I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

“Ran an errand for my girlfriend. Hurry up and hand it over.”

“Ah, y-yes....”

Influencer 1 took the medicine out of her bag. The man’s eyes lit up. This was the moment.

Click—.

“Ah, fuck.”

The instant he heard the car door open, the suspicious man seemed to sense something and bolted.

“Catch that bastard!”

The detectives rushed after him. But there was one thing they had overlooked.

“Haah... haah... haah...!”

The meeting spot was at the base of a hill. Running uphill on a steep slope wasn’t easy.

The incline was so steep it could’ve been used as a sledding hill when it snowed. It wasn’t a hill you ran on. It was one you slid down.

“Get over here! Haah— you, haah— piece of— haah— shit—! Haah, haah...!”

The suspicious man and the detectives moved like they were stuck in slow motion. Every time the detectives lunged forward, he slipped out of their grasp. Even their shouting seemed sluggish.

The man turned back with a grin. But then—

-Pretty...

Han Yeoreum’s signature BGM started playing. The audience laughed automatically the moment they heard it.

Influencer 1 smiled warmly and closed the distance.

“...How?”

Before he knew it, she was right next to him. Even while running uphill, she casually brushed her hair back.

“The basics of dieting are...!”

Influencer 1 grabbed the man’s belt.

“Cardio, you bastard!”

But someone who had only ever done Stairway to Heaven machines had weak grip strength.

“Ahh!”

She tumbled flat onto the ground, but thanks to that, she managed to slow him down for a moment.

“Alright, stop.”

Detective Kwak approached, accompanied by heroic background music.

“D-don’t come closer, you bastard!”

The man pulled out a knife and slashed wildly.

“Ha, seriously, you’re putting on a show again. Drop that.”

“Get lost! I said get lost!”

The blade glinted under the streetlight. But no one felt tense. They just laughed comfortably.

Because Detective Kwak possessed overwhelmingly absurd strength.

“It’s dangerous. Stop.”

“Shit! I’ll— I’ll just— shit!”

The man swung the knife recklessly, but his wrist was caught so easily it was almost ridiculous.

“I said it’s dangerous.”

“Uh... uh....”

“I said! It’s! Dangerous!”

Detective Kwak punched him on the head three times like flicking someone with his knuckles. A loud cracking sound rang out. It was impossible to tell whether the dangerous one was the knife or Detective Kwak.

“Ugh... stop....”

“I was gonna stop anyway if I kept going—you’d die.”

Grabbing the back of the man’s neck, Detective Kwak forced him to face him. No matter how you looked at it, this side looked more like the gangster.

Detective Kwak grinned.

“Shall we have a nice, honest conversation?”

* * *

“Are you out of your mind?!”

A well-groomed man shouted at his wife, who stood with her head lowered in their spacious house. The woman who had appeared on the same program as Director Sa bit her lip and avoided his gaze.

“What are you going to do if this ends up in the news?!”

“...I’ll handle it properly myself....”

“What can you even do? Huh? What can you do without me?!”

The man jabbed her shoulder harshly with his index finger. A warm family photo of three hung in the living room. In the picture, the little girl wore the same blank expression as someone lying pale in a hospital bed.

“Didn’t you say all that mattered was our kid doing well in school?”

The woman snapped back this time. Not a single one of them was actually worried about the child.

“Anyway, watch how you behave. Got it?”

“....”

“Should’ve known better than to pick you just for your face. Intelligence is inherited from the mother, after all. Tsk.”

Irritated, the man stormed out and drove aggressively. His destination was a high-end bar. After ordering whiskey and letting out a sigh, someone sat down nearby.

“Oh. Director Sa, long time no see.”

“Yes. I’ve been busy.”

“You’ve been incredibly popular lately, haven’t you?”

At the bartender’s cheerful greeting, the well-groomed man’s gaze naturally shifted to the right. There sat Director Sa, the doctor who had been all over the media recently.

“Hello.”

Director Sa greeted him calmly when their eyes met. There was a strangely solemn atmosphere about him.

He was the type of person who made others believe they could lean on him.

Before he knew it, the man found himself carefully voicing his concerns.

“Sigh... I just wish my kid would get grades at least as good as mine. But that’s not happening. Do you know how much tuition costs every month? I’ve practically poured an entire small building’s worth of money into making sure her brain works better.”

Even as he drunkenly rambled, Director Sa’s eyes showed no emotion. They were calm. Still.

Impossible to read.

“Then how about this?”

Director Sa held out a white pill bottle with a dry, steady hand.

“What... is this?”

“It’s a medication that just recently finished clinical trials. The components are similar to what your daughter is already taking, but a bit milder. It boosts immersion instantly. And not just focus—it also helps with sleep.”

If the man didn’t give this drug to his daughter, Director Sa’s plan would fall apart.

But—

“She won’t experience side effects like sleepwalking.”

There was no need to worry.

Because the hand that took the bottle was filled with willingness.

* * *

“Clean.”

Ji Haebeom’s impression as he watched the screen was brief.

Detective Kwak had a punch. Detective Yoon had a moment. And Han Yeoreum had a step.

“She took the meme line this time.”

If the film didn’t just break even but became a full-blown hit, people would turn its most memorable lines into memes.

Ji Haebeom had no doubt that the line from that would become a meme was Han Yeoreum’s:

“The basics of dieting are cardio, you bastard.”

“After ....”

That film had produced many iconic lines, but the one that truly stuck in the public’s mind was young Huijae’s line.

Especially “Don’t lose me.”

It had been parodied countless times.

“She carried it naturally.”

No one watching this film would feel even a trace of Huijae’s shadow from .

Han Yeoreum had successfully transformed her image.

As rode the wave of success and hit ten million viewers, she would immediately announce her next project.

“The timing... really.”

The film itself was surprisingly familiar in flavor. To some extent, it even mirrored in structure.

In the latter half, the intense action solidified the franchise’s signature speed.

The port action scene against the Bangkok drug smugglers, and the fight scene with Director Sa holding a crystal trophy—Kwak Cheolsik and Yun Hyeonjo each secured their own standout shots.

The charm of was that it never left a bad aftertaste. It didn’t depict victims in a way that made viewers uncomfortable.

“And because of that, Yeoreum’s screen time increased.”

A movie perfect for turning your brain off and laughing.

And its key point was {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Han Yeoreum.

Because she remained on screen until the very end, anticipation for the next installment naturally built up.

Bang!

As the runtime ended, the film’s logo appeared on the screen as if stamped in place. Then came the upbeat music.

It left behind that refreshing feeling unique to comedic action films where evil is thoroughly crushed.

Once again, Director Gong hadn’t missed what the audience wanted most.

Compared to , this installment went slightly deeper into social issues while making the villain more intelligent, increasing immersion and tension.

Influencer 1: Han Yeoreum

Watching the end credits roll, Ji Haebeom applauded along with everyone else.

“No surprises this time either.”

He expected it to surpass ten million viewers.

And just two days later—

“During the Lunar New Year holiday, theaters across the country are bustling once again. The reason is the domestic release . Following the previous installment’s rapid achievement of ten million viewers, anticipation is high.”

“Yes. From early morning, theaters are sold out. Friends, couples, and families are all heading into screenings together.”

Kim Bokja (Yangcheon District, Seoul): I don’t usually watch movies like this—they’re too chaotic—but since an actor I like is in it... I came with my family.

Seo Minho (Gangnam District, Seoul): I really enjoyed the last one, so I came again this time.

“With the holiday boost, theaters are lively. It’s a festive atmosphere that everyone can enjoy, regardless of age or preference.”

made it onto public broadcast news.

The casting of Yeon Huijae—still the nation’s “first love” with undiminished popularity—played a big role.

* * *

On the opening day of , Aetami woke up earlier than her alarm, her heart pounding.

“Finally...!”

While everyone else looked forward to the holiday itself, Aetami had been waiting solely for Yeoreum’s stage greeting.

“Script—check. Battery—check.”

She had prepared so much for this day. She had memorized countless fan-sign lines from Intube.

Since Yeoreum was famous for legendary fan interactions, she was even more excited.

“Let’s go!”

Aetami left her house earlier than the scheduled event time. On the way, she searched for reactions to .

“Huh... that’s a bit exaggerated.”

[Even early-morning screenings sold out... “One ticket for , please”]

[ ranks #1 in reservations, expanding from middle-aged audiences to seniors? Is the golden age of Korean comedy films returning...?]

It seemed like JC ENM had pushed the promotional articles a bit too hard. Aetami laughed it off.

But shortly after—

“...Huh. It’s not exaggerated....”

She saw a long line of people in front of the ticket machines. The inside of GCV was unusually loud today.

Ding—!

“Number 371 is ready.”

“377—customer for Faster Than the Law combo—!”

Cola and popcorn kept piling up at the pickup counter. With so many people, the rich smell of buttered popcorn filled the theater.

Order numbers echoed endlessly, the sound of popcorn being scooped into buckets rang out, and conversations full of anticipation buzzed around.

“We gotta head in now.”

“Now? Already?”

Even elderly viewers—just like in the articles—were everywhere.

“What role did Huijae play again?”

“That... my granddaughter told me....”

Many seniors had come in the morning, bought tickets on-site, and planned to watch in the afternoon.

Since morning screenings were completely sold out, and everything from 8 to 11 was unavailable, they had no choice but to wait.

They didn’t seem to mind waiting for hours.

Even just hearing that Huijae appeared in the film was enough.

They watched the trailer playing inside the theater, eagerly waiting for the screening time.

“Implants.”

“Ahh—she’s a doctor, huh.”

“What kind of doctor styles their hair like that....”

People heading into the theaters ranged from teenagers to those in their 80s.

Looking at the packed crowd, Aetami thought—

“...This is going to hit ten million even faster than last time.”