How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 112

Chapter 112

 

The day of the kiss scene shoot.

“We’ll be there soon. Get ready to get out.”

“Mm.”

At Choo Seomok’s words, I straightened my slouched posture.

Maybe because we were filming outdoors instead of in a studio, the drive was longer than usual.

“Seomok.”

Suppressing a yawn, I called out to the man in the driver’s seat.

“You always stay beside me when I’m filming, right? Bringing me whatever I need right away.”

“Yes.”

“But if it’s too much today, you don’t have to. Don’t push yourself.”

“Huh?”

Seomok tilted his head as if asking what I was talking about.

True to his habit of keeping his eyes on the road while driving, his gaze remained fixed ahead.

“What exactly would be difficult for me?”

“You can’t watch kissing scenes because you’re too embarrassed.”

“……”

Receiving no reply, I turned my head, only to meet his eyes in the rearview mirror.

Choo Seomok was glaring at me with narrowed eyes.

“Hahaha! That’s hilarious.”

“Is it funny?”

“Yep. Very.”

By the time I finished laughing, we’d already parked.

As I got out of the car, I saw the staff bustling around.

‘Huh?’

Bae Dain wasn’t here.

‘That’s unusual.’

The moment I realized I’d arrived first today, my steps became lighter.

After months of filming ‘What I Loved’, this was a first.

‘She’s always here before me.’

There had even been a time when I tried arriving three hours early just to beat Bae Dain.

It had been a pointless contest of pride, and the result had been equally meaningless.

Bae Dain had already been there, reading her script.

‘She says it’s because she’s desperate, but…’

No matter how desperate someone is, personality matters.

Bae Dain was fundamentally diligent and incredibly hardworking.

She was only twenty-six, but there was a lot to learn from her.

“Seulho, you’re here~?”

“Yes, Director. You’re dressed warmly.”

“Oh? Planning to steal my clothes again?”

I exchanged greetings and jokes with Director Baek.

As we were about to discuss today’s scene, he narrowed his eyes.

“How do you feel? Is this your first kiss scene?”

“Yes.”

I nodded confidently.

Neither the real Yoo Seulho nor I had any experience with kiss scenes.

‘It’s amazing that someone with such a large filmography has never had one.’

Though it wasn’t that strange.

Recently, he’d mostly played useless side characters.

No insane director would give major scenes like kisses to someone nicknamed “Mr. Deadweight.”

‘Been a while since I thought of that word.’

It had been the first insult that came to mind after entering Yoo Seulho’s body, but nowadays, I had no reason to use it.

‘A lot has changed.’

I wondered if Yoo Seulho would’ve liked those changes.

Though…

‘What can he do if he doesn’t?’

Sure, I still felt especially sorry for him compared to others, but I couldn’t treat him like some newborn forever.

It’s not like I asked to enter this body.

And it’s not like I stole it.

If he ever came back and complained, ‘Why are you living in someone else’s body like this?’, I’d beat him senseless.

Did he even know how much I’d suffered?

“First times must be nerve-wracking.”

“Ah, but I did kiss someone’s hand in a drama.”

I suddenly remembered a drama Yoo Seulho had appeared in while he was still a minor.

Director Baek laughed mockingly.

At first, I thought he was laughing because I’d called it a hand-kiss.

But that wasn’t it.

“You know dramas and films are different genres, right?”

“Huh? Of course.”

“No. You don’t really know until you’ve filmed a kiss scene.”

He said drama kisses and movie kisses were worlds apart.

That made me anxious.

All the kiss scenes I’d studied yesterday had come from dramas.

“How are they different?”

“Drama kisses are relatively tame. Sometimes it’s just lips touching briefly. Slow motion is common too.”

Right.

Everything I’d watched yesterday had been like that.

‘Wasn’t that enough for today?’

I blinked in confusion.

“In movies, the intensity and expression are much more natural. We care more about how good the scene looks than how pretty the actors appear.”

According to Director Baek, that was the biggest difference.

“In dramas, clips get cut and shared everywhere right after airing. Since they’re easy to screenshot, the priority becomes making the actors look good.”

Movies, on the other hand, focused more on the characters than the actors.

Even actor fandoms viewed films with more distance compared to dramas.

“Interesting.”

“Maybe it’s because one is watched comfortably at home while the other requires going all the way to a theater.”

His words gave me a lot to think about.

I carefully asked how intense today’s scene would be.

The script simply said they kissed. There were no other directions.

‘Hopefully nothing too intense.’

Though if the director wanted it, I couldn’t refuse.

I’d already accepted the money.

Still, considering everything we’d filmed so far, a passionate kiss didn’t seem to fit Yeonhee and Dogeon.

As I nervously waited, Director Baek burst out laughing at my expression.

“Hahaha! I’m kidding.”

“Huh?”

“Relax. Just do it normally. Moderately romantic, moderately sweet.”

He continued smiling.

“You know where this scene fits, right? It’ll overlap with Yeonhee kissing Seunggeon.”

“Yes.”

“Yeonhee’s kiss with Seunggeon is the present. Her kiss with Dogeon is the past. The contrast emphasizes her confusion.”

“Right.”

“She can’t fully enjoy kissing Seunggeon. She’s half-sad. But with Dogeon, she should be completely happy.”

In other words, all I had to do was give her a kiss she could be happy about.

Pure.

Romantic.

Faithful to their feelings.

‘I see.’

Relief washed over me.

I just wanted to get this over with and hoped Bae Dain would arrive soon.

“Hoya! Long time no see!”

But the next person to arrive was Byeon Duho.

The actor playing Seunggeon.

“Long time no see, hyung.”

“How’ve you been? You’ve gotten even more handsome!”

Since Dogeon and Seunggeon never met in the story, Byeon Duho and I never filmed together.

But today, the heroine, Seunggeon, and Dogeon would all be filming kiss scenes at the same location.

The production team had gone through hell securing this location.

Since it was private property, they only got permission for today.

‘Bae Dain has to shoot two kiss scenes back-to-back.’

That had to be rough.

But why wasn’t she here?

“When’s Dain coming?”

“Yeah. She’s always here before me.”

Once her scheduled arrival time passed, I started worrying.

If she was normally late, that’d be one thing, but she wasn’t.

Maybe she’d gotten into an accident.

Then, fifteen minutes later, Bae Dain came running.

“I’m sorry! I’m really late, aren’t I? I’m so sorry!”

“Noona, don’t run.”

I instinctively moved when she looked like she might collapse.

Grabbing her shoulders, I asked if she was alright.

Bae Dain blinked slowly.

“Ah, yeah. Sorry… I stopped by the hospital for an IV.”

She explained she’d been feeling under the weather.

Even though everyone, including Director Baek, said it was fine, she kept apologizing.

“But I have a cold. Is it really okay to film a kiss scene?”

She asked cautiously.

Director Baek froze.

‘Normally, he’d postpone it.’

But today’s location was private property.

The scene took place on stairs between residential homes, and the crew had practically begged for permission.

Byun Duho and I exchanged looks.

“I’m fine. Let’s just do it.”

“I’m okay too~! Dain’s the one suffering!”

Director Baek sighed in relief while Bae Dain apologized again.

“What if I infect both of you…?”

“We’ll handle that.”

I told her the only thing she needed to worry about was taking care of herself.

Today’s shoot would be tough, so she should rest whenever possible.

‘Anyone can catch a cold.’

By that logic, we shouldn’t film scenes in tank tops and shorts in the mountains either.

“Duho and Dain first~!”

Out of the three of us, only Byeon Duho had experience with kiss scenes.

Director Baek let me watch first to prepare myself.

It would probably make things easier for Bae Dain too.

“Ready, action!”

Seomok and I sat side by side, watching.

Director Baek usually preferred long takes, but not today.

“Cut! Let’s redo the lip contact.”

He called cuts much faster and far more frequently.

I thought watching kiss scenes in person might feel exciting.

Instead, everything felt surprisingly professional.

“It’s more bland than I expected.”

“Probably because there are so many people around.”

I nodded at Seomok.

On camera, it would probably resemble the romantic scenes I’d watched yesterday.

But seeing it live, I couldn’t help feeling like this was simply filming.

“Seulho, your turn!”

Finally, it was my turn.

After watching for hours, I wasn’t nervous anymore.

I was more worried about my partner.

“Noona, are you okay?”

“Mm. I paid good money for that IV, so I better be.”

Bae Dain smiled brightly.

‘Really?’

She looked alright.

But before I could ask further, Director Baek came over and started rehearsals.

“Like this?”

Standing close to Bae Dain, we worked out angles and timing.

We stopped just short of actual contact.

Even so, it was embarrassing.

‘Watching and doing really are different.’

I’d relaxed too much because the previous scenes had seemed so ordinary.

Trying to shake off my tension, I exhaled quietly.

Then I noticed how hot Bae Dain’s skin was.

“…Noona, you have a fever.”

“Ah! Really? No, I’m fine.”

She tried widening her eyes, but they seemed sluggish.

‘This won’t do.’

Now wasn’t the time to be nervous.

‘I need to get her to the hospital.’

Which meant finishing this shoot as quickly as possible.

“Alright, let’s go.”

My nervousness disappeared.

In its place came determination.

Holding her face in my hands, I met her gaze.

“Ready… action!”

Without hesitation, I kissed her.