I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

* * *

At last, we arrived at the moment when 〈The Great Garland〉 was nominated for the award.

Best Foreign Language Series.

My face flickered across the massive screen. It was Huijae from 〈The Great Garland〉.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump....

My heart pounded so hard my mouth went completely dry. The tips of my fingers trembled.

Can I win this?

As if he sensed me, Myeong Jeha lightly nudged me with his elbow. Then he mouthed:

It’s okay.

– Best Foreign Language Series of the Year....

Strangely, hearing that made my mind settle a little. It really felt like things would be okay.

– Congratulations. 〈The Great Garland〉!

At last, the winning title appeared on the screen.

〈The Great Garland〉 had become not only the first Korean work to be nominated for the Critics Choice, but also the winner. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The dim lighting burst bright in an instant. The battlefield spread across the screen. Myeong Jeha appeared, supporting a wounded comrade as he staggered forward. Then came the scene of him—having barely made it back alive—throwing everything away for a single necklace and running straight into the heart of exploding shells.

While Director Ja went up to receive the award, scenes from 〈The Great Garland〉 continued to play.

Naturally, the face on screen shifted from boyhood to adulthood. Shin Seojin appeared, helping the laborers on a sugarcane plantation in Louisiana. The final scene was Eun Baekhap, teaching literacy in a night school.

Maybe because my face had already appeared when the nominees were shown earlier, young Huijae didn’t appear after the win.

It drove me crazy with disappointment.

Before I knew it, Director Ja had reached the microphone. Behind him, only the title 〈The Great Garland〉 was displayed.

I stopped clapping and curled my hand into a fist. My neatly trimmed nails dug into my palm. My eyes met Director Ja’s on stage.

One day, I want to stand there.

A simple, burning desire twisted hot inside me.

I don’t want to be just someone who flashes briefly on the screen. I want it to be all me.

Someday, I have to come back here.

For Best Actress.

I have to stand there, holding that trophy.

As Director Ja finished his speech, the entire venue filled with applause. It felt as if all those cheers were pouring down on me.

You can do it.

Han Yeoreum, you can stand there.

My chest burned.

* * *

Jegal Rok, who had been watching this on a large screen, closed his eyes for a moment, overcome by an indescribable thrill.

It felt like someone was gripping the back of his neck. Goosebumps kept rising along his skin. In the face of that overwhelming sense of achievement, Jegal Rok forgot how to breathe for a moment.

It hadn’t even been a year since the storm known as the Hallyu ban had struck.

Countless sums of money had been lost, and more than a few projects had been wrecked.

And yet—

Like a cliché, they had pulled it off. The Asian content industries in Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and beyond would all be recalculating the value of investing in Korea in an instant.

Knock, knock.

There was a sound at the door. Everyone seemed to be moving quickly now.

“Yes, come in.”

Jegal Rok steadied his breath for the new market that was about to expand even further. Behind his glasses, his sharp eyes gleamed.

Before long, the 〈The Great Garland〉 gallery—which had already been in a festive mood—completely exploded.

[What the hell, they’re giving us a second popup??? You insane bastards, I love you]

[Day 26 of chanting for Blu-ray release]

[Hey open your wallets, they’re saying the Yeon Huijae necklace is coming in the funding]

[Those bastards hid the Huijae necklace during the first popup for this?? LOL]

Along with the announcement of 〈The Great Garland〉 Blu-ray funding, a notice was posted about opening a second popup store.

* * *

[HOT / Current state of The Great Garland gallery.jpg]

(Gallery capture.jpg)

Five pages flip every minute lol

(Critics Choice win.jpg)

(Blu-ray funding article.jpg)

Yeah, this level of chaos makes sense..

– Anonymous 1: Holy shit these bastards LOLOLOLOLOL they bundled the Huijae necklace into the funding so you can’t buy it separately LOL

– Anonymous 2: Unreleased still cuts??? They held this back during the live broadcast?? These guys are ruthless when it comes to making money

– Anonymous 11: Out of all the dramas I’ve followed live, nothing will ever top this... the dopamine is insane. How is it still hitting even after it’s over? Director Ja is seriously crazy

ㄴ Anonymous 25: Same TT_TT I felt like I was losing my mind the whole time watching, and now I’m losing it from national pride LOOLLLL

ㄴ Anonymous 48: How am I supposed to watch anything else now? Everything’s gonna feel bland as hell, fuck LOLOLOLOL

The internet went wild. Korea’s first nomination, and now a win. It was a moment worthy of being recorded in [N O V E L I G H T] history.

[It worked in the U.S. too... 〈The Great Garland〉 wins Critics Choice]

[The power of K-drama proves itself even at the “Little Oscars”]

[From the Japanese occupation to the Korean War, the Miracle of the Han River—what a masterpiece says about our era]

The entertainment news sections of every portal site were completely flooded with 〈The Great Garland〉. Reporters on-site seemed to be firing their shutters nonstop in real time.

“Again, here too?”

Manager Ma, who had been watching the monitor, checked another site where new reactions were pouring in.

11. Huijae (▲6)

Even after the drama ended, people couldn’t let go of the lingering emotion and kept “Huijae” in their playlists. The ranking of “Huijae,” which had been on the charts the whole time, started climbing again.

– Korea’s pride^^ Listening again and it’s still so good, never gets old~ haha

– Huijae TT__TT I seriously fucking love you forever, I love you so much,,

– Who came back after hearing about the award? LOLOLOL

– That transition from Myeong Jeha to Ji Haebeom still hits insanely hard every time

New comments began appearing on the “Huijae” music video uploaded on Intube.

“Then now....”

Manager Ma checked the mood online. She expected that before long, edited clip videos of Han Yeoreum would start being uploaded.

‘There are already plenty of people who’ll click the moment they see her in a thumbnail, no matter what.’

This wasn’t just about popularity anymore. This was about mass appeal.

Han Yeoreum had consistently delivered more than expected in every video people casually clicked on as they passed by.

In 〈ParCheHi〉, she flawlessly pulled off cringeworthy scenes. In 〈Strange Tales〉, her chilling shaman performance drew in even people who hadn’t watched the drama. And in 〈The Great Garland〉, she left a powerful first impression as the nation’s first love, Huijae, with that legendary line—“Joseon scum”—that stirred up attention.

In between, she appeared on variety shows and secured scene-stealing clips that deserved attention. Even on Intube-exclusive content like 〈First Car Live〉 and 〈Magyo-dong〉, Han Yeoreum’s clips had overwhelmingly higher views.

“Our chick already hit a million views with just one ASMR video.”

No matter how top-tier Ji Haebeom and Eun Baekhap were, among Intube viewers, they would still fall behind Han Yeoreum.

Just as Manager Ma predicted, a few hours later, videos with titles like these began appearing on Intube:

[Han Yeoreum surprisingly good at English – award ceremony interview]

[Why Han Yeoreum is blowing up in the U.S. right now?]

[Which Korean actress are overseas influencers shouting out?]

They were pouring out national pride content like crazy.

1. Huijae (▲10)

And “Huijae” reclaimed the No.1 spot once again.

As if first love truly lasts forever.

* * *

I tuned the guitar strings. The moment I got back to Korea, there was no time to adjust to jet lag. I went straight to the practice room.

While I was in the U.S., 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 had uploaded a new vlog.

‘When I checked the timing, they uploaded it right when the Critics Choice results were announced.’

The views were completely different from usual. It surpassed 100,000 views in less than an hour.

That meant just how many people were anticipating Han Yeoreum’s next project.

‘It’s really not long now.’

〈Youth Disqualified!〉 was going to be completely different from any drama so far. Even before the first broadcast, there was so much to prepare.

There were moments during practice when I regretted agreeing to this.

I failed countless times. There were times I blamed myself, thinking I had made the wrong choice.

For someone who had never even held a guitar before in her life, it felt like too much to expect to reach ensemble performance level in such a short time.

– So Dami’s fine, but the other two look really unstable...T_T anyone who’s done ensemble knows it’s not just about playing, syncing in real time is the hard part

ㄴ seriously... I’m worried. They’re working so hard it makes it even sadder

– They’re just releasing the track anyway and hand-syncing, you guys are overthinking it LOLOLOL there’s a reason people say don’t trust broadcasters

ㄴ From what I see they’re all amateurs but have improved a lot. Don’t make baseless assumptions about hand-syncing. Skill grows step by step. As long as Choo Gaeul maintains her sense of rhythm, and the drums provide a solid foundation, even if they slip a few times during live performance, it won’t collapse. That’s all.

ㄴ This guy again...

Still, I had to do it. This wasn’t the time when no one remembered the name Han Yeoreum. Now there were people I couldn’t afford to disappoint.

“Ah....”

A guitar string snapped. I wrapped my stinging fingers.

Just as I paused to catch my breath, something occurred to me.

“...When was the last time I made a mistake?”

At some point, I had started playing without a single mistake.

Everything was ready.

* * *

The teaser for 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 was released. Aetami clicked it instantly with insane reflexes.

INTUBE

[1st Teaser / I thought everything would be solved once I got into college? Our youth starts now! ⎜Youth Disqualified!] 0:42

A bright campus spread across the screen. Cherry blossoms bloomed as some people laughed happily, some held hands with their lovers, and others ran busily while answering calls.

As if the adults were right—that everything would be solved once you got into college.

“Let’s break up.”

“...What?”

But someone got dumped by her soldier boyfriend on 100-day leave at a cheap coffee shop.

“You’ll understand your sister someday.”

“That’s ridiculous. I’m not going to live like you.”

Someone else stormed out of a waiting room, brushing off the hand of a bride in a pure white dress.

And someone else—

“Order here!”

“One moment, please!”

“Why is ours taking so long?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll bring it right away.”

Spent the entire day overwhelmed with part-time work.

“Waaah— I’m never dating on campus again— you bastard—.”

Heejeong sobbed loudly in the street after getting dumped.

“You’ve been well, right? Yes. Yunseong’s all better now. Thank you for your concern. The kids are so close, our Yungyo just rolled up her sleeves and—”

Yungyo, who had been spewing harsh words earlier, now smiled politely in front of her relatives.

“Ah... this is fucking exhausting.”

And Yuna cracked open a can of beer on the street with an irritated voice. Her steps were bitter as she walked alone through the dimly lit one-room district near the campus.

As if nothing really changed just because you went to college.

In one corner of the campus, where countless youths passed by in a hurry, a large poster was put up on the bulletin board.

[Burn your youth bright!]

It was a recruitment notice for the cheer squad. The blue poster was as vivid as the sky. The small text written underneath zoomed in.

*Planning operations, PR media team members welcome

It mentioned that you didn’t need to dance. Ziiing— the sound of an electric guitar rang out. The OST began softly. Along with the intro came Seo Eden’s face.

“...Huh?”

A piano layered in. It was the moment Jeong Heejeong fell in love again. Her cheeks flushed pink, just like the clothes she was wearing.

In contrast, Go Yungyo appeared dressed entirely in black. From the high-end logo brooch pinned to her chest alone, it was clear her outfit was luxury from head to toe.

– You’re not going to act like this just because you took a leave of absence, right? Hmm? Drinking, singing—none of that. Even when you have fun, keep your class, act like a proper young lady. If you behave improperly, your father will—

Holding her phone, Go Yungyo listened not to the voice on the other end, but to the music playing from the campus speakers.

Boom! The drums joined the OST. Guitar, piano, and drums fell perfectly into sync.

The OST playing now was a song that had remained legendary from a university music festival. People from that era could recognize it from just a single bar of the intro, and those in their teens and twenties would recognize it from the highlight lyrics—“Ah, that song!”

If youth could be expressed through music, it would sound exactly like this. That song became the main OST of 〈Youth Disqualified!〉.

Youstagram

[Cheer squad dinner ( •́ㅿ•̀ ) I’m totally an old lady now~ It was so fun back when I was a freshman, memories T_T]

Likes 354 Comments 88

– LOL since when are you an old lady T_T

– You got prettier LOL let’s drink

– Thank you so much, sunbae... ♥ let’s get closer haha

And Na Yuna, wearing a loose khaki shirt, looked at someone’s SNS account. The few stray hairs falling from her loosely tied hair made her look worn out.

Three people writing club application forms appeared in a split screen.

On the left, pink—Jeong Heejeong, for love.

On the right, black—Go Yungyo, for rebellion.

And in the center, washed-out—Na Yuna.

Reason for joining:

To realize a dream.

For myself.

[Youth Disqualified!]

March 27. First broadcast.