I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

* * *

“My name is Myeong Jeha, and I played the role of young Taeseok in . Thank you for giving us such a meaningful award on a wonderful day like this. We honestly didn’t expect to receive it.”

The first one to speak was Myeong Jeha. The moment his face appeared on the big screen, the entire hall suddenly fell silent.

“To be honest, from the day I learned we were nominated for Best Couple, I wanted this award so badly that I couldn’t even sleep properly. Now that we’ve received it, I think I’ll be able to place the trophy beside my pillow tonight and fall asleep happily.”

Myeong Jeha glanced to the side, the corner of his lips lifting.

“I believe the reason we were able to receive the Best Couple award for is because not only Taeseok, but all of you viewers helped nurture the feelings he had for Huijae together with him. Thank you once again.”

As expected of a veteran. He had probably already calculated how widely °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° that one second on camera would circulate.

‘Good looks and good judgment....’

It was on a completely different level from Han Yeoreum’s petty little opportunist calculator. This must be what people meant by experience.

After Myeong Jeha finished his acceptance speech, it was my turn.

“My name is Han Yeoreum, and I played young Huijae in . I truly didn’t expect to receive this award either, so it feels even more unbelievable and joyful.”

In truth, I wanted it so badly.

“I think the reason viewers were able to send such support for the young GiYeon couple is probably because after the childhood years ended, they were able to meet the even more beautiful adult versions of Huijae and Taeseok.”

Nice. Just then the camera captured Eun Baekhap.

Sitting at her table, Eun Baekhap gave a small smile.

‘This will probably generate a few headlines about a beautiful senior–junior relationship.’

I continued my speech.

“I would like to thank Director Ja and Writer Ahn for creating Huijae, a character who will remain in people’s hearts for a long time. is still currently airing, so I hope you’ll continue watching it with support until the very end. Thank you.”

I nailed it.

It was a clean acceptance speech. I couldn’t stop smiling the entire time I walked down the stairs to the sound of applause.

“Good job.”

“You too, sir.”

As Myeong Jeha and I walked backstage, I found myself anticipating the second trophy.

Even the cold weight of the trophy in my hand couldn’t cool the heat in my chest.

Because there were still more awards I had yet to receive.

* * *

“Wasn’t that just Myeong Jeha and Han Yeoreum? Best Couple?”

“Yeah. They ended up winning after all.”

IP 85.152 stared at the television. It was the end of the year, so the place was crowded and noisy. Even if it looked like no one was watching, everyone was still stealing glances at the important moments.

“Well, if it’s not , who else would win?”

“Who else was nominated for Best Couple? Wasn’t Ji Haebeom and Eun Baekhap there too?”

IP 85.152 wasn’t particularly interested in awards like Best Couple, but as a cultured consumer of popular media, he opened his mouth anyway.

“Ji Haebeom and Eun Baekhap were nominated too, but you can’t really ignore public opinion. I don’t even watch it that seriously, but I could roughly understand why viewers got emotionally invested in the child-actor storyline. They probably lost in vote numbers, but the internal judging panel probably considered the reactions too before deciding. I’m not really sure though. If you guys hadn’t mentioned it just now, I might have missed that those two won.”

IP 85.152’s friends all thought the same thing.

‘He looks like he enjoys it a lot though....’

‘He doesn’t just “roughly know,” he seems to know it really well....’

‘What’s he talking about? He’s been staring holes through the TV the whole time....’

Still, none of them said anything out loud. True friends knew when to cover for someone.

After briefly watching the result of the KBC Best Couple Award, people returned to their own conversations. IP 85.152 did the same.

Then it happened.

“Oh. Rookie Award.”

Someone at the next table looked up at the TV and spoke. The screen began showing clips from the nominated actresses’ works.

“What dramas did KBC have this year again?”

“I don’t really remember anything besides .”

“Right? Same. This year the only dramas worth watching were and .”

Sometimes there are moments when a space that had been endlessly loud with laughter and chatter suddenly falls quiet all at once, as if by unspoken agreement.

“The Rookie Award isn’t even that tense.”

“Yeah, honestly.”

Before anyone noticed, every pair of eyes in the restaurant had turned toward the TV.

When the final clip of Yeon Huijae appeared, people began talking about Han Yeoreum.

“That’s the Huijae scene I saw in the thumbnail. When she said ‘Joseon scum’ in the beginning of , I seriously thought the director had lost his mind.”

“She looks familiar... where else did she appear?”

“Back then you told me to watch ! She was in that!”

“Oh, that’s her?”

Han Yeoreum had successfully followed one project after another: , , , and now .

Aside from the scenes appearing in the nomination clips, there were already plenty of moments etched into the public’s memory.

—The winner of the KBC Drama Awards Best New Actress is... congratulations. Han Yeoreum, .

The announcement carried no tension whatsoever.

Because everyone watching already knew the answer.

—Hello. This is Han Yeoreum.

The restaurant grew quiet again. Han Yeoreum’s voice rang out clearly.

—I’ve dreamed of this award for a very long time... ever since I was young. I used to imagine that if my name were ever called, I might start crying. But perhaps because it still feels unreal, or maybe because I’m just too happy... the tears aren’t coming out.

Han Yeoreum laughed shyly, her cheeks sparkling under the lights.

—Maybe it’s because some of Huijae’s courage is still lingering inside me. While working on and getting to know Huijae, I think I learned a lot from her unwavering strength.

IP 85.152 stared at Han Yeoreum.

Her presence seemed to completely fill the screen during the solo shot.

—Receiving such an overwhelming award thanks to such a wonderful project and role... I won’t forget it. I will continue growing into an actress who can repay the love everyone has given me.

The moment Han Yeoreum finished her speech, the restaurant instantly became noisy again, as if the silence had never existed.

“Next is Best New Actor?”

“Since Han Yeoreum won, they’ll probably give it to Myeong Jeha. Those two were the best.”

“Seriously though, when someone’s that good-looking, even with short hair... wow....”

“I really want to date her.”

There was no upset.

Everyone had already guessed who the Best New Actor would be.

Right then, inside the restaurant where Christmas carols had been playing nonstop, the OST from began to play.

The TOP100 playlist must have looped back to number one again.

A few people seemed to already have the lyrics to “Huijae” memorized, quietly humming along.

* * *

Director Ja sat crookedly at his table, silently calculating the time of his flight.

“What a waste of time.”

“Hey, you bastard... keep it down....”

“That Ja Sokhwan bastard is annoying. He should change his name to Ja Misfortune.”

“Hyung. That one really wasn’t funny.”

Ja Sokhwan was the hottest director in the industry right now. Every director sitting at the same table knew it.

After all, it was practically predetermined who would win Drama of the Year.

But Ja Sokhwan didn’t seem interested in awards at all.

“Hey. How does the ending go?”

“Come on, just tell us a little.”

Amid the quiet chatter of the directors, Ja Sokhwan sat with his arms crossed, watching the nominees being announced.

Naturally, Eun Baekhap’s name appeared among the Best Actress nominees.

“Eun Baekhap really has no luck with awards.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re not giving her Best Actress this time either?”

At Director Ja’s words, the surrounding directors stirred.

With an indifferent expression, he tossed out a single remark.

“No. If the awards had been held after finished airing instead of while it’s still running, people would be calling her a Grand Prize candidate. It’s a shame her evaluation is getting undervalued.”

Director Ja was not someone who handed out compliments lightly. He simply pushed forward with what he believed to be the facts.

“She might not get the Grand Prize, but she would have at least been nominated.”

The surrounding directors fell silent at his certainty.

If this was true, then this project would become the stepping stone for Eun Baekhap’s resurgence.

“The KBC Best Actress Award... the winner is.”

The tense faces of the nominees flashed across the screen.

“Congratulations.”

And the final shot captured Eun Baekhap, wearing a pure white dress, her hands trembling.

“Eun Baekhap, .”

Watching Eun Baekhap cry openly during her acceptance speech, Director Ja thought of Huijae.

At some point, Huijae had started to look completely like a real person.

‘From the moment Eun Baekhap started becoming conscious of Han Yeoreum.’

From the moment young Huijae displayed such overwhelming presence that she nearly devoured the adult Huijae on screen, Eun Baekhap had occasionally shown traces of young Huijae herself.

Like when old habits from the first time two lovers met suddenly resurface after years apart.

Right then, Han Yeoreum appeared on the big screen.

At the sight of young Huijae and adult Huijae sharing the frame, the corner of Director Ja’s lips rose.

‘A top actress who finds her defining role and leaps upward again. And a rising star who has never failed since debut....’

Which of the two would ultimately prevail?

Ja Sokhwan watched the two of them with great interest.

* * *

“Ma! Team! Leader!”

It was the JC ENM office, where not a single person had been able to go home thanks to the year-end rush. The KBC Drama Awards had just ended, so everyone was busy monitoring the articles.

“Oh—Manager Hong, what is it?”

Manager Ma didn’t even turn his head toward the voice. He continued scrolling.

On his monitor was Han Yeoreum, the winner of this year’s KBC Best New Actress.

[HOT / This Year’s KBC Drama Awards Winners.jpg]

Best New Actress

Han Yeoreum ()

Best New Actor

Myeong Jeha ()

Best Couple

Myeong Jeha, Han Yeoreum ()

Drama of the Year

Best Actress

Eun Baekhap ()

Best Actor

Ji Haebeom ()

Anonymous 1: Wow really swept everything lol

Anonymous 11: Myeong Jeha date Han Yeoreum please just date already...

Anonymous 18: Baekhap unni ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д`ﾟ)ﾟ｡ her crying was so cute...

└ Anonymous 25: Right??? She already had tears loaded before they even called her name TT_TT

└ Anonymous 47: You can tell just from looking that Eun Baekhap is gentle and soft-hearted but people spread rumors that she’s nasty on set lolol seriously ridiculous

Anonymous 101: I always called Director Ja a psycho but seeing him in real life for the first time shocked me... he just looks like a nice middle-aged man

had just taken six awards at the KBC Drama Awards.

It was the moment when buzz would explode the most.

“Look at this. Look at this!”

Manager Hong lifted his phone and blocked Manager Ma’s monitor with the screen.

“Huh...? What is this...?”

Manager Ma, who had been scrolling frantically, suddenly froze.