In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 174

While everyone reeled from this sudden crossfire ambush.

HBC’s glamorous promotional campaign continued day after day, and QYN’s morale gradually began crumbling.

The rooftop where QYN drama production staff had gathered.

Everyone stood there with cigarettes in their mouths.

“Being poor really stings.”

“This is what it feels like to become a powerless underdog… So this was it.”

“I told you so. Just bringing in Han Sena alone wouldn’t solve everything.”

On top of that, among the staff gathered in the drama production team, quite a few people new to the industry were scattered throughout.

By their own assessment, they looked like a ragtag band of misfits.

Everyone let out heavy sighs.

“Is making a single drama this difficult?”

“HBC’s already throwing around online events before even airing.”

“Stop talking about HBC. How can we possibly beat them? We just need to meet our target viewership rating. Two percent.”

That’s when the one person who hadn’t given up hope spoke up brightly.

“Come on, UBN’s <Flat Shoes> got several times more than expected when they filmed it. Even back when Han Sena was still a rookie.”

“That had a stacked writer and director. Here it’s a rookie writer and rookie director.”

“Seriously.”

In the end, even the employee who’d been optimistic pressed their lips shut.

* * *

Quartet Media’s CEO office.

CEO Park Seonghee waited with a worried expression for the marketing team leader.

In this current situation, her side was the most flustered.

Park Seonghee and Shin Hanjun, who was investing in HBC, had been schoolmates since their study abroad days in America.

But after both pursuing different careers, they suddenly ended up working in drama subsidiary companies and became rivals.

Starting later than Shin Hanjun’s side in the drama business was frustrating enough, but not only was <Perfect Man> claiming to have invested hundreds of billions in promotion, they were also feeding QYN a massive insult through their iTube channel.

The promotional attacks and media play targeting QYN showed no signs of stopping.

QYN was already launching their first drama as it was, and these days the world had plenty of places where promotion trumped quality.

This side had also tried to generate proper issue-making—flooding news with articles from the script reading, spreading photos, everything.

But with casting dragging on and on, even that kept getting delayed.

Park Seonghee irritably swept her hand through her hair.

She desperately wanted to score a massive hit with this project and crush both HBC and Shin Hanjun.

‘We need to at least do proper promotion.’

That’s when a knock sounded at the office door.

“Come in.”

The marketing team leader quickly entered and sat down.

Then spread out a stack of promotional proposals and began their briefing.

“Starting with stable promotional methods like TV advertising and outdoor advertising…”

Park Seonghee’s brow furrowed deeper as she listened.

Every single idea was not just safe but downright outdated.

Park Seonghee sighed internally.

‘That business card claiming to be from an advertising agency must be crying. Crying.’

Had they already fallen into complacency? Park Seonghee clicked her tongue inwardly and asked, “Is there nothing else? Nothing else?”

The marketing team leader’s words started getting tangled.

Eventually Park Seonghee personally grabbed the proposals and started checking them one by one.

The marketing team leader’s complexion grew darker.

Park Seonghee kept flipping through and tossing them aside before her hand stopped on the final proposal.

“Mm.”

The marketing team leader glanced nervously at that proposal while breaking into a cold sweat.

“Th-that’s an idea submitted by an intern who just joined us.”

“An intern?”

“Yes. It wasn’t realistic enough, so I was going to cut it at my level. But since you told me to bring everything with ideas, I included it.”

Park Seonghee raised one eyebrow.

“Yes, you did well. Tell this person to come up.”

“What?”

The marketing team leader asked back with a stunned expression.

“Quickly. Now.”

“Y-yes!”

* * *

Five minutes later.

“Hello. I’m intern Park Dahye.”

Quartet marketing team intern Park Dahye sat before Park Seonghee in a state of extreme tension.

Being summoned to the CEO’s office as a lowly intern.

Park Dahye clenched her hands tight.

Her vision seemed to go black.

“Is this company your first job?”

“Ah, yes…”

Park Seonghee smiled warmly while looking at the intern trembling before her.

“I just wanted to see the face of whoever came up with a better idea than I expected.”

“What?!”

Park Dahye asked back almost like a scream.

Then realizing she’d overreacted, she bit her lip firmly.

Park Seonghee laughed as if amused.

“What were you doing before joining the company?”

“W-well, just…”

Park Dahye stammered at the unexpected question.

This kind of question was actually the most awkward to receive.

‘I just bummed around and did some fangirling. No dreams to speak of. Yes, that’s right.’

Park Dahye was someone who’d only recently begun her ‘real life.’

She’d been receiving treatment for quite some time as a famous fan within the internet world under the name AKA YooJianFloormat.

Unpaid and volunteer work, of course, but she’d approached only that task with passion.

Park Dahye, who had no abilities or talents, had her life change after encountering one actress giving a passionate performance on TV.

After seeing that woman, Park Dahye did things no one had asked her to do.

To promote Han Sena, to showcase her, to show her to others—she spent each day enthusiastically.

Simply because she loved Han Sena.

Because she loved that woman’s passion.

Because watching that person act made even Park Dahye herself feel alive.

So she diligently devoted herself all day to tasks others would mock.

And at the end of it, she realized something.

I’m someone with the ability to love someone, to love something, tremendously.

If that could even be called an ability.

But whether it was divine mischief or a gift.

Thanks to Han Sena, Park Dahye cleared her unemployed lifestyle and got hired into the marketing team.

Even though it was just an internship…

All of Park Dahye’s ‘pathetic activities’ accumulated within the internet had transformed into a portfolio in a miraculous turn of events.

You could call it the miracle of fangirling.

Following that lightning-speed employment, now here in the CEO’s office.

Park Dahye felt her head spin briefly.

Am I dreaming right now?

“Can you explain this idea in more detail?”

Park Seonghee asked with a kind smile, ready to listen to anything.

Park Dahye collected herself and immediately answered.

“Yes. When it comes to Han Sena, the most representative keyword among many is ‘public interest.'”

“Public interest?”

“Yes. Even if not every single work in Han Sena’s filmography, most had strong social messages or characters with minority traits.”

“Oh ho.”

“Also, in previous projects Han Sena filmed public service announcements, donated to mental health patients, and built a positive image through several other good deeds.”

Park Dahye smoothly rattled off Han Sena stories without hesitation.

“So continuing this trend while showing the public what’s special about our drama is key.”

“What’s that special element?”

“Something that can compete with HBC.”

Park Seonghee’s ears perked up at that moment.

“Our ace is the social message rather than flashy promotion, production team, cast, or quality.”

“Mm.”

“Just as the project’s planning intent suggests, we utilize aspects of society that have been overlooked until now—improving firefighter treatment and fire victims—in our promotion.”

Park Seonghee fell into brief contemplation.

Focusing too much on that aspect risked coming across as old-fashioned to the public.

Park Dahye continued after a brief pause.

“And the method must be sophisticated. Simply asserting that aspect would end as just a social movement. So we plan to actively use Han Sena, our best card, to promote in an entertaining way.”

Park Seonghee chuckled.

Then threw out an unexpected question.

“But you know a lot about Han Sena? You must be a fan.”

Park Dahye’s face flushed hot at that.

‘Coming out as a fan to the CEO.’

But what was there to be ashamed of about her actress?

Park Dahye nodded.

“In today’s terms, a successful stan? Something like that?”

Park Seonghee laughed with interest.

Then made a bold proposal.

“We’ll proceed with promotion according to the proposal Dahye-ssi submitted. And if it goes well, I’ll arrange a one-on-one fan meeting with actress Sena.”

“What?!”

Park Dahye froze as if time had stopped.

“So you absolutely have to make this proceed well, right?”

“…Yes.”

Park Dahye barely managed to open her mouth and answer.

“Don’t you like it?”

“No? No!! I’ll work hard!”

Flames practically sparked in Park Dahye’s eyes.

“Good. Then let’s start right away.”

* * *

Some time later, in a Seoul university district.

Students gathered around a booth that appeared on the main street, murmuring.

<Share Your Heat>

On the electronic display above the booth, an unknown phrase appeared alongside a giant thermometer.

Below it were a monitor screen and a panel with a sensor.

One student reached out curiously.

Then a guidance voice and image appeared on the monitor.

‘Please register your body temperature on the sensor panel.’

The student’s body temperature was exactly 36.5 degrees.

“What is this? Some kind of thermometer?”

‘Will you transmit your heat?’

The guidance voice and text appeared again.

‘This is a firefighter supply support campaign. There are three options. Give 1,000 won and send your body temperature, give 3,000 won and send double your body temperature.’

A friend standing beside pulled out their wallet instead.

“What even is this? Why are they making it impossible not to pay?”

“They’re nicely extorting protection money.”

Nearby students burst into laughter hearing the conversation.

When the student quickly inserted 1,000 won, the machine made a fanfare sound and the thermometer needle rose slightly.

‘Congratulations! Your body temperature has been transmitted to the protagonist in drama <Night of Fire>.’

‘If you enter your phone number, we’ll send you Park Inha (Han Sena)’s signed poster and merchandise!’

“Huh? What?”

“Suddenly an event prize?”

“Want it? You like Han Sena.”

“Move aside for now. Let me try putting in 3,000 won.”

From that moment, students who were Han Sena fans started buzzing and pulling out bills.

“Wow, people are posting verification shots of this on social media right now.”

“Ah, that’s why! That body thermometer kept showing up in my Instargram feed today.”

“Let’s take verification shots.”

The students each went on social media to check posts about this event.

“Wow, starting next week you can choose signed merchandise from other actors who appear too.”

“Insane, Han Hyunsu. I absolutely have to get his.”

“This idea is good. It’s a donation too.”

The electronic display thermometer needle began shooting up rapidly.