I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

Two days after the film’s release.

Even people who weren’t particularly interested in movies now at least knew that had come out.

There was no way not to know—everywhere you went, no matter who you met, people were talking about .

[Humor Board / A movie people are lowkey recommending as a “filial duty film” these days.jpg]

—That title is insane lol

—I took my grandma and she loved it haha. When I told her Influencer 1 was Huijae, she was shocked lol

↳ Yeah lol grandparents actually like this kind of action. They say it’s not frustrating

—Honestly pretty good for watching with family. If you go in with no expectations, you’ll just laugh nonstop lol

Among the reactions, there were quite a few recommending it as a good movie to watch with family—a type of praise that hadn’t really appeared for .

—My grandpa said Huijae’s acting was amazing, kept asking how it’s the same person lol. My grandma kept insisting it’s not her T_T said it’s just someone who looks like Huijae

This was the ripple effect of Han Yeoreum’s popularity, which had expanded across ages from teenagers to people in their 80s thanks to . The afterglow of a national drama had turned into undeniable box office power.

* * *

Han Taeyang refreshed the page.

[Faster Than the Law 2]

Reservation Rate #1 (62.3%)

14:00–16:45 (Sold Out)

14:15–16:00 (2/120)

14:40–17:10 (Sold Out)

15:00–17:35 (3/150)

15:10–15:55 (Sold Out)

Last time, during , he had gone to the stage greeting as a dutiful younger brother—just in case his sister ended up standing awkwardly in a corner without getting attention or even a headband.

But this time, he had only watched it once at a late-night screening on opening day.

Because it already felt like he had seen it several times without even going back.

Han Taeyang clicked on a video from the most subscribed movie review Intuber, Popcorn King.

—The comedic action film that hit ten million viewers with its previous installment, , is now out during the Lunar New Year holiday. I’ll keep it simple. It’s more fun than the first one.

Popcorn King alternated scenes between and , stamping bold captions across the screen to emphasize key points.

—The appeal is that it’s an action buddy film you can watch without thinking, just pure爽爽 action. You all know that old-school detective vibe, right?

Han Taeyang skimmed through the comments. As expected from a large channel, there were already over a thousand comments in just two days.

—It doesn’t suddenly go “justice... wins!” or try to lecture the audience. That’s why it feels so refreshing. It literally gives you that soda-like catharsis.

The response to had clearly come faster than the previous installment, and audiences of all ages were flocking to theaters. Popcorn King analyzed it precisely.

—In the first film, that variation came from the squad leader hitting it big with crypto—“screw this, I’m rich now, I can quit!” That catharsis. And in this one, they did it through Influencer 1. And then there’s —“Don’t lose me...!” that nostalgic first love image. To see Yeon Huijae like this? The acting is seriously that good. If you don’t know, you might not even realize it’s «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the same person.

Han Taeyang scrolled further.

Comments about Han Yeoreum had gathered a lot of likes.

—That Pretty BGM is seriously hilarious lol

—3:11 is the key. If this movie had been about clubs and drugs like Season 1, it wouldn’t have done this well during the holidays. Using grades and dieting as themes was genius. And whenever it got too heavy, Influencer 1 and Detective Kwak came in to make it funny.

—It honestly felt like they just brought a real person onto the screen... my parents didn’t even recognize her as Huijae

Han Taeyang pressed like on them one by one.

Popcorn King continued explaining the success of .

—There’s a formula for movies like this. You know how Bond always has a Bond girl? Action films usually cast the hottest actress of the moment each season. They switch every time. Audiences don’t really think of the female lead as part of “our team”—as long as the main character stays the same. But Director Gong chose Han Yeoreum. And honestly, I think Influencer 1 will keep appearing in future seasons. That comedic flavor she brings wouldn’t work the same with another actor.

Han Taeyang liked the video, then subscribed and turned on notifications.

After finishing the video and going back, his algorithm was already filled again with .

INTUBE

[“Beat Kwak Cheolsik!” Pop-up store review]

[You HAVE to eat this spicy chili popcorn while watching ]

[TwoSun new menu vs Wanted Donuts—if you had to pick one?]

had become far more popular than the previous season.

It wasn’t just a hit anymore—it was something constantly talked about by the public.

Even without JC pushing promotions, influencers were uploading videos first just to chase views and comments.

“...Then why am I still not getting autograph requests....”

Han Taeyang muttered quietly. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

* * *

At a department store that stayed open throughout the holiday except for New Year’s Day, an office worker and her friend had just watched .

Even though the ending had already been spoiled everywhere, it didn’t matter.

“Hey, that popcorn was good, right?”

“Where should we eat now?”

Because was the kind of movie where you already knew the outcome.

The good guys win.

Knowing that made it even more comfortable to watch.

“We’ll take set A. And change both drinks to soda.”

They entered a spicy sausage stew restaurant near the theater. Strangely, it was packed.

It seemed like most of the people there had also just watched .

“I almost died of hunger when they showed spicy sausage stew on screen.”

“Same.”

“Let’s go to TwoSun for a café later.”

“I was about to suggest that too.”

Before they knew it, their entire day was being guided by .

Before entering, they had eaten spicy chili popcorn and had Yun Hyeonjo beer.

Now they were eating spicy sausage stew.

And later, they would have a marshmallow cherry chocolate smoothie and Black Forest cake.

“By the way, what lip product was Han Yeoreum wearing at the dermatology clinic?”

“You’ll probably find it on Yousta.”

“She was cute though. Didn’t you see her in real life once?”

“Yeah, during . Her face is seriously this small.”

The office worker recalled meeting Han Yeoreum at the Namwon filming set. Thinking about how friendly she had been made her regret not attending a stage greeting.

As the stew bubbled in front of them, her friend started searching.

“Oh. It’s from brand A? I thought it’d be D since she models for them.”

“Let’s go test it later.”

They headed straight to a cosmetics store for brand A.

“Are you looking for a specific product?”

“That lip tint balm... shade 47? I want to try it.”

“Ah, you saw Han Yeoreum’s lip balm, right? One moment. Let me remove what you’re wearing first before applying it.”

After trying the tester, it really did seem perfect for daily use.

“How is it?”

“Not bad. I’ll get one too.”

As they stood in front of the mirror—

“Do you have that lip tint balm... shade 47?”

More people came in asking for the same product.

Looking around, everyone near the display was checking the product name on their phones.

‘They all came because of Han Yeoreum’s lip balm!’

For some reason, the office worker felt oddly pleased.

Even though brand A had never been particularly popular in cosmetics, it now had noticeably more customers than neighboring stores.

It had even surpassed brands D and Y, which were famous for lip products.

All thanks to Han Yeoreum.

“Hey, let’s go to the café now.”

With small shopping bags in hand, they headed to TwoSun.

They could’ve stayed at a café inside the department store, but since it was a collaboration product, they felt like going out of their way.

“Whoa... why are there so many people?”

“Are there seats? Any seats?”

The café was packed.

“Hey! There’s a spot!”

Her friend quickly grabbed a seat. The office worker sat down, catching her breath.

Every table nearby had Black Forest cake.

“Wasn’t their most popular menu usually the fresh cream chocolate cake...?”

Some tables even had shopping bags with brand A’s logo hanging from chairs.

Meanwhile, her friend managed to order the very last Black Forest cake.

The café was full of people enjoying the holiday.

From time to time, conversations about drifted through the air.

The office worker suddenly thought—

‘Wait... when was 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 coming out?’

Before she knew it, she was looking forward to Han Yeoreum’s next project.

Not just something she trusted to watch—

But something she wanted to wait for.