I'm an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me

Forty-eight hours had passed since 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉 was released. The internet had been reduced to rubble, and offline reality was no different.

Naturally, the footsteps of the people whose January 1st had been ruined all headed toward one place.

[HOT / Samsung KOEX is apparently complete chaos right now.jpg]

(Internet reactions before 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉.jpg)

Back then, more people were saying, “Why are they trying so hard with this concept from the start of the new year? Get rid of those rotten bandages,” when talking about KOEX...

(Currently packed KOEX.jpg)

Everyone came here for a pilgrimage to 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉T_T lololol

-Anonymous 1: I went today too LMAO there were so many people.

-Anonymous 4: I instantly understood why they poured so much money into this. Before, I was like “Huh? What even is this?” but these emotionally overwhelmed nerds really need a fish farm to keep them in T_T

└ Anonymous 9: Ouch.

└ Anonymous 12: Where did that violence come from;; damn.

-Anonymous 39: Looks like foreign influencers have already latched on lololol Saw some white guy getting ridiculously emotional and yelling, “Jihwa!!! Jihwa!!!”

└ Anonymous 44: Oh, I saw him too...

└ Anonymous 52: Wait, me too LMAO

-Anonymous 87: The women wouldn’t leave the area with Myeong Jeha’s face.

The place was KOEX in Samseong-dong.

It had always been one of ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) Seoul’s landmarks with heavy foot traffic, but this time was different.

Far more people came not because they had a purpose, but simply because their overflowing hearts led them there.

On the giant outdoor billboard everyone associated with KOEX, the faces of On Jihwa, Kim Kangil, Yoo Yeonji, and Lee Jeongmin were being displayed in sequence in 4D.

“Ah, damn it... it’s freezing!”

“Eek!”

“Huh? It’s 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉!”

Despite the bitter cold, people across the street busily filmed it before rubbing their reddened hands and heading inside.

Nobody criticized KOEX’s new decorations anymore. The tide had completely turned, as if they had never complained in the first place.

Click-! Click-!

Countless people took pictures while following the 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉 wrapping. Whenever the trailer played on the dim movie theater screens, people couldn’t take their eyes off it. The stairs in front of the theaters were more crowded than ever.

Because so many people sat there for a long time, savoring the lingering emotions.

“What’s the estimated number of visitors now?”

“More than during the holidays...”

Holiday season.

Even compared to the busiest day of the year, when the largest number of moviegoers visited, the crowd was larger.

NetHolics and JC ENM’s promotional strategy had targeted the public’s hearts perfectly.

The photo zone in the central library, decorated with objects symbolizing the characters of 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉, was so packed that there was hardly room to stand.

And there was one more thing.

KOEX housed a huge number of shopping brands, and several specific stores were on the verge of exploding.

“235 is completely sold out now!”

“Pull stock from other stores then!”

“The batch we got through express delivery earlier was the last one. What do we do?”

Among them, the fiercest battlefield was Company N.

Having successfully renewed Han Yeoreum as their exclusive model, the brand was once again reliving its former glory.

Back then, there had been Pi Chaewon’s sneakers from 〈ParCheHi〉, the shoes that opened a new web-drama market. It wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say seven out of ten people wore them.

And now another leap had come.

“Do you have On Jihwa sneakers?”

This time, under On Jihwa’s name, shoe boxes flew off the shelves like crazy.

No matter how much stock they pulled from other stores, there was a limit.

At this pace, nationwide sellout would come within an hour.

“What the hell is today’s sales?”

“This isn’t a system error, right? Is that number of zeroes correct?”

The employees doubted their own eyes when they saw the sales figures on the register.

They had surpassed an entire month’s worth of revenue in less than a single day.

“Do you have the Jihwa jersey?”

“Ah, I believe that national team jersey was specially made.”

Unable to get On Jihwa sneakers, customers turned to Jihwa’s trademark sports jersey.

But the one with the Korean flag had been custom-made by the 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉 production itself.

“Ah...”

After sighing in disappointment, the customers looked around the store.

Then they made a simple decision.

“That one’s similar!”

“Huh?”

“I’ll take that instead!”

Just because the color arrangement looked similar, Company N’s sports jerseys also started selling under the name “Jihwa items.”

Following “Pi Chaewon Syndrome” and “Yeon Huijae Syndrome,” the day wasn’t far off when a new plague called “On Jihwa Syndrome” would spread.

* * *

KOEX.

Even the Sanseong flagship store near Company N echoed endlessly with the sound of numbers rising.

“How many models do we have left?”

“The ones we got through express delivery earlier are all gone!”

If someone asked which brand benefited the most from 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉, there was no need for discussion.

Sanseong GLX.

Every time foreshadowing or a crisis appeared, the GLX watch had been shown. So everyone who came to Samseong Station with overflowing emotions eventually arrived here.

Despite not being a new product, people bought watches one after another without hesitation.

“No... seriously... how is this possible...?”

More than Lee Seohae’s effect during 〈Unfair Trade〉.

More than Nam Pyeonghwa’s effect during 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉.

The On Jihwa effect from 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉, shown to the public for only forty-eight hours, was the strongest of them all.

“I take back everything I said about Jegal Rok.”

“Our Rok... thank you so much.”

Faced with those insane sales, the capitalist mad dog Jegal Rok had even gained a nickname, at least among Sanseong employees.

“The other companies must be going crazy too, right?”

“Obviously.”

There was no subject mentioned, but everyone instantly knew who they meant.

An A-grade actor with the monstrous ability to elevate anything she touched.

All the brands that had signed Han Yeoreum as their model were surely cheering.

* * *

“Jihwa...”

Meanwhile, Marcus, wandering around like a ghost in KOEX while muttering his daughter’s name, still hadn’t regained his sanity.

He already had a pair of size 285 On Jihwa sneakers after lining up before opening, but that wasn’t enough.

-Please get a grip.

-Weren’t you the one saying K-dramas were only for gay guys?

-I just tuned in. Marcus had a daughter? Hopefully she didn’t resemble him... XD

-When are you going to show somewhere else in Korea?! Please leave that place already!

-LOL Stop acting like a father who lost his wife and child. She wasn’t your daughter to begin with.

“Why isn’t my daughter a K-Pop star...? There’s nothing to buy, damn it!”

Marcus was furious at NetHolics for not selling merchandise.

His desire to buy absolutely anything related to Jihwa had reached its limit.

Then something entered his vision.

“Huh?”

Olive0 had moved quickly as well.

On the transparent windows, posters of his daughter Jihwa were being put up.

[Ol0 PICK! Four Consecutive Years at No.1 / A-Lab Damage Hair Care]

Seeing his daughter with silky hair and a pink hair pack in hand, Marcus immediately paid.

Those watching his Intube live stream half-jokingly mocked him.

An American who had become excessively obsessed with 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉.

Marcus knew it.

His subscribers knew it too.

Mocking the idiot Marcus had itself become content.

Incidentally, Marcus, who had bought over a dozen hair packs, was bald.

-Go to Rosemoment. You’ll see your daughter’s poster there.

-I heard U-lens has her too... Marcus, surely you know she’s not actually a female idol, right? You should look in a mirror.

-There’s a café called Twosun that sells the fresh strawberry shortcake your daughter likes. Light some candles and sing happy birthday for her, Marcus. Though she’s already gone, so she won’t hear you...

As expected of viewers raised on live reactions and gaming streams, his subscribers were professionals.

Without anyone noticing, their attitude toward him had changed.

They had fully embraced the “father grieving his beloved daughter” concept and played along.

At first, viewers who hadn’t watched 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉 couldn’t join in, but eventually they became familiar with the name Ji hwa and mourned together.

Marcus wandered through KOEX, roleplaying as a father grieving his departed daughter.

“My daughter loved... necklaces... I always wanted to put one on her when she became an adult...”

Speaking nostalgically, he bought jewelry from a brand modeled by Han Yeoreum.

“My daughter’s eyes sparkled just like this... I can never forget the first moment she ran toward me...”

He bought lenses too.

“Happy...”

And when he actually went to the café, he pretended to be sad and sang Happy Birthday in front of a whole cake.

[Issue Board / Apparently an American has gone insane because of Han Yeoreum.jpg]

(Captures from Marcus’s Intube reaction videos.jpg)

At first he was just kind of an annoying foreigner...

(Midway screenshots.jpg)

This is where he completely lost it.

(Marcus staring at Jihwa.jpg)

He’s ascending to paradise nonstop... he wants to become the father of the child...

(Live stream screenshot of him urgently flying to Korea.jpg)

He actually came to Korea...

(Current livestream screenshot.jpg)

Bought On Jihwa sneakers, bought hair packs despite being bald, bought necklaces, bought lenses, he’s just showing off a wallet-emptying spectacle.

(Marcus holding hot takeaway coffee from Twosun while staring at KOEX outdoor ads.jpg)

He’s throwing another fit because he wants to see her alive again...

-Is he crazy?

-What the hell is On Jihwa’s father LMAOOO

-Seriously, of all things LMAO

-This is hilariousLOLOLOLOL But honestly, she’s exactly the type foreigners would go crazy for.

└ He’s obsessed with archers already T_T

-It’s funny how severe his mental illness is. We need to export this psychopath hehe

└ Things are already getting spicy.

└ Damn it, I’m seriously curious what’ll happen if WeLand goes to America T_T Why isn’t it on NetHolics yet?

-Even 〈Strange Tales〉 entered the global rankings lololol Why am I getting patriotic from the start of the year?

Not wanting to lose to Marcus, other Intubers rapidly uploaded videos trying to milk 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉 for views.

And their reactions were imported into Korea in real time.

[HOT / American reactions to 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉.jpg]

[Drama Movie Actor TALK / American Intubers are going crazy because they didn’t expect Korea to produce something this high-quality lololol]

[Issue Board / The unexpected thing Americans are obsessed with in 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉.jpg]

[Today’s TOP / NetHolics’ 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉 performance on its way to No.1 in America.jpg]

* * *

After spending a fulfilling day, Marcus ordered delivery from the pizza brand that was giving away his daughter’s photo cards.

“Not having to tip really is wonderful.”

Checking the delivery notification, Marcus headed to reception.

His steps toward the lobby to collect the pizza were unusually cheerful.

“Daddy’s coming...”

Somehow, the phrase had become natural.

He had been genuinely shocked to discover Jihwa was actually in her mid-twenties rather than a teenager, but age didn’t matter.

A daughter was a daughter.

“Hm?”

As Marcus received his pizza and headed toward the elevator, he noticed something strange.

“Hmmm...”

The delivery driver entering the lobby felt oddly familiar.

A helmet.

A red embroidered bomber jacket.

‘Kangil?’

He somehow reminded him of Kim Kangil from 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉.

Marcus stared for a moment before shaking his head.

“Honestly... no way.”

He must have been thinking about Kim Kangil too much.

Every time he thought about his daughter, Kim Kangil came as a set.

For a brief moment, when Kangil had pulled Jihwa up, he had wondered whether the guy would make a decent son-in-law.

But he couldn’t let some delinquent approach his daughter.

No way.

He wanted to get back to his room and check the photo cards.

After entering the elevator and leaving the Kangil lookalike behind, Marcus suddenly realized something.

“Wait... but the clothes were exactly the same?”

The “Kim Kangil embroidered bomber” was a luxury brand item.

Not something a delivery driver would wear.

“No way?”

Marcus hurriedly pressed the button for the lobby floor again, but the man who resembled Kim Kangil had already disappeared.

* * *

“Unni...”

The first day of properly starting the 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉 promotional schedule.

I had done a magazine interview in the morning.

Filmed a challenge video.

And now, after reaching the stage that could spread NetHolics’ influence the furthest—shooting for a popular Intube channel—

“Me too...”

Standing in the kitchen, I spoke to Tak Jeongyun with tears in my eyes.

“I want to show something too...”

This was a branch of , located in Samseong-dong.

“If this keeps up, what if Myeong Jeha and Do Gyeoul steal all the focus?!”

I was stuck in the kitchen, stir-frying webfoot octopus.