I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

* * *

The greatest liquor company on earth.

A perfect company unlike anything I had ever seen before.

Haebo Brewery, a company whose future was impossible not to look forward to.

“You’re not too tired, are you? You started another new project recently too.”

“Yes. Th—”

Before I could even finish speaking, the chairwoman of Haebo Brewery burst out as if overwhelmed.

“〈Unfair Trade〉! Of course I know. I’m terrible with violent stuff like that, but I still watched the live broadcast-.”

The snack truck and banner personally brought by the chairwoman nearly made me black out.

‘So this is... what being a top star feels like...?’

It wasn’t enough that I had landed a soju ad—the symbol of top stardom.

I had even managed to summon the advertiser, the being supposedly above even the gods.

The corners of my mouth kept trying to climb past their limit, and I had to use every ounce of strength to manage my expression.

I’m all grown up now, Han Yeoreum...! I’m having meals with bureau directors, huh? Chairwomen are driving snack trucks to my set, huh?

“How is it possible that even with just that final exact! appearance and one line, you just melt peop— no, make them focus so completely? Hm? You’re truly a treasure, a treasure.”

More....

“White suits you so well. If there really were a soju fairy, wouldn’t it look exactly like this? If you appeared just like this and gently shook a glass, who could possibly resist drinking? Hm.”

Please, keep going....

“Chairwoman. We should be going now.”

The secretary standing behind her grabbed her shoulder with an embarrassed face. I thought I faintly heard the word “burden.”

“Huff.... Huff.... Look at me.... Right.... I stayed too long without any sense. I only meant to drop off snacks and leave, but I got so satisfied that I lost track. I’m sorry if it felt burdensome?”

“Chairwoman.”

I quickly took hold of Han Myeongsuk’s hand.

“From the moment you entrusted me as the exclusive model for 〈Creamy Soda〉, Chairwoman, you became someone truly special to me. No! Haebo Brewery ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) itself carries an exceptionally meaningful place in my heart.”

The praise still wasn’t enough.

“And now you’ve even let me continue with Fresh Leaf Soju too—I’m genuinely touched.... After Episode 1 of 〈Unfair Trade〉 ended, at our dinner gathering yesterday, our entire team toasted with Fresh Leaf Soju.”

“Really...?”

“Once I tasted it, I understood why people say history and tradition are melted into the flavor. At the wrap party for 〈Unfair Trade〉, we’ll definitely toast with Fresh Leaf Soju too.”

“...Perhaps... this isn’t pressure, but.... I don’t mean it like that, but....”

I nodded as if I fully understood the advertiser’s heart.

“I’ll upload a photo on Yousta....”

“Aaaah....”

Deeply moved, Han Myeongsuk clasped my hand even tighter.

“How can someone be this bright and innocent and adorable and lovable without a single crease....”

I showered in the praise I hadn’t gotten enough of.

As a result, the commercial shoot couldn’t start until much later, but not a single person on set was dissatisfied.

“Just do whatever you want, Yeoreum! I really don’t ask for anything-.”

Because the chairwoman’s voice, dragged away by her secretary, still echoed through the filming set.

A commercial where the advertiser approved absolutely everything.

That was the invincible key that could be used on set.

The kind of key that let everyone work in the best possible condition.

* * *

“Did you watch it yesterday? 〈Unfair Trade〉?”

The office worker looked unfamiliar with the drama title that came up during lunch.

“Didn’t you usually only watch romance?”

The coworker sitting across from them was an ordinary person in the most average sense—not the type to bounce endlessly between Intube and dramas with something close to video addiction.

A drama with famous actors? If one happened to come on, they’d watch it. If not, there was SNS, web surfing, messaging friends—someone with plenty to do.

“But this one is reaaally fun. Me, thriller? Anyway, I don’t really like violent stuff like that.”

And yet that same coworker had already fallen completely into Episode 1 of 〈Unfair Trade〉.

“I only watched because of Shin Seojin, you know? But it really gets your heart squeezing. Ugh, I’m dying to know who the culprit is.”

“You’re watching today too?”

“Of course-. From now on, every Monday and Tuesday, I’m absolutely watching 〈Unfair Trade〉.”

The office worker felt strangely proud.

The 〈Unfair Trade〉 that aired yesterday was also a drama they had chosen immediately just from hearing Han Yeoreum was in it.

Genre dramas naturally had the drawback that you had to watch them with full focus, and if you missed even one episode, it became hard to catch the flow again.

That was exactly why it wasn’t usually the office worker’s preferred genre either.

They liked things light enough to watch while eating, something not too draining for commuting.

And yet even to someone like that, 〈Unfair Trade〉 was more than entertaining enough.

‘Why is that? I have to focus, but it doesn’t drain me.’

Pssht—.

Back home, before Episode 2 of 〈Unfair Trade〉 began, the office worker cracked open a can of 〈Creamy Soda〉 they had bought in advance.

Drinking alone with a sweet low-ABV makgeolli was nice, but for a moment they also found themselves wanting something cool and bitter.

Then Episode 2 of 〈Unfair Trade〉 began.

* * *

Lee Seohae silently surveyed the scene.

In the pitch-dark space, only Lee Seohae’s eyes seemed to shine.

Cold.

Still.

“Hhh....”

Lee Seohae took a quiet breath.

It was a movement as if she were trying to send the stench and ash directly into her brain.

“First, let me explain—”

“Shh.”

When the junior detective tried to speak to Lee Seohae, Gam Seonghwan stopped him.

Lee Seohae, who had been standing still, stepped into the scene.

Her movement was light, without wasted motion.

There was a certain kind of confidence in the way she slipped through the trash piles without stepping on them.

The confidence that she would grasp this entire crime scene.

Whooo—.

A draft leaked in from somewhere.

Lee Seohae tilted her head downward.

Then she crouched, carefully examining the movement of the ash pile.

Slide.

Lee Seohae rubbed the discolored wall with her fingertips.

Then she pressed thumb and forefinger together, rubbing them to judge the texture.

Looking at the pale tip of her index finger that had been hidden inside the sleeve of her black knit sweater, Lee Seohae spoke again.

“It was moisture before fire. It had already been rotting before the fire started.”

“Well, of course! In a trash house like this, decomposition is—”

“No. What I mean is.”

Lee Seohae cut him off shortly.

Her gaze was still fixed on the ash.

“They deliberately chose a place where the body would rot well.”

The place Lee Seohae was looking at was the point where the body had first been discovered.

She had recognized it instantly.

“If my guess is right, here, there, and there, one more below....”

Raising the ash-stained finger, Lee Seohae precisely pointed out each location where bodies had been hidden.

“And lastly, over there.”

The killer hadn’t simply concealed the corpses.

They had identified the optimal places where the bodies would decay fastest.

“Am I wrong?”

Gam Seonghwan and the junior detective stared blankly at her.

Their reaction was one of pure shock that someone could deduce this much from walking only a few steps.

“But something is strange.”

“What part?”

“The homeowner.”

Lee Seohae stood back up.

Her voice remained calm.

“Judging by the placement of objects and... the lifestyle habits implied here, this wasn’t someone with obsessive tendencies. There’s no minimum pattern. And... at present, they no longer appear to have average cognitive function.”

“Right. The longer someone stays isolated, the more their cognition deteriorates.”

Gam Seonghwan immediately agreed with Lee Seohae’s analysis.

For the briefest instant, a flicker of emotion crossed Lee Seohae’s eyes.

As if she found that unexpected.

Gam Seonghwan pointed to one of the places Lee Seohae’s eyes had lingered on earlier.

A scorched instant noodle packet lay there.

Expiration date: 05/11/28

Expiration date: 19/04/02

One was absurdly expired.

The other was relatively recent.

The fact that both were lying together meant the homeowner could no longer even distinguish what was still safe to eat.

With one hand, Lee Seohae took a handkerchief from inside her jacket and deftly wiped her index finger clean.

She didn’t forget to fold it twice and tuck it back into place.

Every movement was neat and flowed naturally like water.

As if Lee Seohae were a real person.

“But they identified the body decay points too precisely.”

Gam Seonghwan continued.

“These sections all happen to be where the water pipes run.”

According to Gam Seonghwan’s investigation, the old man who collected scrap spent long hours outside.

Witnesses had said that aside from sleeping, he was almost always outside trying to earn the pitiful amount paid per kilogram.

“All the bodies are missing their heads.”

Lee Seohae asked Gam Seonghwan.

The frozen junior detective quickly jumped in.

“Yes, that’s correct. Likewise, all ten fingers show burn marks. Fingerprint identification is impossible, so DNA analysis is scheduled.”

“If it’s a severely burned body, then at most one week....”

“The official report takes up to ten days.”

“Then we have a little room, right? Ah. Science really has advanced well these days.”

At the junior detective’s optimistic response, both Lee Seohae and Gam Seonghwan turned their heads at the same time.

“Until we catch them, the case isn’t over. How many times do I have to say it? What if another victim appears within those ten days? Why are you already relaxing?”

“I need to finish this within one week. That’s why upper management decided to dispatch me.”

The junior detective looked awkward under both of their reactions.

“One week? That’ll be impossible....”

But Lee Seohae said calmly,

“There are only about ten days left until the welfare bill vote. If this continues, the bill will fail.”

The old man who had done nothing but cause trouble to the neighborhood with his trash house.

The suspicion that he was a serial killer had ignited enormous public outrage.

If things continued as they were, the welfare bill would be met with fierce opposition.

“If they really were targeting decomposition....”

Lee Seohae’s voice carried complete certainty.

“I think we need to dig up the yard of this house.”

The severed heads may be there.

Her calm voice echoed through the trash house.

* * *

The three of them moved by car.

Lee Seohae drove her own black sedan, while Gam Seonghwan rode in the government vehicle.

The squad leader’s voice came through the speakerphone as Gam Seonghwan drove.

“Hey, Seonghwan, how is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, it’s amazing, right? The way she gets there and instantly figures it out like some movie protagonist? From what I’ve heard, she’s the kind of genius that shows up maybe once in a hundred years.”

“Yes, Squad Leader! She really was incredible! She noticed where the bodies had been the moment she walked in!”

The junior detective in the passenger seat nodded like crazy.

Gam Seonghwan quietly stared through the windshield.

Ahead of him, he could see the rear of the black sedan that resembled Lee Seohae herself.

“What about you, Seonghwan?”

At that exact moment, the traffic light changed red.

Leaving Gam Seonghwan behind, Lee Seohae’s sedan glided calmly ahead.

Stopping neatly behind the line, Gam Seonghwan spoke.

“That old man... I don’t think he’s the killer.”

For the first time, Gam Seonghwan openly pushed back against the IQ 160 genius criminal profiler.