I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

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“Hey, for a while, avoid unni.”

I was spending my free period productively, as always. I was lying on the sofa in Dok Gomin’s studio—she was on a leave of absence—when Dok Gomin, who had been clicking her mouse, suddenly spoke as if something had just occurred to her.

“Why are you suddenly using the third person...? And that line sounds kind of like something a delinquent would say.”

“I am an unni too, obviously, but not me. The other unni.”

The other unni? After thinking for a moment, Dok Gogyeol, who had gone overseas on a business trip, came to mind. Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen her in a while.

“The atmosphere got really ugly because you only mentioned So Yesol and the staff in your acceptance speech, and didn’t mention unni.”

“Ah....”

I had contacted her separately after the award, but was that not enough? I summoned my actor’s quick wit.

“Please tell her that Dok Gogyeol is someone who occupies too large a share of my heart to be mentioned casually alongside a rookie award.”

“Mm-hmm. I’ll remember later, if I think of it.”

“But unni, you don’t seem upset. You forgot to mention your name too.”

“That’s fine. I’m still slightly—very slightly—losing to So Yesol, so there’s nothing I can do about it. Mm-hmm. The winner’s seat is meant for only one person. It’s just that my time hasn’t come yet.... Who is there to blame?”

Lying on the sofa, I applauded Dok Gomin’s resolute mindset. Even though her frame was small, her spirit was anything but.

‘Good. I want everyone to fight over me.’

Dok Gogyeol, Dok Gomin, So Yesol, even Ryu Risa.... Thinking that I was steadily taking back what had belonged to Do Gyeoul before the regression made the corners of my mouth lift.

“I’m going to start working on Do Gyeoul’s shoot soon. It got a bit delayed because we were sharing references and doing this and that, but it’s going into a magazine as a collaboration with Ruel. With an interview.”

...Mouth, go down. This was not the time to go up.

“And Ryu Risa is handling Do Gyeoul too?”

“How did you know that, unni?”

“People who chase beauty all know each other. I know Unni Gyeol too.”

Strangely enough, that was a bit shocking. Ryu Risa was handling me, but basically she wasn’t always busy, so she worked with multiple celebrities at the same time.

‘And Do Gyeoul had been working with Ryu Risa from the start anyway.’

It couldn’t be helped. I knew it couldn’t be helped, but....

“Do Gyeoul took my styling last time, but Ryu Team Leader is still working with her?”

A childish desire to draw lines—your side and my side—swelled up inside me. Everyone should be fighting over me; how could you straddle two muses like that? Even if I cheated, you should never cheat—that kind of mindset took over my brain.

“Mm-hmm. I heard about it roughly. But being annoyed and work are separate. And at that level, it’s not even a big problem, right? In the end, it just means Gyeoul acknowledged Risa unni’s styling.”

“If Ryu Team Leader hadn’t remodeled it then, it would’ve ended up being the exact same outfit, and that’s not a big problem...?”

“You’ll hear all kinds of outrageous stories secondhand soon enough, and then even Do Gyeoul will start to feel cute to you.”

As if trying to make me understand, Dok Gomin rattled off example after example of the kind of power abuse celebrities inflicted on stylists.

“There are people who don’t return sponsored items, people who insist on getting them for free because they’ll wear them occasionally, people who keep changing outfits just because they don’t like them, making everyone stay up for three nights straight without sleep....”

At a glance, it sounded like an episode straight out of a chaebol-gets-taught-a-lesson drama, but terrifyingly enough, all of it was real.

Compared to that, what Do Gyeoul had done really was just a child throwing a brief tantrum.

‘The recent “move aside, So Dami” incident was probably the same kind of thing....’

Having lived at the top in that world, Do Gyeoul’s brain structure was already different from that of ordinary people. That was only natural.

“But Do Gyeoul says it’s because Ryu Team Leader’s clothes are just too pretty, so what can you do? It’s awkward to reject her over something like that. And if you really look at the result, you were the one who took Best Dresser on the mint carpet, right? Mm-hmm. The outcome’s good too, so it’s hard to scold Do Gyeoul for it.”

Even so, understanding something with your head and accepting it with your heart are different things, unni....

I swallowed those words and stared up at the ceiling.

“In this industry, taking sides is meaningless anyway. No matter what, we’re all people who can’t work alone.”

Having stopped working, Dok Gomin turned around to look at me and said it like it was nothing.

“That’s why everyone works so hard to get their names out there. In the end, all that remains is the name.”

Dok Gomin turned back to her monitor. The clicking sounds continued.

“Ryu Risa, Dok Gogyeol, Dok Gomin. No matter who you work with, the public should be able to say, ‘The better result is Han Yeoreum.’ That’s what I’m saying—you should work yourself to the bone too. Mm-hmm. And obviously, the winner here can only be Dok Gomin alone.... That kind of....”

In other words, she was telling me not to be discouraged. Dok Gomin was still not good with words, but her sincerity came through in the end.

Somehow, the Dok Gomin who had once seemed childlike felt like she had grown up in one leap.

“And the real fight should be when you’re cast in dramas airing in the same time slot—like who Dok Gomin shoots first, whose styling Ryu Risa takes on. That’s the kind of thing you should compete over.”

“...You’re right.”

All of a sudden, motivation surged up inside me. Yeah. Being intimidated only hurts me.

‘And who am I to be intimidated?’

Han Yeoreum, recipient of the Seoul Drama Awards Special Jury Rookie Award. Someday, I’d face Do Gyeoul fair and square—same time slot drama and all—.

Bzzz-.

...That was when I was imagining that future, when my phone vibrated at just the right moment.

[Myeong Jeha: (Photo)]

“Wow, that startled me....”

Just seeing Myeong Jeha’s name in the preview somehow made a person straighten up politely. I carefully checked the message with both hands.

“...What is this?”

The photo Myeong Jeha sent was someone’s profile picture. It looked vaguely familiar....

Input: Who is this, sir?

[Myeong Jeha: You’ll find out soon]

And just when was “soon,” exactly? I was typing, trying to get an answer out of Myeong Jeha, when—

[Seonhye Unni: Yeoreum! The male lead for Strange °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Tales has finally been decided!]

[Seonhye Unni: (Photo)]

A message came from my manager. It was the exact same photo Myeong Jeha had sent. And not long after that,

[VYBE’s Kwon Junhyeok cast as male lead in his first drama...! To present a fusion historical series]

[100% synchronization, Kwon Junhyeok and Han Yeoreum to star together in TVM ‘Strange Tales’... “Already sounds fun”]

[Kwon Junhyeok: “I’ll work hard” — confirmed as lead of the hot web novel 〈Strange Tales〉]

Related articles began pouring out. The original web novel of 〈Strange Tales〉 reclaimed the number one spot, and traffic once again flowed into the ASMR videos that had been uploaded to Intube.

–Such an interesting ASMR approach, this video really makes me focus♥︎

–When is Junhyeok uploading? I want a different version

The spotlight turned toward 〈Strange Tales〉, and articles naturally bundled Kwon Junhyeok’s name with mine. And whenever Han Yeoreum’s name was mentioned, there was always one thing that had to come with it.

That was where I would be showing up again next.

–...After showing off her refreshing, sparkling acting skills in the web drama 〈ParCheHi〉, Han Yeoreum is set to appear once again, like a Christmas gift this December, in the upcoming 〈ParCheHi〉 spin-off. Having already created the buzzword “Pi Chaewon syndrome,” netizens who heard the news of the 〈ParCheHi〉 spin-off are reacting with comments such as “I hope Pi Chaewon is happy,” “I’m really looking forward to the next season,” and “Am I the only one still endlessly rewatching ParCheHi?”....

In that way, news of the 〈ParCheHi〉 spin-off script reading was released in advance.

JC ENM spoke to the public in a natural way. From Kwon Junhyeok to 〈Strange Tales〉, from 〈Strange Tales〉 to Han Yeoreum, from Han Yeoreum to 〈ParCheHi〉—one link leading into another.

In the end, it all meant: please give lots of attention to 〈Strange Tales〉 and the 〈ParCheHi〉 spin-off starring Han Yeoreum.

* * *

This was the new Cheongdam headquarters of JC ENM, where the 〈ParCheHi〉 spin-off script reading was being held.

I quietly opened the door to the waiting room.