I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

* * *

Director Gong looked at Yeoreum inside the monitor.

‘First of all, the appearance definitely matches.’

The “Influencer 1” that Director Gong had roughly imagined was right there. Chatting cheerfully with her friend and steering the wheel half-heartedly, Yeoreum looked like she could not contain her laughter.

“Hey. I’m seriously amazing. I told you we followed each other back! Uh-huh~. With her! Look at my follow list. You see it?”

A bright smile spread fully across her face and then, as if she realized she should not show too much excitement, she rolled her lips inward. Even so, the satisfaction she could not hide seeped out.

“Yeah~! Me? Whew.... Of course~ she accepted. I’m invited! I’m not like those kids who break their tables trying to get a seat.”

That was when it happened — the shot was approaching the moment right before the accident.

‘Here, naturall-y.’

The car gave a jerky jolt right before coming to a halt. Yeoreum lowered the sun visor. Then, checking her reflection in the mirror, she said,

“I’m seriously going to take a picture of this traffic light and upload it!”

Right on cue, the tow truck carrying Yeoreum’s car hit the brakes sharply.

“Argh!!!”

Yeoreum slammed her forehead against the steering wheel. At the same time, Director Gong shouted,

“...Cut!!!”

It was a perfect ad-lib from Yeoreum. The script only said this much:

Influencer 1: (While distracted) I’m not like those kids who break their tables to get invited.

The instruction “while distracted” was something Yeoreum implemented in precise detail. It was exactly the kind of behavior Influencer 1 — obsessed with appearances and loving to show off — would have done.

Through the lens, Yeoreum met his eyes as if asking whether her acting just now was okay.

“...One more time. Same action.”

Director Gong wanted to see Yeoreum once more. Looking at an Influencer 1 who was this perfectly alive made his heart race.

[Name: Gong Mujin]

Level: Mid-tier 3.6-million-viewer Director

Title: Chungmuro Civil Servant

Agility: B+

Concentration: B+

Recognition: B-

Skills

〈Cider Shower〉 B+

〈Beyond the Frame〉 C

He kept getting flashes of 〈Law-Faster-than〉 Season 2 in his head. A faint outline of something like a clue formed. A new skill flickered and then disappeared.

“Hey. That was an ad-lib, right?”

“...Uh. Probably.”

Near the tow truck where Yeoreum’s car was loaded, the staff members were waiting. Watching the tow truck make a U-turn to return to the original filming spot, the staff murmured quietly.

“Good thing we revised the script.”

* * *

Yun Hyeonjo, who played the lead role of elite Detective Yoon in 〈Law-Faster-than〉, was receiving final hair touch-ups while reviewing the script one last time. His hair, slicked back without a single stray strand, made him look exactly like a neurotic elite detective.

“Does the angle of my shirt collar look okay?”

“Yes yes. Perfect symmetry on both sides!”

“Mhm~. Thank you.”

Honestly, you could say this role was practically written with Yun Hyeonjo in mind.

His refusal to tolerate even the slightest disorder, his clean and understated features, his precise pronunciation and calm voice. After checking his shirt collar again, Yun Hyeonjo looked toward the excited director and the rookie actress.

“Yeoreum-ssi! When you lowered the sun visor earlier, what were you thinking?”

“I thought, when the audience first sees Influencer 1, what kind of thoughtless action would make them say, ‘How can someone be that empty-headed?’”

Director Gong’s excited laughter echoed through the set.

“That’s it! That’s it! Exactly! Exactly!!!”

Yun Hyeonjo looked at Director Gong and thought for a moment.

‘Is that really something to get that excited about?’

Yun Hyeonjo did not really like ad-libs. The more variables there were, the longer filming took. He wanted to finish efficiently and quickly.

“Director~. I’ll go get in the car now?”

“Yes, yes. Yun Hyeonjo-ssi! Let’s go right in.”

Cut followed by cut — a volley of back-and-forths between elite Detective Yoon and Influencer 1. Staff members were staging smoke effects between the two bumper-to-bumper cars.

Yun Hyeonjo neatly adjusted his shirt collar one last time and got into the car.

‘If she can just do as well as she did during the script reading.’

Solo acting was one thing, but acting as a duo required matching chemistry. For rookies, that was always the hardest.

There were stumbles from nervousness, bursts of laughter, or the most basic problem — speaking too fast because they could not control their breathing.

‘How many NGs are we going to get~.’

The moment he heard the director’s cue, Yun Hyeonjo opened the car door.

It was a refined movement, as though he were suppressing anger. Detective Yoon widened his stride and reached the car behind in just a few steps.

Thud, thud-.

“Open the window.”

“....”

“I said open the window.”

At those words, the window slowly descended. Influencer 1 peeked out, showing only her eyes.

“I’m sorry.... Really. Truly. I’m so. Very. Sorry.”

Her rambling voice carried a faint tremble. Detective Yoon knocked on the window again with a cold gaze.

“Not the window. Open the door and step out.”

The moment he spoke that line — it happened in a split second.

“Do I really have to get out? I mean, unless you’re in seriously terrible pain or... since it doesn’t look like a huge accident...?”

Tears pooled in Influencer 1’s eyes. As if her apology earlier had been made while barely holding herself together emotionally. Surprise flickered across Detective Yoon’s face.

“Do you have to die on the spot before you’ll get out? When I tell you to get out, you get out.”

The line — slightly absurd, slightly dumbfounded — carried real sincerity. Director Gong’s excited cut signal rang out.

“That’s it! That’s the one!”

The stylist approached Yun Hyeonjo to fix his slightly disturbed hair. Yun Hyeonjo spread his legs a bit so she could match his height as she brushed his hair with a tail comb, and thought,

‘This is strange?’

After a few short retakes, the scene was approved immediately. For matching with a rookie, the pace was unbelievably fast.

‘This is excessively efficient.’

Even in the next scene, Han Yeoreum did not produce a single NG.

She did not stutter. She did not accidentally laugh. She did not trip over her breathing or pronunciation.

Detective Yoon’s gaze toward Han Yeoreum changed.

「A Second Lingering Look (C)」

Offline or online — what a star needs are the eyes of the public! Whether it is your real appearance, your photos and videos, or even your voice, people will pause one more time and focus on you.

* * *

“Yeoreum-ssi! Come eat before you go!”

Film shooting had gone on for practically the entire day. Starting with stopping by the salon at dawn, then commuting to set, checking blocking once, shooting a few scenes — that alone consumed half the day. I nodded quickly at the director.

‘Now that the tension is gone, I’m starving to death.’

Because lunch was something I grabbed lightly on set, my stomach had been growling quietly for a while. The director, along with the assistant director, the script supervisor, and a few staff members, called me over. The outsourced filming team had already scattered into their own little party.

“Hyeonjo-ssi, are you coming too?”

“...Should I not go~?”

“No, no. It’s not that. It’s just unexpected. You never join dinners. You always say it’s inefficient and only show up for the wrap party. What’s gotten into you?”

Even at this hour, perfectly put-together Yun Hyeonjo followed quietly behind.

We headed to a nearby izakaya. A few customers recognized Yun Hyeonjo and whispered among themselves. Used to this sort of thing, Yun Hyeonjo spoke to the director.

“I’ll have soda~.”

...He really does not care. If someone recognized me, I would pull out a pen immediately and ask where they wanted me to sign.

‘That’s the attitude of a seasoned celebrity.’

We sat at a room-style table in the izakaya, and as if pre-ordered, the dishes started coming out in a line. I ate everything the director placed in front of me.

‘Even rolled omelet tastes different when it’s expensive....’

It was honestly moving. When I earn a lot of money, I need to eat this all the time.

As I kept moving my chopsticks nonstop, Director Gong poured me soda and asked,

“Right, Yeoreum-ssi, you’re still without an agency, so it must be hard going around alone, right?”

Director Gong asked me. Remembering how I had struggled and rolled around for years just to get one single line, the answer leapt out immediately.

“No. Not hard at all. Really!”

The director laughed at my reply, and Detective Yoon looked at me like he knew it was a lie.

‘It’s true. There’s no way this kind of thing is hard.’

Compared to working as an extra — gathering at Yeouido or Sinsa before dawn, standing by all night, and ending up with three seconds on screen laughing in the background — this was nothing.

“Jegal Rok is keeping a close eye on you, you know. Did you hear?”

“Hahaha.... Not really. I don’t know much.”

“Yeah. Normally I wouldn’t say this lightly but....”

Director Gong spoke seriously.

“No matter what conditions other places offer you, don’t go. Wait for Jegal Rok Chief Director.”

I had heard echoes of Jegal Rok. Even someone like me, just a wannabe actor, knew the name — that was how legendary he was. But hearing it directly from someone in the industry carried a different weight.

‘That Jegal Rok is watching me....’

It gave me a kind of indescribable sense of achievement. Even without drinking a drop of alcohol, the adrenaline rising from the nape of my neck made me feel drunk.

Knock, knock-.

A polite knock came from outside.

“Director, thank you for calling me.”

The person who entered through the izakaya door was Myeong Jeha. As if the gentle threat he had made on the phone a few days ago had never happened, he walked in with his usual bright smile. Then he sat right next to me.

“Oh, you came quickly. Hyeonjo-ssi, you know him, right? Jeha.”

“Of course. You two said you were schoolmates, right?”

“Yes, sunbaenim. Hello. I’m Myeong Jeha.”

Accepting the drink Director Gong offered him with impeccable manners, Myeong Jeha looked like a different {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} person. The way he treated seniors was unbelievably natural.

‘Why did he come?’