I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

“Where are we right now with distributing the press releases?”

At Jegal Rok’s question, Jang Director answered in a fluster.

“Hong Team Leader began by circulating the basic actor information along with the plot summary.”

“Show me.”

Jegal Rok took the tablet PC and scrolled through it with a smooth swipe. After grasping the current PR situation, he stood up from his seat.

“Tell Hong Team Leader this. Release at least three times the current amount of articles. That’s all.”

Leaving those words behind, Jegal Rok walked out. A few seconds later, a colossal scream rang so loudly it reached beyond the editing room door.

“Three times?! Three times?! Three times?!”

Walking away from the scream, Jegal Rok muttered:

“Interesting....”

A smile appeared on his irritable-looking face. It seemed the new-media boom he had anticipated would begin much sooner than planned.

* * *

Intube

JC ENM subscribers: 570,000

[The Cherry on the Parfait Belongs to the Heroine! Official Teaser] 01:00

The official teaser had finally been uploaded. Thanks to the week of press releases beforehand, the initial buzz was much higher than expected. Even though Episode 1 hadn’t gone up yet, comments were already appearing.

–LOLOLOL what even is this

–I’m feeling a little... overwhelmed.... But >>>Joo Junseo’s<<< face is VERY overwhelming....

˪The type who persuades with his face

–The writer smells like a hardcore otaku I swearrr how do they know those niche vibes normies don’t get;;( ᎔˘꒳˘᎔)

“A thousand views in one hour!”

I refreshed the page while jittering my feet. The start was smooth. Checking other SNS platforms, I saw people already showing interest.

Daengji @clangzzi

(ParCheHi teaser screenshot)

We said only otakus should understand otaku culture, but school festivals and club activities normies don’t get this vibe

KissJunseo @pocketsiszzs

Just leave only Joo Junseo’s face.... Don’t need anything else.... Yup yup as long as we have Junseo everything is fine

˪My treat is getting soggy

And here, the news of 〈ParCheHi〉 also reached the ears of A, a drama addict so deep in media consumption she was practically marinated in it.

“What’s this now?”

Hobby: drama-watching. Specialty: drama-watching. A Tr*tter famous for having consumed almost every piece of media out there.

Anytime Media. Shortened to Aetami. Even she couldn’t avoid learning about the ParCheHi teaser.

“Look at how childish this teaser is....”

“Seriously, this is the problem with dramas these days,” she muttered coolly, skimming through articles. It was better to speed-read than waste time watching ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) useless videos.

“A Korean high schooler who fell into a shoujo manga world? Hm.... The concept itself is kinda fresh. I’ll give them that.”

It was screaming JC ENM’s production style. The company’s desire to capture younger viewers was obvious. The volume of press releases was enormous.

“A 10-minute drama is still a drama? Even influencer vlogs are longer than that.”

Still, it felt slightly different from typical web dramas. Aetami hated how “discipline stories” made into videos were being called “dramas,” so she decided she would at least upload the teaser to her own Tr*tter account.

Aetami (not a pyramid scheme account demX) @AnYtimeMedia

(ParCheHi teaser link)

JC ENM’s first web drama.

She didn’t have any special expectations. She just hoped that with 〈ParCheHi〉, web dramas might start producing content with actual substance. That was all.

On Intube, the view count kept rising in real time. Aetami clicked the teaser herself.

With bubbly popping sounds, an exciting, heart-fluttering music track played.

Caption: Can an extra become the protagonist?

A short teaser—it ended quickly. Aetami pressed replay and thought:

“Huh. The quality is better than I expected?”

This was the only review she could give for now. Even though it was a one-minute video, it was quite fun. It had taken school-drama clichés—easy to mock as childish—and twisted them completely.

Smiling, Aetami scrolled through the comment section.

–Who’s the actress? She’s eating the whole teaser alive lololol

“But seriously, who is this actress?”

Even Aetami, who had consumed virtually every drama known to humankind, had never seen her before.

‘Those natural dead-fish eyes in the teaser.’

She had to be some rookie who’d acted a few times. If nothing else, drama-addict Aetami’s eyes never failed.

“...No past roles?”

But surprisingly, the protagonist had no listed works.

Han Yeoreum. Aetami read the name once. Then she checked the Episode 1 release date written beside it.

“Next Friday.”

Hmm. With a curious glint in her eyes, Aetami marked the broadcast date on her calendar.

She had never waited for a web drama before, but somehow, she wanted to this time.

The ParCheHi teaser ended up with a total of 39,000 views.

Comments: 88

Likes: 171

* * *

Intube

@JC ENM subscribers 570,000

[The Cherry on the Parfait Belongs to the Heroine! Ep 1. A New Semester with Scattering Cherry Blossoms] 16:15

The week passed quickly. The first episode of 〈ParCheHi〉, which had gathered modest buzz, was now released.

The video opened in front of the school gate.

–...What the? What is this?

With excessive CG effects, cherry blossoms scattered. Sparkles floated, the type only seen in shoujo manga.

Chaewon tilted her head once, then tried to calmly assess the situation. Looking around, she saw students wearing pastel-colored school uniforms utterly foreign to Korean sensibilities.

–Shall we go get parfaits after school?

–Damn it.... Why weren’t we stronger? Why did we lose in prelims?

–Finally my high-school debut~. My heart’s pounding just a liiittle bit?

If you heard this in real life, nine out of ten Koreans would say, “What are they even talking about?” Lines completely detached from Korean sensibility.

Chaewon blinked and looked down at her outfit. She was wearing the same uniform as the other students.

Except for one thing: her skirt. Unlike the pastel-toned skirts worn by others, Chaewon’s was alone in a darker color.

–It’s a dream, huh.

Chaewon reached a quick conclusion. She wasn’t overly shaken or shouting in surprise. She was a perfectly calm, ordinary person.

–If it’s a dream, then there’s no need to go to school.

Chaewon began walking in the opposite direction of the students heading for the gate. When she’d walked only a few steps away—

Rustle—.

The sound of paper flipping—

–....

She was back in her original spot.

–Shall we get parfaits after school?

The exact same situation repeated.

–...?

Chaewon was mildly puzzled, but not panicked. It was just a dream, after all. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Her second choice was to stay perfectly still. Again, rustle—paper-flipping sound. Cherry blossoms blew once more, and the same lines were heard.

–...What kind of dream is this?

Aside from dead-fish-eyed Chaewon, the surroundings were a complete flower garden. Vibrant like background extras in a shoujo manga.

Only then did Chaewon’s expression stiffen.

Her third choice: approach the school. The moment she took a step—

Clang—.

The school gate closed. And right then, someone appeared as if waiting for this moment.

–Ahh...! I’m late! Late!!

A pink-haired girl running with a slice of bread in her mouth. Korean students running late might eat seasoned seaweed and rice shoved into their mouths by their mom—but they did NOT run with toast.

Thinking that, Chaewon swiftly dodged to the side—

Crash—!

The pink hair fell dramatically. Only then did Chaewon approach her and extend a hand to help her up. But—

–Ekyung....

Fwoosh—wind sound effect. Chaewon froze.

The fallen slice of bread tumbled harshly across the ground. Chaewon checked the girl’s nametag.

–Hina?

–Ah?! You know Hina’s name?

The moment she saw the name, Chaewon paused. A chill of foreboding brushed through her.

This world was different from Korean sensibility in more ways than one. Even the names didn’t match local culture.

And then, one hypothesis formed in her mind.

–...Where is this place?

–Where else? Obviously, school.

Hina stood up with a cute gesture, patting her skirt clean. Then she gasped in realization.

–Oh no! What am I doing! I’m late! See you later!

As if about to jump a fence, Hina dashed away again. Finally left alone, Yeoreum looked at the nameplate of the school.

[♥Current High♥︎]

A normal high school name—but with red hearts on both sides.

No way.

–Is this....

Chaewon’s mouth fell open. Her face said she could not believe this.

–Is this a shoujo manga?!!

With a short sigh, the title appeared on the screen.

[The Cherry on the Parfait Belongs to the Heroine!]

A cherry bounced across the logo.

* * *

“What the—this is actually kinda fun?”

Aetami was watching the video in real time, laughing. It exceeded expectations. It wasn’t like those Intube videos drenched in “discipline-story” culture.

“As expected of JC. This is noble-house level. I’ll give them that.”

Even among web dramas, this was another league.

Aetami made up her mind. She would follow 〈ParCheHi〉 to the finale, live.

She focused again on the scene playing.

The dead-fish-eyed protagonist Chaewon had gone up to the school rooftop and was letting out a sigh.

–...What happens if I drop out here and now.

The hardship of a normal person forcibly dragged into a shoujo manga world was depicted perfectly.

Childhood memories of pink, bubbly shoujo comics mixed with the dry, cynical sensibility of modern adults made for an ironically entertaining contrast.

Then—

–You woke me up.

A rebellious, unfamiliar voice was heard.

Following the direction of the voice, the camera angle tilted upward. On top of the container installed on the rooftop, someone was sitting.