I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

* * *

Black panther Caroline stepped onto the stage.

At the same time, behind the stage, accompanied by music straight out of a spy movie, Papa Flying Squirrel and the passionate zebra police officer fought against the staff.

—I don’t need the fences the world decided for me

Papa Flying Squirrel possessed unbelievable skills.

He blocked the enemy’s vision with his tail, then unleashed one hundred punches per second, knocking them down instantly. The zebra officer also beat the villains down with righteous hoof strikes.

The area beneath the stage turned into complete chaos.

Every path they passed through ended with unconscious animals piled on the floor.

Only Caroline, completely unaware atop the stage, remained as glamorous as ever.

The audience screamed her name in excitement.

Below the stage, Joy’s heart pounded while she sang under surveillance.

Joy squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

—I’ll jump over the walls in my own way

Just as the first verse headed toward the highlight—

Bang!

With a loud crash, the zebra officer and Papa Flying Squirrel finally arrived.

“Dad!”

Joy shouted.

At the exact same moment, Caroline, who had been lip-syncing onstage, panicked.

The audience tilted their heads at the sudden ad-lib.

The song was still playing, but Caroline’s voice wasn’t coming out.

“Dad?”

“Did she just say Dad?”

“I bet this stage is dedicated to her father!”

“Oh my goodness. The greatest diva, Caroline!”

But the audience’s attention was completely locked onto Caroline.

Caroline seized the moment and performed by holding the microphone out toward the crowd.

—The more breathless I become, the louder I shout

The audience sang Caroline’s song back to her.

Below the stage, tiger Richard came sprinting over after hearing the commotion.

“Hey! We’re in the middle of fulfilling a contract here! You can’t pull this kind of nonsense! Aren’t you afraid of the law?”

It was the classic tone of a scam artist.

But Papa Flying Squirrel answered like a mafia boss.

“You should be asking yourself....”

As he spread both fists apart, his dignified wings unfurled behind him.

“...whether you’re afraid of these fists.”

Papa Flying Squirrel wasn’t even one quarter of one quarter of one quarter of Richard’s size.

Joy became frightened.

The zebra police officer shouted:

“Go, Joy! This is your stage!”

Papa Flying Squirrel nodded too.

As if telling her to leave this place to him.

Joy hesitated for only a moment before determination filled her face and she sprinted up the stairs.

“You! Stop right there!”

Furious, tiger Richard tried to grab Joy.

“My daughter.”

At some point, dignified Papa Flying Squirrel had climbed right onto Richard’s neck.

“You won’t lay a single hair on her.”

Every child inside the theater exploded with excitement.

At last, with the start of the second verse, Joy grabbed the microphone and burst onto the stage.

—I don’t need the fences the world decided for me

With a trembling voice, Joy sang.

Black panther Caroline, who had still been holding the microphone toward the audience, panicked.

The snakes dancing pole routines to the music twisted excitedly in rhythm with the song. Their movements flowed smoothly alongside the beat.

—I’ll jump over the walls in my own way

The audience, initially bewildered by the rabbit barging onto the stage, exchanged glances with each other.

Then joy slowly bloomed across their stunned faces.

“What an adorable duet!”

“Oh my goodness. The greatest diva, Caroline!”

—The more breathless I become, the louder I shout

Caroline tried to grab Joy and shove her off the stage.

“Unni!”

“Un~ni~!”

“UNNIII!!!”

And right then—

Her siblings came flying in while shouting Joy’s name.

Smack!

They plastered themselves directly over Caroline’s face.

The struggling black panther tumbled right off the stage with a huge thud.

“What was that?”

“I think today’s performance has special stage effects!”

“Oh my goodness, the greatest diva, Caroline!”

One way or another, the audience continued enjoying the performance.

—I’ll become myself, no one else but me!

The spotlight shone down on Joy.

Joy, who had been trapped in darkness as a shadow singer.

At last, the brilliant light she had always longed to receive illuminated her face.

“Joy!”

The flying squirrels still clinging to Caroline’s face shouted Joy’s name from beneath the stage.

—Failure is just a stepping stone to help me fly even higher

—I’m not perfect

Now everyone began chanting Joy’s name alongside the song.

—Joy! Joy! Joy!

Holding the microphone, Joy became the true star of the stage.

—But I won’t give up either! (Try! Jump!)

Her vocal power was unbelievable.

The way she freely controlled the high notes was astonishing.

Overwhelmed by how cool their big sister looked, the flying squirrels all leaped onto the stage.

—Until I reach the edge of the sky (Try! Jump!)

As though they had rehearsed it beforehand, the three squirrels danced like professional backup dancers.

Swinging their arms and legs wide with perfect synchronization, their choreography looked amazing.

Lala.

Only Lala—the one who had triggered Joy’s runaway incident—still lingered nervously beneath the stage, staring up at Joy.

Joy bent forward and held the microphone out toward her.

Then she smiled maturely.

Just as Papa loved Joy, Joy loved Lala too.

The squirrel beamed brightly, and from her mouth came an unbelievably clear whistle.

That whistle, once only possible when Lulu accidentally stepped on her feet, had now become a sound born from loving her big sister so much she couldn’t contain herself.

At that crystal-clear sound, the audience filling the dome clapped both hands over their mouths—

“Kyaaaaah!”

“Waaaaaaah!”

—and screamed as though they physically couldn’t hold it in.

Lala finally flew up onto the stage too.

With four incredible backup dancers beside her, Joy successfully finished the song.

“Oh my goodness... the greatest diva, Joy!”

Someone cried out in admiration.

* * *

Tiger Richard and black panther Caroline were escorted away in handcuffs.

The audience that had once screamed in excitement now booed loudly.

The imprisoned producer penguin was finally freed.

Adjusting the bowtie hanging around his neck with a few gentle taps, the penguin bowed politely toward Joy’s father.

“Kid. I was wrong.”

“...”

“You really do have an amazing family. A ‘real’ family that would never abandon you no matter where you are.”

Back home, Joy’s mom and dad handed her something.

An album similar to the one Lala had once given her.

But this time, it wasn’t Caroline’s CD album.

It was a photo album.

Inside were rabbits who looked exactly like Joy’s mother and father.

“Hngh....”

As the flashback unfolded in washed-out gray tones, SweetWatermelon burst into tears.

The children around her were already drowning in tears too.

“Joy’s father and Daddy... were members of the same special forces unit.”

The two had been an incredible duo.

But during a mission that risked their lives, only one survived.

Because Joy’s father had stayed behind until the very end after evacuating all the agents.

“Please... take care of my daughter.”

With those final words, Joy’s biological father closed his eyes forever.

Back at home, the pregnant mother wept after hearing the news of his death.

Not long after giving birth to Joy, she too passed away.

The flying squirrels hugged the tiny baby rabbit even tighter.

Wrapped inside a white blanket, the baby rabbit smiled brightly, unaware of anything.

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

A sorrowful yet warm moment before the fireplace.

Beside SweetWatermelon, who was practically sobbing uncontrollably, a hand suddenly extended a handkerchief toward her.

When she turned her head, the person next to her was crying just as hard.

“Unni!”

“UnniUnniUnni!”

“Un~ni~!”

And the siblings everyone thought had finally fallen asleep suddenly burst back into the room again.

“Unniii!”

Lala smacked herself right onto Joy’s face.

“You kids! Instead of sleeping!”

“You little troublemakers!”

But the excited siblings refused to let go.

“What are you playing?”

“What’re you doing?”

“We wanna play too!”

Lala, still stuck to Joy’s face, shouted loudly too.

“I wanna play with Unni!”

Joy stayed still for a moment.

Then she carefully peeled Lala off her face.

And pulled her tightly into her arms.

“Joy...?”

“Joy...!”

Mom and Dad looked overwhelmed with emotion.

“Kids grow up while causing trouble.”

Joy said it casually, as though it were no big deal at all.

The family hugged each other tightly.

They squeezed together without the slightest gap.

Patpatpat—

Sticky little sounds echoed from the family hugging each other harder and harder.

The screen slowly faded to black.

* * *

The sound of flowing water, birds chirping, and a gentle breeze blended together into something that made one corner of the heart tingle warmly.

Sweet Town remained the same.

But something had changed.

The Caroline poster hanging inside Joy’s room was gone.

In its place hung a poster of Joy, now a superstar.

The shelves inside the room were packed with Joy’s CDs.

Even the photo frames in the living room had slowly filled with more family pictures.

[JOY TOUR]

[Enjoy your life]

Posters with Joy’s face covered Sweet Town.

The concert venue of Joy—the dazzling diva now touring the entire world—overflowed with animals.

“Hey hey! Stay in line properly.”

“Safety comes first!”

The zebra police officers had even been mobilized because of how popular she had become.

Now, beneath the stage—not inside a dark hidden space, but inside a proper stage waiting room—Joy sat before a camera being interviewed.

“My driving force? It’s love, of course.”

Joy had grown into an incredibly cool big sister.

“When things get hard, I think about my family and feel okay again. Whenever I make mistakes, I start scolding myself like, ‘What is wrong with me? I’m the worst! I’m a mess, Joy!’ But then I remember that Mom and Dad would never scold me in moments like that.”

The more relaxed Joy shrugged her shoulders lightly.

“They’d probably say, ‘Joy. You did great. You’re Mommy and Daddy’s forever baby, but you’re still so brave even on your own.’ Thinking about that gives me strength.”

Outside the venue, countless animals gathered to cheer for Joy.

All of them entered smiling brightly while holding glow sticks.

“Alright, enough with the interview already.”

The producer penguin barged in.

Instead of a bowtie, his neck was now decked out in flashy gold chains.

“Because today is the perfect day to unveil my brand-new song.”

The grinning penguin’s tooth gem sparkled brightly inside his mouth.

Boom boom boom—

Music began ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) to play.

It was Caroline’s former hit song, now completely recognized as Joy’s signature track.

Joy’s narration began as she ran toward the stage.

—My name is Joy.

—I’m a rabbit who travels all around the world.

The moment Joy appeared, her family in the audience erupted into cheers.

—My mom and dad are flying squirrels, just like you can see. My siblings are too.

—I’m the only rabbit though...

“Joy! Joy! Joy! Joy!”

“Oh my goodness, the perfect diva Joy!”

Even the animals who had once been obsessive Caroline fans were now completely on Joy’s side.

—Like flying squirrels, I can jump really high and spread both arms wide to hug someone.

—I learned all of that from my family.

Joy sang beautifully.

Then she waved toward her family.

Just as Joy would forever remain Mommy and Daddy’s baby, Lulu, Lala, Kiki, and Pipi would forever remain Joy’s little siblings too.

—We have so many differences, but we also have something in common.

—We’ll always love each other.

The flying squirrels all flew elegantly onto the stage.

Then they danced together in perfect sync.

Joy held the microphone toward Lala.

A bright and crystal-clear whistle decorated the grand finale of the stage.

—I’m not perfect

Joy’s music reached everyone.

It touched their hearts.

—But I won’t give up either! (Try! Jump!)

A happy concert hall.

—My name is Joy.

—And just like my name, I’m sooo happy.

The rabbit diva and the flying squirrels all leaped high into the air together.

Bang—!

Magnificent fireworks exploded overhead.

Dazzling lights poured down across the stage.

One beam refracted through a camera lens, creating a rainbow.

The same tiny rainbow that had once sparkled from the album Lala handed to Joy.

Now that brilliance spread across this massive stage.

—Enjoy your life!

—I’ll always be happy. Just like now!

Boing!

Alongside a cute sound effect, the logo appeared, while the lingering heat of the concert continued.

The producer penguin’s new song began playing next.

Flying squirrels Lulu, Lala, Kiki, Pipi, and Joy danced and sang together atop the stage.

Countless names filled the screen.

Lala: Han Yeoreum

Han Yeoreum’s name played its own huge part as well.

The theater overflowed with the unique lingering warmth left behind after a joyful movie ended.

* * *

Not a single person inside the theater left.

‘Yeoreum!’

Aetami clutched her trembling heart while waiting for Han Yeoreum.

‘I watched this whole movie from the front A-row with my neck practically snapping for THIS moment...!’

Protected by guards, Han Yeoreum entered through the front door.

The instant she appeared, cheers exploded everywhere.

“LALAAA!!!”

That’s right.

At some point, Han Yeoreum had become known among children simply as “Lala.”

Dolphin-like screams erupted from every direction.

Han Yeoreum waved her hand in greeting.