I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

-Case reported.

A burst of crackling radio static came through the narration.

Wiiiiiiiiing—

Beyond the black screen came the blaring wail of sirens. What appeared next was a dim alleyway, a run-down villa district, a shabby riverside embankment. Crimes that had happened in completely different places. If there was one thing they all had in common, it was the police line cordoning off the surroundings.

The cut switched rapidly. Crossing under the police tape was veteran detective Gam Seonghwan.

Gam Seonghwan raged at every crime, empathized with every victim, comforted the bereaved families, and caught the perpetrators.

And then there was the one case he came face-to-face with.

Thump.

Along with the sound effect of a heart dropping, Gam Seonghwan’s expression changed.

-It's him.

The bright smiling faces of his younger sister and mother flashed by in low resolution. Young Gam Seonghwan, leaving the house as a child, waved before turning away. The door shut. Soon after, his childhood home was plastered over with police line tape like a boundary. Detectives and reporters flooded in. Click, click, click. The shutter snaps sounded like the chopping strike of a guillotine blade.

A newspaper landed on a desk. The front page carried the article reporting that Gam Seonghwan’s younger sister and mother had been brutally murdered. The culprit had never been caught. But on top of that, one by one, countless other criminal cases were stacked over it. The newspaper printed every day kept exploding with new cases each time.

As if his younger sister and mother were merely one more victim among countless others.

-That bastard is still alive.

The silhouette of a criminal running through the darkness appeared.

Bang.

The cut changed to # Nоvеlight # the side profile of Gam Seonghwan sitting alone in a dim interrogation room. Veins stood out over his clenched fist.

Tok, tok, tok.

The sound of heels echoed. Entering with a file folder in her arms and an icy gaze was Lee Seohae.

-The annual arrest probability for an unsolved case that has remained open for over ten years is typically only 0.5 to 3%. The annual number of violent crimes committed is 35,126, with a violent crime rate of 68.0 per 100,000 people. The murder rate is 1.6 per 100,000, totaling 801 cases.

Gam Seonghwan squeezed his eyes shut. There was nothing wrong with what Lee Seohae said. He lowered his head. The leather jacket stretched taut across his back as he breathed roughly.

-Up 7.4% from last year, 19.9% over the last decade,

Oppa! His little sister’s voice rang out. Hurry up and go. His mother’s voice followed. You can’t go in there! The voices of adults stopping young Seonghwan overlapped.

-The probability that a bereaved family member would be assigned to that cold case here... 0%.

And then.

The silhouette of the fleeing criminal reappeared in the darkness.

-Does that still not change your mind?

Together with Lee Seohae’s voice—

Gam Seonghwan, having made up his mind about something, lifted his head.

The next thing was a rapid cut. Gam Seonghwan’s feet running like mad. A shattered beer bottle in an alley. The whine of police sirens. Lee Seohae with blood dripping from her nose.

-That’s why I’ll catch him.

The handcuffs in Gam Seonghwan’s hand came into view.

-No matter what.

Clack.

And just like that, the trailer for 〈Unfair Trade〉 ended.

“Damn, this thing is killer. Isn’t it? Letter Oppa? Look at that colt’s diction. Damn, so sharp.”

This was Taiwan’s airport. Harassed by countless fans the moment they entered the country, Yun Hyeonjo’s clothes—which were normally kept in perfect knife-line precision—were now completely disheveled.

One of his shirt buttons had already popped off somewhere, his glasses were crooked, and the hair he’d slicked back so neatly had turned messy. In his hands, just like his nickname suggested, was an armful of letters.

It was thanks to the rise in Taiwan core fans brought on by 〈Faster Than the Law 1〉.

“The trailer’s been out for a while now~. You’ve gotta check industry trends efficiently.”

“It’s only been half a day. This is plennnty! efficient enough, man.”

By then, interest in the 〈Unfair Trade〉 trailer was already scorching hot. Kwak Cheolsik scrolled the screen down with his large thumb. The comments were overflowing.

-TT_TT Shin Seojin’s bulk-up is so damn good holy shit something huge is coming

-Actress Han Yeoreum~ your diction is so good. I follow every project you do.. but this one feels like a totally different transformation, I’m already full of anticipation hehe. Even the nosebleed look is pure girl-crush itself. Even my prickly twelve-year-old princess at home is cheering for you. I’ll enjoy this one too.

-Ha adult Taejin X baby Huijae this works this WORKS aaah I’ve waited for this day forever the Korea Second Male Lead Association stands with Taejin forever TT__TT

ㄴSo it’s not just me who watches with this feeling huh the broadcast station’s IF universe hehe

“Damn. These comments are no joke.”

Scrolling down while checking the comments about Han Yeoreum, Kwak Cheolsik smiled proudly.

All those days of rolling and running every single day at the academy had paid off. That brief action shot they’d caught was art.

But something felt strange. Kwak Cheolsik kept feeling as if Han Yeoreum were somehow right there with them.

“What is it? This weird kind of feeling?”

He lifted his head from his phone and looked around. Then his mouth fell open. After lightly tapping Yun Hyeonjo’s arm—who was meticulously sorting his fan letters by size—he gestured with his chin.

“Hey, look out the window.”

Taipei was full of Han Yeoreum.

[A cool sip of summer, P-kari]

[A delicious meal ends with just one Kukku!]

[SAUS, the lighter and faster number-one laptop]

[Soft tea time with Limei Milk Tea ♥︎]

[All your vitamins at once! Cheonhwa Pharmaceuticals]

Bus ads, giant building screens, posters outside shops—no matter where they looked, Han Yeoreum kept appearing in sight. Kwak Cheolsik recoiled in shock.

“The colt’s really made it. I heard she was popular in Taiwan, but damn, I had no idea it was this much.”

Even Yun Hyeonjo, who’d been frowning at the letters he’d been organizing after they got messed up, looked out the window and seemed slightly surprised.

Right then, the traffic light turned red. The van carrying the two men stopped in front of a department store.

An outdoor advertisement on the department store was playing the trailer for 〈Faster Than the Law〉. Over the trailer they’d already watched dozens, hundreds of times in Korea, unreadable foreign words were layered on top.

They couldn’t read the subtitles flashing by so quickly, but the two of them could feel it in their bones.

This installment would do even better.

Clunk.

The light changed again. As the van moved forward, the 〈Faster Than the Law〉 trailer gradually receded from view.

And once again, Taipei filled with Han Yeoreum spread out before them.

No matter where they went, the whole world was Han Yeoreum.

* * *

‘Who am I?’

The title of Taiwan’s next-generation greatest actress suited her better than anyone, and on top of securing herself as the CF queen, she’d made every hot-selling product carry the name “Han Yeoreum,” with schedules piling in endlessly and making people everywhere say “I love you” in Korean, baby King Sejong, baby diplomat, baby national treasure. She had drawn in countless global fans, and soon even domestically they’d recruit the first generation of “Reummates”... hold a solo fan meeting... and then become Chungmuro’s miracle, the number-one brand power, the once-in-a-century actress who would never come again—

“Colt!”

“Long time no see.”

I met Kwak Cheolsik, waving his hand in huge circles from far away, and Yun Hyeonjo, who only gave me two perfunctory waves.

“Sunbaenims! Did you see me? You saw me on the way here, right? I’m no joke, right? Right? You’re seriously so proud, aren’t you?”

I should’ve been humble, but there was absolutely no way I could be.

Ever since coming here ahead of 〈Faster Than the Law〉’s release to finish the Taiwan schedule first, I hadn’t calmed down for even a second.

‘How could I possibly?’

This kind of thing was on a scale that even the Han Yeoreum Delusion Factory couldn’t process in high definition.

“Yeeah. It was insane. Damn brat, you’re all grown up now.”

I bumped fists with the fist Kwak Cheolsik held out. Then I held mine out to Yun Hyeonjo too... but since he didn’t take it, I just lowered my hand again.

“We’ve got about an hour to spare~. Let’s grab something.”

“Yes, ma’am. Then there’s a really amazing café nearby, I’ll guide you there.”

“The colt’s basically Taiwanese now. Alright then, let’s see your guide skills!”

I led Kwak Cheolsik and Yun Hyeonjo to the best, fanciest, most delicious café nearby—

“Would you look at this kid?”

“She really is efficient.”

—95°C Bakery Café, where a giant poster of me was plastered right on the front. Just the Han Yeoreum standee at the entrance alone made this place worthy of being selected as Taiwan’s must-visit best café.

I boldly opened the door and stepped in first. I could feel the gazes of everyone seated inside land on me.

Ah, exhilarating... Everyone, please spread today’s real-life Han Yeoreum review everywhere. Tell them I was way prettier and cuter than the poster. Please confidently state the facts.

“I’m seriously amazing, right? It’s chaos, right? But I’m way cuter in person than on the poster, don’t you think?”

“Colt, calm down.”

“How am I supposed to calm down? First, let’s eat.”

I brightly took the straw Yun Hyeonjo handed me into my mouth. There were so many eyes watching, so how could I not be charming every single second?

‘Everyone, Han Yeoreum isn’t just a model.’

I’m a true actress who sincerely loves her advertising brands. 95°C Bakery Café forever.

Together with the sunbaenims I hadn’t seen in a while, I talked about the stage greeting schedule for 〈Faster Than the Law〉.

The first film had performed even better than expected, and then Han Yeoreum’s popularity had surged further thanks to 〈The Great Garland〉, so the stage greeting schedule was packed pretty tightly.

“Oh right. Where’s Director Gong?”

Up until Yun Hyeonjo, who had been wiping his hands with a wet tissue, opened his mouth—

“He flew in a day earlier because of our next investor.”

“Ahhh. Amazing. Is it because of our overseas location shoot?”

“Yeah. Colt, did you hear? The villain role’s almost confirmed. He’s meeting them here while he’s at it too.”

“Who is it?”

It was news to me.

“Goo Minho. Do you know him?”

“Colt, you’ve been too busy to come to lately, right? He’s been dropping by nonstop since last month, and the reason was obviously...”

Goo Minho. The moment I heard the name, I remembered immediately.

For just a second, a really tiny second, I thought I might fail to manage my expression, so I quickly bit the straw and gulped down the rest of my smoothie.

Yun Hyeonjo didn’t say much about Goo Minho, but it looked like Kwak Cheolsik had gotten acquainted with him through the same action school. News about Goo Minho kept pouring out.

“His punch speed’s pretty decent.”

“Right? His hands are really spicy.”

“Huh? You’ve heard too?”

No.

“Just a little. I only know a tiny bit.”

Because I’ve actually been hit by him before.

A very long time ago.

* * *

Goo Minho was completely absorbed in pumping iron in the hotel gym. Before meeting the investors and director, he wanted to bulk up even a little more.

“Huff...”

Sweat streamed down his forearms as he breathed hard. Goo Minho gritted his teeth, paying meticulous attention to every movement of his muscles.

Clank.

At last the final set ended, and just as he was about to wipe the sweat with the towel around his neck, he paused.

“Yeah, this definitely looks better.”

After checking himself in the mirror, Goo Minho picked up his phone and turned on the camera. Making sure the future next-generation sexy villain star was captured perfectly on screen.

Click—!

Lifting his chin slightly to emphasize the sweat on the nape of his neck, Goo Minho snapped the picture and uploaded it to social media.

Input: Working out hard today too because I want to show my fans my coolest side..! I’ll work hard so I can bring you good news soon as well :)♥︎

Goo Minho smirked while watching the likes increase. But soon he frowned. He didn’t like the comments coming in.

“Ah, fuck, I seriously need to lower the fan age range fast. Damn ajummas. They should just stick to NEVER Band or whatever instead of crawling all the way onto Youstagram. So embarrassing.”

Muttering a curse under his breath, Goo Minho irritably wiped away his sweat.

Every installment of 〈Faster Than the Law〉 had succeeded. In particular, the villain role exploding in popularity every season had made “Who will be the next villain?” into a hot topic.

Goo Minho planned to solidify his standing through chemistry with Han Yeoreum, whose stock was soaring right now.

Then, while calling someone on his phone, he headed back to his room.

“Yes, Team Leader. You really did put in a word ahead of time, right?”

* * *

Entering the hotel room, Yun Hyeonjo carefully opened one of the letters with neat hands. It was a fan letter with a cute heart sticker placed right in the center.

“Hey, Letter Oppa, must be nice?”

“Shut up.”

Kwak Cheolsik, the type who couldn’t sleep alone and had somehow barged into Yun Hyeonjo’s room no matter what, chattered from behind him. Yun Hyeonjo pulled out the stationery lightly sprayed with perfume. Clumsy Korean was written across it.

[I’ll continue looking forward to Yeoreum unni’s and Hyeonjo oppa’s movie in the future as well. I’ll definitely watch every series! My Korean still isn’t good enough, so I can’t watch without subtitles yet, but later I want to be able to watch in Korean only... ٩(๑ˆOˆ๑)۶]

“But earlier.”

Seeing Han Yeoreum’s name, Yun Hyeonjo shifted his posture for a moment.

“Wasn’t something a little strange? Her condition.”

“The colt? Wasn’t she just too excited? Kids are like that—they run around having fun and then suddenly pass out asleep.”

“She’s a little past that age... no... maybe not?”

Yun Hyeonjo was almost persuaded by Kwak Cheolsik’s words, but he still felt a lingering sense of discomfort he couldn’t resolve.

That expression of hers freezing visibly the instant Goo Minho’s name came up. That fleeting moment bothered him strangely.

“Yeeah. Hey! Damn, there’s only you, kid. Yeah, Taiwan’s nice. The colt even bought me a mango smoothie here... but it’s too sweet. You’re not skipping action school just because your big brother isn’t there, right? That’s it, kid. You’re the hope of Korean action...”

As Yun Hyeonjo quietly sat with that discomfort, Kwak Cheolsik’s booming phone conversation rang in his ears.

“Ah, that’s really annoying.”

“Hey, hey, hey. Jeha says he wants to say hi to you too. Look at this brat, so polite. His manners are unbelievably perfect.”

“Just tell him I’m doing well.”

“Heyyy, cold much-. Here, take it.”

Because Kwak Cheolsik enthusiastically shoved the phone right up to his ear, Yun Hyeonjo sighed and took the call.

-Sunbaenim, hello.

Myeong Jeha’s neat voice came from the other side of the receiver.