I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

Everyone has a name.

—We are talking about our beloved ten-million actor, right? Just hearing his name makes our hearts flutter.

—Ah! I already think I know who it is.

Some people live with such shining titles next to their names that even their names alone are not enough. You know, those things.

Everyone’s First Love, Eternal Top Star, Living Legend.

“Hey! Is that not the thing you said you also appeared in as an extra, Yeoreum?”

But sadly, next to my name there was always a shabby title attached.

“Yeoreum, you are going to become a star soon! What was your role?”

That was—

“...‘Screaming Woman 1.’”

Yes. Things like Passerby 1, Spectator 1, Student 1. Those petty things. That is the title attached next to my name.

“Pffft! Well, Yeoreum was always a filler anyway.”

The topic shifted quickly. From Han Yeoreum, a nameless extra, to Myeong Jeha, the triple ten-million actor.

Right then, he appeared on the TV placed in the corner near the ceiling.

“He graduated from the same school as us, so how did he become that successful.”

“We might have gone to the same school, but his face is different.”

All the drunk people inside the pojangmacha turned their attention to Myeong Jeha at once.

And then each of them added one more comment about him.

“When is Myeong Jeha’s new movie releasing? I am definitely going to go watch it.”

“It is not a movie, it is a seasonal drama. That Nethollix! Nethollix!”

“Put down the side dishes. Watching Myeong Jeha while drinking, that itself is the side dish.”

His glamorous appearance filling the entire TV screen looked exactly like someone born to become a celebrity.

Yeoreum also knew him well.

“Yeoreum, are you dropping out?”

“...Yeah.”

Well, maybe not ‘knew him well,’ but just...

“Why?”

“No real reason.”

“You are good at acting, though.”

A person who, in some moment of your life, becomes an unforgettable instant, a short but intense flash.

Seeing Myeong Jeha’s face for a moment made me feel as if I had returned to the day I threw in my dropout form.

The noisy atmosphere soon shifted to the actor next to Myeong Jeha. Everyone here knew the names of the people on the screen.

“It is Ji Haebeom!”

“But since Ji Haebeom is appearing too, they will probably take first place on Nethollix easily.”

“Right. His previous work blew up so much.”

Following Myeong Jeha was Ji Haebeom. The two top leads of the movie I appeared in this time as ‘Screaming Woman 1.’

Unlike me, they were real actors with names.

Before I knew it, the microphone held by the reporter on TV was handed to another actor. Finally, it was the turn of the female lead.

“Wow— even Do Gyeoul!”

I deliberately turned my head. I did not want to look at Do Gyeoul on the screen.

But my effort was pointless, because I once again met Do Gyeoul’s eyes.

[Freshness of Winter, First Dew]

Now that I think of it, she is the model for this soju brand, too.

‘...I should have ordered something else.’

On the poster stuck on the wall, Do Gyeoul’s smiling face holding a soju bottle was clear.

—Yes. This project... was very meaningful to me.

At that moment, someone shouted loudly, cutting off Do Gyeoul’s interview.

“Come to think of it, the world is really unfair. Yeoreum could have been standing where Do Gyeoul is!”

At that line, even the drunk people at other tables focused. Startled, I waved a hand to dismiss it.

“What nonsense. Again....”

“Why. It is true, is it not? Back then, the leading role for that play originally belonged to you, Yeoreum.”

They were talking about the first-year end-of-term play.

To be honest, it is ugly to admit, but seeing Do Gyeoul succeed, I had also regretted it countless times.

‘That could have been my place....’

If only I had properly taken that role back then. And if the director had noticed me.

But what is past is only the past.

‘It is better to work another logistics part-time shift than to waste time regretting.’

Chewing on it is a waste of time anyway.

“Right? Hey, Goo Jincheol, if you had not broken Yeoreum’s leg!”

“Wh-what did I do?”

“If you had just been careful on the stairs, our Yeoreum would be a ten-million actor right now, you bastard.”

The face of the guy who, ten years ago, pushed me on the stairs and made me wear a cast on one leg turned pale.

“That is right~ Hey! Goo Jincheol, you terrible bastard.”

“Even if Yeoreum writes an ‘exposing Goo Jincheol’s terrible personality’ post, you have no right to feel wronged~!”

The seniors, soaked in alcohol, cackled.

“Yeoreum, senior will recommend a great clickbait title for you. ‘The sad filler-role life of Han Yeoreum began with Goo Jincheol....’”

“Just try writing it!”

Goo Jincheol glared at me, fuming.

Our eyes met, and he frowned like he was the victim.

“Seriously, stop. Bringing up something from ten years ago....”

I was about to stand up now. This is why I hated coming to drinking gatherings.

“Well, it has been ten years, and you still cannot get anything but extra roles anyway. What have you been doing all this time? It is just your own skill.”

I forced myself to ignore the murmuring.

They would never know how I had worked myself to death just to land even a tiny role.

‘I came because they said a role might open up....’

But they were still stuck in their meaningless nostalgia about their twenties.

‘No point staying. I should go home.’

Clatter—.

Just then, as I stood up, the door of the bar opened.

The person who entered was someone no one had even imagined.

“Do... Gyeoul?”

Do Gyeoul, the one who had been on screen just moments ago, appeared.

Screams close to shrieks burst out everywhere. Everyone sobered up instantly.

“Hello, seniors.”

“Hey! Gyeoul! You really came!”

“What, what. Why is Do Gyeoul here?”

The flow of the air shifted in an instant. Everyone in this space looked as if they had been placed here for this one scene.

‘Everyone becomes an extra, and the leading role is just one person.’

Of course, the leading role was Do Gyeoul, who slowly skimmed up and down with her gaze fixed only on me among the many people.

“I stopped by since I heard Yeoreum was here. Yeoreum, you came to our movie filming, did you not? Why did you not tell me? I feel hurt. We were classmates.”

I glared at Hyeong Changuk sitting across from me.

‘That loose-mouthed bastard. I really wanted Do Gyeoul to never find out.’

You told her that? And you dare call yourself a senior?

“Oh my, was it supposed to be a secret?”

“No, it is not like it was a secret or anything....”

Looking embarrassed, Hyeong Changuk avoided my gaze with an awkward smile.

I had unexpectedly come face-to-face with the person I least wanted to meet.

As I froze, unable to leave in my flustered state, Do Gyeoul stared at me quietly, then slowly grinned and pulled a card out of her bag, waving it.

“If Yeoreum does not leave, I will pay for this whole place—!”

Clink.

With that line, shackles wrapped around my feet. Tightly, too.

Right now, the most successful actress in Korea was offering to buy drinks on one condition, and if I ran away, I might as well be a national criminal.

* * *

“Whoo—.”

Using drunkenness as an excuse, I stepped out of the pojangmacha and let out a sigh. For some reason, the wind hitting my face tonight was so cold it almost stung.

“Hey, hey, Han Yeoreum, you...!”

Goo Jincheol, his face bright red—maybe he came out to smoke—spotted me and strode toward me.

‘...Ha, seriously annoying.’

“You are not actually thinking of writing some exposé on Goo Jincheol’s horrible personality someday, right? Saying it was school violence or whatever. That would be fabrication! It is your victim complex!”

I never planned to, but him acting like this made me want to write it.

‘He cannot act anyway, that bastard. His chance of becoming famous is zero.’

Even if I did write an exposé, it would barely get ten upvotes. What was he so worried about.

“You and I both live extra lives. I am not going to drag you down, so do not worry. Just... try your best or something.”

I ignored him and turned my back. Or, I tried to turn it.

“Hey! It was not me who pushed you back then! It was Do Gyeoul!”

“...What?”

If only I had not heard that one line from behind.

“What did you just say?”

I knew it was nonsense.

And yet, I could not pretend I had not heard it.

“It is true. Somehow the mood back then made it look like it was me, so I just apologized, but damn. If I knew it would turn out like this, I should have said it back then, damn it!”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Back then, behind you, it was only me and Do Gyeoul! And Do Gyeoul said it first, ‘Jincheol, you should have been more careful.’ So I yelled that it was not me, but no one believed me!”

I blinked slowly.

‘Right. That is how it happened....’

But no one believed Goo Jincheol’s words. Not even me.

‘Unlike Do Gyeoul, who was careful and composed in everything, Goo Jincheol was hot-tempered and sloppy.’

I thought he had pushed me with that equipment bag he always carried so carelessly.

“Kyaaah! Yeoreum, oh no... are you okay? Goo Jincheol, what are you doing! You should have been careful!”

Do Gyeoul next to him simply could not be someone who would do such a thing. Her voice worrying about me had been so vivid I could not imagine it was acting.

“But... what you said, is it really....”

All those countless ‘what if’ moments were actually true?

That the moment that might have been the greatest chance of my entire life... was stolen by Do Gyeoul....

“It was not an accident?”

Beep—.

A short ringing pierced my ear.

The soju poster of Do Gyeoul I had just seen flickered before my eyes.

The unforgettable line from the first-year play buzzed faintly in my ears.

Unlike Han Yeoreum, Screaming Woman 1, the poster had the role name and Do Gyeoul’s name written proudly.

“Yeoreum, get well soon.... Do not worry about the stage.”

Even her gentle, concerned voice.

A deep sense of injustice was written all over Goo Jincheol’s face.

“I am telling the truth! If I had done it, I would not feel so wronged! Do Gyeoul was acting that day! No one believed me, so I just shut up, but if I get ruined over this, is that not too pitiful?”

That part was true.

Goo Jincheol cannot act.

‘He absolutely cannot deliver that level of sincerity.’

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

My heart pounded violently.

Like someone out of their mind, I walked—almost ran—back toward the entrance of the pojangmacha. Just in time, Do Gyeoul was about to get into her manager’s car as they were wrapping up.

“Yeoreum~.”

Spotting me, Do Gyeoul smiled with her eyes curved, as if she were genuinely glad.

“You were still here? I thought you left without saying anything.”

Looking relieved, she gestured to her manager. The manager pulled out a crumpled 50,000-won bill from inside his jacket.

“Use it for your taxi on the way home. If you had told me, I would have given you extra pay for the extra work. I am really sorry.”

The wrinkled, crushed bill slipped into the pocket of my empty jacket.

“Next time, make sure you tell me~.”

Around the smiling Do Gyeoul, the seniors cheered noisily.

‘Right. This is the Do Gyeoul character.’

She looks prim, but if you get to know her, she has loyalty, she looks after people.

“Do Gyeoul, is it really you?”

But Do Gyeoul is good at acting.

“The one who pushed me back then, on the stairs... was it you?”

Unlike Goo Jincheol.

“Did you do it on purpose?”

At my sudden question, an awkward silence fell. The seniors looked back and forth between me and Do Gyeoul, then tried to ease the atmosphere with forced jokes.

“Yeoreum, you must be really drunk. That was just something we were talking about among ourselves. Why are you making things so tense~.”

“Yeah, yeah. Yeoreum~. Stop and come here! Gyeoul even booked us a place for round two! Stop being a buzzkill.”

I shook off the hands of the seniors trying to steady my shoulders.

My heart was pounding like crazy.

Do Gyeoul did not answer. She just stared at me. As if observing something.

I had seen that gaze a few times before.

“I am asking if it is true.”

That was the look she had when she was studying a role.

It was less like she was looking at a drunk classmate and more like the analytical process she showed when interpreting a character for a movie or drama.

“Do Gyeoul, answer!”

Only then, as if she had finished analyzing my gestures, expression, and voice, Do Gyeoul slowly pulled me into a hug.

“Let go! Were you that desperate to be the lead?”

The atmosphere turned into one where the deep-hearted Do Gyeoul was embracing a classmate who had gone crazy with inferiority. Everyone laughed. Except me.

“Yeoreum.”

Do Gyeoul whispered in a voice meant only for me. I tried to pull away from her firm grip, but—

“If it were me....”

Hearing that voice, all the strength drained from my body.

“Even if my leg broke back then, I would have stood on the stage.”

Her soft voice sounded like thunder.

“Giving up the lead back then... the one who did that was not me. It was you.”

I instinctively knew. It was not a proper answer, but it was a silent admission.

‘The one who pushed me on the stairs back then was not Goo Jincheol....’

It was Do Gyeoul.

Her whisper coiled around my eardrum like a snake.

“You look really pathetic right now.... Like a stereotypical weekend-drama villainess.... Ahaha, I am disappointed. It is not even an impressive scene. I came to see you, you know.”

Patting my back a couple of times, Do Gyeoul gently pushed me away. Then she added something like consolation.

“But still, Yeoreum, keep ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) trying like you are now! One day we might definitely get to work on a project together.”

This time loud enough for everyone to hear.

With that final line, the van carrying Do Gyeoul drove off. I followed it slowly and knocked on the window.

“Do Gyeoul! Open the door! Open it!”

“Han Yeoreum, stop. Do you know how much Gyeoul looks out for you! Be grateful.”

“Seriously. She looks so pathetic... why is she acting like that?”

But the van sped up, growing farther away until my legs could not keep up. I tried persistently not to give up, but—

Bwaaang—!!!

Along with a massive horn blast.

Crash—!!!

My body flew up and fell.

A horrifying pain exploded at the back of my head. Every sense faded.

I let out a faint, bitter laugh.

‘In the end, am I dying like this, without even one proper role to my name...?’

Pathetic. Dying as Screaming Woman 1.

‘I wanted to die as an actress....’

I did not even wish for everyone to know my name. Just to have it printed on a poster once.

If I had at least achieved that, maybe I would not regret dying....

‘If I die like this now, no one will know I was ever an actress....’

From the moment I first formed a dream, the goal I had worked myself to death for as an actor faded away along with my breath.

My vision darkened from the corners.

Ding—!

It happened then.

A strange digital sound rang clearly in my ear.

System

>>> Error code 1221

♣Notice♣

Due to an error, your 〈Lucky〉 points have been transferred to another person for 10 years.

Even though you tried so desperately, nothing improved? Oh dear, could that really have been your fault?

You, who were unusually unlucky, have had your entire life stolen by someone filled with malice.

We will now process your compensation.

Let us properly retrieve what should have been yours!

— Will you receive it?

〈Yes〉 〈No〉

A mysterious window appeared. The ‘Yes’ option sparkled brightly.

Was my desperate wish showing me one last hallucination before death?

‘Ah. I wanted to try working on a project with CG like this at least once.’

I barely lifted my index finger and pressed the glittering ‘Yes’ button.

And then I completely lost consciousness.