How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor – Chapter 101

Author: Cireng

Chapter 101

The moment I opened my eyes in the morning, a thought crossed my mind.

‘At this point, is there something wrong with Yoo Seulho’s body?’

My body felt warm, like the early signs of coming down with something.

If I hadn’t experienced it once before, I probably would’ve brushed it off.

‘Ha…’

What the hell is the problem?

I mean, how much could I have overworked myself to end up with body aches?

‘How is a twenty-five-year-old guy supposed to survive with a body like this?’

Letting out a sigh, I headed to the kitchen.

“What should I do…”

If I left it like this, I’d definitely get sick again like last time.

If I didn’t have any schedules, it’d be one thing, but filming started at dawn tomorrow.

‘Would an IV help?’

I’d never gotten an IV for something as minor as body aches before, so I hesitated.

It wasn’t like I’d been stabbed or needed an immediate blood transfusion.

Could I really go to the hospital over something like this?

As I sat there worrying by myself, Choo Seomok suddenly approached and pressed a thermometer against my forehead.

Beep.

“Huh? No fever.”

“What are you doing?”

“You looked unwell, so I checked. You don’t have a fever yet, but… are you okay?”

At his words, I instinctively tried to nod, then stopped.

If I acted tough because I was embarrassed and ended up seriously sick tomorrow, everything would be ruined.

“No, I’m not.”

“What’s wrong?”

“My throat’s scratchy, my body feels heavy, and I’m getting chills.”

After listening seriously to my symptoms, Choo Seomok answered simply.

“You’ve got body aches.”

“…Yeah.”

My pride was hurt, and I couldn’t bring myself to say much.

When I muttered quietly, “My stamina’s complete trash,” Seomok tilted his head.

“I think you’ve actually held out pretty long. You haven’t properly rested lately, have you? And whenever you had free time, you went to the gym. It’s only natural you’d get sick.”

“The fact that I get sick from moving around that little is what makes me trash.”

“Suffering isn’t only physical. Memorizing scripts, immersing yourself emotionally… they all drain your energy too.”

Choo Seomok shook his head.

“You should’ve rested when I told you to. The moment you kept studying your script right up until bedtime instead of listening to me, this was already inevitable.”

“……”

Look at this bastard talking like he knows everything.

When I glared at him, he shrugged.

“Did I say anything wrong?”

“So what, I shouldn’t practice? An actor looking at his script is somehow wrong?”

“That’s not what I mean. No matter how devoted you are to acting, I’m saying you should take better care of your body. And eat your meals properly too.”

I snorted.

‘Devoted, my ass.’

This guy really has no eye for people.

“Fine. I’ll do nothing and rest today.”

“You’re not going to the hospital?”

“Going to the hospital for body aches feels a bit much.”

Still, when I said I’d at least take medicine, he looked satisfied.

I took some cold medicine from the medicine box Choo Seomok had bought when I got sick last time.

I was planning to just take the medicine, but he kept nagging beside me, saying, “Taking medicine on an empty stomach is bad for you,” so I ended up eating too.

“Drink this too.”

After I took the medicine, Seomok handed me some pear-and-balloon flower root extract from who-knows-where.

“No. I’m not drinking that.”

“It’s good for your throat.”

“……”

I quietly accepted it.

The sweet liquid slid down my sore throat.

“I finished it.”

“Good job. Now go sleep.”

“It’s still daytime.”

“When you’re sick, taking medicine and sleeping is the most effective. Trust me.”

Coming from someone who looked like he could go over a week without sleeping, it wasn’t very convincing.

Still, I figured he’d probably suffered more than the original me, so I decided to trust him.

“Fine.”

“I’ll go get some herbal tonic medicine. I know a place.”

“What tonic medicine? I don’t need that.”

“Really?”

“……”

Under Choo Seomok’s unwavering stare, I swallowed my words.

He looked just like one of those people saying, ‘Break up with me? But I’m pretty right now,’ except he was going, ‘You really won’t take it? It’s good for your health though.’

It was ridiculous. Really ridiculous…

“Do whatever you want. Get it or don’t.”

“So should I get it? Or not? Please answer clearly.”

“Damn it.”

Unable to hold back, I snapped irritably, and Choo Seomok barely suppressed a smile as he left.

‘Ha…’

He’s getting more annoying by the day.

***

The next day, I woke up feeling refreshed.

‘Whoa.’

Compared to yesterday, my condition had improved so much it was surprising.

‘That’s amazing.’

Choo Seomok had said the herbal tonic he ordered would take at least a week to prepare.

He had said he’d just gotten whatever could be delivered immediately for now, and I’d simply thought, Oh, I see.

But the amount was beyond imagination.

“This lunatic. Who’s supposed to finish all this in a week…?”

“You are, Seulho.”

From individually wrapped medicinal pills in luxurious boxes to sticky liquids that looked like honey…

It looked like every kind of expensive health gift people usually bought for their parents during holidays.

I wondered how a broke guy had paid for all this, but relaxed after hearing he’d used the company card Team Leader Ahn had given him for actor-related expenses.

‘If the company’s paying, I should accept it.’

Of course, that meant I had to repay the company eventually, but for now I decided to focus solely on improving my stamina.

‘Yoo Seulho’s body is weaker than I thought.’

At this point, I became curious.

Back when I was a loan shark, I could get stabbed, slap on a few stitches, and show up to work the next day.

Yet after entering Yoo Seulho’s body, I’d already come down with body aches twice.

That probably meant it was because of the body itself, right?

‘Which means Yoo Seulho used to get sick this often too.’

Thinking that he probably had nobody by his side taking care of him made my heart ache a little.

I’d never been this soft-hearted even with my own subordinates, so I found this side of myself strange.

‘Maybe this is also the body’s influence.’

Otherwise, why would I pity Yoo Seulho this much?

I thought about it for a while, but there was no way to know the answer immediately, so I let it go.

The best thing I could do was focus on what lay before me.

‘Good thing I’m feeling better. Today’s filming is going to be brutal.’

Today was an all-day shoot for Director Baek’s movie “What I Loved.”

Since I had to play Dogeon before the accident, I even had to wear properly fitting clothes for the first time in a while.

“The wind’s colder than I expected.”

“Yeah.”

The chilly breeze that greeted us the moment we stepped outside made me sigh.

It already felt like winter winds, and yet I had to pretend it was summer.

“It’s probably because it’s dawn. It should get better around noon.”

“How’s your body?”

“Much better.”

“That’s a relief.”

I looked at Choo Seomok sitting in the driver’s seat.

After hesitating, I quickly added,

“Hey, thanks.”

“Hm?”

Then I hurriedly opened the back door and got in.

Seeing him staring at me through the rearview mirror, I grumbled awkwardly.

“What?”

Even to me, I sounded childish.

Fortunately, Choo Seomok only smiled slightly and didn’t say anything.

Soon, we arrived at the filming location.

“Seulho, you’re here?”

Director Baek, wearing a thick fleece jacket, greeted me.

“Director, please take that off and give it to me.”

“What? No way~. This is all I’ve got.”

“Oh? So it’s okay if I catch a cold? I’m shocked. Is this really all the love you have for your actors–”

“Hey! Go get changed already!”

Director Baek pushed me from behind.

His face was full of laughter.

‘That’s good.’

Lately, I’d been deliberately joking with him whenever our eyes met.

After he admitted he didn’t know how to treat me, I’d consciously started doing it, and it had worked well.

‘He definitely doesn’t seem uncomfortable around me anymore.’

Of course, I needed to be careful not to cross the line with my jokes, but for now I was satisfied that the atmosphere had improved.

After changing into the school uniform prepared by the costume team, I came back out.

During the costume fitting before filming, they had picked the uniforms that best suited “Dogeon” and “Yeonhee.”

Back then, I’d been pleased because they were pretty uniforms, but now that I saw them again, they seemed way too thin.

‘I really need to watch out for catching a cold.’

Just in case, I took the morning supplements Choo Seomok had packed for me and stayed wrapped in a thick jacket until filming began.

Bae Dain, who was filming with me today, looked about the same.

Wrapped in a blanket and silently staring at the ground, she looked miserable.

“Did you lose weight?”

“Huh? Is it noticeable?”

She jumped in surprise.

“Not by much. Just a little? Your face looks especially slimmer.”

“I’ve already lost two kilos since last week. This is bad. If I lose any more, it’ll show on screen.”

“You should eat as much as possible.”

“I want to, but I haven’t had much appetite lately. I guess the filming schedule is too brutal.”

Lowering her voice as much as possible, Bae Dain whispered.

She seemed worried the staff might overhear.

‘So I’m not the only one suffering.’

Oddly enough, that fact comforted me and made her seem smaller somehow.

I handed her one of the stick-type energy supplements Choo Seomok had brought yesterday.

“Eat it sparingly. It’s expensive.”

“Wow, thanks.”

“My manager bought it.”

“Really?? Wow, he’s the best! Manager-nim, thank you~ I’ll enjoy it!”

The only one flustered by our conversation was Choo Seomok.

“Uh, ah, no, it’s nothing… I didn’t buy it with my own money…”

He was so embarrassed he even stuttered.

I barely held back my laughter.

Serves you right for teasing me yesterday, you bastard.

“Starting filming!”

After that, Bae Dain and I filmed scenes walking down an alley in our school uniforms.

Unlike the present timeline, Yeonhee wore a short wig, and we acted out bickering while walking to school together.

Then we changed clothes and filmed various dating scenes.

Holding hands while walking, gazing lovingly at each other…

We shot every sweet and lovey-dovey scene imaginable.

By the time evening came, I was completely exhausted.

“Seulho, just one more scene and we’re done… Let’s hang in there.”

“You too, noona.”

As we encouraged each other in our shared misery, Bae Dain suddenly looked at me and spoke.

“You know… I was honestly surprised earlier. Seeing you in a school uniform, I really couldn’t believe you were not an actual high school student. Thinking about dating a kid made me feel weirdly guilty.”

“You know I already finished military service, right?”

“That’s exactly why I’m saying it. All my guy friends who came back from the army look like middle-aged men, so how are you still so soft and fluffy?”

She stroked my cheek.

“Look at the baby hairs. Wow, you’re like a baby.”

The way she touched me made it obvious she didn’t see me as a man at all.

‘What am I, a hamster?’

Annoyed, I shook my head vigorously, but Bae Dain only laughed and called me cute.

There wasn’t a shred of romantic mood between us.

‘We still have to film a kissing scene later. This is going to be a problem.’

The dating scenes we’d done so far had somehow worked out, but I was worried about what came next.

Still, as always…

‘Worrying won’t solve anything.’

I cast aside my concerns and focused on the shoot in front of me.

Fortunately, despite the demanding schedule, filming itself went smoothly and wrapped up without incident.