The unfamiliar staff member was the youngest member of the production team for the daily drama <How We Ended Up>, which was being shot on the set next door. He continued almost on the verge of tears.

“Actually… we had an actor scheduled to make a cameo today. They were supposed to arrive right now, but they suddenly fell ill…”

After hearing the full story from him, Han Yooil nodded. It seemed like the role had more lines than a typical cameo or supporting role, and it wasn’t something the director was satisfied to hand over to just any supporting actor or extra.

“I’ll do it.”

Min Woojin looked at Han Yooil with bulging eyes.

“Yooil, you…”

“It’s a short shoot, it shouldn’t take long.”

“Absolutely! It won’t take long!”

The staff member nodded vigorously, his concerns dissipating, and made a call.

“Yes, Director! Yes, Actor Han Yooil said he can do it! Yes! I’ll bring him right over!”

Min Woojin, looking pale, had to make a call to the company. Brion also seemed surprised by the unexpected situation.

Even so, how could he refuse such a plea?

【…I didn’t foresee this situation. It’s unexpected.】

‘…’

【<How We Ended Up> is a daily drama currently maintaining a viewership rating over 10%, with its primary audience being women aged 40 to 60. The story revolves around various love lines and the success story of a divorced woman in her 30s. The director is Kim Hosin, known to be demanding when it comes to acting compared to other directors of daily dramas. The lead actress is Jung Yuna, a second-generation idol-turned-actor.】

Han Yooil listened to Brion’s information and headed to the adjacent set.

“Ah, Actor Han Yooil!”

Director Kim Hosin, who warmly welcomed Han Yooil, scrutinized him carefully.

‘Let’s see…’

Tall, likely over 180cm, with clean skin and deep, double-lidded eyes.

‘Neat and handsome.’

He wasn’t well-acquainted, but he knew that this actor was gradually rising in popularity. How fortunate it was to have such an actor on the neighboring set.

Director Kim patted the youngest staff member’s back encouragingly and continued.

“Did you get a brief about the role you’re playing?”

“Yes, I was briefed.”

Han Yooil’s role was to be the friend of the protagonist’s youngest sibling.

He visits the protagonist’s house and shows interest in her, inadvertently igniting jealousy in her divorced ex-husband who happens to pass by the house.

Yooil nodded, and soon a script page was handed to him.

“Don’t stress too much, let me know when you’re ready.”

After skimming the script for 1-2 minutes, Han Yooil looked up.

“Ready to start.”

“…Eh?”

Director Kim looked at Han Yooil with skepticism.

“You don’t need to rush. We still have a few more shots before wrap-up.”

“It’s fine. I think I’m ready.”

Kim Hosin looked at Han Yooil with narrowed eyes.

‘This guy, I didn’t expect him to be so overconfident.’

Director Kim clicked his tongue slightly. Well, whether it was bravado or not, he couldn’t refuse an actor willing to shoot.

“Then let’s try it lightly. Call the actors, please~”

And he called the actors who were in the waiting room. Jung Yuna, who came out of the waiting room, widened her eyes in surprise.

“Wait, wasn’t the cameo unable to come today?”

Jung Yuna was an idol who had long held the position of a music show MC with a friendly image, and now she was an actor known as the ‘King of Daily Dramas’.

Han Yooil, suppressing the unilateral intimacy that anyone of his age would have, greeted her.

“Hello, I’m Han Yooil.”

In response to Han Yooil’s greeting, Jung Yuna extended her hand with a bright smile.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Jung Yuna!”

Jung Yuna extended her hand with a cheerful smile. Her eyes, with thick double eyelids and slightly upturned corners, drew a curve. Contrary to her delicate and haughty appearance, she seemed to have a quite vibrant personality.

Kim Haejoon, who took the role of Park Dojin, the brother of the main character Park Hyeju (Jung Yuna) and a friend of Han Yooil, came out of the waiting room. He too greeted Han Yooil warmly.

Kim Haejoon was an actor who was at least ten years older than Han Yooil, often cast in younger roles due to his cute appearance and small stature.

“Thank you for coming despite being busy.”

“Not at all. It’s an honor to shoot together.”

And soon, the shooting began.

The shooting started from a set decorated as the outside of a house. The two, who were in their final year of college, were on their way back from a job-search study, and Park Hyeju was inside the house eating bibimbap.

The youngest member of the production team swallowed his saliva and looked down at the script and the daily shooting schedule.

[S#25 In front of Hyeju’s house (Evening)]

‘Please… do well!’

As the youngest prayed with all his heart, the camera director, looking tired, began setting up the camera.

“Camera roll~”

“Take 1 of scene 25!”

At the director’s signal of ‘action’, the actors began their performance.

“Hey, sister’s at home.”

“…Sister?”

“You really haven’t seen her in a long time. Not since the wedding two years ago…”

Dojin slapped his mouth as if he regretted speaking.

“Ah. I’m doomed. She said she’d kill me if I said that.”

Then Han Yooil chuckled and said,

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”

‘…!’

The shooting director unknowingly began to close-up Han Yooil’s face. And the next moment, Han Yooil opened the door and entered the house.

“Sister, it’s been a long time.”

Park Hyeju, who was eating bibimbap, widened her cat-like eyes slightly.

“Uh… uh? Hello.”

A gentle smile spread across Han Yooil’s face. It was a simple, unforced, and unburdened smile.

Park Hyeju stared intently at Han Yooil as he spoke.

“…You’re still the same, sister.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Of course it is.”

Watching them, the youngest member of the production team hugged his arms and exclaimed inwardly.

‘Why does this feel so ticklish?!’

It was a feeling he had never experienced while shooting daily dramas. Although the framing was typical of daily dramas, it kept giving off the atmosphere of a mini-series romance drama.

Unknowingly immersed in their conversation, someone knocked on the door from outside Park Hyeju’s house.

“…Ah, just a moment.”

As Park Hyeju was about to leave the house, Han Yooil quickly stood up.

“I’ll go see.”

“Huh?”

Han Yooil, with a neat smile, headed toward the entrance.

The moment he opened the door, the face of Park Hyeju’s ex-husband appeared. He looked at Han Yooil with a puzzled expression.

“…Who are you?”

“And who might you be?”

“I used to be the husband, the owner of this house.”

Despite the ex-husband’s sly tone, Han Yooil didn’t back down easily. Instead, Yooil spoke in a relaxed manner.

“…People usually refer to that kind of relationship like this.”

He continued with a slight smile.

“Ex.”

It was a refreshing comeback.

‘Perfect.’

The director removed his headset and nodded in satisfaction. Even the monitor looked perfect.

‘He memorized all that in one go.’

Despite being a cameo, his attention to the relationships between the characters and his changing attitudes depending on the character were not typical of a newcomer.

‘This guy is better than the one who was originally supposed to come.’

The actor who was scheduled for the special appearance, Bae Yoonhyung, had a long acting career and was popular for several years as a ‘pretty boy actor’, but there had always been controversies about his acting skills whenever he played a leading role.

Nevertheless, he was popular among the daily drama audience and still didn’t know how to bend his pride. The fact that he canceled his cameo appearance might have been intentional.

While the director was monitoring contentedly, Jung Yuna, who had approached Han Yooil, whispered.

“You’re really good, you know?”

Jung Yuna said with a beaming smile.

“It’s all thanks to you.”

“No way.”

“…Pardon?”

Unlike the slightly bewildered Han Yooil, Jung Yuna looked at him playfully, her eyes twinkling.

“I was just riding on your coattails. Yooil… may I call you Yooil?”

“Of course.”

“It’s been a while since I felt like I was shooting a romance, all thanks to you, Yooil.”

Jung Yuna said, giving him a wink.

* * *

A few days later, after the broadcast of <How We Ended Up>, various articles started flooding the internet.

– <How We Ended Up> ‘Surprise Appearance of a Younger Man’ – Who Is He?

– Daily Drama <How We Ended Up> Captures Attention… The Man Who Made Park Hyeju’s Heart Flutter?

– ‘Refreshing Newcomer’ Han Yooil, Special Appearance in <How We Ended Up>

– <How We Ended Up> Hits Peak Ratings… Did the ‘Cameo Effect’ Play a Part?

.

.

.

【The response is better than expected.】

‘…Indeed.’

Although they hadn’t expected such a response, it seemed they fully reaped the benefits of having a solid core audience.

“Yooil, did you know that screenshots of your face are circulating in mom cafes?”

Min Woojin showed his phone to Han Yooil, who shook his head in disbelief.

“Look at this.”

“…”

– (Chat) Anyone watched ‘How We Ended Up’ yesterday?

[(Photo) (Photo)

Yesterday. Screamed during the drama~~ Seeing him speak his mind to the husband (now an ex though~ haha) was so satisfying~~~ Wish he’d appear more often, what a pity it’s just a special appearance~~]

┗ Exactly~~ Isn’t he more handsome than the male lead haha (Sorry, boss~~^^;;)

┗ Looked him up and it’s an actor named ‘Han Yooil’. Young too, but such great acting~

┗┗ Oh, I looked him up too haha. Same age as my son haha

┗ I want him as my son-in-law~~ㅠㅠ

“Even my mom, who’s never been interested before, was asking all sorts of questions. Suddenly giving me ginseng and saying ‘well done’…”

Complaining about this unprecedented interest from his mother, Min Woojin’s voice faded as Han Yooil pulled out his laptop from his bag.

[1st Semester Midterm Report Assignment]

He was, after all, an unavoidable college student.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lee Hyejin was living her life amidst the flood of SNS as usual.

Her days were lively, thanks to the frequent appearances of male actors she was interested in.

Lee Hyejin hopped between BlueChat and various communities, liking favorable posts.

While happily browsing, Lee Hyejin stumbled upon a post with a distasteful title.

– Aren’t the viral attempts of rookie actors these days a bit too much?

[Everyone calls them scene stealers, but honestly, it’s kinda funny.

Do they still think virals work?

This way of promoting rookies doesn’t seem to help them in the long run.]

┗ There’s more than one or two rookie actors.

┗ Who are you talking about?

┗┗ That one who appeared as a cameo in the daily drama lol

┗┗ H Yooil?

┗┗ Yes

‘Damn it.’

Her bad premonition was right.

As they start getting famous, these kind of people begin to latch on.

‘My actor was just a regular person until a few months ago!’

Frowning, Lee Hyejin’s fingers moved quickly. Obviously, her actor would still be unaware of this world.

‘…I hope he never finds out.’

Soon, Lee Hyejin entered BlueChat and quickly left a post, unaware that her idol might eventually see it.