I’m an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 11

The male lead had already been decided internally.

“Ju Junseo. There’s this kid who used to be a model.”

“A model?”

So he was a complete rookie among rookies who had never properly acted before.

“Sob… Senior Nam. Take a look at this synopsis. Senior Yeo, stop grilling meat too! Look at this!”

The man called Senior Nam took the cell phone. His expression hardened as he skimmed through, wondering what could be so amazing.

[The Cherry on Top of the Parfait Belongs to the Heroine♥︎ Synopsis]

The title alone was quite an intense concept.

But the problem wasn’t the title.

“Whew. The difficulty level of this…”

“Right? It’s tough, isn’t it?”

Let’s look at the simple planning intention.

[The seventeen I had imagined was purely sweet.

Cherry blossom-lined school paths while running with crispy bread in my mouth,

accidentally bumping into my ideal type there.

Exciting school festivals and friendships with friends.

Tickling, heart-fluttering summer days at the beach.

But such scenes were only allowed for heroines in romance comics.

School paths carrying bags full of workbooks while chewing rice wrapped in seaweed.

Schools barely reached after being squeezed in packed buses.

Friends who stake their lives on grades and early admissions,

and academy vacation intensive courses that start every summer.

What would happen if you mixed completely different reality and romance comics half and half?

And what if the protagonist of that romance comic wasn’t me?]

It was the story of a heroine with dead fish eyes in a reality where romance comic clichés happened endlessly.

Here, the role that model Ju Junseo took on was the male lead.

“…A lonely and solitary delinquent boss, that’s what this is…”

“Ahhh!!! No way!!! This really won’t work no matter what we do!!!”

The woman who had been pulling her hair quickly poured soju and downed another glass.

“Life is more bitter than soju!!!”

It was a simple judgment.

Since it was a story that teenagers would like, they just fitted in a face to match.

“Sigh. At least Ju Junseo’s character keeps his mouth shut most of the time, right? He probably won’t become a scapegoat for bad acting.”

“That’s true, but you know that makes it more difficult, right? Whether he does well or poorly, the feeling will change drastically depending on his co-actor.”

“Yeah. Where are we getting the female lead? One wrong move and we’ll all be doing a school talent show.”

“Sigh… The female lead needs to grab him by the collar and drag the performance, but there’s no decent kid.”

Patting the shoulder of the woman whose face had turned red and spirits had completely died, Senior Nam offered an alternative.

“Tell them you’d rather die than do it. Once you get labeled as a laughingstock, your image is over.”

“I tried that! I even told them to go ahead and cut me open! But do you know what they said?”

“Go ahead and cut.”

…It didn’t work.

This was the era of web content prosperity.

The growth of influencers was no joke.

“No need to lobby while making pitiful sounds about programming slots, PPL is possible right away so sponsors prefer this atmosphere, and most importantly, you can reach overseas audiences without worrying about platform politics.”

The ones who smelled money the best were none other than large corporations.

“They have no intention of growing this market. Go ahead and cut… you can’t do it?”

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that JC ENM was making the biggest investment in video content including movies in South Korea.

“Then go ahead and cut it.”

That JC had chosen and pushed for this.

It meant that her current livelihood depended on this damn planned web drama.

So she had to make it work somehow.

“There’s no way to escape!”

On top of that, their attitude was that they would properly evaluate whether to promote Ju Junseo or not.

“Sigh, but you have some casting authority, right?”

“That’s right. Since we’re doing both investment and production here…”

“Let’s bet on the female lead and editing. Hey, the material itself is fresh at least!”

While trying to comfort her positively, Senior Nam kicked the shin of his friend who was silently grilling meat across from them.

“Hey! You say something too! As a senior!”

“That’s right! Senior Yeo! Help out somehow!”

Only then did Senior Yeo, who had been transferring meat to her junior’s plate, open her mouth.

“Among the students I taught… I know one kid who would suit the female lead well.”

“What? Really?”

“How old is she?”

Senior Yeo scratched her cheek as if the two people’s shining eyes were burdensome, then answered.

“She just turned twenty.”

Immediately, sighs leaked out.

“Sigh~. Are you kidding? Twenty years old? She has no experience working on sets.”

“Right! This needs to be backed up by skill, you know? Even so, if she’s twenty, she probably hasn’t even gotten rid of her exam habits yet. Geez, forget it, let’s toast. Cheers!”

Then Senior Yeo made a rare expression.

“She has no habits at all. She’s like a blank canvas.”

She raised her eyebrows and gave confidence to her words.

“She’s been acting for six months.”

At Senior Yeo’s answer, the two people who had been clinking soju glasses froze.

“…Six months? Are you kidding? A kid who’s done 180 days?”

“I didn’t see you that way, Senior Yeo. You’ve really become a teacher now. Rose-colored glasses that make your student look good no matter what…?”

The incredulous reaction from the two was already within expected range.

Senior Yeo took out her cell phone and opened SNS.

Youstagram

@midsummer

Followers 2,665 Following 0

When she pressed with her finger, Yeoreum’s profile photo appeared.

A face smiling brightly under the refreshing blue lighting came into view.

“…This kid?”

“Well, the mask isn’t bad… I think the face would match well if placed next to Ju Junseo.”

The power of a well-taken profile photo was quite significant. Yeoreum on the screen instantly drew the two people in.

“But six months of acting experience… that’s too… that’s the problem.”

“That’s what’s bothering me too. What you see isn’t everything.”

Senior Yeo frowned as if that couldn’t be the case.

“This one is different.”

“How so?”

“Even her voice is different. You’ll know too once you hear her deliver lines just once.”

Team Leader Seong, who had been contemplating for a moment, thought it was worth a shot after Senior Yeo’s confident response.

“Alright. Then this student that Senior Yeo believes in so much. Let’s at least have her audition once.”

* * *

“A web drama?”

-Yeah. It’s not exactly landing the lead role, just an audition.

“Could I know the title, teacher?”

-The Cherry on the Parfait is… what was it again. I’ll send you a simple synopsis and the audition date.

“Yes! Thank you.”

As soon as I hung up the phone, I shouted.

“〈The Cherry on the Parfait Belongs to the Heroine〉!!!”

This is that work known as the origin of B-grade web dramas.

“It had quite a few famous lines and scenes, so it’s still consumed as memes even 10 years later…”

The story itself was interesting because it twisted every cliché there was.

“The only problem was that all the actors were terrible…”

But they want me to do this? I closed my eyes while reading the synopsis that Teacher Yeo had sent me.

It was because those famous scenes that were hard to forget even after 10 years came to mind.

-Believe in yourself, believe in us, that’s how we become friends!

Especially that ridiculous encouragement scene of the romance manga heroine.

‘This circulated as the “no friends” meme until it was completely worn out.’

Is it okay to do this for my first drama?

“JC ENM is producing it though…”

Since this was an early work, they didn’t really push it that hard. It meant I could end up just consuming my image and that’s it.

As if knowing my thoughts, the status window that turned on again sparkled.

With red effects added to emphasize 100,000 people and 1,000 shares.

“…Right, this is the best option for now.”

I’m still unknown anyway.

If I want to at least make an impression on the public, there’s no better choice than this.

“100,000 views and 1,000 shares…”

This is 〈The Cherry on the Parfait Belongs to the Heroine〉…

“No, why is the title so long?”

I’ll just shorten it to 〈Cherry Parfait〉. Anyway, this is a mission that’s only possible with the story and buzz that 〈Cherry Parfait〉 has.

“The public’s reaction is the actor’s responsibility.”

I’ll somehow land the protagonist role and act properly.

‘Then shall I go see about the audition first?’

Since I happen to know the behind-the-scenes story, passing the audition shouldn’t be difficult.

The protagonist role is mine.

* * *

The JC ENM headquarters building located in Cheongdam-dong.

In the 5th floor audition room, quite a lot of people were sitting in line.

‘When will she be here?’

It was Team Leader Seong, the junior colleague who had received Han Yeoreum’s recommendation from Senior Yeo.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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