In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 179

Just as expected.

A few hours later, HBC stills appeared on the main page of a competing portal site.

The stills showed Lee Jeonggil flying through the air on wires, a cargo truck exploding on an eight-lane highway, and various gun-based action shots.

A spectacle of pure extravagance.

They’d even uploaded what looked like footage edited together from several shooting sources.

I clicked my tongue watching those photos and videos.

It seemed like the PR team was especially sharpening their knives for these projects.

They were probably getting whipped hard from the higher-ups.

The moment break time hit, I immediately checked the comments on HBC’s posts.

-The power struggle’s getting intense.

-They posted this right after QYN dropped theirs lolol

-Isn’t this a bit too copycat?

-Why are they even copying this lol Aren’t they getting enough promotion already? That insecure?

-My friend works on this set as staff and says the atmosphere’s depressing as hell because of the director. All flash, no substance.

⤷ Stop spreading rumors

⤷ It’s true though lol

-So when’s it airing anyway?

-Lee Jeonggil vs Han Sena?

-But damn, Han Sena’s already at the level where she can go head-to-head with Lee Jeonggil. Wild.

⤷ Same thought. It really is Han Sena’s golden age.

⤷ HBC deliberately leaked inflated fees and stuff. But the fact she’s not being crushed in terms of weight class is real. Especially for an actress—that’s not easy to pull off. She’s the real deal.

-You can tell they dumped tons of money into this. QYN’s got nothing to lose, but if this one bombs… they’re screwed.

I scratched my head reading the comments.

‘They’re gonna grind their teeth even harder now.’

Even though they were already in a far more advantageous position, HBC was showing excessive hostility, pulling together unnecessary public opinion with their own hands.

How could one of Korea’s three major broadcasters operate so recklessly?

I felt puzzled watching their strategy fall so far short of expectations.

Then I shook my head.

“Well.”

Thinking back to my past life, broadcast networks were surprisingly places that ran just fine on seat-of-the-pants management.

They’d take someone from a completely different department who knew nothing about how dramas were made and overnight make them a director.

Because filming didn’t finish on schedule, they’d split shows into Season 1 and Season 2 for broadcast, with the people in charge regularly writing incident reports.

Unlike other workplaces, maybe the fact they couldn’t easily cut personnel led to both stability and complacency.

There were places that lost their ability to self-correct and just kept dragging out their lifespans.

Never thought I’d experience that firsthand in this life.

And the next day.

HBC’s programming schedule started appearing in articles.

[HBC Special Project <The Perfect Man> Wed-Thu 8:30 PM]

[HBC <The Perfect Man> Programming Information]

[Lee Jeonggil’s Another Spectacular Leap, Wed-Thu 8:30 PM!]

[QYN’s Programming Choice—Will It Be Evasion or Direct Competition?]

[QYN’s First Drama <Night of Fire> vs HBC Special Project <The Perfect Man>! David vs Goliath Battle Begins!]

The rekindled competitive structure made my head throb.

QYN’s side was dragging out programming as long as possible.

The prevailing opinion was that going head-to-head would be too risky given the massive difference in broadcast network weight classes.

Plus, being their first drama, they needed a stable strategy.

However, QYN also expressed concerns that completely avoiding the time slot might fail to capitalize on the competitive showdown buzz.

Because they were actually benefiting from the publicity generated through the face-off with HBC.

Programming was something that made me anxious and tense as well.

-What do you think, actor?

Hearing the employee’s question over the phone, I laughed.

“I’m just an actress. Why would my opinion matter?”

-No, actor. Our programming plan is flexible, so we’re trying to gather opinions from many people.

“Hmm…”

I hesitated before answering.

What would be best?

“Then how about overlapping for just one day? This idea already came up internally, right?”

-Yes, you also think that would be better.

“Yes, approaching it rationally seems best.”

-Right.

The employee agreed with my words.

-We’ll let you know once it’s decided.

With that, the brief call ended.

* * *

A few weeks later, at the press conference venue.

The press line had entertainment reporters standing in a long queue.

Not just reporters—the press conference building was swarming with various staff and attendees.

Reporter Yeom Sangjin stood silently in line, fanning his face.

‘Way more people showed up than I expected.’

For QYN’s first launch, it was unbelievable—numbers that didn’t fall behind even compared to HBC.

That’s when Every Sports reporter Kang Heegoo, passing by, spotted Yeom Sangjin and waved.

“Oh, you got here early?”

“Sunbaenim, you’re here?”

“Yeah, did you go to HBC yesterday?”

“No, I had other schedules so I only came here. How was it there?”

Following the one-day overlapping broadcast schedule, the press conferences for both dramas with a one-day gap had been making headlines daily.

“Predictable, what else. HBC just had all their pet reporters lined up in front.”

Yeom Sangjin nodded as if he’d expected as much.

“Did Han Sena invite you here?”

Kang Heegoo asked casually.

“You two had something going since Snowfall.”

He was referring to when Han Sena had personally picked out Yeom Sangjin during <Hometown> filming.

After that incident, rumors spread through the entertainment reporter industry that Yeom Sangjin had gotten into Han Sena’s good graces.

There were even ridiculous inflated rumors that she was backing him up.

Yeom Sangjin, who already knew about those rumors, chuckled.

“If there was something going on, would I be standing in line like this?”

“True? Makes sense.”

Kang Heegoo wore a slightly disappointed expression, having failed to catch any dirt, and laughed.

Yeom Sangjin clicked his tongue internally watching that expression.

Even after years in this industry, he could never get used to it.

A place where everyone pounced recklessly the moment they caught even a whiff of a story.

A place where you couldn’t even trust people around you.

That was the reporters’ world, especially the entertainment section.

“We’re opening now!”

A staff member called out from up front.

Yeom Sangjin bowed slightly to his sunbae before moving forward.

The moment he entered the hall, Yeom Sangjin spotted Han Sena standing on stage.

And he burst out laughing.

All the actors were dressed in matching firefighter turnout gear, standing in a line striking fighting poses to greet people.

“Sena-ssi, look this way!”

“Give us a different pose!”

At the reporters’ requests, the actors struck various playful poses.

The actors forming a ‘team’ were clearly in perfect sync.

Among them, Han Sena led the way, energizing the other actors as they took photos.

The other actors also relied on Han Sena’s lead.

Yeom Sangjin somehow thought even this scene felt like Han Sena as he found his seat.

“Now then, let’s begin the <Night of Fire> press conference!!”

The moment the MC finished speaking, the actors bowed simultaneously with a resounding greeting.

“Hello, we’re Firefighter Team 2 from <Night of Fire>!”

“We sincerely thank everyone who came here today!”

People sent applause and cheers.

Yeom Sangjin also clapped with force.

After the greetings, as the actors found their seats, Yeom Sangjin’s eyes widened slightly.

Han Sena wasn’t sitting in the center.

Han Sena sat at the very end.

“There’s meaning behind how the actors are seated today. Could you explain it for us?”

The MC asked the actors—clearly a prepared setup.

Then Lee Junhyeong, seated in the center, grabbed the microphone.

Lee Junhyeong was a middle-aged male actor who, while lacking any notable hits yet, was steadily building his position as a supporting actor.

“Yes, we’re seated according to our in-drama rank. I’m the team leader, so I’m in the center.”

“Oh, is that right? So the further to the side, the lower the rank. Is this the military?”

The MC tossed out a joke.

Lee Junhyeong didn’t back down and bantered back.

“Yes, I sincerely apologize to Han Sena’s fans.”

Laughter erupted from various spots.

“Seriously, this wasn’t my idea at all. It was Sena-ssi’s idea.”

“Oh really? We have to hear from Sena-ssi then!”

Then Han Sena received the microphone.

Despite already reaching the top ranks, Han Sena still wore a shy smile, seemingly unaccustomed to being the center of attention.

“Our team leader led the set with such charisma. I thought he should lead the press conference too, so I suggested this seating.”

“Wow, you’re really putting the burden on Actor Lee Junhyeong.”

Laughter erupted once more.

“They say Sena-ssi is young but shows charismatic leadership. Is that true?”

The MC threw out an interesting comment.

Then Choi Sunha swiftly grabbed the microphone and answered.

“I play the drill sergeant in the drama.”

“Oh, yes.”

“But on the actual filming set, Sena-ssi was the drill sergeant. Nobody could make a peep. If Sena-ssi showed up? Situation handled, done.”

Han Sena jumped in surprise.

“Sunbaenim, what are you even saying! This person’s a total rumor mill!”

Laughter burst out on set once more.

“Wow, Drill Sergeant Han Sena! That’s gonna make the articles, isn’t it?”

“Everyone! Don’t misunderstand! No, it’s not true.”

Reporters laughed while snapping photos of the flustered Han Sena.

A truly rare, warmly harmonious press conference scene.

Yeom Sangjin also smiled slightly while diligently capturing the scene with his camera.

And he thought to himself.

‘I hope it goes well. For some reason.’

At least with a team showing this kind of teamwork, they probably wouldn’t disappoint with the drama either.

And especially Han Sena.

Yeom Sangjin had been wishing for Han Sena’s success ever since the Snowfall interview.

A rare person who was both good and talented.

Someone kind and capable.

The industry wasn’t a place where everyone could only draw upward trajectories.

And the world didn’t always work out in favor of good people…

Still, at least when it came to Han Sena, he hoped she’d always do well, even from his position of having only met her once or twice.