How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 100

Chapter 100

 

I immediately contacted the private investigators.

After asking them to look into the villa owner, I took photos of the hidden room and hurried out of the villa.

‘How long will it take?’

Unlike the time I had them investigate Yoo Seulho, this wasn’t a large-scale request.

I only needed them to find out one simple thing, so the report arrived in less than two days.

“As expected.”

The moment I read the report, I nodded.

Just as I’d anticipated.

“There really was no answer besides an affair.”

Of course, I had considered another possibility.

That the villa owner was killing young women and keeping their clothes and cosmetics as trophies.

“I had a feeling… but it really is adultery.”

What I had asked the agency to investigate was simple:

Whether the villa owner was currently having an affair.

At first, they said it would take about a week.

But only a day later, they sent me a report saying they’d already found evidence.

They had photographed the owner secretly meeting his mistress.

‘After listening to their conversation, we estimate they started seeing each other within the last month.’

Apparently, they’d even eavesdropped on their conversation, because the report included when the affair had begun.

The clothes the woman in the photo was wearing looked similar to the ones hanging in the secret room.

‘So that place was their love nest.’

Everything made sense now.

The hidden room with nothing but a bed.

The way the man had bragged excessively about his family.

Everything.

“People cheating always brag about their family like that.”

Maybe because of guilt.

Maybe because they don’t want to get caught.

Everyone had different reasons.

But they all shared one thing.

They wanted to paint themselves as someone who loved and cherished their family.

“How cliché.”

I’d seen countless people like that.

Nothing new.

Though using a secret room inside a villa for an affair was a first.

Anyway, thanks to the note saying they’d only recently started seeing each other, everything clicked.

So he suddenly stopped cooperating because he didn’t want to lose his convenient little hideout?

That also explained why he’d been genuinely furious about the staff moving furniture around.

He’d probably been terrified someone would discover the secret room.

Terrified that he might no longer be able to continue his affair.

‘What should I do?’

What would an ordinary person do in this situation?

Call his wife and tell her,

“Your husband betrayed you and your children?”

Some people might say that knowing the truth and staying silent made me an accomplice.

But…

‘I’m no champion of justice.’

What mattered to me right now was whether we could film at the villa.

Whether the owner was cheating or not wasn’t important.

‘I just found one more piece of trash among the countless pieces of trash in this world.’

And as a fellow piece of trash, the only thing I could do was use this fact to my advantage.

So I immediately contacted the owner.

[The room in the far left corner of the second floor will be excluded from filming. Please allow us to shoot there.]

I sent only that one sentence and muted my phone.

Just as expected, the owner called me like a madman.

When I didn’t answer, he bombarded me with texts.

When the phone rang for the forty-first time… the same number of calls I’d made to him…

I finally answered.

“Hello?”

[What the hell?! Hello?! What are you trying to pull?!]

His voice alone revealed how furious he was.

I told him we should meet and talk.

Once again, we met at the villa.

Only this time, he was already waiting for me.

“Hello.”

“…”

As I stepped inside, he simply glared at me.

Just in case, I approached him with Choo Seomok attached to me like a keychain.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Hah… sit down.”

The man looked exhausted.

“So what’s this about the room in the far left corner of the second floor? What did that text mean?”

“Surely you know better than I do.”

“I have no idea.”

He frowned deeply.

Gone was the warm smile he’d shown me last time.

“Ah~. Are you talking about the room inside there? That’s my youngest son’s favorite secret room.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. So no matter how you try to blackmail me, it won’t work.”

I slowly tilted my head.

“Did it seem like I was blackmailing you? I simply asked you to let us film.”

“…”

He clenched his teeth and glared.

He knew I’d seen the clothes and cosmetics.

Even though he’d probably already cleaned up all the evidence, he couldn’t help but be nervous.

“What do you want?”

“I think we should make a deal.”

“A deal?”

“We need this villa, and you need confidentiality. Wouldn’t a contract help you feel secure?”

I added that, if necessary, we’d even have the entire staff sign NDAs and agreements restricting access to certain areas.

“It’ll be beneficial for both sides.”

I blackmailed him while insisting I wasn’t blackmailing him.

The man scoffed.

“What do you mean you’ll guarantee secrecy? What exactly are you guaranteeing?”

“You know what I mean. I have pictures too.”

“Pictures? Hah!”

At that, he finally exploded.

After glancing at Seomok beside me, he pointed his finger at me and shouted.

“So what if you took pictures of some women’s clothes hanging in a room? You think you can blackmail me with that? Huh? I don’t even know whose clothes those are!”

He insisted that some intruder could’ve wandered into the mountains and left their clothes behind.

‘This isn’t some fairy tale about the woodcutter and the fairy.’

I stared at him in disbelief.

He probably knew it too.

That what he was saying made absolutely no sense.

But arguments were all about momentum.

He tried to overwhelm me with force, yelling that I shouldn’t get cocky if I didn’t have evidence.

So I showed him.

Evidence.

“…! T-this…!”

The moment I showed him the photos from the private investigators, his face turned deathly pale.

A face I’d seen countless times.

The face of a loser.

“Once again, sir.”

I smiled pleasantly.

“I’m not blackmailing you. I’m proposing a deal. It’s beneficial for both of us. We film, and your secret stays hidden.”

“…Why are you going this far?”

The dumbfounded man muttered.

“I mean, there are plenty of mountain villas around here. Why…? You have money, don’t you?”

Because if we couldn’t film here, the entire schedule would fall apart.

‘Isn’t that reason enough?’

But there was no need to tell him that.

“I told you already.”

I smiled gently.

“I simply like this place.”

The man shuddered.

In the end, he agreed to cooperate again.

He had originally reversed his decision because he wanted to use the villa for his affair.

But now that I knew about it, that purpose had become difficult to maintain anyway.

“So, shall we sign the contract?”

“…Forget it.”

Unable to refuse, he muttered.

“We don’t need that. Do whatever you want. Even go in and out of the secret room.”

“Really?”

“Since I’ll only be coming here with my family from now on, I don’t care.”

He said I wasn’t an idiot, and after everything we’d discussed, did I really think he’d bring his mistress here again?

I tilted my head.

‘If you’re not an idiot, why cheat in the first place?’

His logic was beyond my understanding.

But the best thing to do with idiots was not to talk too much.

In exchange for giving him the photos from the private investigators, I got permission to use the villa.

“Deal’s done. If my family hears anything strange from you, I’ll destroy your movie production. Got it?”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

I firmly assured him that his wife would never learn about the affair through me.

Reassured by my attitude, he practically fled.

‘Tsk.’

Why live like that?

Did his wife know?

Probably not.

Whatever the case, meddling in a married couple’s affairs was never wise, no matter how close you were.

‘It won’t last anyway.’

I didn’t particularly believe in karma.

But I trusted the data I’d accumulated.

And among all the people I’d seen, almost nobody who lived like that ended up happy.

‘Sheesh.’

I was just about to stand up, feeling disgusted and disappointed, when…

“Seulho-ssi.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve wanted to ask this for a while.”

I turned and found Choo Seomok staring blankly at me.

“Where do you even get photos like those?”

His expression said that he wouldn’t pry if I didn’t answer, but he’d remain curious.

Without hesitation, I told him honestly.

If I’d wanted to hide it from him, I wouldn’t have brought him here.

“I have someone who helps me. They got those for me.”

“Are you talking about a sponsor?”

“If by sponsor you mean someone who sleeps around and gets people roles in return, then no.”

Seomok let out a relieved sigh.

“Was that person also the one who identified who had put a tail on you last time?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded.

“Understood. Thank you for telling me.”

“You don’t have anything else you want to ask?”

“Would you answer if I asked?”

I grinned.

“No.”

Choo Seomok laughed in disbelief.

I patted him on the shoulder.

“Let’s go home.”

 

***

 

[Hyungnim, how did you do it?!]

Apparently, the owner had contacted Director Seo.

He called me in an extremely excited voice.

I simply told him I’d persuaded the man through conversation.

And the innocent fool believed me.

[As expected of you, Hyungnim! I should tell the staff right away!]

“Jinki.”

I quickly interrupted him and told him that the fact I’d persuaded the owner should remain between us.

He asked why, sounding confused.

“I didn’t solve this because I wanted the spotlight.”

“I did it because I want to make this movie with you.”

[Hyungnim…]

“You’re the owner of this movie.”

“You’re the one who should solve problems.”

“That way, everyone will trust and follow you even more.”

His voice trembled with emotion.

In truth, I wasn’t trying to take care of Director Seo.

I had simply extorted permission from the owner using evidence of his affair.

I wanted as few people as possible to know I’d been involved.

[Hyungnim, you really… Hah. Thank you. Thank you for respecting me as a director…]

But knowing nothing, Director Seo was simply overwhelmed with gratitude.

Our friendship grew even stronger.

And the filming schedule continued without changes.

They truly were hectic days.