I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

* * *

The troupe leader’s son sat in prison, staring blankly at the fallen mask. It had been in his father’s hands until the moment he died. Laughing, he had said that one day they would get out and put on a rousing performance again—he was a clown through and through.

But he left behind only the mask and went on ahead. He never came back.

‘Maybe I’ll die here soon too.’

The troupe leader’s son imagined that obvious future. If that happened, he wouldn’t be able to go smiling like his father. He would cling to that mask, become a ghost, and torment them generation after generation. Make them into people who weren’t really alive, even if they lived....

“Ah....”

He covered both ears, struggling to endure the pain. More than the hunger, the sleepless nights were unbearable.

Sasasasak, sasasasasak. The sound of insects crawling was enough to make his skin crawl. Then—

“I’m here!”

A child’s voice—one that should never be heard in a prison.

His eyes flew open. The child was gripping the bars with both hands, crying as she looked at him.

“You...! Do you even know where this is....”

His voice cracked from barely drinking any water. Crawling unsteadily to the door, he spoke to the child with resentment.

“That’s why I told you at the market. Didn’t I tell you not to tell fortunes recklessly...!”

“I’m sorry.... It’s all my fault....”

Chapped lips moved, splitting the corners of his mouth. Blood ran as he blamed the child briefly, then said,

“Go. You can’t be here.”

He was still human. In this state, how could he not resent the child?

And yet she was like a child he had raised from a very young age.

He knew the real fault lay not with the child, but with the officials who had ordered a curse to be cast.

“What nonsense are you spouting when you’re about to die....”

Clank.

The sound of chains being released.

Someone walked in with steady footsteps. Startled by the unfamiliar presence, the troupe leader’s son grabbed the child’s wrist. It was instinctive protection.

Creeeak—

The door that had held him shut opened. At the same time, the blade that had pinned his neck was removed. Seoryeong jerked her chin.

“Enough. Come out.”

“W-who... who are you...?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Seoryeong signaled to Myungdo. He stepped into the cell, uncorked a flask, and poured water for him.

Drinking with trembling hands, life returned to the man’s eyes.

“You... you came to save us...?”

Seoryeong nodded briefly. The troupe leader’s son bowed deeply in gratitude, then asked in a shaking voice,

“I know this is shameless, but... could you save the others too?”

“Don’t you hate her?” Seoryeong asked the leader’s son.

The child who had been sniffling beside him flinched in surprise.

“...What sin could a child have? We were just struggling, thinking it might help make ends meet....”

In the end, the leader’s son shielded the child. Hearing that answer, Seoryeong turned her back without hesitation.

At some point, a bloodstained mask that had been rolling around the cell was in her hand.

“Come out.”

Clack, clack, clack.

Several doors opened within the dark prison. Members of the troupe crawled out with dazed expressions. The jailers who had been guarding the outside lay unconscious.

“Hey! Chunsam!”

“My goodness, what’s going on. O-wol...!”

Recognizing one another, they clung together and {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} cried. Seoryeong took a talisman from her robes.

She murmured a spell, and the talisman caught fire.

“Fire! Fire!”

“Hurry, hurry, put it out!”

From far away, screams rang out—screams filled with pain, drawing closer. Through the small windows of the prison, their figures could be seen.

“Ow, it’s hot! Ow, it’s hot!”

“What are you doing! Throw water on it! Even if my clothes are burned to ashes!”

For a moment, the view shifted to their perspective. The entire world was blazing.

The rafters of the magistrate’s office caught fire and collapsed, and flames licked the hems of their silk robes.

“Ah, hot! Aah! It’s burning! I’m dying!”

They flailed wildly, trying to put out the fire clinging to their clothes. With their long robes fluttering as they moved, it looked almost like a dance.

Like clowns from a troupe—utterly ridiculous.

“I helped you this time, but I can’t help you again. Human greed is like that. So don’t tell fortunes anymore.”

But it was all a hallucination. There was no fire. From now on, they would live their entire lives tormented by searing pain.

Thrashing about, dancing as if in revelry.

“Um...!”

The child who had been hiding behind the troupe leader’s son stepped toward Seoryeong.

“One last time, before we part, I’ll read your fortune.”

“Didn’t you hear me tell you not to tell fortunes?”

“I only wish to repay a little of your kindness. Please don’t be angry....”

“You said you can only see the main current, not the branches.”

“Because you saved us, the future has changed again. This time, it’s a new branch.”

The child hesitated, then said,

“Please tell me your date and time of birth.”

“What? I’m an orphan. How would I know that kind of thing?”

“Then please tell me this gentleman’s.”

With bright eyes, the child looked at Myungdo standing beside Seoryeong.

“The two of you are deeply connected, so your fates must be intertwined as well.”

For a moment, neither of them answered. Then Myungdo spoke.

“Gapin year, Byeongin month, Sinsa day, Sul hour.”

The child pondered for a while, then opened her mouth.

“...If you walk the path you intend, your life will be in danger.”

Seoryeong stiffened. She was the one who had resolved to risk her life—so why was Myungdo in danger? Her expression wavered, on the verge of tears.

“How do you know what path we’re taking?”

Myungdo met the child’s gaze as he replied. The child blinked, then shook her head.

“I don’t know that. But the shoots of death are clearly sprouting. At the end of every branch....”

“You must be feeling that way because your concern for me is so great. You’re very kind.”

Myungdo spoke as if soothing the child. Seoryeong remained frozen. Myungdo asked again,

“Then can you divine another person’s future? Imjin year, Giyu month, Eulchuk day, In hour.”

He was asking about Yunhwi’s fate. This time, the child’s face brightened. It was a sign of a good outcome.

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll place my trust in that alone.”

The child swallowed.

“May I ask who that person is, whose fortune you just gave? I can tell they are someone of noble standing.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because that person’s fate and mine are briefly intertwined right now.”

Myungdo and Seoryeong’s gazes met.

“You have something you wish me to pass on to him, don’t you?”

Thus, the troupe headed for Baekyeongji, while Myungdo and Seoryeong set out for their final destination, Jinchyeonji. Not a single word passed between them.

The joy of having gained just a little more time together showed in the way their footsteps slowed.

“...That’s strange.”

As they nearly reached Jinchyeonji, a sickening stench stabbed at Seoryeong’s nose. She covered it.

“What is it?”

“You don’t feel this?”

Myungdo sensed nothing.

Then it was a spell—something that only those with divine power could perceive.

Seoryeong took out a talisman and chanted, again and again.

A thick fog gathered around them. Without realizing it, Myungdo moved Seoryeong behind his back, raising an arm to shield her. He sensed something ahead.

Jiiing—

From somewhere came the sound of a gong, as if tearing through space itself. A fierce wind blew. Myungdo lifted his sleeve to block it.

When the wind finally subsided, unfamiliar trees stood before them.

“...Now I understand why Yeomga couldn’t find me all this time.”

Thinking about it, it was simple. How could someone with that level of divine power have left Seoryeong unclaimed for so long?

Even with a binding seal, if she had risked her life to find her, it would have been impossible not to.

“I wasn’t the only one sharing divine power.”

On either side stretched a bamboo forest like a wall. Red cloths were tied to each stalk, fluttering in the wind.

On the tree before Seoryeong hung a completely rotted geumjul, like the entrance to a funeral house.

Somewhere, a dirge began to play. Along with the distant sound of death,

Seoryeong brushed aside the geumjul with one hand and stepped forward.

Beyond the bamboo forest, a desolate village was revealed.

A place that had never existed before.

“...Yeomga was also dividing her divine power to conceal this place... that’s why she couldn’t track me....”

What Yeomga had been hiding wasn’t Jinchyeonji.

It was a tiny village located nearby.

Reeking of rotting corpses.

And so, Episode 14 of ended.

* * *

“We finally made it through this week....”

After Episode 14 aired, the Strange Tales fans were incapable of living normal lives.

As was often the case, dramas gave no preview as they neared the finale.

Viewers spent the week knowing nothing about the next episode, relying only on speculation and analysis. And as always, fans rewatched what they’d already seen, again and again.

Intube

[Myungdo instinctively shielding Seoryeong #Strange Tales Ep14 ending scene] 01:23

2.88 million views

— It’s honestly amazing how just standing together turns into a masterpiece scene... these two suit each other so well. Please let it end with the beautiful story of Seoryeong and Myungdo...

— F*ck if it cuts right here how are we supposed to stay sane for a whole week

— Honestly, power-wise Myungdo is a total lightweight, but the way he instinctively tries to protect Seoryeong in front of defiled things is so good. That “of course I protect my woman” mindset feels so natural it makes my heart ache AAHHH TT_TT TT_TT

Thinking about the approaching end made hearts race, yet at the same time a hollow wish rose up—that it would never truly end.

After spending the remaining five days half out of their minds, today finally arrived.

The broadcast day of .

Articles poured out one after another. The main question was whether it would surpass 20% in ratings.

[With one day left until the finale, —will it write the miracle of cable... can it break the 20% wall?]

[Unprecedented popularity... ‘This is what a masterpiece looks like’ Acting, directing, and immersion all captured in perfect balance, ratings trajectory]

Live-threads exploded before the episode even began. The tireless waiting, fueled by excitement, went on and on.

At last, Episode 15 of began.

Chapter 15

Immortal Ghost