How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 108

Chapter 108

 

[5 a.m.]

Bzzz.

I woke up instantly at the vibration of my phone.

I turned it off within a second so I wouldn’t wake the person sharing the room with me, but…

“You’re already awake?”

Damn. I woke him up.

At Choo Seomok’s groggy voice, I answered quietly.

“Yeah, sorry. Go back to sleep.”

“Where are you going?”

“To work out.”

“Huh?”

He frowned and reached out.

After checking the exact time on his phone, he tilted his head.

“At this hour?”

His reaction made it clear that this made no sense to him, and I swallowed a sigh.

This was exactly why I had tried to sneak out before he woke up.

“We have that scene this afternoon where I have to show my abs.”

“So?”

“…I’m going to exercise because I think I gained weight because of you. Happy?”

If I’d just eaten some beef in moderation yesterday, there wouldn’t have been a problem.

But Seomok had ruined everything by chanting “carbs, carbs” and bringing over rice and lettuce wraps.

“Eating that little isn’t going to make your abs disappear.”

The bastard even had the nerve to say that.

“Easy for you to say when you’re not the one stripping. Is that really how a manager should act?”

“I’m more of an expert than you when it comes to muscle and body fat. Adding that amount of carbohydrates to yesterday’s diet won’t change your body.”

Seriously, this guy never backed down.

I was getting more irritated the longer we talked, so I just threw my pillow at him.

“Whatever. Just go back to sleep.”

“I’m already awake. Let’s work out together.”

“I said no.”

“I wake up in thirty minutes anyway.”

As he folded his blanket, he spoke calmly.

Judging by his eyes, he was already fully awake, so I clicked my tongue.

“You normally get up at five-thirty? Aren’t you tired?”

“I’m used to it now.”

“You know sleep’s more important than nutrients, right? You’ll get sick at this rate.”

“I’ll take care of myself.”

“…Then why won’t you let me take care of my own body, you lunatic?”

I was so dumbfounded I could barely speak.

I grabbed the only remaining pillow and threw it at him too.

‘Smack.’

The annoying bastard caught it with one hand and quickly changed into workout clothes.

“Because that’s my job. Let’s go work out.”

Fine.

‘I’d rather talk to a wall.’

Suppressing my irritation, I changed into workout clothes.

When I opened the door and stepped outside, it was still dark.

“Looks like everyone’s asleep.”

“Well, it’s still early.”

Director Seo had reserved every lodging place around the mountain villa for efficiency.

Actors who weren’t busy just stayed there and practiced their acting.

Even people like me who had to travel back and forth from Seoul could stay for two or three days whenever we filmed.

”The air feels better outside Seoul.”

It wasn’t even that far away, but somehow it felt cleaner.

Until the sun rose, Seomok and I ran.

There were exercise machines installed in a nearby park for the locals, so we even did intense sit-ups there.

“That was too slow. Let’s hit eighty in under two minutes next set.”

“What are you training for, Special Forces? You do eighty.”

“I do ninety.”

“…If you piss me off, where do I collect compensation?”

Between fending off Seomok while he “helped” me, I didn’t even notice the sun rising.

At first he just irritated me, but halfway through I had to admit he was helpful.

‘Whew.’

He even adjusted my pace, so I was less exhausted than usual.

By the time we returned to the lodging, drenched in sweat, everyone else was awake.

“Morning, Ajin.”

“Oppa, you’re up–whoa! Traitor! You’re working on your body all by yourself!”

Ajin, who was stealing bread next to Hyun Jingae, pointed at me.

Hyun Jingae nearly jumped and lowered her finger.

“Ah, sorry.”

Ajin smiled awkwardly.

I laughed with her and said we’d talk later.

As Seomok and I entered the building, I felt an intense gaze on my back.

‘He’s staring hard.’

Did Hyun Jingae think we looked like a close manager and actor?

Well, if he only saw us now, I suppose he could think that.

But he should’ve seen Seomok screaming at me to go faster during sit-ups earlier.

‘It took everything I had not to punch him.’

When I stopped for a moment because sweat got in my eyes, he’d shouted that even if blood got in my eyes, I shouldn’t stop exercising.

I really wanted to gouge his eyes out.

Sigh.

Of course, there was no reason to explain our relationship to Hyun Jingae.

Still, his gaze was annoying.

‘What is this, Love and War?’

Sure, we’d joked about transfers and cheating, but they were just jokes.

But if Hyun Jingae kept looking at us like that, I felt like some reality show producers would contact us for casting.

‘What was it called? Transit Love?’

The youngest, Hwang Taejun, loved watching that program.

Anyway, the point was that it felt weird.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Even after filming resumed that morning, Hyun Jingae’s gaze remained.

He didn’t even look at me when I was alone, but the moment Seomok handed me a blanket or spoke to me, his eyes would lock onto us. Was the guy insane?

“The former manager keeps staring at us.”

“Yeah. I won’t end up committing murder, right?”

“If you go to prison, I won’t have an actor to manage, so I’d appreciate it if you restrained yourself.”

“Ha…”

My insides boiled.

I was already more sensitive than usual because of the exposed scene this afternoon.

‘I thought showing some skin wouldn’t be a big deal.’

But now that it was happening…

It was a huge deal.

Sure, I’d been to saunas with the guys before, and I changed casually in front of Seomok after working out.

But stripping in front of guys and showing yourself on a movie screen were completely different things.

‘How do actors in R-rated movies even do it?’

I was making this much fuss over a scene where I’d just fall and reveal part of my abs.

I genuinely respected actors with the courage to appear naked.

Amazing. I couldn’t do it.

“Should I say something to him?”

Seomok spoke quietly.

I clicked my tongue.

“What am I, your kid? You don’t have to handle things like that for me.”

“It seems like you’re trying not to talk to him as much as possible.”

“I was planning to keep it that way, but…”

After a moment of thought, I suddenly turned my head.

I had expected it since Seomok was standing close to me.

Sure enough, Hyun Jingae was looking this way.

“…!”

The moment our eyes met, he froze.

I mouthed to him:

”Over there. Right now.”

Then I pointed toward the smoking area with my eyes.

If he hadn’t quit smoking, getting there without Ajin noticing shouldn’t be difficult.

‘If he doesn’t come, I’ll just talk to him directly.’

Fortunately, Hyun Jingae hesitated before whispering something to Ajin.

Ajin nodded, and Hyun Jingae gathered something up and headed toward the smoking room.

“I’m heading over.”

“Should I wait outside?”

“No. Go eat.”

The staff had just called everyone for lunch.

While everyone headed toward the food, only Hyun Jingae and I went in the opposite direction.

 

***

 

Click!

After closing the smoking room door, I saw Hyun Jingae standing inside with hunched shoulders.

Since the room had transparent walls, we kept some distance.

“Smoke if you want, hyung.”

“…You don’t smoke.”

“It’s fine.”

He said no and added that he hadn’t brought cigarettes anyway.

“Then what was that thing you stuffed in your pocket earlier?”

“Nothing important…”

After glancing outside, Hyun Jingae hurriedly handed me something.

Confused, I accepted it.

It was a bottle of supplements.

“What is this?”

“Melatonin. They say it helps you sleep. Apparently it’s popular these days.”

“No… I know what melatonin is.”

“But why are you giving it to me all of a sudden?”

At my question, Hyun Jingae stammered like a student getting scolded.

“You woke up early today… so I wondered if you’re still having trouble sleeping.”

“……”

For a moment, I didn’t know what he was talking about.

‘Back when I worked with Hyun Jingae, I couldn’t sleep well.’

Whenever we stayed in hotels, he’d come wake me up, and sometimes I’d only have fallen asleep around dawn.

I’d even snapped at him half-asleep before.

I stared at him.

“Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you talking so affectionately? Ugh, I’m getting goosebumps.”

I frowned, and he glared lightly at me.

“You complain even when someone’s trying to take care of you.”

He even said it wasn’t a villain role this time, so why was my personality still like that?

I almost laughed.

It was more amazing that he still believed that nonsense.

“Forget that. If you’ve got something to say, say it now.”

“Like what?”

“You didn’t want Ajin finding out we used to work together, so I pretended not to know you. But you keep looking like you’ve got something you want to say.”

“Well…”

He fidgeted with his hands for a long while before whispering so softly it was barely audible.

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry…”

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry! For treating you badly!”

I couldn’t hear him and asked again, and Hyun Jingae frowned and shouted.

”What the hell?”

I asked if he was apologizing or picking a fight.

He sighed.

“Sorry. I’m really sorry. I wanted to apologize properly, but I couldn’t bring myself to contact you. Even I thought I had no shame.”

He said he’d joined another entertainment company because he needed money, and he’d learned a lot there.

“Star Actors was my first company, so I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know what a manager was supposed to do for an actor. I’m learning little by little now, and the more I learn, the more guilty I feel toward you.”

“Even if you didn’t know what to do for me, you knew you shouldn’t hit me.”

“…Yeah. I knew. But everyone else did it, so I did too.”

Hyun Jingae bowed his head.

Without caring who might see us from outside, he apologized with complete sincerity.

“I’m sorry, Seulho. All this time… I’m truly sorry.”