I’m an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me - Chapter 312

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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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Chapter 312

Taiwan’s sky was a brilliant blue that made one’s eyes sting. Choi Seonhye, gripping the steering wheel, glanced at Yeoreum who was sitting quietly in the back seat with her eyes closed.

In her hands were bundles of letters received at the airport. Heart stickers were plastered all over them.

‘That’s understandable.’

The car was unusually quiet, but Manager Choi didn’t find it strange. Everyone had been overwhelmed by the atmosphere just moments ago, so Yeoreum must have been too.

‘She’s no longer Seo Ryeong now.’

Taiwan Airport was packed with no room to step.

Click-click-click-click-!

Flashes went off dozens of times per second. The decibel level felt from the crowd made it seem like being at a concert venue.

News that Korea’s currently most popular lead actors were coming to Taiwan had spread quickly.

The airport was filled with K-drama fans who didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see them all at once.

“Yeoreum-!”

Among them, the name that rang out loudest was Han Yeoreum’s. It was thanks to the consecutive hits of 【Strange Tales】 followed by 【Faster Than Law】.

NTV, Taiwan’s broadcasting station established in 2006, had opened a channel dedicated entirely to Korean dramas. All dramas that were popular in Korea were broadcast there.

Taiwanese people could watch works from KBC, MBS, and SBC all on NTV, and the channel’s viewership was exploding day by day.

Meanwhile, 【Strange Tales】 had become a national drama not only in Korea but also in Taiwan, and even advertisements parodying scenes from 【Faster Than Law】 were being made.

‘The works are one thing, but Taiwanese fans already recognize Yeoreum as the ‘national Hallyu actor.”

Han Yeoreum’s ‘I Love Taiwan’ interview had really hit the mark.

An actor who was rising in Korea had not only consumed all of Taiwan’s movies but even held her first fan meeting in Taiwan.

That alone allowed Han Yeoreum to raise her recognition in Taiwan as much as if she were actively promoting there, without any separate activities.

She was at a level where her name appeared in the top ranks of every celebrity survey conducted in Taiwan.

Most admired celebrity, favorite celebrity, celebrity of the year, etc. Han Yeoreum’s name always appeared at the very top.

Popularity, likability, influence.

Han Yeoreum had captured all three at once.

As if to prove this, over 100 media outlets had come to the airport. This wasn’t even the press conference venue for 【The Great Garland】 broadcast.

They had simply brought cameras to capture the Hallyu stars visiting Taiwan.

“Done…”

Yeoreum, who had been muttering something in the back seat, finally opened her eyes as if she had finished.

“What’s done?”

“Matching and memorizing the faces and names of the people who gave me fan letters. Okay.”

“…You can memorize that?”

“That’s why I checked as soon as I got in the car, right?”

Can you really memorize something just by checking it? Manager Choi, who had doubts, made eye contact with Yeoreum who was smiling as if it were natural.

“Mei-Ling still hasn’t stopped being a fan. And her fighting spirit seems to have gotten stronger. Unlike last time, she secured the front row this time.”

Han Yeoreum really did remember. Their sparkling gazes met through the rearview mirror.

Right. That was natural for Han Yeoreum. Manager Choi smiled softly and pressed the accelerator.

* * *

“Wow… I never thought I’d come to a place like this for a reward vacation in my lifetime.”

The reward vacation location for 【The Great Garland】 team was Jibeisland. A white ferry crossed the emerald-colored sea. The sea breeze carried the sweet taste of success.

Director Ja approached Writer An and patted her shoulder.

“It’s incredible, Junmyeong.”

“Right. KBC must be bleeding money. We have a lot of people too.”

“Taiwan also contributed to the costs. NTV did.”

A few months later, when 【The Great Garland】 aired, it would gain tremendous popularity locally in Taiwan too. Writer An smiled at NTV’s quick decision, as they would be the biggest beneficiary.

“Ah-. Now it really feels real. That our drama is over.”

During the three months of broadcasting 【The Great Garland】, every day felt like a dream to An Junmyeong. Writer An leaned back comfortably and turned her gaze.

Then she saw the beginning and end of 【The Great Garland】.

“Unnie, please take another photo of me, another! I think I can upload this to my story right away?”

Han Yeoreum, who was clearly excited beyond control, and,

“….”

Eun Baekhap, wearing sunglasses and quietly looking out the window. The two didn’t resemble each other at all, but in the drama they had appeared as one person.

An Junmyeong captured both of them in her eyes.

She had just recently finished completing the synopsis for her next work.

One lead actor’s face immediately came to mind. That character had something that only Han Yeoreum could express.

‘There’s an interpretation that breaks through the work.’

People commonly express media as 1D, 2D, 3D. What Han Yeoreum saw was 1D, Huijae’s world expressed only in text.

But by understanding Huijae’s lonely life, by penetrating the meaning of pear blossoms, Huijae instantly made points on lines and created surfaces, jumping out.

Yeonhuijae.

The birth of the perfect Yeonhuijae that An Junmyeong wanted to create was thanks to Han Yeoreum.

‘But if you ask whether Eun Baekhap fell behind, that’s not the case either.’

Eun Baekhap made clear distinctions from young Huijae, but as the latter half progressed, she blended the childhood Yeonhuijae with Han Yeoreum’s Yeonhuijae.

Writer An admired her judgment in abandoning pride and making the best decisions.

One was maximally elevated, one was perfectly concluded.

“You’re going to take Han Yeoreum with you, right.”

Director Ja quietly asked beside Writer An. Writer An nodded.

“That’s right. Director Ja, you saw my synopsis.”

“Then what about Eun Baekhap.”

This time the answer didn’t come easily. The work Writer An planned to do next was different in nature from 【The Great Garland】.

Compared to all the works Writer An had written so far, it had no similarities to any of them.

“Well…”

She took a breath. The ferry had reached its destination.

“We’ll have to wait and see.”

* * *

The vacation was 3 nights and 4 days. The first day had group activities. Since the travel time was long, in the evening they unpacked and had a simple barbecue.

I escaped from the staff members who kept insisting I eat more and sat alone on the sand beach.

“This is good…”

No other expression came out besides those words.

Noisy laughter could be heard from far away, the sea spread out before my eyes, and right now my SNS followers numbered 1,851,492…

“Yeoreum. What are you doing?”

“Wow, you scared me.”

Myeong Jeha had approached without making any footsteps. In his hands were two orange cocktails that resembled the sunset-reflected sea.

I reached out and took one glass.

“Sir, I’m tasting the flavor of success…”

I gazed deeply at the sunset sea. Han Yeoreum has grown up. Living life and even going on reward vacations…

The pure white sand beach turning crimson looked just like a scene from a movie.

“What kind of person is Senior Baekhap?”

I asked Myeong Jeha who was sitting beside me.

“Why suddenly ask that?”

“It seems like we might enter Writer An’s next work together.”

Myeong Jeha looked surprised at my words.

“What’s the title of the next work?”

“It’s a working title for now. 【Deserving to Die】.”

“…What’s the content?”

The synopsis Writer An sent me was a work that didn’t exist before ‘my’ regression.

‘But I thought it would naturally have existed in Myeong Jeha’s life.’

Apparently not. Myeong Jeha, who confirmed the synopsis I showed him, looked a bit surprised.

“…Writer An has never written anything like this. This.”

“Really? Never?”

“Yeah. I’ve never even heard of it.”

The future is changing. But I speculated.

‘There’s a high probability that… one of the leads will be Eun Baekhap.’

The stat window I saw for Eun Baekhap was similar to Ji Haebeom’s. It was fitting for someone who had reached the top.

[Name: Eun Baekhap]

Immersion: A+

Quick Thinking: A

Artistry: S+

<Over-Immersion Inducer> A

There’s a reason why the works Eun Baekhap starred in remained well-made even when they failed at the box office.

While good scenarios played a part, Eun Baekhap delivers acting that induces over-immersion in viewers.

‘An Junmyeong’s next work is exactly the kind of project that can utilize such strengths.’

And…

There must be a reason why Writer An showed me the synopsis first.

I’ll be cast as Jeong Uigyeom.

“Yeoreum, are you going to join that project?”

“Of course.”

“But nothing’s guaranteed.”

Of course, this was unexpected. I naturally thought Myeong Jeha would know the outcome of the project.

“…Still. I want to do it.”

I will definitely join that project.

From the moment I read the first line of the synopsis, I absolutely wanted to do it. It’s still just a synopsis, and I don’t know when episode 1 will be completed, but it was a work I absolutely didn’t want to miss. <Deserving to Die> was.

“The project is too good. I think I’d regret it if I missed it.”

Unlike <The Great Garland> where I played a child role, this would be acting alongside Eun Baekhap on the same filming set, matching our performances.

Just thinking about being in the same frame as that top actor already makes my heart flutter.

“So, what kind of person is Eun Baekhap?”

Myeong Jeha didn’t give an easy answer this time either. He paused for a moment before opening his mouth.

“What do you think Jun and Chaewon’s feelings were like in <Pachehi>?”

To Myeong Jeha’s counter-question, I answered simply. I mean, it’s so obvious.

“They like each other. Obviously.”

Myeong Jeha asked the same type of question again.

“Then what about Myeongdo and Seo Ryeong in <Strange Tales>?”

“They like each other. Why are you asking?”

Following <Pachehi> and <Strange Tales> where I was the lead, came the final question.

“Lastly, what about you and me?”

“We like each other. No, why do you keep asking obvious questions?”

“Right. We’d like each other.”

And then Myeong Jeha made one of his usual perceptive remarks.

“But you’ve never once said out loud that you like someone or love them.”

I traced back through my memories.

<Pachehi> ended with the reunion of two people who returned to reality. There was no time to exchange feelings before that.

The only expression was grabbing Jun’s hand as he was about to disappear and running up the rooftop stairs.

<Strange Tales> was several times longer than <Pachehi>. But Seo Ryeong always carried death in her heart, so she couldn’t properly express herself, let alone say she loved him.

‘It was always Myeongdo who expressed love first…’

Through the way he looked at Seo Ryeong, the pace he matched when walking with her, and when her ornament string broke, ignoring his sword wound and rushing straight in. And the moment he embraced Seo Ryeong knowing he’d be crushed by the falling giant tree.

‘In contrast, Seo Ryeong spoke of love only through promises.’

She promised Myeongdo for the first time that she wouldn’t die, and after meeting again by the riverside, she endlessly promised him the rest of her life. That was the entirety of the love Seo Ryeong expressed.

And finally, in <The Great Garland>, Huijae’s love was shown through smiling.

When she called Taeseok, when she told him her name, when she held onto his collar on the bicycle’s back seat, when their eyes met in the rain.

The love I showed wasn’t just spoken words. It was something to be felt. Realizing this, I looked at Myeong Jeha beside me.

“In contrast, Eun Baekhap’s previous popular works required her to speak love out loud.”

Eun Baekhap debuted in a romance work and gained attention from then. Her next work was also in a similar genre.

Because Eun Baekhap was particularly strong in romance.

‘Could it be that her later works were like that because…?’

Pansori, loan company, chaebol family. Among those, none of the characters Eun Baekhap played had to say lines about love.

‘While bad timing played a part, it might have been because she couldn’t properly utilize Eun Baekhap’s greatest strength…’

Eun Baekhap probably knew this too. But she still chose genre works.

‘Because she’s someone with pride as an actor.’

But there was something wrong in Myeong Jeha’s analysis.

“Then what about <The Great Garland>?”

Yeonhuijae didn’t tell Taeseok she loved him when they met again. Yet it still became Eun Baekhap’s representative work.

To my question, Myeong Jeha casually took a sip of his cocktail and said.

“You were there, Yeoreum.”

“Me?”

“You already said love earlier, so there was no need to emphasize it multiple times. So…”

I thought I couldn’t beat Eun Baekhap’s Yeonhuijae.

It was natural to lose. There were definitely aspects where young Huijae couldn’t win, like screen time or character development.

“In conclusion, the Huijae you created won.”

But hearing that the Huijae I created was more perfect gave me a satisfaction completely different from any achievement I’d felt before.

It wasn’t just anyone, but Eun Baekhap herself.

And at the same time, I wanted even more to join Eun Baekhap and Writer An Junmyeong’s next project.

“Eun Baekhap knows this too. But would she still join the same project as you? She’ll probably refuse with high probability.”

“…I don’t know about that.”

Eun Baekhap was an actor who took detours even when she knew the easiest path.

I also knew that her next work and the one after would be the most important choices from now on, having just made her representative work. I also knew she had to solidify her current position.

But somehow, I felt like Eun Baekhap would choose this project.

“If Eun Baekhap appears in that project… learn romance acting from her and come back. From what I see, you’re particularly weak in that area, Yeoreum.”

Myeong Jeha said this quietly while looking at my face.

Perhaps because we’d practiced acting together several times outside of assigned projects, the Han Yeoreum database this elder had built was quite accurate.

Since I knew it too, I nodded appropriately.

“You don’t need to say those lines every time… but there will definitely be projects you absolutely need, Yeoreum.”

I know too. To join romance projects, I need to properly deliver that line saying “I love you” at least once.

Coincidentally, in An Junmyeong’s next work, there’s a character who says “I love you” countless times.

According to Myeong Jeha’s analysis, this role would create insane synergy when played by Eun Baekhap. So.

‘I absolutely have to become close with Senior Eun Baekhap.’

I downed my cocktail in one shot while watching the beautiful sunset.

<Deserving to Die>.

A project with uncertain box office prospects, but one I absolutely wanted to do. A project that seemed like it could succeed if we did it together.

And that evening,

“Hey, if you came to hang out, just hang out… Don’t try to get all friendly and clingy for no reason.”

The ‘become close with Eun Baekhap’ project was shattered on the first attempt.

You should have told me she had this kind of personality beforehand, elder…

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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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