I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

“There are scripts coming in, right?”

Starting to crack down already, huh. Joo Junseo pressed down on the corners of his lips that kept trying to rise.

“Well... there are a lot... What, you think there wouldn’t be?”

“Then could you send me a few decent ones?”

It meant she would personally check whether it was something Joo Junseo could take on or not.

At the implication that anything too heavy on romance would get cut at Han Yeoreum’s level, Junseo blinked his raised eyes.

‘Wait. Does that mean if something good comes up, she wants to do it together?’

Han Yeoreum was materialistic to the core. If Joo Junseo rode the wave of popularity with this 〈Faster Than the Law 3〉, she might immediately suggest they do the next project together. She was the kind of girl who calculated everything every single day, so it wasn’t strange.

As if making a vow, Junseo spoke.

“I got it.”

“Yep, thank you.”

Even after hanging up, Joo Junseo kept circling outside the 〈Do It and It Works〉 Action Academy for a long time.

* * *

“Hey, when the hell is he going inside?”

“Leave him~. It’s inefficient to only train upper body anyway. He’ll switch to legs.”

“I thought that colt already got taken by Myeong Jeha, but... tsk. That kind of acting doesn’t just come out of nowhere, you know? There’s something there.”

“It’s fine to meet a few people efficiently and then decide~. If you get tied down too young, it’s a loss.”

On the rooftop of the 〈Do It and It Works〉 Action Academy, Kwak Cheolsik and Yun Hyeonjo were watching Junseo, who was still walking in circles.

“But what’s that noise from earlier? It’s annoying.”

“Oh, this?”

Holding his phone sideways, Kwak Cheolsik showed the screen to Yun Hyeonjo.

“It’s an animated movie trailer. The quality these days is seriously good. My daughter keeps asking when it’s coming out.”

A cute rabbit and a flying squirrel bounced around energetically.

[Funny Bunny Harmony]

On the screen, the rabbit gripped a microphone and sang at full volume, like some kind of diva.

* * *

“I knew Jegal Rok was insane, but...”

“I didn’t know it was to this extent.”

This was KBC. The head of the drama department, holding the synopsis of the new project, smiled brightly.

“But is this really okay for us?”

KBC had rejected every exclusive deal NetHolics proposed, including 〈The Great Garland〉.

The current negotiation on the table was a three-year exclusive for 〈The Great Garland〉 and five years for other hit works.

But the KBC drama director had pushed back hard—one year for 〈We Rund〉 and three years for the others, or nothing.

Against NetHolics, no less.

“What do we have to protect? The value of public broadcasting, that’s what! If we hand over all the exclusivity like this, do you think we’ll even be able to negotiate later?”

The KBC drama director had no intention of falling for NetHolics’ ultimate goal of taking over IP.

“We hold out as long as we can. If we lose confidence from the start, we’re done.”

JC ENM, whose exclusive deal with NetHolics had fallen through, knew exactly how to stir things up. They immediately approached KBC with a large-scale project proposal.

“We want to produce a large-scale project without NetHolics.”

“That’s good to hear. What kind of project?”

“Whatever work you’d be willing to send us.”

The moment he heard Jegal Rok’s words, the KBC director immediately thought of a project.

A tense gunfight unfolding in Russia, paired with a deeply emotional melodrama about protecting one another.

“Then let’s go with this.”

As soon as Jegal Rok received the script, he immediately contacted the Russian tourism board. The speed at which things moved was on a completely different level.

And so, among the three major terrestrial broadcasters:

SBC chose safety and quickly signed with NetHolics.

MBS maintained a middle ground.

And KBC—the nation’s number one broadcaster, a true public network representing the people—chose to hold out.

“If it goes like this, couldn’t NetHolics just cut ties with JC and Studio Another?”

“Well, that could happen.”

The KBC director nodded.

“But there’s a flaw. A flaw.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“If you suddenly tell people to pay ten dollars to watch dramas, how many do you think will actually pay?”

It takes at least three years for a paid system to settle in with consumers.

In the first one to two years, there’s guaranteed resistance.

When something that was perceived as “free” or “included” becomes paid, consumers react strongly.

Only a small group of enthusiasts would willingly pay for dramas they used to watch for free.

After that, in years two to three, people begin comparing and selectively accepting.

As paid models spread across the industry, consumers start weighing their options. Only then does it become one of many choices.

And by years four to five, paying has become part of the norm.

So during that gap?

“Jegal Rok plans to interfere as much as possible until NetHolics establishes itself in Korea.”

All they had to do was raise the quality of dramas people could watch for free.

“But is that really sustainable? You can’t make NetHolics-level blockbusters every time.”

“Our data says otherwise.”

Without hesitation, Jegal Rok responded to the concern.

“Even the most popular foreign series in Korea, 〈Prison〉, only reaches 1–3% of viewers.”

That was the reality. Media giant JC ENM already owned a channel called OCM.

Korean audiences didn’t have a particularly high preference for foreign dramas. Even globally massive hits weren’t exceptions.

Jegal Rok predicted that only a small number of people in Korea would subscribe to NetHolics just to watch overseas content.

“So the idea is to make large-scale dramas on terrestrial TV and keep Korean viewers’ wallets closed?”

Since NetHolics Korea had already launched, they couldn’t withdraw just because results were poor in the first two to three years.

But after that—if another OTT service entered the Korean market?

“Then NetHolics would be in trouble.”

JC ENM had nothing to lose in this gamble.

First, their sole label actress Han Yeoreum would introduce her face and name to global NetHolics subscribers through 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Second, they would further solidify their domestic foundation.

Third, they would later secure better scripts from another OTT and target global fandom again.

Fourth, when another OTT entered Korea, the obvious choice would be JC ENM’s production company, Studio Another.

And finally, fifth—since they had already proven their capabilities with 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉, the first original production for NetHolics would inevitably go to Studio Another.

“At that point, NetHolics won’t be able to ignore JC anymore.”

The bigger the scale, the more Studio Another becomes the best option.

“They’ll probably come back asking to work together again.”

Both KBC and JC ENM had made enormous profits from 〈The Great Garland〉.

They had the money for overseas shoots. They could invest heavily even in explosion CGI.

“Come...”

The KBC director closed his eyes and spoke the name.

“Sweet midsummer...”

The pear blossom pin on his tie glinted.

* * *

I received the synopsis from KBC and stared at it, mouth slightly open.

“Wow...”

I wanted to ask myself who I even was, but my brain seemed to have short-circuited. There wasn’t a single thought in my head.

“This...”

Female lead. Overseas location. For a rising actress in her fifth year, it was hard to imagine better conditions than this.

“Unni, this really came to me, right?”

I questioned reality again.

‘This isn’t a dream, is it?’

No, seriously. At this scale, the script should be going to Eun Baekhap. It was far too much for someone who had only appeared once on terrestrial TV as a child actor and once as one of the leads ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) in a female-led project.

“Unni, why aren’t you answering?”

When I turned my head, I saw Manager Choi and Coordinator Hwang covering their ears.

“What?”

“Unni! I’m asking if this script really came to me!”

“Yeoreum, that’s the third time you’ve asked.”

“It’s just too hard to believe...”

A project of this scale as a terrestrial lead? No way. I hugged the synopsis tightly to my chest.

“Kyaaaah!!!”

At my scream, Manager Choi and Coordinator Hwang covered their ears again. No matter how much I doubted it or screamed, it still wasn’t enough.

‘Because, because this is...’

One of Do Gyeoul’s representative works before the regression.