I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

“I’m baaack—!”

Far away, Lala could be seen flying over with her wings spread wide, her face bursting with excitement. Mom and Dad, who had been crying, ran straight toward Lala.

“Where did you go?!”

“Do you know how worried we were?!”

“Waaah! Lala!”

Even Lulu, Kiki, and Pipi joined in. The flying squirrel family hugged each other tightly as they cried.

Everyone except Joy.

“Unni! Unni!”

Lala popped up from the middle of the group and ran toward Joy. Her tiny pattering footsteps sounded unbelievably cute.

“Look what I got.”

The flying squirrel grinned brightly, her eyes sparkling. She pulled something out of the yellow bag hanging from her shoulder.

“Guess whaaat!”

According to Lulu, Kiki, and Pipi, it was a suuuper crazy ridiculously expensive gift.

It was none other than black panther Caroline’s album.

And not just any version, but the special edition.

“It’s for you, Unni.”

Lala held the album with both hands as if urging Joy to hurry and take it. Her expression was unbearably adorable.

“...”

But Joy was furious down to the tips of her ears.

The album with Caroline’s face printed on it only made her feel miserable.

“Who said I wanted this stupid thing?!”

Joy snatched the album up high and hurled it away. The CD flew out from inside and rolled across the floor, scattering tiny rainbows as it spun.

“Oh my goodness!”

“Joy!”

Mom and Dad gasped in horror. Lulu, Kiki, and Pipi all looked shocked too.

“Unniii....”

Flustered, Lala sniffled.

But Joy was sniffling just the same.

“I hate sisters like you! I don’t want the album, and I don’t want a little sister like you either! I hate everything!”

Joy burst into tears.

The CD that had been spinning in circles finally toppled over on the floor, no longer casting rainbows.

* * *

That night, the sound of Joy crying pierced through the bedroom door. Mom and Dad knocked carefully.

“Joy, let’s talk for a little bit.”

“Yeah. Joy? Joy—.”

Lulu, Lala, Kiki, and Pipi were standing outside the door too.

“Dummy!”

“Yeah! Dummy!”

“Troublemaker....”

Lala finally realized too late that today had been the ZooPop STAR audition day. She wore an awkward expression.

Held tightly in her arms was the Caroline album Joy had thrown away earlier, now smudged with dirt.

“Unniii... I’m sorrry....”

“Everybody go away! Just leave me alone!”

Joy’s shout thundered through the door. The family all went downstairs looking dejected.

“Hngh... sniff....”

Joy cried for a long time beneath her blanket.

Then suddenly, a clear notification rang out from her AP pad.

[Live★Caroline]

It was a notification that Caroline had started a livestream.

—To everyone who came to the audition today, thank you all so much. You were all incredibly talented.

The chat window practically exploded.

Caroline read several comments aloud.

—Hmm... but I still don’t know yet. Everyone was so good. But you all know my personality, right?

Her reaction to the flood of comments asking about the audition results was lukewarm.

—If it’s not “perfect,” then it’s not enough.

At those words, Joy shot upright from the bed.

Maybe... there was still a chance.

* * *

[ABSOLUTELY

DO NOT COME IN!!!]

Joy’s bedroom door remained shut until late the next afternoon.

The table set with Joy’s favorite carrot pie and berry juice looked lonely and untouched.

“Honey. Still no response?”

“Should we leave it outside the door?”

After Joy’s desperate “Please just leave me alone” incident yesterday, they were hesitant to open the door recklessly.

“Do you think... maybe it’s finally time to tell her?”

“...Sigh. Let’s think about it a little more.”

The two of them embraced tightly.

Then Dad carried the carrot pie while Mom carried the berry juice as they headed upstairs.

Knock knock knock—.

“Joy? Joy?”

“We’ll leave it outside the door, so when you feel better—.”

That was when Joy’s father suddenly turned serious.

“Honey? What’s wrong?”

“Wait.”

Joy’s father abruptly flung the door open.

Inside the empty room, only the curtains fluttered in the breeze.

[Thank you for raising me all this time.]

Joy had run away from home.

* * *

At that very moment, Joy was riding a train headed for the city.

The OST playing over the shot of Joy staring out the window was absolutely incredible too.

“As expected from a master....”

Assistant Manager Shin sighed in admiration.

The flute and trumpet blended together beautifully, making it feel like the soundtrack itself was celebrating the start of a new adventure.

—Now take a deep breath

The city was on an entirely different level from Sweet Town.

Everything was sophisticated.

Joy stared in awe.

—A city carried in on the wind, with a name I’ve never heard before

—Could someone I’ve never known be living there

She could easily imagine her successful future—becoming a superstar and finding her real parents.

She wanted to forget Sweet Town beyond the glittering forest of skyscrapers.

—This ticket in my hands is taking me somewhere new

Joy smiled brilliantly.

—Fear is nothing more than an invitation sent by excitement, and the train won’t stop

Her steps toward Caroline’s agency building felt unbelievably light.

—I'm on my way, I’ll never stop

The OST echoing across the wide world was genuinely a masterpiece.

Everyone watching could feel as though they themselves had become Joy, the country girl heading into the big city.

But.

“So you came here because you want to become a singer? Throw her out.”

“Wait! Please! Just listen to my singing! Please listen!”

The city was cold.

“Hoh...?”

Joy was absurdly talented.

“The faster we sign the contract, the better!”

And the other side was such an obvious scammer it looked practically painted into the script.

* * *

Joy ended up trapped in a slave contract, working as Caroline’s “faceless singer.”

If she violated the contract, there was a clause written in tiny letters saying even her mom, dad, and siblings would all inherit Richard’s debt and spend the rest of their lives digging for pearls in the desert.

“How are you supposed to dig pearls out of a desert?!”

Tiger Richard answered as though it had nothing to do with him.

“You just keep digging until they show up! Hahaha!”

Joy fell into despair.

Dragged around on forced tours, she had to sing beneath the stage until her throat nearly burst.

She tried running away over and over, but failed every single time.

“Give up already, dummy.”

It happened when she was locked inside a dark prison cell.

An unfamiliar voice echoed out.

“You’re... who?”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Cute little footsteps echoed eerily through the darkness.

“I used to be... a producer. Once upon a time.”

It was a penguin dressed neatly in a suit.

With a deeply shadowed expression, he revealed the hidden truth of the entertainment industry.

Caroline was not a perfect diva who wrote lyrics, composed music, and sang everything herself.

She was a fake singer who had stolen all of it from others.

The penguin, who had everything taken from him by her, rapped over reggae bass music.

Despite his adorable appearance, the lyrics spilling from his mouth were viciously harsh.

And then came the final punchline.

“By now, even your family probably isn’t looking for you anymore.”

The producer penguin, trapped inside the cramped little room, tried teaching Joy how to give up.

* * *

“Joy! Joy!”

“Our sweet baby! Our precious little girl!”

“Unniii! Unniii!”

But her family searched desperately for her.

They hung flyers everywhere, asked around endlessly, and begged the zebra police officers for help.

Papa Flying Squirrel gathered every piece of evidence and shoved it toward the police, but the investigation made no meaningful progress.

“Well now....”

“There’s no evidence, is there?”

The other side was a massive corporation.

This side consisted of ordinary civilians and tiny animals.

There was no way it could become a fair fight.

“All ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) the evidence points to that place!”

But this side was not weak either.

Papa Flying Squirrel was a former member of a legendary special forces unit.

The posters from Joy’s room, the final viewing records on her AP pad, the train station where Joy’s footprints disappeared, even the ticket purchase records—he had prepared all of it.

But tiger Richard ended everything with a single sentence.

“I don’t know anything about that.”

“Please... please find our child....”

Mama Flying Squirrel sniffled tearfully.

Right then, news about Caroline’s newest tour appeared on the television inside the police station.

That was when—

“Unni! That’s our Unni!”

Lala shouted.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the TV.

But on the screen was black panther Caroline performing flawlessly onstage.

“Little one. That’s superstar Caroline—.”

“Dummy! That’s my sister’s voice!”

At those words, Papa Flying Squirrel’s eyes sharpened instantly.

* * *

Han Yeoreum’s lines were incredibly simple.

And there were barely any of them to begin with.

‘Most of them aren’t even longer than a single sentence.’

But that was exactly the point.

Between the perfect music and the OST that brought every character’s charm to life, Lala’s sound effects sparkled brilliantly.

Boing, toing, pat—soft, squishy, adorable sounds made Lala seem several times cuter than before.

‘It makes up for how short the lines are.’

Aetami watched the screen with a deeply satisfied expression.

The passionate zebra police officer, trusting Papa Flying Squirrel—the former special forces operative—finally managed to locate the place where Joy was imprisoned.

“Joy! My baby! You must’ve been so scared...!”

“Dad! This place is dangerous!”

“Oh my goodness. Look how skinny you’ve gotten! Those bastards... I’m going to tear them apart.”

“Dad! Hurry and run away!”

Papa Flying Squirrel looked at Joy with trembling emotion.

Inside the iron bars, Joy tearfully spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

“...”

“I shouldn’t have done that.”

At Joy’s shaking voice, Papa Flying Squirrel gently stroked her head like always.

“Joy. Children grow up while causing trouble.”

Then he said:

“You’ll always be Mommy and Daddy’s first baby.”

At the exact same moment, sobbing erupted throughout the theater.

Not only children, but adults were crying too.

The sounds of black panther Caroline’s staff approaching could be heard.

“Wait for me. Daddy will definitely come back for you.”

And the tour stage began.