I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

* * *

It seemed that Huijae’s garment business was progressing smoothly.

At least until then.

“What? There’s... a problem?”

The factory manager avoided Huijae’s gaze with an awkward expression. After clearing his throat several times, he finally let out a sigh.

“They can’t read, so the work just isn’t progressing. All we can assign them are menial tasks.”

The Joseon people Huijae had reunited with still had never learned to read.

They had spent their entire lives struggling just to survive, so there had never been a chance.

Until now, things had somehow been getting by.

But a problem had inevitably arisen.

“But we can still do it well even if we can’t read...”

“If you just show us how to do it a few times in front of us, we’ll memorize everything and handle it ourselves.”

As Huijae looked at the people speaking hurriedly, afraid she might change her mind, she picked up the papers lying in front of the factory manager.

The words weren’t complicated.

Work schedule. Instruction date. Quantity.

The product name: polka-dot blouse.

Fabric type.

A simple line saying to start stitching from the shoulders.

Thread: white, size forty.

Number of buttons.

They were saying that the work had become tangled halfway through simply because they couldn’t read something this basic.

And if she thought about it further, since they were illiterate, they might have worked backbreaking labor all this time and still not received their proper wages.

Because the world of someone who could read and someone who couldn’t was as different as heaven and earth.

“So what if we can’t read a few words?”

Among the Joseon workers standing with their heads bowed like criminals, a young voice suddenly spoke up in irritation.

“Hey, Minji! Shh...!”

“What’s the point of knowing how to read? Even that lady keeps saying ‘Joseon, Joseon’ when it’s been the Republic of Korea for ages already...!”

It was directed at Huijae.

The girl who had spoken was flushed red with agitation.

Huijae slowly walked toward her.

The girl’s expression had already grown gloomy, as if she expected to be scolded.

“You’re right. It has been the Republic of Korea for a long time now. But do you know since when?”

“....”

“August 15, 1948.”

Huijae gently took the girl’s hand.

The girl flinched but couldn’t pull away.

“When things are only passed from mouth to mouth, so much gets lost. And so much gets forgotten.”

“....”

“Yes. It’s not Joseon anymore. It’s the Republic of Korea now. Thank you for reminding me of something I had forgotten.”

Back when Huijae had first learned the Joseon language, her speech had been clumsy.

But that was in the past.

Now her pronunciation was clear and polished as she spoke, word by word, encouraging the other Joseon workers.

“To keep from losing things. To keep from forgetting them. That’s why we need writing.”

Huijae gazed at the girl.

She looked about the same age Huijae had been when she first arrived in Joseon.

“B-but still... if we’re learning to read, we can’t work during that time...”

In the end, the problem came back to money.

Huijae shook her head.

“No. We’ll open a night school.”

“A night school? Then... who’s going to come teach us?”

“Me.” 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Huijae stood there, dressed far too elegantly for a place like this factory.

From head to toe, she sparkled with expensive things.

Her eyes shone.

“I’ll teach you.”

The girl who had once studied the Joseon language alone in a quiet room had grown up before anyone realized it.

Now she was teaching other Joseon people how to read.

During the day, the garment factory was busy making clothes.

At night, it was busy studying letters.

They stayed in the factory all day without rest, yet no one complained.

“This is my name. Pretty, isn’t it?”

“Oh please. Aren’t you proud of yourself!”

The Joseon workers at the factory were smiling brightly now.

– TT__TT ah this is so touching

– In the completely insane world of The Great Garland this is the only healing moment, holy shit

– Our baby grew up so well... mastering a language by self-study without even going to a language academy? Is she a genius or what

IP 85.152 monitored the reactions on the thread while watching Eun Baekhap’s portrayal of Yeon Huijae.

‘Eun Baekhap deliberately erased Huijae’s awkward pronunciation from the past.’

It was probably for this scene.

So that viewers could feel moved by the image of the fully grown Huijae guiding the Joseon workers.

‘But that only makes people remember the child Huijae even more.’

This was exactly why IP 85.152 believed Eun Baekhap would inevitably lose.

Because when people saw the adult Huijae standing firmly on her own two feet, they would inevitably remember the fragile child Huijae who had once stood on tiptoe, barely holding herself up.

Taeseok stood behind Huijae with his arms folded, watching as she ran the night school.

A smile appeared on his face without him realizing it.

He wasn’t allowed anything more than watching her from afar like this.

But even that alone made him happy.

Taejin had come to the factory late at night to pick Huijae up.

And he discovered the two of them.

Huijae watching the workers.

Taeseok watching Huijae.

And Taejin watching them both.

A perfect triangle.

– What the hell is this ominous OST TT__TT

– Why is Huijae’s theme playing here;;

– He noticed. He 100% noticed, whoaa

The OST began to play at that moment.

Taejin silently watched Taeseok’s face for a moment before slowly stepping back.

Without making a sound, he returned to the car.

“Where did President Gi say he was from?”

Taejin asked the driver.

There was a faint anxiety in his voice.

“He said Jinhae. A success story from some rural backwater, remember? It was even in the newspapers. They called him great.”

“Jinhae...”

– If I do a madness bingo right now I’d get five lines instantly

– It’s the first time Taejin’s face has looked this stiff. This is delicious. Give me more

– So does Taejin cheat now...?

ㄴThe suspicion that never dies, holy shit lol

The episode ended on Taejin’s stiff expression.

Fans of The Great Garland shivered at what clearly signaled the beginning of a real love triangle.

* * *

Eun Baekhap had been certain that once the love triangle truly began, she would take both first place and second place.

But the results were different.

Second place.

Myeong Jeha — Han Yeoreum (The Great Garland)

Shin Seojin — Eun Baekhap couldn’t climb higher in the vote.

The impact of the OST, which had taken the number-one spot on the charts, was still overwhelmingly powerful.

INTUBE

[(Warning: emotional) Baekhap teaching Joseon people and Haebeom watching her │ The Great Garland]

Views: 1,130,876

– It feels like just yesterday Huijae was studying while muttering to herself T_T she grew up so well

– Whenever these two appear the immersion goes crazy... maybe it’s because you can feel the love even without dialogue. Imagine how good their chemistry would be if they actually faced each other

– Taejin blackening arc ON. Please make our second-lead-catcher squad happy

– 3:27 This part really makes me cry. Huijae truly lives up to her name. She approaches the Joseon people as pure joy itself, and it makes my chest ache. I’ve watched countless dramas, but I’ve never cared about a character as much as Huijae

The public watched the present Huijae and remembered the Huijae of the past.

It was unavoidable.

Because the foundation of Huijae’s growth and story was the suffering she endured as a child.

‘Damn it. This feels fucking ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) awful.’

Eun Baekhap had debuted more than ten years ago.

She had fought fiercely with other actresses to reach her current position.

She had climbed to the top by pushing others down, surpassing them, stealing opportunities and having them stolen in return.

‘Has there ever been someone who made me feel like this?’

Her expression slowly stiffened as she retraced her past.

Eun Baekhap had never been lucky with matchups.

Whenever she competed with someone else, she always believed she could have done better.

If that script had come to her.

If she had taken that role.

Her mind always imagined those alternate paths.

‘But...’

Had she ever thought that while watching Han Yeoreum’s acting?

No.

Not even once.

All she had thought about was how to surpass Han Yeoreum’s Yeon Huijae.

No new path appeared.

Every alley felt blocked off.

Eun Baekhap closed her eyes and pictured Han Yeoreum’s Huijae again.

Then she bit her lip, feeling as though she had reached a dead end.

There was no other path.

No matter how much she thought about it, Yeon Huijae in The Great Garland belonged only to Han Yeoreum.

‘How could this...’

How many rookies debuted every year?

How many new actors were discovered?

How many celebrities from other fields crossed into acting?

‘How many people have I defeated until now?’

There had been countless “post-Eun Baekhap” candidates.

That was simply what being a top star meant.

If anyone resembled her even slightly, reporters would rush to mention Eun Baekhap’s name in another article.

‘But now... I...’

The phrase that had once annoyed her endlessly—

“post-Eun Baekhap.”

For the first time, it felt threatening.

“Someone that much younger than me... dares...”

The possibility that this time it might be real made Eun Baekhap’s eyes sharpen.

* * *

“This is unbelievable! Ah, this is Dok Gogyeol’s masterpiece of the century... If I die later, put this photo on my memorial table instead of rice. Just looking at it fills me up.”

Today was the busiest day of the year.

After continuous overtime shifts, dark circles hung under Dok Gogyeol’s eyes.

Yet she still clapped enthusiastically toward Yeoreum, who was staring at herself in the mirror.

“As expected from the greatest makeup artist. Five thousand stars.”

“Sweetheart. Am I only worth that much?”

“Ah, I forgot to multiply by a million.”

“Okay! Perfect.”

Today was the day of the KBC Awards.

I looked into the mirror.

At last, I was going to the public broadcast awards ceremony I had dreamed about for so long.

So many things had happened before this day arrived.

My fingertips trembled slightly.

‘I’m stepping onto the red carpet today as Eun Baekhap’s child actor...’

But only until today.

From now on, no one would be able to call me Eun Baekhap’s child actor again.

The name Han Yeoreum would become far more familiar.

“Yeoreum! Let’s go now!”

Today I’m going to win the Rookie Award.

And the Best Couple Award.

One trophy in each hand.

Well then.

Let’s come back with both hands full.

* * *

Aetami stood in the red carpet waiting line with a camera hanging around her neck.

Even though the temperature was below freezing, her body and heart felt warm.

Around her neck was the pale yellow scarf Yeoreum had worn in her airport fashion photos not long ago.

Click—! Click—! Click—!

Every time a car stopped at the red carpet, celebrities stepped out.

Flashes exploded.

Shutter sounds rattled nonstop.

But Aetami’s focus was directed at only one place.

She held a heavy camera in her hands.

‘Maybe this is a bit overkill...’

Until now, aside from borrowing Reporter Wi’s camera to photograph the stage of Romeo and Juliet, she had never properly taken pictures of Yeoreum.

‘I’ve always just used my phone camera.’

But for some reason, today she really wanted to capture it.

Her heart pounded.

‘And today is the day she wins Rookie of the Year!’

At the KBC Drama Awards, the most talked-about rising star would undoubtedly be Han Yeoreum.

No one could argue with that.

Then—

Clickclickclickclickclick—!

The moment someone stepped out of a van, the shutter sounds exploded.

“Han Yeoreum!”

The star who had led KBC’s drama success had arrived.