I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

* * *

“...Me!”

My dull senses began returning one by one.

First was pain—my head throbbed.

Someone was grabbing me and shaking me violently, making me nauseous.

“Noona!”

And second was hearing. A familiar voice entered my ears.

This was definitely... someone I knew....

“Hey!!!”

I snapped my eyes open. Lastly, my vision returned.

‘...Han Taeyang?’

And there he was—my younger brother in a school uniform.

“Whoa, damn. You scared me.”

Han Taeyang was looking down at me with that pitiful expression, his face smooth and fresh.

Just like...

“A high schooler...?”

“Cut that out already. We both have first period, what are you even doing.”

He is twenty-seven right now, so what the hell was going on?

I blinked blankly. A moment ago, my head had been bleeding, but now all I felt was the soft touch of a pillow against the back of my skull.

I touched it with my fingers—no blood. Nothing at all.

“I am... fine...?”

With trembling hands, I felt my forehead and the back of my head again. Same result.

As if nothing had ever happened.

“Look at you checking again just because you do not want to wash your hair. It is the first day of the semester, at least wash yourself....”

I was speechless. Han Taeyang checked the time on his wrist and slung his bag over his shoulder.

“Am I... still drunk?”

“I do not know. I woke you up, so I am leaving. Do not tell Mom I did not wake you, seriously.”

Left alone, I sat up and looked at the mirror on my desk.

“...What is this?”

It was not only Han Taeyang who looked younger. The face in the mirror—my face—was younger too.

“...”

Was this a dream? I lifted my hand and slapped my cheek.

“Ah!!!”

But it hurt so damn much I could not possibly be dreaming. Enough to make tears form.

“I... came back?”

Even while saying it with my own mouth, the situation made no sense.

“To when I was twenty?”

Right then—

System

*>>> Error code 1221 has been completely removed and the past has been re-executed.

>>> tutorial

♣From nameless extra to national actor!♣

Let us spread the name no one knew. Reborn as a once-in-history actor.

Reward: Wish Ticket (SSS) acquired

A window appeared in front of my eyes.

“From nameless actor... to national actor?”

It was a series of unreal situations. Without even having time to gather my thoughts, the past—fast-forwarded at double speed—rushed into my mind.

“The audition date changed, you did not know? What do you mean? We sent you a message.”

“Hah... that is not the correct line. You did not study properly. This is a basic attitude problem.”

“I am so sorry! I am sorry!”

The time I missed the audition because the date was moved up by a week, but I never received the message.

The time I barely passed, only to get cut for being “an actor who did not even know the script was changed.”

The car accident on my very first shoot.

All the endless misfortunes flashed before me.

And over them, layered on the opposite end of my pathetic career, were memories that contradicted everything.

“For my comeback project, I want to thank the writer and director for giving me such an important role, and on set....”

“Acting is always about living someone’s life on their behalf, so regardless of size, I aim to be sincere....”

“My goal is to become an even better actor....”

Do Gyeoul, who received insane acclaim from her comeback project onward.

Do Gyeoul, who monopolized interviews and CFs thanks to her spotless image.

Do Gyeoul, who smiled brightly when receiving the grand prize at the most prestigious film awards in Korea.

Everything I had ever seen of Do Gyeoul replayed vividly in my mind.

>>> Error code 1221

Korea’s beloved actor Do Gyeoul, casting priority number one, the one who received so many scripts that even reading them took months....

“Error code 1221....”

December 21. Do Gyeoul’s birthday.

Ding-! Ding-! Ding-!

It was not just one status window. The reasons for every failure in my life exploded across my vision.

‘It started on that staircase....’

The moment Do Gyeoul pushed me, the moment I rolled down the stairs, the error occurred.

System

System error

Movement of 〈???〉 detected

Target cannot be found

Resetting target

>>> Error code 1111

“After that day, nothing ever went right for me....”

On top of that, the one who stole all my luck—Do Gyeoul—actively erased Han Yeoreum. From every opportunity where my face could have been seen.

“Yes, director. This is Gyeoul. Actually, among my friends... there is someone who is really good at acting. If you use her, I will—.”

It was a supporting role I had barely gotten. Do Gyeoul cut me with a single phone call and pushed in someone else. More than once.

“Yes, senior Hyung. You went with the girl I mentioned? You do not have to thank me. The acting video you sent was pretty good.”

Using the excuse of helping Hyeong Changuk discover new actors for his troupe, Do Gyeoul obtained practice videos of nameless actors.

“What about letting her practice using my script next time? To try interpreting it. Nooo, it is because I want to help.”

Among them were my videos. Or more accurately....

“For Yeoreum’s video, please send a longer one. And you know it is a secret that I asked, right? She is so prideful. Imagine if she knew a classmate was advising her.”

Do Gyeoul’s computer had countless videos of my acting saved inside it.

[Han Yeoreum folder] (407)

> [Theater / Will the Wind Blow? – Han Yeoreum lead monologue scene]

> [Drama / National ONE – Han Yeoreum supporting lines compilation]

> [Film / The Bad Guy Will Be Caught – 1st audition]

Mock auditions I had submitted, footage from Hyeong Changuk’s troupe—hundreds of videos were in ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Do Gyeoul’s hands.

“So she processes emotions... like this here.... Seriously, Han Yeoreum, ahaha.... Her interpretation is so unusual.”

My acting was being collected by Do Gyeoul.

And my acting—

“Gyeoul! What is this scene? The interpretation is different from last time?”

“Was it okay?”

“More than okay. How did you improve this much in just a few days—!”

—became hers completely.

Even misfortunes like car accidents became her luck.

“It is strange. The collision was quite big, but you only have bruises.”

“Haha.... I guess I am lucky.”

In the dozens of windows before me, Do Gyeoul’s face appeared over and over.

The days she stole my life, my luck, my roles—all tangled chaotically.

“...So it was Do Gyeoul. All of it.”

As soon as I realized it, the windows glowed even brighter. As if telling me to look again.

Suppressing the surge in my chest, I stared at the status window with determination.

Let us spread the name that no one knew.

Be reborn as a once-in-history actor.

Then everything clicked sharply. This was an opportunity.

“Yes....”

A second chance the heavens had given me.

“I can make myself known now.”

Without Do Gyeoul’s interference. Using the luck and talent that should have been mine.

I smiled sharply at the mirror.

I was lucky. I returned to exactly the right time.

“There will not be a better time than now to debut.”

Actor syndrome? Starting from the bottom and getting recognized fairly?

‘That is cured now.’

I do not need to cling to textbook debut paths anymore.

I already know a new route.

‘A faster, more certain one.’

This was an era when the line between celebrity and famous person blurred. Acting became a stage anyone could attempt.

[HOT / ‘Endless’ sweetheart leader Ju Ye, this time taking on the role of a chaebol’s youngest daughter in love?]

There were tons of articles like this. Idols acting was no longer strange. And not only idols.

[HOT / Luxury charisma shining from Z1, sharp hand-heart pose befitting a professional stuntman]

People who had been on entertainment shows,

[HOT / No more “likes”... Ryumogwa now greeting fans as an actor, not an Intuber]

Even influencers with massive followings were now trying acting.

‘And not just them.......’

The acting market itself was expanding beyond screens and televisions, coming closer to the public.

“From web dramas uploaded on Intube, to one-minute content on Tintok....”

And streaming platforms—OTT channels—were no longer just buying distribution rights for films and dramas. They were producing their own.

“It is a world where anyone can act.”

Especially if they are famous.

I would work myself to death. By any means necessary.

To become famous. To act. To make everyone remember my name.

“I will take back everything Do Gyeoul stole.”

I bit down on my lower lip. The roles that should have been mine, the awards I should have received, the life I should have lived—

“I will put all of it back where it belongs.”

Ding-!

「Mission: Capture everyone’s attention」

Keyword: First Stage

The first step of a star! Among freshmen full of passion for acting, show them who you are.

Success Condition

[Must be acknowledged by someone with Concentration Grade B or higher]

Reward

Increase in [Popularity]

[Random Skill Ticket]

The first mission appeared, as if cheering on my resolve.