In This Life I Will Die as an Actress Not a Villainess Chapter 186

A world where white snow piled up softly.

Against the completely white backdrop, black smoke rose from one old building.

Fire trucks departed one by one from the building where flames had just been extinguished.

As the scene cleanup neared completion, Park Inha walked out of the abandoned building.

“….”

Park Inha looked up at the sky as snow fell.

She’d caught the arsonist she’d longed for so desperately.

Now everything was finally over….

Park Inha held out her hand briefly.

Ashes from the burning building mixed with the heavy snowflakes falling from the sky, landing on her palm.

“It’s cold.”

A small puff of breath escaped from Park Inha’s mouth as she spoke.

Park Inha’s face crumpled briefly as a single tear dropped.

Then her shoulders began to shake.

A moment later, sobs burst from Park Inha, who’d been desperately holding back tears.

Park Inha stood there and started crying like a child.

Colleagues around her stopped cleaning up the scene and stared at Park Inha in a daze.

Silence descended on the surroundings.

Jang Haemi secretly wiped away tears watching her junior—whom she’d hated so much—crying.

That’s when Tae Sunwoo, who’d come out of the building belatedly, stopped at the sound of Park Inha’s crying.

Tae Sunwoo also looked up at the sky briefly, watching the falling snow.

Then he approached Park Inha and placed the helmet he’d been carrying under his arm on her head.

At that, Park Inha sat down with a sob that burst out like an explosion.

Tae Sunwoo crouched down beside her and patted Park Inha’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, it’s okay….”

Kim Youngwoo also stood nearby watching his friend with an aching expression.

Everyone stood still, getting hit by the falling snow, keeping Park Inha company.

* * *

“Cut! Okay!”

“Great work, everyone! Ah, brings tears.”

“Wow! We finished safely! Everyone take photos!”

After the final shoot finally ended.

I exhaled quietly while listening to the excited staff members’ voices.

I’d thought I’d feel relieved, but somehow the tears showed no signs of stopping.

Sobs kept leaking out, so I briefly stepped away from the scene…

Choi Sunha kept following and staying by my side, silently patting my back.

Why did the tears flow more the more he comforted me?

I didn’t even have time to worry about the embarrassment.

My emotions absolutely wouldn’t settle down.

This had been the script that tormented me most since possession.

Park Inha, who’d hurt me the most.

Everything about that Park Inha was over.

The relief, emptiness, guilt, resentment…

All the emotions I’d endured and suppressed while playing Park Inha burst out like a fountain all at once.

“Sena-ssi, your face is going to swell up.”

Hyunsu-ssi and the others who’d approached somehow were laughing and patting me.

“I’m sorry. I’m fine…. Only I’m making a fuss….”

“What are you talking about. Sena, you worked so hard.”

“The Park Inha role must’ve been draining. You worked hard.”

“We’re having a big after-party today, right?”

“Wow!! Let’s go!!!”

Hearing those words made me laugh without realizing it.

Relief at returning to reality washed over me.

“Sena-ssi, are you crying while laughing? Scary.”

“Here, take this.”

When I lifted my face I’d been covering embarrassedly with my hand, Hyunsu-ssi handed me the handkerchief he’d been holding.

“Thank you.”

I dabbed at my tears with that handkerchief and shouted.

“We’re completely celebrating today. Let’s go wild!”

“Yeah! Bring the director!”

“Yes!!”

But then.

Suddenly, golden text I hadn’t seen in ages appeared before my eyes.

“Huh…?”

“Sena-ssi, why? Are you dizzy?”

“Oh, no. It’s not that….”

I quickly waved my hands, worried people would notice.

<Rewards are being distributed.>

The text floated small in midair.

Seeing that message made me smile slightly.

Really, the system is being kind for once.

‘I already know.’

I answered silently in my mind.

* * *

An elementary school teachers’ office.

When the bell rang, children poured out of the classrooms in a rush.

“Hey!! Let’s go together!!”

“Did you watch <Night of Fire>?”

“<Night of Fire>? What’s that?”

“Oh! I know! Han Sena! I watched it with mom and dad!”

“Han Sena’s so pretty! I love her!”

“My mom and dad are firefighters too. Jealous?”

“Wow, whoa! Really?”

The children left school chatting about the drama they’d watched with their parents that had just ended.

The homeroom teachers from each class watched this and laughed while heading to the teachers’ office.

Teachers who’d entered the office one by one finally relaxed with coffee.

“Those tiny things, what do they even know about <Night of Fire>.”

“Pft.”

Laughter erupted everywhere at one teacher’s words.

“Kids these days watch everything, teacher.”

“Right. Ugh, I cried so much when <Night of Fire> ended too.”

“Me too. Why does Han Sena act so well? The way she cries is so sad. It breaks your heart.”

“I really liked Choi Sunha though. He acts too well. I thought they wouldn’t match, but they surprisingly do.”

“Right? There are no weak actors there.”

“What, is no one watching <Perfect Man>? You’re all watching that?”

“<Perfect Man>? Is that good? The ratings are doing well though.”

While everyone shared their impressions, one teacher organizing documents spoke up.

“<Night of Fire> must be really popular. When we did the future career survey in my class, over half said they wanted to be firefighters.”

Hearing that, the other teachers nodded with smiles.

“Tell me about it. My class plays fire rescue games all the time—total chaos. Especially the girls saying they’ll become firefighters.”

“Remember the fire evacuation drill the other day? I’ve never seen kids that serious.”

The head teacher leaned back in her chair with a drowsy face and joined the conversation.

“When a drama does well, that profession becomes super popular.”

“For now, everyone’s going to be obsessed with becoming firefighters.”

“That’s good though. Their treatment hasn’t improved and all. Now if they get attention for a while, things might get better.”

“Ah, why aren’t there any dramas about teachers? This place is hell too.”

Everyone burst into laughter at one teacher’s complaint.

* * *

The rewards seemed to be continuing longer than I’d thought.

A few days later, I gathered with my fellow actors at the filming location.

This was our first group schedule since the drama ended.

Specifically, a calendar photo shoot.

“Eek! It’s cold!”

“Wow, what did we even do—it’s already year-end.”

This calendar shoot came about thanks to Kim Hanbyeol, the firefighter I’d met on the QYN firefighting variety show.

‘We actually shoot photo calendars every year. It’s become a small trend lately.’

Firefighter Kim Hanbyeol participated in a group that donated the proceeds from shooting calendar photos annually.

The moment I heard about it, I and all the actors along with the PD immediately jumped on board thinking, this is it.

I’d heard <Night of Fire> merchandise had much higher sales compared to other dramas anyway.

That’s how we planned to create a special calendar mixing <Night of Fire> team photos into the on-duty firefighters’ photo shoots.

“We got over 5,000 pre-orders!”

A staff member smiled brightly while sharing the news.

That made me and my colleagues surprised.

“That’s just the first batch—we’ll probably keep printing second and third runs depending on response.”

“Wow, amazing.”

“Everyone’s going to use our calendar? We better shoot well.”

We lined up in a row with the fire station building as our backdrop.

Of course, this time too, it was in order of seniority from center outward.

The team leader who’d claimed the main spot wore a satisfied expression, but only briefly.

“Wait. Will it even sell if I’m in the center?”

Like at the press conference venue, the team leader broke into a sweat.

“Hey, just stand there!”

“No, seriously though.”

“Team leader became popular too! You film vlogs like a real celebrity.”

Everyone laughed at Yoon Hayoon’s words.

“Alright, taking the shot!”

“Okay.”

The team leader hurriedly looked at the camera.

The next location was the office.

Everyone found their spots inside the now-familiar set.

“Should we shoot naturally?”

“How?”

“Just lounging around, bickering. People would want to see that, right?”

“Sounds good?”

At the director’s suggestion, the actors each sprawled on chairs, sat on tables, or started chatting with colleagues next to them.

While the actors did that, I stood alone in the middle of the office.

“What should I do?”

Hearing that, the actors looked at me and fell into the same dilemma.

Although everyone reconciled right before the ending, Park Inha had been an outsider in the office all along.

“Shouldn’t you be next to Youngwoo or Sunwoo?”

“No way. Stand next to Huiryeong and Haemi!”

The team leader tossed out.

“Oh, that’s better? The visual of hanging out with people you fought with like enemies seems better.”

Oh, good idea?

I nodded and approached Yoon Hayoon and Jeon Woongi.

Yoon Hayoon grinned and casually draped her arm over my shoulder.

Jeon Woongi also playfully placed his hand on my waist.

“Doesn’t this look like a bullying scene?”

People burst out laughing.

“Alright, taking the shot! Everyone look at the camera!”

“Kimchi!”

While the flash went off several times, the actors naturally changed poses and smiled.

I also looked at the camera with the bright smile Park Inha rarely wore.

I hope the fans like it.

After finishing that cut, the actors got up from their spots to prepare for the next shoot…

A grumbling sound came from somewhere.

“Ah, aren’t we taking abs photos?”

It was Choi Sunha.

Everyone turned to look at Choi Sunha with confused expressions.

“Seriously, I came ready to strip and shoot after working out hard.”

Hearing that made everyone burst into laughter simultaneously.

“Ah, sunbaenim! Nobody wants to see that!”

“Really? I worked out really hard though?”

Choi Sunha wore a genuinely disappointed expression.

Hyunsu-ssi chuckled beside him.

Then reached out to feel Choi Sunha’s upper body.

“Wow, for real. Sunbaenim must’ve had a hard time.”

“Right?! Why aren’t we shooting! Can’t we do one shot with just the guys?”

“What a waste of effort. Let’s go.”

The team leader clicked his tongue and turned away.

The other colleagues also snorted with laughter and followed the team leader.