CHAPTER 002: Awareness, Favorability, Ripple Effect
CHAPTER 002: Awareness, Favorability, Ripple Effect
“Please read from the top line, slowly.”
The doctor said as he pointed at the eye chart with a long stick.
“Recognition Level… 0. Favorability… unmeasurable…”
“Yes?”
“Ah, sorry. Let me check again.”
The translucent window floating in front of me overlapped the eye chart.
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【Basic Info】
【Name: Ryu Sunho】
【Age: 21】
【Height: 184.6 cm】
【Occupation: Aspiring actor】
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【Influence】
【Recognition Level: 0/100】
【Favorability: *Unmeasurable】
*You must have Recognition Level of 30 or higher to view this
【Ripple Effect: *Unmeasurable】
*You must have Favorability of 30 or higher to view this
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‘This isn’t some game character.’
The details under Basic Info matched my personal information exactly.
But what drew my eyes more were the lines underneath.
Recognition Level, favorability, ripple effect…
Weren’t those the very metrics typically used to evaluate advertising performance?
‘Well, they’re not strange metrics to apply to entertainers, either.’
I’d always been someone who hit high numbers as an advertiser, so getting a miserable “0” for Recognition Level felt oddly unsettling.
On top of that, the goal had been reset.
【Goal: Become the world’s greatest actor】
【For efficient performance management, the primary goal will be reset…】
【Goal: Become the best actor in Korea】
【Currently, the percentage of people in Korea who consider you the best actor is: 0%】
So I was supposed to become the best in Korea first before talking about becoming the best in the world.
And beneath that came the stats.
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【Stats】
Looks: B+
Acting: C
Mental: S
Physical: D
…
..
.
Remaining Stat Points: 1
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Unlike Influence, the stats were graded with letter ranks.
Translucent arrows shimmered faintly on both sides of each category.
Judging by how it was trying to get me to click, it seemed I could raise or lower them with the remaining stat points.
So, then—my ranks are…
“B… C… S… D…”
“Mm, you can see well.”
The doctor said as he put away the equipment.
“Your vision doesn’t seem to be an issue. Still, just in case, if you feel anything off later, come back right away.”
“Yes, thank you.”
After the final exam, a short-haired paramedic ran over to me.
She was the one who’d stopped me when I tried to leave, then dragged me all the way to the hospital.
“What did the doctors say?”
“They said I’m fine. Vision, skin—everything. You don’t have to worry.”
The paramedic’s expression brightened noticeably.
“That’s such a relief. I was really shocked watching you rush in at the accident scene. Pulling the driver out of a car after the fire had already started spreading… That was incredible.”
“No. I just did what I was supposed to do.”
“We have to leave a record.”
She pulled out a small notebook from her chest pocket.
“Could I ask your name and contact number?”
“Yes?”
When I repeated it, her face turned red, and she waved both arms as she hurried to explain.
“No, it’s not for anything weird! We just have to log it after a dispatch!”
“Ah, okay. It’s Ryu Sunho, and my number is…”
She carefully wrote everything down.
Ding!
A notification popped up.
【Recognition Level Achievement Unlocked!】
【Your First Fan】
【You gained your first fan who remembers your face and name】
【Reward: Stat Point +1】
‘My first fan?’
This person?
I didn’t even do anything.
【Influence】
【Recognition Level: 1/100】
My Recognition Level, which had been 0, rose to 1.
Since the max was 100, it probably worked like a percentage scale.
“Thank you! We’re lucky there are brave citizens like you today!”
The short-haired paramedic thanked me with a bright smile and left.
I felt like I’d heard “thank you” at least ten times already today.
‘Still.’
It feels good.
All of it—changing the future, receiving someone’s sincere gratitude.
‘But how am I supposed to receive the incentive?’
The system said it would pay 100 million won as an incentive for successfully rescuing the driver.
But realistically, there was no way money like that could just appear…
“Mr. Ryu Sunho, correct?”
I turned at the voice behind me. A man in a black suit was standing there.
“I heard you saved our chairman’s son at the accident scene.”
“Excuse me?”
“The black Mercedes accident.”
“Ah… yes. That’s right.”
“He’s recovering without serious injuries. Thank you.”
The man bowed at ninety degrees.
“If you have a moment… the chairman would like to see you briefly.”
A VIP room.
Inside the luxurious room, a woman’s sobbing voice could be heard.
“My son… how did this happen…”
A woman sitting by the bed, crying.
With her flashy hair color and dressed-up clothes, she didn’t look like an ordinary person.
Her face seemed familiar, but with her eye makeup smeared as she cried, it was hard to recognize her clearly.
Beside her, a man silently watched his son.
“Hello.”
“Ah, hello.”
Only when I made my presence known did he finally turn to me.
“Thank you for saving my son.”
It was a polite greeting, yet it carried weight.
A pressure, like someone receiving a guest who had stepped into his territory.
“I was very shocked when I heard my son had been in a major accident…”
As he continued, he looked at his son for a moment.
His eyes wavered briefly, then hardened again.
“Thanks to you, our family avoided a great misfortune. Thank you.”
At his gesture, a secretary brought over a document envelope.
“Please accept it. It’s a token of our gratitude.”
The secretary respectfully handed me the envelope.
“It’s 100 million won. These are the documents regarding the gratuity, reviewed by the legal team. Once you fill in the details, we will transfer the funds.”
“…!”
So that’s how 100 million won appears?
“This is my business card. If you feel unwell at all, contact me anytime.”
The moment I took the card and read it, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.
[Han Taejun, Chairman, Taeseong Ilbo]
Taeseong Ilbo…?
That was the top media company in the country.
Which meant the man in front of me was Han Taejun, the third son of the Taeseong Group chairman.
‘So that’s what it was.’
Only now did my old questions finally resolve.
Before my regression, when I’d failed to save the driver and suffered burns all over my body—when I’d been focused entirely on treatment—someone had covered my massive hospital bills and later even donated a settlement fund.
I wanted to find out who it was, but all I ever got back was that it was an anonymous benefactor.
I assumed it must have been someone related to the accident, but no matter how much I searched, there was no article about that day’s accident, which had always felt strange.
‘Taeseong Ilbo was involved.’
Han Taejun looked at me briefly, then asked,
“If you don’t mind… what do you do?”
“Ah… I’m an aspiring actor.”
At that moment, his gaze shifted subtly.
He looked like he wanted to say something, then closed his mouth.
“I see.”
Then the woman who’d been sniffling by the bed raised her head.
“Wait… you said you’re an aspiring actor?”
She turned to her husband, Han Taejun.
“Honey. He wants to be an actor. Why are you just sitting there? We owe him such a huge debt—at least call some agency CEOs we know and see if there’s an opportunity…”
Just as Han Taejun’s brow began to furrow slightly—
“Thank you very much, but I’ll decline.”
I cut in with a polite bow.
‘I’ve already been compensated enough.’
This wasn’t me trying to be modest out of moral virtue. Psychologically, taking more would be disadvantageous to me.
If I receive more here, the other party will start to feel this situation is exploitative and develop resentment toward me.
“You’ve already expressed your thanks enough. More than anything, this is the most important time for the patient to recover.”
Han Taejun’s pupils widened for an instant.
A bodily signal of interest. Pupils hold far more information than people realize.
“You’re a rare young man.”
At the same time, the corners of his lips rose faintly.
“Then I’ll see you again. If you need anything, contact me anytime using the card.”
“Yes, thank you. I’ll be going now.”
I greeted them politely and left the room.
Then my phone suddenly rang.
The caller name was “Yoon Iseul.”
‘That name is…’
Only then did I remember.
Why I’d been in Gangnam in the first place.
“Hello?”
-Hey! Where are you? Class started thirty minutes ago!
“Sorry. I’m coming right now.”
I hung up and started running.
Memories from fifteen years ago began to return one by one.
“Hah… hah…”
As I ran, I checked the system window again.
【Physical: D】
Annoyingly accurate.
“Acting isn’t simply reciting lines—!”
At the acting academy, Instructor Jo Sangdeuk’s voice rang out.
With both arms thrown wide, he shouted in a theatrical tone.
“It’s a sacred rite where the actor’s soul becomes one with the character’s soul and fuses!”
Fortunately, I arrived before class ended.
I slipped in quietly and sat in the very back.
“Ohh! Sunho, did you come late to feel my living, breathing wrath?”
The instructor asked in an exaggerated cadence.
“Or was it to practice the true timing of an actor’s entrance?”
“Hehe.”
Everyone in the classroom laughed.
“I’m sorry, Instructor. Something urgent came up…”
“Something urgent?”
Instructor Jo Sangdeuk’s eyes widened.
“For an actor, there is only one urgent matter—seizing the audience’s soul.”
His tone abruptly turned serious.
“Did you go to an audition?”
“No…”
“Tsk…!”
He shot me a sharp look, then switched back into his theatrical voice.
“Alright, we’ll wrap up here for today. Dismissed! Sunho, stay behind a moment and see me.”
The other students filed out one by one.
“This is a first, isn’t it?”
“Yes?”
“You being late to class, I mean.”
On the way here, I witnessed a traffic accident, broke a car window, rescued the driver…
If I said that, it would sound like a ridiculous excuse.
Thankfully, the instructor didn’t press.
“Well, you must have had your reasons. Understood. Just be careful from now on.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“The audition next week—are your preparations going well?”
An audition?
Did I have one scheduled?
“Don’t tell me you forgot. The sports drink commercial. Didn’t I say I’d introduce you?”
The memory snapped into place.
Right—he’d suggested a commercial audition to me.
In the end, I hadn’t been able to go because of the accident.
‘Even after coming back, it’s still commercials.’
What a stubborn connection.
“Just because you’re an actor doesn’t mean you have to aim for major projects right away. Especially not as a rookie. Look through the careers of leading actors. Not a few started with commercials. Do you know why?”
“Probably because commercials have more opportunities?”
“That too, but there’s something more important!”
The instructor grew excited, spitting as he spoke.
“Commercials leave a powerful impression in a short time. If you seize the viewer’s heart within fifteen seconds and get etched into the public’s memory, then the road ahead as an actor becomes limitless.”
He continued.
“Commercial acting will be good experience, too. It requires acting that’s more delicate and compressed than long-form dramas. So prepare well for the ‘Mate’ drink commercial audition. Every great actor never let opportunities slip by!”
Wait. The Mate drink?
At that, a memory flashed past.
Around this time, there had been a commercial that swept Korea’s advertising awards.
The one I’d seen on TV while lying in a hospital bed with third-degree burns in my previous life.
That single commercial made the drink explode in popularity, and the rookie actor who appeared in it became a star overnight.
Then the familiar translucent window appeared.
【Strategic Task: Pass the Mate drink commercial audition】
【Reward: ???】
【Failure: Recognition Level growth halted for 1 year】
I clenched my fist.
“That commercial. I’m getting it no matter what.”
The instructor must have noticed something change in my eyes, because he smiled with satisfaction.
“Hahaha! Good! With that passion, you can do it.”
I left the classroom with the instructor’s encouragement.
Yoon Iseul was leaning against the doorway.
A face I hadn’t seen in a long time.
Even after my accident, she’d come to visit the hospital a few times.
But because of my inferiority complex, I’d lashed out at her and told her not to come.
‘Why did I do that.’
Yoon Iseul hadn’t done anything wrong.
Feeling guilty, I greeted her with a warm smile.
“Why are you grinning like that?”
“Because I’m happy to see you.”
“Are you insane…? But still, that’s the first time I’ve seen you late for class.”
“Ah, well. Something urgent came up.”
“Something urgent? You had something more urgent than acting class?”
Yoon Iseul shot me a playful look.
“Don’t tell me you got asked for your number?”
Hmm.
I did get asked for my number.
Just not like that—I got asked after saving someone, by a paramedic.
“…What’s with that reaction. Is it true? So you gave it? Are you going to date her?”
I was trying to figure out how to explain when—
“Hey, Ryu Sunho.”
A boy who looked like a weasel called out to me.
I could almost remember his name, but not quite.
“You’re going to the audition next week too? Mate?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t get your hopes up and just drop it.”
The weasel bastard sneered as he went on.
“I already got cast. The audition is just for show. They hold auditions to torture idiots like you with false hope.”
“What are you talking about?”
Yoon Iseul looked bewildered.
“My dad is an executive at the agency handling that commercial. Don’t feel too bitter—it’s not like I got in only because of my dad’s connections. I’ve got some Recognition Level, you know.”
Ah. Right. Now I remembered.
Jeong Sihu.
This guy had gotten popular through the Mate drink commercial.
“Better to use someone whose face is known than some total nobody. So you work hard too. Maybe someday you’ll get a chance, huh?”
His tone sounded like consolation, but the ridicule inside it was obvious.
Just then—
My phone rang.
“Hello, is this Mr. Ryu Sunho?”
“Yes, that’s me. Who is this?”
“This is the Gangnam Fire Station PR Team. We’re calling because we’d like to select you as this month’s recipient of the Brave Citizen Award. Do you have time to talk?”