I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

* * *

MBS Drama Center Director Lee Saerok slammed on the brakes.

Screech—!!!

After coming here countless times over the past few months, she could now find the place with her eyes closed.

The place she arrived at was the studio of top writer Hwang Boseok. Even though she held a warm latte, her fingertips were cold with tension.

“Writer! Writer!”

She tried to act normal, but the end of her voice trembled.

Stepping into the studio, the MBS drama center director summed everything up in just two words.

“...That’s not it, right?”

No—three words. But in her current state, she couldn’t even count properly.

“That’s not it, right?”

Until the contract was signed, nothing was certain. No—that wasn’t quite right either.

Even after signing, deals could fall apart in this industry.

“Contract complete.”

“Yes—looking forward to working together.”

Even after stamping and signing so pleasantly, the very next day—

—We’re sorry but due to our actor’s condition it seems difficult.

“What? What do you mean—”

—We’re really sorry it’s a health issue really.

“Don’t lie!!! You’re going to Kim Director’s film, aren’t you?! You little—!”

Just like that, they would run off, chasing a better project that had been negotiated behind the scenes.

Sure, feelings would sour—but this was that kind of industry.

If something hit big, everything was forgiven.

Even if someone abandoned you, if they succeeded elsewhere, you’d still have to smile when you met again.

And the opponent this time was Korea’s top writer.

Just the name “Hwang Boseok” alone could easily crush someone like an MBS drama center director.

“Hmm....”

Looking at Lee Saerok, who asked again with desperation in her eyes, Hwang Boseok took a sip of his latte and said,

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? What exactly do you mean?”

“I’m not feeling it.”

After saying that, he walked over to a shelf packed with LP records. Many of the worn edges showed the passage of time.

“Sir, if the conditions weren’t satisfactory—”

“Tch.”

Was SBC offering something enormous? Had NetHolics approached him? Lee Saerok’s heart pounded anxiously.

Hwang Boseok pulled out an LP and spoke.

“You know me, right?”

Click.

The old record began to spin, and soft music filled the studio.

A south-facing workspace bathed in sunlight. Unlike other writers who were always exhausted, Hwang Boseok was always at peace.

Because he didn’t spend long agonizing over writing.

“Romance is what matters. Romance....”

A born genius. He was a writer who could paint love in his mind without effort.

Even in an era where romance had gone extinct, he was someone still chasing it.

“Yes, of course.... Writer, did you perhaps see our project last year, 〈Youth Disqualified!〉? It’s practically the embodiment of romance. The fragile hearts of youth, their determination to rise again, and—”

“Tch.”

While he could compromise with reality on projects that required heavy CG, this time, his work didn’t need a massive budget.

If the directing team wanted, they could lower costs beyond imagination.

Which meant—there was no need for compromise in Hwang Boseok’s decision.

Even if SBC promised a huge budget, even if NetHolics tried to persuade him with “global expansion,” even if TVM or JTBS offered to bring him top-tier actors—

“There was no love in it.”

A restorer of endangered romance.

None of those options appealed to him.

“When you reach my age, you’ll understand. I’ve earned enough already. I don’t need to boast in front of people anymore, saying I’m Hwang Boseok. There’s no actor I desperately want to work with either.”

He no longer needed money, fame, or dreams.

“I don’t have any big desires left.”

Because he had already achieved everything.

“I just need to feel it. That spark....”

Sitting in a rocking chair, Hwang Boseok gazed out the window. The winter sky was clear and painfully cold.

“Anyway, you should go. Thanks for the coffee.”

His heart, immersed in romantic music, seemed immovable.

There was no breakthrough.

* * *

“No....”

Back in her parked car, Lee Saerok lowered her forehead onto the steering wheel.

“At this rate, Hong Suryeon will really take it.”

Right now, the best card for Hwang Boseok was clearly Hong Suryeon.

A writer who protected romance and love, and an actress at the peak of her filmography.

After their previous collaborations, Hong Suryeon had repeatedly referred to him in interviews as “someone I respect” and “the best in Korea.”

“They’ve already worked together twice....”

After rising to the top tier with 〈Seaside Melody〉, she went on to succeed with 〈The Crown Prince’s Scandal〉—a project everyone had doubted.

[HOT / A drama that got roasted when the synopsis first leaked.jpg]

(Old comments.jpg)

When everyone was saying Hwang Boseok had lost his touch...

(Hong Suryeon casting article.jpg)

Unni please don’t go that way T_T

(Hong Suryeon teaser.jpg)

Wait... this looks kinda good?

(Broadcast comments.jpg)

Everyone ended up loving it once they watched it

All three major broadcasting networks had asked Hwang Boseok to change the setting and lower the budget.

He refused.

Instead, he moved to JTBS as if ratings didn’t matter.

The result was a massive success.

〈The Crown Prince’s Scandal〉 ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) significantly expanded Hong Suryeon’s overseas fanbase.

“With Writer Hwang, I’d take the role without even reading the script—.”

That interview line had become a long-lasting, heartwarming quote—

“Exactly!!!”

Lee Saerok slammed the steering wheel.

“Why can’t that man let go of romance?!”

Hwang Boseok’s compass of love and romance was clearly pointing toward Hong Suryeon again.

“Then we should just bring Hong Suryeon to our side, but....”

It wasn’t that simple.

Lee Saerok remembered Han Yeoreum from 〈Youth Disqualified!〉—how she had split her schedule apart just to practice guitar.

An actress who understood love for acting and the romance of her craft—yet had never met the right romance project.

‘I really wanted to give her this one.’

“....”

Buzz—

Her phone vibrated.

[Yeoreum★: Hello, Director...]

At that exact moment, a message from Han Yeoreum arrived.

Her heart, which had been leaning toward Hong Suryeon, wavered.

She slowly picked up the phone and read.

[Could I possibly meet Writer Hwang once?]

“....”

Hwang Boseok, who didn’t need to rush a project.

Hong Suryeon, who was almost confirmed.

MBS, which needed a hit immediately.

Everything pointed to “not Han Yeoreum.”

And yet—

“Alright.”

Typed: Of course

Lee Saerok decided to take the gamble.

Maybe—

“Even if it fails, we go all in, Yeoreum.”

Because she wanted to see Han Yeoreum as Nam Pyeonghwa in 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉.

Perhaps it wasn’t Hwang Boseok who was still chasing romance.

Maybe it was her.

* * *

I spread out the synopsis, character profiles, and Episode 1 script of 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉.

“This comes first.”

〈Code Name: Time Seven〉 was already confirmed for me, and given its scale, KBC would need at least half a year of preparation.

‘The overseas shoot alone would take forever.’

Visa processing, local staff coordination, equipment transport—and most importantly, securing locations.

So before filming for 〈Code Name: Time Seven〉 began, I had to secure Hwang Boseok’s 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉.

I began character analysis.

Just once.

Because I knew—

If I failed to take Nam Pyeonghwa from 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 on the day I met Hwang Boseok,

I would never get another chance.