I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

Team Leader Seong opened his mouth once all the cast members had arrived in the reading room.

“Hello, everyone. Thank you all for gathering for the reading of 〈The Cherry on the Parfait Belongs to the Heroine〉. I’m Team Leader Seong, in charge of production. I promise we’ll provide full support to complete this project.”

The casting was nothing short of perfect. It felt like everyone had stepped straight out of the original work.

“I’m Director Jang, in charge of directing. Just call me Director Jang, I’d appreciate it. /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ And don’t doubt me with a ‘How can that old guy direct such a cute drama?’ look. I’ve read plenty of pure romance manga myself. So please trust me and follow along~.”

From the male lead, Joo Junseo, whose expression was stiff, to the calmly seated female lead, Han Yeoreum, and then Choo Gaeul, cast as Hina, the heroine of the pure romance manga.

“I hope we create something wonderful that stays with us all for a long time. Everyone, fighting!”

JC ENM’s internal web content team whispered to the PR team.

“Looks like it’ll do well, right?”

“Hmm... you won’t know until it’s out.”

“Still, looks are passing. The chemistry seems pretty good.”

Once the introductions from production, direction, and the writer ended, it was now time for the cast members to introduce themselves.

The camera focused first on the male lead, Joo Junseo.

“I’m Joo Junseo, playing the male lead. It’s my first drama, so I’ll probably be lacking in many ways, but I’ll work... diligently to learn.”

Yeoreum clapped toward Junseo while scanning the surroundings.

‘There’s even a camera set up for Intube.’

It was a small web drama, but everything was prepared properly.

‘So this is the difference between big companies.’

JC ENM had clearly put a lot of effort into it. It felt different from ordinary MCNs.

‘If they make behind-the-scenes videos like regular dramas, that’s only good for me.’

Yeoreum subtly angled her face toward the making-of camera to be filmed from her good side.

“What kind of character is the one you’re playing, Junseo?”

Director Jang asked as if doing an interview. Probably marking a point for editing.

“A stereotypical bad boy. He doesn’t really attend classes, doesn’t make friends.”

“Oooh~ cool! Are you similar to the character, Junseo?”

At Director Jang’s playful teasing, Junseo shook his head.

‘Funny. With the way he kicked that chair, he’s a natural.’

But with editing, the moment would probably be shown cutely. With a flustered beep sound. Yeoreum could already picture the making-of video in her head.

“Alright~ Then next is our female lead!”

* * *

Is it my turn to stand up now?

I cleared my throat and forced my lips down before they could curl upward.

My heart kept fluttering from experiencing a real reading session for the first time.

‘Showing too much excitement wouldn’t look good.’

Everyone, please pay attention to me. A rising new actress destined to light up Chungmuro is starting her journey here and—

“Yes! Hello! I’m Choo Gaeul, playing the heroine, Hina! ‘Hina’ means chick in Japanese. Does it suit me? Please stay with our lovable Hina until the very end~.”

...Why are you standing up?

Stunned, I stared blankly at Choo Gaeul, who had jumped up beside me and was acting cute.

“Hey, Gaeul! I know you can be impulsive, but the female lead is Yeoreum.”

“Oh—! Sorry. I thought it meant the main heroine of the original. I must be nervous.”

She stuck her tongue out cutely. She looked completely merged with her character.

“Yeoreum! Quickly, stand up! At this rate, you’re going to lose the female lead spot.”

Gaeul cupped her cheeks in embarrassment. Suspicious.

‘There’s no way she did that on purpose... right?’

She’d stolen the attention in an instant, but I pretended not to notice and rose confidently.

‘Showing even a hint of annoyance is fatal.’

In my head, I saw the kind of low-quality edited “wrecking” video that would spread online.

Intube

[Typical Catfight Between Actresses] 00:37

– I think Choo Gaeul just panicked, but Han Yeoreum looks scary;;

– Expressions only girls can read... hmm... lol

– People like Han Yeoreum are actually super competitive and mean lolol Someone I know in the industry told me lolol Ugh~~

‘Not a chance. No controversies from the start.’

I could feel the making-of camera lens pointed at me. I steadied my voice.

“Hello! I’m Han Yeoreum, playing the female lead. It’s my first drama too, so I’ll work hard.”

As my bright introduction ended, the room filled with applause. Director Jang turned to me with another question.

“How would you briefly describe your female lead character?”

“She’s basically a copy of a real, everyday viewer. Realistic, a bit blunt. And responsible.”

“What about you, Yeoreum? Are you similar to the character?”

Junseo had shaken his head earlier, so I should align myself with the same tone.

I raised my arms above my head and drew a big circle.

“Oh? Did you all promise not to say anything?”

“Teamwork already~!”

Director Jang, Team Leader Seong, and even the writer joined the cheerful mood.

‘Good. The edited video will come out cute.’

I had safely finished my turn and was listening to the introduction of the sub male lead when—

“...Pfft...”

Beside me, I heard a small snort, like a suppressed laugh.

‘What was that?’

Did I hear wrong?

Startled, I glanced at Gaeul, but it was already her turn again.

She hopped up adorably and introduced herself once more.

“I’m Choo Gaeul, playing the heroine, Hina! She’s the original female lead in the manga, perfectly matching the parfait aesthetic.”

She clearly emphasized the words female lead.

‘Is this—’

“Gaeul really suits the character just by looking at her. So cute! You’re naturally playful, right?”

“Oh— nooo~.”

Gaeul denied it cutely and raised her hands above her head.

‘...Yep, not “maybe.” Definitely.’

Then, imitating what I did earlier, she pretended to draw a circle— and switched it into a heart.

“What do you mean no~! She’s a total aegyo master.”

“The casting is absolutely perfect! Our Parfait Heroine is already shining!”

Laughter burst from the staff and production team.

I instantly recognized the feeling in my gut.

‘She’s trying to suppress me.’

She was claiming: The real female lead in this drama is me.

* * *

Choo Gaeul glanced at Han Yeoreum beside her with a sideways glance.

‘Did you see that? That atmosphere?’

At first, Gaeul had also auditioned for the female lead, Pi Chaewon.

But she’d been dropped almost immediately, without even a few days of consideration.

“Gaeul. Let’s prepare for the next audition.”

“What? Why? I just came out from the audition.”

“They say the female lead was chosen immediately.”

“What?! That’s impossible! Unless she had some kind of connection!”

The lead had been decided on the spot that day.

‘I don’t know what kind of connection you used to get in, but that’s not happening on my watch...!’

For someone with no agency to be accepted immediately meant only one thing.

A parachute.

Han Yeoreum must have been a parachute.

And after asking around, she discovered Yeoreum had zero experience— a complete newbie.

‘How does that make sense? What can someone do with only half a year?’

Gaeul had climbed step by step, properly, to become an actress.

“Hey, remember the ace from my class I told you about? You watched the video, right?”

“Oh~ it was you? Still has a bit of that audition-program stiffness... but not bad.”

“That’s because she studies so hard. She’s the best in our acting prep academy. Don’t nitpick— just take her!”

How many years had it taken to get into an agency thanks to her acting academy teacher’s recommendation?

‘Even I, top of the audition prep class, can’t easily get a lead role... and that half-year newbie dares to?’

As she trembled, Gaeul’s resentment toward Han Yeoreum built up.

Then—

“Gaeul, 〈ParCheHi〉 reached out. How about a supporting role? The character’s not bad. Since you’re still new, let’s build up slowly.”

Though not the main role, she was offered a character they said fit her well as the original heroine.

“...Okay. I’ll do it.”

Gaeul agreed immediately without another thought.

She wanted to teach that parachute Han Yeoreum a lesson.

‘Watch closely who the real heroine is.’

Compared to the plain, unimpressive female lead, she had the advantage.

With her years of training since childhood, she could easily overshadow someone like Han Yeoreum.

“Noisy.”

Soon, it was Han Yeoreum’s turn for the script reading.

After Joo Junseo’s half-hearted lines ended, Yeoreum finally opened her mouth.

“What? Since when were you here?”

But with just that one simple line, Gaeul froze.

‘Same microphone, right?’

Yet somehow Yeoreum’s voice came out unbelievably clear—

as if she alone were using a completely different microphone.