How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor – Chapter 105

Author: Cireng

Chapter 105

“The weather is fantastic.”

Today was a filming day for the horror movie The Sixth Night.

It was also the first day we were shooting at the mountain villa.

Of course, this was only the first time filming here… the movie itself had already started shooting last week.

‘Director Seo’s style is really straightforward.’

The movie began with a group of college students going on a one-night, two-day scouting trip before their MT.

For this kind of movie, there was always a necessary opening sequence, yet it felt unnecessary from the audience’s perspective.

Everyone gathering into one car, singing on the way, stopping to fill up on gas… that sort of thing.

And Director Seo had finished all the filming required for those scenes in just two days.

‘He’s really different from Director Baek.’

Director Seo Jinki was much bolder than I’d expected.

If he felt a scene had turned out reasonably well, he didn’t insist on reshooting it.

‘A director who focuses on the overall production rather than perfect acting.’

Rather than capturing every ounce of the actors’ performances, he focused on capturing the scenes he wanted to show.

Even if the acting felt slightly lacking, if the composition, lighting, and atmosphere of the scene were good enough, he simply passed it.

‘Works for me.’

It wasn’t like I was some real actor obsessed with making a “good movie.”

If a job paid well and gave me work-life balance?

I felt like I could spend the rest of my life working with Director Seo.

Not everyone shared my opinion, however.

“Think Director Seo’s going to call it good after one or two takes again today?”

“Sigh, I know I can do better… But if the director says it’s fine, it’s hard to ask for another take.”

“Same. I wish we had a few more chances.”

The actors around me whispered among themselves.

Well, everyone had different ways of thinking.

‘People with big ambitions are hard to satisfy.’

Especially if they performed much better in practice than in the real thing.

If you knew you could do better, it was naturally difficult to just let it go.

But even if I were the director, I doubted several more takes would make much difference.

‘They were pretty much the same during script readings and actual filming.’

All six actors working together displayed decent acting skills.

There wasn’t a single actor whose performance was bad enough to break the audience’s immersion.

In other words, the actors might have regrets, but viewers probably wouldn’t notice much difference.

That was why I liked Director Seo’s style so much.

‘Maybe today will end early too.’

We’d made so much progress that it was hard to believe filming had only started last week.

As I stretched in anticipation, Director Seo arrived on set.

“Director, you’re here?!”

“Good morning, Director~!”

Greetings rang out from all directions as soon as he stepped out of the car.

Director Seo merely nodded coolly.

‘Tch.’

That rude bastard.

What good was being competent if his social skills were that terrible?

As I was thinking I wanted to smack him upside the head, our eyes met.

At the same time, the guy broke into a wide smile.

“Hyung-nim!”

“…?”

Everyone around us widened their eyes at the familiar term that popped out of his mouth.

I was just as surprised.

“Director…”

“……Ah, right.”

Director Seo awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

This was our first time seeing each other since I’d succeeded in changing the villa owner’s mind.

His voice had sounded strangely emotional during our last phone call, but I hadn’t expected his mask to crumble this completely.

“Sorry, Seulho. I got too excited… I forgot to separate work from personal matters.”

“Haha, it’s fine, Director.”

After reassuring him and thanking him for welcoming me, his slightly hunched shoulders immediately straightened.

He was really easy to handle.

After that, we started discussing work, and the shocked gazes around us quickly dispersed.

‘Thinking about it, it’s not really that strange.’

Team Leader Ahn had told me something before.

Unlike the old days, when directors were practically kings, hierarchy had weakened a lot these days.

There were more actors with ticket power, and many actors even had more experience on set than the directors themselves.

Since there were so many directors and actors who treated each other like older and younger brothers, there was nothing to hide as long as they behaved appropriately in public.

“I’ll discuss that part with the assistant director.”

“Yes, Director.”

After finishing our conversation and returning, Ajin’s eyes sparkled.

“That’s amazing, oppa~. The director calls you hyung-nim?”

“We agreed he’d only talk casually when we were alone, but I guess he slipped up.”

“Did you know each other before the movie?”

“No, not at all. We met for the first time during the audition. We only got close recently.”

“Wow~ I see.”

Ajin gave me a thumbs-up.

“You’re amazing. I should learn some of your social skills too!”

Thanks, Ajin.

Thanks to her loud voice, everyone around us could hear our conversation.

At least there wouldn’t be rumors that I’d landed the lead role because of personal connections with Director Seo.

Standing awkwardly beside Ajin was Hyun Jingae, lingering nearby.

I nodded inwardly.

‘Yeah. Even you wouldn’t just leave a girl alone in the mountains.’

It was quite a contrast to how he used to abandon me on set every day.

Then again, there was no Executive Director Shin around to fetch golf balls anymore.

‘He won’t even make eye contact.’

Hyun Jingae must have decided keeping his position in his current company was more important than acting familiar with me.

Seeing him deliberately avoid looking my way, I didn’t bother speaking to him either.

“Seulho, would you like a blanket?”

“I’m fine.”

“No. Just keep it on.”

“……Then why even ask?”

The wind was chilly, but I refused because filming was about to start.

Yet Choo Seomok stubbornly wrapped the blanket around me anyway.

I found his disregard for my opinion annoying, but I decided to let it slide.

After all, if I caught a cold, he’d suffer too.

“Everyone, gather over here!”

After busily checking the lights and cameras with the staff, Director Seo finally called the actors over.

The nervous actors gathered around him.

“As I told you before, we’ll mainly shoot the exterior scenes here and the interior scenes in the studio. Still, just in case, we’ll shoot the indoor scenes here too.”

In other words, scenes inside the villa would be filmed both on location and in the studio.

One actor, apparently thinking it inefficient to shoot the same scenes twice, asked why.

“Honestly, I’d prefer to shoot everything on location.”

Director Seo shrugged.

“But since we’re deep in the mountains, there’ll be a lot of audio noise, and the stairs and walls limit our camera angles.”

For cleaner sound and easier filming, studio shooting was unavoidable.

Still, there might be scenes worth salvaging, so he wanted to film as much as possible at the villa.

I’d already heard this explanation before filming, but actually seeing the place made me understand his decision even more.

‘The location itself feels more oppressive than I expected.’

Even under the bright midday sun, fear was visible on the actors’ faces.

Knowing the horrifying scenes we’d have to shoot here, it was only natural that even a villa in broad daylight felt scary.

“The weather’s getting colder, but the story takes place in summer, so we’ll prioritize shooting the outdoor scenes before it gets worse. Since we can’t film in chronological order, everyone needs to pay extra attention to maintaining emotional continuity.”

“Yes, sir!”

The actors responded energetically.

Director Seo might be young, but this was already his third commercial film.

Even if his previous two movies had both flopped, his ability to lead a set was on a completely different level from that of an inexperienced director.

‘This is starting off pretty well.’

The feeling was completely different from What I Loved, which had filled me with anxiety before filming.

I’d only become comfortable with Director Baek’s style recently.

His perfectionism always carried pressure with it.

‘Somehow…’

But as I thought about filming a horror movie, something entirely different from romance, I felt a slight tingling in my fingertips.

‘This sounds fun.’

It felt a little embarrassing to be this excited over something I was only doing for money.

Still, I couldn’t deny that I was more excited than usual.

‘I wish we’d start already.’

I wanted to stand in front of the camera as soon as possible.

***

“Oh~. The weather’s freaking awesome.”

“The sun’s way too strong… Anybody got sunscreen?”

“Hey, hey! Unload all the luggage first!”

The college students poured out of the car.

Everyone was chatting noisily when Junho, the last one to step out, frowned.

“What the… Hey, Kim Daon.”

At that low, rough voice, the young man who had gotten out of the driver’s seat hurried over.

“Hyung, did you call me?!”

“This is the place we were supposed to come to?”

“Ah, well…”

Daon laughed awkwardly and confessed.

The original place they’d planned to visit had suddenly canceled, so he’d hastily booked this place yesterday.

“You crazy bastard. Then you should’ve said something sooner.”

“I was going to, but things were hectic. Sorry, hyung.”

“Ha, just because the seniors aren’t here, you’ve gotten too relaxed, haven’t you? The professor and the seniors still think we’re going to the original place.”

At Junho’s irritated tone, Daon chuckled awkwardly.

“Sorry, hyung~. But this place looks pretty nice. Let’s see how it is today, and if it’s really bad, we’ll reserve the original place again.”

“You just want an excuse to come on a second scouting trip, don’t you? Trying to get close to Yeonsera?”

“Oh, no~! I’m not interested in noona!”

Daon waved his hands frantically.

Junho snorted disdainfully and sighed.

“Fine. We’re already here anyway.”

“Hehe… I’ll pour drinks for you perfectly later! Victory!”

Daon saluted dramatically before running back to the group.

“You haven’t even been to the military, and you’re already acting up…”

Clicking his tongue, Junho looked around the villa.

The blue sky.