I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

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[HOT / Suffering because my friend caught Yeon Huijae disease.jpg]

(My friend has seriously been driving me crazy lately... Let’s say her boyfriend’s name is Kim Heeseok, right? Then when she calls him she goes “Kim Heeseokie!” like that TT_TT And before she’d just say “This is freaking hard,” but now she goes “It’s really hard!” like Huijae and it’s driving me insane.... She even tries to smile like Huijae by squinting her eyes so by the time we go home her eyeliner is completely smudged ffs.... Girl, get a grip

It’s like she got possessed by Huijae or something, she’s constantly desperate to act like her somehow. How do I fix this? Even now she texted me “Kim Iksunie!” so I’m desperately pretending I didn’t see it.jpg)

Anonymous1: LMAO I thought only my friend was like this LOOOLLL

Anonymous2: Someone needs to quarantine this TT_TT

Anonymous18: At this point it’s just a meme? A catchphrase? Anyway it became like that. Even girls around me without boyfriends call people like that

Anonymous22: I saw elementary school kids at a convenience store calling each other like that LOLOLOL

ㄴAnonymous31: But honestly I like people using “really” instead of “freaking”...Hehe, it doesn’t sound harsh

The lines from 〈The Great Garland〉 had spread even to people who hadn’t watched the drama.

That was how strong its influence was.

Among them, Yeon Huijae’s lines—which ran through the theme of Episodes 1 to 4—had the highest buzz.

Because you simply couldn’t help but love Yeon Huijae speaking with such childlike sincerity.

Anonymous49: I caught Yeon Huijae disease too...T_T Who else cut their hair because of her bob? That’s me LOOOLLLL damn

ㄴAnonymous58: Honestly I caught it too so I bought Huijae lipstick LMAO

ㄴAnonymous61: Is this a confession booth? I bought the Huijae sweater too...Hehe

When dialogue becomes a catchphrase, it means the public has seen that face in video clips repeatedly.

Because once people get curious—what drama was that line from? In what context?—the algorithm inevitably starts pushing it into their feed.

And just like that, everything related to Yeon Huijae began trending.

Before long, items associated with her began climbing to the top of shopping sites.

[BEST / Fast Delivery Guaranteed Fit ⎜ Yeon Huijae Pink Soft Loose Knit Sweater 4 Colors]

[BEST / Order Explosion Yeon Huijae Round-Neck Alpaca Simple Cozy Knit 5 Colors]

Anonymous167: Wow but three years ago Do Gyeoul’s sweater from 〈Beyond the Closed Door〉 was trending everywhere LOLLLLL DaeYeJong really is something

ㄴAnonymous61: The people who bought the Do Gyeoul sweater back then are now buying the Yeon Huijae sweater too TT_TT

The Yeon Huijae sweater completely captured the FW season.

Once the fluffy thick pink loose knit sweater became trendy, outerwear naturally shifted toward long padded coats.

[N Company achieves “#1 winter sales”... everyone asking for “Han Yeoreum long padding” sold-out rush — Will 〈The Great Garland〉 popularity continue?]

Among them, the most popular brand by far was N Company, which had chosen Han Yeoreum as its model.

Every color sold out.

“Yes, we’re trying to meet the delivery schedule.... Right. Send the first shipment to the Gangnam store....”

“The short version is sold out too? We produced fewer units because we expected low demand, so printing more right now will take some time....”

“Don’t release the remaining stock online yet. Focus on offline sales first....”

The phones in N Company’s logistics team were on fire.

[‘Han Yeoreum Effect’... N Company FW padding sold out in all sizes]

The popularity of sports brand N Company—whose model is rising actress Han Yeoreum, now nicknamed “Nation’s First Love” thanks to 〈The Great Garland〉—is no ordinary matter. The products she modeled have caused a sold-out frenzy online.

A brand representative stated, “Search volume increased by 720% immediately after the broadcast,” adding that they are currently discussing restocking the product.

(omitted)

Han Yeoreum is scheduled to hold a fan signing today at the Yeouido IFV Mall to confirm the love of her fans. Interest is already intense.

* * *

Aetami arrived at the venue five hours early.

The location was IFV Mall in Yeouido.

Han Yeoreum’s public fan signing would take place in the open space on the B1 floor.

“Ah... I’m nervous. I’m going to die from nerves....”

It wasn’t Aetami’s first time seeing Yeoreum in person.

But imagining Yeoreum appearing in front of so many ordinary people filled her with overwhelming pride.

‘Everyone’s going to be shocked when they see our Baby Melon Bread in real life!’

She looked adorable on screen already, but in person her charm was impossible to describe. Anyone who saw her would feel compelled to spread real-life fan accounts everywhere.

Aetami took a seat in a nearby café to watch the fan signing stage being set up.

Then, out of habit, she searched 〈The Great Garland〉 on the gallery.

Incidentally, the fandom of 〈The Great Garland〉 was currently in the middle of a full-scale war.

“This is definitely going to continue until the Best Couple Award... even after the finale.”

Right now, 〈The Great Garland〉 was fighting a “true love war.”

[The Great Garland Gallery]

[Seriously do you guys think the writers chose Taejin as the male lead? For real?]

[The broadcast station is insane LOLOLOL she’s already married but they put her in Best Couple with another man]

[Stop whining about divorce, GiYeon shippers]

[Anyway Huijae’s true love is Taeseok so there’s no reason to get heated]

The debate focused on one question.

Who was Huijae’s true love?

Taeseok—the one who allowed her to have the name Huijae in childhood?

Or Taejin—the one who would warm the rest of her life?

[Huijae fans vs Taeseok fans vs Taejin fans vs narrative fans vs original-ending fans vs analysis fans vs “if it were me” fans — the gallery is packed]

Rewatching is exhausting

Anonymous (17.171) Endure it. This is the Great Garland gallery.

Arguments raged daily.

“If the story follows the original flow, Taejin will cheat. It’s better for her to divorce and go to Taeseok.”

Versus

“That’s impossible. He hasn’t cheated yet. And they’re already married—why would she divorce?”

Meanwhile, Huijae’s devoted viewers worried about whether she would end up hitting someone with a car.

And the patriotic viewers whose blood had boiled during the Episode 1 “Joseon scum” controversy vented their rage wondering when Hanamura would finally die.

[What if they really go with the original ending... Taeseok dies and Taejin ends as a cheating husband ffs...]

Anonymous (23.232) The broadcast station guys might be crazy but they wouldn’t do that LOLOLOL If they did the complaint calls would shut the station down

ㄴAnonymous (17.8) TIP: these guys already survived the Joseon scum controversy

ㄴAnonymous (15.353) Damn now I’m suddenly anxious... right these guys are ruthless T_T

Anonymous (1.234) If Taeseok dies then One-and-Only is complete LOLOL Taejin becomes a cowardly husband who cheats and doesn’t even have the courage to die instead LOOL

ㄴAnonymous (12.100) Stop that crap. If they followed the original story Huijae would’ve died in Episode 4

It was inevitable that the Best Couple Award voting had gone insane.

The other two candidates were practically just there to fill space.

“But this is honestly unexpected....”

Aetami smiled slightly.

Everyone had expected the adult versions of Taeseok, Huijae, and Taejin to dominate the battle.

Instead, Eun Baekhap and Han Yeoreum were fighting neck-and-neck.

“In a One-and-Only fight, the childhood pair wins overwhelmingly.”

Narratively speaking, nothing could compete with the story up to their childhood.

No one knew what would happen in the future story, so opinions differed on who the true love was.

But one thing was certain.

The two of them had kept each other in their hearts since childhood.

“Ah! I know it probably won’t happen! But please! Please let Yeoreum win!”

Although Ji Haebeom and Eun Baekhap were still leading in votes, Aetami pressed Yeoreum’s name once more to add today’s vote.

* * *

“Memory card okay. Battery okay.”

Reporter Wi stood waiting at IFV Mall with a camera mounted on a tripod, barely suppressing a smile.

He had to maintain a professional expression.

‘I’ve already been here many times....’

But today his heart kept pounding.

IFV Mall was a familiar place to him.

Countless celebrities had held public fan signings here.

But thinking about Han Yeoreum’s first fan signing made it feel like his first visit.

“How many shots do you think we can get today?”

“The more the better.”

“And it’s the weekend too... the reaction will be huge.”

“By the way, Han Yeoreum’s next project, 〈Youth Disqualified!〉, filming started already, right?”

“Yeah. The leads too. Looks like they’re moving quickly. Probably aiming for first-half performance results... hey... who are you? Why are you standing this close?”

Reporter Wi realized he had unconsciously drifted into ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) a group discussing Yeoreum and cleared his throat.

“Sorry. Could you move a little? The path behind you is blocked.”

“Ah, sure.”

He escaped the situation naturally.

He had nearly exposed his personal feelings in a professional setting.

“Hey, I thought you knew them. You got really close.”

“Too many people were crowding. Ah, it’s fine now.”

The surrounding noise gradually filled with murmurs.

A photo line had already formed in front of the stage.

“What’s going on?”

“Something’s happening.”

People who saw the words “Han Yeoreum Fan Signing” stopped walking.

“Han Yeoreum is coming!”

“Han Yeoreum? Yeon Huijae?”

“No way, really?”

One by one, more people stopped to see Han Yeoreum in person.

A crowd began forming in a circle around the stage.

“She’s coming!”

At someone’s voice, like a starting signal, camera lenses all turned toward one direction.

Voices rose—high and low, loud and quiet.

Everyone called the same name.

“Han Yeoreum!”

The Nation’s First Love had arrived.