Free Web Novel“November 30th, December 1st. Two days...”
While staring at Han Yeoreum's fan meeting poster, IP 85.152 checked the reservation date.
They weren't exactly a fan.
Not really.
But they did think that attending the fan meeting of a top-tier actress in her twenties—one of the leading figures of Korea's cultural and entertainment industry—might be worth experiencing at least once.
[Fan Café [N O V E L I G H T] Members (R-Mate 1st Generation) Priority Reservation]
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“AAAAAAAAAH... this is driving me crazy...”
Aetami shed tears of emotion at JC ENM's determination to drive the final nail into the Female Actress Holy Grail War.
“Why does the announcement photo look so much like a girlfriend photo?”
Aetami immediately hit save.
Thanks to their dutiful daughter constantly feeding fans new content every day, her gallery storage was approaching its limit.
It felt like only yesterday that <Strange Tales> had ended and Yeoreum had held a fan meeting alongside several other actors.
Now she was holding a solo fan meeting.
The realization hit differently.
“What is she going to do...? Seriously, what is she going to do...?”
Aetami pounded her chest, trying to calm her overflowing heart.
But her racing pulse refused to settle.
There were so many things she wanted to hear.
<Youth Disqualified!> had shown plenty through vlogs, but there had to be all sorts of little stories that happened while the cast developed their characters together.
How difficult had <Unfair Trade> really been?
How much had she practiced Lee Seohae's lines?
What had she been thinking during the <Faster Than the Law 3> location shoots?
Had Macau gone well?
And in her most recent project, <Dongdaemun Romance>, had she personally coordinated some of those outfits?
Which episode's wardrobe was her favorite?
“And...”
She had to sing, too.
Maybe dance like she did during her MC initiation at MusicN.
She wanted to share a moment where Yeoreum talked about what kind of actress she hoped to become in the future.
“I'M SO EXCITED!!!”
Aetami was already looking forward to the fan meeting so much she could barely stand it.
“I wonder what our Baby Melon Bread is doing right now.” freewebnøvel.coɱ
Knowing how devoted she was, she was undoubtedly taking the fan meeting seriously.
Maybe she was already practicing through the night.
And at that very moment—
“Whaaaaaaah...”
“I told you to stop crying. Senior, stop crying and go home already.”
Han Yeoreum was still trying to comfort Hong Suryeon, who remained seated in front of the entrance, sobbing.
“...What the hell?”
Returning home late at night, Han Taeyang momentarily thought he was dreaming.
The nation's top Rom-Com Queen, who had been fighting Han Yeoreum head-on on television until recently, was sitting on his apartment floor crying.
Nearby sat a half-finished glass of orange juice, wet wipes, and crumpled tissues scattered everywhere.
“What's the calf massager doing here?”
“She said her legs were numb and told me to bring it.”
“She could've just sat on the couch.”
“She refuses to move.”
Still shedding tears, Hong Suryeon lifted her head dramatically like a tragic drama heroine and looked at Han Taeyang.
“And who are yew?”
“A member of this household...?”
“Why aren't yew surprised to see meee?”
“I was plenty surprised.”
Tears dripped down her cheeks as she asked again.
“Am I not shockingly pitiful, innocent... and beautiful?”
The sheer confidence behind the question made Han Taeyang nod automatically.
She certainly was extraordinarily beautiful.
But he still didn't understand.
‘Why is she crying in someone else's house at this hour?’
He looked toward Han Yeoreum.
She seemed just as confused.
Sniffling, Hong Suryeon suddenly produced a loud sound.
Grrrrrrr.
“I'm hungryyy....”
After calculating that sending her home was no longer possible, Yeoreum sighed.
“Hey. Go make ramen.”
“No eggs. And make it spicyyy....”
“You heard the lady.”
Han Taeyang abruptly became the ramen delivery service.
“Mmhm....”
Still sniffling, Hong Suryeon devoured two entire bowls of ramen.
Without even offering me a bite.
Finally putting down her chopsticks, she stared at me.
‘Is she finally leaving?’
But Hong Suryeon moved with the dignity of a queen.
“There's no riceee.”
“Would instant rice work?”
“Hot rice with ramen broth isn't really my thinggg....”
Despite her words, she naturally picked up a spoon as though telling me to hurry.
So that was why she'd put down the chopsticks.
I microwaved some rice and presented it before the queen.
“By the way, why isn't your little brother staring at meee? I personally came here to bless him with a beautiful memory he'll cherish for lifeee.”
“He usually sleeps early. Honestly, he was practically unconscious when he made your ramen and went back to his room.”
“I suppose that's trueee. If someone as beautiful as me lingered around the dining table every day, ordinary life would become impossibleee. One glimpse alone would become a lifelong memoryyy....”
I found myself admiring Hong Suryeon's way of thinking.
‘That really is a queen.’
I should learn from her.
Wait.
I'd already started copying her speech pattern.
This was surprisingly infectious.
“But for someone as beautiful as meee to lose to a little babyyy like yew... sniff....”
The moment she finished her rice, she started sniffling again.
Even after eating spicy ramen, her plump reddened lips were unbelievably beautiful.
Her life really was a romantic comedy.
“Please stop crying. Want some ice cream?”
“Sniff... strawberryyy....”
“I don't have strawberry.”
“No cold rice, no strawberryyy. Do yew have anythinggg?”
“Melon flavor. Because I'm Baby Melon Bread.”
“Then that oneee. And next time, prepare properlyyy.”
Next time?
‘She's coming back?’
After finishing the ice cream while sniffling, Hong Suryeon looked at me again with watery eyes.
What was I supposed to do about that?
“Shouldn't you head home now?”
My suffering.
“Whyyy? You're really going to send someone as beautiful as me home this late at nightyy? You're not very thoughtful, are yewww?”
“It was already this late when you arrived.”
“If I go outside nowww... my beauty will light up the entire street and disturb all the residents sleeping peacefullyyy.”
And...?
“I'll stay over for one nighttt.”
Hong Suryeon was utterly unreasonable.
A queen beyond defeat.
After showering, she put on the pajamas I lent her and spent her time in front of the mirror, admiring her face from every angle imaginable.
“My skin's all hydrated nowww. I'm even prettieryy... kyahhh!”
With her hair wrapped in a towel like the heroine of a rom-com, Hong Suryeon never once took her eyes off the mirror while using my skincare products.
For the first time in my life, I witnessed someone dabbing lotion on the tip of their nose first before smiling and rubbing both cheeks.
‘Wait... could the crying in the hallway earlier...’
Had it been because the biggest mirror was there?
So she could admire herself while crying?
Surely not.
‘...I want to believe that, but it's disturbingly plausible.’
Even while blow-drying her hair, she looked like she was filming a commercial.
“By the wayyy, you keep your trophies in your roommm?”
“Yeah. I think I'll get a few more by the end of the year.”
I smiled proudly while looking at the trophies I carefully polished before bed and admired again every morning.
“I have wayyyy more. I even have an entire trophy roommm.”
Hong Suryeon proudly tossed her damp hair.
I responded with an unfortunate truth.
“You might not get this year's.”
“Whaaaaaaaaah!”
I hadn't meant to.
The words had simply slipped out while she was bragging.
Now I'd made her cry again.
Internally cursing Yoo Jiuk, I prepared to leave the room.
“Then get some sleep.”
“Where are yew goinggg? Waaaaah!”
“I need to sleep too. Look what time it is.”
“Sleep hereee!”
As though this were her own bedroom, Hong Suryeon threw a pillow at me.
Catching it reflexively, I sighed and approached the bed.
“Babyyy? Yew sleep on the floooor.”
“Then I'll use the guest room.”
“Whaaaaah! You're so stubbornnn! I don't like ittt!”
Who was she calling stubborn?
Still, I had no choice but to comply.
“I'm turning off the lights.”
This was exhausting.
Three days of nonstop filming would've been easier.
I found myself thinking of another crybaby I'd met recently.
‘Junhyeok...’
Kwon Junhyeok cried reasonably.
A few comforting words and he'd calm down.
A healthy, respectable crybaby.
He even felt embarrassed about it.
Hong Suryeon was the opposite.
She cried while demanding constant attention, and if people stopped paying attention, she cried harder.
And she never stopped easily.
I missed Junhyeok.
“Ah! What the hell?!”
The room suddenly brightened.
I opened my eyes.
The sight before me looked straight out of a horror film.
Hong Suryeon's long hair hung down eerily, her pale face illuminated from below.
“Why are you shining your phone flashlight like that?”
“I was worried my face wouldn't be visible in the darkkk.”
“With lighting like that, you look terrifying.”
“But I'm still beautiful without any unflattering anglesee....”
That wasn't wrong.
Even with the worst possible underlighting, Hong Suryeon remained beautiful and adorable.
“Please go to sleep.”
“If yew were meee, could yew sleep right nowww?”
Lying across the bed, I looked down at Hong Suryeon, who sat on the floor below.
Nothing but sighs escaped me.
Yoo Jiuk.
I was definitely getting revenge.
“Sniff... It's my first time losing to anyoneee.... I even worked really harddd.... It doesn't make any senseee....”
Come to think of it, my stats had increased during filming.
Had Hong Suryeon changed too?
I checked her stats.
“Gah...”
Immersion: S
Concentration: S
Ratings Generator: A+
The numbers were absurd.
Completely different from when I'd met her at the awards ceremony.
‘So she wasn't lying when she said she worked hard.’
Suddenly, I felt proud of <Dongdaemun Romance> all over again.
Who was I?
The actress who held onto first place even after the nation's top Rom-Com Queen threw her entire soul into beating me.
Ah...
“But Senior.”
“Whaaat... sniff.”
“How do you get so immersed?”
I thought I was good.
When acting on set, I stopped seeing cameras and staff entirely.
Then why wasn't my Immersion increasing?
<Code Name: Time Seven> was different from every project I'd done before.
‘Action melodrama. A genre that values immersion above everything.’
If possible, I wanted some advice before filming began.
“Suddenlyyy? Looks like yew finally realized how amazing I ammm?”
“Yes. You're much... better than I am.”
The numbers said so.
Hong Suryeon wasn't an actress who rose to fame on luck and beauty alone.
She smiled brightly.
“You're really cheekyyy.... Of course I am. Fine. Big Sis will teach yew something. Immersion means existing as the lead.”
“The lead?”
“No matter how good a supporting actor is, it's different. The lead pulls viewers along. The level of attraction isn't even comparable. How much screen time have yew had, exactlyyy?”
She stared directly at me.
“How many times have yew actually been the lead since debuting? Web dramas are ridiculously short. Single-episode dramas toooo. And even that all-girls project wasn't a dual lead—it was a triple lead.”
I was surprised by how accurate her analysis was.
Honestly, I knew why I'd been called a rising star for so long.
There were two reasons.
One was that I'd jumped between genres, preventing image fatigue.
‘And the other...’
I'd rarely appeared as the sole lead.
“Let's be honest, babyyy. You've only really been the lead twice. That's a completely different dimension from meee.”
Excluding web dramas and theater, the only projects that truly cemented my name as a lead were <Strange Tales> and <Dongdaemun Romance>.
My filmography had an incredible hit rate.
But compared to others, my total screen time lagged behind.
“And your first lead wasn't even really your ownnn. Geum Bitgang was there too. It practically felt like a dual-lead drama. Honestly, if someone other than Geum Bitgang had played that role, what would've happened to those ratings? Could yew have carried it aloneee?”
Yeomga instead of Geum Bitgang.
I couldn't even imagine it.
Yeomga possessed an overwhelming ability to seize viewers in episode one and drag them all the way to episode sixteen.
“And another thing. If yew keep acting long enough, there comes a moment when yew know. A moment where no matter what yew do, yew'll never create anything better. A moment that will never come again. Yew just know. Yew know you're melting every piece of yourself into the project.”
At some point, Hong Suryeon's expression had changed.
She looked every bit the veteran actress who had repeatedly proven herself through countless productions.
“A huge wave comes. So massive yew can't handle it. Even after it's over, yew can't put yourself back together properlyyy.”
Speaking as a senior who had defended the top spot for years, she continued.
“That was <Seaside Melody> for me.”
The drama she had created alongside Hwang Boseok.
The drama still considered Hong Suryeon's masterpiece.
At the time, she'd dominated the entire country.
Even now, when people thought of heartbreaking crying scenes, they remembered Hong Suryeon standing before the sea, sobbing.
‘An acting performance better than this will never happen again... melting yourself completely into the work...’
I believed I had always been sincere.
I'd analyzed characters obsessively.
I'd remained focused on set.
‘But as Hong Suryeon said...’
Had there ever been a moment where I was swept away by a project and struggled to stay afloat?
No wonder her stat was so high.
I stared at Hong Suryeon, who still held a flashlight beneath her chin and refused to hide her face for even a second.
And I found myself genuinely impressed.
“Looks like yew still have more questionsss?”
She seemed oddly smug now.
Since things had come to this, I decided to ask everything I could.
Might as well take advantage of her while I had the chance.
