I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

“Yeondu! Do you have a charger? Type-C~.”

Jung Yeondu, sitting there with a blank expression,

“Yeondu~.”

was pestered by people around her all day long,

“Yeondu!”

and then pestered again.

“Yeondu. You know that file from last time. No, not that one. Not that either. That one. Th-th-that... what was it called again? The one I gave you. No! The one I gave you! Try to remember a little!”

To the point where even things they could easily do themselves were all dumped onto Jung Yeondu.

‘Ah, yeah. I think I know that situation....’

The office worker felt a strange sense of empathy. Jung Yeondu quietly got the work done. She didn’t say much. The only sound she made was the steady, rhythmic tapping of keys.

Tap-tap-tap-.

After spending the entire day doing more miscellaneous tasks than her actual share of work, Jung Yeondu boarded the subway train home, exhausted.

Having failed to leave work on time because she had to clean up even a teammate’s mess, Jung Yeondu sat down and closed her eyes for a moment.

Bzz- bzz-.

Just as she was about to rest, her phone started vibrating nonstop. It was a call from a college acquaintance she wasn’t even that close to. Jung Yeondu hesitated, but when the call ended and immediately started vibrating again, she had no choice but to press accept.

“Uh, Seongyun. Long time no see.”

“Yeondu-jiiing~~~! I seriously thought you were dead! Why have you been so out of touch? What have you been up to!”

From the other end of the line, the owner of the lively voice rambled on as if she had zero interest in Yeondu’s reply.

“You know, you know. Did you see my SNS? You never really check my stories! I’m seriously hurt....”

“I’ve just been busy. I made an account, but I don’t really go on much.”

“Then you don’t know I’m getting married, right? Huh?”

That felt bad. The office worker frowned without realizing it.

“So anyway, Yeondu-jing! Can you do my bridal shower~?”

The ominous feeling was spot on. Before Jung Yeondu could even refuse, the voice on the other end poured out her entire plan.

“We’ll do a bridal shower with the girls, and I’ll give out the invitations that day! You’re so good at managing these kinds of gatherings, Yeondu~ I’m already so excited, you know? My other friends are all like, ‘bridal showers, whatever, you have to handle everything yourself.’ I’m already so busy I could die, and I was crying because my friends wouldn’t help me at all.”

“...When was the last time we even saw each other?”

“It’s been ages! You graduated off-cycle, Yeondu, so our timing never matched. Anyway, these days I’m completely out of my mind with bridal care and wedding prep. Help me out a bit, okay? You know my taste, right?”

“The last time we met was over three years ago... and you’re asking me to host your bridal shower?”

“Yeah! Aren’t /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ you curious about my wedding photoshoot, Yeondu-jing? I’ll send you a few on chat! For the bridal shower cake, we could do lettering from my wedding photos~ A fresh-flower cake would be good too! Ah! I’m getting another call. I’ll contact you again later~.”

“Is she insane?” slipped out naturally. The office worker instantly projected herself onto Jung Yeondu.

“Oh, and by the way! For the studio, not some basement place—something with huge windows and tons of sunlight, okay!”

Click-.

Just like that, the call ended. Jung Yeondu froze, phone still in her hand. Even so, the subway train calmly crossed the Han River bridge. For a brief moment, the beautiful night view of Seoul spread out before her eyes.

As if Jung Yeondu were nothing more than Ant No. 1 making up this society.

The office worker, heading home on a red bus, found herself completely absorbed in the screen before she knew it.

* * *

[♨The title is like this but you HAVE to care a-No Interest Whatsoever discussion thread♨]

“I’m losing it, PTSD hitting me hard—”

“Hands shaking... they’re definitely gonna call again and tell me to bring a housewarming gift...T_T”

“Wait but can’t you just say no? T_T This is so suffocating”

“If there are a lot of people involved, I become the bad bitch in an instant... TT_TTI didn’t want to know either”

“This is it!”

Aetami’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she alternated between refreshing her tablet and her phone screen. It was a shame that Yeoreum’s first terrestrial broadcast appearance was just a one-episode drama, but that feeling quickly faded.

‘A web drama, and now even a one-episode drama getting a discussion thread....’

Usually, discussion threads—where drama addicts comment in real time and share reactions—were reserved for long-running series. At the very least, something with 12 episodes.

‘And this is only one episode!’

Yet after , even had firmly claimed its place on the drama boards. It was thanks to the unprecedented ripple effect had caused in the community.

No one argued that making a discussion thread for a single-episode drama was overkill.

“I was just channel-surfing and got insanely excited when I saw Pi Chaewon lololol but everyone was already here T_T Who’s the director of this??”

Input: So Yesol, it’s her debut!

Aetami refreshed the page over and over, watching comments pour in live. Having seen thousands of dramas, thousands of actors, and thousands of directors, Aetami always reached accurate conclusions based on sheer accumulated data.

“This is seriously... at this rate...!”

In fact, even with the drama that aired before , she had predicted early cancellation after watching just the first episode.

“Is our Yeoreum becoming a ‘trust-and-watch’ actress?”

At that moment, a frustrated scream from Yeoreum burst out from beyond the screen.

“What the—? Why isn’t the water running?”

On a hot, humid summer night, Yeondu returned home and tried to take a cold shower. She yanked the shower lever several times, but no water came out. The landlord didn’t answer her calls, and instead sent a half-hearted text.

[201ho sorry^^* Water cut off starting today. Forgot to announce..he I’ll give you the repairman’s number. He’s pretty sharp. I trust you’ll handle it well~]

They said when something is too absurd, you don’t even get angry. Jung Yeondu’s situation was exactly that. And then more messages came in.

[Also the guy next door. called saying the AC’s broken and he was mad. It was so awkward;; Maybe 201ho could go. take a look for him. Would be nice.]

Through the poorly insulated villa window, the drunken giggling of people outside came through clearly. On top of that, there was the pounding noise of someone upstairs stomping around. Jung Yeondu turned off her phone. Empty music flowed through the empty house.

“Seoul rent prices. Eight million deposit, sixty-five monthly. Fifty thousand maintenance fee. That’s not a small amount.”

Yeoreum’s voice was layered over the slow music. It sounded like she was forcefully pressing her emotions down. As she struggled to regain composure, a faint irritation seeped through despite her efforts.

“At this point, it wouldn’t be too much to expect at least that much kindness and consideration for me. So why is it always....”

With the calm narration, the screen briefly faded out. A small sigh was heard. When the screen brightened again, Yeondu’s day flowed on exactly the same as before.

“Yeondu!”

“Yeondu~.”

“Yeondu.”

People everywhere called for Jung Yeondu, dumping annoying tasks on her however they could,

[201ho~^^ he The guy next door. said to hurry and call the AC repairman. Did you call him yet? He]

and the landlord was no different. Each time, Jung Yeondu’s typing sped up. In one corner of her monitor, a window like this was open.

[Re: I Became the Villain Duke’s Only Chlorophyll — Final Manuscript Delivered]

On the other side of her dual monitor was a web-novel settlement window, displaying a jaw-dropping amount.

“Holy sh— aaaa lololol What is that title T_T lololololol”

“The sheer spite is insane,, working like that and she’s got a side hustle too LOOOOLLLL”

“For real this is crazy the revenue graph broke the ceiling and she’s still working at the company, that’s not sane”

“How many zeros are in her account,, hey! Yeondu! Quit your job!!!”

Before she knew it, Pi Chaewon had faded from mind. On the screen, Yeoreum had become Jung Yeondu completely. After finishing the story of the Acacia young lady who was praised just for breathing and achieved everything she set out to do, Yeondu clicked the next file.

[Resignation Letter Template]

[Would you like to download?]

Music filled with anticipation for the next scene began to play. Aetami knew it instinctively.

“This... even though it’s just one episode, it feels like it could really become something.”

For a mere stopgap project, the level of completion was far too high.

* * *

The office worker watched Jung Yeondu’s return to farming life—a fantasy shared by all office workers. Inside the fatigue-soaked red bus, she was the only one whose eyes were alive with vitality.

Jung Yeondu’s name was still being called from everywhere. Even so, Yeondu carefully packed her belongings into boxes.

“You have a lot of stuff. Should we store that separately for you?”

“No. It’s fine. I’m throwing it all away.”

Yeondu’s next destination after quitting her job was a hair salon. Reflected in the mirror, Jung Yeondu still looked tired—but also slightly different somehow.

“Looks like you’re heading somewhere nice.”

“Yes. Somewhere good.”

Her once-ordinary black hair transformed into a bright color she could no longer even remember. For the first time, Yeondu smiled.

Upbeat music played. A xylophone chimed lightly. As if the heavy, gloomy weight in her heart had completely changed.

“I’m going. To a place where no one cares about me, and I don’t care about anyone.”

As the narration flowed, Jung Yeondu’s destination shifted—not to unit 201 of the rose-brick villa—but to a train.

Dragging a heavy suitcase, Jung Yeondu crossed through an iron gate and collapsed half-lying onto the sofa. It was still an empty house, but sunlight poured in brightly through the window.

“....”

For a moment, Jung Yeondu quietly let that sunlight fill her eyes.

Bang bang bang-!

That was when it happened. A knocking sound echoed at the door.

“...Who is it?”