I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

* * *

It might look open and free, but in truth, the entertainment industry is a place where hierarchy is just as sharply defined as any other field.

Actors who started out as idols carry that label to the very end, and even among actors, those who appear in long-running TV dramas and those who appear in films are treated as fundamentally different breeds.

This isn’t just the thinking of crusty old men who’ve dominated the industry for decades. If anything, the general public reacts even more sensitively.

-I wish idol-turned-actors would just stop coming out already lol. Just go act in music videos or something? F*ck, they can’t even do that, why are they everywhere

︎˪ Isn’t Kijuye okay though?

︎˪ She’s no different. She’s still taking real actors’ spots. I seriously don’t get why fans keep trying so hard to get them “recognized” lol. I hate it, go away--

-These days literally anyone and their dog thinks they can act T_T

And among all of that, the most sensitive place of all was—

[Theater * Musical Mini Gallery]

A gathering place for people who could say, without exaggeration, that they’d staked their lives on theater and musicals.

[Featured/Who’s even an idol that can actually act lolol unless you’re a hardcore stan, how do you shield this?]

[Featured/Hot take) If you have eyes, ears, and a brain, you can’t write crap like that]

[Featured/Featured manipulation? Are you kidding me ffs I said get the hell out]

Details omitted.

‘Anyway... they’re sensitive, but their analytical skills are spot-on!’

In a space where hardcore users dissected facial acting, projection, pronunciation, and even body language down to the smallest detail, it was inevitable that Daehan Arts University’s play would become a topic of discussion.

[Went to see DaeYeJong’s play lolol Posting a review, scroll warning (with proof)]

Went to DaeYeJong today and watched the freshman play Romeo and Juliet

Neither team had name-blocking soㅠ anyway Do Gyeoul was good as expected. On stage, she’s literally the only one you see. With her doing Beyond the Closed Door right now, I figured she wouldn’t have practiced much, but nope lolol it’s just Do Gyeoul and the kids. By the end I almost felt bad. She’s doing a full-on carry show alone, like what are the others even doing... Romeo was kinda okay at least, but the rest were wiped. There’s a reason she’s popular fr. I used to feel some resistance to fans calling her a “skill stan,” but now I get why

It was right as articles about Team A’s went out as if on cue, and the perception that “Do Gyeoul is even good at theater” spread among people who hadn’t even seen the play.

Anyway, during intermission Team B went on too, and a lot of people rushed out in between.. probably because if you stayed for both you’d barely make the last train. So for part two, only the real ones were left T_T Since it was still Romeo and Juliet, the normies were only fixated on Myeong Jeha’s face lolololol but Team B was the real deal. I thought it’d be crushed by comparison because the resolution would be lower, but damn, they studied the hell out of it. You could feel it from the start

A hardcore user who wanted to share the overwhelming emotion of the Han Yeoreum had shown wrote an extremely long review.

What was interesting was that the two teams’ interpretations had totally different depth. Because of time, they only did the meeting scene and the moment they fall in loveㅠ so disappointing. But even then, the rise, development, turn, and conclusion just stuck straight into your brain. Team B basically wrapped Romeo and Juliet as a historical drama. And here’s the key point—Myeong Jeha played Crown Prince Sado in Crossing the Line, right? Because of that, it felt like the worldview continued T_T

The friar comes out as the only supporter of Romeo and Juliet, and Catholicism entered Korea during King Jeongjo’s era, right? Thinking about that gave me chills, in a good way

Nickname Yup (IP 85.132) had already finished interpreting Team B’s from multiple angles while watching it.

“When the friar comes out at the end, doesn’t it remind you of when Catholicism first entered Korea?”

Because she busily typed interpretations into her memo app even on the way home, her review ended up being quite high quality.

Myeong Jeha was wearing an insanely expensive hanbok you could tell from miles away, and Han Yeoreum was wearing a hanbok that looked like she lived in some rundown villa, but I think the Montague family represents the Noron Tangpyeong faction that supported Jeongjo’s ascension, while Juliet is from the Namin who opposed it. Even people who don’t really know Korean history have that image of the Namin as “fallen yangban,” right?

...(omitted)

And honestly I found Han Yeoreum herself insanely likable. Her projection was different, like someone who’s done theater for a long time. On stage, only Myeong Jeha and Han Yeoreum’s pronunciation reached you clearly, syllable by syllable. Myeong Jeha debuted in a historical drama so that makes sense, but I didn’t expect Yeoreum to be at this level too. I actually hated that web drama LOOOLLL T_TI screamed every time the teaser popped up, but now I’m suddenly curious..he (no pride)

And at the end of that long, long review, in just a few lines—

This is just my personal take, but I think Han Yeoreum did better than Do Gyeoul. Yeoreum has this ability to stabilize the entire play. It really felt like, if she’d wanted to, she could’ve devoured the whole stage with that level of skill. But instead, she balanced everything really well. I really hope she does theater again someday. I’d totally empty my bank account to go see it!

...all hell broke loose.

Yup (211.234) lololol first time watching theater or what T_T got emotional all by yourself ffs don’t even compare her to Do Gyeoul

Yup (118.235) You watched ParCheHi and you’re pretending you didn’t lololol stop acting like a normie and blindly stanning

︎˪Yup(14.52) Anyone who saw it live would agree with the OP lolol stop with the blind hate

Yup(106.101) Why is this even featured?

‘Well... it’s hard to convince people who weren’t there. In many ways.’

Manager Ma judged calmly. A few users who’d been there joined in, making the fight bigger, but they were vastly outnumbered.

‘But what really matters is this— isn’t it amazing that this cutie is already forming a proper core fandom?’

The water was in. Which meant it was time to row.

She needed to show proper branding to the hardcore users who’d already recognized Han Yeoreum.

‘More than anything, fans in this field are worth a hundred people each. As long as the main job is done well, their loyalty is insane.’

Just imagining Han Yeoreum climbing even higher with both drama fans and theater/musical fans backing her was exhilarating.

“Hi! I’m Ma Suyeon from JC ENM’s marketing team. Just call me Manager Ma.”

That was why Manager Ma ended up going to Osaka with Yeoreum.

* * *

Tap-tap-tap-tap-.

“Yeoreum, what are you doing?”

“Messaging some friends.”

I typed rapidly on my phone. Half true, half a lie.

Input: What do you mean, suddenly a vlog? And how did you even know I’d be vlogging? I didn’t even know myself

I was messaging Myeong Jeha, who was sitting in the seat in front of me. I’d gotten a brief explanation from Manager Ma, but it felt more accurate to ask Jeha directly.

[Not sure⋯.]

[Maybe because of your reaction when I asked you to eat together? I don’t really know]

From now on, I should listen carefully to everything the elder says and act sweet. To pick at me over a moment of surprise. Without realizing it, my brow creased slightly.

“Are your friends complaining that you didn’t come to the after-party yesterday? You don’t look too happy, Yeoreum⋯. Are they sulking because of your schedule?”

Hwang Coordinator asked worriedly as she studied my face. Had my expression really been that rough just now? At her question, Myeong Jeha shifted in the front seat. Our eyes met through the gap between the seats.

At the same time, my mouth moved naturally.

“They’re not that small-minded, unni. Seriously the best friends. Five thousand stars.”

“Really? Sounds like you like them a lot, if you say that.”

“Of course. Honestly, I’d eat meals with them for the rest of my life if I could.”

I felt the front seat tremble slightly.

“Jeha, why are you smiling?” 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

“Just because. I’m in a good mood.”

At that, I turned into Pi Chaewon, dead-fish eyes and all. At least he couldn’t see my face now.

This time too, Jeha shared the situation precisely.

[JC Manager Ma and Team Leader Seong are planning a new self-produced content series. It starts with your vlog.]

[The reason it didn’t reach you yet is because it was finalized at dawn. Manager Ma rushed it together right after the play ended yesterday.]

⋯Then how did you know? Once again, I was impressed by Jeha’s information network.

‘But more importantly, right after the play?’

To have a new project prepared for me the moment the play ended.... That means I did well, right? I couldn’t control the corners of my mouth. I felt so proud I couldn’t even remember the smaller applause compared to Do Gyeoul’s.

‘Makes sense.... Who am I?’

At the Seoul Drama Awards, the judges—

Bzz-.

I was about to indulge in a moment of self-admiration when Jeha sent another message.

[When the vlog goes up, it helps if there are plenty of favorable reporters⋯. Make sure you greet the reporters I introduced you to earlier.]

[Because of how some reporters linked you with Do Gyeoul last time, their agency is probably watching the year-end awards closely.]

That snapped me back to reality. I could roughly picture the situation. Just thinking about the upcoming MBS awards made my chest feel tight.

‘I won an award at the Seoul Drama Awards, but⋯.’

There was no way I’d win at a terrestrial broadcast awards show.

The genre drama that won Excellence at the Seoul Drama Awards aired on MBS.

Which meant my chances of winning Rookie for a one-episode drama were zero.

‘It’ll probably go to a rookie from that genre drama.’

That would make the narrative easy to form again. Just being placed on the same scale as Do Gyeoul, who was creating a syndrome with , was already an overwhelming disadvantage.

‘⋯Fine. No matter what, let’s just do this schedule well.’

This year was already over, and I’d been faithful to my work. That was enough. The lens in front of me was still pointed at me.

‘My camera.’

There was a camera filming me. Just that alone changed my mindset. I felt like I could do well.

-Dear passengers, the aircraft will be taking off shortly. Please fasten your seatbelts and return your seats to their upright position....

The in-flight announcement began. Slowly, my body lifted into the air.

* * *

This was Osaka’s Kyocera Dome. Rehearsals for tomorrow’s awards ceremony were in full swing.

“Let’s check the movement path one more time!”

“Don’t block the prompter, the prompter!”

Massive machines moved along the ceiling, and staff ran around busily with walkie-talkies in hand. I accepted a thick script and followed a staff member.

“The opening will start from this side, and as the show progresses, the MC seats will change intermittently. We’ll guide you each time, but let’s do «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» a check now anyway!”

“Yes. Understood.”

Seo Eden and I memorized the MC movement paths by time slot. The interior of the Kyocera Dome was vast beyond measure.

“Part one’s opening will start from the far left, and in between, you see the interview cues on the cue cards? You’ll come down closer to the singer seating tables....”

This was something I’d only ever seen on TV. Amazing.

Maybe because he wanted to avoid repeating last time’s mistake, Seo Eden listened with strict focus.

“And during part two, when Eden-nim is on stage, Yeoreum-nim will handle MC duties alone. You’ll move through the corridor connected to the MC backstage.”

Maybe because it was a six-hour-long ceremony, there was a lot to keep track of. Seo Eden and I nodded along to the endless explanations.

Honestly, I nodded even harder because I wanted to look cute.

‘Hope I can do some promotion as “Han Yeoreum, great at her main job.”’

Manager Ma was still holding the vlog camera near me. Of course, Seo Eden had a self-content camera attached too.

“That’s all for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow!”

“Yes! Thank you for your hard work.”

The long explanation finally ended. Hwang Coordinator fixed my lipstick—it must’ve smudged a little.

Mm, moist.

“Cutie, let’s go now—.”

“Yes. What are we doing next?”

“Obviously, In My Bag in the room. You packed your suitcase cute, right?”

I was about to turn away from Seo Eden at Manager Ma’s urging when Seo Eden hesitated, lips twitching.

‘Does he have something to say?’

The moment I thought that, our eyes met. As if my guess was right, Seo Eden’s pupils shook.