The sun hadn't even risen fully, but the internet already had a new obsession.
"The Unknown Actor."
"The Janitor Who Made the World Cry."
"Ahn Jae-yun — Acting or Living?"
Clips from his silent betrayal scene under Director Kang Yuna's lens spread faster than wildfire. TikTok edits. YouTube reactions. Twitter threads. Instagram reels.
A single comment captured it all:
> "This guy made me feel heartbreak in five seconds without saying a word.
Who is he?"
---
Meanwhile, in Reality…
Jae-yun was mopping the cafeteria floor.
The world outside may have been screaming his name, but inside, nothing felt different.
Until Yeon rushed in, holding up his phone like a weapon.
"Jae-yun, you've hit one million views. On two different clips. Trending on Naver, Insta, and CineFeed!"
Jae-yun blinked. "…Is that… a lot?"
Yeon stared at him like he'd grown two heads. "You're basically famous."
"I didn't do anything."
"That's the problem! You did nothing, and made everyone cry!"
---
Offers Pour In
By evening, Yeon's inbox looked like a warzone:
[Subject: Audition Invitation – TVN Drama]
[Casting Request – Netflix Korea Original]
[Interest from Cannes Indie Selection – 1st Screening Rights]
[Podcast Interview – "New Faces of Korean Cinema"]
Jae-yun didn't respond to any of them.
Instead, he sat by himself in the old practice room. Watching the clip over and over. Not because he was proud… but because he didn't understand it.
Was that really him?
The pain. The betrayal. The silence. It looked so real. It felt… too real.
He placed a hand on his own face in the mirror.
> "I didn't act that. I felt that."
---
Kang Yuna's Studio – Midnight
Yuna stared at the playback screen in her private editing suite. Her eyes sharp, calculating. She didn't smile this time.
"He's dangerous," she murmured.
Her assistant turned. "Dangerous?"
Yuna leaned back. "He doesn't act. He just opens a door inside himself and lets the pain walk out. That's not skill. That's madness."
"…Should we still use him?"
She grinned.
"Of course. That's what makes it beautiful."
---
News Segment (Voiceover)
> "The internet is ablaze with the appearance of a mysterious acting genius—Ahn Jae-yun, an untrained, unknown man discovered purely by accident.
His uncanny ability to portray raw emotion has critics and casting agents divided:
Is he the next big thing?
Or is he just a one-scene wonder?"
---
Back in Jae-yun's Apartment
He held a script in his hands.
"The Drowned Sun" – Kang Yuna's new psychological drama.
He'd been offered the lead. No audition.
He stared at the first line:
> "It's hard to be real when the world only loves lies."
He closed the script and looked at his reflection again.
"…Who do they think I am?"
---
End of Chapter 4