I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

Reporter Wi looked at the flood of Han Yeoreum photos pouring in within a single day.

“This is insane.”

Most productions that surpassed forty percent ratings after the year 2000 were dramas that aired in the early 2000s.

“So of course the influence feels different....”

It was an era where people no longer had to watch broadcasts live.

There were countless ways to watch a drama without needing to tune in on that exact day, at that exact time.

And yet everyone still waited for 10 p.m.

Hoping desperately that the three characters would become happy. Wondering what would happen next. Regretting that the story was nearing its end.

Reporter Wi knew how difficult it was for something like this to happen in today’s world.

“The restriction of time... it’s bigger than people think. Enormous.”

That meant the aftershock of 〈The Great Garland〉’s finale would not fade anytime soon.

Right now, the public was revisiting anything and everything related to 〈The Great Garland〉.

First of all, within a single day, the views for had increased by another 400,000.

Throughout the entire broadcast, the views had steadily climbed past two million, but gaining 400,000 views in just twenty-four hours was extremely unusual.

INTUBE

[Last Period Is Club Time! Behind-the-scenes stories of 〈The Great Garland〉 Jeha and Yeoreum ⎜KBC] 42:10

Views 31,998,115

– Who came back because they can’t forget Huijae?

– Young Huijae was so perfect~ It’s hard to let her go~ Their chemistry is perfect. The youth vibe is overflowing!! I hope Jeha and the actress do a rom-com together next time...Hehe. Fighting

– Let Jeha and Yeoreum wear school uniforms and do a youth drama just once I’m drooling

– 03:27 Jeha and Yeoreum making eye contact and laughing

04:11 When Jeha speaks Yeoreum nods

06:20 Jeha smiling because Yeoreum is cute

06:35 Yeoreum hitting his shoulder asking why he’s laughing

07:45 Opening a water bottle for her

08:21 Giving her tissues... (More)

ㄴAh seriously this is it, please let couples be the same age TT_TT they match so damn well ㅁ_ㅂ

Was it because the meeting between adult Taeseok and Huijae had felt too brief?

People were even searching for videos of the child actors who played Taeseok and Huijae, agonizing over them.

– Seomun Ihwa... we believe in you...

ㄴ2222 please TT_TT

ㄴWhy Seomun Ihwa?

ㄴShe’s producing a drama with NetHolics and both Han Yeoreum and Myeong Jeha are in it!

ㄴHuh? I heard Do Gyeoul is in it, then obviously the love line will be with Do Gyeoul...hehe

While scrolling through the comments on the Intube video, Reporter Wi checked the time.

“It should be going up now.”

It was the moment when the public’s unextinguished love would flow toward a single person.

* * *

“What’s this?”

The moment Aetami saw Yeoreum’s story, she clicked the attached link.

It led to an Intube video.

“Oh my god, my dutiful daughter.... As soon as one project ends, another starts!”

Aetami rolled across her bed in happiness.

It was the first time she had ever stanned an actor whose next projects were lined up like this. Her chest swelled with excitement.

“So that really was a hint.”

She had assumed the story photo was just from a private meeting. She never imagined it was related to the next project.

Stanning Han Yeoreum felt completely different from following actors in the past.

INTUBE

〈Youth Disqualified!〉 First Meeting Is the Script Rea...ding? ⎜Han Yeoreum Choo Gaeul So Dami 30:27

“If this is a script reading video, why is it so long?”

Usually script reading clips never exceeded five minutes, and the format was similar for every drama.

They briefly explained the plot, showed one or two lines being read, and finished with the lead actors introducing themselves.

‘What did they do for thirty minutes?’

Aetami was confused.

But she was still happy to get thirty minutes.

The video began with the faces of Han Yeoreum and So Dami.

– Are we just doing it like this? Like this?

– Yeoreum, your fingerprints are all over the camera!

The camera angle suddenly swung wildly.

After hearing So Dami, Han Yeoreum vigorously wiped the lens with her clothes.

The screen went dark for a moment, then their faces appeared again.

– Did it work?

Beep.

〈Youth Disqualified!〉

Typography appeared and the screen changed.

“...What is this?”

For a script reading video, it felt far too intimate.

It was a fresh attempt.

One month earlier.

The screen showed the 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 team holding a meeting.

– As you all know... our drama needs something that sets it apart.

A pale, thin woman appeared on screen.

Subtitles appeared beneath her tired-looking face.

So Yesol ⎜ Director of 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 / Rising star of MBS who won a trophy with her debut one-episode drama

ㄴ (She doesn’t look like it, but she’s actually extremely nervous right now.)

Thanks to the flashy subtitles praising her in such a dry tone, Aetami immediately realized who she was.

“Oh, that’s the director from 〈No Interest Whatsoever〉!”

She remembered the photo Yeoreum had taken with her at the awards ceremony.

– Let’s start by saying what comes to mind when you think of being a university freshman. What was it like? Clockwise... one comment each.

At Director So’s words, the gathered staff began speaking one by one.

– I went to an all-girls middle and high school, so when I entered college I wanted to date on campus immediately.

ㄴ Kim Yeonji (Currently strongly opposed to office romance)

– I only remember worrying whether the swelling from my double-eyelid surgery would go down by then. I drank pumpkin juice for that?

ㄴ Park Minye (The type who apparently has “another father.” Only slightly adjusted)

– I seriously searched for the perfect freshman opening-semester outfit...

ㄴ Lee Hyejeong (Now living with just two hoodies)

“What is this?”

Aetami suddenly wondered if this had really been made by a broadcasting station.

The format was completely unfamiliar.

It lacked the polished feeling typical of official content.

“It’s more like... a normal person’s vlog.”

Instead, it felt like a vlog made among friends and shared among themselves.

The subtitles especially felt like something close friends would use while joking around.

Everyone was reminiscing about their fresh twenty-year-old memories.

Naturally, Aetami began recalling her own freshman year.

‘What was it like....’

A completely different world had opened up compared to high school, and she struggled quite a bit adjusting.

Just as she was finally getting used to being a freshman, she suddenly became a sophomore.

What difference did a single year make?

She remembered fondly how she had already started calling the new freshmen cute.

“Twenty or twenty-one. It’s basically the same thing.”

While Aetami was lost in nostalgia, the speaking turn had somehow passed to an older man.

– In our days, the most popular thing was definitely guitar playing. Seniors who played guitar well were always like that. It was the symbol of youth. Music! All those records coming from overseas, memorizing song lyrics line by line—there was a time like that.

Lee Saerok ⎜ MBS’s precious treasure. Light and salt. An irreplaceable presence (But KBC and SBC please contact us, JTBS is welcome too)

“What?”

Aetami burst into laughter at the absurd subtitle.

– I remember practicing really hard too. Because I wanted to play an acoustic guitar on the lawn... What do people call that nowadays, aspiration? aesthetic? Something like that. Anyway, you had to hide how hard you practiced. Naturally, casually. But still become one with the music and play well...

Lee Saerok ⎜ Has a good habit of drinking lots of water. Recently obsessed with jasmine tea. Often misunderstood for having changed his name

ㄴ (MBS Drama /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Center Director)

“Wait, why is the center director here?”

Aetami was baffled.

The center director on screen still hadn’t stopped talking.

He spoke so much that the subtitles filled the entire screen.

They weren’t even deleted—just continuing endlessly like the majestic ending credits of StarXz.

– So I’m saying! When you think of ‘youth,’ it’s music!

As if his words were the signal, the screen changed again.

Beep.

〈Youth–〉

The word “Disqualified” had disappeared.

* * *

Manager Hong looked at the monitor.

“This is definitely a style young people would enjoy these days.”

The cuts were fast, and the humor wasn’t forced.

It was what people would call an easy, comfortable vlog.

“If it’s too polished, it wouldn’t feel different from TV anymore.”

“Right. People want something a bit stripped down. And since it’s called 〈Youth Disqualified!〉, it should start awkwardly.”

Han Yeoreum and So Dami, gathered in Dok Gomin’s studio, continued watching the screen.

Of course, it felt a bit chaotic.

Through the phone camera it felt like watching a casual video call.

Like teasing a friend who was late to a meeting.

– Wait, what? Why is my lip color like this? It completely disappeared. Dami, wait, I’m putting on some lip tint.

– ...Yeoreum. You still haven’t thrown that tint away?

– If I scrape it out carefully there’s still some left.

Yeoreum seriously scraped the remaining tint while adjusting the angle.

– Hold this for a second. How does it look? Is it okay?

– It didn’t apply at all. Throw it away now.

Speaking bluntly, So Dami finally opened her own pouch and lent Yeoreum some lipstick.

It looked like they assumed this part would be edited out.

Before long, the two were recommending cosmetics to each other.

Subtitles appeared below them.

ㄴ Kim Yeonji (Wondering how long she’s been using that tint)

ㄴ Park Minye (Leaving it in because it’s cute)

ㄴ Lee Hyejeong (Has no particular thoughts)

It felt like reading live chat comments during an Intube livestream.

Manager Hong smiled at MBS’s still-sharp sense of timing.

ㄴ Lee Saerok (Claims Han Yeoreum is spring warm and So Dami is summer cool)

“What is with this guy?”

The MBS center director’s presence appeared again.

While the two were chatting, the phone camera shifted further into the studio.

In one corner, a small figure was sleeping.

ㄴ Dok Gomin (Owner here. Han Yeoreum’s close older sister and photographer. Owner of the Youstagram photos)

“It really feels like they dropped by a senior’s studio during a free period.”

“Yeah. All three of them will probably gain a ton of followers in their twenties demographic.”

Choo Gaeul, who had begun making an impression on the public after winning Best New Actress for 〈The Fuse〉, finally appeared.

The audio became increasingly noisy.

– The reason we called you here today... is because there’s something special and important...

Handing her a bottle of soda, Han Yeoreum spoke seriously in a low voice.

– The membership of Han Yeoreum’s fan café, 〈Summer Day〉, surpassed exactly five hundred people at 8:31 this morning.... Everyone please applaud....

ㄴ Han Yeoreum (Developed the habit of checking the fan café immediately after waking up. Took a screenshot when it reached 500.)

Even after ten minutes, the script reading still hadn’t started.

Instead they talked about how much they were looking forward to the drama, why they wanted to do it, what youth meant to them, what being twenty meant.

‘Like a real conversation off camera.’

It felt as if the viewer were sitting at the same table listening.

Because of this, the public would naturally feel closer to Han Yeoreum.

‘Just like before.’

Manager Hong thought of 〈EmBubu〉.

Back then Han Yeoreum had revealed her everyday life to soften the image of Seoryeong.

‘But this time it’s different.’

Right now, the public wanted to love Yeon Huijae even more.

They wanted to know more about her.

So by showing her relaxed everyday life with friends, Han Yeoreum imprinted herself on the audience again.

‘This actually worked out perfectly.’

Because Han Yeoreum had not lived long as Yeon Huijae, it allowed her to avoid being locked into one image while still raising the character’s popularity.

[Drama TALK / Wow the actors are making their own content now LOOLLL I love it T_T]

I liked Han Yeoreum’s filmography so I was already looking forward to the next project, but today’s script reading video LMAO It was 30 minutes so I was like what is this, but it’s basically their own content..T_T I love it, this is the kind of conversation I wanted to hear.. Fans following Han Yeoreum must be super satisfied

Anonymous 1: I watched it because it appeared in the humor board and it was really funny. Especially the center director LOLOLOL why is his name Lee Saerok when he’s clearly an old guy

ㄴ Anonymous 2: Lee Saerok: hurt...

Anonymous 3: I wish actors would do this kind of content more often. We always analyze everything ourselves, so hearing the actors talk about it directly already makes me excited

Anonymous 4: Normally these things are like five minutes in a variety segment and the rest of the info is scattered like pieces of a shattered soul gem across interviews...

ㄴ Anonymous 9: Stop crying

Not long after the video was uploaded, reactions began appearing across communities.

Manager Hong’s small eyes gleamed.

This was the moment when the tide was rising.

And JC ENM began rowing.