I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

He uncrossed his arms and added proudly,

“Watch it, then talk.”

The Variety Division head raised his hand and flashed a V sign. Confidence was written all over his face.

“The teaser’s coming out soon.”

* * *

Listening to the radio, Aetami once again made sure not to show how overwhelmed she felt. Today was Han Yeoreum’s final day as a special DJ.

‘Yeoreum... just one more round of ASMR, please....’

Working while listening to Yeoreum’s voice through her wireless earphones made her feel like her efficiency had jumped by 1,200%. It felt as if the words floating in front of her eyes were being read aloud and absorbed directly into her head.

Han Yeoreum’s crystal-clear delivery created the illusion that she was reading text straight off a page.

—“I laughed nonstop the whole time lol. When she reads the stories, it’s like watching a full drama.. lolol The sound of her laughing kept echoing in my ears, so I came back to listen to the full version T_T;; That first story was SO fluttery, someone please turn it into a drama~”

—“Holy shit, let’s permanently entomb Han Yeoreum next to Shim Juhwan.... If their voices overlapped, how good would that be TT_TT”

ㄴ“Are you insane lol just let them do it together for ONE day”

ㄴ“You clearly know your stuff”

—“I listen to radio a lot, but this is the first time a special DJ has been this good.. maybe because she’s an actor? Even when she reads stories, it’s no joke lololol I hope she becomes a regular DJ someday, I’d tune in religiously”

Aetami wasn’t the only one feeling this way. The comments kept increasing. This wasn’t just a simple radio video.

‘Listening every day is just... so good....’

The actor scene was usually suffering from a constant drought of content. She never expected something this steady and satisfying to stan. Not back when she first managed to catch Yeoreum.

—“So, our 2 p.m. nap... before we know it, the time when we slowly have to wake up together is coming.... Yes, user 2245, I feel the same way. Next time, when Shim Juhwan sunbae is here, I’ll definitely come play again. User 4489, does Han Yeoreum like pan-fried dumplings? Yes. I like pan-fried dumplings. And then... huh?”

Yeoreum paused slightly, trailing off. Without realizing it, Aetami pressed firmly on the wireless earphone in her left ear.

‘What is it?’

Not being able to see made her even more curious. Then it happened. A pleasant laugh flowed through the speakers.

—“We just got a text from Shim Juhwan sunbae saying he remembers all of you. He says he’s been watching this whole time as the DJ baton passed from Shim DJ to Han DJ.”

It seemed a flood of messages had come in at the mention of Shim Juhwan. Yeoreum read through the selected messages quickly but with precise diction.

—“User 1122 says, ‘Shim DJ was the one who came for us first...’ I guess you’ll need to apologize when you come back, sunbae? User 1234 says, ‘Shim Juhwan? Who’s that?’—hey, don’t tease him. The writers are saying Shim sunbae is probably crying right now.”

It was all live. There was no script. And yet, Han Yeoreum naturally slipped in jokes here and there.

As if she’d been a radio DJ for years. The way she built rapport with listeners felt effortless.

—“Everyone, but when Shim sunbae comes back, you’ll give him a really warm welcome, right? You have to talk to him a lot tomorrow.”

She seemed to understand perfectly that radio wasn’t one-way, but a two-way form of communication. Aetami smiled proudly.

—“Then I’ll wrap things up with my final song. It’s one I really love.”

With Yeoreum’s farewell, a familiar melody began to play.

‘Ah, this...!’

Aetami recognized it from the intro alone.

—“On a dark night where even the moonlight is /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ dim,

the reason I’m not afraid

is because of the hand holding mine.”

It was the song Yeoreum had sung as an event at the Taiwan fan meeting. It was also perfect as a farewell song. With the music flowing into her left ear, Aetami recalled that Taiwan fan meeting.

‘Yeoreum....’

To keep from showing her swelling emotions, Aetami stared up at the ceiling.

“Summer! Want to go grab coffee?”

Someone called out to her. For the record, that English name existed solely because of the company’s policy promoting a horizontal organizational culture.

“No... I’m wide awake now....”

“That’s rare. You haven’t had coffee at all this week.”

“Maybe that wake-up stretching thing I do actually works. I always lift my head around this time.”

“Should we try it too?”

Her coworkers’ voices barely registered.

‘ should be coming out soon too, right...?’

Since had released an article about the script reading last week, JC ENM’s official channel would probably upload a video, and a longer version would likely come out through .

Right as she was happily mapping out the timeline, Aetami’s phone buzzed.

Bzz—.

[holy shit the teaser dropped go NOW]

It was a message from a reporter she knew. Aetami hurriedly checked the link.

Intube

[ / A hyper-competent returning student appears? Went for one year, took one year off.... I don’t really know school...? Then why do I know so much Ep. Han Yeoreum] 01:27

After watching the teaser, Aetami interlaced her fingers.

Crack—!

A satisfying sound rang out as she shook her stiff shoulders.

“Wow, Summer, you’re still doing that wake-up stretching.”

The scent of coffee filled the air as coworkers came back in holding cups. Feeling as if she’d just injected herself with caffeine, Aetami started taking screenshots.

‘Once the full episode airs, my hands need to MOVE!’

She’d probably need to prepare multiple captures. Because—

—“LOLLLL what even is this LOOOLLLLL”

—“She’s too cute TT_TT watching her live such a busy life is weirdly satisfying”

—“What is that little brother’s face?? MS GY JPY move faster.... No but seriously why are we only seeing that face for such a short time??????”

ㄴ“222 I was legit startled for a sec”

The reactions were already coming in.

* * *

“Hey, seriously, brace yourself.”

“I know.”

“Behave yourself at school.”

“I always do.”

“Good. And if your friends ask for your sister’s autograph, don’t refuse, okay? We can’t have people saying you’ve already got a celebrity complex.”

“Got it.”

The two of them stared at the teaser, their expressions resolute. Interest in Han Taeyang was already fairly high, starting from the teaser alone.

—“I’ll call you my sister-in-law”

ㄴ“Excuse me; get in line;;”

—“This is insane.. what is he, just an idol? LOOLLLLL Even actual celebrities have trouble looking this good on camera TT_TT”

—“We’re already short on male actors, let’s use him. This is the talent we’ve been waiting for”

ㄴ“Agencies are probably lining up in front of the school with business cards already”

Because the video was short, it was hard to grasp the full content. But one thing was clear.

Views: 52,331

Once the main episode aired, just like every time before, the view counts on clips featuring Han Yeoreum would skyrocket.

“Anyway, I’m heading to school.”

“I’ll say it one more time. Who are you? You’re the younger brother of Han Yeoreum—Best New Actress at the Baekryong Film Awards, Best New Actress at the Arts Awards, and the rising actor who created the ‘miracle of cable.’ Conduct yourself properly.”

“I said I got it.”

Leaving behind Han Yeoreum, who for once was awake early in the morning, Taeyang put on his shoes. From the moment he got off the elevator and headed toward school, he could feel eyes following him.

‘Han Yeoreum must deal with this every day.’

After all, the films she’d appeared in had surpassed ten million viewers, and the dramas she’d starred in had exceeded 20% ratings. Of course people would recognize her anywhere.

In contrast, Han Taeyang found the excessive attention overwhelming. Even when he tried to walk as inconspicuously as possible, he could feel people staring.

‘There’s definitely going to be an autograph situation.’

Entering the classroom, Taeyang let out a sigh. No doubt that attention-seeking Han Yeoreum would try to sign autographs until her wrist gave out, but cutting things off at an appropriate point was important. Taeyang decided he’d grant special treatment to only thirty people per day, first come, first served.

Rrrk—.

Because he’d been talking with Han Yeoreum, he’d arrived later than usual. The classroom, which had been noisy just moments before, fell silent in an instant.