot up.

Kim Youngwoo calmly blocked the heat in front of me and suppressed the flames.

I also endured the heat and stepped back two paces.

Kim Cheolgyu created a small passage.

I quickly moved forward.

‘I survived this time.’

Cold sweat dripped down as relief washed over me.

My conviction solidified that to complete the mission of persuading my colleagues, I first needed to trust them.

That’s when I spotted another rescue target up ahead.

The rescue target was leaning against the wall, covering their nose with their shirt.

With an agonized expression, the rescue target writhed in pain.

I hurried over and helped support the rescue target together with the others.

Behind us, I heard voices calling out.

“Park Inha!! Sunbae!!”

“That’s the last rescue target!!”

“All four confirmed!!!”

I turned my head while listening to those welcome voices.

The team members approached and helped support the rescue target together.

All of us squeezed out our last remaining strength and escaped the corridor.

* * *

“Park Inha, don’t get cocky.”

“Yeah. You helped us find the rescue targets faster, but it’s not all thanks to you, got it?”

“Still, no one got hurt and we rescued all the targets. I’ll give credit where it’s due.”

Inside the ambulance heading back.

I let out labored breaths while listening to the team members’ awkward praise.

I sat there with an oxygen mask covering my face.

My bronchial tubes stung enough to bring tears to my eyes.

“You okay?”

Kim Youngwoo wiped away the tears trickling down.

“Let’s get off and go to the hospital first.”

I barely managed to nod.

The other team members also looked at me with worried faces.

Jang Haemi and Shin Huiryeong also fussed over me with slightly apologetic expressions.

Only Tae Sunwoo still glared at me with a displeased face.

“I’m still against it.”

“…”

A brief silence filled the ambulance interior.

Kim Youngwoo made an annoyed expression for the first time.

“How much more does she need to show you before you’ll trust her?”

“You stay out of this. Your friend’s life is on the line.”

“That’s exactly why I’m stepping in.”

While the two engaged in a tense standoff, my vision spun in circles.

I barely managed to speak.

“Both of you, please stop.”

Tae Sunwoo wasn’t someone who’d stop at my words.

“Maybe you got lucky today, but who knows what’ll happen in the future.”

“Are there firefighters who don’t rely on luck?”

I looked straight at Tae Sunwoo.

If not now, I’d never be able to persuade him.

To complete the mission, I absolutely had to persuade Tae Sunwoo.

“Please accept me as I am. I’m simply a colleague with both high capabilities and high risks.”

A hoarse sound came from my throat.

“…”

The expressions of my colleagues sitting beside me also grew serious.

Tae Sunwoo fell into contemplation for a moment.

Then asked.

“Why are you going this far?”

“…”

I felt it was time to speak.

I looked at Kim Youngwoo for a moment.

Kim Youngwoo’s pupils shook rapidly, having intuited what I was about to say.

I swallowed painfully and spoke again.

“When I was young, I lost my family in a fire. Someone deliberately set it.”

All the team members looked at me with shocked faces.

I continued speaking in the tense atmosphere.

“I ran away, leaving my family screaming in the flames. If I risk my life to save people. No, if I do at least that much, I can barely sleep at night without writhing in guilt… That’s why I do this work.”

“…”

“So please accept me as a colleague.”

Beside me, Kim Youngwoo shed tears in my place.

The ambulance that had arrived at the station came to a stop.

* * *

On the rooftop.

I carefully swallowed water while breathing in the outside air.

Someone opened the rooftop door and entered.

It was Tae Sunwoo.

Tae Sunwoo approached without saying a word.

“I didn’t know you had that kind of story. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“Have you. Ever gotten counseling?”

At those words, I answered while recalling my memory of reading the script.

“After that incident, briefly when I was young…”

“I have a condition.”

“…?”

“Get counseling. Receive treatment consistently for a year, and if your thoughts still haven’t changed, stay here. But if, just if you start wanting to live more lightly, leave this place immediately.”

Hearing those words, I lowered my head.

It was mature, realistic advice.

“Aren’t you curious?”

I raised my head again to look at Tae Sunwoo.

“Park Inha in a place without fire. What a bright Park Inha would be like.”

Right then, golden text appeared.

<Mission Completed.>

As the light from the text faded, Tae Sunwoo spoke again.

“Stop just enduring. From now on, try actually living. Like everyone else.”

“I have a condition too.”

“…?”

“The person who set fire to our house that day. That person needs to be caught. Only then can I move forward with my life.”

“…I’ll help however I can, no matter what it takes.”

Firm resolve appeared in Tae Sunwoo’s eyes.