How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor – Chapter 104

Author: Cireng

Chapter 104

Less than an hour after the livestream ended, edited clips were already circulating.

The comments were in an uproar too.

Someone had compiled only the livestream comments and titled the video “The Great Straw Mass Hysteria Broadcast.” The views on that video alone were terrifying.

“Seriously, the keyword ‘Straw’ is a cheat code.”

“I know. The views just keep climbing.”

And that “someone” was none other than Han Gosu, Yoo Seulho’s diehard fan.

On a Saturday morning, she was editing videos with one of her fellow fangirls.

Since she worked at a video production company, her editing was far more professional.

“What do you think?”

Her friend, who was working beside her, asked.

“About what?”

“Changing the fandom name.”

“Hmm… I don’t know.”

Han Gosu took her hands off the keyboard and sighed.

“I want to stick with Straws. But what can we do if our Seulho hates it?”

“But people love seeing us play with the Straw thing. Feels like there’s still a lot we can do with it, so it’s kind of a shame.”

Just as Team Leader Ahn had guessed, some of Yoo Seulho’s fans were the strategic type who deliberately used the word Straw.

It was a tearful effort to offset Yoo Seulho’s unfavorable image, even if it meant sacrificing their own image.

“Let’s vote first. Until then, let’s do our part.”

“Okay. Time to pump out videos like crazy.”

“How are the comments?”

“They’re really positive.”

Han Gosu checked the comments on the video.

Just as her friend said, the atmosphere was generally warm.

➝ Why is it so cute how he treats teenage students like kids when he’s only in his mid-twenties himself? LOL

↳ I think he’s just naturally likable.

↳ Yeah. I’m another fandom’s fan, but I liked his stream yesterday. It was kind of refreshing and straightforward.

➝ I like that Yoo Seulho doesn’t act like a man-man type. No matter how handsome a guy is, if he starts putting on some peacock-feather show and acting ridiculous, his charm disappears instantly. He doesn’t do that, so it’s great.

↳ LOL, “peacock-feather show.”

↳ I know exactly what you mean kekeke. You mean you like that he doesn’t force himself to be flashy, right?

↳ Handsome men who don’t act overly charming are surprisingly rare.

➝ He was so cute yesterdayㅠㅠ. I wish Seulho had become an idol insteadㅠ

↳ Wait, you’ve never seen Yoo Seulho singing…? Is that why you’re saying this…?

↳ Ah kekekeke the reply above is too funny and too cruel kekeke. Honestly, he’s not that bad, right~?

↳ Sorry, but he’s exactly that bad.

↳ ……That’s so mean.

↳ No kekeke. Idols usually live in dorms, rightㅠ? I just meant I’d want to get a job as the dorm auntie and cook for him.

↳ Ahh, now I get it. Sorry.

↳ A comment where only Yoo Seulho gets hurt.

↳ kekekekeke

➝ Wooyeon really does a great job.

➝ Usually it ruins the mood if you notice the staff too much during a livestream, but yesterday I was actually glad they were there.

↳ Agreed. Seulho was way more nervous than I expectedㅠ. Cutie… I was sad he didn’t read our cheesy comments, but the staff read them for him, so I got my satisfaction kekeke.

➝ Anyway, what’s the fandom name going to be? Honestly, all the names Seulho read yesterday sucked.

↳ How about YuFans, since we’re Yoo Seulho’s fans?

↳ Sounds terrible.

↳ No, it sounds like “OnlyFans”;;;;

➝ Guys, Seulho said he wants to call us chicks, so let’s just go with that.

↳ “Chicks”? I feel overwhelmingly guilty. What does he think we are?

↳ I wonder if Seulho knows I’m older than him…^^

↳ I think he’d still call us chicks even if he knew.

↳ I agree with the above kekeke. Seulho treats actress Choi Ran, who’s only two years older than him, like she’s ten years younger.

↳ Maybe he knows that’s what makes our hearts flutter? What a bad man… Take me, Yoo Seulho. This is your punishment.

↳ Yoo Seulho: “No thanks.”

➝ I usually hate it when grown men, especially celebrities, act all airheaded and cute.

➝ It feels fake, and honestly, I don’t think airheaded guys could survive the ruthless entertainment industry. Only tough bastards survive there.

➝ But yesterday Yoo Seulho didn’t seem like he was pretending. He just seemed… ordinary? I don’t know. Maybe I’m defending him, but it definitely felt differentㅠ. Anyone understand what I mean?

↳ I’m a Yoo Seulho fan, but I think you’re forcing it.

↳ No, seriouslyㅠ.

↳ Kekeke, I think I get what you mean, keke. There wasn’t even the slightest unnaturalness. Though maybe that’s acting too…?

↳ Right. He just seemed naturally embarrassed and naturally awkward, and I liked that.

↳ They say actors shouldn’t be trusted, but I’m choosing to trust him.

↳ Ah… I’m so touched. The day has come when our Seulho is being suspected of acting… I can die happy now.

↳ No! If you die, you won’t see the next livestream.

After all the chaos, the vote somehow concluded.

Wooyeon had added “Chicks” as the final candidate just in case, and it won in a landslide.

Fans who had spent months calling each other Straws felt awkward about the sudden change.

➝ When Seulho called us chicks, it sounded cute. Why does calling each other chicks make it feel like we’re all holding knives?

↳ kekekeke I understand exactly what you mean, and it’s killing me.

↳ It’s like we only act cute in front of our owner but secretly look like we’d eat our own kind.

↳ Hey, let’s at least behave in front of Seulho.

↳ Yeah. Let’s tone down the murderous vibes.

On private accounts that Yoo Seulho would never see, even more opinions emerged.

They were touched by how Yoo Seulho had turned them into adorable chicks, but fans had responsibilities of their own.

➝ Everyone’s ready to boil soup from this livestream for years, right?

↳ Yes! Since we don’t know when the next livestream will be, I’ll make enough content to survive on it for years!

↳ Right, right. Let’s edit videos that appeal to the general public without making them uncomfortable, everyone.

↳ Yes, sir!!!

↳ Chicks-and-Straws, fighting!

At least on their private accounts, they couldn’t let go of the word Straw.

Despite receiving no money whatsoever, everyone worked harder promoting Yoo Seulho than they did at their actual jobs.

Such was the greatness of fangirling…

No, the greatness of love.

***

After the embarrassment from the livestream subsided, I found myself filled with questions.

Since even Choo Seomok wasn’t completely familiar with the industry, I decided to ask Team Leader Ahn while we were already at the company.

“Team Leader, I have something I’m curious about.”

Seomok, sitting next to me, already had a notepad and pen in hand.

Smiling, Team Leader Ahn gestured for me to ask freely.

“The fans kept calling me a puppy during the livestream. Why?”

“What kind of reason do you need? It’s just because they see a puppy when they look at you.”

“That’s exactly what I don’t understand. I didn’t want to say this, but if it were something like a wolf or a bear, I could underst… could you stop laughing?”

When I stared at him seriously, Team Leader Ahn laughed even harder.

“Hahaha! Sorry. You’re just so serious about this.”

“I’m serious, so I’m asking seriously.”

“Alright, alright. Anyway, don’t think too hard about it. Fans often anthropomorphize celebrities they like. It’s one of the ways they have fun.”

Team Leader Ahn explained that assigning animals to celebrities didn’t necessarily mean they resembled them.

It was more about seeing them as cute and lovable beings.

For example, someone with big, gentle eyes might be a deer.

Someone elegant and aloof might be a cat.

Sometimes it was just harmless teasing, but fandoms even fought over animal representations.

That was why claiming unusual animals first was important.

‘Wow.’

I’d lent money to celebrities for years, yet I’d never heard about anything like this.

“Then doesn’t puppy overlap with too many celebrities?”

“That’s why I said not to take it too seriously. Saying you’re like a puppy is just another way of saying you’re cute.”

I see.

I still couldn’t understand how anyone could find an adult man like Yoo Seulho cute, but I decided to accept it.

‘If the fans want to do that, then that’s that.’

Thinking about it that way made me regret a lot of things.

No matter how I thought about it, I’d been far from professional during the livestream.

‘I was too embarrassed.’

Celebrities gained popularity through fans’ time and money.

Naturally, they had responsibilities that came with it.

Actors only needed to act well.

But celebrities had an obligation to treat their fans well.

‘And I’m both an actor and a celebrity.’

I shouldn’t forget whose attention was making me money.

As long as they didn’t cross the line, I resolved not to be embarrassed and to react properly in the future.

After listening to Team Leader Ahn’s valuable lesson, I sank into thought on the drive home.

“Seomok.”

“Yes?”

Choo Seomok glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

“Do you have any favorite celebrities? I mean… have you ever been a fan of someone?”

“No.”

Sigh. Then he won’t know either.

As I shook my head and said never mind, he told me to ask anyway if I was curious about something.

“I probably won’t do livestreams again if I can help it, but I can’t avoid fans forever.”

“That’s true.”

“But everyone seems so concerned about my health. Even after I say I’m eating well and resting, they keep worrying. Why?”

Chu Seomok answered as though it were the simplest thing in the world.

“Think of it as affection, not worry.”

“Huh?”

“They don’t worry because they want to worry. They worry because they like you. Just understand it as a sign that they care for and cherish you that much.”

Then he told me to think of someone I liked.

“Wouldn’t you worry about them?”

“Would I…?”

I still didn’t understand.

Who did I even like?

Well, the people I cared about the most were my subordinates.

‘But I do worry about those guys…’

Of course I worried.

I worried every moment that they might ruin the business.

…Though I didn’t worry whether they skipped meals or weren’t sleeping.

‘Does that mean I don’t truly care about them?’

The more I thought about it, the more confused I became.

Then Choo Seomok spoke calmly.

“There’s no correct answer when it comes to emotions. And worrying about someone takes practice.”

“Really?”

“If you spend enough time watching someone, eventually you start worrying about them. You wonder if they’re having a hard day because they look gloomy, or whether they’ve eaten. Those things start bothering you.”

Hearing that people weren’t like that from the beginning strangely reassured me.

‘It’s not easy.’

After living more than thirty years, I thought I’d mastered most things.

How to make money.

How to navigate society.

How to deal with unreasonable customers.

And so on.

Yet realizing there were still so many things left to learn made me laugh bitterly.

‘I’ll probably be like this until the day I die.’

And suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

That when I had questions in the future…

It would be nice if there was still someone I could ask, just like this.