I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

Her gaze shifted to the very left—SBC’s 〈The Fuse〉.

Do Gyeoul, now playing Jang Huibin, wore a cold-toned crimson jeogori. She was so flamboyant she drew the eye like a single blooming flower.

“That lowborn maid....”

In contrast, the maid standing with her head bowed, expressionless, wore tattered clothes. As if Jang Huibin considered her not even worth a glance—just another part of the background.

And yet, something about her was different from the others.

“There’s something off.”

Her head remained still while only her eyes rolled first. She didn’t move like an ordinary person. The eyes shifted first, then the head followed.

Like a reptile that had learned to mimic human gestures by observation.

“That’s Sukbin Choi?”

Jang Huibin and Queen Inhyeon had already appeared in the drama. The only remaining major historical figure was Sukbin Choi.

But the center director couldn’t believe it. This portrayal was nothing like the dignified, wise Sukbin Choi that media had depicted all these years.

“That’s her! Sukbin Choi!”

A quick search through SBC’s 〈The Fuse〉 character introduction confirmed it. The center director’s heart began to race.

“It’s her....”

Choo Gaeul. A rookie who had received quite favorable reviews for her solid acting in 〈ParCheHi〉. The center director had watched 〈ParCheHi〉 too.

“I even saw the spin-off. How did her acting improve this much in such a short time?”

Letting out an impressed chuckle, the center director immediately contacted Director So. It seemed they had found Go Yungyo.

“Who are we casting for the last one?”

Once they secured Jeong Heejeong, everything would begin.

MBS’s new prestige drama.

* * *

Writer Pi stared at the tangled shooting schedule. Given the short-breath pacing of web dramas, they had already entered the final stretch.

In just a few days, the web drama production team had been completely thrown into chaos.

“Ms. Eunseol, if you keep lying, ha....”

Speed was everything in PPL. The storyboard had been carefully aligned with the launch date of a new product. Since it was a school drama, the characters’ clothes, accessories, and shoes all needed to be highlighted at least once.

“Why do you keep insisting that account isn’t yours? Then sue that overseas company! If you want to prove your innocence!”

But with the lead actress, Jin Eunseol, dropping out, the secured PPL deals were now in shambles. She had tagged Luda Entertainment, which caused the fallout to grow significantly.

— All the female leads in this look like they’d be hate commenters in real life. So f***ing hard to watch lol

ㄴ fr tho they all look creepy af T_T

ㄴ The actresses might get hurt reading comments like this. Think before you post. There’s a person behind the screen.

ㄴ lol then maybe they should think before casting. If that’s how it feels to me, what’s the problem?

Even the videos already uploaded to the channel were flooded with malicious comments. Jin Eunseol’s follower count had exploded in just a few days—but the attention was nothing more than dopamine-party attention.

[HOT/ Aspiring Actress Mastering Out-of-Body Technique.jpg]

(Capture of Eunseol’s story.jpg)

At first she said it wasn’t her account and it updated by mistake. Then she said a friend used her number for verification so the last digits just looked similar. Then when she got caught manipulating screenshots she said she lent an unused ID and didn’t know it was being used like that. Then she said she’d sue the hate commenters lololololol

She could’ve just admitted it cleanly but she seems like the type to keep making it worse.

Anonymous1: This is why you need an agency. Doing this alone just makes you look more pathetic.

ㄴ Anonymous10: Who would even sign her T_T No one’s taking her.

ㄴ Anonymous17: Honestly lucky she doesn’t have an agency. Imagine the penalty fees lol.

Eunseol kept trying to create an escape route.

But every attempt only poisoned her further.

Anonymous32: LOLOLOLOL She’s literally caught in every lie. We already asked about this on the forum when it first got exposed. How’s a normal person supposed to run from that TT_TT

The true dopamine addicts who lurked online at dawn easily exceeded fourteen hours of internet use per day.

Manipulating chat logs, digging up hidden IDs, pulling entire digital histories from elementary school days—it was nothing to them.

Anonymous107: This is honestly so pathetic I don’t even have words lololololol TT__TT

And just like that, Jin Eunseol made her flashy debut as a certified malicious commenter.

She deleted her SNS. Her account was no longer searchable.

“Writer, about ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) the actors....”

“Yes. I’ll check.”

They had to fill the vacancy of the female lead quickly. Writer Pi scrolled through the list of candidates she’d received.

‘They need solid acting skills.’

The performance had to be strong enough to bury the controversy in one blow. Writer Pi let out a sigh as she thought of Han Yeoreum from 〈ParCheHi〉.

“We can’t find another Yeoreum....”

Then it happened. Her attention caught on a video she had clicked without much thought.

“Huh?”

The face looked familiar.

“I’m sure....”

Han Yeoreum’s birthday party. Han Yeoreum’s stage play. Han Yeoreum on 〈EmBubu〉.

“Ah! Yeoreum’s friend!”

So Dami.

Writer Pi immediately checked the acting video So Dami had submitted. Compared to the other applicants, there was a clear difference.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was—but real talent always revealed itself instantly.

“Why wasn’t this person shortlisted from the beginning?”

Writer Pi immediately questioned a web drama team staff member.

The answer she received was absurd.

“We filtered casting by follower count....”

Letting out a deep sigh, Writer Pi finalized the lead on the spot.

“Contact So Dami! Ask if she can start filming in two days! And reach out to the brand sponsors too.”

As the staff member hurried out, Writer Pi replayed the video once more.

“She could go terrestrial TV soon....”

* * *

This was Jinhae. The set of 〈The Great Garland〉.

Perhaps because summer had truly arrived, the air hit heavy and hot the moment I stepped out of the car.

“Oh! Huijae! Here, sit here. How’s your condition? Good? It better be good!”

Director Ja rushed over the moment my car entered, handing me a limited summer lavender-lemon smoothie and vacating his own chair.

“Today’s the last shoot for this arc, so let’s wrap it up clean! We need to hit hard with this and transition into the adult phase. You know how important that is, right?”

There was even a shade canopy properly installed above the chair. On the side table, Director Ja’s personal mini fan whirred loudly.

‘So this is....’

What it feels like to be the lead?

Suddenly sitting in Director Ja’s chair and sipping a smoothie, I glanced awkwardly at the assistant director. Director Ja had already vanished after saying his piece.

“Well, kind of....”

“Kind of?”

“Yeoreum, you’re kind of like the symbol of good luck for our set....”

Whiiiiirrrr—.

‘What?’

A sudden gust of wind made me turn around. At some point, a massive industrial fan had been installed behind me, blasting strong air.

“So... before you go, sprinkle some luck on the set, okay...? Got it...?” 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Director Ja’s eyes looked slightly unhinged.

‘I think I get it.’

Right when the unofficial cultural restriction hit, Taiwanese investment flowed in. And Gi Juye—who was supposed to play young Yeon Huijae—had exploded into controversy over power abuse and character issues.

‘Two big bombs back-to-back.’

To think I’d receive this kind of royal treatment on set. This was one of the fantasies I used to replay before falling asleep.

It wasn’t just Director Ja. The staff’s gazes toward me were warm.

‘Thank you, Gi Juye...!’

You’re useful in every way.

In this industry, everyone was connected within two degrees at most.

‘A celebrity who abused staff connected to my friend falling into scandal hell?’

There couldn’t be anything more satisfying.

“She’ll probably lose all her ad deals soon.”

“Whoa—!”

I nearly jumped at the low voice that suddenly came from above my head. Myeong Jeha was looking down at me.

“They can’t cut ties immediately or the fans will attack. They’ll delay it, calculate angles, and probably terminate contracts without penalty. From now on, advertisers will keep ignoring her.”

He never mentioned the subject, but it was obvious. He was talking about Gi Juye.

“If things go well, you might pick up a few of those ads, Yeoreum.”

Myeong Jeha adjusted the angle of the small fan on the table. The airflow shifted only slightly, but it felt noticeably cooler.

“That would be nice. Imagine Gallup ranking me as a CF queen.”

The set was in the middle of lighting adjustments. Today was finally the highlight scene between Yeon Huijae and Gi Taeseok—the rain scene.

They had postponed it as much as possible to avoid catching a cold.

“The pace is faster than I expected.”

“Faster in what way?”

“I thought filming would resume around your birthday....”

At some point, Myeong Jeha had dragged a chair beside me and leaned back casually. His posture looked relaxed, but there was a faint trace of fatigue.

‘What is it?’

The sense of déjà vu flickered briefly before he smiled and spoke—information from a world I didn’t usually have access to.

“The dramas currently airing on KBC are all underperforming compared to projections. Same with SBC and MBS. Two shows entering their final stretch are wrapping up like dragon heads with snake tails.”

Expectations for TV dramas were fading. Content worth watching was no longer confined to television.

Naturally, Intube view counts were swallowing TV ratings whole.

“If we’re lucky, our broadcast date might move up. Feels like early cancellations are coming in waves. The internal mood isn’t great....”

Myeong Jeha turned his head from the bustling set and looked at me.

Under the shade, his gaze felt cool and piercing.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing.”

But soon his expression softened, returning to that faint, gentle smile.

“Set ready! Let’s rehearse!”

He stood and extended his hand toward me.

“Come on.”

And in that moment, he already wore the face of Gi Taeseok.