I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

This place was a barbecue restaurant near the Sangam MBS Drama Center. At the entrance of the restaurant, which had cleared out the entire dinner slot, there was a feeling of sheer relief in the air.

“Wow! I can’t believe this day actually came!”

“Hey. Don’t talk like someone’s dying. It’s not like was even shot live in real time.”

“I know, I know. I just mean that’s how it feels.”

The youngest staff members, who had arrived first, all had smiles on their faces. There was visible pride in the way they had properly carried a successful production through to the very end.

“So, are we saying it makes it or not?”

“I’m saying it makes it.”

“Me too!”

“Hss... it makes it....”

“Then this bet means nothing, you bastards.”

The staff pulled out ten-thousand-won bills and started placing bets. It was then that someone suddenly slung an arm around a shoulder from behind.

“What’re you doing?”

“Director!”

It was the lighting director of 〈Youth Disqualified!〉.

“Ah. We’re betting on whether our OST hits No. 1 or not.”

“Director, want in too?”

The lighting director recalled the final episode of 〈Youth Disqualified!〉, which they had filmed not long ago. The three of them sparkling brilliantly beneath the bright, luminous lights.

“Of course—.”

The lighting director pulled ten ten-thousand-won bills from his wallet and said,

“I’m betting that it makes it.”

* * *

A ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) lot had happened to the three of them—Yuna, Heejeong, and Yungyo.

Intube

[Did you really have to say that to the girl your brother picked up... The hopeless little brother loved into becoming a T ⎢ 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 Ep11] 04:27

118,221 views

-Wow this is seriously so realistic I’m actually pissed off lol that hopeless younger-brother way of speaking is too real...

-Why does he keep flipping his hair in front of girls? Is he gonna die if he doesn’t?

-Somebody turn on Dream Square right now, holy shit

The younger brother who had moved into Yungyo’s Seoul apartment with her wasn’t preparing for any certifications at all. Instead, he had been picking up girls at hunting bars.

By a cruel coincidence, the girl he picked up was the daughter of the man who was about to become Heejeong’s stepfather—and the very same person who had led Yuna’s bullying.

[At this point I just want to beat them all up and go to jail... ♨ 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 live reaction thread ♨]

-Those kids who dominate the vibe at college drinking parties are always the ones spreading everyone’s secrets everywhere, that’s like universal law seriously T_T LOLOLOL it’s fun while you’re listening but on the way home it feels disgusting

ㄴ fr that’s why I only hung out during freshman year and soloed after that.. they probably talked shit about me too

ㄴ 100%;

-Ugh it’s even more frustrating because every single one of them feels like someone who’d exist in real life

And then, as if fate were playing a cruel joke, the girl who had been picked up ended up meeting Yuna, Heejeong, and Yungyo during an inter-club exchange event—now knowing all three of their secrets.

Having found an amusing new target, she started looking for someone who would spread the rumors easily. Yuna’s bleached-hair classmate just so happened to be secretly dating Heejeong’s ex-boyfriend, and as if it were perfect timing, she carried those stories everywhere.

“Do you guys know? I only heard this through other people so I’m not totally sure... but honestly, I kind of felt bad for Heejeong unnie. Sunghoon sunbae said she was insanely obsessive when they were dating.... But then again, I kind of get it? Girls with, what do you call it, father complexes or whatever tend to get obsessive, right?”

Na Yuna’s isolated high school years, Jeong Heejeong’s emotional deprivation caused by her late father, and even the son-preference mindset in Go Yungyo’s family.

The secrets they had believed only the three of them knew spread in an instant.

[〈Youth Disqualified!〉 Gallery]

[It’s terrifyingly realistic, which somehow makes it even more suffocating]

Turning someone else’s family issues into their own content lol once you find the source of the rumor it’s already too late, impossible to clean up holy shit

Anonymous (23.332): Every time that bleached-hair girl talks about someone else her eyes light up like crazy, it’s so creepy

Anonymous (11.2): Wasn’t this supposed to be a healing drama??? Wasn’t this supposed to be a healing drama??? Wasn’t this supposed to be a healing drama???

Anonymous (28.4): Yungyo just run your brother over with the car already... I can’t watch this shit anymore T_T

Yungyo got angry, Heejeong panicked, and Yuna gave up.

None of them asked each other a single question.

Yungyo relieved her stress through shopping, Heejeong leaned on Seo Eden, and Yuna worked part-time. She tutored, and she also filled in shifts at the pub where she had worked before.

“Ah. The wrap-party photos are up.”

Aetami, who had been rereading the top gallery posts, checked the 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 wrap-party photos.

There were photos of Choo Gaeul and So Dami uploaded. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

“So this is really the end now....”

Aetami opened Intube again to rewatch the scene she had already replayed too many times to count.

The reconciliation scene between the three girls was the most-viewed clip from 〈Youth Disqualified!〉.

-Ah, I seriously hate Chuseok. I can already smell the oil.

-Then should we just go somewhere ourselves? Skip the memorial rites.

-Where?

The three of them looked at their phones together and picked a place. An autumn picnic. Under the lone tree in Olympic Park.

But now that they had each come to misunderstand that the others had spread their secrets, that promise would never be kept.

-Girls TT_TT for fuck’s sake just TALK

-At that age it’s so easy to drift apart naturally over tiny misunderstandings..Haha you think drinking together means having an honest talk, but real courage is hard, so you just become someone who drinks instead

-Don’t let it break like this TT_TT

Heejeong, who had been planning to go on a picnic by the Han River with Seo Eden, arrived at Yeouido Station on Line 5 and hesitated. Yungyo, who had driven alone to a suburban café to kill time before getting onto Olympic-daero, also hesitated.

And then—

-Holiday stress. The so-called “holiday syndrome”....

Yuna, wearing an apron at the pub, also stood still for a moment with a rag in her hand. She stared at the ancestral ritual table on the screen, lost in thought.

“...Boss. I’m really sorry, but.”

Yuna’s narration began.

-I guess I won’t be buying those shoes.

A full week of full-time holiday part-time work. For Na Yuna, who practically lived for part-time jobs, it was an impossibly difficult condition to give up.

-I guess I won’t be drinking that frappuccino.

But Yuna untied her apron.

-I’ll probably keep checking my bank balance too. But....

“Something urgent came up. I’m really sorry.”

-Everything has its time.

Ding—!

Yuna rushed out of the shop and ran to the bus stop, panting as she checked the arrival board. When she saw that the express bus she wanted had “No arrival information,” she shouted with a face full of determination.

-And I’m sure that time is now.

“Taxi!”

-Holy shit, a Gyeonggi resident is grabbing a taxi to go into Seoul right now?

-This is love...

-And even the hesitation is too much TT_TT it hurts even more because you can tell Yuna is still so young, damn it. Yuna, once you land the job those shoes and that frappuccino will be nothing, seriously T_T

And so, the three of them met again at the lone tree in Olympic Park. It had not been easy at all, and they couldn’t even be sure the other two would actually come to the meeting place....

But in the end, beneath that tree that looked just a little lonely in the middle of the wide open field—

they gathered to keep a promise only the three of them knew.

“Our Yeoreum really does suit blood, sweat, and tears so well....”

Na Yuna cried. Even though she tried to hold it back, the tears kept spilling over until she cried like someone who had finally lost the fight.

Ppongdang @pppongdang___e

(YouthDisqualified_reunion.mp4)

This is it, this is exactly what I wanted from a female trio lead drama

Retreat 11K likes 18K

For a while, the three of them could only stare blankly at each other’s faces without saying anything. The moment Na Yuna broke down sobbing and said, “Can’t we just keep being friends?” recorded the highest minute-by-minute rating of 〈Youth Disqualified!〉.

“Oh! Yeoreum’s up!”

Just as tears were about to well up in Aetami’s eyes again, she smiled brightly at the fresh new post that had gone up.

[〈Youth Disqualified!〉 wrap party, Han Yeoreum’s bright smile: “Goodbye for now—”]

[Youth icon Han Yeoreum attends 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 wrap party]

At the same moment the article featuring Yeoreum in a comfortable gray T-shirt was uploaded, the final episode of 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 began.

* * *

IP 85.152 stared at the screen as the 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 logo appeared.

“The campus filming quality really is solid....”

〈Youth Disqualified!〉 was the kind of drama that perfectly touched the fantasy of campus life. A vast panoramic shot of the campus spread across the screen through drone footage. The excitement of the first day of the festival could be felt straight through the screen.

And, befitting the final episode, every incident was resolved.

After seeing her younger brother’s phone ringing at dawn and realizing where the secret had leaked from, Yungyo went with Yuna the next day to find the source of the rumor. The girl who had been picked up instead treated the two of them like they were the strange ones.

“You really... haven’t changed at all.”

Things were just about to escalate into bad blood between schools when Yuna spoke.

“How have you stayed exactly the same since high school?”

“Hey. Na Yuna. The reason you were isolated wasn’t because of me—”

“Yeah. I know. It was all my fault. You did nothing wrong.”

“...”

At Yuna’s calm tone, the girl frowned. Her face showed that all she cared about was the image she had worked so hard to build.

“So I hope everything goes well for you. You went to a good university, so I’m sure you’ll get into a good company too. I really hope that happens. I hope you get accepted to the company you want in one shot.”

“What?”

“You need to succeed so the evidence I collected can be used properly.”

“...”

“Then let’s check one more time whether you really did nothing wrong back then.”

At the word evidence, the people around them began murmuring. Even a few classmates who were usually close with the girl didn’t help her.

“What...?”

“She bullied people?”

Because they were only classmates, not friends.

“I’ll definitely find out where you get hired, no matter what it takes. You’ve got connections everywhere, so someone’s bound to tell me. And then I’ll send in a report saying your company hired a school violence perpetrator.”

“Hey! Na Yuna! What do you mean perpetrator—!”

“That’s for the company to decide, isn’t it? Whether you were a perpetrator or not.”

The girl’s face turned pale.

“You were always furious, saying your grades dropped because of me. You blamed everything on me. When you stole my notes and tore up my workbook, you never imagined a day like this would come, did you?”

“Can you even take responsibility for what you’re saying right now? I’m suing you. Someone who doesn’t even know how much a lawyer’s retainer costs talking like this—”

“I asked the others, and they told me everything. That it was you.”

Na Yuna no longer cried. Instead, she clasped the hand of Yungyo standing beside her.

“When I told them I’d send the same kind of report the moment they got hired too, they told me right away. They even sent me screenshots of your chats.”

And then courage came.

Because now she had friends.

This wasn’t break time when she had to keep her head down alone, nor lunchtime when she had to hide in the bathroom.

Now, it was simply—

the time to say what she had always wanted to say.

“Everyone loves gossiping about other people, right? Go ahead. Spread it all you want. Now it only benefits me.”

-Holy shit that was so satisfying TT__TT

-Yuna why is she so admirable TT_TT I need to pat her head myself

-This is insane T_T this is EXACTLY what we wanted!!!!!

Since there had been so many spectators, the rumor spread quickly.

Anonymous

09/30 11:27

Girls fighting is scary as hell, whoa

School violence victim collected evidence and publicly destroyed the bully lol

She endured it in high school but once the rumors kept spreading in college she decided to go all in on one target;

A quiet person getting angry is seriously terrifying

Anonymous: What what, was there a fight?

ㄴ Anonymous (OP): Yeah lol I was hoping for punches, what a shame

Anonymous: I heard more stuff about the bully too lol but I’ll hold back

ㄴ Anonymous (OP): What is it, don’t make me curious and then dip?

ㄴ Anonymous: Just that she also liked dividing people into sides even inside that club... that’s all I’ll say

Anonymous: The bully’s face got spread everywhere lol her career’s over unless she burns every connection she has.. T_T

* * *

Unexpectedly, Heejeong was calm.

She went to find the bleached-hair classmate who had spread the rumors and simply stared at her.

“Why are you doing this, unnie?”

At the twenty-year-old standing there crookedly with folded arms, Heejeong simply smiled.

“Do you love him that much?”

“...What?”

“You’re dating Sunghoon sunbae.”

“No, I’m not? Do you have some kind of victim complex?”

The bleached-hair classmate hurriedly hid her startled expression as she immediately denied it. But Heejeong smiled as she always did.

“Really? That’s a relief.”

“What’s such a relief about that? Do you still have feelings for him?”

At the sharp tone, Heejeong lightly shrugged.

“He keeps calling me in the middle of the night. I wondered what he was trying to say, so I answered once, and he was crying, asking if we could start over. He said his current girlfriend makes it hard for him to breathe.”

“...What?”

“So it’s a relief that isn’t you. Anyway, if you see Sunghoon sunbae later, could you pass along a message? I blocked him, so tell him not to contact me anymore. I seriously have not a single lingering feeling left, and I’m sick of him.”

Leaving the dumbfounded bleached-hair classmate behind, Heejeong walked away with light steps.

Just then, her ex-boyfriend was walking from the opposite direction.

Their eyes met for a moment.

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.

[MyLoveBestieYuna♥︎]

The lonely Heejeong who had once wandered campus alone at the start of the new semester was gone now. The vibration of the phone in her hand felt like it was tickling her heart.

“Mmm. I’ll be right there!”

Without looking at her ex standing across the street, Heejeong headed up the hill.

Because today was the festival.

“Aaaah-. That was seriously long.”

“Feels like there are even more people this year thanks to our promotion, right?”

“Maybe....”

Before they knew it, night had fallen.

The three of them had worked hard all this time as club promoters. It was finally over.

Step by step, as they climbed the building stairs, they shook off the bittersweet feeling at last.