I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

〈Cinderella In DDP〉

That had been the original title of the work.

It was a romantic comedy centered around a fashion shopping app, and it had quite literally rewritten the history of the genre.

‘Not just in Korea—even on Japanese NetHolics, it managed to plant itself firmly.’

It was the only drama that defeated Do Gyeoul’s 〈Beyond the Closed Door〉.

On top of that, the female lead’s styling became a full-blown trend. Tourists visiting Korea even copied the look.

‘Because it aired simultaneously on NetHolics, it couldn’t break traditional ratings records, but....’

NetHolics had its own metrics. Rankings, of course, but more importantly, the cumulative watch time was enormous.

People rewatched it over and over, and it became one of the defining rom-coms whenever people talked about K-dramas.

And that work... now?

‘The timing doesn’t match my memory at all.’

Even when Hong Suryeon had declared war on me, I hadn’t been too intimidated—because for years, there hadn’t been a true “mega-hit” romantic comedy.

‘There were decent performers, sure, but nothing that generated buzz like Hong Suryeon’s recent work 〈See You That Day〉....’

But now the situation was completely different.

A chill ran down my spine.

Above my spinning thoughts, Little Eun Baekhap and Little Hong Suryeon popped into existence.

“So I knew you’d screw yourself over running your mouth like that. Idiot. How does it feel now that you’ve ruined your project? Serves you right, damn it~! Hurry up and set up a meeting with the writer before you get yourself killed.”

“Lift your head~ Losing to someone stronger isn’t embarrassing, you know~. Last time, it’s just that I couldn’t contain my beauty, so the viewers were too dazzled to watch properly.... It’s not like you were better or anything~.”

“Shut up.”

“How rude! I’ll remember this!”

“Want to die?”

Please get out of my head, both of you.

I waved my hand, shooing away Little Eun Baekhap and Little Hong Suryeon.

Hong Suryeon—one of the top three actresses—paired with Yoo Jiuk, one of the three legendary male leads. And now Hwang Boseok on top of that.

‘No way....’

A bright, lively, girl-next-door heroine paired with an arrogant chaebol heir who had that rough, delinquent face.

Even I would watch that.

—It’s almost confirmed. Originally, Director Lee Saerok wanted to go with you, Yeoreum, but now things might even change networks. Hong Suryeon’s side is apparently already in contact with SBC.

“I’m losing my mind.”

This was supposed to come out five years later. Why. Why now?

It was a kind of despair I hadn’t felt in a long time.

—Right? The moment they saw the synopsis, they probably recognized it. Honestly, with Writer Hwang, there are plenty of actors who’d sign on without even reading the script.

My heart pounded.

‘The timing is way too perfect!’

At this rate, I would lose.

‘My first terrestrial lead role....’

Crushed. Completely crushed.

This lineup was insane. No matter who went up against it, there was no winning.

I could already see hallucinations....

“Kneel before me and bow your head. You need to learn properly who the real queen is, don’t you~?”

Little Hong Suryeon was back again.

‘Ah... I can see it so clearly....’

Hong Suryeon forcing her way into the same broadcast window as me... then crushing me with an overwhelming gap in scale.

Public trust, overseas popularity—and most importantly, romantic comedy, a genre far more accessible than action melodrama.

—Hey, why does your face look like that? Don’t finish calculating already!

Seeing my expression, Seo Eden hurriedly tried to persuade me.

—Writer Hwang is a romantic at heart. We still have a chance.

“You’re casually including yourself in ‘we,’ I see.”

—Don’t be so cold. We’re a name-couple, after all.

“...You’re not wrong about that.”

—I’ve got it engraved in my bones. Anyway, I heard you auditioned for 〈The Great Garland〉. You beat Gi Juye with that, right?

An actress like Hong Suryeon didn’t audition. Who would dare make her compete for a role?

‘Am I really going to lose to Hong Suryeon when she has perfect conditions like this?’

Even with my first terrestrial lead... even with a blockbuster action melodrama?

—Go meet Writer Hwang at least.

But there were always exceptions.

—You never know.

* * *

Even after ending the call with Seo Eden, I just stared blankly at my phone.

My head was a mess.

‘If this continues, I lose. One hundred percent.’

And if I lost to Hong Suryeon while going head-to-head with 〈Code Name: Time Seven〉, the backlash would be even worse than usual.

[HOT / A drama that even filmed overseas but only got single-digit ratings.jpg]

= Time Seven

(Russia overseas filming photos.jpg)

They spent a ridiculous amount of money

(Photos of Hong Suryeon filming 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 at DDP.jpg)

But lost to a domestic setting... T_T

– Anonymous 1: lol damn that’s kind of sad.. T_T

– Anonymous 3: why did they even go overseas

– Anonymous 12: to inflate the budget

– Anonymous 29: so how big is the budget gap then? ratings are double though lol

– Anonymous 42: probably not that different? Hong Suryeon and Yoo Jiuk’s appearance fees are huge T_T

– Anonymous 55: with those two, worth it though lol they crushed the overseas shoot lmao

– Anonymous 78: I’m watching Time Seven, the story’s a waste... Han Yohan just doesn’t match the female lead. If it were a male lead, ratings would be higher T_T

– Anonymous 93: 2222 same thought lol

“No....”

The bigger the budget, the more spotlight a project gets early on. Not all of it is positive.

People start watching from the perspective of judges.

“Let’s see how good it really is.”

On the other hand, 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉—even with heavy PPL—was entirely domestic. No overseas costs, no excessive CG.

From the viewer’s perspective, it would look like a perfectly polished drama within its means.

“But... with that lineup, investors are going to push to release it as soon as possible....”

Given the current industry situation, everyone wanted to score a hit before NetHolics fully entered the market. A so-called time attack.

“If I can just barely avoid Hong Suryeon’s romantic comedy....”

Even if they aired in the same period, as long as the days didn’t overlap, there was still a chance.

“Couldn’t we delay slightly using Han Yohan’s schedule?”

I called Han Yohan.

The ringtone dragged on unusually long.

—Hello!

“Senior! Hello!”

Why did he sound so energetic?

—Hey, you little punk, why are you calling Yohan and not me, huh?

“...Kwak Cheolsik?”

—Yeah. What is it.

“Why do you have Han Yohan’s phone...?”

Kwak Cheolsik burst out laughing.

—Yohan’s at the action academy right now. He’s doing three thousand bows, so he can’t pick up.

“...What?”

Three thousand bows?

—Says he needs to maintain a solemn mindset before the project. Anyway, he’s super focused. Why did you call? I’ll tell him later.

I was speechless.

—He says he wants everything to go perfectly this time, so he’s holed up in a corner doing bows. Says he’ll run the moment he finishes.

“...I see....”

—Seriously, I thought that guy had no ambition, but I guess he’s really looking forward to this one? You’re doing it with him, right?

“...Yes....”

—You’re lucky. It’ll go well. Your filmography’s solid! Yohan always has bad luck with romance projects, you know that, right?

A disaster named Hong Suryeon is about to crash into our lives, senior.

—So why did you call?

“...Just... to say let’s do well. Fighting.”

—Yeah. Come by soon! It’s weird not seeing you around.

“Okay. My part in 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉 is wrapping up soon... I’ll come....”

After hanging up, I stared at Han Yohan’s profile message.

Han Yohan: (Spring has come ^^)

Along with the cheerful status message, there was a photo of a bright flower field—probably °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° one he took himself.

“...”

Little Han Yohan appeared in my mind. There were a lot of visitors today.

“I did everything within human ability and waited for heaven’s will. It seems that moment has finally come.”

No, senior. We might be doomed.

“Then it must be because I wasn’t good enough....”

Little Han Yohan collapsed mid-bow and began to cry. Little Kwak Cheolsik patted his shoulder, trying to comfort him, but he couldn’t get back up.

I couldn’t let Han Yohan’s fragile romance filmography be ruined because of me.

If it came to this, there was only one solution.

“I’ll take both.”

That was the only answer.